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Box 13 | Old Time Radio

by Old Time Retro Radio

Box 13 | Old Time Radio follows former newspaper reporter and mystery writer Dan Holiday as he searches for adventure—and finds danger, crime, and mystery instead. Through a newspaper ad inviting people to send unusual assignments to Box 13, Holiday is drawn into cases involving murder, deception, missing persons, criminals, and unexpected twists. Each episode is an Old Time Retro Radio production, presenting the original broadcast with gently cleaned and mastered audio, a newly produced introduction and closing, and custom episode artwork. Starring Alan Ladd as Dan Holiday, Box 13 combines detective fiction, mystery, suspense, and classic radio adventure. Rediscover classic old time radio detective stories, mystery, crime drama, private-eye adventures, suspense, and vintage radio. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcas

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Episodes

  1. Box 13 - "Look Pleasant, Please" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Look Pleasant, Please,” episode 16 of the Mutual Broadcasting System mystery series, originally broadcast December 5, 1948. Alan Ladd stars as adventure-seeking mystery writer Dan Holiday. An unsigned request sends Dan to the Mercantile Building for what appears to be an innocent...

  2. Box 13 - "Actor's Alibi" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Actor’s Alibi,” originally broadcast September 12, 1948. This is episode 4 of the series, starring Alan Ladd as writer-adventurer Dan Holiday. A mysterious note sends Dan to a live radio-drama broadcast, where an encounter with aging actor Marvin Masterson leads to the Mayfair...

  3. Box 13 - "The Better Man" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “The Better Man,” episode 20 of the classic mystery-adventure series, originally broadcast January 2, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as mystery writer Dan Holiday, with Sylvia Picker as his secretary, Suzy. When wealthy Charles Winthrop invites Holiday into an unusual $100,000 contest, Dan...

  4. Box 13 - "One of These Four" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “One of These Four,” episode 38 of the syndicated mystery series, originally broadcast May 8, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as adventure writer Dan Holiday in this episode written by Russell Hughes and directed by Vern Carstensen. An anonymous invitation sends Holiday from Pier 9 to a...

  5. Box 13 - "Killer at Large" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Killer at Large,” episode 44 of the syndicated mystery-adventure series starring Alan Ladd as novelist-adventurer Dan Holiday. Originally broadcast June 19, 1949, this episode is listed in supplied source metadata as a 2012 release. A sealed letter offers Holiday $50,000 to stop…

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  6. Box 13 - "Round Robin" (Old Time Radio, 2013)

    Box 13 presents “Round Robin,” originally broadcast August 14, 1949. Identified as episode 52 and the series finale, this syndicated Mayfair Productions mystery stars Alan Ladd as adventure-seeking writer Dan Holiday, with Sylvia Picker as Suzy. Asked to register at the Morris Hotel under the…

    more

  7. Box 13 - "Speed to Burn" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Speed to Burn,” episode 45 of the syndicated Mayfair Productions series, originally broadcast June 26, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as mystery writer and adventurer Dan Holiday. An unsigned letter challenges Holiday to a precisely timed drive along Route 36, where a speeding 1938...

  8. Box 13 - "One One Three Point Five" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “One One Three Point Five,” episode 31 of the classic mystery-adventure series, originally broadcast March 20, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as novelist-adventurer Dan Holiday, whose unusual cases arrive through his newspaper box number. Dorothy Simmons asks Holiday to find her missing...

  9. Box 13 - "Tempest in a Casserole" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Tempest in a Casserole,” episode 33 of the classic mystery series, originally broadcast April 3, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as freelance writer and investigator Dan Holiday, with Sylvia Picker as Suzi. When Nick Nerakio, owner of Nick’s Place on Tenth Street, finds his restaurant...

  10. Box 13 - "The Dowager and Dan Holiday" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “The Dowager and Dan Holiday,” episode 22 of the classic mystery-adventure series, originally broadcast January 16, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as Dan Holiday, the former newspaperman whose Box 13 advertisement brings unexpected assignments. A letter leads Holiday to wealthy recluse...

  11. Box 13 - "The Professor and the Puzzle" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “The Professor and the Puzzle,” episode 21 of the classic mystery series, originally broadcast January 9, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as novelist-adventurer Dan Holiday in this Mutual Broadcasting System production from Mayfair Productions. Dan answers a plea from an old college friend...

  12. Box 13 - "Damsel in Distress" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Damsel in Distress,” episode 13 of the classic mystery-adventure series, originally broadcast November 14, 1948. Alan Ladd stars as mystery writer and former newspaperman Dan Holiday. When finishing-school student Constance McLain receives anonymous letters and telephone threats...

