meanstreetspodcasts

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BONUS - Silver Bells, Silver Screen 2024

Before we sign off for the year, it's time for our annual presentation of a classic Christmas film recreated for radio. This year, it's the holiday romantic comedy Remember the Night, recreated with original stars Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray in a broadcast from The Lux Radio Theatre (originally aired on CBS on March 25, 1940).

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BONUS - Holiday Hoopla!

Just in time for Christmas, here's a king-sized holiday special - a stocking stuffed with old time radio comedy, drama, and westerns to get you in the spirit of the season. Enjoy Christmas comedies from Fibber McGee and Molly (originally aired on NBC on December 19, 1944); The Mel Blanc Show (originally aired on NBC on December 10, 1946); The Jack Benny Program (originally aired on NBC on December 21, 1947); and The Jimmy Durante Show (originally aired on NBC on December 24, 1948). Jane Wyman and Ronald Reagan star in a radio recreation of the big screen classic "Christmas in Connecticut" presented by The Screen Guild Theatre (originally aired on CBS on August 5, 1946). Plus - a powerful Christmas tale from Quiet Please - "Berlin 1945" (originally aired on ABC on December 26, 1948); a western retelling of a holiday classic from Jimmy Stewart as The Six Shooter ("Britt Ponset's Christmas Carol," originally aired on NBC on December 20, 1953); and the story of one of the most enduring, beloved Christmas carols in "All is Bright" from The CBS Radio Workshop (originally aired on CBS on December 26, 1953).

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BONUS - Stocking Stuffed with Suspense

Christmastime is here, and to celebrate I've got five Suspense seasonal stories that - in a departure from the usual fare on this podcast - all have happy endings! Eddie Cantor stars in a tale of clerical crime at Christmastime in "Double Entry" (originally aired on CBS on December 22, 1949), and Greer Garson joins a little girl in her long wait in "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" (originally aired on CBS on December 21, 1953). Jack Kruschen plans to rub out a rival gangster with an explosive Christmas gift in "A Present for Benny" (originally aired on CBS on December 13, 1955). A little girl wants a dog for Christmas and gets one in the strangest way possible in "Dog Star" (originally aired on CBS on December 22, 1957), and a soldier gives a buddy a ride to remember in "A Korean Christmas Carol" (originally aired on CBS on December 20, 1959).

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Episode 398 - Herbert Marshall (Part 8)

Herbert Marshall is back for Christmas! He stars in John Collier's tale of holly jolly homicide "Holiday Story" (originally aired on CBS on December 23, 1948), and he plays a naval officer whose fast thinking changes the course of history in "The Man Who Won the War" (originally aired on CBS on October 5, 1958). Plus, we'll hear him in an episode of his own radio spy adventure series The Man Called X. It's a holiday tale known as "From a Starlit Hill" (originally aired on NBC on December 23, 1950).

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Episode 609 - Sleuthing for the Season (Suspense, Damon Runyon Theatre, & Let George Do It)

We're decking the halls and looking for clues with three holiday-themed old time radio mysteries. Peter Lorre plans the perfect crime, but he may be undone by a surprise gift from his victim in "Back for Christmas" from Suspense (originally aired on CBS on December 23, 1943). Then, it's a tale from The Damon Runyon Theatre - "Dancing Dan's Christmas," the story of a small-time crook who lands in hot water during the holidays. Finally, Bob Bailey deals with a Santa who gets gifts instead of gives them and who may be marked for death in "Christmas in January" from Let George Do It (originally aired on CBS on January 29, 1951).

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Episode 397 - John Payne

Best known as the kindly attorney who takes on Kris Kringle's case in Miracle on 34th Street, John Payne starred in crime dramas, westerns, and adventures on the big screen and as a TV gunslinger in The Restless Gun. We'll hear him as a small town police chief with a big-time mystery on his hands in Dashiell Hammett's "Two Sharp Knives" (originally aired on CBS on June 7, 1945). Plus, he recreates his celebrated movie role as the Lux Radio Theatre presents "Miracle on 34th Street," also featuring Maureen O'Hara and Edmund Gwenn (originally aired on CBS on December 20, 1948).

