Old Time Radio Espionage

Dangerous Assignment was a product of the Cold War, with mystery and intrigue cropping up across the globe. Steve Mitchell, an agent for an unnamed U.S. government agency, is dispatched to some exotic, faraway place at the beginning of each episode.

The second show of the series. Steve Mitchell’s next assignment takes him to Saigon to investigate the sinking of three ships carrying U.S. Rehabilitation Supplies. Starring Brian Donlevy as Steve, this episode was first broadcast July 12, 1949.

Inspired by the real-life rescue of Hitler's ally Benito Mussolini by Otto Skorzeny, a similar idea is considered by Hitler, with the support of Reichsfuhrer Himmler. Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, head of the Abwehr (German military intelligence), is ordered to make a feasibility study of the seemingly impossible task of capturing Prime Minister Winston Churchill and returning him to the Reich. Canaris orders one of his officers, Oberst Radl to undertake the study, despite feeling that it is a waste of time.

An Unteroffizier on Radl's staff finds that one of their spies, code named Starling, has provided tantalizing intelligence. Winston Churchill is to visit an airfield near the village of Studley Constable, where Joanna Grey, a South African and German spy, lives. Radl comes up with a scheme that could work. Himmler meets secretly with Radl and unofficially tells him to proceed, without notifying Canaris. An agent, a member of the IRA named Liam Devlin, is dispatched to contact Mrs. Grey.

Inspired by the real-life rescue of Hitler's ally Benito Mussolini by Otto Skorzeny, a similar idea is considered by Hitler, with the support of Reichsfuhrer Himmler. Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, head of the Abwehr (German military intelligence), is ordered to make a feasibility study of the seemingly impossible task of capturing Prime Minister Winston Churchill and returning him to the Reich. Canaris orders one of his officers, Oberst Radl to undertake the study, despite feeling that it is a waste of time.

An Unteroffizier on Radl's staff finds that one of their spies, code named Starling, has provided tantalizing intelligence. Winston Churchill is to visit an airfield near the village of Studley Constable, where Joanna Grey, a South African and German spy, lives. Radl comes up with a scheme that could work. Himmler meets secretly with Radl and unofficially tells him to proceed, without notifying Canaris. An agent, a member of the IRA named Liam Devlin, is dispatched to contact Mrs. Grey.

Inspired by the real-life rescue of Hitler's ally Benito Mussolini by Otto Skorzeny, a similar idea is considered by Hitler, with the support of Reichsfuhrer Himmler. Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, head of the Abwehr (German military intelligence), is ordered to make a feasibility study of the seemingly impossible task of capturing Prime Minister Winston Churchill and returning him to the Reich. Canaris orders one of his officers, Oberst Radl to undertake the study, despite feeling that it is a waste of time.

An Unteroffizier on Radl's staff finds that one of their spies, code named Starling, has provided tantalizing intelligence. Winston Churchill is to visit an airfield near the village of Studley Constable, where Joanna Grey, a South African and German spy, lives. Radl comes up with a scheme that could work. Himmler meets secretly with Radl and unofficially tells him to proceed, without notifying Canaris. An agent, a member of the IRA named Liam Devlin, is dispatched to contact Mrs. Grey.

Inspired by the real-life rescue of Hitler's ally Benito Mussolini by Otto Skorzeny, a similar idea is considered by Hitler, with the support of Reichsfuhrer Himmler. Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, head of the Abwehr (German military intelligence), is ordered to make a feasibility study of the seemingly impossible task of capturing Prime Minister Winston Churchill and returning him to the Reich. Canaris orders one of his officers, Oberst Radl to undertake the study, despite feeling that it is a waste of time.

An Unteroffizier on Radl's staff finds that one of their spies, code named Starling, has provided tantalizing intelligence. Winston Churchill is to visit an airfield near the village of Studley Constable, where Joanna Grey, a South African and German spy, lives. Radl comes up with a scheme that could work. Himmler meets secretly with Radl and unofficially tells him to proceed, without notifying Canaris. An agent, a member of the IRA named Liam Devlin, is dispatched to contact Mrs. Grey.

"America's number one adventurer, K-7--former United States secret agent who operated in 22 countries, on land, on sea, and in the air--brings you a story today..."

