Category: NBC

Counterspy: The Arrogant Arsonist (A0108)

Today’s Mystery:

An international smuggling ring is threatened when a federal grand jury closes in on one of its American front companies. To cover their tracks, the organization’s ruthless mastermind summons a professional arsonist to destroy the evidence before counterspy agents can stop them.

Original Radio Broadcast: March 14, 1950

Originating from New York

Starring Don MacLaughlin as David Harding and Mandel Kramer as Harry Peters

Also featuring Jesse Crawford (music)

Written by Edward J. Adamson

Directed by Leonard L. Bass

Produced by Phillips H. Lord

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Dragnet: The Big Bunco (EP5024)

Today’s Mystery:

An experienced confidence man returns to Los Angeles with the same polished investment scam, cheating trusting victims out of thousands of dollars. As Sergeant Joe Friday begins breaking in a new partner, the detectives race to stop the swindler before he can disappear with another fortune.

Original Radio Broadcast: April 17, 1952

Originating in Hollywood

Starring Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday.

Also featuring Martin Milner as Officer Bill Lockwood, Marian Richman, and Vic Rodman. Script by Jim Moser. Music by Walter Schumann.

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The Big Story: Poker Game Ends in Death

 

Today’s Mystery:

When a suburban poker game ends in a deadly holdup, veteran Chicago reporter Bill Doherty becomes intrigued by the teenage brother of one of the dead gunmen. As evidence mounts against the youth, Doherty sets out to determine whether the frightened suspect is a killer—or another victim of the crime.

Original Radio Broadcast: March 21, 1951

Originating in New York

Starring John Larkin as Bill Doherty.

Also featuring Joseph Julian, Jack Grimes, Larry Haines, Bryna Raeburn, and Parker Fennelly. Based on the reporting of William Doherty of the Chicago Sun-Times.

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The Saint: Cupid and Corpse (EP5021)

Vincent Price

Today’s Mystery:

Simon Templar’s plans for a carefree day with Ann Morley are interrupted when the murder of a ticket broker draws them into a dangerous mystery. Pursued by hired gunmen and faced with a growing list of suspects, The Saint follows a twisting trail that seems to center on a prominent warehouse owner.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: August 20, 1950

Originating from Hollywood

Starring: Vincent Price as Simon Templar

Also featuring Shirley Mitchell, Barbara Eiler, Jack Moyles, Tom Brown, Edmund MacDonald, and Anthony Barrett

Script by Louis Vittes

Music composed and conducted by Vaughn Dexter

Produced by James L. Saphier

Directed by Helen Mack

Announcer: Don Stanley

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Dragnet: The Big Show (EP5014)

Today’s Mystery:

When a seven-week-old baby is abandoned in a downtown bus depot, Joe Friday and Ed Jacobs begin searching for the missing mother. But as they retrace her journey to Los Angeles, small inconsistencies in a witness’s story lead the detectives to suspect the truth is far more complicated than anyone first believed.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: April 10, 1952

Originating from Hollywood

Starring: Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday and Barney Phillips as Sergeant Ed Jacobs

Also featuring Virginia Gregg, Harry Bartell, and Helen Kleeb

Script by Jim Moser

Music by Walter Schumann

Announcer: Hal Gibney

Technical advice from the Los Angeles Police Department

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The Big Story: The Case of the Cautious Killer (EP5012)

Today’s Mystery:

Freshly hired cub reporter Ed Neumeier expects to spend his first day covering routine local stories while the veteran reporters chase a sensational double murder. Instead, a chance encounter with a nervous stranger thrusts the inexperienced reporter into the biggest story of his young career.

Original Radio Broadcast: March 14, 1951

Originating from New York

Starring Russell Thorson as Ed Neumeier

Also featuring Melba Rae, Amzie Strickland, Chet Stratton, William Keene, and Joe Helgeson

Based on the reporting of Ed Neumeier of the Humboldt Times

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The Saint: Reflection on Murder (EP5011)

The Saint

Today’s Mystery:

After actress Betty Ames witnesses a publisher’s murder, Simon Templar appoints himself her unofficial bodyguard. When a second attempt is made on Betty’s life during a stage rehearsal, The Saint realizes the killer is determined to silence the one witness who may hold the key to the case.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: August 13, 1950

Originating from Hollywood

Starring: Vincent Price as Simon Templar

Also featuring Francis Cheney, Barbara Eiler, Eleanor Audley, Frank Gerstle, Stanley Farrar, and Arthur Q. Bryan

Script by Louis Vittes

Music composed and conducted by Vaughn Dexter

Produced by James L. Saphier

Directed by Helen Mack

Announcer: Don Stanley

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Dragnet: The Big Streetcar (EP5009)

Today’s Mystery:

After a man is gunned down outside his home following a bitter domestic argument, Joe Friday and Ed Jacobs launch a search for the shooter’s wife, who has vanished after warning that she’ll kill anyone who tries to capture her. With the suspect making taunting phone calls while remaining one step ahead of police, the detectives race against time to track her down before violence erupts again.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: April 3, 1952

Originating from Hollywood

Starred: Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday and Barney Phillips as Sergeant Ed Jacobs.

