Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

This week's Hollywood leading man turned radio detective is Dana Andrews, who starred on screen in Laura, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Boomerang, and more. On the air, Andrews played Matt Cvetic, undercover agent, in the syndicated series I Was a Communist for the FBI. We'll hear a pair of his adventures in Red-bashing: "Pit Viper" and "Jump to the Whip." Plus, Andrews plays a reporter out to clear a wrongfully convicted man in a radio adaptation of Call Northside 777 from Hollywood Sound Stage (originally aired on CBS on December 27, 1951).

Take a walk down the Great White Way with Detective Danny Clover in my five favorite episodes of Broadway is My Beat. Larry Thor is the policeman with the soul of a poet in one of radio's finest dramas - detective or otherwise. We'll hear "The Suicide Pact Murders" (originally aired on CBS on August 21, 1950), "The Garment District Murders" (originally aired on CBS on April 14, 1951), "The Case of Charles Crandall" (originally aired on CBS on May 12, 195), "The Tom Keeler Case" (originally aired on CBS on September 22, 1951), and "The Gridiron Hero Murders" (originally aired on CBS on November 22, 1952).

We continue our spotlight series of Hollywood heavy hitters who put in time as radio detectives. This week, it's a legend of classic cinema - Humphrey Bogart, star of Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, The African Queen, and so many more iconic films. Bogart headlined Bold Venture, a syndicated mystery-adventure series set in the tropics. His co-star was no less than his real-life wife, Lauren Bacall. We'll hear a pair of syndicated Bold Venture mysteries - "The Tears of Siva," "The Mystery of the Mary K." Plus, Bogie stars in the audition for what would have been his own anthology drama Humphrey Bogart Presents. In this audition recording, Bogart hosts and appears in an adaptation of James M. Cain's story "Dead Man."

We kick off 2026 with a month-long series of big screen stars who lent their voices to radio detectives. First up is Alan Ladd, the steely star of classic noir dramas like This Gun for Hire and The Blue Dahlia and westerns like the iconic Shane. We'll hear him in his signature radio role of mystery writer and amateur sleuth Dan Holiday in a pair of syndicated episodes of Box 13 - "Treasure of Hang Li" and "Sealed Instructions." Plus, he recreates his big screen role as an old west detective as The Screen Director's Playhouse presents "Whispering Smith" (originally aired on NBC on September 16, 1949).

We bid a fond farewell to 2025 with an encore of our New Year's Eve special from 2018. Jack Webb and Gerald Mohr star in New Year's Eve mysteries from Dragnet and The Adventures of Philip Marlowe. We'll hear "The Big New Year's" (originally aired on NBC on March 8, 1951) and "The Old Acquaintance" (originally aired on CBS on December 26, 1948).