Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

By Mean Streets Podcasts

Arts TV & Film Performing Arts

What's Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives) about?

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.

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Episode 527 - Shiver Me Tim...

03.26.2023

Hoist the sail for a triple feature of detectives vs. 20th century pirates! First, as secret agent Ken Thurston, Herbert Marshall hunts a gang that's looting relief ships in the Red Sea in The Man Called X (originally aired on ...

Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives) episodes:

03.26.2023 Episode 527 - Shiver Me Timbers (Man Called X, Frank Race, & Pursuit) Hoist the sail for a triple feature of detectives vs. 20th century pirates! First, as secret agent Ken Thurston, Herbert Marshall hunts a gang that's looting relief ships in the Red Sea in The Man Called X (originally aired on ...
03.19.2023 Episode 526 - Master Class (Mollé Mystery Theatre & Campbell Playhouse) This week, we've got stories from three of the all-time great mystery writers - literary giants who gave us some of the most famous detectives in fiction. We'll hear adaptations of Raymond Chandler's "Murder in the City Hall" and Agatha ...
03.12.2023 Episode 525 - Gold Statue Gumshoes (Rex Saunders, Johnny Dollar, Defense Attorney, & Rocky Fortune) In honor of the 95th Academy Awards, we'll hear four old time radio detective stars who took home Oscars of their own. First, Rex Harrison stars as a debonair sleuth in "Murder Deep in the Killer's Mind" from The Private ...
03.05.2023 Episode 524 - Everybody Loves a Clown (Casebook of Gregory Hood, Sherlock Holmes, & Lives of Harry Lime) Okay, maybe not everybody loves clowns, but I bet you'll enjoy these three old time radio mysteries featuring the circus' most colorful performers. First, Gregory Hood solves the murder of "The Sad Clown" (originally aired on Mutual on October 7, ...
02.26.2023 Episode 523 - As Seen on TV (Dragnet) From 1952 until 1957, fans of Dragnet could catch one episode on radio and a different story on television. The adventures of Sgt. Joe Friday aired concurrently on radio and the small screen for hundreds of shows, and this week ...
02.24.2023 BONUS - Five Favorites: The Fat Man Created by Dashiell Hammett, The Fat Man was one of radio's most popular mystery shows. It was on the verge of spinning off into a series of movies with radio star J. Scott Smart reprising his role of private eye ...
02.19.2023 Episode 522 - Fistful of Dollars (Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar) "America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator" is on the case - three of them - in this week's episode. We're celebrating the anniversary of the radio debut of Johnny Dollar with a trio of old time radio mysteries starring "the man ...
02.12.2023 Episode 521 - Till Death Do Them Part (Mollé Mystery Theatre, Murder By Experts, & The Abbotts) With Valetine's Day right around the corner, we're celebrating with three crimesolving couples from the golden age of radio. First, in "A Crime to Fit the Punishment" from The Mollé Mystery Theatre, an amateur sleuth and his girlfriend investigate a ...
02.05.2023 Episode 520 - Marlowe Matinee (Adventures of Philip Marlowe) This month, Philip Marlowe returns to the big screen with Liam Neeson starring as Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles gumshoe. To celebrate, I've picked three old time radio Marlowe mysteries with the great Gerald Mohr. We'll hear "The Restless Day" (originally ...
01.29.2023 Episode 519 - Fit to Print (Casey, Crime Photographer, Big Story, & Night Beat) Not all radio detectives were cops or private eyes. There were several reporters who cracked cases while they filed stories and met deadlines, and today we'll hear some of their adventures. First, Casey, Crime Photographer comes to the aid of ...
01.27.2023 BONUS - Five Favorites: Sleuths from Suspense In this bonus episode, I'm sharing my five favorite detective stories from Suspense. Over its twenty year run, "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" presented many great mysteries, including these five tales adapted from stories by some of crime fiction's best ...
