This Is Your FBI

This Is Your FBI was a radio crime drama which aired in the United States on ABC from April 6, 1945 to January 30, 1953 for a total of 409 shows. FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover gave it his endorsement, calling it "the finest dramatic program on the air". Producer-director Jerry Devine was given access to FBI files by Hoover, and the resulting dramatizations of FBI cases were narrated by Frank Lovejoy (1945), Dean Carleton (1946–1947) and William Woodson (1948–1953). Stacy Harris played the lead role of fictional Special Agent Jim Taylor. Others in the cast were William Conrad, Bea Benaderet and Jay C. Flippen. This Is Your FBI was sponsored during its entire run by the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. The first episode includes an appearance by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover detailing real life cases from the files of the FBI. WIKIPEDIA 

Jack Webb as Johnny Madero, Pier 23

This series was a 30-minute radio detective drama which was broadcast on Mutual Thursday at 8 p.m. from April 24, 1947 to September 4, 1947. It was the first nationwide program for star Jack Web The storylines follow the footsteps of fast-talking, wisecracking Johnny Madero (Webb), who runs a boat shop on the San Francisco waterfront, rents boats and usually drops in for a weekly chat with Father Leahy (Gale Gordon). When investigating a crime, Madero manages to solve the mystery before tough cop Warchek (William Conrad). The supporting cast sometimes included Betty Lou Gerson, Elaine Burke, Bob Holden, Herb Butterfield, Irvin Lee and Herb Rawlinson.

  from WIKIPEDIA   |   Johnny Modero at Amazon

 From Southbridge Old Time radio: Many of the more popular programs from radio’s Golden Age are stylistically recognizable from beginning to end. In a police drama, everyone knows what to expect from the first 9 notes of the “Dragnet” theme. Just the facts, and a story narrated by no-nonsense Detective Sergeant Joe Friday. “Dragnet” is the epitome of police drama. Jack Webb is the actor who plays it best. Style is something that is developed over time through trial and error, and Jack Webb had some earlier work that came before “Dragnet” where we can hear the Friday character being honed. 
   

The Adventures of Philip Marlowe

The Adventures of Philip Marlowe came to Radio in the Summer of 1947 as a Pepsodent Program replacement for their wildly popular show starring Bob Hope and his ensemble. Both CBS and Pepsodent promoted the first nine programs to the maximum extent. In all likelihood as much to promote star Van Heflin, as to keep The Pepsodent Program's time slot nice and cozy for Bob Hope's return in The Fall of 1947. Indeed, the fact that Van Heflin got far greater billing than Raymond Chandler himself, demonstrates the relative celebrity of the two diverse talents for their time. It first aired under the title "The New Adventures of Philip Marlowe", with Van Heflin playing Marlowe. The first episode adapted Chandler's short story "Red Wind". The NBC series ended 9 September 1947. In 1948, the series moved to CBS, where it was called "The Adventure of Philip Marlowe", with Gerald Mohr playing Marlowe. This series also began with an adaptation of "Red Wind", using a script different from the NBC adaptation. By 1949, it had the largest audience in radio. The CBS version ran for 114 episodes. Toward the end it was a summer replacement for Hopalong Cassidy. Mohr played Marlowe in all but one of the CBS shows. He was replaced by William Conrad in the 1950 episode, "The Anniversary Gift". The episode "The Birds On The Wing" (aired 11-26-49) is especially notable for its beginning and ending, both uncharacteristically breaking the fourth wall. It opens with Marlowe saying he is currently reading "Chandler's latest The Little Sister" — thus a fictional character claims to be reading an actual book in which he is the main character. Even more surreal was the ending, in which Marlowe returns to his apartment to find Gracie Allen — who asks Marlowe to find her husband George Burns a radio show on which he can sing! The program's composer was Lyn Murray, who worked in both film and radio at the time. Curiously enough, the musical cue that plays over the opening narration in the series' first two episodes (where Marlowe recites the opening sentences of Chandler's original story "Red Wind") is a theme that would reappear prominently in Murray's 1954 score for Alfred Hitchcock's "To Catch a Thief". Despite the program's popularity, it had no sponsor for most of its time on the air. The exception was when Ford Motor Company sponsored it during part of 1950. The last show aired 15 September 1951.