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Mystery, Crime & Detective · Syndicated (Ziv)

Bold Venture

March 26, 1951 – May 12, 1952 · 58 broadcasts

Bold Venture is the one radio series Humphrey Bogart ever starred in, and he did it on his own terms -- pre-recorded for Frederic Ziv's syndication so it wouldn't eat his film schedule. He plays Slate Shannon, the hard-bitten American who owns a rundown Havana hotel and skippers a boat called the Bold Venture; Lauren Bacall is Sailor Duval, his ward and wisecracking sidekick, carrying the couple's screen chemistry straight to the microphone. Between the acts, Jester Hairston's King Moses sings the plot along in calypso, narrating the week's trouble in verse. The stories run to smuggling, murder frames, stolen treasure and con games among the treasure hunters and revolutionaries who wash through Shannon's Place. Written by Morton Fine and David Friedkin, scored by David Rose, and syndicated onto 423 stations within weeks of its 1951 premiere, it is pre-revolution Havana as pulp playground -- the Bogart-and-Bacall of To Have and Have Not, turned loose weekly on the radio.

Collection status: 58 of 58 held (100% complete)
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Episode Spine

Grouped by year. Jump to the full list below, or open a season on its own page.

1951

March 26, 1951 Deadly Merchandise Listen (MP3)
A revolution's gun shipment goes missing, and because Slate never picked it up in Key West, the bodies start dropping around him -- the pilot episode, drawn from the couple's own To Have and Have Not.
April 2, 1951 Kuan Yin Statue Listen (MP3)
Hired to escort a smuggled idol and the young woman carrying it, Slate is beaten for a statue he doesn't have and left chasing a vanished girl for answers.
April 9, 1951 Opium Smugglers and Young Girl Listen (MP3)
A quiet night at Shannon's Place turns when a pair of opium runners lean on a frightened girl, and Slate steps in to even the odds.
April 16, 1951 Johnny Rice Story Listen (MP3)
A charter to Key West turns deadly when Slate's cash-flush passenger is gunned down before they cast off, dropping Slate into the sights of the ruthless Johnny Rice.
April 23, 1951 Treasure on Flamingo Cay Listen (MP3)
A coin toss sends Slate and Sailor hunting Spanish gold on a Caribbean cay with a crew he doesn't trust an inch.
April 30, 1951 He Who Laughs Last Listen (MP3)
A comic's partner is murdered and Slate is framed for it, tangled in a convict's hidden money and a double-crossing act.
May 7, 1951 Espionage and Murder in San Toma Listen (MP3)
May 14, 1951 A Muncie Murderess in Havana Listen (MP3)
May 21, 1951 Fake American Passport Listen (MP3)
A wrecked print shop and a beaten printer lead Slate and Sailor into a counterfeit-passport racket -- and the man who wanted it kept quiet.
May 28, 1951 Sailor Framed for Murder Listen (MP3)
Someone is scattering Sailor's belongings around Guantanamo to pin a murder on her, and Slate races to unframe his own partner.
June 4, 1951 The Blue Moon Listen (MP3)
A plantation owner begs Slate to pry his daughter loose from the gambler who runs the offshore casino ship Blue Moon -- and the hold he has on her.
June 11, 1951 The Tears Of Siva Listen (MP3)
An old friend leaves a silk-wrapped bundle in Slate's safe and is shot dead for it; the fabled star sapphires inside turn out to be fakes.
June 18, 1951 A Half Million Reasons to Find Gary Listen (MP3)
June 25, 1951 The High Price of Treason Listen (MP3)
July 2, 1951 Russian Roulette Listen (MP3)
A sugar heiress with two killers on her trail walks into Shannon's Place out of a storm -- carrying a gun of her own.
July 9, 1951 The Mystery of the Mary K Listen (MP3)
July 16, 1951 Death At The Wedding Listen (MP3)
A poisoning at a wedding party Slate is hosting, and a dead detective on the beach, expose a pair of newlyweds who are anything but innocent.
July 23, 1951 A Twelve Year Promise Listen (MP3)
A twelve-year-old handshake pays off when an old partner strikes oil and hands Slate half -- to the fury of a wife who wants it stopped.
July 30, 1951 Voodoo Vendetta Listen (MP3)
A murderess hunting for Tommy Reed lures Slate and Sailor into the Zapata swamps, where she turns poisoned darts and voodoo on them as Sailor slowly fades.
August 6, 1951 The Search for Tommy Reed Listen (MP3)
Slate and Sailor are drawn into a deadly hunt for Tommy Reed, snared by a killer who works with poisoned darts and voodoo (a retelling of the Voodoo Vendetta story).
August 13, 1951 Sunken Treasure at 20 Fathoms Listen (MP3)
August 20, 1951 The Ghost Ship Listen (MP3)
Adrift with a bad fuel line, Slate and Sailor board a beautiful ketch, the Golden Swan, and find her deserted -- and are warned off before they learn why.
August 27, 1951 Jenny Ward Slates Old Flame Listen (MP3)
Slate's old flame resurfaces claiming her husband means to kill her, angling to have Slate do the killing and win him back -- and Sailor is shown the door.
September 3, 1951 Terminal Key Listen (MP3)
September 10, 1951 Out of Control Listen (MP3)
September 17, 1951 Black Tie Affair Listen (MP3)
A safe combination tucked in the pocket of a rented tuxedo pulls Slate and Sailor into trouble at a shipboard formal they never wanted to attend.
September 24, 1951 Murder in the Yucatan Peninsula Listen (MP3)
Summoned to find a man's missing wife, Slate realizes too late that the husband and his lover have already murdered her.
October 1, 1951 Slate Shannon Sucker Listen (MP3)
A friend's kid brother, fresh off a cruise ship with two card sharks and a detective in tow, plays Slate for a sucker to slip out of Havana.
October 8, 1951 Slate Shannon Held for Ransom Listen (MP3)
October 15, 1951 Camellias and a Ruby Listen (MP3)
October 22, 1951 Passage for Mario Carada Listen (MP3)
October 29, 1951 Darby and Joan Incorporated Listen (MP3)
A lonely widow proposes marriage after spotting Slate's photo in a lonely-hearts club file -- then turns up dead with his picture beside her, and Slate is the prime suspect.
November 5, 1951 Mutineers of the SS Marino Victory Listen (MP3)
A fishing trip turns dangerous when Slate and Sailor pull aboard two castaways who are really dope-running mutineers ready to kill to stay free.
November 12, 1951 Bold Venture Stolen Listen (MP3)
November 19, 1951 Slates Stolen DaVinci Listen (MP3)
The Bold Venture is stolen for a refinery heist getaway, and Slate is blackmailed by two men demanding a cut -- until the boat comes back with a corpse aboard.
November 19, 1951 The Bold Venture By Da Vinci Listen (MP3)
November 26, 1951 Paolo Framed for Jewel Robbery Listen (MP3)
December 3, 1951 Cruise To Batabano Listen (MP3)
Hired to deliver a yacht and a letter to Batabano, Slate and Sailor find a silk shipment worth two murders waiting at the other end.
December 10, 1951 Slates Stolen Identity Listen (MP3)
December 17, 1951 Tabard of Pizarro Listen (MP3)
A pretty young guest doing cartwheels on the beach suddenly collapses and dies calling for her father, drawing Slate into the mystery she carried.
December 24, 1951 Escape From Guantanamo Listen (MP3)
Slate is asked to help return escaped murderer Paul Brewer to jail -- the Paul Brewer story.
December 31, 1951 Crazy Old Carlo Listen (MP3)
Convinced his brother means to kill him, old Carlo Ruiz sells everything and starts giving the money away, pulling Slate into a family's fatal feud.

