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The Adventures of Sam Spade

75 episodes · 1946–1951 · CBS, NBC, Armed Forces Radio Service, ABC · Detective

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Howard Duff played Dashiell Hammett's private eye with a wink, far lighter than the novel or the movie, and Lurene Tuttle was his secretary Effie. William Spier produced, and the show ran on ABC, CBS and NBC from 1946 to 1951, mostly for Wildroot Cream-Oil. In the Red Scare, Hammett's name was dropped from the credits, and when Duff was listed in Red Channels, Steve Dunne took over the role on NBC in 1950.

Sources: The Adventures of Sam Spade, Wikipedia

Episodes

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

19465 episodes
19475 episodes
  • The Dead Duck Caper February 2, 1947 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 25 min
    A party game of charades at Effie's mother's turns deadly, and the hostess is carried off by duck hunters.
  • The Calcutta Trunk Caper June 8, 1947 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 25 min
    A society girl is about to marry a man with a trail of dead wives, and Sam ends up on a ship bound for India.
  • The Convertible Caper June 15, 1947 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 23 min
    Why is one stolen car worth a million dollars?
  • The Adam Figg Caper October 5, 1947 · CBS · 24 min
    Sam guards a sick old millionaire through a night of gunshots and screams. Howard Duff breaks up when Effie's office robot won't work.
  • The Bow Window Caper November 9, 1947 · CBS · 29 min
    A woman with a month to live is murdered.
194822 episodes
  • The One Hour Caper January 4, 1948 · CBS · 23 min
    A hit-and-run killing leads Sam to a Dutch cigarette case and a bullet meant for him.
  • The Gold Key Caper January 25, 1948 · CBS · 23 min
    Machine guns, a man named Malloy and half a million dollars.
  • The Deathbed Caper June 20, 1948 · CBS · 29 min
    Sam is hired to witness a dying man's last statement, and the dying man accuses the client of murder.
  • The Bail-Bond Caper June 27, 1948 · CBS · 30 min
    An armored-car robbery puts Sam on the spot and in need of bail himself. Sandra Gould fills in as Effie.
  • The Rushlight Diamond Caper July 4, 1948 · CBS · 29 min
    Sam is hired to guard the wedding presents. Nobody guards the groom, who is stabbed with garden shears. Sandra Gould fills in as Effie.
  • The Wheel of Life Caper July 11, 1948 · CBS · 30 min
    A woman with no memory, and a man killed with a buzz saw. Sandra Gould fills in as Effie.
  • The Missing Newshawk Caper July 18, 1948 · CBS · 30 min
    Sam is hired to find a missing reporter, and finds him stabbed to death.
  • The Mad Scientist Caper July 25, 1948 · CBS · 29 min
    A half-mad inventor hires Sam to recover a secret formula, and Sam lands in a mental hospital.
  • The Dry Martini Caper August 1, 1948 · CBS · 29 min
    A businessman is shot in broad daylight.
  • The Bluebeard Caper August 8, 1948 · CBS · 30 min
    A man asks Sam to stop his sister from marrying a man who has buried three wives.
  • The Critical Author Case August 15, 1948 · CBS · 30 min
    Sam searches for a missing woman, and a mystery writer turns out to matter.
  • The Vaphio Murder Cup Caper August 22, 1948 · CBS · 30 min
    An ancient Greek gold cup, and Sam is the target.
  • The Lawless Caper August 29, 1948 · CBS · 30 min
    A man fresh out of prison, and a body that appears in Sam's bed and then vanishes.
  • The Lazarus Caper September 12, 1948 · CBS · 29 min
    A client named Lazarus wants Sam to bring him back from the dead.
  • The Hot One-Hundred-Grand Caper September 19, 1948 · CBS · 30 min
    Sam tails a blackmailed husband to a casino, where he loses $100,000 at roulette.
  • Dick Foley Caper September 26, 1948 · 29 min
    Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
  • The Sugar Kane Caper October 3, 1948 · CBS · 29 min
    A beautiful young woman is about to marry into a wealthy family. Howard Duff has Lurene Tuttle laughing before the story starts.
  • The Insomnia Caper October 24, 1948 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 25 min
    All Sam wants is a good night's sleep, but the redhead next door won't let him have it.
  • The Fairley-Bright Caper October 31, 1948 · CBS · 29 min
    Halloween: Sam is hired to keep an eye on a party, which gets a witch and a murder.
  • The S.Q.P. Caper November 7, 1948 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 24 min
    Sam turns down a divorce case and finds a murder.
  • The Quarter-Eagle Caper November 28, 1948 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 25 min
    The owner of a gum-machine company is murdered.
  • The Bouncing Betty Caper December 12, 1948 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 25 min
    Sam poses as a chauffeur to find out who is threatening a wealthy woman.
194917 episodes
  • The Betrayal in Bumpus Hell Caper January 16, 1949 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 25 min
    Sam's quiet evening with a western novel doesn't last.
  • Burns Allen Sam Spade February 10, 1949 · 28 min
  • The Love Letter Caper March 27, 1949 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 26 min
    A love letter from a woman with a suitcase full of jewels and a three-million-dollar inheritance.
  • The Stopped Watch Caper April 10, 1949 · CBS · 30 min
