The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio » Golden Age Article

The Sleuths of My Youth: Batman

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 06:01:43 +0000

Previous Installments:
Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Tom Swift , Sherlock Holmes, and Read more ...

Radio Review: Secret Agent K-7 Returns

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:01:24 +0000

Before there was James Bond, before the Man Called X, and before Steve Mitchell took on a single Dangerous Assignment, there was Agent K-7.

Secret Agent K-7 began on the radio in 1932 and made the leap into movies with Special Agent K-7. The original K-7 radio Read more ...

Sleuths of My Youth: The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Tom Swift, Jr.

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 06:01:32 +0000

The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew have been keeping generations of kids reading and occasionally watching their heroic exploits.

The Hardy Boys was a series my dad talked about a lot and my older brothers read as well. Nancy Drew I heard of in the popular culture, so I picked her books up out of curiosity. However both series' had the same Read more ...

Book Review: Please Death of a Dude

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 06:01:27 +0000

Imagine Nero Wolfe in Montana, talking about a case while he and Archie sit on rocks and Wolfe is sitting bare foot outside near a stream.

Such is one of the very interesting scenes that take place in Death of a Dude. While on vacation at Lilly Rowan's ranch, the ranch foreman is accused of shooting a man in the back. The sheriff Read more ...

Sleuths of My Youth: Sherlock Holmes

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 06:01:48 +0000

Previous post: Encyclopedia Brown

When visiting my grandfather's house when I was eight, I stumbled on Sherlock Holmes for the first time. He owned a standalone copy of the "Red Headed League." I read the whole thing in one reading and became fascina Read more ...

Book Review: The Father Hunt

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 06:01:44 +0000

In The Father Hunt, Amy DeNovo, a twenty-four year old woman helping Lily Rowan research a book about her father, asks for Archie's help to find out who her father was. Archie wants to help, but as she only has $2,000, he knows that Wolfe won't take the job. However, De Novo shows up at Wolfe's office with $20,000 and Wolfe wants to Read more ...

The Sleuths of My Youth: Encyclopedia Brown

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 06:01:47 +0000

I've loved detective fiction since I was a child. In this series, we'll examine some of these great detectives I encountered in childhood and set the stage for a lifetime of loving, reading, and watching mysteries.

One of the first detectives I read growing up was Encyclopedia Brown by Donald Sobol. Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown was a ki Read more ...

Book Review: Black Coffee

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 06:01:48 +0000

Book Review: D.R.T.

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 06:01:00 +0000

Perry Mason’s Final TV Cases

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 06:01:10 +0000

With the impending departure of Starz programming including the 1980s and 1990s Perry Mason Telefilms, I've been watching all 26 of these last films with the aging Raymond Burr. My thoughts on the first 9 films (i.e. the Paul Drake, Jr. era) are Read more ...

Radio Review: The Shell Chateau and the Shell Show

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 06:01:22 +0000

The 60 minute variety show became a standard on radio up through the mid-1940s with programs such as the Kraft Music Hall and Fred Allen's Town Hall program. In the mid-to-late 1940s the format gave way to half hour variety shows, but the Big Show Read more ...

Book Review: Too Many Women

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 06:01:29 +0000

In Too Many Women, Wolfe is brought on a personnel matter. The Naylor-Kerr company studying employee retention asked supervisors to fill out a card for each departed employee. One manager sets off a sensation when he lists the reason for one employee's departure as "murdered." Officially, the police had said the case was a hit and run. Read more ...

Three Forgotten Old Time Radio Christmas Traditions

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 06:01:39 +0000

Television has its Christmas traditions. A Charlie Brown Christmas, It's a Wonderful Life, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas survive through the wonder of reruns and videos.

The Golden Age of Radio also had its Christmas traditions, some things that for years were part of what Christmas was in America. Thankfully, throu Read more ...

William Shatner as Archie Goodwin?

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 06:02:39 +0000

This fascinating casting choice has come to light on several blogs via a Read more ...

Radio Review: Life with Luigi

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 06:01:51 +0000

(Caption: Pasquale (Alan Reed), Luigi (J. Carrol Naish), and Read more ...

Book Review: A Right to Die

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 06:01:30 +0000

Nero Wolfe encountered Paul Whipple in 1938's Too Many Cooks as a black waiter in West Virginia studying anthropology. Wolfe obtained Whipple's help in solving the murder of a famous chef.

Twenty-four years laters, Whipple calls in his marker to get a favor from Wolfe. Now an Assistant Professor of Anthropology, he shows up unannounced Read more ...

Book Review: The Sign of Four

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 00:37:18 +0000

The Sign of Four begins when a young woman comes to Sherlock Holmes with a problem. Her father disappeared from his hotel in London on returning on leave from India. She then began receiving a pearl a year for the past six year from an anonymous benefactor. She wants Holmes and Watson to accompany the mysterious rendezvous. The benefactor inform Read more ...

