Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

John Michael Hayes was a two-time Academy Award-nominated screenwriter who wrote four films for Alfred Hitchcock. But before that, he was a busy radio writer penning adventures for Johnny Dollar and comedies for Lucille Ball. We'll hear three of Hayes' old time radio scripts: "The Seeing Eye" from  The Whistler (originally aired on CBS on November 12, 1945); "Lady in Distress" from  Richard Diamon...

There's no case too big for these three radio private eyes. First, Lon Clark is  Nick Carter, Master Detective in "The Case of the Priceless Prose" (originally aired on Mutual on December 14, 1947). Then, Dick Powell looks for "The Star of Savoy" as Richard Rogue in  Rogue's Gallery (originally aired on NBC on June 23, 1946). Finally, Jeff Chandler is on the job in the Big Easy in "The Case of the...

Our trip to the golden age of radio takes us all around the world this week. First, Jack Moyles hunts a kidnapper in Cairo as Rocky Jordan in "Quest for Tornina" (originally aired on CBS on October 16, 1949). Then, Edmond O'Brien heads to the Phillippines in "The Woodward Manila Matter" from  Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (originally aired on November 25, 1950). Finally, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Ba...

We're going back in time this week for tales of murder and mystery from the 19th and early 20th centuries. First,  Crime Classics dramatizes the sensational true story "The Terrible Deed of John White Webster" (originally aired on CBS on July 13, 1953). Then, the  Frontier Gentleman plays an infamous game of poker with Wild Bill Hickok in "Aces and Eights" (originally aired on CBS on April 20, 195...

For this bonus show, I'm sharing my five favorite old time radio adventures of Simon Templar - "the Robin Hood of modern crime" best known as  The Saint . We'll hear Vincent Price as the Saint in "The Sinister Sneeze" (originally aired on NBC on June 11, 1950); "Baseball Murder" (originally aired on NBC on September 3, 1950); "No Hiding Place" (originally aired on NBC on November 19, 1950); and "T...

Three hard-boiled gumshoes are on the case in this week's episode. First, Dane Clark stars in  Crime and Peter Chambers in an Armed Forces Radio Service rebroadcast of a show from April 27, 1954. Then, Frank Graham is  Jeff Regan, Investigator in "The Little Man's Lament" (originally aired on CBS on November 9, 1949). Finally, we'll hear Gerald Mohr in "The Heat Wave" from  The Adventures of Phili...

Places, please! We've got three old time radio mysteries set onstage, backstage, and in the aisles of the theatre. Actors, playwrights, and critics are all suspects, victims, and killers and it's up to the detectives to figure out whodunnit before the final curtain. We'll hear "Murder Me Twice" from  Let George Do It (originally aired on Mutual on July 5, 1948); a syndicated  Boston Blackie myster...

In honor of Jack Webb's birthday, we'll hear three of the radio and TV legend's old time radio mysteries. First, he stars in a waterfront mystery from  Johnny Madero, Pier 23  (originally aired on ABC on June 19, 1947). Then, he's Sgt. Joe Friday on the trail of a killer in "The Big Shirt" from  Dragnet (originally aired on NBC on November 30, 1952). Finally, we'll hear a Prohibition-era caper fro...

It's a full fight card with three old time radio mysteries set in and around the boxing ring. First, Frank Lovejoy is Randy Stone, coming to the aid of a fighter pressured to take a dive in Night Beat (originally aired on NBC on August 14, 1950). Then, as  Philo Vance , Jackson Beck solves "The Heavyweight Murder Case." Finally, Dick Powell tries to prove a fight manager's suicide was actually a m...

It's a triple feature of the same mystery starring three different radio gumshoes. Morton Fine and David Friedkin wrote the story of a killer who taunts police with announcements of his upcoming crimes, and the clever tale comes to life in three similar but different adventures. First, Lt. Danny Clover investigates "The Jane Darnell Murder Case" on  Broadway is My Beat (originally aired on CBS on...

Real-life exploits of government agents come to radio life in these three adventures. First, an OSS agent parachutes into Germany in "Direct Line to Bombers" from Cloak and Dagger (originally aired on NBC on June 25, 1950). Then, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. plays a postal inspector investigating a mail bomb in "Death in the Mail" from  The Silent Men (originally aired on NBC on November 4, 1951). Final...

We're heading west this week with three old time radio cowboy crimesolvers. First, William Conrad is US Marshal Matt Dillon in "Chester's Murder" from  Gunsmoke (originally aired on CBS on January 15, 1955). Then, Jeff Chandler trades Michael Shayne's fedora for a pair of spurs as western attorney Chad Remington in the syndicated drama  Frontier Town . We'll hear him in "The Case of Felipe Gomez."...