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Episode 608 - The Missing Chapters Matters (Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar)

Of the legendary run of serialized Johnny Dollar shows starring the great Bob Bailey, three stories are incomplete, with one chapter from each having been lost to time. Today, we're investigating if these stories still hold up even with a missing chapter from each (spoilers: I think they do). We'll hear "The Salt City Matter" (originally aired on CBS between April 2 and 6, 1956 - missing Chapter 2); "The Lonely Hearts Matter" (originally aired on CBS between April 23 until April 27, 1956 - sans Chapter 4); and "The Imperfect Alibi Matter" (originally aired on CBS between September 17 and September 21, 1956 - with an absent Chapter 2).

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BONUS - Columbo Killers

It's another TV-radio crossover as we hear four Suspense stars who also played murderers on the classic detective series Columbo: Anne Baxter ("Requiem for a Fallen Star") in "The Death of Barbara Allen" (originally aired on CBS on October 20, 1952); Richard Basehart ("Dagger of the Mind") in "The Perfectionist" (originally aired on CBS on January 21, 1952); Jose Ferrer ("Mind Over Mayhem") in "The Pit and the Pendulum" (originally aired on CBS on November 27, 1947); and two-time Columbo guest star Ray Milland (killer in "The Greenhouse Jungle" and the victim's husband in "Death Lends a Hand") in "Chicken Feed" (originally aired on CBS on September 8, 1949) and "After the Movies" (originally aired on CBS on December 7, 1950).

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Episode 607 - Buck Private Eyes (Michael Shayne, Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe, & Richard Diamond)

We're rubbing elbows with four members of the fraternity of radio private detectives as they risk life and limb for their fee (plus expenses). Jeff Chandler stars as Michael Shayne in the syndicated mystery "The Pursuit of Death;" as Sam Spade, Howard Duff finds himself saddled with a partner and a bunny costume in "The Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail Caper" (originally aired on CBS on December 4, 1949); Gerald Mohr stars as Philip Marlowe in "The Face to Forget" (originally aired on CBS on June 14, 1950); and Dick Powell sings and solves his way through "The Dixon Case" in Richard Diamond, Private Detective (originally aired on ABC on March 14, 1952).

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BONUS - Give Thanks for Gumshoes

Happy Thanksgiving! For your listening pleasure as you travel, prepare the holiday meal, or just enjoy some well-deserved time off, here's an encore presentation of last year's Turkey Day special. It's a collection of Thanksgiving-themed mysteries starring some of my favorite old time radio detectives with a few special guests dropping in for some musical and comedic performances. 

We've got a pair of adventures of Casey, Crime Photographer - "After Turkey, the Bill" (originally aired on CBS on November 27, 1947), and "Holiday" (originally aired on CBS on November 25, 1948). Jack Webb encounters a modern-day Miles Standish and a turkey shoot more dangerous for man than bird in "The Pilgrim's Progress" from Jeff Regan, Investigator (originally aired on CBS on November 13, 1948). Bob Bailey stars in "Cause for Thanksgiving" from Let George Do It (originally aired on Mutual on November 20, 1950), and Steve Dunne stars as Sam Spade and helps save a Tom Turkey who walks on two legs in "The Terrified Turkey Caper" (originally aired on NBC on November 24, 1950). 

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Episode 606 - Carnival of Crime (Boston Blackie, The Whistler, Sam Spade, & Superman)

Hurry, hurry, hurry - come to the midway for four radio mysteries set at the carnival. A fortune teller predicts her own murder in a syndicated adventure of Boston Blackie starring Richard Kollmar. Then, a carnival dancer marries a wealthy admirer and then schemes to get rid of him in "The Brass Ring" (originally aired on CBS on September 16, 1946). Sam Spade tries to save a carnival performer from marriage to an infamous widower - to be followed by a quick funeral - in "The Bluebeard Caper" (originally aired on CBS on August 8, 1948). And we take flight with Superman to save a carnival from an unscrupulous rival owner in "Death Rides the Roller Coaster" (originally aired on ABC on December 3, 1949).

