
Bob Bailey & Virginia Gregg
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 SAM SPADE DANGEROUS ASSIGNMENT DRAGNET MR. CHAMELEON MEET MISS SHERLOCK… and more!
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Recent Posts
CBS, Keen and Company, Mr. Chameleon, OTR Detective, Podcast
Mr. Chameleon: The Case of the Fatal Impersonation (EP4188)
by Yours Truly Johnny Blogger • 0 Comments
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Today’s Mystery:
A friend of Mr. Chameleon’s is murdered while dressed in costume as him.
Original Radio Broadcast Date: November 3, 1948
Originated in: New York City
Starred: Karl Swenson as Mister Chameleon
Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net
Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.
Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715
Take the listener survey at http://survey.greatdetectives.net
Give us a call at 208-991-4783
Follow us on Instagram at http://instagram.com/greatdetectives
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Join us again tomorrow for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.
Dangerous Assignment, NBC, OTR Detective, Podcast
Dangerous Assignment: Nazi Fugitive-Captain Shiller (EP4187)
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Today’s Mystery:
Steve goes to Dakar in West Africa in search of a supposedly dead Nazi sea captain who was a key part of the Fuhrer’s escape plan.
Original Radio Broadcast Date: November 3, 1951
Originated in Hollywood
Stars: Brian Donlevy as Steve Mitchell, Herb Butterfield as the Commissioner
Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net
Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.‘
Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715
Take the listener survey at http://survey.greatdetectives.net
Give us a call at 208-991-4783
Follow us on Instagram at http://instagram.com/greatdetectives
Follow us on Twitter @radiodetectives
Join us again tomorrow for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.
CBS, OTR Detective, Podcast, Yours Truly Johnny Dollar
Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Silver Blue Matter, Episodes One and Two (EP4186)
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Today’s Mystery:
Johnny goes to Los Angeles to investigate a fur robbery committed by a juvenile gang.
Original Radio Broadcast Dates: May 7 and 8, 1956
Originated from Hollywood
Stars: Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar. Lucille Meredith, Edgar Barrier, Vic Perrin, Jack Kruschen, Tommy Cook, Richard Crenna
When making your travel plans, remember http://johnnydollarair.com
Take the listener survey at http://survey.greatdetectives.net
Give us a call at 208-991-4783
Follow us on Twitter @radiodetectives
Join us again tomorrow for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.
NBC, OTR Detective, Podcast, Sam Spade
Sam Spade: The Spanish Prisoner Caper (EP4185)
by Yours Truly Johnny Blogger • 0 Comments
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Today’s Mystery:
Sam tries to help a retired teacher who lost $1,000 to an old con game.
Original Radio Broadcast Date: March 9, 1951
Originated from Hollywood
Starred Steven Dunne as Sam Spade, Lurene Tuttle as Effie, Ed Mack, Verna Felton, Lou Merrill, Tony Barrett, Shirley Mitchell, Nester Paiva, Jerry Hausner
Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net
Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.
Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715
Take the listener survey at http://survey.greatdetectives.net
Give us a call at 208-991-4783
Follow us on Instagram at http://instagram.com/greatdetectives
Follow us on Twitter @radiodetectives
Join us again tomorrow for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.
Golden Age Article
The Oscar-Winning Short-Films of John Nesbitt, Part One: That Mothers Might Live
by Yours Truly Johnny Blogger • 0 Comments
John Nesbitt was a mainstay of the Golden Age of Radio as one of radio’s great storytellers. Nesbitt was known for his Passing Parade, which aired for more than a decade, both as a stand-alone program as well as a segment on longer programs, such as Johnson’s Wax Summer Program and The John Charles Thomas Show.
However, Nesbitt’s talents weren’t just enjoyed by radio listeners. He narrated more than fifty short films, which were played in theaters before the feature attraction. Many, but not all, were a film series of Passing Parade. Nesbitt’s voice would be the only speaking role as he told viewers an unusual or remarkable true life story.
Nesbitt’s films were not just filler. Films that Nesbitt narrated and either produced or wrote received a total of five Academy Awards for short films over an eleven-year period from 1938-49.
In this series, we’ll take a look at each one.
That Mothers Might Live (1938)
That Mothers Might Live opens with shots of a 1930s hospital. We’re then told of a man who dreamed of this a century before and are transported to a 19th-century hospital. There, a popular young obstetrician named Doctor Semmelweis (Shepherd Strudwick) becomes obsessed with finding out what has caused the death of more than two thousand women over the course of six years.
Semmelweis’s tireless research leads to a breakthrough discovery that could change medicine and save the lives of numerous patients. In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, it was considered common sense. But in the nineteenth century, it rubbed against hospital politics and the pride of physicians. The film shows Semmelweis’s fight and the toll it would take on him.
Strudwick’s acting is solid. In what’s a non-speaking role, he manages to bring Semmelweis to life and to go through the whole gamut of emotions in just a few minutes. The film is well-directed and well-edited, taking the audience on this emotional roller coaster ride in ten minutes through the incidental music and cuts. Nesbitt’s narration is flawless and keeps the audience engaged from start to finish.
Semelweis’ story was a footnote in history that the average viewer both then and now had never heard of. For those who saw That Mothers Might Live, Semelweis’ story is one that’s impossible to forget.
The film won the Oscar for Best Short Subject (One-Reel) in 1939.
That Mothers Might Live is currently available on YouTube.
Dragnet, NBC, OTR Detective, Podcast, Procedural
Dragnet: Production 5 (aka: The Helen Corday Murder) (EP4184)
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Todays Mystery:
Friday and Romero investigate the brutal murder of a twenty-one-year-old woman in a vacant lot.
Original Radio Broadcast Date: July 7, 1949
Originated from Hollywood
Starred: Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday, Barton Yarborough as Sergeant Ben Romero, Raymond Burr as Ed Backstrand, Chief of Detectives, Stacy Harris, Hans Conreid
Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net
Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.
Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715
Take the listener survey at http://survey.greatdetectives.net
Give us a call at 208-991-4783
Follow us on Instagram at http://instagram.com/greatdetectives
Follow us on Twitter @radiodetectives
Join us again on Monday for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.
CBS, OTR Detective, Podcast, Yours Truly Johnny Dollar
Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Callicles Matter, Episodes Three, Four, and Five (EP4183)
by Yours Truly Johnny Blogger • 0 Comments
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Today’s Mystery:
An investment broker has returned and Johnny’s job is over. Or is it?
Original Radio Broadcast Dates: May 2, 3, and 4, 1956
Originated from Hollywood
Stars: Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar, Virginia Gregg, Harry Bartell, Lillian Buyeff, Will Wright, Jeanne Bates, Carleton Young, Lawrence Dobkin, Bert Holland, Marvin Miller, Herb Vigran
When making your travel plans, remember http://johnnydollarair.com
Take the listener survey at http://survey.greatdetectives.net
Give us a call at 208-991-4783
Follow us on Twitter @radiodetectives
Join us again tomorrow for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.
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