When you hear the shimmering horns followed by the distinctive car horn "beeps" - you know you're in for a wonderful combination of great writing and acting grounded in a sense of place and time that makes it one of the top radio shows of all time.

Today we think of Broadway in terms of theaters and shows - but there is hardly any of that in this program. Instead, this Broadway is a portrayed as it must have seemed to most of the people of the time - a place of saturating colors, exotic attractions, and broken dreams.

Danny Clover is an unusual main character because he has genuine flaws. He has the impatience of a New Yorker. The program opens with Larry Thor reciting lyric observations about the season of the year, the feel of the city and what was becoming known as the "rat race". But, heaven forbid that Detective Muggavan should spend one extra adjective trying to find meaning in a seeming senseless act of violence - Danny Clover is all over him to "get to the point".

And while he has obvious affection for Gino Tartaglia, he can barely force himself to get through a truncated version of a workplace greeting before his patience wears thin. And Danny - would it kill you to once, JUST ONCE, actually make it over to Gino's house for some of Mrs. T's home cooking?

Gino is one of the three great supporting characters in this show - Sgt. Muggavan and Doctor Czinski being the other two. The glimpses of Tartaglia family life, Gino's moods and ruminations, and his love of great works of fiction like the adventures of "The Twanger" are always amusing. But, in addition to the daily interactions between Danny and Gino, and Danny and Muggavan, there is the larger workplace relationships - Gino insisting that people knock on Danny's door, Gino and Muggavan bickering, Muggavan annoying Danny by answering his phone. There is some depth to the workplace that you don't find on other shows.

The relationship between Detective Danny Clover and Doctor Czinski is also exceptionally well done. These are two men who are battered by what they experience, who search for meaning, and a sense of peace, in the face of violence and death. There are times when their personal communion runs deep - and then there are times when Danny is impatient and cuts the Doctor off, demanding he get to the point.

There are two minor recurring characters worth mentioning - Doctor Gordon of the crime lab, and Detective Dennison, who played a roll similar to Muggavan, presumably when actor Jack Kruschen wasn't available. Doctor Gordon is a button pushing gas bag that Danny Clover cannot stand - their verbal battles are short but memorable. Sgt. Dennison is a bit of a smart ass - his needling of his superior, Lt. Danny Clover, after Danny loses a woman he is following in the subway is very well written and played.

One of the things I love about old time radio shows is the way it opens a window into a world that existed before I was born. While the ubiquitous use of cigarettes is one element that jars a modern listener, what floored me was the change in the way we view first aid. Danny Clover and Muggavan will arrive on the scene of a stabbing, observe that the victim is hanging by a thread between life and death - and they will do nothing but stand around, questioning witnesses and waiting for someone with a stretcher to show up and carry the victim away to a hospital, where treatment can begin. (Almost always, unsuccessfully.)

While the "whodunit" aspect of the show is there - you can find that in many detective shows. The mystery aspect of the show is well done, and usually depends as much on the character and psychology of the suspects as it does the traditional "clues". Where the show excels is in the excellent writing that deftly creates quirky characters reacting in ways that seem entirely authentic to strange situations like violent death and being questioned by police. The journey to finding the killer - and the people you meet along the way - are better than the scene that finally reveals the killer. (Don't expect any concerns about any of the suspect's Miranda rights - another difference.)

Still, the best thing about the show is that all this great dialog and detective work happens in a month that is vividly described in Larry Thor's poetic narratives, and in the exposition of the stories. The locations - the tenements, the luxury apartments, the hotels, the subway - are all brought to life (although if you binge-listen to the entire series, the number of times you hear a street address of "1212" will start to stand out.) And within those discrete places and times of the year, the rhythm of hustling and broken dreams and a search for connections comes through.

And that's why Broadway Is My Beat is one of the best radio shows of them all.

For those who want to try the show - don't start at the beginning. The show is not the "Broadway is My Beat" that I praise until Larry Thor and the new writing crew were installed. The initial episodes were barely mediocre. I would recommend starting with Episode Number 11, The Val Dane Murder Case. If you start there, you are going to get the real flavor.

.... up to October 2022 - and found them all fascinating and informative. You people really know your stuff, and your knowledge is expressed with obvious love for this show and series.
And I am about to begin that journey. April 2023, at my home in Surrey. U.K. , I'm ready to go. Episode 1. Exciting.
One thing - it HAS to be pretty damn good - or you guys don't know what you're talking about!! 🤣
Glad I found this. Took me long enough. Been listening to radio all my life. Every day. Bet a lot of you are the same. Every day.
This is the best website I ever used.
Press 'play'....

