Theater of the Mind

Dick Tracy

71 episodes · 1935–1948 · ABC, NBC, Blue Network · Juvenile

Illustration: a transcription disc label made for Radio Days, not an original disc

Chester Gould's comic-strip detective was on radio from 1934 to 1948, in fifteen-minute chapters for the kids and later half hours. Ned Wever and Matt Crowley were among those who played him. Quaker Oats sponsored the NBC run these 1938 chapters come from, with meetings of the Dick Tracy Secret Service Patrol for listeners.

Sources: Dick Tracy, Wikipedia

Episodes

Tap a year to see its episodes, then a title to play it on Radio Days.

19351 episode

PREMIERE (Tess Disappears) February 4, 1935 · 11 min

193824 episodes

The Black Pearl of Osiris February 8, 1938 · NBC · 15 min
The Man with the Yellow Face is back, and the Black Pearl of Osiris must shine again.
Pat Goes Overboard February 9, 1938 · NBC · 15 min
The man with the yellow face strikes again, and Pat goes overboard.
Mystery in the Hotel February 10, 1938 · NBC · 15 min
What is the yellow-faced man's secret? Tracy tries a bluff.
Dick Shot in the Leg February 11, 1938 · NBC · 15 min
Tracy is shot by the yellow-faced Egyptian.
Dick Gets the Ring of Osiris February 14, 1938 · NBC · 15 min
An Egyptian shows off his good-luck Ring of Osiris, with a secret compartment.
Dick Finds the Black Pearl February 15, 1938 · NBC · 15 min
The Black Pearl turns up inside the bullet in Tracy's own leg.
Agent Is Murdered February 16, 1938 · NBC · 15 min
The Silken Rope of Death fails, and so does a trick to get the pearl.
Going After the Ring February 17, 1938 · NBC · 15 min
Surrounded in a restaurant, Tracy saves the ring and finds a clue: a mattress factory.
Dick Captures the Gang February 18, 1938 · NBC · 15 min
Tracy rounds up the gang, and Junior gets a secret compartment ring.
Pat Hypnotized February 21, 1938 · NBC · 15 min
The Mogul fakes his death to escape prison and hypnotizes Pat Patton.
Dick Captured February 22, 1938 · NBC · 15 min
The Mogul gets the drop on Tracy and Pat.
Escape February 23, 1938 · NBC · 14 min
Batik heads home with the Pearl of Osiris, and Junior has vanished.
Junior Kidnapped February 24, 1938 · NBC · 15 min
The Mogul kidnaps Junior to learn where the black pearl is, and a stranger in black comes to help.
Junior Escapes February 25, 1938 · 15 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists this date as “Captures Dryden Small.”
Mounties at Pitchblend April 11, 1938 · NBC · 15 min
In the Yukon town of Pitchblende, Tracy meets the Mounties.
Snow Slide April 12, 1938 · NBC · 15 min
Vernon Kyle terrorizes Pitchblende, and a weird cry is heard in the night.
Who Is the Purple Rider April 13, 1938 · NBC · 15 min
Pat is rescued from the avalanche. Who is the Purple Rider?
Junior Is Kidnapped April 14, 1938 · NBC · 15 min
The Purple Rider gets the drop on Tracy, and Kyle's gang kidnaps Junior.
Junior Sends a Mirror Message April 15, 1938 · NBC · 15 min
Held in a mountain cabin, Junior signals with a mirror.
Junior Rescued by and Captures Purple Rider April 18, 1938 · NBC · 15 min
The Purple Rider rescues Junior, and Junior turns the tables.
Dick Lassoes the Purple Rider April 19, 1938 · NBC · 15 min
Tracy fights to keep Kyle from controlling the world's radium, and Junior catches the Purple Rider.
The Purple Rider Exposed April 20, 1938 · NBC · 15 min
The Purple Rider's identity is revealed, and a professor asks Tracy for help.
Tracy Rescued and Kyle Captured April 25, 1938 · NBC · 15 min
Tracy battles Kyle, who robs a bank.
Invisible Ink April 26, 1938 · NBC · 15 min
Tracy has to land a plane with bad landing gear and no gas.

19431 episode

Doc Benson Is Released and Escapes October 6, 1943 · Blue Network · 14 min
Mrs. Johnson's plan to loot the city has failed.

19442 episodes

The Case of the Hooting Owl January 10, 1944 · Blue Network · 15 min
Wolves close in on a freezing Junior and Moccasin Joe.
Junior at the Circus May 4, 1944 · Blue Network · 14 min
Junior goes undercover at the circus after a clown who is really a Nazi spy.

19459 episodes

Empty Safe May 1, 1945 · 15 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
On the Trail of the Nighthawks May 8, 1945 · ABC · 15 min
Tracy investigates a gang of teenagers.
The Case of the Pigeon Cut Ruby June 22, 1945 · ABC · 15 min
Tracy and Pat are trapped in a dungeon.
The Case of the Buried Treasure September 13, 1945 · ABC · 14 min
The case of the buried treasure.
The Case of the Man Without a Head, Part 1 September 20, 1945 · ABC · 14 min
A landlord demands $1,000 from two criminals to let them stay.
The Case of the Man Without a Head, Part 2 September 21, 1945 · ABC · 14 min
Tracy brings Mrs. Smith the news that her daughter has been murdered.
The Case of the Man Without a Head, Part 3 September 24, 1945 · ABC · 14 min
Tracy and the police raid a rooming house, and the crooks flee into the subway.
The Case of the Trained Seal October 25, 1945 · ABC · 15 min
The Man with the Voice is found in a riverside restaurant, and Minnie the trained seal escapes.
TITLE UNKNOWN (New Mystery Begins) November 22, 1945 · 15 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists this date as “One Suspect Too Many.”