Audio Drama Review: A Dickens Holiday Sampler

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:50:56 +0000

Read more ...

Radio Drama Review: Perry Mason and the Case of the Curious Bride

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 06:01:06 +0000

Read more ...

1990s Mystery Fans Rejoice: Columbo Has one More Thing and Father Dowling Comes to DVD

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 06:01:50 +0000

I checked the website TVShowsonDVD and came across two interesting items.

First of all, all the Columbo movies will be on DVD in the United States next year witRead more ...

The Stuff Dreams are Made Of….

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 15:22:52 +0000

This past week, I had occasion to listen to the Lux Radio Theater version of The Maltese Falcon. Humphrey Bogart and the rest of the original cast were not available, but the great Edward G. Robinson was chosen to fill Bogart's substantial gumshoes.

At the end of the hour performance, I was struck by how the Lux performance ev Read more ...

Book Review: Gambit

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 06:01:59 +0000

A prominent citizen is accused of murdering one of his daughter's suitors by poisoning his drink while he's engaged in a blindfolded chess match with 12 different chess players. Wolfe is hired by the daughter of the accused who believes that her father's lawyer is up to no good due to being in love with her mother. The lawyer opposes hiring Wolf Read more ...

Book Review: The Final Deduction

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 06:01:59 +0000

In The Final Deduction, Wolfe is hired as insurance by a woman whose husband has been kidnapped. However, Wolfe's client is being particularly cagey about the information she'll share with Wolfe. Wolfe does manage to get a meeting with the woman's secertary who has said she heard the call from the kidnapper. Wolfe and Archie both conclu Read more ...

Book Review: Where There’s a Will

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 06:01:40 +0000

The family of a deceased millionaire come to Wolfe to mediate a dispute over their brother's will, which surprisingly left little to the man's wife and sisters, but left the balance to an unrelated woman. The will didn't meet many of the brother's promises including leaving a million dollars to one sister's university.

Wolfe's job is Read more ...

To be Continued…

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 04:14:30 +0000

To be Continued is a word fraught with mixed emotions for many television viewers. When their favorite Television show embarks on a muliple episode story line, viewers are guaranteed more complex, more involved, and perhaps developed stories. On the downside, there's the long wait to find out what happened next week or in some cases, next season Read more ...

Telefilm Review: Appointment with Death (2009)

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 06:01:29 +0000

Read more ...

Mr. Monk’s Top Twenty List, Part Five

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 06:01:28 +0000

Past Posts: 6-10 11-15, 16-20 and Read more ...

Raiders of the Lost Episodes

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 06:01:24 +0000

Todd wrote in with a question about lost episodes of the radio series, The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes:

How many episodes of The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes exist? This posting says that there maybe another 150 floating around Read more ...

Mr. Monk’s Top 20 List, Part Four

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 06:01:55 +0000

Past Posts: 11-15, 16-20 and honorable mentions.

10) Mr. Monk and the Sleeping Sus Read more ...

Book Review: Plot It Yourself

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 06:01:07 +0000

In Plot It Yourself, Rex Stout follows the old writing axiom of, "Write what you know."

A joint writers-publishers committee turns to Wolfe to stop a plagiarism swindle. Four authors created successful novels and plays were sued by others writers who claiming that the successful works were stolen from them. The unknowns all cashe Read more ...

Mr. Monk’s Top 20 List, Part Three

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 06:01:24 +0000

See 16-20 and honorable mentions.

15) Mr. Monk and the Panic Room (Season 3, Episode 2): This is a classic locked room mystery. A man is found murdered in his per Read more ...

Audiobook Review: Hercule Poirot’s Unpublished Stories

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 06:01:33 +0000

Read more ...

Mr. Monk’s Top 20 List, Part Two

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 06:01:02 +0000

Having dispensed with the honorable mentions, we turn to the actual 20 best Monk episodes.

20) Mr. Monk is Someone Else (Season 8, Episode 4): This episode begins with a bang. It appears that Monk is killed in the first scene. But of course, i Read more ...

Michael Reston: The Washington Generals of Prosecuting Attorneys

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 05:46:51 +0000

With the end of Starz's relationship with Netflix, the Perry Mason TV movies are set to disappear off the Instant Watch. I've set the goal of seeing all the 1980s-90s Mason TV films before they disappear.

So far, I've seen nine of them w Read more ...

Movie Review: Evil Under the Sun (1982)

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 06:01:03 +0000

Read more ...

Mr. Monks’s Top 20 List: The Honorable Mentions

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 06:01:40 +0000

Having finished the complete Monk series, the natural thing to do when I have a blog like would be to make a list of my favorites. We've done it before with Columbo.

The big question for me was the number. Monk himself would prefer ten o Read more ...

Box 13 in the 21st Century

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 06:02:51 +0000

I recently received a listener question from Kathleeen about Box 13:

I had a thought; what do you think the "Box 13" ad would look like if it were on CraigsList?

