Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

Latest Episodes:

Episode 305 - Silver-Haired Shamus (New Adventures of Michael Shayne) Dec 16, 2018

Show notes

To celebrate what would have been his 100th birthday, we'll hear Jeff Chandler in two old time radio mysteries as "that reckless red-headed Irishman" - two-fisted private eye Michael Shayne. Chandler is an ultra-hard boiled gumshoe in "The Case of the Crooked Wheel" and "The Case of the High-Priced Twins." Then, he shows off his comedic side as Mr. Boynton in Our Miss Brooks (in an episode originally aired on CBS on March 27, 1949).

Episode 304 - Archie and the Wolfe (New Adventures of Nero Wolfe) Dec 09, 2018

Show notes

In celebration of the December birthdays of Rex Stout and Sydney Greenstreet, here are two episodes of The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe starring Greenstreet as the gargantuan gourmet created by Stout. There's no case too baffling for the sedentary sleuth and his loyal legman Archie Goodwin, and we'll hear two of their mysteries: "The Case of the Deadly Sellout" with Larry Dobkin as Archie (originally aired on NBC on January 5, 1951); and "The Case of the Hasty Will" co-starring Harry Bartell as Goodwin (originally aired on NBC on March 2, 1951).

Episode 303 - Luck of the Irish (Mollé Mystery Theatre, NBC Radio Playhouse & The Hunters) Dec 02, 2018

Show notes

Cornell Woolrich - aka William Irish - was one of the great crime writers of the twentieth century with his works winning acclaim and adaptations on radio and the big screen (including Hitchcock's classic Rear Window). We'll celebrate the anniversary of his birth with three of his tales adapted for the airwaves - "The Bride Wore Black" from The Mollé Mystery Theater (originally aired on NBC on February 7, 1947); "Wardrobe Trunk" from the NBC Radio City Playhouse (originally aired on NBC on April 4, 1949); and "You Take Ballistics" from the audition recording for The Hunters.

Episode 302 - New Carr Smell (Suspense & Cabin B-13) Nov 25, 2018

Show notes

Master mystery writer John Dickson Carr embraced radio in a big way. He wrote scripts for Suspense and his own anthology show Cabin B-13. Carr also acted as master of ceremonies for Murder by Experts. In honor of his birthday on November 30th, we'll hear two of his original radio mysteries: "Will You Make a Bet with Death?" from Suspense (originally aired on CBS on November 10, 1942), and "A Razor in Fleet Street" (originally aired on CBS on July 5, 1948).

Episode 301 - Talking Turkey 2018 (Durante-Moore & Jack Benny) Nov 21, 2018

Show notes

No sleuths today - just a heaping helping of Thanksgiving comedy from the Golden Age of Radio. Jimmy Durante and Garry Moore present a comedy opera about the pilgrims, and Jack Benny and his gang are off to the big football game in this Turkey Day bonus show.

Episode 300 - The Case of the 300th Episode (Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar) Nov 18, 2018

Show notes

"Down These Mean Streets" has reached 300 episodes! To mark the occasion, we're hearing again from Bob Bailey as "the man with the action-packed expense account" - Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar. Bailey stars as "America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator" in the six-part mystery "The Kranesburg Matter" (originally aired on CBS between August 24 and August 31, 1956).

Episode 299 - How Now, Howard? (Sam Spade & Suspense) Nov 11, 2018

Show notes

This week on "Down These Mean Streets," we'll hear Howard Duff in two radio mysteries as Sam Spade and as a scriptwriter plotting the perfect crime in "Suspense."

Episode 298 - Poor Richards' Almanac (Rogue's Gallery & Richard Diamond) Nov 04, 2018

Show notes

Dick Powell reinvented himself as a hardboiled hero with his performance as Philip Marlowe in Murder, My Sweet, and several films noir and radio detective shows followed. We'll hear Powell as gumshoe Richard Rogue in "Blood on the Sand" from Rogue's Gallery (originally aired on Mutual on December 13, 1945). Then he's Richard Diamond, Private Detective in "The Martin Hyer Case" (originally aired on NBC on July 23, 1949).

Episode 297 - Crossing the Jordan (Rocky Jordan) Oct 28, 2018

Show notes

Grab a drink and a mystery at the Cafe Tambourine in Cairo with two-fisted club owner and adventurer Rocky Jordan. The ex-pat and amateur detective kept audiences thrilled with tales told against an exotic backdrop. Jack Moyles stars as Rocky in "The Bartered Bridegroom" (originally aired on CBS on October 31, 1948) and "Adventure with Andrea" (originally aired on CBS on September 11, 1949). Then, big screen tough guy George Raft plays Jordan in "The Genakos Affair" (originally aired on CBS on July 11, 1951).

Episode 296 - Trick or Treat (Jack Benny Program & My Favorite Husband) Oct 24, 2018

Show notes

We're celebrating the lighter side of October 31st with this year's "Down These Mean Streets" Halloween special. Grab your favorite candy and enjoy a pair of trick or treating comedies from The Jack Benny Program (originally aired on NBC on October 31, 1948) and Lucille Ball's My Favorite Husband (originally aired on CBS on October 28, 1949).

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected