"Man Against Crime" (1949) TV series 1949-1954

Creator:

Lawrence M. Klee

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Release Date:

7 October 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Crime | Thriller

Plot:

Mike Barnett is the title character, a bright and tough private detective in New York. This very violent show was broadcast live until 1952.

Plot Keywords:

Private Detective | Early Television | Live Broadcast | New York City

Cast

Ralph Bellamy

...

Mike Barnett (84 episodes, 1949-1954)

Also Known As:

Follow That Man

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Bedford Park Studios, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Pathescope Productions

Trivia:

The R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. was the sponsor and even held an interest and a copyright on the series. The Mike Barnett character was often shown smoking, and at the end of the live versions Ralph Bellamy would drop the character, don reading glasses and address the camera with a list of veterans' hospitals to which the sponsor was donating cigarettes that particular week.

Movie Connections:

Followed by "Man Against Crime" (1956)

As the title says... Follow That Man

"Man Against Crime" is one of the earliest detective series, premiering in 1949 on CBS, switched to film in its fourth season, and leaving in 1954. Ralph Bellamy, a distinguished actor known for movies like "His Girl Friday", played the man against crime, Mike Barnett, a New York PI who solves crimes with his mind, and occasionally his right hook. He doesn't even carry a gun. Imagine that... a private investigator without a gun. And in New York City, no less. Plus, he's chummy with the local police. Somewhere in Brooklyn, Mike Hammer wishes he had that kind of luck solving the kind of cases Barnett has.

The scripts and production values do justice to its star; with an actor like Ralph Bellamy and a character like Mike Barnett, they have to. Barnett is world-weary, but not jaded; he has a sense of humor, and he maintains a sense of dignity even while busting some heads. It takes a likable actor to fill the role of a likable man, and Bellamy fits that role like a comfortable pair of loafers. Then again, any man who can hold his own while dealing with Eddie Murphy and the rap group The Fat Boys in his later years is tops in my book.

Two years after Bellamy caught his last scumbag, Mike Barnett was dusted off for a brief live summer run on NBC. Frank Lovejoy took over the role, and while he was competent, the scripts weren't. Plus, this Mike Barnett packed heat, giving credence to the old adage that it may look like a duck, and quack like a duck... Try to catch Lovejoy in the series "Meet McGraw" instead, and skip this rehash.

"Man Against Crime" is a Pathescope Production in association with, and sponsored by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. 82 episodes were made and syndicated under the title "Follow That Man".