Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

Latest Episodes:

Episode 488 - Arthur's Anniversary (New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes & Escape) May 29, 2022

Show notes

It's a birthday celebration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring two of his Sherlock Holmes stories adapted for radio. We'll hear John Stanley as Holmes and Alfred Shirley as Dr. Watson in "The Adventure of the Red-Headed League" (originally aired on Mutual on October 12, 1947) and "The Adventure of the Stolen Naval Treaty" (originally aired on Mutual on November 23, 1947). Plus, we'll hear an adaptation of Doyle's1898 non-Holmes mystery "The Lost Special" from Escape (originally aired on CBS on February 12, 1949).

Click here to read "The Adventure of the Red-Headed League."

Click here to read "The Adventure of the Stolen Naval Treaty."

Click here to read "The Story of the Lost Special."

Episode 487 - Hayes Code (The Whistler, Richard Diamond, & Sam Spade) May 22, 2022

Show notes

John Michael Hayes was a two-time Academy Award-nominated screenwriter who wrote four films for Alfred Hitchcock. But before that, he was a busy radio writer penning adventures for Johnny Dollar and comedies for Lucille Ball. We'll hear three of Hayes' old time radio scripts: "The Seeing Eye" from The Whistler (originally aired on CBS on November 12, 1945); "Lady in Distress" from Richard Diamond, Private Detective (originally aired on ABC on February 23, 1951); and "The Vendetta Caper" from The Adventures of Sam Spade (originally aired on NBC on March 30, 1951).

Episode 486 - These Guns for Hire (Nick Carter, Rogue's Gallery, & Michael Shayne) May 15, 2022

Show notes

There's no case too big for these three radio private eyes. First, Lon Clark is Nick Carter, Master Detective in "The Case of the Priceless Prose" (originally aired on Mutual on December 14, 1947). Then, Dick Powell looks for "The Star of Savoy" as Richard Rogue in Rogue's Gallery (originally aired on NBC on June 23, 1946). Finally, Jeff Chandler is on the job in the Big Easy in "The Case of the Gray-Eyed Blonde," a syndicated mystery from The New Adventures of Michael Shayne.

Episode 485 - Adventures Abroad (Rocky Jordan, Johnny Dollar, & Bold Venture) May 08, 2022

Show notes

Our trip to the golden age of radio takes us all around the world this week. First, Jack Moyles hunts a kidnapper in Cairo as Rocky Jordan in "Quest for Tornina" (originally aired on CBS on October 16, 1949). Then, Edmond O'Brien heads to the Phillippines in "The Woodward Manila Matter" from Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (originally aired on November 25, 1950). Finally, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall lead an adventure in tropical Havana in "Dead Men Don't Leave Prints" from the syndicated series Bold Venture.

Episode 484 - Don't Know Much About History (Crime Classics, Frontier Gentleman, & Suspense) May 03, 2022

Show notes

We're going back in time this week for tales of murder and mystery from the 19th and early 20th centuries. First, Crime Classics dramatizes the sensational true story "The Terrible Deed of John White Webster" (originally aired on CBS on July 13, 1953). Then, the Frontier Gentleman plays an infamous game of poker with Wild Bill Hickok in "Aces and Eights" (originally aired on CBS on April 20, 1958). Finally, Fred MacMurray is a Prohibition-era jazz drummer who witnesses a gangland rub-out in "The Windy City Six" from Suspense (originally aired on CBS on February 8, 1951).

BONUS - Five Favorites: The Saint Apr 23, 2022

Show notes

For this bonus show, I'm sharing my five favorite old time radio adventures of Simon Templar - "the Robin Hood of modern crime" best known as The Saint. We'll hear Vincent Price as the Saint in "The Sinister Sneeze" (originally aired on NBC on June 11, 1950); "Baseball Murder" (originally aired on NBC on September 3, 1950); "No Hiding Place" (originally aired on NBC on November 19, 1950); and "The Big Swindle" (originally aired on NBC on February 25, 1951). We'll also hear substitute Saint Barry Sullivan in "The Ghost that Giggled" (originally aired on NBC oN September 17, 1950).

Episode 483 - Hard-Boiled Eggs (Peter Chambers, Jeff Regan, & Philip Marlowe) Apr 20, 2022

Show notes

Three hard-boiled gumshoes are on the case in this week's episode. First, Dane Clark stars in Crime and Peter Chambers in an Armed Forces Radio Service rebroadcast of a show from April 27, 1954. Then, Frank Graham is Jeff Regan, Investigator in "The Little Man's Lament" (originally aired on CBS on November 9, 1949). Finally, we'll hear Gerald Mohr in "The Heat Wave" from The Adventures of Philip Marlowe (originally aired on CBS on April 16, 1949).

Episode 482 - Stage Fright (Let George Do It, Boston Blackie, & The Whistler) Apr 12, 2022

Show notes

Places, please! We've got three old time radio mysteries set onstage, backstage, and in the aisles of the theatre. Actors, playwrights, and critics are all suspects, victims, and killers and it's up to the detectives to figure out whodunnit before the final curtain. We'll hear "Murder Me Twice" from Let George Do It (originally aired on Mutual on July 5, 1948); a syndicated Boston Blackie mystery known as "Seven Years Bad Luck for Florence Wells;" and "Curtain Call," another strange story by The Whistler (originally aired on CBS on August 27, 1947).

Episode 481 - Webb Head (Johnny Madero, Dragnet, & Pete Kelly's Blues) Apr 03, 2022

Show notes

In honor of Jack Webb's birthday, we'll hear three of the radio and TV legend's old time radio mysteries. First, he stars in a waterfront mystery from Johnny Madero, Pier 23 (originally aired on ABC on June 19, 1947). Then, he's Sgt. Joe Friday on the trail of a killer in "The Big Shirt" from Dragnet (originally aired on NBC on November 30, 1952). Finally, we'll hear a Prohibition-era caper from Pete Kelly's Blues (originally aired on NBC on July 25, 1951).

Episode 480 - Fight Night (Night Beat, Philo Vance, & Richard Diamond) Mar 27, 2022

Show notes

It's a full fight card with three old time radio mysteries set in and around the boxing ring. First, Frank Lovejoy is Randy Stone, coming to the aid of a fighter pressured to take a dive in Night Beat (originally aired on NBC on August 14, 1950). Then, as Philo Vance, Jackson Beck solves "The Heavyweight Murder Case." Finally, Dick Powell tries to prove a fight manager's suicide was actually a murder in Richard Diamond, Private Detective (originally aired on NBC on August 2, 1950).

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