The Adventures of Philip Marlowe CBS · February 7, 1950

Philip Marlowe 50 02 07 Ep070 The Long Arm

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# Philip Marlowe 50 02 07 Ep070 The Long Arm

Picture this: a rain-slicked Los Angeles street at midnight, the kind of place where shadows have teeth and every corner holds a secret. In "The Long Arm," our weary private detective finds himself tangled in a murder that reaches far beyond the glittering façade of Hollywood—a case where the long arm of the law might be the only thing standing between justice and a killer who operates from the heights of power. When a society woman turns up dead and the evidence points toward someone untouchable, Marlowe must navigate treacherous waters of corruption, blackmail, and betrayal. Veteran CBS radio actor Van Heflin brings his characteristic world-weariness to the role, his voice cutting through static and commercial breaks like a knife through fog, while supporting players circle him with menace and intrigue. This is noir radio at its finest: clever dialogue, perfectly timed dramatic pauses, and the kind of plot twist that makes listeners gasp audibly in their living rooms.

The Adventures of Philip Marlowe represents the golden age of detective radio, that remarkable period when CBS brought Raymond Chandler's cynical gumshoe to millions of listeners between 1947 and 1951. Drawing directly from the source material, these scripts capture Chandler's distinctive voice—that blend of hard-boiled cynicism and unexpected moral clarity—while the radio medium adds an intimate dimension, making each revelation feel whispered directly into your ear. The show became a cultural touchstone, proving that detective fiction could thrive on radio when handled with intelligence and craft.

Settle in with a cup of coffee and prepare yourself for fifty-seven minutes of classic mystery, where nothing is quite what it seems and everyone's hiding something. "The Long Arm" awaits—and trust us, you won't want to miss where it leads.