Johnny Fletcher

Johnny Fletcher is a fictional character created by Frank Gruber. Fletcher is a con-man and reluctant amateur detective. The character was the protagonist of several mystery novels published between 1940 and 1964.^[1] Additionally, he was featured in a feature film adaptation scripted by Gruber, and a short lived radio series.

Johnny Fletcher
First appearance	The French Key
Last appearance	Swing Low, Swing Dead
Created by	Frank Gruber
Portrayed by	Albert Dekker Bill Goodwin
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Detective
Nationality	American

Overview

Fletcher and his sidekick Sam Cragg are small time scam artists. Fletcher is the brains, and the muscular Cragg the brawn. They often stumble upon crimes, and reluctantly end attempting to solve them. They often pose as private detectives.^[2]

List of stories

Novels

• The French Key aka Once Over Deadly (1940)
• The Laughing Fox (1940)
• The Hungry Dog aka Die Like a Dog (1941)
• The Navy Colt (1941)
• The Talking Clock (1941)
• The Gift Horse aka Heir to Homicide (1942)
• The Mighty Blockhead aka The Corpse Moved Upstairs (1942)
• The Silver Tombstone aka The Silver Tombstone Mystery (1945)
• The Honest Dealer aka Double Dealer (1947)
• The Whispering Master (1947)
• The Scarlet Feather aka The Gamecock Murder (1948)
• The Leather Duke aka A Job of Murder (1949)
• The Limping Goose (1954)
• The Corpse Moved Upstairs (1964)
• Swing Low Swing Dead (1964)^[3][2]

Short stories

• The Sad Serbian (1939) (features Sam Cragg only)
• The Laughing Fox (1940)^[2]

Adaptations

Film

In 1946, Gruber adapted The French Key into a feature film, starring Albert Dekker as Fletcher and Mike Mazurki as Cragg.^[4][1]

Radio series

Johnny Fletcher

Other names	A Johnny Fletcher Mystery
Running time	30 minutes
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
Syndicates	ABC
Starring	Bill Goodwin Sheldon Leonard
Announcer	Owen James John Storm
Created by	Frank Gruber
Written by	Frank Gruber
Produced by	Bill Rousseau Hal Finberg
Original release	May 30 (1948-05-30) – November 27, 1948 (1948-11-27)

Johnny Fletcher is an American old-time radio comedy-detective drama. It was broadcast weekly on ABC from May 30, 1948, until November 27, 1948.^[5] The program was also known as A Johnny Fletcher Mystery.^[6]

Radio historian Jim Cox, in his book, Radio Crime Fighters: Over 300 Programs from the Golden Age, describes Fletcher as "inept" and "frequently drunk".^[7] The program's plots usually involved murder or other kinds of mayhem that Fletcher and his partner, Sam Cragg, tried to solve.^[7] As an example, "The Whispering Master" episode (previewed in a contemporary newspaper) began with an "unidentified but beautiful young woman" kissing Fletcher and suddenly departing, leaving behind a popular recording.^[8] As the plot unfolded, Fletcher had to solve the murder of the singer who recorded the song.^[8]

Gruber originally sold the rights to his Fletcher novels to NBC in 1946.^[9] An audition recording of Johnny Fletcher Mysteries featured Albert Dekker as Fletcher and Mike Mazurki as Sam, reprising their roles from the film version of The French Key. The pilot episode was an adaptation of the novel, The Navy Colt. Two years later, ABC bought the rights to the program from NBC and produced Johnny Fletcher.^[1]

On the ABC version, Fletcher was portrayed by Bill Goodwin, while Sam was played by Sheldon Leonard. The announcers were Owen James and John Storm. Gruber wrote the scripts, and Buzz Adlam provided the music.^[7] Producers were Bill Rousseau and Hal Finberg.^[10]

Television

Gruber wrote the April 4, 1950 episode of the anthology series Suspense titled 1000 To One.^[11] Paul Stewart appeared as the Sam Cragg character.^[12] Fletcher did not appear.

The February 20, 1961, issue of the trade magazine Broadcasting included Johnny Fletcher in a list of pilots being prepared for the 1961-1962 season. Gruber was the producer of the episode, which starred John Goddard and Read Morgan.^[13]