Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

We're celebrating Orson Welles' birthday with two of the legendary actor and director's old time radio performances. First, Welles leads us on a tour of  The Black Museum , Scotland Yard's archive of murder. He narrates the tale of a faded tartan scarf wielded in the hands of a dangerous man. Then he recreates his big screen role from  The Third Man in  The Lives of Harry Lime . We'll hear Harry i...

We're back in the saddle this week with Joel McCrea in  Tales of the Texas Rangers . As Ranger Jayce Pearson, McCrea keeps the Lone Star State safe in true crime stories. We'll hear "Fool's Gold" (originally aired on NBC on August 19, 1950) and "The White Suit" (originally aired on NBC on November 5, 1950).

It's the fifth anniversary of  Down These Mean Streets and the 69th anniversary of the premiere of  Richard Diamond, Private Detective . To celebrate both, here's an extra-large episode starring Dick Powell as Diamond. Radio's singing detective gets his man and carries a tune in "The Ralph Chase Case" (originally aired on NBC on May 15, 1949); "The Harry Baker Case" (originally aired on NBC on Sep...

Bob Bailey is back on the job in another five-part adventure of Johnny Dollar - "the man with the action-packed expense account." Join America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator as he crosses swords with a twentieth century pirate to learn what happened to a sunken ship in "The Jolly Roger Fraud" (originally aired on CBS between March 19 and March 23, 1956).

Nero Wolfe, Rex Stout's gargantuan gourmet, is back! His career as a radio detective began 75 years ago this month, and we're marking the occasion with two of his on-air adventures. Sydney Greenstreet plays the eccentric sleuth (with Larry Dobkin as loyal legman Archie Goodwin) in "The Case of the Friendly Rabbit" (originally aired on NBC on December 1, 1950). Then, we'll hear an early Wolfe radio...

In honor of his birthday, we'll hear Jack Webb in a pair of old time radio performances - roles that show off a side of the actor/director's persona very different from Sgt. Joe Friday. In "Jack of Clubs" (originally aired on ABC on February 20, 1949), he's waterfront shamus  Pat Novak For Hire . Then, he's an unscrupulous private eye who dabbles in crime in "Perfect Alibi" from  The Whistler (ori...

During his nearly three decade run on radio, Les Damon starred as several detectives - Dashiell Hammett's Nick Charles, the debonair private eye known as the Falcon, and half of the husband and wife duo the Abbotts. We'll hear Damon as Nick in "The Strange Case of Professor Waigner" from  The Adventures of the Thin Man ; as Mike Waring -  The Falcon - in "The Case of the Big Talker" (originally ai...

One of the busier actors on radio, Frank Lovejoy starred in everything from soap operas to superhero adventures, from tales of  Suspense to the urban newspaper drama  Night Beat . We'll hear him in three old time radio shows: as  The Amazing Mr. Malone in "Cleanliness is Next to Godliness" (originally aired on ABC on August 28, 1948); in "Danger at Matecumbe" from Escape (originally aired on CBS o...

It's Broadway - "the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world." Join Detective Danny Clover as he walks the Great White Way in  Broadway is My Beat . Larry Thor stars as the sensitive sleuth in "The Max Wendell Murder Case" (an AFRS rebroadcast of a show from April 28, 1950) and in "The Howard Crawford Murder Case" (originally aired on CBS on August 5, 1951).

In a special bonus episode, we'll hear a trio of radio detectives who were nominated for Academy Awards. Though they didn't bring home an Oscar, they still won a place in our hearts for their on-air crime solving prowess. Sydney Greenstreet stars as Nero Wolfe in "Stamped for Murder" (originally aired on October 20, 1950). Then, Jeff Chandler is Michael Shayne in "The Case of the Mail-Order Murder...

To celebrate what would have been the 100th birthday of master mystery writer Mickey Spillane, we'll hear three radio adventures of his signature shamus - the hard-boiled Mike Hammer. Ted De Corsia stars as Hammer in three episodes from  That Hammer Guy : "The Jim Gordon Case," "The More You Kill, the Simpler It Gets" (originally aired on Mutual on April 20, 1954), and "A Dead Dame in Central Park...

Emmy-nominated writer E. Jack Neuman was one of radio's most prolific mystery scribes. Before he created classic TV shows like Mr. Novak , Neuman penned adventures of Jeff Regan, Richard Diamond, Sam Spade, and many more. In honor of his birthday, we'll hear three of his old time radio mysteries: "Fall Guy" from Rocky Jordan (originally aired on CBS on May 1, 1949); "The LaTourette Matter" from  Y...

