Down These Mean Streets (old Time Radio Detectives)

Before his award-winning stage and screen turns in My Fair Lady and long before he talked to the animals, Rex Harrison starred as a debonair radio detective in The Private Files of Rex Saunders. Joined by his loyal assistant Alec, Saunders used smarts and a sophisticated flair to solve crimes. We'll hear Rex as Rex in "High Dividends...Or Shallow Graves" (originally aired on NBC on May 30, 1951) and "When Murder Is Along...As a Silent Companion" (originally aired on NBC on July 11, 1951).

Before her landmark sitcom hit the small screen, Lucille Ball was a comedy star on radio. We'll hear the legendary redhead in a guest spot alongside Bud and Lou on The Abbott and Costello Show (originally aired on NBC on November 18, 1943). Then, as Liz Cooper, she takes French lessons in My Favorite Husband (originally aired on CBS on December 9, 1949).

William Gargan played several cops on screen and the radio, but his most famous role may have been Barrie Craig, the sardonic New York shamus who qupped his way through cases for five years on the air. We'll hear Gargan in a pair of mysteries, beginning with "Zero Hour" (originally aired on NBC on February 2, 1954). Then we'll hear "Mid-Summer Lunacy" (originally aired on NBC on August 17, 1954).

For 15 fabulous weeks in 1957, Stan Freberg brought his signature satirical style to radio in one of the last original comedies of the era. Freberg and his immensely talented cast skewered pop culture and presented zany characters that were unlike anything radio had presented before. We'll hear the first two episodes of this too short-lived series, originally aired on CBS on July 14 and July 21, 1957.

Jackson Beck was one of the busiest voice artists of the twentieth century with a career that extended far beyond the Golden Age of Radio. But before he introduced G.I. Joe and pitched Little Caesars, Frosted Flakes, and Battleship on television, Beck starred as dapper detective Philo Vance in a syndicated series. We'll hear Beck in three mysteries: "The Cardinal Murder Case," "The Nightmare Murder Case," and "The Chicken Murder Case."

Comedian Red Skelton is a one-man cast of characters in this week's bonus comedy episode. We'll hear Deadeye, Willie Lump-Lump, Junior "the mean widdle kid," and more in a pair of episodes from The Raleigh Cigarette Program. First, it's a salute to traffic court (originally aired on NBC on April 1, 1947). Then, Deadeye rides again in a show from April 15, 1947.

Chester Morris puts his criminal past to work for the forces of good as Boston Blackie - "enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend." We'll hear the reformed safe cracker turned super sleuth in two old time radio mysteries: "Fifty Hunter Street" (originally aired on NBC on June 30, 1944) and "The Caretaker of the Devon Estate" (originally aired on NBC on July 28, 1944).

Radio characters didn't come daffier than Irma Peterson, the scatterbrained secretary who never met a phrase she couldn't twist. And Irma had one of radio's best straight women in roommate Jane Stacy. Together, they made wonderful radio comedy in My Friend Irma. Marie Wilson and Cathy Lewis star in this week's bonus comedy show; we'll hear a pair of episodes originally aired on CBS on March 15, 1948 and April 19, 1948).

"Adventure wanted." That's how Dan Holiday advertised in Box 13 and he used his exploits to fuel plots for his novels. Alan Ladd stars as Holiday in three syndicated old time radio tales of mystery. We'll hear the show's first episode, along with "The Sad Night" and "Flash of Light."

We're taking a trip to the movies in this week's bonus comedy episode. Cary Grant stars as a boxer prematurely pulled up to Heaven only to return to Earth in a new body in Here Comes Mr. Jordan from The Lux Radio Theatre (originally aired on CBS on January 26, 1942). Grant is joined by big screen cast members Claude Rains, Evelyn Keyes, and James Gleason in this delightful adaptation of the classic romantic comedy fantasy.

As Philip Marlowe, Gerald Mohr patrolled the City of Angels and proved "crime is a sucker's road" in one of radio's best detective shows. We'll hear Mohr as Raymond Chandler's private eye in three radio mysteries: "The Lady in Mink" (originally aired on CBS on April 30, 1949); "The Busy Body" (originally aired on CBS on June 18, 1949); and "The Key Man" (originally aired on CBS on June 25, 1949).

