Another medium where shadows and lights conveyed themselves as sound and narrative is what one may have arguably considered to be referred to as audio noir of 1940's radio. And this was a time when OTR offered the same such noir themes as their silver-screen counterparts, rife with acerbic dialogue and would-be paeans to the beloved genre's gumshoes. Enter Mr Richard Diamond the premier vocal detective. Immortalized in what was the seminal radio detective series Richard Diamond, Detective, would decades later reinvent itself in visionary Dennis Potter's acclaimed series The Singing Detective.
Richard Diamond paved the way for a new wave of hardboiled radio stories. Lest we forget the inimitable contribution that Philip Marlowe made for the world, of sardonic and salty-tongued private eyes. Audio noir was a companion genre to the growing popularity of noir, and made its impact in the center of the golden age between 1942 and 1953.
Boston Blackie starring the charming Chester Morris, and Dashiel Hammett's brainchild - Sam Spade, would also garner listeners to be kept at the edge of their radios. And radio had its 'B' productions as well, in other lesser acknowledged series' ; Pat Novak for Hire and NBC's Rocky Fortune where Ol' Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra lent his dulcets as Rocco Fortunato.
