Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

Episode 640 – Come Fly With Me (Boston Blackie, Harry Lime, & Johnny Dollar) Date: October 19, 2025
Host: Mean Streets Podcasts

Overview and Main Theme

In this episode, the host presents a trio of classic radio detective stories, all centered around the theme of air travel and mysteries in flight. The lineup features:

1. Boston Blackie: A safecracker-turned-detective whose plane disappears under suspicious circumstances.
2. The Lives of Harry Lime: Orson Welles returns as the rakish Harry Lime, this time dabbling in legit (and less-legit) charter flights.
3. Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar: In a five-part serial, Johnny investigates a Mexican plane crash that’s anything but accidental.

The episode offers not just suspenseful plots but also character-driven intrigue, unexpected humor, and memorable lines.

Segment 1: Boston Blackie – Mystery in the Skies

[Starts ~07:00]

Summary

• Boston Blackie, once a crook, now detective, collects evidence to convict gangster Johnny Barnes.
• Blackie claims he will fly home with a crucial piece of evidence (a murder weapon) and send it to Inspector Faraday via air mail.
• His friends and Faraday await his arrival—but Blackie’s plane mysteriously vanishes; he is listed as the only passenger.
• As tension rises at the airport, Blackie suddenly calls to reveal he never boarded the flight. He took the train instead after his reservation was mysteriously cancelled.

Key Insights & Developments

• The missing plane carried only one passenger.
• Blackie deduces Barnes’ gang orchestrated the disappearance to recover the incriminating gun before it reached the police.
• Blackie suspects Barnes’ associate, Gus Johnson (a daredevil pilot), impersonated him and took control of the plane, suggesting the plane was either hidden or crashed intentionally.
• The stakes are raised as Johnson, while recovering from a suspicious accident, is murdered in the hospital to tie up loose ends.

Notable Quotes

• Inspector Faraday:
  "Blackie, be careful, will you? Barnes’s pals aren’t the friendly type. They not only want to get that gun, they’re gonna want to get you." — [09:35]

• Blackie (to Faraday):
  "A plane just doesn’t disappear, Faraday. Apparently, you’ve been reading too many spook stories." — [22:10]

• Blackie (on Johnson):
  “That baby has a record of 11 arrests and three convictions.” — [36:00]

Highlights and Memorable Moments

• The “vanishing plane” twist: The plane leaves with only one passenger, who is pretending to be Blackie.
• The reveal: Blackie swapped his plans after a suspicious “cancellation,” avoiding a murder attempt and outwitting Barnes.
• The final play: Blackie never actually mailed the murder gun—he bluffed with a decoy and hands Faraday the real weapon in person, sealing the killer’s fate.

Segment 2: The Lives of Harry Lime – “The Hard Way”

[Starts ~50:00]

Summary

• Harry Lime (Orson Welles) turns to the “legitimate” business of running a charter flight service in post-war Europe… or as legitimate as Harry Lime gets.
• With his partner Moe, he attempts to keep on the straight and narrow, constantly dogged by suspicion from authorities across Europe due to his criminal past.
• The story features humorous and sharp exchanges with a French aviation official, who’s both skeptical and resigned to watching Harry like a hawk.
• Harry's first customer (a supposed “Butter Boy”) charters a flight but then sends only an envelope of money and a message, resulting in Harry inadvertently smuggling a teenage stowaway—his "client's" runaway niece, Hyacinth.

Key Insights & Developments

• The narrative satirizes both bureaucracy and the struggle of "going straight" for someone with a criminal reputation.
• The charter business is far from lucrative—Harry and Moe constantly struggle with suspicion and lack of customers.
• The appearance of Hyacinth, the stowaway, adds chaos as Harry must navigate rescue, custody disputes, and wild ransom schemes.

Notable Quotes

• French Official (to Harry):
  “Either you want to operate an honest charter service, or you are plotting something so deep, so sly, so crazy…” — [56:10]

• Harry Lime:
  “Quitting the racket, that’s okay, but we should have retired—not gone into legitimate business. It’s too dangerous.” — [59:35]

• Hyacinth (to Harry):
  “You know, I thought you ought to kidnap me. My uncle would pay almost anything just to get me to that girls' school." — [1:10:20]

Highlights and Memorable Moments

• The interview with the French official—equal parts comic and tense.
• Harry’s realization that sometimes “going straight” is harder and more perilous than a life of crime.
• Hyacinth’s zany "self-kidnap" plot, and the twist that Moe’s counterfeit $60,000 goes missing at her hands, leaving Harry and Moe no richer and far more exhausted.

