Welcome to Down These Mean Streets, bringing you the best of detectives from the Golden Age of radio. Happy Thanksgiving and welcome to a full plate of Sam Spade today on down these mean streets. We heard from

Dashilhammett's legendary private eye back in April on the very first episode of

the podcast and today we'll hear two of his adventures including an episode just in time

for Thursday's feast. First we'll hear the actor most identified with

Spade on the radio, Howard Duff. The role was originally to have been played by actor Lloyd Nolan, but a film commitment forced him to withdraw from the series. Duff, a former Armed Forces radio service announcer, won the part and started Spade from

1946 until 1950.

Duff was no Humphrey Bogart who famously played Spade in the Maltese Falcon, but he made the role

his own with his wry wit and delivery. Throughout his run, Duff was supported by the fantastic

Larene Tuttle as Spade's loyal secretary, Effie Perrine.

Let's listen now to Sam Spade in The Lazarus Caper, originally aired on CBS on September 12, 1948.

Along with Howard Duff and Lureen Tuttle,

the cast includes Joseph Kearns, John McIntyre,

Jeanette Nolan, Jack Cruution, and Howard McNeil.

The script is by Bob Tallman and Kildowd, and the director was William Spear. The alcoholic hair tonic that contains Llanolin. Wild Root cream oil, again and again the choice of men who put

good grooming first. Sam's Bay Detective Agency. You're going to the drugstore

The Sam's Bay Detective Agency.

Uh, listen, you uh, phone down to the drugstore and tell them to send up three gallons of black coffee.

Who is this? Are you sure you have the right number?

I'm sure I've got the right number, but I'm not so sure who I am.

Oh, Sam, it's you.

You must have had a frog in your throat.

Did you ever sleep?

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