Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

Latest Episodes:

Episode 208 - Night Moves (Night Beat) Jan 29, 2017

Show notes

Reporter Randy Stone makes a nightly trek through the streets of the Windy City in search of stories for his column. This week, we'll join him as he covers the Night Beat. Frank Lovejoy stars as Stone, not a professional detective but a man who nevertheless ends up entangled with cops and crooks as he works to meet his deadlines. We'll hear "The Night Watchman" (originally aired on NBC on May 15, 1950) and "The Doctor's Secret" (originally aired on NBC on August 21, 1950).

Episode 207 - Mysteries by Marlowe (Adventures of Philip Marlowe) Jan 22, 2017

Show notes

"Crime is a sucker's road," Philip Marlowe intoned at the beginning his radio program, "and those who travel it wind up in the gutter, the prison or the grave." It was a two-fisted introduction to one of radio's best detective shows. Gerald Mohr stars as Raymond Chandler's private eye, solving crimes from high society to skid row in Los Angeles, in a pair of radio mysteries. We'll hear "The Pigeon's Blood" (originally aired on CBS on June 11, 1949) and "The Angry Eagle" (originally aired on April 18, 1950).

Episode 206 – Ace Up His Sleeve (Cases of Mr. Ace) Jan 15, 2017

Show notes

George Raft made the leap from big screen gangster to radio gumshoe in The Cases of Mr. Ace. Each week, Eddie Ace paid a visit to psychologist Dr. Gayle to recount his latest adventure – adventures the good doctor used as material for her book on criminal psychology. Raft does a good job as a character on the right side of the tracks in this short-lived syndicated series. We'll hear him in "A Man Called Judas," a mystery with a stolen coin and stand-ins for Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet!

Episode 205 - Point of View (Lux Radio Theatre) Jan 08, 2017

Show notes

Robert Montgomery reprises his screen role of Philip Marlowe from his innovative adaptation of Raymond Chandler's Lady in the Lake. The movie put the audience in Marlowe's shoes, with the camera acting as the detective's eyes, but the story plays better on radio; without the occasionally distracting camera gimmick, listeners can dive into the story as Marlowe hunts for a missing wife. Montgomery is joined by his screen co-stars Audrey Totter and Tom Tully in this Lux Radio Theatre adaptation from CBS on February 9, 1948.

Episode 204 – Holly and Homicide (The Falcon, Nick Carter, The Saint, & Sherlock Holmes) Dec 21, 2016

Show notes

Crime doesn't take a rest during the holidays. Fortunately, radio's best gumshoes are working on Christmas to keep the airwaves safe. In the annual "Down These Mean Streets" holiday special, we'll hear four gumshoes and super sleuths in Christmas capers. First, Les Damon is private eye Mike Waring, aka The Falcon, in "The Case of the Unwelcome Christmas Present" (originally aired on NBC on December 24, 1950). Next, it's "that most famous of all manhunters" – Nick Carter, Master Detective. Lon Clark is Nick in "Nick Carter's Christmas Adventure" (originally aired on Mutual on December 25, 1943). Then, we have a Saint – not Nicholas, but Simon Templar. Vincent Price stars in "Santa Claus is No Saint" (originally aired on NBC on December 24, 1950). Finally, we head to London with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in "The Night Before Christmas" from The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (originally aired on Mutual on December 24, 1945).

Episode 203 - Hungry Like the Wolfe (New Adventures of Nero Wolfe) Dec 18, 2016

Show notes

Private detective Nero Wolfe loves to eat, tend to his orchids, drink beer – almost anything except take on a case. But – usually at the urging of his assistant Archie Goodwin – the mountain of a man solves the most baffling cases all without leaving his home. Sydney Greenstreet stars as Wolfe with Herb Ellis as Archie in "The Case of the Dear Dead Lady" (originally aired on NBC on date) and Harry Bartell as Goodwin in "The Case of the Final Page" (originally aired on NBC on March 23, 1951).

Episode 202 - Party Time (I Was a Communist for the FBI) Dec 11, 2016

Show notes

Dana Andrews is undercover for Uncle Sam in I Was a Communist for the FBI. The big screen star plays Matt Cvetic, the real-life infiltrator who reported Communist activities to the bureau in this fictionalized version of his exploits. On radio, Cvetic puts his life on the line to thwart the diabolical plans of American communists. We'll hear the syndicated episodes "Tight Wire" and "No Second Chance."

Episode 201 – Cowboys, Cops, and Robbers (Tales of the Texas Rangers) Dec 04, 2016

Show notes

Ranger Jayce Pearson keeps the Lone Star State safe in Tales of the Texas Rangers. Joel McCrea plays Pearson in this series of true crime stories dramatized from the case files of the legendary lawmen. Whether in a police car or on his trusty horse Charcoal, Ranger Pearson tracks down the worst offenders in Texas. We'll hear "Dead or Alive" (originally aired on NBC on September 9, 1950) and "Room 114" (originally aired on NBC on December 3, 1950).

Episode 200 – The 200th Episode Matter (Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar) Nov 27, 2016

Show notes

It's our 200th episode of old time radio cops, private eyes, and crime-solvers, and we're celebrating with one of the era's best actors and characters – Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar. "The man with the action-packed expense account" is on the job in an extra-large, king-sized nine-part mystery. We'll hear America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator in all nine installments of "The Phantom Chase Matter" (originally aired on CBS between October 15 and 26, 1956).

Episode 199 - Casey with Cranberry Sauce (Casey, Crime Photographer) Nov 23, 2016

Show notes

In a special bonus episode, just in time for Thanksgiving, we'll hear ace cameraman Casey, Crime Photographer in a Turkey Day mystery. Can Casey save a reformed safecracker from being coerced into heist and finish in time for dinner with his girl Friday Ann Williams? Find out with Staats Cotsworth as Casey, with Jan Miner as Ann, in "Holiday," originally aired on CBS on November 25, 1948.

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