"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".
