Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

Latest Episodes:

Episode 596 - Feeling Punchy (Crime Club, Suspense, Night Beat, & Tales of the Texas Rangers) Sep 15, 2024

Show notes

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 Randy Stone tries to help a fighter under pressure to throw his next bout in Night Beat (an episode known as "Gunner's Last Fight," originally aired on NBC on August 14, 1950). And Jayce Pearson investigates when poison puts a fighter down for the county in "The Rub-Out" from Tales of the Texas Rangers (originally aired on NBC on February 3, 1952).

Episode 595 - Spy Games (Dangerous Assignment, Man Called X, Silent Men, & The Falcon) Sep 08, 2024

Show notes

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 missing scientists and plans for the weapon they built in "The Gigantic Hoax" from The Silent Men (originally aired on NBC on January 20, 1952). And Mike Waring - aka The Falcon - is in Berlin on a job for Army intelligence in "The Case of the King of Clubs" (originally aired on NBC on July 20, 1952).

Episode 594 - For the Birds (Haunting Hour, Blackstone, Let George Do It, & Dragnet) Sep 01, 2024

Show notes

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 keels over after the parrot tells him to in "Drop Dead" from Let George Do It (originally aired on Mutual on July 23, 1951). And Sgt. Joe Friday hunts a burglar who also targets pet birds in "The Big Bird" from Dragnet (AFRS rebroadcast from February 1, 1955).

Episode 593 - Violence for Your Furs (Rogue's Gallery, The Line-Up, & Johnny Dollar) Aug 25, 2024

Show notes

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" (originally aired on CBS on September 26, 1951). Finally, Johnny Dollar hunts for 80 stolen mink coats and the thieves who committed murder in their getaway in "The Silver Blue Matter" (originally aired on CBS between May 7 and May 11, 1956).

Episode 592 - Up and Atom (Bulldog Drummond, Mr. I.A. Moto, Suspense, & I Was a Communist for the FBI) Aug 19, 2024

Show notes

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's smuggling out secrets of a new atomic bomb in "The Case for Dr. Singer" from Suspense (originally aired on CBS on June 28, 1951). And undercover agent Matt Cvetic has to thwart a Red plan to wiretap an atomic scientist in "The Line is Busy" in I Was a Communist for the FBI.

Note: Unfortunately the intro to this week's show was lost due to a technical issue!

Episode 591 - Partners in Crime Fighting (Mr. Keen, Nero Wolfe, Dragnet, & The Abbotts) Aug 11, 2024

Show notes

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 on April 27, 1951). Sgt. Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith are on the trail of counterfeiters in "The Big Listen" from Dragnet (originally aired on NBC on January 5, 1954). Finally, married sleuths Pat and Jean Abbott investigate "The Green-Eyed Divorcee" (AFRS rebroadcast from NBC on May 8, 1955).

Episode 590 - Snakes…Why'd It Have to Be Snakes? (Casey, Crime Photographer, Sherlock Holmes, Richard Diamond, & Philip Marlowe) Aug 04, 2024

Show notes

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 God" (originally aired on Mutual on March 14, 1948). Dick Powell tries to protect his client from someone who's sending snakes in the mail in Richard Diamond, Private Detective in an episode known as "The Joyce Wallace Case" (originally aired on NBC on March 12, 1950). And Gerald Mohr stars as Philip Marlowe in a case involving snakes both real and decorative - "The Gold Cobra" (originally aired on CBS on June 21, 1950).

Episode 589 - There Ain't No Cure for the Summertime Clues (Mollé Mystery Theatre, Boston Blackie, Murder By Experts, & Barrie Craig) Jul 29, 2024

Show notes

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 ranch for vacation. A man spends a hot night trying to get rid of a surprise corpse in "Summer Night" from Murder By Experts (originally aired on Mutual on June 13, 1949), and William Gargan discovers strange affairs afoot at a resort in "Midsummer Lunacy" from Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator (originally aired on NBC on August 17, 1954).

Episode 588 - Hawaiian Homicides (Man Called X, The Whistler, Philip Marlowe, & Harry Lime) Jul 21, 2024

Show notes

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 on CBS on May 16, 1950) and Orson Welles is in Hawaii hunting for jewels in "Cherchez La Gem" from The Lives of Harry Lime.

Episode 587 - Felonious Felines (Sherlock Holmes, Let George Do It, & Dragnet) Jul 16, 2024

Show notes

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 June 12, 1950). Then, a panther is on the loose in Los Angeles and Sgt. Joe Friday has to track it down in "The Big Cat" from Dragnet (originally aired on NBC on June 15, 1954).

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