Boxcars711 Old Time Radio: Recent Episodes
Bob Camardella
Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Offers the best of Old Time Radio, Oldies, Easy Listening and Talk. Broadcasting from the heart of Germantown, on WPNM radio, and over the Shoutcast Network, host Bob Camardella mixes his vast collection of entertainment, with news and events from the ole neighborhood reunion groups of Germantown, Phila., Pa., Where The Oldies Are Still Young
Boxcars 711-Worlds Greatest Short Stories-401001-The Last Class
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Boxcars 711-Worlds Greatest Short Stories-400930-The Tell Tale Heart
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Boxcars 711-Worlds Greatest Short Stories-400301-What Is It
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Boxcars 711-Worlds Greatest Short Stories-391207-The Raven
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Boxcars 711-Your Story Parade-The Touch Of Gold
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Boxcars 711-Your Story Parade-The Valiant Little Tailor
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Boxcars 711-World Adventure's Club-1932-The Borneo Diamond
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Boxcars 711-World Adventure's Club-1932-Pancho Villas Treasure
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Boxcars 711-World Adventure's Club-1932-Manchurian Limited
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Boxcars 711-World Adventure's Club-1932-Papua Escape
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Boxcars 711-Your Playhouse Of Favorites-480614-Robin Hood
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Boxcars 711-Your Playhouse Of Favorites-480514-Treasure Island
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Boxcars 711-Your Playhouse Of Favorites-480426-The Three Musketeers
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Boxcars 711-Your Playhouse Of Favorites-480422-The Necklace
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Boxcars 711-Young Love-490808-The Dean Gets Married
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Boxcars 711-Young Love-490808-The Dean Gets Married
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Boxcars 711-Young Love-490801-Visit By Janet's Mom And Jimmy's Dad
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Boxcars 711-Young Love-490801-Visit By Janet's Mom And Jimmy's Dad
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Boxcars 711-Young Love-490718-Engagement Ceremony
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Boxcars 711-Young Love-490509-Audition Show
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Boxcars 711-Wormwood Forest-490108
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Boxcars 711-The Wayside Theater-381002-Romance In Old Monterey
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Boxcars 711-Warner Brothers Academy Theater-380522-Don't Bet On Blondes
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Boxcars 711-Warner Brothers Academy Theater-380515-That Certain Woman Part 2
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INTRO: Bob Plays The Danleers "One Summer Night" (1958)
All Promises Are Fictitious (Aired April 17, 1940)
During a typical 23-minute episode of the Burns and Allen show, the vast majority of the dialogue and speaking parts were written for Allen, who was credited with having the genius to deliver her lengthy diatribes in a fashion that made it look as though she was making her arguments up on the spot. (One running gag on the TV show was the existence of a closet full of hats belonging to various visitors to the Burns household, where the guests would slip out the door unnoticed, leaving their hats behind, rather than face another round with Gracie.) A continuing joke on the show was that George would say, "Say good night, Gracie," and Gracie would say, "Good night Gracie!" Ralph Pape used the catchphrase for the title of his play, Say Goodnight, Gracie, produced by Steppenwolf in 1983, and the phrase lives on as a title of other books and stage productions.
THIS EPISODE:
April 17, 1940. "All Promises Are Fictitious" - CBS network. Sponsored by: Hinds Honey and Almond Cream. At the Omaha convention of Gracie's Suprise Party, the men will be expected to grow beards and dress as if it were 1870. Gracie rehearses the speech she will be making in Dallas. She sings, "When The Sweet Potato Piper Plays." George Burns, Gracie Allen, Frank Parker, Ray Noble and His Orchestra, Truman Bradley (announcer), Mary Kelley (as "Bubbles"). 29:15. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.
Boxcars 711-Warner Brothers Academy Theater-380508-That Certain Woman Part 1
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Boxcars 711-Warner Brothers Academy Theater-380424-Special Agent
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Boxcars 711-Warner Brothers Academy Theater-380403-One Way Passage
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Boxcars 711-Wanted-500714-Myron "Mike Selik" for Conspiracy To Murder
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Boxcars 711-Wanted-500811-The Case Of Kenneth "Two Gun Wagner"
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Boxcars 711-Wanted-500701-William Willie "The Actor Sutton"
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Boxcars 711-Wanted-500701-William Willie "The Actor Sutton"
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Boxcars 711-The Wayside Theater-381211-Mad Cap Princess
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Boxcars 711-The Wayside Theater-381211-Mad Cap Princess
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Boxcars 711-The Wayside Theater-381106-Rest Cure
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The Wireless Set (Aired September 21, 1952)
This series was very similar to the Black Museum that was hosted by Orson Welles. Both the Black Museum and Whitehall 1212 drew their material from the files of Scotland Yard. The stories were true in every respect except that the names were changed to protect the innocent, as they say. The Whitehall 1212 series boasted that for the first time Scotland Yard opened its files and the producers promised to bring to the public authentic true stories of some of the most celebrated cases. Permission for these records came from Sir Harold Scott, Commissioner of the yard at that time. There is actually a Black Museum. This area is located on the lower ground floor of Scotland Yard and it does indeed contain articles that are closely associated with the solving of a crime. And "Whitehall 1212" was the actual emergency phone number for the yard at the time. THIS EPISODE: September 21, 1952. NBC network. Sustaining. A "Wireless Set" that was never intended to be operative is in the "Black Museum" because of its involvement with the murder of a bartender with strychnine. Horace Braham, Harvey Hayes, Catherine Hines, Lionel Ricou (announcer), Lester Fletcher, Francois Grimar, Guy Spaull, Percy Hoskins (researcher), Wyllis Cooper (writer, director), Carl Harburg. 29:31. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.
Vanishing Point - The Baliff & The Women (11-09-84)
The Baliff & The Women (Aired November 9, 1984)
he Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) began airing a fascinating range of classic, mystery, comedy, documentary, and supernatural drama throughout the 1970s to 1990s to a steadily expanding audience--both in Canada and throughout the northern portions of the U.S. The CBC's extensive Radio offerings were a fairly even mix of organic dramas and comedies showcasing Canada's own great actors, writers and production talent, as well as several popular transcribed, syndicated features from throughout the British Empire and the United States. Indeed many of America's most beloved, popular, versatile and award-winning character actors, musicians, and comedians were Canadian citizens who'd honed their craft in all manner of original Canadian Radio drama. Vanishing Point is the title of a science fiction anthology series that ran on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Radio from 1984 until 1986, although the show would continue under different names and formats.
Jack Benny From Camp Muroc with Alexis Smith 1-23-44 Public Domain http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
Bill Smith Old School Chum From Peoria 2-22-44 Public Domain http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
Boston Blackie Jerry Williams Fixed Court Case 8-6-46 Public Domain http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
Fibber McGee And Molly Fibber And The Lawnmower 5-29-45 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
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Fibber McGee And Molly Fibber Runs A Bond Drive 5-22-45 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
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Tales Of Mystery And Imagination A Terrible Strange Bed htttp://oldtimeradiodvd.com
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The Jack Benny Show Carol Lombard's Death Jack Not On Show 1-18-42 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
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Radio City Playhouse Twas The Night Before Christmas 12-25-49 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
6953
Stars For Defense Christmas Show With The Merrill Staton Voices 12-24-61 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
6948
Burns And Allen Show Elsie Trellaf as Is Suing George 8-26-40 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
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The Doris Day Show First Song Here Comes Santa Claus 12-23-52 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
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Matinee Theater A Stable In Bethlehem Pennsylvania 12-24-44 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
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Life Of Riley Roswell Is A Guest For Christmas 12-24-44 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
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Fibber McGee And Molly An Old 400 Dolla rDebt Is Paid Back 10-24-44 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
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Father Knows Best Betty's Engagement 11-12-53 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com or http://xstreamplatinumhd.com
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Gunsmoke Hack Prine 7-5-54 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com or http://xstreamplatinumhd.com
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Academy Award Theater Brief Encounter 11-20-46 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com or http://xstreamplatinumhd.com
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Burns And Allen Show Another Murder Mystery 1-17-38 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com or http://xstreamplatinumhd.com
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Burns And Allen Show Franks Date 10-7-38 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com or http://xstreamplatinumhd.com
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Jack Benny Jack Prepares For His Appearance On Quiz Kids 4-13-41 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com or http://xstreamplatinumhd.com
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Academy Award Theater Cheers For Miss Bishop 11-6-46 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com or http://xstreamplatinumhd.com
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Lone Ranger A Life For Sale 8-26-40 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com or http://xstreamplatinumhd.com
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Fibber McGee And Molly-Alice Darling Has Date At McGees 5-9-44 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
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Sherlock Holmes The Adventure Of The Blood Soaked Wagon 5-2-49 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
JackBenny-Returns On A TWA Plane 5-12-40 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com Collections On Sale
Fibber McGee And Molly-Fibber Makes Chili Sauce 11-9-43 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com Collections On Sale
Perry Mason-The Case Of The Lonely Heiress 2-1-58 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com Collections On Sale
Father Knows Best-Southern Manners 1-1-53 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com Collections On Sale
New Movies Collection Now Available http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
Song List, 1-A Sunday Kind Of Love, Four Seasons 1965, 2-I'llKiss Your Teardrops Away,Aladdins 1959, 3-It's So Hard to Say Goodbye To Yesterday, Kenny Vance, 4-Stay Just A Little Bit Longer, Zondiacs 1963, 5-You Send Me, Sam Cooke 1957, 6-In the Still Of The Night, The Drifters, 7-A Teenager In Love, Dion & Belmonts 1959, 8- Doo Wop Memories, The Chaperals, 9-So Much In Love, Thmes 1963, 10-Runaway, Del Shannon 1961, 11-This I Swear, Skylinders 1959, 12-Run To Him, Bobby Vee 1961, 13-A Wonderful Dream, Majors 1961, 14-Blue Velvet, Bobby Vinton 1963, 15-It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday, Kenny Vance
Father Knows Best-The Boy Next Door 1-15-53 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com Collections On Sale
Fibber McGee And Molly-Fibber's Thumb Caught 6-1-43 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com Collections On Sale
CBS Radio Mystery Theater-The Unbearable Reflection 7-7-98 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com Collections On Sale
CBS Radio Mystery Theater-The Thomas Jefferson Defense 7-2-98 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com Collections On Sale
Sherlock Holmes-The Adventure Of The Guy Fawkes Society 10-10-48 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
Harold Perry-Honest Harold-Childrens Christmas Party 12-20-50 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
Fibber McGee And Molly Show-Mailing Aunt Sarahs Gift 12-21-53 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
Salvation Army-An Army Of Stars Salutes The Salvation Army At Christmas 12-25-49 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
Fibber McGee And Molly Show-Opening Docs Christmas Cards 12-22-55 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
Fibber McGee And Molly Show-Fibber Controls His Temper 12-26-44 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
The Roy Rogers Show-Night Before The Night Before Christmas 12-25-52 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
Fibber McGee And Molly Show-Fibbers Barometer Indicates S 5-11-43 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
Fibber McGee And Molly Show-Fibber Is Grand Marshall In Parade 4-14-42. http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
Sherlock Holmes-The Case Of The Stolen Naval Treaty 11-23-47 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
Fibber McGee And Molly Show-In Search Of Uncle Dennis 5-26-42 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
Sherlock Holmes-The Case Of The Dog Who Changed His Mind 9-28-4http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
Jack Benny Show-Jacks Screen Guild A Theatre Performance 1-15-39 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
Sherlock Holmes-The Laughing Lemur Of High Tower Heath 10-26-47 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
Sherlock Holmes-The Case Of The Cradle That Rocked Itself 11-30-47 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
Fibber McGee And Molly Show-Boomer Leaves Suitcase In Care Of McGees 3-3-42 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
Fibber McGee And Molly Show-McGee's Can't Get Rid Of Their Gurest 6-9-42 http://oldtimeradiodvd.com
Appointment With Fear-And The Deep Shuddered 11-2--45 Created by suspense writer John Dickson Carr, Appointment with Fear is often dubbed version of the American series Suspense. John Dickson Carr also wrote for Cabin B-13 and WWII propaganda scripts. If you are a John Dickson Carr fan or a Suspense fan, you will enjoy the few existing episodes of this excellent mystery program. oldtimeradiodvd.com
Armstrong Theater Of Today-Thunder And A Mircale1-3-48 A humorous love story about a girl in a flower shop and a guy caught in the rain. George Bryan reads the news headlines before the drama. Joan Caulfield, George Bryan (newscaster), Frank Behrens, Jack Erbonds (?), Harold Levey (composer, conductor), Ira Avery (director), Don Shirley (announcer). oldtimeradiodvd.com
Big Sister-1944-Episode 1 Big Sister.Big Sister. March 23, 1944. Rickie has suddenly become angry with Ruth. Frank tries to make peace. Lillian Lauferty (creator), Jim Ameche (announcer), Julian Funt (writer). oldtimeradiodvd.com
Appointment With Fear-The Clock Strikes Eight 5-18-44 This week, a Suspense clone suggested by and scripted by John Dickson Carr, who was also the creator of the Man In Black on Suspense. Appointment With Fear was JD Carr’s bringing of Suspense to the British public in the mid-1940s. Their Man in Black looked and sounded the part – Valentine Dyall, a man with a sonorous voice.This episode is a Dr. Gideon Fell mystery. Fell was one of Carr’s creations – a detective who was both pompous and portly and the actor in this episode certainly fits the description aurally! This is an episode called “The Clock Strikes Eight. oldtimeradiodvd.com
Quiet Please. August 3, 1947 "Inquest" Mr. Ross tells the story of his relations with his sister Eileen...to an unsympathetic jury. Wyllis Cooper (host, writer, director), Ernest Chappell ("the man who spoke to you"), Gene Parazzo (organist), James Van Dyke, Pat O'Malley, Sylvia Cole, John Morely.oldtimeradiodvd.com/sale
The Alan Young Show. December 12, 1944 Alan's going to write his own opera. Motion Picture Daily awards Alan the prize of, "Most Promising Star Of Tomorrow." Alan Young, Kenny Delmar (announcer, performer), Lulu McConnell, Peter Van Steeden and His Orchestra, Dickie Monahan, Diane Courtney, Eddie Pola (director). oldtimeradiodvd.com/sale
Announcement about Old Time Radio DVD. OTRDVD will being discontinuing sales January 1, 2014. Order now and get 10% off of collections. oldtimeradiodvd.com/sale.
The Adventures Of Archie Andrews. October 19, 1946. Archie is going to a dance and Dad is trying to take a bath, not at all as easy as it sounds. Bob Hastings, Harlan Stone, Alice Yourman, Ian Martin, Gloria Mann, Rosemary Rice. oldtimeradiodvd.com/sale
Andy Loses His Sex Appeal, The Hardy Family. 1952. Andy suspects that he has lost his stuff with the ladies. Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone, Jerry Fielding (composer, conductor), Herb Allen (announcer), Jameson Brewer (writer), Joe Bigelow (director), Eleanor Tanin, Gil Stratton, Lee Brooks, Fay Holden, Aurania Rouverol (creator). oldtimeradiodvd.com/sale
Hot Rod 1949. The Hardy Family. January 31, 1950 Andy enters his jalopy in a race, but Judge Hardy gets to it first! Fay Holden, Jack McCoy (announcer), Jack Rubin (writer), Jameson Brewer (writer), Jerry Fielding (composer, conductor), Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Thomas A. McAvity (? director), Aurania Rouverol (creator) oldtimeradiodvd.com/sale
The Black Mass. October 10, 1964. "Atrophy". Sustaining. J. Anthony West (author), Jack Nessel (creator), Richard Rowland (adaptor), Fred Seiden (technical production), Pat Franklyn, Erik Bauersfeld (director), Peter Winkler (music designer). oldtimeradiodvd.com iheartradio.com/talk
Boston Blackie. December 13, 1945. A movie star is shot while in a trunk, but no bullet went through the trunk and the bullet wasn't inside the trunk either. The commercials for Champagne Velver beer heard on this program and the others following were not part of the original network broadcast, nor even an integral part of the Ziv syndication discs. Richard Kollmar, Lesley Woods, Maurice Tarplin, Jackson Beck (doubles). oldtimeradiodvd.com iheartradio.com/talk
Dragnet. February 23, 1950. "The Big Grifter". Sponsored by: Fatima. "Gentleman Wallace," a born con-man, takes advantage of two used-car dealers, and many others. Jack Webb, Barton Yarborough. oldtimeradiodvd.com iheartradio.com/talk
Fibber McGee and Molly, Friend Sends Stork Instead Of Parrot 5-23-39 oldtimeraidodvd.com iheartradio.com/talk
Suspense. October 27, 1942. "The Lord Of The Witchdoctors". English diplomats outwit the Germans in the eyes of the dumb Caliph of Zanzibar. Nicholas Joy, Joseph Kearns (performer, announcer), John Dickson Carr (writer), William Spier (producer), John Dietz (director), Berry Kroeger (announcer), Bernard Herrmann (composer, conductor).oldtimeradiodvd,com
One Hundred In the Dark, 9/30/40 Suspense is one of the classics of old time radio. Some fans have special favorites in the thriller/chiller/macabre genre, but all will agree that Suspense did it best. The guiding light of this show was William Spier, who developed the formula into a human drama that attracted the finest of Hollywood's elite as well as the cream of radio's great actors. oldtimeradiodvd.com
The Devil in the Summer House, 11/3/43 Suspense is one of the classics of old time radio. Some fans have special favorites in the thriller/chiller/macabre genre, but all will agree that Suspense did it best. The guiding light of this show was William Spier, who developed the formula into a human drama that attracted the finest of Hollywood's elite as well as the cream of radio's great actors. oldtimeradiodvd.com
Suspense. September 16, 1942. "The Kettler Method". A chilling, exciting story about inmates taking over an asylum for the insane and "operating" on a visitor to cure her headache. Roger De Koven, John Gibson, Martha Falkner, Guy Repp, Gloria Stuart, Peter Barry (writer), Berry Kroeger (announcer), Bernard Herrmann (composer, conductor), William Spier (producer), John Dietz (director), Winfield Honie, Ralph Smiley. oldtimeradiodvd.com
I Was A Communist For The FBI. March 30, 1952. "I Walk Alone". The Party tries to trap Cvetic through his mother. Dana Andrews, Truman Bradley (announcer), Henry Hayward (director), David Rose (music). oldtimeradiodvd.com
Crime and Peter Chambers. June 15, 1954. Jack March is suspected of the murder of the Contessa La Fresso. She's been knifed to death. Keep your nose on those flowers! John Daly introduces President Eisenhower during a public service announcement for aid to Korea. Dane Clark, Henry Kane (creator, writer), Fred Collins (announcer), Fred Weihe (director), William Zuckert, Ralph Bell, Anita Anton, Donald Buka, John Daly, Dwight Eisenhower. oldtimeradiodvd.com
Nick Carter. September 27, 1943. . "The Glass Coffin," or "The Mystery Of The Voodoo Curse". . Murder and mayhem in an old movie studio...a "reel" mystery! Humphrey Davis appears out of character after the story to appeal for the purchase of war bonds during the Third War Loan. Lon Clark, Helen Choate, Jock MacGregor (director), Lew White (composer, conductor), Humphrey Davis, Nancy Webb (writer), Gene Webb (writer) oldtimeradiodvd.com
The Man Called X. November 16, 1947. A large quantity of a rare drug named "streptomycin" has disappeared en route to Greece. The trail leads to the Greek island of Xenophon. Herbert Marshall, Leon Belasco, Cathy Lewis, Alan Reed, Jack Johnstone (director), Sidney Marshall (writer), Wendell Niles (announcer), Johnny Green (composer), Al Sendry (conductor). oldtimeradiodvd.com
A Date With Judy. August 11, 1942. . Aunt Lily is coming for a visit, so Judy tries to get a date for her. The program ends with a dramatized plea to buy war bonds. Aleen Leslie (creator, writer), Debbie Ellis, Stanley Farrar, Bea Benaderet. oldtimeradiodvd.com
21st Precinct The Cure 2-24-45 oldtimeradiodvd.com Final Sale after Dec 31,2012 no longer available
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Amos Andy - Income Tax Problems 3-02-45 oldtimeradiodvd.com Final Sale after Dec 31,2012 no longer available
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Adventures By Maisie - Clothes Make The Woman oldtimeradiodvd.com Final Sale after Dec 31,2012 no longer available
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Yours Truly Johnny Dollar - Grave Diggers Spade 2-17-50 oldtimeradiodvd.com Final Sale after Dec 31,2012 no longer available
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The Fat Man character was Brad Runyan, played by Jack Scott Smart who gave an excellent lighthearted performance. The series made good use of author Dashiel Hammett's name,although the author had little to do with the radio series. The name The Fat Man was the title of a chapter in the book A Maltese Falcon.oldtimeradiodvd.com
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The Adventures of Frank Merriwell first ran on NBC radio from March 26 to June 22, 1934 as a 15-minute serial airing three times a week at 5:30pm. Sponsored by Dr. West's Toothpaste, this program starred Donald Briggs in the title role. Harlow Wilcox was the announcer. After a 12-year gap, the series returned October 5, 1946 as a 30-minute NBC Saturday morning show, continuing until June 4, 1949. Lawson Zerbe starred as Merriwell, Jean Gillespie and Elaine Rostas as Inza Burrage, Harold Studer as Bart Hodge and Patricia Hosley as Elsie Belwood. The announcer was Harlow Wilcox, and the Paul Taubman Orchestra supplied the background music. There are at least three generations of Merriwells: Frank, his half-brother Dick, and Frank's son, Frank Jr. There is a marked difference between Frank and Dick. Frank usually handled challenges on his own. Dick has mysterious friends and skills that help him, especially an old Indian friend without whom the stories would not have been quite as interesting.
THIS EPISODE:
November 13, 1948. NBC network. "The Front Page Story". Sustaining. An enterprising reporter digs up a scandal about one of the star players on the Yale football squad. Charles Webster, Elaine Rost, Hal Studer, James McCallion, Kermit Murdock, Lawson Zerbe, Paul Taubman (music), Richard Keith, Tex Antoine, William Griffis, Burt L. Standish (creator). 1/2 hour.
Amos 'n' Andy was a situation comedy popular in the United States from the 1920s through the 1950s. The show began as one of the first radio comedy serials, written and voiced by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll and originating from station WMAQ in Chicago, Illinois. After the series was first broadcast in 1928, it grew in popularity and became a huge influence on the radio serials that followed. Amos 'n' Andy creators Gosden and Correll were white actors familiar with minstrel traditions. They met in Durham, North Carolina in 1920, and by the fall of 1925, they were performing nightly song-and-patter routines on the Chicago Tribune's station WGN. Since the Tribune syndicated Sidney Smith's popular comic strip The Gumps, which had successfully introduced the concept of daily continuity, WGN executive Ben McCanna thought the notion of a serialized drama could also work on radio. He suggested to Gosden and Correll that they adapt The Gumps to radio. They instead proposed a series about "a couple of colored characters" and borrowed certain elements of The Gumps. Their new series, Sam 'n' Henry, began January 12, 1926, fascinating radio listeners throughout the Midwest. That series became popular enough that in late 1927 Gosden and Correll requested that it be distributed to other stations on phonograph records in a "chainless chain" concept that would have been the first use of radio syndication as we know it today. When WGN rejected the idea, Gosden and Correll quit the show and the station that December. Contractually, their characters belonged to WGN, so when Gosden and Correll left WGN, they performed in personal appearances but could not use the character names from the radio show.
THIS EPISODE:
April 4, 1954. CBS network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "Radio And TV Delivery Job". The Kingfish gets Andy into the TV repair business. After disaster strikes, Andy tells it to the judge whose nickname is, "Twenty-Year Johnson." Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Jeff Alexander (music), Harlow Wilcox (announcer), Joe Connelly (writer), Bob Mosher (writer), Ernestine Wade, Johnny Lee, Amanda Randolph, Cliff Howell (director), Tommy Moore, Jean Vander Pyl, Will Wright, Ken Christy. 25 minutes.
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater - As you walk through the creaking door you enter into another world, the world of imagination. This world is inside you, a part of you, and you take this journey alone. Each person hears and then sees with his or her mind's eye the events portrayed within these dramas. All of us interprets what they hear differently. The images we see is unique to ourselves. A voice becomes a person, living, breathing they come alive. They take on a physical form and characteristics that we assign to them. The wonders of your own mind are boundless. Scary thoughts? Perhaps, but what powers they bring us! To exercise one's imagination is to exercise one's soul. These dramas provide us with an escape from reality. To adventures beyond our own lives. Enjoy them. And pleasant dreams!
THIS EPISODE:
January 17, 1974. Program #12. CBS network. "You Can Die Again". Sponsored by: Budweiser, Kellogg's. E. G. Marshall (host), Sam Dann (writer), Richard Mulligan, Mandel Kramer, Marian Seldes, Bryna Raeburn, Gilbert Mack, Himan Brown. 52 minutes.
The Adventures of Frank Race, by Bruce Ells Productions, was first heard in May of 1949. The main character, Frank Race, was an attorney before World War II. As a result of his activities in the war, when it was over, he traded his law books for a career with the OSS. There, "Adventure" became his business. Tom Collins played the role of Frank Race initially, immediately following his stint as Chandu, The Magician. The lead role was taken over later by Paul Dubof.
THIS EPISODE:
September 18, 1949. Program #21. Broadcasters Program Syndicate syndication. "The Adventure Of Three On A Match". Commercials added locally. In Bordeaux, the European Children's Fund has been cheated out of its relief funds. The beautiful Marie Vartell holds the clue to the missing $2 million dollars. Tom Collins, Tony Barrett, Buckley Angel (writer, director), Joel Murcott (writer, director), Bruce Eells (producer), Ivan Ditmars (organist), Art Gilmore (announcer), Gerald Mohr, Jeanne Bates, Paul Dubov, Michael Ann Barrett. 26:53.
Box 13 was a syndicated radio series about the escapades of mystery novelist Dan Holiday (Alan Ladd), a former newsman. Created by Mayfair Productions, the series premiered August 22, 1948, on New York's WOR and aired in syndication on the East Coast from August 22, 1948, to August 14. 1949. On the West Coast, Box 13 was heard from March 15, 1948 to March 7, 1949. To seek out new ideas for his fiction, Holiday ran a classified ad in the Star-Times newspaper. "Adventure wanted, will go anywhere, do anything -- Box 13." The stories followed Holiday's adventures when he responded to the letters sent to him by such people as a psycho killer and various victims.
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December 12, 1948. Program #17. Mayfair syndication. "The Haunted Artist". Commercials added locally. An artist's latest canvas seems to be haunted. A stone quarry keeps appearing on one side of the canvas. The date is approximate. Alan Ladd, Edmond MacDonald, Richard Sanville (director), Rudy Schrager (composer, conductor), Russell Hughes (writer), Sylvia Picker, Vern Carstensen (production supervisor). 26:56.
The FBI in Peace and War was a radio crime drama inspired by Frederick Lewis Collins' book, The FBI in Peace and War. The idea for the show came from Louis Pelletier who wrote many of the scripts. Among the show's other writers were Jack Finke, Ed Adamson and Collins. Airing on CBS from November 25, 1944 to September 28, 1958, it had a variety of sponsors (including Lava Soap, Wildroot Cream Oil, Lucky Strike, Nescafe and Wrigley's) over the years. Martin Blaine and Donald Briggs headed the cast.
THIS EPISODE:
September 22, 1957 CBS network. "Dumb Luck". Commercials deleted. A dumb blonde tries to pull an inheritance swindle and winds up marrying the insurance man she's trying to gyp! Jackson Beck (narrator), Charita Bauer, Arthur Winters, Louis Pelletier (writer), Betty Mandeville (producer, director), Warren Sweeney (announcer), Frederick L. Collins (creator). 20:04.
CBS Radio Mystery Theater - As you walk through the creaking door you enter into another world, the world of imagination. This world is inside you, a part of you, and you take this journey alone. Each person hears and then sees with his or her mind's eye the events portrayed within these dramas. All of us interprets what they hear differently. The images we see is unique to ourselves. A voice becomes a person, living, breathing they come alive. They take on a physical form and characteristics that we assign to them. The wonders of your own mind are boundless. Scary thoughts? Perhaps, but what powers they bring us! To exercise one's imagination is to exercise one's soul. These dramas provide us with an escape from reality. To adventures beyond our own lives. Enjoy them. And pleasant dreams!
Fibber McGee and Molly premiered in 1935. The program struggled in the ratings until 1940, when it became a national sensation. Within three years, it was the top-rated program in America. Few radio shows were more beloved than Fibber McGee and Molly. The program’s lovable characters included Mayor LaTrivia, Doc Gamble, Mrs. Uppington, Wallace Wimple, Alice Darling, Gildersleeve, Beulah, Myrt, and the Old Timer. 79 Wistful Vista was one of America’s most famous addresses and Molly’s warning to Fibber not to open the hall closet door (and his subsequent decision to do it) created one of radio’s best remembered running gags that audiences expected each week. Jim Jordan (Fibber) was born on a farm on November 16, 1896, near Peoria, Illinois. Marian Driscoll (Molly), a coal miner’s daughter, was born in Peoria on November 15, 1898. After years of hardship and touring in obscurity on the small-time show biz circuit, they arrived in Chicago in 1924, where they eventually performed on thousands of shows and developed 145 different voices and characters. Broadcast to the nation from WMAQ/Chicago, the show entertained America until March 1956, and continued on NBC’s Monitor until 1959. Jim Jordan died on April 1, 1988. Marian Jordan died on April 7, 1961. Fibber McGee and Molly was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1989. First Broadcast date April 16, 1935. Last Broadcast date September 6, 1959.
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February 3, 1953. NBC network. Sponsored by: Reynolds Aluminum. The program originates from the N. R. E. C. A. Convention, The Civic auditorium in San Francisco. Fibber is chopping a hole in the wall. He's planning to install a wall safe! Not auditioned. Jim Jordan, Marian Jordan, Harlow Wilcox, Billy Mills and His Orchestra, The King's Men, Phil Leslie (writer), Keith Fowler (writer), Max Hutto (director), Bill Thompson, Gale Gordon, Arthur Q. Bryan, Richard LeGrand. 27:40.
The Adventures Of Philip Marlowe - The first portrayal of Phillip Marlowe on the radio was by Dick Powell, when he played Raymond Chandler's detective on the Lux Radio Theater on June 11, 1945. This was a radio adaptation of the 1944 movie, from RKO, in which Mr. Powell played the lead. Two years later, Van Heflin starred as Marlowe in a summer replacement series for the Bob Hope Show on NBC. This series ran for 13 shows. On September 26, 1948, Gerald Mohr became the third radio Marlowe, this time on CBS. It remained a CBS show through its last show in 1951.
THIS EPISODE:
November 28, 1948. CBS network. "The Hard Way Out". Sustaining. Murder at the Quigg and Slater Construction Company, and a surprising amount of luxury on $175 a week! Barbara Fuller, William Lally, Edgar Barrier, Gene Levitt (writer), Gerald Mohr, Jeff Corey, Luis Van Rooten, Mel Dinelli (writer), Norman Macdonnell (producer, director), Raymond Chandler (creator), Richard Aurandt (music), Robert Mitchell (writer). 29:39.
Ellery Queen Master Detective - On radio, The Adventures of Ellery Queen was heard on all three networks from 1939 to 1948. During the 1970s, syndicated radio fillers, Ellery Queen's Minute Mysteries, began with an announcer saying, "This is Ellery Queen..." and contained a short one-minute case. The radio station encouraged callers to solve the mystery and win a sponsor's prize. Once a winner was found, the solution was broadcast as confirmation. A complete episode guide and history of this radio program can be found in the book "The Sound of Detection: Ellery Queen's Adventures in Radio" from OTR Publishing, 2002.
THIS EPISODE:
November 6, 1943. NBC network. "The Adventure Of The Vanishing Magician". Sponsored by: Bromo Seltzer. A has-been vaudevillian promises to disappear from a house to win a $25,000 bet. A good wartime mystery! This is the East Coast broadcast. The West Coast broadcast took place on November 4, 1943. The script was previously used on "Ellery Queen" on September 15, 1940. Sydney Smith, Helen Lewis, Santos Ortega, Ted de Corsia, Charles Paul (organ), Edward Pawley ("Guest Armchair Detective," star of "Big Town"), S. Bigman ("Guest Armchair Detective," editor of "Time" magazine), Ernest Chappell (announcer), Frederic Dannay (writer), Manfred B. Lee (writer), Bruce Kamman (producer, director). 29:04.
The Hollywood Radio Theater (Lux Radio Theater) strove to feature as many of the original stars of the original stage and film productions as possible, usually paying them $5,000 an appearance to do the show. It was when sponsor Lever Brothers (who made Lux soap and detergent) moved the show from New York to Hollywood in 1936 that it eased back from adapting stage shows and toward adaptations of films. The first Lux film adaptation was The Legionnaire and the Lady, with Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable, based on the film Morocco. That was followed by a Lux adaptation of The Thin Man, featuring the movie's stars, Myrna Loy and William Powell.
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The Awful Truth from Hollywood Radio Theater aired January 18, 1955 starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant. This is the radio version taken from the classic 1937 romantic comedy film. The plot concerns the machinations of a soon-to-be-divorced couple, played by Dunne and Grant, who go to great lengths to try to ruin each other's romantic escapades. The bright, zesty, and carefree film was nominated for six Academy Awards.
Bold Venture - The Hollywood husband and wife team of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall set sail for adventure in the Bold Venture radio series in early 1951. There were well over 400 stations that aired the program. Since thiswas syndicated * the starting date varied from station to station but Mar 26, 1951 was the official date of the first show. Humphrey Bogart portrayed Slate Shannon, owner of a rundown Havana hotel, Shannon's Place. The action took place on land as well aboard Slate's boat, The Bold Venture, thus the title of the series. Lauren Bacall was his ward Sailor Duval, a stubborn and flirtatious young woman whose late father had willed her to Slate for her protection. Together the duo found adventure, intrigue, mystery and romance in the sultry settings of tropical Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean.
THIS EPISODE:
Program #39. ZIV Syndication. "Tabbard Of Pizarro". Commercials added locally. Shannon and Sailor become involved with "The Tabbard Of Pizarro." David Rose (composer, conductor), Jester Hairston, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall. 27:25.
The Adventures Of Casey, Crime Photographer for The Morning Express, were told in this series, which moved to television after a highly successful run on radio in the 1940’s. Casey hung out at the Blue Note Café, where the music was provided by the Tony Mottola Trio, and was friendly with Ethelbert, the bartender, to whom he recounted his various exploits. Richard Carlyle and John Gibson portrayed the roles when the series premiered in April, 1951, but by June they were replaced by Darren McGavin and Cliff Hall. Ann Williams, a reporter on The Morning Express, was Casey’s girlfriend. During the summer of 1951 he acquired a partner in cub reporter Jack Lipman, who wrote copy to go with Casey’s pictures. This live series was set in and broadcast from, New York City.
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July 3, 1947. CBS network. "Acquitted". Sponsored by: Anchor Hocking Glass. Big Mike Ryan, a swell cop, is suspended for arresting and then beating up Lenny Waldo. When Lenny and his cohort are found shot to death, Big Mike is of course the prime suspect. Alonzo Deen Cole (writer), Archie Bleyer (music), Herman Chittison (piano), Jan Miner, John Dietz (director), John Gibson, Staats Cotsworth, Tony Marvin (announcer), George Harmon Coxe (creator). 29:34.
A Date with Judy was a comedy radio series aimed at a teenage audience which had a long run from 1941 to 1950. The show began as a summer replacement for Bob Hope's show, sponsored by Pepsodent and airing on NBC from June 24 to September 16, 1941, with 14-year-old Ann Gillis in the title role. Dellie Ellis portrayed Judy when the series returned the next summer (June 23d to September 15, 1942). Louise Erickson took over the role the following summer (June 30th to September 22, 1943) when the series, with Bristol Myers as its new sponsor, replaced The Eddie Cantor Show for the summer. Louise Erickson continued in the role of Judy over the next seven years as the series, sponsored by Tums, aired from January 18, 1944 to January 4, 1949. Ford Motors and Revere Cameras were the sponsors for the final season of the radio series on ABC from October 13, 1949 to May 25, 1950. Teenagers could relate to Judy and her problems with school, boyfriends and parental rules and adults enjoyed remembering their youth as seen through the eyes of a typical teenager. A delighful comedy that ended in 1950, A Date with Judy remains a favorite even today as we realize that teenagers will always face the same problems growing up as Judy and her friends did.A Date with Judy remains a favorite even today as we realize that teenagers will always face the same problems growing up as Judy and her friends did.
Damon Runyon Theater - Broadcast from January to December 1949, "The Damon Runyon Theatre" dramatized 52 of Runyon's short stories for radio. Damon Runyon (October 4, 1884 – December 10, 1946) was a newspaperman and writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. He spun tales of gamblers, petty thieves, actors and gangsters; few of whom go by "square" names, preferring instead to be known as "Nathan Detroit", "Big Jule", "Harry the Horse", "Good Time Charlie", "Dave the Dude", and so on. These stories were written in a very distinctive vernacular style: a mixture of formal speech and colorful slang, almost always in present tense, and always devoid of contractions.
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- Program #18. Mayfair syndication. "Leopard's Spots". Commercials added locally. Spider McCoy invites Broadway to travel to Philadelphia where Pigsfoot Grudy is going to fight Chester Nubs. Along comes a bad appendix and Caswell Fish, also known as "The Leopard Kid." Damon Runyon (author), Jeff Chandler, John Brown, Richard Sanville (director), Russell Hughes (adaptor), Vern Carstensen (production supervisor). 27:58.
The Couple Next Door was a Peg Lynch series which began in 1953-57 on Chicago's WGN, moving to the Mutual Broadcasting System in the summer of 1957. The married couple was played by Olan Soule and Elinor Harriot. It was revived on CBS Radio (December 30, 1957-November 25, 1960) with Peg Lynch and Alan Bunce as the unnamed married couple---essentially, it reprised Ethel and Albert but the new name was necessitated because Lynch had long since lost the rights to the original title. That still wasn't the end of the show---Lynch and Bunce brought the show to NBC's legendary weekend programming block Monitor in 1963, performing three- to four-minute vignettes not unlike the original fifteen-minute shows. Their presence continued a kind-of Monitor tradition of offering new material from classic radio favourites (including James and Marian Jordan of Fibber McGee and Molly fame, until Marian Jordan's death). Even more, it returned yet again in the 1970s, as a syndicated radio feature known as The Little Things in Life.
TODAYS SHOW: The Painter Quits (11-17-58) and Painting Party (11-18-58)
CBS network. Sponsored by: Glamorene, Beechnut Baby Foods.The system cue is added live. Peg Lynch (writer, performer, commercial spokesman), Alan Bunce (performer, commercial spokesman), Walter Hart (producer), Ted Pearson (announcer), Francie Meyers, Dawsa Duckworth.
The Martin & Lewis Show - On July 25, 1946, Jerry began a show business partnership with Dean Martin, an association that would soon skyrocket both to fame. It started when Jerry was performing at the 500 Club in Atlantic City and one of the other entertainers quit suddenly. Lewis, who had worked with Martin at the Glass Hat in New York City, suggested Dean as a replacement. At first they worked separately, but then ad-libbed together, improvising insults and jokes, squirting seltzer water, hurling bunches of celery and exuding general zaniness. In less than eighteen weeks their salaries soared from $250.00 a week to $5,000.00. For ten years Martin and Lewis sandwiched sixteen money making films between nightclub engagements, personal appearances, recording sessions, radio shows, and television bookings. Their last film together was "Hollywood or Bust" (1956). On July 25th of that year the two made their last nightclub appearance together at the Copacabana, exactly ten years to the day since they became a team.
