In the the world of the hard boiled detective, Boston Blackie comes comes real close to fitting in, but he just doesn't quite. Of course Blackie isnt a detective or private eye, he is a reformed safe cracker and constantly good natured irritant to the cops!

A real Hard Boiled Detective solves the mystery that the cops think he is guilty of, and manages to make the cops look foolish while he does it. So does Boston Blackie.


The Worthington Ghost: Blackie's friend Shorty, apparently just out of jail, meets an hysterical woman who claims to have seen a ghost.
Originally aired March 19th, 1946.

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The Adventures of Sam Spade was a suspense/detective radio show starring Howard Duff in the colorful title role along with Lurene Tuttle as his secretary Effie.  It was based on the private detective character created by Dashiell Hammett, well-known from the book and movie The Maltese Falcon.  The show ran from 1946 to 1951.  Duff was replaced by Steve Dunne in later episodes.

The Apple of Eve Caper: Eve Adams has been killed, the prime suspect is "Dreama Love."
Originally aired June 19th, 1949.

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Barrie Craig Confidential Investigator
William Gargan, who also played the better known television (and radio) detective Martin Kane, was the voice of New York eye Barrie Craig while Ralph Bell portrayed his associate, Lt. Travis Rogers. Craig's office was on Madison Avenue and his adventures were fairly standard PI fare. He worked alone, solved cases efficiently, and feared no man. As the promos went, he was "your man when you can't go to the cops. Confidentiality a specialty."

Murder By Threes:  A guy comes in to Barrie Craig office bawling like a baby and his name is Julius Caesar. Originally aired October 8th, 1952.

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The Adventures of Sam Spade was a suspense/detective radio show starring Howard Duff in the colorful title role along with Lurene Tuttle as his secretary Effie.  It was based on the private detective character created by Dashiell Hammett, well-known from the book and movie The Maltese Falcon.  The show ran from 1946 to 1951.  Duff was replaced by Steve Dunne in later episodes.

The Civic Pride Caper: After an auditorium collapses, Garrett Welsh, the architect, hires Spade to find out why it happened. Originally aired April 13th,1951.

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The Adventures Of The Falcon: This hard boiled spy drama began as an RKO Radio Pictures theatrical serial in the 1940s, went on radio in 1943, and then came to TV around ten years later in a Syndicated series produced for distribution by NBC Films; the series was about an American agent whose code name was "Falcon".

The success of the films led to a radio series that premiered on the American Blue Network in April 1943, and aired for the next ten years on various networks. It was here that his transition into a private eye was finalized, with The Falcon, now called Michael Waring working as a hardboiled insurance investigator, with an office and a secretary, Nancy.

The Case Of The Quarrelsome Quartet: Thieves fall out! Hazel Walsh has found out by accident that her boyfriend George Reynolds  the same George Reynolds who used to run with the Gallagher mob is in trouble. Originally aired September 3rd,1950

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Tales of the Texas Rangers, a western adventure old-time radio drama, premiered on July 8, 1950, on the US NBC radio network and remained on the air through September 14, 1952.

Movie star Joel McCrea starred as Texas Ranger Jayce Pearson, who used the latest scientific techniques to identify the criminals and his faithful horse, Charcoal (or "Charky," as Jayce would sometimes refer to him), to track them down. The shows were reenactments of actual Texas Ranger cases.

Hanging by a Thread: George Hawks has committed suicide, or did he?
Originally aired November 26,1950

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Broadway is my Beat is a love affair with noir and hardboiled radio detective series blossomed during the 1940's. The golden age of radio had found a new following in the crime drama genre, and managed to churn out several note-worthy serializations. One of the more popular old time radio shows of the period was Broadway is my Beat which featured the talented Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover.
Clover truly loved his beat on the colorful and gritty streets of Broadway and it shined through in his passion and dedication to his job. He tirelessly patrolled the city streets and instilled fear into the hoodlums and villains that threatened the peace. Remarkably enough, the program enjoyed a lengthy run from 1949-1954, unlike its other contemporaries who only lasted for a season.


The Joan Gale Murder Case:  Joan Gale is found dead in a flower shop...with the burglar alarm still ringing. Originally aired January 21st,1950.

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Dragnet ran from June 3rd,1949 to February 26th,1957 on NBC at various times and days and starred Jack Webb as Detective Sergeant Joe Friday. Various partners throughout the show's run were Sergeant Ben Romero (Barton Yarborough), Ed Jacobs (Barney Phillips), and Officer Frank Smith (Ben Alexander).
Webb was the creator/Director of the series and wanted everything to be as authentic as possible, down to the last sound effect. The stories were based on actual police files and "the names were changed to protect the innocent".
Dragnet broke a few radio taboos as well, such as dramatizing sex crimes. Children also were killed on occasion as in the episode "Twenty-Two Rifle For Christmas". The series eventually went to television and ran there for many years.

The Big Chance:  A highway patrolman has disappeared from his cruiser, out in the countryside. Originally aired August 24th,1950.

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The Adventures of Sam Spade was a suspense/detective radio show starring Howard Duff (in the colorful title role along with Lurene Tuttle as his secretary Effie.  It was based on the private detective character created by Dashiell Hammett, well-known from the book and movie The Maltese Falcon.  The show ran from 1946 to 1951.  Duff was replaced by Steve Dunne in later episodes.

The Crab Louie Caper: Sam is hired to find out how an Italian crab- fisher was killed. Was it an accident or murder? Originally aired March 2nd, 1951.

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Philo Vance is the detective creation of S. S. Van Dine first published in the mid 1920s. Jose Ferrer played him in 1945. From 1948-1950, the fine radio actor Jackson Beck makes Vance as good as he gets. George Petrie plays Vance's constantly impressed public servant, District Attorney Markham. Joan Alexander is Ellen Deering, Vance's secretary and right-hand woman. The organist for the show is really working those ivories, and fans of old time radio organ will especially enjoy this series.

The Butler Murder Case: A dentist is threatened with death by an extortionist and is then murdered. Originally aired October 28th,1948.

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