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.
Subscribe to the show by clicking your favorite podcatcher in the sidebar.
And don't forget to follow me on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
- Your host, Adam Graham
Listen to "The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio" on Spreaker.
Currently Featuring
YOURS TRULY, JOHNNY DOLLAR THE FALCON DANGEROUS ASSIGNMENT DRAGNET MR. CHAMELEON ELLERY QUEEN… and more!
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Recent Posts
NBC, Nero Wolfe, Podcast
EP0312: Nero Wolfe: The Beautiful Archer
by Yours Truly Johnny Blogger • 0 Comments
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A young heir is killed while sitting in a car with his ex-girlfriend. Is she the murderer?
Original Air Date: November 24, 1950
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Mutual, Podcast, Thin Man
EP0311: Thin Man: The Adventure of the Haunted Hams
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Nick and Nora help a Summer Theater company after a fire destroys their makeshift theater. Nora is convinced that she can be a star.
Original Air Date: July 13, 1948
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I Spy: A Cup of Kindness
by Yours Truly Johnny Blogger • 1 Comment
This doesn’t have anything to do with New Years Day except the title comes from the song, Auld Lang Syne.
I Spy is one of the best action adventure shows from the 1960s, continuing on in the fine tradition of A Man Called X and Dangerous Assignment. It’s a truly underrated classic.
Golden Age Article, Sherlock Holmes
21st Century Sherlock
by Yours Truly Johnny Blogger • 2 Comments
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 that Benedict Cumberbatch will replace Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock definitely has some merit.
The idea of doing Sherlock Holmes in modern times is hardly a new one. The Rathbone-Bruce series for Universal did it fairly well. And sixty years later, what is old is new again.
Of course, moving Holmes into the 21st Century is fraught with perils. Done wrong and it becomes a fish out of water comedy. Overdo it and you risk losing sight of the character.
Thankfully, the producers avoiding doing this. Cumberbatch’s Holmes is a driven deductive genius. Martin Freeman is his able friend and companion, Dr. Watson, who is a British Veteran of the Afghanistan campaign.
Cumberbatch Holmes’ more than anything else embodies the genius’ sense of boredom in Holmes and the desire for intellectual challenge. Holmes expressed this in the Red Headed League, “My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence.”
This desire was expressed in the Holmes stories themelves in Holmes’ drug use. Also, in the 1939 Fox Movie, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Moriarity preys on Holmes intellectual curiosity by giving him a fascinating crime to solve, so that Moriarity can commit a far larger crime.
Given that this Holmes is part of a particularly bored generation, his boredom is amped up to the nth degree in this portrayal. The effect is somewhat hyperactive and occassionally intense.
One of the highlights of Sherlock was its very effective use of modern video methods to highlights Holmes’ deductions. When Holmes explains a complex deduction, the camera does a close-up on the physical clues Holmes observed to form his deductions, a kind of Sherlockovision that’s quite appealing.
The pacing is exciting, albeit a tad too quick at times, but not when compared to other modern programs.
There are a couple bones to pick with Sherlock and the episode, “The Great Game.”
The one thing really off to me about Holmes in this story is Holmes’ handling of the Bruce Partington Project (based on the Bruce Partington Plans story.) Mycroft comes to Holmes to ask him to find the missile plans and even though Holmes is incredibly bored, he refuses the commission and ignores Mycroft’s repeated requests for help even when he has no other work pending. Apparenting, some sibling rivalry with a heavy-duty dose of angst has been added to the plot and Holmes is willing to risk British security over it.
Also in this episode, the portrayal of Professor Moriarty was done poorly. We’re left with no real clue as to the practical motivation for his crimes. Andrew Scott’s performance of Moriarity was reminiscent of Heath Ledger’s joker, although not nearly as well done.
Beyond this though, Sherlock is an intriguing take on the most famous detective of them all and I’ll be eager to see the second series next Fall.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Parental Advisory: In terms of its content, it earns TV-14 rating with quite a bit of violence and some adult situations, as well as a handful of cursewords.
Sherlock Availability:
Sherlock is available as a DVD from Netflix also is available as either a digital download or a DVD from Amazon.
This post contains affiliate links, which means that items purchased from these links may result in a commission being paid to the author of this post.
1949-54 Johnny Dollar, CBS, Podcast, Yours Truly Johnny Dollar
EP0310: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Queen Anne Pistols Matter
by Yours Truly Johnny Blogger • 0 Comments
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A pair of pistols is ensured for $15,000 with the policy terminating on delivery. The intended recipients refuse and that’s when the case starts to get interesting.
Original Air Date: November 4, 1950
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ABC, Podcast, Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Old Time Radio
EP0309: Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Black Angus
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A son of a Scottish Lord breaks off his engagement and the jilted bride hires Holmes to find out the reason why. Holmes and Watson find themselves involved a mystery involving an ancient curse and rumors of werewolves.
Original Air Date: October 19, 1946
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Let George Do It, Mutual, Podcast
EP0308: Let George Do It: The Next to Last Guest
by Yours Truly Johnny Blogger • 0 Comments
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An elderly man hires George to see to the distribution of his securities to his three heirs goes off without a hitch. George finds out quickly that things aren’t what they seem when one of the benficiaries commits suicide.
Original Air Date: June 20, 1949
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