Welcome to Down These Mean Streets, bringing you the best of detectives from the Golden Age of radio. It's time to itemize another expense account here on down these mean streets with an adventure of America's

fabulous freelance insurance investigator Johnny Dollar. We've heard from

Johnny Dollar before in episodes starring Bob Bailey and Dick Powell.

A total of eight actors played Dollar in audition shows and during the program's long run on

CBS.

Today we'll hear big screen star Edmund O'Brien in an episode

from his two-year run on the series. O'Brien took over the role beginning

February 3rd 1950 and he'd recently finished filming

what is probably his best known film, DOA, recognized today as a classic example of film

Noir.

O'Brien brought a tougher edge to the character.

The previous dollar, Charles Russell, had been light-hearted.

He would playfully pad his expense account as he worked a case.

O'Brien's dollar was cynical and hard-boiled.

He was more Philip Marlow than Richard Diamond.

The show received good reviews with O'Brien in the lead, but he left the series to return to big-screen roles in September 1952.

Interestingly, before he won the gig as Johnny Dollar, Edmund O'Brien recorded an audition show for Nightbeat, the newspaper mystery drama we listened to back in June.

His hard-boiled nature that would suit Johnny Dollar wasn't quite right for that series

and actor Frank Lovejoy ultimately won the role.

So now let's listen to Edmund O'Brien as yours truly Johnny Dollar in the Barbara James

Matter originally aired on CBS on June 29, 1950.

The cast includes Parley Bear, Jack Moiles, Howard McNear, Stacey Harris, Jean Spalding, and

...