The question is easy enough to answer but raises another one that's a little more complex, How would a modern day Dan Holi Read more ...

The Amazing Mr. Monk

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 06:01:59 +0000

"He's the guy."

"Here's what happened."

These catch phrases were heard constantly throughout the remarkable eight season run of Monk over the USA television network.

Crime television has become grittier and focused on scientific investigations. Monk was a throwback in more than ways than one as a PG detecti Read more ...

Audio Drama Review: Perry Mason and the Case of the Howling Dog

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 06:01:14 +0000

Read more ...

Book Review: The Labours of Hercules

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 06:01:48 +0000

Read more ...

Perry Mason and the Case of the Disappearing Netflix Streams

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:54:56 +0000

Starz recently announced that it would be ending its relationship with Netflix in order for Starz to maintain its premium band and avoid losing subscribers who just watch movies on Netflix. This doesn't ha Read more ...

Audio Drama Review: King Solomon’s Mines

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 06:01:33 +0000

Read more ...

Book Review: If Death Ever Slept

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 06:01:45 +0000

In If Death Ever Slept what Nero Wolfe later describes as a joint act of "mulishness" leads Wolfe to undertake a case he would have never taken otherwise as Archie goes undercover as Alan Green, the secretary to an eccentric millionaire named Otis Jarrell who believes his daughter-in-law is "a snake" who obtained information from his Read more ...

Book Review: Too Many Cooks

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 06:01:29 +0000

In the first three Nero Wolfe books, Rex Stout firmly established that Wolfe rarely leaves the house. From 1937-46, Wolfe was routinely pushed out of the Brownstone by Stout with only two stories in this period allowing him to stay homebound:

The Red Box (1937) sent Wolfe to a clothing store to question witnesses at the beh Read more ...

The Endurance of Johnny Dollar and Sherlock Holmes

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 06:01:39 +0000

This is the first article that's based on a listener/reader question. Wben I was soliciting questions for starting this column on Facebook, Matthew wrote:

How about a study on why Johnny dollar and Sherlock Holmes lasted as long as they did while others shows didn't.

There were other shows that lasted as lo Read more ...

Zorro Comes to Radio

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 06:01:51 +0000

Read more ...

Book Review: Three for the Chair

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 06:01:25 +0000

While shopping in the thrift store, I found a 1968 Bantam Paperback copy of, Three for the Chair, a 1957 compilation of three Nero Wolfe novellas. While the book was not my planned next Nero Wolfe read, I decided to grab it cheap and enjoy the book.

There are three stories in this book and each should be reviewed in its own right Read more ...

Book Review: Might as Well Be Dead

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 06:01:34 +0000

In Might as Well Be Dead, Wolfe is hired by a Nebraska businessman to find his son, Paul Herald. The older Herald had exiled his son eleven years earlier on the belief his son had stolen $11,000 from the business but had since learned that someone else committed the theft. He turns to Wolfe as a last result after having contacted t Read more ...

Interview With a Modern Radio Star

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 06:01:43 +0000

Quick trivia question. What American radio actor has played Allan Quartermain, Perry Mason, and John Barrymore? If you're thinking Orson Welles, Elliot Lewis, Howard Duff, or some other golden age figure, you're wrong.

The answer is Jerry Robbins, who was born as the golden age of radio was ending. His Read more ...

Book Review: The Red Box

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 06:01:33 +0000

The Red Box was the fourth of the Nero Wolfe novels and begins somewhat abruptly in the middle of the initial interview with Wolfe’s client. With a desperate need for a client, Archie connives with a potential client to get Wolfe to leave his house to travel down to a fashion firm several blocks away to interview witnesses in the pois Read more ...

Audio Drama Review: Perry Mason and The Case of the Lucky Legs

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 06:01:55 +0000

Read more ...

Poirot Return Looks Likely

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 05:57:28 +0000

David Suchet was honored with the Commander Order of the British Empire and expressed some hope that Poirot would return to ITV to adapt the final five Poirot books in the Autumn of next year. He said that while it wasn't official, "the green light is blinking."

Four novels and one play remain that have not been adapted for television by Read more ...

We Still Love Lucy

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 02:54:18 +0000

Well, sometimes special days in the life or Golden Age figures pass me by. Such was the case with today's anniversary of the birth of one of the world's great comediennes, Lucille Ball.

Google paid tribute to Lucy with a doodle ho Read more ...

Religious Dramas on Radio, Part Two

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 06:01:07 +0000

In part one, we took at radio shows that were (for the most part) broadcast over major networks and began broadcasting in the 1940s. But a new age was dawning in American entertainment.

In the late 1940s headed into the 1950s, commercial radio drama was on the Read more ...

