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Adventure / intrigue drama · NBC

Dangerous Assignment

July 9, 1949 – July 8, 1953 · 166 broadcasts

Dangerous Assignment sent film tough-guy Brian Donlevy around the world every week as Steve Mitchell, the go-anywhere troubleshooter of an unnamed State Department agency. Briefed by "the Commissioner" (Herb Butterfield) and working under cover as a foreign correspondent, Mitchell dropped into the Cold War's danger zones -- Cairo, Saigon, Berlin, the Balkans -- to untangle smuggling, sabotage, stolen secrets and murder, narrating each half-hour himself in a clipped, hard-boiled first person. NBC launched the show as a seven-week summer tryout in 1949, then brought it back in February 1950 for a full run that lasted until July 1953. Writers Robert Ryf and Adrian Gendot supplied the globe-hopping scripts, Bill Karn directed, and Bruce Ashley's driving theme set the pace, while a deep bench of West Coast radio actors -- William Conrad, Raymond Burr, Paul Frees, Betty Lou Gerson and many more -- filled the guest roles. Often unsponsored and used by NBC as a promotional lead-in to The Man Called X, it nonetheless built a loyal audience and carried Donlevy from radio into a 1952 television version he produced himself. Fast, exotic and reliably suspenseful, Dangerous Assignment is a clear prototype of the international-agent thrillers that would take over screens a decade later.

Collection status: 103 of 166 held (62% complete)
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Episode Spine

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

1949

July 9, 1949 Relief Supplies Listen (FLAC)
Steve's very first case takes him into the Sicilian hills to learn who is hijacking a foundation's relief shipments -- and to reckon with a bandit called Lorenzo.
July 16, 1949 Sunken Ships Listen (FLAC)
Mitchell heads to Saigon after three ships loaded with American aid supplies are sent to the bottom inside two weeks.
July 23, 1949 Nigerian Safari Listen (FLAC)
A killing aboard a night train in West Africa draws Steve to Nigeria, where he must lock down the rights to a new manganese strike.
July 30, 1949 (untitled)
August 6, 1949 Millionaire Murders Listen (FLAC)
Steve flies to the south of France to stop a run of murders that has been picking off wealthy men one at a time.
August 13, 1949 Portuguese Alien Smuggling Listen (FLAC)
When a fellow agent is found dead in a Portuguese fishing village, Mitchell moves in to break the alien-smuggling ring behind it.
August 20, 1949 File #307 Listen (FLAC)
Sent to Zurich, Steve races to recover a secret file and unmask a shadowy figure known only as Bruner.

