Paul Temple: The Complete Radio Collection: Volume One cover art

Paul Temple: The Complete Radio Collection: Volume One

The Early Years (1938-1950)

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

Paul Temple: The Complete Radio Collection: Volume One

By: Francis Durbridge
Narrated by: Carl Bernard, full cast, Hugh Morton
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £12.06

Buy Now for £12.06

LIMITED TIME OFFER

£0.99/mo for 3 months - terms apply. Offer ends 24 August 2026.

Three complete radio dramas featuring writer and amateur detective Paul Temple, plus bonus archive material.

When it comes to classic crime partnerships, Paul Temple and his wife Steve are the crème de la crème. Between 1938 and 1968 their glamorous exploits enthralled generations of radio listeners around the world. Here, presented in chronological order, are some of the amateur detective's earliest adventures. Send for Paul Temple (1940) is an early remake of the now-lost original 1938 BBC production. Paul Temple Intervenes (1942) finds Paul and Steve investigating a series of celebrity murders, whilst Paul Temple and the Vandyke Affair (the original 1950 production, presented here for the very first time) concerns the strange disappearance of the Desmond baby and her sitter. Hugh Morton, Bernard Braden, Carl Bernard and Peter Coke play Paul in these episodes, with Bernadette Hodgson, Peggy Hassard and Marjorie Westbury as Steve.

A bonus track features rare archive material from otherwise lost productions, including the final episodes of Send for Paul Temple (1938) and Paul Temple and the Front Page Men (1938).

Caution: these programmes contain language that may cause offense, and dated attitudes that reflect the age in which they are set.

©2016 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2016 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd Mystery Mystery Collection
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
All stars
Most relevant
I love old radio plays and this is excellent value. However, the production and acting isn’t as good as the late versions. An interesting note: Paul Coke plays the part of Terry Palmer in The Vandyke Affair….

Not as good as the Peter Coke Temple

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Old fashioned radio I enjoyed this very much ,so out of date now but still good to listen to.Story a have some many hold in but a good listen if you don't mind that.

Revisting nostalgia

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The added commentary on how the recordings were recovered and the interview with the original Paul Temple make this worth a listen

Outtakes make this volume

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I absolutely loved this first volume of Paul Temple stories. I found the radio dramatisations to be well done and thankfully (the ones that were found) were able to be digitally restored or remade. The original theme was taken from Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov and was later changed to Coronation Scot by Vivian Ellis. I think people who are complaining about the quality of the stories should listen to the chapter about how they digitally restored the tapes. And also remember what the technology was like in 1938-1950. In fact, many of the stories were lost.
If I had to make 1 con about this volume, it would be Audible's shoddy listing of chapters. They list everything as Chapter one, two, three, etc without distinguishing between stories. So if you were looking for a particular story, you're out of luck!

I wrote down the chapters myself. I hope it helps someone.
Paul Temple: The Complete Radio Collection: Volume One (1938-1950)
Chapters in Audible / Episode Names
Send For Paul Temple (1938)
Ch 1 = Ep 01- The Green Finger
Ch 2 = Ep 02- Room Seven
Ch 3 = Ep 03- Murder At Scotland Yard
Ch 4 = Ep 04- Reply To A Murder
Ch 5 = Ep 05- Action At The Inn
Ch 6 = Ep 06- The First Penguin
Ch 7 = Ep 07- The Knave Of Diamonds
Ch 8 = Ep 08- Exit The Knave

Paul Temple Intervenes (1942)
Ch 11 = Ep 01- The Marquist
Ch 12 = Ep 02- Concerning Sir Felix Reybourn
Ch 13 = Ep 03- Kellaway Manor
Ch 14 = Ep 04- A Warning From The Marquis
Ch 15 = Ep 05- Paul Temple Keeps an Appointment
Ch 16 = Ep 06- Above Suspicion
Ch 17 = Ep 07- The October Hotel
Ch 18 = Ep 08- Introducing... The Marquis

Paul Temple And The Vandyke Affair (1950)
Ch 19 = Ep 01- The Sitter-In
Ch 20 = Ep 02- The Marlow Incident
Ch 21 = Ep 03- Introducing Mr Droste
Ch 22 = Ep 04- Boulevard Seminaire
Ch 23 = Ep 05- Roger Shelley Makes A Suggestion
Ch 24 = Ep 06- Suspect Number One
Ch 25 = Ep 07- Steve Entertains
Ch 26 = Ep 08- Presenting Mr Vandyke

Volume One Bonus Tracks
Ch 9 & 10 = Bonus_Notes about digitally restoring files
Ch 27 = Bonus_UK 1938 Original of Episode 6 "The First Penguin" (Send For Paul Temple)
Ch 28 = Bonus_ Paul Temple and the Front Page Men (Ep 8)
Ch 29 = Bonus_Credits for Paul Temple And The Jonathan Mystery
Ch 30 & 31 = Bonus_Interview With Peter Coke

I do have a favourite Paul Temple and that's Peter Coke (pronounced Cook). He is absolutely delightful as Paul Temple and Marjorie Westbury is a lovely Steve.

Personally, if I was creating the 4 volume collection of Paul Temple's stories, I would've listed them according to the original airdates - regardless of the remake airdates. For example, the serial 'Send for Paul Temple Again' (1945) was lost. But it was re-made as 'Paul Temple and the Alex Affair' in 1968. So that story should've come before the 'Paul Temple And The Vandyke Affair' serial (1950). That way the progression of the storylines would've remained its original chronological order.

I wholeheartedly recommend this collection. Paul Temple stories don't have swearing or sex in them. How refreshing to listen to good ole mysteries that are clean! I am definitely purchasing all four volumes! It's been a treat listening to this audiobook.

what an astounding series!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This audio collection gives an interesting insight into the pre-television, golden age of radio. If you are a fan of the later poor temple recordings, this gives a feel for how It must have been to listen at the time. The recordings are crackly and obviously live, with the actors covering up for each others mistakes, and the music is at times too loud. If I wanted to experience a more polished performance I would go to the Peter Coke era (my favourite Paul), but I enjoyed having a window to an earlier time. In a similar vein, I appreciated the tracks on how they restored the recordings.

It was also interesting to me to see how much Francis Durbridge later plot scenarios and dialogue; it was quite fun to spot them, though less fun to spot some of the more archaic and objectionable attitudes of the time.

I would recommend this to aficionados of early radio or the adventures of Mr Temple; I would not recommend a casual listener starts with this collection.

Only for aficionados of the golden age of radio

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews