When Dashiell Hammett's "The Adventures of Sam Spade" made its debut over CBS in August of 1946, personable Howard Duff, a comparative unknown in Hollywood circles, was assigned the title role. The selection of young Duff for the hard-hitting detective was perfect casting, his success was immediate, and Hollywood began predicting important things to come for this new personality. Almost immediately the radio program became popular earning a steady weekly following of radio listeners who tuned in each week to enjoy the mysteries (occassionally adapted from Hammett short stories). The enormous success of the Sam Spade radio program spawned a series of comic strips, magazine articles and radio cross-overs, not to mention numerous radio programs attempting to cash in on the Sam Spade craze by offering Sam Spade imitators. By 1948, the threat of communism and Hammett's leanings were starting take its toll on the radio program. Bob Tallman and Gil Doud, the major script writers for the series, walked away from mental fatigue. The network wanted Hammett's name removed from the program. Duff's name appeared in the notorious "Red Channels" publication. Ultimately, the series was doomed. This book documents the entire history of the radio program, including all spin-offs, spoofs, Spade cross-overs, a complete episode guide for each and every radio broadcast with lengthy plot descriptions and trivia, an unusued radio script is reprinted, and much more.

The Radio Adventures of Sam Spade

Martin Grams

Humor & Entertainment

OTR Publishing

The first anthology of NEW fiction based on the beloved OTR characters and shows we know and love. 1. Our Miss Brooks - One Principal Too Many, One Principal Too Meanie by Clair Schulz 2. Tom Mix - Tom Mix And The Mystery Of The Bodiless Horseman by Jim Harmon 3. Candy Matson YUkon 2-8209 - The Japanese Sandman by Jack French 4. The Clyde Beatty Show - Perils of the Tiger Barn by Roger Smith 5. The Green Lama - The Case Of The Bashful Spider by Bob Martin 6. Sgt. Preston of the Yukon - A Call From the Storm by Jim Nixon 7. Quiet Please - The Cradle Of Peace by Martin Grams Jr. 8. The Halls of Ivy - A Matter of Ethics by Carol Tiffany 9. Captain Midnight - The Vanishing Ruby by Stephen A. Kallis Jr. 10. The Bickersons - You've Got Me, John by Ben Ohmart 11. Ma Perkins - The Letter From John by John Leasure 12. The Black Museum - The Ticket Stub by Michael Leannah 13. Honest Harold - Attack Of The Crawling Things From Outer Space by Justin Felix 14. Dimension X - Willoughby Goes and Gets It by Joe Bevilacqua &amp; Robert J. Cirasa 15. Lum &amp; Abner - A Pine Ridge Christmas Carol by Donnie Pitchford 16. Frontier Gentleman - One Card Draw by Michael Giorgio 17. Pat Novak, For Hire - A Poole of Blood by Stephen Jansen 18. Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar - The Paddy Rose Matter by Patrick W. Picciarelli 19. Rogue's Gallery - The Case of the Missing Bandleader by Bryan Powell 20. Inner Sanctum - Concerto in Death Major by Christopher Conlon

It's That Time Again!: The New Stories of Old-Time Radio

Literature & Fiction

Jim Harmon

Ben Ohmart

Humor & Satire

Bear Manor Media

The Green Hornet was one of radio's best-known and most distinctive adventure shows. Britt Reid, publisher of The Daily Sentinel, was in the position to learn facts about criminals that only the police had access. Armed with this knowledge, a gas gun that rendered foes momentarily unconscious, and a black speedster known as The Black Beauty, he donned the guise of The Green Hornet. Feared by the underworld and sought after by the police, the masked vigilante fought racketeers, gangsters and saboteurs. When the police were faced with red tape, The Green Hornet, with his sidekick Kato, his faithful valet, circumvented protocol and legal procedure in their determined battle to put away crooks. 
Since The Green Hornet first appeared on radio in 1936, he has made the transition to motion pictures, comics and television. Very little has been written about the masked marvel and what has been recorded in magazine articles and encyclopedias prior to this publication has never explored the character as deeply... or accurately. For the first time, the complete story of this crime fighter is unmasked, as prolific TV and radio historians Martin Grams and Terry Salomonson usher you into the Black Beauty. 
A complete history of the radio series from the creation to conception sketches, reprints from production files to the untold adventures, biographic details of the cast and the characters they played (including Mike Axford, Kato, Gunnigan, Lenore Case, Linda Travis, Ed Lowry, Clicker Binney, Commissioner Higgins, etc.) and background information is all provided under one cover. Also included are details of the two cliffhanger serials produced by Universal in the early forties, the unaired 1952 television pilot, the long-running popularity of the comic books and the William Dozier television series (1966-67) starring Van Williams and Bruce Lee. A complete episode guide documents every adventure including unproduced scripts and plot ideas. Whether you are a casual fan or a serious enthusiast of the series, here is everything you want to know about The Green Hornet!

THE GREEN HORNET: A History of Radio, Motion Pictures, Comics and Television

Terry Salomonson

The Shadow -- for the consideration of those who never heard a radio broadcast or read a pulp magazine -- was a supernatural sleuth with a sepulchral chuckle. A detective whose success in tracking down criminals became a popular long-running radio program from 1937 to 1954, after beginning a number of years before as a ghost-like voice introducing a bone-chilling murder play that concluded with a sinister laugh. The Shadow was originally the voice of conscience and it was through the fear he aroused in the minds of criminals that they exposed their own villainy or destroyed themselves. Never committing cold-blooded murder for the sake of justice, The Shadow suffered a harrowing existence of close calls and death-defying challenges. His exploits were many; a career paced by chase and gunplay. Werewolves, vampires, psychotic murderers, gangsters, mad scientists -- he battled them all. Looking back on the program today, it is hard to decipher which was more fun -- The Shadow's methods at plaguing a guilty conscience or the variety of horrors and villains he fought against. The program left an impression on adults who enjoyed reading the pulp magazines and on young children who listened to the chillers. Radio station KQW in San Jose, California, created its own radio advertisement to promote the station one depicting two children at play remarking, I don t want to be Napoleon any more I want to be The Shadow. The Shadow was inspiration to many, famous or fan. In his autobiography, Isaac Asimov fondly recounted filching the exciting yarns of The Shadow pulps from his sleeping father and replacing the magazine before he woke. Dick Ayers, creator of the Ghost Rider for the comics, admitted there was a blending of enthusiasm in his interpretations of the Ghost Rider's speech, influenced not by the pulp magazines, but by having been an avid fan of the radio program. Scriptwriters for the radio program later recycled their Shadow plots for novels and short stories -- Alfred Bester recycled one of his Shadow plots into the 1952 novel The Demolished Man, which won him a Hugo Award in 1953. This 800 page book documents the entire history of the long-running radio program, with rare never-before-seen photos, interviews with cast and crew, and a carefully organized presentation of the facts. Through extensive research of original radio scripts, newspapers on microfilm and various archives across the country, this book is sure to please both casual and devoted fans of The Shadow. An extensive episode guide with plot summaries and an index enhance the book's appeal.

THE SHADOW: The History and Mystery of the Radio Program, 1930 - 1954

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Books by Martin Grams

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Martin Grams. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Radio Adventures of Sam Spade

It's That Time Again!: The New Stories of Old-Time Radio

THE GREEN HORNET: A History of Radio, Motion Pictures, Comics and Television

THE SHADOW: The History and Mystery of the Radio Program, 1930 - 1954