Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

We're catching a cable car in San Francisco with three old time radio gumshoes who live and work in the city by the bay. First, Candy Matson solves a pair of murders on an army base in "The Fort Ord Story" (originally aired on NBC on September 23, 1949). Next, Sam Spade is hired to protect a man from a vengeful ex-con in "The Champion Caper" (originally aired on CBS on August 7, 1949). Finally, Pa...

It's a mix of winter sports and whodunnit in the Alps with Bob Bailey in a five-part adventure of Johnny Dollar. "The man with the action-packed expense account" heads to Switzerland in pursuit of $100,000 of stolen diamonds, where he hits the slopes and dodges shots, in "The Picture Postcard Matter" (originally aired on CBS between October 1 and October 5, 1956).

Winter is upon us, and this week I've picked three old time radio mysteries set during snowstorms. First up, there's a suspicious suicide at a lodge for Barton Drake to solve in  Mystery is My Hobby . Then,  Mr. and Mrs. North check in for murder at a hotel during a storm. Barbara Britton and Richard Denning star as Pam and Jerry in "Snowbound" (an AFRS rebroadcast). Finally, Gerald Mohr is Philip...

I've got one more episode before I sign off for the year, and for this bonus show I'm sharing my five favorite old time radio mysteries. It's a quintet of Christmas capers that will help to get you in the holiday spirit.  First, Sydney Greenstreet is Nero Wolfe in "The Case of the Slaughtered Santas" (originally aired on NBC on December 22, 1950) and Frank Sinatra is Rocky Fortune in "The Plot to...

With Christmas only days away, we're celebrating (and closing out another year of the podcast) with Lionel Barrymore as Ebenezeer Scrooge in an old time radio adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol . The classic holiday story was presented on  The Campbell Playhouse with Orson Welles and an all-star radio cast bringing the tale to life. We'll hear Welles as narrator, Barrymore as Scrooge...

Happy Holidays! We're celebrating the season with four old time radio holiday mysteries. Grab an egg nog and a Christmas cookie or two and enjoy these Christmas crime tales. First, Paul Frees plans a perfect murder in "Back for Christmas" from Escape (originally aired on CBS on December 24, 1947). Then, Sgt. Joe Friday searches for a missing woman during the holidays in  Dragnet (originally aired...

Update: After a round of steroids from my doctor, I think this 30+ days of cough is finally behind me. Old time radio oracles take center stage in this week's mysteries. First, Jeff Regan tries to protect a mind reader who's been marked for death. Jack Webb stars in "The House by the Sea" (originally aired on CBS on November 4, 1948). Then, Randy Stone comes to the aid of a carnival mentalist driv...

Sit back and get ready for five reports dictated to Effie Perrine by Sam Spade. Dashiell Hammett's gumshoe was a hit in print and on the big screen in The Maltese Falcon , and when he came to radio in 1946 he soon became one of the most popular characters on radio in the person of actor Howard Duff. The show's combination of hardboiled mystery and tongue in cheek humor helped it stand out from the...

As the long Thanksgiving weekend draws to a close and as folks finish their trips back home, we'll hear three old time radio mysteries set in the car and on the highway. First, Frank Sinatra is behind the wheel of a truck full of nitroglycerin in  Rocky Fortune (originally aired on NBC on January 26, 1954). Then, Fibber McGee and Molly leave Wistful Vista for a visit to  Suspense where they run af...

Whether you're shopping for deals or savoring some Turkey Day leftovers, Jack Webb is here to keep you company in this bonus episode. We'll celebrate Black Friday with Joe Friday in four  Dragnet radio episodes: "The Big Grandma" (originally aired on NBC on October 15, 1950); "The Big Bungalow" (originally aired on NBC on November 15, 1951); "The Big Informant" (originally aired on NBC on March 22...

The classic Disney animated films of the 50s and 60s featured some of the great stars of the golden age of radio. Some of the best villains in those pictures were voiced by veterans of  Escape ,  Suspense ,  Sam Spade , and more. We'll hear a trio of radio mysteries featuring a quartet of Disney actors. First, Hans Conried - Captain Hook of  Peter Pan - and Betty Lou Gerson - Cruella de Vil of  On...

Note: Intros should be back by next week! Helen Mack began her career as a child actress in the 1920s and she went on to make appearances in Son of Kong and His Girl Friday . But in the 1940s, she transitioned into a new phase of her career as a producer and director of radio shows. She was behind the scenes of comedies like Meet Corliss Archer and A Date with Judy and she helmed dozens of episode...

