Episode 644 - Diamond Cut (Rogue's Gallery, Richard Diamond, & Lux Radio Theatre)
In honor of Dick Powell's November 14th birthday, we're saluting the singing star with some of his old time radio performances. First, he plays private investigator Richard Rogue in "Little Old Lady" from Rogue's Gallery (originally aired on Mutual on November 29, 1945). Then, he's radio's crooning crimefighter Richard Diamond, Private Detective in a pair of episodes: "The Tom Waxman Bombing" (originally aired on NBC on June 26, 1949) and "Death and the Letter" (originally aired on NBC on November 8, 1950). Finally, he recreates one of his big screen roles, alongside co-star Lee J. Cobb, as The Lux Radio Theatre presents "Johnny O'Clock" (originally aired on CBS on May 12, 1947).
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2:35:54
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2:35:54
Episode 643 - Everyone Needs a Hobby (Leonidas Witherall, Gregory Hood, Box 13, & Mr. and Mrs. North)
Not all radio detectives carried a badge or a private eye's license. Some were amateur sleuths who dabbled in deduction in addition to their day jobs, and we'll hear a collection of those crimesolvers and their adventures. Walter Hampden stars as Leonidas Witherall - professor, author, dead ringer for Shakespeare, and amateur detective - in "Murder at the State Fair" (originally aired on Mutual on September 24, 1944). Gale Gordon is San Francisco importer and detective Gregory Hood in "The Forgetful Murderer" (originally aired on Mutual on July 29, 1946). Alan Ladd is mystery writer Dan Holiday, who seeks adventures to fuel the plots of his stories, in "Killer at Large," a syndicated episode of Box 13. And finally, Joseph Curtin and Alice Frost are book publisher Jerry North and his wife Pam, and their idea of a date night involves stumbling over a dead body. We'll hear "The Premature Corpse," an Armed Forces Radio Service rebroadcast of Mr. and Mrs. North (originally aired on CBS on February 12, 1952).
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1:59:34
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1:59:34
Episode 642 - Marlowe Actors' Club (Philip Marlowe, Lux Radio Theatre, & Hollywood Star Time)
Many actors have brought Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe to life. Humphrey Bogart, Elliot Gould, Danny Glover, and Liam Neeson are just a few of the men to portray the legendary private eye on the big and small screens, but today we'll hear four actors who played Marlowe on radio. First, Van Heflin is Marlowe in a radio adaptation of Chandler's "Red Wind" (originally aired on NBC on June 17, 1947). Next, Robert Montgomery reprises the role of Marlowe as The Lux Radio Theatre adapts "Lady in the Lake" (originally aired on CBS on February 9, 1948). Dick Powell steps back into the gumshoe's shoes in a Hollywood Star Time presentation of "Murder, My Sweet" (originally aired on CBS on June 8, 1946). Finally, Gerald Mohr proves "crime is a sucker's road" in "The Uneasy Head" (originally aired on CBS on June 6, 1950).
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2:40:44
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2:40:44
BONUS - Curse of Halloween Hoopla!
Trick or treat! It's time for the annual Down These Mean Streets Halloween Special! In this king-sized bonus show, we'll hear a parade of stories - both spooky and silly - designed to get you in the spirit of the season. First, big screen horror legend Boris Karloff lends his voice to "The Corridor of Doom," a thriller from Inner Sanctum Mysteries (originally aired on CBS on October 23, 1945). The Great Gildersleeve attends a Halloween party (originally aired on NBC on October 29, 1947) and a Halloween prank backfires on Henry in The Aldrich Family (originally aired on NBC on October 30, 1940). Then, it's ghosts vs. gumshoes in a pair of old time radio mysteries. Michael Shayne finds a dead body in a haunted house in "The Ghost of Moccasin Hill" (originally aired on Mutual on April 9, 1945), and a ghost may be responsible for a murder in a syndicated adventure of Boston Blackie. The Origin of Superstition tells us the story of the Boogey Man in a syndicated show from 1935, and Favorite Story dramatizes Washington Irving's classic "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Dorothy McGuire reprises her screen role as The Screen Director's Playhouse adapts "The Spiral Staircase" (originally aired on NBC on November 20, 1949), and Herbert Marshall makes a monster in a Suspense production of "Frankenstein" (originally aired on CBS on November 3, 1953).
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4:07:31
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4:07:31
Episode 641 - Black Magic? Whoa, Man! (Nick Carter, Blackstone, Michael Shayne, Bold Venture, & Richard Diamond)
With Halloween right around the corner, we delve into the spooky side of sleuthing with mysteries involving voodoo, curses, and other hexes. Nick Carter's new client believes her physician practices black magic instead of medicine in "The Drums of Death, or Nick Carter and the White Witch Doctor" (originally aired on Mutual on March 25, 1944), and real-life master magician Blackstone explains how he faced down the living dead in "The Riddle of the Seven Zombies" (originally aired on Mutual on July 17, 1949). Michael Shayne falls into a case of supernatural revenge and a man who supposedly cannot be killed in the syndicated mystery "The Man Who Lived Forever," and Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall battle a voodoo murderess who kills with poisoned darts in a syndicated episode of Bold Venture. Finally, Dick Powell heads to Haiti to investigate an eerie death threat in "Little Chiva" from Richard Diamond, Private Detective (originally aired on ABC on March 23, 1951).
Sobre Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)
Presenting the best detectives from the Golden Age of Radio. Each week, we'll bring you an episode starring one of Old Time Radio's greatest detectives and the story behind the show. Join us for adventures of Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade, Johnny Dollar, and many more.