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"Murder as a steady occupation has its handicaps… the pay is high, but so are the gallows from which, sooner or later, they hang you."

Running from 1951 through 1955, Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator is about a New York private eye. Produced in New York from 1951 to 1954 and then moved it to Hollywood where it aired from 1954 to 1955. This entertaining old time radio series originally titled "Barry Crane" was later renamed "Barrie Craig."

The series starred William Gargan (also played detective Martin Kane) as Barrie Craig, the lone private detective, who worked and solved cases from his Madison Avenue office. Gargan actually worked in as a private detective, collecting agent; his duties ranged from doing stakeouts to working as a bodyguard. He was shot while on the investigating a deadbeat customer. This life experience surely added to the depth of his characterization of Barrie Craig, Ellery Queen (three films) and Martin Kane.

While most detectives at the time were no nonsense hardboiled types, Barrie Craig is extraordinary due to his laid back personality. He rarely gets worried even in life threatening situations, it takes a lot to ruffle his feathers. Craig narrates the story much like Joe Friday in Dragnet and Sam Spade.

An interesting note: two Inner Sanctum scripts were actually reused in the Barrie Craig series.

Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator was an old time radio detective series that was produced and aired from New York in 1951 - 1954. This crime series followed the life of Barrie Craig, who was portrayed by actor William Gargan. Gargan played the New York City private eye so well that the program continued its airing in Hollywood from 1954 - 1955. Craig ran his operation from his office in Madison Avenue. He solved crimes, relentlessly pursued criminals, and was not above taking odd jobs. Whereas majority of the investigative themed old radio shows featured no-nonsense and hard-boiled detectives, Barrie Craig poked fun at the traditional local private eye with his laid-back and easy-going manner.

Entertain yourself with the mysterious cases of Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator!

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Please enjoy these 67 old time radio episodes:

Air Date	Title	Synopsis
02.09.1955	nobody lives there anymore	+ sustained "Nobody Lives There Any More". "One of the things better to be a killers is not have ...
03.30.1955	never murder a mummy	+ sustained "Never Murder A Mummy". "Problems in living life in the world of crime is that you wil...
01.09.1952	murder island	+ sustaining. Barry met a burlesque queen who had a gift to uncovere corpses mistery. Barry also m...
11.21.1951	murder in wax	+ NBC net sustaining. A wax museum apparently able to forecast the future and A bloody parrot gave c...
10.08.1952	murder by threes	+ "Murder By Three". "One sure way to reduce the body beautiful and eliminate excess fat is horizo...
07.13.1954	murder by error	+ sustained "Murder By Error".A husband of a beautiful woman squeezed of $ 10,000 by a manikin who ...
02.20.1952	motive for murder	+ "Motive For Murder". "Death flies the Atlantic from Lisbon to New York, a corpse breaks the bank...
08.17.1954	mid summer lunacy	+ sustained "Mid-Summer Lunacy". Barrie was hired by a fake client, A beautiful blonde, to check ou...
10.24.1951	microfilm in the fishtank	+ Barrie Craig must defeat a brutal protection racket gang after a tailor's store is burnt to the ...
11.07.1954	life line	+ sustained "Lifeline". "The boy could not found the comfortness when he moved from his bed to the ...
09.22.1953	kitchens come with knives	+ Barry Craig had been told when he took the job that Sam Jenkins partner suspected that he was rele...
08.31.1954	hay is for homicide	+ sustained "Hay Is For Murder" ("Homicide" ?). While his vacation on Maine, Barrie found a corpese...
09.07.1954	ghosts dont die in bed	+ sustained "Ghosts Don't Die In Bed". A dead body from the eighty years old murder case was foun...
12.19.1951	ghost of a chance	+ NBC net sustaining. Barrie Craig said when a man came back from his dead to haunt his wife who has...
08.03.1954	for love of murder	+ sustained "For Love Of Murder". Barrie bails out of jail a broken hearted man and possibly a murd...
10.13.1953	fog over murder	+ Dr Banner consults Barrie Craig for his help to discover the identity of his client, temporarily n...
01.16.1952	fatal appointment	+ NBC net sustaining. A man's love and romantic date winds up a death . A beuatiful girl's found dea...
02.06.1952	diary of death	+ sustaining. A Murder counted a bloody tree refer to the two peaces of a treasure map that should ...
08.10.1954	deaths bargain basement	+ sustained "Death's Bargain Basement". "Jail cell turns into honeymoon cottage where prisoners ove...
01.02.1952	death of a private eye	+ NBC net sustaining. Barrie hired by a man who pay a visit, but Barrie found that the mas has death...
07.27.1954	death buys a bedroom	+ sustained "Death Buys A Bedroom". In his vacation in the mountains, Barrie met a beautiful gir...
12.12.1951	death and the purple cow	NBC net sustaining. A man with a gun told Barrie Craig to not accept a new client. The gunman shot h...
11.14.1951	dead on arrival	+ NBC net sustaining. The Diary of George Washington Diary was found in an old clock. The Diary coul...
10.15.1952	dead loss	+ sustained "Dead Loss". The story was about the mistery of A Man who was buried six months before ...
N/A	echo corners

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I also like the over the top always on the edge of death Boston blackie

Chris

Johnny dollar got hit hard. That's why I loved those crime shows. Oh and the "dames"

Chris

I really liked Barry Craig a lot, a very smart, experienced PI. Wish it had lasted longer, or at least people had more episodes

Christopher

Great voice....can't think of a show he did that wasn't good

James

When you say his name, you have to do it sounding like Don Pardo.

Bernhard

I also like the over the top always on the edge of death Boston blackie

Christ

If those gumshoes were knocked unconscious every episode they'd have some major concussion issues..hard heads

Christoph

Barrie Craig was great.

Carl

This crime drama featured William Gargan as Craig, "Your man when you can't go to the cops... Confidentiality a specialty." It was broadcast from October 31, 1951 to June 30, 1955. This program is one of the few detective radio series that had separate versions of it broadcast from the East & West coasts. Even the spelling changed over the years. It was first "Barry Crane" and then "Barrie Craig". NBC produced it in New York from 1951 to 1954 and then moved it to Hollywood where it aired from 1954 to 1955. It attracted only occasional sponsors so it was usually a sustainer. William Gargan, who also played the better known television (and radio) detective Martin Kane, was the voice of New York eye BARRY CRAIG while Ralph Bell portrayed his associate, Lt. Travis Rogers. Craig's office was on Madison Avenue and his adventures were fairly standard PI fare. He worked alone, solved cases efficiently, and feared no man.

BARRY CRAIG, CONFIDENTIAL INVESTIGATOR