With hindsight this is one of the OTR shows I enjoyed the most.I highly recommend this show

I do not agree with the criticism concerning the "soliloquies". They create, as does the background sounds of the city, an atmosphere which gently introduced me into the main story. Very good acting by all and, with very few exceptions, a great story line.
I grew up with the BBC which I genuinely believed, ranked supreme in the production values of its drama output. But since listening to various US OTR dramas, I now realise that that whilst the BBC did indeed provide consistently high production values, the US excelled. Although it is very sad that these dramas are no longer being produced, I doubt that in my lifetime, I will hear more than a very few. For that, I am glad to have found this resource.

FYI:

Replaced files on this page from the Version 3 Release (07-Jan-2020).

For the full OTRR Release, see the OTRR Certified page:

OTRR Broadway is My Beat

- Old Time Radio Researchers Group

I have been a Professional Actor for nearly 40 years,
I grew up listening to real "make-believe world: created by incredibly skilled actors and actresses who had talents to interpret the emotions the writers had put into every word.
The skilled sound effects people who made my mind see the action.
So why did so many of the great programs, actors, actresses and writes not succeed in the TV era?

Here's why.
Not 1TV actor looked anything to my eyes what my mind knew they looked like.

Hi! The Broadway Theater was on 7th Ave. in Portland, which is actually called Broadway Ave. And although the Broadway no longer stands, (Hilton Hotel now occupies that spot) this theater was directly across from the Paramount Theater which does still stand and is a Portland icon. Portland - yea that's MY beat!

I just listened to all the shows (not at one sitting) and rate this one of my top 3 OTR shows. Frivolous Trivia: The cover shot used for the CD, and displayed for this program is for the Broadway Theatre in Portland, Oregon.

I love this show, EXCEPT for the soliloquies about Broadway attributed to Danny Clover by the writers Morton Fine and David Friedkin. None of Danny's normal conversation indicates that he would be the type to think such. To me, it's just the writers "showing off."

BTW, judging by the voice, it is my opinion that both Detective Muggavin and Dr. Csinski were played by Jack Kruschen.

.

no such person in this episode

I love this show! On the other hand I strongly disagree with the excessive use of the word, "boy" on the show,"Broadway is my beat."

This is in my top 5 favorites for old time radio shows.

THIS IS A GREAT SHOW, GREAT PLOTS ONE OF THE BETTER ONES.

Just right click on the file size and you should have no problem downloading singles.

I listen to a lot of OTRR stuff but “BIMB” is in a class of it's own, the dialogue is great but the narration is just something else – existential poetry, think Raymond Chandler meets Alan Ginsberg - “the blood sighed across his shirt front” - love that “sighed”, I must download the script files – I assume that's what the *.rtf files are, I have no internet connection, on that point what are the extras in the “The Certified Set” - I use the local Library connection and am limited to 2 hours a day and the Certified zips estimate 2hrs 11mins download time – give us single episode downloaders the extras PLEASE.

Must agree with “Police Chief” about the Clover - Barret scenes, you can hear the depth of the relationship between the two of them in even the shortest exchanges.

I'm 2 episodes into the Wrigley's sponsorship and even their crass commercialisation can't spoil it, but oh dear, the music – especially when the corpse is discovered!

The cast of "Broad is My Beat" has a serious omission here of Anthony "Tony" Barrett.

To illustrate his creative talent, Barrett was praised by Ayn Rand for his portrayal of the protagonist Equality 72521 in her novella "Anthem" which was broadcast on radio in September 1950.

She wrote to Barrett to personally thank him. She wrote that despite the limited material of a radio script that he had to work with, he made the voice of Equality 72521 come alive for her like she never imagined possible.

One of the best 'Broadway is My Beat" episodes is the "Georgia Gray Murder (April 28, 1951) which starred Barrett as Tommy Chandler. No human being could have played the Chandler character better than Barrett. If you want hear OTR at its best, listen to it: dialogue and music were the finest ever produced for radio or elsewhere.

All the scenes with Danny Clover (Larry Thor) and Tommy Chandler (Barret) and particularly near the end is the best radio acting I have ever witnessed. A terrifying scene that follows is the best portrayal of horror from the voice of an actor ever (in this case Barrett's). The concluding line of Thor is sheer genuis in creative writing. For me, this episode of Barrett's work was stunning in its excellence.

I tracked him down on various You Tube clips of the 1949 (?) Hollywood film "Impact" with Brian Donlevy, to see what Barrett looked like. Handsome, but his film acting doesn't compare to his brilliance as a radio voice and actor.

I can and do listen to this series over and over and over and over and over.... I find myself laughing out loud with pleasure at the creativity brilliance of the writers and actors. This series is for me is honestly a true marvel.

Barrett went on to TV and some films, but did quite a lot of TV script writing.