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Mystery-detective drama · Blue / NBC / Mutual

The Adventures of the Falcon

November 13, 1945 – May 31, 1954 · 140 broadcasts

The Adventures of the Falcon followed Michael Waring -- the smooth troubleshooter known as the Falcon -- through a fresh case every week, and it opened the same way each time: a telephone ringing, a woman's voice the audience never heard, and Waring answering in a light, half-British drawl before easing into the night's trouble. The radio Falcon was Drexel Drake's hard-boiled investigator, not the gentleman amateur of the RKO films (that was Michael Arlen's Gay Lawrence), though the producers were happy to let listeners blur the two. Produced in New York by Bernard L. Schubert, the series drew on the city's deep bench of radio talent and ran for roughly a decade -- from the Blue Network in 1943 across Mutual and NBC and back to Mutual in 1954. Michael Waring was voiced in turn by Berry Kroeger, James Meighan, Les Tremayne, Les Damon and George Petrie; Nancy his secretary and a rotating squad of exasperated police sergeants filled out the world. The tone mixed danger, romance and wisecracks in roughly equal measure, with the Falcon trading sarcasm with slow-footed cops. Late in the run the character drifted from private eye to Army Intelligence agent, jetting to Berlin, Cairo and Casablanca -- the same Cold-War turn producer Schubert would carry into the 1954-55 television series with Charles McGraw.

Collection status: 89 of 140 held (64% complete)
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Episode Spine

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

1945

November 13, 1945 Murder Knows No Borderline
November 27, 1945 Murder Is a Family Affair Listen (MP3)
A death-house electrocution opens a case that ties one family to murder, drawing Michael Waring into a rain-soaked New York night; the same script was remounted three years on with a fresh company.

1948

November 1, 1948 Murder Is a Bad Bluff Listen (MP3)
A woman's fiance turns out to be a jewel thief feeding her a smooth line -- and the Falcon is closing in before the man winds up dead.

1949

February 20, 1949 Murder Is a Knockout Listen (MP3)
A woman skips town with $75,000 and murder follows close behind, drawing the Falcon into a ringside tangle of greed and killing.

1950

May 14, 1950 The Case of the Amorous Bookkeeper Listen (MP3)
A bookkeeper is blamed for looting his employer's accounts -- then the boss himself turns up murdered.
May 21, 1950 The Case of the Frozen Lettuce Listen (MP3)
August 23, 1950 The Case of the Larcenous Lark Listen (MP3)
A songwriter's business-minded manager skims a few thousand dollars just before the composer is found dead.
August 30, 1950 The Case of the Disappearing Doll Listen (MP3)
After an $80,000 payroll heist, the crooks' own moll double-crosses them, and one hires the Falcon to track her and the money.
September 3, 1950 The Case of the Quarrelsome Quartet Listen (MP3)
A woman learns her ex-mobster boyfriend is in deep trouble, and she and the Falcon find a fresh corpse waiting in his apartment.
September 10, 1950 TCOT Worried Champion Listen (MP3)
September 17, 1950 (untitled)
September 24, 1950 TCOT Friendly Target Listen (MP3)
October 1, 1950 TCOT Talented Twins Listen (MP3)
October 8, 1950 The Case of the Unnecessary Knife
October 15, 1950 The Case of the Careless Client Listen (MP3)
The Falcon is framed for the Brooklyn shooting of a Greek-accented tough guy, in a case that turns on a surprise ending.
October 22, 1950 The Case of the Double Nephews Listen (MP3)
A passed-over employee steals a quarter-million in jewels and kills to cover it, only for the supposed victim to walk back in.
October 29, 1950 The Case of the Double Exposure Listen (MP3)
A cheap contract killing unravels when a scheming beauty's two-million-dollar windfall hinges on a dead man who won't stay dead.
November 5, 1950 The Case of the Rich Racketeer Listen (MP3)
A racketeer freshly acquitted of tax evasion makes enemies of everyone around him and is soon found shot; the Falcon sorts the suspects.
November 12, 1950 The Case of the Widow's Gorilla Listen (MP3)
November 19, 1950 The Case of the Puzzling Pinup Listen (MP3)
A news photographer's half-million-dollar pictures leave a trail of bodies -- and a confession that ends in another killing.
November 26, 1950 The Case of the Stooge's Errand Listen (MP3)
A swindling fight promoter is murdered after fleecing a prizefighter, and one of his marks is left holding the blame.
December 3, 1950 The Case of the Harried Husband Listen (MP3)
A double-dealing gambler who played the horses and women alike finally gets exactly what he has coming.
December 10, 1950 The Case of the Raw Deal Listen (MP3)
After a $65,000 hold-up at a hotel poker game, the Falcon suspects one of the players quietly dealt himself in.
December 17, 1950 The Case of the Baby Brother Listen (MP3)
A brother's suicide, a greedy woman's murder, and a neat frame-up put the Falcon himself in the frame.
December 24, 1950 The Case of the Unwelcome Christmas Gift Listen (MP3)
Two days before Christmas, a last-minute shopper stunned by the prices catches the watchful eye of a delivery driver in this holiday case.

