Episode 617 - All In on Adventure (Sherlock Holmes, Philip Marlowe, Nero Wolfe, & Dragnet)

03/09/25 • 124 min

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Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

Place your bets with these old time radio mysteries involving gamblers and the (sometimes) crooked games they play. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson find murder among the roulette tables of a French casino in "The Case of the Double Zero," starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce (originally aired on Mutual on November 19, 1945). Philip Marlowe tries to find a friend's stolen IOU but stumbles across a corpse during the search in "The Promise to Pay" (originally aired on CBS on May 14, 1949), and Nero Wolfe is hired to find out who dealt a deadly hand during a poker game in "The Case of the Killer Cards" (originally aired on NBC on January 12, 1951). Finally, Sgt. Joe Friday hunts for the man who's impersonating a cop to extort money from gamblers in "The Big Shakedown" from Dragnet (originally aired on NBC on May 22, 1952).

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Episode 616 - The Envelope Please… (Rex Saunders, Johnny Dollar, Bold Venture, & Sherlock Holmes)

It's a wonderful night for Oscar! The Academy Awards will be handed out this evening, so in celebration of Hollywood's biggest night, here are four old time radio mysteries - each starring an actor who took home a golden statuette. Edmond O'Brien (Best Supporting Actor for The Barefoot Contessa) is Johnny Dollar in "The George Farmer Matter" (originally aired on CBS on June 9, 1951). Rex Harrison (Best Actor for My Fair Lady) stars as a debonair detective in "A Trip to the Death House" from The Private Files of Rex Saunders (originally aired on NBC on June 13, 1951). Humphrey Bogart (Best Actor for The African Queen) and Lauren Bacall (nominated for Best Supporting Actress for The Mirror Has Two Faces) star in "Senor Rufio's Legacy of Death," a syndicated episode of Bold Venture. Finally John Gielgud (Best Supporting Actor for Arthur) and Ralph Richardson (a two-time Best Supporting Actor nominee) are Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in "The Golden Pince-Nez" (originally aired on NBC on April 3, 1955).

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BONUS - Dollar Days: The Molly K Matter

Our bonus series spotlighting the serialized adventures of Johnny Dollar continues with "The Molly K Matter," a mystery that brings Dollar to San Francisco to investigate what caused the titular freighter to sink to her untimely end. Bob Bailey stars as "America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator" in this five-part story that aired on CBS between October 10 and October 14, 1955.