Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

Latest Episodes:

Episode 168 - Labors of Hercule (Campbell Playhouse) May 08, 2016

Show notes

We celebrate the birthday of the legendary Orson Welles with his radio version of Agatha Christie's classic mystery The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Adapted for the dramatic anthology series The Campbell Playhouse, it stars Welles as both the story's narrator and as Christie's celebrated sleuth Hercule Poirot. This twisted tale brought to life by Orson Welles and a talented supporting cast originally aired on CBS on November 12, 1939.

Episode 167 - Crooning for Clues (Richard Diamond, Private Detective) Apr 24, 2016

Show notes

Dick Powell is Richard Diamond, the only radio gumshoe who carries a tune along with his gun. The big screen star's talents are put to perfect use in the character of Diamond, a tough, glib ex-cop turned shamus in the Big Apple who is equally skilled with his wits and his fists and who always wraps up the caper with a song for his girlfriend. The combination of Powell's winning performance and scripts by Blake Edwards (the director behind The Pink Panther) make Diamond one of radio's very best detectives. We'll hear the private eye in "The Rene Bene Protection Case" (originally aired on NBC on October 22, 1949) and "The Statue of Kali" (originally aired on NBC on April 5, 1950).

Episode 166 - Most Famous of All Manhunters (Nick Carter, Master Detective) Apr 17, 2016

Show notes

For a dozen years on radio, Lon Clark starred as Nick Carter, Master Detective, the brilliant shamus who leapt from dime novels to pulp pages to the big screen and then to the airwaves. Aided by his girl Friday Patsy Bowen, Nick tackled cases that left the police scratching their heads in one of the longest-running detective dramas on the air. We'll hear Carter arrive in the "Nick" of time in "Dead Witnesses, or Nick Carter and the Case of the Murder Room," (originally aired on Mutual on February 26, 1944) and "The Case of the Unwritten Letter" (originally aired on Mutual on July 29, 1945).

Episode 165 - Howl at the Moon (Suspense) Apr 10, 2016

Show notes

Reformed thief turned private detective Michael Lanyard was known to friend and foe alike as "The Lone Wolf." The debonair rogue thrilled readers from his first appearance in 1914, and he was a mainstay on the big screen from the silent film era through the 1940s. He made his first radio appearance not in his own series but in an episode of "radio's outstanding theatre of thrills" – Suspense. Warren William recreated his big screen role as Lanyard, and he was joined by Eric Blore in his cinematic role of Lanyard's valet Jamison. The duo stars in "Murder Goes for a Swim," originally aired on CBS on July 20, 1943.

Episode 164 - Webb Covers the Waterfront (Johnny Madero, Pier 23) Apr 03, 2016

Show notes

In between gigs as Pat Novak, For Hire, Jack Webb brought another waterfront private eye to radio with Johnny Madero, Pier 23. The shows were similar – a little too similar for the taste of ABC and their own Webb-free Novak series. But the tough hard-boiled atmosphere, the sharp writing, and the trademark Jack Webb underplayed performance make the short-lived Johnny Madero a worthy addition to the actor/producer's radio repertoire. We'll hear "Fatal Auction," originally aired on Mutual on June 26, 1947.

Episode 163 - My Kind of Town (Night Beat) Mar 27, 2016

Show notes

Follow reporter Randy Stone on his nightly sojourn through the streets of Chicago in Night Beat. Stone, voiced by Frank Lovejoy, covers the city after dark for his paper, and he makes his trek in search of stories for his columns. What he usually finds are desperate people and dangerous situations in one of radio's best dramas. We'll hear Randy Stone on the trail of a scoop in "Am I My Brother's Keeper" (originally aired on NBC on March 13, 1950) and "City at Your Fingertips" (originally aired on NBC on July 31, 1950).

Episode 162 - Justice Turns the Dial (Adventures of Superman) Mar 23, 2016

Show notes

Look – up in the sky! It's a bird. It's a plane. No, it's a bonus episode of "Down These Mean Streets" starring Superman and Batman. We're marking the release of Batman v. Superman - Dawn of Justice with a complete adventure from radio's The Adventures of Superman. Journey back to a time when the Man of Steel and the Caped Crusader fought evil instead of each other and enjoy the exciting conclusion of "Is There Another Superman?" – originally aired on Mutual from February 6 to February 14, 1946.

Episode 161 - Knight Before the Dawn (Adventures of Superman) Mar 20, 2016

Show notes

Before they met on the big screen or even in comics, Superman and Batman first joined forces on radio when the Caped Crusader visited The Adventures of Superman. To celebrate the release of their first cinematic team-up – Batman v Superman – Dawn of Justice, "Down These Mean Streets" presents the world's finest heroes in a serialized radio adventure – "Is There Another Superman?" Clayton Collyer is the Man of Steel, and Matt Crowley is the Dark Knight Detective, with Ronald Liss as Robin, the Boy Wonder. We'll hear Parts 1 – 6, originally aired on Mutual from January 29 to February 5, 1946.

Episode 160 - Closing Arguments (Defense Attorney) Mar 13, 2016

Show notes

Accused of a crime you didn't commit? If you were an innocent radio character, you wanted Martha Ellis Bryant - Defense Attorney - in your corner. Academy Award-winning actress Mercedes McCambridge stars as Marty Bryant – a lawyer and detective in the vein of Perry Mason – ready to stand before judge and jury to advocate for her clients. We'll hear one of her radio cases - "Client Mike Pelley" (originally aired on ABC on August 31, 1951).

Episode 159 - Letter from the Editor (Big Town) Mar 06, 2016

Show notes

Listen as the dedicated men and women of the Illustrated Press fight crime and corruption with the power of the press in Big Town. Edward Pawley is editor Steve Wilson and Fran Carlon is reporter Lorelei Kilbourne in one of radio's longest-running and most popular newspaper dramas. Steve and Lorelei make the news as often as they report it, putting their lives on the line to chase down leads and bring the guilty to justice. We'll hear them in "The Fatal Chain," originally aired on NBC on November 7, 1948.

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