Episode 652 - Leading Men of Mystery: Dana Andrews (I Was a Communist for the FBI & Hollywood Sound Stage)

We wrap up our series of Hollywood stars who solved crimes on the air with Glenn Ford. The star of Gilda, The Big Heat, and 3:10 to Yuma appeared on radio as Christopher London, a globetrotting private eye created by Erle Stanley Gardner. We'll hear Ford as London in "The Missing Heiress" (originally aired on NBC on February 5, 1950). Then, he's a man on the run in a Studio One adaptation of "The 39 Steps" (originally aired on CBS on March 23, 1948).

This week's Hollywood leading man turned radio detective is Dana Andrews, who starred on screen in Laura, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Boomerang, and more. On the air, Andrews played Matt Cvetic, undercover agent, in the syndicated series I Was a Communist for the FBI. We'll hear a pair of his adventures in Red-bashing: "Pit Viper" and "Jump to the Whip." Plus, Andrews plays a reporter out to clear a wrongfully convicted man in a radio adaptation of Call Northside 777 from Hollywood Sound Stage (originally aired on CBS on December 27, 1951).

Take a walk down the Great White Way with Detective Danny Clover in my five favorite episodes of Broadway is My Beat. Larry Thor is the policeman with the soul of a poet in one of radio's finest dramas - detective or otherwise. We'll hear "The Suicide Pact Murders" (originally aired on CBS on August 21, 1950), "The Garment District Murders" (originally aired on CBS on April 14, 1951), "The Case of Charles Crandall" (originally aired on CBS on May 12, 195), "The Tom Keeler Case" (originally aired on CBS on September 22, 1951), and "The Gridiron Hero Murders" (originally aired on CBS on November 22, 1952).

We continue our spotlight series of Hollywood heavy hitters who put in time as radio detectives. This week, it's a legend of classic cinema - Humphrey Bogart, star of Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, The African Queen, and so many more iconic films. Bogart headlined Bold Venture, a syndicated mystery-adventure series set in the tropics. His co-star was no less than his real-life wife, Lauren Bacall. We'll hear a pair of syndicated Bold Venture mysteries - "The Tears of Siva," "The Mystery of the Mary K." Plus, Bogie stars in the audition for what would have been his own anthology drama Humphrey Bogart Presents. In this audition recording, Bogart hosts and appears in an adaptation of James M. Cain's story "Dead Man."

We kick off 2026 with a month-long series of big screen stars who lent their voices to radio detectives. First up is Alan Ladd, the steely star of classic noir dramas like This Gun for Hire and The Blue Dahlia and westerns like the iconic Shane. We'll hear him in his signature radio role of mystery writer and amateur sleuth Dan Holiday in a pair of syndicated episodes of Box 13 - "Treasure of Hang Li" and "Sealed Instructions." Plus, he recreates his big screen role as an old west detective as The Screen Director's Playhouse presents "Whispering Smith" (originally aired on NBC on September 16, 1949).  

We bid a fond farewell to 2025 with an encore of our New Year's Eve special from 2018. Jack Webb and Gerald Mohr star in New Year's Eve mysteries from Dragnet and The Adventures of Philip Marlowe. We'll hear "The Big New Year's" (originally aired on NBC on March 8, 1951) and "The Old Acquaintance" (originally aired on CBS on December 26, 1948).

Our bonus series of holiday mysteries wraps up on Christmas Eve with two more tales of seasonal sleuthing. John Stanley and Alfred Shirley are Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in "The Adventure of the Christmas Bride" (originally aired on Mutual on December 21, 1947). And Jack Webb stars in a heartwarming case from Dragnet - "The Big Little Jesus" (originally aired on NBC on December 22, 1953).

Christmas is only a few days away, and we're celebrating with a trio of holiday tales from Broadway - not the world of footlights, chorus lines, and matinee performances, but the seedier side of the street. Our first two tales come from the pen of Damon Runyon. A man is marked for death on Christmas Eve in "Dancing Dan's Christmas" from The Damon Runyon Theatre, and a trio of crooks hunting for lost loot finds a lot more in "Three Wise Guys" from The Whistler (originally aired on CBS on December 24, 1950). Then we'll hear a holiday mystery starring Detective Danny Clover in Broadway is My Beat (originally aired on CBS on December 24, 1949).

Christmas is only a week away and we've got a pair of old time radio mysteries for stocking stuffers. Charles Russell stars in a yuletide adventure of Johnny Dollar - "Small Time Swindles of Big Time Department Stores - Or How I Played Santa Claus and Almost Got Left Holding the Sack" (originally aired on CBS on December 24, 1949) - and Sydney Greenstreet tries to save St. Nick in "The Case of the Slaughtered Santas" from The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe (originally aired on NBC on December 22, 1950).

Our two-part series on The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe wraps up with the final three actors to play Archie Goodwin opposite Sydney Greenstreet's gargantuan gourmet. Larry Dobkin - who you may know best as Louie, cab driver sidekick of The Saint - is Archie in "The Case of the Deadly Sellout" (originally aired on NBC on January 5, 1951). Gerald Mohr - the voice of Philip Marlowe - stars in "The Case of the Calculated Risk" (originally aired on NBC on January 19, 1951). And Harry Bartell - announcer and actor - plays Goodwin in "The Case of the Final Page" (originally aired on NBC on March 23, 1951).