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Bob Bailey & Virginia Gregg in front of an old Microphone

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.

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- Your host, Adam Graham

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Dangerous Assignment: A Stolen Treaty (EP4199)


Today’s Mystery:

Steve goes to Port Said in Egypt to retrieve a stolen signed treaty that was taken from a courier who was beaten and left for dead.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: August 25 1952

Originated in Hollywood

Stars: Brian Donlevy as Steve Mitchell, Herb Butterfield as the Commissioner, Raymond Burr, Jack Moyles

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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.

Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Tears of Night Matter, Episodes One and Two (EP4198)

Bob Bailey

Today’s Mystery:

Johnny travels to Miami to find out why a widow waited two years to file a claim on her late husband’s life insurance.

Original Radio Broadcast Dates: May 21 and 22, 1956

Originated from Hollywood

Stars: Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar, Virginia Gregg, Vic Perrin, Jack Kruschen, Jay Novello, William Conrad, Frank Gerstle, Marvin Miller, Will Wright

When making your travel plans, remember http://johnnydollarair.com

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Give us a call at 208-991-4783

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Join us again tomorrow for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.

Sam Spade: The Kimberly Cross Caper (EP4197)

Steve Dunne

Today’s Mystery:

Steve is hired to protect a valuable necklace.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: March 23, 1951

Originated from Hollywood

Starred Steven Dunne as Sam Spade, Lurene Tuttle as Effie, Wally Maher, Fritz Feld, Georgia Ellis, Sidney Miller, Olan Soule, Alice Wellman

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

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Join us again tomorrow for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.

Dragnet: Production 7 (aka: City Hall Bomb) (EP4196)

Todays Mystery: Friday and Romero have less than half an hour to stop a man who’s thratening to blow up City Hall unless the police release his brother.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: July 21, 1948

Originated from Hollywood

Starred: Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday, Barton Yarborough as Sergeant Ben Romero, Raymond Burr as Ed Backstrand, Chief of Detectives, Herb Butterfield as Lieutenant Lee Jones

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

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Give us a call 208-991-4783

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Join us again tomorrow for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.

The Oscar-Winning Short Films of John Nesbitt, Part Three: Main Street on the March

Previous Films: That Mothers Might Live and Of Pups and Puzzles

Main Street on the March (1942)

From 1936-1956, there were actually two categories for live-action short films, one-reel films (up to eleven minutes long) and two-reel films (up to 22 minutes long.) The only year which saw Nesbitt win an Oscar for the two-reel category was 1942. It actually won the same year that  Pups and Puzzles won in the one-reel category.

Some Americans might imagine that the country moved immediately from a footing of self-satisfied isolationism to the country being all-in for World War II. The reality was more complicated than that. Main Street on the March shows America undergoing a subtle evolution, with the events of Pearl Harbor being the end rather than the beginning. It starts on a typical American Main Street in May 1940, where Americans tended to believe the year-old War was a “phony war.” However, Germany’s May 10, 1940 invasion of Belgium, Luxembourg, and Holland began to awaken Americans to the importance of strengthening America’s national defense.

The film is of great historical significance, as Nesbitt’s narration is mixed with real-life historic statements by figures such as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. Nesbitt describes a process of change and the country passing through multiple stages over the year and a half between Germany’s actions and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. It also shows how Americans prepared for war in that crucial year and a half. Without those prepartions, the war could have had a very different outcome.

The film had actually been completed and slated for release on December 8, 1941. However, events led to the film being pulled back, and new scenes and narration being added to reflect the events of Pearl Harbor and America’s final evolution. The original film wrapped before America’s entry into the war, and would have had a different conclusion, and you can see a few hints of what that might have been in the surviving footage.

Not all edits were merely for dramatic or thematic purposes. Some street scenes were filmed in Hagerstown, Maryland on West Washington Street and North Potomac. As such, the premiere of the film was held on January 5, 1942 in Hagerstown. However, in the original cut, there were more scenes in Hagerstown’s leading defense factories, but after the US joined the War, it was determined that these scenes had to be removed.

While I’d be curious to see the original cut, the final film is well worth a view and definitely earned its Oscar. It tells how America changed over the course of a year and a half. It’s a film that would really be of interest to anyone who’s interested in the events of World War II and America’s involvement in it.

As of this writing, Main Street on the March is available on YouTube.

Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Matter of the Medium Well Done, Episodes Three, Four, and Five (EP4195)

Bob Bailey

Today’s Mystery:

Johnny is dealing with death threats as well as a medium who convinced an heiress client to change her insurance beneficiary.

Original Radio Broadcast Dates: May 16, 17, and 18, 1956

Originated from Hollywood

Stars: Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar. Virginia Gregg, Lawrence Dobkin, Lurene Tuttle, HarrynBartell, Eleanor Audley, Joseph Kearns, Herb Vigran, Junius Matthews, Tony Barrett, Sam Edwards

When making your travel plans, remember http://johnnydollarair.com

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Give us a call at 208-991-4783

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Join us again tomorrow for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.

Mr. Chameleon: The Case of Murder and the Sleeping Men (EP4194)

Karl Swenson

Today’s Mystery:

A ruthless businessman is poisoned, and his two associates, who were at the same table, were knocked out.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: November 10, 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

Follow us on Twitter @radiodetectives

Join us again tomorrow for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.