The Best of the 2024-25 Season
The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio| Daily Mystery Dramas
Adam Graham
4.4 • 2K Ratings
🗓️ 2 November 2025
⏱️ 164 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
First up, it's The Falcon in "The Case of the Jumping Jack":
A woman hires The Falcon because she suspects that her husband has hired a private eye to follow her.
Original Radio Broadcast Date: April 20, 1952
Originating from New York
Starring: Les Damon as The Falcon; Chuck Webster as Sergeant Corbett
Then we turn to the Your Playhouse of Favorites production of "The Suicide Club":
A bored crown prince, looking for excitement, joins a club of men who want to end their lives.
Original Air Date: Sometime between 1947 and 1949
Originating from New York
Starring: Dwight Reese; Walter Vaughn
Speaking of Robert Louis Stevenson, we turn to an excerpt from The Orson Welles Almanac wherein Welles reads Stevenson's lesser-known letter defending Father Damien against the scathing remarks of Reverend Dr. C.M. Hyde. This impassioned response, penned in 1890, highlights the stark contrasts between the selfless heroism of Father Damien and the hypocrisy of his critics.
Join us as we explore the rich historical context and emotional weight of Stevenson's words, showcasing not only a brilliant literary takedown but also a tribute to compassion and service in the face of adversity. Welles's masterful narration brings this poignant piece to life, reminding us of the enduring legacy of Father Damien.
Complete Text of Stevenson's letter:
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/281/281-h/281-h.htm
Then we turn to a surreal episode of Mr. and Mrs. North, "Call Me Choo Choo"
Today’s Mystery:Pam and Jerry hear a clarinet being played in the middle of the country near a wrecked car.
Original Radio Broadcast Date: December 9, 1947
Originating from New York City
Starring: Joseph Curtain as Jerry North; Alice Frost as Pamela North; Larry Haines; Mandel Kramer
We will also have a listen to one of our new series, Cloak and Dagger, about the true adventures of the OSS during WWII. Here is "Roof of the World":
A husband and wife team of geologists are recruited by the IRS to journey into Tibet to seek the favor of the Dalai Lama. They find themselves in competition with two Nazi officers.
Original Radio Broadcast: August 13, 1950
Originating from New YorkStarring: Louise Barclay; Grant Richards; Raymond Edward Johnson; Stefan Schnabel; Berry Kroeger; Janice Gilbert; Karl Weber; Ralph Bell; Jerry Jarrett
Then we conclude with one of our most memorable guest-starring appearances in the Yours Truly Johnny Dollar story, "The Price of Fame Matter"
Vincent Price summons Johnny Dollar when a $100,000 painting is stolen from his private collection.
Original Radio Broadcast Date: February 2, 1958
Originating from HollywoodStarring: Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar; Vincent Price as Himself; Virginia Gregg; Howard McNear; Junius Matthews; Forrest Lewis; Tony Barrett
Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net
Patreon Supporter of the Day:John, Patreon supporter since September 2016.
Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.
Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715
Take the listener survey at http://survey.greatdetectives.net
Give us a call at 208-991-4783Follow us on Instagram at http://instagram.com/greatdetectives
Follow us on Twitter @radiodetectives
Join us again tomorrow for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | The weather. Tomorrow, expect a... Biting cold front. Mmm, how naughty. I wonder what I'll be wearing or taking off. The night will be wild and untamed. Expect heavy, lashing rain that'll soak you to the skin. By Monday, temperatures will rise, slowly but surely, reaching their peak in the afternoon. |
| 0:23.0 | Not in the mood for miserable weather? |
| 0:25.5 | Fly cheaply to Turkey with Sun Express. |
| 0:28.6 | Sun Express, non-stop sunshine. Music What? |
| 0:46.3 | The Welcome to the great detectives of old time radio and a very special episode. |
| 1:06.2 | From Boise, Idaho, this is your host, Adam Graham. |
| 1:10.5 | If you are enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software. |
| 1:17.7 | I do want to take this opportunity to thank our latest Platinum Patreon supporter. |
| 1:25.2 | Thank you to Max, who has been supporting the podcast 10 years this month, |
| 1:31.4 | currently supporting us at the detector sergeant level of $7.14 or more per month. |
| 1:37.4 | Thanks so much. Appreciate your support, Max. |
| 1:40.7 | And in today's special, we're going to look back on the 2024-25 podcast season with some of the |
| 1:49.7 | most outstanding episodes that we played this past year. Now, this was an idea that I had after going to |
| 1:59.0 | Podfest in Orlando in January. Initially, I was just planning on |
| 2:06.3 | doing the top five Great Detectives episodes. Yet over the course of the past few months, |
| 2:14.0 | listeners have become impressed with other programs we've done, including cloak and dagger, |
| 2:20.5 | which, though we play on the Great Detectives, is a connection to the Great Adventurers |
| 2:26.9 | podcast. So I decided to expand it to include episodes of Great Adventurers and the amazing world of radio. |
| 2:37.0 | And in addition to those top five, we'll throw in another sample of something we played on |
| 2:42.8 | the old-time radio snack wagon, which again, I think is one of the best things we've played. |
| 2:48.8 | Now, of course, I did need to put some limitations on this. |
| 2:53.3 | That is that I've limited this to self-contained half-hour episodes. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Adam Graham, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Adam Graham and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.