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. the Hello and welcome to down these mean streets in our 450th episode of old time radio detectives.

This week we're taking a break from the world of police officers

and private eyes to catch up with some of the masked crime fighters of the Golden Age of

Radio.

Some of these characters jumped from the pages of comics to join Superman in their own on-air adventures, while others were inspired

by radio adventurers from those thrilling days of yesteryear.

These shows were geared towards a younger audience to deliver action and

adventure along with the reminder that crime does not pay.

First up today is the Green Hornet, the alter ego of crusading newspaper publisher

Britt Reed. By day, Reed campaigns against crime and corruption in the pages of the Daily Sentinel.

But by night, behind his green mask and aided by his valet Cato, Reed as the Green Hornet,

waging a war against criminals beyond the reach of the law.

To the police and to Reed's own reporters, the hornet is thought to be one of those criminals, an underworld kingpin with a hand in most of the city's illegal enterprises.

So not only does the Hornet need to battle corrupt politicians, swindlers, and enemy agents, he also needs to stay a step ahead of the cops.

The Green Hornet was developed by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, the producer and writer behind The Lone Ranger.

The success of that Western series led to the creation of a similar character whose adventures

...