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 mean streets with more adventures of old time

radio detectives.

This week will hear a trio of big screen stars stepping in as substitute secret agents

on the radio espionage drama The Man Called X.

The title character of that series was Ken Thurston, a dashing and daring spy who traveled all

around the world fighting the enemies of freedom.

Thurston was perfectly played by British actor Herbert Marshall,

and he had a great foil in the form of Leon Ballasco as pagan Zelschmidt who was always willing to help Thurston

unless the opposition offered him more money. The man called X premiered in

1944 and aside from a few hiatuses and interruptions, it aired regularly

until 1952.

Herbert Marshall remained with the show for the duration, with the exception of the three episodes

we'll hear today.

On May 7, 1951, Marshall suffered a pulmonary embolism while recovering from surgery and he had to step away from the series.

Because the man called X was transcribed, two episodes Marshall had recorded before his surgery were in the can.

Those shows were aired on NBC on May 11th and May 18th.

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