Episode 621 - Spider Webb (Jeff Regan, Pat Novak, Pete Kelly’s Blues, & Dragnet)

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

🗓️ 6 April 2025

⏱️ 127 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We're celebrating the 105th anniversary of the birth of Jack Webb - one of the faces on the Mt. Rushmore of old time radio drama. Best known for Dragnet, Webb logged many an hour solving crimes on the air as cops, private eyes, and amateur sleuths. We'll hear him as Jeff Regan, Investigator in "The Guy from Gower Gulch" (originally aired on CBS on November 13, 1948) and as Pat Novak For Hire in "Wendy Morris" (originally aired on ABC on May 8, 1948). He solves a Prohibition-era mystery in Pete Kelly's Blues (AFRS rebroadcast of an episode known as "Little Jake" from May 22, 1951), and we wrap up with Webb in his element as Sgt. Joe Friday in "The Big Want" (originally aired on NBC on March 1, 1953).

Transcript

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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 and welcome to Down These Mean Streets and more old-time radio detectives and crime solvers.
1:14.6	It's a birthday party this week on the podcast as today we celebrate the 105th anniversary of the birth of Jack Webb, one of the patron saints of old-time radio drama.
1:18.6	Born April 2nd, 1920, Webb's place in radio history would be assured given his creation
1:25.6	of Dragnet alone.
1:31.0	And while it was his most famous and most influential show,
1:37.4	Dragnet was only one of several programs during the Golden Age of Radio where Webb played detectives.
1:39.0	Today, we'll hear four of his classic Cridefighter performances, all featuring Jack Webb in top form with his
1:46.7	signature, severely understated style of acting. First up is an episode from Jeff Regan
1:54.2	Investigator called The Guy from Gower Gulch. This one originally aired on CBS on November 13th, 1948.
	...

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