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The Adventures of Sam Spade

Description

The Adventures of Sam Spade, Detective was a radio series loosely based on Dashiell Hammett's private detective. It aired on ABC, CBS, and NBC from 1946 to 1951 and starred Howard Duff, later Steve Dunne, with Lurene Tuttle as Effie.

The Adventures of Sam Spade, Detective was a radio series based loosely on the private detective character Sam Spade, created by writer Dashiell Hammett for The Maltese Falcon. The show ran for 13 episodes on ABC in 1946, for 157 episodes on CBS in 1946–1949, and finally for 75 episodes on NBC in 1949–1951. The series starred Howard Duff as Sam Spade and Lurene Tuttle as his secretary Effie, and took a considerably more tongue-in-cheek approach to the character than the novel or movie. The announcer was Dick Joy. Spade's greetings and farewells to Effie are a recurring motif on the show. Keeping with this, period standard ”Goodnight Sweetheart” was used as the closing theme of each episode.

Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Updated Jun 4, 2026.

Cast & Crew

D

Dick Joy

Announcer

A

Alan Reed (aka Teddy Bergman)

Cast

Betty Lou Gerson

Mary Jane Croft

P

Pierre Garriguenc

Musician

Rene Garriguenc

Robert Armbruster

Dashiell Hammett

Writer March 1947 - June 19 1949

Sam Spade 46-07-12 to 50-09-17

Writer July 12 1946 - March 1947

Lucien Moraweck

R

Robert 'Bob' Tallman

Writer July 12 1946 - June 19 1949

S

Stephen 'Steve' Dunne

Sam Spade (1950/11/17 - 1951/4/27)

Lt. Dundy (1950/11/17 - 1951/4/27)

A

Ann Lorraine

Writer

John Michael Hayes

References

“Radio Drama - A Comprehensive Chronicle of American Network Programs, 1932-1962.” Grams Jr., Martin, n.d.

Hickerson, Jay. The 4th Revised Ultimate History of Network Radio Programming and Guide to ALL Circulating Shows.

Paulson, Roger C. Archives of the Airwaves (7 Volumes). The Old Radio Times.

Lackmann, Ron. The Encyclopedia of American Radio.

Dunning, John. On the Air : The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Sperdvac Radiogram.

“RADIO PROGRAMS SCHEDULED FOR THE CURRENT WEEK.” New York Times, March 17, 1929.

“RADIO PROGRAMS SCHEDULED FOR THE CURRENT WEEK New York.” New York Times, October 6, 1929.

Terrace, Vincent. Radio's Golden Years - The Encyclopedia of Radio Programs 1930-1960. Collector's Corner.

“Today's Radio Program.” New York Times, January 1, 1927.

Links

Digitaldelitwo Thrilling Detective The Golden Age of Radio: Program 44: November, 1973 - Howard Duff Theme - Introduction Introduction/Theme Song Lurene Tuttle Entering The Mind's Eye Radio's Sam Spade Private Eyes by James F. Widner Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs Old Time Radio Program Logs By Frank Passage and Others Advert The Golden Age of Radio: Program 8 - November, 1970 - William Spier and June Havoc William Spier: Genius Photo HDuff/JHavoc Modern Hawkshaw Audio Classics Archive Library Files

Broadcasts