01.22.2023 Episode 518 - San Francisco Treats (Candy Matson, Sam Spade, & Pat Novak for Hire) We're catching a cable car in San Francisco with three old time radio gumshoes who live and work in the city by the bay. First, Candy Matson solves a pair of murders on an army base in "The Fort Ord ...
01.15.2023 Episode 517 - Wish You Were Here (Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar) It's a mix of winter sports and whodunnit in the Alps with Bob Bailey in a five-part adventure of Johnny Dollar. "The man with the action-packed expense account" heads to Switzerland in pursuit of $100,000 of stolen diamonds, where he ...
01.08.2023 Episode 516 - Let It Snow (Mystery is My Hobby, Mr. and Mrs. North, & Philip Marlowe) Winter is upon us, and this week I've picked three old time radio mysteries set during snowstorms. First up, there's a suspicious suicide at a lodge for Barton Drake to solve in Mystery is My Hobby. Then, Mr. and Mrs. ...
12.24.2022 BONUS - Five Favorites: Christmas Mysteries I've got one more episode before I sign off for the year, and for this bonus show I'm sharing my five favorite old time radio mysteries. It's a quintet of Christmas capers that will help to get you in the ...
12.21.2022 BONUS - Humbug! (Campbell Playhouse) With Christmas only days away, we're celebrating (and closing out another year of the podcast) with Lionel Barrymore as Ebenezeer Scrooge in an old time radio adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The classic holiday story was presented on ...
12.18.2022 Episode 515 - Clues for Christmas (Escape, Dragnet, Let George Do It, & Broadway is My Beat) Happy Holidays! We're celebrating the season with four old time radio holiday mysteries. Grab an egg nog and a Christmas cookie or two and enjoy these Christmas crime tales. First, Paul Frees plans a perfect murder in "Back for Christmas" ...
12.11.2022 Episode 514 - You Read My Mind (Jeff Regan, Night Beat, & Suspense) Update: After a round of steroids from my doctor, I think this 30+ days of cough is finally behind me. Old time radio oracles take center stage in this week's mysteries. First, Jeff Regan tries to protect a mind reader ...
12.09.2022 BONUS - Five Favorites: Sam Spade Sit back and get ready for five reports dictated to Effie Perrine by Sam Spade. Dashiell Hammett's gumshoe was a hit in print and on the big screen in The Maltese Falcon, and when he came to radio in 1946 ...
11.27.2022 Episode 513 - On the Road Again (Rocky Fortune, Suspense, & Casey, Crime Photographer) As the long Thanksgiving weekend draws to a close and as folks finish their trips back home, we'll hear three old time radio mysteries set in the car and on the highway. First, Frank Sinatra is behind the wheel of ...
11.25.2022 BONUS - Black Friday with Joe Friday (Dragnet) Whether you're shopping for deals or savoring some Turkey Day leftovers, Jack Webb is here to keep you company in this bonus episode. We'll celebrate Black Friday with Joe Friday in four Dragnet radio episodes: "The Big Grandma" (originally aired ...
11.20.2022 Episode 512 - Menaces from the Magic Kingdom (Philip Marlowe, The Whistler, & Johnny Dollar) The classic Disney animated films of the 50s and 60s featured some of the great stars of the golden age of radio. Some of the best villains in those pictures were voiced by veterans of Escape, Suspense, Sam Spade, and ...
11.13.2022 Episode 511 - Ms. Helen Mack, Mack, Mack (Richard Diamond & The Saint) Note: Intros should be back by next week! Helen Mack began her career as a child actress in the 1920s and she went on to make appearances in Son of Kong and His Girl Friday. But in the 1940s, she ...
11.06.2022 Episode 510 - Nights at the Museum (Nick Carter, Philo Vance, & Barrie Craig) **Note: No intro today - not sure if I caught something new or if it's the same thing wearing out its welcome, but hopefully back to normal next week! The contents of museums can solve mysteries of the past, but ...