Arch Oboler's Plays was a radio drama series written, produced and directed by Arch Oboler. Minus a sponsor, it ran for one year, airing Saturday evenings on NBC from March 25, 1939 to March 23, 1940 and revived five years later on Mutual for a sustaining summer run from April 5, 1945 to October 11, 1945. Leading film actors were heard on this series, including Gloria Blondell, Eddie Cantor, James Cagney, Ronald Colman, Joan Crawford, Greer Garson, Edmund Gwenn, Van Heflin, Katharine Hepburn, Elsa Lanchester, Peter Lorre, Frank Lovejoy, Raymond Massey, Burgess Meredith, Paul Muni, Alla Nazimova, Edmond O'Brien, Geraldine Page, Gale Sondergaard, Franchot Tone and George Zucco.
THIS EPISODE:
May 17, 1945. Mutual network. "Mr. Ten-Percent". Sustaining. A good story about a Hollywood agent who finally finds a movie star to manage...and how he contributed $1 million dollars to the war effort! Mary Jane Croft, Bob Bailey, Earle Ross, Harry Lang, Everett Allen, Arch Oboler (writer), Bruce Elliott, Roseanne Murray, Evelyn Scott. 1/2 hour.
Big Town is a radio show that aired from 1937 to 1952. Edward G. Robinson had the lead role of Steve Wilson from 1937 to 1942. Claire Trevor was Wilson's society editor sidekick Lorelei Kilbourne, with Ona Munson taking over that role in 1940. Edward J. Pawley portrayed Wilson from 1942 until 1952 when Walter Greaza was heard as Wilson in the final episodes in the radio series. When Big Town moved to television, the program was telecast live, but in 1952 the production switched to film after the move from New York City to Hollywood. The television series ran on CBS from 1950 through 1954, continuing on NBC from 1955 through 1956. Repeat episodes aired on the DuMont Network (under the title City Assignment) while Big Town was still showing first-run episodes on CBS. Reruns were also shown under the titles Heart of the City, Headline and Byline Steve Wilson.
THIS EPISODE:
Big Town. January 4, 1949. NBC network. "The Mask Of Evil". Sponsored by: Lifebuoy Soap, Rinso. Mystery writer Hannah Harper, and her nervous companion, summon Steve Wilson and Lorelei to the lighthouse in which they're living. They are hearing noises and explosions. Listen for a monosyllabic moron, a 7 foot rabbit, a Chinese dentist named Dr. Fu, and a real red herring! Edward Pawley, Fran Carlon, Jerry McGill (writer, producer), Hugh James (announcer). 29:35.
Escape was radio's leading anthology series of high adventure, airing on CBS from July 7, 1947 to September 25, 1954. Since the program did not have a regular sponsor like Suspense, it was subjected to frequent schedule shifts and lower production budgets, although Richfield Oil signed on as a sponsor for five months in 1950. Despite these problems, Escape enthralled many listeners during its seven-year run. The series' well-remembered opening combined Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain with the introduction, intoned by Paul Frees and William Conrad: “Tired of the everyday routine? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... Escape!”
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February 15, 1948. CBS network. "Ancient Sorceries". Sustaining. East coast version, the program was also broadcast on the West coast on February 21, 1948. A tale of the supernatural and witchcraft in a small Welsh town. Algernon Blackwood (author), Anne Morrison, Cy Feuer (composer, conductor), Kaye Brinker, Les Crutchfield (adaptor), Paul Frees, William Conrad, William N. Robson (director). 29:43.
Philo Vance was the detective creation of S. S. Van Dine first published in the mid 1920s. Vance, in the original books, is an intellectual so highly refined he seems he might be ghostwritten by P. G. Wodehouse. Take this quote from The Benson Murder Case, 1924, as Vance pontificates in his inimitable way: "That's your fundamental error, don't y' know. Every crime is witnessed by outsiders, just as is every work of art. The fact that no one sees the criminal, or the artist, actu'lly at work, is wholly incons'quential." Thankfully, the radio series uses only the name, and makes Philo a pretty normal, though very intelligent and extremely courteous gumshoe. Jose Ferrer played him in 1945. From 1948-1950, the fine radio actor Jackson Beck makes Vance as good as he gets. George Petrie plays Vance's constantly impressed public servant, District Attorney Markham. Joan Alexander is Ellen Deering, Vance's secretary and right-hand woman. The organist for the show is really working those ivories, and fans of old time radio organ will especially enjoy this series. Perhaps one reason the organist "pulls out all the stops" is because there seems to be little, if any, sound effects on the show. Philo Vance, the radio series, does pay homage to the original books in that both were, even in their own time, a bit out of date and stilted. (OTRR)
THIS EPISODE:
April 29, 1943 - ZIV Syndication. "The Case of The Cellini Cup". Commercials added locally. Jackson Beck. 28:10.
Crime Classics was a U. S. radio docudrama which aired over CBS from June 15, 1953 to June 30, 1954. Created, produced, and directed by radio actor/director Elliott Lewis, the program was basically a historical true crime series, examining crimes, and especially murders, from the past. It grew out of Lewis's personal interest in famous murder cases, and took a documentary-like approach to the subject, carefully recreating the facts, personages, and feel of the time period. Comparatively little dramatic license was taken with the facts and events, but the tragedy was leavened with humor, expressed largely through the narration.
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March 17, 1954. CBS network. "Old Sixtoes: How He Stopped Construction On The B. B. C. and I". Sustaining. An old man and a young wife is old India. A recipe for murder most foul. Lou Merrill (host), Morton Fine (writer), David Friedkin (writer), Bernard Herrmann (composer, conductor), Elliott Lewis (producer, director), Ben Wright, Bob Lemond (announcer), Herb Butterfield, Jack Edwards, Jack Kruschen, Jane Webb. 30:21.
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet launched on CBS October 8, 1944, making a mid-season switch to NBC in 1949. The final years of the radio series were on ABC (the former NBC Blue Network) from October 14, 1949, to June 18, 1954. In an arrangement that amplified the growing pains of American broadcasting, as radio "grew up" into television (as George Burns once phrased it), the Nelsons' deal with ABC gave the network itself the right to move the show to television whenever it wanted to do it---they wanted, according to the Museum of Broadcast Communications, to have talent in the bullpen and ready to pitch, so to say, on their own network, rather than risk it defecting to CBS (where the Nelsons began) or NBC. Their sons, David and Ricky, did not join the cast until five years after the radio series began. The two boys felt frustrated at hearing themselves played by actors and continually requested they be allowed to portray themselves.
THIS EPISODE:
March 3rd Dilemna - March 2, 1947. ABC network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. Not auditioned. School report card day. Some good, some not so good. Ozzie Nelson, Harriet Hilliard, David Nelson, Ricky Nelson, Verne Smith (announcer), John Brown. 25:31.
21ST PRECINCT was one of the realistic police drama series of the early- to mid-1950's that were aired in the wake of DRAGNET. In 1953 CBS decided to use New York City as the backdrop for their own half-hour police series and focus on the day-to-day operation of a single police precinct. Actual cases were used as the basis for stories. The Precinct Captain acted as the narrator for the series.The official title of the series according to the series scripts and the CBS series promotional materials was 21ST PRECINCT and not TWENTY-FIRST PRECINCT or TWENTY FIRST PRECINCT which appears in many Old-Time Radio books. In 1953 CBS decided to use New York City as the backdrop for their own half-hour police series and focus on the day-to-day operations of a single police precinct. Actual cases would be used as the basis for stories. It was mentioned in each episode's closing by the announcer that, "Twenty-firstPrecinct is presented with the official cooperation of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association an organization of more than 20,000 members of the Police Department, City of New York."
THIS EPISODE:
February 24, 1954. CBS network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "Pop" is caught sleeping in a hallway, but he refuses to reveal his name! He's really John W. Lofield, seventy-eight years old, and he doesnt want to return home! Everett Sloane, John Ives (producer), Stanley Niss (writer, director). 30:29.
Dragnet was a long-running radio and television police procedural drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. The show takes its name from an actual police term, a "dragnet", meaning a system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects. Dragnet debuted inauspiciously. The first several months were bumpy, as Webb and company worked out the program’s format and eventually became comfortable with their characters (Friday was originally portrayed as more brash and forceful than his later usually relaxed demeanor). Gradually, Friday’s deadpan, fast-talking persona emerged, described by John Dunning as "a cop's cop, tough but not hard, conservative but caring." (Dunning, 210) Friday’s first partner was Sgt. Ben Romero, portrayed by Barton Yarborough, a longtime radio actor. When Dragnet hit its stride, it became one of radio’s top-rated shows.
THIS EPISODE:
August 4, 1949. Program #9. NBC network. Sustaining. A small-time narcotics user named Benny Trounsel has been beaten to death shortly after tipping the cops to a new narcotics ring in town. Jack Webb, Barton Yarborough, Raymond Burr. 29:18.
The Halls of Ivy was an NBC radio sitcom that ran from 1950-1952. It was created by Fibber McGee & Molly co-creator/writer Don Quinn before being adapted into a CBS television comedy (1954-55) produced by ITC Entertainment and Television Programs of America. Quinn developed the show after he had decided to leave Fibber McGee & Molly. The audition program featured radio veteran Gale Gordon (then co-starring in Our Miss Brooks) and Edna Best in the roles that ultimately went to British husband-and-wife actors Ronald Colman and Benita Hume. The Colmans had shown a flair for radio comedy in recurring roles on The Jack Benny Program in the late 1940s, and they landed the title roles in the new show. The Halls of Ivy featured Colman as William Todhunter Hall, the president of small, Midwestern Ivy College, and his wife, Victoria, a former British musical comedy star who sometimes felt the tug of her former profession, and followed their interactions with students, friends and college trustees. Others in the cast included Herbert Butterfield as testy Clarence Wellman, Willard Waterman (then starring as Harold Peary's successor as The Great Gildersleeve) as John Merriweather, and Elizabeth Patterson and Gloria Gordon as the Halls' maid.
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March 31, 1950. NBC netqoek. Sponsored by: Schlitz Beer. Will Dr. Hall be invited to join the "Ivy Chamber Music and Knockwurst Society" to play the Piffleflute? The program may be dated April 7, 1950. Alan Reed, Benita Hume, Cliff Arquette, Don Quinn (creator, writer), Frank Martin (announcer), Gloria Gordon, Henry Russell (composer, conductor), Ken Carpenter (announcer), Nat Wolff (director), Ronald Colman, Walter Newman (writer). 29:31.
The Adventures Of Frank Race, by Bruce Ells Productions, was first heard in May of 1949. The main character, Frank Race, was an attorney before World War II. As a result of his activities in the war, when it was over, he traded his law books for a career with the OSS. There, "Adventure" became his business. Tom Collins played the role of Frank Race initially, immediately following his stint as Chandu, The Magician. The lead role was taken over later by Paul Dubof.
THIS EPISODE:
September 11, 1949. Program #20. Broadcasters Program Syndicate syndication. "The Adventure Of The Fourth Round Knockout". Commercials added locally. A prize-fighter dies during a fight...from poison! A big-time gambler, who only bets on a sure thing, is found dead too! Tom Collins, Tony Barrett, Buckley Angel (writer, director), Joel Murcott (writer, director), Bruce Eells (producer), Ivan Ditmars (organist), Art Gilmore (announcer), Frank Lovejoy, Florence Halop, Jack Kruschen, Theodore Von Eltz, Tom Holland, Michael Ann Barrett. 26:25.
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT) was an ambitious and sustained attempt to revive the great drama of old-time radio in the 1970s. Created by Himan Brown (who had by then become a radio legend due to his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries and other shows dating back to the 1930s), and aired on affiliate stations across the CBS Radio network, the series began its long run on January 6, 1974. The final episode ran on December 31, 1982. The show was broadcast nightly and ran for one hour, including commercials. Typically, a week consisted of three to four new episodes, with the remainder of the week filled out with reruns. There were a total of 1399 original episodes broadcast. The total number of broadcasts, including reruns, was 2969. The late E.G. Marshall hosted the program every year but the final one, when actress Tammy Grimes took over. Each episode began with the ominous sound of a creaking door, slowly opening to invite listeners in for the evening's adventure. At the end of each show, the door would swing shut, with Marshall signing off, "Until next time, pleasant...dreams?"
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October 19, 1977. Program #725. CBS network. "The Island On Silver Tree Lake". Commercials deleted. E. G. Marshall (host), Victoria Dann (writer), Patricia Elliot, Lloyd Batista, Teri Keane, Earl Hammond. 46 minutes.
Nightfall is the title of a radio drama series produced and aired by CBC Radio ( Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ) from July 1980 to June 1983. While primarily a supernatural/horror series, Nightfall featured some episodes in other genres, such as science fiction, mystery, fantasy, and human drama. One episode was even adapted from a folk song by Stan Rogers. Some of Nightfall's episodes were so terrifying that the CBC registered numerous complaints and some affiliate stations dropped it. Despite this, the series went on to become one of the most popular shows in CBC Radio history, running 100 episodes that featured a mix of original tales and adaptations of both classic and obscure short stories.
THIS EPISODE:
October 3, 1980. Program #14. CBC, Toronto. "The Stone Ship". Not auditioned. A chilling horror story. Henry Ramer (host), William Hope Hodgson (writer), Len Peterson (adaptor), Chris Wiggins, Arch McDonnell, Graham Haley, Eric House, John Jessop (recording engineer), Bill Robinson (sound effects), Nina Callaghan (production assistant), John Douglas (script editor), Earle Toppings (script editor), Bill Howell (producer, director). 28:00.
Amos 'n' Andy was officially transferred by NBC from the Blue Network to the Red Network in 1935, although the vast majority of stations carrying the show remained the same. Several months later, Gosden and Correll moved production of the show from NBC's Merchandise Mart studios in Chicago to Hollywood. After a long and successful run with Pepsodent, the program changed sponsors in 1938 to Campbell's Soup; because of Campbell's closer relationship with CBS, the series switched to that network on April 3, 1939.
In 1943, after 4,091 episodes, the radio program went from a 15-minute CBS weekday dramatic serial to an NBC half-hour weekly comedy. While the five-a-week show often had a quiet, easygoing feeling, the new version was a full-fledged sitcom in the Hollywood sense, with a regular studio audience (for the first time in the show's history) and an orchestra. More outside actors, including many African American comedy professionals, were brought in to fill out the cast. Many of the half-hour programs were written by Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher, later the writing team behind Leave It To Beaver and The Munsters. In the new version, Amos became a peripheral character to the more dominant Andy and Kingfish duo, although Amos was still featured in the traditional Christmas show where he explains the Lord's Prayer to his daughter.
THIS EPISODE:
May 25, 1945. NBC network. Commercials deleted. Andy impersonates a sailor and is lucky enough to be the millionth visitor to the "Harlem Canteen." Harlow Wilcox (announcer), Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll. 27 minutes.
The Adventures of Sam Spade was a radio series based loosely on the private detective character Sam Spade, created by writer Dashiell Hammett for The Maltese Falcon. The show ran for 13 episodes on ABC in 1946, for 157 episodes on CBS in 1946-1949, and finally for 51 episodes on NBC in 1949-1951. The series starred Howard Duff (and later, Steve Dunne) as Sam Spade and Lurene Tuttle as his secretary Effie, and took a considerably more tongue-in-cheek approach to the character than the novel or movie. In 1947, scriptwriters Jason James and Bob Tallman received an Edgar Award for Best Radio Drama from the Mystery Writers of America. Before the series, Sam Spade had been played in radio adaptations of The Maltese Falcon by both Edward G. Robinson (in a 1943 Lux Radio Theater production) and by Bogart himself (in a 1946 Academy Award Theater production), both on CBS.
THIS EPISODE:
November 28, 1948. CBS network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "The Quarter Eagle Caper". The owner of a gum-machine company is murdered, giving Sam plenty to chew on! Howard Duff, Lurene Tuttle, Dashiell Hammett (creator). 24:44.
Suspense was one of the premier programs of the Golden Age of Radio (aka old-time radio), and advertised itself as "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." It was heard in one form or another from 1942 through 1962. There were approximately 945 episodes broadcast during its long run, over 900 of which are extant in mostly high-quality recordings. Suspense went through several major phases, characterized by different hosts, sponsors and director/producers. There were a few rules which were followed for all but a handful of episodes: Protagonists were usually a normal person suddenly dropped into a threatening or bizarre situation. Evildoers must be punished in the end. The program made only occasional forays into science fiction and fantasy. Among its science fiction entries were "The Man who Went Back to Save Lincoln" (a time travel fantasy), and an adaptation of "Donovan's Brain".
THIS EPISODE:
December 2, 1948. CBS network. "The Hands Of Mr. Ottermole". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. A "strangler" is prowling the streets of London, killing at will. A police sergeant is suspicious of "Mr. Newspaperman," who always seems to be nearby when the "strangler" strikes. Claude Rains, Thomas Burke (author), Ken Crossen (adaptor), Vincent Price, Verna Felton, Raymond Lawrence, Paul Frees (announcer), Harlow Wilcox (commercial spokesman), William Johnstone (commercial spokesman), Lucien Moraweck (composer), Lud Gluskin (conductor). 29:45.
The Story Of Doctor Kildare - In the summer of 1949, MGM reunited Lew Ayres and Lionel Barrymore to record the radio series, The Story of Dr. Kildare, scripted by Les Crutchfield, Jean Holloway and others. After broadcasts on WMGM New York from February 1, 1950 to August 3, 1951, the series was syndicated to other stations during the 1950s. The supporting cast included Ted Osborne as hospital administrator Dr. Carough, Jane Webb as nurse Mary Lamont and Virginia Gregg as Nurse Parker, labeled "Nosy Parker" by Gillespie, with appearances by William Conrad, Stacy Harris, Jay Novello, Isabel Jewell and Jack Webb.
THIS EPISODE:
June 15, 1950. Program #21. WMGM, New York-Mutual net origination, MGM syndication. Commercials added locally. A newly blinded man loses his will to live. Dr. Kildare tries to help. Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, Isabel Jewell, William Johnstone, Peggy Webber, Dick Joy (announcer), Gene Holloway (writer), Walter Schumann (composer, conductor), William P. Rousseau (director). 28:11.
The Murder at Midnight series was a thirty-minute broadcast featuring tales of the supernatural. The actors included Mercedes McCambridge and Lawson Zerbe and the show was narrated using the spooky, creepy voice of Raymond Morgan and always opened using the same gripping signature; “the witching hour, when night is darkest, our fears are the strongest, our strength at its lowest ebb… Midnight! … when graves gape open and death strikes!”
THIS EPISODE:
August 18, 1947. Syndicated. "The Black Swan". Commercials added locally. A ship is "launched in blood" and continues to kill. Lawson Zerbe, Leon Meadow (writer), Charles Paul (music), Anton M. Leader (director), Louis G. Cowan (producer). 27:12.
Nightbeat - Broadcast on NBC, Nightbeat ran from 1949 to 1952 and starred Frank Lovejoy as Randy Stone, a tough and streetwise reporter who worked the nightbeat for the Chicago Star looking for human interest stories. He met an assortment of people, most of them with a problem, many of them scared, and sometimes he was able to help them, sometimes he wasn’t. It is generally regarded as a ‘quality’ show and it stands up extremely well. Frank Lovejoy (1914-1962) isn’t remembered today, but he was a powerful and believable actor with a strong delivery, and his portrayal of Randy Stone as tough guy with humanity was perfect. The scripts were excellent, given that they had to pack in a lot in a short time, and there was a good supporting cast, orchestra, and sound effects. ‘The Slasher’, broadcast on 10 November 1950, the last show of season one, has a very loosely Ripper-derived plot in which Stone searches for an artist. Supporting actors included Parley Baer, William Conrad, Jeff Corey, Lawrence Dobkin, Paul Frees, Jack Kruschen, Peter Leeds, Howard McNear, Lurene Tuttle and Martha Wentworth.
THIS EPISODE:
May 29, 1950. NBC netWORK. Sponsored by: Wheaties, Crust-Quik. Harlan Matthews, a Stamp Dealer with memories of a murder he committed long ago, attempts murder, suicide and more! An "alienist" and Randy Stone try to help. The system cue has been deleted. Frank Worth (music), Ben Wright, Junius Matthews, Warren Lewis (producer, director), Larry Marcus (editor), Irwin Ashkenazie (writer), Jeanette Nolan, Frank Lovejoy, Frank Martin (commercial spokesman), Jeff Corey. 29:23.
Command Performance was one of the few radio shows that were sent overseas to boost the morale of US Troops during World War 2. In March 1942 it became a weekly show featuring famous people such as Bob Hope, Fred Allen, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra and more. Each show consisted of several stars who get together and perform comedy routine. All talent for this program was donated, and valued at $75,000 a week. There were more than 400 shows. Announcers : Paul Douglas, Ken Carpenter . Creator : Lous G. Cowan . Producers : Vick Knight, Maury Holland, Cal Kuhl . Director : Glenn Wheaton . Writers : Melvin Frank, Norman Panama.
Macabre made the scene in November 13th 1961 and ran until January 8th 1962. Spooky and supernatural theme, Macabre was a Tokyo Studios, Far East Network of the Armed Forces Radio Service production. Creators of the series were William Verdier, who also starred in the series, and John F. Buey Jr., a program director with FEN Tokyo. All 8 episodes are currently in circulation.
The Mysterious Traveler - Written and directed by Robert A. Arthur and David Kogan, the series began on the Mutual Broadcasting System, December 5, 1943, continuing in many different timeslots until September 16, 1952. Unlike many other shows of the era, The Mysterious Traveler was without a sponsor for its entire run. The lonely sound of a distant locomotive heralded the arrival of the malevolent narrator, portrayed by Maurice Tarplin, who introduced himself each week in the following manner. This is the Mysterious Traveler, inviting you to join me on another journey into the strange and terrifying. I hope you will enjoy the trip, that it will thrill you a little and chill you a little. So settle back, get a good grip on your nerves and be comfortable -- if you can!
THIS EPISODE:
January 5, 1947. Mutual network. "New Year's Nightmare". Sustaining. A man goes on a year-end bender and wakes up a year later married to a strange woman. David Kogan (writer, producer, director), Maurice Tarplin, Robert A. Arthur (writer). 1/2 hour.
Richard Diamond, Private Detective was a radio show starring Dick Powell which aired from 1949 to 1953, first on NBC, then ABC and finally on CBS. The title character was a rather light-hearted detective who often ended the episodes singing to his girlfriend, Helen. The television series was produced by Powell's company, Four Star Television, and that series ran for 3 years from 1957 to 1960. On TV, David Janssen played the hard boiled private eye and his secretary renamed “Sam”, was only ever shown on camera from the waist down, most assurardidly to display her beautiful legs. It was later leared that the legs belonged to Mary Tyler Moore. Original music by Frank DeVol and pete rugolo and later by richard shores. Good scripts, a solid cast and Powell’s exceptional talent made a good time 30 minute program that was quite popular during that Golden Age of Radio. So Let’s sit back now, relax and enjoy this truly otr radio classic.,…, Dick powell as Richard Diamond.., Private Detective.
THIS EPISODE:
July 16, 1949. "The Man Who Hated Women" NBC net. Sustaining. A serial killer is on the loose, slashing women and threatening Lt. Levinson's job! A good, serious cops and robbers story. Dick Powell sings, "Cruising Down The River" after the story. Dick Powell, Edward King (announcer), William P. Rousseau (director), Frank Worth (music director), Blake Edwards (writer), Wilms Herbert, Sidney Miller, William Conrad, Virginia Gregg, Ed Begley, Lurene Tuttle, Jack Kruschen. 29:19.
The Secrets of Scotland Yard was initially hosted by Clive Brook, probably for the first year or so. To add to the air of authenticity, Brook sometimes discusses matters with Percy Hoskins, a 1950s crime expert and reporter for the London Daily Express. Hoskins knew every nook and cranny in London’s seedier districts and personally reported on many of the major crimes of the day. A student of crime, Hoskins was also one of the founders of the Saints and Sinners Club of London, an educational organization dedicated to true crime investigation methods and results. Brook had his own Scotland Yard experience previously when he played retired naval commander Stevenson in the 1936 film, "Scotland Yard Commands". American audiences will however probably more familiar with Brooks’ portrayal of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes in the 1932 film of the same name. Brook was eventually replaced by an actor portraying the character Superintendent X of Scotland Yard.
The Voyage Of The Scarlet Queen - First heard on Mutual featuring Elliott Lewis, who as Leonard Maltin writes in "The Great American Broadcast, "…wore every hat imaginable-actor, producer, and director-also penned a good number of scripts for series he supervised, including Suspense." And Maltin says of this show, "On the terrific late-1940's high-adventure series The Voyage of the Scarlet Queen he held down both jobs simultaneously as director and star." As Maltin continues, “Lewis had the ability to make you believe whatever he said. Cast as the skipper on the high-adventure series The Voyage of the Scarlet Queen, he was completely convincing as seagoing ship's master Philip Carney-never corny or overblown." So let a master captain of drama chart a course to exotic ports of call and thrilling adventures. All you have to do is step aboard The Scarlet Queen.
THIS EPISODE:
October 9, 1947. Mutual network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "Tatooed Beaver and Baby Food For Pare Pare". A strange group of passengers for the Celebes, things aren't what they seem! Elliott Lewis, Edwin Max, Gil Doud (writer), Robert Tallman (writer), James Burton (producer), Richard Aurandt (music), Ben Wright, John Dehner, Frank Gerstle. 29:44.
A Man Called X - Sponsored by Frigidaire and later General Motors, this spy series starred Herbert Marshall as Ken Thurston, Intelligence Agent. Marshall, British by birth, starred in films with many of the greatest, especially Detreich in Blonde Venus, Bette Davis in The Virgin Queen, Vincent Price in The Fly, and a great cast in The Razor's Edge, where he portrayed W. Somerset Maugham.
Jack Benny - Benny was remarkable in many ways, but in none more than this: he built a character of every sour ingredient in life, but somehow his real personality trickled through and made it wonderful. Would a real miser act that way before 30 million people each week? The Benny of the air was a fraud, a myth, a creation. It should have surprised no one to learn — after years of toupee jokes that played so well into the vanity theme — that Benny never wore one. He overtipped in restaurants, gave away his time in countless benefit performances, and was lavish in his praise of almost everyone else.
THIS EPISODE:
December 12, 1937. Red network. Sponsored by: Jell-O. Mary reads a letter from Mama. Kenny sings, "Am I In Love?" Rochester appears as an elevator operator. Shlepperman as a singing Santa Claus, is joined in song by the rest of the cast. Jack and Mary go Christmas Shopping in a department store (the start of a December tradition). Andy Devine, Don Wilson, Jack Benny, Kenny Baker, Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris and His Orchestra, Eddie Anderson, Sam Hearn, Elvia Allman (quadruples), Harry Baldwin (doubles), Ed Beloin (writer, performer), Bea Benaderet, Frank Nelson (as two different floorwalkers), Blanche Stewart (triples), Bill Morrow (writer), Sidney Miller. 29:46.
Nick Carter, Master Detective - Nick Carter is the name of a popular fictional detective who first appeared in in a dime novel entitled "The Old Detective's Pupil" on September 18, 1886. In 1915, Nick Carter Weekly became Street & Smith's Detective Story Magazine. Novels featuring Carter continued to appear through the 1950s, by which time there was also a popular radio show, Nick Carter, Master Detective, which aired on Mutual from 1943 to 1955. Nick Carter first came to radio as The Return of Nick Carter. Then Nick Carter, Master Detective, with Lon Clark in the title role, began April 11, 1943, on Mutual, continuing in many different timeslots for well over a decade. Jock MacGregor was the producer-director of scripts by Alfred Bester, Milton J. Kramer, David Kogan and others. Background music was supplied by organists Hank Sylvern, Lew White and George Wright. Patsy Bowen, Nick's assistant, was portrayed by Helen Choate until mid-1946 and then Charlotte Manson stepped into the role. Nick and Patsy's friend was reporter Scubby Wilson (John Kane). Nick's contact at the police department was Sgt. Mathison (Ed Latimer). The supporting cast included Raymond Edward Johnson, Bill Johnstone and Bryna Raeburn. Michael Fitzmaurice was the program's announcer. The series ended on September 25, 1955. Chick Carter, Boy Detective was a serial adventure that aired weekday afternoons on Mutual. Chick Carter, the adopted son of Nick Carter, was played by Bill Lipton (1943-44) and Leon Janney (1944-45). The series aired from July 5, 1943 to July 6, 1945.
The Hallmark Playhouse - was heard over CBS stations Thursday evenings. This drama anthology of 30-minute shows was sponsored by, of course, Hallmark Greeting Cards. It was preceded by the RADIO READER'S DIGEST, which ran from September 13, 1942 thorugh June 3, 1948. Hallmark sponsored the RADIO READER'S DIGEST from January 13, 1946 to it's end. On Feb. 8, 1953, the series name and format was changed. It was now called THE HALLMARK HALL OF FAME and presented biographal sketches of famous persons, past and present. The new format was used until the end of the 1955 season. The exception to the new format was the broadcast each Christmas season of "A Christmas Carol". Like other dramatic series of this time, this one made use of major screen actors in the productions. James Hilton, author of "Random Harvest", "Lost Horizon" and "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" plus others, served as host and Narrator. Dee Engelbach produced and directed the shows. Jean Holloway was the writer. Sound Effects were by Harry Essman and Gene Twombly. Musical conductor was Lyn Murray. The show's theme was "Dream of Olwne" by Charles Williams.
THIS EPISODE:
August 12, 1948. CBS network, KMBC, Kansas City aircheck. "The Old Nest". Sponsored by: Hallmark Cards. Not auditioned. A sentimental story about the relationship between parents and children. Jane Morgan, Earle Ross, William Johnstone, Gloria Blondell, Sharon Douglas, Tony Barrett, Rupert Hughes (author), James Hilton (host), Frank Goss (announcer), Lyn Murray (composer, conductor), Milton Geiger (adaptor). 29:20.
The Weird Circle - Presented 30 minute tales of horror, frequently inspired by classic horror or ghost stories, frequently done by French authors. It opened with the sound of the surf and the chant-like opening, "In this cave by the restless sea, we are met to call from out of past, stories strange and weird. Bell keeper, toll the bell, so that all may know that we are gathered again in the Weird Circle". The show was heard on Mutual stations November, 1943 through October, 1947 and very briefly in September/October of 1947 on ABC.
THIS EPISODE:
Program #30. NBC syndication. "The Strange Judgment". Commercials added locally. An honest fisherman and his good wife have an evil son, not worthy of his parents. A judgment must be made! . 25:05.
Burns and Allen were an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen.Burns wrote most of the material, and played the straight man. Allen played a silly, addleheaded woman. Both attributed their success to the other, to the ends of their lives. Early on, the team had played the opposite roles until they noticed that the audience was laughing at Gracie's straight lines, so they made the change. Burns and Allen developed their popular routine over more than three decades of stage, radio, film, and television. Historians of popular culture have often stated that Allen was a brilliant comedian, whose entire career consisted of engaging in dialogues of "illogical logic" that left her verbal opponents dazed and confused, and her audiences in stitches. During a typical 23-minute episode of the Burns and Allen show, the vast majority of the dialogue and speaking parts were written for Allen, who was credited with having the genius to deliver her lengthy diatribes in a fashion that made it look as though she was making her arguments up on the spot. (One running gag on the TV show was the existence of a closet full of hats belonging to various visitors to the Burns household, where the guests would slip out the door unnoticed, leaving their hats behind, rather than face another round with Gracie.) A continuing joke on the show was that George would say, "Say good night, Gracie," and Gracie would say, "Good night Gracie!" Ralph Pape used the catchphrase for the title of his play, Say Goodnight, Gracie, produced by Steppenwolf in 1983, and the phrase lives on as a title of other books and stage productions.
THIS EPISODE:
Maxwell House Coffee Time. May 9, 1946. NBC network. Sponsored by: Maxwell House Coffee, Jell-O Pudding. Gracie's planning to write a newspaper column about national affairs. Guest Harpo Marx is going to be her assistant (he's heard whistling and honking, not talking of course). Harp also plays, "Stardust." Not auditioned. George Burns, Gracie Allen, Bill Goodwin, Meredith Willson and His Orchestra, Mel Blanc, Harpo Marx. 29:56.
The Creaking Door was an old-time radio series of horror and suspense shows originating in South Africa. There are at present anywhere from 34-37 extant episodes in MP3 circulation, yet no currently available program logs for the series indicate the year of the series' broadcast (though it was likely sometime in the 1950s, given the generally high audio quality of the available shows), or the total number of episodes, and only a handful of them are known by their broadcast order. The stories are thrillers in the Inner Sanctum vein, and generally thought of favorably by most fans of OTR.
The Family Doctor was a story about Dr. Grant Adams, a small town doctor who doubled as the community’s moral rectifier. He was more than just respected, he was loved by all. Each week he confronted issues from robbery to suicide, and always with common sense and gentle moral judgment. Though his old-fashioned remedies for sicknesses are outdated compared to modern medical practicing, The Family Doctor's attitude towards life's daily issues transcend time. Of the 39 intended episodes, only 12 were aired.
Boxcars711 supports the efforts of the Old Time Radio Researchers Group (OTRR) whose goals include restoring, preserving and sharing the classic shows from what is commonly known as the "Golden Age of Radio" (1930-1960). Please visit and support this great organization at : http://www.otrr.org/
TODAY'S SHOW - Episodes7 (Glass Houses) and Episode8 (Race With The Stork) 1932
The Boston Blackie radio series, also starring Morris, began June 23, 1944, on NBC as a summer replacement for The Amos 'n' Andy Show. Sponsored by Rinso, the series continued until September 15 of that year. Unlike the concurrent films, Blackie had a steady romantic interest in the radio show: Lesley Woods appeared as Blackie's girlfriend Mary Wesley. Harlow Wilcox was the show's announcer. On April 11, 1945, Richard Kollmar took over the title role in a radio series syndicated by Frederic W. Ziv to Mutual and other network outlets. Over 200 episodes of this series were produced between 1944 and October 25, 1950. Other sponsors included Lifebuoy Soap, Champagne Velvet beer, and R&H beer. While investigating mysteries, Blackie invaribly encountered harebrained Police Inspector Farraday (Maurice Tarplin) and always solved the mystery to Farraday's amazement. Initially, friction surfaced in the relationship between Blackie and Farraday, but as the series continued, Farraday recognized Blackie's talents and requested assistance. Blackie dated Mary Wesley (Jan Miner), and for the first half of the series, his best pal Shorty was always on hand. The humorless Farraday was on the receiving end of Blackie's bad puns and word play. Kent Taylor starred in the half-hour TV series, The Adventures of Boston Blackie. Syndicated in 1951, it ran for 58 episodes, continuing in repeats over the following decade.
THIS EPISODE:
June 13, 1945. Program #10. Mutual network origination, Ziv syndication. Commercials added locally. After Janice Larson almost kills herself, Blackie threatens Oscar Wolfe. His threat is recorded on a dictating machine. When Wolfe is killed the next day, Blackie becomes a fugitive wanted for murder! Richard Kollmar, Frank Lovejoy, John Gibson (?). 26:18.
The Chase is an exciting Old Time Radio series in which every episode contains, well, a chase. Tales, highly melodramatic and often improbable, of people on the run. The concept of "hunter and hunted" was built into the signatures. with the lone bugle of a fox hunt, the braying of dogs, the sounds of a man running, a gunshot, and the slowing footsteps and eventual fall of the victim. It may be an adventure story, a crime story, or even science fiction, but there will always be a suspense filled chase.
THIS EPISODE:
November 23, 1952. NBC network. "Blackout". Sustaining. The title may be incorrect. Am amnesiac trying to discover his past life finds out he was some louse. Don MacLaughlin, Fred Collins (announcer), Fred Weihe (director, transcriber), Joan Tompkins, Lawrence Klee (creator, writer), Linda Watkins, Ned Wever, William Keene. 29:27.
Calling All Cars was one of radio’s earliest cop shows, dramatizing true crime stories and introduced by officers from the Los Angeles and other police departments. The narrator of the program was speech professor Charles Frederick Lindsley, and the only other regular voice heard on the program week after week belonged to that of Sergeant Jesse Rosenquist of the L.A.P.D., whose name and voice were so unusually distinctive that he was retained for the show’s entire run. None of the actors on the show ever received on-air credit, but among the talent OTR fans can hear the likes of Elvia Allman, Jackson Beck, Charles Bickford, John Gibson, Richard LeGrand and Hanley Stafford, just to name a few.
THIS EPISODE:
July 11, 1934. Program #33. CBS Pacific network (Don Lee net). "Fingerprints Don't Lie". Sponsored by: Rio Grande Oil. Officer #734 has been held up, shot and robbed by two men who escaped in a Hudson. The Department of Records and Identification uses fingerprints to apprehend the criminals. The system cue has been deleted. Not auditioned. William N. Robson (writer, producer), Charles Frederick Lindsley (narrator). 29:28.
Lux Radio Theater - In October of 1934, "Lux Radio Theater" debuted in New York on NBC's Blue radio network. Presenting audio versions of popular Broadway plays, the show failed to garner an audience and soon ran out of material. After switching networks to CBS and moving to Hollywood, Lux found its true market. The show began featuring adaptations of popular films, performed by as many of the original stars as possible. With an endless supply of hit films scripts and an audience of more than 40 million, Lux enjoyed a prosperous run until the curtain fell in 1956.
THIS EPISODE:
King Solomon's Mines aired December 01, 1952 starring Deborah Kerr and Stewart Granger in their original roles from the1950 film. Adventure stories don’t come more ripping than King Solomon’s Mines, the classic Great White Hunter tale. Novelist H. Rider Haggard’s hero, Allan Quatermain (Stewart Granger), reluctantly agrees to lead an Englishwoman (Deborah Kerr) and her brother deep into uncharted territory in Africa, in search of the lady’s lost husband. Stewart Granger plays Allan Quatermain, the intrepid hero of a whole series of adventure novels by Haggard over a period of almost thirty years. Quartermain is a big-game hunter and guide, brave, resourceful, wise, weary, cynical, and very, very British. Granger is perfect for the role; he sounds, and acts like the Quatermain of the novels. It's a spectacular adventure story with romance, while they fight with wild animals and cannibals.
Inspector Thorne - By the 1940's, Frank and Ann Hummert controlled four and a half hours of national weekday broadcast schedules. Their features reportedly spawned more that 5 million pieces of correspondence annually from steadfast fans. Simultaneously they brought in more than half of the national radio chain's advertising revenues generated during the daylight hours. The couple broadcast 18 quarter-hour serials five times weekly, a total of 90 original episodes for 52 weeks per year, with none of those ever repeated. Some shows were "Amanda of Honeymoon Hill", "Backstage Wife","Chaplin Jim USA", "David Harum", "Easy Aces", "Front Page Farrell", "John's Other Wife", "Just Plain Bill", "The Life of Mary Sothern","Lora Lawton", "Lorenzo Jones", "Ma Perkins", "Mrs Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch", "Our Gal Sunday", "The Romance of Helen Trent" and "Young Widder Brown".