We're shining the spotlight on a pair of  Johnny Dollar stars who tend to get overlooked in the history of "America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator." We'll hear John Lund as Dollar in "The La Tourette Matter" (originally aired on CBS on February 20, 1953) and "The James Forbes Matter" (originally aired on CBS on July 28, 1953). Then, Bob Readick is Johnny in "The Paperback Mystery Matt...

We've got a trio of women solving old time radio crimes in this week's show. First, Natalie Masters is the Golden Gate girl detective Candy Matson in "Valley of the Moon" (originally aired on NBC on December 17, 1949). Then, we'll hear a pair of syndicated episodes of  The Phyl Coe Radio Mysteries - a combination mystery and game show - "The Case of the Dead Magician" and "The Case of the Missing...

With Hercule Poirot back on the big screen in  Death on the Nile , we're saluting Agatha Christie's brilliant Belgian sleuth with three of his old time radio adventures. Harold Huber stars as the magnificently mustachioed Poirot in "Murder Wears a Mask" (originally aired on Mutual on May 3, 1945); "The Trail Led to Death" (originally aired on Mutual on November 16, 1945); and "The Bride Wore Frigh...

We're going to press with three heroic journalists from the radio era. First, we'll hear  Casey, Crime Photographer mentor a rising star in "The Camera Bug" (originally aired on CBS on October 16, 1947). Then, Frank Lovejoy is Chicago columnist Randy Stone in  Night Beat where he investigates the case of "The Juvenile Gangster" (originally aired on NBC on June 26, 1950). Finally, a real-life journ...

Gentleman thieves - both reformed and otherwise - step into the spotlight this week. First, Chester Morris is  Boston Blackie - enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend - in "The Missing String of Pearls" (originally aired on NBC on August 11, 1944). Then, Orson Welles reprises his  Third Man  role in "It's a Knockout" from the syndicated series  The Lives of Harry...

Our heroes this week have sharp deductive minds to match their physical heft. Criminals may misjudge them by their size, but having some extra pounds doesn't slow them down when it comes to closing cases. We'll hear Sydney Greenstreet as Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe in "The Case of the Midnight Ride" (originally aired on NBC on March 16, 1951) and "The Case of the Lost Heir" (originally aired on April 2...

Steve Dunne had big shoes to fill when he was cast as Sam Spade. Dashiell Hammett's private eye had been thrilling listeners since 1946 in weekly adventures starring Howard Duff, but accusations of Communist sympathies cost Duff the gig. Dunne played a younger-sounding, less serious Sam for the final run of episodes. We'll hear two of them - "The Soap Opera Caper" (originally aired on NBC on Febru...

The cops of the radio era are on the beat in three old time radio procedural dramas. First, Dan Duryea is the intense, two-fisted Lt. Lou Dana in "The Donald Shelberger Case" from The Man from Homicide (originally aired on ABC on July 9, 1951). Then, we'll hear an Armed Forces Radio Service rebroadcast of  The Line-Up known as "Gas Station Robberies" starring Bill Johnstone and Wally Maher. Finall...

We're starting 2022 off with Bob Bailey as "the man with the action-packed expense account!" Bailey stars in a five-part adventure of  Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar - "The Chesapeake Fraud Matter" (originally aired on CBS between October 17th and 21st, 1955).

It's a star-studded, super-sized holiday bonus episode to close out 2021! We'll hear Tallulah Bankhead as mistress of ceremonies for the Christmas Eve 1950 broadcast of NBC's  The Big Show . Listen as Ms. Bankhead welcomes Ed Wynn, Jimmy Durante, Margaret O'Brien, Bert Lahr, and more.

It's our annual holiday bonanza! We'll hear four old time radio detectives doing some seasonal sleuthing. First, Special Agent Taylor searches for Santa in "The Return of St. Nick" on  This is Your FBI (originally aired on ABC on December 24, 1948). Next, George and Brooksie find mystery in the department store in "Follow That Train" from  Let George Do It (originally aired on Mutual on December 1...

Before he was an Oscar nominee for  Broken Arrow , Jeff Chandler was a busy radio actor in supporting and lead roles. He was oblivious to the romantic overtures of Eve Arden on  Our Miss Brooks , and he was one of radio's toughest shamuses in  The New Adventures of Michael Shayne . We'll hear him in two  Shayne syndicated mysteries: "A Problem in Murder" and "The Case of the Purloined Corpse." The...

With Frank Sinatra's birthday right around the corner, it's the perfect time to revisit  Rocky Fortune - Ol' Blue Eyes' six-month stint as a radio detective. We'll hear Rocky bounce between jobs and find trouble everywhere he goes in a pair of episodes: "Carnival One Way" (originally aired on NBC on December 8, 1953) and "Too Many Husbands" (originally aired on NBC on February 16, 1954). Plus, he...