Take a polished emcee, a beautiful singer, and an oddball comedian, throw them together, and add a dollop of Drene Shampoo and you get Drene Time. Don Ameche, Frances Langford, and Danny Thomas headline this mix of comedy and music featuring the sparring spouses John and Blanche Bickerson. In this week's bonus comedy episode, we'll hear this talented trio in two shows (originally aired on NBC on February 23, 1947 and March 2, 1947).

To celebrate Bob Bailey's birthday, we'll hear the actor in four old time radio detective dramas. First, he's George Valentine in a pair of mysteries from Let George Do It: "Murder and One to Go" (originally aired on Mutual on January 3, 1949) and "The Man Under the Elm Trees" (originally aired on Mutual on September 26, 1949). Then, he's "the man with the action-packed expense account" in two shows from Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar: "The Rasmussen Matter" (originally aired on CBS on December 16, 1956) and "The Killer's Brand Matter" (originally aired on CBS on August 11, 1957).

School is back in session with the faculty and students of Madison High School in Our Miss Brooks. In this week's midweek bonus comedy show, Eve Arden, Gale Gordon, and Jeff Chandler star in two episodes of one of the funniest shows from the golden age of radio. We'll hear Connie Brooks' attempts to become head of the Madison English department (originally aired on CBS on January 23, 1949) and the school's efforts to close down on the hottest day of the year (originally aired on CBS on August 7, 1949).

Comedy star Gale Gordon crosses over to the crimesolving side of the street in The Casebook of Gregory Hood. Join Hood - an importer and amateur detective - as he solves cases in San Francisco with the help of his friend and attorney Sanderson Taylor. Then, the pair relates their adventures to announcer Harry Bartell over a glass of fine Petri Wine. We'll hear "The Derringer Society" (originally aired on Mutual on July 8, 1946) and "South of the Border" (originally aired on Mutual on July 15, 1946).

It's always a safe bet when Groucho Marx is on hand, especially when he's hosting the madcap game show You Bet Your Life. The legendary comedian and rapid-fire ad libber keeps things moving (and audiences laughing) as pairs of contestants wager their way through trivia questions to a grand prize. And there may be a secret word dropped along the way. We'll hear a pair of episodes originally aired on NBC on March 10, 1948 and April 14, 1948.

To celebrate Arthur Conan Doyle's birthday, we'll hear radio adaptations of four Sherlock Holmes short stories, each featuring a different actor as the great detective. First, Basil Rathbone stars in "The Speckled Band" (originally aired on Mutual on November 12, 1945). Next, we'll hear Tom Conway in "The Adventure of the Dying Detective" (originally aired on ABC on February 3, 1947). Then, it's "The Adventure of the Empty House" (originally aired on Mutual on April 11, 1948). Finally, John Gielgud plays Holmes in "The Bruce-Partington Plans."

In this week's bonus comedy episode, Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone, and Cecil B. DeMille star as themselves in a delightful comedy mystery from The Lux Radio Theatre. The trio headlines "Seven Keys to Baldpate," the mystery novel turned smash comedy play that was brought to the silver screen several times. This production originally aired on CBS on September 26, 1938.

Sam Spade made a dynamic debut in Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon before lighting up the big screen in John Huston's classic noir drama. In 1946, Spade came to radio in a weekly series of adventures that became a critical and listener favorite. We'll hear Howard Duff in "The Bail Bond Caper" (originally aired on CBS on June 27, 1948) and "The S.Q.P. Caper" (AFRS rebroadcast, originally aired on CBS on November, 1948). Then, Steve Dunne is Spade in "The Sure Thing Caper" (originally aired on NBC on February 9, 1951).

It's a double feature of classic comedy films recreated for radio in this week's bonus episode. Bob Hope reprises his screen roles in two productions from the Screen Directors' Playhouse: "The Ghost Breakers" (originally aired on NBC on April 3, 1949) and "The Paleface" (originally aired on NBC on March 3, 1950).