The Whistler was one of radio's most popular mystery dramas, with a 13-year run from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955. If it now seems to have been influenced explicitly by The Shadow, The Whistler was no less popular or credible with its listeners, the writing was first class for its genre, and it added a slightly macabre element of humor that sometimes went missing in The Shadow's longer-lived crime stories. Writer-producer J. Donald Wilson established the tone of the show during its first two years, and he was followed in 1944 by producer-director George Allen. Other directors included Sterling Tracy and Sherman Marks with final scripts by Joel Malone and Harold Swanton. A total of 692 episodes were produced, yet despite the series' fame, over 200 episodes are lost today. In 1946, a local Chicago version of The Whistler with local actors aired Sundays on WBBM, sponsored by Meister Brau beer.
THIS EPISODE:
December 25, 1944. CBS Pacific network. "Lie Or Consequences" ("Christmas Bonus). Sponsored by: Signal Oil. An ex-convict is fired from his job in a department store after $10,000 is stolen. As long as he's considered guilty, he might as well steal some more, but he is saved by a music box! Ken Christy, George W. Allen (producer), Bob Anderson (announcer), Wilbur Hatch (music). 29:47.
Challenge of the Yukon was a long-running radio series that began on Detroit's station WXYZ (as had The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet). The series was first heard on February 3, 1938. Under the title Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, it later transferred to television. The program was an adventure series about Sergeant William Preston of the Northwest Mounted Police and his lead sled dog, Yukon King, as they fought evildoers in the Northern wilderness during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. Preston, according to radio historian Jim Harmon, first joined the Mounties to capture his father's killer, and when he was successful he was promoted to Sergeant. Preston worked under the command of Inspector Conrad, and in the early years was often assisted by a French-Canadian guide named Pierre.
THIS EPISODE:
November 28, 1946. WXYZ, Detroit origination, The Michigan Radio Network. "Thanksgiving In The Wilderness". Sustaining. A flashback story: Father Haley has been kidnapped, along with the church funds. The townspeople suspect that the new priest may have stolen the money. Father Haley's dog Shep helps Sergeant Preston solve the mystery. The system cue has been deleted. Jay Michael, Mildred Merrill (writer), Larry McCann (announcer). 14:20.
The Great Gildersleeve (1941-1957), initially written by Leonard Lewis Levinson, [1] was one of broadcast history's earliest spin-off programs. Built around a character who had been a staple on the classic radio situation comedy Fibber McGee and Molly, The Great Gildersleeve enjoyed its greatest success in the 1940s. Actor Harold Peary played the character during its transition from the parent show into the spin-off and later in a quartet of feature films released at the height of the show's popularity. On Fibber McGee and Molly, Peary's Gildersleeve was a pompous windbag who became a consistent McGee nemesis. "You're a haa-aa-aa-aard man, McGee!" became a Gildersleeve catch phrase. The character was given several conflicting first names on Fibber McGee and Molly, and on one episode his middle name was revealed as Philharmonic. Gildy admits as much at the end of "Gildersleeve's Diary" on the Fibber McGee and Molly series (10/22/40). He soon became so popular that Kraft Foods — looking primarily to promote its Parkay margarine spread — sponsored a new series with Peary's Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve as the central, slightly softened, and slightly befuddled focus of a lively new family.
THIS EPISIODE:
November 22, 1942. NBC network. Sponsored by: Kraft Parkay, Kraft Dinner. Thanksgiving Program. Gildersleeve tries to get a "B" ration book. Billy Mills (composer, conductor), Earle Ross, Harold Peary, John Whedon (writer), Ken Carpenter (announcer), Lillian Randolph, Lurene Tuttle, Richard LeGrand, Shirley Mitchell (?), Verna Felton, Walter Tetley. 29:27.
The Third Man (The Lives of Harry Lime) was a old-time radio adventure series that ran in 1951 and 1952. It was based on the 1949 film of the same name. Orson Welles stars as Harry Lime, a perpetually broke confidence man, smuggler, and general scoundrel. He will participate in virtually any criminal activity to make a fast buck, but uses his wits rather than a gun. He draws the line short of murder, blackmail, or drugs. Even so, Harry is an endearing character and listeners love to hear of his one-step-ahead-of-the-law misadventures as he hops around the globe looking for his next pigeon. The zither music of Anton Karas adds a wonderful Viennese ambience to each episode and really makes this show special.
THIS EPISODE:
January 18, 1952 - The Double Double Cross - Lang-Worth syndication. A Love Affair. Commercials added locally. In a remote Saudi Arabian town, Harry finds a murder and a double-cross in oil. Harry has the oil concession rights and two foreign agents set to buy. Orson Welles, Anton Karas (zither), Harry Alan Towers (producer), Tig Roe (director). 27:00.
Hear It Now, an American radio program on CBS, began in 1950 and was hosted by Edward R. Murrow and produced by Fred Friendly. It ran for one hour on Fridays at 9 p.m. One of the most popular and best selling records of 1948 was I Can Hear It Now 1933-1945. The record was a collaboration between Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly. The record interwove historical events with speeches and Murrow's narration and marked the beginning of one of the most famous pairings in journalism history. The huge success of the record prompted the pair to parlay it into a weekly radio show for CBS. That show was Hear It Now. The show had a "magazine format." It drove to include a variety of sounds from current events such as an atom smasher at work or artillery fire from Korea. It was the artillery fire that produced one of the show's more poignant moments as it backdropped the words of American soldiers fighting the Korean War. The entire premise of the show was to include the "actual sound of history in the making," according to Murrow. Some of the show's audio was what Time Magazine called "fairly routine" in 1950. Such audio soundbites as Communist China's General Wu and Russia's Vishinsky along with the U.S. Delegate Warren Austin were included among the routine group of audio use. Television, by 1955, usurped radio in terms of audience share and a reluctant Murrow, in 1951, set about doing a TV version of the radio show called See It Now. With the inception of the television version of the show in 1951 Hear It Now ended its on air run.
THIS EPISODE:
December 22, 1950. Program #2. CBS network. Sustaining. Abe Burrows reviews Santa Claus, Peoria, Illnois and mobilization: how a small town is affected by the Korean war. The final 29:32 of the program only. Edward R. Murrow (narrator, editor, producer), Abe Burrows, Fred Friendly (editor, producer), Joseph Wershba ("active assistant"), Brooks Watson (Peoria), David Diamond (composer), Warren Sweeney (announcer). 29:22.
CANDY MATSON was the private eye star of Candy Matson, YUkon 2-8208, an NBC West Coast show which first aired in March 1949 and was created by Monty Masters. He cast his wife, Natalie Parks, in the title role of this sassy, sexy PI. Her understated love interest, Lt. Ray Mallard, was played by Henry Leff while her assistant and best pal, aptly named Rembrandt Watson, was the voice of Jack Thomas. Every show opened with a ringing telephone and our lady PI answering it with "Candy Matson, YU 2-8209" and then the organ swung into the theme song, "Candy". Each job took Candy from her apartment on Telegraph Hill into some actual location in San Francisco. The writers, overseen by Monty, worked plenty of real Bay Area locations into every plot.
THIS EPISODE:
January 2, 1950. NBC net, San Francisco origination. Sustaining. Candy investigates a plane crash and is asked to certify the safety of an airport. Bill Brownell (sounworkd effects), Dudley Manlove (announcer), Eloise Rowan (organist), Harry Bechtel, Henry Leff, Jack Cahill, Jay Rendon (sound effects), Lou Tobin, Monte Masters (writer, producer), Natalie Masters. 29:38.
Author’s Playhouse - Famous stories by celebrated authors: among them, Elementals (Stephen Vincent Benet), The Piano (William Saroyan), and The Snow Goose (Paul Gallico).March 5, 1941 till June 4, 1945, NBC; Blue Network until mid-October 1941, then the Red Network. Many briefly held 30m timeslots, including Sundays at 11:30, 1941-42; Wednesdays at 11:30, 1942-44; Mondays at 11:30, 1944-45. Sponsor was Philip Morris, 1942-43. Cast: John Hodiak, Fern Persons, Arthur Kohl, Laurette Fillbrandt, Kathryn Card, Bob Jellison, Nelson Olmsted, Marvin Miller, Olan Soule, Les Tremayne, Clarence Hartzell, Curley Bradley, etc. Orchestra: Rex Maupin, Roy Shield, J6seph Gallicchio. Creator: Wynn Wright. Directors: Norman Felton, Fred Weihe, Homer Heck, etc.
THIS EPISODE:
July 8, 1944. NBC network. "The Kraken". Sustaining. A science fiction tale about a British submarine captured by a huge sea monster. Frederick Englehart (author). 1/2 hour.
Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator (AKA Barry Crane" and then "Barrie Craig)
is one of the few detective radio series that had separate versions of it broadcast from both coasts. Even the spelling changed over the years. It was first "Barry Crane" and then "Barrie Craig". NBC produced it in New York from 1951 to 1954 and then moved it to Hollywood where it aired from 1954 to 1955. It attracted only occasional sponsors so it was usually a sustainer.William Gargan, who also played the better known television (and radio) detective Martin Kane, was the voice of New York eye BARRY CRAIGwhile Ralph Bell portrayed his associate, Lt. Travis Rogers. Craig's office was on Madison Avenue and his adventures were fairly standard PI fare. He worked alone, solved cases efficiently, and feared no man. As the promos went, he was "your man when you can't go to the cops. Confidentiality a speciality."Like Sam Spade, Craig narrated his stories, in addition to being the leading character in this 30 minute show. Nearly sixty episodes are in trading circulation today.
THIS EPISODE:
Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator. January 23, 1952. NBC network. "The Deadly Fight". Sustaining. Not auditioned. "A widow who can't find tears, an obituary notice in search of a cough and a boxing champ whose biggest win is a fight, strictly off the record." Fran Carlon, Himan Brown (director), William Gargan, John Roeburt (writer), Don Pardo (announcer). 29:44.
The Life of Riley, with William Bendix in the title role, was a popular radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film and continued as a long-running television series during the 1950s. The show began as a proposed Groucho Marx radio series, The Flotsam Family, but the sponsor balked at what would have been essentially a straight head-of-household role for the comedian. Then producer Irving Brecher saw Bendix as taxicab company owner Tim McGuerin in the movie The McGuerins from Brooklyn (1942). The Flotsam Family was reworked with Bendix cast as blundering Chester A. Riley, riveter at a California aircraft plant, and his frequent exclamation of indignation---"What a revoltin' development this is!"---became one of the most famous catch phrases of the 1940s. The radio series also benefited from the immense popularity of a supporting character, Digby "Digger" O'Dell (John Brown), "the friendly undertaker."Beginning October 4, 1949, the show was adapted for television for the DuMont Television Network, but Bendix's film contracts prevented him from appearing in the role. Instead, Jackie Gleason starred along with Rosemary DeCamp as wife Peg, Gloria Winters as daughter Barbara (Babs), Lanny Rees as son Chester Jr. (Junior), and Sid Tomack as Gillis, Riley's manipulative best buddy and next-door neighbor. John Brown returned as the morbid counseling undertaker Digby (Digger) O'Dell ("Well, I guess I'll be... shoveling off"; "Business is a little dead tonight"). Television's first Life of Riley won television's first Emmy (for "Best Film Made For and Shown on Television"). However, it came to an end on March 28, 1950 because of low ratings and because Gleason left the show, thinking he could find a better showcase for his unique abilities. Groucho Marx received a credit for "story."
THIS EPISODE:
January 31, 1948. NBC network. Sponsored by: Prell Shampoo, Ivory Snow. Not auditioned. The return of Uncle Baxter, once again. Will Babs get a schaolarship when the college Dean comes to visit? William Bendix, Irving Brecher (producer, director), Hans Conried, Paula Winslowe, Alan Lipscott (writer), Reuben Ship (writer), Lou Coslowe (music), John Brown, Tommy Cook, Barbara Eiler, Regina Wallace, Ken Niles (announcer). 29:02.
General Mills Radio Adventure Theater - The series had it origins in the meeting of two minds: the ad agency for General Mills at the time, Dancer-Fitzgerald-Sample was looking for a different means to reach a child audience besides television, which was decreasing commercial minutes and increasing costs; and Himan Brown, producer-director of the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, who wanted to introduce new audiences to the dramatic form on radio. Tom Bosley was chosen as the host because of his television recognition from a kid’s oriented series, Happy Days. CBS chose to produce 52 original broadcasts followed by 52 repeat broadcasts. I believe they had hoped to maintain General Mills sponsorship during the complete 104 episodes, but General Mills dropped their sponsorship after the original broadcasts. The series continued for the next 52 repeats as the CBS Radio Adventure Theater.
THIS EPISODE:
A Journey to the Centre of the Earth (French: Voyage au centre de la Terre), also translated as A Journey to the Interior of the Earth, is a classic 1864 science fiction novel by Jules Verne. The story involves a professor who leads his nephew and hired guide down a volcano in Iceland to the "centre of the Earth". They encounter many adventures, including prehistoric animals and natural hazards, eventually coming to the surface again in southern Italy. The living organisms they meet reflects the geological time; just as the rock layers become older and older the deeper one gets, the animals get more and more ancient the closer the characters come to the center. From a scientific point of view, this story has not aged quite as well as other Verne stories, since most of his ideas about what the interior of the Earth contains have since been proven wrong. However, a redeeming point to the story is Verne's own belief, told within the novel from the viewpoint of a character, that the inside of the Earth does indeed differ from that which the characters encounter.
A Journey to the Centre of the Earth (French: Voyage au centre de la Terre), also translated as A Journey to the Interior of the Earth, is a classic 1864 science fiction novel by Jules Verne. The story involves a professor who leads his nephew and hired guide down a volcano in Iceland to the "centre of the Earth". They encounter many adventures, including prehistoric animals and natural hazards, eventually coming to the surface again in southern Italy. The living organisms they meet reflects the geological time; just as the rock layers become older and older the deeper one gets, the animals get more and more ancient the closer the characters come to the center. From a scientific point of view, this story has not aged quite as well as other Verne stories, since most of his ideas about what the interior of the Earth contains have since been proven wrong. However, a redeeming point to the story is Verne's own belief, told within the novel from the viewpoint of a character, that the inside of the Earth does indeed differ from that which the characters encounter.
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar - For over twelve years, from 1949 through 1962 (including a one year hiatus in 1954-1955), this series recounted the cases "the man with the action-packed expense account, America’s fabulous freelance insurance investigator, Johnny Dollar". Johnny was an accomplished 'padder' of his expense account. The name of the show derives from the fact that he closed each show by totaling his expense account, and signing it "End of report... Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar". Terry Salomonson in his authoritative "A Radio Broadcast Log of the Drama Program Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar", notes that the original working title was "Yours Truly, Lloyd London". Salomonson writes "Lloyd London was scratched out of the body of (the Dick Powell) audition script and Johnny Dollar was written in. Thus the show was re-titled on this script and the main character was renamed. Why this was done was unclear – possibly to prevent a legal run-in with Lloyd’s of London Insurance Company." Although based in Hartford, Connecticut, the insurance capital of the world, freelancer Johnny Dollar managed to get around quite a bit – his adventures taking him all over the world. There were some unusual devices used in the show that help set it apart from other shows. There was no partner, assistant, or secretary for Johnny. The character closest to a continuing role was that of Pat McCracken of the Universal Adjustment Bureau, who assigned Johnny many of his cases. Another atypical aspect gave the show additional credibility – frequently, characters on the show would mention that they had heard about Johnny’s cases on the radio. Johnny often used his time when filling out his expense accounts to give the audience background information or to express his thoughts about the current case.No fewer than eight actors played Johnny Dollar. Dick Powell, of Rogue’s Gallery fame, cut the original audition tape, but chose to do Richard Diamond, Private Detective instead. Gerald Mohr, of The Adventures of Philip Marlowe fame, auditioned in 1955, prior to Bob Bailey getting the title role. Through the first three actors to play Johnny Dollar (Charles Russell, Edmond O'Brien, and John Lund), there was little to distinguish the series from many other radio detective series. Dollar was just another hard-boiled detective in a medium that was overloaded with the stereotype. Charles Russell, the first to play the role, would throw silver dollars to bellboys and waiters. Luckily, this trite gimmick did not survive long.
THIS EPISODE:
September 4, 1949. CBS network. "The Expiring Nickle and The Egyptian Jackpot". Sustaining. A leper in India and a lady stowaway on an airplane add up to adventure in the Middle East. The announcer states that this is the last Johnny Dollar show until October 1, 1949, which wasn't true. Charles Russell, Georgia Ellis, Gil Doud (writer), Gordon T. Hughes (director), Jack Edwards, Leith Stevens (composer, conductor), Parley Baer, Paul Dubov, Paul Dudley (writer), Roy Rowan (announcer). 30:17.
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT) was an ambitious and sustained attempt to revive the great drama of old-time radio in the 1970s. Created by Himan Brown (who had by then become a radio legend due to his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries and other shows dating back to the 1930s), and aired on affiliate stations across the CBS Radio network, the series began its long run on January 6, 1974. The final episode ran on December 31, 1982. The show was broadcast nightly and ran for one hour, including commercials. Typically, a week consisted of three to four new episodes, with the remainder of the week filled out with reruns. There were a total of 1399 original episodes broadcast. The total number of broadcasts, including reruns, was 2969. The late E.G. Marshall hosted the program every year but the final one, when actress Tammy Grimes took over. Each episode began with the ominous sound of a creaking door, slowly opening to invite listeners in for the evening's adventure. At the end of each show, the door would swing shut, with Marshall signing off, "Until next time, pleasant...dreams?"
THIS EPISODE:
August 19, 1974. Program #135. CBS network. "The Hands Of Mrs. Mallory". Sponsored by: Budweiser, Buick. There is a brief loss of audio during two public service announcements. E. G. Marshall (host), Henry Slesar (writer), Celeste Holm, Patricia Elliot, Evie Juster, Arnold Moss, Leon Janney. 52 minutes.
CBS Radio Workshop - Broadcast from 1936 through to 1947 with just an occasional break. Revived again from January 1956 to September 1957 as CBS Radio Workshop with pretty much the same format. Broadcast from 1936 through to 1947 with just an occasional break. Revived again from January 1956 to September 1957 as CBS Radio Workshop with pretty much the same format. This was drama with a difference. Columbia Workshop was not everybody’s cup of tea and in terms of audience popularity it was always noted that it was never a strong contender for the title “Radios Top Rated Drama Series” and yet it was always considered to be the drama program that led the way in radio standards. Columbia was the first to mexperiment with what radio drama was all about, introducing new techniques never before used in over the airwaves drama and because it received little encouragement from established writers, actors, etc., it was only by breaking new ground with new ideas and new techniques from writers who were not versed in the old ways that it was going to survive.
THIS EPISODE:
September 1, 1957. CBS network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "Grief Drives A Black Sedan". A motorist has hit someone on a dark road, and has kept on driving. AFRTS rebroadcast name: "Mystery Theatre." Alice Frost, Jay Johnson, Larry Haines, Lee Vines, Ralph Bell, Bill Mason. 25 minutes.
The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Gale Gordon in the title role, took over where Sherlock Holmes had left off. Sponsored by Petri wine, it used the same "weekly visit" format and the same team of Anthony Boucher and Dennis Green that had written The New Adventured of Sherlock Holmes. Gregory Hood was modelled after true-life San Francisco importer Richard Gump, and many of the stories revolve around a mystery surrounding some particular imported treasure. Hood's sidekick Sanderson "Sandy" Taylor was played by Bill Johnstone. The show aired from June, 1946 through August, 1950. There were an additional couple of shows aired in October 1951. Hood and Sanderson were played in later episodes by Elliott Lewis and Howard McNear, respectively.
Crime Club was a Mutual Network murder and mystery series, a product of the Doubleday Crime Book Club imprints found weekly in bookstores everywhere. The telephone rings"Hello, I hope I haven't kept you waiting. Yes, this is the Crime Club. I'm the Librarian. Murder Rents A Room? Yes, we have that Crime Club story for you.Come right over. (The organist in the shadowed corner of the Crime Club library shivers the ivories) The doorbell tones sullenly"And you are here. Good. Take the easy chair by the window. Comfortable? The book is on this shelf." (The organist hits the scary chord) "Let's look at it under the reading lamp." The Librarian, played by Raymond E. Johnson, begins reading the tale. Veteran Willis Cooper (Lights Out, Quiet Please) did some of the scripts from the Crime Club books.
THIS EPISODE:
July 3, 1947. Mutual network. "Death At 7:10". Sustaining. Susan Ward Steel, a woman everybody hated is dies of atropine poisoning in the compartment of a mystery writer on a train. Her story is told through flashbacks. H. F. S. Moore (author), Stedman Coles (adaptor), Roger Bower (producer, director), Raymond Edward Johnson, Helen Shields, Cameron Prud'Homme, Ted Osborne, Eleanor Phelps, Pierce Carlton, Reese Taylor. 29:40.
The Black Museum - Opening in 1875, the Crime Museum at Scotland Yard is the oldest museum in the world purely for recording crime. The name Black Museum was coined in 1877 by a reporter from The Observer, a London newspaper, although the museum is still referred to as the Crime Museum. The idea of a crime museum was conceived by Inspector Neame who had already collected together a number of items, with the intention of giving police officers practical instruction on how to detect and prevent burglary. It is this museum that inspired the Black Musuem radio series. The museum is not open to members of the public but is now used as a lecture theatre for the curator to lecture police and like bodies in subjects such as Forensic Science, Pathology, Law and Investigative Techniques. A number of famous people have visited the musuem including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry Houdini, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Orsen Welles hosted and narrated the shows. Following the opening, Mr. Welles would introduce the museum's item of evidence that was central to the case, leading into the dramatization. He also provided narration during the show and ended each show with his characteristic closing from the days of his Mercury Theater on the Air, 'remaining obediently yours'.
THIS EPISODE:
- Syndicated, WRVR-FM, New York aircheck. "The Claw Hammer". Sustaining. An old lady's handyman demands fifty pounds and kills her when he doesn't get it. The date is approximate. Syndicated rebroadcast date: January 8, 1975. Harry Alan Towers (producer), Orson Welles (narrator), Ira Marion (writer), Sidney Torch (composer, conductor). 32:34.
Gunsmoke - The radio show first aired on April 26, 1952 and ran until June 18, 1961 on the CBS radio network. The series starred William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon, Howard McNear as Doc Charles Adams, Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell, and Parley Baer as Deputy Chester Proudfoot. Doc's first name and Chester's last name were changed for the television program. Gunsmoke was notable for its critically acclaimed cast and writing, and is commonly regarded as one of the finest old time radio shows. Some listeners (such as old time radio expert John Dunning) have argued that the radio version of Gunsmoke was far more realistic than the television program. Episodes were aimed at adults, and featured some of the most explicit content of the day.
TODAY'S SHOW: Double Feature - "Gun Smuggler" (01-30-54) and "The Badge" (04-26-59)
January 30, 1954. CBS network. "Gun Smuggler". Sustaining. The Pawnees have killed a family of homesteaders using guns smuggled to them by a white man. Marshal Dillon, Chester and an Indian scout track the Indians, hoping to find the white gun smuggler. The script was used on the Gunsmoke television series on September 27, 1958. William Conrad, Georgia Ellis, John Dehner, Lawrence Dobkin, Harry Bartell, Barney Phillips, Jack Edwards, Norman Macdonnell (director), Rex Koury (composer, conductor), Howard McNear, George Walsh (announcer), John Meston (writer). 24:43.
April 26, 1959. CBS network. "The Badge". Commercials deleted. A not-too-bright bank robber named Augie shoots Marshal Dillon just because he wants his badge! His pal Rack does his thinking for him, and plans to keep Dillon alive for his own reasons! The program closing has been deleted after the cast credits. The script was used on the Gunsmoke television series on November 12, 1960. William Conrad, Parley Baer, Howard McNear, Georgia Ellis, Norman Macdonnell (producer, director), Marian Clark (writer), John Meston (editorial supervisor), Harry Bartell, Vic Perrin. 24:22.
Duffy's Tavern, an American radio situation comedy (CBS, 1941-1942; NBC-Blue Network, 1942-1944; NBC, 1944-1952), often featured top-name stage and film guest stars but always hooked those around the misadventures, get-rich-quick-scheming, and romantic missteps of the title establishment's malaprop-prone, metaphor-mixing manager, Archie, played by the writer/actor who created the show, Ed Gardner.
THIS EPISODE:
February 23, 1949. NBC network origination, Nostalgia Broadcasting Corporation syndication. Commercials added locally. Slippery McGuire sells Archie a patent on electricity! Alan Reed appears as "Slippery McGuire." Ed Gardner, Eddie Green, Charlie Cantor, Alan Reed, Gloria Erlanger. 24:20.
Frank Merriwell, the much-loved fictional hero of Street and Smith's Tip Top Weekly, was first introduced to readers on April 18, 1896. Merriwell was the creation of writer Burt L. Standish (real name: Gilbert Patten), and embodied a new type of dime novel hero, one who relied as much upon mental as physical prowess. The Yale-educated Merriwell possessed "a body like Tarzan's and a head like Einstein's," wrote one admiring writer, and thus represented "the perfect union of brain and brawn." The show First ran on NBC radio from March 26 to June 22, 1934 as a 15-minute serial airing three times a week at 5:30pm. Sponsored by Dr. West's Toothpaste, this program starred Donald Briggs in the title role. Harlow Wilcox was the announcer. After a 12-year gap, the series returned October 5, 1946 as a 30-minute NBC Saturday morning show, continuing until June 4, 1949. Lawson Zerbe starred as Merriwell, Jean Gillespie and Elaine Rostas as Inza Burrage, Harold Studer as Bart Hodge and Patricia Hosley as Elsie Belwood. The announcer was Harlow Wilcox, and the Paul Taubman Orchestra supplied the background music. There are at least three generations of Merriwells: Frank, his half-brother Dick, and Frank's son, Frank Jr. There is a marked difference between Frank and Dick. Frank usually handled challenges on his own. Dick has mysterious friends and skills that help him, especially an old Indian friend without whom the stories would not have been quite as interesting.
The FORD THEATER, sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, presented hour long dramas first on NBC for one only season. The series moved to CBS for its second and last season. There were 39 NBC and 39 CBS hour- long shows (not verified). The show initially received an unfavorable review from the New York Times for poor script adaptation but was still highly rated for the actors' performance and overall production. The show was supposed to feature only original scripts but had to forgo that plan due to lack of quality material. The first season on NBC used radio actors under the direction of George Zachary. Martin Gabel announced the first show but was soon replaced by Kenneth Banghart. The second season, on CBS, used Hollywood screen actors in the lead roles, supported by radio actors. Fletcher Markle, who previously produced CBS's STUDIO ONE series, was the producer for the second season. Although a short series, it still has some of radio's best dramas.
THIS EPISODE:
June 20, 1948. NBC network. "The Late Christopher Bean". Sponsored by: Ford. A good story about a rural housekeeper whose one great love was a long-dead artist, whose paintings have suddenly become VERY popular. Alice Goodkin, Beatrice Pons, Warren Brian, Louis Calhern (substitute host), Kenneth Banghart (announcer), Richard Gordon, Jane Houston, Jo Ann McCoy, James Van Dyke, Harry Worth, Barbara Weeks, Cameron Prud'Homme, Sidney Howard (author), Sylvia Berger (adaptor), Howard Teichman (editor), Amadeo Di Filipi (composer), Howard Barlow (conductor), George Zacher (director). 1 hour.
It's A Crime Mr. Collins. 1956. Mutual net origination, syndicated. "The Case Of The Pink Elephant". Commercials added locally. A racketeer just out of jail threatens the crusading newspaperman who "sent him up the river." But then, the racketeer is shot in, "The Pink Elephant" (that must have hurt). The date is approximate. Mandel Kramer, Gail Collins, Richard Denning. 25:32.
The Lineup is a realistic police drama that gives radio audiences a look behind the scenes at police headquarters. Bill Johnstone plays Lt. Ben Guthrie, a quiet, calm-as-a-cupcake cucumber. Joseph Kearns (and from 1951 to 1953, Matt Maher) plays Sgt. Matt Grebb, a hot-tempered hot plate who is easily bored. The director and script writer often rode with police on the job and sat in on the police lineups to get ideas for The Lineup. They also read dozens of newspapers daily and intermeshed real stories with those that they used in the show. With Dragnet a smash hit, realism in police dramas was popular at the time this show aired. Don’t be caught without this radio show in your collection!
THIS EPISODE:
July 20, 1950. CBS network. Sustaining. Eddie Gaynor has been framed for the murder of Johnny Taranto, and Eddie's no choir boy either! After Eddie is sprung on a writ, his body is found the next morning. Elliott Lewis (producer, director), Morton Fine (writer), David Friedkin (writer), William Johnstone, Wally Maher, Eddie Dunstedter (composer, conductor), Virginia Gregg, Howard McNear, Junius Matthews, Edgar Barrier, Tony Barrett, Paul Frees, Clayton Post. 29:39.
Dangerous Assignment – 1950-1954 -This thirty-minute international spy adventure featured Steve Mitchell (Brian Donlevy), and investigator of crimes in exotic locations. 60 episodes. Herb Butterfield played the Commissioner and Betty Moran was the Commissioner's secretary. Other cast members were GeGe Pearson, Ken Peters, Betty Lou Gerson, Dan O’Herlihy. The director was Bill Cairn and the writer for the series was Robert Ryf. The opening was the same every week “Yeah, danger is my assignment. I get sent to a lot of places I can’t even pronounce. They all spell the same thing though, trouble.” He would be summoned to his boss’s office where he would be given his assignment; he would then fly halfway across the globe to save the day! The worldwide locations are dealt up with a feeling of local, and the characters that inhabit these far-away places with strange sounding names are solid and capably acted by veterans. Music is an almost harsh orchestra. Donlevy carries the plots with a world-weary and wary tone that makes sense, based on his occupation.
Let George Do It - Bob Bailey played George Valentine as a detective handy man, who got his jobs from responses to a newspaper ad. Part-time detective and writer Dan Holiday in Box 13 also used the premise. It pays to advertise! The shows follow the usual formats of crime caper shows, with toughs, mysterious rendezvous and people who aren't who they say they are.
THIS EPISODE:
March 19, 1951. Mutual-Don Lee network. "Murder For two". Sustaining. Mrs. Ruth Jennings has been murdered. Lou Jennings is suspected of the killing...and he doesn't seem to be very upset by the suspicions. Bob Bailey, Bud Hiestand (announcer), Eddie Dunstedter (composer, conductor), Don Clark (director, writer), Howard McNear, Ken Christy, Virginia Gregg, Michael Ann Barrett, Jack Kruschen, Tony Barrett. 29:52.
The Falcon - This hard boiled spy drama began as an RKO Radio Pictures theatrical serial in the 1940s, went on radio in 1945, and then came to TV ten years later in this Syndicated series produced for distribution by NBC Films; Charles McGraw had been in many motion pictures before and after including "The Killers", "Spartacus" and "Cimarron"; in this series he played the title role of a man whose real name was supposedly Mike Waring, an American agent whose code name was "Falcon"; Later Charles McGraw starred in a short lived TV version of "Casablanca" (1955 - 1956) in the character of Rick; He also had a role on the detective drama "Staccato" (1959) Actor McGraw (whose birth name was Charles Butters) met an unfortunate death in real life when he fell through a shower glass door in 1980 at his home in Studio City, CA.]
THIS EPISODE:
February 25, 1951. NBC network. "The Case Of The Practical Choker". Sponsored by: Kraft Cheese Spreads. Red Davis has been murdered. Chuck Morgan had been bragging that he's going to kill Morgan. Mrs. Davis remarries only twelve hours after Red's deat! This is a case for Mike Waring...The Falcon! Les Damon, Ed Herlihy (announcer), Eugene Wang (writer), Ann Williams (a drama student at Sarah Lawrence College), Drexel Drake (creator), Arlo (music), Bernard L. Schubert (producer), Richard Lewis (director), Ken Lynch. 29:30.
The Falcon - This hard boiled spy drama began as an RKO Radio Pictures theatrical serial in the 1940s, went on radio in 1945, and then came to TV ten years later in this Syndicated series produced for distribution by NBC Films; Charles McGraw had been in many motion pictures before and after including "The Killers", "Spartacus" and "Cimarron"; in this series he played the title role of a man whose real name was supposedly Mike Waring, an American agent whose code name was "Falcon"; Later Charles McGraw starred in a short lived TV version of "Casablanca" (1955 - 1956) in the character of Rick; He also had a role on the detective drama "Staccato" (1959) Actor McGraw (whose birth name was Charles Butters) met an unfortunate death in real life when he fell through a shower glass door in 1980 at his home in Studio City, CA.]
THIS EPISODE:
February 25, 1951. NBC network. "The Case Of The Practical Choker". Sponsored by: Kraft Cheese Spreads. Red Davis has been murdered. Chuck Morgan had been bragging that he's going to kill Morgan. Mrs. Davis remarries only twelve hours after Red's deat! This is a case for Mike Waring...The Falcon! Les Damon, Ed Herlihy (announcer), Eugene Wang (writer), Ann Williams (a drama student at Sarah Lawrence College), Drexel Drake (creator), Arlo (music), Bernard L. Schubert (producer), Richard Lewis (director), Ken Lynch. 29:30.
Big Town is a radio show that aired from 1937 to 1952. Edward G. Robinson had the lead role of Steve Wilson from 1937 to 1942. Claire Trevor was Wilson's society editor sidekick Lorelei Kilbourne, with Ona Munson taking over that role in 1940. Edward J. Pawley portrayed Wilson from 1942 until 1952 when Walter Greaza was heard as Wilson in the final episodes in the radio series. When Big Town moved to television, the program was telecast live, but in 1952 the production switched to film after the move from New York City to Hollywood. The television series ran on CBS from 1950 through 1954, continuing on NBC from 1955 through 1956. Repeat episodes aired on the DuMont Network (under the title City Assignment) while Big Town was still showing first-run episodes on CBS. Reruns were also shown under the titles Heart of the City, Headline and Byline Steve Wilson.
Escape was radio's leading anthology series of high adventure, airing on CBS from July 7, 1947 to September 25, 1954. Since the program did not have a regular sponsor like Suspense, it was subjected to frequent schedule shifts and lower production budgets, although Richfield Oil signed on as a sponsor for five months in 1950. Despite these problems, Escape enthralled many listeners during its seven-year run. The series' well-remembered opening combined Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain with the introduction, intoned by Paul Frees and William Conrad: “Tired of the everyday routine? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... Escape!” Of the more than 230 Escape episodes, most have survived in good condition. Many story premises, both originals and adaptations, involved a protagonist in dire life-or-death straits, and the series featured more science fiction and supernatural tales than Suspense. Some of the memorable adaptations include Algernon Blackwood's "Confession", Ray Bradbury's oft-reprinted "Mars Is Heaven," George R. Stewart's Earth Abides, Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game," F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz," John Collier's "Evening Primrose", later adapted to TV as a Stephen Sondheim musical starring Anthony Perkins. Vincent Price and Harry Bartell were heard in the chilling "Three Skeleton Key," the tale of three men trapped in an isolated lighthouse by thousands of rats. The half-hour was adapted from an Esquire short story by the French writer George Toudouze.
THIS EPISODE:
October 1, 1947. CBS network. "The Most Dangerous Game". Sustaining. A big game hunt for the biggest game of all...man! Hans Conried, Irving Ravetch (adaptor), Paul Frees, Richard Connell (writer), William N. Robson (producer), Richard Sanville (director), Cy Feuer (music conceiver, conductor). 1/2 hour.
The Adventures of Sam Spade was a radio series based loosely on the private detective character Sam Spade, created by writer Dashiell Hammett for The Maltese Falcon. The show ran for 13 episodes on ABC in 1946, for 157 episodes on CBS in 1946-1949, and finally for 51 episodes on NBC in 1949-1951. The series starred Howard Duff (and later, Steve Dunne) as Sam Spade and Lurene Tuttle as his secretary Effie, and took a considerably more tongue-in-cheek approach to the character than the novel or movie. In 1947, scriptwriters Jason James and Bob Tallman received an Edgar Award for Best Radio Drama from the Mystery Writers of America. Before the series, Sam Spade had been played in radio adaptations of The Maltese Falcon by both Edward G. Robinson (in a 1943 Lux Radio Theater production) and by Bogart himself (in a 1946 Academy Award Theater production), both on CBS.
THIS EPISODE:
October 31, 1948. CBS network. "The Fairly Bright Caper". Sponsored by: Wildroot Cream Oil. Spade is hired to protect a Halloween party, which is only slightly complicated by a witch and a murder! Howard Duff, Lurene Tuttle, Dick Joy (announcer), Dashiell Hammett (creator). 29:28.
Dragnet was a long-running radio and television police procedural drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. The show takes its name from an actual police term, a "dragnet", meaning a system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects. Dragnet debuted inauspiciously. The first several months were bumpy, as Webb and company worked out the program’s format and eventually became comfortable with their characters (Friday was originally portrayed as more brash and forceful than his later usually relaxed demeanor). Gradually, Friday’s deadpan, fast-talking persona emerged, described by John Dunning as "a cop's cop, tough but not hard, conservative but caring." (Dunning, 210) Friday’s first partner was Sgt. Ben Romero, portrayed by Barton Yarborough, a longtime radio actor. When Dragnet hit its stride, it became one of radio’s top-rated shows. While most radio shows used one or two sound effects experts, Dragnet needed five; a script clocking in at just under 30 minutes could require up to 300 separate effects. Accuracy was underlined: The exact number of footsteps from one room to another at Los Angeles police headquarters were imitated, and when a telephone rang at Friday’s desk, the listener heard the same ring as the telephones in Los Angeles police headquarters. A single minute of "A Gun For Christmas" is a representative example of the evocative sound effects featured on "Dragnet". While Friday and others investigate bloodstains in a suburban backyard, the listener hears a series of overlapping effects: a squeaking gate hinge, footsteps, a technician scraping blood into a paper envelope, the glassy chime of chemical vials, bird calls and a dog barking in the distance. Scripts tackled a number of topics, ranging from the thrilling (murders, missing persons and armed robbery) to the mundane (check fraud and shoplifting), yet "Dragnet" made them all interesting due to fast-moving plots and behind-the-scenes realism. In "The Garbage Chute" (15 December 1949), they even had a locked room mystery.
THIS EPISODE:
September 21, 1950. Program #67. NBC network. "The Big Pair". Sponsored by: Fatima Cigarettes. A couple run a racket of selling all the furniture in the houses of families out of town, starting with a little girl and her grandfather. Jack Webb, Barton Yarborough. 29:31.
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater - As you walk through the creaking door you enter into another world, the world of imagination. This world is inside you, a part of you, and you take this journey alone. Each person hears and then sees with his or her mind's eye the events portrayed within these dramas. All of us interprets what they hear differently. The images we see is unique to ourselves. A voice becomes a person, living, breathing they come alive. They take on a physical form and characteristics that we assign to them. The wonders of your own mind are boundless. Scary thoughts? Perhaps, but what powers they bring us! To exercise one's imagination is to exercise one's soul. These dramas provide us with an escape from reality. To adventures beyond our own lives. Enjoy them. And pleasant dreams!
THIS EPISODE:
January 8, 1975. Program #199. CBS network. "The Oblong Box". Sponsored by: Buick, Sine-Off. E. G. Marshall (host), Edgar Allan Poe (author), George Lowther (adaptor), Richard Mulligan, Grace Matthews, Bryna Raeburn, Court Benson. 52 minutes.
