Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio! A podcast featuring the best vintage detective radio programs. Each week from Monday through Saturday, we feature six of Old Time Radio's great detective series from the beginning of the show to its very last episode. And as a bonus, twice a month we also post a public domain movie or TV mystery or detective show video.
Along the way, I'll provide you my commentary and offer you opportunities to interact.
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- Your host, Adam Graham
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Currently Featuring
YOURS TRULY, JOHNNY DOLLAR THE FALCON DANGEROUS ASSIGNMENT DRAGNET MR. CHAMELEON BULLDOG DRUMMOND… and more!
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Recent Posts
DVD Review, Golden Age Article
Telefilm: Murder She Wrote: A Fashionable Way to Die
by Yours Truly Johnny Blogger • 0 Comments
As an adjunct to our Amazing World of Radio summer series featuring old time radio programs that include 1966 Batman Villain actors in them, I’m reviewing TV detective and mystery programs in which these actors appeared as much as possible this month.
First off, we focus on Barbara Rush on Murder She Wrote. Ms. Rush appears in the 1987-88 Murder She Wrote Season 4 season premiere. Ms. Rush plays Eva Taylor, a fashion designer who is one of the innumerable friends of Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury), and has invited her to Paris for the unveiling of her brand new collection, which promises to put her fashion label on the map.
The problem? Eva’s in debt to a ruthless French businessman (Lee Bergere) who has underworld ties she doesn’t know about. On the eve of her debut fashion show, he shows up and gives her a choice: either sign a contract to make him a 50-50 partner in her business or he’ll repossess everything. She signs away half her business and after the show, she tells Jessica, who she foolishly didn’t tell in the first place because she was afraid Jessica would think she’d only invited her to Paris to hit her up for money. Jessica, being Jessica, says she’ll confront the shady businessman and get this straightened out, but when they go to find him, they find he’s been murdered. Suspicion soon falls on Eva, and it’s up to Jessica to clear her of the killing.
You might think that if the season premiere of a television program, one that had spent two straight seasons ranked in the top five in ratings, was going to have an episode set in Paris, that it would be filmed on location. It was not. This was filmed on the Universal backlot, using American actors playing French parts, which might have been the only real glaring weakness of the episode.
Everything else works fine. The mystery is above average, with some really puzzling clues to think out and piece together. There’s also a nice solid twist at the end that turns the solution on its head. While the accent of Fritz Weaver as Inspector Hugues Panassié is a bit thick, he’s nevertheless charming and fun in the role.
All in all, this is an example of a typical Murder She Wrote episode. By no means is it among the program’s standouts, but “A Fashionable Way to Die” delivers an intelligent and diverting and fun mystery with our heroine’s keen mind on full display.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5
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Dragnet, NBC, OTR Detective, Podcast, Procedural
Dragnet: The Big Trial (EP4406)
by Yours Truly Johnny Blogger • 0 Comments
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Today’s Mystery:
Joe Friday and Ben Romero search for a driver who committed a hit-and-run.
Original Radio Broadcast Date:April 20, 1950
Originating from Hollywood
Starring: Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday; Barton Yarborough as Sergeant Ben Romero
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CBS, OTR Detective, Podcast, Yours Truly Johnny Dollar
Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Mad Hatter Matter (EP4405)
by Yours Truly Johnny Blogger • 0 Comments
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Today’s Mystery:
Johnny is called in to investigate the disappearance of a young, beautiful model married to a much older, retired corporate tycoon.
Original Radio Broadcast Date: January 27, 1957
Originating from Hollywood
Starring: Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar; Parley Baer; G. Stanley Jones; Charlotte Lawrence, Forrest Lewis; Stacy Harris; Russell Thorson
When making your travel plans, remember http://johnnydollarair.com
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CBS, Keen and Company, Mr. Chameleon, OTR Detective, Podcast
Mr. Chameleon: The Case of Murder and the Scar-Faced Man
by Yours Truly Johnny Blogger • 0 Comments
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Today’s Mystery:
Mr. Chameleon sets out to solve the murder of a scar-faced criminal.
Original Radio Broadcast Date: July 27, 1949
Originating from New York City
Starring: Karl Swenson as Mister Chameleon
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Dangerous Assignment, NBC, OTR Detective, Podcast
Dangerous Assignment: The Hired Assassin (EP4403)
by Yours Truly Johnny Blogger • 0 Comments
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Today’s Mystery:
In Havana, Steve hunts for an international assassin whose latest victim is an American agent who had clues to the assassin’s whereabouts.
Original Radio Broadcast Date: May 27, 1953
Originating in Hollywood
Starring: Brian Donlevy as Steve Mitchell; Herb Butterfield as the Commissioner; Paul Dubov; Betty Lou Gerson; Tony Barrett; Herb Ellis; Julie Bennett
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Join us again tomorrow for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.
Amazing World of Radio, Podcast
Lux Radio Theater: Great Expectations (AWR0246)
by Yours Truly Johnny Blogger • 0 Comments
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We begin a series looking at radio performances by actors who played villains in the 1960s Batman TV series. This week, we focus on Barbara Rush, who was the guest villain in the Season 3 episode “Nora Clavicle and the Ladies’ Crime Club”.
For this week’s old time radio program, we bring you the Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of Great Expectations, in which Barbara Rush plays a featured role.
An eccentric and twisted elderly woman takes an interest in an orphaned boy. When he grows up, he receives an unexpected inheritance.
Starring: Rock Hudson as Pip; Barbara Rush as Estella; William Conrad; Jeanette Nolan; Alan Reed; Peter Votrian; Susan Seaforth; Christopher Cook; Parley Baer, Vivi Janis; James McCallion; Lillian Buyeff; Norman Field; Howard McNear; Leo Britt; Edward Marr
Original Radio Broadcast Date: October 12, 1954
We then discuss the controversial “Nora Clavicle and the Ladies’ Crime Club”.
Discussed: Podcast episode: To the Batpoles: Tying Ourselves in Knots.
Buy Batman: The Complete Series on blu-ray/DVD (affiliate link)
Buy Season 3, Episode 19 on digital download. (Affiliate link)
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Bulldog Drummond, Mutual, OTR Detective, Podcast
Bulldog Drummond: Blind Man’s Bluff (EP4402)
by Yours Truly Johnny Blogger • 0 Comments
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Today’s Mystery:
Bulldog Drummond investigates a series of murders of blind men situated outside government buildings.
Original Radio Broadcast Date: September 14, 1942
Originating in New York
Starring: Santos Ortega as Bulldog Drummond; Luis van Rooten as Denny
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Patreon Supporter of the Day: Greg, Patreon Supporter since January 2023
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Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715
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Join us again tomorrow for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.
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