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
Listen to "The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio" on Spreaker.
Currently Featuring
YOURS TRULY, JOHNNY DOLLAR THE FALCON BROADWAY’S MY BEAT DRAGNET MR. CHAMELEON BULLDOG DRUMMOND… and more!
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Recent Posts
Bulldog Drummond, OTR Detective, Podcast, Syndicated
Bulldog Drummond: Death Loops the Loop (EP4498)
by Yours Truly Johnny Blogger • 0 Comments
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Today’s Mystery:
The owner of a small amusement park dies of heart failure on a roller coaster. His daughter suspects murder and turns to Captain Drummond for help.
Original Radio Broadcast Date: March 10, 1948
Originating in New York
Starring: Ned Wever as Bulldog Drummond; Luis Van Rooten as Denny; Mercedes McCambridge
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Join us again tomorrow for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.
NBC, OTR Detective, Podcast, The Falcon
The Falcon: The Case of the Unwelcome Wife (EP4497)
by Yours Truly Johnny Blogger • 0 Comments
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Today’s Mystery:
A manager of a gambling den faces death if he doesn’t recover $100,000 he embezzled to give to a conwoman.
Original Radio Broadcast Date: May 27, 1951
Originating from New York
Starring: Les Damon as The Falcon; Maurice Tarplin; Bill Zuckert
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CBS, Escape, OTR Detective, Podcast
Escape: The Red Forest (EP4496s)
by Yours Truly Johnny Blogger • 0 Comments
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Special brought to you by the request of Chief of Detectives Patreon Fats
Today’s Story:
A motorist finds himself trapped in a Western wildfire.
Original Radio Broadcast Date: August 2, 1953
Originating in Hollywood
Starring: William Conrad as Wally; Georgia Ellis as Jan; Parley Baer; John Dehner; Jay Novello; Tom Tully
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Patreon Supporter of the Day: Fats, Patreon Supporter since May 2024
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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.
Dragnet, NBC, OTR Detective, Podcast, Procedural
Dragnet: The Big Gent, Part Two (EP4496)
by Yours Truly Johnny Blogger • 2 Comments
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Today’s Mystery:
Joe Friday and Ben Romero continue their search for a robber and murderer.
Original Radio Broadcast Date: June 27, 1950
Originating from Hollywood
Starring: Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday; Barton Yarborough as Sergeant Ben Romero; Peggy Webber; Barney Phillips; and Herb Butterfield
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Patreon Supporter of the Day: Michael, Patreon supporter since March 2016.
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Join us again on Monday for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.
Golden Age Article, Telefilm Review
Telefilm Review: The Telltale Clue: The Case of the Dying Accusation
by Yours Truly Johnny Blogger • 0 Comments
The Telltale Clue was a summer 1954 TV series starring Anthony Ross (the original actor to play Danny Clover in Broadway’s My Beat) as Captain Richard Hale of “The Criminological Division” of the Police Department. Each week he solves a case where a key clue leads to the solution of the crime.
This particular episode of The Telltale Clue aired July 29, 1954. It is noteworthy for having been written by Gore Vidal under a pseudonym, and also for featuring a young Leslie Nielsen.
The story opens with a woman with a bullet wound being thrown from a moving car. With her dying words, she says she was shot by her husband. While that’s a strong piece of evidence, Captain Hale needs more. He finds a whole family’s worth of suspects, with her husband, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law all sure she was cheating on her husband.
As a mystery, the story is reasonably well-done. The mystery is a puzzle and manages to throw out a real red herring. However, as an overall production, it operates very close to the sort of melodrama that defined New York’s radio culture, and would figure in its future as a soap opera mecca for decades to come. In some ways, it’s an odd series to be on television, as CBS chose to launch this as a police procedural when more realistic programs like Dragnet were dominating the airwaves.
Most of the performances play to the heightened, almost soap-operatic style, and certainly Ross fits that mold. Captain Hale is still a sympathetic character in the end, but has to cut a probable solution in under thirty minutes. Ross does a good job, but the same can’t be said for many of his fellow actors, as there are a few bad performances that are either a bit too stiff or a bit too over-the-top for the story.
Twenty-six-year-old Nielsen turns in a solid performance. As with all of Nielsen’s work prior to Airplane in 1980, he turns in a solid dramatic performance as a man who knows more than he’s letting on.
All in all, this is a decent TV episode if you enjoy early live television and if you like your mysteries a little bit soapy.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
CBS, OTR Detective, Podcast, Yours Truly Johnny Dollar
Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Parley Barron Matter (EP4495)
by Yours Truly Johnny Blogger • 0 Comments
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Today’s Mystery:
Johnny investigates the disappearance of a retired chemist.
Original Radio Broadcast Date: June 23, 1957
Originating from Hollywood
Starring: Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar; Lawrence Dobkin; Jeanette Nolan; Will Wright; Harry Bartell; Virginia Gregg; Barney Phillips; Stacy Harris
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 Party Girl Murder Case (EP4494)
by Yours Truly Johnny Blogger • 0 Comments
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Today’s Mystery:
A disabled man’s wife, who had worked as an escort, is murdered.
Original Radio Broadcast Date: November 16, 1949
Originating from New York City
Starring: Karl Swenson as Mister Chameleon; Frank Butler as Sergeant Dave Arnold
Support the show monthly at https://patreon.greatdetectives.net
Patreon Supporter of the Day: BookGeek28 Patreon Supporter Since December 2021
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
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Join us again tomorrow for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.
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