”Secret Agent K-7 Returns” are fifteen minute episodes of mystery and espionage first broadcast in 1939. Agent K-7 is actually a rather mild-mannered narrator of these stories. He doesn't sound or seem very heroic or interesting... which would make him all the more effective as a spy! The spy's best disguise is a perfectly ordinary and uninteresting demeanor. The radio actors who brought these stories of men and women operatives to the radio are as unknown today as most of the real spies of that time.

Episode 1 of the series is titled “Border Violations”.

Dangerous Assignment was a product of the Cold War, with mystery and intrigue cropping up across the globe. Steve Mitchell, an agent for an unnamed U.S. government agency, is dispatched to some exotic, faraway place at the beginning of each episode.

The first show of the series. Steve Mitchell's first assignment takes him to Sicily in search of stolen relief supplies. Steve finds himself in the mountains, battling with the bandit "Lorenzo." Starring Brian Donlevy and William Conrad. First broadcast July 9, 1949.

The Lux Radio Theater was one of the most important dramatic shows in radio. It had the biggest stars, the highest budgets, and the most acclaim. It had a full hour and, during its heyday, Hollywood's most prominent film director, Cecil B. DeMille, as host.

This episode, “Thirteen Rue Madeleine” was broadcast October 20, 1947. A spy with knowledge of America's D-Day plans is captured by the Nazis. Stars Robert Montgomery and Lloyd Nolan.

Studio One was an excellent series turning short stories, novels, and plays into radio bliss. It was cancelled after one season due to what some believe was director Fletcher Markle's perfectionism and unwillingness to hire known actors and actresses. Markle wanted the stories to shine and not the stars.

This episode, "The Thirty Nine Steps” was broadcast March 23, 1948. It is an excellent and exciting spy story and the basis for the classic Hitchcock movie.

Cloak and Dagger opened over the NBC network on May 7, 1950. It had a short run through the summer on Sundays, changing to Fridays after its summer run. The last show aired Oct. 22, 1950.

The series told fictional stories of OSS agents during World War II who took dangerous missions behind enemy lines, knowing they may never return alive.

Are you ready to undertake a dangerous mission behind enemy lines? This week we’ll hear from Cloak and Dagger and an episode titled "The Trojan Horse".
This one aired May 14, 1950.

I Was a Communist for the FBI was an American espionage thriller radio series that ran from 1952 to 1954. Made without FBI cooperation, the series was adapted from the book by undercover agent Matt Cvetic, who was portrayed by Dana Andrews.

This week we’ll hear from I Was a Communist for the FBI and an episode titled "I Can't Sleep". This one aired April 30, 1952.

Spy Catcher was based on the memoirs of Lt. Col. Oreste Pinto, a Dutch intelligence agent who worked for the Allied Counterintelligence Services in England during WWII - described by Eisenhower as "the greatest living expert in security".

It charted the exploits of Pinto and his team of investigators as they relentlessly tried to root out potential spies entering Britain.

This week we’ll hear from Spy Catcher and an episode titled “One Must Die”.

Escape was widely considered radio’s greatest series of high adventure. The opening was usually along the same lines of “Tired of the everyday grind? Ever dream of a life of … romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you … Escape!”

Escape – A Bullet for Mr. Smith January 14, 1951

In this episode, an American Secret Service Agent in France undertakes a mission to “remove” an elusive mystery assassin known only as “Mr. Smith”.

Spy Catcher was based on the memoirs of Lt. Col. Oreste Pinto, a Dutch intelligence agent who worked for the Allied Counterintelligence Services in England during WWII - described by Eisenhower as "the greatest living expert in security".

It charted the exploits of Pinto and his team of investigators as they relentlessly tried to root out potential spies entering Britain.

This week we’ll hear from Spy Catcher and an episode titled “Spitfire Johnny”.

I Was a Communist for the FBI was an American espionage thriller radio series that ran from 1952 to 1954. Made without FBI cooperation, the series was adapted from the book by undercover agent Matt Cvetic, who was portrayed by Dana Andrews.

This week we’ll hear from I Was a Communist for the FBI and an episode titled I Walk Alone. This one aired April 23, 1952.

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