Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

Latest Episodes:

BONUS - Jack O'Lantern (Jack Benny Program) Oct 21, 2020

Show notes

Celebrate Halloween with Jack Benny and his gang - Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Don Wilson, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, and Dennis Day - in a pair of old time radio comedies. First, Jack throws a Halloween party (originally aired on NBC on November 3, 1940). Then, a trick-or-treating prank on guest star Basil Rathbone backfires (originally aired on NBC on November 2, 1941).

Episode 407 - Please Mr. Postman (Box 13) Oct 18, 2020

Show notes

Alan Ladd is back as Dan Holiday, writer and solver of mysteries in Box 13. Holiday hires himself out as an adventurer - all to get story ideas - with a tantalizing classified ad offering to "go anyplace, do anything." We'll hear the big screen star in a trio of syndicated old time radio adventures: "Actor's Alibi," "The Dowager and Dan Holiday," and "Last Will and Nursery Rhyme,"

BONUS - Haunted and Hilarious (Life of Riley & Sealtest Variety Theatre) Oct 14, 2020

Show notes

Ghosts, ghouls, and grins are in the air with two more old time radio Halloween comedies. We'll hear William Bendix take a trip to a haunted house on The Life of Riley (originally aired on ABC on October 29, 1944). Then, Dorothy Lamour and Eddie Bracken receive a late night visit from Hollywood horror icon Boris Karloff on The Sealtest Variety Theatre (originally aired on NBC on June 23, 1944).

Episode 406 – Start Spreading the News (Rocky Fortune) Oct 11, 2020

Show notes

As he reinvented his career with an Oscar-winning role and a new recording contract, Frank Sinatra came to radio in his own detective drama. Sinatra starred as Rocky Fortune, whose weekly hunt for a new job landed him in cases of robbery, fraud, and even murder. We'll hear the Chairman of the Board in three radio mysteries: "Pint-Sized Payroll Bandit" (originally aired on NBC on October 27, 1953); "The Football Fix" (originally aired on February 2, 1954); and "The Twice-Murdered Man" (originally aired on March 9, 1954).

BONUS - Tricks and Treats (Our Miss Brooks & Life with Luigi) Oct 07, 2020

Show notes

Our month of Halloween comedy kicks off with Eve Arden and J. Carrol Naish in a pair of trick-or-treating tales to keep you smiling like a jack-o-lantern. First, the Madison High gang is preparing for a Halloween party on Our Miss Brooks (originally aired on CBS on October 30, 1949). Then, Luigi celebrates his first Halloween in the USA in Life with Luigi (originally aired on CBS on October 30, 1951).

Episode 405 – Dollar Store (Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar) Oct 04, 2020

Show notes

Sixty-five years ago, Bob Bailey stepped into the role of "America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator" and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar relaunched as a nightly serialized series. Those five-part stories rank among the best radio dramas of the era, and Bailey's performance as the ace detective is a big reason for the success of the series. We'll hear him in the complete five-part adventure "The Lorko Diamonds Matter" (originally aired on CBS between November 7th and November 11th, 1955).

BONUS - Gang's All Here (A Day in the Life of Dennis Day & Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show) Sep 30, 2020

Show notes

Jack Benny's supporting cast was one of the best in radio, so it was no surprise when two of his co-stars launched shows of their own. We'll hear A Day in the Life of Dennis Day, starring the gullible and goofy tenor (originally aired on NBC on April 21, 1948) and The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show with Benny's boisterous bandleader and his actress wife in their domestic misadventures (originally aired on NBC on December 18, 1953).

Episode 404 – A Couple of Crimesolvers (Mr. and Mrs. North) Sep 27, 2020

Show notes

For over ten years, Joseph Curtin and Alice Frost starred as Mr. and Mrs. North, radio's most popular married crimesolvers. No matter where the amateur sleuths went, they managed to stumble over a corpse and uncover a new crime. We'll hear three of their adventures - all from rebroadcasts on the Armed Forces Radio Service: "Who Killed Mr. Stefano?," "The Charles Wyatt Murder," and "Murder Mismanaged."

BONUS - Happily and Hilariously Married (Burns and Allen) Sep 23, 2020

Show notes

We're catching up with radio's funniest couple in a pair of episodes starring George Burns and Gracie Allen. First, Gracie thinks George needs a break from making decisions (originally aired on NBC on February 19, 1948). Then, Gracie suspects George forgot their 15th wedding anniversary (originally aired on NBC on November 11, 1948).

Episode 403 – Everybody Comes to Rocky's (Rocky Jordan) Sep 20, 2020

Show notes

The streets of Cairo are full of intrigue and adventure, and neither is in short supply at the Cafe Tambourine run by Rocky Jordan. Jack Moyles stars as the tough ex-pat club owner who can't help but get tangled up in exotic mysteries. We'll hear "A Stranger to the Desert" (originally aired on CBS on September 4, 1949) and "The Big Heist" (originally aired on November 10, 1949).

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