# Bold Venture

Bold Venture was a syndicated radio series starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall that aired from 1951 to 1952. Morton Fine and David Friedkin scripted the taped series for Bogart's Santana Productions.

## Synopsis

Salty seadog Slate Shannon (Bogart) owns a Cuban hotel, Shannon's Place, sheltering an assortment of treasure hunters, revolutionaries, and other shady characters. With his sidekick and ward, the sultry Sailor Duval (Bacall), tagging along, he encounters modern-day pirates and other tough situations while navigating the waters around Havana. Aboard his boat, the Bold Venture, Slate and Sailor experience "adventure, intrigue, mystery and romance in the sultry settings of tropical Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean."
Calypso singer King Moses (Jester Hairston) provided musical bridges by threading plot situations into the lyrics of his songs. Music for the series was by David Rose.
The series combined elements of a number of past Bogart/Bacall film collaborations, most notably To Have and Have Not which also cast Bogart as a boat owner in the Caribbean who reluctantly becomes involved in intrigue while romancing Bacall. The relationship between Shannon and King Moses, and his ownership of an inn, is strongly reminiscent of the dynamic between Rick Blaine and Sam in Casablanca.

## Production

Beginning in March 1951, the Frederic W. Ziv Company syndicated 78 episodes via electrical transcription. Heard on 423 stations, the 30-minute series earned $5,000 weekly for Bogart and Bacall.
All of Frederic Ziv's 40+ radio series (some 10,000 radio programs), including all 78 episodes of Bold Venture, were donated by the Ziv Estate to Media Heritage and exclusively licensed to Carl Amari who successfully launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds necessary to professionally transfer the complete run of Bold Venture. Soon, all 78 episodes will be available, including 18 "lost" Bold Venture episodes which have not been heard in more than 70 years. A definitive collection of all 78 Bold Venture episodes, which will include a detailed historical booklet, will be available beginning in 2024 through Amari's company. Amari plans to launch additional Kickstarter campaigns to raise funds necessary to release more complete runs of Ziv radio series, including Boston Blackie, I Was a Communist for the FBI, Favorite Story, Philo Vance and The Cisco Kid. Amari will launch a website in 2024 that offers these Ziv radio series at www.ZivRadio.com

