Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

Latest Episodes:

Episode 551 - Ladd and Lasses (Box 13, Screen Guild Theatre, & Hollywood Star Time) Sep 10, 2023

Show notes

Actor Alan Ladd was born 110 years ago this month, and we're celebrating his life and career with four of his old time radio appearances. He plays mystery writer and amateur gumshoe Dan Holiday in "Diamond in the Sky" and "The Professor and the Puzzle," a pair of syndicated adventures from Box 13. Plus, he recreates his big screen role (and reunites with Veronica Lake) in The Blue Dahlia from The Screen Guild Theatre (originally aired on NBC on April 21, 1949) and he steps into the shoes of Walter Neff in Double Indemnity from Hollywood Star Time (originally aired on CBS on June 22, 1946).

Episode 550 - First Day of School (The Whistler, Philip Marlowe, I Was a Communist for the FBI, & Dragnet) Sep 03, 2023

Show notes

It's time to sharpen those pencils and hit the books with four radio mysteries set in and around the classroom. First, a chemistry professor tries a blackmail experiment in "Hasty Conclusion" from The Whistler (originally aired on CBS on May 19, 1947) and Philip Marlowe's latest client is a Nebraska schoolteacher caught up in mystery and murder in "The Rustin Hickory" (originally aired on CBS on September 10, 1949). Then, Dana Andrews tries to thwart a Commie plot to infiltrate a college campus in "Little Red Schoolhouse" from I Was a Communist for the FBI and Joe Friday goes back to school to find an assailant targeting students in "The Big Knife" from Dragnet (originally aired on NBC on May 11, 1950).

BONUS - Five Favorites: Box 13 Sep 01, 2023

Show notes

In this bonus show, I'm opening the mail and picking out my five favorite episodes of Box 13. Alan Ladd stars as mystery writer and amateur detective Dan Holiday who finds his clients - and his story ideas - through a clever classified ad offering his services as an adventurer for hire. First, Holiday is hired to pose as a fiance in "Look Pleasant, Please" and he's pressed into a citywide scavenger hunt alongside a killer in "The Better Man." He works to save an innocent man from execution in "Hunt and Peck" and expose a cadre of crooked gamblers in "Much Too Lucky." Finally, a weekend getaway lands Holiday in the middle of a bitter family reunion and a series of dangerous practical jokes in "Death is No Joke."

Episode 549 - Under the Sea (The Whistler, Man Called X, & This is Your FBI) Aug 27, 2023

Show notes

Crime takes a dive in this week's episode of old time radio mysteries involving submarines, salvage divers, and the mysterious ocean floor. First, a love triangle leads to death at sea in "Dark Voyage" from The Whistler (originally aired on CBS on April 9, 1950). Then, Herbert Marshall hunts for a submarine targeting ships off India as The Man Called X (originally aired on NBC on February 3, 1951). And finally, G-men are on the job when a Nazi submarine drops off enemy agents in "The Saboteurs" (originally aired on ABC on March 30, 1951).

Episode 548 - Up in the Air (Frank Race, Philip Marlowe, & Silent Men) Aug 23, 2023

Show notes

Danger flies high today with three old time radio mysteres involving airplanes. First, Frank Race is hired to deliver the plans for a million-dollar aircraft in the syndicated story "The Airborne Adventure." Next, Philip Marlowe's latest case leads to a team of daredevil skydivers and a deadly accident in "The Birds on the Wing" (originally aired on CBS on November 26, 1949). And finally, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. stars as a government agent hunting for the person who stowed a time bomb aboard a plane in "The Big Kill" from The Silent Men (originally aired on NBC on February 3, 1952).

Episode 547 - Fine Arts and Felonies (Sherlock Holmes, Rocky Jordan, Johnny Dollar & Mr. and Mrs. North) Aug 21, 2023

Show notes

The world of art and artists provides the backdrop for our four old time radio mysteries. First, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce are Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson hunt for a stolen painting in "The Girl with the Gazelle" from The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (originally aired on Mutual on March 25, 1946). Next, an artist's sketch leads to a new adventure for Rocky Jordan in "Portrait of Rocky" (originally aired on CBS on April 3, 1949). Edmond O'Brien is on the case of a $250,000 art gallery heist in "The Missing Masterpiece" from Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (originally aired on CBS on March 28, 1950). And finally, a forged painting leads to a new case for Mr. and Mrs. North in "Collector's Item" (AFRS rebroadcast from February 9, 1954).

BONUS - Superman Summer: The Nitrate Shipment Aug 11, 2023

Show notes

It's an explosive adventure for the Man of Steel as he tries to thwart a plot by foreign spies. This adventure originally aired between April 21 and May 9, 1941.

Episode 546 - In this Corner (Crime Club, Frank Race, The Falcon, & Broadway is My Beat) Aug 09, 2023

Show notes

That's the bell, and we're underway with four old time radio mysteries set in and around the world of boxing. First, a fight fixer winds up dead in "Death is a Knock-out" from Crime Club (originally aired on Mutual on June 12, 1947). Frank Race investigates when a boxer dies in the ring in the syndicated mystery "The Adventure of the Fourth Round Knock-Out," and The Falcon solves "The Case of the Bellicose Boxer" (originally aired on NBC on January 28, 1951). Finally, Detective Danny Clover tries to find out who left a boxer for dead in the river in "The Harry Brian Case" from Broadway is My Beat (originally aired on CBS on July 11, 1953).

Episode 545 - Now You See Them (Blackstone, Mystery is My Hobby, Philo Vance, & Nick Carter) Aug 06, 2023

Show notes

Magicians may be able to fool an audience, but they can't fool these old time radio detectives. We'll hear four mysteries involving illusions, prestidigitation, and sleight of hand along with murder. First, a real-life magician is the inspiration for Blackstone, The Magic Detective and the mystery of "The Icy Touch" (originally aired on Mutual on December 5, 1948). Then, mystery writer and amateur sleuth Barton Drake finds murder at a magic show in Mystery is My Hobby. Philo Vance hunts for the killer of a magician in "The Magic Murder Case" and a competition between magicians turns deadly in "The Case of the Magic Rope" on Nick Carter, Master Detective (originally aired on Mutual on March 21, 1948).

BONUS - Superman Summer: Last of the Clipper Ships Aug 04, 2023

Show notes

Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen set sail on the final voyage of the "Last of the Clipper Ships" and Superman finds adventure at sea in this serialized adventure that originally aired between March 5 and April 18, 1941).

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