Nostalgic Mystery Radio

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Ep.82 The Adventures of Sam Spade: The Death Bed Caper Sep 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 Death Bed Caper: Dan Starbuck hires Spade to witness a deathbed statement by his brother Gordon. However, his brother accuses him of murder!
Originally aired June 20th, 1948.

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Ep.81 Tales of the Texas Rangers: The Hatchet Sep 22, 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.
The Hatchet: The murder of a high school teacher leads Ranger Jayce Pearson to a cattle water tank and the murder weapon at the bottom of it.

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Ep.80 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Amateur Mendicant Society Sep 20, 2021

Show notes

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.
The Amateur Mendicant Society: Holmes and Watson investigate a society of beggars and spies. Originally aired April 2nd,1945.

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Ep.79 Father Brown: The Perishing of the Pendragons Sep 17, 2021

Show notes

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 Perishing of the Pendragons: Mystery is afloat as a Cornish family's curse starts to unravel

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Ep.78 The Adventures of Philip Marlowe: The Quiet Magpie Sep 17, 2021

Show notes

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.
The Quiet Magpie: Vincent Calloway is being tried for the murder of his father Homer Calloway a crime, which he denies. Originally aired August 11th,1950.

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Ep.77 CBS Crime Classics: The Crime of Bathsheba Spooner Sep 16, 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 Crime of Bathsheba Spooner: The story of the first woman tried and executed in the United States. Originally aired June 15th,1953.

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Ep.76 Dragnet: The Big Gangster - Part 2 Sep 13, 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 Gangster: The search for the killers of Gus Valentine continues.
Originally aired March 30th,1950.

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Ep.75 Dragnet: The Big Gangster - Part 1 Sep 13, 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 Gangster: Who has taken a shot at Gus Valentine? Even though he's on the wrong side of the law, the cops must protect him...and fail! Originally aired March23rd, 1950.

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Ep.74 Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot: Murder on the Links Sep 09, 2021

Show notes

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.
Murder on the Links: When Hercule Poirot is urgently summoned to France he finds his client dead. Can he trace the killer?

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Ep.73 Father Brown: The Sins of Prince Saradine Sep 07, 2021

Show notes

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 Sins of Prince Saradine: Father Brown accompanies Flambeau, who was invited to visit the mysterious Prince Saradine in Norfolk. They get in some good fishing, but things don't go well when they come across a couple of murders.

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