Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

Latest Episodes:

BONUS - Superman Summer: The Dragon's Teeth Jul 29, 2023

Show notes

Superman and the rest of the Daily Planet gang are on the hunt for a set of jade dragon's teeth - a set that when combined could hold the secrets to immortality in this ten-part radio adventure of the Man of Steel (originally aired between February 10 and March 3, 1941).

Episode 544 - Worth a Thousand Words (Casey, Crime Photographer, Richard Diamond, & Let George Do It) Jul 23, 2023

Show notes

Say cheese! Our heroes in this week's episode are solving mysteries involving photographers and the photos they've taken. First, Casey, Crime Photographer hunts for picture-perfect proof of a killer's identity in "Murder in Black and White" (originally aired on CBS on March 18, 1948). Then, a nightclub photographer is marked for death in Richard Diamond, Private Detective (originally aired on NBC on August 9, 1949). And finally, George Valentine is tricked into a blackmail scheme where the blackmailer ends up dead in "Picture with a Black Frame" from Let George Do It (originally aired on Mutual on May 8, 1950).

BONUS - Superman Summer: Black Pearl of Osiris Jul 23, 2023

Show notes

Is an Egyptian god out for revenge against the adventurer who violated his tomb? Superman faces off against a cult and tries to find the Black Pearl of Osiris in all eleven chapters of this radio serial (originally aired between January 15 and February 7, 1941).

Episode 543 - Dog Days of Summer (Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar) Jul 16, 2023

Show notes

The show has gone to the dogs! Bob Bailey stars as Johnny Dollar - "the man with the action-packed expense account" - solve a pair of crimes involving man's best friend. First, he has to guard a show dog whose previous bodyguards met with foul play in "The Laird Douglas-Douglas of Heatherscote Matter" (originally aired on CBS between April 9 and April 13, 1956). Then, Dollar is hired to recover a dognapped pooch in "The Alvin's Alfred Matter" (originally aired on CBS on February 21, 1960).

BONUS - Superman Summer: The Howling Coyote Jul 14, 2023

Show notes

What mysterious force is causing accidents in an oil field? An old friend of Perry White's needs help and the editor sends Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen to investigate in the fourteen-part adventure of "The Howling Coyote" (originally aired between December 13, 1940 and January 13, 1941).

Episode 542 - Urban Cowboys (Gang Busters, Sam Spade, Let George Do It, & Tales of the Texas Rangers) Jul 09, 2023

Show notes

Our heroes this week encounter elements of the old west in the strangest places. First up is "The Case of the Cowboy Killers" - a true crime tale from Gang Busters that pits police against a gang of robbers who are quick on the draw (originally aired on ABC on August 28, 1948). Next, real-life gunplay keeps Sam Spade from enjoying a western dime novel in "The Betrayal in Bumpass Hell," (AFRS rebroadcast from January 16, 1949). Then George Valentine is hired by a big screen cowboy star and winds up in a murder case in "Every Shot Counts" from Let George Do It (originally aired on Mutual on October 31, 1949). And finally, Joel McCrea uses old fashioned methods and modern policework in Tales of the Texas Rangers. We'll hear him as Ranger Jayce Pearson in "The Hatchet" (originally aired on NBC on February 11, 1951).

BONUS - Superman Summer: Five Million Dollar Gold Heist Jul 09, 2023

Show notes

In this bonus show, Superman flies into action when a train carrying millions in gold vanishes from the tracks. We'll hear all eight exciting installments of "The Five Million Dollar Gold Heist" as they originally aired between November 25 and December 11, 1940.

Episode 541 - American History Mysteries (Crime Classics & The Whistler) Jul 04, 2023

Show notes

Happy Fourth of July! We're celebrating America's birthday with some tales of murder and mystery pulled from the history books and dramatized on the outstanding anthology series Crime Classics. We'll hear "The Crime of Bathsheba Spooner" - the story of the first woman tried and executed in the United States (originally aired on CBS on June 15, 1953); the life and death of one of the west's most infamous outlaws in "Billy Bonney, Bloodletter: Also Known as 'The Kid'" (originally aired on CBS on October 21, 1953); and "The Bloody, Bloody Banks of Fall River," where Lizzie Borden took an axe (originally aired on CBS on September 30, 1953). Finally, the dastardly deeds of one of history's greatest rogues are presented in "His Own Reward" from The Whistler (originally aired on CBS on March 25, 1951).

BONUS - Superman Summer: The Invisible Man Jul 03, 2023

Show notes

How can Superman fight a foe he can't see? In this week's bonus episode, the Man of Steel battles an invisible man who stands in his way of unseating a corrupt district attorney. We'll hear all six chapters of this adventure that originally aired between November 11 and November 22, 1940.

Episode 540 - Goodnight, Gumshoes (Boston Blackie, Sam Spade, & I Was a Communist for the FBI) Jun 25, 2023

Show notes

Instead of counting sheep, the sleuths in this week's show are spending long nights counting clues. We'll hear drowsy detective work from our heroes who just want to go to bed. First, Boston Blackie discovers the late night work of a construction crew is actually destructive in a syndicated episode starring Richard Kollmar. As Sam Spade, Howard Duff tries to stay awake and solve "The Insomnia Caper" (AFRS rebroadcast of a show from October 24, 1948). And finally, Dana Andrews has to stay up all night to stay alive in "I Can't Sleep" - a syndicated episode of I Was a Communist for the FBI.

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