  13. Box 13 - "Death Is a Doll" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Death Is a Doll,” episode 30 of the classic mystery series, originally broadcast on March 13, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as mystery writer and adventurer Dan Holiday. When Bart LeFay, a healthy young man in the remote Louisiana community of Ballou, takes to his deathbed convinced a...

  14. Box 13 - "Flash of Light" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    From Box 13, “Flash of Light” is episode 27, originally broadcast February 20, 1949. The mystery serial stars Alan Ladd as writer-adventurer Dan Holiday, with Sylvia Picker as Suzy. Jerry Fuller arrives from a small town unable to explain two missing days in the city. He remembers the upscale Red...

  15. Box 13 - "One of These Four" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “One of These Four,” originally broadcast May 8, 1949. In episode 38 of Alan Ladd’s mystery-adventure series, Ladd stars as adventure writer Dan Holiday. The episode was written by Russell Hughes and directed by Vern Carstensen. An anonymous invitation promises Holiday a…

    more

  16. Box 13 - "Short Assignment" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Short Assignment,” originally broadcast October 3, 1948. This is episode 7 of the series’ 52-episode run, starring Alan Ladd as mystery writer and adventurer Dan Holiday. When Holiday agrees to fill in for a diminutive private detective, a seemingly simple protective assignment...

  17. Box 13 - "Short Assignment" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Short Assignment,” listed as episode 7. This archival presentation is dated 2012; the original Box 13 radio drama is generally cataloged as having aired on October 3, 1948, and is also known as “George Flit, Detective.” Mystery writer Dan Holiday, played by Alan Ladd, agrees to...

  18. Box 13 - "Sealed Instructions" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Sealed Instructions,” episode 35 of the syndicated mystery-adventure series, originally broadcast April 17, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as writer-adventurer Dan Holiday, with Sylvia Picker as his secretary, Suzy. A frightened man sends Holiday to Manila with sealed instructions and a...

  19. Box 13 - "Extra Extra" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Extra Extra,” originally broadcast September 19, 1948. In the fifth episode of the series, Alan Ladd stars as adventure-seeking writer Dan Holiday. A postcard from young newsboy Johnny Moran sends Dan looking into the accusation against Johnny’s jailed father, drawing him from a...

  20. Box 13 - "Killer at Large" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Killer at Large,” episode 44 of the syndicated mystery series, originally broadcast June 19, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as novelist-adventurer Dan Holiday. A troubling letter brings Holiday to 756 South Marvin Boulevard, where Simon Andrews offers $50,000 for help stopping a murder he...

  21. Box 13 - "Diamond in the Sky" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Diamond in the Sky,” episode 14 of the classic mystery-adventure series, originally broadcast November 21, 1948. Alan Ladd stars as mystery writer and former newspaperman Dan Holiday. A request sends Holiday to Paris to escort the million-dollar Mirabulis diamond to New York, but...

  22. Box 13 - "The Sad Night" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “The Sad Night,” episode 18 of the classic mystery series, originally broadcast December 19, 1948. Alan Ladd stars as adventure-seeking writer Dan Holiday in this script by Russell Hughes. A child’s copybook arrives at Holiday’s Star-Times Box 13, bearing the name Marina Layton…

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  23. Box 13 - "The Great Torino" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “The Great Torino,” episode 10 of the classic radio series, originally broadcast October 24, 1948. Alan Ladd stars as writer-adventurer Dan Holiday in this Russell Hughes script. A desperate message leads Holiday to the Tivoli Theatre and behind the scenes of magician the Great...

  24. Box 13 - "Archimedes and the Roman" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Archimedes and the Roman,” originally broadcast July 31, 1949. The 50th of the series’ 52 known programs stars Alan Ladd as mystery writer Dan Holiday. A worried letter from young Marty Kennedy draws Holiday to Collingwood and the remote Williams Observatory, where an absent...

  25. Box 13 - "House of Darkness" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “House of Darkness,” episode 46 of the classic mystery series, originally broadcast July 3, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as mystery novelist Dan Holiday, with Sylvia Picker as Suzy. A blind man discovers a plea for help embossed in Braille inside a library book, drawing Holiday into an...

  26. Box 13 - "Death Is No Joke" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Death Is No Joke,” episode 40 of the syndicated mystery series, originally broadcast May 22, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as adventure-seeking mystery writer Dan Holiday. When Dan answers a plea from his friend Alex, he finds a tense family gathering at the Trendler country estate…

    more

  27. Box 13 - "The Dowager and Dan Holiday" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “The Dowager and Dan Holiday,” episode 22 of the syndicated mystery series, originally broadcast January 16, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as former newspaperman and mystery writer Dan Holiday. When Holiday answers a letter addressed to his Star-Times Box 13 advertisement, wealthy recluse...

