Old Time Radio Mystery Specials

This special edition of The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio revisits seven standout episodes from the season, spanning police procedurals, true-crime reporting, wartime espionage, murder mysteries, and insurance investigations. The selections range from Dragnet and The Big Story to Cloak and Dagger, Broadway's My Beat, The Saint, Proudly We Hail, and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar.

Along the way, host Adam Graham revisits memorable performances, surprising plot developments, and the real-life stories behind some of the dramas. The compilation offers a varied look at classic radio storytelling, culminating in one of Johnny Dollar's most extraordinary investigations.The chapter times below come from the uploaded compilation notes. Origination locations follow your requested convention.

Featured Episodes

1. Dragnet — “The Big Hit and Run Killer”

November 8, 1951 • Originating from Hollywood

Plot Summary: Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Ben Romero investigate a hit-and-run accident in which a speeding bakery truck strikes an elderly woman and her nine-year-old grandson in a pedestrian crosswalk. With no license plate number and only limited eyewitness information, the detectives must trace the vehicle and establish who was driving it.

Known Cast: Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday; Barton Yarborough as Sergeant Ben Romero; Herb Butterfield. George Fenneman is also identified as announcer.

2. The Big Story — “The Cord Around Her Neck”• January 9, 1952 • Originating from New York

Plot Summary: When a woman is discovered murdered in her West Seattle home, West Seattle Herald reporter Stuart Whitehouse recognizes an opportunity to break a major story ahead of the city's larger newspapers. With his weekly paper's deadline approaching, Whitehouse follows the evidence in hopes of identifying the killer before the presses roll.

Known Cast: Nat Polen as Stuart Whitehouse; Margaret Burlen; Helen Barron; Larry Haines; Bill Griffiths; Bert Callen; John Becker; Steve Edders; Michael O'Day.

3. Cloak and Dagger — “The Last Mission” • September 29, 1950 • Originating from New Yor

Plot Summary: In wartime Canton, China, a woman whose family has been murdered by Japanese military forces becomes involved with the Office of Strategic Services. Her personal tragedy leads to an unusual connection with American intelligence and a dangerous mission against the occupying forces.

Known Cast: Bryna Raeburn; Ian Martin; Arnold Moss; Ralph Bell; Raymond Edward Johnson; Karl Webber.

4. Broadway's My Beat — “The Lynn Halstead Murder Case”January 19, 1952 • Originating from Hollywood

Plot Summary: Detective Danny Clover investigates when a young woman's body is recovered from the river and identified by her grieving father. The case takes a bewildering turn when another woman appears, claiming to be the supposed murder victim. Clover must unravel the secrets surrounding a private secretary whose carefully concealed personal life makes identifying the dead woman only the beginning of the mystery.

Known Cast: Larry Thor as Lieutenant Danny Clover; Charles Calvert as Sergeant Gino Tartaglia; Jack Kruschen as Sergeant Muggavan; William Conrad as John Martin; Herb Butterfield as Dr. Halstead; Hy Averback; Joyce McCluskey; Bob Bruce.Production: Elliott Lewis, producer and director; Alexander Courage, composer and conductor

.5. The Adventures of the Saint — “The Cake That Killed”• January 8, 1950 • Originating from Hollywood

Plot Summary: Simon Templar visits a bakery and encounters a distressed woman who gives him a cake under unusual circumstances. What begins as a seemingly innocent errand soon draws the Saint into a tangled affair involving theft and murder, where an ordinary baked good becomes the unlikely starting point for a criminal investigation.

Known Cast: Vincent Price as Simon Templar; Betty Lou Gerson; Peter Leeds; Dan O'Herlihy; Larry Dobkin; Theodore von Eltz.

6. Proudly We Hail — “First Choice” July 10, 1946 • Originating from Hollywood

Plot Summary: Powerful political figure Duke O'Hara stands on the verge of securing his party's nomination for governor. But on the evening that should mark his greatest political triumph, an unexpected revelation threatens his ambitions and marriage. As the nomination celebration unfolds, O'Hara must confront a difficult choice between political success and his personal loyalties.

Known Cast:

• Clark Gable as Duke O'Hara

• Tom Petty — writer

• Eddie Scrivanek — music

• C. P. MacGregor — host/presenter

7. Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar — “The Glacier Ghost Matter” May 12, 1957 • Originating from Hollywood

Plot Summary: Insurance investigator Johnny Dollar is called upon to verify the fate of a businessman who disappeared on the Palisades Glacier. Establishing whether the missing man is truly dead presents an extraordinary challenge, sending Johnny into treacherous mountain terrain in search of physical evidence that can settle the insurance claim.

Known Cast: Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar; John Dehner; Herb Ellis; Virginia Gregg; Forrest Lewis; James McCallion; Tom Hanley; John James.

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Release Date: January 12, 2014

An unemployed man finds himself accused of murder and accompanied by a beautiful blonde detective who has an appetite for homicide.

Original Air Date: December 28, 1943'

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Release Date: November 10, 2013

A vacationing police officer helps his brother (who is a police officer in another town) catch a serial killer using skills acquired in an FBI training school.

Original Air Date: May 5, 1947

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Release Date: October 23, 2013

Marshall Mark Dillon goes to Gough Eye to investigate an allegedly crooked roulette wheel and finds a a series of murders.

