Episode 330 - Dash It All (Adventures of Sam Spade)

05/26/19 • 91 min

Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

We're saluting Dashiell Hammett - born May 27, 1894 - with three old time radio adventures of his famous private eye Sam Spade. Spade's adventures made for one of the best radio detective shows of the era - a hard-boiled mystery that poked gentle fun at the conventions of the genre. Howard Duff stars as the gumshoe in "The Wheel of Life Caper" (originally aired on CBS on July 11, 19498) and "The Battles of Belvedere" (AFRS rebroadcast from May 1, 1949). Then Steven Dunne stars as Spade in "The Spanish Prisoner Caper" (originally aired on NBC on

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Episode 329 - Bird is the Word (The Falcon)

The ringing of that phone means Mike Waring has to break another date and The Falcon has a new case. The suave private eye solved crimes in print, on the big screen, and for over a decade on radio. Les Damon starred as Waring for several years, including a run when the Falcon got a new client – Uncle Sam and Army intelligence. We’ll hear the Falcon solve “The Case of the Sweet Swindle” (originally aired on NBC on June 13, 1951) and “The Case of the Babbling Brooks” (originally aired on NBC on July 3, 1952).

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Episode 331 - The Names Have Been Changed (Dragnet)

Seventy years ago this week, Dragnet made its radio debut and changed the face of crime drama forever. That first episode launched a franchise that stretched into the 21st century and made its creator and star Jack Webb a household name. We'll celebrate the anniversary with four cases pulled from the files of the LAPD: "Homicide" (originally aired on NBC on June 10, 1949); "The Big Fake" (originally aired on NBC on June 1, 1950); "The Big Bible" (AFRS rebroadcast from 9/28/1954); and "The Big No Tooth" (AFRS rebroadcast from 4/5/1955).