Confession - NBC 30 minutes Sunday at 9:30PM.Cast Paul Frees, James Edwards, Jester Hairston, Jay Loughlin, Jonathan Hole, Mady Norman, Don Brinkley (writer), Michael Samoge (? music), Warren Lewis (script supervisor), Homer Canfield (director), John Wald (announcer). Had a texture and sound not unlike Dragnet, indeed the influence was realized throughout the show. These were true stories of Crime and Punishment, the obvious difference that Dragnet began with the crime while Confession unfolded in reverse order, from the end. Confession was less noisy, it's theme was played on a single piano, but there was still the deadpan dialogue, the thief or killer giving his confession with an air of resignation and defeat. The criminal thus became a stream-of-consciousness narrator, with the action frequently cutting away into drama. "Names were changed to protect the legal rights of the subject".
The Amos 'n' Andy Show - Amos 'n' Andy was a situation comedy popular in the United States from the 1920s through the 1950s. The show began as one of the first radio comedy serials, written and voiced by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll and originating from station WMAQ in Chicago, Illinois. After the series was first broadcast in 1928, it grew in popularity and became a huge influence on the radio serials that followed. Amos 'n' Andy creators Gosden and Correll were white actors familiar with minstrel traditions. They met in Durham, North Carolina in 1920, and by the fall of 1925, they were performing nightly song-and-patter routines on the Chicago Tribune's station WGN. Since the Tribune syndicated Sidney Smith's popular comic strip The Gumps, which had successfully introduced the concept of daily continuity, WGN executive Ben McCanna thought the notion of a serialized drama could also work on radio. He suggested to Gosden and Correll that they adapt The Gumps to radio. They instead proposed a series about "a couple of colored characters" and borrowed certain elements of The Gumps. Their new series, Sam 'n' Henry, began January 12, 1926, fascinating radio listeners throughout the Midwest. That series became popular enough that in late 1927 Gosden and Correll requested that it be distributed to other stations on phonograph records in a "chainless chain" concept that would have been the first use of radio syndication as we know it today. When WGN rejected the idea, Gosden and Correll quit the show and the station that December. Contractually, their characters belonged to WGN, so when Gosden and Correll left WGN, they performed in personal appearances but could not use the character names from the radio show.
THIS EPISODE:
September 30, 1947. Program #72. NBC network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "Piggy Bank Show". The Stevens' twenty fifth anniversary piggy bank is empty and must be refilled...quickly! Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Jeff Alexander and His Orchestra, The Jubalaires, James Basquette, Eddie Green, Ernestine Wade, Art Gilmore (nouncer). 30:09.
Cloak & Dagger - "Are you willing to undertake a dangerous mission for the United States, knowing in advance you may never return alive?" Cloak and Dagger first aired over the NBC network on May 7, 1950. It had a short run through the Summer on Sundays, changing to Fridays after its Summer run. The last show aired Oct. 22, 1950. This is the story of the WWII special governmental agency, the OSS, or Office of Strategic Services. Its mission was to develop and maintain spy networks throughout Europe and into Asia, while giving aid to underground partisan groups and developing espionage activities for Allied forces overseas.The show is based on the book of the same name by Lt. Col. Corey Ford and Major Alastair MacBain (who were associated with the OSS from its early days.) The dramas are not Hollywood-style, in that they sometimes end with plans foiled or leading characters dead.
THIS EPISODE:
May 7, 1950 "Behind The Lines" - NBC network. Sustaining. 4:00 P. M. Colonel Corey Ford introduces the series before the story. An announcement is made that this is the first show of the series, but in an ambigiuous way. The stories are based on a book by Corey Ford and Alistair McBain. An American O. S. S. member parachutes into occupied Austria on a spying mission, but makes a serious mistake. Keep your eye on the button! The story is untitled in NBC records. The program of May 14, 1950 was pre-empted for a speech by President Truman. Joseph Julian, Berry Kroeger, Raymond Edward Johnson, Karl Weber (announcer), Winifred Wolfe (writer), Louis G. Cowan (producer), Ross Martin, Bernard Philips (?), Dolly Haas, Sherman Marks (director, supervisor), Jon Gart (music director), Corey Ford (host, author), Alistair MacBain (author). 29:50.
Academy Award Theater - Stars and movies with Oscars were the idea - in most cases, the movie stars recreated their academy award roles for the show, or in other cases, fine actors played the parts and gave it a different character. Both ways make for great radio drama and first class Hollywood motion picture star entertainment. The Lux Radio Theater had been doing this kind of radio show in the grandest manner for many years, but sponsor Squibb had the hubris and deep pockets to take on the competition by doing Academy Award Theater right after the Second World War. The year 1946 was pre-television, and so movies were still the major American visual art form, with radio the other popular network entertainment. In this final pre-TV time, Academy Award Theater was thought of as a premier radio production, a wow show, much like CinemaScope was to be in the 1950's when Hollywood felt the box office blow of early TV.All text on OTRCAT.com are ©2006 OTRCAT INC - All Rights Reserved. Reproduction is prohibited.
THIS EPISODE:
June 15, 1946. CBS netword. "Pride Of The Marines". Sponsored by: Squibb. A marine blinded in the war finally returns to the girl he left behind. John Garfield, Rosemary De Camp, Frank Wilson (adaptor), Leith Stevens (composer, conductor), Dee Englebach (producer, director), Hugh Brundage (announcer). 29:43.
The General Mills Radio Adventure Theater - The series had it origins in the meeting of two minds: the ad agency for General Mills at the time, Dancer-Fitzgerald-Sample was looking for a different means to reach a child audience besides television, which was decreasing commercial minutes and increasing costs; and Himan Brown, producer-director of the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, who wanted to introduce new audiences to the dramatic form on radio. Tom Bosley was chosen as the host because of his television recognition from a kid’s oriented series, Happy Days. CBS chose to produce 52 original broadcasts followed by 52 repeat broadcasts. I believe they had hoped to maintain General Mills sponsorship during the complete 104 episodes, but General Mills dropped their sponsorship after the original broadcasts. The series continued for the next 52 repeats as the CBS Radio Adventure Theater.
THIS EPISODE:
April 30, 1977. Program #25. CBS network. "A Different Ghost Story". Sponsored by: General Mills. The program was repeated on October 30, 1977 as, "The CBS Radio Adventure Theater." Tom Bosley (host), Elizabeth Pennell (writer), Corinne Orr, Skip Hinnant, Himan Brown (producer, director).
The Radio City Playhouse - A Half-hour drama, sometimes comedy, often very exciting and suspenseful. The cast were made up of New York veterans of radio and stage, including Jan Minor and John Larkin as featured performers. The director, Harry W. Junkin, also served as the show's host and narrator. Each week the show introduced a new story, often written by well-known writers of fantasy and suspense such as Ray Bradbury, Cornell Woolrich, Agatha Christie and Paul Gallico. They were dramatized with a full orchestral soundtrack and excellent sound effects.
THIS EPISODE:
November 20, 1949. Program #62. NBC network, WIS, Columbia, South Carolina origination. "Deception". Sustaining. Not auditioned. The first network origination from WIS. The program is announced as, "Attraction #61). With the exception of Jan Miner, all the cast is from South Carolina. Harry W. Junkin (writer, director, host), Jan Miner, Roy Shield (composer, conductor from New York City), Mackie Quave (?), Josephine Brown, Tom Lentin, Roy Lind, Sam Zurich, Phil Lagraska (? announcer). 29:37.
Maisie, the first in 1939, was from the book "Dark Dame" by the writer Wilson Collison,who did decades of scripting for the silver screen along with Broadway plays and magazine fiction. From the first, MGM wanted Ann Sothern to play Maisie. She began in Hollywood as an extra in 1927. "Maisie and I were just together - I just understood her," Sothern, born Harriette Arlene Lake, said after several of the films made her a star. Throughout the 1930s and '40s, Ann Sothern and Lucille Ball, like many performers in Hollywood, had not one but two careers - one in motion pictures and one on radio. MGM Studios had created the series of ten motion pictures based on a brash blonde with a heart "of spun gold." Maisie, the first in 1939, was from the book "Dark Dame" by the writer Wilson Collison, who did decades of scripting for the silver screen along with Broadway plays and magazine fiction.
I Was a Communist for the FBI was an American espionage thriller radio series with 78 episodes syndicated by Ziv to more than 600 stations in 1952-54. Made without FBI cooperation, the series was adapted from the book by undercover agent Matt Cvetic, who was portrayed by Dana Andrews.The series was crafted to warn people about the threat of Communist subversion of American society. The tone of the show is very jingoistic and ultra-patriotic. Communists are evil incarnate and the FBI can do no wrong. As a relic of the Joe McCarthy era, this show is a time capsule of American society during the Second Red Scare.
THIS EPISODE:
I Was A Communist For The FBI. Program #12. ZIV Syndication. "The Dangerous Dollars". Commercials added locally. Cvetic visits the Skyline Rancho, a resort run by the Communists. He finds a mysterious airplane ready to leave the country with money owned by The Party. Dana Andrews, Truman Bradley (announcer). 27:32.
Story Of Butch Cassidy & Sundance Kid (1979) - Parker's first brush with the law was a petty affair. Around 1880, he made a long journey to a clothier's shop in another town only to find the shop closed. He entered the shop and removed a pair of jeans, leaving an IOU that he would pay for it upon his next visit. However, the clothier took down the details which Parker had included in the IOU and reported him. After a stubborn resistance to the resultant charges in court, he was acquitted. He continued to do ranch work until 1884 when he briefly moved to Telluride, Colorado, ostensibly to find work but possibly to deliver stolen horses to buyers there. He then returned to ranch work, in Wyoming and in Montana, before returning again to Telluride in 1887, where he then met Matthew Warner, the owner of a race horse. Together the two raced the horse at various events, dividing the profits between them. Through this line of enterprise he soon met, again in Telluride, William and Thomas McCarty, who may have been instrumental in introducing Parker to the ideas and strategies of train and bank robbery. Parker, Warner and Thomas McCarty may have been responsible for the robbery, on November 3, 1887, of a train near Grand Junction, Colorado, where the train's safe-master had assured them that nobody aboard had the safe's combination, and so, gathering together what other spoils they could, they had made off with a modest $150. Western historian Charles Kelly closed the chapter "Is Butch Cassidy Dead?" in his 1938 book, Outlaw Trail, by observing that if Parker "is still alive, as these rumors claim, it seems exceedingly strange that he has not returned to Circleville, Utah, to visit his old father, Maximillian Parker, who died on July 28, 1938, at the age of 94 years". Kelly is thought to have interviewed Parker's father, but no known transcript of such an interview exists.
The Beulah Show is an American situation-comedy series that ran in radio on CBS from 1945 to 1954, and in television on ABC from 1950 to 1953. It is notable for being the first sitcom to star an African American. Originally portrayed by Caucasian actor Marlin Hurt, Beulah Brown first appeared in 1939 when Hurt introduced and played the character on the Hometown Incorporated radio series and in 1940 on NBC radio's Show Boat series. In 1943, Beulah moved over to That's Life and then became a supporting character on the popular Fibber McGee and Molly radio series in late 1944. In 1945, Beulah was spun off into her own radio show, The Marlin Hurt and Beulah Show, with Hurt still in the role. Beulah was employed as a housekeeper and cook for the Henderson family: father Harry, mother Alice and son Donnie. After Hurt died of a heart attack in 1946, he was replaced by another white actor, Bob Corley, and the series was retitled The Beulah Show. When black actress Hattie McDaniel took over the role on November 24, 1947, she earned $1000 a week for the first season, doubled the ratings of the original series and pleased the NAACP which was elated to see a historic first: a black woman as the star of a network radio program. McDaniel continued in the role until she became ill in 1952 and was replaced by Lillian Randolph, who was in turn replaced for the 1953-54 radio season by her sister, Amanda Randolph.
TODAY'S SHOW: "The Building Permit" (03-23-53) and "Cutting Onions" (10-09-53)
Jeff Regan, Investigator was one of the three detective shows Jack Webb did before Dragnet (see also Pat Novak For Hire and Johnny Modero: Pier 23). It debuted on CBS in July 1948. Webb played JEFF REGAN, a tough private eye working in a Los Angeles investigation firm run by Anthony J. Lyon. Regan introduced himself on each show "I get ten a day and expenses...they call me the Lyon's Eye." The show was fairly well-plotted, Webb's voice was great, and the supporting cast were skillful. Regan handled rough assignments from Lion, with whom he was not always on good terms. He was tough, tenacious, and had a dry sense of humor. The voice of his boss, Anthony Lion, was Wilms Herbert. The show ended in December 1948 but was resurrected in October 1949 with a new cast; Frank Graham played Regan (later Paul Dubrov was the lead) and Frank Nelson portrayed Lion. This version ran on CBS, sometimes as a West Coast regional, until August 1950. Both versions were 30 minutes, but the day and time slot changed several times. A total of 29 episodes from this series are in trading currency.
THIS EPISODE:
August 28, 1948. CBS network. "The Man In The Door". Sustaining. A murdered architect is seen alive and well! Jeff looks into a complicated story of murder and embezzlement. Jack Webb, Wilms Herbert, Lou Krugman, Lurene Tuttle, Betty Lou Gerson, Dave Henderson, William Conrad, E. Jack Neuman (writer), Sterling Tracy (producer), Bob Stevenson (announcer), Richard Aurandt (music). 29:36.
The Adventures Of Horatio Hornblower - Broadcast 1952; Transcribed in England for the BBC; aired in U.S. on CBS, then again on ABC in 1954 and Mutual in 1957. Starring Michael Redgrave as Horatio Hornblower. a captain in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic era. The radio series was based on twelve Horatio Hornblower novels written by C.S. Forester. These novels were, and still are, well liked due to their realistic tone and historical accuracy in telling the tales of Naval life in the late 1700s through the mid 1800s. C.S. Forester was well known for his novels about military and naval life, including such fine titles as The African Queen, The Gun, The Barbary Pirates, and The General.
Crime Classics was a U. S. radio docudrama which aired over CBS from June 15, 1953 to June 30, 1954. Created, produced, and directed by radio actor/director Elliott Lewis, the program was basically a historical true crime series, examining crimes, and especially murders, from the past. It grew out of Lewis's personal interest in famous murder cases, and took a documentary-like approach to the subject, carefully recreating the facts, personages, and feel of the time period. Comparatively little dramatic license was taken with the facts and events, but the tragedy was leavened with humor, expressed largely through the narration.
THIS EPISODE:
September 7, 1953. CBS network. "The Torment Of Henrietta Robinson and Why She Killed". Sustaining. A lady of Troy New York in 1845, and her doll Cecily. Very insane and very homicidal. The last show of "the summer series." Ben Wright, Bernard Herrmann (composer, conductor), Betty Harford, Bob Lemond (announcer), David Friedkin (writer), Elliott Lewis (producer, director), Joseph Kearns, Lamont Johnson, Lou Merrill (host), Morton Fine (writer), Paula Winslowe, Sam Edwards, Sammie Hill. 29:54.
Case Dismissed - Thus with the pounding of the gavel, the fate of men and women have been decided by the judge. This is the story of our legal rights, the battle to preserve and protect them, and how easily they can be lost. The program shows us just how fragile liberty and justice can be. These stories of everyday events are still interesting, even after 50 years. Stories of criminal liability, legal wills, buying on installment, and leasing an apartment. Each story is well written, and the acting, though dated and a bit hokey by today’s standards, still manages to achieve the desired effect. Not much information is available for this series, it was apparently broadcast on a limited basis, and originated on WMAQ Chicago, an NBC station. It was comprised of thirteen episodes, twelve of which are currently available, and was heard from January 30, 1954 through April 24, 1954.
THIS EPISODE:
February 27, 1954. NBC network, WMAQ, Chicago origination. Sustaining. Not auditioned. The program is produced in co-operation with the Chicago Bar Association. The legal problems of installment buying. Herbert Littow (director), John C. Fitzgerald (host, Dean of the Law School, Loyola University), Betty Ross (producer), Tom Evans (sound), Harold Witteberry (engineer), Robert Carmen (writer), Lee Bennett (announcer), Sondra Gair, Jack Bivens, Harry Elders, Stanley Gordon, Arthur Peterson, Charles Flynn. 28:31.
Father Knows Best, a family comedy of the 1950s, is perhaps more important for what it has come to represent than for what it actually was. In essence, the series was one of a slew of middle-class family sitcoms in which moms were moms, kids were kids, and fathers knew best. Today, many critics view it, at best, as high camp fun, and, at worst, as part of what critic David Marc once labeled the "Aryan melodramas" of the 1950s and 1960s. The brainchild of series star Robert Young, who played insurance salesman Jim Anderson, and producer Eugene B. Rodney, Father Knows Best first debuted as a radio sitcom in 1949. In the audio version the title of the show ended with a question mark, suggesting that father's role as family leader and arbiter was dubious. The partner's production company, Rodney-Young Enterprises, transplanted the series to television in 1954--without the questioning marker--where it ran until 1963, appearing at various times on each of the three networks. Young and Rodney, friends since 1935, based the series on experiences each had with wives and children; thus, to them, the show represented "reality." Indeed, careful viewing of each of the series' 203 episodes reveals that the title was actually more figurative than literal. Despite the lack of an actual question mark, father didn't always know best. Jim Anderson could not only lose his temper, but occasionally be wrong. Although wife Margaret Anderson, played by Jane Wyatt, was stuck in the drudgery of domestic servitude, she was nobody's fool, often besting her husband and son, Bud (played by Billy Gray). Daughter Betty Anderson (Elinor Donahue)--known affectionately to her father as Princess--could also take the male Andersons to task, as could the precocious Kathy (Lauren Chapin), the baby of the family.
Damon Runyon Theater - Broadcast from January to December 1949, "The Damon Runyon Theatre" dramatized 52 of Runyon's short stories for radio. Damon Runyon (October 4, 1884 – December 10, 1946) was a newspaperman and writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. He spun tales of gamblers, petty thieves, actors and gangsters; few of whom go by "square" names, preferring instead to be known as "Nathan Detroit", "Big Jule", "Harry the Horse", "Good Time Charlie", "Dave the Dude", and so on. These stories were written in a very distinctive vernacular style: a mixture of formal speech and colorful slang, almost always in present tense, and always devoid of contractions.
THIS EPISODE:
- Program #8. Mayfair syndication. "Princess O'Hara". Commercials added locally. Broadway and his pals "borrow" a champion race horse to pull a hansom cab in order to help a doll in distress. The story was previously used in an audition recording. Damon Runyon (author), John Brown, Richard Sanville (director), Russell Hughes (adaptor), Vern Carstensen (production supervisor). 26:35.
THE WEIRD CIRCLE was a syndicated series that was heard on Mutual stations November, 1943 through October, 1947 and very briefly in September/October of 1947 on ABC. The show presented 30 minute tales of horror, frequently inspired by classic horror or ghost stories, frequently done by French authors. It opened with the sound of the surf and the chant-like opening, "In this cave by the restless sea, we are met to call from out of past, stories strange and weird. Bell keeper, toll the bell, so that all may know that we are gathered again in the Weird Circle".
THIS EPISODE:
Program #2. NBC syndication. "The House and The Brain". Commercials added locally. An evil spirit kept alive 400 years haunts a house and murders the old woman living there. Edward Bulwer-Lytton (author). 25 minutes.
The Campbell Playhouse was a sponsored continuation of the Mercury Theater on the Air, a direct result of the instant publicity from the War of the Worlds panic. The switch occurred on December 9, 1938. In spite of using the same creative staff, the show had a different flavor under sponsorship, partially attributed to a guest star policy in place, which relegated the rest of the Mercury Players to supporting cast for Orson Welles and the Hollywood guest of the week. There was a growing schism between Welles, still reaping the rewards of his Halloween night notoriety, and his collaborator John Houseman, still in the producer's chair but feeling more like an employee than a partner. The writer, as during the unsponsored run, was Howard Koch.
THIS EPISODE:
January 6, 1939. CBS network. "Counselor At Law". Sponsored by: Campbell's Soup. A good story about a powerful attorney with a secret past. Announced as the first radio performance by Gertrude Berg in a program other than, "The Goldbergs." Attorney Sam Liebowitz also appears. Orson Welles, Gertrude Berg, Aline MacMahon, Elmer Rice (author), Sam Liebowitz, Joseph Cotten. 58:26.
In the Name of the Law was a True Crime radio show from 1936. It says "In the name of the law, we bring you another of the thrilling stories in this exciting series, taken from actual police case files. "In the name of the Law, we bring you another of the thrilling stories in this exciting series, taken from actual police case files."Mrs Mary James found dead in her pool 8-05-35. Her husband Bob is suspected. He had been married several times before and a previous wife was also found dead under suspicious circumstances. Police investigation led to the Killer's arrest. Was it Bob James?
THIS EPISODE:
Nothing Ever Happens in Chinatown (7-26-36) - Syndicated. Commercials added locally. In Chicago's Chinatown, merchant Wong Fu has been shot to death. A detective, who speaks Chinese, sees that truth and justice will triumph. . 25:12.
Blondie was a radio situation comedy adapted from the long-run Blondie comic strip by Chic Young. The radio program had a long run on several networks from 1939 to 1950. After Penny Singleton was cast in the title role of the feature film Blondie (1938), co-starring with Arthur Lake as Dagwood, she and Lake repeated their roles December 20, 1938, on The Bob Hope Show. The appearance with Hope led to their own show, beginning July 3, 1939, on CBS as a summer replacement for The Eddie Cantor Show. However, Cantor did not return in the fall, so the sponsor, Camel Cigarettes chose to keep Blondie on the air Mondays at 7:30pm. Camel remained the sponsor through the early WWII years until June 26, 1944. In 1944, Blondie was on the Blue Network, sponsored by Super Suds, airing Fridays at 7pm from July 21 to September 1. The final three weeks of that run overlapped with Blondie's return to CBS on Sundays at 8pm from August 13, 1944, to September 26, 1948, still sponsored by Super Suds. Beginning in mid-1945, the 30-minute program was heard Mondays at 7:30pm. Super Suds continued as the sponsor when the show moved to NBC on Wednesdays at 8pm from October 6, 1948, to June 29, 1949. Ann Rutherford took over the radio role of Blondie in 1949, and at times, Patricia Van Cleve and Alice White were also heard as Blondie. In its final season, the series was on ABC from October 6, 1949, to July 6, 1950, first airing Thursdays at 8pm and then (from May) 8:30pm. The radio show ended the same year as the Blondie film series (1938-50)
THIS EPISODE:
April 22, 1940. CBS network. Sponsored by: Camels. Not auditioned. Dagwood has bought a trailer and names it, "The Gypsy Queen." Arthur Lake, Penny Singleton, Bill Goodwin (announcer), Leone LeDoux, Hanley Stafford, Ashmead Scott (writer, director), Billy Artz (conductor). 29:32.
Gangbusters was an American dramatic radio program heralded as "the only national program that brings you authentic police case histories." It premiered as G-Men, sponsored by Chevrolet, on July 20, 1935. After the title was changed to Gang Busters January 15, 1936, the show had a 21-year run through November 20, 1957. Beginning with a barrage of loud sound effects — guns firing and tires squealing — this intrusive introduction led to the popular catch phrase "came on like Gang Busters."The series dramatized FBI cases, which producer-director Phillips H. Lord arranged in close association with Bureau director J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover insisted that only closed cases would be used. The initial series was on NBC Radio from July 20 - October 12, 1935. It then aired on CBS from January 15, 1936 to June 15, 1940, sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive and Cue magazine. From October 11, 1940 to December 25, 1948, it was heard on the Blue Network, with various sponsors that included Sloan's Liniment, Waterman pens and Tide. Returning to CBS on January 8, 1949, it ran until June 25, 1955, sponsored by Grape-Nuts and Wrigley's chewing gum. The final series was on the Mutual Broadcasting System from October 5, 1955 to November 27, 1957. It was once narrated by Norman Schwarzkopf, Sr., former head of the New Jersey State Police. The radio series was adapted for DC Comics, Big Little Books and a 1942 movie serial. The 1952 Gang Busters TV series was reedited into two feature films, Gang Busters (1954) and Guns Don't Argue (1957).
THIS EPISODE:
August 7, 1948. Program #541. ABC network origination, syndicated, WRVR-FM, New York rebroadcast. "The Case Of The Golf Course Murder". Sponsored by: Arrow Audio. The head of a car-theft ring branches out into murder. WRVR rebroadcast date: April 11, 1974. Anne Burr, Frank Readick. 1/2 hour.
The Blue Beetle - The standard opening for all episodes is: (three whistles) "The Blue Beetle! (organ music up) Leaping down upon the underworld to smash gangland, comes the friend of the unfortunate, enemy of criminals, a mysterious all-powerful character. A problem to the police, but a crusader for law; in reality Dan Garrett, a rookie patrolman. Loved by everyone, but suspected by none of being "The Blue Beetle." As "The Blue Beetle," he hides behind a strange mask and a suit of impenetrable blue chain armor, flexible as silk but stronger than steel!" Giving The Green Hornet a run for his money, Dan Garrett's father was killed by "a gangster's bullet." Dr. Franz, an apothecary on a side street, is the only one who knows the secret identity of "The Blue Beetle." Syndicated in 1938, "The Blue Beetle" also appeared in "Mystery Men" and "Blue Beetle" magazines. The show aired twice a week. Frank Lovejoy played the lead for the first ten episodes, the Police Commissioner sounds like Paul Ford. To make the picture complete, "The Beetle" also uses a magic ray and leaves little blue beetles behind! There is some confusion about the dates for this series. The program was heard twice a week (Wednesday and Friday according to one source). The dates may be recording session dates from the discs, or they may be the dates of first broadcast on a network or station. In fact, the dates may be incorrect and the series was originally heard in 1938.
Diary of Fate is a mystery and horror program where “Fate” narrates and always wins by the end of the story. These are great suspense filled stories about average people who are subject to the mysteries of their ‘Fate’. In This episode, July 13, 1948. Program #31. Finley syndication. "John Haines". Commercials added locally. Book 82, page 509. Not auditioned. A man shoots his brother-in-law to get $50,000. Beware the stray cat. The date is subject to correction. Herb Lytton, Lurene Tuttle, Benny Rubin, Tyler McVey, Michael Stewart, Lou Lane, Ray Ehrlenborn, Hal Sawyer, Larry Finley (producer). 26:20.
Academy Award Theater - Stars and movies with Oscars were the idea - in most cases, the movie stars recreated their academy award roles for the show, or in other cases, fine actors played the parts and gave it a different character. Both ways make for great radio drama and first class Hollywood motion picture star entertainment. The Lux Radio Theater had been doing this kind of radio show in the grandest manner for many years, but sponsor Squibb had the hubris and deep pockets to take on the competition by doing Academy Award Theater right after the Second World War. The year 1946 was pre-television, and so movies were still the major American visual art form, with radio the other popular network entertainment. In this final pre-TV time, Academy Award Theater was thought of as a premier radio production, a wow show, much like CinemaScope was to be in the 1950's when Hollywood felt the box office blow of early TV.All text on OTRCAT.com are ©2006 OTRCAT INC - All Rights Reserved. Reproduction is prohibited.
THIS EPISODE:
June 29, 1946. CBS network. "A Star Is Born". Sponsored by: Squibb Drugs. A Star Is Born (1937) is a romantic drama film produced by David O. Selznick and directed by William A. Wellman, with a script by Wellman, Robert Carson, Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell. It stars Janet Gaynor as an aspiring actress who travels to Hollywood to become a movie star. Other members of the cast include Fredric March, Adolphe Menjou, May Robson, Andy Devine and Lionel Stander. Vicki Lester, played by Janet Gaynor, meets actor Norman Maine (Fredric March) and they marry but soon after his career develops difficulties while hers flourishes.
Abbott and Costello - William (Bud) Abbott and Lou Costello (born Louis Francis Cristillo) were an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film and television made them one of the most popular teams in the history of comedy. Thanks to the endurance of their most popular and influential routine, "Who's on First?"---whose rapid-fire word play and comprehension confusion set the preponderant framework for most of their best-known routines---the team are also the only comedians known to have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Bud Abbott was born in Asbury Park, NJ, October 2, 1897 and died April 24, 1974 in Woodland Hills, California. Lou Costello was born in Paterson, NJ, March 6, 1906 and died March 3, 1959 in East Los Angeles, California. After working as Allen's summer replacement, Abbott and Costello joined Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy on The Chase and Sanborn Hour in 1941, while two of their films (Buck Privates and Hold That Ghost) were adapted for Lux Radio Theater. They launched their own weekly show October 8, 1942, sponsored by Camel cigarettes. The Abbott and Costello Show mixed comedy with musical interludes (usually, by singers such as Connie Haines, Marilyn Maxwell, the Delta Rhythm Boys, Skinnay Ennis, and the Les Baxter Singers). Regulars and semi-regulars on the show included Artie Auerbrook, Elvia Allman, Iris Adrian, Mel Blanc, Wally Brown, Sharon Douglas, Verna Felton, Sidney Fields, Frank Nelson, Martha Wentworth, and Benay Venuta. Ken Niles was the show's longtime announcer, doubling as an exasperated foil to Abbott & Costello's mishaps (and often fuming in character as Costello insulted his on-air wife routinely); he was succeeded by Michael Roy, with annoncing chores also handled over the years by Frank Bingman and Jim Doyle. The show went through several orchestras during its radio life, including those of Ennis, Charles Hoff, Matty Matlock, Jack Meaking, Will Osborne, Freddie Rich, Leith Stevens, and Peter van Steeden. The show's writers included Howard Harris, Hal Fimberg, Parke Levy, Don Prindle, Ed Cherokee, Len Stern, Martin Ragaway, Paul Conlan, and Ed Forman, as well as producer Martin Gosch. Sound effects were handled mostly by Floyd Caton. Abbott and Costello moved the show to ABC (the former NBC Blue Network) five years after they premiered on NBC. During their ABC period they also hosted a 30-minute children's radio program(The Abbott and Costello Children's Show), which aired Saturday mornings with vocalist Anna Mae Slaughter and announcer Johnny McGovern.
Broadway Is My Beat, a radio crime drama, ran on CBS from February 27, 1949 to August 1, 1954. With music by Robert Stringer, the show originated from New York during its first three months on the air, with Anthony Ross portraying Times Square Detective Danny Clover. John Dietz directed for producer Lester Gottlieb. Beginning with the July 7, 1949 episode, the series was broadcast from Hollywood with producer Elliott Lewis directing a new cast in scripts by Morton Fine and David Friedkin. The opening theme of "I'll Take Manhattan" introduced Detective Danny Clover (now played by Larry Thor), a hardened New York City cop who worked homicide "from Times Square to Columbus Circle -- the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world."
THIS EPISODE:
Sherman Gates Case - December 3, 1949. CBS network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. Sherman Gates is found poisoned in the loge of a movie theater, which leads to a murdered photographer. A network recording of this broadcast Elliott Lewis (producer, director), Alexander Courage (composer), Larry Thor, Charles Calvert, Paul Dubov, Junius Matthews, Mary Jane Croft, Elliott Lewis (producer, director), Morton Fine (writer), David Friedkin (writer), Alexander Courage (composer), Wilbur Hatch (conductor), Herbert Rawlinson, Joyce McCluskey, Joe Forte. 30:27.
Challenge of the Yukon was a long-running radio series that began on Detroit's station WXYZ (as had The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet). The series was first heard on February 3, 1938. Under the title Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, it later transferred to television. The program was an adventure series about Sergeant William Preston of the Northwest Mounted Police and his lead sled dog, Yukon King, as they fought evildoers in the Northern wilderness during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. Preston, according to radio historian Jim Harmon, first joined the Mounties to capture his father's killer, and when he was successful he was promoted to Sergeant. Preston worked under the command of Inspector Conrad, and in the early years was often assisted by a French-Canadian guide named Pierre. Preston's staunchest ally, who was arguably the true star of the show and indeed often did more work than he did, was the brave Alaskan husky, Yukon King. Typical plots involved the pair helping injured trappers, tracking down smugglers, or saving cabin dwellers from wolverines. Sgt. Preston's faithful steed was Rex, used primarily in the summer months, but generally Yukon King and his dog team were the key mode of transportation (as signalled by Preston's cry of "On, King! On, you huskies!."
TODAY'S SHOW: "Return To Crime" (11-20-43) AND "Revenge In The Yukon" (01-06-44)
November 18, 1943. Program #303. WXYZ, Detroit origination, The Michigan Radio Network. "Return To The Crime". Sustaining. Will Conover is shot for his gold dust by Cass Fenton. King's nose smells out the killer. Possible recording date: October 1, 1943. Not auditioned. Jay Michael, Bill Morgan (announcer), Betty Joyce (writer), Fran Striker (writer). 14:11.
January 6, 1944. Program #310. WXYZ, Detroit origination, The Michigan Radio Network. "Revenge In The Yukon". Sustaining. At the Black Crow Cafe, Les Peterson meets Lucky Wally. The Doc would like to meet him too...to kill him! Possible recording date: December 28, 1943. Not auditioned. Jay Michael, Bob Hite (announcer), Betty Joyce (writer), Fran Striker (writer). 14:30.
You Bet Your Life - Groucho Marx matches wits with the American public in four episodes of this classic game show. Starting on the radio in 1947, You Bet Your Life made its television debut in 1950 and aired for 11 years with Groucho as host and emcee. Sponsored rather conspicuously by the Dodge DeSoto car manufacturers, the show featured two contestants working as a team to answer questions for cash prizes. Another mainstay of these question and answer segments was the paper mache duck that would descend from the ceiling with one hundred dollars in tow whenever a player uttered the "secret word." The quiz show aspect of "You Bet Your Life" was always secondary, to the clever back-and-forth between host and contestant, which found Groucho at his funniest. It's in these interview segments that "You Bet Your Life" truly makes its mark as one of early television's greatest programs. Directed by: Robert Dwan.
TODAY'S SHOW - Secret Word Today Is "TREE"
The Great Gildersleeve - (1941-1957) was the arguable founding father of the spin-off program, as well as one of the first true situation comedies (as opposed to sketch programs) in broadcast history. Hooked around a character who had been a staple on the classic radio hit Fibber McGee and Molly, The Great Gildersleeve enjoyed its greatest period in the 1940s, when Harold Peary graduated the character from the earlier show into the sitcom and in a quartet of likeable feature films at the height of the show's popularity.
THIS EPISIODE:
May 17, 1942. NBC network. Sponsored by: Kraft Foods. Gildersleeve's old college chum comes to visit and starts selling shares in a magnesium mine! Harold Peary, Lurene Tuttle, Lillian Randolph, Walter Tetley, William Randolph (composer, conductor), Jim Bannon, Leonard L. Levinson (writer). 29:28.
THE HALLMARK PLAYHOUSE was heard over CBS stations Thursday evenings. This drama anthology of 30-minute shows was sponsored by, of course, Hallmark Greeting Cards. It was preceded by the RADIO READER'S DIGEST, which ran from September 13, 1942 thorugh June 3, 1948. Hallmark sponsored the RADIO READER'S DIGEST from January 13, 1946 to it's end. On Feb. 8, 1953, the series name and format was changed. It was now called THE HALLMARK HALL OF FAME and presented biographal sketches of famous persons, past and present. The new format was used until the end of the 1955 season. The exception to the new format was the broadcast each Christmas season of "A Christmas Carol". Like other dramatic series of this time, this one made use of major screen actors in the productions. James Hilton, author of "Random Harvest", "Lost Horizon" and "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" plus others, served as host and Narrator. Dee Engelbach produced and directed the shows. Jean Holloway was the writer. Sound Effects were by Harry Essman and Gene Twombly. Musical conductor was Lyn Murray. The show's theme was "Dream of Olwne" by Charles Williams.
THIS EPISODE:November 25, 1948. CBS network. "Free Land". Sponsored by: Hallmark Cards. A good story about the tribulations of a pioneering couple in the Dakota Territory. Martha Scott, Jack Kirkwood. 1/2 hour.
CBS Radio Mystery Theater - As you walk through the creaking door you enter into another world, the world of imagination. This world is inside you, a part of you, and you take this journey alone. Each person hears and then sees with his or her mind's eye the events portrayed within these dramas. All of us interprets what they hear differently. The images we see is unique to ourselves. A voice becomes a person, living, breathing they come alive. They take on a physical form and characteristics that we assign to them. The wonders of your own mind are boundless. Scary thoughts? Perhaps, but what powers they bring us! To exercise one's imagination is to exercise one's soul. These dramas provide us with an escape from reality. To adventures beyond our own lives. Enjoy them. And pleasant dreams!
THIS EPISODE:
May 26, 1975. Program #280. CBS net. "The Witch's Almanac". Sponsored by: Buick. E. G. Marshall (host), Ian Martin (writer), Virginia Payne, Robert Dryden, Jada Rowland, Marshall Borden, Dan Ocko. 52 minutes.
The Milton Berle Show - In 1934-36, Berle was heard regularly on The Rudy Vallee Hour, and he got much publicity as a regular on The Gillette Original Community Sing, a Sunday night comedy-variety program broadcast on CBS from September 6, 1936 to August 29, 1937. In 1939, he was the host of Stop Me If You've Heard This One with panelists spontaneously finishing jokes sent in by listeners. Three Ring Time, a comedy-variety show sponsored by Ballantine Ale was followed by a 1943 program sponsored by Campbell's Soups. The audience participation show Let Yourself Go (1944-45) could best be described as slapstick radio with studio audience members acting out long suppressed urges (often directed at host Berle). Kiss and Make Up, on CBS in 1946, featured the problems of contestants decided by a jury from the studio audience with Berle as the Judge. He also made guest appearances on many comedy-variety radio programs during the 1930s and 1940s. Scripted by Hal Block and Martin Ragaway, The Milton Berle Show brought Berle together with Arnold Stang, later a familiar face as Berle's TV sidekick. Others in the cast were Pert Kelton, Mary Schipp, Jack Albertson, Arthur Q. Bryan, Ed Begley, vocalist Dick Forney and announcer Frank Gallop.
THIS EPISODE:
February 3, 1948. NBC network. Sponsored by: Philip Morris. A salute to gambling. Miltie has a friendly poker game with the boys. Frank Gallop (announcer), Milton Berle, Ray Bloch and His Orchestra. 1/2 hour.
Amos 'n' Andy was a situation comedy popular in the United States from the 1920s through the 1950s. The show began as one of the first radio comedy serials, written and voiced by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll and originating from station WMAQ in Chicago, Illinois. After the series was first broadcast in 1928, it grew in popularity and became a huge influence on the radio serials that followed. Amos 'n' Andy creators Gosden and Correll were white actors familiar with minstrel traditions. They met in Durham, North Carolina in 1920, and by the fall of 1925, they were performing nightly song-and-patter routines on the Chicago Tribune's station WGN. Since the Tribune syndicated Sidney Smith's popular comic strip The Gumps, which had successfully introduced the concept of daily continuity, WGN executive Ben McCanna thought the notion of a serialized drama could also work on radio. He suggested to Gosden and Correll that they adapt The Gumps to radio. They instead proposed a series about "a couple of colored characters" and borrowed certain elements of The Gumps. Their new series, Sam 'n' Henry, began January 12, 1926, fascinating radio listeners throughout the Midwest. That series became popular enough that in late 1927 Gosden and Correll requested that it be distributed to other stations on phonograph records in a "chainless chain" concept that would have been the first use of radio syndication as we know it today. When WGN rejected the idea, Gosden and Correll quit the show and the station that December. Contractually, their characters belonged to WGN, so when Gosden and Correll left WGN, they performed in personal appearances but could not use the character names from the radio show.