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Episode 396 - Ruth Hussey

Ruth Hussey picked up an Oscar nomination for her performance as a cyncial photographer in The Philadelphia Story, and she had a long career on the big and small screens, as well as on the Broadway stage. We'll hear as the wife of a pilot who's moments away from a catastrophe in the sky in "Firing Run" (AFRS rebroadcast from November 3, 1957). Plus, she recreates her Philadelphia Story role with many of her co-stars in a special "Victory Theatre" war bond fundraiser from The Lux Radio Theatre (originally aired on CBS on July 20, 1942).

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Episode 605 - Kid Stuff (Box 13, Philip Marlowe, & Johnny Dollar)

It's not just adults who need a good detective. Our heroes this week come to the aid of kids in trouble. First, Dan Holiday helps a boy find a lost astronomer in "Archimedes and the Roman" from Box 13. Next, Philip Marlowe is hired to find the missing uncle of a newsboy in "The Kid on the Corner" (originally aired on CBS on December 3, 1949). Finally, Johnny Dollar believes the life of a teenage girl is in danger when she stands to inherit a fortune in the five-part mystery "The Matter of Reasonable Doubt" (originally aired on CBS between May 28 and June 1, 1956).

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Episode 395 - Eve McVeagh

Character actress Eve McVeagh was a regular presence on the Broadway stage, the big screen, and on TV for over five decades, and during her career she starred in everything from High Noon to Petticoat Junction. We'll hear her as a woman whose auction purchase comes loaded with trouble in "Going, Going, Gone" (originally aired on CBS on May 10, 1955) and as part of a film crew who discovers real-life outlaws in a western ghost town in "Hollywood Hostages" (originally aired on CBS on February 21, 1956). Plus, we'll hear her as one of history's most infamous poisoners in "The Seven-Layered Cake of Madame Lafarge" from Crime Classics (originally aired on CBS on October 14, 1953).

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BONUS - Best of James Mason

In this bonus episode, I'm sharing my favorite Suspense shows starring the great James Mason. The smooth, polished star of Lolita, North by Northwest, and The Veil plays crooks, cops, and a man whose guilt or innocence may never be known for sure. We'll hear "Where There's a Will" (originally aired on CBS on February 24, 1949), "Banquo's Chair" (originally aired on CBS on March 9, 1950), "The Greatest Thief in the World" (originally aired on CBS on June 21, 1951), and "Odd Man Out" (originally aired on CBS on February 11, 1952).

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Episode 394 - Herbert Marshall (Part 7)

Herbert Marshall returns to the podcast in two old time radio thrillers - a pair of shows where he plays a coward and a man unafraid of death who find their worldviews challenged in critical moments. He stars in an adaptation of Graham Greene's "The Man Within" (originally aired on CBS on April 27, 1953) and in "Action" (originally aired on CBS on October 5, 1953). Plus, we'll hear him as globe-trotting secret agent Ken Thurston, aka The Man Called X (originally aired on NBC on May 4, 1951).

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Episode 604 - Hypnotized for Homicide (Boston Blackie, Crime Club, Chandu the Magician, & Let George Do It)

Our heroes this week encounter hypnosis and meet those who have fallen under its spell and who have used it to try and conceal their crimes. First, Boston Blackie suspects a woman's murder confession was driven by hypnosis rather than guilt. Then, a woman is hypnotized to help solve a murder in "Cupid Can Be Deadly" from Crime Club (originally aired on Mutual on October 16, 1947). In "The Voice of Darkness," Chandu the Magician investigates a bombing where the eyewitness was hypnotized into losing her memory (originally aired on Mutual on April 14, 1949). And finally, Bob Bailey stars as George Valentine in "Eleven O'Clock" from Let George Do It, where a woman's recent odd behavior may be tied to the experiments of a psychology professor (originally aired on Mutual on July 17, 1950).

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