Hard-boiled Detectives

"One of the finest traits of a HARDBOILED RADIO DETECTIVE is being able to take a beating like a man..."

Whereas classic detectives stories focused on plot and thought (sometimes called whodunits), Hard-boiled Detectives focused scene setting in the gritty urban street and the characterization of the tough, shrewd detectives.  Unlike traditional detectives, hardboiled detectives routinely faced death and danger. The characters were super masculine, independent, American frontiersman-type with a propensity for violence and ambivalence towards the law enforcement. 

A Knight in Shining Armor faced a wilderness filled with monsters and other perils armed with his sword and faith in God Above. The soldier on the Front Lines trusted his rifle, the dedication of his buddies who were watching his back, and the righteousness of his Country's cause. The American Cowboy rode tall astride his horse, a Winchester hanging from his saddle and a Colt Peacemaker on his hip, spreading civilization across the endless prairie.

The Hard-boiled Detective might have a snub-nosed .38 hidden under his jacket, but more likely his only weapons were his wits and battered fists. Although he will never be seen as virtuous as the other heroes, all of them live by a Code of Honor that brings meaning to their missions. Unfortunately, living up to that code can bring a world of trouble for our heroes.

A product of the pulp fiction of the Twenties and Thirties, the Hard-boiled Detective is as unsavory as his medium would suggest. The niceties of societal norms mean little to him unless he is trying to impress a cute dame. Although he will rarely strike the first blow, he lives in a world of real violence which he can dish out as readily as he is forced to absorb it. The cops do not like him because he is an independent operator who only follows his own rules. The Law Enforcement may have a grudging respect and sometimes even affection for the gumshoe but this is tempered by the notion that the Private Eye who is not constrained by departmental rules can catch crooks even more efficiently than the cops.

Every Private Eye comes from a unique background. Mike Hammer, who despises violent crimes was a soldier and carries an Army Colt .45 Automatic under his coat. Philip Marlowe is an intellectual who worked as an investigator for the L.A. County District Attorney until being fired for 'insubordination'. Sam Spade was an amalgamation of several actual detectives that writer Dashiell Hammett had worked with, not " an erudite solver of riddles in the Sherlock Holmes manner; he wants to be a hard and shifty fellow, able to take care of himself in any situation". The Hard-boiled Detective is not the sort of guy that women normally fall for, but they are happy to have him around when the chips are down.

Unlike the traditional Whodunit, solving the crime is not as important to Hard-boiled fiction as the crook himself. If the other heroes are armored in virtue, the Hard-boiled P.I. is shielded by cynicism. He lives in a tough world and he knows that no matter how hard he fights he is not going to come out on top. However, some things are even stronger than his cynicism.

Although the Hard-boiled Detective is a lone wolf, he probably has a pretty secretary who takes more care of him than he will admit. Although he is extremely loyal to her, the Gumshoe is rarely in love with his secretary. After all, there are many willing and available women out on the mean streets and he needs to be ready for them. However, there is nothing to keep the secretary from falling in love with her boss.

Carroll John Daly, Dashiell Hammett (Sam Spade), and Raymond Chandlerr (Philip Marlowe) are thought to be the godfathers of hardboiled detective fiction.  Writers were encouraged to write with an "authentic" voice often using more metaphors and similes than a 10th grade English teacher. The slang of Hardboiled Detectives is legendary with authors often coining new terms.  Eventually this characterization became a cliché and eventually satirized. 

This collection included a sample of some of the best Hardboiled Detectives old time radio shows; including: Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe, Pat Novak, Jeff Regan, Harry Lime, Box 13, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, Richard Diamond, Bold Venture, Big Town, Michael Shayne, Nightbeat, That Hammer Guy, Rogue's Gallery, The Falcon, and a few surprises.

Get out your bean shooter, flogger, and your dame because there's a Baumes rush of bindle punks and there's no telling who's going to be blipped off or bopped off.  Don't be a weak sister because, these aren't a bunch of flatties gumshoeing, and they won't think twice about dry gulching you in the conk.  That talk is too tough for you?  See also: Softboiled Detectives.