Staats Cotsworth gets the shot - and his man - as  Casey, Crime Photographer . Each week, Casey covers the news and makes it as he cracks the case and meets his deadline. We'll hear the crusader with a camera in "Loaded Dice" (originally aired on CBS on September 4, 1947) and "The Tobacco Pouch" (originally aired on CBS on September 18, 1947).

Heaven help crooks and thieves -  The Saint is on the case! Vincent Price stars as Simon Templar, "the Robin Hood of modern crime," in three old time radio mysteries: "The Sinister Sneeze" (originally aired on NBC on June 11, 1950); "The Dame on the Doorstep" (originally aired on NBC on November 12, 1950); and "Formula for Death" (originally aired on NBC on March 25, 1951).

Our old time radio detectives this week drummed up business with newspaper ads - catchy sales pitches that invited potential clients to write in with requests for help. We'll hear Bob Bailey inviting those in need to  Let George Do It in "The Father Who Had Nothing to Say" (originally aired on Mutual on September 13, 1948). Then, Alan Ladd opens another letter addressed to  Box 13 in the syndicate...

If you're in trouble and you can come up with ten dollars a day and expenses, you can get help from  Jeff Regan, Investigator . The hard-boiled gumshoe worked for the penny-pinching Anthony J. Lyon and never failed to find dangerous dames and double-crosses as he hustled for that ten a day. We'll hear Jack Webb as Regan in "The Too Many Mrs. Rogers" (originally aired on CBS on October 9, 1948). Th...

Though it was one of radio's most popular shows,  The Fat Man left the airwaves in 1951 - a victim of the same anti-Communist hysteria that jailed its creator Dashiell Hammett. But in 1954, an Australian radio series, using scripts from the American show, was launched and its surviving shows give us a chance to hear more from this XXL private eye. We'll hear Lloyd Berrell starring in "Murder and t...

To old time radio fans, Steve Dunne is best known for his single season as Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade. Dunne stepped into the private eye's shoes when the program was resurrected following a cancellation, and he remained in the role until Sam closed up shop for good in 1951. We'll hear Dunne in his very first Spade adventure (originally aired on NBC on November 17, 1950) as well as "The Crab Lou...

On October 3, 1955,  Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar  returned to CBS after a year-long hiatus. The adventures of "the man with the action-packed expense account" were revamped into a serial, with a complete adventure playing out each weeknight. Bob Bailey stepped into the shoes of "America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator," and it was a perfect marriage of actor and character. We'll hear th...

Haul out the holly - it's time for the "Down These Mean Streets" holiday special. We're wrapping up 2017 with Christmas capers from four old time radio sleuths. First, Natalie Masters is  Candy Matson , the gorgeous girl detective of San Francisco, in "Jack Frost" (originally aired on NBC on December 10, 1949). Next, Dick Powell and his  Richard Diamond cast of characters present their version of...

Head down to 417 Cherry Street for a drink and a set from Pete Kelly and his jazz band. Jack Webb combines his love of jazz and his unique style of radio crime drama in  Pete Kelly's Blues , a short-lived series from the summer of 1951. The show featured great tunes and downbeat stories of the Prohibition era, and it inspired a 1955 feature film. We'll hear a pair of episodes - "The Veda Brand Sto...

Two of old time radio's crime solving couples are on hand to mix marriage and mayhem in a pair of mysteries. First, Richard Denning and Barbara Britton are amateur sleuths  Mr. and Mrs. North in "Too Late to Die" (an Armed Forces Radio Service rebroadcast of a show originally aired on CBS on December 15, 1953). Then, Mandel Kramer is private eye Pat Abbott and Claudia Morgan is his wife Jean in "T...

We're running a special edition to salute the radio crime fighters of the Fourth Estate – three newsmen who used the power of the press to solve crimes and keep their cities free of corruption. First, Staats Cotsworth is Casey, Crime Photographer in "The Blonde's Lipstick" (originally aired on CBS on November 6, 1947). Then, editor Steve Wilson and reporter Lorelei Kilbourne fight the rackets of B...

We tip our fedora to Howard Duff in honor of the star's November 24th birthday. To celebrate, we'll hear him in his signature role as Dashiell Hammett's famous private detective Sam Spade. With his wry humor and unique take on the material, Duff as Spade gave us one of the best gumshoes of the era. We'll hear him in two episodes of  The Adventures of Sam Spade : "The Bow Window Caper" (originally...

To keep you smiling on Thanksgiving, here's a comedy side dish courtesy of Eve Arden as Our Miss Brooks . Jeff Chandler – radio's Michael Shayne – co-stars alongside the amazing Ms. Arden in this Turkey Day story about a live turkey slated to be guest of honor at the Madison High feast. Co-starring Gale Gordon ( The Casebook of Gregory Hood ), this episode originally aired on CBS on November 19, 1...