Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

Of the legendary run of serialized  Johnny Dollar shows starring the great Bob Bailey, three stories are incomplete, with one chapter from each having been lost to time. Today, we're investigating if these stories still hold up even with a missing chapter from each (spoilers: I think they do). We'll hear " The Salt City Matter" (originally aired on CBS between April 2 and 6, 1956 - missing Chapter...

We're rubbing elbows with four members of the fraternity of radio private detectives as they risk life and limb for their fee (plus expenses). Jeff Chandler stars as Michael Shayne in the syndicated mystery "The Pursuit of Death;" as Sam Spade, Howard Duff finds himself saddled with a partner and a bunny costume in "The Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail Caper" (originally aired on CBS on December 4, 1...

Happy Thanksgiving! For your listening pleasure as you travel, prepare the holiday meal, or just enjoy some well-deserved time off, here's an encore presentation of last year's Turkey Day special. It's a collection of Thanksgiving-themed mysteries starring some of my favorite old time radio detectives with a few special guests dropping in for some musical and comedic performances.  We've got a pai...

Hurry, hurry, hurry - come to the midway for four radio mysteries set at the carnival. A fortune teller predicts her own murder in a syndicated adventure of  Boston Blackie starring Richard Kollmar. Then, a carnival dancer marries a wealthy admirer and then schemes to get rid of him in "The Brass Ring" (originally aired on CBS on September 16, 1946). Sam Spade tries to save a carnival performer fr...

It's not just adults who need a good detective. Our heroes this week come to the aid of kids in trouble. First, Dan Holiday helps a boy find a lost astronomer in "Archimedes and the Roman" from Box 13 . Next, Philip Marlowe is hired to find the missing uncle of a newsboy in "The Kid on the Corner" (originally aired on CBS on December 3, 1949). Finally, Johnny Dollar believes the life of a teenage...

Our heroes this week encounter hypnosis and meet those who have fallen under its spell and who have used it to try and conceal their crimes. First, Boston Blackie suspects a woman's murder confession was driven by hypnosis rather than guilt. Then, a woman is hypnotized to help solve a murder in "Cupid Can Be Deadly" from Crime Club (originally aired on Mutual on October 16, 1947). In "The Voice of...

As Americans head to the polls to pick a president, we'll hear some old time radio mysteries centering on the seedier side of the political process. Fortunately,  The Green Hornet is on hand to keep things safe for democracy and to deliver a decisive blow against the crooked machines who try to get corrupt politicians elected. We'll hear the Hornet and his loyal sidekick Kato in "Votes for Sale" (...

Get ready for thrills, chills, and spills with trick-or-treat tales both scary and silly in the annual  Down These Mean Streets  Halloween special! Ray Milland reprises his big screen role as  The Screen Director's Playhouse  presents "The Uninvited" (originally aired on NBC on November 18, 1949). Then, two radio gumshoes face off against things that go bump in the night:  The Saint in "The Ghosts...

It's the witching hour - well, closer to two witching hours, to be precise - for old time radio detectives in this week's episode. We've got four mysteries involving witches just in time for Halloween. First, an author plagued by a witch's hexes seeks the help of Nick Carter in "The Witch of Donderberg Mountain" (originally aired on Mutual on April 22, 1945). Next, a witch at a Halloween party see...

Yippie-ki-yay, old time radio fans! We're heading west for some radio mysteries set in the wide open spaces of the American frontier. Alan Ladd is on the trail of his brother's murderer in "A Killing in Abilene" from  Suspense (originally aired on CBS on December 14, 1950), and Joel McCrea hunts for a cowboy's killer in "The Cactus Pear" from  Tales of the Texas Rangers (originally aired on NBC on...

Great Scott... 600 episodes?!  To mark the occasion, I'm on a trip to 221B Baker Street with my favorite radio adventures of Sherlock Holmes. In this super-sized Sherlock special, we'll hear John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson in "A Scandal in Bohemia." Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce are Holmes and Watson in "The Notorious Canary Trainer" (originally aired on Mutual on April 23, 1945) and "The Speck...

I may not know art, but I know what I like - and I like these four radio mysteries involving masterpieces, the artists who make them, and the crooks who try to steal them. First,  Boston Blackie is forced to participate in an art heist to save his friend (syndicated episode known as "The Abbott Painting"), and a beautiful woman wants a missing artist found in "The Barefoot Boy with Shoes Gone" fro...

Several great actors gave voice to The Shadow , but today we're shining a spotlight on those stars and their roles outside of the cloak of radio's invisible avenger. We'll hear Frank Readick as a crook in "The Case of the Cincinnati Narcotics Ring" from  Gang Busters (originally aired on ABC on September 25, 1948). Then, Bill Johnstone is a newlywed with a secret in "Devoted Couple" from  The Whis...

