Category: Mystery Special

Molle Mystery Theater: Red Wine (EP4558)

Ken Lynch

Today’s Mystery:

A San Francisco detective is convinced that one of three Americans at a Brazillian plantation is a fugitive killer in disguise. But which one?

Original Radio Broadcast Date: March 8, 1946

Originating from New York City

Starring: Ken Lynch

Support the show monthly at https://patreon.greatdetectives.net

Patreon Supporter of the Day:

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.

Fifteen Years Ago (EP4526s)

This week, we look back at our first week of podcasts from 2009, with Adam’s current extended thoughts on each episode and reaction to his own commentar.

Original Podcast Release Date: October 26, 2009

Dan Holiday tries to jumpstart his writing career through an ad in a newspaper. His first letter is from a woman who tells Dan she’s being blackmailed.

Original Radio Air Date: October 17, 1947

Originating in Hollywood

Starring: Alan Ladd as Dan Holiday; Sylvia Picker as Suzie

Original Podcast Release Date: October 27, 2009

 

Pat Novak is hired to frighten a man named Dixie Gillian, but when an empty gun goes off, he finds himself facing a murder charge.
“You couldn’t hold a moth with a searchlight.” – Pat Novak to Hellman
Original Air Date: November 24, 1946
Originating in San Francisco
Starring: Jack Webb as Pat Novak; Tudor Owen as Jocko Madigan
Original Podcast Release Date: October 28, 2009

On his first day as a private detective, George Valentine gets his first client – a famous writer who tells him he’s about to be murdered and then collapses on the spot. The body then vanishes, leaving George to find out what happened.

Original Audition Date: May 14, 1946

Originating in Hollywood
Starring: Bob Bailey as George Valentine; Shirley Mitchell as Claire; Eddie Firestone, Jr. as Sonny; Joseph Kearns; Georgia Backus; Howard McNear; Horace Murphy
Original Podcast Release Date: October 30, 2009

Johnny Dollar is retained to protect a man who has threatened suicide after making a notorious gambling kingpin the beneficiary on his life insurance policy.
Original Audition Date: December 7, 1948
Starring: Dick Powell as Johnny Dollar; William Conrad; Betty Lou Gerson; Joseph Kearns
Guest: Andrew Rhynes of the OTR Westerns podcast
The Great Detectives Old Time Radio Volume 1 (Seasons 1-3): https://volume1.greatdetectives.net
The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Volume 2 (Seasons 4-6) https://volume2.greatdetectives.net
The Great Detectives of Old TIme Radio Volume 3 (Seasons 7-9) https://volume3.greatdetectives.net
The Great Detectives of Old TIme Radio Detective Compilation YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDFIOdWlnzL-YP6EZpi6JI1nLn6Hm4tAI

Support the show monthly at https://patreon.greatdetectives.net

Patreon Supporter of the Day: Judith, Patreon supporter since May 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

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.

Escape: The Target (EP4502s)

Today’s Mystery:

An insurance investigator has tracked a man, who embezzled $100,000, to Chile.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: September 18, 1954

Originating in Hollywood

Starring: Whitfield Connor as Vic Kennedy; Jay Novello; Mary Jane Croft; Herb Butterfield; Hans Conreid

Support the show monthly at https://patreon.greatdetectives.net

Patreon Supporter of the Day: Mimi, Patreon Supporter since February 2016.

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.

Twice Told Tales: Richard Diamond: The Simpson Case and Johnny Dollar: The Jonathan Bellows Matter (EP4484s)

Today’s First Mystery:

The wife of a wealthy oil man hires Richard Diamond to protect her husband after an attempt on his life.

Original Air Date: January 18, 1952

Originating in Hollywood

Starring: Dick Powell as Richard Diamond; Virginia Gregg as Helen; Alan Reed as Lieutenant Walt Levinson Virginia; Jeanne Bates; Herb Butterfield; Tony Michaels

Today’s Second Mystery: Johnny is called in when an insured, wealthy man is shot at.