1950

February 6, 1950 Missing Japanese Weapons Listen (FLAC)
The season opener sends Steve to Panama to recover a cache of missing Japanese weapons and avenge a murdered friend.
February 13, 1950 Captain Rock Listen (FLAC)
In Tangier, Steve impersonates a just-murdered soldier of fortune to bait the killers into trying again.
February 20, 1950 The Greek Connection Listen (FLAC)
Mitchell goes to Athens to recover stolen radar plans after the courier who smuggled them out turns up dead.
February 27, 1950 White Jade Cafe Listen (MP3)
March 6, 1950 Wire Spool Listen (FLAC)
Steve chases a spool of recording wire -- one that endangers global security -- from San Diego onto a jolting bus deep in Latin America.
March 20, 1950 International Blackmail Listen (FLAC)
In Switzerland, Steve must find and destroy a confession a late European leader was forced to sign under duress.
March 27, 1950 The Sheik's Secret Listen (FLAC)
Barely home, Steve is packed off to Cairo to talk an old friend, a sheik, into renewing a lapsing exploration agreement.
April 10, 1950 Pirate Loot Listen (FLAC)
What sounds like a Caribbean holiday turns into a hunt off Trinidad for modern sunken treasure, with Steve signing on as a diver aboard the vessel Sea Witch.
April 17, 1950 Ufo's in Ecuador Listen (FLAC)
Steve is sent to Ecuador to get to the bottom of reported flying saucers.
April 24, 1950 Alaska-Missing Scientists Listen (FLAC)
A supposed Alaskan vacation becomes a search for two vanished scientists -- a nuclear physicist and a former Nazi.
May 3, 1950 Sabotage in Paris Listen (FLAC)
With an atomic-inspection conference three days off, Steve races to Paris after a Balkan delegate goes missing.
May 10, 1950 Lecturing Professors Listen (FLAC)
Sent to Oslo, Steve must work out which of six touring professors is secretly an enemy agent -- and leaves with a small boy in tow.
May 17, 1950 The Lost City Listen (MP3)
May 24, 1950 Burmese Witness Listen (FLAC)
In Mandalay, Steve works to plug a leak of diverted supplies, where a foreign correspondent holds the clue to the thieves.
May 31, 1950 Little White Pill Listen (FLAC)
Behind the Iron Curtain, Steve's whole job is to slip a jailed agent a single white pill -- and get him out alive.
June 7, 1950 Deadly Bacteria Listen (MP3)
In Istanbul, Steve races to recover a deadly germ culture before an outbreak can claim thousands of lives.
July 19, 1950 Lefty & Sam
July 26, 1950 The Orient Listen (MP3)
Steve flies east to find a guerrilla leader and head off a civil war, crossing the sinister Dr. Mao.
August 2, 1950 Vienna Mystery Listen (FLAC)
At the American consulate in Vienna, Steve hunts for stolen documents in a case where the fate of three hidden army divisions rides on a single empty drinking glass.
August 9, 1950 Africa-Witch Doctor Listen (FLAC)
On Africa's Gold Coast, Steve moves to quiet the unrest being stirred up by local witch doctors.
August 16, 1950 Hired Killer Listen (FLAC)
August 23, 1950 Bombay Gun Runners Listen (FLAC)
In Bombay, Steve tries to clear an American framed for gun-running by tracking a man named Goodha through the crowded streets.
August 30, 1950 Guided Missile Listen (FLAC)
Steve flies to Tokyo after a roll of microfilm carrying the plans for a guided missile.
September 6, 1950 Mine Disaster Listen (FLAC)
In the Balkans, Steve digs into the sabotage crippling a chromite mine vital to strategic supply -- and the chained bodies of murdered villagers.
September 20, 1950 South America Listen (MP3)
September 27, 1950 Retrieve Slarga from Latin America Listen (FLAC)
When a packet of vital letters vanishes at a peace conference, Steve must stop two South American states from going to war.
September 29, 1950 Forged Papers Listen (FLAC)
October 6, 1950 Tokyo Listen (MP3)
November 18, 1950 Munich Listen (FLAC)
November 25, 1950 The Football Play Listen (MP3)
December 2, 1950 Empty Matchbook Listen (MP3)
December 9, 1950 Berlin Kidnapping Listen (FLAC)
Steve breaks up a Berlin kidnapping ring in a case that forces him to fire on his own double -- and ends with a wedding.
December 16, 1950 Richmond Listen (FLAC)
December 16, 1950
December 30, 1950 Eastern Europe Listen (FLAC)

