This Is Your FBI - October 12, 1951 - Tropical Frame-Up - Syndication Version

We continue our look this week at the crime drama “This is Your FBI” in some early 70s syndication versions.  Usually, these aren’t of much interest to old time radio collectors since the shows had commercials omitted, but I’m posting about a half-dozen I found because of the remarkable sound.  The programs were dubbed from sub-masters created to cut syndication discs or tapes of the program.

This week’s entry is “The Tropical Frame-Up”, originally broadcast October 12, 1951.  The plot deals with a group of hijackers who do a double-cross against a member of the gang who wants to retire to a banana plantation in “Boca Grande”, supposedly an island near Cuba.  You’ll recognize old time radio favorite William Conrad in the cast.

Blog listener Randy Watts found an ad for this syndicated version of the series that dates from 1974, about the time of the old time radio “nostalgia boom”.  You can see a jpeg of it by clicking here.

Watts also found this blurb about the revival of the series i the August 18, 1975 issue of “Broadcasting” magazine, page 20, column 2:

Revival. O'Connor Creative Services, Hollywood, announces it has rights to radio syndication of 104-episode series of  This Is Your FBI, originally produced from 1945 to 1953. Each episode is half-hour, is based on actual FBI cases, and produced with cooperation of that agency.

Our mp3 was dubbed at 24 bit/96 kHz from an original 15 inches per second reel to reel full track tape assembled at Gold Star Studios.  It appears to be a direct copy of the original 1951 tape master of the show, giving us a high fidelity version of the program that reveals amazing range and detail that even FM listeners during the original series run wouldn’t have available.