Category: OTR Detective

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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Philip Marlowe: Heir for G-String (Encore)

Gerald Mohr

Marlowe goes searching in the seedy part of town for an heir to $5,000.

Original Air Date: August 25, 1951

Starring Gerald Mohr as Philip Marlowe

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Words at War: The Ship (Encore) (A0106)

Today’s Adventure:

A British light cruiser escorts a desperately needed convoy to Malta when the Italian fleet appears on the horizon, threatening to overwhelm the outnumbered Allied force. As the officers and crew of the HMS Artemis face impossible odds, courage, discipline, and tactical ingenuity are put to the ultimate test.

Original Radio Broadcast: July 24, 1943

Originating from New York

Program: Words at War

Based on the novel The Ship by C. S. Forester.

Starring House Jameson, Alan Bunce, Victor Beecroft, Sid Cassel, Humphrey Davis, Eon McAllister, Shirley Oliver, and Alfred Shirley

Adapted for radio by Edmund Bernbreier

Original music by Frank Black

Directed by Joseph Losey

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Philip Marlowe: Young Man’s Fancy (Encore) (EP5020)

Gerald Mohr

Today’s Mystery:

Marlowe becomes concerned with the strange behavior of the man who runs the neighborhood fruit stand.

Original Air Date: July 28, 1951

Starring Gerald Mohr as Philip Marlowe

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Philip Marlowe: The Long Way Home (Encore) (EP5019)

Gerald Mohr

Today’s Mystery:

An older man hires to Marlowe to find his pretty young wife.

Original Air Date: August 4, 1951

Starring Gerald Mohr as Philip Marlowe

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Philip Marlowe: The Good Neighbor Policy (Encore) (EP5018)

Gerald Mohr

Today’s Mystery:

A mix-up with his phone lines leads Marlowe to a snippy neighbor and a gun at his back.

Original Air Date: July 28, 1951

Starring Gerald Mohr as Philip Marlowe

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Philip Marlowe: Life Can Be Murder (Encore) (EP5017)

Gerald Mohr
Marlowe meets a beautiful woman at an English pub, drops her off at a ritzy house, and is called when a dead body is found at that house.

Original Air Date: July 21, 1951

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The Saint: The Ghost that Giggled

Barry Sullivan

Today’s Mystery:When an eccentric woman asks Simon Templar to investigate the ghost that has been haunting her wealthy brother, the Saint expects to expose a harmless superstition. Instead, he finds himself unraveling a murder, a missing safe deposit box key, and a web of deception in which nearly everyone seems to be searching for the same elusive prize.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: September 17, 1950

Originating from Hollywood

Starred: Vincent Price as Simon Templar

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Philip Marlowe: The Dear Dead Days (Encore) (EP5016)

1Gerald Mohr
Marlowe is hired by an elderly widow to find her ex-chauffeur and ends up in a case involving a missing art collection.

Original Air Date: July 14, 1951

Starring Gerald Mohr as Philip Marlowe

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Philip Marlowe: The Seaside Sabbatical (Encore) (EP5015e)

Gerald Mohr

Today’s Mystery:

Marlowe travels thirty miles to find that a client changed his mind. But then things get complicated.

Original Air Date: July 7, 1951

Originating from Hollywood

Starring Gerald Mohr as Philip Marlowe

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Counterspy: The Cold Blooded Professor, Part Two (A0104)

Today’s Adventure:

After the notorious Professor Emery Horn escapes from death row through an astonishing feat of planning and deception, David Harding and Harry Peters launch a nationwide hunt for the brilliant killer. Realizing conventional police methods won’t be enough, Harding instead searches for the one clue Horn can’t disguise—his own mind.

Original Radio Broadcast: September 1, 1949

Originating from New York

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

Also featuring Ralph Bell as Professor Emery Horn

Directed by William M. Sweets

Music by Jesse Crawford

Produced by the Phillips H. Lord Productions

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Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Wayward Sculptor Matter (EP5015)

Bob Bailey

Today’s Mystery:

When an insurance company begins receiving anonymous monthly payments for a $50,000 fraudulent claim, Johnny Dollar is assigned to identify the mysterious sender. His investigation into a suspicious insurance payout leads him to the widow of a famous sculptor—only to discover that she died months earlier.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: June 14, 1959

Originating from Hollywood

Starring: Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar

Also starring Herb Vigran, Edgar Barrier, Carlton G. Young, Will Wright, and Lawrence Dobkin

Written, produced, and directed by Jack Johnstone

Announcer: Dan Cubberly

When making your travel plans, remember johnnydollarair.com

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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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Broadway’s My Beat: The Gordon Merrick Murder Case (EP5013)

Larry Thor

Today’s Mystery:

Broadway producer Gordon Merrick is found murdered in his penthouse apartment just as he was preparing for a champagne supper with actress Carol Royce. As Danny Clover investigates, suspicion falls on the jealous man who loves her—but a second murder soon raises troubling questions about whether the obvious suspect is really the killer.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: March 15, 1952

Originating from Hollywood

Starring: Larry Thor as Lieutenant Danny Clover, Charles Calvert as Sergeant Gino Tartaglia, and Jack Kruschen as Sergeant Muggavan

Featured in the cast were Rita Johnson as Carol Royce, Herb Butterfield as Jackie Scarn, Martha Wentworth as Mrs. Polk, and Paul Richards as Vic Kane

Produced and directed by Elliott Lewis

Musical score composed and conducted by Alexander Courage

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