**Note: No intro today - not sure if I caught something new or if it's the same thing wearing out its welcome, but hopefully back to normal next week! The contents of museums can solve mysteries of the past, but the halls of artifacts and treasures can also provide great backdrops for whodunits today. We'll hear three radio private eyes on cases that take them through the corridors of museums, beg...

Note: No intro this week; I'm hoping that I'll be over my cold in time for next week's show! With Halloween right around the corner, we're catching up with some of the creepier cases investigated by "America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator." Bob Bailey stars as Johnny Dollar in the five-part mystery "The Tears of Night Matter" (originally aired on CBS between May 21 and May 25, 1956) -...

Put out your Jack-o-lantern, grab the candy bowl, and enjoy the Down These Mean Streets Halloween Special! It's a full-sized candy bar of a show with eight old time radio shows - a mix of frights and delights - to get you in the spirit of the season. First, Paul Frees stars in an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" from  Escape (originally aired on CBS on October 22, 1...

An older and smarter brother, Mycroft Holmes was the only member of Sherlock's family we ever met in Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories. He appeared in just two stories, but he's been featured in original Holmes adventures in print and on screen for decades. We'll hear Mycroft in the original adventure "The Great Gandolfo" starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce (originally aired on Mutual on O...

Read along with our heroes this week in three old time radio mysteries where books play a key role in the crimes and their solutions. First, Boston Blackie tries to figure out why readers of a best-selling novel keep winding up dead. Richard Kollmar stars in this syndicated episode known as " Three Wind Blows West Murders." Then, Philip Marlowe believes a murder victim's scrapbook contains the mot...

Anglophiles rejoice! All of this week's old time radio mysteries star performers from across the pond. Herbert Marshall is secret agent Ken Thurston in an exciting adventure of  The Man Called X . Thurston is on the hunt for a missing atomic scientist in this episode that originally aired on NBC on November 3, 1950. Then, Rex Harrison is a debonair gumshoe in "When They Track Down the Human Game"...

Suit up and take the field with old time radio detectives in three football mysteries. First, Randy Stone comes to the aid of an old college football hero who's fallen on hard times (and into debt with gamblers) in Night Beat (originally aired on NBC on June 12, 1950). Then, in  Broadway is My Beat , Detective Danny Clover probes the murder of a booster killed after a date with a star college quar...

Sixty years ago this month, the Golden Age of Radio signed off as CBS aired the final episodes of  Suspense and  Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar on September 30, 1962. Both shows hung on as TV overtook radio in the late 50s and continued to produce new episodes even as more people across the country were turning on their television sets instead of their radios for dramatic programs. We'll hear Mandel K...

In this bonus show, I've picked my five favorite installments of  The Adventures of Philip Marlowe , the CBS series that brought Raymond Chandler's private eye to intense radio life with the voice of Gerald Mohr. We'll hear "The Grim Hunters" (originally aired on CBS on March 12, 1949); "The August Lion" (originally aired on CBS on August 6, 1949); "The Glass Donkey" (originally aired on CBS on Ju...

All aboard! We're pulling out of the station for three old time radio mysteries set on or around trains. First, as amateur sleuth and Shakespeare doppleganger Leonidas Witherall, Walter Hampden finds a corpse switcheroo on a train to Chicago (originally aired on Mutual on October 8, 1944). Then, Ranger Jayce Pearson investigates a deliberate train derailment. Joel McCrea stars in "Last Stop" from ...

Happy Batman Day! Celebrate the Caped Crusader and listen to a complete radio adventure of Superman with Batman fighting alongside the Man of Steel. We'll hear the world's finest heroes, along with Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and Perry White in "The Story of the Century" (originally aired on Mutual between April 1st and April 15th, 1946).

Class is in session in these three old time radio mysteries set in and around schools. First, Howard Duff stars as Sam Spade in "The Queen Bee Caper" (originally aired on CBS on July 10, 1949). Then, Edmond O'Brien is "the man with the action-packed expense account" in "The Story of the Big Red Schoolhouse" from  Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (originally aired on CBS on April 4, 1950). And finally, V...

Old time radio's G-men are on the case in three shows starring FBI agents. First, we'll hear "The Crack-Up" from  The FBI in Peace and War (originally aired on CBS on September 14, 1950). Then, Stacy Harris stars as Agent Taylor in "The Unhappy Hijacker" from  This is Your FBI (originally aired on ABC on July 18, 1947). Finally, Matt Cvetic tries to keep his cover from being blown in  I Was a Comm...