  28. Box 13 - "Much Too Lucky" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Much Too Lucky,” episode 37 of the series, originally broadcast on May 1, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as adventure writer Dan Holiday, with Sylvia Picker as Suzy. When off-track betting operator Bert Hendricks is battered by a string of uncannily timed winning wagers, Dan Holiday...

  29. Box 13 - "The Dead Man Walks" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “The Dead Man Walks,” episode 43 of the classic mystery-adventure series, originally broadcast on June 12, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as novelist-adventurer Dan Holiday. When a woman asks Dan to find her missing father, an ex-convict, his search leads from a pawnshop to troubling…

    more

  30. Box 13 - "Diamond in the Sky" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Diamond in the Sky,” episode 14 of the syndicated mystery-adventure series, originally broadcast November 21, 1948. Alan Ladd stars as mystery writer and former newspaperman Dan Holiday. A plea to transport the million-dollar Mirabulis diamond from Paris to New York sends Holiday...

  31. Box 13 - "House of Darkness" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “House of Darkness,” episode 46 of the syndicated radio mystery series, originally broadcast July 3, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as mystery novelist Dan Holiday. When a blind man discovers a plea for help embossed in Braille inside a library book, Holiday follows its trail to a doctor’s...

  32. Box 13 - "Death Is a Doll" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Death Is a Doll,” episode 30, originally broadcast March 13, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as mystery writer Dan Holiday in this Mayfair Productions mystery, distributed on the Mutual Broadcasting System and in syndication. Dan answers a plea from Bart LeFay, a healthy-looking young man...

  33. Box 13 - "Blackmail Is Murder" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Blackmail Is Murder,” episode 3 of the classic mystery series, originally broadcast September 5, 1948. Alan Ladd stars as novelist-adventurer Dan Holiday in this Mayfair Productions series, originally heard via the Mutual Broadcasting System. An urgent letter summons Holiday to...

  34. Box 13 - "Damsel in Distress" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Damsel in Distress,” episode 13 of the classic mystery series, originally broadcast November 14, 1948. Alan Ladd stars as Dan Holiday, the former newspaperman and mystery writer who finds adventures through his Box 13 newspaper advertisement. A desperate finishing-school student...

  35. Box 13 - "Double Mothers" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Double Mothers,” episode 8 of the series, originally broadcast October 10, 1948. Alan Ladd stars as newspaperman and mystery writer Dan Holiday in this Mayfair Transcription Company syndicated mystery. An unsigned message sends Holiday to North Park at 10 p.m., where he finds a...

  36. Box 13 - "The Biter Bitten" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “The Biter Bitten,” episode 48 of the mystery-adventure series, originally broadcast July 17, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as writer-adventurer Dan Holiday. An urgent summons brings Holiday to Room 507 of the Hotel Belvedere, where herpetologist Dr. Theodore Miller fears a deadly king...

  37. Box 13 - "Daytime Nightmare" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Daytime Nightmare,” episode 39 of the classic radio mystery series, originally broadcast on May 15, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as adventure-seeking writer Dan Holiday in a script by Russell Hughes, directed by Richard Sanville. A mysterious lunch invitation sends Holiday to the Golden...

  38. Box 13 - "Round Robin" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Round Robin,” episode 52 of the series, originally broadcast August 14, 1949. This final episode stars Alan Ladd as mystery writer Dan Holiday, with Sylvia Picker as Suzy, and was written by Arthur Boland and directed by Richard Sanville. A letter sends Holiday to the Maris Hotel...

  39. Box 13 - "The Haunted Artist" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “The Haunted Artist,” episode 17 of Box 13, originally broadcast in 2012. The mystery series stars Alan Ladd as adventure-seeking novelist Dan Holiday. Holiday answers a troubled artist’s plea for help when unexplained details begin appearing on an unfinished canvas...

  40. Box 13 - "The Better Man" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “The Better Man,” episode 20 of the classic radio mystery series Box 13, originally broadcast January 2, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as mystery writer Dan Holiday, with Sylvia Picker as Suzy; the episode was written by Russell Hughes and directed by Richard Sanville. Holiday answers a...

  41. Box 13 - "Look Pleasant, Please" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Look Pleasant, Please,” episode 16, originally broadcast December 5, 1948. Alan Ladd stars as mystery writer Dan Holiday in this Mutual Broadcasting System mystery. An unsigned Box 13 request sends Dan to the Mercantile Building to pose for a seemingly innocent photograph with a...

