Old Time Radio Crime & Detective Tales - VarietyFiction

Old Time Radio detectives and crime - sleuths from the golden age of radio. A fun variety of radio series featuring detectives, crime, mystery and police procedurals. Featuring Nick Carter, Johnny Dollar, Box 13, Rocky Jordan, Dragnet, Philip Marlowe, Richard Diamond, Sam Spade, Rocky Fortune and MANY more.


Old Time Radio Crime & Detectives

The Will and a Way Matter - Johnny Dollar | 07/19/1959 (Ep648)

Wed, 06 Aug 2025
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was a radio drama which aired between 1949 and 1962. "The man with the action-packed expense account, America’s fabulous freelance insurance investigator, Johnny Dollar". Of the eight different actors who played Johnny Dollar, Bob Bailey is likely considered the most popular. Bailey's interpretation presented a tough, streetwise character, but also sensitive and thoughtful. During it's time, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar attracted some of the best writers in Hollywood, including Jack Johnstone, E. Jack Neuman, Robert Ryf, and Les Crutchfield.

Hope you enjoy this episode of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar! Find all our OTR radio stations and podcasts at theaterofthemind-otr.com - Audio Credit: The Old Time Radio Researchers Group. - Podcasts @ Spreaker | Apple | YouTube | Spotify | iHeart | Amazon

The Little Wishbone - Philip Marlowe | 12/10/1949 (Ep062)

Tue, 05 Aug 2025
The Adventures of Philip Marlowe was a radio series featuring Raymond Chandler as Philip Marlowe. He was a gritty, no nonsense American, hard-boiled detective; however, he was more complex than other hard-boiled detectives of the era. "Hard-boiled" refers to a gritter urban element to the detective genre. Marlowe could handle a gun and take a beating, but he was also college educated. He played chess and appreciated classical music. He had standards too, and he turned down jobs that didn't measure up to those standards.

Hope you enjoy this episode of The Adventures of Philip Marlowe! Find more classic radio series at theaterofthemind-otr.com - Audio Credit: The Old Time Radio Researchers Group. - All Podcasts @ Spreaker | Apple | YouTube | Spotify | iHeart | Amazon


Murder by Fire - Nick Carter | 01/14/1945 (Ep166)

Mon, 04 Aug 2025
Nick Carter, Master Detective was a radio crime drama based on tales of the fictional private detective Nick Carter from Street & Smith's dime novels and pulp magazines. Lon Clark played Nick Carter and Charlotte Manson played his assistant, Patsy Bowen. Nick Carter ran from 1943 to 1955. 

Hope you enjoy this episode of Nick Carter! Find more classic radio series at theaterofthemind-otr.com - Audio Credit: The Old Time Radio Researchers Group. - All Podcasts @ Spreaker | Apple | YouTube | Spotify | iHeart | Amazon

old_time_radio crime drama otr detectives oldtimeradio drama radio_play radio_drama fiction storytelling nostalgia golden_age_of_radio lon_clark nick_carter charlotte_manson patsy_bowen gumshoe crime_drama radio classics

The String of Death Caper - Sam Spade | 02/02/1951 (Ep233)

Sun, 03 Aug 2025
The Adventures of Sam Spade (1946-1951) radio series was loosely based on the private detective character Sam Spade, created by writer Dashiell Hammett for The Maltese Falcon. Film star Howard Duff played Sam Spade (also played by Steve Dunne at the end). Lurene Tuttle played Effie, Spade's secretary. Spade's character was the prototypical "hard-boiled" detective - an introspective, sharp witted, tough guy.

Hope you enjoy this episode of Sam Spade! Find all our OTR radio stations and podcasts at theaterofthemind-otr.com - All Podcasts @ Spreaker | Apple | YouTube | iHeart | Amazon | Spotify

The Garribaldi Case - Richard Diamond | 02/01/1952 (Ep120)

Sat, 02 Aug 2025
Richard Diamond, Private Detective was an American detective drama, created by Blake Edwards, which aired on radio from 1949 to 1953. Dick Powell starred as Richard Diamond in the radio series as a wisecracking former police officer turned private detective. Episodes often had Diamond taking on a case at the behest of his friend and former partner, Lt. Walter Levinson. The plot remained relatively unchanged throughout the series, with the hard-boiled Diamond enduring physical confrontations while tackling a challenging murder investigation, aided by the police department. Notably, despite the numerous gun battles, Diamond was never injured by gunfire. Most episodes end with Diamond at the piano, singing a popular song to his girlfriend, Helen Asher. This radio program was later adapted successfully to television. 

Hope you enjoy the episode of Richard Diamond! Find all our OTR radio stations and podcasts at theaterofthemind-otr.com - Audio Credit: The Old Time Radio Researchers Group - All Podcasts @ Spreaker | Apple | YouTube | iHeart | Amazon | Spotify


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