Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's the start of another Superman summer! Our new season of bonus episodes starring the Man of Steel kicks off with a pair of serialized adventures. First, Clark Kent and Lois Lane investigate strange events in a small town in "Pillar of Fire at Graves' End" (originally aired between August 5 and August 9, 1940). Then, Clark joins an expedition to C...

In this month's bonus episode, we're headed to the San Francisco waterfront for my five favorite episodes of  Pat Novak For Hire . Jack Webb stars as Novak - who makes ends meet by renting boats and taking odd investigative assignments, and who usually lands in hot water with the hard-headed Inspector Hellman of homicide. First, competing clients hire Novak to guard - and stay away from - boxer Ro...

Doctor, doctor - give me the news. We've got three old time radio mysteries involving physicians - some good, some bad, but all in the middle of crimes that our heroes must solve. First, a doctor drops dead in Danny Clover's office on  Broadway is My Beat (originally aired on CBS on August 4, 1949). Next, Charles Russell investigates a doctor who may be criminally negligent in "An Apple a Day Sent...

In honor of Vincent Price's birthday on May 27th, we've got the screen legend in three old time radio mysteries. First, he narrates what might have happened to John Wilkes Booth if the assassin escaped death at the hands of the army in  The Thirteenth Juror (originally aired on NBC on April 23, 1949). Then, Price discovers a dead man is still alive, and he may kill to keep the secret in "Murder Ne...

When our radio sleuths check the mailbox this week, they're getting a special delivery of danger! Missing messages, anonymous letters, and mysterious correspondence drive the cases in this week's showcase of old time radio detective dramas. First, Tom Conway is Holmes and Nigel Bruce is Watson in "The Adventure of the Tolling Bell" from  The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (originally aired on A...

Climb aboard for three old time radio mysteries set on the train tracks. First, Boston Blackie investigates why a gold train was derailed with nothing stolen. Richard Kollmar stars in the syndicated episode known as "The Derailed Gold Train." Then, Inspector Peter Black is on the lookout for jewel thieves on the train in "Pursuit on the Night Ferry" from  Pursuit (originally aired on CBS on Novemb...

Louis Vittes wrote episodes of  The Wild Wild West and  The Invaders , and he penned the classic sci-fi horror picture  I Married a Monster from Outer Space . But before that, he wrote adventures of radio sleuths like Simon Templar, Barrie Craig, and the Shadow. We'll hear some of his work, beginning with "Ladies Never Lie...Much" from  The Saint (originally aired on NBC on January 7, 1951). Then,...

In this month's bonus episode, I'm sharing my five favorite adventures of radio's singing sleuth -  Richard Diamond, Private Detective . Dick Powell stars as the gumshoe who's quick with his fists and usually winds up the week's caper by crooning a tune. First, Diamond investigates a case of blackmail and murder in "The Betty Moran Case" (originally aired on NBC on May 29, 1949). Then, a chance vi...

This week's old time radio mysteries blend comedy with crimesolving. First, Jonathan Latimer's William Crane jumps from the page to the radio in an adaptation of his novel "Lady in the Morgue" from The Mollé Mystery Theatre (AFRS rebroadcast from "Mystery Playhouse"). Then, Albert Dekker and Mike Mazurki star as a pair of con men and reluctant detectives in  Johnny Fletcher Mystery . This 1946 aud...

Ride along with some old time radio police detectives and their real-life counterparts in these mysteries. First, Joe DeSantis is Captain Jim Scott, searching for a missing convict and finding a murder in  Under Arrest (originally aired on Mutual on November 7, 1948). Next, Dan Duryea is Lt. Lou Dana - the cop who doesn't like killers - in  The Man from Homicide  (originally aired on ABC on August...

Scammers and swindlers beware! Magician-turned-detective Mike Trent is on the job to thwart your plans to get some  Easy Money . Larry Haines stars as Trent, a sleuth who focuses on the frauds and con artists who steal the money of average folks who can't afford the losses. We'll hear him in three episodes of this mid-50s mystery series: the show's debut (originally aired on NBC on October 3, 1954...

No chocolate eggs or bunnies - just a pair of old time radio Easter comedies in this holiday bonus episode. First, Phil's seeing a life-size Easter bunny on The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show . Then, a new egg dye leads to colorful confusion for Eve Arden on  Our Miss Brooks (originally aired on NBC and CBS on April 9, 1950).