10.30.2022 Episode 509 - Eerie Expense Accounts (Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar) Note: No intro this week; I'm hoping that I'll be over my cold in time for next week's show! With Halloween right around the corner, we're catching up with some of the creepier cases investigated by "America's fabulous freelance insurance ...
10.26.2022 BONUS - Bride of Halloween Hoopla! Put out your Jack-o-lantern, grab the candy bowl, and enjoy the Down These Mean Streets Halloween Special! It's a full-sized candy bar of a show with eight old time radio shows - a mix of frights and delights - to ...
10.23.2022 Episode 508 - The Fabulous Holmes Boys (Sherlock Holmes) An older and smarter brother, Mycroft Holmes was the only member of Sherlock's family we ever met in Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories. He appeared in just two stories, but he's been featured in original Holmes adventures in print and ...
10.16.2022 Episode 507 - Throw the Book at Them (Boston Blackie, Philip Marlowe, & Let George Do It) Read along with our heroes this week in three old time radio mysteries where books play a key role in the crimes and their solutions. First, Boston Blackie tries to figure out why readers of a best-selling novel keep winding ...
10.09.2022 Episode 506 - British Invasion (Man Called X, Rex Saunders, & Whitehall 1212) Anglophiles rejoice! All of this week's old time radio mysteries star performers from across the pond. Herbert Marshall is secret agent Ken Thurston in an exciting adventure of The Man Called X. Thurston is on the hunt for a missing ...
10.02.2022 Episode 505 - Gumshoes on the Gridiron (Night Beat, Broadway is My Beat, & Rocky Fortune) Suit up and take the field with old time radio detectives in three football mysteries. First, Randy Stone comes to the aid of an old college football hero who's fallen on hard times (and into debt with gamblers) in Night ...
09.25.2022 Episode 504 - Swinging Sixties (Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar) Sixty years ago this month, the Golden Age of Radio signed off as CBS aired the final episodes of Suspense and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar on September 30, 1962. Both shows hung on as TV overtook radio in the late ...
09.23.2022 BONUS - Five Favorites: Philip Marlowe In this bonus show, I've picked my five favorite installments of The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, the CBS series that brought Raymond Chandler's private eye to intense radio life with the voice of Gerald Mohr. We'll hear "The Grim Hunters" ...
09.18.2022 Episode 503 - I Hear the Train A-Comin’ (Leonidas Witherall, Tales of the Texas Rangers, & Suspense) All aboard! We're pulling out of the station for three old time radio mysteries set on or around trains. First, as amateur sleuth and Shakespeare doppleganger Leonidas Witherall, Walter Hampden finds a corpse switcheroo on a train to Chicago (originally ...
09.17.2022 BONUS - To the Batcave (Adventures of Superman) Happy Batman Day! Celebrate the Caped Crusader and listen to a complete radio adventure of Superman with Batman fighting alongside the Man of Steel. We'll hear the world's finest heroes, along with Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and Perry White in ...
09.04.2022 Episode 502 - School Days (Sam Spade, Johnny Dollar, & The Saint) Class is in session in these three old time radio mysteries set in and around schools. First, Howard Duff stars as Sam Spade in "The Queen Bee Caper" (originally aired on CBS on July 10, 1949). Then, Edmond O'Brien is ...
08.29.2022 Episode 501 - Federal Agent Express (FBI in Peace and War, This is Your FBI, & I Was a Communist for the FBI) Old time radio's G-men are on the case in three shows starring FBI agents. First, we'll hear "The Crack-Up" from The FBI in Peace and War (originally aired on CBS on September 14, 1950). Then, Stacy Harris stars as Agent ...
08.27.2022 BONUS - Superman Summer: Lighthouse Point Smugglers There's no rest for the weary! Even on vacation, Superman and his friends can't help finding a new adventure. For the final installment in our bonus series, we'll listen as Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen battle smugglers and hunt for ...
