The Last week on down these mean streets we heard Sam Spade in one of the greatest

detective stories of all time, the Maltese Falcon. Today we'll hear the Candy Tooth, the unofficial sequel to that classic mystery as it was

presented on suspense in 1948.

We've heard Radio Adventures of Sam Spade before on the podcast.

Dachel Hammett's hard-boiled private eye came to radio in 1946

in a popular series starring Howard Duff.

One of that program's earliest episodes was a two-parter called the Candy Toothcaper,

in which Sam Spade reunited with Falcon villains, Casper Gutman, and Joel Cairo.

Those early episodes don't survive, but William Spear, who produced and directed both Sam Spade and

suspense, reused the story for an episode of the anthology

thriller series.

In January 1948, Suspense expanded to an hour-long format and speak and Spear recruited his Sam Spades stars Howard Duff and Lorraine Tuttle to recreate their series

roles as Sam and loyal Secretary Effie Perrine in a bit of series cross

promotion. The Candy Tooth aired on January 10, 1948, and it was the second in the series of one-hour suspense shows. During this run, the program was

introduced by actor Robert Montgomery. A year before, Montgomery had directed and starred as Sam Spades Brother Seamus Philip Marlow in Lady in the Lake.

We may not be able to hear the original version of the candy tooth, but William Spear stocked this recreation with an all-star radio cast, including Wally Mayer, Bill Johnstone, Hans Conread, Jeanette Nolan, and Kathy Lewis.

Ancering the show as announcer and as Casper Gutman himself is the versatile Joseph Kearns, who could

almost be mistaken for Screenedranton Sydney Green Street,

and the always wonderful Howard Duff and Lorraine Tuttle deliver the goods once again

as Sam and Effie.

It's a wonderful episode,

and it serves as a great companion piece to last week's presentation of the Maltese Falcon.

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