Starring Howard Duff & Steve Dunne (12 half-hour episodes / 6 hours via digital download on 6 CDs )
The detective character, Sam Spade, was created by writer Dashiell Hammett for his crime story “The Maltese Falcon.” Spade was a hard-boiled detective with cold detachment, a keen eye for detail and unflinching determination to achieve his own justice. For most people, the character is most closely associated with actor Humphrey Bogart who played Sam Spade in the third and most famous film version of “The Maltese Falcon.” In 1946, one of radio’s top producers (William Spier) brought “Sam Spade” to the airwaves starring newcomer Howard Duff with Lurene Tuttle (and occasionally Sandra Gould) as Spade’s secretary, Effie Perrine. Duff took a considerably more tongue-in-cheek approach to the character than the novel or movie. Dashiell Hammett lent his name to the radio series but did little more than cash the checks sent to him for the privilege. In 1947, scriptwriters Jason James and Bob Tallman received an Edgar Award for Best Radio Drama from the Mystery Writers of America. Howard Duff starred as Spade until 1951 when Steve Dunne took the role.