1951

January 7, 1951 The Case of the Invisible Thug Listen (MP3)
A shooter hires the Falcon to clear him of the very killing he committed -- and a hidden tape recorder gives the game away.
January 14, 1951 The Case of the Happy Hoodlum Listen (MP3)
A jailbreak scheme curdles into murder when the men desperate to get out decide killing is the way through.
January 21, 1951 The Case of the Substitute Target Listen (MP3)
The Falcon stops a run of gangland rub-outs by out-maneuvering the double-crosser who has marked him for death.
January 28, 1951 The Case of the Bellicose Boxer Listen (MP3)
A rising boxing prodigy draws the Falcon ringside, where one face in the fight crowd belongs to a killer.
February 4, 1951 The Case of the Neighbor's Nightmare Listen (MP3)
A man who fancies himself a lady-killer may mean the phrase literally, and the Falcon aims to stop him first.
February 11, 1951 The Case of the Mighty Muscle Listen (MP3)
February 18, 1951 The Case of the Superfluous Murder Listen (MP3)
A gun holds one bullet too many -- and so, it seems, does the corpse -- when the Falcon counts up a curious murder.
February 25, 1951 The Case of the Practical Chocker Listen (MP3)
A man who publicly threatened the victim looks guilty until the widow remarries barely half a day after the killing.
March 4, 1951 The Case of the Gangster's Girl Listen (MP3)
A woman wants out of a romance her possessive boyfriend refuses to end, and the Falcon works to keep it from ending in murder.
March 11, 1951 The Case of the Un-Silent Butler Listen (MP3)
At an oil tycoon's office, a self-styled practical joker decides the biggest bang in life comes from a loaded gun.
March 18, 1951 The Case of the Witty Widow Listen (MP3)
March 25, 1951 The Case of the Talented Texan Listen (MP3)
After a slow stretch, fresh trouble finds the Falcon when a woman sets out to give him 'the business.'
April 1, 1951 The Case of the Worried Wife Listen (MP3)
April 8, 1951 The Case of the Carved Ham Listen (MP3)
A jealous boss, a kidnapping, and a brutal disfigurement lead the Falcon to a killer determined to keep his girl.
April 15, 1951 The Case of the Shopkeeper's Gun Listen (MP3)
A tense hotel-room shakedown over money owed sets the Falcon on the trail of a shopkeeper's deadly debt.
April 22, 1951 The Case of the Missing Miss Listen (MP3)
A senator's suicide and a shadowy oil company send the Falcon hunting for the truth about a woman named Jean Colbert.
April 29, 1951 The Case of the Big Talker Listen (MP3)
A loudmouthed out-of-towner is murdered, forcing the Falcon to manufacture an alibi to get at the real killer.
May 6, 1951 The Case of the Flaming Club Listen (MP3)
A club owner is found dead in his own burning nightclub, and suspicion settles on a too-curious bartender.
May 13, 1951 The Case of the Dutch Doll Listen (MP3)
A stormy New York night and one very dangerous 'doll' teach the Falcon that some playthings are lethal.
May 20, 1951 The Case of the Curious Cop Listen (MP3)
Police corruption and a murder with no corpse lead the Falcon to ask who really killed a cop on the take.
May 27, 1951 The Case of the Unwelcome Wife Listen (MP3)
A club manager's $90,000 embezzlement drags the Falcon into a sham marriage -- and a real killing.
June 6, 1951 The Case of the Proud Papa Listen (MP3)
A man certain he has found a fortune learns from the Falcon that no million dollars is worth killing for.
June 13, 1951 The Case of the Sweet Swindle Listen (MP3)
A hurried swindler convinced he has beaten a murder rap is in for a very rude shock.
June 20, 1951 The Case of the Broken Fingerprint Listen (MP3)
A wife waits alone in a darkened apartment, and a single smudged fingerprint cracks the Falcon's case.
June 27, 1951 The Case of the Nervous Shakedown Listen (MP3)
A seedy tip about a 'sure thing' partnership walks the Falcon straight into a barroom shakedown.
July 4, 1951 The Case of Everybody's Gun Listen (MP3)
When the Falcon's client is killed before paying his fee, Waring settles the account in justice instead.
July 11, 1951 The Case of the Vanishing Varmint Listen (MP3)
An escaped convict returns to New York for his girl, his stolen bonds, and revenge on the Falcon.
July 18, 1951 The Case of the Cautious Cousin Listen (MP3)
A man plots to poison his cousin over cocktails, but his tidy little scheme goes badly off the rails.
July 25, 1951 The Case of the Plenty Twenty Listen (MP3)
A man far too proud of his own cleverness is beaten to death, and the Falcon sets out to find who bettered him.
August 1, 1951 The Case of the Hypocritical Patient Listen (MP3)
A sleepless hypochondriac is in line for a cure of lead unless the Falcon can intervene in time.
August 8, 1951 The Case of the Bashful Boss
The Falcon squares off with a crowd who believe a dangerous rival is best silenced by a bullet.
August 15, 1951 The Case of the Loose Lip Listen (MP3)
A young loudmouth's cheap talk looks certain to get him killed, and the Falcon steps in before it does.
August 22, 1951 The Case of the Beautiful Bait Listen (MP3)
A beauty the Falcon turned away is strangled, and a tell-all boxing book ties her death to a fighter's suicide.
August 29, 1951 (untitled)
October 18, 1951 (untitled)
October 25, 1951 (untitled)
November 1, 1951 (untitled)
November 8, 1951 (untitled)
November 15, 1951 (untitled)
November 22, 1951 (untitled)
A man convinced murder is a shortcut to a fortune tests whether the Falcon can talk him back from the edge.
November 29, 1951 (untitled)
December 6, 1951 (untitled)
December 13, 1951 (untitled)
December 20, 1951 The Case of the Unwelcome Christmas Gift
A bargain 'stolen' fur bought two days before Christmas lands a shopper in a lethal holiday tangle -- a restaging of the 1950 Christmas show.
December 27, 1951 (untitled)

