Captain Midnight

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1941 Big Little Book

Captain Midnight was a U.S. radio serial broadcast from 1938 to 1949. Created by radio scripters Wilfred G. Moore and Robert M. Burtt, the program was developed at WGN in Chicago. Sponsored by the Skelly Oil Company, it began as a syndicated show in the fall of 1938, airing on a few midwest stations through the spring of 1940. In the fall of 1940, Ovaltine took over sponsorship, and the series was then heard nationally on the Mutual Radio Network where it remained until December, 1949.

The title character, Charles James Albright, was a World War I pilot. His Captain Midnight code name was given by a general who sent him on a high-risk mission. When the show began in 1938, Albright was a private aviator who helped people, but his situation changed in 1940. When the show was taken over by Ovaltine, the origin story explained how Albright was recruited to head the Secret Squadron, an aviation-oriented paramilitary organization fighting sabotage and espionage during the period prior to the United States' entry into World War II. The Secret Squadron acted both within and outside the United States.

When the United States was attacked at Pearl Harbor, the show shifted the Secret Squadron's duties to fight the more unconventional aspects of the war. Besides the stock villain, Ivan Shark, the war years introduced Axis villains, Baron von Karp, Admiral Himakito and von Schrecker. After the war, some of the newer villains used war surplus equipment to carry out their activities. The show was extremely popular, with an audience in the millions. Just under half the listeners were adult, and it was a favorite of WWII Army Air Corps crews when they were stationed in the U.S. Premiums offered by the series were decoders, and these Code-O-Graphs were used by listeners to decipher daily messages previewing the next day's episode.

The scripts depicted women who were treated as equals, not just characters waiting to be rescued. Both Joyce Ryan of the Secret Squadron and Fury Shark, daughter of villain Ivan Shark, pulled their own weight in the adventures. Joyce went on commando raids and became involved in aerial dogfights during World War II.

Other media

After Dell introduced the character to comic books in 1941, Fawcett Publications stepped in to publish Captain Midnight as a successful long-run comic book from June, 1942, until September, 1948. Otto Binder was one of the writers on the comic book, and the illustrators for this Fawcett title included Leonard Frank, Clem Weis-Becker, Lincoln Cross and Al Bare. Dave O'Brien had the title role in Columbia Pictures' 15-episode Captain Midnight (1942) serial, and the Captain Midnight newspaper strip that same year was credited to Jonwan.

The Captain Midnight TV series, starring Richard Webb, began September 9, 1954, on CBS, continuing for 39 episodes until January 21, 1956. the series filmed at the Ray Corrigan Ranch in Simi Valley, California. When the TV series went into syndication, Ovaltine was no longer the sponsor. However, Ovaltine owned the character name, forcing a title change from Captain Midnight to Jet Jackson, Flying Commando.

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