Month: February 2019

EP2760: Boston Blackie: The Joe Saunders Murder

Richard Kollmar

A man who works for Blackie’s friend Charlie Kingston is murdered en route to delivering $50,000 for Blackie to keep until morning.

Original Air Date: March 10, 1948

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
(more…)

EP2759: Rocky Jordan: Quest for Traneeneh

Jack Moyles
Jordan does nothing when he sees a young woman being chased as he’s told that it’s a family affair. However, when it turns out to be a kidnapping, Jordan sets out to find her.

Original Air Date: October 16, 1949

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

(more…)

EP2758: Stand by for Crime: Border Murder

Glenn Langan

After returning from Mexico, Chuck and Carol find a dead body in the trunk.

Original Air Date: 1952

Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.

Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net

Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715
(more…)

EP2757: Mister Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons: The Mother’s Plea Murder Case

So lost, I'm fading

photo credit: Greyframe So lost, I’m fading viaphotopin (license)

While a woman is confronting her husband’s mistress, the mistress is murdered. She turns to Mister Keen to clear her of murder.

Original Air Date: April 10, 1952

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…http://survey.greatdetectives.net

Give us a call 208-991-4783

Become one of our friends on Facebook.

Follow us on Twitter@radiodetectives

EP2756s: Night Beat: The Ted Carter Murder Case

Edmond O'Brien

Hank Mitchell’s friend is killed and he sets out to use his newspaper column to imply an infamous gangster is behind it. When Hank’s roughed up by some of the gangster’s men, he gets a gun to hunt him down.

Audition Date: May 19, 1949

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
(more…)

Video Theater 150: Dragnet: The Big False Make

A man confesses to a robbery and is positively identified by the victim, but Friday and Smith have serious doubts about his story.

Season 3, Episode 39

Original Air Date: May 27, 1954

EP2756: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Takes a Crook Matter

Mandel Kramer
Johnny needs to hand over a car trunk full of counterfeit money to a federal agent but is robbed of it before he can.

Original Air Date: February 18, 1962

Get your 70th Anniversary Johnny Dollar T-shirt at Yourstruly.greatdetectives.net.

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
(more…)

DVD Review: The Reformer and the Redhead

In the Reformer and the Red Head (1950), June Allyson stars as Kathleen Maguire, a zoo tour guide and the daughter of the local zookeeper. When her dad is fired at the behest of a local political boss, she turns to reformer Andrew Hale (played by Allyson’s husband Dick Powell) to expose the corrupt boss and get her father’s job back. Hale sees an opportunity to bolster his fledgling candidacy. However, he finds himself drawn into the lives of the Maguires and their menagerie of wild animals that they keep as pets around the house.

Allyson is great in this. Kathleen Maguire is eager, earnest, sincere, and with a good bit of temper. She’s really the heart of the film and Allyson makes her likable and a delight in every moment she’s on the screen.

Powell’s character is interesting. While he’s running as a reformer, it’s mostly a cynical marketing ploy. It’s his best line of attack. If he can find a way to settle with the bosses and win the election easily, he’s happy to do that. As the film goes on, he changes. Kathleen is a true believer in the things he says to win votes. As they fall in love, they come to a big inevitable conflict where he has to choose between Kathleen and an easy path to political power. Powell manages to portray this conflict while also doing great with the comedy.

I also to have comment on the animals, particularly the domesticated lion. The animals are fun throughout the film, delivering some cute moments as well as some big laughs. There are some great gags, including a really fun scene in a car towards the end.

The film is predictable. If you’ve seen similar movies from this era, you could sketch out the plot of the entire film. While its predictable, it’s never boring. The leads have great chemistry, the animals are fun, and the moral is good. It’s not a classic epic, but it’s a good time. If you like these films, or are a fan of Dick Powell or June Allyson, this is a pleasant 90 minutes.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

If you enjoyed this post, you can have new posts about Detective stories and the golden age of radio and television delivered automatically to your Kindle.

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 at no extra cost to the purchase


EP2755: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Urned Income Matter

Johnny is called in to investigate when an insured man is robbed of an urn containing $5,000.

Original Air Date: December 4, 1960
Get your 70th Anniversary Johnny Dollar T-shirt at Yourstruly.greatdetectives.net.

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
(more…)

EP2754: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Royal Street Matter


Johnny goes to New Orleans to investigate the strange case of an insured man who refuses to file a claim on a fire that occurred in his shop.

Original Air Date: November 25, 1956

Get your 70th Anniversary Johnny Dollar T-shirt at Yourstruly.greatdetectives.net.

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
(more…)

EP2753: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The San Antonio Matter


Johnny goes to St. Petersburg to investigate the death of an ex-bootlegger.
Original Air Date: April 28, 1953

Get your 70th Anniversary Johnny Dollar T-shirt at Yourstruly.greatdetectives.net.

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
(more…)

EP2752: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Yankee Pride Matter

Johnny goes to Singapore to find out what’s stopping an insured shipment from leaving port.

Original Air Date: October 14, 1950

Get your 70th Anniversary Johnny Dollar T-shirt at Yourstruly.greatdetectives.net.

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
(more…)

Listener Support Campaign Underway

Our biennial Listener Support campaign is underway through March 10th. You can help support the show by making a one-time donation by Paypal, Zelle, or mail, or you can become one of our Patreon supporters for as little as $2 a month at our Patreon page.

AWR0066: Cavalcade of America: The Plot to Kidnap General Washington

The story of a tailor who served as a spy to George Washington and became privy to a fantastic plot.

Original Air Date: February 22, 1943

EP2751: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Parakoff Policy

Johnny goes to Ohio to see if he can find evidence to prevent an insured man from being executed.

Original Air Date: February 18, 1949

Get your 70th Anniversary Johnny Dollar T-shirt at Yourstruly.greatdetectives.net.

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
(more…)