Advertise on podcast: Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

In this triple feature bonus episode, we're celebrating "Noirvember" with three film noir classics recreated on The Lux Radio Theatre. Alan Ladd recreates his star-making turn as a cold-blooded killer in This Gun For Hire (originally aired on CBS on January 25, 1943); Edward G. Robinson steps into Sam Spade's shoes in The Maltese Falcon (originally aired on CBS on February 8, 1943); and Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck recreate their smoldering chemistry in Double Indemnity (originally aired on CBS on October 30, 1950).

Grab your costume and a pillowcase! We're going trick or treating through the golden age of radio in the annual Down These Mean Streets Halloween Special! It's a full-sized candy bar's worth of fun and frights featuring heroes, villains, comedy, and chills. Jack Benny opens the show as he joins his buddies in the Beverly Hills Beavers for Halloween hijinks (originally aired on CBS on November 2, 1952), and the Green Hornet shows up to stop thieves from ruining a costume party in "Halloween Adventure" (originally aired on the Blue Network on October 24, 1944). Then Ronald Colman stars in an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's "The Dunwich Horror" from Suspense (originally aired on CBS on November 1, 1945), and Frank Lovejoy faces a voodoo curse in Cornell Woolrich's "Papa Benjamin" from Escape (originally aired on CBS on January 21, 1948). Peter Lorre stars in "The Horla," an adaptation of the story by Guy de Maupassant from Lorre's anthology Mystery in the Air (originally aired on NBC on August 21, 1947), and a ghost complicates a murder case for Richard Kollmar in a syndicated Boston Blackie mystery. Boris Karloff has some frightful fun with Jack Carson and Dorothy Lamour on The Sealtest Variety Theatre (originally aired on NBC on October 28, 1948), and Robert Taylor should have checked Zillow before he rented "The House in Cypress Canyon" on (originally aired on CBS on December 5, 1946) on Suspense. Finally, Jack Benny returns to close out the show in the classic comedy horror story "Seven Keys to Baldpate" from The Lux Radio Theatre (originally aired on CBS on September 26, 1938).

Halloween is only a few days away, and in honor of the spooky season we've got four radio detectives tangling with seemingly supernatural suspects. As Michael Shayne, Wally Maher goes ghost hunting in "The Ghost on Moccasin Hill" (originally aired on Mutual on April 9, 1945). Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce play Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in "The Headless Monk," a mystery involving a haunted chapel (originally aired on Mutual on April 15, 1946). Bob Bailey may need a ghost's assistance to solve a murder in "The Spirit World" from Let George Do It (originally aired on Mutual on May 10, 1948). And when someone is trying to haunt a widow out of her home, she calls Dick Powell in "The House of Mystery" from Richard Diamond, Private Detective (originally aired on NBC on December 10, 1949).

A miner's strike can yield silver, diamonds, or even gold…but those valuable finds can also lead to murder as our heroes discover this week. We'll hear a trio of radio detectives investigating cases that bring them to (and sometimes in) treacherous mines to hunt for clues instead of ore. Philip Marlowe hunts for a thief in a Mexican diamond mine in "The Unfair Lady" (originally aired on CBS on June 4, 1949); Simon Templar comes to the aid of a woman with a newly acquired silver mine in "The Saint Goes Underground" (originally aired on Mutual on July 31, 1949); and Johnny Dollar investigates whether a fatal mine cave-in was an accident or murder in the five-part mystery "The Midas Touch Matter" (originally aired on CBS between July 2 and July 6, 1956).

With Halloween fast approaching, enjoy this encore episode featuring Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson tackling seemingly supernatural foes in four old time radio adventures! We'll hear Tom Conway as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Watson in "The Adventure of the Black Angus" (originally aired on ABC on October 19, 1946) and "The Adventure of the Carpathian Horror" (originally aired on ABC on April 14, 1947). Then, John Stanley and Alfred Shirley star in "The Case of the Sanguinary Spectre" (originally aired on Mutual on February 8, 1948) and "The Case of the Everblooming Roses" (originally aired on Mutual on May 16, 1948).

Before they starred (or sometimes while they were starring) in their own radio detective shows, some actors made guest appearances on other mystery programs. Today we'll hear four of them in the supporting cast instead of the lead role. Before Dragnet, Jack Webb joins a scavenger hunt with Alan Ladd in "The Better Man" from Box 13; Charles Russell takes a break from his work as Johnny Dollar for an appearance in "The Million Dollar Chopsticks" from The Green Lama (originally aired on CBS on June 26, 1949); Gerald Mohr hangs up his Philip Marlowe hat in "The Mike Burton Case" from Richard Diamond, Private Detective (originally aired on NBC on July 5, 1950); and two detectives - Larry Thor of Broadway is My Beat and Stacy Harris of This is Your FBI - co-star with Bob Bailey in "The Big Scoop Matter" from Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (originally aired on CBS on November 11, 1956).