    A house of horrors, with a butler like Frankenstein's monster, radioactive poisons and man-eating plants.
  • The Report on Edith Hamilton April 17, 1949 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 26 min
    Sam is hired to get a confession from a beautiful woman, and falls for her.
  • Battle of Belvedere May 1, 1949 · 25 min
    Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
  • Battles of Belvedere Afrs May 14, 1949 · 24 min
    Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs doesn't list this date, but lists the same title on May 1, 1949.
  • The Overjord Caper June 5, 1949 · CBS · 30 min
    Sam must recover a woman's $100,000 necklace before her husband misses it, and finds a corpse in a Murphy bed.
  • The Apple of Eve Caper June 19, 1949 · CBS · 28 min
    A woman named Eve Adams is killed, and the prime suspect is called Dreama Love.
  • The Queen Bee Caper July 10, 1949 · CBS · 27 min
    Murder with formic acid at an exclusive girls' school.
  • The Tears of Night Caper July 24, 1949 · CBS · 28 min
    A priceless necklace and a string of Latin quotations.
  • The Champion Caper August 7, 1949 · CBS · 30 min
    A rich man wants protection from a former employee just out of prison.
  • The Prodigal Daughter Caper August 28, 1949 · CBS · 29 min
    A millionaire who never speaks, his gangland daughter, and a man killed twice.
  • Over My Dead Body Caper September 18, 1949 · 26 min
    Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
  • The Chargogogogmanchogagogchobunamungamog Caper September 25, 1949 · CBS · 27 min
    Sam looks for a missing engineer and finds him dead, and a valuable wampum belt is stolen.
  • The Cheesecake Caper November 6, 1949 · CBS · 24 min
    Inside Sam's sandwich: $50 and a photo of a blonde that says "Find the girl!"
  • The Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail Caper December 4, 1949 · CBS · 27 min
    An odd detective from Chicago muscles in on Sam's bunny-rabbit case.
19509 episodes
  • Red Anapola Caper May 18, 1950 · 23 min
    Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs doesn't list this date, but lists the same title on May 21, 1950.
  • Honest Thief Caper May 28, 1950 · 24 min
    Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
  • The Farmer's Daughter Caper September 3, 1950 · NBC · 29 min
    Sam stops at a strange tourist court and finds a man buried alive.
  • Caper Over My Dead Body November 17, 1950 · NBC · 29 min
    Steve Dunne's first show as Sam: an undertaker wants to know who is following him.
  • The Terrified Turkey Caper November 24, 1950 · NBC · 25 min
    Thanksgiving week, with Steve Dunne as Sam: somebody is trying to kill a man named Thom Turkey.
  • The Dog Bed Caper December 1, 1950 · NBC · 30 min
    A tangled case of murder and extortion that has nothing to do with dog beds.
  • The Wild West Caper December 8, 1950 · NBC · 29 min
    Marshal Spade rides into a ghost town to face a gang of badmen.
  • The 25-12345679 Caper December 15, 1950 · NBC · 29 min
    From a sick man in an Italian restaurant to a swim in San Francisco Bay.
  • The Prodigal Panda Caper December 29, 1950 · NBC · 30 min
    An eight-year-old hires Sam to find his kidnapped panda.
195117 episodes
  • The Biddle Riddle Caper January 5, 1951 · NBC · 30 min
    A radio producer hires Sam to solve a three-year-old murder, and a hidden recording holds the answer.
  • Red Star Caper January 12, 1951 · 29 min
    Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
  • Cloak and Dagger Caper January 19, 1951 · 29 min
    Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
  • The Chateau McLeod Caper January 26, 1951 · NBC · 30 min
    Murder on skis at a rich man's winter lodge.
  • The String of Death Caper February 2, 1951 · NBC · 30 min
    A dancer hires Sam to find a sea captain, which leads to rose-colored pearls and more than one murder.
  • The Sure Thing Caper February 9, 1951 · NBC · 30 min
    A small-time bettor has been cheated by a horse doper with a 'sure thing.'
  • The Soap Opera Caper February 16, 1951 · NBC · 30 min
    A detective story told like a soap opera, with blackmail and amnesia.
  • The Shot in the Dark Caper February 23, 1951 · NBC · 29 min
    A newspaper hires Sam to solve a murder caught in a news photo but never reported.
  • The Crab Louie Caper March 2, 1951 · NBC · 29 min
    Sam looks into the death of a crab fisherman: accident or murder?
  • The Spanish Prisoner Caper March 9, 1951 · NBC · 30 min
    Sam has no patience for another try at the Spanish Prisoner con.
  • The Sinister Siren Caper March 16, 1951 · NBC · 29 min
    Six names circled in a phone book, and the six people are murdered one by one.
  • Kimberly Cross Caper March 23, 1951 · 30 min
    Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
  • The Vendetta Caper March 30, 1951 · NBC · 30 min
    A society tale of revenge in the spirit of The Count of Monte Cristo.
  • The Denny Shane Caper April 6, 1951 · NBC · 30 min
    A sixteen-year-old schoolgirl commits murder.
  • The Civic Pride Caper April 13, 1951 · NBC · 30 min
    An auditorium collapses, and the town's building inspector is shot.
  • The Rowdy Dowser Caper April 20, 1951 · NBC · 30 min
    Sam goes looking for $53,000 that has disappeared.
  • The Hail and Farewell Caper April 27, 1951 · NBC · 29 min
    The last show: a framed man is set to die at San Quentin tonight, and a strange little man tries to kill himself.