Sexton Blake
Encyclopedia
Sexton Blake is a fictional detective who appeared in many British comic strips and novels throughout the 20th century. He was described by Professor Jeffrey Richards on the BBC in The Radio Detectives in 2003 as "the poor man's Sherlock Holmes
". Sexton Blake adventures appeared in a wide variety of British and international publications (in many languages) from 1893 to 1978, running to over 4,000 stories by some 200 different authors.
Blake was also the hero of numerous silent and sound films, radio serials and a 1960s ITV
television series. Originally owned and published by Alfred Harmsworth, Blake's copyright transferred to the Harmsworth-owned Amalgamated Press and on to Fleetway Publications before residing with current owner IPC Media
.
#6, on December 20, 1893. He appeared in a few more stories by Meredeth.
His adventures subsequently appeared in a variety of publications, primarily Union Jack
, launched in April 1894. Blake appeared in Issue 2 of Union Jack (under the title Sexton Blake, Detective) and in 1904 the character went on to become the star of the title until Union Jack became Detective Weekly
in 1933. Blake continued as the lead feature until Detective Weekly folded in 1940.
Blake also appeared in a number of serials in The Boys' Friend beginning in 1905 and in Penny Pictorial from 1907 to 1913 (when that magazine folded). The Boys' Friend introduced the first truly lengthy stories (of up to 60,000 words), allowing for greater plot and character development.
In 1907, a story entitled "Sexton Blake's Honour" dealt with Blake's pursuit of a criminal who turned out to be his brother, Henry Blake. Another bad brother, Nigel, was revealed in 1933 in the first issue of Detective Weekly, in a story titled "Sexton Blake's Secret".
With the popularity of school stories during this era, Blake's assistant Tinker had his schooldays chronicled in issues 229 and 232. Perhaps most famously, Blake starred in his own long-running title, The Sexton Blake Library, from 1915 to 1968 which was published in five "series". Publication was constant at 2–4 issues per month until the end of series 4 in 1964. Series 5, starting in 1965, was a sporadic series of paperbacks.
The first issue of The Sexton Blake Library appeared on 20 September 1915, entitled "The Yellow Tiger" and written by G.H. Teed. This issue introduced villains Wu Ling and Baron de Beauremon in an eleven chapter story, costing 3d (1.25p). The second issue, "Ill Gotten Gains (The Secret of Salcoth Island)", saw Blake fight Count Carlac and Professor Kew. Issue three was entitled "The Shadow of his Crime" and issue four "The Rajah's Revenge". The last edition, "Down Among The Ad Men" written by W.A Ballinger (Wilfred McNeilly), was published in October 1968. Some additional Sexton Blake books were published in 1968 and 1969 that were not explicitly labelled as part of the Sexton Blake Library.
The majority of Sexton Blake Library covers (prior to editor William Howard Baker's 1956 revamp of the character) were painted by master Sexton Blake illustrator Eric Parker.
Writers who worked on Blake's appearances throughout this 53-year span included John Creasey
, Jack Trevor Story
and Michael Moorcock
.
After Fleetway ceased publishing the Sexton Blake Library series at the end of its fourth volume in 1963, Blake editor William Howard Baker licensed the character from IPC
and published a fifth volume independently, via Mayflower-Dell Books, that ran until 1968. He then published a final series of four Sexton Blake novels, under his Howard Baker Books imprint, in 1969.
A series of 160-page Sexton Blake annuals, featuring old stories and new material, began in 1938 and lasted till 1941.
Blake comic strips appeared in The Knock-Out Comic (later Knock-Out Comic & Magnet and, finally, simply Knockout
) from 1939 to 1960. The Blake strip was originally illustrated by artist Jos Walker and then taken over by Alfred Taylor, who illustrated Blake's adventures for ten years. The undoubted highlight of Blake's 21-year run in Knockout
was a 14-part 1949 strip drawn by Blake's greatest illustrator Eric Parker, entitled "The Secret of Monte Cristo". This was Parker's only contribution to Blake's comic strip adventures.
There was one Super Detective Library appearance for Blake: issue 68 (published November 1955), featuring a comic strip entitled "Sexton Blake's Diamond Hunt".
Four hardbacks designed for the younger market were published by Dean & Son Ltd in 1968 (the third of these, "Raffles' Crime in Gibraltar", portrayed Blake going up against Raffles
, E.W. Hornung
's amateur cracksman).
A final Sexton Blake comic strip (launched to tie in with the 1967–1971 TV show) appeared in IPC
's weekly boys' anthology Valiant
from January 1968 to May 1970.
A seven part Blake comic strip appeared in IPC
's Tornado
comic from March 1979 to May 1979. A contract dispute (subsequently resolved in IPC
's favour) led the Tornado editorial team to rename Blake as "Victor Drago" (and Tinker & Pedro as "Spencer & Brutus") for the duration of this strip.
In 2009, IPC
's information manager, David Abbott, signed several licenses to publish Blake omnibus archive editions, the first of which is The Casebook of Sexton Blake, published by Wordsworth Editions Ltd. on 5 March 2009.