1951

January 6, 1951 Anti-Sub Plans Listen (FLAC)
January 13, 1951 Missing Scientist Listen (FLAC)
In Madrid, Steve searches for a vanished scientist and his new radio tube, crossing paths with a lady bullfighter called The Wasp.
January 20, 1951 Mighty Powder Puff Listen (FLAC)
January 27, 1951 A Box of Busted Bells Listen (FLAC)
February 3, 1951 Nazi Fugitive Listen (FLAC)
February 10, 1951 Kroner Cutlass Listen (FLAC)
Steve is sent into Eastern Europe to recover a famous jeweled cutlass that embodies a nation's independence.
February 17, 1951 Malaya and Rubber Listen (FLAC)
February 24, 1951 Nazi Buzz Bomb Plans Listen (MP3)
A theft of upgraded German buzz-bomb designs launches a chase that runs from the Bronx to London, Denmark and Holland.
March 3, 1951 London-Secret Code Broken Listen (FLAC)
In London, Steve works to stop a meeting that would compromise American diplomatic codes, with four suspects and a flight to Athens.
March 10, 1951 Solve Your Own Murder Listen (MP3)
March 17, 1951 Recover a Hospital Chart Listen (MP3)
March 24, 1951 Loaded Dyamite with a Lite Fuse Listen (MP3)
After dynamite goes missing in Panama, Steve heads for the Canal Zone -- where an eleven-inch length of string holds the key.
March 31, 1951 Atomic Fission Formula Listen (FLAC)
April 7, 1951 Save a Life with a Punch Listen (FLAC)
A theft dangled as bait in the Balkans leads Steve to save a man's life with a well-timed punch to the jaw.
April 14, 1951 A Tray Full of Dirty Dishes Listen (FLAC)
Negotiating a U.S. base in the Middle East, Steve finds his life hanging on a tray of dirty dishes as he untangles a murder.
April 21, 1951 French Riviera: Gocheck Listen (FLAC)
On the Riviera, Steve tries to spirit out atomic scientist Gotchek, only to find his contact murdered.
April 28, 1951 Balkans: Outlaw Radio Station Listen (FLAC)
Steve turns broadcaster, dispatched to a Balkan nation to get an outlaw radio station transmitting.
May 4, 1951 Rotterdam-War Criminals Listen (FLAC)
In Rotterdam, Steve hunts former Nazi Rudolph Karpel, with unlikely help from the Glutenschwitzen girls.
May 11, 1951 Landsburg-Causing Epidemic Listen (FLAC)
An epidemic has felled half of Landsberg, West Germany, and Steve suspects germ warfare.
May 18, 1951 Trinidad-Operation Hotfoot Listen (FLAC)
Steve is sent to Trinidad on the mysterious 'Operation Hotfoot.'
June 19, 1951 Japan-Mr. Big Listen (FLAC)
June 26, 1951 Italy-Continental Defense Corp. Listen (FLAC)
July 3, 1951 Latin-Sunflower Seeds Listen (FLAC)
In South America, Steve works to save a fragile democracy after an American is accused of killing a local politician.
July 10, 1951 Luzon-Smuggling Operation Listen (FLAC)
July 17, 1951 (untitled)
July 24, 1951 (untitled)
July 31, 1951 (untitled)
August 7, 1951 (untitled)
August 14, 1951 (untitled)
August 21, 1951 (untitled)
August 28, 1951 (untitled)
September 4, 1951 (untitled)
September 11, 1951 (untitled)
September 18, 1951 (untitled)
September 25, 1951 (untitled)
October 6, 1951 (untitled)
October 13, 1951 (untitled)
October 20, 1951 (untitled)
October 27, 1951 (untitled)
November 3, 1951 Nazi Fugitive Captain Shiller Listen (MP3)
November 10, 1951 (untitled)
November 17, 1951 (untitled)
November 24, 1951 (untitled)
December 1, 1951 (untitled)
December 8, 1951 (untitled)
December 15, 1951 (untitled)
December 22, 1951 (untitled)
December 31, 1951 (untitled)

1952

January 7, 1952 (untitled)
January 14, 1952 (untitled)
January 21, 1952 (untitled)
January 28, 1952 (untitled)
February 4, 1952 (untitled)
February 11, 1952 (untitled)
February 18, 1952 (untitled)
February 25, 1952 (untitled)
March 3, 1952 (untitled)
March 10, 1952 Australia Adventure Listen (FLAC)
In Darwin, Australia, Steve investigates a murder and grows suspicious of a club -- the one held by a wooden Indian.
March 17, 1952 (untitled)
March 24, 1952 (untitled)
March 31, 1952 (untitled)
April 7, 1952 (untitled)
April 14, 1952 (untitled)
April 21, 1952 (untitled)
April 28, 1952 (untitled)
May 5, 1952 (untitled)
May 12, 1952 (untitled)
May 19, 1952 (untitled)
May 26, 1952 (untitled)
June 2, 1952 (untitled)
June 9, 1952 (untitled)
June 16, 1952 (untitled)
June 23, 1952 (untitled)
June 30, 1952 (untitled)
July 14, 1952 (untitled)
July 28, 1952 (untitled)
August 4, 1952 (untitled)
August 11, 1952 (untitled)
August 18, 1952 (untitled)
August 25, 1952 Port Said Listen (MP3)
September 1, 1952 (untitled)
September 8, 1952 (untitled)
September 15, 1952 (untitled)
September 22, 1952 (untitled)
September 29, 1952 (untitled)
October 8, 1952 The Underground Press Listen (FLAC)
October 15, 1952 Thief Spotted in Indonesia Listen (FLAC)
October 22, 1952 Butterfly Chasers Listen (FLAC)
October 29, 1952 Havana Listen (MP3)
November 5, 1952 Havana-Smuggling Ring Listen (FLAC)
November 12, 1952 Turkey-Secret Survey File Listen (FLAC)
In Istanbul, Steve chases a stolen survey of Europe's defenses, his life riding on a handful of ashes.
November 19, 1952 Bring Back Emerson Listen (FLAC)
November 26, 1952 Peddling Secret Information Listen (FLAC)
December 3, 1952 Protection Racket Listen (FLAC)
December 10, 1952 Riot Listen (FLAC)
December 17, 1952 Turkey-Road Sabotage Listen (FLAC)
December 24, 1952 Usa-A Trip Down the Hall Listen (MP3)
December 31, 1952 Atomic Secrets Listen (MP3)

