Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

Latest Episodes:

Episode 68 - Gutter, Prison, or Grave (Adventures of Philip Marlowe) Jul 27, 2014

Show notes

July 23rd marked the 126th anniversary of Raymond Chandler's birth, and we're saluting the author and his most famous character - private detective Philip Marlowe. Gerald Mohr stars as Marlowe, out to prove again and again that "crime is a sucker's road," in these two old time radio mysteries: "The Dancing Hands" (originally aired on CBS on March 19, 1949) and "The Glass Donkey" (originally aired on CBS on July 28, 1950).

Episode 67 - X Marks the Spot (Man Called X) Jul 20, 2014

Show notes

British big screen star Herbert Marshall finds danger at every turn as secret agent Ken Thurston, aka The Man Called X. From 1944 to 1952, Thurston crossed oceans and continents on top secret missions to keep America safe in the perilous years following World War II. We'll hear this debonair man of mystery in "Five Ounces of Treason," originally aired on NBC on January 13, 1951.

Episode 66 - The Anniversary Caper (Adventures of Sam Spade) Jul 13, 2014

Show notes

"The greatest private detective of them all" hit radio on July 12, 1946 in The Adventures of Sam Spade. In honor of his anniversary, we'll hear Howard Duff as Sam in two of his radio adventures. Listen along as Sam dictates his reports on "The Mad Scientist Caper" (originally aired on CBS on July 25, 1948) and "The Critical Author Caper" (originally aired on CBS on August 15, 1948.

Episode 65 - Usual Suspects (The Line-Up) Jul 06, 2014

Show notes

Bill Johnstone and Wally Maher are back on the beat in two more episodes of The Line-Up. Join them as they grill suspects and close the book on crime in one of radio's greatest police procedurals. We'll hear "The Mad Bomber," originally aired on CBS on January 11, 1951 and "The Syncopic Sweazy Sweat-Out Case," originally aired on CBS on July 5, 1951.

Episode 64 - Not Easy Being Green (Green Lama) Jun 29, 2014

Show notes

Paul Frees stars as Jethro Dumont, the wealthy American who studied Buddhism in Tibet and returned to his home country to fight crime as The Green Lama. This short-lived series brought the pulp magazine and comic book hero to radio and found him tackling adventures and mysteries all around the world. We'll hear him in "The Story of the Last Dinosaur," originally aired on CBS on July 3, 1949.

Episode 63 - Queen for a Day (Ellery Queen) Jun 22, 2014

Show notes

Master detective Ellery Queen made his radio debut seventy-five years ago this month, and we're celebrating with two of the sleuth's on-the-air adventures. First, Sydney Smith is Ellery in "The Adventure of the Message in Red," originally aired on CBS on November 7, 1945. Then, Larry Dobkin stars as Queen in "Number 31," originally aired on NBC on September 7, 1947. Play along with Ellery and his guest armchair detectives and see if you can solve the crime before he reveals the solution!

Episode 62 - You Can't Go Holmes Again (Sherlock Holmes & Tales of Fatima) Jun 15, 2014

Show notes

Basil Rathbone donned the deerstalker cap in fourteen films as Sherlock Holmes and portrayed the legendary detective on radio for seven years. Frustration with typecasting led him to leave Baker Street, but he didn't stay away from the detective world for long. We'll hear him this week as Holmes (with Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson) in "The Problem of Thor Bridge," originally aired on Mutual on October 1, 1945. Then, Rathbone plays himself as an amateur detective in the unusual program Tales of Fatima. We'll hear "Time to Kill," originally aired on CBS on May 28, 1949.

Episode 61 - The Mohr the Merrier (Nero Wolfe, Johnny Dollar, & Philip Marlowe) Jun 08, 2014

Show notes

Gerald Mohr, one of the greatest actors of the Golden Age of Radio, was born 100 years ago this week. To mark his centennial anniversary, we'll hear Mohr as three different radio detectives. First, he's Archie Goodwin to Sydney Greenstreet's Nero Wolfe in "The Case of the Calculated Risk" (originally aired on NBC on January 19, 1951). Then, it's his 1955 audition recording as Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar. Finally, he stars as Philip Marlowe in "The August Lion" (originally aired on CBS on August 6, 1949).

Episode 60 - Collector of Crime (Casebook of Gregory Hood) Jun 01, 2014

Show notes

Gale Gordon (Principal Conklin of Our Miss Brooks) stars as Gregory Hood, importer and amateur detective, in The Casebook of Gregory Hood. An unofficial detective, Hood seems to find trouble wherever he goes. Bill Johnstone plays attorney Sanderson Taylor, the Dr. Watson to Hood's Sherlock Holmes, in their first radio adventure, "The Case of the Three Silver Pesos," originally aired on Mutual on June 3, 1946.

Episode 59 - Nick and Nora (Lux Radio Theatre) May 25, 2014

Show notes

William Powell and Myrna Loy recreate their film roles of Nick and Nora Charles in this radio adaptation of The Thin Man. Dashiell Hammett's story of the Charles and their search for missing inventor Clyde Wynant was a big screen smash and was presented on the air on the Lux Radio Theatre. We'll hear this hour-long dramatization as it was heard on CBS on June 8, 1936.

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