Episode 198 - Ace of Spades (Voyage of the Scarlet Queen & Sam Spade)

Howard Duff made the role of Sam Spade his own, bringing the San Francisco shamus to radio life from 1946 until 1950. With a blend of wry humor and hard-boiled atmosphere, The Adventures of Sam Spade holds up as one of the all-time great radio detective shows, thanks in no small part to the man in the title role. In honor of his birthday, we'll hear Duff as Spade in "The Dry Martini Caper" (originally aired on CBS on August 1, 1948) and "The Sugar Kane Caper" (originally aired on CBS on October 3, 1948). We'll also hear him as Captain Philip Kearney in the audition program for the high seas adventure The Voyage of the Scarlet Queen .