Segment 3: Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar – “The Flight 6 Matter”

[Starts ~1:18:00, multi-episode serial summarized]

Summary

• Johnny Dollar is sent to Mexico to investigate why Flight 6 of Aztec Caribbean Lines exploded after takeoff, killing all 10 aboard.
• Initial suspicions: sabotage, possible insurance fraud, or a targeted murder with collateral victims.
• Three passengers had just purchased high-value flight policies; Johnny zeroes in on the beneficiaries with the help of local Inspector Maclin and suave Gino Romero.
• The investigation follows a complex web of suspects:
  • Maria Delagos: Victim; her Cuban husband Ramón stands to inherit.
  • Marvel Terrence: American socialite named beneficiary by two male “friends” who died; she herself canceled at the last minute and draws Johnny’s attention.
  • Bill Blakely: Surviving business partner, possible motive.
  • Don Serrano: Maria’s scheming brother, also a beneficiary.

Key Insights & Developments

• The cause of the crash is confirmed as a dynamite explosion planted in the baggage compartment.
• The baggage handler who loaded the suspicious suitcase is murdered, closing off a key lead.
• Johnny discovers that Marvel is being trailed and is herself at risk. Their interactions are flirtatious, probing, and tinged with fatalism.
• As all the suspects descend upon Acapulco, the investigation heats up, and while Johnny shares a tender evening with Marvel, she is murdered—pushed from a cliff into the surf.
• Amid betrayals, lies, and tense confrontations, the true killer—Ramón Delagos—is exposed, having orchestrated the bombing to kill his wife, claim her fortune, and clear the way for Marvel (who ultimately rebuffs him).
• In a deadly final confrontation, Ramón is killed after a desperate escape attempt, bringing a tragic resolution.

Notable Quotes and Moments

• Mac Macklin (to Johnny):
  “Somebody meant for it to [crash]. That plane blew up in midair.” — [1:23:10]

• Gino Romero (about Marvel):
  “She’s strange, but one always she look for danger… She has the charm. Death has never find her.” — [1:33:00]

• Marvel Terrence (to Johnny):
  “I think I’ve always been lonely…” — [1:48:00]

• Johnny Dollar (closing):
  “I’ll never see another sunset now without thinking of her… I hope she doesn’t feel alone anymore.” — [2:19:00]

Highlights and Memorable Moments

• The suspenseful discovery of the charred plane wreckage in the Mexican mountains.
• Tense interviews and red herrings involving all the surviving suspects.
• The Acapulco set piece: all key players converging in a hotbed of suspicion—then, sudden heartbreak with Marvel’s death.
• The final chase between Johnny and Ramón on the beach and in a boat; Johnny’s desperation, rage, and closure.

Podcast Host’s Personal Touches & Tone

• The host’s introductions and segues are filled with wry observations and fan-like enthusiasm (“I really want to get [Blackie’s] intro on a business card someday” — [02:04]), underscoring both a love of the genre and a sense of nostalgia.
• The tone is warm, inviting, and tinged with both amusement and appreciation for the stylistic flourishes and wild conceits of old time radio.
• Running themes of redemption, fate, and the sometimes blurring line between criminal and hero are highlighted with warmth and wit.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:00–06:00]: Podcast welcome, overview of the air travel theme, brief intros for each detective story.
• [07:00–50:00]: Boston Blackie—The vanished plane, investigation, and final reveal.
• [50:00–1:18:00]: The Lives of Harry Lime—From smuggler to charter pilot, the challenge of going straight, comic capers.
• [1:18:00–2:19:00]: Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar—The Flight 6 Matter, multi-part serial, investigation, heartbreak, and resolution.
• [02:19:00–End]: Host wraps up, previews, and sign-off; Vincent Price’s classic PSA.

Final Thoughts

Episode 640 – “Come Fly With Me” is a showcase of Golden Age radio storytelling at its most entertaining: mystery, intrigue, humor, and pathos, all woven around the romance and peril of air travel. The three stories reflect different angles—noir sleuth, charming rogue, and hardbitten insurance investigator—with memorable performances and clever plotting. The host’s thoughtful curation and playful commentary make this a treat for detectives old and new.

Memorable Moment & Closing Quote:
“I’ll never see another sunset now without thinking of her… I hope she doesn’t feel alone anymore.” — Johnny Dollar, [2:19:00]

(Summarized and structured for clarity and completeness. Timestamps approximate based on content flow.)