. It was not until 1919 that Blake took on a more distinctive personality. The golden age of the story papers coincided with Blake's golden age, as he became far more action-oriented than Holmes and duelled with a variety of memorable enemies.
Many of Blake's writers had been men of adventure, men who had travelled the world and seen the seamier side of life. When World War Two started, they enlisted, leaving just a small group of writers behind (with the addition of the occasional guest writer). Consequently, the standard of Blake's stories suffered.
In November 1955, William Howard Baker took over as editor of the Sexton Blake Library and, in 1956, introduced a successful update of the Blake formula. The Sexton Blake Library found new popularity with faster-moving, more contemporary stories (often influenced by American pulp fiction).
Blake, who had moved a number of times over the years, moved to a suite of plush offices in Berkeley Square (while retaining lodgings at Baker Street) and acquired a secretary, Paula Dane, who became a not-quite-love interest for Blake. Tinker was given a real name, Edward Carter, and Blake's office receptionist Marion Lang was introduced as his female counterpart.
Covers, which had become rather staid in the early 50s, became far more dynamic and a new group of authors were commissioned.
Baker remained as editor until 1963 (his last story being "The Last Tiger") before becoming Blake's licensor/publisher and continuing to oversee Blake's print adventures until 1969.
Other associates included Derek "Splash" Page of the Daily Radio; Ruff Hanson, a tough American investigator (both created by Gwyn Evans) and Blake's friends at Scotland Yard: Chief Detective Inspector Lennard, Detective Inspector Coutts and Superintendent Venner.
In 1905, Blake's bustling housekeeper Mrs Bardell (created by William Murray Graydon, who also created Pedro the bloodhound), turned up and remained until the end. Her misuse of the English language was legendary in stories — she was a gifted cook and would always be on hand if a client needed food or a cup of tea. Mrs Bardell even featured as the main character in stories such as: "The Mystery Of Mrs Bardell's Xmas Pudding" in 1925 and "Mrs Bardell's Xmas Eve" in 1926.
In Union Jack #100 (9 September 1905), a story entitled "The Dog Detective" introduced Blake's faithful, wise and ferocious bloodhound
, Pedro. Pedro was originally owned by Rafael Calderon, ex-president of a South American State, but after performing various services for Calderon Blake was given Pedro by Calderon, under the guise of "Mr. Nemo." Pedro tracked many villains to their lairs in subsequent stories.
Another notable non-human associate (and almost a character in itself) was Blake's bullet-proof Rolls-Royce, named The Grey Panther (introduced at a time when most other sleuths were still taking cabs). For a short while, Blake also flew a Moth monoplane (also called The Grey Panther and designed by Blake himself).
Another memorable character was Waldo the Wonderman (created by Edwy Searles Brooks
), who started out as a villain and ended up in later stories as a friend of Blake's, helping him in a number of cases. This 1918 superman had tremendous strength, could contort his body like a rubber man and was insensitive to pain. Even after his reformation, he continued to steal money (but his victims were now blackmailers, swindlers and other no-good members of the underworld).
Other notable villains included the Byronic master thief Zenith the Albino (who had crimson eyes), Dr Huxton Rymer, Leon Kestrel and The Master Mummer.
The type of villain Blake faced changed with the times (as did Blake himself). After World War Two, his opponents became more down-to-earth, their personalities and motives less fantastic. Veteran writers John Hunter and Walter Tyrer excelled at this type of writing, but others failed to maintain their standards.
A second series of six silent films were released in 1928 with Langhorne Burton as Blake and Mickey Brantford
as Tinker. The first was entitled Silken Threads and another was called The Clue of the Second Goblet.
Sexton Blake and the Bearded Doctor
was the first of three Blake talkies produced in the 1930s. Based on a novel by Rex Hardinge, this movie featured George Curzon
as Sexton Blake and Tony Sympson as Tinker. Sexton Blake and the Mademoiselle (featuring Mlle. Roxanne as the female villain from the books), from a story by G H Teed, followed shortly afterwards and the third production was Sexton Blake and the Hooded Terror with Tod Slaughter
playing the villain.
broadcast a serial called Enter Sexton Blake with George Curzon
again starring as Blake and Brian Lawrence
appearing as Tinker, followed on 30 March 1940 by A Case for Sexton Blake which was adapated for radio by Francis Durbridge
(creator of Paul Temple
).
In 1967, BBC Radio 4
aired a popular series of Sexton Blake radio adventures starring William Franklyn
as Blake, David Gregory as Tinker and Heather Chasen
as Blake's secretary, Paula Dane. Aired on Thursday nights at 7.00pm, this series was scripted by Donald Stuart, devised for radio by Philip Ridgeway and produced by veteran BBC radio producer Alastair Scott-Johnston.
On 6 March 2006, following discussions between noted British radio producer Dirk Maggs
and IPC
publishing director Andrew Sumner
, Maggs recorded a half-hour Adventures of Sexton Blake pilot for his newly formed Perfectly Normal Productions. This humorous take on Blake's two-fisted adventures starred Simon Jones
as Blake, Wayne Forester as Tinker and a returning William Franklyn
, in one of his final performances, as the elderly Blake (who narrates the adventure).