Original Air Date: June 23, 1953

Originating in Hollywood:

Starring: John Lund as Johnny Dollar; Clayton Post; Virginia Gregg; Tony Barrett; Ralph Moody; Howard McNear; Martha Wentworth

Support the show monthly at https://patreon.greatdetectives.net

Patreon Supporter of the Day: Lisa, patreon Supporter since July 2015

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.

Phillip Marlowe: The Cloak of Kamehameha and Hawaiian Fantasies (EP4478s)

Gerald Mohr
Today’s Mystery:

Marlowe is sent to Hawaii to facilitate the sale of a feather cloak belonging to the famous Hawaiian king, Kamehameha.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: April 23, 1949

Originating from Hollywood

Starring: Gerald Mohr as Philip Marlowe; Berry Kroeger; Byron Kane; John Dehner; Laurette Fillbrandt; Clark Gordon

Then we feature an episode of Hawaiian Fantasies, which brings to life the mesmerizing legend of the Feather Cloak of Kanikaniya, a tale of beauty, magic, and romance. Join us as we journey through words and music to the island of Maui, where the spirit of a beautiful maiden and a fleet-footed runner intertwine in a story that transcends time. Discover how the first feather cloak came to be and its magical powers that still captivate imaginations today.

Original Air Date: 1935

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

Become one of our Patreon Supporters at https://patreon.greatdetectives.net

Thank you to our Patreon Supporter of the Day: Anton, Patreon supporter since December 2023

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.

Molle Mystery Theatre: Corpus Delecti (EP4454s)

Ken Lynch

Today’s Mystery:

A police detective has 48 hours to find proof of the innocence of his brother, who is on death row.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: January 17, 1947

Originating in New York

Starring: Ken Lynch

Support the show monthly at https://patreon.greatdetectives.net

Patreon Supporter of the Day: Jim, Patreon Supporter since April 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

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.

Lux Radio Theater: Thunder on the Hill (EP4400s)

Claudette Colbert
Today’s Mystery:

A nun becomes convinced that a condemned woman stranded at her Norfolk convent in the midst of torrential rains is innocent. Can the nun save her before her looming execution?

Original Radio Broadcast Date: November 9, 1953

Originating in Hollywood

Starring: Claudette Colbert as Sister Mary; Barbara Rush as Valerie Carns; Norma Varden; Paul Frees; Mary Flynn; Herb Butterfield; Ottola Nesmith; Dan O’Herlihy; Joseph Kearns; Leo Britt; Jeanne Wood; Lois Corbett; Yvonne Peattie

My review of Thunder on the Hill

Purchase link for Thunder on the Hill DVD. (Affiliate link)

Support the show monthly at https://patreon.greatdetectives.net

Patreon Supporter of the Day: Lori, Patreon Support since April 2020

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.

Old Time Radio Con Games Special (EP4388s)

Today, I’m joined by Jim Grinstead of the Scams and Cons Podcast as we delve into two scam-related old time radio podcasts.

Today’s 1st Mystery:

First up, there’s no such thing as easy money.

That’s a lesson a rich young man learns as he’s forced to lure his friends into the clutches of a big-time gambler to square his own debts. Can magician-turned-detective Mike Trent help? We find out in this episode of Easy Money, “The Gallopping Ivories”

Original Radio Broadcast Date: November 14, 1954

Originating in New York

Starring: Larry Haines as Mike Trent; Ralph Bell; Peter Fernandez; Maurice Tarplin

Today’s 2nd Mystery:

Joe Friday and Ben Romero go after a gang of con-men who are victimizing the families of recently deceased people in the Big Betty.

Original Air Date: November 23, 1950

Originating in Los Angeles

Starring: Jack Webb as Joe Friday; Barton Yarborough as Ben Romero

Support the show monthly at https://patreon.greatdetectives.net

Patreon Supporter of the Day: hilip, Patreon supporter since June of 2023

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.

