Episode 681 - Big Man of Mystery on Campus (Adventures of Frank Merriwell)

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).

We kick off a new podcast season (our 14th!) and begin a new month-long series spotlighting detectives who were played by multiple actors on the air. Up first is Michael Shayne, Brett Halliday's private eye who might as well have been different characters in his various incarnations. He was first played by Wally Maher as a clever, wisecracking gumshoe with a lovely secretary, but when Jeff Chandler took over the role, Shayne became ultra-hard boiled - a two-fisted, down on his heels detective who caught bruises and bullets over the course of a half hour. We'll hear Messers Maher and Chandler, as well as Vinton Hayworth star as Michael Shayne in three radio mysteries: Maher in an episode known as "Mr. Dixon's Life is in Danger" (originally aired on Mutual on September 17, 1945); Chandler in the syndicated show "The Case of the Bloodstained Pearls;" and Hayworth in "The Case of the Queen of Narcotics" (originally aired on ABC on April 3, 1953).

Bad guys left some clues in San Francisco, and our collection of local sleuths won't let the crooks get away with their crimes. We wrap up our month of cross-country travel with heroes from the city by the bay. First, we'll hear "The Murder of Gregory Hood" from The Casebook of Gregory Hood (originally aired on Mutual on June 17, 1946) and Natalie Masters as Candy Matson in "The Cable Car Murder Case" (originally aired on NBC on July 7, 1949). Next, Jack Webb is on the waterfront beat in "George Lampson" from Pat Novak For Hire (originally aired on ABC on June 11, 1949). Howard Duff stars as Sam Spade in "The Prodigal Daughter Case" (originally aired on CBS on August 28, 1949). And finally, the cops of The Line-Up tackle "The Big Boy's Brutish Back-Bending Case" (AFRS rebroadcast from April 29, 1952).

Our travels across the country continue with two of the signature sleuths of the City of Angels: private eye Philip Marlowe and Sgt. Joe Friday of the LAPD. We'll hear Gerald Mohr as Marlowe in "The Ebony Link" (originally aired on CBS on May 10, 1951) and "The Hiding Place" (originally aired on CBS on May 9, 1950). Then, Jack Webb stars in "The Big Drills" (originally aired on NBC on May 10, 1951) and "The Big Jules" (originally aired on NBC on June 19, 1952) from Dragnet.

Our final installment in our Super Summer bonus series is super-sized with the last seven chapters of this epic Superman adventure! Will Superman recover his memory? Will "Big" George Latimer get his revenge on the Man of Steel? And how will Clark Kent explain his mysterious absence from the newsroom? Find out in the concluding installments of "Superman vs. Kryptonite," originally aired on Mutual between June 18 and June 27, 1947.

We're visiting some of the world's biggest and busiest cities this summer, and while we're in town we'll rub elbows with some of their resident sleuths. Our series kicks off with the Big Apple and three radio mysteries set on the streets of New York. Dick Powell suspects there's more to the story of a Central Park hit and run case in Richard Diamond, Private Detective (originally aired on NBC on August 29, 1949); Danny Clover investigates "The Joan Fuller Murder Case" from Broadway is My Beat (originally aired on CBS on November 17, 1950); and as Captain Kennelly, Everett Sloane looks into an alleged case of self defense in 21st Precinct (originally aired on CBS on July 17, 1954).