Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

Latest Episodes:

Episode 627 - Mohr Bang for Your Buck (Philip Marlowe, The Whistler, & Suspense) Jun 08, 2025

Show notes

"Get this and get it straight!" We're celebrating Gerald Mohr - the radio actor who brought a two-fisted intensity to Philip Marlowe - in honor of his birthday on June 11. He was one of the best stars of the era, and his performance makes The Adventures of Philip Marlowe one of the best detective dramas of the day. We'll hear Mohr as Marlowe in "The Easy Mark" (originally aired on CBS on January 29, 1949) and "The Long Arm" (originally aired on CBS on February 7, 1950). Then, he's a less scrupulous character in "Lady with a Key" from The Whistler (originally aired on CBS on April 2, 1950). Finally, he co-stars with Jack Benny in "A Good and Faithful Servant," a story of a $50,000 department store heist and the mild-mannered clerk who pulls it off, from Suspense (originally aired on CBS on June 2, 1952).

BONUS - Dollar Days: The Alvin Summers Matter Jun 04, 2025

Show notes

Our bonus series spotlighting the serialized adventures of Johnny Dollar continues! In "The Alvin Summers Matter" (originally aired on CBS between October 24 and 28, 1955), the man with the action-packed expense account is in Mexico to track down an embezzler who fled the United States with his loot. But Johnny isn't there long before he's pistol whipped and discovers a corpse in his hotel room. Bob Bailey stars as Dollar in this story set south of the border.

Episode 626 - Murder on the Air (Ellery Queen, Box 13, The Whistler, & Sam Spade) Jun 01, 2025

Show notes

Tune in for danger with a collection of radio mysteries that involve the medium of radio itself! Master sleuth Ellery Queen has to solve a murder that takes place in his own studio - right in the middle of his show - in "The Armchair Detective" (originally aired on CBS on March 27, 1946). Then, Dan Holiday is hired by a radio actress who fears for her life in "Actor's Alibi," a syndicated episode of Box 13. A radio announcer plots his wife's murder and cooks up a perfect on-air alibi in "Brief Pause for Murder" from The Whistler (originally aired on CBS on September 11, 1949). And finally, Sam Spade finds that a radio drama leads to real-life murder in "The Soap Opera Caper" (originally aired on NBC on February 16, 1951).

Episode 625 - Clothes-Minded (Let George Do It, Philo Vance, Richard Diamond, The Saint, & Johnny Dollar) May 25, 2025

Show notes

They say clothes make the man, but they also make mysteries for this week's roster of radio detectives. George Valentine hunts a killer where the only clue is his distinctive attire in "Death Wears a Gay Sport Jacket" from Let George Do It (originally aired on Mutual on October 18, 1948) and Philo Vance probes the murder of a dress shop owner in the syndicated episode "The Herringbone Murder Case." Richard Diamond tries to find out why someone keeps stealing blue serge suits (originally aired on ABC on February 9, 1951), and The Saint discovers a bullet hole in the back of his brand-new suit in "Formula for Death" (originally aired on ABC on March 25, 1951). Finally, John Lund stars as Johnny Dollar in "The Rochester Theft Matter," where a girl is gunned down while wearing a stolen fur coat (originally aired on CBS on May 12, 1953).

Episode 624 - It's a Dog's Life (Boston Blackie, Sherlock Holmes, Philip Marlowe, The Saint, & Barrie Craig) May 18, 2025

Show notes

Our dogged detectives sniff for clues in five canine-related old time radio mysteries. First, the owner of the best in show pooches is killed at a dog show in a syndicated adventure of Boston Blackie, and a dog "tells" Sherlock Holmes who murdered his owner in "The Case of the Dog Who Changed His Mind" (originally aired on Mutual on September 28, 1947). Philip Marlowe is on the trail of a dog - though this one is made out of jade - in "The Orange Dog" (originally aired on CBS on January 22, 1949). Barry Sullivan plays The Saint in "Dossier on a Doggone Dog," a story of a lost dog and stolen jewels (originally aired on NBC on September 24, 1950), and Barrie Craig is hired to walk a dog, only to discover the dog's owner knocked unconscious in "Beware the Walking Dog" (originally aired on NBC on May 3, 1953).