THIS EPISODE:
May 11, 1945. NBC network. Commercials deleted. The Kingfish is convinced that Sapphire plans to kill him for the insurance money. Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Ernestine Wade, Lou Lubin, Harlow Wilcox (announcer). 23:05.
Arch Oboler's Plays was a radio drama series written, produced and directed by Arch Oboler. Minus a sponsor, it ran for one year, airing Saturday evenings on NBC from March 25, 1939 to March 23, 1940 and revived five years later on Mutual for a sustaining summer run from April 5, 1945 to October 11, 1945. Leading film actors were heard on this series, including Gloria Blondell, Eddie Cantor, James Cagney, Ronald Colman, Joan Crawford, Greer Garson, Edmund Gwenn, Van Heflin, Katharine Hepburn, Elsa Lanchester, Peter Lorre, Frank Lovejoy, Raymond Massey, Burgess Meredith, Paul Muni, Alla Nazimova, Edmond O'Brien, Geraldine Page, Gale Sondergaard, Franchot Tone and George Zucco.
Strike It Rich - The show made it's debut on CBS radio in 1947. Strike it rich was on CBS's primetime schedule July 4, 1951 through January 12, 1955. There were two attempts to revive the show, with Bert Parks as host in 1973 and Tom Kelly as host in 1978. Neither revival was successful. A syndicated game show of the same name with host Joe Garagiola was aired 1986-1987, but it had a different format. Known as "The quiz show with a heart" and the contestants who appeared on the show were people in need of money or down on their luck. A player was given $30 and bet part of his or her bank on the ability to answer four general knowledge questions. If unable to answer the questions correctly, the contestant could turn to the "heart line" where viewers would call in and donate money or merchandise. When needy families desparate to become contestants began arriving in New York on one-way tickets, the city's Welfare Department labeled the game show "a national disgrace."
Richard Diamond, Private Detective was a radio show starring Dick Powell which aired from 1949 to 1953, first on NBC, then ABC and finally on CBS. The title character was a rather light-hearted detective who often ended the episodes singing to his girlfriend, Helen. The television series was produced by Powell's company, Four Star Television, and that series ran for 3 years from 1957 to 1960. On TV, David Janssen played the hard boiled private eye and his secretary renamed “Sam”, was only ever shown on camera from the waist down, most assurardidly to display her beautiful legs. It was later leared that the legs belonged to Mary Tyler Moore. Original music by Frank DeVol and pete rugolo and later by richard shores. Good scripts, a solid cast and Powell’s exceptional talent made a good time 30 minute program that was quite popular during that Golden Age of Radio. So Let’s sit back now, relax and enjoy this truly otr radio classic.,…, Dick powell as Richard Diamond.., Private Detective.
THIS EPISODE:
March 2, 1951. ABC network. Sponsored by: Camels, Prince Albert tobacco. Diamond is hired by a man who has hired a killer to murder him, then changes his mind. He hires Diamond to protect him from the assassin, who wears a red rose. Listen for Diamond interviewing a dance instructor named, "Belle de Canto!" Arthur Q. Bryan, Dick Powell, Frank Worth (music), Helen Mack (director), Blake Edwards (writer), Virginia Gregg, Wilms Herbert. 29:43.
Life with Luigi was a radio comedy-drama series which began September 21, 1948 on CBS. The story concerned Italian immigrant Luigi Basco, and his experiences as an immigrant in Chicago. Many of the shows take place at the US citizenship classes that Luigi attends with other immigrants from different countries, as well as trying to fend off the repeated advances of the morbidly-obese daughter of his landlord/sponsor. Luigi was played by J. Carrol Naish, an Irish-American. Naish continued in the role on the short-lived television version in 1952, and was later replaced by Vito Scotti. With a working title of The Little Immigrant, Life with Luigi was created by Cy Howard, who earlier had created the hit radio comedy, My Friend Irma. The show was often seen as the Italian counterpart to the radio show The Goldbergs, which chronicled the experience of Jewish immigrants in New York.
THIS EPISODE:
CBS network. Sustaining. Not auditioned. Luigi wants a driver's license. J. Carrol Naish, Alan Reed, Cy Howard (creator, producer), Mac Benoff (writer, director), Lou Derman (writer), Hans Conried, Mary Shipp, Joe Forte, Ken Peters, Jody Gilbert, Lyn Murray (music director). 29:14.
Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator is one of the few detective radio series that had separate versions of it broadcast from both coasts. Even the spelling changed over the years. It was first "Barry Crane" and then "Barrie Craig". NBC produced it in New York from 1951 to 1954 and then moved it to Hollywood where it aired from 1954 to 1955. It attracted only occasional sponsors so it was usually a sustainer.William Gargan, who also played the better known television (and radio) detective Martin Kane, was the voice of New York eye BARRY CRAIG while Ralph Bell portrayed his associate, Lt. Travis Rogers. Craig's office was on Madison Avenue and his adventures were fairly standard PI fare. He worked alone, solved cases efficiently, and feared no man. As the promos went, he was "your man when you can't go to the cops. Confidentiality a speciality."Like Sam Spade, Craig narrated his stories, in addition to being the leading character in this 30 minute show. Nearly sixty episodes are in trading circulation today.
THIS EPISODE:
February 16, 1955. NBC network. "The Moving Target". Sustaining. Not auditioned. A high-flying globe trotter finds that sheer elbow room is no insurance for survival when a felonious blonde makes a passionate effort to bring him down to earth...realy deep down, that is." William Gargan, John Roeburt (writer), Howard McNear, Andrew C. Love (director), Lynn Allen, Jerry Hausner. 24:55.
Blair of the Mounties is the story of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police -- a fictional series based on the work of the Northwest Mounted Police before the World War I. It was a fifteen minute weekly serial heard every Monday for 36 weeks beginning January 31st, 1938 and running through the 3rd of October of 1938. It may have been on the air as early as 1935, although there’s no actual proof of this. Little is known of the series other than it followed the exploits of Sgt. Blair of the Northwest Mounted Police. and probably was the inspiration for Trendell, Campbell and Muir's Challenge of the Yukon. The series was written by Colonel Rhys Davies, who also played the Colonel Blair in the series. Jack Abbot played the Constable. Jack French, one of OTR’s best researchers says this about the series: “Blair is not restricted to Canada, as other Mounties, as we find him, in a few cases, in Great Britain, solving cases. Overall the series is amateurishly written, with the actor playing Blair coming accros as a bit stuffy.”
TODAY'S SHOW: (2 Episodes that aired May 23, 1938 and May 30, 1938)
Walter Biddick syndication. "Kittilake Lagoon". "A Story Of Dope Smuggling In British Columbia". A plainclothes job for Blair and Sgt. Marshall, breaking up a narcotics ring.
The Zero Hour, a.k.a. the Hollywood Radio Theater The series was syndicated by Mutual and the programs were allowed to be aired when convenient. Therefore, broadcast dates vary around the country. Broadcast dates start on the premier date and continue until completion without break. Host was Rod Serling. The Cast included Edgar Bergen, Richard Crenna, Howard Duff, John Dehner, Lurene Tuttle, George Maharis, Susan Oliver, Joseph Campanella, John Astin, Patty Duke. The Music Theme played by Ferreane and Teicher. The Producer was J.M. Kholos and the Director was Elliott Lewis. Broadcast history was September 10th - December 7th, 1973 and April 29th - July 26th 1974.
Meet Miss. Sherlock - During World War II no more women sleuths arrived on the scene but 1946 was a banner year when three new ones debuted on network radio. One was as much comedienne as crime solver, Meet Miss Sherlock. This was a CBS summer sustainer that recounted the adventures of Jane Sherlock, a scatterbrained amateur detective, and her boyfriend, Peter Blossom, a civil attorney who occasionally fainted. There were two separate versions of this show; the first ran from July 3, 1946 to September 26, 1946 while the second one ran from Sept 28, 1947 to Oct 26, 1947. Both series were produced and directed by David Vaile, with scripts by E. Jack Neuman and Don Thompson. The announcer was Murray Wagner and the live orchestra was headed by Milton Charles. Sondra Gair had the title lead in the 1946 version, Captain Dingle of the NYPD was a youthful Bill Conrad and Joe Petruzzi played Peter Blossom. When the series resumed in the fall of 1947, Betty Moran did the first epiosde but her voice was not “dithery” enough so Monty Margetts was brought in and she played the lead until it went off the air two months later. Barney Phillips was the voice of Captain Dingle. This series was more comedy than adventure, although crimes were eventually solved. Only two episodes have survived; both feature Gair in the 1946 version.
Your's Truly Johnny Dollar - For over twelve years, from 1949 through 1962 (including a one year hiatus in 1954-1955), this series recounted the cases "the man with the action-packed expense account, America’s fabulous freelance insurance investigator, Johnny Dollar". Johnny was an accomplished 'padder' of his expense account. The name of the show derives from the fact that he closed each show by totaling his expense account, and signing it "End of report... Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar". Terry Salomonson in his authoritative "A Radio Broadcast Log of the Drama Program Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar", notes that the original working title was "Yours Truly, Lloyd London". Salomonson writes "Lloyd London was scratched out of the body of (the Dick Powell) audition script and Johnny Dollar was written in. Thus the show was re-titled on this script and the main character was renamed. Why this was done was unclear – possibly to prevent a legal run-in with Lloyd’s of London Insurance Company." Although based in Hartford, Connecticut, the insurance capital of the world, freelancer Johnny Dollar managed to get around quite a bit – his adventures taking him all over the world.
THIS EPISODE:
January 2, 1953. CBS network. "The Baltimore Matter". Sustaining. An ex-con offers Johnny a deal on the recovery of big money from a bank job...which gets Johnny two bullets and a hospital bed. John Lund, Dan Cubberly (announcer), Jaime del Valle (transcriber), E. Jack Neuman (writer), Eddie Dunstedter (organ), Tony Barrett, Joseph Du Val, Clayton Post, John McIntire, Jeanette Nolan. 30:25.
The Man Called X - Sponsored by Frigidaire and later General Motors, this spy series starred Herbert Marshall as Ken Thurston, Intelligence Agent. Marshall, British by birth, starred in films with many of the greatest, especially Detreich in Blonde Venus, Bette Davis in The Virgin Queen, Vincent Price in The Fly, and a great cast in The Razor's Edge, where he portrayed W. Somerset Maugham.
THIS EPIOSDE:
May 25, 1951. Syndicated. Commercials deleted. An associate of Ken Thurston's is in Hong Kong, trying to stop a scheme to smuggle pharmaceuticals into Red China. Van Heflin substitutes for Herbert Marshall. Van Heflin, Leon Belasco. 25:28.
Have Gun Will Travel was a popular American Western television series that aired on CBS from 1957 through 1963. It was the #4 show in the Nielsen ratings in its first year, and #3 for the next three years.[citation needed] It was one of the few television shows to spawn a successful radio version. The radio series debuted on November 23, 1958. The show followed the adventures of Paladin, a gentleman-turned-gunfighter played by John Dehner on radio, who preferred to settle problems without violence, yet, when forced to fight, excelled. Paladin lived in the Carlton Hotel in San Francisco, where he dressed in semi-formal wear, ate gourmet food, and attended opera. In fact, many who initially met him mistook him for a dandy from the East. When working, he dressed in black, used calling cards and wore a holster which carried characteristic chess knight emblems, and carried a derringer under his belt. The knight symbol is of course in reference to his name — possibly a nickname or working name — and his occupation as a champion-for-hire. The theme song of the series refers to him as "a knight without armor." In addition, Paladin drew a parallel between his methods and the chess piece's movement: "It's a chess piece, the most versatile on the board. It can move in eight different directions, over obstacles, and it's always unexpected." Paladin was a former Army officer and a graduate of West Point. He was a polyglot, capable of speaking any foreign tongue required by the plot. He also had a thorough knowledge of ancient history and classical literature, and he exhibited a strong passion for legal principles and the rule of law.
THIS EPISODE:
March 8, 1959. CBS network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "The Monster Of Moon Ridge". Paladin discovers the secret of the half-man, half-bear spotted on Moon Ridge. See cat. #62802 for a network, sponsored version of this program. The script was used on the "Have Gun, Will Travel" television show on February 28, 1959. John Dehner, Herb Meadow (creator), Sam Rolfe (creator), Norman Macdonnell (producer, director), Ben Wright, Gene Roddenberry (writer), John Dawson (adaptor), Lawrence Dobkin, Virginia Christine, Jess Kirkpatrick, Jeanne Bates (doubles), Hugh Douglas (announcer), Bill James (sound effects), Tom Hanley (sound effects). 25 minutes.
The Aldrich Family, a popular radio teenage situation comedy (1939-1953), is remembered first and foremost for its unforgettable introduction: awkward teen Henry's mother calling, "Hen-reeeeeeeeeeeee! Hen-ree Al-drich!" A top-ten ratings hit within two years of its birth (in 1941, the showm carried a 33.4 Crossley rating, landing it solidly alongside Jack Benny and Bob Hope), the show is considered a prototype for teen-oriented situation comedies to follow on radio and television and is a favourite if dated find for old-time radio collectors today. The Aldrich Family as a separate radio show was born as a summer replacement for Jack Benny in NBC's Sunday night lineup, July 2, 1939, and it stayed there until October 1, 1939, when it moved to Tuesday nights at 8 p.m., sponsored by General Foods's popular gelatin dessert Jell-O---which also sponsored Jack Benny at the time. The Aldriches ran in that slot from October 10, 1939 until May 28, 1940, moving to Thursdays, from July 4, 1940 until July 20, 1944. After a brief hiatus, the show moved to CBS, running on Fridays from September 1, 1944 until August 30, 1946 with sponsors Grape Nuts and Jell-O,.before moving back to NBC from September 05, 1946 to June 28, 1951 on Thursdays and, then, its final run of September 21, 1952 to April 19, 1953 on Sundays.
THIS EPISODE:
October 10, 1939 - Henry's Engagement - NBC network. Sponsored by: Postum. Trying to get Doris Townsend jealous, Henry's parents naturally conclude that Henry's engaged. The date is approximate. The system cue has been deleted. Ezra Stone, Clifford Goldsmith (writer), Harry Von Zell (announcer), Jack Miller (composer, conductor). 29:21.
Inner Sanctum Mysteries was a popular old-time radio program that aired from January 7, 1941 to October 5, 1952. Created by Himan Brown, the anthology series featured stories of mystery, terror and suspense. The tongue-in-cheek introductions were in sharp contrast to shows like Suspense and The Whistler. A total of 526 episodes are known to have been produced. The early 1940s programs opened with Raymond Edward Johnson introducing himself as, "Your host, Raymond," in a mocking sardonic voice. A spooky melodramatic organ score punctuated Raymond's many morbid jokes and playful puns. Raymond's closing was an elongated "Pleasant dreaaaaammmmssss!" His tongue-in-cheek style and ghoulish relish of his own tales became the standard for many such horror narrators to follow, from fellow radio hosts like Ernest Chappell (on Cooper's later series, Quiet, Please) and Maurice Tarplin (on The Mysterious Traveler) to EC Comics' Crypt-Keeper in various incarnations of Tales from the Crypt. In interviews, EC publisher Bill Gaines stated that he based EC's three horror hosts not on Raymond but on Old Nancy, host of radio's earlier The Witch's Tale (1931-38). When Johnson left the series in 1945, he was replaced by Paul McGrath, who did not keep the "Raymond" name and was known only as "your host" or "Mr. Host." Beginning in 1945, Lipton Tea sponsored the series, pairing first Raymond and then McGrath with its cheery commercial spokeswoman, Mary Bennett, whose pitches for Lipton contrasted sharply with the subject matter of the stories, and who would primly chide the host for his dark humor and creepy manner.
THIS EPISODE:
April 15, 1944. CBS network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "The Walking Skull". A skull is dug up from an old Indian burial ground. It then finds its way into the house. Even after it's reburied, it comes back! This skull also bites! The drama lasts less than twenty minutes, the fill recording is a crime drama, called, "Death In The Doghouse." Willard Dexter is killed in a crowded bar. The story is also known as, "The Skull That Walked." Raymond Edward Johnson (host), Howard Duff (AFRS announcer), Jackson Beck (in the fill drama), Berry Kroeger, Lesley Woods, Alan Devitt. 29:50.
Box 13 - The premise of the program was that Dan Holiday was an author who wrote mystery novels. To get ideas for his novels he placed an advertisement in a newspaper saying "Adventure wanted, will go anywhere, do anything, Box 13." The ads always brought fun adventures of all kinds: from racketeer's victim to psychotic killer looking for fun. Most of the episodes were based on Dan Holiday replying to a letter he received at Box 13. He would generally solve a mystery in the process, and return to his office in time to enjoy a hearty laugh at the expense of Suzy, his amusingly stupid secretary. He would certainly not meet the strictest requirements for private eyes (not licensed, collected no fees from clients), but the definition should stretch to sneak him in under the rope. It was heard over the Mutual Broadcasting System as well as being syndicated. The series was produced by Mayfair Productions. Box 13, starring Alan Ladd as Dan Holiday. Sylvia Picker played Suzy, Dan Holiday's secretary and Edmond MacDonald as Lt. Kling. Other stars in the series were Betty Lou Gerson, Lurene Tuttle, Alan Reed, Luis Van Rooten, John Beal and Frank Lovejoy. Music was by Rudy Schrager and the writer was Russell Hughes. Announcer/Director was Vern Carstensen. The series was produced by Richard Sanville with Alan Ladd as co-producer.
THIS EPISODE:
March 13, 1949. Program #30. Mayfair syndication. "Death Is A Doll". Commercials added locally. A man is slowly dying of what appears to be witchcraft. The date is approximate. Alan Ladd, Sylvia Picker. 25 minutes.
Manhattan Playhouse - The show lasted for four episodes and was broadcast on the Mutual Network on Saturdays at 3:00 p.m. in the New York City area. Two episodes of the show were also syndicated to the Los Angeles market in January 1949. The dates of the original broadcasts were 48/12/04, 48/12/11, 48/12/18, and 49/01/08. A television anthology series under the same name would later air from April to November 1951 on the NYC television station WABD (DuMont Television Network). In addition, another television series with the same name aired two episodes in September and October 1953 on the same station.
THIS EPISODE:
January 8, 1949. Mutual network. "The Perfect Secretary". Sustaining. A comedy about a young executive who always falls in love with his secretary. Paul Ford, Leonard T. Holton (writer), Peggy French, John Harvey, Wynn Wright (director), Jerry Hausner, Robert Monroe (composer), Sylvan Levin (conductor), Jack O'Reily (announcer). 29:30.
The Adventures Of Superman - This juvenile adventure series was first broadcast on Mutual in 1940 with Clayton (Bud) Collyer starring as Superman/Clark Kent. It first began as a fifteen-minute show but later, in 1949, it moved to ABC as a thirty-minute Saturday show with Michael Fitzmaurice as Superman. At the end of its thirteen-year run it had totalled over 1600 episodes. The opening for the show was one of radio’s best, setting the stage for those flights into fantasy with a cascade of voices, narration and sound effects. “Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!” “Look! Up in the sky!” “It’s a bird!” “It’s a plane!” “It’s Superman!
TODAY'S SHOW: Hans Holbin's Doll Factory (3 Episodes-Complete)
The Lux Radio Theater strove to feature as many of the original stars of the original stage and film productions as possible, usually paying them $5,000 an appearance to do the show. It was when sponsor Lever Brothers (who made Lux soap and detergent) moved the show from New York to Hollywood in 1936 that it eased back from adapting stage shows and toward adaptations of films. The first Lux film adaptation was The Legionnaire and the Lady, with Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable, based on the film Morocco. That was followed by a Lux adaptation of The Thin Man, featuring the movie's stars, Myrna Loy and William Powell.
THIS EPISODE:
March 27, 1950. CBS network. "The Man Who Came To Dinner". Sponsored by: Lux. Not auditioned. Clifton Webb, Lucille Ball, Betty Lou Gerson, Steve Dunne, William Johnstone, Nelson Welch, Jay Novello, Eleanor Audley, Arthur Q. Bryan, Margaret Brayton, Lois Corbett, Ruth Perrott, Walter Craig, Rhoda Williams, George Neise, Herb Butterfield, Edward Marr, Julius Epstein (screenwriter), Philip Epstein (screenwriter), George Kaufman (playwright), Moss Hart (playwright), William Keighley (host), John Milton Kennedy (announcer), Dorothy Lovett (commercial spokesman, as "Libby"), Earl Ebi (director), Charlie Forsyth (sound effects), Rudy Schrager (music director), Sanford Barnett (adaptor), Joan Miller (intermission guest). 59:51.
The Sealed Book starred Philip Clarke as the keeper of the book, a croaking, cackling hermit, with knowledge of the black arts, who in each show unlocked the great padlock that kept the sealed book safe from prying eyes. There was a spook story each week with tales of secrets and mysteries of mankind through the ages. This MUTUAL network entry in the horror and mystery genre was far from the best remembered, such as Suspense, Quiet Please, and Inner Sanctum. The Sealed Book begins with a classic intro, in which when gonged, we are escorted by the tuxedoed announcer with unseen organist as the keeper of the book opens the ponderous, albeit squeaky door "to the secret vault wherein is kept the great sealed book, in which is recorded all the secrets and mysteries of mankind through the ages, Here are tales of every kind, tales of murder, of madness, of dark deeds strange and terrible beyond all belief." First broadcast date march 18th 1945. Last broadcast date september 9th 1945. Narrated by Philip Clarke and written by Bob Arthur and David Kogan, this mystery anthology was aired over the MUTUAL network Sunday nights at 10:30 p.m.
THIS EPISODE:
August 19, 1945. Program #23. Mutual network origination, syndicated. "Murderer Unknown". Commercials added locally. A successful businessman gets black-bordered letters that threaten his life. Robert A. Arthur (writer), David Kogan (writer), Phillip Clark (host). 1/2 hour.
The Molle Mystery Theater - Although Molle Mystery Theatre was initially sponsored by Molle Shaving Cream, other sponsors (such as Bayer Aspirin, Ironized Yeast, Phillips Milk of Magnesia) also sponsored the program. Sometimes, when it was not sponsored by Molle, the program was called "Mystery Theater". The show was first heard on NBC, on 9/7/43. Time slot was originally Sunday nights at 9:00 PM, but was later moved to Tuesday at 9:00 PM, and Friday at 10:00 PM. In 1948, the show moved to CBS (Tues, 8:00 PM), and in 1951, it moved to ABC, where it was called "Mark Sabre", and heard on Wednesdays at either 8:00 PM or 9:30 PM. The shows were tight and tension filled, with a fine orchestra score and solid production values. Classic tales from well-known authors, as well as modern unknowns were presented, and the endings were often twists or shockers.
THIS EPISODE:
November 29, 1946. NBC network. "Radio Patrol". Sponsored by: Molle, Double Dandereen. A man found dying on the docks confesses to a radio patrolman that he killed a man at the order of Councilman Carmichael. The cop is not going to let an innocent man hang, even though his career will be ruined if it helps the con on death row who was convicted of the crime. Dan Seymour (announcer), Leslie T. White (writer), Richard Coogan, Leon Meadow (adaptor), Jack Miller (music), Bernard Lenrow (host, as "Geoffrey Barnes"). 29:31.
You Are There - Imagine if CBS radio news existed when the Bastille was stormed in 1789, or if radio reporters were stationed in Ford Theater as Lincoln was assassinated, or again at the Battle of Gettysburg? Indeed, such was the premise behind the CBS series, You Are There. Audiences witnessed history through the present-tense accounts of newsmen allegedly witnessing historical events transpiring before their eyes. Don Hollenbeck and John Daley (known for his TV game show panelist appearances) played the lead anchors, while real-life newsman provided the remote commentaries as the dramas unfolded. As show opened, an anchor would describe the present situation with "As it stands now…" and segue into commentaries, live remote feeds or analysis as the story unfurled.The show was well received, but perhaps was doomed to eventual failure in part due John Daly's emoting. Bernard DeVoto in Harper Magazine lamented: "We have heard his (Daly) voice vibrate with the real emotion, and our memory of the real simply turns the imagined to ham."
THIS EPISODE:
January 2, 1949. CBS network. "The Surrender Of Sitting Bull". Sustaining. The events of July 21, 1881. The last great chief of the Sioux Nation decides to parlay with the white man. A day for which Americans should be ashamed. Karl Swenson, John Daly, Robert Lewis Shayon (writer, producer, director), Ken Roberts, Don Hollenbeck, Mikedja Wren (writer), Peter Hobbs, Julian Noa, Crazy Bull (billed as "Chief Crazy Bull, grandson of Sitting Bull" did the war chant and was a consultant for the broadcast), Canada Lee, Raymond Edward Johnson. 29:26.
Theater Five was ABC's attempt to revive radio drama during the early 1960s. The series name was derived from its time slot, 5:00 PM. Running Monday through Friday, it was an anthology of short stories, each about 20 minutes long. News programs and commercials filled out the full 30 minutes. There was a good bit of science fiction and some of the plots seem to have been taken from the daily newspaper. Fred Foy, of The Lone Ranger fame, was an ABC staff announcer in the early 60s, who, among other duties, did Theater Five.
THIS EPISODE:
August 25, 1964. Program #20. ABC network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "Dream Of Death". A suspense filled episode observing the reactions of a volunteer experimenting with hallucinogenic drugs. William N. Robson (writer), Ralph Camargo, Fred Foy (announcer), Ted Bell (director), George Petrie, Joan Shea, Cliff Carpenter, Richard Hurd, Jack Manning, Bill Sandreuter (audio engineer), Ed Blainey (sound technician), Jack C. Wilson (script editor), Alexander Vlas Datsenko (composer), Glenn Osser (conductor), Edward A. Byron (execuitve producer). 26:34.
The Chase and Sanborn Hour was the umbrella title for a series of US comedy and variety shows, sponsored by Standard Brands' Chase and Sanborn Coffee, usually airing Sundays on NBC from 8pm to 9pm during the years 1929 to 1948. The series began in 1929 as The Chase and Sanborn Choral Orchestra, a half-hour musical variety show heard Sundays at 8:30pm on NBC. When Maurice Chevalier became the show's star, he received a record-breaking salary of $5000 a week. Violinist David Rubinoff (September 13, 1897 – October 06, 1986), became a regular in January 1931, introduced as "Rubinoff and His Violin." Chase and Sanborn found a gold mine with a wooden dummy when Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy began an 11-year run, starting May 9, 1937. The 1945 summer replacement series, with Spike Jones and Frances Langford as co-hosts, was titled The Chase and Sanborn Program. Although the series ended December 26, 1948, it was followed by a compilation show on NBC, The Chase and Sanborn 100th Anniversary Show (November 15, 1964), assembled by writer Carroll Carroll and narrated by Bergen. This became an annual event with The Chase and Sanborn 101st Anniversary Show (November 14, 1965), a Fred Allen tribute, followed by The Chase and Sanborn 102nd Anniversary Show (November 13, 1966), which turned out to be the last of the series.
The New Adventures Of Michael Shayne was a fictional private detective character created by writer Brett Halliday during the late 1930's. Shayne debuted in the novel Dividend on Death first published in 1939, written by David Dresser, a pseudonym of Halliday. Dresser wrote fifty Shayne novels, with the help of Ryerson Johnson. Twenty seven more were written by Robert Terrall for a total of seventy seven; three hundred short stories, a dozen films, radio and television shows, and a few comic book appearances have resulted from the character. The books were typically very well plotted, with Shayne always gathering the suspects at the end and explaining the crime and naming the murderer. Shayne was initially married in the novels, his wife being Phyllis Shayne, who was a somewhat limited character, and was often out of town. Dresser "killed her off" when he sold the movie rights to the series. In the book, Blood on the Black Market, comedy disappears, and Shayne is forced to deal with his wife's death. Halliday later created "Michael Shayne Mystery Magazine", first introduced in 1956 by Renown Publications. The magazine continued for over three decades, always having at least one Michael Shayne short story included in each edition. Halliday stopped writing the Michael Shayne novels after Murder and the Wanton Bride in 1958. Shayne novels continued, however, written by Ryserson Johnson, Robert Terrell, and David Lynds. In 1960, the Michael Shayne television series began, with actor Richard Denning playing the lead role. Dell Comics soon picked up the character for a comic book series. Michael Shayne Mysteries, and a film series starring Lloyd Nolan, is available on DVD.
THIS EPISODE:
- Program #1. Broadcaster's Guild syndication. "The Man Who Lived Forever". Commercials added locally. The man's name was Anthony Correll and he is supposed to never die. What does the coiled snake on his forehead mean? A Peter Lorre clone shoots Michael Shayne! The program closing has been deleted. The date is approximate. Jeff Chandler, William P. Rousseau (host, director), John Duffy (composer, performer), Brett Halliday (creator), Don W. Sharp (producer). 26:50.
The Shadow - One of the most popular radio shows in history debuted in August 1930 when "The Shadow" went on the air. "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!" The opening lines of the "Detective Story" program captivated listeners and are instantly recognizable even today. Originally the narrator of the series of macabre tales, the eerie voice known as The Shadow became so popular to listeners that "Detective Story" was soon renamed "The Shadow," and the narrator became the star of the old-time mystery radio series, which ran until 1954. A figure never seen, only heard, the Shadow was an invincible crime fighter. He possessed many gifts which enabled him to overcome any enemy. Besides his tremendous strength, he could defy gravity, speak any language, unravel any code, and become invisible with his famous ability to "cloud men's minds."
THIS EPISODE:
- Syndicated. "The Message From The Hill". Sponsored by: B. F. Goodrich Tires. The Shadow foils a plot to rob a diamond mine. Orson Welles, Margot Stevenson, Ken Roberts (announcer). 1/2 hour.
Mr. and Mrs. North are fictional American amateur detectives. Created by Frances and Richard Lockridge, the couple were featured in a series of twenty-six Mr. and Mrs. North novels, a Broadway play, a motion picture, and several different radio and television series. Mr. and Mrs. North was a radio mystery series that aired on CBS from 1942 to 1954. Alice Frost and Joseph Curtin had the title roles when the series began in 1942. Publisher Jerry North and his wife Pam lived in Greenwich Village at 24 St. Anne's Flat. They were not professional detectives but simply an ordinary couple who stumbled across a murder or two every week for 12 years. The radio program eventually reached nearly 20 million listeners. The characters originated in 1930s vignettes written by Richard Lockridge for the New York Sun, and he brought them back for short stories in The New Yorker.
THIS EPISODE:
July 15, 1947. CBS network. Sponsored by: Halo Shampoo, Cashmere Bouquet, Colgate Toothpowder. Murder, mayhem, and a missing diamond ring, all aboard a milk wagon in the early morning. Alice Frost, Joseph Curtin, Charles Stark (announcer), Frances Lockridge (creator), Richard Lockridge (creator). 24:49.
The Jell-O Program Starring Jack Benny - Jack Benny was remarkable in many ways, but in none more than this: he built a character of every sour ingredient in life, but somehow his real personality trickled through and made it wonderful. Would a real miser act that way before 30 million people each week? The Benny of the air was a fraud, a myth, a creation. It should have surprised no one to learn — after years of toupee jokes that played so well into the vanity theme — that Benny never wore one. He overtipped in restaurants, gave away his time in countless benefit performances, and was lavish in his praise of almost everyone else. The Jack Benny Program is a classic comedy that is truly one of the best-loved programs from the Golden Age of Radio. It started life as The Canada Dry Program in 1932 on the Blue Network and finished off as The Lucky Strike Program on CBS in 1955. In between, it kept the audience in stitches and established Benny as one of America's all-time great comedians.
THIS EPISODE:
December 19, 1937. Red net. Sponsored by: Jell-O. Kenny sings, "Once In A While." The cast does its version of, "Little Red Riding Hood," with Andy Devine as Grandma! Jack Benny, Don Wilson, Phil Harris and His Orchestra, Mary Livingstone, Kenny Baker, Andy Devine, Harry Baldwin, Ed Beloin (writer, performer), Blanche Stewart, Bill Morrow (writer). 29:32.
Crime & Peter Chambers - This program was born from a detective book series and inspired by author Henry Kane who became the director and producer for the radio show. The series only ran five months, 30 minutes each episode, from April 6, 1954 to September 7, 1954. Peter Chambers was played by Dane Clark who also appeared on the Suspense radio shows. Chambers acted the role of a playboy detective with an eye for solving crime and a taste for the women. Bill Zuckert, who went on to guest star in many 1970s shows including The Mary Tyler Moore Show and the Partridge Family, plays Lt. Parker.
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who first appeared in publication in 1887. He is the creation of Scottish born author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A brilliant London-based detective, Holmes is famous for his intellectual prowess, and is renowned for his skillful use of deductive reasoning (somewhat mistakenly - see inductive reasoning) and astute observation to solve difficult cases. He is arguably the most famous fictional detective ever created, and is one of the best known and most universally recognisable literary characters in any genre. Conan Doyle wrote four novels and fifty-six short stories that featured Holmes. All but four stories were narrated by Holmes' friend and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson, two having been narrated by Holmes himself, and two others written in the third person. The first two stories, short novels, appeared in Beeton's Christmas Annual for 1887 and Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1890. The character grew tremendously in popularity with the beginning of the first series of short stories in The Strand Magazine in 1891; further series of short stories and two serialized novels appeared almost right up to Conan Doyle's death in 1930. The stories cover a period from around 1878 up to 1903, with a final case in 1914.
THIS EPISODE:
May 13, 1946. Mutual network. "The Uneasy Easy Chair". Sponsored by: Petri Wines. Holmes works on a murder in which the murder weapon is a diabolical chair. Inspector Lestrade has the last laugh! The story is based on, "The Musgrove Ritual." Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Harry Bartell (announcer), Denis Green (writer), Anthony Boucher (writer), Arthur Conan Doyle (author), Dean Fosler (music), Edna Best (producer). 29:27.
The Chase is an exciting Old Time Radio series in which every episode contains, well, a chase. Tales, highly melodramatic and often improbable, of people on the run. The concept of "hunter and hunted" was built into the signatures. with the lone bugle of a fox hunt, the braying of dogs, the sounds of a man running, a gunshot, and the slowing footsteps and eventual fall of the victim. It may be an adventure story, a crime story, or even science fiction, but there will always be a suspense filled chase.
THIS EPISODE:
- The Hold-Up - NBC network. Sustaining. An employee of a contracting company blackmails his boss to secure a higher paying position in the accounting department. Doris Smith, Fred Collins (announcer), Fred Weihe (director, transcriber), Ivor Francis, John Stanley, Cathleen Cordell, Lawrence Klee (creator, writer), Leona Powers, Ted Osborne, William Podmore. 29:52.
Let George Do It was a radio drama series produced by Owen and Pauline Vinson from 1946 to 1954. It starred Bob Bailey as detective-for-hire George Valentine (with Olan Soule stepping into the role in 1954). Clients came to Valentine's office after reading a newspaper carrying his classified ad: "Personal notice: Danger's my stock in trade. If the job's too tough for you to handle, you've got a job for me. George Valentine." Valentine's secretary was Claire Brooks, aka Brooksie (Frances Robinson, Virginia Gregg, Lillian Buyeff). As Valentine made his rounds in search of the bad guys, he usually encounted Brooksie's kid brother, Sonny (Eddie Firestone), Lieutenant Riley (Wally Maher) and elevator man Caleb (Joseph Kearns). Sponsored by Standard Oil, the program was broadcast on the West Coast Mutual Broadcasting System from October 18, 1946 to September 27, 1954, first on Friday evenings and then on Mondays. In its last season, transcriptions were aired in New York, Wednesdays at 9:30pm, from January 20, 1954 to January 12, 1955. John Hiestand was the program's announcer. Don Clark directed the scripts by David Victor and Jackson Gillis. The background music was supplied by Eddie Dunstedter on the organ.
THIS EPISODE:
October 1, 1951. Mutual-Don Lee network. "No Way Out". Sponsored by: Standard Oil. A frightened young man is mixed up in a racket and a shooting. He then is arrested and jailed. Let George do it! Bob Bailey, Virginia Gregg, Jonathan Hole, Ted de Corsia, Kenneth Webb (director), Ken Christy, Don Clark (writer), Louise Arthur, Bud Hiestand (anouncer), Eddie Dunstedter (composer, conductor). 29:42.
The Amazing Mr. Malone radio series aired 1947-1951 based on the John Malone series of mystery novels by Craig Rice, the author of fourteen novels, countless short stories, and a number of true crime pieces. She once rivaled Agatha Christie in sales,and was on the cover of Time Magazine in 1946. John J. Malone, socialite and ladies man, is a brilliant criminal lawyer taking up a new case in every episode. Using his finely-honed deductive and persuasive skills, he never gives up until justice is done.
THIS EPISODE:
June 15, 1951. NBC network. "Early To Bed and Early To Rise". Sustaining. Jeff Lewis, the famous bandleader, has been murdered. Suspicion falls on his insanely jealous wife. George Petrie, Larry Haines, Fred Collins (announcer), Craig Rice (creator), Bernard L. Schubert (producer), Richard Lewis (director), Eugene Wang (writer). 29:37.
Pat Novak, played by Jack Webb, was a private detective working out of Pier 19, a waterfront office in San Francisco. The stories were always very similar: Someone would hire him, (if not a beautiful woman, the job would lead to a beautiful woman) someone would get murdered, he would investigate the case, get beaten up by the thugs, and then the case would be solved and end with glorious violence. The closing was always the same; the listener would be told who had done what, to whom and why they had done it.
THIS EPISODE:
Sam Tolliver -April 9, 1949. Program #4. ABC network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. Going on an errand for a friend, Pat gets a beating, a package, and a corpse or two, or three. Jack Webb. 30:22.
The Adventures of Sam Spade was a radio series based loosely on the private detective character Sam Spade, created by writer Dashiell Hammett for The Maltese Falcon. The show ran for 13 episodes on ABC in 1946, for 157 episodes on CBS in 1946-1949, and finally for 51 episodes on NBC in 1949-1951. The series starred Howard Duff (and later, Steve Dunne) as Sam Spade and Lurene Tuttle as his secretary Effie, and took a considerably more tongue-in-cheek approach to the character than the novel or movie. In 1947, scriptwriters Jason James and Bob Tallman received an Edgar Award for Best Radio Drama from the Mystery Writers of America. Before the series, Sam Spade had been played in radio adaptations of The Maltese Falcon by both Edward G. Robinson (in a 1943 Lux Radio Theater production) and by Bogart himself (in a 1946 Academy Award Theater production), both on CBS.
THIS EPISODE:
August 2, 1946. ABC network. "Sam and Psyche". Sponsored by: Wildroot Cream Oil. The fourth show of the series. The story title above is probably correct, although it's announced indirectly. The program has also been referred to as "The Death Of Dr. Denoff." A psychiatrist being blackmailed is killed by doing "a Brody" from his apartment window. His blackmailer is later found strangled! Howard Duff, Lurene Tuttle, Dick Joy (announcer), Dashiell Hammett (creator), William Spier (producer, director), Fred Esler. 29:30.
