Episode 178 - Seventy Years of Sam (Adventures of Sam Spade)
Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)
Jack Mooney
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 17 July 2016
⏱️ 124 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On July 12, 1946, Dashiell Hammett's famous private eye Sam Spade came to radio in what became one of the greatest detective shows of the era. With witty scripts and a dynamic lead performance from Howard Duff, the series thrilled listeners and kept a smile on their faces in a program that stands out from the crowd of hard-boiled gumshoes and cops. In honor of the seventieth anniversary of its radio debut, we'll hear four episodes of The Adventures of Sam Spade. Howard Duff stars in "Sam and Psyche" (originally aired on ABC on August 2, 1946); "The Rushlight Diamond Caper" (originally aired on CBS on July 4, 1948); and "The Dick Foley Caper" (originally aired on CBS on September 26, 1948). We'll also hear Stephen Dunne as Spade in "The Dog Bed Caper" (originally aired on NBC on December 1, 1950).
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | The It's sometimes easy to forget the Dashl Hammett's Sam Spade, perhaps the most famous |
| 0:27.3 | fictional private eye of all time, only appeared in one novel and three short stories. |
| 0:34.3 | His literary run can't compare to that of Philip Marlow or Lou Archer, but his one novel is |
| 0:40.2 | a doozy, the Maltese Falcon. |
| 0:43.0 | After Humphrey Bogard and John Houston gave the movies, its definitive Sam Spade, |
| 0:49.0 | the character came to radio in one of the best mystery programs of the Golden Age. |
| 0:55.0 | Sam Spade arrived on the air 70 years ago this month in July of 1946, |
| 1:01.0 | following successful adaptations of Hamets Nick and Nora Charles in the |
| 1:05.2 | adventures of the Thin Man and the popularity of the Fat Man, a detective character |
| 1:10.9 | Hamet created especially for the airwaves. |
| 1:14.9 | Hammett wasn't involved in the radio productions, stating he wanted nothing to do with |
| 1:19.2 | radio except for picking up his check for the use of his characters. |
| 1:24.0 | The radio adventures of Sam Spade were shepherded by William Spear, |
| 1:28.0 | the talented producer and director behind suspense |
| 1:32.0 | and a man hailed as the hitchcock of the airwaves. |
| 1:36.3 | The key to the success of the show was the actor in the title role. |
| 1:40.9 | Big screen star Lloyd Nolan was in the running, as was actor and director Elliot Lewis. |
| 1:46.0 | But when you listen to the show today, it's impossible to imagine anyone else but Howard Duff in Sam Spade's shoes. |
| 1:54.5 | Duff was an actor and announcer who came out of the Armed Forces radio service and his audition |
| 1:59.6 | won over the wife of producer Spear to land the role. |
| 2:04.0 | Howard Duff gave listeners a detective unlike any they'd ever heard. |
| 2:08.3 | Even though Richard Diamond broke the mold of the radio private eye, he didn't have the shading and the strength of Duff's performance. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jack Mooney, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Jack Mooney and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.