Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

As a new school year gets underway, we head to Yale for the exploits of star athlete and adventurer Frank Merriwell. The all-American hero first appeared in pulp novels and later came to radio and the big screen with stories of derring-do on and off the field. We'll hear some of his adventures with Lawson Zerbe starring as Frank: "The Clue of the Numbers" (originally aired on NBC on October 19, 1946); "The Stolen Masterpiece" (originally aired on NBC on June 5, 1948); "The Unwelcome Rescue" (originally aired on NBC on July 3, 1948); and "The Live Ghost" (originally aired on NBC on September 11, 1948).

Our series of radio detectives played by multiple actors takes us today to Baker Street and four men who donned the deerstalker cap of Sherlock Holmes. First, Basil Rathbone is the great detective in "The Tankerville Club" (originally aired on Mutual on April 22, 1946). Next, Tom Conway steps in as Holmes in "The Adventure of the Horseless Carriage" (originally aired on ABC on February 24, 1947). Then, John Stanley stars in "The Adventure of Lady Waverly's Imitation Pearls" (originally aired on Mutual on April 4, 1948). Finally, John Gielgud is Sherlock in the syndicated episode "The Speckled Band."

This week, we collect ten a day and expenses with the Lyon's Eye(s) and the three actors who played Jeff Regan, Investigator. The gumshoe was first played by Jack Webb in a style not dissimilar from Pat Novak For Hire and he was succeeded in the role by Frank Graham with some pinch hitting by Paul Dubov. We'll hear all three play the role of Regan in "The Too Many Mrs. Rogers" (originally aired on CBS on October 9, 1948); "The Barefoot Boy With Shoes Gone" (AFRS rebroadcast from January 25, 1950); and "The Man Behind the Rod" (AFRS rebroadcast from April 12, 1950).

In this bonus episode, we salute the late Peggy Webber, who passed away on August 15th at the age of 100. One of the radio era's most versatile performers, she wrote, directed, and acted in thousands of episodes. She sometimes played multiple parts in a single episode, and we'll hear an example of that talent as we enjoy some of her radio performances. First, she's a woman in need of help from Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in "The Adventure of the Tolling Bell" (originally aired on ABC on April 7, 1947). Then, she's both a woman who asks The Saint to find her missing brother and a landlady who loves a bribe in "No Hiding Place" (originally aired on NBC on November 19, 1950). Finally, we'll hear her in one of her well-known recurring roles as Joe Friday's mother in "The Big Speech" from Dragnet (originally aired on NBC on April 19, 1951).

Note: Some dental surgery prevented recording a new episode, so enjoy this encore from 2025 featuring several different actors starring as Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe!
Many actors have brought Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe to life. Humphrey Bogart, Elliot Gould, Danny Glover, and Liam Neeson are just a few of the men to portray the legendary private eye on the big and small screens, but today we'll hear four actors who played Marlowe on radio. First, Van Heflin is Marlowe in a radio adaptation of Chandler's "Red Wind" (originally aired on NBC on June 17, 1947). Next, Robert Montgomery reprises the role of Marlowe as The Lux Radio Theatre adapts "Lady in the Lake" (originally aired on CBS on February 9, 1948). Dick Powell steps back into the gumshoe's shoes in a Hollywood Star Time presentation of "Murder, My Sweet" (originally aired on CBS on June 8, 1946). Finally, Gerald Mohr proves "crime is a sucker's road" in "The Uneasy Head" (originally aired on CBS on June 6, 1950).