Religious Dramas on Radio, Part One

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 06:01:02 +0000

Over the years, many religious dramas have appeared on the radio from the 19e0s right through the present. It's probably fair to say that the bulk of long-lasting radio dramas produced since the end of the Golden Age of radio have either been underwritten by Foundation grants or religious organizations. Still, there were plenty of programs with Read more ...

Book Review: Before Midnight

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 06:01:23 +0000

How annoying can a client or set of clients get? Nero Wolfe finds out in Before Midnight.

After the death of a hot shot advertising executive, his firm hires Wolfe not to find the killer, but to locate the dead man's wallet which contained the answers to a verse-guessing contest with $800,000 in prizes at stake.

To me, the story pl Read more ...

The Radio Adventures of Doc Savage

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 06:01:12 +0000

Read more ...

The Fictionalized Adventures of Babe Ruth

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 06:01:49 +0000

George Herman "Babe" Ruth was the greatest baseball player of his era and perhaps of any era. He revolutionized the game of baseball, bringing about a new era in American sports. His career was the stu Read more ...

Father Brown’s Not Buying It: A Review of the Incredulity of Father Brown

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 06:01:32 +0000

Twelve years after his second Father Brown books, G.K. Chesterton brought readers a new collection in 1926 entitled, The Incredulity of Father Brown.

While the previous collections titled, The Innocence of Father Brown and The Wisdom of Father Brown had very little with the theme of the stories, Incredulity is Read more ...

The Biggest Show on Radio

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 06:01:48 +0000

In 1950, NBC produced won of radio's greatest spectacles of talent, a 90 minute variety show.

The late 40s had been bad for NBC as rival CBS had raided their stable of talent, luring Jack Benny, Burns and Allen, Harold Peary (Star of The Great Gildersleeve) over to their network with higher wages.

NBC had not come up with Read more ...

Book Review: Murder by the Book

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 06:01:47 +0000

As I wrote last week in my review of The Rubber Band, you never know quite what to expert when you read a Nero Wolfe Mystery. This is certainly true of Murder by the Book which provides a solid mystery, but also a brilliantly executed and effective eleme Read more ...

Radio That Teaches American History

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 06:01:58 +0000

A recent study shows that Americans don't know their history. According to the NAEP report card, 22% of American students are proficient at grade level in American History, dropping to 13% for High School graduates.

Of course, it hasn't always been like the case Read more ...

The Family Doctor: A Wholesome Radio Prescription

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 06:01:56 +0000

If you're looking for a wholesome Old Time Radio for the whole family, Family Doctor could be just what the doctor ordered.

Over the years, many television series, books, and movies have taken a longing look at the past in programs such as Little House on the Prairie and The Waltons which served as a remin Read more ...

A Review of the Columbo Collection

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 06:01:48 +0000

Read more ...

The Redbook Dramas: A Review

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 06:01:03 +0000

Redbook Magazine has evolved over the years. The modern Redbook is a woman's magazine, commonly sold in the checkout aisle with relationship an Read more ...

Book Review: The Rubber Band

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 06:01:43 +0000

The great thing about reading Nero Wolfe novels is you never quite know what to expect. The Nero Wolfe stories are a blend of hard-boiled stories as well as the genius/gentleman detective stories. The exact composition of the blend varies from book to book.

The Rubber Band is definitely closer to the cozy side of mysteries rather Read more ...

The Man Who Asked, “Why Me?”

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 06:01:05 +0000

A good autobiography requires a truly interesting life and a willingness to share it. By both accounts, William Gargan's, 1969 memoir Why Me is a masterful example of how an autobiography ought to be written.

I knew Gargan for his TV and radio detective work with I Deal in Crime, Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator, Read more ...

14 Carat Dramas

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 06:01:36 +0000

The mid-30s was an era in radio of forgetable and forgotten 15 minute syndicated radio programs. They were produced, put on transcription disks, and sold to a small number of stations with no name stars. Even those who research the shows may have little information as to where they actually originated or who starred in them.

While some Read more ...

The Zeck Trilogy: A Review

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 06:01:13 +0000

Holmes had Moriarty, but who did Nero Wolfe have?

For three books, crime boss Arnold Zeck served as an antagonist for Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin.

And Be a Villain

A man who writes a horseracing tip sheet is poisoned on a radio talk show while drinking the sponsor's product. Wolfe is hired to solve t Read more ...

The Five Best Syndicated Old Time Radio Detective Shows

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 23:27:36 +0000

We've already looked at detective shows on every major network including multi-network, ABC, Read more ...

The Five Best CBS Old Time Radio Detective Shows

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 28 May 2011 00:30:20 +0000

Previous post in this series include multi-network, ABC, NBC, and Read more ...

The Five Best NBC Old Time Radio Detectives

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Fri, 20 May 2011 22:41:39 +0000

Previously, we've done multi-network, ABC, and Mutual Programs in this series.

NB Read more ...

