Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

Latest Episodes:

BONUS - A Day for a Dark Knight (Adventures of Superman) Sep 19, 2020

Show notes

Holy Batman Day! We're celebrating the Caped Crusader with a bonus podcast episode starring Batman, Robin, and Superman. The Dynamic Duo co-stars with the Man of Steel in "Batman's Great Mystery," a serialized story from The Adventures of Superman (originally aired on Mutual between February 10 and February 17, 1948).

BONUS - Stanning Freberg (Stan Freberg Show) Sep 16, 2020

Show notes

In this week's bonus comedy episode, we'll hear more satire and spoofs from The Stan Freberg Show. Freberg and his cast send up politics, music, and more in a pair of shows. Stan welcomes an alien to Earth (originally aired on CBS on August 11, 1957) and he battles a censor with an itchy trigger finger (originally aired on CBS on August 18, 1957).

Episode 402 – There's Nothing Like a Dame (Radio City Playhouse & Hercule Poirot) Sep 13, 2020

Show notes

We're celebrating the birthday of master of mystery Agatha Christie with a pair of old time radio shows. First, her story "Witness for the Prosecution" is adapted for Radio City Playhouse (originally aired on NBC on April 25, 1949). Then, Harold Huber is Christie's Belgian super sleuth Hercule Poirot in "Rendezvous with Death," an original radio mystery (originally aired on Mutual on July 12, 1945).

BONUS - Silver Screen Spoofs (Jack Benny Program) Sep 09, 2020

Show notes

New movies are headed back to theaters, and while it isn't safe yet to grab a seat in a theater, you can enjoy a double feature of classic films presented by the cast of The Jack Benny Program. First, Ray Milland joins their spoof of "The Lost Weekend" (originally aired on NBC on March 10, 1946). Then, the gang sends up "Sunset Boulevard" (3/25/51).

Episode 401 - Compassionate Cop (Broadway is My Beat) Sep 06, 2020

Show notes

Detective Danny Clover stands out from the crowd of radio detectives. He was introspective and insightful, and he only drew his gun as a last resort. And as the star of Broadway is My Beat, Larry Thor brought Clover to life and gave us a romantic, but slightly cynical, cop with a worldview that governed how he tackled his cases. We'll hear "The Jane Darnell Murder Case" (originally aired on CBS on August 11, 1949) and "The Lt. Hunt Suicide Case" (originally aired on CBS on February 3, 1950).

BONUS - Back to School (Our Miss Brooks) Sep 02, 2020

Show notes

School is back in session across the country, and this week we'll head to class at Madison High with Eve Arden in Our Miss Brooks. The faculty and students star in a pair of comedies: first, the school's star basketball player has to pass Connie's exam or he can't play (originally aired on CBS on February 13, 1949). Then, Miss Brooks has to sneak out for traffic court without Mr. Conklin finding out about her case (originally aired on CBS on May 28, 1950).

Episode 400 - Fabulous Firsts Aug 30, 2020

Show notes

It's the 400th episode of "Down These Mean Streets!" To celebrate, I'm sharing the first detective shows I heard - the episodes that sparked my love of old time radio mystery drama. Join me for "The Big Scoop Matter" from Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (originally aired on CBS on November 11, 1956); "The Case of the Careworn Cuff" from The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe (originally aired on NBC on October 27, 1950); "Night Tide" from The Adventures of Philip Marlowe (originally aired on CBS on May 21, 1949); "The Death Bed Caper" from The Adventures of Sam Spade (originally aired on CBS on June 20, 1948); "The Louis Spence Case" from Richard Diamond, Private Detective (originally aired on NBC on March 3, 1950); and "Greed Causes Murder" from The Saint (originally aired on NBC on September 14, 1949).

BONUS - Vacation Plans (Fibber McGee and Molly & Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show) Aug 26, 2020

Show notes

Summer is winding down, and some of radio's comedy couples are planning a getaway! We'll hear Fibber McGee angle for Molly to join him on a two-week fishing trip (originally aired on NBC on June 11, 1946). Then, Phil Harris and Alice Faye try to leave Elliott Lewis at home during their two-month mountain vacation (originally aired on NBC on June 28, 1953).

Episode 399 – The Great Willard (Escape & The Whistler) Aug 23, 2020

Show notes

Willard Waterman may be best known for his long and very funny run on radio as The Great Gildersleeve, but he showed off his serious side on some of the era's best crime dramas. We'll hear him as a detective tracking a killer in the jungle of Borneo in "Red Wine" from Escape (originally aired on CBS on August 11, 1949). Then, he's a murderer plotting the perfect crime in "The New Mrs. Devlin" from The Whistler (originally aired on CBS on November 6, 1949).

BONUS - Yabba Dabba Dude (My Friend Irma & Life with Luigi) Aug 19, 2020

Show notes

Before he moved to Bedrock and voiced Fred Flintstone, Alan Reed was a busy radio actor. He popped up on The Shadow, Philip Marlowe, and Sam Spade, but he was most frequently heard on comedies. We'll shine the spotlight on Reed for this week's bonus comedy episode in two old time radio sitcoms. First, he's Mr. Clyde, the long-suffering boss of Marie Wilson in My Friend Irma (originally aired on CBS on March 1, 1948). Then, he plays Pasquale, patron and neighbor of J. Carrol Naish's Luigi Basco in Life with Luigi (originally aired on CBS on October 17, 1950).

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