Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

The ringing of that phone means Mike Waring has to break another date and The Falcon has a new case. The suave private eye solved crimes in print, on the big screen, and for over a decade on radio. Les Damon starred as Waring for several years, including a run when the Falcon got a new client – Uncle Sam and Army intelligence. We'll hear the Falcon solve "The Case of the Sweet Swindle" (originally...

Captain Hugh Drummond comes out of the fog, into the night, and earns his nickname "Bulldog" as he fights evildoers everywhere. The gentleman adventurer of H.C. McNelie's novels came to the big screen with Ronald Colman and Ray Milland logging time as the man of mystery. In 1941,  Bulldog Drummond  came to radio and continued his battle for justice. We'll hear George Coulouris as Drummond in a Sep...

Orson Welles' radio work is defined by a skirmish between a couple of planets, but there was far more to his career than an invasion from outer space. We'll celebrate the actor, writer, and director's birthday with some of his performances on the air. First, he recreates his Third Man movie role in "Horse Play" from The Lives of Harry Lime . Then, he narrates the bloody history of "The Khaki Handk...

What do Philo Vance, George Valentine, Richard Diamond, and John J. Malone have in common? They all romanced – and were frequently assisted by – Frances Robinson. The busy and talented actress was a mainstay on radio crime dramas, and her performances gave us some of the genre's all-time great partners in crime. We'll hear her in "The Elusive Hundred Grand" from Let George Do It (originally aired...

Nick Carter was a super sleuth in the pulps and on the big screen before he came to radio in 1943, and he found success on the air as well. Lon Clark starred as Carter – "the most famous of all manhunters" – for twelve years in hundreds of radio mysteries. Hear Nick, along with his friends Patsy Bowen and Sgt. Mathison in "The Double Disguise" (originally aired on Mutual on January 8, 1944) and "T...

Criminals and spies can run, but they can't hide from the FBI. Stacy Harris stars as Special Agent Jim Taylor in This is Your FBI , the only dramatic radio program endorsed by the Bureau and J. Edgar Hoover. We'll hear a pair of FBI adventures: "The Case of the Curious Coin Collector" (originally aired on ABC on October 4, 1946) and "The Agent Apprentice" (originally aired on ABC on August 11, 195...

We're celebrating Jack Webb's birthday, but instead of cake we have three old time radio mysteries starring Webb as three hard-boiled sleuths. First, he's  Jeff Regan, Investigator in "The Gambler and the Lady" (originally aired on CBS on December 11, 1948). Then Webb stars as  Pat Novak for Hire in "Rory Malone" (originally aired on ABC on March 20, 1949). Finally, we'll hear "June Gould" from  P...

Holy 80th Anniversary, Batman! The Caped Crusader made his first comic book appearance on March 30, 1939, and we're marking the occasion with a complete serialized adventure of Superman co-starring Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder. It's "The Mystery of the Dead Voice," a tale with ties to young Robin's origin, and it originally aired on the Mutual Network between September 25 and October 16, 1946.

When Johnny Dollar itemized his first expense account on February 11, 1949, he was played by actor Charles Russell, and Russell would fill the role for just over one year. Though his tenure was short, Russell's take on the character – glib, sarcastic, and a little unscrupulous – makes him stand out in the fraternity of actors who brought Dollar to radio life. We'll hear him in three episodes: "The...

When criminals strike in the Lone Star State, they know it won't be long before the Texas Rangers are on their trail. Joel McCrea brought his big screen western star power to radio as Jayce Pearson in Tales of the Texas Rangers . The crime drama presented actual cases from the Rangers' files in a blend of police procedural and western. We'll hear two episodes from the series: "Quicksilver" (origin...

Kathleen Hite started at CBS as a secretary only to become the network's first female staff writer. She would go on to pen hundreds of radio and TV scripts for shows like Gunsmoke , The Whistler , and Alfred Hitchcock Presents . We'll hear two of her mysteries from The Adventures of Philip Marlowe : "The Good Neighbor Policy" (originally aired on CBS on July 28, 1951) and "The Young Man's Fancy" (...

"Adventure wanted. Will go anyplace, do anything. Write Box 13 ." That's the newspaper ad Dan Holiday runs and each week a new letter brings him to the doorstep of danger. Holiday runs the ad to get plots for his mystery novels, but he has to survive each case before he can start writing. Big screen star Alan Ladd puts his film noir bona fides to work as Holiday in two old time radio mysteries: "M...

