BBC Radio - Detectives Thane and Moss - Bill Knox

Category: Adults, Detective, Full Cast, Radio Productions
Language: EnglishKeywords: BBC Drama Radio
Written by Bill Knox
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Dramatization
Bill Knox: the grandfather of tartan noir.
Decades before Inspector Rebus, Karen Pirie and Jack Laidlaw walked Scotland’s mean streets, two detectives solved the nation’s fictional crimes. Chief Inspector Thane was the hot-headed one, Moss was his cool, determined colleague. They first appeared in 1957 in the book Deadline for a Dream. Their creator was Bill Knox, a Scottish author, journalist and broadcaster, who published over 50 crime novels, including several series, but most notably the “Thane and Moss” books.
In the 1960s and 70s, BBC Radio broadcast a number of Thane and Moss plays, many dramatized by Knox himself. Some of these have been lost, but collected here are the four surviving full-cast plays Leave it to the Hangman, Draw Batons, Taste of Proof and The Tallyman.
Leave it to the Hangman
Every family has its secrets - some more than others. Take the Kilburns: from the murky depths of smuggling to the explosive dangers of stolen dynamite, no deed is too daring for this clan. Yet, even in a world where lawlessness reigns, there are lines that are not meant to be crossed. The cold-blooded murder of a policeman shocks the city. Both the police and the Kilburns themselves know that one member of the family was responsible - but which one? The chase leads Detectives Thane and Moss through a maze of deceit and danger. As they draw closer to the truth, they find themselves up against not just the cunning of a criminal family, but the very code that binds them.
Chief Inspector Thane ….. Duncan McIntyre
Detective Inspector Moss ….. John Young
Patrick Kilburn ….. Bryden Murdoch
Liam Kilburn ….. Arthur Boland
Margot Kilburn ….. Gwyneth Guthrie
Mrs Thane ….. Effie Morrison
Written by Bill Knox
Directed by James Crampsey
First broadcast on BBC Home Service in January 1964
Draw Batons
A used-car dealer is found murdered in the middle of a model railway - a community exhibition organised by local police. Before long, the murder becomes linked with the threat of a major crime planned by a gang of men who quickly show themselves ready to kill again. Against the backdrop of a city invaded by football fans arriving for an international match, Thane and Moss struggle to find the truth. Backstreet death and violence punctuate their progress. The football match is just one piece of a jigsaw that climaxes in an art heist of unparalleled magnitude.
Thane ….. Paul Kermack
Moss ….. Gerard Slevin
Supt Ilford ….. Martin Cochrane
Dan Laurence ….. Willy Joss
Sgt Lang ….. Robert Docherty
Sgt Macleod ….. Charles Kearney
PC Beech ….. Michael Bruce
Davidson ….. Alex Norton
Frank Walsh ….. John Shedden
Jarrold Walsh ….. Bryden Murdoch
Tracy Walsh ….. Virginia Stark
Ruth Blantyre ….. Mary Riggans
Don Blantyre ….. Ian Dewar
Rose ….. Jennifer Angus
John Randolph ….. Arthur Boland
Written by Bill Knox
Directed by Gordon Emslie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1974
Taste of Proof
The safe-raiding at Glen Ault whisky warehouse seems an ordinary enough incident to Detective Chief Inspector Colin Thane and Detective Inspector Phil Moss of Glasgow’s bustling Millside Division. But the case assumes major proportions when the jailed man’s wife is murdered and HM Customs and Excise become involved. The two CID officers soon realise that the real taste of proof would have to come from the whisky - but to find their proof they must travel from the great sprawl of a new housing development in the city to the desolate loneliness of a vast peat-bog.
Thane ….. Paul Kermack
Moss ….. Robert Trotter
Frank Humble ….. Arthur Boland
PC Beech ….. Michael Bruce
Sgt MacLeod ….. Robert Docherty
Mary Thane ….. Mary Riggans
Doc Williams ….. Michael Elder
Dan Laurence ….. Willy Joss
Joe O’Brien ….. Ian Ireland
Barbara McPhail ….. Rose McBain
Greenlaw ….. Ian Dewar
Kelso ….. John Shedden
Greta Rodell ….. Clare Richards
Supt Ilford ….. John Young
Agnes Humbie ….. Jenifer Angus
Written by Bill Knox
Directed by Gordon Emslie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1974
The Tallyman
Beware the Tallyman, a merciless predator! Somewhere in the Millside district of Glasgow a tallyman - an unlicensed loan shark - is preying on people in desperate financial straits. He loans them cash at rates they cannot hope to pay back - and then demands various services in kind. And these ’services’ make the Tallyman a one-man crime wave. It’s a tough, depressing case for Inspectors Thane and Moss, especially after one of Thane’s close friends is found dead - a victim of the brutal moneylender. And so it takes all of Thane’s hot-headed drive and Moss’s cool determination to flush out the Tallyman - but neither of them is prepared for the final violent confrontation in the heart of Scotland’s wild, craggy highlands.
Thane ….. Paul Kermack
Moss ….. Phil McCall
Lord Mains ….. David Stewart
Supt Ilford ….. Martin Cochrane
PC Beech ….. Tony Roper
Sgt MacLeod ….. Willy Joss
Mary Thane ….. Gwyneth Guthrie
Driver Erickson ….. Michael Bruce
Hayes ….. Ian Dewar
Harry Freeman ….. Arthur Boland
Josh Barbar ….. Robert Trotter
Helen Milne ….. Ann Scott-Jones
Jim Manneson ….. William Armour
Patterson Diall ….. John Young
Mrs Freeman ….. Sheila Donald
Doc Williams ….. Michael Elder
Dr Milne ….. Bryden Murdoch
Irene Manneson ….. Rose McBain
Written by Bill Knox
Directed by Gordon Emslie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1973
Bill Knox: the grandfather of tartan noir.

