Month: November 2023

Dangerous Assignment: The Havana Microfilm Story (Video Theater 259)

Steve (Brian Donlevy) goes to Havana to find the head of a spy ring that’s been stealing U.S. government secrets, putting them on microfilm, and smuggling them out of the country.

Features Lyle Talbot

Original Air Date: Fall 1951

Season 1, Episode 14

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Sherlock Holmes Guy Fawkes Day Special (EP4226)

Today is Guy Fawkes Day and we celebrate with two different Guy-Fawkes-related Sherlock Holmes adventures.

First, in The Fifth of November, a man named James Stuart comes to Baker Street pleading for Holmes’ help, as he fears his cousin, Guy Falkenberry, is going to blow him up.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: November 5, 1945

Originated from Hollywood

Starring: Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes; Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson.

Second, in The Guy Fawkes Society, Holmes and Watson find a man with his throat slit from ear to ear and it sets Holmes on the trail of a sinister conspiracy.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: October 10, 1948

Starring: John Stanley as Sherlock Holmes; George Spelvin as Watson

Guest introduction by Donna Fletcher Crow. You can purchase her book, Where Love Restores, on Amazon. (affiliate link)

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Streaming Review: The House on 92nd Street

While books, films, movies, and radio programs told all sorts of high-flying adventure and espionage stories during World War II, these were almost entirely fiction. Yet, as the war came to an end, many stories could at last be told. The House on 92nd Street was one of the earliest of these to make it to film.

The film starts before the U.S. entered World War II, when a chance traffic accident sets the FBI, led by Inspector George Briggs (Lloyd Nolan), onto a Nazi spy ring operating with support from the German Consulate in New York. While they have enough information to capture some members of the spy ring, they can’t identify the leader, a mysterious Mr. Christopher. A college student (William Eythe) who had been recruited by the Germans contacts the FBI, and they encourage him to play along with the Germans and go undercover to help round up the entire spy ring.

The House on 92nd Street was a ground-breaking film, and one of the earliest to utilize the sort of documentary style that would become popular in so many films based on true incidents in the latter part of the 1940s, such as The Naked City and He Walked by Night. Reed Hadley has the perfect voice of authority for a narrator. The story has some very nice, authentic touches. Real FBI agents appear in many agent roles in the film. The rest of the cast is made up of talented character actors. While there are some recognizable names in the cast (Nolan and Gene Lockhart stand out), all are well-suited to character roles and deliver believable performances. The film also features real secret footage of Nazi agents coming and going from the German consulate before Pearl Harbor.

Despite the authentic touches, the film takes its share of liberties with historic events, most of which seem to have been changed to make a more compelling and exciting film experience. And in that, it certainly succeeds, with some great camera work, tense music, and an exciting finale and big last-minute reveal.

House on 92nd Street is a real gem of a film. If you’re interested in World War II, or love a good 1940s thriller or spy story, this is a must-see film. It’s an intriguing film that takes real events and tells a story in a grounded yet compelling way.

Rating 4.5 out of 5

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Dragnet: Police Academy (EP4226)

Today’s Mystery:

Friday and Romero hunt for a gang of blitz robbers, while an army buddy of Friday’s enters the police academy.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: August 25, 1949

Originated from Hollywood

Starring: Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday; Barton Yarborough as Sergeant Ben Romero; Raymond Burr as Ed Backstrand, Chief of Detectives; Jeff Chandler; Herb Vigran

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Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Pearling Matter, Episodes Three, Four, and Five (EP4225)

Bob Bailey

Today’s Mystery:

Did a wealthy businessman fake his death to gain the attention of a missing daughter? Johnny doesn’t believe it.

Original Radio Broadcast Dates: June 20, 21, and 22, 1956

Originated from Hollywood

Stars: Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar; Mary Jane Croft; Forrest Lewis; Jeanette Nolan; Russell Thorson; Michael Ann Barrett; Jack Petruzzi; Barbara Fuller; Herb Ellis; Marvin Miller

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Mr. Chameleon: The Rich Uncle Murder Case (EP4224)

Karl Swenson

Today’s Mystery:

A retired sea captain is murdered right after giving his niece a copy of a will leaving her everything he owns.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: January 5, 1949

Originated in: New York City

Starring: Karl Swenson as Mister Chameleon

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Dangerous Assignment: The Smuggling Racket (EP4223)


Today’s Mystery:

Steve Mitchell is sent to Havanna to meet an informant and break up a smuggling racket. He soon finds himself investigating the murder of the informant.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: November 5, 1952

Originated in Hollywood

Starring: Brian Donlevy as Steve Mitchell; Herb Butterfield as the Commissioner; Harry Bartell; Herb Ellis; Kay Stewart; Tony Barrett; Nestor Paiva

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