19466 episodes

The Case of the Dark Corridor January 19, 1946 · ABC · 30 min
A half-hour show: a young woman is found in the rain in a cab.
The Case of the Firebug Murders February 16, 1946 · ABC · 25 min
A half-hour show: Tracy suspects a real estate agent of setting a fire.
The Case of the Broken Window, Part 1 September 13, 1946 · ABC · 14 min
Two young gangsters slip Tracy's trap and hide in a factory.
The Case of the Broken Window, Part 2 September 16, 1946 · ABC · 15 min
Spider and Mickey rob their boss after he invites them home.
The Case of the Campus Murder, Part 1 December 11, 1946 · ABC · 12 min
Tracy has to arrest Shifty Gears for a professor's murder but believes he's innocent.
The Case of the Campus Murder, Part 2 December 16, 1946 · ABC · 15 min
Tracy tries to prove Shifty Gears innocent.

194724 episodes

The Case of the Careless Black Widow January 14, 1947 · ABC · 14 min
A killer with poison darts strikes twice in a theater.
The Case of the Moth and the Flame, Part 1 January 21, 1947 · ABC · 14 min
A body is found in a fire set by the Moth.
The Case of the Moth and the Flame, Part 2 January 22, 1947 · ABC · 14 min
The investigation of the fire heats up.
The Case of the Graveyard Watch March 18, 1947 · ABC · 15 min
A ship's captain is murdered, then the radio operator is shot.
The Case of the No-Account Swindle May 15, 1947 · ABC · 15 min
A woman's body is found carrying five different identities.
The Case of the Crooked Fingers July 14, 1947 · ABC · 15 min
The end of the story: Fingers dies when his boat hits a reef.
The Case of the Unfunny Clowns July 23, 1947 · ABC · 15 min
Tracy and Pat become circus clowns to catch a murderer.
The Case of the Sinister Scandal August 20, 1947 · ABC · 14 min
A gambler plans to kidnap Pat Patton.
The Case of the Low Highjack, Part 1 September 3, 1947 · ABC · 14 min
Tracy questions the head of a hijacking racket.
The Case of the Low Highjack, Part 2 September 4, 1947 · ABC · 15 min
A tommy gun pins Tracy behind a wrecked car.
The Case of the Low Highjack, Part 3 September 11, 1947 · ABC · 15 min
Tracy and Pat are prisoners in a truck.
The Case of the Book of Four Kings, Part 1 October 10, 1947 · ABC · 15 min
A crooked card game backfires.
The Case of the Book of Four Kings, Part 2 October 16, 1947 · ABC · 15 min
A dead man is found holding three cards. What was he trying to say?
The Case of the Book of Four Kings, Part 3 October 24, 1947 · ABC · 14 min
Tracy and Pat are locked on a ship.
The Case of the Honorable Mr. Malice, Part 1 October 31, 1947 · ABC · 14 min
A saboteur tries to wreck a relief train.
The Case of the Honorable Mr. Malice, Part 2 November 6, 1947 · ABC · 15 min
Tracy suspects a left-handed saboteur.
The Case of the Honorable Mr. Malice, Part 3 November 14, 1947 · ABC · 14 min
Tracy and Pat ride a train the saboteur means to wreck to kill a diplomat.
The Case of the Deadly Tip-Off, Part 1 November 18, 1947 · ABC · 15 min
A new story: enemy agents land from a submarine.
The Case of the Deadly Tip-Off, Part 2 November 19, 1947 · ABC · 15 min
A radio commentator crusades against the agents and is kidnapped.
The Case of the Deadly Tip-Off, Part 3 November 21, 1947 · ABC · 15 min
The kidnapped commentator has been beaten.
Poisonous Timber December 16, 1947 · 15 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
The Case of the Poisonous Timber, Part 1 December 19, 1947 · ABC · 14 min
At a sawmill, Pat is caught in the water wheel.
The Case of the Poisonous Timber, Part 2 December 22, 1947 · ABC · 14 min
Tracy chases a killer through lumber country.
The Case of the Big Black Box, Part 1 December 31, 1947 · ABC · 15 min
Tracy and Pat pose as patients to expose a quack.

19484 episodes

The Case of the Big Black Box, Part 2 January 8, 1948 · ABC · 15 min
The quack plans to use his machine on Pat.
The Case of the Positive Negative January 27, 1948 · ABC · 15 min
A photograph is the clue to an armored-car robbery.
The Case of the Mermaid's Mirrors April 8, 1948 · ABC · 15 min
Who broke into the colonel's house to smash the mermaid's mirrors?
The Case of the Careless Crooner April 26, 1948 · ABC · 15 min
A crooner refuses to give back old love letters and is shot.