Gumshoe

Rocky Fortune, a night counterman at a lower west side diner, meets a nine-year-old boy named Mickey carrying a shoe box of money. Mickey claims to be running away from home, and Rocky tries to help him while a sergeant and a pair of hoods come looking for the boy. This Rocky Fortune episode from October 27, 1953, is an NBC broadcast starring Frank Sinatra in the title role, with Richard Beals, Billy Janis, Eddie Fields, Frank Richards and Barney Phillips in the cast.

With Rocky Fortune, Mickey, Sergeant Fingar, Anne Prettis, Perry Brock, Moose.

Listen for: Rocky's wry narration as he tries to help the frightened boy, and the scuffle in the apartment as Rocky tries to outwit Perry Brock and his hired muscle.

First aired on October 27, 1953.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: Rocky Fortune on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 189 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Michael Waring, the Falcon, is hired by Barney Murdoch of the Style Center dress company to find bookkeeper Elliot Finch, who has vanished with nearly $30,000 of the firm's money. Waring tracks Finch to his apartment, where his wife Cora is protective and nervous. Finch's employer and his partner Lucille Landis figure in the affair, and a murder soon follows. This adventure of the Falcon, from the NBC series Adventures of the Falcon, was first broadcast on May 14, 1950, starring Les Damon.

With Michael Waring (the Falcon), Barney Murdoch, Lucille Landis, Elliot Finch, Cora Finch, Sergeant Corbett.

Listen for: Waring's questions to Cora Finch and the sudden shift in Barney Murdoch's attitude once the bookkeeper is found

First aired on May 14, 1950.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: The Adventures of the Falcon on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 189 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Boston Blackie is arrested when blood-stained coat bearing his label is found, connecting him to the murder of Andrew Lawrence, caretaker of the Devon estate. Blackie escapes and investigates, discovering the hat check girl who switched the coat labels has been killed, forcing him to seek answers at the Devon estate itself.

With Boston Blackie, Inspector Faraday, Shorty, Mary, Miss Morrison, Jerry, Andrew Lawrence.

Listen for: Blackie's escape from Inspector Faraday and his investigation into the switched coat and the murdered hat check girl; mysterious disturbances at the Devon estate

First aired on July 28, 1944 on NBC.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. Two new episodes a week: Boston Blackie on Stupid Potato, live around the clock.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 189 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Johnny Dollar, an insurance investigator, looks into the theft of twelve taxicabs from the Apex Taxi Company in New York. The company's boss, Gordon McKissick, believes competitors are behind the thefts, and a driver is beaten during a cab theft. Dollar questions the drivers, looks into McKissick's past, and meets Marita Guastella, a woman who claims a lost purse. Dollar's investigation pulls him into a dangerous search for a valuable jewel, the Scarlet Madonna, and the story is part of the Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar radio series, first broadcast on CBS Radio on July 24, 1949, with Bob Bailey in the lead role.

With Johnny Dollar, Gordon McKissick, George Brandon, Marita Guastella, Victor, Mr. Bridewell.

Listen for: The scene in the hotel room, where Bridewell and Victor negotiate over the Scarlet Madonna and the history of the jewel is told

First aired on July 24, 1949 on CBS Radio.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every day: Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar on Stupid Potato, live around the clock.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 189 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Nick Carter arrives at the remote Flying Duck Mine in Montana to investigate the deaths of two detectives who came before him. The mine's superintendent Nate Crosby immediately orders Nick (working undercover as Dave Jarvis) to leave, but Nick refuses to abandon the case. Nick discovers that three caskets have mysteriously arrived at the mine and suspects they may contain clues to the murders.

With Nick Carter, Scabby, Mr. Del Rimple, Nate Crosby, Mr. King, Pollard.

Listen for: Nick's investigation into the mysterious deaths and his discovery of the caskets at the mine; Crosby's suspicious behavior and attempts to drive Nick away

First aired on October 4, 1943 on Mutual.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: Nick Carter, Master Detective on Stupid Potato, live around the clock.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 189 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Private detective Philip Marlowe is hired by a stern old man named Jeter to investigate a gold digger named Harriet Huntress who plans to marry Jeter's adopted stepson Grover, and to look into forged IOUs allegedly signed by Grover for $50,000 owed to gambler Marty Estelle. When Marlowe discovers that the handwriting expert analyzing the documents has been murdered, the case becomes far more dangerous than anyone anticipated.

