Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

Latest Episodes:

Episode 128 - Substitute Simon (The Saint) Aug 23, 2015

Show notes

In the fall of 1950, with Vincent Price waylaid in Paris, Barry Sullivan stepped into the shoes of Simon Templar for two episodes of The Saint. The big screen star ably wore the halo as the Robin Hood of modern crime. We'll hear him in "The Ghost that Giggled" (originally aired on NBC on September 10, 1950) and "Dossier on a Doggone Dog" (originally aired on September 17, 1950).

Episode 127 - Tomorrow's News Today (O'Hara) Aug 16, 2015

Show notes

Foreign correspondent Bob O'Hara searches the streets of Hong Kong for stories, but he plays detective as often as he plays newshound. Stacy Harris is front and center for international intrigue and danger in O'Hara, a short-lived mystery and adventure drama about a hard-boiled sleuth who happened to carry a press card. We'll hear him in "The Lost Boy," originally aired on CBS on October 29, 1956.

Episode 126 - Master of Mystery (Academy Award) Aug 12, 2015

Show notes

In honor of Alfred Hitchcock's birthday, "Down These Mean Streets" presents a bonus episode saluting the big screen's auteur of thrills and chills. We'll hear an on-air recreation of Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt, featuring Joseph Cotten in his big screen role. It originally aired on Academy Award on CBS on September 11, 1946.

Episode 125 - Great White Way (Broadway is My Beat) Aug 09, 2015

Show notes

Larry Thor stars as Detective Danny Clover as he walks "the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world" in Broadway is My Beat. We'll hear Clover keep the streets of New York safe in two old time radio mysteries. First, it's "The Suicide Pact Murders" (originally aired on CBS on August 21, 1950). Then, we'll hear "The Harry Foster Murder Case" (originally aired on CBS on May 5, 1951).

Episode 124 - Maher of the Town (The Line-Up & Michael Shayne) Aug 02, 2015

Show notes

Before his death in 1951 at age 43, Wally Maher made a name for himself as a versatile, in-demand radio actor. Equally adept at comedy and drama, Maher could be heard in regular roles on shows all over the dial. We'll hear him as Sgt. Matt Grebb in "Eddie Gaynor Framed for Murder" from The Line-Up (originally aired on CBS on July 20, 1950) and as Michael Shayne, Private Detective in "Judge Thorman Shot" (originally aired on Mutual on January 14, 1947).

Episode 123 - Trouble is His Business (Adventures of Philip Marlowe) Jul 26, 2015

Show notes

Philip Marlowe made his way from the pen of Raymond Chandler to the big screen and then to radio in some of the best private eye crime drama of the era. In honor of Chandler's birthday, we'll hear his legendary shamus in two radio mysteries voiced by Gerald Mohr. First, Marlowe tackles the case of "The Eager Witness" (originally aired on CBS on August 27, 1949), and then "The Deep Shadow" (originally aired on CBS on March 21, 1950).

Episode 122 - Coming On Like You Know What (Gang Busters) Jul 19, 2015

Show notes

Long before Dragnet, Gang Busters brought true crime to radio. Over its two decade run, the series presented stories of dangerous criminals and the determined police officers who brought them to justice. Producer Phillips H. Lord pulled cases from state and local law enforcement agencies and presented them in one of radio's most down to earth crime dramas. Its memorable introduction - with the wail of sirens and a hail of bullets - gave rise to the expression "coming on like Gang Busters." We'll hear "The Case of the Incorrigible Killer," first aired on ABC on October 9, 1948.

Episode 121 - Gargan the Gumshoe (Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator) Jul 12, 2015

Show notes

William Gargan wasn't a great private eye in real life, but he played a mean one on radio. Years after he supported himself checking credit and shadowing suspects, Gargan starred as several radio detectives including Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator. We'll hear the actor as Craig in "The Lost Lady" (originally aired on NBC on June 14, 1953) and "Ghosts Don't Die in Bed" (originally aired on NBC on September 7, 1954).

Episode 120 - Casa Del Charles (Adventures of The Thin Man) Jul 05, 2015

Show notes

Nick and Nora Charles - Dashiell Hammett's husband and wife detective duo from The Thin Man - charmed readers and later moviegoers with their flirtatious and funny approach to cracking a case of murder. In 1941, Nick and Nora moved radio in The Adventures of The Thin Man. This blend of comedic banter and crime-solving was a long-running hit with listeners, and it ran on radio for nearly a decade. We'll hear Les Damon as Nick and Claudia Morgan as Nora in "The Case of the Wandering Corpse," originally aired on CBS on October 10, 1943.

Episode 119 - Frees as a Bird (Green Lama) Jun 28, 2015

Show notes

One of radio's men of a thousand voices, Paul Frees was heard all over the dial during the Golden Age of Radio, as Boris Badenov on television, and as the ghostly host at Disney's Haunted Mansion. In honor of this versatile, talented actor's birthday, we'll hear him in two episodes as The Green Lama, the pulp hero who came to the airwaves in his own detective series. Frees stars as the Lama, aka Jethro Dumont, in "The Million Dollar Chopsticks" (originally aired on CBS on June 26, 1949) and "The Adventure of the Perfect Prisoner" (originally aired on CBS on August 21, 1949).

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected