The Adventures of Philip Marlowe

About The Adventures of Philip Marlowe

The Adventures of Philip Marlowe was a radio series featuring Raymond Chandler's private eye, Philip Marlowe. Robert C. Reinehr and Jon D. Swartz, in their book, The A to Z of Old Time Radio, noted that the program differed from most others in its genre: "It was a more hard-boiled program than many of the other private detective shows of the time, containing few quips or quaint characters."The program first aired 17 June 1947 on NBC radio under the title The New Adventures of Philip Marlowe, with Van Heflin playing Marlowe. The show was a summer replacement for Bob Hope. The first episode adapted Chandler's short story "Red Wind". The NBC series ended 9 September 1947.In 1948, the series moved to CBS, where it was called The Adventure of Philip Marlowe, with Gerald Mohr playing Marlowe. This series also began with an adaptation of "Red Wind", using a script different from the NBC adaptation. By 1949, it had the largest audience in radio. The CBS version ran for 114 episodes. That series ran 26 September 1948 – 29 September 1950.From 7 July 1951 to 15 September 1951, the program was a summer replacement for Hopalong Cassidy. Mohr played Marlowe in all but one of the CBS shows. He was replaced by William Conrad in the 1950 episode, "The Anniversary Gift".The episode "The Birds on the Wing" (aired 11-26-49) is especially notable for its beginning and ending, both uncharacteristically breaking the fourth wall. It opens with Marlowe saying he is currently reading "Chandler's latest The Little Sister" – thus a fictional character claims to be reading an actual book in which he is the main character. Even more surreal was the ending, in which Marlowe returns to his apartment to find Gracie Allen – who asks Marlowe to find her husband George Burns a radio show on which he can sing!

Publisher

EntertainmentRadioBD

Category

fiction · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

30 Jul 2019

Latest episode

12 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

2 of 105 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   12 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Good Neighbor Policy

   Philip Marlowe navigates a complex case involving a "Good Neighbor Policy" in this gripping episode.

2. 

   30 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Night Tide

3. 

   19 Sept 2026

   King in Yellow

Inside a recent episode

Good Neighbor Policy

Published 12 Oct 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] Minter. No, lady, I don't have hiccups either. Well, someone hiccuped and it wasn't me. Oh, but no matter. I just came out for my paper. I won't keep you gentlemen. I know you must be off somewhere. And it's such a lovely morning. I don't believe it's as warm today to you. Seems warmer to me somehow. No, no, I don't believe it is. Do you, Mr. Minter? Look, lady, we're in a hurry. Well, I'm sure I'm not keeping you. I must say, I was just trying to do the neighborly thing, that's all. Yeah, I... I was saying to Mrs. Evans just the other day, what happened to the old-fashioned good neighbor policy? […]

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.8 / 5

49 ratings

Contact The Adventures of Philip Marlowe

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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