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Counterspy

1942–1953 · 61 episodes · 132 listens

Counterspy was an espionage drama radio series that aired on the NBC Blue Network (later ABC) and Mutual from May 18, 1942, to November 29, 1957. The series centered around David Harding (played by Don MacLaughlin), the chief of the United States Counterspies, a fictional government agency engaged in counterintelligence against the Axis powers during World War II and later against Cold War threats.

The radio series was created by Phillips H. Lord, who had previously found success with the crime drama series Gang Busters. The program’s plots progressed through three phases: during World War II, they involved “threats from the Axis powers”; after the war ended, Cold War threats took precedence; and in the third phase, “they addressed all manner of illegal activities.” Scriptwriters for the series included Milton J. Kramer, Emile C. Tepperman, and Stanley Niss.

The Stars

Don MacLaughlin portrayed the lead character of David Harding, the chief of the United States Counterspies. Mandel Kramer played Peters, Harding’s assistant.

Key Dates

  • Counterspy debuted on May 18, 1942, and ran until November 29, 1957, a span of over 15 years.
  • The program found success on both the NBC Blue Network (later ABC) and the Mutual Broadcasting System during its long run.

Other Information

The Counterspy radio drama was adapted to film twice, as David Harding, Counterspy (July 1950) and as Counterspy Meets Scotland Yard (November 1950), both Columbia Pictures productions starring Howard St. John in the title role.

An unsuccessful pilot for a television version of Counterspy was produced in England in 1958, with Don Megowan as David Harding.

A Spanish version of Counterspy was also transmitted to South America via shortwave radio in 1942.

Cast & Crew

BBob ShepherdAnnouncerMMandel KramerActorLLeonard BassDirectorMMarx B LoebDirectorMMilton J KramerWriterMMorton FineWriterPPhillips H. LordWriter · ProducerBBill SweetsDirectorBBryna RaeburnActorJJoe CabbiboJJohn RoeburtWriterEEmile C. TeppermanWriterLLawson ZerbeActorRRobert SteenDirectorRRoger KruppAnnouncerWWalt GustafsonHHarry NelsonLLacqueline W. TreyWriterLLarry HainesActorVVictor SeydelDirectorAArva EverittWriterDDon McLaughlinActorPPeggy Lou MayerWriterJJohn MoleWriterPPalmer ThompsonWriterSStanley NissWriter

