“Cairo, gateway to the Ancient East…where modern adventure and intrigue unfold against the backdrop of antiquity…”
Rocky Jordan (1948-1950) aired “The White Beetle” on March 12, 1950. This is the 16th Rocky Jordan episode we have showcased since 2011 and the first since August of 2024. From a previous introduction and for the benefit of new listeners unfamiliar with the Rocky Jordan program, here are the basics of the show’s background. Rocky Jordan ran from October 21, 1948 through September 5, 1950 and starred Jack Moyles as Rocky Jordan. There were several iterations of the show, the first of which aired in 1945 under the title A Man Named Jordan. Only two episodes of this early precursor are known to still exist. This version was set in Istanbul, Turkey but was otherwise the same as its successor. An attempt to revive the series with famed Hollywood actor George Raft aired for one season from 1950-51. A couple of half-hearted attempts were made at further revivals in 1955 and ’57, but none of these fifteen-minute episodes survive.
Rocky Jordan was modeled on the classic, much revered movie Casablanca, which premiered in New York on November 26, 1942 and then in general release on January 23, 1943. Casablanca starred Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine, the American exile who ran Rick’s Cafe Americain in Casablanca, Morocco, an unallied country during World War II located in northwest Africa and bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Rocky Jordan is set in Cairo, Egypt, in northeast Africa, said country also bordering the Mediterranean. Rocky calls St. Louis home (but was chased abroad by his enemies), whereas Rick hailed from New York; both are intimated to have shady pasts. The counterpart to Rick’s Cafe Americain is Rocky Jordan’s Cafe Tambourine, not far from the “mosque Sultan Hassan,” (photo below) where Rocky finds himself routinely involved with “crime, mystery, and beautiful women.” Much like Rick’s Cafe Americain which is set during WW II, Jordan’s Cafe Tambourine, while set a few short years following the war, is a magnet for all ethnicities and types, from the respectable to the rogue.
As you might imagine, Rocky seems always to find himself at the center of trouble. Egyptian-Muslim police Captain Sam Sabaaya (married with four children) plays it straight and by the book but helps Rocky when he can, while Sabaaya’s Sergeant Greco dislikes Jordan and attempts to pin every mishap and crime on the part-time detective and foreigner.
The writers always strove for authenticity in Rocky’s adventures, researching names of streets and places for accuracy, and the show’s producers even hired an Egyptian writer/consultant in later episodes for further accuracy of detail in regard to the locales and various cultures, Cairo being a centuries-long crossroads and melting pot of the Middle East.
The white beetle of the title of this episode refers to an Egyptian scarab beetle, a specific family of dung beetle revered as a symbol of both death and resurrection among other things, and was so admired by ancient Egyptians who were fond of working their likeness into various pieces of sylized jewelry Finding one in a dig in good shape is rare and worth a fortune so when an acquaintance of Rocky’s stumbles into the Cafe Tambourine shot, and in possession of a carefully wrapped scarab, Rocky takes immediate notice But before Rocky can scarce take a breath or take in the whole dramatic scene, a woman crashes in on the heels of the wounded man and relieves him of the artifact under threat of being shot again. Thus opens the story of a most peculiar scarab, for we learn soon enough that it is indeed the real thing and worth a fortune, but the mere thought of possessing it makes it priceless beyond measure to some, but also makes it easier to justify murder if possession can be assured as the final result. Ah, but the schemes that the twisted seed of greed sprouts too often grow into monstrous gardens of evil as we witness such a scheme begun around a piece of ancient jewelry known as “The White Beetle.”
(The CD linked above includes this episode and 19 others, all digitally remastered and restored.)
Play Time: 29:40
{Airing near the middle of March on a Sunday evening in 1950, “The White Beetle” held just enough exotic danger for the neighborhood gang to seek more of nearly the same variety as they found in the previous night’s Rocky Jordan adventure. Detective Tales (1935-53) filled the bill nicely, as it almost always did during its monumental 18-year and 202 issue run. It was a monthly in 1950. 15 Mystery Stories (1932-50) was originally titled Dime Mystery Magazine from its debut in 1932 through 1949 and held to a strong monthly presence through 1940, changing its name only for its final 5 bi-monthly issues in 1950. The Phantom Detective (1933-53) began as a direct response to the success of Street & Smith’s The Shadow magazine. Though not reaching the numbers of its counterpart, it easily managed a high enough sell through to remain a noteworthy presence for 20 years. Though it didn’t equal the overall number of issues as The Shadow (170-325) due to its less frequent schedule, it nevertheless held the record for the longest running single character pulp of all time. It was a quarterly in 1950.}
[Left: Detective Tales, 3/50 – Center: 15 Mystery Tales, 4/50 – Right: Phantom Detective. Winter/50]
To view the entire list of weekly Old Time Radio episodes at Tangent Online, click here.