1952

January 3, 1952 (untitled)
January 10, 1952 (untitled)
January 17, 1952 (untitled)
January 24, 1952 (untitled)
January 31, 1952 (untitled)
February 7, 1952 (untitled)
February 14, 1952 The Case of the Missing Patient
A kindly doctor who patches up a wounded criminal is murdered, and the trail ends in a subway shootout.
February 17, 1952 Tcot Missing Patient Listen (MP3)
February 21, 1952 The Case of the Gold Ring
The Falcon's long-overdue Florida vacation turns deadly before he can so much as pack a bag.
February 24, 1952 Tcot Gold Ring Listen (MP3)
February 28, 1952 The Case of the Natural Seven
A gambling debt and one fatal roll of the dice send the Falcon after a very natural-looking murder.
March 2, 1952 Tcot Natural Seven Listen (MP3)
March 6, 1952 The Case of the Killer's Key
A witness against his tax-cheat boss is silenced in his own flat before he can run for California.
March 9, 1952 Tcot Killers Key Listen (MP3)
March 13, 1952 The Case of the Grand Gamble
A shabby tenement supper is the last meal a doomed couple will ever share, and the Falcon learns why.
March 16, 1952 Tcot Grand Gamble Listen (MP3)
March 20, 1952 The Case of the Murdering Misses
March 23, 1952 Tcot Murdering Missus Listen (MP3)
March 27, 1952 The Case of the Strong Sister
A woman brings the Falcon a proposition so strange he cannot touch it without risking the noose.
April 3, 1952 The Case of the Deadly Dame
April 6, 1952 Tcot Deadly Dame Listen (MP3)
Shady high-finance schemes and a sleepless mark add up to murder in this partial surviving recording.
April 10, 1952 The Case of the Handy Helpmate
April 13, 1952 Tcot Handy Helpmate Listen (MP3)
A too-friendly business proposition brought to the Falcon carries the unmistakable smell of murder.
April 17, 1952 The Case of the Jumping Jack
A woman hires the Falcon to find who is shadowing her -- her own husband's detective -- and is murdered soon after.
April 20, 1952 Tcot Jumping Jack Listen (MP3)
April 24, 1952 The Case of the Weeping Willow
April 27, 1952 Tcot Weeping Willow Listen (MP3)
May 1, 1952 The Case of the Fatal Fix
A killer careless enough to leave a body behind hands the Falcon exactly the giveaway he needs.
May 4, 1952 Tcot Fatal Fix Listen (MP3)
May 8, 1952 The Case of the King of Hearts
A deadly game of bridge, in which one player means to trump another man's queen for keeps.
May 11, 1952 Tcot King Of Hearts Listen (MP3)
May 15, 1952 The Case of the Falling Star
A hard-drinking screen tough-guy's private hotel performance turns fatal, and the Falcon takes the case.
May 18, 1952 Tcot Falling Star Listen (MP3)
May 22, 1952 The Case of the Happy Hoodlum
A jailbreak slides into murder while the Falcon's friends plan him a surprise party -- a restaging of the 1951 episode.
May 25, 1952 Tcot Happy Hoodlum Listen (MP3)
May 29, 1952 The Case of the Burning Bridges
A $70,000 offer for a Buddha statue packed with contraband pulls the Falcon into smuggling and murder.
June 1, 1952 Tcot Burning Bridges Listen (MP3)
June 5, 1952 The Case of the Dirty Dollars
The Falcon announces he is quitting the detective business, just as a fresh murder refuses to let him walk away.
June 8, 1952 Tcot Dirty Dollar Listen (MP3)
June 12, 1952 The Case of the Strong Sister
June 19, 1952 The Case of the Vanishing Visa
June 22, 1952 Tcot Vanishing Visa Listen (MP3)
June 26, 1952 The Case of the Menacing Mamselle
A charming young Frenchwoman proves far more dangerous than any weapon in a Paris-flavored murder.
June 29, 1952 Tcot Menacing Mamselle Listen (MP3)
July 3, 1952 The Case of the Babbling Brooks
