Review: Rocky Fortune

But..but..but he's not a detective.

Rocky Fortune was an odd character: he could never seem to hold a steady job, he was witty and very sarcastic and he could solve crimes without the advantage of being a detective.  (He was so good at solving crimes that all over the internet you will find that Rocky was a 'detective.')

How and why Rocky got involved in the middle of criminal activity, we will never know.  Every job he took - be it a dishwasher or a museum watchman - found him in the middle of some kind of mystery. It's never fully revealed why he traveled from place to place and took a different job. We can only assume this was done to keep the show fresh and new characters coming in each week.

Singer Frank Sinatra played the part of Rocky.  While other reviews might state he sounded, "bored", I differ.  I believe the part of Rocky Fortune help propel Frank Sinatra into the acting stratosphere. Though he is known for his singing, Sinatra was actually one of the best actors in the history of Hollywood.  He remains highly underrated. I've seen several of his films and I have been blown away by each performance. Although the Rocky Fortune shows aren't his best work, he still shows the traits that made him such a fantastic actor.

How can a non-detective be a private eye?

The wry sarcasm used on the show eventually became a bit of a Sinatra trademark in his films. He's actually quite humorous on the show. Oddly enough, Sinatra never sings in the series.

This show came out in 1953 and only lasted about a half of a season or 25 shows.  It's not the greatest radio around but I can find little bad to say about it. Sinatra pulls up the mediocre writing with his own acting abilities. I'd give the show 3 and a half stars. This is a fun show.

©Jimbo 2010/2011