The Adventures of Philip Marlowe was a radio series featuring Raymond Chandler's private eye, Philip Marlowe. Robert C. Reinehr and Jon D. Swartz, in their book, The A to Z of Old Time Radio, noted that the program differed from most others in its genre: "It was a more hard-boiled program than many of the other private detective shows of the time, containing few quips or quaint characters."

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. That series ran 26 September 1948 – 29 September 1950..

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The Adventures of Philip Marlowe was a premier hard-boiled detective radio drama that brought Raymond Chandler's iconic private eye to life during the Golden Age of Radio.
Production History
NBC Run (1947): The series debuted on June 17, 1947, under the title The New Adventures of Philip Marlowe. It starred Van Heflin and served as a summer replacement for The Bob Hope Show.
CBS Run (1948–1951): The program moved to CBS in September 1948 with Gerald Mohr taking over the title role. Mohr's deep baritone and cynical delivery became the definitive portrayal, reportedly favored by Chandler himself.
Final Broadcast: The series concluded its regular run in September 1951, though its influence directly led to the creation of other landmarks like Gunsmoke.
Series Style and Premise
Atmosphere: Set in a gritty, post-war Los Angeles, the show was noted for its "hard-boiled" realism. Unlike other detective shows of the era, it lacked comedic relief or "quaint" characters, focusing instead on the darker side of human nature.
Narrative: Each 30-minute episode followed Marlowe as he navigated cases involving murder, blackmail, and corruption. Episodes often opened with Marlowe's signature world-weary narration.
Cast and Crew:
Producer/Director: Norman Macdonnell (CBS run).
Supporting Cast: Featured radio veterans like Jeff Corey (as Lt. Ybarra), Lawrence Dobkin (as Lt. Matthews), Howard McNear, and Parley Baer.
Music: Composed by Lyn Murray (NBC) and Richard Aurandt (CBS).
Legacy
By 1949, the show reached the largest audience in radio, proving that sophisticated, literary detective fiction could achieve massive commercial success. Today, many original recordings have been restored and remain popular in the Old Time Radio (OTR) community.

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This series was broadcasted from June 3, 1949 to February 26, 1957 on NBC at various times and days, starring Dragnet starred Jack Webb as Detective Sergeant Joe Friday. Various partners throughout the show's run were Sergeant Ben Romero (Barton Yarborough), Ed Jacobs (Barney Phillips), and Officer Frank Smith (Ben Alexander). Webb was the creator/Director of the series and wanted everything to be as authentic as possible, down to the last sound effect. The stories were based on actual police files and "the names were changed to protect the innocent".

Dragnet broke a few radio taboos as well, such as dramatizing sex crimes. Children also were killed on occasion as in the episode "Twenty-Two Rifle For Christmas". The series eventually went to television and ran there for many years. The familiar DUM DE DUM DUM, the first four notes of the opening theme composed by Walter Schumann, became a pop culture legend and was forever associated with Dragnet.