We're celebrating Jack Webb's birthday with three of his old time radio performances. First, he's  Jeff Regan, Investigator in "Cain, Abel, and the Santa Maria" (originally aired on CBS on September 11, 1948). Next, he co-stars with Joan Banks in "Danger is a Beautiful Blonde" - another strange story by  The Whistler (originally aired on CBS on May 8, 1949). And finally, Webb is Sgt. Joe Friday in...

In this month's bonus episode, I'm serving up my five favorite episodes of  The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe - the single season series starring Oscar-nominee Sydney Greenstreet as Rex Stout's gargantuan gourmet, orchid fancier, and brilliant private detective. First, Wolfe is hired to drop a mystery woman as a client by a man who's soon found murdered in "The Case of the Careworn Cuff" (originall...

Hoist the sail for a triple feature of detectives vs. 20th century pirates! First, as secret agent Ken Thurston, Herbert Marshall hunts a gang that's looting relief ships in the Red Sea in  The Man Called X (originally aired on CBS on June 19, 1947). Then, Tom Collins stars in the syndicated show "The Case of the Vanishing President" - a story of piracy and a revolution from  The Adventures of Fra...

This week, we've got stories from three of the all-time great mystery writers - literary giants who gave us some of the most famous detectives in fiction. We'll hear adaptations of Raymond Chandler's "Murder in the City Hall" and Agatha Christie's "Witness for the Prosecution" from The Mollé Mystery Theatre  (originally aired on NBC on April 5 and May 31, 1946). And in between those shows, we'll h...

In honor of the 95th Academy Awards, we'll hear four old time radio detective stars who took home Oscars of their own. First, Rex Harrison stars as a debonair sleuth in "Murder Deep in the Killer's Mind" from  The Private Files of Rex Saunders (originally aired on NBC on June 20, 1951). Next, Edmond O'Brien is "the man with the action-packed expense account" in "The Malcolm D. Wish, M.D. Matter" f...

Okay, maybe not  everybody loves clowns, but I bet you'll enjoy these three old time radio mysteries featuring the circus' most colorful performers. First, Gregory Hood solves the murder of "The Sad Clown" (originally aired on Mutual on October 7, 1946). Then, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson investigate deadly doings under the big top in "The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger" (originally aired on Mut...

From 1952 until 1957, fans of Dragnet could catch one episode on radio and a different story on television. The adventures of Sgt. Joe Friday aired concurrently on radio and the small screen for hundreds of shows, and this week we'll hear three radio episodes that were later adapted for TV. We'll hear the show that was adapted as the first episode of the TV series (originally aired on NBC on July...

Created by Dashiell Hammett, The Fat Man was one of radio's most popular mystery shows. It was on the verge of spinning off into a series of movies with radio star J. Scott Smart reprising his role of private eye Brad Runyon. But then Hammett ran afoul of the House Un-American Activities Committee and the crimesolving career of the Fat Man came to an end. In this month's bonus episode, I'm sharing...

"America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator" is on the case - three of them - in this week's episode. We're celebrating the anniversary of the radio debut of Johnny Dollar with a trio of old time radio mysteries starring "the man with the action-packed expense account." First, Charles Russell is Johnny in "The Case of Barton Drake" (originally aired on CBS on April 22, 1949). Next, we'll...

With Valetine's Day right around the corner, we're celebrating with three crimesolving couples from the golden age of radio. First, in "A Crime to Fit the Punishment" from  The Mollé Mystery Theatre , an amateur sleuth and his girlfriend investigate a strange case of blackmail (AFRS rebroadcast). Next, it's another adventure of the Duke and Duchess from  Murder By Experts - the locked room mystery...

This month, Philip Marlowe returns to the big screen with Liam Neeson starring as Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles gumshoe. To celebrate, I've picked three old time radio Marlowe mysteries with the great Gerald Mohr. We'll hear "The Restless Day" (originally aired on CBS on January 8, 1949), "The Headless Peacock" (originally aired on CBS on July 16, 1949), and "The Man on the Roof" (originally aire...

Not all radio detectives were cops or private eyes. There were several reporters who cracked cases while they filed stories and met deadlines, and today we'll hear some of their adventures. First,  Casey, Crime Photographer comes to the aid of a man framed for murder in "The Laughing Killer" (originally aired on CBS on May 8, 1947). And on  Night Beat , Randy Stone investigates when a Prohibition-...

In this bonus episode, I'm sharing my five favorite detective stories from  Suspense . Over its twenty year run, "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" presented many great mysteries, including these five tales adapted from stories by some of crime fiction's best writers and starring some of the genre's most interesting characters. First, Warren William recreates his screen role as The Lone Wolf...