As a result of the success of this pilot, Maggs has directed a new series of Blake audio adventures for BBC Radio 2
. The Adventures of Sexton Blake again starred Jones and Forester, joined by June Whitfield
as Mrs Bardell. The series was written by Jonathan Nash and Mil Millington and airs in six weekly 15 minute instalments, first aired in late summer 2009. An extended version of the complete series will be released on CD by BBC Audiobooks (on 10 September 2009).
David Quantick
's accompanying Blake documentary, The Hunt For Sexton Blake (also produced by Perfectly Normal Productions) aired on BBC Radio 2
before the series started.
ITV
aired Thames Television's Sexton Blake starring Laurence Payne
as Blake and Roger Foss as Tinker from Monday 25 September 1967 to Wednesday 13 January 1971. In keeping with Sexton Blake's classic print adventures, Payne's Blake drove a white Rolls-Royce
named "The Grey Panther" and owned a bloodhound named Pedro. The show was originally produced by Ronald Marriott for Associated Rediffusion, with Thames Television taking over production in 1968.
Pedro was played by one or more bloodhounds (bitches), which doubled as 'Henry', for Chunky dog food adverts with Clement Freud
, and were owned by the then secretary of the Bloodhound Club, Mrs Bobbie Edwards.
During rehearsals for the show in 1968, Laurence Payne was blinded in his left eye by a rapier.
Typical of the TV show's sometimes-fantastic storylines (all of which lasted 2–6 episodes) was 1968's "The Invicta Ray" in which a villain dressed in a costume & hood of sackcloth-like material and, under the rays of The Invicta Ray, became invisible so that he could commit crimes without being seen.
Of 50 episodes, only the first episode is thought to still exist (minus titles and credits).
SEXTON BLAKE AND THE DEMON GOD (1978)
Simon Raven
's Sexton Blake and the Demon God was a six-part television serial produced by Barry Letts
for the BBC in 1978. The serial ran on BBC One
at tea-time from Sunday 10 September 1978 until Sunday 15 October 1978 and was directed by Roger Tucker
.
Jeremy Clyde
played Blake, with Philip Davis appearing as Tinker and Barbara Lott playing Mrs Bardell.
(who also starred as Sherlock Holmes in early British talkies) as Blake.
A set of poorly drawn Sexton Blake playing cards were produced around 1940.
Michael Moorcock
used Blake as the basis for his "metatemporal detective" Seaton Begg
. Moorcock also borrowed the character of Zenith the Albino, both as partial inspiration for Elric of Melniboné
and as an actual character (who was implied to be an avatar of Elric).
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
". Sexton Blake adventures appeared in a wide variety of British and international publications (in many languages) from 1893 to 1978, running to over 4,000 stories by some 200 different authors.
Blake was also the hero of numerous silent and sound films, radio serials and a 1960s ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
television series. Originally owned and published by Alfred Harmsworth, Blake's copyright transferred to the Harmsworth-owned Amalgamated Press and on to Fleetway Publications before residing with current owner IPC Media
IPC Media
IPC Media , a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Inc., is a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a large portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year.- Origins :...
.
Publication history
The first Sexton Blake story was "The Missing Millionaire". Written by Harry Blyth (under the pen-name Hal Meredeth) it appeared in the story paper The Halfpenny MarvelHalfpenny Marvel
The Halfpenny Marvel was a story paper of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For the American comic company, see Marvel comics-Overview:...
#6, on December 20, 1893. He appeared in a few more stories by Meredeth.
His adventures subsequently appeared in a variety of publications, primarily Union Jack
Union Jack (magazine)
- Introduction :There were two story papers called Union Jack. The first appeared in the 1880s but was only very short-lived. The name was then used by Alfred Harmsworth in 1894 for a new halfpenny storypaper intended as a companion to the successful Halfpenny Marvel.Harmsworth considered it his...
, launched in April 1894. Blake appeared in Issue 2 of Union Jack (under the title Sexton Blake, Detective) and in 1904 the character went on to become the star of the title until Union Jack became Detective Weekly
Detective Weekly
Detective Weekly was a British story paper of the 1930s-Overview:Detective Weekly was a continuation of the Union Jack, the storypaper which had begun in 1894 and which had for most of its life been famous as "Sexton Blake's own paper". Issue 1 of Detective Weekly was released in 1933, a week after...
in 1933. Blake continued as the lead feature until Detective Weekly folded in 1940.
Blake also appeared in a number of serials in The Boys' Friend beginning in 1905 and in Penny Pictorial from 1907 to 1913 (when that magazine folded). The Boys' Friend introduced the first truly lengthy stories (of up to 60,000 words), allowing for greater plot and character development.
In 1907, a story entitled "Sexton Blake's Honour" dealt with Blake's pursuit of a criminal who turned out to be his brother, Henry Blake. Another bad brother, Nigel, was revealed in 1933 in the first issue of Detective Weekly, in a story titled "Sexton Blake's Secret".
