30 minute detective/mystery show
In an earlier time, just prior to and following the Second World War, the general public was fascinated by the subject of crime. Numerous magazines of "True Crime Stories" filled the newsstands. Radio also helped fill the need with fictional heroes such as Johnny Dollar and The Saint. Few true crime dramas, other than Gangbusters or Dragnet, sustained long term success on radio.
The Secrets of Scotland Yard was a successful crime drama series, initially airing internationally between 1949 and 1951. Selected episodes finally came to a US radio network for a brief run much later in 1957 over the Mutual Broadcasting System.
The series boasted well over 100 episodes, one of which, "The Bone From A Voice Box", apparently served as the prototype for another well remembered Towers Of London dramatic series, The Black Museum. In both series, well known actors were employed as host / narrator, Orson Welles in The Black Museum and Clive Brook here. In fact, the shows were so similar that some of the same actual Scotland Yard cases were dramatized for both series (with totally different scripts, and casts).
The Secrets of Scotland Yard was an independent production of the Towers of London syndicate in England for world wide distribution. Each week, an audience of anxious radio-listeners tuned in to hear these true crime stories of the London Metropolitan Police unfold, as the detectives at the Yard investigated some of England’s most famous criminals. Their trials have become legendary.
Stories presented in the series include the theft of the British crown jewels by Colonel Thomas Blood; the story of a man who finds an armless and legless body wrapped in ribbons and lace; or the strange story of two close brothers who love one another enough to contemplate the murder of a brother’s affluent, yet unsightly and ignorant, wife.
Murders, forgery, and robberies all get a through review on the program. Each time, Scotland Yard detectives are afoot to solve the crime mystery!
The Secrets of Scotland Yard was initially hosted by Clive Brook, probably for the first year or so. To add to the air of authenticity, Brook sometimes discusses matters with Percy Hoskins, a 1950s crime expert and reporter for the London Daily Express. Hoskins knew every nook and cranny in London’s seedier districts and personally reported on many of the major crimes of the day. A student of crime, Hoskins was also one of the founders of the Saints and Sinners Club of London, an educational organization dedicated to true crime investigation methods and results.
Brook had his own Scotland Yard experience previously when he played retired naval commander Stevenson in the 1936 film, "Scotland Yard Commands". American audiences will however probably more familiar with Brooks’ portrayal of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes in the 1932 film of the same name. Brook was eventually replaced by an actor portraying the character Superintendent X of Scotland Yard.
Text is from Internet Archive
Purchase as a download, purchase as CD(s), or listen for free
Purchase as CD $4.50
All of our Old Time Radio Programs are in MP3 format. You can play them on your computer, you can transfer them to MP3 players (like the IPod), but, by and large, you cannot play them on stereos, walkmen, or car radios.
The sound quality of Old Time Radio Programs can vary greatly. Some episodes are excellent, others you have to turn up the volume a little and ignore the static. All of the episodes can be listened to and enjoyed. You can listen to our free samples to get a feel for how the programs sound.
You may also like: Molle Mystery Theater
Episode List
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Bank Of England Robbery.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Battalier.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Black Market Murder.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Blodie Belgium.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Bone From A Voice Box.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Brothers Staunton.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Buckets Of Blood.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Burke And Hare.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Captain X.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Charles Piece.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Counterfeiter.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Dr Ruxton Ax Killer.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Family Soliciter W Drop Out.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Fence.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Florence Maybrick.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Frederick Stewart.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_General Charles Leward.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_George Smith W Humourous Opening.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Great Gold Robbery.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Greeneyed Monster.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Henri Perot.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Henry Fauntleroy.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Hunted Hunter.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Identifications.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Jack The Ripper.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Jim The Penman.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Just A Matchstick And A Duster.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Kindly Doctor.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Lady In Distress.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Lady Is A Crook.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Lesson In Love.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Liverpool Bank Fraud.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Lucky Murderer.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Mrs Voisson.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Murder Without Motive.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Murderers Letter.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Music Murder And A Mackintosh.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Neville Heath.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Nurse Waddington.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_One Man Too Many.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Perfect Detective.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Pests.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Poisoner.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Reginald Sidney Buckfield.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Robbery On The Railways.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Robert Wood.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Romantic Murderer.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Ronald Vivian Light.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Root Of All Evil Money.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Scales Of Justice.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Servant Problem.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Smoke Clings To The Hair.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Story Of Walter Miller.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Theft Of The British Crown Jewels.mp3
Secrets-of-Scotland-Yard_Witchcraft Law Volume Flux.mp3
