BONUS - Dollar Days: The McCormack Matter
Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)
Release Date: 02/19/2025
BONUS - Superman Summer: The Atom Man (Part 1)
Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)
In just over a week, Superman flies back to the big screen, and we’re celebrating all month long with one of his biggest radio adventures - one that pits him against a Kryptonite-powered Nazi Atom Man! Today, we’ll hear the opening chapters of this epic story (originally aired on Mutual between September 24 and October 5, 1945), as Superman retells his origin and the existence of Kryptonite is discovered by the Man of Steel’s enemies!
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Episode 630 - Investigations for Independence Day (Academy Award, Cavalcade of America, The Whistler, & Johnny Dollar)
Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)
With July 4th right around the corner, we’ve got a quartet of radio mysteries involving great figures and moments of American history. Henry Fonda recreates his role of Young Mr. Lincoln in a radio version of the classic film on Academy Award (originally aired on CBS on July 10, 1946). Honest Abe is a lawyer who must clear his wrongfully accused clients of murder. Lee Bowman plays Allan Pinkterton, one of America’s most celebrated detectives, as he investigates a case of robbery and murder in “The Pinkerton Man” from The Cavalcade of America (originally aired on NBC on November 18,...
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Episode 629 - Pinch of Basil (New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes & Cavalcade of America)
Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)
We’re tipping our deerstalker cap to Basil Rathbone in celebration of his June 13th birthday. Of course, we’ll hear him as Sherlock Holmes in three old time radio adventures from Baker Street - “Murder in the Casbah” (originally aired on Mutual on December 3, 1945), “The Indiscretion of Mr. Edwards” (originally aired on Mutual on February 4, 1946), and “The Adventure of the Uneasy Easy Chair” (originally aired on Mutual on May 13, 1946). Plus, he plays John Adams in his pre-presidential days as a lawyer defending British soldiers involved in the infamous Boston Massacre....
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Episode 628 - Detectives for Dad’s Day (Ellery Queen, Let George Do It, The Big Guy, & Philip Marlowe)
Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)
Happy Father’s Day! We’re celebrating dear old Dad with a collection of radio mysteries featuring fathers. First, Ellery Queen and his police inspector father collaborate on a case of smuggling and murder. Larry Dobkin is Ellery in “Number Thirty-One” (originally aired on NBC on September 7, 1947). Next, George Valentine is hired by a convicted killer's son to clear his father’s name. Bob Bailey stars in “The Father Who Had Nothing to Say” from Let George Do It (originally aired on Mutual on September 13, 1948). Then, meet private eye Joshua Sharp - known to his kids as The Big...
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BONUS - Dollar Days: The Valentine Matter
Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)
Our run through the serialized adventures of Johnny Dollar brings us to the Big Easy! In “The Valentine Matter” (originally aired on CBS between October 31 and November 4, 1955), Johnny’s on a case in New Orleans when he runs across one of Prohibition’s most notorious bootleggers - a man who’s been marked for death by some old enemies.
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Episode 627 - Mohr Bang for Your Buck (Philip Marlowe, The Whistler, & Suspense)
Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)
“Get this and get it straight!” We’re celebrating Gerald Mohr - the radio actor who brought a two-fisted intensity to Philip Marlowe - in honor of his birthday on June 11. He was one of the best stars of the era, and his performance makes The Adventures of Philip Marlowe one of the best detective dramas of the day. We’ll hear Mohr as Marlowe in “The Easy Mark” (originally aired on CBS on January 29, 1949) and “The Long Arm” (originally aired on CBS on February 7, 1950). Then, he’s a less scrupulous character in “Lady with a Key” from The Whistler (originally aired on CBS...
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BONUS - Dollar Days: The Alvin Summers Matter
Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)
Our bonus series spotlighting the serialized adventures of Johnny Dollar continues! In “The Alvin Summers Matter” (originally aired on CBS between October 24 and 28, 1955), the man with the action-packed expense account is in Mexico to track down an embezzler who fled the United States with his loot. But Johnny isn’t there long before he’s pistol whipped and discovers a corpse in his hotel room. Bob Bailey stars as Dollar in this story set south of the border.
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Episode 626 - Murder on the Air (Ellery Queen, Box 13, The Whistler, & Sam Spade)
Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)
Tune in for danger with a collection of radio mysteries that involve the medium of radio itself! Master sleuth Ellery Queen has to solve a murder that takes place in his own studio - right in the middle of his show - in “The Armchair Detective” (originally aired on CBS on March 27, 1946). Then, Dan Holiday is hired by a radio actress who fears for her life in “Actor’s Alibi,” a syndicated episode of Box 13. A radio announcer plots his wife’s murder and cooks up a perfect on-air alibi in “Brief Pause for Murder” from The Whistler (originally aired on CBS on September 11, 1949)....
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Episode 625 - Clothes-Minded (Let George Do It, Philo Vance, Richard Diamond, The Saint, & Johnny Dollar)
Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)
They say clothes make the man, but they also make mysteries for this week’s roster of radio detectives. George Valentine hunts a killer where the only clue is his distinctive attire in “Death Wears a Gay Sport Jacket” from Let George Do It (originally aired on Mutual on October 18, 1948) and Philo Vance probes the murder of a dress shop owner in the syndicated episode “The Herringbone Murder Case.” Richard Diamond tries to find out why someone keeps stealing blue serge suits (originally aired on ABC on February 9, 1951), and The Saint discovers a bullet hole in the back of his...
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Episode 624 - It’s a Dog’s Life (Boston Blackie, Sherlock Holmes, Philip Marlowe, The Saint, & Barrie Craig)
Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)
Our dogged detectives sniff for clues in five canine-related old time radio mysteries. First, the owner of the best in show pooches is killed at a dog show in a syndicated adventure of Boston Blackie, and a dog “tells” Sherlock Holmes who murdered his owner in “The Case of the Dog Who Changed His Mind” (originally aired on Mutual on September 28, 1947). Philip Marlowe is on the trail of a dog - though this one is made out of jade - in “The Orange Dog” (originally aired on CBS on January 22, 1949). Barry Sullivan plays The Saint in “Dossier on a Doggone Dog,” a story of a lost...
info_outlineWe're kicking off a new bonus series and a deep dive into arguably the best radio detective series of all time: the serialized run of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar starring Bob Bailey as "the man with the action-packed expense account." This beloved incarnation of the adventures of America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator turn 70 this year, so I'm shining a spotlight on each and every installment. In the first story, a dying prison inmate puts Dollar on the trail of some stolen loot and a secret someone will kill to keep hidden in "The McCormack Matter" (originally aired on CBS between October 3 and October 7, 1955).