Get this and get it straight. Crime is a suckers road and those who travel it'd wind up in the gut of the prison of the grave.

The story you were about to hear is true, only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

The Adventures of Sam Spade Detective.

The Adventures of the Saints starring Vincent Prize

Bob Bailey in the exciting adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account

America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator.

Yours truly, Johnny Deller. And the Hello and welcome to down these means streets and more old-time radio crime solvers.

Our sleuth this week is the saint, the Robin Hood of Modern Crime created by Leslie

Charterous who is thrilled fans in books, TV shows, and movies.

Several actors played the debonair detective on radio, including Edgar Barrier and Tom Conway,

but the best of them and the actor most associated with the role on the air was Vincent

Price.

This was early in his screen career before his roles in the fly and the house on Haunted Hill made him an icon of

big screen horror. Price played Simon Templar from 1947 until 1951

over several networks and the bulk of the surviving episodes of the saint

come from his years in the role. Off screen Vincent Price was a celebrated

rock and a gourmet cook, and an art connoisseur.

So he was perfectly suited for the suave and urbane Templar, a detective who relied chiefly on his wits and charm and who enjoyed the fighter things in life.

The saint was arguably radio's smoothest, most polished crime fighter, and he had the perfect voice from Vincent Price.

Now if your main exposure to him comes from his horror movies or even his spoken word

monologue in thriller, it may be jarring at first to hear him as a man of action,

but he really sells the role of a smart, resourceful, romantic, and very funny leading man.

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