Audio Drama Review: Two Perry Mason Radio Cases

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 15 May 2011 17:00:15 +0000

You'll find that I'm a lawyer who has specialized in trial work, and in a lot of criminal work. ... I'm a specialist on getting people out of trouble. They come to me when they're in all sorts of trouble, and I work them out. ... If you look me up through some family lawyer or some corporation lawyer, he'll probably tell you that I'm a shys Read more ...

The Five Best Mutual Old Time Radio Detectives

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 14 May 2011 02:25:48 +0000

In past parts of this series, we've looked at multi-network and ABC shows. Now we turn to the Mutual Broadcasting Company. Mutual had many fine detective shows and with goo Read more ...

The Five Best ABC Old Time Radio Detectives

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 07 May 2011 04:58:25 +0000

Continuing our series from last week where we began with radio detectives who crossed networks, we turn to radio detective actors whose performance stuck to one network. Examining the four networks that were prominent during the Golden Age, we'll begin with Read more ...

The Five Greatest Detectives No Radio Network Could Hold

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 04:22:26 +0000

I had the great idea of doing a series of articles, ranking the top five radio detectives by Network (i.e. ABC, NBC, CBS, Mutual, and the syndicated shows.)

There was only one problem with the plan. Many radio programs didn’t just stay on one network. In some cases radio actors regularly jumped from network-to-network.

If actor� Read more ...

Broadway’s My Beat in the 21st Century

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 00:59:31 +0000

Many old time radio shows made their way to television. In the 21st Century, are we ready for one more?

Broadway's My Beat was one of the finest radio detective dramas and an underrated one at that. Read more ...

Father Brown Returns to Radio

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 23:58:20 +0000

Many people, while enjoying old time radio, would like to hear new radio dramas produced. However, the U.S. has very few producers of new radio dramas. One of them is the Colonial Radio Theatre. The Colonial Radio Theatre in Boston has been producing new radio dramas for the past sixteen years. Recently, they’ve begun to make some of their mat Read more ...

Long-Running Soaps Scrubbed

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 01:32:58 +0000

ABC announced this week that two of its long-running soap operas, "One Life to Live" and "All My Children" will be cancelled, one in September and the other in January. One Life to Live has been on the air for 44 years, and All My Chi Read more ...

Radio at War

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 16:53:15 +0000

Watching movies and listening to radio programs from 1942-45 and in some cases beyond, the specter of World War II is inescapable. Radio had an even greater war focus than movies because of its immediacy and timeliness. Movies could contain general messages on the war and an encouragement to buy war bonds, but radio could respond to whatever t Read more ...

The Rathbone-Bruce Countdown, Part Four

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 03:04:00 +0000

After four weeks, we get to the cream of this crop of this fantastic series. (For previous films, (see Part One and Part Two, and Read more ...

The Rathbone-Bruce Countdown, Part Three

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 02:13:01 +0000

Continuing on our list of Rathbone-Bruce Sherlock Holmes movies from best to worst (see Part One and Part Two):

6) The House of Fear (1945)

Each of these film Read more ...

The Rathbone-Bruce Countdown, Part Two

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 19:17:19 +0000

Continuing on our list of Rathbone-Bruce Sherlock Holmes movies from best to worst (see Part One):

10) Pursuit to Algiers (1945):

This post-war picture takes Holmes and Watson on a ship-board adventure as they are tasked with guarding the heir to Read more ...

The Rathbone-Bruce Countdown, Part One

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 02:58:27 +0000

Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Holmes and Watson. It doesn't get much better than that. From the late 1930s through the mid-1940s, they were Holmes and Watson.

I've seen all 14 films and they're a remarkable mix of detective stories, crime stories, spy thrillers, suspense, and a few touches of comedy. The films gave us the definitive Read more ...

Book Review: Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 03:51:48 +0000

Currently, I'm up to Episode 10 of Season 7 of Monk on the Netflix Instant Watch, which means I'm pretty close to the end of the series. How do you get more Monk if eight years wasn't enough? One thing that occurred to me is reading the Monk novels by Lee Goldberg (or Read more ...

Hard Boiled Poirot: Three Murders on the Orient Express

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 18:38:53 +0000

Recently, I decided to start watching some of the David Suchet performances as Poirot. Of obvious was that famous title, Murder on the Orient Express which Suchet made in 2010.

It was different, different than anything I'd seen, heard, or read featuring Poirot. Starkly different. The story as done by Suchet reminded me more of The Dark Knight than a cozy Agatha Christie mystery. Checking IMDB, I found an interesting phenomena which would also apply to another Poirot TV movie, Appointment with Death. Viewers rate this version of Murder on the Orient Express a solid 7.9, but fan reviewers take a more negative view. I decided to begin an investigation to find which was the best adaptation of the story. So, in addition to having watched the 2010 David Suchet version, I viewed the 1970s movie and purchased the BBC Radio 4 version from Audible.

Some spoiler warnings below follow for those who haven't seen, heard, or read Murder on the Orient Express.

