Gangbusters

radio program

Also known as: “G-Men”

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Last updated

July 20, 2026

Quick Summary

Gangbusters was a radio program that aired during the Golden Age of American radio, roughly from 1930 to 1955. This program was a police and detective drama that used real crime stories as the basis for its scripts.1

The show's distinctive opening, featuring a montage of police sirens, gunfire, and other emergency sounds, was so memorable that it inspired the slang phrase "coming on like Gangbusters". The program was a revamp of an earlier show called G-Men, which was based on the exploits of FBI agents, but was altered due to disapproval from FBI head J. Edgar Hoover.1

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radio
Police and detective dramas
…the show was revamped as Gangbusters. Like Calling All Cars, it used real events as the basis for its scripts. The program’s opening—an ear-splitting montage of police whistles, marching feet, breaking glass, machine-gun fire, sirens, and screeching tires—was so distinctive that it inspired the slang phrase “coming on like Gangbusters.”
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…the show was revamped as Gangbusters. Like Calling All Cars, it used real events as the basis for its scripts. The program’s opening—an ear-splitting montage of police whistles, marching feet, breaking glass, machine-gun fire, sirens, and screeching tires—was so distinctive that it inspired the slang phrase “coming on like Gangbusters.”
Read More