Crime with Father
# Crime with Father

Crime with Father is an early American police drama that aired on ABC on Friday nights from August 31, 1951, to January 18, 1952.

## Plot

The series centered on Captain Jim Riland of the homicide squad, and his daughter Chris, who "had a knack for crime-solving" and often helped him solve cases when the police were stymied.

## Personnel

Rusty Lane portrayed Captain Jim Riland, and Peggy Lobbin played Chris Riland. The writer was Larry Menkin, the producer was Wilbur Stark, and the director was Charles S. Durbin.

## Production

According to columnist Terry Vernon, the show was filmed on actual streets without using stock clips or background projections, and showed the home life of the Rilands.

## Reception

A review in the trade publication Billboard said that the father-daughter crime solvers premise "has the making of a solid mystery-team trend", but the episode critiqued "was marred by trite scripting and melodramatic thesping". The New York Times review of the first episode said it was "...an obviously low-budgeted series, has a far better than average quality of production, even if the pistol shots still sound like cap pistols".

## Broadcast History

The premier episode was broadcast on August 31, 1951 for the eastern United States, but its start was delayed two weeks on the West Coast.

For its first three weeks, the program was sustaining. Thereafter, Block Drug Company became the sponsor, advertising Ammident, Minipoo shampoo, Pycope brushes, and other products. Block's sponsorship ended in early November 1951.

## Episodes

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1 | "Premiere" | Charles S. Durbin | Larry Menkin | August 31, 1951 (1951-08-31) |
| A friend of Chris has mental issues and confesses to murder. Cast: ||||||
| 1 | 2 | "The Baby-Sitter" | Charles S. Durbin | Larry Menkin | September 7, 1951 (1951-09-07) |
| Cast: ||||||
| 1 | 3 | TBA | Charles S. Durbin | Larry Menkin | September 14, 1951 (1951-09-14) |
| Cast: ||||||
| 1 | 4 | TBA | Charles S. Durbin | Larry Menkin | September 21, 1951 (1951-09-21) |
| Cast: ||||||
| 1 | 5 | TBA | Charles S. Durbin | Larry Menkin | September 28, 1951 (1951-09-28) |
| Cast: ||||||
| 1 | 6 | TBA | Charles S. Durbin | Larry Menkin | October 5, 1951 (1951-10-05) |
| Cast: ||||||
| 1 | 7 | TBA | Charles S. Durbin | Larry Menkin | October 12, 1951 (1951-10-12) |
| Cast: ||||||
| 1 | 8 | "The Scissors" | Charles S. Durbin | Larry Menkin | October 19, 1951 (1951-10-19) |
| Cast: ||||||
| 1 | 9 | "The Trigger Man" | Charles S. Durbin | Larry Menkin | October 26, 1951 (1951-10-26) |
| Cast: ||||||
| 1 | 11 | TBA | Charles S. Durbin | Larry Menkin | November 9, 1951 (1951-11-09) |
| Vigilantes cause problems for Capt Riland and Chris. Cast: ||||||
| 1 | 12 | TBA | Charles S. Durbin | Larry Menkin | November 16, 1951 (1951-11-16) |
| Cast: ||||||
| 1 | 13 | TBA | Charles S. Durbin | Larry Menkin | November 23, 1951 (1951-11-23) |
| Cast: ||||||
| 1 | 14 | TBA | Charles S. Durbin | Larry Menkin | November 30, 1951 (1951-11-30) |
| Cast: ||||||
| 1 | 15 | "The Perfect Woman" | Charles S. Durbin | Larry Menkin | December 7, 1951 (1951-12-07) |
| Cast: ||||||
| 1 | 16 | "The Spree" | Charles S. Durbin | Larry Menkin | December 14, 1951 (1951-12-14) |
| Cast: ||||||
| 1 | 17 | "Evidence for a Miracle" | Charles S. Durbin | Larry Menkin | December 21, 1951 (1951-12-21) |
| Cast: ||||||
| 1 | 18 | "K as in Kill" | Charles S. Durbin | Larry Menkin | December 28, 1951 (1951-12-28) |
| Cast: ||||||
| 1 | 19 | "The Woman Who Hated 1952" | Charles S. Durbin | Larry Menkin | January 4, 1952 (1952-01-04) |
| Cast: ||||||
| 1 | 20 | "The Storm Thieves" | Charles S. Durbin | Larry Menkin | January 11, 1952 (1952-01-11) |
| Cast: ||||||
| 1 | 21 | TBA | Charles S. Durbin | Larry Menkin | January 18, 1952 (1952-01-18) |
| Cast: ||||||