Read more ...

The Triumph of Rochester

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 04:13:48 +0000

There are no small parts, only small actors.-Milan Kundera

During Hollywood's Golden Age, Black actors who made it to Hollywood foun Read more ...

Harold Perry’s Honest Mistake

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 17:25:12 +0000

Has a career decision so backfired on a star as Harold Perry's decision to leave The Great Gildersleeve?

Perry debuted in the role of Gildersleeve in 1938 as one of many side characters on Fibber McGee and Molly. However, the popularity of the character led to one of radio's first successful spin-offs and one of the mos Read more ...

The Top 10 1970s Columbo Episodes, Part Three

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 15:42:00 +0000

Part One is here, Part Two is here.

3) A Friend in Deed (1974)

This episode has a good twist in it. For starters, the primary villain is none other than the De Read more ...

The Top 10 1970s Columbo Episodes, Part Two

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 06:01:35 +0000

(For Part One, see here.)

7) Fade Into Murder (1976): This episode of Columbo was far from the most difficult case Columbo had to crack, however the guest murderer made the episode entertaining.

William Shatner plays the role of Actor Ward Fo Read more ...

The Top 10 1970s Columbo Episodes, Part One

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 20:43:32 +0000

Columbo was a unique detective show in that the murderer's identity was (almost) always known from the beginning. What made the show interesting was how Columbo would solve the crime and where the flaw in the murder lay.

Each episode represented a battle of wits between Columbo and the murderer. Columbo, due to his disheveled ap Read more ...

21st Century Sherlock

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 03:27:52 +0000

What if Sherlock Holmes had been born in modern times? The BBC's series, "Sherlock" gives you a good idea of how the greatest detective of them all would be different.

I have to admit being apprehensive of the new series and not really sure I'd enjoy it. However, there's little chance Read more ...

Three Forgotten Radio Christmas Traditions

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 03:11:34 +0000

Television has its Christmas traditions. A Charlie Brown Christmas, It's a Wonderful Life, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas survive through the wonder of reruns and videos.

The Golden Age of Radio also had its Christmas traditions, some things that for years were part of what Christmas was in America. Thankfully, throu Read more ...

The Marx Brothers’ 1990s Radio Comeback

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 04:50:13 +0000

The Marx Brothers remain one of the most beloved comedy teams of all time. Yet, they're mostly remembered for film. While Groucho's later years enjoyed a radio (and later television) resurgance with the hit game show, "You Bet Your Life," the brothers as a team didn't do a whole lot of radio work together.

The one big radio gig involving Read more ...

These Radio Shows Are Brought to You By Anonymous

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 16:53:51 +0000

The pure amount of old time radio available to the general public online is mind-blowing. Several sites boast of upwards of 100,000 separate programs. With my podcasts, I bring listeners shows that I've discovered searching online. However, every episode we play is here as the result of a lot of other people's efforts.

Radio P Read more ...

Cos and the Classic Revivals

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 04:23:59 +0000

By the time the 1990s rolled out, Bill Cosby was huge. He'd had many great efforts in television and other forms entertainment. He was supercool superspy Alexander Scott in the groundbreaking I Spy series. He was producer and host of the award-winning Fat Albert Series. However, his greatest success was the Cosby Sho Read more ...

Movie Review: Going My Way

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 06:13:05 +0000

I'd never heard of Going My Way until I was searching through my instant watch queue on Netflix, though I'd heard of its sequel, The Bells of St. Mary.

Going My Way stars Bing Crosby as Father Chuck O'Malley, a young priest from St. Louis who has been given the task of setting in order a troubled New York City Read more ...

The Silver Age of Old Time Radio

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 04:57:56 +0000

Some folks refer to the entire period of radio history from 1929-1962 as the "Golden Age of Radio." The term is a bit inprecise. I'd argue that the Golden Age of Radio actually ended in 1951, and that the Silver Age lasted until 1965 when Theater Five went off the air.

The year 1951 was the first that Television first turned Read more ...

How I’ve Learned About Classic Radio

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 02:55:21 +0000

When I mentioned listening to You Bet Your Life, a friend on Facebook was curious about my interest and asked, "How did you even HEAR about these folks?"

There are two stages where I learned about old radio shows:

1) Growing Up

My dad talked about listening to the radio growing up, but the first Read more ...

Old Time Radio Music: A Final Round Up

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 04:56:57 +0000

I've taken a look at shows that feature Jazz and Country-Western Music. Now to look at the rest of the music out there beginning with shows that while not music shows feature regular music. :

Music, It's Part of the Show:

Detective Shows

Pete Kelly's B Read more ...

Old Time Country Music

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 16:07:16 +0000

Last week, I took a look at the available jazz old time radio out there. Now, for old time country and Western fans, this post is for you.

1) Hank Williams

Hank Williams, Sr. had two seperate radio shows. The first was his "Health and Happiness Show" from 1 Read more ...

