Philo Vance
Philo Vance brings S. S. Van Dine’s famously cerebral detective into a compact radio format that favors clean mystery plotting and quick exposition. The surviving broadcasts are less leisurely than the novels, but they retain Vance’s role as the cultivated observer who notices what everyone else has overlooked.
Where to Start
Researched entry points from recordings already in the Golden Radio Hour archive.
The Case of the Cellini Cup
This is an early surviving broadcast in the GRH holdings, useful for hearing the series at a different point in its surviving run.
Episode details →Cheesecake Murder Case
This is a middle-period broadcast in the GRH holdings, useful for hearing the series at a different point in its surviving run.
Episode details →Muddy Murder Case
This is a later surviving broadcast in the GRH holdings, useful for hearing the series at a different point in its surviving run.
Episode details →Program History
A sophisticated detective series based on S. S.
Radio detective adaptations of S. S.
The run breaks into several distinct periods: 1943 audition precursor (April 29, 1943 to April 29, 1943), NBC José Ferrer run (July 5, 1945 to September 27, 1945) on NBC Radio Network, ABC West John Emery run (July 23, 1946 to 1946) on ABC Radio Network, and Frederick Ziv syndicated run (July 13, 1948 to July 4, 1950).
Names that turn up again and again in the surviving run include Frederick W. Ziv (producer), Henry Sylvern (organist and organ), Jackson Beck (performer), Jeanne K. Harrison (director), S. S. Van Dine (creator), Joan Alexander (performer), and George Petrie (performer).
Across its run, the surviving broadcasts are tied to Ziv, Armed Forces Radio Service, and NBC Radio Network.
The stories often return to deductive investigation, murder investigation, inheritance and wealth, art and valuable objects, theater and performance world, and police and prosecution.
The show also sits in a wider radio history that includes S. S. Van Dine literary detective origin, Network summer-replacement detective drama, Postwar syndicated detective production, and Armchair-detective clue structure.
If you are following the same actors and creative circles, related programs worth opening next include Columbia Workshop, The Chase, Theater Five, Words at War, and X Minus One.
All Episodes & Recordings
Search this program or browse in its validated catalog order.
The Case of the Cellini Cup
Philo Vance investigates a priceless Cellini cup and exposes an art-theft scheme that has already turned murderous.
The Girl Who Came Back
A wealthy widower asks Vance to test the identity of a woman who claims to be the daughter believed drowned years earlier.
The Case of the Strange Music
Vance probes the bizarre death of a rich man whose body has been displayed as a wax figure in a carnival attraction.
The Eagle Murder Case
Vance faces an apparently impossible killing when a man is stabbed while riding inside a moving ambulance.
The Merry Murder Case
Three women confess to one killing and three guns complicate the evidence, leaving Vance to determine what really happened.
The Poetic Murder Case
Three drama critics are murdered with cryptic verses pinned to their bodies, and Vance must find the meaning behind the poems.
The Coachman Murder Case
A wealthy sportsman is found stabbed in his swimming pool beside puzzling fishing equipment, giving Vance an unusual set of clues.
The Midget Murder Case
A theatrical manager is shot with a tiny gun, drawing Vance into an eccentric performance world and a second killing.
The Blue Lady Murder Case
After a ruthless racketeer is killed, Vance follows the mystery of a woman known only as the Lady in Blue.
The Backstage Murder Case
Death threats against a Broadway star are followed by the murder of her understudy, sending Vance backstage to find the killer.
The Argus Murder Case
A compulsive gambler vanishes from an offshore gambling ship, and Vance untangles lies that lead to murder.
The Bulletin Murder Case
A murder and a coded message reveal an editor's elaborate attempt to draw a missing man back into public view.
The Cover Girl Murder Case
A manipulative model's use of blackmail and intimidation creates a dangerous circle that ends in a startling revelation.
Heavyweight Murder Case
A championship challenger collapses during a boxing match, and Vance discovers betrayal behind what happened in the ring.
Tree Trunk Murder Case
While away from the city, an investigator looks into a lumber-town mill owner's suspicious death.
Blackjack Murder Case
A guard's death at a questionable rest home leads Vance to a darker operation hidden behind the institution.
Star Studded Murder Case
A killing at an observatory sends Vance after clues tied to a handyman's ominous astrological predictions.
Murdock Murder Case
A radio quiz-show alibi falls apart under Vance's scrutiny, exposing responsibility for two murders.
Vanilla Murder Case
A frightened young woman's urgent request for help draws Vance into a difficult murder investigation.
Rhumba Murder Case
Vance combines close observation with mathematics to identify the killer in a dance-studio murder.
Magic Murder Case
A magician is stabbed inside a locked dressing room, but Vance realizes the impossible crime depends on an illusionist's trick.
Idol Murder Case
Greed surrounding a supposedly ordinary museum statue turns deadly when Vance discovers the figure is far more valuable than it appears.
Golden Murder Case
A fortune teller's claim about embezzlement precedes murder, leaving Vance to break false alibis and blackmail.
Flying Murder Case
A pilot is killed during a flight delay, and Vance sorts through affairs and rivalries to find the murderer.
Butler Murder Case
Vance confronts an extortionist and a puzzling murder case that grows into a fatal car bombing.
Herringbone Murder Case
A strange detail in a crime-scene photograph gives Vance the clue he needs to solve the killing of a brutal dress-shop owner.
Listless Murder Case
The head of a fraudulent charity is murdered, and missing records plus an odd detail about the body point Vance toward the killer.
Curtain Call Murder Case
The murder of a hated Broadway actor forces Vance to sort through resentment, betrayal, and competing motives behind the curtain.
Million Dollar Murder Case
A suspicious millionaire is killed inside his heavily protected mansion, with his secretary and caretaker among those under scrutiny.
White Willow Murder Case
Vance examines the death of a stockbroker amid gangsters, manipulation, planted evidence, and persistent lies.
High Hat Murder Case
A woman who expects to be murdered strangely hires Vance not to catch her killer, leaving him a twisted puzzle after her death.
Movie Murder Case
A cowboy star's supposed accident on a film set is revealed as a planned killing driven by revenge.
Green Girls Murder Case
Two sisters are slain in matching fashion, leading Vance to uncover a disturbing conspiracy within their own family.
Cardinal Murder Case
A former gangster's attempt at a respectable life collapses when the woman he loves is murdered, exposing revenge and mistaken identity.
Cipher Murder Case
Vance cracks the code used by a society burglary ring and discovers that its true leader is not the obvious suspect.
Masters Murder Case
When a young activist is killed and an innocent man is blamed, Vance works to expose the ruthless political figure behind the murder.
Meanest Man Murder Case
A famously cruel man announces that he has been murdered just before dying, confronting Vance with a seemingly impossible question.
Butterfly Murder Case
A gangster, a blind organ grinder, and a mysterious green flame become pieces in Vance's investigation of a baffling double murder.
Hurdy Gurdy Murder
The killing of a notorious nightclub singer draws Vance into blackmail, deception, and an alibi designed to look airtight.
Red Duck Murder
A man's disappearance leads Vance toward counterfeiting and an unexpected murder.
Cast, Crew & Contributors
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Frederick W. Ziv
Mandel KramerMore Detective & Crime Radio
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