Epic Casebook

South African Detective Drama (1950-1977)

This South African program is pretty standard "Whodunit" fare, but as it turns out it is a very good Whodunit.

The series premiered on South Africa's Springbok Radio in 1957. Inspector Carr of the Murder Squad follows a pretty standard Whodunit formula. He is called in to investigate a murder which has occurred under unusual circumstances. There may be one or more obvious and not so obvious suspects, and Inspector Carr narrates as he works his way through the questioning and investigation. When he has the facts straight in his mind, he confronts the murderer and usually gets a full confession. After assuring us that justice will be satisfied, Carr breaks the forth wall, and asks the audience if they have saw the "one clue" that was the murderer's one foul up. After the final station break all is revealed.

For most of the run the series was sponsored by the Epic food company, a South African producer of cooking oil, margarine, and peanut butter. The original Inspector Carr was played by Don Davis, but the role is most closely identified with Hugh Rouse.

Like Inspector Carr, Rouse was a naturalized South African. After serving in the Royal Navy in WWII, Rouse went to work with the South African Broadcasting Company in an administrative capacity. Rouse thought he would make a better broadcaster than a clerk, and he got his chance when the Springbok commercial radio service open launched in 1950. for many years part of South African life was the call "The World at One, Seven and Ten-thirty, Hugh Rouse reporting". Rouse was interested in much more than reading the news, as evidenced by his portrayal of Inspector Carr and his association with the South African Radio version of The Avengers.  

Check out these other "Intriguing" shows at OTRCAT.com: ABC Mystery Time, Escape, Suspicion, Counterspy David Harding, FBI in Peace and War, Intrigue, and I was a Communist for the FBI.