CBS
CBS · 1940–1955
Broadcasts
85
Cadence
Seasonal
Rated
PG
Since
1940
The run
When Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons first debuted over the Blue Network on October 12, 1937, the show’s title accurately described Keen’s stock-in-trade; the “kindly old investigator” tracked down individuals who had mysteriously vanished, leaving behind their families, homes, jobs and other day-to-day activities. Keen (he never had a first name, unless it was “Peachy”) was assisted in these duties by an Irishman named Mike Clancy. Mike wasn’t much of a brainiac (the quote that comprises the title of this post was a semi-catchphrase that he seemed to use on the show every week) but he could use…
Source collection
Old Time Radio Researchers Group
Rights
Public domain — no renewed US copyright
Cataloguing
Air dates and notes from the Archive item record
The shape of the run
12 dated broadcasts across 16 years on the air, with 10 years where nothing is known to survive. Brightness is transfer quality; empty cells are months lost to time.
Episodes
Start here
Restored broadcasts from 1940, in original transmission order.
9 May 1940 · 13 min
Broadcast 9 May 1940. Public-domain transfer from the Old Time Radio Researchers certified set at the Internet Archive.
13 Jan 1944 · 30 min
Broadcast 13 January 1944. Public-domain transfer from the Old Time Radio Researchers certified set at the Internet Archive.
24 Feb 1944 · 29 min
16 Nov 1944 · 29 min
Broadcast 16 November 1944. Public-domain transfer from the Old Time Radio Researchers certified set at the Internet Archive.
28 Oct 1948 · 16 min
Broadcast 28 October 1948. Public-domain transfer from the Old Time Radio Researchers certified set at the Internet Archive.
6 Oct 1949 · 28 min
10 Nov 1949 · 29 min
Broadcast 10 November 1949. Public-domain transfer from the Old Time Radio Researchers certified set at the Internet Archive.
16 Feb 1950 · 29 min
Broadcast 16 February 1950. Public-domain transfer from the Old Time Radio Researchers certified set at the Internet Archive.
Same night on the air
Everything else the archive still holds from the night of 13 Apr 1950.
13 April
1950
NBC
Thursday
27 min
Originally broadcast on NBC, 13 April 1950.
Internet ArchiveTalesOfTheTexasRangersRough but complete · 32 kbps
13 April
1950
CBS
Thursday
29 min
Internet ArchiveOTRR_Suspense_SinglesClean transfer · 164 kbps
13 April
1950
CBS
Thursday
27 min
Broadcast on CBS.
Internet ArchiveAdventuresOfMaisieCondition unmeasured
Also on CBS
Other series the network carried while Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons was on the air.
Same seasons
Series in the same genre whose runs overlapped this one.
If you liked this
Chosen by the same editors.
