Criminals Beware...

For tonight, on the Old Time Radio Express, they will feel the sting of The Green Hornet...and be outsmarted by gentleman detective Philo Vance.

Just click on the title of this blog posting, for an hour's worth of old time radio.

The Green Hornet was once billed as the crime fighter who took down criminals that "even the G-Men couldn't catch".  G-Men, a forerunner of the FBI, didn't take too kindly to the perception that there were criminals that would elude them, so the intro changed.  However, the Hornet's effectiveness was not diminished.

This week, we have "The Hornet Does It", in which the Hornet is framed for a hijacking he didn't commit.

On Philo Vance, the organist gets a workout, as this program lives up to all the cliches of an old radio detective show (sharp organ interludes, a detective whose every deduction is spot on, cops that are incredibly daft, and the obvious suspects never being guilty).   And yet, "The Green Girls Murder Case" is just as enjoyable as it must have been when it was broadcast back in 1949.  Enjoy, and check back next week for more great old time radio...

Show #5 of the Old Time Radio Express - Let's Begin Celebrating Christmas!

Sorry for the delay in posting this, the December 13th podcast of the Old Time Radio Express.  Been a busy week here in Brownsburg!

I've packed a lot of good old time radio nuggets into this hour, and of course I hope you'll like all of it.  But if you don't, it won't be a few minutes before something you do like pops up.

We've got some well-known performers, like Jack Benny and Bing Crosby, and then some of lesser renown, like Dick "Two Ton" Baker, the Music Maker.  When you hear Two Ton Baker, you realize that while the national networks certainly captured the top talent, there was a slew of fantastic performers in all of the local markets.  It's a blessing that Two Ton's recordings were pressed onto transcription discs and sent out nationally for syndication, or his talents would have been lost to the airwaves.  Unfortunately, we're not as lucky with many similar performers.

Radio was indeed very regional.  Before coast-to-coast programming, local stations needed to produce their own entertainment, and a lot of them were very good.  One only has to look at WXYZ in Detroit, which locally produced  The Lone Ranger, The Green Hornet and The Challenge of the Yukon - all later became OTR classics, but started locally in Detroit of all places.  Talent and imagination knows no geography.

Well, with all that said, click on the the blog posting title & enjoy this week's show...