Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

Latest Episodes:

Episode 388 – Crime Paired with Wine (Casebook of Gregory Hood) Jun 07, 2020

Show notes

Comedy star Gale Gordon crosses over to the crimesolving side of the street in The Casebook of Gregory Hood. Join Hood - an importer and amateur detective - as he solves cases in San Francisco with the help of his friend and attorney Sanderson Taylor. Then, the pair relates their adventures to announcer Harry Bartell over a glass of fine Petri Wine. We'll hear "The Derringer Society" (originally aired on Mutual on July 8, 1946) and "South of the Border" (originally aired on Mutual on July 15, 1946).

BONUS - Secret Words (You Bet Your Life) Jun 03, 2020

Show notes

It's always a safe bet when Groucho Marx is on hand, especially when he's hosting the madcap game show You Bet Your Life. The legendary comedian and rapid-fire ad libber keeps things moving (and audiences laughing) as pairs of contestants wager their way through trivia questions to a grand prize. And there may be a secret word dropped along the way. We'll hear a pair of episodes originally aired on NBC on March 10, 1948 and April 14, 1948.

Episode 387 – Brilliant Deductions (Adventures of Sherlock Holmes) May 31, 2020

Show notes

To celebrate Arthur Conan Doyle's birthday, we'll hear radio adaptations of four Sherlock Holmes short stories, each featuring a different actor as the great detective. First, Basil Rathbone stars in "The Speckled Band" (originally aired on Mutual on November 12, 1945). Next, we'll hear Tom Conway in "The Adventure of the Dying Detective" (originally aired on ABC on February 3, 1947). Then, it's "The Adventure of the Empty House" (originally aired on Mutual on April 11, 1948). Finally, John Gielgud plays Holmes in "The Bruce-Partington Plans."

BONUS - Seven Keys to Baldpate (Lux Radio Theatre) May 27, 2020

Show notes

In this week's bonus comedy episode, Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone, and Cecil B. DeMille star as themselves in a delightful comedy mystery from The Lux Radio Theatre. The trio headlines "Seven Keys to Baldpate," the mystery novel turned smash comedy play that was brought to the silver screen several times. This production originally aired on CBS on September 26, 1938.

Episode 386 – Capering Through Crime (Adventures of Sam Spade) May 24, 2020

Show notes

Sam Spade made a dynamic debut in Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon before lighting up the big screen in John Huston's classic noir drama. In 1946, Spade came to radio in a weekly series of adventures that became a critical and listener favorite. We'll hear Howard Duff in "The Bail Bond Caper" (originally aired on CBS on June 27, 1948) and "The S.Q.P. Caper" (AFRS rebroadcast, originally aired on CBS on November, 1948). Then, Steve Dunne is Spade in "The Sure Thing Caper" (originally aired on NBC on February 9, 1951).

BONUS - Hope Floats (Screen Directors' Playhouse) May 20, 2020

Show notes

It's a double feature of classic comedy films recreated for radio in this week's bonus episode. Bob Hope reprises his screen roles in two productions from the Screen Directors' Playhouse: "The Ghost Breakers" (originally aired on NBC on April 3, 1949) and "The Paleface" (originally aired on NBC on March 3, 1950).

Episode 385 – Cowardly Lyon (Jeff Regan, Investigator) May 17, 2020

Show notes

Jeff Regan wasn't a lone wolf operator like other radio gumshoes; he reported to Anthony J. Lyon, head of the International Detective Bureau. Known throughout the city as "the Lyon's Eye," Regan worked cases sometimes in spite of the penny-pinching interference of his boss. We'll hear Jack Webb as Regan in "The Diamond Quartet" (originally aired on CBS on August 14, 1948) and "The Man Who Came Back" (originally aired on CBS on August 21, 1948). Then Frank Graham stars in "No Sad Clowns for Me" (originally aired on CBS on June 25, 1950).

BONUS - Spring Fling (Fibber McGee and Molly & Milton Berle) May 13, 2020

Show notes

Spring is in the air on this week's bonus comedy quarantine show. We'll hear an unseasonable prediction of snow on Fibber McGee and Molly (originally aired on NBC on May 11, 1943). Then, Uncle Miltie and his gang present their salute to the season in The Milton Berle Show (originally aired on March 23, 1948).

Episode 384 – Freedom of the Press (The Big Story) May 10, 2020

Show notes

Thrill to the exploits of America's newspaper reporters in The Big Story with dramas of the hard work of the men and women of the press. The true tales ripped from the pages of America's papers made for compelling - and popular - radio. We'll hear two stories of reporters who double as detectives to get to the bottom of murder cases and - in one instance - clear a wrongfully convicted man. We'll hear "The Deadline Murder" (originally aired on NBC on May 19, 1948) and "The Bitterest Man on the Earth" (originally aired on NBC on June 8, 1949).

BONUS - Mother's Day (Burns and Allen & My Favorite Husband) May 06, 2020

Show notes

With Mother's Day right around the corner, our midweek bonus comedy show features visits from a pair of mothers-in-law much to the chagrin of George Burns and Lucille Ball. First, Gracie's mom comes to town in The Burns and Allen Show (AFRS rebroadcast from May 20, 1948). Then on My Favorite Husband, George's mother's visit stretches on and on...and on (AFRS rebroadcast from March 4, 1949).

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