Ratings & reviews

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Episodes

Apr 11, 1950 · 30:23
After a plane and all its passengers, aliens from Cuba disappears David Harding, chief counterspy investigates a scam,…
Apr 13, 1950 · 26:39
Mike Harding of Counterspies has been invited to the police headquarters to see the city’s juvenile delinquent problem…
Apr 18, 1950 · 27:05
On the morning of March 14th 1950 Dr Frederick Ziegler eminent scientist in chemical research was in the secret…
Apr 20, 1950 · 27:23
After the train wreck had been thoroughly investigated they find their triumph had been short lived. David Harding,…
Apr 25, 1950 · 24:01
David Harding is telling his fellow counter spies how a few daring individuals can seize a whole country.
Apr 27, 1950 · 27:00
In an airfield in Washington DC the press is awaiting the arrival of Egor Muroc the diplomat who escaped from behind…
Apr 4, 1950 · 28:59
When a European professor arrives in America after the war to work on the development of turbo jet engines it is the…
Aug 11, 1949 · 29:48
“United States Counterspies, especially appointed to investigate and combat the enemies of our country, both at home…
Aug 15, 1950 · 30:20
Directed by: Leonard L. Bass Produced by: Philip H. Lord
Aug 16, 1949 · 29:54
“United States Counterspies, especially appointed to investigate and combat the enemies of our country, both at home…
Aug 18, 1949 · 28:27
“United States Counterspies, especially appointed to investigate and combat the enemies of our country, both at home…
Aug 23, 1949 · 29:41
Sometimes counterspy cases extend over a period of years. This case however, extended over a period of hours, the most…
Aug 25, 1949 · 30:34
In espionage the penalty for mistakes is death. Its faraway superiors doom every member of the guilty spy ring yet the…
Aug 30, 1949 · 31:02
The two part Case of the Cold Blooded Professor has all the elements of a good drama, the secret cellar that hid the…
Aug 9, 1949 · 30:04
“United States Counterspies, especially appointed to investigate and combat the enemies of our country, both at home…
Dec 10, 1950 · 29:07
As the story opens today, a telegram is being received at Washington from Carter who is working undercover in Buenos…
Dec 14, 1942 · 30:45
Henry Hughes holds an important position in the Pittsburgh Bronze Casting Company, which is now doing war work…
Dec 17, 1950 · 28:17
Juan and Maria traveled to New York from Puerto Rico after believing the word of a man who promised them jobs in a mill…
Dec 21, 1953 · 28:09
Arthur is a handsome, well-built man working out on his rowing machine when his wife interrupts him to ask him for…
Dec 24, 1950 · 27:57
There is a list of five thousand American citizens who the Communists may blackmail, and in today's episode, a turncoat…
Dec 3, 1950 · 28:46
Mr Blake and Mr Fulton are financial backers who have invested $50,000 into a project created by Dr Carthouse, and…
Feb 14, 1952 · 29:55
Congress have passed an amendment to the narcotics law, providing for stiff, mandatory sentences for offenders. To…
Feb 22, 1949 · 30:26
David Harding, counterspy is bound for Mexico. There has been some publicity in the newspaper about a uranium deposit…
Feb 24, 1949 · 29:53
“United States Counterspies, especially appointed to investigate and combat the enemies of our country, both at home…
Jan 1, 1942 · 29:09
In Washington, Brigadier General Whitcombe is sitting in his private office at a large oak desk. Standing in front of…
Jan 14, 1951 · 23:37
David Harding's assistant receives a call to the office, questioning whether a letter has been received from a man in…
Jan 21, 1951 · 25:32
An emergency meeting of the key Super America leaders from all over the country has been called by the Chairman of…
Jan 7, 1951 · 27:53
Trafford is leaving San Francisco in a hurry, but when he returns to his hotel room to collect the last of his things,…
Jul 25, 1945 · 30:01
Two weeks ago Charles Pearce a man in his early thirties, immaculately dressed, slight with piercing eyes stood in the…
Jul 28, 1946 · 34:47
On last April the 11th, Mary Linton a dark complexioned woman aged 30 with intense piercing eyes, stood in the centre…
Jun 13, 1945 · 31:05
A wealthy bachelor in poor health and a gun seems like a clear-cut case of suicide to some but as David Harding points…
Jun 13, 1950 · 25:00
The police were put on alert when Rick Malone who was serving a 55-year term in prison for bank robberies escaped. He…
Jun 20, 1945 · 30:00
Two weeks ago Charles Pearce a man in his early thirties, immaculately dressed, slight with piercing eyes stood in the…
Jun 22, 1942 · 28:00
One of the methods enemy spies have been using recently to enter the country is to try and fly over our borders at…
Jun 8, 1942 · 31:12
Backing our great navy and army at the front is our invisible army of United States Counterspies who work quietly,…
Mar 1, 1943
A deftly paced Washington caper that starts with a whisper and tightens with each coded call. The opening minutes set a…
May 2, 1950 · 27:26
Separating Mexico from the United States is the Rio Grande River. On the Mexican bank of the river one dark chilly…
May 4, 1950 · 27:33
Two weeks ago in the vaults of the New York jewel dealers Lamar & Muffett the crystalline diamond, an official gift to…
Nov 12, 1950 · 29:41
Doctor Hilton is traveling to Washington on the railroad by himself, and his companion on the ride to the station is…
Nov 19, 1950 · 30:45
Silky just can't figure out the story on Lily. She had Dirk Martin, the biggest gambler in town, on a string, which…
Nov 26, 1950 · 28:11
Dylan was an attorney before the state relieved him of his practice. Recently, he has been working on some business,…
Nov 3, 1950 · 30:41
Midway through a world cruise, Horace and Lydia Walters are on a day trip ashore. Walking through a town in Africa,…
Oct 11, 1949 · 30:00
Twenty two storeys above the streets of Manhattan in the panelled library of the penthouse a well groomed man in a…
Oct 13, 1949 · 30:00
A bottle of chloroform, drops of green oil and eyes without a body and the result is unpredictable. Add these…
Oct 13, 1950 · 30:05
David Harding counterspy chef is called in by the Defence Department to investigate a fire in a storage depot…
Oct 18, 1949 · 30:37
It's 2 a.m. and a low hanging haze clings to the surface of New York's east river. All is quiet except for the lapping…
Oct 20, 1949 · 30:50
Dr Brewster an American scientist arrived in Lucerne in Switzerland where he expected to be taken by a chauffeur to a…
Oct 20, 1950 · 29:20
David Harding counterspy investigates a man calling himself Albert Lemar. Lemar is a dangerous enemy agent who under…
Oct 27, 1950 · 6:10
Harding takes a call from Agent Ferguson at the counterspy liaison bureau in Washington. He has been requested to…
Oct 4, 1949 · 30:10
It was a moonless night in a small southern town near the Mexican border. In a dimly lit evil smelling corner of a…
Oct 6, 1949 · 27:50
A little over six weeks ago in a small mid-European country a man, a private secretary of a diplomat named Vornay lay…
Sep 1, 1949 · 31:21
Professor Horne causes David Harding and the counterspies many more frantic hours when he uses prison pants that have…
Sep 13, 1949 · 30:11
The Flatbush Fagin case deals with the teenage terrors that worshipped a heel, the stolen loot that was paid for with a…
Sep 14, 1942 · 29:29
Forty-two years ago Liza Gott married. Marc Gott her husband sailed away and was drowned. For forty-one years Liza Gott…
Sep 15, 1949 · 30:57
From a hideout high above New York a master criminal brain used human beings and stolen automobiles like pawns in a…
Sep 20, 1949 · 30:59
The two part case of the Postal Pirates has all the elements of a good drama, the little black box that caught revolver…
Sep 22, 1949 · 31:40
The death of Jimmy Morrison and Cathy Thomas plus the simultaneous raids the counterspies made in Boston, Chicago,…
Sep 27, 1949 · 30:56
It was a pristine trail of big time bootleggers who counterspies followed from a small tavern in backwoods Mississippi…
Sep 29, 1949 · 30:56
Tangling with the criminal the David Harding counterspy called the Vicious Visitor was dangerous for all concerned. For…
Sep 6, 1949 · 30:56
One of the most despicable of all crimes is the malicious setting of fire. Vilest of all criminals is the professional…
Sep 8, 1949 · 29:29
In the case of the Courageous Come On you will meet the girl who was good at being bad until she saw a blind spot, the…
Ned, your old-time-radio guide
Ned · your guide to the archive

Ned here. Forty-odd years I've spent with these old shows — and if you took to Counterspy, I'd wager my last valve you'll love this lot.

Dangerous Assignment
Both feature lone American intelligence agents undertaking dangerous covert missions against enemy forces
I Was A Communist For The FBI
Both are Cold War espionage dramas focusing on American agents battling Communist subversion and infiltration
Cloak And Dagger
Both dramatise covert intelligence operations with patriotic fervour and a focus on the human cost of espionage
Man Called X, The
Both feature a single American intelligence operative undertaking dangerous overseas missions for national security
FBI In Peace And War, The
Both focus on American government agencies protecting national security through intelligence operations