The Adventures of Sam Spade was first heard on ABC July 12, 1946, as a Friday-night summer series. The show clicked at once, and went into a regular fall lineup on CBS September 29, 1946. From then until 1949, Sam Spade was a Sunday-night thriller for Wildroot Cream Oil, starring Howard Duff in the title role. With Duff's departure, NBC took the series, leaving it on Sunday for Wildroot and starring Stephen Dunne as Spade. This version lasted until 1951, the last year running as a Friday sustainer. Spade's appearance on the air marked an almost literal transition from Dashiell Hammett's 1930 crime classic, The Maltese Falcon, where he first appeared.

THIS EPISODE:
February 9, 1951. NBC network. "The Sure Thing Caper". Sustaining. "Five Dollar Frankie" has been cheated by "Gentle Joe Higgins," a known horse-doper. "Gentle Joe" has a "sure thing," however, it's a most unusual "sure thing"! Part of one public service announcement has been deleted. Steve Dunne, Lurene Tuttle, William Spier (producer, editor, director), John Michael Hayes (writer), Lud Gluskin (composer), Robert Armbruster (conductor), Wally Maher, Dashiell Hammett (creator). 29:37