With the popularity of school stories during this era, Blake's assistant Tinker had his schooldays chronicled in issues 229 and 232. Perhaps most famously, Blake starred in his own long-running title, The Sexton Blake Library, from 1915 to 1968 which was published in five "series". Publication was constant at 2–4 issues per month until the end of series 4 in 1964. Series 5, starting in 1965, was a sporadic series of paperbacks.
The first issue of The Sexton Blake Library appeared on 20 September 1915, entitled "The Yellow Tiger" and written by G.H. Teed. This issue introduced villains Wu Ling and Baron de Beauremon in an eleven chapter story, costing 3d (1.25p). The second issue, "Ill Gotten Gains (The Secret of Salcoth Island)", saw Blake fight Count Carlac and Professor Kew. Issue three was entitled "The Shadow of his Crime" and issue four "The Rajah's Revenge". The last edition, "Down Among The Ad Men" written by W.A Ballinger (Wilfred McNeilly), was published in October 1968. Some additional Sexton Blake books were published in 1968 and 1969 that were not explicitly labelled as part of the Sexton Blake Library.
The majority of Sexton Blake Library covers (prior to editor William Howard Baker's 1956 revamp of the character) were painted by master Sexton Blake illustrator Eric Parker.
Writers who worked on Blake's appearances throughout this 53-year span included John Creasey
John Creasey
John Creasey MBE was an English crime and science fiction writer. The author of more than 600 novels, he published them using 28 different pseudonyms, including Anthony Morton, Michael Halliday, Kyle Hunt, J.J. Marric, Jeremy York, Richard Martin, Peter Manton, Norman Deane, Gordon Ashe, Henry St...
, Jack Trevor Story
Jack Trevor Story
Jack Trevor Story was a British novelist, publishing prolifically from the 1940s to the 1970s. His best-known work is the story for Alfred Hitchcock's comedy The Trouble With Harry, the Albert Argyle trilogy , and his Horace Spurgeon novels Jack Trevor Story (30 March 1917 - 5 December 1991) was a...
and Michael Moorcock
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
.
After Fleetway ceased publishing the Sexton Blake Library series at the end of its fourth volume in 1963, Blake editor William Howard Baker licensed the character from IPC
IPC Media
IPC Media , a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Inc., is a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a large portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year.- Origins :...
and published a fifth volume independently, via Mayflower-Dell Books, that ran until 1968. He then published a final series of four Sexton Blake novels, under his Howard Baker Books imprint, in 1969.
A series of 160-page Sexton Blake annuals, featuring old stories and new material, began in 1938 and lasted till 1941.
Blake comic strips appeared in The Knock-Out Comic (later Knock-Out Comic & Magnet and, finally, simply Knockout
Knockout (comic)
-1939 series:The first ran from 4 March 1939 to 16 February 1963, 1251 issues, when it merged with Valiant. Magnet was discontinued in 1940; but its lead character, Billy Bunter, was thereafter granted his own cartoon strip in Knockout. Comic Cuts merged with it in 1953...
) from 1939 to 1960. The Blake strip was originally illustrated by artist Jos Walker and then taken over by Alfred Taylor, who illustrated Blake's adventures for ten years. The undoubted highlight of Blake's 21-year run in Knockout
Knockout (comic)
-1939 series:The first ran from 4 March 1939 to 16 February 1963, 1251 issues, when it merged with Valiant. Magnet was discontinued in 1940; but its lead character, Billy Bunter, was thereafter granted his own cartoon strip in Knockout. Comic Cuts merged with it in 1953...
was a 14-part 1949 strip drawn by Blake's greatest illustrator Eric Parker, entitled "The Secret of Monte Cristo". This was Parker's only contribution to Blake's comic strip adventures.
There was one Super Detective Library appearance for Blake: issue 68 (published November 1955), featuring a comic strip entitled "Sexton Blake's Diamond Hunt".
Four hardbacks designed for the younger market were published by Dean & Son Ltd in 1968 (the third of these, "Raffles' Crime in Gibraltar", portrayed Blake going up against Raffles
A. J. Raffles
Arthur J. Raffles is a character created in the 1890s by E. W. Hornung, a brother-in-law to Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Raffles is, in many ways, a deliberate inversion of Holmes — he is a "gentleman thief," living in the Albany, a prestigious address in London, playing...
, E.W. Hornung
Ernest William Hornung
Ernest William Hornung , known as Willie, was an English author, most famous for writing the Raffles series of novels about a gentleman thief in late Victorian London....
's amateur cracksman).
A final Sexton Blake comic strip (launched to tie in with the 1967–1971 TV show) appeared in IPC
IPC Media
IPC Media , a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Inc., is a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a large portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year.- Origins :...
's weekly boys' anthology Valiant
Valiant (comic)
Valiant was the title of a British boys adventure comics anthology which ran from 1962 to 1976. It was published by IPC Magazines and was one of their major adventure titles throughout the 1960s and early 1970s.-Publication history:...
from January 1968 to May 1970.
