All these episodes have been digitally restored and remastered. Each episode has had the major clicks, pops, and distortions removed while preserving the vintage sound.
- The Whispering Buddha
Blackstone's new Buddha, like everything in his studio, comes with a story. When Blackstone and Rhoda stumble onto black marketers, only magic can save them!
The episode ends with Blackstone teaching Don, Rhoda and you his magic lie detector routine. Originally broadcast 11/14/1948
- The Organ Murder
Blackstone's new organ comes, of course, with a story attached. Rhoda's friend comes to Blackstone for help when her husband is murdered. Can the Magic Detective bring his killers to justice...or was it Rhoda's friend who pulled the trigger?
Vibrations from a singing fork are mystically transported from a glass to a bottle in this episode's trick, which Blackstone eventually explains to the audience. Originally broadcast 11/21/1948
- The Ghost That Wasn't
When Blackstone is late, it leads to the story of how two minutes changed a man's life. Of course, those were the two minutes Blackstone needed to prove that Mortimer Weldon's house was never really haunted!
After the story Blackstone challenges his friends to remove a dollar bill trapped between two bottles balanced on top of one another. Originally broadcast 11/28/1948
- The Icy Touch
The Maybrook Medallion is a valuable piece of art, worth over $50,000. When the owner insists Blackstone use it in a trick, it disappears for real! After Blackstone finds the real thief, he swears that the Magic Detective was his accomplice! Can Blackstone clear his name?
Blackstone uses the same principle he used to clear his name in a trick to do at home. Originally broadcast 12/05/1948
- Underwater Death
Things are going wrong as Blackstone prepares for a thrilling underwater escape. First, the wrong type of truck is sent. Second, the truck drivers are actually crooks out to murder Blackstone and rob the local bank!
Blackstone presents a different kind of card trick as he challenges Rhoda to drop cards into a hat from shoulder height...another great bar bet. Originally broadcast 12/12/1948
- The Coins of Confucius
Blackstone finds a stolen pendant that once belonged to China's Dowager Empress using magic. This episode highlights some of the classic radio dialogue found in this series.
After the mystery has been solved, Blackstone teaches you the Odd and Even Coin Trick. Originally broadcast 12/19/1948
Or buy all 56 episodes:
Blackstone Detective.
Listen along to the thrilling adventures of Blackstone, the Magic Detective. Each week he will solve a variety of mysteries with magic. Along with his main assistant, the beautiful Rhoda Brent (voiced by Fran Carlon) and their radio announcers Alan Kent and Don Hancock (or here and there John, played by Ted Osborne, who may be Rhoda's boyfriend) we get to hear thrilling inside stories about the mementos he has collected when solving fantastic crimes or the magic apparatus Blackstone has used to solve them. Then, Blackstone lets us in on the magic we can do at home and "reveal the guarded secrets of the world's greatest living magician!"
The truth is, of course, that they are all simple little tricks, sometimes little more than barbets. In fact, Blackstone is not even the real Blackstone but veteran radio actor Ed Jerome. Many episodes were written by Walter Gibson, though, with Nancy Webb penning the rest. These are great stories for magicians and anyone who appreciates the exciting, if sometimes a bit sensational, storytelling found in old time radio.
At one time, there were as many as 78 episodes. However, about two dozen have been lost over the years. This represents the most complete collection known to exist, minus the so-called Shark Island Story, which is sometimes represented as an episode from an unknown date. It is actually The Voodoo Treasure.
If you like these kinds of stories you might also be interested in The Blackstone Magic Comics which feature also Blackstone using his magic knowledge to defeat the thieves and other criminals.