The Blue Beetle

The Blue Beetle was an old time radio show based on the super hero character that appeared in Fox Features comic books. The series ran from May 15 - September 13, 1940 as a CBS 30 minute syndicated series. Actor Frank Lovejoy provided the voice of the Blue Beetle for the first thirteen episodes. Later episodes were uncredited.

After his father was killed by a gangster's bullet, young Dan Garrett joined the New York Police Department, but soon tired of the slow pace and red tape of police work.

With the help of his friend and mentor, pharmacist and drug-store proprietor Dr. Franz, Dan acquired a costume of bullet-proof chain-mail-like cellulose material, and began a second life, fighting crime as The Blue Beetle.

His calling card was a small beetle-shaped marker that he left in conspicuous places to alert criminals to his presence, using their fear of his crime fighting reputation as a weapon against them. For this purpose he also used a "Beetle Signal" flashlight. The Blue Beetle's reputation was not his only weapon -- he carried a revolver in a blue holster on his belt, and was sometimes shown wearing a multi-pouched belt after the style set by Batman. Also in the Batman vein, the Blue Beetle had a "BeetleMobile" car and a "BeetleBird" airplane. In at least one radio adventure, he carries something called a "magic ray machine". The ray machine was a sort of super-scientific cutting device.

The radio show aired twice a week. Frank Lovejoy originally played the hero, but was later replaced with an uncredited actor. Each adventure was split into two 15 minute episodes. In the beginning, both parts of an adventure were aired in the same day, apparently putting the show in a 30 minute time slot, airing two two-part stories per week.