A seven part Blake comic strip appeared in IPC
IPC Media
IPC Media , a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Inc., is a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a large portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year.- Origins :...
's Tornado
Tornado (comic)
Tornado was a short-lived weekly British comic published for 22 issues by IPC Magazines between March 1979 and August 1979. After the cancellations of the Starlord and Action titles IPC launched Tornado as a way to use up stories already commissioned for the other titles. Like Action it was a mixed...
comic from March 1979 to May 1979. A contract dispute (subsequently resolved in IPC
IPC Media
IPC Media , a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Inc., is a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a large portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year.- Origins :...
's favour) led the Tornado editorial team to rename Blake as "Victor Drago" (and Tinker & Pedro as "Spencer & Brutus") for the duration of this strip.
In 2009, IPC
IPC Media
IPC Media , a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Inc., is a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a large portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year.- Origins :...
's information manager, David Abbott, signed several licenses to publish Blake omnibus archive editions, the first of which is The Casebook of Sexton Blake, published by Wordsworth Editions Ltd. on 5 March 2009.
Blake's evolution
As the years passed, Blake's character underwent various permutations. Originally, he was created in the vein of earlier 19th century detectives but in the late 1890s, Blake's authors consciously modeled him on Sherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
. It was not until 1919 that Blake took on a more distinctive personality. The golden age of the story papers coincided with Blake's golden age, as he became far more action-oriented than Holmes and duelled with a variety of memorable enemies.
Many of Blake's writers had been men of adventure, men who had travelled the world and seen the seamier side of life. When World War Two started, they enlisted, leaving just a small group of writers behind (with the addition of the occasional guest writer). Consequently, the standard of Blake's stories suffered.
In November 1955, William Howard Baker took over as editor of the Sexton Blake Library and, in 1956, introduced a successful update of the Blake formula. The Sexton Blake Library found new popularity with faster-moving, more contemporary stories (often influenced by American pulp fiction).
Blake, who had moved a number of times over the years, moved to a suite of plush offices in Berkeley Square (while retaining lodgings at Baker Street) and acquired a secretary, Paula Dane, who became a not-quite-love interest for Blake. Tinker was given a real name, Edward Carter, and Blake's office receptionist Marion Lang was introduced as his female counterpart.
Covers, which had become rather staid in the early 50s, became far more dynamic and a new group of authors were commissioned.
Baker remained as editor until 1963 (his last story being "The Last Tiger") before becoming Blake's licensor/publisher and continuing to oversee Blake's print adventures until 1969.
Blake's associates
In Union Jack number 53, in a story titled "Cunning Against Skill", Blake picked up a wiry street-wise orphan as an assistant who was known only as "Tinker" until the 1950s. Over the years, Tinker changed from a bright-eyed boy with a hard right hook to a rugged and capable young man. As well as assisting the "guv'nor", as he called Blake, Tinker kept Blake's crime files up to date with clippings from the daily newspapers, in addition to assisting Blake in his fully equipped crime lab.Other associates included Derek "Splash" Page of the Daily Radio; Ruff Hanson, a tough American investigator (both created by Gwyn Evans) and Blake's friends at Scotland Yard: Chief Detective Inspector Lennard, Detective Inspector Coutts and Superintendent Venner.
In 1905, Blake's bustling housekeeper Mrs Bardell (created by William Murray Graydon, who also created Pedro the bloodhound), turned up and remained until the end. Her misuse of the English language was legendary in stories — she was a gifted cook and would always be on hand if a client needed food or a cup of tea. Mrs Bardell even featured as the main character in stories such as: "The Mystery Of Mrs Bardell's Xmas Pudding" in 1925 and "Mrs Bardell's Xmas Eve" in 1926.
In Union Jack #100 (9 September 1905), a story entitled "The Dog Detective" introduced Blake's faithful, wise and ferocious bloodhound
Bloodhound
The Bloodhound is a large breed of dog which, while originally bred to hunt deer and wild boar, was later bred specifically to track human beings. It is a scenthound, tracking by smell, as opposed to a sighthound, which tracks using vision. It is famed for its ability to discern human odors even...
, Pedro. Pedro was originally owned by Rafael Calderon, ex-president of a South American State, but after performing various services for Calderon Blake was given Pedro by Calderon, under the guise of "Mr. Nemo." Pedro tracked many villains to their lairs in subsequent stories.
Another notable non-human associate (and almost a character in itself) was Blake's bullet-proof Rolls-Royce, named The Grey Panther (introduced at a time when most other sleuths were still taking cabs). For a short while, Blake also flew a Moth monoplane (also called The Grey Panther and designed by Blake himself).
Blake's enemies
George Marsden Plummer (created by Ernest Semphill), a crooked Detective Sergeant at Scotland Yard, went after Blake when Blake stood between Plummer and a fortune — but like many others, Plummer ended up in a police cell. Unlike many before him, he repeatedly escaped and became Blake's arch-enemy.Another memorable character was Waldo the Wonderman (created by Edwy Searles Brooks
Edwy Searles Brooks
Edwy Searles Brooks was a British novelist who also wrote under the pen-names Berkeley Gray, Victor Gunn, Rex Madison, and Carlton Ross. Brooks was born in Hackney, London...
