Deadly Merchandise
UMKC identifies this opening adventure with a missing arms shipment and a dangerous misunderstanding. It is a useful introduction to Shannon and Sailor.
Listen to this episode ↗Adventure & Spy
Bold Venture.
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall trade danger and dry humour as Slate Shannon and Sailor Duval. From a Havana hotel to Shannon's boat, Bold Venture, their Caribbean adventures mix criminal intrigue with the chemistry of two unmistakable voices.
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A boat, a hotel and a dangerous favour.
Slate Shannon runs a Havana hotel and owns the boat that gives the series its name. Sailor Duval is his resourceful companion. Their work and acquaintances pull them into adventures around the Caribbean, with the relationship between the two leads as much a reason to listen as the next complication.
Bogart and Bacall bring their screen partnership to a production designed for recorded radio. Listen for the contrast between Shannon's weary toughness and Sailor's willingness to answer back.
Take the first voyage.
Bold Venture · THE COLLECTION
Choose your next episode.
Choose from 57 episodes. Search by title or sort by running time.
Showing 1-20 of 57 recordings.
Deadly Merchandise
27:20I’m Going to Die
26:31Marriage and Murder
26:57Crazy Old Carlo
26:34Revenge Is Sweet
26:52The Big KO
26:25Stolen
26:39Terminal Key
26:18Man from Sumatra
26:34
The directory follows the order of the available collection. Historical dates, where verified, are explained in the episode guides.
Radio fitted around two film careers.
Bold Venture was a Ziv syndicated series of 1951-1952. Recorded production allowed Bogart and Bacall to make several instalments ahead of transmission rather than appear at a live microphone every week. David Friedkin and Morton Fine developed the project for that arrangement.
The archive cautions that stations did not carry the episodes in a single universal order or at one agreed time. Even the first known date listed for Deadly Merchandise is qualified. This guide therefore avoids assigning an exact premiere date to every recording.
Did you know?
The television version is not the Bogart-Bacall radio production. A 1959 television adaptation cast Dane Clark and Joan Marshall as Shannon and Duval.
Before you listen.
Are Bogart and Bacall really in Bold Venture?
Yes. Humphrey Bogart plays Slate Shannon and Lauren Bacall plays Sailor Duval in the radio series. [1]
What does the title refer to?
Bold Venture is the name of Shannon's boat. His Havana hotel is another recurring centre of the action. [4]
Why do episode dates vary between collections?
It was syndicated to individual stations. UMKC warns that broadcasts did not follow one universal sequence or schedule. [3]
If you enjoy Bold Venture.
Rocky Jordan
For another proprietor whose overseas business puts him in the path of intrigue.
The Adventures of Frank Race
For action and investigations beyond a conventional private-eye office.
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Sources and recording notes.
Programme and historical references
Heritage Radio Vault recordings
Official Bold Venture recordings ↗ supplies the available audio, artwork and modern recording metadata.
This guide covers the Bogart-Bacall radio series. It does not borrow cast credits from the 1959 television adaptation. Programme history is separate from the dates of these modern Spreaker uploads.
Historical references and modern publication dates describe different events. Sources checked 4 November 2026. Original scripts, recordings, performances and music may carry rights belonging to their respective owners. For corrections or rights enquiries: markwilliams@heritageradiovault.com.