Episode 623 - Mother of All Mysteries (Sherlock Holmes, Let George Do It, Box 13, Richard Diamond, & Dragnet) May 11, 2025

Show notes

Happy Mother's Day! We're celebrating moms with five old time radio mysteries where they play major roles. In "The Case of the Lucky Shilling," Sherlock Holmes comes to the aid of a woman whose son is wiped out by a crooked gambler (originally aired on Mutual on January 14, 1948), and George Valentine tries to prove that a woman is not an unfit mother in "Problem Child" from Let George Do It (originally aired on Mutual on June 21, 1948). A woman hires Dan Holiday to prove her son's death wasn't an accident in "Suicide or Murder" from Box 13, and the mother of an escaped convict wants Richard Diamond to send her son back to prison (originally aired on NBC on October 4, 1950). Finally, the cops of Dragnet are on the trail of a serial shoplifter who only steals clothes for children in "The Big Little Mother" (originally aired on NBC on October 6, 1953).

Encore - Heflin for Hire (Adventures of Philip Marlowe) May 04, 2025

Show notes

In this encore presentation, we go back to the summer of 1947 when Philip Marlowe came to the air in his own weekly series with Van Heflin playing Raymond Chandler's private eye. The NBC series featured a mix of original mysteries as well as adaptations of Chandler stories, including the show's premiere episode "Red Wind" (originally aired on NBC on June 17, 1947). A year later, Gerald Mohr would put his own stamp on the character, but these Heflin shows offer a different take on Marlowe and a compelling portrayal in its own right. Along with "Red Wind," we'll hear "The Daring Young Dame on the Flying Trapeze" (July 1, 1947); "The King in Yellow" (July 8, 1947); "Trouble is My Business" (August 5, 1947); and "Robin and the Hood" (August 19, 1947).

Episode 622 - Mysteries at the Movies (Jeff Regan, Richard Diamond, & Johnny Dollar) Apr 13, 2025

Show notes

Lights, camera, action! This week, our old time radio sleuths are tackling cases connected with the movie business and finding mystery on and off screen. First, "the Lyon's Eye" has to protect a movie star from some unscripted violence. Frank Graham stars in "The Hollywood Story, or H is for the Many Things You Gave Me" from Jeff Regan, Investigator (originally aired on CBS on March 22, 1950). Next, Dick Powell goes west when the head of a movie studio is blackmailed - and later framed for murder - in "The Hollywood Story" from Richard Diamond, Private Detective (originally aired on CBS on August 23, 1953). Finally, a corpse in a seaside amusement park is connected to a silent movie star and the long-ago murder of her husband in "The Silent Queen Matter" - a five-part Johnny Dollar mystery starring Bob Bailey as "America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator" (originally aired on CBS between October 29 and November 2, 1956).

BONUS - Dollar Days: The Chesapeake Fraud Matter Apr 09, 2025

Show notes

We join Johnny Dollar on a cross-country mystery as our bonus series of serialized adventures continues! Bob Bailey is "the man with the action-packed expense account" in "The Chesapeake Fraud Matter" (originally aired on CBS between October 17 and October 20, 1955), a case that finds Dollar trying to prove if a man marked down as dead five years ago is actually alive and well.

Episode 621 - Spider Webb (Jeff Regan, Pat Novak, Pete Kelly's Blues, & Dragnet) Apr 06, 2025

Show notes

We're celebrating the 105th anniversary of the birth of Jack Webb - one of the faces on the Mt. Rushmore of old time radio drama. Best known for Dragnet, Webb logged many an hour solving crimes on the air as cops, private eyes, and amateur sleuths. We'll hear him as Jeff Regan, Investigator in "The Guy from Gower Gulch" (originally aired on CBS on November 13, 1948) and as Pat Novak For Hire in "Wendy Morris" (originally aired on ABC on May 8, 1948). He solves a Prohibition-era mystery in Pete Kelly's Blues (AFRS rebroadcast of an episode known as "Little Jake" from May 22, 1951), and we wrap up with Webb in his element as Sgt. Joe Friday in "The Big Want" (originally aired on NBC on March 1, 1953).

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