08.21.2022 Episode 500 - What Evil Lurks It's the 500th episode of Down These Mean Streets! To celebrate 500 shows of old time radio mystery, crimesolvers, and crooks, I'm going back to the show that introduced me to the wonderful world of radio drama. We'll hear eight ...
08.20.2022 BONUS - Superman Summer: Happyland Amusement Park It's the grand opening of Happyland Amusement Park, owned and operated by Lois Lane's friend. But when Lois and Clark Kent arrive to cover the opening, they discover Happyland is under threat from the dastardly owner of a rival carnival ...
08.16.2022 Episode 499 - Full-Court Press (Mr. District Attorney, Defense Attorney, & The Falcon) See you in court for these three old time radio mysteries set in and around the courthouse. First, Mr. District Attorney suspects a fix in "The Case of the Intimidated Jury" (originally aired on NBC on August 23, 1944). Then, ...
08.12.2022 BONUS - Superman Summer: Hans Holbein’s Doll Factory Someone's smuggling explosives in porcelain dolls, and it's up to Superman to stop these terrible toymen and their evil schemes! The Man of Steel returns in this story that originally aired between June 24 and July 5, 1940.
08.07.2022 Episode 498 - Writer’s Block (Mystery is My Hobby, Box 13, & Night Beat) Each of these old time radio detectives earned their livings as writers. They only dabbled in crimesolving on the side because it was their hobby or because real-life mysteries provided inspiration for their work. We'll hear Glenn Langan as mystery ...
08.05.2022 BONUS - Superman Summer: Horace Morton’s Weather Predictions Lois Lane returns! Her uncle is a meterology professor with an uncanny ability to predict the weather. Lois and Clark travel to interview him and discover a gang of robbers, a murdered assistant, and a plan to destroy a mountain. ...
07.31.2022 Episode 497 - Batter Up (Ellery Queen, Bulldog Drummond, & Boston Blackie) Take me out to the ballgame for these three radio mysteries set in and around the ballpark. First, Ellery Queen's plans for a relaxing Sunday afternoon are thwarted when a movie star drops dead in "The Adventure of the Foul ...
07.30.2022 BONUS - Superman Summer: The Search for Alonzo Craig A lost race, an immortal witch doctor, and a polar bear? All in a day's work for Superman! In this week's bonus show, Clark Kent travels to the Arctic to find a missing explorer and the last Daily Planet reporter ...
07.24.2022 Episode 496 - Mysteries on the Midway (The Saint, Richard Diamond, & Suspense) Step right up for three old time radio mysteries set at the carnival. In between the games, rides, and shows, we'll find mayhem and murder on the midway. First, Vincent Price discovers the "buried alive woman" may be in serious ...
07.23.2022 BONUS - Superman Summer: Battle in Buffalo Hills Who's trying to kill a celebrated photographer, and how is he connected to a governor, a gangster, and a ceremony at the frontier monument at Buffalo Hills? It's an adventure that begins in the Daily Planet newsroom and ends with ...
07.17.2022 Episode 495 - For Better or Worse (Mr. and Mrs. North, The Abbotts, & Murder by Experts) Three crimesolving couples take the stage this week, beginning with Pam and Jerry North who find a new mystery as soon as they get home from vacation. Joseph Curtin and Alice Frost star in "Wheel of Chance" from Mr. and ...
07.15.2022 BONUS - Superman Summer: Disaster at Bridger Field Why are so many planes crashing at Bridger Field? It's a story for Clark Kent and a new adventure for the Man of Steel in this week's bonus Superman show! Kent and Jimmy Olsen are on the scene to investigate ...
07.10.2022 Episode 494 - Let’s Get Away From It All (Let George Do It, Philip Marlowe, & Barrie Craig) It's summertime, but the living isn't easy for these radio detectives. All they want is a little vacation, but murder and mayhem pop up as uninvited guests and turn their getaways into cases. First, George Valentine hooks a corpse instead ...

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