Bob Bailey & Virginia Gregg

The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio is a podcast featuring the best vintage detective radio programs. Each week from Monday through Saturday, we feature six of Old Time Radio's great detective series from the beginning of the show to its very last episode. And as a bonus, twice a month we also post a public domain movie or TV mystery or detective show video.

Along the way, I'll provide you my commentary and offer you opportunities to interact.

Subscribe to the show by clicking your favorite podcatcher in the sidebar.

And don't forget to follow me on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

- Your host, Adam Graham

Listen to "The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio" on Spreaker.

NBC, OTR Detective, Podcast, The Big Story

The Big Story: A Dead Certainty (EP4997)

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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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Patreon Supporter of the Day: Formula Bruce, Patreon supporter since December 2024.

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

Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715

Take the listener survey at survey.greatdetectives.net

Give us a call at 208-991-4783

Join us again tomorrow for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.

NBC, OTR Detective, Podcast, The Saint

The Saint: The Frightened Author (EP4996)

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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

Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net

Patreon Supporter of the Day: Charles, Patreon supporter since July 2020.

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

Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715

Take the listener survey at survey.greatdetectives.net

Give us a call at 208-991-4783

Join us again tomorrow for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.

ABC, Counterspy, OTR Detective, Podcast

Counterspy: Desert Explosion (A0096)

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Today’s Adventure:

Counterspy agents launch an elaborate sting operation to trap the mysterious Manuel Rodriguez, a wealthy Mexican rancher suspected of brokering stolen atomic secrets. Posing as crooks who have stolen a valuable uranium compound, Peters and Agent Ella Thomas risk their lives to convince Rodriguez they have something worth killing for.

Original Radio Broadcast: August 18, 1949

Originating from New York

Starring: Don McLaughlin as David Harding; Mandel Kramer as Peters

Also featuring Joan Alexander as Ella Thomas

Directed by William M. Sweets

Music by Jesse Crawford

Produced by the Phillips H. Lord Productions

To subscribe to this podcast, go to greatadventures.info

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Patreon Supporter of the Day: Sean, Patreon supporter since December 2016.

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

Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715

Take the listener survey at survey.greatdetectives.net

Give us a call at 208-991-4783

CBS, OTR Detective, Podcast, Yours Truly Johnny Dollar

Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Twin Trouble Matter (EP4995)

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Today’s Mystery:

Johnny Dollar is asked to protect a respected New Jersey stockbroker whose past involvement in a fraudulent securities scheme has made him the target of blackmail. When the ex-convict behind the threat demands a fortune in exchange for silence, Johnny finds himself racing to stop a deadly trap before it destroys an innocent family.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: May 17, 1959

Originating from Hollywood

Starring: Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar

Also starring G. Stanley Jones, Alan Reed, and Frank Gerstle

Written, produced, and directed by Jack Johnstone

Announcer: Dan Cubberly

When making your travel plans, remember johnnydollarair.com

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

Thank you to our Patreon Supporter of the Day: Diane, Patreon supporter since July 2023.

Take the listener survey at survey.greatdetectives.net

Give us a call at 208-991-4783

Join us again tomorrow for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.

Dragnet, OTR Detective, Podcast, Procedural

Dragnet: The Big Fire (EP4994)

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Todays Mystery:

A landlord suddenly refuses to honor signed leases on a newly renovated apartment building and threatens prospective tenants with a loaded gun when they try to move in. As Friday and Jacobs investigate the bizarre incident, they begin to suspect the stubborn property owner may be hiding a far more dangerous scheme.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: March 13, 1952

Originating from Hollywood

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

Also featuring Vic Perrin

Script by Jim Moser

Music by Walter Schumann

Announcer: Hal Gibney

Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net

Patreon Supporter of the Day: Roger, Patreon supporter since July 2024

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

Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715

Take the listener survey at survey.greatdetectives.net

Give us a call 208-991-4783

Join us again tomorrow for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.

Amazing World of Radio, Podcast

Lux Radio Theater: The Pied Piper (AWR0298)

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This week in our summer series featuring old-time radio appearances by actors who later played killers on Columbo, we spotlight Roddy McDowall. McDowall stars as young Ronnie Cavanaugh in a radio adaptation of “The Pied Piper”, the story of an elderly Englishman who reluctantly becomes the protector of a growing band of refugee children as they struggle to escape Nazi-occupied France and reach safety in England during the darkest days of World War II.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: December 21, 1942

Program: Lux Radio Theatre

Starring: Frank Morgan as Mr. Howard; Roddy McDowall as Ronnie Cavanaugh; Anne Baxter as Nicole; Ralph Morgan.

Also featuring Doris Lloyd, George Sorel, Eric Snowden, Leo Cleary, Norman Field, Hal Gerard, Alec Harford, Claudine Leger, Noreen Gammill, Meryl Roden, Florette Zama, Maurice Tauzin, Mary Raymond, Vernon Steele, and Barbara Jean Wong

Music directed by Louis Silvers

Produced by Cecil B. DeMille

Announcer: John M. Kennedy

Go to amazing.greatdetectives.net to subscribe to the podcast.

Brought to you by the support of our Patreon listeners at patreon.greatdetectives.net

Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net

Patreon Supporter of the Day: Greg, Patreon supporter since April 2020

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

Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715

Take the listener survey at survey.greatdetectives.net

Check us out on Instagram at instagram.com/greatdetectives

Broadway's My Beat, CBS, OTR Detective, Podcast

Broadway’s My Beat: The Lynn Halstead Murder Case (EP4993)

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Today’s Mystery:

When a young woman is pulled from the river and identified by her grieving father, the case appears closed before it begins. But when a second woman claiming to be the victim turns up alive, Danny Clover must untangle a web of secrets surrounding a private secretary who carefully concealed her life from everyone who knew her.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: January 19, 1952

Originating from Hollywood

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

Featured in the cast were William Conrad as John Martin, Herb Butterfield as Dr. Halstead, Hy Averback, Joyce McCluskey, and Bob Bruce

Music composed and conducted by Alexander Courage

Produced and directed by Elliott Lewis

Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net

Patreon Supporter of the Day: Phil, Patreon supporter since March 2018

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

Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715

Take the listener survey at survey.greatdetectives.net

Give us a call at 208-991-4783

Join us again tomorrow for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.

THE GREAT DETECTIVES of Old Time Radio

With Host Adam Graham

Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio

Currently Featuring

Check out our other shows:

Amazing World of Radio

The War

OTR Superman Show

Detective Video Theater

Recent Posts

NBC, OTR Detective, Podcast, The Big Story

The Big Story: A Dead Certainty (EP4997)