Customer Reviews

Old Time Radio's Greatest Detectives

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Sixty shows at a dollar a show. You get quality and quantity at bargain basement prices. The show types range from true crime ("Dragnet", "Gangbusters", and "Tales of Texas Rangers") to traditional mystery/whodunnit ("Michael Shayne", "Philip Marlowe", and "The Saint") to comic book ("The Shadow"). The quality ranges from very good ("Box Thirteen", "Broadway is my Beat", and "Casey, Crime Photographer") to good ("Barry Craig", "Philo Vance", and "Richard Diamond") to not so good ("Jeff Regan", "Pat Novak", and "Rogue's Gallery") to ludicrous ("Boston Blackie"). The collection inevitably omits some shows (e.g. "Sam Spade", "This is Your FBI", and "The Black Museum"), but it gives you a wide-ranging overview of radio detective shows in the late 40's and early 50's. This collection gave me thirty hours of listening pleasure.

This is a great collection with only two potential drawbacks: 1) Sam Spade is not included, and 2) the Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar episodes are not from the Bob Bailey years (1955-60). This set is available on CD, but the CD copy is not listed on Amazon. The ISBN for the CD version is 1570194297 and the UPC code is 748754455928.

The following is a complete listing of the episodes on both the cassette and CD versions:

1) The Adventures of Philip Marlowe w/ Gerald Mohr
- The Hairpin Turn 01-28-50
- The Grim Echo 02-14-50
- The Gold Cobra 06-21-50

2) Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator w/ William Gargan
- Blood Money 08-24-54
- Hay is for Homicide 08-31-54
- Ghosts Don't Die In Bed 09-07-54

3) Boston Blackie w/ Chester Morris
- Star of the Nile 07-14-44
- Black Market Case 07-21-44
- Devon Estate 07-28-44

4) Broadway Is My Beat w/ Larry Thor
- Thomas Hart 04-14-51
- Philip Hunt 04-21-51
- Georgia Gray 04-28-51

5) Box Thirteen w/ Alan Ladd
- Daytime Nightmare 12-06-48
- Death Is No Joke 12-13-48
- Design for Danger 12-27-48

6) Casebook of Gregory Hood w/ Elliott Lewis
- The Daphne Bloggs Case 09-30-46
- Tommy, The Saddest Clown in the World 10-07-46
- Eloquent Corpse 10-14-46

7) Casey, Crime Photographer w/ Staats Cotsworth
- Loaded Dice 09-04-47
- Chivalrous Gunman 08-14-47
- Tobacco Pouch 09-18-47

8) Dragnet w/ Jack Webb
- The Big Little Mother 10-06-53
- The Big Plea 10-13-53
- The Big Paint 10-20-53

9) Gang Busters
- The Carnival Caper
- Case of The Four Feathers
- Horserace Hijackers

10) Jeff Regan, Investigator w/ Jack Webb
- Prodigal Daughter 07-17-48
- Pilgrim's Progress 11-20-48
- Man Who Fought Back 11-27-48

11) Michael Shayne, Detective w/ Jeff Chandler
- The Man Who Lived Forever 05-10-49
- Hate That Killed 08-27-49
- The Gray Eyed Blond

12) Pat Novak, For Hire w/ Jack Webb
- Escape From Prison 04-02-49
- Pat's Boat is Missing 04-23-49
- Watch Wendy Morris 04-30-49

13) Philo Vance, Detective w/ Jackson Beck
- The Little Murder Case 11-15-49
- The Nightmare Murder Case 11-22-49
- The Thundering Murder Case 11-29-49

14) Richard Diamond, Private Detective w/ Dick Powell
- Casebury Case 02-02-51
- Blue Serge Suit 02-09-51
- The Gray Man 02-16-51

15) Rogue's Gallery w/ Dick Powell
- The George Grant Case 12-20-45
- The Stark McVey Case 01-03-46
- The Judge Collin Baker Case 05-16-46

16) The Saint w/ Vincent Price
- Baseball Murder 09-03-50
- The Ghost That Giggled* 09-17-50
- Dossier on a Doggone Dog* 09-24-50

17) The Shadow w/ Bill Johnstone
- Death Shows The Way 12-03-39
- Flight of the Vulture 12-10-39
- Murder Incorporated 12-17-39

18) Sherlock Holmes w/ John Stanley & Alfred Shirley
- The Case of the Dog Who Changed His Mind 09-28-47
- The Case of the Missing Heiress 10-05-47
- The Adventure of the Red Headed League 10-12-47

19) Tales of the Texas Rangers w/ Joel McCrea
- Dead Head Freight 01-07-51
- Death in the Cards 01-14-51
- Blood Harvest 01-21-51

20) Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar w/ Edmond O'Brien
- The London Matter 06-22-50
- The Barbara James Matter 06-29-50
- The Bello-Horizonte Railroad Matter 07-06-50

*These episodes star Barry Sullivan

There was a time when radio was everything. Sure, you could go to the movies on the weekends, maybe even during the week if you had the dough, but for entertainment on a regular basis, radio was all there was. Everyone knew where you'd be Sunday nights at 7:00; you'd be sitting around the radio with the family, listening to Jack Benny. On a different night you might listen to "The Shadow" or "The Life of Riley" with William Bendix. Or maybe Alan Ladd was your favorite, and you waited all week for "Box 13." When you were broke, and couldn't go to the movies, you could still listen to big stars doing radio adaptions of their films on "Lux Radio Theatre." Maybe you turned the lights out and huddled with your girl while Roma Wines presented "Suspense."

It was entertainment before people got lazy. You used your imagination and the world was endless. One of the most popular type of shows was the mystery or detective drama. This collection has 60 programs and over 30 hours of quality entertainment on 20 audio cassettes. There are rare episodes included that were formerly only available at the Library of Congress and had never been in circulation.