), who started out as a villain and ended up in later stories as a friend of Blake's, helping him in a number of cases. This 1918 superman had tremendous strength, could contort his body like a rubber man and was insensitive to pain. Even after his reformation, he continued to steal money (but his victims were now blackmailers, swindlers and other no-good members of the underworld).
Other notable villains included the Byronic master thief Zenith the Albino (who had crimson eyes), Dr Huxton Rymer, Leon Kestrel and The Master Mummer.
The type of villain Blake faced changed with the times (as did Blake himself). After World War Two, his opponents became more down-to-earth, their personalities and motives less fantastic. Veteran writers John Hunter and Walter Tyrer excelled at this type of writing, but others failed to maintain their standards.
Film
There were several Sexton Blake stage plays, the earliest one produced in 1907: The Case of the Coiners. The first twelve minute Blake movie short appeared in 1909, entitled simply Sexton Blake. It was written by Charles Douglas Carlile, who also directed and starred. This was followed by Sexton Blake Vs Baron Kettler a few years later. There were thirteen more half-hour Blake features produced throughout the silent era (from 1914 onwards), the first being The Clue of the Wax Vesta followed by The Mystery of the Diamond Belt. Another was titled Sexton Blake Versus Mademoiselle Yvonne.A second series of six silent films were released in 1928 with Langhorne Burton as Blake and Mickey Brantford
Mickey Brantford
-Selected filmography:* Afraid of Love * Thou Fool * Dawn * Suspense * Me and Marlborough * The Phantom Light * Where There's a Will * Darby and Joan...
as Tinker. The first was entitled Silken Threads and another was called The Clue of the Second Goblet.
Sexton Blake and the Bearded Doctor
Sexton Blake and the Bearded Doctor
Sexton Blake and the Bearded Doctor is a 1935 British mystery film directed by George A. Cooper and starring George Curzon, Henry Oscar and Tony Sympson. It based on the novel The Blazing Launch Murder by Rex Hardinge...
was the first of three Blake talkies produced in the 1930s. Based on a novel by Rex Hardinge, this movie featured George Curzon
George Curzon (actor)
Commander Chambré George William Penn Curzon , known as George Curzon, was a Royal Navy Commander, actor, and father of the present Earl Howe....
as Sexton Blake and Tony Sympson as Tinker. Sexton Blake and the Mademoiselle (featuring Mlle. Roxanne as the female villain from the books), from a story by G H Teed, followed shortly afterwards and the third production was Sexton Blake and the Hooded Terror with Tod Slaughter
Tod Slaughter
Tod Slaughter was an English actor, best known for playing over-the-top maniacs in macabre film adaptations of Victorian melodramas.-Ealy life:...
playing the villain.
Radio
On 26 January 1939 BBC RadioBBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
broadcast a serial called Enter Sexton Blake with George Curzon
George Curzon (actor)
Commander Chambré George William Penn Curzon , known as George Curzon, was a Royal Navy Commander, actor, and father of the present Earl Howe....
again starring as Blake and Brian Lawrence
Brian Lawrence
Brian Michael Lawrence is a former Major League Baseball starting pitcher. He batted and threw right-handed.-High school:Lawrence attended Carthage High School in Carthage, Texas...
appearing as Tinker, followed on 30 March 1940 by A Case for Sexton Blake which was adapated for radio by Francis Durbridge
Francis Durbridge
Francis Henry Durbridge was an English playwright and author. He was educated at Bradford Grammar School in Yorkshire where he was encouraged to write by his English teacher. He continued to do so whilst studying English at Birmingham University...
(creator of Paul Temple
Paul Temple
Paul Temple is a fictional character created by British writer Francis Durbridge for the BBC radio serial Send for Paul Temple in 1938. Temple is an amateur private detective and author of crime fiction...
).
In 1967, BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
aired a popular series of Sexton Blake radio adventures starring William Franklyn
William Franklyn
William Leo Franklyn was a British actor, perhaps best known for voicing the "Schhh... You Know Who" adverts for Schweppes from 1965 to 1973...
as Blake, David Gregory as Tinker and Heather Chasen
Heather Chasen
Heather Jean Chasen is a Singapore-born English actress. Her best known roles are playing Valerie Pollard in the ITV soap opera Crossroads and voicing many roles in BBC Radio 2's The Navy Lark...
as Blake's secretary, Paula Dane. Aired on Thursday nights at 7.00pm, this series was scripted by Donald Stuart, devised for radio by Philip Ridgeway and produced by veteran BBC radio producer Alastair Scott-Johnston.
