Nostalgic Mystery Radio

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Ep.122 The Adventures of Sam Spade: The Terrified Turkey Caper Nov 25, 2021

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The Adventures of Sam Spade was a suspense/detective radio show starring Howard Duff (in the colorful title role along with Lurene Tuttle as his secretary Effie. It was based on the private detective character created by Dashiell Hammett, well-known from the book and movie The Maltese Falcon. The show ran from 1946 to 1951. Duff was replaced by Steve Dunne in later episodes.
The Terrified Turkey Caper: Who's trying to kill Thom Turkey...on Thanksgiving Day? Originally aired November24th,1950.

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Ep.121 The Adventures of Sam Spade: The Chateau McCloud Caper Nov 24, 2021

Show notes

The Adventures of Sam Spade was a suspense/detective radio show starring Howard Duff (in the colorful title role along with Lurene Tuttle as his secretary Effie. It was based on the private detective character created by Dashiell Hammett, well-known from the book and movie The Maltese Falcon. The show ran from 1946 to 1951. Duff was replaced by Steve Dunne in later episodes.
The Chateau McCloud Caper: Murder on skis at a rich man's winter home. Originally aired January 26th, 1951

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Ep.120 PD James: A Certain Justice: An Adam Dalgliesh Mystery Nov 22, 2021

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Respected as one of the greats of modern crime writing, Phyllis Dorothy James (1920-2014), known as P. D. James, came to fame for her mystery series starring New Scotland Yard Commander and poet, Adam Dalgliesh. She was also the author of a number of stand-along novels including The Children of Men, which was the basis for the movie Children of Men, and Death Comes to Pemberly, which was adapted into a BBC mini-series. Many of her Adam Dalgliesh books were also adapted for television. In 1991 she was created Baroness James of Holland Park. She died in 2014.
A Certain Justice: Brilliant criminal lawyer Venetia Aldridge secures the acquittal of a young man from the charge of murdering his aunt. But this sparks a series of bizarre events, starting with her own murder.... Gentleman Commander Adam Dalgliesh takes charge of the case.

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Ep.119 The Adventures of Philip Marlowe: Night Tide Nov 19, 2021

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Get this and get it straight. Crime is a sucker's road and those who travel it wind up in the gutter, the prison or the grave.
Philip Marlowe was Los Angeles's toughest detective in the groundbreaking series by Raymond Chandler that helped establish the "hard-boiled" detective subgenre.
Originally aired May 21st, 1949.
Night Tide: Marlowe is hired by a businessman who is concerned that a dock worker he sent to prison is out for vengeance.

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Ep.118 Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot: Five Little Pigs Nov 19, 2021

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Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot: the world-renowned, moustachioed Belgian private detective, unsurpassed in his intelligence and understanding of the criminal mind, respected and admired by police forces and heads of state across the globe.
Since his inception over 100 years ago, Poirot has stolen the hearts and minds of audiences from Azerbaijan to Vietnam, and his celebrated cases have been recorded across 33 original novels and over 50 short stories.
Five Little Pigs: A bride-to-be hires Poirot to solve a sixteen-year-old case and prove her mother innocent of murder.

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Ep.117 Tales of the Texas Rangers: Soft Touch Nov 18, 2021

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Tales of the Texas Rangers, a western adventure old-time radio drama, premiered on July 8, 1950, on the US NBC radio network and remained on the air through September 14, 1952.
Movie star Joel McCrea starred as Texas Ranger Jayce Pearson, who used the latest scientific techniques to identify the criminals and his faithful horse, Charcoal (or "Charky," as Jayce would sometimes refer to him), to track them down. The shows were reenactments of actual Texas Ranger cases.
Soft Touch: An elderly farm couple is found beaten to death, by an assailant who knew what he was doing! Originally aired October 29th,1950.

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Ep.116 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: In Flanders Field Nov 15, 2021

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Sherlock Holmes, fictional character created by the Scottish writer Arthur Conan Doyle. The prototype for the modern mastermind detective, Holmes first appeared in Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet, published in Beeton’s Christmas Annual of 1887. As the world’s first and only “consulting detective,” he pursued criminals throughout Victorian and Edwardian London, the south of England, and continental Europe.
From 1939 to 1946, Basil Rathbone played Sherlock Holmes with his friend Nigel Bruce on cinema and radio.
In Flanders Field: Holmes and Watson helps the British military during WWI, by trying to figure if an English actor visiting the troops is really a traitor.

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Ep.115 Father Brown: The Actor and the Alibi Nov 12, 2021

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Rough and tough Hard-boiled detectives grab a lot of attention, but who would have a better insight on the nature of human evil than “a man who does next to nothing but hear men's real sins”?
Where could you find a more “soft-boiled” character than the parish priest. Mutual brought The Adventures of Father Brown to the air in 1945. Father Brown was the antithesis of the more celebrated soft-boiled detective, Sherlock Holmes. Where Holmes was a master of deduction, Father Brown relied on intuition based on his familiarity on men’s souls.
The Actor and the Alibi: Father Brown discovers that the cast of a famous stage comedy might include a killer, but how can that be when everyone has a perfect alibi?
Originally aired November 2nd,1986.

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Ep.114 Dragnet: The Big Cliff Nov 12, 2021

Show notes

Dragnet ran from June 3rd,1949 to February 26th,1957 on NBC at various times and days and starred Jack Webb as Detective Sergeant Joe Friday. Various partners throughout the show's run were Sergeant Ben Romero (Barton Yarborough), Ed Jacobs (Barney Phillips), and Officer Frank Smith (Ben Alexander).
Webb was the creator/Director of the series and wanted everything to be as authentic as possible, down to the last sound effect. The stories were based on actual police files and "the names were changed to protect the innocent".
Dragnet broke a few radio taboos as well, such as dramatizing sex crimes. Children also were killed on occasion as in the episode "Twenty-Two Rifle For Christmas". The series eventually went to television and ran there for many years.
The Big Cliff: A 63 year old woman dies under mysterious circumstances and the coroner has a hard time finding out the cause of death, suspicion then turns to her husband.
Originally aired June 28th,1951.

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Ep.113 CBS Crime Classics: The Checkered Life and Sudden Death of Colonel James Fisk Jr. Nov 11, 2021

Show notes

Crime Classics was a radio docudrama of CBS which was aired from June 15, 1953 to June 30, 1954. The show was produced, created and directed by Elliott Lewis. With consultation with Lewis, Morton Fine and David Friedkin wrote every single episode of the show. The show was hosted by Thomas Hyland which was played by Lou Merrill.

Crime Classics examines real crimes from ancient Greece to late 19th-century America. The cases varied from assassinations of famous people such as Leon Trotsky, Abraham Lincoln, and Julius Caesar up to some small, not-so-popular cases. William Conrad was one of the most frequent radio actors of the show.
The Checkered Life and Sudden Death of Colonel James Fisk Jr.: An excellent story about the rivalry between two wealthy New Yorkers in 1872 and the beautiful widow, beloved of both.
Originally aired June 29th, 1953.

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