I've owned this for several years and they have brought me many hours of enjoyable and nostalgic adventure. New, this comes with a great booklet containing details about each program, including the cast, the plot, and the date aired. These program notes by Anthony Tollin with cast identifications by Tollin and William Nadel are invaluable, also giving an overview of the show's history.

There are three programs from 20 different shows. Here is my overview of each show included in this fine collection:

THE ADVENTURES OF PHILIP MARLOWE---Gerald Mohr had played The Lone Wolf in "B" films and did a great job as Chandler's Marlowe.

BARRY CRAIG, CONFIDENTIAL INVESTIGATOR---William Gargan is a name familiar to all film buffs and this was a great show.

BOSTON BLACKIE---These are the early summer replacement shows with Chester Morris as Blackie, before it was syndicated and Richard Kollmar took over. Blackie was sort of a "B" series and very enjoyable as such.

BROADWAY IS MY BEAT---Larry Thor was N.Y.P.D. Detective Danny Clover, whose beat was the mile between Times Square and Columbus Circle. This was a really good police show with good sound effects.

BOX THIRTEEN---Alan Ladd was Dan Holiday, a novelist who placed an ad for adventure in the Star-Times so he could get ideas for his books. Sylvia Picker was his daffy secretary. This show had great and exciting stories and always a touch of humor at the end. My favorite radio show of all time. A Mayfair production (Ladd's own company).

THE CASEBOOK OF GREGORY HOOD---Elliot Lewis portrayed the importer-turned-sleuth from San Francisco and Howard McNear was his attorney pal, Sanderson Taylor. Origionally a summer replacement show for Sherlock Holmes, there was witty banter between Gregory and his pal and some good scripts. Good show.

CASEY, CRIME PHOTOGRAPHER---Anchor Hocking, the most famous name in glass! They were the sponsor for this fun show that ran for 12 years under several variations of Casey, Crime Photographer. Staats Cotsworth was Jack "Flashgun" Casey and Jan Miner was his girl Ann. John Gibson was Ethelbert and Tony Marvin did a great job as the announcer who would help make the light and lively crime show one of the best!

DRAGNET---Jack Webb. "Nuff said!

GANGBUSTERS---Popular in its day, it had authentic crime stories from F.B.I. files made available to the show by Hoover. This is my least favorite in this collection. It's still worth listening to, just not on a par with the other shows, at least for me. Others may like it more.

JEFF REGAN, INVESTIGATOR----AND----PAT NOVAK, FOR HIRE-------Two separate shows with a lot in common; both starred Jack Webb as a hardboiled gumshoe and both had good stories. Both of these shows were pre-Dragnet. Novak was set in San Francisco.

MICHAEL SHAYNE, DETECTIVE---Jeff Chandler was great as David Dresser's (a.k.a.Bret Halliday) redheaded Irish P.I., who was based on a real guy who'd bailed Dresser out of a brawl in a Mexican cantina. The radio show was pulp fun, just like the books. Dresser's origional Michael Shayne novel was rejected by 22 publishers before he got a taker! Being redheaded and Irish, I have to like this one!

PHILO VANCE---Jason Beck portrayed S.S. Van Dine's high society sleuth. Another fun summer replacement show.

RICHARD DIAMOND--A young Blake Edwards wrote the scripts for this fun detective show. Dick Powell got to shed his early 1930's image and became a detective. He still got to sing, however, and this is a very good show.

ROGUE'S GALLERY---Dick Powell in another detective show. Not as good as Diamond, but still worth a listen.

THE SAINT---Vincent Price is The Saint on one episode and Barry Sullivan takes over on the other two as Leslie Charteris' cool-as-a-cucumber creation.

THE SHADOW---Probably the greatest show in the history of radio! Bill Johnstone is Lamont Cranston/The Shadow in all three of these shows and Marjorie Anderson is Margot Lane. Cranston used a strange power he learned in the orient to cloud minds and make him invisible so he could fight crime.

All three of these shows are terrific! My favorite of the three would be "Death Shows the Way" in which a weekend getaway for Lamont and Margo is halted by a diamond with a curse and.......well, you'll just have to listen!

SHERLOCK HOLMES---John Stanley and Alfred Shirley rather than Rathbone and Bruce, but entertaining still. Next to Gangbusters, my least favorite show in the collection, however.

TALES OF THE TEXAS RANGERS---Joel McCrea starred as Texas Ranger Jase Pearson. Based on authentic case files of the Texas rangers, this was a marvelous combination of crime and modern day cowboys. Many of the shows were based on the experiences of legendary Ranger Captain M.T. Gonzaullas, who was a consultant for the show. McCrea was the perfect guy to play a Texas Ranger. A fantastic show!

YOURS TRULY, JOHNNY DOLLAR---Edmund O'Brien was the insurance investigator with a padded expense account. These were good stories and this was an excellent show. Widely regarded as the last of the great radio detective shows before television finally put the dagger in the heart of the greatest of all mediums, radio.

If you are a radio buff and detective fan, this is a must have collection. You'll be taken back in time to better days when you listen to this stellar compilation of the best shows of their kind ever produced. Pull up a stool by the cracker barrel, pop the cap on an orange soda, and use your imagination.

this is a great value for the money. great stories that will keep your interest.

I agree with everything the previous reviewer wrote. Aside from being annoyed by Boston Blackie, and one detective getting knocked out every episode(Jeff Regan or Pat Novak), I really enjoyed these stories. My favorite was Tales of the Texas Rangers with Joel McRae. I highly recommend this collection. This was my first time hearing any of these shows. Dragnet is often hysterical!! Like a good book, I'm sorry I'm on my last tape. This is great stuff!!