The CBS Radio Workshop - Broadcast from 1936 through to 1947 with just an occasional break. Revived again from January 1956 to September 1957 as CBS Radio Workshop with pretty much the same format. Broadcast from 1936 through to 1947 with just an occasional break. Revived again from January 1956 to September 1957 as CBS Radio Workshop with pretty much the same format. This was drama with a difference. Columbia Workshop was not everybody’s cup of tea and in terms of audience popularity it was always noted that it was never a strong contender for the title “Radios Top Rated Drama Series” and yet it was always considered to be the drama program that led the way in radio standards. Columbia was the first to mexperiment with what radio drama was all about, introducing new techniques never before used in over the airwaves drama and because it received little encouragement from established writers, actors, etc., it was only by breaking new ground with new ideas and new techniques from writers who were not versed in the old ways that it was going to survive.
THIS EPISODE:
March 30, 1956. CBS network. "The Exurbanites". Sustaining. A chilling (but true) horror story about the problems of living in the suburbs. Eric Sevareid (narrator). 1/2 hour.
Inspector Thorne - Another radio detective from the pen of Frank and Ann Hummert was Inspector Thorne. The series was short-lived and also had two stars portraying the lead. The first was Karl Weber and the second was Staats Cotsworth. By the 1940's, Frank and Ann Hummert controlled four and a half hours of national weekday broadcast schedules. Their features reportedly spawned more that 5 million pieces of correspondence annually from steadfast fans. Simultaneously they brought in more than half of the national radio chain's advertising revenues generated during the daylight hours. The couple broadcast 18 quarter-hour serials five times weekly, a total of 90 original episodes for 52 weeks per year, with none of those ever repeated. Some shows were "Amanda of Honeymoon Hill", "Backstage Wife","Chaplin Jim USA", "David Harum", "Easy Aces", "Front Page Farrell", "John's Other Wife", "Just Plain Bill", "The Life of Mary Sothern","Lora Lawton", "Lorenzo Jones", "Ma Perkins", "Mrs Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch", "Our Gal Sunday", "The Romance of Helen Trent" and "Young Widder Brown".
Dangerous Assignment - This thirty-minute international spy adventure featured Steve Mitchell (Brian Donlevy), and investigator of crimes in exotic locations. 60 episodes. Herb Butterfield played the Commissioner and Betty Moran was the Commissioner's secretary. Other cast members were GeGe Pearson, Ken Peters, Betty Lou Gerson, Dan O’Herlihy. The director was Bill Cairn and the writer for the series was Robert Ryf. The opening was the same every week “Yeah, danger is my assignment. I get sent to a lot of places I can’t even pronounce. They all spell the same thing though, trouble.” He would be summoned to his boss’s office where he would be given his assignment; he would then fly halfway across the globe to save the day!
THIS EPISODE:
February 6, 1950. NBC network. Sustaining. The first show of the season. Missing Japanese Weapons . Steve Mitchell flies to Panama to recover missing Japanese weapons and solve the murder of his friend, Bill Thorne. Brian Donlevy, Robert Ryf (writer), Bill Cairn (director), Bruce Ashley (music). 29:40.
Murder By Experts - 1949-51, Mutual. 130 30-minute episodes. Created by David Kogan. Writers: David Kogan. Directors/Producers: David Kogan And Robert A. Arthur. Hosts: John Dickson Carr (June 13, 1949-March 13, 1950) and Brett Halliday (March 20, 1950-December 17, 1951) Sound Effects: Mario Siletti. Guest experts: Alfred Hitchcock, Craig Rice. Guest stars: Ann Shepard, Larry Haines, Carl Eastman, Ann Sheperd, Bill Zuckert, Ralph Camargo, Burt Cullen, Lawson Zerbe, Marilyn Erskin.
THIS EPISODE:
July 23, 1949. Mutual network, WOR, New York aicheck. "The Creeper". Sponsored by: Sustaining, Bulova Watch (local). A suspense story about a mad killer who strangles his red-headed victims. The program moved to Sundays at 10:00 P. M., being replaced in this time slot by, "The Damon Runyon Theatre." John Dickson Carr (host, narrator), Joseph Ruscoll (writer), Marilyn Erskine. 29:17.
Escape was radio's leading anthology series of high adventure, airing on CBS from July 7, 1947 to September 25, 1954. Since the program did not have a regular sponsor like Suspense, it was subjected to frequent schedule shifts and lower production budgets, although Richfield Oil signed on as a sponsor for five months in 1950. Despite these problems, Escape enthralled many listeners during its seven-year run. The series' well-remembered opening combined Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain with the introduction, intoned by Paul Frees and William Conrad: “Tired of the everyday routine? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... Escape!” Of the more than 230 Escape episodes, most have survived in good condition. Many story premises, both originals and adaptations, involved a protagonist in dire life-or-death straits, and the series featured more science fiction and supernatural tales than Suspense. Some of the memorable adaptations include Algernon Blackwood's "Confession", Ray Bradbury's oft-reprinted "Mars Is Heaven," George R. Stewart's Earth Abides, Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game," F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz," John Collier's "Evening Primrose", later adapted to TV as a Stephen Sondheim musical starring Anthony Perkins. Vincent Price and Harry Bartell were heard in the chilling "Three Skeleton Key," the tale of three men trapped in an isolated lighthouse by thousands of rats. The half-hour was adapted from an Esquire short story by the French writer George Toudouze.
THIS EPISODE:
Escape. December 17, 1947. CBS network. "Wild Oranges". Sustaining. A good story about a beautiful girl and her father, trapped on an island by a homicidal maniac. The script was previously used on "The Orson Welles Theatre" on November 3, 1941 and subsequently used on the program on September 28,l 1949 and on "Romance" on July 25, 1950 . Cy Feuer (music conceiver, conductor), William N. Robson (producer), Richard Sanville (director), Joseph Hergeshimer (author), William Conrad, Jack Kruschen, John Dunkel (adaptor), Paul Frees, Jeanette Nolan, Sherry Hall. 29:43.
Author’s Playhouse - Famous stories by celebrated authors: among them, Elementals (Stephen Vincent Benet), The Piano (William Saroyan), and The Snow Goose (Paul Gallico).March 5, 1941 till June 4, 1945, NBC; Blue Network until mid-October 1941, then the Red Network. Many briefly held 30m timeslots, including Sundays at 11:30, 1941-42; Wednesdays at 11:30, 1942-44; Mondays at 11:30, 1944-45. Sponsor was Philip Morris, 1942-43. Cast: John Hodiak, Fern Persons, Arthur Kohl, Laurette Fillbrandt, Kathryn Card, Bob Jellison, Nelson Olmsted, Marvin Miller, Olan Soule, Les Tremayne, Clarence Hartzell, Curley Bradley, etc. Orchestra: Rex Maupin, Roy Shield, J6seph Gallicchio. Creator: Wynn Wright. Directors: Norman Felton, Fred Weihe, Homer Heck, etc.
THIS EPISODE:
May 14, 1945. NBC network, Chicago origination. "Reunion". Sustaining. Henry Sinkin is a quiet accountant who inherits $500 and decides to make a big impression at his college reunion. Arthur Hern, Art Van Harvey, Charles Egleston, Elwyn Owen (organist), Inez Arsher (adaptor), Kay Miller, Kay Miller, Michael Romano, Nick Reikert, Norman Felton (producer), Phillips H. Lord, Stanley Gordon, Thomas Post, Vincent Sheean (author), William Fein. 29:28.
The Green Hornet - On January 31, 1936, the Green Hornet radio program aired on WXYZ in Detroit, Michigan. Al Hodge played the part of the Green Hornet from 1936 through January of 1943. The program was created by George W. Trendle, the same man associated with the creation of the Lone Ranger radio show. The premise of the Green Hornet was that of a modern day Lone Ranger. The main character was Britt Reid, a newspaper publisher of the Daily Sentinel by day and the Green Hornet by night. Britt Reid was the great-nephew of the Lone Ranger. Britt Reid's war against crime was an extension of his family history. The Green Hornet fought crime with his high-powered car, the Black Beauty.
THIS EPISODE:
June 15, 1939. Mutual network originaion, Michelson syndication, WJBK, Detroit aircheck. "Justice Wears A Blindfold". Sponsored by: Archway Cookies. The date is approximate. Al Hodge, Fran Striker (writer), George W. Trendle (creator). 1/2 hour.
The Fat Man - "There he goes across the street into the drugstore, steps on the scale, height: 6 feet, weight: 290 pounds, fortune: Danger. Who isit? The Fat Man." Brad Runyon was the Fat Man, played by Jack Scott Smart. The series was created by Dashall Hammott and was first heard on the ABC network Jan. 21, 1946. J. Scott Smart fit the part of the Fat Man perfectly, weighing in at 270 pounds himself. When he spoke, there was no doubt that this was the voice of a big guy. Smart gave a witty, tongue-in-cheek performance and helped make THE FAT MAN one of the most popular detective programs on the air. Smart also appeared in The March Of Time (early 1930s), the Theater Guild On The Air, Blondie, The Fred Allen Show, and The Jack Benny Program. There was also an version made in Australia, syndicated on the Artansa lable, about 1954. There are at least 36 shows available from vendors. The Australian Fat Man was played possibly by Lloyd Berrell. Although not featuring J. Scott Smart, who really fit the part, the series is quite good.
THIS EPISODE:
April 1, 1949. ABC network. "Murder Makes A Ham". Sponsored by: Pepto Bismol, Unguentine. An actress hires Runyon to find a photograph. J. Scott Smart, Dick Beals (commercial spokesman), Clark Andrews (director), Bernard Green (conductor), Bryna Raeburn, Charles Irving (announcer), Lawrence Klee (writer), Jean Ellen. 29:30.
Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons was one of network radio's longest running detectives, although listening to it now would hardly explain why. This kind, elderly, boring sleuth, in company with his bumbling assistant, Mike Clancy, was on the airwaves from 1937 to 1955, logging nearly 20 years of fighting crime. The series came out of the soap opera fiction factory of Frank and Anne Hummert and encompassed most of the trite dialogue and snail plotting of daytime serials.
TODAY'S DOUBLE FEATURE:
November 16, 1944. CBS network. "The Case Of The Frightened Child". Sponsored by: Anacin, Kolynos Toothpaste, Hill's Cold Tablets, Aerowax. A five year old boy has been left to die in a dark, abandoned warehouse. Bennett Kilpack, Larry Elliott (announcer), Frank Hummert, Anne Hummert. 29:40.
May 23, 1946. CBS network. "The Case Of The Glamorous Widow". Sponsored by: Anacin, Kolynos Toothpaste, Old English Wax. Which one of her four boyfriends did her in? Bennett Kilpack, Frank Hummert (originator, producer), Anne Hummert (originator, producer), Larry Elliott (announcer). 29:34.
"Rocky Fortune" about a wanderer that took odd jobs to support himself and never stayed in one place too long. He almost always seemed to meet beautiful women along with trouble. Sinatra was good and was proving to Hollywood that he could do serious work. When casting began for the movie "From Here To Eternity", Frank campaigned tirelessly for a part and because of that and a good word put in for him by Gardner, who he was now separated from, he won a part that would mark his return to Hollywood. Sadly for us, it also meant he didn't have time to do radio and "Rocky Fortune" was rather short lived, although it was popular. It only ran from 1953 - 1954, but" It was a very good year".
THIS EPISODE:
January 26, 1954. NBC network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "Hauling Nitro". Rocky's explosive job (in more ways than one!) is driving a truckload of nitroglycerine. Frank Sinatra, Frank Gerstle, George Lefferts (writer), Lynn Allen, Bill Justine, Howard Culver, Jack Carroll, Maurice Hart, Andrew C. Love (director). 25 minutes.
Exploring Tomorrow - Starting as a replacement show for Gangbusters and Counterspy, the series premiered December 11, 1957 and it ran until June 13, 1958. Quoting from Astounding Magazine, "Exploring Tomorrow is the first science fiction radio show of science-fictioneers, by science- fictioneers, and for science-fictioneers" The shows were narrated by the editor of Astounding Magazine, John W. Campbell, Jr., with scripts written by Gordon Dickson, Robert Silverberg and many other notable science fiction writers.
THIS EPISODE:
- Mutual network. "Time Heals". Sponsored by: L & M, Kraft foods, Cape Coral. A man with an incurable disease is sent into the future, where the problem has surely been solved. The date is approximate. Sam Grane (?), Sanford Marshall (director and producer), Lawson Zerbe, Bill Mahr (announcer), Poul Anderson (writer), John Campbell Jr. (host), Connie Lembcke. 24:59.
The Mysterious Traveler - Written and directed by Robert A. Arthur and David Kogan, the series began on the Mutual Broadcasting System, December 5, 1943, continuing in many different timeslots until September 16, 1952. Unlike many other shows of the era, The Mysterious Traveler was without a sponsor for its entire run. The lonely sound of a distant locomotive heralded the arrival of the malevolent narrator, portrayed by Maurice Tarplin, who introduced himself each week in the following manner. This is the Mysterious Traveler, inviting you to join me on another journey into the strange and terrifying. I hope you will enjoy the trip, that it will thrill you a little and chill you a little. So settle back, get a good grip on your nerves and be comfortable -- if you can! Cast members included Jackson Beck, Lon Clark, Roger DeKoven, Elspeth Eric, Wendell Holmes, Bill Johnstone, Joseph Julian, Jan Miner, Santos Ortega, Bryna Raeburn, Frank Readick, Ann Shepherd, Lawson Zerbe and Bill Zuckert. Sound effects were by Jack Amrhein, Jim Goode, Ron Harper, Walt McDonough and Al Schaffer.
THIS EPISODE:
October 21, 1947. Mutual network. "Death Is My Caller". Sustaining. A wealthy stockbroker named Henry Norton is visted by his old partner, Charles Blair. Blair is just out of jail after seven years...and is seeking revenge. Robert A. Arthur (writer, producer, director), David Kogan (writer, producer, director), Maurice Tarplin, Santos Ortega, Neal O'Malley, Paul Taubman (music), Carl Caruso (announcer), Agnes Young, Ted Jewett. 29:36.
Cloak and Dagger - "Are you willing to undertake a dangerous mission for the United States, knowing in advance you may never return alive?" Cloak and Dagger first aired over the NBC network on May 7, 1950. It had a short run through the Summer on Sundays, changing to Fridays after its Summer run. The last show aired Oct. 22, 1950. This is the story of the WWII special governmental agency, the OSS, or Office of Strategic Services. Its mission was to develop and maintain spy networks throughout Europe and into Asia, while giving aid to underground partisan groups and developing espionage activities for Allied forces overseas.The show is based on the book of the same name by Lt. Col. Corey Ford and Major Alastair MacBain (who were associated with the OSS from its early days.) The dramas are not Hollywood-style, in that they sometimes end with plans foiled or leading characters dead.
THIS EPISODE:
October 6, 1950. NBC network. "Delay En Route". Sustaining. 8:00 P. M. An O. S. S. agent is sent to Italy to help the Partisans wipe out the remaining Fascists. The agent is forced to help a Fascist scientist escape from the country with plans for a new submarine, and an aerial torpedo. The final promotional announcement and system cue have been deleted. Max Russell (sound effects), Sherman Marks (director, supervisor), Arnold Moss, Ken Field (writer), Jon Gart (music director), Al Fanelli (sound effets), Don Abbott (engineer), Corey Ford (creator), Alistair MacBain (creator), Louis G. Cowan (producer), Alfred Hollander (producer), Grant Richards, Luis Van Rooten. 29:18.
Confession - Had a texture and sound not unlike Dragnet, indeed the influence was realized throughout the show. These were true stories of Crime and Punishment, the obvious difference that Dragnet began with the crime while Confession unfolded in reverse order, from the end. Confession was less noisy, it's theme was played on a single piano, but there was still the deadpan dialogue, the thief or killer giving his confession with an air of resignation and defeat. The criminal thus became a stream-of-consciousness narrator, with the action frequently cutting away into drama. "Names were changed to protect the legal rights of the subject". NBC 30 minutes Sunday at 9:30PM.Cast Paul Frees, virginia Christine,Herb Butterfield, Parley Bear and other Hollywood radio actors. Announcer John Wald.
CBS Radio Mystery Theater - As you walk through the creaking door you enter into another world, the world of imagination. This world is inside you, a part of you, and you take this journey alone. Each person hears and then sees with his or her mind's eye the events portrayed within these dramas. All of us interprets what they hear differently. The images we see is unique to ourselves. A voice becomes a person, living, breathing they come alive. They take on a physical form and characteristics that we assign to them. The wonders of your own mind are boundless. Scary thoughts? Perhaps, but what powers they bring us! To exercise one's imagination is to exercise one's soul. These dramas provide us with an escape from reality. To adventures beyond our own lives. Enjoy them. And pleasant dreams!
THIS EPISODE:
Circle Of Evil August 21, 1975 - A woman is hired to care for two very child-like adults who have been secluded from society. While there, she is contacted by a ghost that wants her to avenge the murder of his wife.Marian Seldes, Kristoffer Tabori, Mary Jane Higby, Ian Martin, Rosemary Rice.
The Adventures of Frank Race was a 1949-50 radio adventure serial syndicated by Bruce Ellis Productions. The 30-minute program was first broadcast in some markets beginning May 1, 1949. An attorney who turned international adventurer after WWII, Frank Race (Tom Collins, Paul Dubov) mainly investigated insurance scams. After the first 22 shows, Dubov took over the title role. Tony Barnett portrayed Mark Donovan. The series was written and directed by Joel Murcott and Buckley Angel. The announcer was Art Gilmore, and Ivan Ditmars provided the background organ music.
THIS EPISODE:
August 21, 1949. Program #17. Broadcasters Program Syndicate syndication. "The Adventure Of The Fat Man's Loot". Commercials added locally. Race is off to Berlin and Monte Carlo in search of missing diamonds, stolen by the Nazis. Tom Collins, Buckley Angel (writer, director), Joel Murcott (writer, director), Art Gilmore (announcer), Bruce Eells (producer, Ivan Ditmar (organ), Tony Barrett, Lillian Buyeff, Jack Kruschen, Wilms Herbert, Michael Ann Barrett, Harry Lang. 26:47.
The Creaking Door was an old-time radio series of horror and suspense shows originating in South Africa. There are at present anywhere from 34-37 extant episodes in MP3 circulation, yet no currently available program logs for the series indicate the year of the series' broadcast (though it was likely sometime in the 1950s, given the generally high audio quality of the available shows), or the total number of episodes, and only a handful of them are known by their broadcast order. The stories are thrillers in the Inner Sanctum vein, and generally thought of favorably by most fans of OTR.
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet launched on CBS October 8, 1944, making a mid-season switch to NBC in 1949. The final years of the radio series were on ABC (the former NBC Blue Network) from October 14, 1949, to June 18, 1954.The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, an American radio and television series, was once the longest-running, live-action situation comedy on American television, having aired on ABC from 1952 to 1966 after a ten-year run on radio. Starring Ozzie Nelson and his wife, singer Harriet Hilliard (she dropped her maiden name after the couple ended their music career), the show's sober, gentle humor captured a large, sustaining audience, although it never rated in the top ten programs, and later critics tended to dismiss it as fostering a slightly unrealistic picture of post-World War II American family life. When Skelton was drafted, Ozzie Nelson was prompted to create his own family situation comedy. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet launched on CBS October 8, 1944, making a mid-season switch to NBC in 1949. The final years of the radio series were on ABC (the former NBC Blue Network) from October 14, 1949, to June 18, 1954. In an arrangement that amplified the growing pains of American broadcasting, as radio "grew up" into television (as George Burns once phrased it), the Nelsons' deal with ABC gave the network itself the right to move the show to television whenever it wanted to do it---they wanted, according to the Museum of Broadcast Communications, to have talent in the bullpen and ready to pitch, so to say, on their own network, rather than risk it defecting to CBS (where the Nelsons began) or NBC. Their sons, David and Ricky, did not join the cast until five years after the radio series began. The two boys felt frustrated at hearing themselves played by actors and continually requested they be allowed to portray themselves. Prior to April 1949, the role of David was played by Joel Davis (1944-45) and Tommy Bernard, and Henry Blair appeared as Ricky. Since Ricky was only nine years old when he began on the show, his enthusiasm outstripped his ability at script reading, and at least once he jumped a cue, prompting Harriet to say, "Not now, Ricky." Other cast members included John Brown as Syd "Thorny" Thornberry, Lurene Tuttle as Harriet's mother, Bea Benaderet as Gloria, Janet Waldo as Emmy Lou, and Dick Trout as Roger. Vocalists included Harriet Nelson, the King Sisters, and Ozzie Nelson. The announcers were Jack Bailey and Verne Smith. The music was by Billy May and Ozzie Nelson. The producers were Dave Elton and Ozzie Nelson.
The FORD THEATER, sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, presented hour long dramas first on NBC for one only season. The series moved to CBS for its second and last season. There were 39 NBC and 39 CBS hour- long shows (not verified). The show initially received an unfavorable review from the New York Times for poor script adaptation but was still highly rated for the actors' performance and overall production. The show was supposed to feature only original scripts but had to forgo that plan due to lack of quality material. The first season on NBC used radio actors under the direction of George Zachary. Martin Gabel announced the first show but was soon replaced by Kenneth Banghart. The second season, on CBS, used Hollywood screen actors in the lead roles, supported by radio actors. Fletcher Markle, who previously produced CBS's STUDIO ONE series, was the producer for the second season. Although a short series, it still has some of radio's best dramas.
THIS EPISODE:
March 21, 1948. CBS network. "It's A Gift". Sponsored by: Ford. A comedy about a wounded war vet who gets dizzy and has to "concentrate." When he "concentrates," he can make people do whatever he wants them to do. A new industry is born! Howard Lindsay (host), Kenneth Banghart (commercial spokesman), Lee Bloomgarten (author), Cliff Carpenter, Carl Eastman, William Zuckert, George Faulkner (continuity), Helen Lewis, James Van Dyke, Elspeth Eric, Howard Teichman (editor), Lyn Murray (composer, conductor), Frank Dane, Ivor Francis, George Zacherle (director), Rod Hendrickson. 59:28.
The Secrets of Scotland Yard was a successful crime drama series, initially airing internationally between 1949 and 1951. Selected episodes finally came to a US radio network for a brief run much later in 1957 over the Mutual Broadcasting System. The series boasted well over 100 episodes, one of which, "The Bone From A Voice Box", apparently served as the prototype for another well remembered Towers Of London dramatic series, The Black Museum. In both series, well known actors were employed as host / narrator, Orson Welles in The Black Museum and Clive Brook here. In fact, the shows were so similar that some of the same actual Scotland Yard cases were dramatized for both series (with totally different scripts, and casts). The Secrets of Scotland Yard was an independent production of the Towers of London syndicate in England for world wide distribution. Each week, an audience of anxious radio-listeners tuned in to hear these true crime stories of the London Metropolitan Police unfold, as the detectives at the Yard investigated some of England’s most famous criminals. Their trials have become legendary. Stories presented in the series include the theft of the British crown jewels by Colonel Thomas Blood; the story of a man who finds an armless and legless body wrapped in ribbons and lace; or the strange story of two close brothers who love one another enough to contemplate the murder of a brother’s affluent, yet unsightly and ignorant, wife.
Perry Mason is the longest running lawyer show in American television history. Its original run lasted nine years and its success in both syndication and made-for-television movies confirm its impressive stamina. Mason's fans include lawyers and judges who were influenced by this series to enter their profession. The Mason character was created by mystery writer Erle Stanley Gardner and delivered his first brief in the novel The Case of the Velvet Claws (1933). From 1934 to 1937 Warners produced six films featuring Mason. A radio series also based on Mason ran every weekday afternoon on CBS radio from 1944 to 1955 as a detective/soap opera. When the CBS television series was developed as an evening drama, the radio series was changed from Perry Mason to The Edge of Night and the cast renamed so as not to compete against the television series.
This Episode:
Case of the Baited Hook from Perry Mason adapted for radio aired December 21, 1957. Robert Dawson confronts Albert Tydings, his partner, about $80K missing from Carol Stanley's trust account. Albert Tydings admits he embezzled the money and blackmails Robert Dawson to keep quiet or he will reveal some scandalous facts about Carol. Later, Carol calls and makes an appointment to meet Albert Tydings at his office to discuss the trust account. She arrives to find Albert Tydings dead.
Cavalcade of America is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company. It was initially broadcast on radio from 1935 to 1953, and later on television from 1952 to 1957. Originally on CBS the series pioneered the use of anthology drama for company audio advertising. Cavalcade of America documented historical events using stories of individual courage, initiative and achievement, often with feel-good dramatizations of the human spirit's triumph against all odds. This was consistent with DuPont's overall conservative philosophy and legacy as an American company dating back to 1802. The company's motto, "Maker of better things for better living through chemistry," was read at the beginning of each program, and the dramas emphasized humanitarian progress, particularly improvements in the lives of women, often through technological innovation.The show started as part of a successful campaign to reinvigorate DuPont. In the early 1930s, the Nye Committee investigations concluded that DuPont had made a fortune profiteering in World War I. The company stood accused of encouraging an arms race between WWI enemies, after being heavily subsidized by the Allies to increase black powder production. The negative effects of the investigation left the company demoralized, directionless and with a tarnished corporate image in the middle of the Great Depression. DuPont's products were primarily not for public consumption, so there was no purpose in promoting them through advertising. As a solution to DuPont's troubles, Roy Durstine, then creative director of Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn, proposed the creation of Cavalcade of America using the company motto. This was to be an important element in the successful re-branding of DuPont as an American legacy engaged in making products for the well-being of Americans and humanity in general.
THIS EPISODE:
"Kansas Marshall" from Cavalcade Of America aired March 31, 1947 starring Henry Fonda. The story of Wyatt Earp, Marshall of Wichita Kansas, a town that needed cleaning up. The script was based on the 1939 film, Frontier Marshal, and remade by John Ford as "My Darling Clementine" in 1946. This radio version is one you will definitely enjoy!
The Air Adventures Of Jimmy Allen - This series included the boy wonder and pilot, Jimmie Allen, his best teenage buddy, Speed Robertson, and mechanic Flash Lewis. As a team they would solve crimes often at the hands of their enemies the corrupt Black Pete and the dishonorable Digger Dawson. Young listeners could join the very popular Jimmie Allen Flying club, complete with a "personal letter" from the boy wonder himself. Jimmie Allen was so popular a character that Paramount shot the feature film The Sky Parade. Cast: Jimmie Allen, Robert Fiske.
Nick Carter Master Detective - Nick Carter is the name of a popular fictional detective who first appeared in in a dime novel entitled "The Old Detective's Pupil" on September 18, 1886. In 1915, Nick Carter Weekly became Street & Smith's Detective Story Magazine. Novels featuring Carter continued to appear through the 1950s, by which time there was also a popular radio show, Nick Carter, Master Detective, which aired on Mutual from 1943 to 1955. Nick Carter first came to radio as The Return of Nick Carter. Then Nick Carter, Master Detective, with Lon Clark in the title role, began April 11, 1943, on Mutual, continuing in many different timeslots for well over a decade. Jock MacGregor was the producer-director of scripts by Alfred Bester, Milton J. Kramer, David Kogan and others. Background music was supplied by organists Hank Sylvern, Lew White and George Wright. Patsy Bowen, Nick's assistant, was portrayed by Helen Choate until mid-1946 and then Charlotte Manson stepped into the role. Nick and Patsy's friend was reporter Scubby Wilson (John Kane). Nick's contact at the police department was Sgt. Mathison (Ed Latimer). The supporting cast included Raymond Edward Johnson, Bill Johnstone and Bryna Raeburn. Michael Fitzmaurice was the program's announcer.
THIS EPISODE:
April 8, 1944. Mutual network. "Murder By Magic". Sustaining. "Nick Carter and The Mystery Of The Missing Identity." Lon Clark, Helen Choate, John Kane, Humphrey Davis, Jock MacGregor (producer, director, occasional writer), Lew White (musician). 1/2 hour.
John Steele Adventurer - This drama thriller series was heard over the Mutual radio network from 04/26/49 to 07/16/56 and starred Don Douglas in the title role. John Steele treks sweaty-browed through jungles and deserts, fighting lions and saving women. Thrilling indeed. Also heard throughout the program were John Larkin, Jack Edwards, and Bryna Raeburn.
THIS EPISODE:
July 12, 1949. Mutual network. "Cargo Unknown". Sustaining. Not auditioned. Two men are in an open boat, with a beautiful woman. Elliott Drake (writer, director), Ross Martin, Connie Lembcke, Earl George, Sylvan Levin (conductor), Walt Shaver (sound effects), Ted Mallie (announcer), Don Douglas, Robert Monroe (producer). 29:36.****
The Adventures of Nero Wolf came to radio in the spring of 1943 in a short-lived series starring J. B. Williams over a New England network. The series moved onto ABC with Santos Ortega starring in a summer series (July 5, 1943-September 27, 1943) with John Gibson as Archie Goodwin. Luis Van Rooten moved into the title role when the series was revived the following year (January 21, 1944-July 14, 1944). Francis X. Bushman starred as The Amazing Nero Wolfe in a 1945-46 Mutual series, with Elliott Lewis as Archie. NBC's The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe aired from October 20, 1950 through April 27, 1951 and starred Sydney Greenstreet. The actor had made his film debut at age 61 in Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon, receiving a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his performance as Casper Gutman (a.k.a. "The Fat Man"). Though the series ran only six months, five different veteran radio detective stars were heard as Archie Goodwin: Gerald Mohr (radio's Philip Marlowe and The Lone Wolf), Wally Maher (Michael Shayne), Harry Bartell (announcer of Sherlock Holmes), Herb Ellis (Dragnet's Frank Smith) and Lawrence Dobkin (Ellery Queen).
THIS EPISODE:
March 23, 1951. NBC network. "The Case Of The Final Page". Sustaining. Nero Wolfe and Archie attend a dinner at the home of Arthur Merle, only to find him knifed in the back. Sydney Greenstreet, Don Arthur (writer), Rex Stout (creator), William Johnstone, Don Stanley (announcer), Edwin Fadiman (producer), J. Donald Wilson (director), Harry Bartell, Evelyn Eaton, Lucille Alex, Peter Leeds, Monica Nealy, Herb Butterfield. 29:27.
The Bob Hope Show - From the age of twelve, Bob Hope worked at a wide variety of odd jobs at a local board walk. When not doing this he would busk, doing dance and comedy patter to make extra money. He entered many dancing and amateur talent contests, and won prizes for his impersonation of Charlie Chaplin. He also boxed briefly and unsuccessfully under the name Packy East, making it once as far as the semi-finals of the Ohio novice championship. Fallen silent film comedian Fatty Arbuckle saw one of his performances and in 1925 got him steady work with Hurley's Jolly Follies. A year later Hope had formed an act called the Dancemedians with George Burns (who would also live to see his own 100th birthday) and the Hilton Sisters, conjoined twins who had a tap dancing routine. Hope and his partner George Byrne had an act as a pair of Siamese twins as well, and both danced and sang while wearing blackface before friends advised Hope that he was funnier as himself.. After five years on the Vaudeville circuit, by his own account Hope was surprised and humbled when he and his partner Grace Louise Troxell failed a 1930 screen test for Pathé at Culver City, California. (Hope had been on the screen in small parts, 1927's The Sidewalks of New York and 1928's Smiles. Hope returned to New York City and subsequently appeared in several Broadway musicals including Roberta, Say When, the 1936 Ziegfeld Follies, and Red, Hot and Blue with Ethel Merman. His performances were generally well-received and critics noted his keen sense of comedic timing. He changed his name from "Leslie" to "Bob", reportedly because people in the US were calling him "Hopelessly", although in the 1920s he sometimes used the name "Lester Hope".
Panic in the Streets from Lux Radio Theater aired March 5, 1951. After brawling over a card game in the wharf area of New Orleans, a man named Kochak, suffering visibly from a flu-like illness, is killed by gangster Blackie and his two flunkies, Kochak's cousin Poldi and a man named Fitch. They leave the body on the docks, and later when the dead man, who carries no identification, is brought to the morgue, the coroner grows suspicious about the bacteria present in his blood and calls his superior, Dr. Clinton Reed, (played by Richard Widmark) a uniformed doctor working for the U.S. Public Health Service. Dr. Reed and a police captain (Paul Douglas) have only a day or two in which to prevent an epidemic. Can a doctor turn detective?
The Adventures Of Ellery Queen - Tuska cited Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940) and Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery (1941) as the best of the Bellamy-Lindsay pairings. "The influence of The Thin Man series was apparent in reverse", Tuska noted about Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery. "Ellery and Nikki are unmarried but obviously in love with each other. Probably the biggest mystery... is how Ellery ever gets a book written. Not only is Nikki attractive and perfectly willing to show off her figure", Tuska wrote, "but she also likes to write her own stories on Queen's time, and gets carried away doing her own investigations." In Ellery Queen, Master Detective, "the amorous relationship between Ellery and Nikki Porter was given a dignity, and therefore integrity", Tuska wrote, "that was lacking in the two previous entries in the series", made at Republic Pictures before Bellamy and Lindsay were signed by Columbia.
THIS EPISODE:
January 7, 1943. NBC network. "The Adventure Of The Singing Rat". Sponsored by: Bromo Seltzer. Racketeer Musso has been set up by a stool pigeon. A hollow cigarette holds the secret of murder. This is the West Coast broadcast, the East cast broadcast took place on January 9, 1943. The system cue has been deleted. Carleton Young, Marian Shockley, Santos Ortega, Ted de Corsia, Ann Corio (guest armchair detective), Alfred McKelvey ("a prominent Eastern manufacturer" second guest armchair detective), Ernest Chappell (announcer), Frederic Dannay (writer), Manfred B. Lee (writer), Bruce Kamman (producer, director), Charles Paul (organ). 29:30.
Diary of Fate is a mystery and horror program where “Fate” narrates and always wins by the end of the story. These are great suspense filled stories about average people who are subject to the mysteries of their ‘Fate’.
THIS EPISODE:
June 22, 1948. Program #28. Finley syndication. "Janice Bennet". Commercials added locally. Book 701, page 327. Not auditioned. A woman always takes the easy way out. The date is subject to correction. Herb Lytton, Ginny Johnson, Gloria Gordon, Doug Young, James Murphy, Ray Ehrlenborn, Hal Sawyer, Larry Finley (producer). 26:21.
Duffy's Tavern, an American radio situation comedy (CBS, 1941-1942; NBC-Blue Network, 1942-1944; NBC, 1944-1952), often featured top-name stage and film guest stars but always hooked those around the misadventures, get-rich-quick-scheming, and romantic missteps of the title establishment's malaprop-prone, metaphor-mixing manager, Archie, played by the writer/actor who co-created the show, Ed Gardner. In the show's familiar opening, "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling," either solo on an old-sounding piano or by a larger orchestra, was interrupted by the ring of a telephone and Gardner's New Yorkese accent as he answered, "Duffy's Tavern, where the elite meet to eat. Archie the manager speakin'. Duffy ain't here — oh, hello, Duffy." Duffy, the owner, was never heard (or seen, when a film based on the show was made in 1945 or when a bid to bring the show to television was tried in 1954). But Archie always was — bantering with Duffy's man-crazy daughter, Miss Duffy (played by several actresses, beginning with Gardner's real-life first wife, Shirley Booth); with Eddie, the waiter/janitor (Eddie Green); and, especially, with Clifton Finnegan (Charlie Cantor), a likeable soul with several screws loose and a knack for falling for every other salesman's scam.
THIS EPISODE:
November 2, 1943. Program #25. Blue network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. Guest Charles Coburn is enticed into a poker game down at the tavern. Charles Coburn, Ed Gardner, Florence Halop, Peter Van Steeden and His Orchestra. 1/2 hour.
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT) was an ambitious and sustained attempt to revive the great drama of old-time radio in the 1970s. Created by Himan Brown (who had by then become a radio legend due to his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries and other shows dating back to the 1930s), and aired on affiliate stations across the CBS Radio network, the series began its long run on January 6, 1974. The final episode ran on December 31, 1982. The show was broadcast nightly and ran for one hour, including commercials. Typically, a week consisted of three to four new episodes, with the remainder of the week filled out with reruns. There were a total of 1399 original episodes broadcast. The total number of broadcasts, including reruns, was 2969. The late E.G. Marshall hosted the program every year but the final one, when actress Tammy Grimes took over. Each episode began with the ominous sound of a creaking door, slowly opening to invite listeners in for the evening's adventure. At the end of each show, the door would swing shut, with Marshall signing off, "Until next time, pleasant...dreams?"
Dark Fantasy was an series dedicated to dealings with the unknown. Originating from radio station WKY, Oklahoma City, it was written by Scott Bishop (of Mysterious Traveler and The Sealed Book fame) and was heard Fridays over stations. Keith Paynton served as announcer. The shows covered horror, science fiction and murder mysteries. Although a short series, the shows are excellent with some stories way ahead of their time.
TODAY'S SHOW: "The Man Who Came Back" (11-14-41) and "Death Is A Savage Diety" (01-30-42)
November 14, 1941. NBC network, WKY, Oklahoma City origination. "The Man Who Came Back". Sustaining. A killing after an argument about a man's wife leads to a promise to return from the grave for vengeance. Scott Bishop (writer), Muir Height, Eugene Frances, Ben Morris, Eleanor Naylor Corin (?), Fred Wayne, Murillo Scofield (?). 24:41
January 30, 1942. Program #11. NBC network"Death Is A Savage Diety". Sustaining. A tale of witchcraft and black magic, based on the novel by Scott Bishop. The system cue has been deleted. Scott Bishop (writer), Tom Paxton (announcer). 24:25.
The Abbott and Costello Show mixed comedy with musical interludes (usually, by singers such as Connie Haines, Marilyn Maxwell, the Delta Rhythm Boys, Skinnay Ennis, and the Les Baxter Singers). Regulars and semi-regulars on the show included Artie Auerbrook, Elvia Allman, Iris Adrian, Mel Blanc, Wally Brown, Sharon Douglas, Verna Felton, Sidney Fields, Frank Nelson, Martha Wentworth, and Benay Venuta. Ken Niles was the show's longtime announcer, doubling as an exasperated foil to Abbott & Costello's mishaps (and often fuming in character as Costello insulted his on-air wife routinely); he was succeeded by Michael Roy, with annoncing chores also handled over the years by Frank Bingman and Jim Doyle.
THIS EPISODE:
May 3, 1945. NBC network. Sponsored by: Camels, Prince Albert. Costello wants to become a dramatic actor from Brazil...another Carmen Veranda! Bob Matthews (an ex-aerial gunner) sings for the first time on the show (and sounds like an off-key Mel Torme). Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Will Osborne and His Orchestra, Bob Matthews, Connie Haines, Ken Niles (announcer), Mel Blanc. 29:28.
Calling All Cars was one of radio’s earliest cop shows, dramatizing true crime stories and introduced by officers from the Los Angeles and other police departments. The narrator of the program was speech professor Charles Frederick Lindsley, and the only other regular voice heard on the program week after week belonged to that of Sergeant Jesse Rosenquist of the L.A.P.D., whose name and voice were so unusually distinctive that he was retained for the show’s entire run. None of the actors on the show ever received on-air credit, but among the talent OTR fans can hear the likes of Elvia Allman, Jackson Beck, Charles Bickford, John Gibson, Richard LeGrand and Hanley Stafford, just to name a few.