Decades before Inspector Rebus, Karen Pirie and Jack Laidlaw walked Scotland’s mean streets, two detectives solved the nation’s fictional crimes. Chief Inspector Thane was the hot-headed one, Moss was his cool, determined colleague. They first appeared in 1957 in the book Deadline for a Dream. Their creator was Bill Knox, a Scottish author, journalist and broadcaster, who published over 50 crime novels, including several series, but most notably the “Thane and Moss” books.

In the 1960s and 70s, BBC Radio broadcast a number of Thane and Moss plays, many dramatized by Knox himself. Some of these have been lost, but collected here are the four surviving full-cast plays Leave it to the Hangman, Draw Batons, Taste of Proof and The Tallyman.

Leave it to the Hangman
Every family has its secrets - some more than others. Take the Kilburns: from the murky depths of smuggling to the explosive dangers of stolen dynamite, no deed is too daring for this clan. Yet, even in a world where lawlessness reigns, there are lines that are not meant to be crossed. The cold-blooded murder of a policeman shocks the city. Both the police and the Kilburns themselves know that one member of the family was responsible - but which one? The chase leads Detectives Thane and Moss through a maze of deceit and danger. As they draw closer to the truth, they find themselves up against not just the cunning of a criminal family, but the very code that binds them.
Chief Inspector Thane ….. Duncan McIntyre
Detective Inspector Moss ….. John Young
Patrick Kilburn ….. Bryden Murdoch
Liam Kilburn ….. Arthur Boland
Margot Kilburn ….. Gwyneth Guthrie
Mrs Thane ….. Effie Morrison
Written by Bill Knox
Directed by James Crampsey
First broadcast on BBC Home Service in January 1964

Draw Batons
A used-car dealer is found murdered in the middle of a model railway - a community exhibition organised by local police. Before long, the murder becomes linked with the threat of a major crime planned by a gang of men who quickly show themselves ready to kill again. Against the backdrop of a city invaded by football fans arriving for an international match, Thane and Moss struggle to find the truth. Backstreet death and violence punctuate their progress. The football match is just one piece of a jigsaw that climaxes in an art heist of unparalleled magnitude.
Thane ….. Paul Kermack
Moss ….. Gerard Slevin
Supt Ilford ….. Martin Cochrane
Dan Laurence ….. Willy Joss
Sgt Lang ….. Robert Docherty
Sgt Macleod ….. Charles Kearney
PC Beech ….. Michael Bruce
Davidson ….. Alex Norton
Frank Walsh ….. John Shedden
Jarrold Walsh ….. Bryden Murdoch
Tracy Walsh ….. Virginia Stark
Ruth Blantyre ….. Mary Riggans
Don Blantyre ….. Ian Dewar
Rose ….. Jennifer Angus
John Randolph ….. Arthur Boland
Written by Bill Knox
Directed by Gordon Emslie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1974

Taste of Proof
The safe-raiding at Glen Ault whisky warehouse seems an ordinary enough incident to Detective Chief Inspector Colin Thane and Detective Inspector Phil Moss of Glasgow’s bustling Millside Division. But the case assumes major proportions when the jailed man’s wife is murdered and HM Customs and Excise become involved. The two CID officers soon realise that the real taste of proof would have to come from the whisky - but to find their proof they must travel from the great sprawl of a new housing development in the city to the desolate loneliness of a vast peat-bog.
Thane ….. Paul Kermack
Moss ….. Robert Trotter
Frank Humble ….. Arthur Boland
PC Beech ….. Michael Bruce
Sgt MacLeod ….. Robert Docherty
Mary Thane ….. Mary Riggans
Doc Williams ….. Michael Elder
Dan Laurence ….. Willy Joss
Joe O’Brien ….. Ian Ireland
Barbara McPhail ….. Rose McBain
Greenlaw ….. Ian Dewar
Kelso ….. John Shedden
Greta Rodell ….. Clare Richards
Supt Ilford ….. John Young
Agnes Humbie ….. Jenifer Angus
Written by Bill Knox
Directed by Gordon Emslie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1974

The Tallyman
Beware the Tallyman, a merciless predator! Somewhere in the Millside district of Glasgow a tallyman - an unlicensed loan shark - is preying on people in desperate financial straits. He loans them cash at rates they cannot hope to pay back - and then demands various services in kind. And these ’services’ make the Tallyman a one-man crime wave. It’s a tough, depressing case for Inspectors Thane and Moss, especially after one of Thane’s close friends is found dead - a victim of the brutal moneylender. And so it takes all of Thane’s hot-headed drive and Moss’s cool determination to flush out the Tallyman - but neither of them is prepared for the final violent confrontation in the heart of Scotland’s wild, craggy highlands.
Thane ….. Paul Kermack
Moss ….. Phil McCall
Lord Mains ….. David Stewart
Supt Ilford ….. Martin Cochrane
PC Beech ….. Tony Roper
Sgt MacLeod ….. Willy Joss
Mary Thane ….. Gwyneth Guthrie
Driver Erickson ….. Michael Bruce
Hayes ….. Ian Dewar
Harry Freeman ….. Arthur Boland
Josh Barbar ….. Robert Trotter
Helen Milne ….. Ann Scott-Jones
Jim Manneson ….. William Armour
Patterson Diall ….. John Young
Mrs Freeman ….. Sheila Donald
Doc Williams ….. Michael Elder
Dr Milne ….. Bryden Murdoch
Irene Manneson ….. Rose McBain
Written by Bill Knox
Directed by Gordon Emslie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1973