Also featuring Herb Ellis, Jack Kruschen, and Helen Kleeb. Script by Jim Moser. Music by Walter Schumann. Announcer: Hal Gibney. Technical advice from the Los Angeles Police Department.

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The Big Show: Dictionary and a Telephone Line Lead to a Killer (EP5007)

The Big Story

Today’s Mystery:

When a young wife disappears from a Colorado mountain town, reporter Bernard Beckwith notices inconsistencies in her husband’s story that no one else seems to question. As he quietly follows one clue after another, what begins as a routine missing persons case slowly develops into a murder investigation.

Original Radio Broadcast: December 6, 1950

Originating in New York

Starring Benton Hayworth as Bernard Beckwith.

Also featuring Adrian Byan, Scott Tennyson, John McQuade, Nat Polen, and Jason Johnson. Based on the reporting of Bernard Beckwith of the The Denver Post.

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The Saint: The Corpse Said Ouch (EP5006)

The Saint

Today’s Mystery:

A frantic young woman arrives at Simon Templar’s apartment in the middle of the night insisting she’s dead—and the morning newspaper appears to prove it. When The Saint discovers a murdered woman wearing her distinctive coat, he sets out to learn who the victim really was and whether the killer’s intended target is still alive.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: August 6, 1950

Originating from Hollywood

Starring: Vincent Price as Simon Templar

Also featuring Shirley Mitchell, Viola Vaughn, Larry Dobkin, Lou Merrill, Anthony Barrett, and Jack Moyles

Script by Louis Vittes

Music composed and conducted by Vaughn Dexter

Produced by James L. Saphier

Directed by Helen Mack

Announcer: Don Stanley

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Dragnet: The Big Rose (EP5004)

Today’s Mystery:

A woman with a history of trouble suddenly disappears, leaving behind four children and a trail of conflicting stories. As Joe Friday and Ed Jacobs dig deeper into the case, a missing person’s investigation turns into a homicide hunt where the truth may lie closer to home than anyone suspects.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: March 27, 1952

Originating from Hollywood

Starring: Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday and Barney Phillips as Sergeant Ed Jacobs

Also featuring Virginia Gregg, Vic Perrin, and Herb Ellis

Script by Jim Moser

Music by Walter Schumann

Announcer: Hal Gibney

Technical advice from the Los Angeles Police Department

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The Big Story: The Killer with the Mind of a Child (EP5002)

Today’s Mystery:

When three people are murdered in a quiet Utah community, reporter T.R. Johnson finds himself drawn into the hunt for a killer who seems to vanish into the night. While police search the highways for a fugitive in a green sedan, Johnson follows a series of puzzling clues that suggest the murderer may be driven by something far more disturbing than ordinary criminal motives.

Original Radio Broadcast: November 29, 1950

Originating from New York

Starring John Sylvester as T.R. Johnson

Also featuring Jane Robin, Agnes Young, Amzie Strickland, Joan Shea, Owen Jordan, Meryl Jones, and Les Damon

Based on the reporting of T.R. Johnson of The Salt Lake Tribune

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The Saint: The Case of the Previewed Crime (EP5001)

Vincent Price

Today’s Mystery:

A mysterious intruder awakens Simon Templar in the middle of the night to describe what appears to be the perfect murder. When the wealthy financier at the center of the tale dies exactly as predicted, The Saint finds himself investigating a case where revenge, greed, and murder may not be what they seem.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: July 30, 1950

Originating from Hollywood

Starring: Vincent Price as Simon Templar

Also featuring Jeanne Bates, Lou Merrill, Fred Howard, Jack Edwards Jr., and Larry Dobkin

Script by Louis Vittes

Music composed and conducted by Vaughn Dexter

Produced by James L. Saphier

Directed by Helen Mack

Announcer: Don Stanley

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The Big Story: A Dead Certainty (EP4997)

The Big Story

Today’s Mystery:

When a 69-year-old factory worker is found beaten to death in his ransacked bungalow, police quickly focus on a suspicious stranger seen in the neighborhood. But reporter Kenneth McCormick notices a series of small inconsistencies that lead him to question whether the obvious suspect is really the killer.

Original Radio Broadcast: November 15, 1950

Originating from New York

Starring: Bill Smith as Kenneth McCormick

Also featuring Kathleen Cordell, Louis Van Rooten, Bob Dryden, Bill Lipton, and Leon Janney

Based on the reporting of Kenneth McCormick of the Detroit Free Press

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The Saint: The Frightened Author (EP4996)

Vincent Price

Today’s Mystery:

Mystery writer Randy Patterson fears that characters from his latest novel may be planning to make his fictional murder plot a reality. As Simon Templar investigates a jealous boxing manager, a heavyweight contender, and a glamorous wife caught in the middle, a real murder turns suspicion in every direction.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: July 23, 1950

Originating from Hollywood

Starring: Vincent Price as Simon Templar

Also featuring Betty Lou Gerson, Barney Phillips, Stanley Farrar, Edmund MacDonald, and Tom Brown

Script by Jerome Epstein

Music composed and conducted by Von Dexter

Produced by James L. Saphier

Directed by Helen Mack

Announcer: Don Stanley

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