## Radio episode guide

| No. | Date | Title 1 | Title 2 | Title 3 | Title 4 | Title 5 |
| 1 | March 26, 1951 | Deadly Merchandise | Death By A Fighting Bird | Smuggling Arms | Gun Runners | |
| 2 | April 2, 1951 | Kwan Yen Statue | Quam Yi Statue | | | |
| 3 | April 9, 1951 | Bill of Lading | Six Crates of Apples | Opium Smugglers and Young Girl | White Envelope | |
| 4 | April 16, 1951 | A Bullet for Shannon | Thugs and Slugs | Johnny Price Story | | |
| 5 | April 23, 1951 | Spanish Gold | Buried Treasure | Treasure on Flamingo Cay | Sunken Treasure at 20 Fathoms | |
| 6 | April 30, 1951 | Murder of Franny Lane | He Who Laughs Last | Murder is No Joke | Slate Shannon Accused of Murder | Dixon and Lane |
| 7 | May 7, 1951 | Espionage & Murder in San Tomas | Atomic Espionage on San Thomas | | | |
| 8 | May 14, 1951 | A Muncie Murderess in Havana | Blackmail is Dangerous to Your Health | That Gun Will Kill You | | |
| 9 | May 21, 1951 | False American Passports | Fake American Passports | | | |
| 10 | May 28, 1951 | Sailor Framed For Murder | Calverts House of Mirrors | | | |
| 11 | June 4, 1951 | Blue Moon | | | | |
| 12 | June 11, 1951 | The Tears of Siva | Star of Sheba | | | |
| 13 | June 18, 1951 | Half Million Reasons to Find Cary Martin | We Want Cary Martin | | | |
| 14 | June 25, 1951 | The High Price of Treason | | | | |
| 15 | July 2, 1951 | Russian Roulette | | | | |
| 16 | July 9, 1951 | Mystery of the Mary K | | | | |
| 17 | July 16, 1951 | The Chaney Wedding | Death At The Wedding | Frame Up | | |
| 18 | July 23, 1951 | 12 Year Promise | Oil Wells | | | |
| 19 | July 30, 1951 | Alice Ramsey's Husband | Poison Darts | Voodoo Vendetta in Paradise | | |
| 20 | August 6, 1951 | Search for Tommy Reed | Looking for Tommy Reed | | | |
| 21 | August 20, 1951 | Ghost Ship | | | | |
| 22 | August 27, 1951 | Jennie Ward | Slate's Old Flame | | | |
| 23 | September 3, 1951 | Terminal Key | | | | |
| 24 | September 10, 1951 | Phyllis Calvert Murders | Out of Control | Suicide or Murder | | |
| 25 | September 17, 1951 | Slate's Tuxedo Pocket | Black Tie Affair | | | |
| 26 | September 24, 1951 | Murder in the Yucatán Peninsula | A Fatal Quest for Jade | | | |
| 27 | October 1, 1951 | Shannon's a Sucker | Slate Shannon Sucker | | | |
| 28 | October 8, 1951 | Slate Shannon Held for Ransom | Danger at Tina's Parakeet | | | |
| 29 | October 15, 1951 | Camellias and a Ruby | A Camillia for El Dobbin | | | |
| 30 | October 22, 1951 | Passage for Mario Carada | | | | |
| 31 | October 29, 1951 | Darby and Joan Incorporated | Lonely Hearts Inc. | | | |
| 32 | November 5, 1951 | Mutineers of the S.S. Marino Victory | The Marino Victory Marino | | | |
| 33 | November 12, 1951 | Slate Framed for Refinery Robbery | Bold Venture is Stolen | | | |
| 34 | November 19, 1951 | Slate's Stolen DaVinci | | | | |
| 35 | November 26, 1951 | Paolo Framed for Jewel Robbery | Supapo's Greed | | | |
| 36 | December 3, 1951 | Cruise To Batabano | Emilio Lopez Story | | | |
| 37 | December 10, 1951 | Louis Gaspar Case | Slate's Stolen Identity | Bring Me The Body of Slate Shannon | | |
| 38 | December 17, 1951 | Tabard of Pizarro | Alice Markel poisoning) | | | |
| 39 | December 24, 1951 | Paul Brewer Story | Escape From Guantanamo | | | |
| 40 | December 31, 1951 | Carlos & Juan Ruiz Story | Crazy Old Carlo | | | |
| 41 | January 7, 1952 | Innocent in Trujillo | Raul Mirado Execution | | | |
| 42 | January 14, 1952 | An Invitation to Death | Four Invitations To Death | | | |
| 43 | January 21, 1952 | Background Shots Can Kill You | | | | |
| 44 | January 28, 1952 | Revenge Equals Murder Times Two | | | | |
| 45 | February 4, 1952 | A Backstabbing at Shannon's Place | Joe Norman | The Laughing Sailor | | |
| 46 | February 11, 1952 | Isle Of Pines | I'm Going To Die | Rhoda Gonzalez | | |
| 47 | February 18, 1952 | The Dead Matt Jefferies | The One That Got Away | | | |
| 48 | February 25, 1952 | Welcome to Civilization, Dead Man | Welcome Back, Dead Man | Man From Sumatra | George Carson Killed | |
| 49 | March 3, 1952 | Ruthie Ryan's Father | The Big K.O. | | | |
| 50 | March 10, 1952 | Spectre of El Indio | | | | |
| 51 | March 17, 1952 | Diamond Smuggling | Diamond Fencing Fisticuffs | | | |
| 52 | March 24, 1952 | Robbed By Joe Ralston | Revenge Is Sweet | The Big Road | | |
| 53 | March 31, 1952 | Haven's Venezuelan Island | Tiny Haven | Gene Moore's Wife | Claudia | Runaway Wife |
| 54 | April 7, 1952 | Death Of Rudy Keijon | Friends Like These | Bob Yancy arrests Slate for murder | Fetsui Jade | |
| 55 | April 14, 1952 | Sailor's Dead Husband | Marriage And Murder | Freddie Naye | Sailor is a Wealthy Widow | |
| 56 | April 21, 1952 | | | | | |
| 57 | April 28, 1952 | | | | | |
| 58 | May 5, 1952 | | | | | |
| 59 | May 12, 1952 | Señor Rufio | Señor Rufio's Legacy of Death | | | |

## Television

Ziv brought Bold Venture to television in 1959 with 39 episodes directed by William Conrad. The series starred Dane Clark as Slate Shannon, Joan Marshall as Sailor Duval, and Bernie Gozier as King Moses. Mark Dana played Philip Keith Baker, Lisa Gaye played Leta, and Karen Scott played Tina. Morton Fine and David Friedkin were the producers.
Because of unstable conditions in Cuba, the setting was changed to Trinidad. Filming locations included the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, California.

## Listen to

* Radio portal
* Internet Archive: Bold Venture (57 episodes)
* Bold Venture (57 episodes)
* Episodes of Bold Venture
* Bold Venture on Way Back When
* Bold Ventures on Radio Lovers: (20 episodes)