No matter what old time radio genre you prefer, you've probably heard Virginia Gregg's voice. You've almost certainly heard her as Mrs. Bates in the Psycho films or seen her in one of her many on-screen performances. She was one of radio's most versatile and talented actresses, and in honor of her birthday we'll hear Virginia Gregg in three old time radio shows. First, she plays Helen Asher opposi...

It's back to Broadway this week, as Detective Danny Clover walks his beat - "the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world." Larry Thor stars as Clover, the cop with the soul of a poet, in two mysteries from Broadway is My Beat : "The Val Dane Starvation Murder Case" (originally aired on CBS on August 25, 1949) and "The Gridiron Hero Murders" (an AFRS rebroadcast of an episode f...

Bill Johnstone may be best known as the voice of The Shadow , but old time radio fans can enjoy his performances from shows ranging from Escape and Suspense to My Favorite Husband and Our Miss Brooks . In honor of his birthday, we'll hear him as Lt. Ben Guthrie, the determined detective of The Line-Up in "The Topaz Earring Case" (originally aired on CBS on November 23, 1950) and "The Jersey Parall...

Seventy years ago this month, listeners first met "the man with the action-packed expense account" when Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar premiered on CBS. The show ran until 1962 with several actors stepping into the shows of "America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator," but the best of the bunch was Bob Bailey. Bailey starred as Johnny Dollar from 1955 until 1960, including a tremendous run of...

When the sun goes down in the Windy City, Randy Stone goes to work. Frank Lovejoy stars as Stone, the Chicago reporter who walks the Night Beat in search of a story. What he finds in the darkness will give him material for his column...if it doesn't kill him first. We'll hear Lovejoy in a pair of radio mysteries: "Old Home Week" (originally aired on NBC on September 4, 1950) and "The Kenny Day Amn...

Some couples play golf, and some like to travel. Pam and Jerry North spend their quality time putting their amateur sleuth skills to work in Mr. and Mrs. North . One of radio's most popular detective shows, the adventures of the Norths sprang from the pages of novels and kept listeners guessing for over a decade. We'll hear three of their adventures starring Barbara Britton as Pam and Richard Denn...

Even if he can't pronounce the names of the countries he visits, two-fisted secret agent Steve Mitchell knows each Dangerous Assignment means trouble. Brian Donlevy stars as the international man of mystery in two tales of radio espionage and adventure. We'll hear "Find Hired Killer Lupac" (originally aired on NBC on August 16, 1950) and "Recover Memory Chain Equation" (originally aired on NBC on...

In a special bonus episode, we tip our hat to the late Herb Ellis. The actor passed away in December at age 97, and along with his many radio credits he's a key figure in radio history because of his collaboration with Jack Webb - a collaboration that yielded Dragnet . We'll hear Ellis co-star as Officer Frank Smith in "The Big Bull" (originally aired on NBC on September 14, 1952), and we'll hear...

"The Robin Hood of modern crime" is on the case, and the halo of The Saint is hanging over Vincent Price's head. Price stars as Simon Templar in three old time radio adventures of Leslie Charteris' gentleman sleuth: "Murder on the High Seas" (originally aired on Mutual on September 18, 1949); "It's Snow Use" (originally aired on NBC on October 29, 1950); and "The Terrible Tintype" (originally aire...

Based on a novel by James M. Cain, with screenplay co-written by Raymond Chandler and Billy Wilder behind the camera,  Double Indemnity is a film noir classic - one of the best ever produced and it doesn't lose any of its power when adapted for radio. Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck recreate their screen roles as an insurance salesman and an unhappy wife who plot to make the most of her husban...

When the bells all ring and the horns all blow, you can ring in 2019 with a bonus episode of Down These Mean Streets ! Jack Webb and Gerald Mohr star in New Year's Eve mysteries from Dragnet and The Adventures of Philip Marlowe . We'll hear "The Big New Year's" (originally aired on NBC on March 8, 1951) and "The Old Acquaintance" (originally aired on CBS on December 26, 1948).

We're wrapping up 2018 and spending the holidays with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. The dynamic duo of Baker Street stars in three old time radio mysteries taking us from Christmas to New Year's Eve. First, John Stanley and Alfred Shirley star in "The Adventure of the Christmas Bride" (originally aired on Mutual on December 21, 1947). Then, John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson play Holmes and Watso...

To celebrate what would have been his 100th birthday, we'll hear Jeff Chandler in two old time radio mysteries as "that reckless red-headed Irishman" - two-fisted private eye Michael Shayne. Chandler is an ultra-hard boiled gumshoe in "The Case of the Crooked Wheel" and "The Case of the High-Priced Twins." Then, he shows off his comedic side as Mr. Boynton in  Our Miss Brooks (in an episode origin...