Review: Box 13

Alan Ladd

The very first thing I think about when my mind turns to Alan Ladd is his indistinguishable features among a group of men near the end of the classic film, Citizen Kane. Ladd plays a reporter and there's no way you can know that it's him unless someone tells you or you've read it.

Ladd has led a similar, undistinguished career. Other than the film, Shane, Ladd's movie career is one mediocre film after another (and he's really not that good in Shane, anyway.) And especially in tough guy roles - he's not tough.

Lending his talents to radio - and his own company, Ladd acted and produced in 52 episodes of Box 13. As Dan Holiday the fiction writer, he put a perpetual advertisement in the paper seeking adventure for background he could use in his writing.  The advertisement went something like this:

Adventure wanted - will go anywhere or do anything. Contact Box 13

Intriguing? Yes! But Ladd is blander on radio than in the movies; his demeanor is cool but not "cool" - in other words, he's boring. Imagine the same show with William Conrad, Jack Webb, Orson Welles or even Burgess Meredith playing Holiday.  Bob Bailey (Let George Do It) and Ladd could have switched places and each show would have been MUCH better.  You get the point? Ladd underplays the part.

Sylvia Picker (in earlier days)

The scripts are not very good either. As a matter of fact, I find them to be somewhat silly. Somehow, Ladd becomes not an adventure-seeker, but a pseudo detective in the show. The script uses Hitchcockian MacGuffins and reverse MacGuffins (if there are such things - in other words, the scripts make a big deal out of something that couldn't possibly be true and if it were, it would take Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes to find these things out - and Ladd is no Sherlock Holmes!) 

The combination of  poor scripts and Ladd underplaying every scene is somewhat tempered by his ninny secretary Suzy (Sylvia Picker.)  Some people find her funny - but when I listen to the show, I raise my eyebrows when she speaks as she is just so different from the comotose Ladd. Her parts are very small and her parts are "ditzy."

Ladd is the star - he drives the show and though he doesn't wreck it - he's on the Highway to Nowhere.  The show has no thrill - with an advertisement like he has - you'd figure there would be some excitement somewhere in 30 minutes of radio.

I do listen to the show regularly but it's only filler stuff for me.  The DigitalDeli gives the script high marks and likes Ladd.  I know people who think highly of the show as well.  Not so for me - I'll be contented to be in the minority.

I give it barely 2 stars.