1952

January 7, 1952 Innocence in Trujillo Listen (MP3)
January 14, 1952 An Invitation to Death Listen (MP3)
A grieving widower is picking off the four lifeboat survivors he blames for his wife's drowning, and a case of mistaken identity in Slate's own bed says Slate is next.
January 21, 1952 Background Shots Can Kill You Listen (MP3)
January 28, 1952 Revenge Equals Murder Times Two Listen (MP3)
A dazed woman found on the beach with a bloody knife and a dead husband at home draws Slate and Sailor into a killing that isn't what it looks like.
February 4, 1952 A Backstabbing at Shannons Place Listen (MP3)
February 11, 1952 I'm Going to Die Listen (MP3)
February 18, 1952 The One That Got Away Listen (MP3)
February 25, 1952 Man From Sumatra Listen (MP3)
March 3, 1952 The Big KO Listen (MP3)
March 10, 1952 El Indio Listen (MP3)
March 17, 1952 Diamond Fencing and Fisticuffs Listen (MP3)
March 24, 1952 Revenge is Sweet Listen (MP3)
March 31, 1952 Havens Venezuelan Isle Listen (MP3)
April 7, 1952 With Friends Like These Listen (MP3)
A stranger comes asking after Rudy Keijon -- a scar-faced man knifed on the waterfront five years back -- and tells Slate he was the last one seen with him.
April 14, 1952 Marriage And Murder Listen (MP3)
May 12, 1952 Seor Rufio Listen (MP3)
The Story

Bold Venture is the one radio series Humphrey Bogart ever starred in, and he did it on his own terms -- pre-recorded for Frederic Ziv's syndication so it wouldn't eat his film schedule. He plays Slate Shannon, the hard-bitten American who owns a rundown Havana hotel and skippers a boat called the Bold Venture; Lauren Bacall is Sailor Duval, his ward and wisecracking sidekick, carrying the couple's screen chemistry straight to the microphone. Between the acts, Jester Hairston's King Moses sings the plot along in calypso, narrating the week's trouble in verse. The stories run to smuggling, murder frames, stolen treasure and con games among the treasure hunters and revolutionaries who wash through Shannon's Place. Written by Morton Fine and David Friedkin, scored by David Rose, and syndicated onto 423 stations within weeks of its 1951 premiere, it is pre-revolution Havana as pulp playground -- the Bogart-and-Bacall of To Have and Have Not, turned loose weekly on the radio.

Full story — coming soon while it's being curated.
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