All that Jazz

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 06:01:21 +0000

As I've listened to old time radio, I've acquired a taste for classic Jazz, particularly the instrumentals.

However, old time radio music can be hard to find unless you know what you're looking for. Over the next three weeks, we'll be sharing some great sources for finding classic music, and we'll start with some Jazzy Stuff.

< Read more ...

The Best of Box 13

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 06:01:49 +0000

After 52 episodes, the last Podcast of Box 13 will be released. It's been a good run with some of the best writing and acting in radio. While there were a few clunkers such as, "Actor's Alibi" this was Read more ...

Green Acres on the Radio

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 07:34:43 +0000

If you mention Green Acres, people think of the 1965-71 Sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor. But fifteen years before Green Read more ...

50 Years of Yabba Dabba Do

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 06:01:19 +0000

It's rare for a TV show that turns 50 years old to be remembered, yet alone to make the front page on Google, but that's what happened to the Flinstones.

The show began in 1960 on ABC and has spawned numerous TV spinoffs, Read more ...

The Overlooked Mrs. North

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 17:18:13 +0000

In the discussion of great female detectives of the golden radio era, one name is invariably left out of the discussion: Pamela North.

Part of the challenge may be that Mrs. North was a part of a detective team and a husband-wife team at that. There are at least four Couple Detective t Read more ...

It’s Another Case for Nick Carter or Nick Carter and the Case of the Missing Serials

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 06:01:46 +0000

There were few radio detectives with more endurance than Nick Carter as played by Lon Clark. It's first airing was April 11, 1943 in the middle of World War II and it went off the air on September 25, 1955, 5 days after Dragnet aired its last episode. Clark made more than 722 appearances as Read more ...

The Immortal Detectives

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 20:02:07 +0000

Listening to vintage radio, you get a sense of how fleeting fame and popularity can be. There was a time when names such as Michael Shayne, John J. Malone, Philo Vance, Nick Carter, and Mr. and Mrs. North held a spot in the public imagination. Yet, today these names would be mostly unknown except to diehard fans of old mysteries.

On th Read more ...

Better Living Through Radio

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 06:55:37 +0000

How effective can radio advertising be? Could a radio ad sell a product 75 years after it aired? The answer is a surprising yes.

Vintage radio ads often vary between enduring brands that exist to this day and continue to be brand name staples such as Chevron Gasoline, Wrigley Gum, Camel Cigarettes, or Pepsodent to the brands you can't Read more ...

And Now, Let’s See What’s Happening Down in Pine Ridge…

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 20:55:07 +0000

Imagine an old time radio show that spawns an annual festival, led to the renaming of a town, and 55 years after its first airdate, keeps a small town grocery store in business.

You needn't imagine. The show is called Lum and Abner, radio's two-man show featuring Chester Lauck and Lum Edwards and Norris Goff played Abner Peabody. The two Read more ...

Remaking Jim Rockford and Pat Novak

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:02:59 +0000

There are some things you don't do. Some forces you don't mess with. Earlier this year, NBC had the idea to re-make The Rockford Files. John Nolte at Big Hollywood had a simple message. "Forget about it."

Here� Read more ...

Nostalgic for Art

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 04:27:43 +0000

I don't view myself as a Nostalgia show host. I love old radio detective shows because of their quality, rarely touched in modern attempts, either in the fiber of the characters, or in the quality of the stories. They don't make them like that anymore.

However, there are some shows that fill me with a nostalgic sense, and a great example Read more ...

TV Detectives Locked in Copyright Jail

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 29 May 2010 15:56:04 +0000

Recently, I got the Best of TV Detectives (affiliate link), a 150 episode collection of TV Detective shows. Despite the fact that not all of them were detective shows. (Two public Read more ...

Bill Cosby’s Detective Show

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 15 May 2010 19:46:50 +0000

One of the Google searches that hit the site recently was for "Bill Cosby Detective Show." People remember Bill Cosby for his Comedy, particularly the ratings sensation, The Cosby Show. But, Bill Cosby did try his hand as a TV dete Read more ...

These are a Few of My Favorite Shows…

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 01 May 2010 16:31:17 +0000

Daniel over in the Dragnet Facebook page asked where I got my shows and what some of my favorites were. That was going to be a long answer, so I thought I'd make it a blog post.

First as to where to get the shows, here are four sites to try:

Read more ...

The Gold Standard for Radio Research

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 16:12:48 +0000

I've added a new link to the sidebar, for the RadioGoldIndex.

The Radio Gold Index is an incredibly helpful radio research tool. It provides information on an exhaustive collection of golden age radio. The two most helpful functions in the site are the ability to search by program an Read more ...

How a Movie Becomes Public Domain

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 18:11:09 +0000

You see them in the video stores. Movies that always seem to be available from a wide variety of different companies, TV shows in cheap packaging such as Burns and Allen and Sherlock Holmes. Most of these productions are in the public domain, but how did they get there?