1953

January 7, 1953 Colonel Chan Listen (FLAC)
January 14, 1953 Blue Lion-London Listen (FLAC)
January 21, 1953 Cairo-Leak of Strategic Materials Listen (FLAC)
January 28, 1953 Nail Cold Blooded Killer Listen (FLAC)
A Mexico City manhunt has Steve pursuing the wrong man to corner a globe-trotting assassin who hides behind the name Mr. Charon.
February 4, 1953 Missing Scientist Listen (FLAC)
An American scientist, Arnold Fried, is being held captive in Greece -- and springing him is Steve's job.
February 11, 1953 Patch Upquarrel Listen (FLAC)
In the Belgian Congo, Steve steps between two women feuding over a strategic-mineral mine.
February 18, 1953 Kidnapping Listen (FLAC)
A kidnapping in Tokyo -- Dr. Mitsuoko has vanished -- puts Steve on the trail of whoever took him.
February 25, 1953 Blackmarket - Mediterranian Organization Listen (FLAC)
Posing as a jewel thief in Nice, Steve infiltrates a Mediterranean black-market gang.
March 4, 1953 Find Peter Metnich Listen (FLAC)
In Germany, Steve searches for Peter Metnick, the one man who can identify a wanted Nazi killer.
March 11, 1953 Find Ghost Ship Listen (FLAC)
March 18, 1953 Bureau Stolen Information Listen (FLAC)
Steve flies to Oslo to break up 'The Bureau,' a ring trafficking in stolen information.
March 25, 1953 Lisbon Listen (FLAC)
April 1, 1953 Caribbean Listen (FLAC)
April 8, 1953 Paris Listen (FLAC)
April 15, 1953 Tibet Listen (FLAC)
Steve heads to India on the trail of Lenny Fenway, an airline operator who flew off to Tibet.
April 22, 1953 London Listen (FLAC)
In London, Steve sets a trap for a traitor sending political refugees back behind the Iron Curtain -- by guarding a man who doesn't exist.
April 29, 1953 New Guinea Listen (FLAC)
In Rabaul, New Guinea, Steve moves to stop the sabotage of an American anti-submarine project after a freighter is blown up.
May 6, 1953 Trieste Listen (FLAC)
Rome sends Steve after a ring funneling strategic materials to the far side of the Iron Curtain.
May 13, 1953 Cairo Listen (FLAC)
In Cairo, Steve tries to keep talks with the Egyptian government from being sabotaged, chasing a lead to a shop and a jade knife.
May 20, 1953 Oslo, Norway Listen (FLAC)
Steve's Oslo assignment: get back the stolen design for a new Navy computer.
May 27, 1953 Parlor Games Listen (FLAC)
A Havana manhunt pits Steve against a poisoner-for-hire, with a Southern woman and a game of hide-and-seek helping turn the tables.
June 3, 1953 (untitled)
June 10, 1953 (untitled)
June 24, 1953 Grab James C. Stoller Listen (FLAC)
Steve's Damascus job is to grab James Stoller, an American on the run from a murder charge.
July 1, 1953 Anthony Targu Listen (FLAC)
Sent to Montreal, Steve digs into whether crime boss Anthony Targu actually died -- and where a vanished plastic surgeon fits in.
July 8, 1953 Picking Up a Bomb Listen (FLAC)
The Story

Dangerous Assignment sent film tough-guy Brian Donlevy around the world every week as Steve Mitchell, the go-anywhere troubleshooter of an unnamed State Department agency. Briefed by "the Commissioner" (Herb Butterfield) and working under cover as a foreign correspondent, Mitchell dropped into the Cold War's danger zones -- Cairo, Saigon, Berlin, the Balkans -- to untangle smuggling, sabotage, stolen secrets and murder, narrating each half-hour himself in a clipped, hard-boiled first person. NBC launched the show as a seven-week summer tryout in 1949, then brought it back in February 1950 for a full run that lasted until July 1953. Writers Robert Ryf and Adrian Gendot supplied the globe-hopping scripts, Bill Karn directed, and Bruce Ashley's driving theme set the pace, while a deep bench of West Coast radio actors -- William Conrad, Raymond Burr, Paul Frees, Betty Lou Gerson and many more -- filled the guest roles. Often unsponsored and used by NBC as a promotional lead-in to The Man Called X, it nonetheless built a loyal audience and carried Donlevy from radio into a 1952 television version he produced himself. Fast, exotic and reliably suspenseful, Dangerous Assignment is a clear prototype of the international-agent thrillers that would take over screens a decade later.

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