On 6 March 2006, following discussions between noted British radio producer Dirk Maggs
Dirk Maggs
Dirk Maggs, a freelance writer and director working across all media, is principally known for his work in radio, where he evolved radio drama into "Audio Movies," a near-visual approach combining scripts, layered sound effects, cinematic music and cutting edge technology. He pioneered the use of...
and IPC
IPC Media
IPC Media , a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Inc., is a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a large portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year.- Origins :...
publishing director Andrew Sumner
Andrew Sumner
Andrew Sumner is a British movie journalist and magazine publisher.Sumner wrote for John Brown's comics news magazine, Speakeasy, in the late 80s...
, Maggs recorded a half-hour Adventures of Sexton Blake pilot for his newly formed Perfectly Normal Productions. This humorous take on Blake's two-fisted adventures starred Simon Jones
Simon Jones (actor)
Simon Jones is an English actor, most famous for his appearances in the television and radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in which he played the lead role of Arthur Dent from 1978 to 2005...
as Blake, Wayne Forester as Tinker and a returning William Franklyn
William Franklyn
William Leo Franklyn was a British actor, perhaps best known for voicing the "Schhh... You Know Who" adverts for Schweppes from 1965 to 1973...
, in one of his final performances, as the elderly Blake (who narrates the adventure).
As a result of the success of this pilot, Maggs has directed a new series of Blake audio adventures for BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
. The Adventures of Sexton Blake again starred Jones and Forester, joined by June Whitfield
June Whitfield
June Rosemary Whitfield, CBE is an English actress, well known in the United Kingdom since the 1950s for roles in radio and television comedy series....
as Mrs Bardell. The series was written by Jonathan Nash and Mil Millington and airs in six weekly 15 minute instalments, first aired in late summer 2009. An extended version of the complete series will be released on CD by BBC Audiobooks (on 10 September 2009).
David Quantick
David Quantick
David Quantick is a freelance journalist, writer and critic who specialises in music and comedy.-Career history:...
's accompanying Blake documentary, The Hunt For Sexton Blake (also produced by Perfectly Normal Productions) aired on BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
before the series started.
Television
SEXTON BLAKE (1967–1971)ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
aired Thames Television's Sexton Blake starring Laurence Payne
Laurence Payne
Laurence Payne was an English actor and novelist.-Early life:Laurence Stanley Payne was born in London. His father died when he was three years old, and he and his elder brother and sister were brought up in by their mother, a Wesleyan Methodist in Wood Green, London...
as Blake and Roger Foss as Tinker from Monday 25 September 1967 to Wednesday 13 January 1971. In keeping with Sexton Blake's classic print adventures, Payne's Blake drove a white Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (car)
This a list of Rolls-Royce motor cars and includes vehicles produced by:*Rolls-Royce Limited *Rolls-Royce Motors , which was owned by Vickers between 1980 and 1998, and after that by Volkswagen...
named "The Grey Panther" and owned a bloodhound named Pedro. The show was originally produced by Ronald Marriott for Associated Rediffusion, with Thames Television taking over production in 1968.
Pedro was played by one or more bloodhounds (bitches), which doubled as 'Henry', for Chunky dog food adverts with Clement Freud
Clement Freud
Sir Clement Raphael Freud was an English broadcaster, writer, politician and chef.-Early life:Freud was born in Berlin, the son of Jewish parents Ernst Ludwig Freud and Lucie née Brasch. He was the grandson of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud and the brother of artist Lucian Freud...
, and were owned by the then secretary of the Bloodhound Club, Mrs Bobbie Edwards.
During rehearsals for the show in 1968, Laurence Payne was blinded in his left eye by a rapier.
Typical of the TV show's sometimes-fantastic storylines (all of which lasted 2–6 episodes) was 1968's "The Invicta Ray" in which a villain dressed in a costume & hood of sackcloth-like material and, under the rays of The Invicta Ray, became invisible so that he could commit crimes without being seen.
Of 50 episodes, only the first episode is thought to still exist (minus titles and credits).
- Season One: The Find-The-Lady Affair. 4 episodes. Monday 25 September 1967 to Monday 16 October 1967.
- Season One: Knave of Diamonds. 5 episodes. Monday 23 October 1967 to Monday 20 November.
- Season One: The Great Tong Mystery. 4 episodes. Monday 27 November 1967 to Monday 18 December 1967.
- Season One: The Vanishing Snowman. Christmas Special. Monday 25 December 1967.
- Season One: House of Masks. 4 episodes. Monday 1 January 1968 to Monday 22 January 1968.
- Season One: The Invicta Ray. 4 episodes. Monday 29 January 1968 to Monday 19 February 1968.
- Season Two: The Case of the Gasping Goldfish. 2 episodes. Thursday 14 November 1968 to Thursday 21 November 1968.
- Season Two: Return of the Scorpion. 2 episodes. Thursday 28 November 1968 to Thursday 5 December 1968.
- Season Two: The Great Train Robbery. 2 episodes. Thurs 16 January 1969 to Thurs 23 January 1969.
- Season Two: The Great Soccer Mystery. 3 episodes. Thurs 30 January 1969 to Thurs 13 Feb 1969.
- Season Three: Sexton Blake and Captain Nemesis. 3 episodes. Wed 8 Oct 1969 to Wed 22 Oct 1969.
