The Adventures of Harry Lime
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
Related e |
Featured: |
The Lives of Harry Lime (original British title The Adventures of Harry Lime) was an old-time radio program produced in London, England during the 1951 to 1952 season.
Orson Welles reprised his role of Harry Lime from the celebrated 1949 film adaptation of Graham Greene's novel The Third Man. The radio series is a "prequel" to the film, and depicts the many misadventures of con-artist Lime in a somewhat lighter tone than the character's villainy in the film.
Most episodes would begin with "The Third Man Theme" being played, abruptly cut off by an echoing gunshot. Then Welles would speak: "That was the shot that killed Harry Lime. He died in a sewer beneath Vienna, as those of you know who saw the movie The Third Man. Yes, that was the end of Harry Lime ... but it was not the beginning. Harry Lime had many lives ... and I can recount all of them. How do I know? Very simple. Because my name is Harry Lime."
Episode list
Although often cited as a BBC production, the series was one of a number produced and distributed independently by the prolific Harry Alan Towers. Only sixteen of the episodes were acquired and broadcast by the BBC in the UK. It was the first time that the BBC broadcast episodes of a dramatic series that it did not produce. The full series was syndicated to radio stations in the U.S.
Original air date # Episode title
- August 3, 1951 1 "Too Many Crooks"
- August 10, 1951 2 "See Naples and Live"
- August 17, 1951 3 "Clay Pigeon"
- August 24, 1951 4 "A Ticket to Tangiers"
- August 31, 1951 5 "Voodoo"
- September 7, 1951 6 "The Bohemian Star"
- September 14, 1951 7 "Love Affair"
- September 21, 1951 8 "Rogue's Holiday"
- September 28, 1951 9 "Work of Art"
- October 5, 1951 10 "Operation Music Box"
- October 12, 1951 11 "Golden Fleece"
- October 19, 1951 12 "Blue Bride"
- October 26, 1951 13 "Every Frame Has a Silver Lining"
- November 2, 1951 14 "Mexican Hat Trick"
- November 9, 1951 15 "Art is Long and Lime Is Fleeting"
- November 16, 1951 16 "In Pursuit of a Ghost" (aka "El Zorro")
- November 23, 1951 17 "Horse Play" (aka "The Racetrack")
- November 30, 1951 18 "Three Farthings For Your Thoughts"
- December 7, 1951 19 "The Third Woman"
- December 14, 1951 20 "An Old Moorish Custom"
- December 21, 1951 21 "It's A Knockout"
- December 28, 1951 22 "Two Is Company"
- January 4, 1952 23 "Cherchez La Gem"
- January 11, 1952 24 "Hands of Glory"
- January 18, 1952 25 "Double Double Trouble" (Alt: "The Double Double Cross")
- January 25, 1952 26 "Five Thousand Pengoes and a Kiss"
- February 1, 1952 27 "Dark Enchantress"
- February 8, 1952 28 "Earl on Troubled Waters"
- February 15, 1952 29 "The Dead Candidate"
- February 22, 1952 30 "It's In The Bag"
- February 29, 1952 31 "Hyacinth Patrol"
- March 7, 1952 32 "Turnabout is Foul Play"
- March 14, 1952 33 "Violets, Sweet Violets"
- March 21, 1952 34 "Faith, Lime and Charity"
- March 28, 1952 35 "Pleasure Before Business"
- April 4, 1952 36 "Fool's Gold"
- April 11, 1952 37 "Man of Mystery"
- April 18, 1952 38 "The Painted Smile"
- April 25, 1952 39 "Harry Lime Joins The Circus"
- May 2, 1952 40 "Suzie's Cue"
- May 9, 1952 41 "Viva La Chance"
- May 16, 1952 42 "The Elusive Vermeer"
- May 23, 1952 43 "Murder on the Riviera"
- May 30, 1952 44 "Pearls of Bohemia"
- June 6, 1952 45 "A Night in a Harem"
- June 13, 1952 46 "Blackmail is a Nasty Word"
- June 20, 1952 47 "The Professor Regrets"
- June 27, 1952 48 "The Hard Way"
- July 4, 1952 49 "Paris Is Not The Same"
- July 11, 1952 50 "Honeymoon"
- July 18, 1952 51 "The Blue Caribou"
- July 25, 1952 52 "Greek Meets Greek"
The episode "Greek Meets Greek," written by Welles, was later expanded by him and served as the basic plot for his film Mr. Arkadin.
A recording of the 1951 A Ticket to Tangiers episode of The Lives of Harry Lime series is available on the Criterion Collection DVD edition of The Third Man. In addition, recordings of the 1952 episodes Man of Mystery, Murder on the Riviera and Blackmail is a Nasty Word are included on the Criterion Collection DVD The Complete Mr. Arkadin.
In other fiction
In The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier Harry Lime was real name Robert Kim Cherry and command of the British Secret Service, acting as M and is referred to as "Mother" as nickname by several agents, including Emma Peel.