Episode 642 - Marlowe Actors' Club (Philip Marlowe, Lux Radio Theatre, & Hollywood Star Time)

Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

Jack Mooney

Arts, Performing Arts, Mystery, Detectives, Old, Radio, Time, Tv & Film, Oldtimeradio

4.6 • 982 Ratings

🗓️ 2 November 2025

⏱️ 161 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Many actors have brought Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe to life. Humphrey Bogart, Elliot Gould, Danny Glover, and Liam Neeson are just a few of the men to portray the legendary private eye on the big and small screens, but today we'll hear four actors who played Marlowe on radio. First, Van Heflin is Marlowe in a radio adaptation of Chandler's "Red Wind" (originally aired on NBC on June 17, 1947). Next, Robert Montgomery reprises the role of Marlowe as The Lux Radio Theatre adapts "Lady in the Lake" (originally aired on CBS on February 9, 1948). Dick Powell steps back into the gumshoe's shoes in a Hollywood Star Time presentation of "Murder, My Sweet" (originally aired on CBS on June 8, 1946). Finally, Gerald Mohr proves "crime is a sucker's road" in "The Uneasy Head" (originally aired on CBS on June 6, 1950).

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Get this and get it straight.
0:02.1	Crime is a sucker's road.
0:03.9	And those who travel
0:04.6	it wind up in the gut of the prison of the grave.
0:12.3	The story you were about to hear is true.
0:15.2	Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.
0:18.6	The Adventures of Sam Spade, Detective.
0:21.7	The Adventures of the Saints,
0:23.5	starring Vincent Price.
0:25.5	Bob Bailey, in the exciting adventures
0:27.7	of the man with the action-packed expense account.
0:30.6	America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator...
0:33.4	Yours truly, Johnny Dollar.
1:04.5	... Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Hello. Hello. Hello and welcome to Down These Mean Streets with more old-time radio detectives and crime solvers.
1:12.4	This week we're hosting a meeting of the Marlowe Club, that collection of actors who lent their voices to Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe on radio. Many great actors have played the private eye over the years.
1:19.7	Humphrey Bogart, James Garner, Robert Mitchum, Elliot Gould, Danny Glover, James Kahn, and
1:26.3	Liam Neeson have all taken turns in Marlowe's
1:29.6	gumshoes. Personally, my favorite screen Marlowe is Powers Booth, who starred in a 1980s
1:36.9	HBO series that adapted several of Chandler's stories. But that's the world of movies and TV,
1:46.3	and as always we're interested in the world of radio, and today we'll hear four actors with their own unique takes on the character.
1:52.4	First up is Van Heflin, who starred as Marlowe in a 1947 summer series on NBC. We'll hear
2:00.3	the first episode of that run, a very good radio adaptation of Chandler's short story Red Wind.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jack Mooney, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Jack Mooney and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.