- Season Three: Sexton Blake verses The Gangsters. 3 episodes. Wed 29 Oct 1969 to Wed 12 Nov 1969.
- Season Three: Sexton Blake and the Frightened Man. 2 eps. Wed 19 Nov 1969 to Wed 26 Nov 1969.
- Season Three: Sexton Blake and the Undertaker. 3 episodes. Wed 3 Dec 1969 to Wed 17 Dec 1969.
- Season Three: Sexton Blake and the Toy Family. 2 episodes. Wed 23 Dec 1969 to Wed 30 Dec 1969.
- Season Four: Sexton Blake and the Puff Adder. 6 episodes. Wed 9 Dec 1970 to Wed 13 January 1971.
- The Cast (September 1967 – January 1971):
- Laurence PayneLaurence PayneLaurence Payne was an English actor and novelist.-Early life:Laurence Stanley Payne was born in London. His father died when he was three years old, and he and his elder brother and sister were brought up in by their mother, a Wesleyan Methodist in Wood Green, London...
as Sexton Blake - Roger Foss as Edward Clark (Tinker)
- Dorothea Phillips as Mrs Bardell
- Ernest ClarkErnest ClarkErnest Clark was a British actor of stage, television and film.-Early life:Clark was the son of a master builder in Maida Vale, and was educated nearby at St Marylebone Grammar School. After leaving school he became a reporter on a local newspaper in Croydon...
as Inspector Coutts - Leonard SachsLeonard SachsLeonard Sachs was a British actor.-Early life and career:Sachs was born in South Africa in the town of Roodepoort, Transvaal...
as Inspector Van Steen - Meredith EdwardsMeredith Edwards (actor)Gwilym Meredith Edwards was a Welsh character actor and writer.He was born in Rhosllannerchrugog, Denbighshire, Wales, the son of a collier. He became an actor in 1938, first with the Welsh National Theatre Company, then the Liverpool Playhouse...
as Inspector (Taff) Evans - Eric LanderEric LanderEric Steven Lander is a Professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , a member of the Whitehead Institute, and director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard who has devoted his career toward realizing the promise of the human genome for medicine. He is co-chair of U.S...
as Inspector Cardish - Charles Morgan as Inspector Davies
SEXTON BLAKE AND THE DEMON GOD (1978)
Simon Raven
Simon Raven
Simon Arthur Noël Raven was an English novelist, essayist, dramatist and raconteur who, in a writing career of forty years, caused controversy, amusement and offence...
's Sexton Blake and the Demon God was a six-part television serial produced by Barry Letts
Barry Letts
Barry Leopold Letts was a British actor, television director, writer and producer best known for his work on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, and for producing the BBC's Sunday Classic drama serials in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
for the BBC in 1978. The serial ran on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
at tea-time from Sunday 10 September 1978 until Sunday 15 October 1978 and was directed by Roger Tucker
Roger Tucker
Roger Tucker is a British television and film director. Since 1972 he has directed over 40 television series, miniseries, and television films, including many dramas, thrillers, and action series.-Biography:...
.
Jeremy Clyde
Jeremy Clyde
Michael Thomas Jeremy Clyde is an English actor and musician. The son of Lady Elizabeth Wellesley, he made his first public appearance as a pageboy at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom in 1953...
played Blake, with Philip Davis appearing as Tinker and Barbara Lott playing Mrs Bardell.
Other Blake appearances
Blake even made it onto records: a seven minute 78 rpm record called "Murder on the Portsmouth Road" was written by Donald Stuart and starred Arthur WontnerArthur Wontner
Arthur Wontner was a British actor best known for playing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's master detective Sherlock Holmes in five films from 1931 to 1937...
(who also starred as Sherlock Holmes in early British talkies) as Blake.
A set of poorly drawn Sexton Blake playing cards were produced around 1940.
Michael Moorcock
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
used Blake as the basis for his "metatemporal detective" Seaton Begg
The Metatemporal Detective
The Metatemporal Detective is a collection of short fiction by the prolific award winning British fantasy writer Michael Moorcock .The stories chart the adventures of the Holmesian detective Sir Seaton Begg, his trusty sidekick Dr. Taffy Sinclair and his complex relationship with his cousin,...
. Moorcock also borrowed the character of Zenith the Albino, both as partial inspiration for Elric of Melniboné
Elric of Melniboné
Elric of Melniboné is a fictional character created by Michael Moorcock, and the antihero of a series of sword and sorcery stories centering in an alternate Earth. The proper name and title of the character is Elric VIII, 428th Emperor of Melniboné...
and as an actual character (who was implied to be an avatar of Elric).
External links
- Blakiana: The Sexton Blake Resource
- Jess Nevins' Sexton Blake Site
- Missing Sexton Blake Episode List
- BBC 7 — The Radio Detectives — Sexton Blake, the other Baker Street Detective — streaming audio
- David Quantick's BBC Radio 2 Documentary — The Hunt For Sexton Blake, 28th July 2009 — BBC iPlayer streaming audio