Wouldn't it be neat if you were a biochemist and could invent a Telepathic Indicator to pick up thought flashes and a Secret Diffusion Capsule to make yourself invisible?  Well, if you were smart, you might go out and go on a nice crime spree with stuff like that.  But, if you're Jim Brandon, you'll get yourself an attractive assistant, run your voice through a telephone filter, and go out fighting crime.

"The Avenger" ran for 26 episodes in the Fall of 1945, based on a Street and Smith Publications character that had its own magazine from 1939 to 1942.  The Avenger combined elements of the more well-known Shadow and Doc Savage, but didn't do as well as either one of his more famous siblings.

In this entry, we offer program 15 in the series, "The Department of Death" where the Avenger and his assistant, Fern, investigate murder in a department store.  The whole idea is rather charming - today, the incredible Digital Security Camera would make the Avenger's Telepathic Indicator rather obsolete.

Our show was transferred directly from a set of Charles Michelson, Inc-WOR red vinyl transcriptions.

I’d like to give a special tip of the hat to David Kiner for this week’s mp3 transfer. I recently arranged a trade for a couple of transcriptions with him and he generously threw in a digital transfer of the discs, complete with CEDAR processing. Kiner sells high quality discs of old time radio material and you can find his cds at his ebay store.

Next up, we're going to hear a program about a man who leads a double life, using mysterious powers of the mind to fight crime with his attractive assistant.  Sounds like "The Shadow", doesn't it?

Well, not exactly...

"The Avenger" was a series that ran for 26 episodes in the Fall of 1945, based on a Street and Smith Publications character that had its own magazine from 1939 to 1942.  The character combined elements of the more well-known Shadow and Doc Savage, but never really caught on.  A kind of "poor man's Shadow" is how some have described the series.

In this entry, we hear "The Thoroughbred Murders", program 14 in the series, originally broadcast September 7, 1945 and syndicated by Charles Michelson, Inc.  In this show, the Avenger goes through Standard Radio Mystery Plot Number 37, investigating shady dealings and murder at a race track.

The mp3 was transferred directly from a set of Charles Michelson, Inc-WOR red vinyl transcriptions.

I’d like to give a special acknowledgment to David Kiner for this week’s mp3 transfer. I recently arranged a trade for a couple of transcriptions with him and he generously threw in a digital transfer of the discs, complete with CEDAR processing. Kiner sells high quality discs of old time radio material and you can find his cds at his ebay store.