The Twelve Labours of Hercules is a 1938 Australian radio serial by Max Afford based on the legend of Hercules.
The serial was popular and sold overseas.
It was produced again in 1944., starting 29 May.
A copy of the script is at the Fryer Library at the University of Queensland.
Premise
According to the press release, "it is the story of a capricious girl's "dare" to her suitor. Hector Cousins, nicknamed "Hercules," a name that fits him like, a glove. Aided by the superior intellect of his butler, Bartholomew Stubbins, Hector sets out to perform twelve "Labours of Hercules" at the behest of his lady love, who demands their performance as the price of her hand. Each labour constitutes the material of an "episode" of the serial. "
Background
Afford said at the time: The talkies have hopelesssly debunked’ the mystery-thriller with such films as The Thin Man, The Ex-Mrs. Bradford and the recent There's Always a Woman. And if radio entertainment is to keep in’ step, it must do the same. The old- fashioned thriller, with its dead bodies, secret trapdoors, sinister arch-villains, and frail, beautiful heroine, simply will not be accepted seriously by modem audiences. The newer type of entertainment presents these thrills, at the same time poking gentle fun at them. This I have attempted to do in The Labors of Hercules. Ihe dominant note is comedy... Although the adventures provide plenty of thrills, these are more than balanced by the humor of these two ill-assorted characters.