Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

Latest Episodes:

Episode 48 - The Defense Rests (Defense Attorney) Mar 16, 2014

Show notes

Celebrate the birthday of actress Mercedes McCambridge with an hour of Defense Attorney. The Oscar winner stars as crusading lawyer Martha Ellis Bryant, a legal eagle cut from the same cloth as Perry Mason, in "The Case of Joseph Moriano," the series' audition episode from April 1951; and "Client Jimmy Leonard," originally aired on ABC on September 14, 1951.

Episode 47 - Friend to Those Who Have No Friend (Boston Blackie) Mar 09, 2014

Show notes

It's another adventure of Boston Blackie, gentleman thief turned gumshoe. After Chester Morris' 1944 summer run, Richard Kollmar stepped in and starred as Blackie in nearly 300 syndicated episodes. As always, Blackie tries to crack the case and remains a thorn in the side of the stubborn Inspector Farraday. We'll hear "Murder at the Movies," one of Kollmar's syndicated episodes.

Episode 46 - Home Sweet Homicide (Mr. and Mrs. North) Mar 02, 2014

Show notes

Joseph Curtin and Alice Frost star as Mr. and Mrs. North, a pair of amateur married sleuths who can't seem to avoid landing neck-deep in trouble. Publisher Jerry and his wife Pam stumbled into murder and mayhem for twelve years on radio and a few more on television. The duo star in "Dead Giveaway," an Armed Forces Radio Service rebroadcast of a show originally aired on CBS on February 19, 1952.

Episode 45 - Spade and the Sweet Tooth (Suspense) Feb 23, 2014

Show notes

Howard Duff stars as Sam Spade in an hour-long episode of "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" - Suspense. It's "The Kandy Tooth," a story originally presented on The Adventures of Sam Spade and recreated on the anthology thriller series. This unofficial sequel to The Maltese Falcon with an all-star radio cast originally aired on CBS on January 10, 1948.

Episode 44 - Stuff that Dreams Are Made Of (Academy Award) Feb 16, 2014

Show notes

Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, and Sydney Greenstreet recreate their film roles in this radio adaptation of The Maltese Falcon. John Huston's film of Dashiell Hammett's novel is a classic, and it was translated several times over radio. Hear Sam Spade's search for the "Black Bird" recreated on Academy Award, originally aired on CBS on July 3, 1946.

Episode 43 - Fate Moves its Huge Hand (Gunsmoke & Philip Marlowe) Feb 09, 2014

Show notes

This week, we present a tribute to one of the titans of the Golden Age of Radio - William Conrad. First, Conrad stars in his signature role of Matt Dillon, US Marshal on Gunsmoke. We'll hear "The Photographer," originally aired on CBS on May 5, 1956. Then, he fills in for an absent Gerald Mohr on The Adventures of Philip Marlowe in "The Anniversary Gift," originally aired on CBS on April 11, 1950.

Episode 42 - The Rain in Spain (Private Files of Rex Saunders) Feb 02, 2014

Show notes

Rex Harrison (Professor Henry Higgins himself) stars as a suave private detective in The Private Files of Rex Saunders. Along with his loyal assistant Alec, Rex Saunders tackles baffling cases with consummate class in this short-lived series. We'll hear "The Plan in the Killer's Mind," originally aired on NBC on June 6, 1951.

Episode 41 - Glenn and Gardner (Christopher London) Jan 26, 2014

Show notes

The big screen and best-seller worlds collide this week when Glenn Ford and Erle Stanley Gardner team up to bring you Christopher London. Ford stars as the globe-trotting private detective created by Gardner, the author behind Perry Mason. In this short-lived series (curtailed by Ford's success in Hollywood), London takes cases all around the world and finds danger wherever he goes. We'll hear him in "The Adventure of the Emerald Ring," originally aired on NBC on February 5, 1950.

Episode 40 - Big Man, Big Birthday (The Fat Man) Jan 19, 2014

Show notes

In January 1946, The Fat Man premiered on ABC. We're celebrating the anniversary with an hour of J. Scott Smart as Dashiell Hammett's extra large sleuth. First, it's the series' debut episode, "The 19th Pearl," originally aired on ABC on January 21, 1946). Then, we'll hear "A Window for Murder" (originally aired on ABC on October 3, 1947).

Episode 39 - One in the Chamber (Crime and Peter Chambers) Jan 12, 2014

Show notes

Dane Clark stars as the titular private eye in Crime and Peter Chambers, a short-lived series drawn from the pages of Henry Kane's novels. Chambers is a slick private eye solving tough cases in the Big Apple, and he's given voice and style by big screen tough guy Clark. We'll hear "The Alan Lewis Murder," originally aired on NBC on April 13, 1954.

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