THIS EPISODE:
December 18, 1934. Program #56. CBS Pacific network (Don Lee network). "The Moving Picture Murder". Sponsored by: Rio Grande Oil. A hold-up and murder has taken place in San Diego. The system cue has been deleted. Not auditioned. William N. Robson (writer, producer), Charles Frederick Lindsley (narrator). 30:35.
Jeff Regan, Investigator was one of the three detective shows Jack Webb did before Dragnet (see also Pat Novak For Hire and Johnny Modero: Pier 23). It debuted on CBS in July 1948. Webb played JEFF REGAN, a tough private eye working in a Los Angeles investigation firm run by Anthony J. Lyon. Regan introduced himself on each show "I get ten a day and expenses...they call me the Lyon's Eye." The show was fairly well-plotted, Webb's voice was great, and the supporting cast were skillful. Regan handled rough assignments from Lion, with whom he was not always on good terms. He was tough, tenacious, and had a dry sense of humor. The voice of his boss, Anthony Lion, was Wilms Herbert. The show ended in December 1948 but was resurrected in October 1949 with a new cast; Frank Graham played Regan (later Paul Dubrov was the lead) and Frank Nelson portrayed Lion. This version ran on CBS, sometimes as a West Coast regional, until August 1950. Both versions were 30 minutes, but the day and time slot changed several times. A total of 29 episodes from this series are in trading currency.
DOUBLE FEATURE: The Diamond Quartet (8-14-48) Little Man's Lament (11-09-49)
The Third Man (The Lives of Harry Lime) was a old-time radio adventure series that ran in 1951 and 1952. It was based on the 1949 film of the same name. Orson Welles stars as Harry Lime, a perpetually broke confidence man, smuggler, and general scoundrel. He will participate in virtually any criminal activity to make a fast buck, but uses his wits rather than a gun. He draws the line short of murder, blackmail, or drugs. Even so, Harry is an endearing character and listeners love to hear of his one-step-ahead-of-the-law misadventures as he hops around the globe looking for his next pigeon. The zither music of Anton Karas adds a wonderful Viennese ambience to each episode and really makes this show special.
THIS EPISODE:
September 28, 1951. Program #9. Lang-Worth syndication. "Work Of Art". Commercials added locally. In Buenos Aires in July, 1944, Harry is hired to swindle an original Rubens from its beautiful owner. Orson Welles, Anton Karas (zither), Harry Alan Towers (producer), Tig Roe (director). 27:13.
Command Performance was one of the few radio shows that were sent overseas to boost the morale of US Troops during World War 2. In March 1942 it became a weekly show featuring famous people such as Bob Hope, Fred Allen, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra and more. Each show consisted of several stars who get together and perform comedy routine. All talent for this program was donated, and valued at $75,000 a week. There were more than 400 shows. Announcers : Paul Douglas, Ken Carpenter . Creator : Lous G. Cowan . Producers : Vick Knight, Maury Holland, Cal Kuhl . Director : Glenn Wheaton . Writers : Melvin Frank, Norman Panama
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT) was an ambitious and sustained attempt to revive the great drama of old-time radio in the 1970s. Created by Himan Brown (who had by then become a radio legend due to his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries and other shows dating back to the 1930s), and aired on affiliate stations across the CBS Radio network, the series began its long run on January 6, 1974. The final episode ran on December 31, 1982. The show was broadcast nightly and ran for one hour, including commercials. Typically, a week consisted of three to four new episodes, with the remainder of the week filled out with reruns. There were a total of 1399 original episodes broadcast. The total number of broadcasts, including reruns, was 2969. The late E.G. Marshall hosted the program every year but the final one, when actress Tammy Grimes took over. Each episode began with the ominous sound of a creaking door, slowly opening to invite listeners in for the evening's adventure. At the end of each show, the door would swing shut, with Marshall signing off, "Until next time, pleasant...dreams?"
THIS EPISODE:
March 31, 1977. Program #625. CBS network. "Death Is Blue". Sponsored by: True Value Hardware, Buick, True Temper Tools, Mogen David Wines. Allied Van Lines. E. G. Marshall (host), Sam Dann (writer), Frances Sternhagen, Marian Seldes, Bryna Raeburn, Ralph Bell, Ian Martin. 52 minutes.
The Great Gildersleeve (1941-1957) was the arguable founding father of the spin-off program, as well as one of the first true situation comedies (as opposed to sketch programs) in broadcast history. Hooked around a character who had been a staple on the classic radio hit Fibber McGee and Molly, The Great Gildersleeve enjoyed its greatest period in the 1940s, when Harold Peary graduated the character from the earlier show into the sitcom and in a quartet of likeable feature films at the height of the show's popularity.
THIS EPISIODE:
September 17, 1944. NBC network. Sponsored by: Kraft Foods. Gildersleeve and Fibber McGee (who does not appear on the show) decide to go into business with McGee's new invention. The date is subject to correction. Harold Peary. 1/2 hour.
My Friend Irma, created by writer-director-producer Cy Howard, was a top-rated, long-run radio situation comedy, so popular in the late 1940s that its success escalated to films and television, while Howard scored with another radio comedy hit, Life with Luigi. Dependable and level-headed Jane Stacy (Cathy Lewis) narrated the misadventures of her innocent and bewildered roommate, Irma Peterson (Marie Wilson), a dim-bulb stenographer. Wilson portrayed the character on radio, in two films and a TV series. The successful radio series with Marie Wilson ran on CBS Radio from April 11, 1947 to August 23, 1954. The TV version, seen on CBS from January 8, 1952 until June 25, 1954, was the first series telecast from the CBS Television City facility in Hollywood. The movie My Friend Irma (1949) starred Marie Wilson and Diana Lynn but is mainly remembered today for introducing Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis to moviegoers, resulting in even more screen time for Martin and Lewis in the sequel, My Friend Irma Goes West (1950).
TODAY'S DOUBLE FEATURE:
Al Goes To A Psychiatrist - April 2, 1951. CBS network. Sponsored by: Pepsodent, Lifebuoy. Irma decides that Al needs a psychiatrist to make him want to work. The script was subsequently used on "My Friend Irma" on August 2, 1954. Marie Wilson, John Brown, Cathy Lewis, Cy Howard (creator, producer), Parke Levy (writer), Stanley Adams (writer), Rhoda MacLain (writer), Hans Conried, Gloria Gordon, Lud Gluskin (music director), Wendell Niles (announcer). 29:34.
April 21, 1953. CBS network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "Way To A Man's Heart". Irma decides to improve her cooking skills: hold onto your stomach! Cathy Lewis, Hans Conried, John Brown, Leif Erickson, Marie Wilson. 25:48.
Manhunt - CRIME DRAMA 1945-1946 15 Minutes transcribed syndication (ZIV network), with crime stories complete in each episode. CAST: Larry Haines as Drew Stevens. New York players were in support. The shows were well written and, for the time period, quite well performed.
TODAY'S SHOW:
2 Episodes - "Murder Maestro" and "Stairway Slaying" (1946)
Academy Award Theater - Stars and movies with Oscars were the idea - in most cases, the movie stars recreated their academy award roles for the show, or in other cases, fine actors played the parts and gave it a different character. Both ways make for great radio drama and first class Hollywood motion picture star entertainment. The Lux Radio Theater had been doing this kind of radio show in the grandest manner for many years, but sponsor Squibb had the hubris and deep pockets to take on the competition by doing Academy Award Theater right after the Second World War. The year 1946 was pre-television, and so movies were still the major American visual art form, with radio the other popular network entertainment. In this final pre-TV time, Academy Award Theater was thought of as a premier radio production, a wow show, much like CinemaScope was to be in the 1950's when Hollywood felt the box office blow of early TV.
THIS EPISODE:
August 21, 1946. CBS network. "The Keys Of The Kingdom". Sponsored by: Squibb. A story about the deep faith of a missionary to China, and his life of service. The show receives an award from "Motion Picture Magazine." Gregory Peck, Leith Stevens (composer, conductor), Dee Englebach (producer, director), Hugh Brundage (announcer), Erskine Johnson (Motion Picture Magazine). 29:31.
In the Name of the Law was a True Crime radio show from 1936. It says "In the name of the law, we bring you another of the thrilling stories in this exciting series, taken from actual police case files. "In the name of the Law, we bring you another of the thrilling stories in this exciting series, taken from actual police case files."Two home invaders pick the wrong house and force the home owner (John Snyder) to take them to the targeted neighbors, two elderly brothers who were rumored to have cash and bonds. During the hold up, one of the brothers was shot to death. An angry town insisted on immediate results. The State Police joined the local Sherif and the search was on.
THIS EPISODE:
August 01, 1936 - Program #13. Syndicated. "I Didn't Do Nothing". Commercials added locally. Two robbers take the life savings from two old farmers. One of them is killed, the other is beaten unmercifully. 26:29.
Amos 'n' Andy was a situation comedy popular in the United States from the 1920s through the 1950s. The show began as one of the first radio comedy serials, written and voiced by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll and originating from station WMAQ in Chicago, Illinois. After the series was first broadcast in 1928, it grew in popularity and became a huge influence on the radio serials that followed. Amos 'n' Andy creators Gosden and Correll were white actors familiar with minstrel traditions.
TODAY'S SHOW:
Sapphire's Sister Floresca - December 17, 1943. NBC network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. (Replacing Great Gildersleeve AFRS #25). When The Kingfish and Andy secretly go into the laundry business, Sapphire decides to leave him. See cat. #57314 for a network version of this broadcast, but with the commercials deleted. Robert Benchley (guest), Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Ernestine Wade, Harlow Wilcox (announcer). 29:49.
Porch Wreckers - December 30, 1951. CBS network. Sponsored by: Rexall. Sapphire has told the Kingfish, "get a job...or else!" The Kingfish and Andy are hired to demolish a porch, and proceed to do so...on the wrong house! Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Joe Connelly (writer), Bob Mosher (writer), Ernestine Wade, Johnny Lee, Amanda Randolph, Fred Clark, Leo Cleary, Reese Williams, Jeff Alexander (music), Harlow Wilcox (announcer), Griff Barnett (commercial spokesman). 29:39.
Bold Venture - The Hollywood husband and wife team of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall set sail for adventure in the Bold Venture radio series in early 1951. There were well over 400 stations that aired the program. Since thiswas syndicated * the starting date varied from station to station but Mar 26, 1951 was the official date of the first show. Humphrey Bogart portrayed Slate Shannon, owner of a rundown Havana hotel, Shannon's Place. The action took place on land as well aboard Slate's boat, The Bold Venture, thus the title of the series. Lauren Bacall was his ward Sailor Duval, a stubborn and flirtatious young woman whose late father had willed her to Slate for her protection. Together the duo found adventure, intrigue, mystery and romance in the sultry settings of tropical Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean.
Crime Classics was a U. S. radio docudrama which aired over CBS from June 15, 1953 to June 30, 1954. Created, produced, and directed by radio actor/director Elliott Lewis, the program was basically a historical true crime series, examining crimes, and especially murders, from the past. It grew out of Lewis's personal interest in famous murder cases, and took a documentary-like approach to the subject, carefully recreating the facts, personages, and feel of the time period. Comparatively little dramatic license was taken with the facts and events, but the tragedy was leavened with humor, expressed largely through the narration.
THIS EPISODE:
January 20, 1954. CBS network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "Madeline Smith, Maid Or Murderess...Which?". A lovely lady is also a liberal user of arsenic. Lou Merrill (host), Betty Harford, William Johnstone, John Dehner, Bernard Herrmann (composer), Wilbur Hatch (conductor), Florence Wolcott, Morton Fine (writer), David Friedkin (writer), Elliott Lewis (producer, director), Gil Warren (announcer). 1/2 hour.
Charlie Chan was the Chinese detective created by Earl Derr Biggers. Over 40 Charlie Chan movies were done from the early 1930's through 1949, all of which starred non-Chinese actors as Charlie. Supposedly working as a Honolulu police detective, Charlie was almost always somewhere else, like Paris, Rio, LA, even Treasure Island…but he did have a wonderful home life, too, with a reported 14 children, including his famous #1, #2 etc. sons, ever intent on helping "pop" solve the case. Still, it's fun to hear ABC radio's daytime serial version of the Hawaiian family man who gave us all a little exotic wit and wisdom while uncovering dishonorable culprit. The other shows are more of "the incomparable" at work. Unfortunately, Chan on radio is very rare, the very opposite of the ubiquitous Charlie Chan movie reruns on TV. This is a mysterious absence even the great Charlie Chan might be needed to solve! Many mystery lovers sniff at Chan. But here's one more from Charlie that might apply…"Mind, like parachute, only function when open."
The Avengers was a British television series featuring secret agents in 1960s Britain. The programmes were made by TV company Associated British Corporation, and created by its Head of Drama Sydney Newman. It was an early example of the spy-fi genre, combining secret agent storylines with science fiction elements. Running from 1961 to 1969, it is the longest running espionage series produced for English-language television, though the American series Mission: Impossible had more episodes. The Avengers was a successor (but not, as sometimes stated, a direct sequel) to Hendry's earlier series Police Surgeon, in which he played Police Surgeon Geoffrey Brent. While Police Surgeon did not last long, viewer letters had praised Hendry's work in it. Hendry was considered the star of the new series, receiving top billing over Macnee, and Steed did not even appear in two of the episodes. Because of the practice in the British television industry (followed until the 1970s) of junking and deleting episodes of old programmes deemed no longer of commercial value, most episodes of the first series are considered lost, save for two complete episodes recently located and the first 15 minutes or so of the premiere episode. In the first series broadcast in 1961, Steed began as a secondary character, the protagonist being Keel; as the series progressed, Steed began to be established as a co-star, carrying the final episode solo. While the two stars used wry wit while discussing the crimes and dangers, the series benefited from the interplay — and, often, the tension — between Keel's idealism and Steed's hard professionalism. As seen in the surviving episode The Frighteners, Steed also had a group of helpers scattered among the general population who provided information, not unlike the "Baker Street Irregulars" of Sherlock Holmes.
The Martin and Lewis Show - On July 25, 1946, Jerry began a show business partnership with Dean Martin, an association that would soon skyrocket both to fame. It started when Jerry was performing at the 500 Club in Atlantic City and one of the other entertainers quit suddenly. Lewis, who had worked with Martin at the Glass Hat in New York City, suggested Dean as a replacement. At first they worked separately, but then ad-libbed together, improvising insults and jokes, squirting seltzer water, hurling bunches of celery and exuding general zaniness. In less than eighteen weeks their salaries soared from $250.00 a week to $5,000.00. For ten years Martin and Lewis sandwiched sixteen money making films between nightclub engagements, personal appearances, recording sessions, radio shows, and television bookings. Their last film together was "Hollywood or Bust" (1956). On July 25th of that year the two made their last nightclub appearance together at the Copacabana, exactly ten years to the day since they became a team.
THIS EPISODE:
August 30, 1949. NBC network. Sustaining. Dean's first tune is, "Your Lips Tell Me No, No, But There's Yes, Yes, In Your Eyes." After Florence quits, Dean and Jerry hire Guest Jane Russell to be their new secretary. Don't miss the line where Jerry says "I'd know Jane Russell if I were within a hundred yards of her...blindfolded!" At this point, the audience cracks up! Jane Russell, Dick Stabile and His Orchestra, Flo McMichaels, Ben Alexander (announcer), Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Robert L. Redd (producer, director), Dick McKnight (writer), Ray Allen (writer), Mort Lachman (writer), Sy Rose (writer), Sheldon Leonard. 29:37.
CBS Radio Adventure Theater Known as "General Mills Radio Adventure Theater" the first time this series aired in 1977, and then renamed CBSRAT for the repeat season later that year and into early 1978, there were only 52 episodes for this series geared toward younger listeners, hosted by Tom Bosley. The series was an excellent presentation, always well acted and notably produced.
THIS EPISODE:
Remember The Alamo - The Battle of the Alamo was fought in February and March 1836 in San Antonio, Texas. The conflict, a part of the Texas Revolution, was the first step in Mexican President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna's attempt to retake the province of Texas after an insurgent army of Texan settlers and adventurers from the United States had driven out all Mexican troops the previous year. Mexican forces began a siege of the Texian forces garrisoned at the Alamo Mission on Tuesday, February 23. For the next twelve days, Mexican cannons advanced slowly to positions nearer the Alamo walls, while Texian soldiers worked to improve their defenses. Alamo co-commander William Travis sent numerous letters to the acting Texas government, the remaining Texas army under James Fannin, and various Texas communities, asking for reinforcements, provisions, and ammunition. Several times small groups of Texians ventured outside the Alamo walls, occasionally skirmishing with Mexican soldiers. Mexican forces received reinforcements on March 3. The Texians were reinforced at least once, when 32 men from Gonzales entered the fort, and may have received additional reinforcements. Additional Texas settlers and American adventurers gathered at Gonzales to prepare for the march to San Antonio.
The Murder at Midnight series was a thirty-minute broadcast featuring tales of the supernatural. The actors included Mercedes McCambridge and Lawson Zerbe and the show was narrated using the spooky, creepy voice of Raymond Morgan and always opened using the same gripping signature; “the witching hour, when night is darkest, our fears are the strongest, our strength at its lowest ebb… Midnight! … when graves gape open and death strikes!”
TODAY'S DOUBLE FEATURE:
September 21, 1946. Program #14. Syndicated. "Murder's A Lonely Business". Commercials added locally. Uncle Edward plans to change his will, leaving Grace and Fred Tilson without a penny. Grace and Fred kill the old man, but Uncle Edward gets the last laugh! William Moorewood (writer), Helen Shields, Carl Emory, Anton M. Leader (director), Charles Paul (music), Wendell Holmes, Louis G. Cowan (producer). 26:47.
October 19, 1946. Program #18. Syndicated. "The House That Time Forgot". Commercials added locally. A couple buy a house with invisible tenants, and time runs backwards too! A good story of the supernatural. Albert Buhrman (music), Anton M. Leader (director), Elsie Hitz (?), Sigmund Miller (writer), Vinton Hayworth, Louis G. Cowan (producer). 26:53.
The Adventures of Frank Merriwell first ran on NBC radio from March 26 to June 22, 1934 as a 15-minute serial airing three times a week at 5:30pm. Sponsored by Dr. West's Toothpaste, this program starred Donald Briggs in the title role. Harlow Wilcox was the announcer. After a 12-year gap, the series returned October 5, 1946 as a 30-minute NBC Saturday morning show, continuing until June 4, 1949. Lawson Zerbe starred as Merriwell, Jean Gillespie and Elaine Rostas as Inza Burrage, Harold Studer as Bart Hodge and Patricia Hosley as Elsie Belwood. The announcer was Harlow Wilcox, and the Paul Taubman Orchestra supplied the background music. There are at least three generations of Merriwells: Frank, his half-brother Dick, and Frank's son, Frank Jr. There is a marked difference between Frank and Dick. Frank usually handled challenges on his own. Dick has mysterious friends and skills that help him, especially an old Indian friend without whom the stories would not have been quite as interesting.
THIS EPISODE:
October 9, 1948. NBC network. "The Yale Bulldog". Sustaining. Frank and Bart find a "stray" English bulldog and make him the Yale mascot, but there's a dognapping before the big game! Gilbert Braun (writer), William Welsh (writer), Elaine Rost, Frank Milano, Burt L. Standish (creator), Hal Studer, Lawson Zerbe, Leon Janney, Mel Brandt (announcer), Paul Taubman (music), Roger De Koven, Tony Randall, Edward King, Richard Keith, Ruth Braun (writer). 29:26.
Lights Out was an American old-time radio program featuring "tales of the supernatural and the supernormal." It was immensely popular, and was one of the first horror programs, predating Suspense and Inner Sanctum. In its heydey, Lights Out rivalled the popularity of those shows. Lights Out ran through several series and networks, from January 1, 1934 to August 6, 1947. The principal sponsor was Ironized Yeast. Most episodes were broadcast at midnight. Lights Out then made the transition to television in 1949, where it was broadcast until 1952. Created in Chicago by writer Wyllis Cooper in 1934.
The Clitheroe Kid was James Robertson Clitheroe, Jimmy Clitheroe to most, who by some strange coincidence did come from the town of that name without having to change his family name! At his full height he was 4ft 3in, and played the naughty schoolboy from 1958 to 1972. Although plausable from a distance, he was not really able to pass himself off as a youngster close up, so a TV career did not really take off too well, but at the peak of his fame the radio show was raking in about 10 million listeners, although by the end this had dropped to a tenth of that figure. Clitheroe was a very private person, and the shows became a sort of escape for him, as well as the release from the worries of his diminutive size, but despite this, his popularity increased and increased, making this series one of the longer running on the radio - a total of 17 series. It is surprising then that with such a success, and with such a long run that the shows are rarely broadcast. The humour was very obvious and probably wouldn't stand up in todays climes, but there has been one release from the BBC radio collection, so if you wanted to hear some of the shows, you can hunt this down in the shops. I would like to thank Tony Lang for the following information about the series. I do not have any of this series on tape myself, so if anyone has comments to make I would be most grateful. The scripts were generally written by James Casey and Frank Roscoe, with the shows production by James Casey. The series sprang from a single show broadcast on 24-4-56 as part of a Variety Playhouse series The pilot series did not have individual names for the episodes. The producer was Geoff Lawrence, with the music supplied by the BBC Northern Dance Orchestra, conducted by Alyn Ainsworth, and broadcast in the North of England only.
Let George Do It - Bob Bailey played George Valentine as a detective handy man, who got his jobs from responses to a newspaper ad. Part-time detective and writer Dan Holiday in Box 13 also used the premise. It pays to advertise! The shows follow the usual formats of crime caper shows, with toughs, mysterious rendezvous and people who aren't who they say they are. Network was Mutual, Sponson was Standard Oil. STARS:Bob Bailey,Eddie Firestone jr, Francis Robinson, Joe Kearn PRODUCER:Owen Vinson WRITER: Polly Hopkins MUSIC: Eddie Dunstedter.
TODAY'S SHOW: Double Feature - "Mayhem By Experts" (01-31-49) and "Most Likely To Die" (06-26-50)
Mutual-Don Lee network. "Mayhem By Experts". Sponsored by: Standard Oil, Chevron. Lt. Riley and five famous mystery writers plan a birthday practical joke on George Valentine with a phoney corpse...but the joke's on death! Bob Bailey, Frances Robinson, Wally Maher, Jeanette Nolan, Fred Howard, Roland Morris, Junius Matthews, Ruth Perrott, Luis Van Rooten, David Victor (writer), Herbert Little Jr. (writer), Don Clark (director), Eddie Dunstedter (composer, conductor), Bud Hiestand (announcer). 29:48.
June 26, 1950. Mutual-Don Lee network. "Most Likely To Die". Sponsored by: Standard Oil. A practical joke at a college backfires into a not-so-funny murder. Bob Bailey, Virginia Gregg, David Victor (writer), Jackson Gillis (writer), Bud Hiestand (announcer), Don Clark (director), Eddie Dunstedter (composer, conductor), Wally Maher, Bill Bouchey, Alan Reed, Sarah Selby, Lee Patrick, Lawrence Dobkin. 29:43.
Beat the Band---with Garry Moore hosting, Ted Weems (featuring a vocalist named Perry Como) leading the band, Marvel Maxwell also singing, longtime Easy Aces announcer Ford Bond in the same slot here, and General Mills sponsoring the show for its new corn cereal Kix---premieres on NBC, based in Chicago. A precedent to the later, somewhat landscape-changing hit Stop the Music, Beat the Band listeners will receive ten dollars if their question is used on the air, and the answer is always the title of a song. If they can beat the band they land twenty dollars and a case of Kix, with the musicians who miss the answer having to “feed the kitty”---tossing half dollars onto the bass drum, with the musician scoring the most points answering the listeners’ questions getting to take the money home. Folks, listen for the boom of the ol’ bass drum---that means the question beat the band.---Country Washburn, bassist with the Weems orchestra. Beat the Band's first incarnation will expire in 1941, but the show will be reborn in 1943, out of New York, with "The Incomparable Hildegarde" (Walter Winchell hung that tag upon the famed cabaret/supper club singer) as hostess, Harry Sosnik joining Ted Weems in handling the music, Marilyn Thorne joining Marvel Maxwell in the singing, and a slight change in the rules, tied to the new sponsor, Raleigh cigarettes. Listeners sent in musical questions and it was up to the band to identify songs from a few clues. Prizes of twenty-five dollars and a carton of the sponsor’s cigarettes . . . went to contestants whose questions did not beat the band. If the question did beat the band, the contestant received fifty dollars and two cartons of cigarettes, and the boys in the band had to throw a pack of cigarettes "on the old bass drum for the men in service overseas."
ABC Mystery Time was hosted by Don Dowd and starred Sir Laurence Olivier. Great special effects will grab your attention, accented by creepy organ rips. Stories are offered such as death gathered round a card table at a local chapter of The Suicide Club, or a man who desperately tries to hire a 24 hour bodyguard all the while trying to make himself the victim of a murder, and other baffling peculiar tales of yore. Also known as Mystery Time and Mystery Time Classics, this one is sure to excite and mystify.
THIS EPISODE:
ABC network. "Four Fatal Jugglers". Not auditioned. The program is also known as, "Mystery Time," "Mystery Time Classics" and "Masters Of Mystery." The date is approximate. Don Dowd (host). 23:48.
Damon Runyon Theater - Broadcast from January to December 1949, "The Damon Runyon Theater" dramatized 52 of Runyon's short stories for radio. Damon Runyon (October 4, 1884 – December 10, 1946) was a newspaperman and writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. He spun tales of gamblers, petty thieves, actors and gangsters; few of whom go by "square" names, preferring instead to be known as "Nathan Detroit", "Big Jule", "Harry the Horse", "Good Time Charlie", "Dave the Dude", and so on. These stories were written in a very distinctive vernacular style: a mixture of formal speech and colorful slang, almost always in present tense, and always devoid of contractions.
TODAY'S DOUBLE FEATURE:
- Program #28. Mayfair syndication. "Earthquake". Commercials added locally. A cop trails a very strong killer all the way to South America, and then fails to return to the States with his prisoner! Damon Runyon (author), John Brown, Richard Sanville (director), Russell Hughes (adaptor), Vern Carstensen (production supervisor). 27:23.
April 4, 1949. Program #17. Mayfair syndication. "Blonde Mink". Commercials added locally. Beatrice Jordan, the girlfriend of Slats Savin, wants a special kind of fur coat. When Slats dies, "Julie The Shtarker" finds out what kind of doll Beatrice really is. Damon Runyon (author), Jeff Chandler, John Brown, Richard Sanville (director), Russell Hughes (adaptor), Vern Carstensen (production supervisor). 27:37.
Mr. and Mrs. North received the first Best Radio Drama Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America (in a tie with CBS's Ellery Queen). Also in 1946, producer-director Fred Coe brought the Owen Davis play to television (on New York City's WNBT) with John McQuade and Maxine Stewart in the leads and Don Haggerty, Joan Marlowe and Millard Mitchell repeating their Broadway roles. Barbara Britton and Richard Denning starred in the TV adaptation seen on CBS from 1952 to 1953 and on NBC in 1954. The series was unusual in that it was Mrs North who solved the cases while Mr North was just background most times. Guest appearances on this series included Raymond Burr, Hans Conried, Mara Corday, Carolyn Jones, Katy Jurado, Jimmy Lydon, Julia Meade, William Schallert and Gloria Talbott. Sixteen episodes of the TV series have been released in the "Best of TV Detectives" box set. Mr. and Mrs. North were resurrected in spirit with ABC's Hart to Hart, the 1979-84 crime drama about a wealthy husband (Robert Wagner) and wife (Stefanie Powers) who spent as much time solving murders as romancing each other and pursuing careers as an industrialist and a journalist, played the crime theme with wry wit reminiscent of the Norths in their heyday.
TODAY'S SHOW: The Last Escape (04-01-52) and Diamond Noose (08-04-53)
The New Adventures Of Michael Shayne was a fictional sleuth created by Brett Halliday (a pen name for author Davis Dresser) who was first initiated into the fraternity for detectives in the 1939 novel "Dividend of Death". Dresser based the character on a “tall and rangy” brawler who once saved his life during a braw in a Mexican cantina. The Shayne character would go on to appear in 69 novels, plus a long-running mystery magazine—and in 1941, was brought to the silver screen in Paramount’s Michael Shayne, Private Detective, an adaptation of Dividend of Death that starred Lloyd Nolan, and paved the way for six additional B-mysteries to follow. The New Adventures of Michael Shayne—premiered on July 15, 1948 starring Jeff Chandler.
THIS EPISODE:
October 2, 1948 - Broadcaster's Guild syndication, AFRTS rebroadcast. "The Case Of The Wandering Fingerprints". Mr. Zeigler can actually move fingerprints from one place to another...which gives him the idea for a clever blackmail racket. The date is approximate. See cat. #65397 for a syndicated version of this broadcast. Jeff Chandler, Jack Webb, William P. Rousseau (director, host), John Duffy (composer, conductor), Brett Halliday (creator), Don W. Sharp (producer). 1/2 hour.
October 12, 1949 - Broadcaster's Guild syndication, AFRS rebroadcast. "The Case Of The Phantom Gun". Ballistics say Shayne's gun has killed twice, but that's impossible! The date is approximate, the public service announcements have been deleted. William P. Rousseau (host, director), Jeff Chandler, John Duffy (composer, performer), William Conrad. 28:01.
The Hardy Family - Andy Hardy was a fictional character played by Mickey Rooney in an extremely successful MGM film series from 1937 to 1958. Spanning over 20 years, the 16 movies were based on characters in the play Skidding by Aurania Rouverol. The initial Hardy film, A Family Affair (1937), was made before a series was contemplated. It featured Lionel Barrymore as Judge Hardy and Spring Byington as Mrs. Hardy, Andy's parents, and Margaret Marquis as Andy's on-again-off-again sweetheart, Polly Benedict. But when the series was launched, most of the cast was changed, with the notable exceptions of Rooney and Sara Haden as his Aunt Milly. The series entries starred Lewis Stone as Judge Hardy, Fay Holden as Mrs. Hardy, Cecilia Parker as Andy's older sister Marian Hardy, and Ann Rutherford as Polly. Most of the movies were set in the Hardys' fictional hometown of Carvel, located in Idaho in the original play but described in the films as being in the Midwest. All of the films were sentimental comedies celebrating ordinary American life. The people in Carvel, by and large, were pious, patriotic, generous and tolerant. The town represented movie mogul Louis B. Mayer's idealized vision of his adopted country. Some writers have compared Carvel to Mayberry, the setting of The Andy Griffith Show a generation later.
THIS EPISODE:
Program #1. MGM syndication. "Junior Chamber of Commerce". Sponsored by: Commercials added locally.. Andy finds himself "forced" to entertain a famous and beautiful athlete. She stands 6'2" tall. Mickey Rooney, Fay Holden, Lewis Stone, Jack Rubin (writer), Jameson Brewer (writer), Thomas A. McAvity (director), Jerry Fielding (composer, conductor), Aurania Rouverol (creator). 27:26.
Gunsmoke was created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. The radio show first aired on April 26, 1952 and ran until June 18, 1961 on the CBS radio network. The series starred William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon, Howard McNear as Doc Charles Adams, Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell, and Parley Baer as Deputy Chester Proudfoot. Doc's first name and Chester's last name were changed for the television program. Gunsmoke was notable for its critically acclaimed cast and writing, and is commonly regarded as one of the finest old time radio shows.
TODAY'S SHOW:
May 24, 1952. CBS netWORK. "Ben Slade's Saloon". Sustaining. A series of murders of men who have been lucky while gambling leads Marshal Dillon to a most unusual killer. William Conrad, Parley Baer, Georgia Ellis, Howard McNear, Norman Macdonnell (director, writer), Hy Averback, Jack Kruschen, Dick Beals, Anne Morrison, Herb Ellis, Rex Koury (composer, conductor), Roy Rowan (announcer). 30:22.
April 29, 1956. CBS network. "Doc's Reward". Sponsored by: L & M, Chesterfield. Doc kills a stranger trying to stop him from seeing a patient. The stranger's brother arrives in town and starts keeping his eye on Doc. The script was used on the Gunsmoke television series on December 14, 1957. The system cue has been deleted. William Conrad, Howard McNear, John Meston (writer), John Dehner, Vic Perrin, Parley Baer, Georgia Ellis, George Fenneman (announcer), Norman Macdonnell (producer, director), Rex Koury (composer, conductor), Ray Kemper (sound patterns), Bill James (sound patterns). 24:43.
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was a radio drama about a freelance insurance investigator "with the action-packed expense account." The show aired on CBS Radio from February 11, 1949 to September 30, 1962. There were 811 episodes in the 12-year run, and over 720 still exist today. As originally conceived, Johnny Dollar was a smart, tough, wisecracking detective who tossed silver-dollar tips to waiters and bellhops. Dick Powell starred in the audition show, recorded in 1948, but withdrew from the role in favor of other projects. The role went instead to Charles Russell. With the first three actors to play Johnny Dollar -- radio actor Russell and movie tough-guy actors Edmond O'Brien and John Lund -- there was little to distinguish Johnny Dollar from other detective series at the time (Richard Diamond, Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade). While always a friend of the police, Johnny wasn't necessarily a stickler for the strictest interpretation of the law.
TODAY'S SHOW
August 21, 1949. CBS network. "The Prize Hog," or "Out Of the Fire, Into The Frying Pan". Sustaining. Johnny travels to Iowa to protect a prized porker. Charles Russell, Parley Baer, Jack Kruschen, Sammie Hill, John Dehner, Junius Matthews, Anne Morrison, Paul Dubov, Leith Stevens (music), Pinto Colvig (as the pig!), Roy Rowan (announcer). 30:02.
September 25, 1949. CBS network. "The Search For Michelle March". Sustaining. Johnny goes to Boston for the search...and finds murder! Bill Bouchey, Charles Russell, Charles Seel, Dorothy Lovett, Gil Doud (writer), Gordon T. Hughes (director), Lawrence Dobkin, Leith Stevens (composer, conductor), Myra Marsh, Paul Dudley (writer), Roy Rowan (announcer), Vic Ryan. 29:48.
Father Knows Best, a family comedy of the 1950s, is perhaps more important for what it has come to represent than for what it actually was. In essence, the series was one of a slew of middle-class family sitcoms in which moms were moms, kids were kids, and fathers knew best. Today, many critics view it, at best, as high camp fun, and, at worst, as part of what critic David Marc once labeled the "Aryan melodramas" of the 1950s and 1960s. The brainchild of series star Robert Young, who played insurance salesman Jim Anderson, and producer Eugene B. Rodney, Father Knows Best first debuted as a radio sitcom in 1949. In the audio version the title of the show ended with a question mark, suggesting that father's role as family leader and arbiter was dubious. The partner's production company, Rodney-Young Enterprises, transplanted the series to television in 1954--without the questioning marker--where it ran until 1963, appearing at various times on each of the three networks. Young and Rodney, friends since 1935, based the series on experiences each had with wives and children; thus, to them, the show represented "reality." Indeed, careful viewing of each of the series' 203 episodes reveals that the title was actually more figurative than literal. Despite the lack of an actual question mark, father didn't always know best. Jim Anderson could not only lose his temper, but occasionally be wrong. Although wife Margaret Anderson, played by Jane Wyatt, was stuck in the drudgery of domestic servitude, she was nobody's fool, often besting her husband and son, Bud (played by Billy Gray). Daughter Betty Anderson (Elinor Donahue)--known affectionately to her father as Princess--could also take the male Andersons to task, as could the precocious Kathy (Lauren Chapin), the baby of the family.
TODAY'S SHOW: Time For A New Car (06-08-50) and The Skunk Must Go (10-12-50)
Box 13The premise of the program was that Dan Holiday was an author who wrote mystery novels. To get ideas for his novels he placed an advertisement in a newspaper saying "Adventure wanted, will go anywhere, do anything, Box 13." The ads always brought fun adventures of all kinds: from racketeer's victim to psychotic killer looking for fun. Most of the episodes were based on Dan Holiday replying to a letter he received at Box 13. He would generally solve a mystery in the process, and return to his office in time to enjoy a hearty laugh at the expense of Suzy, his amusingly stupid secretary. He would certainly not meet the strictest requirements for private eyes (not licensed, collected no fees from clients), but the definition should stretch to sneak him in under the rope. It was heard over the Mutual Broadcasting System as well as being syndicated. The series was produced by Mayfair Productions. Box 13, starring Alan Ladd as Dan Holiday. Sylvia Picker played Suzy, Dan Holiday's secretary and Edmond MacDonald as Lt. Kling. Other stars in the series were Betty Lou Gerson, Lurene Tuttle, Alan Reed, Luis Van Rooten, John Beal and Frank Lovejoy. Music was by Rudy Schrager and the writer was Russell Hughes. Announcer/Director was Vern Carstensen. The series was produced by Richard Sanville with Alan Ladd as co-producer.
TODAY'S SHOW:
October 17, 1948. Program #9. Mayfair syndication. "Book Of Poems". Commercials added locally. Robert N. Chase sends Dan Holiday a book of poetry by Sir Walter Scott, but Chase has been dead for ten years. Or has he? Alan Ladd, Sylvia Picker, Russell Hughes (director), Rudy Schrager (composer, conductor), Frank Hertosig (writer). 27:39.
October 31, 1948. Program #11. Mayfair syndication. "Suicide Or Murder". Commercials added locally. A woman asks Dan Holiday to look into the death of her son who was killed in a drunken brawl. What really happened to Arthur Daily? Russell Hughes (writer), Richard Sanville (director), Alan Ladd, Sylvia Picker, Edmond MacDonald, Rudy Schrager (composer, conductor). 26:51.
The Adventures Of Horatio Hornblower 1952-1953 Series - Broadcast 1952; Transcribed in England for the BBC; aired in U.S. on CBS, then again on ABC in 1954 and Mutual in 1957. Starring Michael Redgrave as Horatio Hornblower. a captain in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic era. The radio series was based on twelve Horatio Hornblower novels written by C.S. Forester. These novels were, and still are, well liked due to their realistic tone and historical accuracy in telling the tales of Naval life in the late 1700s through the mid 1800s. C.S. Forester was well known for his novels about military and naval life, including such fine titles as The African Queen, The Gun, The Barbary Pirates, and The General.
TODAY'S SHOW:
"Protecting The Convoy" (09-01-52) "The 43rd Marines" (04-17-53)
Broadway Is My Beat, a radio crime drama, ran on CBS from February 27, 1949 to August 1, 1954. With music by Robert Stringer, the show originated from New York during its first three months on the air, with Anthony Ross portraying Times Square Detective Danny Clover. John Dietz directed for producer Lester Gottlieb. Beginning with the July 7, 1949 episode, the series was broadcast from Hollywood with producer Elliott Lewis directing a new cast in scripts by Morton Fine and David Friedkin. The opening theme of "I'll Take Manhattan" introduced Detective Danny Clover (now played by Larry Thor), a hardened New York City cop who worked homicide "from Times Square to Columbus Circle -- the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world."
THIS EPISODE:
March 3, 1950. CBS network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. A tough guy just out of prison named Joe Quito is knifed in the subway, just after talking to Danny. This program is possibly dated June 5, 1949 or January 27, 1950. Larry Thor, Morton Fine (writer), David Friedkin (writer), Alexander Courage (composer, conductor), Elliott Lewis (producer, director), Charles Calvert. 1/2 hour.
