Crackling Airwaves Old Time Radio

Mathew Slade, Private Investigator was produced for the AFRS, the show was part of the Starlight Mystery Theater. The show was set in San Francisco and Slade was a hardboiled detective, typical of the era. The show was action packed with unusual cases. Slade interacts with his secretary Loretta “Jonesy” Jones and Sergeant Sid Donelli of the homicide bureau. Slade was played by William Wintersole,...

The Man Called X was an espionage radio drama which aired on CBS and NBC from July 10, 1944 to May 20, 1952. Herbert Marshall had played agent Ken Thurston who was called to take on dangerous cases in a variety of exotic locations. The cast included Leon Belasco, Joan Banks, and Peter Leeds.

A master of disguise, Mr. Chameleon changes his appearance every episode to track down the murderer. This rare detective old time radio show featured the winning combination of murder, millionaires, and mayhem. The show starred Karl Swenson as Mr. Chameleon, with support from Frank Butler.

Philo Vance was the fictitious detective created by S. S. Van Dine, which was first published in the mid 1920s. The Radio show starred Jose Ferrer, in the 1945 run, John Emery in the 1946 run, and the final run from 1948 to 1950 starred Jackson Beck, with Joan Alexander as Vance's secretary. George Petrie played the impressionable District Attorney Markham.

John Steele, Adventurer was an exciting drama starring Don Douglas. The character of John Steele was a thrill seeker and found adventure while taking on jobs in exotic locations. It first aired on April 29, 1949 on the Mutual Broadcasting Network. Other cast members were John Larkin, Bryna Raeburn, and Jack Edwards.

The Chase is an exciting old time radio series in which every episode contains a chase. It may be an adventure story, a crime story, or even science fiction, but there will always be a chase. Many New York radio actors starred in The Chase, including Joe DeSantis, Mandel Kramer, Donald Buka, Staats Cotsworth, Jan Miner, and Virginia Payne.

Counterspy first aired in 1942 on the NBC Blue radio station, and it's final seasons aired on Mutual Radio from 1953 to 1957. The original plots were counter-espionage in nature, while the post war plots involved a fight almost any kind of crime. Cast: Don McLaughlin as David Harding, Mandel Kramer as Peters.

The character, Jack Casey, AKA “Casey, Crime Photographer,” was created by George Harmon Coxe. The radio show aired from 1943 to 1955 with various incarnations on CBS. In Casey's capacity as a crime photographer, a crime scene snapshot often led Casey to play the amateur detective. The show starred Matt Crowley, Staats Cosworth, and John Gibson, among others.

The Molle Mystery Theater was first broadcast on September 7, 1943 on NBC. It featured mystery plays from writers like Edgar Allen Poe to Raymond Chandler, with shocking twists as its trademark. The cast included Bernard Lendrow, Richard Widmark, Frank Lovejoy, and Anne Seymour.

Night Editor premiered on station KPO on September 12, 1934 and ran until 1948 and was sponsored by Edwards Coffee. All characters in Night Editor were played by Hal Burdick. The show didn't follow a particular genre, but could include tales of war, adventure, crime, and even ghost stories.

The Saint began on NBC Radio from 1945 and ended its run in 1950 on Mutual. Vincent Price starred as Simon Templar who righted wrongs and thwarted crime using whatever means necessary. Mr. Price was able to provide the character an air of clever superiority with his signature acting style. Supporting cast included Lawrence Dobkin, Harry Bartell, and Lurene Tuttle.

The Falcon was a hard boiled drama that featured an American agent code named “Falcon,” though later episodes depict the Falcon as an insurance investigator. The show aired on the various networks from 1943 to 1953. The show originally starred Barry Kroeger, followed by James Meighan, Les Tremayne, George Petrie, and Les Damon.

Not much is know about this series.