Hollywood Star Time: Hot Spot (EP4352s)


Today’s Mystery:

Based on the movie I Wake Up Screaming, a Broadway promoter is suspected of murdering an up-and-coming actress, by a dogged police officer who always gets his man.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: July 27, 1946

Originating in Hollywood

Starring: Brian Donlevy as Frankie Christopher; Vincent Price as Ed Cornell; Lurene Tuttle; Gloria Blondell; Theodore Von Elt; Harry Bartell; David Ellis; Elliott Reid

My review of I Wake Up Screaming

Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net

Patreon Supporter of the Day: Susan, Patreon Supporter Since October 2018

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 athttp://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.

Sherlock Holmes: The Elusive Agent (Complete Adventure) (EP4334s)

Today’s Mystery:

The year is 1913 and international tensions run thick. Sherlock Holmes’s brother, Mycroft, calls him out of retirement to secure the return of stolen plans for an experimental tank.

Original Radio Broadcast Dates: March 21, 28, and April 4, 1949

Originating in New York

Starring: John Stanley as Holmes; George Spelvin as Watson

We’re joined by special Guest Tom Fox of the Compliance Podcast Network and the Adventures in Compliance Podcast

Listen to my guest appearance on the Adventures in Compliance Podcast

Support our Listener Support campaign!

Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net

Fill out our advertising survey at https://adsurvey.greatdetectives

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.5a

Twice Told Tale – The McCoy: Three Wayward Girls and Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Starlet Matter

Once again, we take a look at an old time radio script that was recycled. In this case, the script was a pilot for a new radio series, The McCoy, and then was reused as an episode of Yours Truly Johnny Dollar.

The McCoy is called in by an agent who fears that one of his clients, a promising actress, will be murdered. While they’re talking, a phone call comes in and they learn she was strangled to death.

Originating in Hollywood

Audition date: April 24, 1951

Starring: Howard Duff as The McCoy; Sidney Miller; Sheldon Leonard; Cathy Lewis; Ed Max; Barton Yarborough

Johnny is sent to Hollywood because an agent fears his starlet client is going to be murdered. Johnny finds she’s already been strangled to death.

Originating in Hollywood

Original Air Date: January 16, 1953

Starring: John Lund as Yours Truly Johnny Dollar; Sidney Miller; Raymond Burr; Dick Ryan; John McIntire; Vic Perrin; Virginia Gregg; Jeanette Nolan

Fill out our advertising survey at https://adsurvey.greatdetectives.net

Become one of Our Patreon Supporters at patreon.greatdetectives.net

Patreon Supporter of the Day: Duane, Patreon Supporter since June 2023

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.

Suspense: The Man Who Murders People (EP4304s)

Today’s Mystery:

The commuter train to Roseville becomes the setting for a deadly game of cat and mouse, passengers grapple with the terror of a serial killer at large. With every twist and turn of the conversation, the line between hunter and prey blurs, leading to an electrifying climax that will leave listeners in suspense!

Original Radio Broadcast Date: November 13, 1960

Originating in New York

Starring: Vivian Smolen; George Petrie; Alan Manson; Maurice Tarplin

Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net

Patreon Supporter of the Day: Philip, Supporting the Podcast since June 2023

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.

Police File: Mr. One by One (EP4250s)

The Australian Commonwealth Investigation Branch (CIB) seeks a gang of counterfeiters that are passing forged ten-pound notes.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: Mid-1950s

Originating from Sydney, Australia

Australian Dragnet episode, “The Big Revenge” on Soundcloud

Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net

Patreon Supporter of the Day: William since July 2023

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.

Academy Award Theatre: The Maltese Falcon (EP4239)

Bogie Holding the Maltese Falcon
Today’s Mystery:

Sam Spade’s search for the murderer in his partner puts him in the midst of intrigue among four dangerous characters, all trying to gain possession of an enameled jeweled falcon.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: July 3, 1946

Originated from Hollywood

Starring: Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade; Mary Astor as Brigid O’Shaughnessy; Sidney Greenstreet as Kasper Gutman; Gerald Mohr

Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net

Patreon Supporter of the Day: Charlie, Patreon Supporter Since October 2019

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.

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)

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.