This is a topic I've studied up on as we've added Read more ...

RIP Robert Culp

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 01:39:08 +0000

Robert Culp has passed away. As with other older actors whose work I shouldn't be familiar with, I'm a big fan of Culp's and Bill Cosby's I Spy. I have it on my Netflix Instant watch queue. It was truly cool and showed forth wo Read more ...

Cartoons that Loved the Classics

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 17:07:32 +0000

Outside of watching a lot of old movies growing up, thanks to my dad, if I were to attribute my love of classic films and radio to anything modern, I'd have to say that the Steven Speilberg cartoons of the early-to-mid 1990s would be a strong candidate.

Steven Speilberg produced not one, but three seperate cartoon series, which stand out Read more ...

The Old Time Radio Show That Was Never Cancelled

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 07:49:24 +0000

"All good things must come to an end," the old saying goes and in radio that was definitely true. Whether it was Jack Benny, Burns and Allen, the Bickersons, the Lone Ranger, Gunsmoke, Yours Truly Johnny Dollar, or Dragnet, they all bit the dust.

Well, almost all. One show that began during radio's golden age continues to broadcast new d Read more ...

History, The Way It Wasn’t

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 22:53:26 +0000

Time for an inaccuracy rant. History.com posted this item for today in History for February 13, celebrating the debut of "Jack Webb's first crime drama" on February 13, 1949 when Pat Novak began airing.

The problem?

Webb had been doing crime dr Read more ...

I Vote For The Mayor of the Town

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:54:39 +0000

I make it a policy not to discuss politics on this blog, but I did want to reccomend one politician worth voting for-the Mayor of the Town.

Mayor of the Town was a radio series that ran for 7 years and I first encountered it last weekend while researching the career of Bob B Read more ...

Did Agatha Christie Inspire the Creators of Box 13 and Let George Do It?

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:28:27 +0000

The great Agatha Christie may have inspired the creation of two of vintage radio's best mystery detective series.

In Box 13, Dan Holiday ran an ad to get his adventures, "Adventure wanted -- will go anywhere, do anything "

In Let George Do It, George Valentine got his cases through a similar newspaper ad. Throughout the series, th Read more ...

Review: Radio Archives: Let George Do It, Volume 1

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 22:35:02 +0000

Let George Do It, starring Bob Bailey has more episodes in circulation than Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe.

Combined.

With the exception of one episode featuring Ken Peters, and another featuring Alan Soule, all the episodes star Bob Bailey as a detective that defies the traditional Hard-Boiled/Soft-Boiled division with his mix of so Read more ...

Book Review: The Innocence of Father Brown

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 06:54:59 +0000

Father Brown, as best I can tell is the second among the Great literary detectives, right after Sherlock Holmes. In some ways, Father Brown was a continuation of what Chesterton wrote in his classic Orthodoxy.

The intellectuals of Chesterton's time viewed the orthodox Christi Read more ...

Pat Novak Doesn’t Swear

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:05:13 +0000

One of the great things about Old Time Radio is the lack of swearing on the shows. Many parents are thankful for this, and a lot of us would rather not hear it for whatever reason. However, I think the lack of swearing actually forced the writers to write better scripts.

When researching Pat Novak, I've found that's he's been twice publ Read more ...

Review: Nightwatch

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:51:43 +0000

What would happen if the immortal detectives, Sherlock Holmes and Father Brown met with a brutal murder to solve?

This is the fascinating question posed by Rev. Stephen Kendrick's 2001 Book, Read more ...

The Guide to OTR Distribution Models

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:01:17 +0000

There are a number of ways to get an Old Time Radio fix. Each has advantages and disadvantages to it. There's some debate back and forth between various sites. I think each can meet the needs of a specific base of fans.

My purpose is not to reccomend any specific products, hosts, or services, only to give the interested fan a look at the benefits and drawbacks of each way of accessing Old Time Radio.

It should also be said that just because there are disadvantages to a method doesn't mean the medium is bad, just giving pros and cons.

Read more ...

Carter Brown: It’s Australian for Vintage Radio

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 02:06:49 +0000

I recently came on a quite interesting discovery in my continuing journey to find the best old-time radio detectives: Australian Detective Series Carter Brown.

Carter Brown isn't the name of a detective, rather its a pseudonym for an author, or actually several authors of detective fiction in Australia. The primary user of that pseudonym Read more ...

How Would You Like Your Detectives Boiled?

Yours Truly Johnny Blogger — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 03:59:39 +0000

The phrase, "Hard Boiled Detective" is well-known to include private eyes like Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe. These tough hombres don't shy away from a fight, have a downbeat outlook on life, and operate in a gritty, seamy side of the world. They're known for the fast fists, and fast mouths. Johnny Dollar (coming this Friday) is from t Read more ...