  42. Box 13 - "Delinquent's Dilemma" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Delinquent’s Dilemma,” episode 26 of the series, originally broadcast February 13, 1949. This archival presentation carries supplied source metadata dated 2012. Mystery writer and former newspaperman Dan Holiday, played by Alan Ladd, receives a carefully written plea from a…

    more

  43. Box 13 - "Double Trouble" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Double Trouble,” episode 47 of the classic radio mystery series, originally broadcast July 10, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as adventure-seeking mystery novelist Dan Holiday, with Sylvia Picker as his secretary, Suzy. A typed plea signed by Pat Kennedy summons Holiday to Edgemont and…

    more

  44. Box 13 - "Shanghaied" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Shanghaied,” episode 6 of the mystery-adventure series, originally broadcast September 26, 1948. Alan Ladd stars as mystery writer Dan Holiday, with Sylvia Picker as Suzy. The episode is also known in some archival listings as “The Boat Ruthie J.” After an anonymous response to...

  45. Box 13 - "Dan and the Wonderful Lamp" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Dan and the Wonderful Lamp,” episode 32, originally broadcast March 27, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as writer-adventurer Dan Holiday, with Sylvia Picker as Suzy. A Box 13 invitation sends Dan to a garden charity bazaar at the Mannering estate, where a winning guess earns him an…

    more

  46. Box 13 - "Hare and Hounds" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Hare and Hounds,” episode 28 of the mystery-adventure series, originally broadcast February 27, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as writer-adventurer Dan Holiday, with Sylvia Picker as Suzy. After an older visitor takes an out-of-town letter from Dan’s Box 13 mail, Dan follows a second…

    more

  47. Box 13 - "The Professor and the Puzzle" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “The Professor and the Puzzle,” originally broadcast on Mutual on January 9, 1949. Commonly cataloged as episode 21, this 26-minute mystery stars Alan Ladd as novelist-adventurer Dan Holiday, with Sylvia Picker as Suzy. Dan responds to a plea from his friend Bob Lannan, a college...

  48. Box 13 - "The Philanthropist" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “The Philanthropist,” episode 24 of the series, originally broadcast January 30, 1949. The drama stars Alan Ladd as mystery writer Dan Holiday and was written by Russell Hughes. When a vagrant named Red asks Dan to help find his missing friend, Suki, the search takes him from a…

    more

  49. Box 13 - "Three to Die" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Three to Die,” episode 23 of the series, listed with an original broadcast year of 2012. Alan Ladd stars as Dan Holiday in this hazardous tunnel-side mystery. Holiday answers contractor Douglas MacIntosh’s plea for help after fatal accidents and suspected sabotage threaten a…

    more

  50. Box 13 - "Archimedes and the Roman" (Old Time Radio, 2012)

    Box 13 presents “Archimedes and the Roman,” originally broadcast July 31, 1949. Identified as episode 50 of the 52-program series, this late-series mystery stars Alan Ladd as novelist-adventurer Dan Holiday and was written by Russell Hughes and directed by Richard Sanville. When young Marty…

    more
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ABOUT THIS SHOW

Box 13 | Old Time Radio follows former newspaper reporter and mystery writer Dan Holiday as he searches for adventure—and finds danger, crime, and mystery instead. Through a newspaper ad inviting people to send unusual assignments to Box 13, Holiday is drawn into cases involving murder, deception, missing persons, criminals, and unexpected twists. Each episode is an Old Time Retro Radio production, presenting the original broadcast with gently cleaned and mastered audio, a newly produced introduction and closing, and custom episode artwork. Starring Alan Ladd as Dan Holiday, Box 13 combines detective fiction, mystery, suspense, and classic radio adventure. Rediscover classic old time radio detective stories, mystery, crime drama, private-eye adventures, suspense, and vintage radio.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcas

HOSTED BY

Old Time Retro Radio

Produced by Brandon Lee Bates

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Box 13 | Old Time Radio have?

Box 13 | Old Time Radio currently has 117 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is Box 13 | Old Time Radio about?

Box 13 | Old Time Radio follows former newspaper reporter and mystery writer Dan Holiday as he searches for adventure—and finds danger, crime, and mystery instead. Through a newspaper ad inviting people to send unusual assignments to Box 13, Holiday is drawn into cases involving murder, deception,...

How often does Box 13 | Old Time Radio release new episodes?

Box 13 | Old Time Radio publishes regularly with 117 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.

Where can I listen to Box 13 | Old Time Radio?

You can listen to Box 13 | Old Time Radio on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.

Who hosts Box 13 | Old Time Radio?

Box 13 | Old Time Radio is created and hosted by Old Time Retro Radio.
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