On September 26, 1948, Gerald Mohr went on the air as Raymond Chandler's private eye in The Adventures of Philip Marlowe. His debut adventure was an adaptation of Chandler's short story "Red Wind." Coincidentally, "Red Wind" was also adapted as the first episode of the 1947 series of Philip Marlowe mysteries starring Van Heflin. It's the only story to air with both Heflin and Mohr starring as Marlowe, and we'll compare their performances with both episodes. Plus, we'll hear Marlowe meet Marlowe as Gerald Mohr guest stars opposite Van Heflin in "The King in Yellow" (originally aired on CBS on July 8, 1947).

With a slight delay, we wrap up our celebration of Batman Day with the concluding chapters of "The Secret of Meteor Island." This Superman radio adventure brought in Batman and Robin to help the Man of Steel hunt for a smuggler whose cargo of radioactive diamonds is wreaking havoc on Metropolis. We'll hear the final installments, originally aired on Mutual between June 24 and July 6, 1948.

Holy team-up! To celebrate Batman Day, here's a radio adventure that unites the Caped Crusader and Robin, the Boy Wonder, with Superman. We'll hear the heroes join forces in the first eight chapters of "The Secret of Meteor Island" (originally aired on Mutual between June 14 and June 23, 1948). Stay tuned later this week for the final chapters of this thrilling super story!

As a new school year gets underway, we head to Yale for the exploits of star athlete and adventurer Frank Merriwell. The all-American hero first appeared in pulp novels and later came to radio and the big screen with stories of derring-do on and off the field. We'll hear some of his adventures with Lawson Zerbe starring as Frank: "The Clue of the Numbers" (originally aired on NBC on October 19, 1946); "The Stolen Masterpiece" (originally aired on NBC on June 5, 1948); "The Unwelcome Rescue" (originally aired on NBC on July 3, 1948); and "The Live Ghost" (originally aired on NBC on September 11, 1948).

Our series of radio detectives played by multiple actors takes us today to Baker Street and four men who donned the deerstalker cap of Sherlock Holmes. First, Basil Rathbone is the great detective in "The Tankerville Club" (originally aired on Mutual on April 22, 1946). Next, Tom Conway steps in as Holmes in "The Adventure of the Horseless Carriage" (originally aired on ABC on February 24, 1947). Then, John Stanley stars in "The Adventure of Lady Waverly's Imitation Pearls" (originally aired on Mutual on April 4, 1948). Finally, John Gielgud is Sherlock in the syndicated episode "The Speckled Band."

This week, we collect ten a day and expenses with the Lyon's Eye(s) and the three actors who played Jeff Regan, Investigator. The gumshoe was first played by Jack Webb in a style not dissimilar from Pat Novak For Hire and he was succeeded in the role by Frank Graham with some pinch hitting by Paul Dubov. We'll hear all three play the role of Regan in "The Too Many Mrs. Rogers" (originally aired on CBS on October 9, 1948); "The Barefoot Boy With Shoes Gone" (AFRS rebroadcast from January 25, 1950); and "The Man Behind the Rod" (AFRS rebroadcast from April 12, 1950).

In this bonus episode, we salute the late Peggy Webber, who passed away on August 15th at the age of 100. One of the radio era's most versatile performers, she wrote, directed, and acted in thousands of episodes. She sometimes played multiple parts in a single episode, and we'll hear an example of that talent as we enjoy some of her radio performances. First, she's a woman in need of help from Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in "The Adventure of the Tolling Bell" (originally aired on ABC on April 7, 1947). Then, she's both a woman who asks The Saint to find her missing brother and a landlady who loves a bribe in "No Hiding Place" (originally aired on NBC on November 19, 1950). Finally, we'll hear her in one of her well-known recurring roles as Joe Friday's mother in "The Big Speech" from Dragnet (originally aired on NBC on April 19, 1951).

Note: Some dental surgery prevented recording a new episode, so enjoy this encore from 2025 featuring several different actors starring as Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe! 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).

We kick off a new podcast season (our 14th!) and begin a new month-long series spotlighting detectives who were played by multiple actors on the air. Up first is Michael Shayne, Brett Halliday's private eye who might as well have been different characters in his various incarnations. He was first played by Wally Maher as a clever, wisecracking gumshoe with a lovely secretary, but when Jeff Chandler took over the role, Shayne became ultra-hard boiled - a two-fisted, down on his heels detective who caught bruises and bullets over the course of a half hour. We'll hear Messers Maher and Chandler, as well as Vinton Hayworth star as Michael Shayne in three radio mysteries: Maher in an episode known as "Mr. Dixon's Life is in Danger" (originally aired on Mutual on September 17, 1945); Chandler in the syndicated show "The Case of the Bloodstained Pearls;" and Hayworth in "The Case of the Queen of Narcotics" (originally aired on ABC on April 3, 1953).