With Philip Marlowe, Mr. Jeter, Harriet Huntress, Grover, Marty Estelle, John D. Arbergast, house detective.

Listen for: The interplay between Marlowe's tough-guy attitude and his moral code as he navigates multiple suspects with unclear motives; Harriet Huntress's revelation of her vendetta against Jeter for ruining her father; the sudden violence that erupts when Grover arrives at Harriet's hotel room.

First aired on August 5, 1947 on NBC.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: The Adventures of Philip Marlowe on Stupid Potato, live around the clock.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 189 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Pat Novak is hired by Jack Lanson to retrieve a sealed envelope of private papers from a safe in a house on Knob Hill, promising $1,000 for the job. When Novak arrives at the address, he encounters a beautiful woman named Blanche who seduces him and then strikes him with a bottle, stealing the papers. Now multiple dangerous men—including gangsters Denver Red and Gong Reynolds, and a former member of Murder Incorporated—are all pursuing the same envelope, and Novak finds himself caught in the middle of a deadly game.

With Pat Novak, Jack Lanson, Blanche, Detective Helman, Denver Red, Gong Reynolds, Jacob Matigan, Murphy.

Listen for: The interplay between Novak and the cantankerous Detective Helman; Novak's sardonic narration describing the various dangerous characters and situations; the femme fatale Blanche's manipulation of Novak; the mounting tension as multiple gangsters pursue the mysterious envelope

First aired on August 10, 1947 on ABC.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: Pat Novak, for Hire on Stupid Potato, live around the clock.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 189 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Richard Diamond takes a case from wealthy William Moran, who claims his wife Betty was being blackmailed and suggests she was driven to murder and suicide. When Diamond investigates the death of Mac Grayson, the alleged blackmailer, and traces connections to others involved in the scheme, he uncovers a darker truth hidden beneath the police's quick conclusion of murder-suicide.

With Richard Diamond, William Moran, Betty Moran, Mac Grayson, Lieutenant Walt Levinson, Sergeant Otis, Wilbert Truett, Leo Fink.

Listen for: Diamond's casual philosophy about his work, his banter with police contacts, his encounter with the perpetually drunk Wilbert Truett in the Parrot Club, and the climactic chase through the ferry's engine room

First aired on May 29, 1949 on NBC, ABC, CBS.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: Richard Diamond, Private Detective on Stupid Potato, live around the clock.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 189 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

A mysterious woman named Meachie walks into Sam Spade's office seeking help recovering a stolen convertible that was taken from her—though she had stolen it first. She's desperate to retrieve it without involving the police because a dangerous man named Tom Tom Carey is hunting her for it. Sam discovers the car is worth far more than anyone realizes, hidden within its platinum fenders, and becomes entangled in a smuggling scheme involving a suave used car dealer.

With Sam Spade, Effie Tuttle, Meachie, Tom Tom Carey, Paco, Happy Herman Heat (Herman Heat Lovelace), Joe Rembrandt.

Listen for: The revelation that the car's fenders are made of solid platinum smuggled for refugees; the twist that Happy Herman Heat operates under an assumed identity; the high-speed climax on a coastal road leading to a cliff.

First aired on June 15, 1947 on ABC, CBS and NBC Radio.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: The Adventures of Sam Spade on Stupid Potato, live around the clock.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 189 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Detective Danny Clover investigates the apparent suicide of Jimmy Dorn, a man who recently won $17,000 in a sweepstakes lottery. Despite the case being ruled a suicide after Dorn jumped in front of a subway train, something about the death troubles Clover. His investigation leads him to discover that Dorn was once part of a circus act called the Three Whirling Tornadoes, alongside performers Joe Daniloff and a man named Brody, suggesting there may be more to the story than a simple suicide.

With Danny Clover, a detective, Jimmy Dorn, the deceased, Mrs. Dorn, Jimmy's wife, Capeck, a freelance photographer, Patsy Mack, a circus promoter, Joe Daniloff, a circus performer, Brody, a circus performer.

Listen for: The detective's growing suspicion that Jimmy Dorn's death was not a suicide, and clues about Dorn's mysterious past as a circus performer

First aired on July 7, 1949 on CBS.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. Two new episodes a week: Broadway Is My Beat on Stupid Potato, live around the clock.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 189 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.