Over the long run of the  Dragnet radio series, Sgt. Joe Friday (Jack Webb) was paired with four different partners. Each of these cops brought a different energy to the show and had a similar but different dynamic with Friday. We'll hear all four of them in this week's episode. First, Barton Yarborough is Sgt. Ben Romero in "The Big Ben" (originally aired on NBC on March 15, 1951). Then, Barney P...

Tap gloves and tune in for a quartet of radio mysteries set in and around the boxing ring. First, a crooked gambler is killed when he tries to a fix a fight in "Death is a Knockout" from  Crime Club (originally aired on Mutual on June 12, 1947). Next, Dick Powell gives a heel turn as a boxer out to ruin a rival in "Slow Burn" from  Suspense (originally aired on CBS on February 23, 1950). Reporter...

Catch a plane and begin a daring mission with these four radio super spies and sleuths. As Steve Mitchell, Brian Donlevy heads to London to keep enemy agents guessing in Dangerous Assignment (originally aired on NBC on March 3, 1951) and  The Man Called X is off to Monte Carlo to find out why a fellow agent was killed (originally aired on NBC on May 4, 1951). Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. hunts for missi...

Feathers and fiends are on the agenda this week with four old time radio mysteries involving birds. A crow may foil a killer's plans to get away with murder in "Bird of Death," a syndicated episode of  The Haunting Hour . Then,  Blackstone, the Magic Detective explains how a canary helped him solve the case of "The Bird of Doom" in a syndicated tale. Bob Bailey investigates when a parrot's owner k...

Fur coats are in demand in this week's radio mysteries, as our detectives tackle cases involving the pricey outerwear. First, Dick Powell investigates a fur warehouse fire that may be arson in "Fortune in Furs" from  Rogue's Gallery (originally aired on Mutual on December 20, 1945). Then, the cops of  The Line-Up hope a fur coat can help them identify a Jane Doe in "The Fur Flaunting Floozy" (orig...

The golden age of radio meets the atomic age with these four mysteries. First,  Bulldog Drummond hunts for missing radium in "Claim Check for Death" (originally aired on Mutual on January 17, 1947). Next, villains plot to wipe out New York with an atomic weapon, and only  Mr. I.A. Moto can stop them in "A Force Called X07" (originally aired on NBC on May 20, 1951). The feds try to find the man who...

Sometimes it takes two detectives to crack the case. Fortunately, each of these radio mysteries has a dynamic duo on the scene. First,  Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons and his partner Mike Kelly solve "The Case of the Ruthless Murderers" (originally aired on CBS on October 27, 1949). Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin take their final bow on the air in "The Case of Room 304" (originally aired on NBC o...

Don't hiss - even if you don't like snakes, I think you'll enjoy these four serpent-centric radio mysteries. First,  Casey, Crime Photographer  investigates a curse that may have followed two explorers home in "The Serpent Goddess" (originally aired on CBS on December 4, 1947). Next, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson tangle with Professor Moriarty and a secret cult in "The Adventure of the Serpent Go...

As we head into the home stretch of summer, here are four seasonal radio mysteries. Frank Lovejoy stars as the owner of a summer resort in dire financial straits who may have turned to murder to keep the lights on in "Last Night" from The Mollé Mystery Theatre (originally aired on NBC on February 22, 1946), and in a syndicated mystery, Boston Blackie finds a marriage racket when he heads to a dude...

Say "aloha" to adventure with four radio mysteries set in Hawaii.  The Man Called X investigates a land swindle in Honolulu (originally aired on CBS on June 5, 1947), and a con artist tries to pose as an heiress to net a fortune in "The Rawhide Coffin" from  The Whistler (originally aired on CBS on April 3, 1949). Philip Marlowe heads to the islands in "The Cloak of Kamehameha" (originally aired o...

Our heroes try to solve some purr -fect crimes in these old time radio mysteries - each involving a cat. First, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (played by Tom Conway and Nigel Bruce) find "The Clue of the Hungry Cat" (originally aired on ABC on October 26, 1946). Next, Bob Bailey tries to help an inventor and finds a murder in "The Iron Cat" from  Let George Do It (originally aired on Mutual on Jun...

We're saluting James M. Cain - one of the fathers of hard-boiled crime fiction - with two of his stories recreated for radio. First, James Cagney plays a rising racketeer who takes advantage of a crusading reformer in "Love's Lovely Counterfeit" from  Suspense (originally aired on CBS on January 17, 1948). Then, Burt Lancaster and Joan Bennett plot a murder and a swindle in "Double Indemnity" from...