July 6, 1952 Tcot Babbling Brooks Listen (MP3)
In London, the Falcon must break the alibi of a killer who swears he was lost in the fog.
July 10, 1952 The Case of the Running Waters
July 13, 1952 Tcot Running Waters Listen (MP3)
The Falcon's assignment in Rome teaches him that Italian hospitality can conceal cold-blooded murder.
July 17, 1952 The Case of the King of Club's
July 20, 1952 Tcot King Of Clubs Listen (MP3)
Now working for Army Intelligence, the Falcon lands in Berlin, where a card game masks a killing.
July 24, 1952 The Case of the Broken Key
Army Intelligence flies the Falcon to Casablanca to unlock a Communist agent's deadly secret.
July 27, 1952 Tcot Broken Key Listen (MP3)
July 31, 1952 The Case of the Lonely Hunter
In Cairo, the Falcon investigates a 'pyramid club' that settles its accounts in bullets.
August 3, 1952 Tcot Lonely Hunter Listen (MP3)
August 7, 1952 The Case of the Rolling Stones
Army Intelligence sends the Falcon to Sicily to stop a knife-wielding killer running wild.
August 10, 1952 Tcot Rolling Stones Listen (MP3)
August 14, 1952 The Case of the Gorgeous Greek
The Falcon's assignment in Athens heats up fast when a Greek beauty turns lethal.
August 17, 1952 Tcot Gorgeous Greek Listen (MP3)
August 21, 1952 The Case of the Silent Butler
In Lisbon, the Falcon hunts a woman playing fast and loose with American secrets.
August 24, 1952 Tcot Silent Butler Listen (MP3)
August 28, 1952 The Case of the Careless Corpse
The Falcon races to shield a German rocket scientist in Berlin before a sinister agent can seize him.
August 31, 1952 Tcot Careless Corpse Listen (MP3)
September 7, 1952 The Case of the Jack of Diamonds Listen (MP3)
Sent to London, the Falcon finds a gambler whose marked cards are dealing in murder.
September 14, 1952 The Case of the Strawberry Blonde Listen (MP3)
Billed as the series' final show, the Falcon's Paris assignment closes the run on one last murder.

1953

June 15, 1953 Tcot Treacherous Trio Listen (MP3)
June 22, 1953 Tcot Ace Of Spades Listen (MP3)
July 6, 1953 Tcot Faded Rose Listen (MP3)

1954

February 8, 1954 Tcot Wondering Wife Listen (MP3)
April 12, 1954 Tcot Big Fix Listen (MP3)
May 31, 1954 Tcot Snappy Snapshots Listen (MP3)
The Story

The Adventures of the Falcon followed Michael Waring -- the smooth troubleshooter known as the Falcon -- through a fresh case every week, and it opened the same way each time: a telephone ringing, a woman's voice the audience never heard, and Waring answering in a light, half-British drawl before easing into the night's trouble. The radio Falcon was Drexel Drake's hard-boiled investigator, not the gentleman amateur of the RKO films (that was Michael Arlen's Gay Lawrence), though the producers were happy to let listeners blur the two. Produced in New York by Bernard L. Schubert, the series drew on the city's deep bench of radio talent and ran for roughly a decade -- from the Blue Network in 1943 across Mutual and NBC and back to Mutual in 1954. Michael Waring was voiced in turn by Berry Kroeger, James Meighan, Les Tremayne, Les Damon and George Petrie; Nancy his secretary and a rotating squad of exasperated police sergeants filled out the world. The tone mixed danger, romance and wisecracks in roughly equal measure, with the Falcon trading sarcasm with slow-footed cops. Late in the run the character drifted from private eye to Army Intelligence agent, jetting to Berlin, Cairo and Casablanca -- the same Cold-War turn producer Schubert would carry into the 1954-55 television series with Charles McGraw.

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