Audition Date: June 11, 1949

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Dangerous Assignment — “Guided Missile Plans”
Steve Mitchell is sent to Dublin to recover stolen microfilm containing plans for a new American guided missile. His pursuit of the suspected courier leads him through England, where two deaths and a series of seemingly innocent picture postcards provide his best hope for locating the missing plans before someone else gets to them.Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar — “The Picture Postcard Matter”
Johnny Dollar travels to Switzerland after $100,000 in uncut diamonds are stolen from a courier at the Zurich airport. His only lead is a mysterious informant offering to arrange their return, but Johnny soon finds himself caught between competing players while a picture postcard offers a cryptic clue to where the diamonds may be hidden.Original Radio Broadcast Dates:

• Dangerous Assignment: August 30, 1950.
• Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar: October 1–5, 1956.

Both programs are originating from HollywoodCast — Dangerous Assignment:

• Brian Donlevy as Steve Mitchell
• Herb Butterfield as the Commissioner
• Written by Robert Reif (Bob Reif)
• Music by Basil Adlam
• Music conducted by Ralph Hollenbeck
• Produced and directed by Bill Karn

Cast — Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar:

• Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar
• Lucille Meredith
• Victor Perrin
• Forrest Lewis
• Stan Jones
• Ben Wright
• Written by Robert Reif
• Produced and directed by Jack Johnstone
• Musical supervision by Amerigo Marino
• Roy Rowan, announcer

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Todays Mystery: Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Ben Romero hunt for the “Badge Bandit,” a violent criminal who poses as a police officer to rob and assault his victims. After weeks of investigation, the search becomes dangerously personal when Friday and Romero encounter the suspect during a massive overnight manhunt.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: May 4, 1950

Originating from HollywoodCast:

• Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday
• Barton Yarborough as Ben Romero
• Peggy Webber as Joe Friday’s mother

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Release Date: Semptember 15, 2013

A woman visits a peaceful Maine town, only to find herself prime suspect in a rival’s murder.

Original Air Date: December 2, 1946

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Release Date: July 25, 2013

A blackmailing count steals a compromising letter from a noble lady.

Original Air Date: September 17, 1948

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Release Date: July 18, 2013

Auguste Dupin investigates the murder of a young woman found floating in a Paris river.

Original Air Date: December 14, 1953

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Release Date: July 16, 2013

Jimmy Stewart plays a cynical reporter turned crusader who seeks to clear a man wrongly convicted of murdering a police officer. This episode was based on the 1949 Edgar Award Winning Movie of the same name.

Original Air Date: October 7, 1948

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Release Date: July 11, 2013

The episode begins with a look at a story of the Prophet Daniel that many think is the first detective story. From Can You Imagine That?

Original Air Date: 1940

A woman and her daughter are brutally killed after withdrawing 50,000 Francs from the bank and Dupin is on the case in Edgar Allan Poe’s first detective story.

Original Air Date: January 2, 1944

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Release Date: July 04, 2013

A Scotland Yard Inspector investigates the disappearance of a train en route.

Original Air Date: February 12, 1949

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Today's Mystery: After returning to New York following years of imprisonment during the Spanish Civil War, John McKittrick learns that a close friend has died under suspicious circumstances. As he investigates, he finds himself caught in a dangerous web of espionage, murder, and betrayal connected to secrets from his wartime past.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: February 14, 1944

Originating from Hollywood

Starred: Robert Young as John McKittrick, Maureen O'Hara as Elma Don, and Walter Slezak as Dr. Scoss.Also featuring Charles Seal, Charlotte Treadway, Ed Emerson, George Sorel, Griff Barnett, Howard McNear, Jay Novello, John McIntire, Norman Field, and Rene Gussaire.

Produced by Cecil B. DeMille.

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Release Date: March 24, 2013

In the 25th Century, a Treasury Agent seeks to find the truth behind the re-appearance of counterfeit currency.

Original Air Date: October 3, 1956

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Release Date: January 27, 2013

Max Carrados doesn’t buy an obvious explanation that a man was murdered by the boyfriend of his lover.

Original Air Date: August 18, 1942

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Release Date: November 17, 2012

A couple has until dawn to find out who killed a rich socialite or one of them will have to answer to the police.

Original Air Date: May 15, 1948

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Release Date: September 30, 2012

The golden age of radio came to an end with episodes of Yours Truly Johnny Dollar and Suspense. In the “Tip-Off Matter,” an ex-con tells Johnny the location of his loot. In “Devilstone,” a rich young Irishman is having trouble renting a house that is rumored to be haunted.

On September 30th 1962

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Today's Mystery: A private detective is hired to located a woman's brother who is tied into underworld activity.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: October 29, 1950

Originating in New York

Starring: Lee Tracy as Clint Flint, Miriam Wolfe, Bill Lipton, Joe DeSantis

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Release Date: June 30, 2012

A former O.S.S. Officer returns to Italy to locate the person who betrayed him and his compatriots to the Nazis.

Original Air Date: February 2, 1953

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Original Release Date: June 16, 2012

A police lieutenant hunts a murderer whose crimes are always accompanied by a crowd. Original Air Date: September 27, 1950

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