Broadcast by the BBC, 8 May 1945. Transferred from the Internet Archive's Winston Churchill speeches collection (public domain).
The run
- Network
- Mutual
- Years active
- 1935–1948
- Surviving broadcasts
- 71
- Genre
- kids
One of the longest running young-adult-oriented old radio shows during the golden age of radio was the widely popular "Dick Tracy." The series aired over a period of 14 years, from 1934 - 1948, and was based on a newspaper comic strip.
1948 · 41947 · 131946 · 31945 · 71944 · 21938 · 16
Restoration quality — measured from the surviving files
Rough but complete · 45 of 45
Source collection
Internet Archive audio collections
Rights
Public domain — no renewed US copyright
Cataloguing
Air dates and notes from the Archive item record
Every broadcast below carries its own provenance sheet — transfer quality, file source and rights.Archive record: Dick_Tracy_20161023
The shape of the run
What survives, year by year
24 dated broadcasts across 14 years on the air, with 8 years where nothing is known to survive. Brightness is transfer quality; empty cells are months lost to time.
JFMAMJJASOND
1935
1936
1937
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1948
Clean transferListenableRough but complete No surviving recording
Episodes
Start here
Listen to the run in order
Restored broadcasts from 1938, in original transmission order.
- 1. Pat is Hypnotized · 21 Feb 1938
- 2. Dick is Captured · 22 Feb 1938
- 3. Dick Escapes · 23 Feb 1938
Case of the Careless Crooner
26 Apr 1948 · 14 min
Originally broadcast on Mutual, 26 April 1948. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
Case of the Mermaids Mirrors
8 Apr 1948 · 14 min
Originally broadcast on Mutual, 8 April 1948. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
Case of the Positive Negative
27 Jan 1948 · 14 min
Originally broadcast on Mutual, 27 January 1948. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
Case of the Black Box
8 Jan 1948 · 14 min
Originally broadcast on Mutual, 8 January 1948. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
Case of the Poisinous Timber
22 Dec 1947 · 14 min
Originally broadcast on Mutual, 22 December 1947. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
Case of the Deadly Tip-Off
21 Nov 1947 · 14 min
Originally broadcast on Mutual, 21 November 1947. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
Case of the Honorable Mr. Malice
14 Nov 1947 · 13 min
Originally broadcast on Mutual, 14 November 1947. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
Case of the Book of Four Kings
24 Oct 1947 · 13 min
Originally broadcast on Mutual, 24 October 1947. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
Same night on the air
8 May 1945
Everything else the archive still holds from the night of 8 May 1945.
Winston Churchill: The BBC Broadcasts
VE Day Celebrations Ministry of Health Building
8 May 1945 · 2 min
Broadcast by the BBC, 8 May 1945. Transferred from the Internet Archive's Winston Churchill speeches collection (public domain).
Originally broadcast on Mutual, 8 May 1945. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
Also on Mutual
Mutual in 1935–1948
Other series the network carried while Dick Tracy was on the air.
Same seasons
kids on the air then
Series in the same genre whose runs overlapped this one.
What it became
The children's serial
Fifteen minutes, a cliffhanger, and a promise to be back tomorrow. Kids' audio still runs on the shape the Yukon and Speed Gibson serials cut.
Lineage is written by our editors, not inferred from listening data.
Descendants
Working in the tradition of Dick Tracy
Modern series carrying this form forward.
If you liked this
More to explore
Chosen by the same editors.
