Captain Midnight

Captain Midnight

Synopsis of Saturday Morning Show

“On a mountaintop high above a large city stands the headquarters of a man devoted to the cause of freedom and justice, a war hero who has never stopped fighting against his country’s enemies, a private citizen who is dedicating his life to the struggle against evil men everywhere – Captain Midnight!”

Captain Midnight, whose real name was Captain Jim Albright, was a WWII veteran turned leader of the Secret Squadron during the Cold War days of the 1950’s. Midnight fought crime with his dim-witted co-pilot Ichabod “Icky” Mudd, and together the two were given advanced scientific knowledge to aid them in their do-gooder efforts by eccentric scientist Aristotle “Tut” Jones. Subscribing to the motto, “Justice through strength and courage,” Midnight flew his jet out of a secret base to fight the various nasties of the day.

Captain Midnight originated as a radio show in the 1940's, sponsored by Ovaltine. The sponsor carried over when the show moved to television, and the Captain pitched the chocolatey drink with a promotional tie-in. Kids who sent in Ovaltine proofs of purchase gained membership in the Secret Squadron and a decoder badge, with which they deciphered secret messages from the Captain.

Although Screen Gems produced the show, Ovaltine owned the name Captain Midnight, which made for an odd syndication deal. Screen Gems sold the show to non-network stations under a different name, Jet Jackson, Flying Commando, and all references to Captain Midnight were crudely dubbed.

Release History

9/4/54 - 4/28/56 CBS

TV Sub Categories

live-action
action/adventure


TV Studio

Screen Gems

Television Cast

Jim Albright/Captain Midnight Richard Webb
Ichabod 'Icky' Mudd Sid Melton
Aristotle 'Tut' Jones Olan Soule

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