Inner Sanctum Mysteries was a popular old-time radio program that aired from January 7, 1941 to October 5, 1952. Created by Himan Brown, the anthology series featured stories of mystery, terror and suspense. The tongue-in-cheek introductions were in sharp contrast to shows like Suspense and The Whistler. A total of 526 episodes are known to have been produced. The early 1940s programs opened with Raymond Edward Johnson introducing himself as, "Your host, Raymond," in a mocking sardonic voice. A spooky melodramatic organ score punctuated Raymond's many morbid jokes and playful puns. Raymond's closing was an elongated "Pleasant dreaaaaammmmssss!" Beginning in 1945, Lipton Tea sponsored the series, pairing first Raymond and then McGrath with its cheery commercial spokeswoman, Mary Bennett, whose pitches for Lipton contrasted sharply with the subject matter of the stories, and who would primly chide the host for his dark humor and creepy manner.
TODAY'S SHOW:
January 24, 1949. CBS net origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "The Deadly Dummy". The ventriloquist's wife and her lover kill the man but not the mannequin. Edward Adamson (writer), Elspeth Eric, Mason Adams, Paul McGrath (host), Robert Sloane (writer), Ted Osborne, Santos Ortega. 25:14.
May 23, 1949. CBS net origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "Strange Passenger". Not auditioned. The story name and date are subject to correction (the story seems to have no connection to the story title. A man inherits a decaying old house, supposed to have a fortune hidden somewhere. Following the clues, not even murder will keep him from his goal. Paul McGrath (host), Mason Adams. 23:09.
Dark Venture - Have you ever wondered what it might be like inside the mind of a criminal? The stories of Dark Venture try to imagine. In this thrilling drama series, you will be drawn in to the murky calculations behind sinister acts. How much money would make stealing worthwhile? If your business partner caught you stealing $50,000 from your company, would he turn you in to the authorities? Would you let yourself be blackmailed? Or, would you let yourself commit another, more serious crime? On the verge of breaking the law, or taking a life, all risks and dangers must be considered.
THIS EPISODE:
May 20, 1946. ABC network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "Turnabout". When a man is caught by his partner after stealing $50,000 from the company, murder seems the only way out. Howard Duff is heard in three different minor roles. AFRS program name: "Mystery Playhouse." The system cue has been deleted. The date is approximate. Howard Duff, Elliott Lewis. 24:30.
The Boston Blackie radio series, also starring Morris, began June 23, 1944, on NBC as a summer replacement for The Amos 'n' Andy Show. Sponsored by Rinso, the series continued until September 15 of that year. Unlike the concurrent films, Blackie had a steady romantic interest in the radio show: Lesley Woods appeared as Blackie's girlfriend Mary Wesley. Harlow Wilcox was the show's announcer. On April 11, 1945, Richard Kollmar took over the title role in a radio series syndicated by Frederic W. Ziv to Mutual and other network outlets. Over 200 episodes of this series were produced between 1944 and October 25, 1950. Other sponsors included Lifebuoy Soap, Champagne Velvet beer, and R&H beer. While investigating mysteries, Blackie invaribly encountered harebrained Police Inspector Farraday (Maurice Tarplin) and always solved the mystery to Farraday's amazement. Initially, friction surfaced in the relationship between Blackie and Farraday, but as the series continued, Farraday recognized Blackie's talents and requested assistance. Blackie dated Mary Wesley (Jan Miner), and for the first half of the series, his best pal Shorty was always on hand. The humorless Farraday was on the receiving end of Blackie's bad puns and word play. Kent Taylor starred in the half-hour TV series, The Adventures of Boston Blackie. Syndicated in 1951, it ran for 58 episodes, continuing in repeats over the following decade.
TODAY'S SHOW:
Alice Manweather (08-04-44) and Hipnotic Murder (08-06-45)
The Haunting Hour - The shows are classic chills from the old school, with creepy organ, overwrought women and over the top men. Perhaps not the highest of melodrama, but obsessively workmanlike. After all, they might have known they were a skeleton staff toiling relentlessly without a ghost of a chance of fame. Thanks to transcription, these unknowns are still with us. John Dunning, succinctly states in "On the Air, The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio," "There were no credits, so casts and production crews are unknown."
TODAY'S SHOW
1848 Program #3. NBC syndication. "The Hands Of Mr. Smith". Commercials added locally. A fine story with an unexpected ending about Tiny, a big guy whose hands have a mind of their own! The date is approximate . 28:10.
- Program #33. NBC syndication. "The Mystery Of The Southern Star". Commercials added locally. A missing diamond aboard ship, and a dead body in a trunk. 27:42.
The Adventures Of The Falcon - This hard boiled spy drama began as an RKO Radio Pictures theatrical serial in the 1940s, went on radio in 1945, and then came to TV ten years later in this Syndicated series produced for distribution by NBC Films; Charles McGraw had been in many motion pictures before and after including "The Killers", "Spartacus" and "Cimarron"; in this series he played the title role of a man whose real name was supposedly Mike Waring, an American agent whose code name was "Falcon"; Later Charles McGraw starred in a short lived TV version of "Casablanca" (1955 - 1956) in the character of Rick; He also had a role on the detective drama "Staccato" (1959) Actor McGraw (whose birth name was Charles Butters) met an unfortunate death in real life when he fell through a shower glass door in 1980 at his home in Studio City, CA.
TODAY'S SHOW:
November 5, 1950. NBC network. "The Case Of The Rich Racketeer". Sponsored by: Kraft. A gangster double crosses his lawyer and slaps his wife, right after being acquitted of tax evasion. Later, he bears up his girlfriend's brother. Not-too-surprisingly, he's soon found murdered. Les Damon, Ed Herlihy (announcer), Drexel Drake (creator). 29:30.
March 4, 1951. NBC network. "The Case Of The Gangster's Girl". Sponsored by: Kraft Velveeta. Not auditioned. A girl tries to break off with her boyfriend, but he loves her too much to let her go. Will he love her to death? Les Damon, Ed Herlihy (announcer), Drexel Drake (creator), Bernard L. Schubert (producer), Richard Lewis (director), Jerome Epstein (writer), Arlo (music), Jan Miner. 30:56.
The Whistler was one of radio's most popular mystery dramas, with a 13-year run from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955. If it now seems to have been influenced explicitly by The Shadow, The Whistler was no less popular or credible with its listeners, the writing was first class for its genre, and it added a slightly macabre element of humor that sometimes went missing in The Shadow's longer-lived crime stories. Writer-producer J. Donald Wilson established the tone of the show during its first two years, and he was followed in 1944 by producer-director George Allen. Other directors included Sterling Tracy and Sherman Marks with final scripts by Joel Malone and Harold Swanton. A total of 692 episodes were produced, yet despite the series' fame, over 200 episodes are lost today. In 1946, a local Chicago version of The Whistler with local actors aired Sundays on WBBM, sponsored by Meister Brau beer.
THIS EPISODE:
November 29, 1953. CBS network origination, United States Air Forces In Europe rebroadcast. "Lady On A Yacht". A German woman, pretending to be from Argentina, plans to wed a fabulously wealthy American. An artist on a small Italian island presents a considerable complication. It sounds like John Dehner is in the cast. John Dehner (?). 23:04.
Inheritance - A Dramatized look into American History. NBC Networt in cooperation with the AMERICAN LEGION Sundays 4:30 - 5:00 pm PRUDUCER/DIRECTOR: Albert McCleary ANNOUNCER: John Wald MUSIC: Robert Armbruster.
THIS EPISODE:
Inheritance. July 11, 1954. Program #14. NBC network. "America's Greatest Bargain". Sustaining. Not auditioned. 4:30 P. M. The program is produced in co-operation with The American Legion. There is no after-drama speaker. Albert McCleary (producer, director), John Wald (announcer), Robert Armbruster (composer, conductor), Milt Kahn (writer), Whitfield Connor, Dennis Patrick, Clarence Straight, Gil Harmon, Ann Seaton, Tyler McVey, Jay Barney, Ben Wright, Donald Lawton. 29:32.
The Campbell Playhouse was a sponsored continuation of the Mercury Theater on the Air, a direct result of the instant publicity from the War of the Worlds panic. The switch occurred on December 9, 1938. In spite of using the same creative staff, the show had a different flavor under sponsorship, partially attributed to a guest star policy in place, which relegated the rest of the Mercury Players to supporting cast for Orson Welles and the Hollywood guest of the week. There was a growing schism between Welles, still reaping the rewards of his Halloween night notoriety, and his collaborator John Houseman, still in the producer's chair but feeling more like an employee than a partner. The writer, as during the unsponsored run, was Howard Koch.
THIS EPISODE:
May 19, 1939. CBS network. "The Bad Man". Sponsored by: Campbell's Soup. Comedy-Adventure about a Mexican Bandito and the mixed bag of Americans who cross his path. Bernard Herrmann (composer, conductor), Diana Stevens, Edwin Jerome, Ernest Chappell (announcer), Everett Sloane, Frank Readick, Ida Lupino, Orson Welles (host), Ray Collins (narrator), William Alland. 59:55.
Crime Does Not Pay was an anthology radio crime drama series based on MGM's short film series. The films began in 1935 with Crime Does Not Pay: Buried Loot. For the most part, actors who appeared in B-films were featured, but occasionally, one of MGM's major stars would make an appearance. The radio series aired in New York on WMGM (October 10, 1949-October 10, 1951) and then moved to the Mutual network (January 7-December 22, 1952). Actors included Bela Lugosi, Everett Sloane, Ed Begley, John Loder and Lionel Stander.
THIS EPISODE:
February 20, 1950. Program #20. MGM syndication. "Death On The Doorstep". Commercials added locally. An out-of-town hit-man does his job with a smile on his face and a silencer on his rifle. John Beal, Jon Gart (composer, conductor), Marx B. Loeb (director), Burton B. Turkas (technical advisor), Bob Williams (announcer), Ira Marion (writer). 27:34.
The Hall Of Fantasy - This thirty-minute suspense series was written and produced by Richard Thorne who also played many of the roles. There were at least 35 episodes broadcast, telling tales of the supernatural and the dark forces of the unknown. There were often terrifying tales of vampires, killer fog, the walking dead and anything and everything that your imagination could stretch to.
THIS EPISOPE:
January 26, 1953. Mutual network, WGN, Chicago origination. "The Black Figurine Of Death". Sustaining. Uncle Amos and his little statuette have fun from beyond the grave. One of the announcements has possibly been deleted. . 25 minutes.
The Creaking Door was an old-time radio series of horror and suspense shows originating in South Africa. There are at present anywhere from 34-37 extant episodes in MP3 circulation, yet no currently available program logs for the series indicate the year of the series' broadcast (though it was likely sometime in the 1950s, given the generally high audio quality of the available shows), or the total number of episodes, and only a handful of them are known by their broadcast order. The stories are thrillers in the Inner Sanctum vein, and generally thought of favorably by most fans of OTR.
Cruise Of The Poll Parrot - In 1922, businessman Paul Parrot sold his shoe business "Poll Parrot Shoes" to the International Shoe Company, which was already selling Red Goose and Weatherbird shoes. The shoes were designed for children and so sponsoring a children's radio show seemed like a good idea. In 1937, they launched a syndicated children's serial named "Cruise of the Poll Parrot". The show was sold in thirteen segment blocks, and three complete blocks exist today. The shows exponentially boosted shoe sales, helping International compete against the leader in children's shoes: Buster Brown.The main character for the show was a 24 year old man from St. Louis, Missouri, named Marvin Miller. This was some of his first radio work. He was the voice for the main character, Captain Roy Dalton, the Master of the ship Poll Parrot, and also the voice of the parrot that was the pet of the Captain. Marvin Miller went on to work on hundreds of other radio shows, mostly as an announcer. He acted in a number of films, most notably in 1947 starring with Humphrey Bogart in "Dead Reckoning". Miller played a crooked gambler's sadistic henchman named Krause. He became most famous as Michael Anthony, the man who handed out the million dollar checks in the 1950s TV series, "The Millionaire". Miller died in Los Angeles of a heart attack in 1984 at the age of 71.
TODAY'S SHOW:
Ep01 "The Crew Is Hired" (09-25-37) Ep02 "Plans For The Voyage Are Discussed (10-02-37) and Ep03 "Johnny Is Captured By El Teste" (10-09-37)
General Mills Radio Adventure Theater - The series had it origins in the meeting of two minds: the ad agency for General Mills at the time, Dancer-Fitzgerald-Sample was looking for a different means to reach a child audience besides television, which was decreasing commercial minutes and increasing costs; and Himan Brown, producer-director of the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, who wanted to introduce new audiences to the dramatic form on radio. Tom Bosley was chosen as the host because of his television recognition from a kid’s oriented series, Happy Days. CBS chose to produce 52 original broadcasts followed by 52 repeat broadcasts. I believe they had hoped to maintain General Mills sponsorship during the complete 104 episodes, but General Mills dropped their sponsorship after the original broadcasts. The series continued for the next 52 repeats as the CBS Radio Adventure Theater.
THIS EPISODE:
*Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea(s)* (French: Vingt mille lieues sous les mers) is a classic science fiction novel by French writer Jules Verne, published in 1870. It is about the fictional Captain Nemo and his submarine, Nautilus, as seen by one of his passengers, Professor Pierre Aronnax. As the story begins in 1866, a mysterious sea monster, theorized by some to be a giant narwhal, is sighted by ships of several nations; an ocean liner is also damaged by the creature.
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT) was an ambitious and sustained attempt to revive the great drama of old-time radio in the 1970s. Created by Himan Brown (who had by then become a radio legend due to his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries and other shows dating back to the 1930s), and aired on affiliate stations across the CBS Radio network, the series began its long run on January 6, 1974. The final episode ran on December 31, 1982. The show was broadcast nightly and ran for one hour, including commercials. Typically, a week consisted of three to four new episodes, with the remainder of the week filled out with reruns. There were a total of 1399 original episodes broadcast. The total number of broadcasts, including reruns, was 2969. The late E.G. Marshall hosted the program every year but the final one, when actress Tammy Grimes took over. Each episode began with the ominous sound of a creaking door, slowly opening to invite listeners in for the evening's adventure. At the end of each show, the door would swing shut, with Marshall signing off, "Until next time, pleasant...dreams?"
THIS EPISODE:
August 26, 1974. Program #139. CBS network. "The Deadliest Favor". Sponsored by: Budweiser, Buick. E. G. Marshall (host), Sam Dann (writer), Norman Rose, Marian Seldes, Dan Ocko, Ralph Bell. 52 minutes.
The Lineup is a realistic police drama that gives radio audiences a look behind the scenes at police headquarters. Bill Johnstone plays Lt. Ben Guthrie, a quiet, calm-as-a-cupcake cucumber. Joseph Kearns (and from 1951 to 1953, Matt Maher) plays Sgt. Matt Grebb, a hot-tempered hot plate who is easily bored. The director and script writer often rode with police on the job and sat in on the police lineups to get ideas for The Lineup. They also read dozens of newspapers daily and intermeshed real stories with those that they used in the show. With Dragnet a smash hit, realism in police dramas was popular at the time this show aired. Don’t be caught without this radio show in your collection!
THIS EPISODE:
September 23, 1950. CBS network. Sustaining. A gas station robbery results in the attendent's death. The search for the killer is on. Jaime del Valle (producer, director), Eddie Dunstedter (music), William Johnstone, Jack Moyles, Sidney Marshall (writer), Parley Baer, Howard McNear, Bob Sweeney, Hy Averback, James Nusser, Herb Ellis, Sidney Miller, Robert Griffin, Virginia Gregg, Dan Cubberly (announcer). 23:15.
The Halls of Ivy was an NBC radio sitcom that ran from 1950-1952. It was created by Fibber McGee & Molly co-creator/writer Don Quinn before being adapted into a CBS television comedy (1954-55) produced by ITC Entertainment and Television Programs of America. Quinn developed the show after he had decided to leave Fibber McGee & Molly. The audition program featured radio veteran Gale Gordon (then co-starring in Our Miss Brooks) and Edna Best in the roles that ultimately went to British husband-and-wife actors Ronald Colman and Benita Hume. The Colmans had shown a flair for radio comedy in recurring roles on The Jack Benny Program in the late 1940s, and they landed the title roles in the new show. The Halls of Ivy featured Colman as William Todhunter Hall, the president of small, Midwestern Ivy College, and his wife, Victoria, a former British musical comedy star who sometimes felt the tug of her former profession, and followed their interactions with students, friends and college trustees. Others in the cast included Herbert Butterfield as testy Clarence Wellman, Willard Waterman (then starring as Harold Peary's successor as The Great Gildersleeve) as John Merriweather, and Elizabeth Patterson and Gloria Gordon as the Halls' maid.
THIS EPISODE:
October 4, 1950. NBC network. Sponsored by: Schlitz Beer. Mr. bentley Brook has come to at Ivy College. He's quite good looking, and he's apparently fallen in love with Mrs. Hall! Ronald Colman, Benita Hume, Ken Carpenter (announcer), Sandra Gould, Jerome Lawrence (writer), Robert E. Lee (writer), Ken Peters, Helen Crutchfield, Mary Alden, Henry Russell (composer, conductor), Nat Wolff (director), Don Quinn (creator). 29:25.
The Fat Man"There he goes across the street into the drugstore, steps on the scale, height: 6 feet, weight: 290 pounds, fortune: Danger. Who isit? THE FAT MAN." Brad Runyon was the Fat Man, played by Jack Scott Smart. The series was created by Dashall Hammott and was first heard on the ABC network Jan. 21, 1946. J. Scott Smart fit the part of the Fat Man perfectly, weighing in at 270 pounds himself. When he spoke, there was no doubt that this was the voice of a big guy. Smart gave a witty, tongue-in-cheek performance and helped make THE FAT MAN one of the most popular detective programs on the air. Smart also appeared in The March Of Time (early 1930s), the Theater Guild On The Air, Blondie, The Fred Allen Show, and The Jack Benny Program. There was also an version made in Australia, syndicated on the Artansa lable, about 1954. There are at least 36 shows available from vendors. The Australian Fat Man was played possibly by Lloyd Berrell. Although not featuring J. Scott Smart, who really fit the part, the series is quite good.
THIS EPISODE:
Murder Calls The Undertaker (1951) - J. Scott Smart, Robert Sloane (director), Dashiell Hammett (author), Bernard Green (music director). 29:40.
Dangerous Assignment - This thirty-minute international spy adventure featured Steve Mitchell (Brian Donlevy), and investigator of crimes in exotic locations. 60 episodes. Herb Butterfield played the Commissioner and Betty Moran was the Commissioner's secretary. Other cast members were GeGe Pearson, Ken Peters, Betty Lou Gerson, Dan O’Herlihy. The director was Bill Cairn and the writer for the series was Robert Ryf. The opening was the same every week “Yeah, danger is my assignment. I get sent to a lot of places I can’t even pronounce. They all spell the same thing though, trouble.” He would be summoned to his boss’s office where he would be given his assignment; he would then fly halfway across the globe to save the day! The worldwide locations are dealt up with a feeling of local, and the characters that inhabit these far-away places with strange sounding names are solid and capably acted by veterans. Music is an almost harsh orchestra. Donlevy carries the plots with a world-weary and wary tone that makes sense, based on his occupation.
BEYOND TOMORROW was to be CBS's science fiction series. Three shows and one audition were transcribed to disk, but it's not certain if they were actually broadcast, despite announcements in newspapers. In the audition, the series title was BEYOND THIS WORLD and the audition show was "The Outer Limit". The first show under the series name BEYOND TOMORROW was "Requiem", a story by Robert Heinlein, which was later be done in DIMENSION X.
THIS EPISODE:
April 11, 1950. CBS network. "Incident At Switchpath". Sustaining. A fine story about two strange machines found buried deep in a cave. Theodore Sturgeon (author), Bret Morrison, Michael O'Day, William N. Robson (producer), Mitchell Grayson (director), Henry Sylvern (music), John Campbell Jr. (host). 1/2 hour.
THE DEVIL AND MR. O - A transcribed syndication of original broadcasts from Lights Out. With its premiere on the nationwide NBC hookup in 1935, Lights Out was billed "the ultimate in horror." Never had such sounds been heard on the air. Heads rolled, bones were crushed, people fell from great heights and splattered wetly on pavement. There were garrotings, choking, heads split by cleavers, and, to a critic at Radio Guide, "the most monstrous of all sounds, human flesh being eaten."
The Adventures Of Maisie - Maisie, the first in 1939, was from the book "Dark Dame" by the writer Wilson Collison,who did decades of scripting for the silver screen along with Broadway plays and magazine fiction. From the first, MGM wanted Ann Sothern to play Maisie. She began in Hollywood as an extra in 1927. "Maisie and I were just together - I just understood her," Sothern, born Harriette Arlene Lake, said after several of the films made her a star. Throughout the 1930s and '40s, Ann Sothern and Lucille Ball, like many performers in Hollywood, had not one but two careers - one in motion pictures and one on radio. MGM Studios had created the series of ten motion pictures based on a brash blonde with a heart "of spun gold." Maisie, the first in 1939, was from the book "Dark Dame" by the writer Wilson Collison, who did decades of scripting for the silver screen along with Broadway plays and magazine fiction.
THIS EPISODE:
August 24, 1950 - MGM syndication. "The Needy Orphanage". Commercials added locally. Maisie and a wrestler battle to save an impoverished orphanage. Ann Sothern, Arthur Phillips (writer), Robert Cole, Elvia Allman, Frank Nelson, Harry Zimmerman (composer, conductor), Jack McCoy (announcer), Jeffrey Silver, Joan Banks, John McGovern, Peter Leeds, Sheldon Leonard, Tommy Bernard. 27:28.
Screen Director's Playhouse - From 01/09/49 to 09/28/51 this series was greatly enjoyed by the radio listening audience. It opened as NBC Theater and was also known as The Screen Director’s Guild and The Screen Director’s Assignment. But most people remember it simply as Screen Director’s Playhouse. Many of the Hollywood elite were heard recreating their screen roles over the radio. John Wayne in his rare radio appearances, Cary Grant, Edward G. Robinson, Lucille Ball, Claire Trevor, Tallulah Bankhead and many others were on the air week after week during these broadcasts. Many of Hollywood’s directors were also heard in the recreation of their movies. The President of the Screen Director’s Guild appeared on 02/13/49, and Violinist Isaac Stern supplied the music for the 04/19/51 broadcast.
THIS EPISODE:
February 27, 1949. NBC network. "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes". Sustaining. A good story about a man who can see into the future, and can even see his own death! Bill Cairn (director), Cornell Woolrich (writer), Edward G. Robinson, Frank Barton (announcer), Henry Russell (composer, conductor), Howard Wiley (producer), Milton Geiger (adaptor), Paul Frees, William Demarest. 29:46.
Archie Andrews, created in 1941 by Bob Montana, is a fictional character in an American comic book series published by Archie Comics, a long-run radio series, a syndicated comic strip and animation -- The Archie Show, a Saturday morning cartoon television series by Filmation, plus Archie's Weird Mysteries. Archie Andrews began on the Blue Network on May 31, 1943, switched to Mutual in 1944, and then continued on NBC from 1945 until September 5 1953. Archie was first played by Charles Mullen, Jack Grimes and Burt Boyar, with Bob Hastings as the title character during the NBC years.The sponsor was Swift Products. The Cast: Harlan Stone, Alice Yourman, Arthur Kohl, Gloria Mann, Rosemary Rice.
THIS EPISODE:
May 21, 1949. NBC network. Sustaining. Mr. Andrews has purchased a new television. When the family tries to watch a program, complications result. The concept of watching a television in your is treated as a novelty. Bob Hastings, Harlan Stone, Alice Yourman, Smith Hall (?), Gloria Mann, Rosemary Rice, John McGovern, Kenneth MacGregor (producer, director), Dick Dudley (announcer), Carl Jampel (writer). 30:03.
Blondie was a radio situation comedy adapted from the long-run Blondie comic strip by Chic Young. The radio program had a long run on several networks from 1939 to 1950. After Penny Singleton was cast in the title role of the feature film Blondie (1938), co-starring with Arthur Lake as Dagwood, she and Lake repeated their roles December 20, 1938, on The Bob Hope Show. The appearance with Hope led to their own show, beginning July 3, 1939, on CBS as a summer replacement for The Eddie Cantor Show. However, Cantor did not return in the fall, so the sponsor, Camel Cigarettes chose to keep Blondie on the air Mondays at 7:30pm. Camel remained the sponsor through the early WWII years until June 26, 1944. In 1944, Blondie was on the Blue Network, sponsored by Super Suds, airing Fridays at 7pm from July 21 to September 1. The final three weeks of that run overlapped with Blondie's return to CBS on Sundays at 8pm from August 13, 1944, to September 26, 1948, still sponsored by Super Suds. Beginning in mid-1945, the 30-minute program was heard Mondays at 7:30pm. Super Suds continued as the sponsor when the show moved to NBC on Wednesdays at 8pm from October 6, 1948, to June 29, 1949. Ann Rutherford took over the radio role of Blondie in 1949, and at times, Patricia Van Cleve and Alice White were also heard as Blondie. In its final season, the series was on ABC from October 6, 1949, to July 6, 1950, first airing Thursdays at 8pm and then (from May) 8:30pm. The radio show ended the same year as the Blondie film series (1938-50)
THIS EPISODE:
Blondie is arrested for littering. Penny Singleton, Anne Rutherford, Alice White, Patricia Van Cleve,Arthur Lake, Leone Ledoux, Tommy Cook, Larry Sims, Bobby Ellis, Jeffrey Silver, Leone Ledoux, Marlene Aames, Norma Jean Nilsson, Joan Rae. Announcers: Harlow Wilcox.
The Abbott & Costello Show - Abbott and Costello William (Bud) Abbott and Lou Costello (born Louis Francis Cristillo) were an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film and television made them one of the most popular teams in the history of comedy. Thanks to the endurance of their most popular and influential routine, "Who's on First?"---whose rapid-fire word play and comprehension confusion set the preponderant framework for most of their best-known routines---the team are also the only comedians known to have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Bud Abbott was born in Asbury Park, NJ, October 2, 1897 and died April 24, 1974 in Woodland Hills, California. Lou Costello was born in Paterson, NJ, March 6, 1906 and died March 3, 1959 in East Los Angeles, California. After working as Allen's summer replacement, Abbott and Costello joined Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy on The Chase and Sanborn Hour in 1941, while two of their films (Buck Privates and Hold That Ghost) were adapted for Lux Radio Theater. They launched their own weekly show October 8, 1942, sponsored by Camel cigarettes. The Abbott and Costello Show mixed comedy with musical interludes (usually, by singers such as Connie Haines, Marilyn Maxwell, the Delta Rhythm Boys, Skinnay Ennis, and the Les Baxter Singers). Regulars and semi-regulars on the show included Artie Auerbrook, Elvia Allman, Iris Adrian, Mel Blanc, Wally Brown, Sharon Douglas, Verna Felton, Sidney Fields, Frank Nelson, Martha Wentworth, and Benay Venuta. Ken Niles was the show's longtime announcer, doubling as an exasperated foil to Abbott & Costello's mishaps (and often fuming in character as Costello insulted his on-air wife routinely); he was succeeded by Michael Roy, with annoncing chores also handled over the years by Frank Bingman and Jim Doyle.
THIS EPISODE:
New Press Agent - March 8, 1945 - NBC network. Sponsored by: Camels, Prince Albert Pipe Tobacco. Costello gets a new press agent. Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Carl Hoff and His Orchestra, Amy Arnell (vocal), Bert Cordon (sound effects), John Pawlek (engineer), Ken Niles (announcer), Elvia Allman, Sharon Douglas (doubles), Mel Blanc (quadruples), Sidney Fields, Don Prindle (writer), Ed Forman (writer), Don Bernard (producer, director), Andrew Potter (producer, director). 29:46.
Beyond Midnight - Let us journey “into the land that lies beyond midnight,” into a world of ghost hunters, men going mad, and DEATH DEATH DEATH! Written by the masterful Michael McCabe, these well-done South African radio shows will capture your attention and keep you up listening to them well beyond midnight. A replacement series for SF 68, this horror anthology was far more successful than its predecessor, running from 1968 through 1969. Its success may have been due in part to producer Michael McCabe - who also produced SF 68 - honing his talents to a higher degree. Little else is known about it, including the number of shows produced.
The Clock, Imported from Austrailia, was a dramatic thirty-minute suspense and mystery series. It was written by Lawrence Klee and was first broadcast in November 1946. The story always began the same; “Sunrise and sunset, promise and fulfilment, birth and death … the whole drama of life is written in the sands of time”. This is a great series where the main theme seems to be Retribution. Stories as told by Father Time.
THIS EPISODE:
September 25, 1947. Grace Gibson syndication. "Retribution". Sponsored by: Participting sponsors. Vera convinces her lover to kill her husband, but the hapless murderer soon sees the ghost of his victim. The ABC net series of "The Clock" ran a diferent prouction of the same script on September 25, 1947. Harp McGuire, Lawrence Klee (writer), Nigel Lovell, Margaret Christiansen, John Tate, Don Crosby, Gordon Glenwright, John Saul (director), Grace Gibson (proucer). 20:36.
Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator is one of the few detective radio series that had separate versions of it broadcast from both coasts. Even the spelling changed over the years. It was first "Barry Crane" and then "Barrie Craig". NBC produced it in New York from 1951 to 1954 and then moved it to Hollywood where it aired from 1954 to 1955. It attracted only occasional sponsors so it was usually a sustainer.William Gargan, who also played the better known television (and radio) detective Martin Kane, was the voice of New York eye BARRY CRAIG while Ralph Bell portrayed his associate, Lt. Travis Rogers. Craig's office was on Madison Avenue and his adventures were fairly standard PI fare. He worked alone, solved cases efficiently, and feared no man. As the promos went, he was "your man when you can't go to the cops. Confidentiality a speciality."Like Sam Spade, Craig narrated his stories, in addition to being the leading character in this 30 minute show. Nearly sixty episodes are in trading circulation today.
THIS EPISODE:
February 15, 1953. NBC network. "The Girl On The Doorstep". Sponsored by: Bromo Seltzer. Not auditioned. "I wonder if murderers, like other people, worry about their income taxes. When they make a killing, for example, do they always report it, or do they just their list victims under 'buried assets'?" William Gargan, Louis Vittes (writer), Carl Caruso (announcer). 30:12.
The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin is a children's television program which ran on ABC from October 1954 until August 1959. It starred Lee Aaker as young Rusty, a boy orphaned in an Indian raid, who was being raised by the soldiers at a cavalry post. He and his German shepherd dog Rin Tin Tin helped the soldiers to establish order in the Old West. The program was produced by Screen Gems. The character of Rin Tin Tin had appeared in several movies and radio serials since 1922. One of the dogs used in the TV series was the fourth in the bloodline of the original Rin Tin Tin. Reruns of the show ran on daytime television and on Saturdays on CBS from October 1959 until September 1964. A new set of reruns was shown in 1976, and continued well into the mid-1980s. The original black and white prints were tinted light brown. An unrelated -including a German Shepherd - aired in the U.S. as Rin Tin Tin: K-9 Cop. The series was produced in Canada under the name Katts and Dog where the dog was named Rudy. When the series was shown in the U.S., the dog's name was dubbed "Rinty" to fit the U.S. title. The success of The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin caused the cancellation of Gene Autry's The Adventures of Champion on CBS, which was replaced on February 10, 1956, by My Friend Flicka. Flicka, starring Johnny Washbrook as Ken McLaughlin, the story of a boy and his horse on a Wyoming ranch, produced thirty-nine episodes through February 1, 1957, when it was discontinued. Like Rin Tin Tin, Flicka rebroadcasts aired for years on all the networks. Rin Tin Tin guest stars include veteran western film star Roscoe Ates.
Fibber McGee and Molly premiered in 1935. The program struggled in the ratings until 1940, when it became a national sensation. Within three years, it was the top-rated program in America. Few radio shows were more beloved than Fibber McGee and Molly. The program’s lovable characters included Mayor LaTrivia, Doc Gamble, Mrs. Uppington, Wallace Wimple, Alice Darling, Gildersleeve, Beulah, Myrt, and the Old Timer. 79 Wistful Vista was one of America’s most famous addresses and Molly’s warning to Fibber not to open the hall closet door (and his subsequent decision to do it) created one of radio’s best remembered running gags that audiences expected each week. Jim Jordan (Fibber) was born on a farm on November 16, 1896, near Peoria, Illinois. Marian Driscoll (Molly), a coal miner’s daughter, was born in Peoria on November 15, 1898. After years of hardship and touring in obscurity on the small-time show biz circuit, they arrived in Chicago in 1924, where they eventually performed on thousands of shows and developed 145 different voices and characters. Broadcast to the nation from WMAQ/Chicago, the show entertained America until March 1956, and continued on NBC’s Monitor until 1959. Jim Jordan died on April 1, 1988. Marian Jordan died on April 7, 1961. Fibber McGee and Molly was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1989. First Broadcast date April 16, 1935. Last Broadcast date September 6, 1959.
TODAY'S DOUBLE FEATURE
"Fibber Grows A Moustache"(12-02-41) & "Quiz Show Smoke For Folks" (12-12-44)
The Life of Riley, with William Bendix in the title role, was a popular radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film and continued as a long-running television series during the 1950s. The show began as a proposed Groucho Marx radio series, The Flotsam Family, but the sponsor balked at what would have been essentially a straight head-of-household role for the comedian. Then producer Irving Brecher saw Bendix as taxicab company owner Tim McGuerin in the movie The McGuerins from Brooklyn (1942). The Flotsam Family was reworked with Bendix cast as blundering Chester A. Riley, riveter at a California aircraft plant, and his frequent exclamation of indignation---"What a revoltin' development this is!"---became one of the most famous catch phrases of the 1940s. The radio series also benefited from the immense popularity of a supporting character, Digby "Digger" O'Dell (John Brown), "the friendly undertaker."Beginning October 4, 1949, the show was adapted for television for the DuMont Television Network, but Bendix's film contracts prevented him from appearing in the role. Instead, Jackie Gleason starred along with Rosemary DeCamp as wife Peg, Gloria Winters as daughter Barbara (Babs), Lanny Rees as son Chester Jr. (Junior), and Sid Tomack as Gillis, Riley's manipulative best buddy and next-door neighbor. John Brown returned as the morbid counseling undertaker Digby (Digger) O'Dell ("Well, I guess I'll be... shoveling off"; "Business is a little dead tonight"). Television's first Life of Riley won television's first Emmy (for "Best Film Made For and Shown on Television").
THIS EPISODE:
The Life Of Riley. November 1, 1947. NBC network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. Junior picks a pretty good football pool, which gets Riley a promotion. The date is subject to correction. William Bendix. 1/2 hour.
Challenge of the Yukon was a long-running radio series that began on Detroit's station WXYZ (as had The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet). The series was first heard on February 3, 1938. Under the title Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, it later transferred to television. The program was an adventure series about Sergeant William Preston of the Northwest Mounted Police and his lead sled dog, Yukon King, as they fought evildoers in the Northern wilderness during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. Preston, according to radio historian Jim Harmon, first joined the Mounties to capture his father's killer, and when he was successful he was promoted to Sergeant. Preston worked under the command of Inspector Conrad, and in the early years was often assisted by a French-Canadian guide named Pierre. Preston's staunchest ally, who was arguably the true star of the show and indeed often did more work than he did, was the brave Alaskan husky, Yukon King. Typical plots involved the pair helping injured trappers, tracking down smugglers, or saving cabin dwellers from wolverines. Sgt. Preston's faithful steed was Rex, used primarily in the summer months, but generally Yukon King and his dog team were the key mode of transportation (as signalled by Preston's cry of "On, King! On, you huskies!."
TODAY'S SHOW: "Outlaw Dog" (05-11-44) And "The Outlaws Nemesis" (05-18-44)
May 11, 1944. Program #328. WXYZ, Detroit origination, The Michigan Radio Network. "Outlaw Dog". Sustaining. Tom McShane loses his poke and his claim playing poker in a Stovepipe City cafe. He even loses his faithful dog, "Marty." Possible recording date: May 4, 1944. Not auditioned. Jay Michael, Jack McCarthy (anouncer), Betty Joyce (writer). 14:17.
May 18, 1944. Program #329. WXYZ, Detroit origination, The Michigan Radio Network. "The Outlaw's Nemesis". Sustaining. Jim Mckenzie was shot while his brother Pete was trying to break him out of jail. Sergeant Preston is assigned to disguise himself, travel to Towanda Lake and arrest Pete. Possible recording date: May 11, 1944. Not auditioned. Jay Michael, Jack McCarthy (announcer), Betty Joyce (writer). 14:17.
Arch Oboler's Plays was a radio drama series written, produced and directed by Arch Oboler. Minus a sponsor, it ran for one year, airing Saturday evenings on NBC from March 25, 1939 to March 23, 1940 and revived five years later on Mutual for a sustaining summer run from April 5, 1945 to October 11, 1945. Leading film actors were heard on this series, including Gloria Blondell, Eddie Cantor, James Cagney, Ronald Colman, Joan Crawford, Greer Garson, Edmund Gwenn, Van Heflin, Katharine Hepburn, Elsa Lanchester, Peter Lorre, Frank Lovejoy, Raymond Massey, Burgess Meredith, Paul Muni, Alla Nazimova, Edmond O'Brien, Geraldine Page, Gale Sondergaard, Franchot Tone and George Zucco.
THIS EPISODE:
July 29, 1939. NBC network. "Another World". Sustaining. An eerie story about a woman's battle with the voice inside her...trying to take over her body! The story is also known as, "The Voice Within Me." Arch Oboler, Arnold Moss, Betty Garde, Frank Lovejoy, Gilbert Mack, Hester Sondergaard, John Brown. 29:28.
WHITEHALL 1212 Tweaked Jan. 12, 2006 This series was very similar to the Black Museum that was hosted by Orson Welles. Both the Black Museum and Whitehall 1212 drew their material from the files of Scotland Yard. The stories were true in every respect except that the names were changed to protect the innocent, as they say. The Whitehall 1212 series boasted that for the first time Scotland Yard opened its files and the producers promised to bring to the public authentic true stories of some of the most celebrated cases. Permission for these records came from Sir Harold Scott, Commissioner of the yard at that time. There is actually a Black Museum. This area is located on the lower ground floor of Scotland Yard and it does indeed contain articles that are closely associated with the solving of a crime. And "Whitehall 1212" was the actual emergency phone number for the yard at the time. The research for the shows was done by Percy Hoskins, chief crime reporter for the London Daily Express. For the benefit of American audiences, Wyllis Cooper of Quiet Please fame was hired as script writer. Interestingly enough both the Black Museum and Whitehall 1212 had all-British casts; both ran concurrently. Whereby Mutual Broadcasting System aired the Orson Welles version, NBC offered the Wyllis Cooper one. There were 44 episodes in the series and all but one are in circulation. None of the prorgrams were titled and as they appeared on the scene, were given names by those who collected them. For that reason there are variations of titles, some with incorrect spellings; an attempt has been made to correct this. Some of the shows had "case numbers" and when they were announced, are noted below.
January 13, 1952. Program #8. NBC network. Sustaining. A foreigner is found shot to death in his car. A "copper's narc" is then found drowned and with a bullet through his heart. Percy Hoskins (researcher), Wyllis Cooper (writer, director), Jack Goldstein (producer), Collie Small (producer). 29:12.
August 3, 1952. NBC network. Sustaining. A Wellington Boot" in the "Black Museum" is the key to the murder of Nora Brady. This was the only time a person in Britain was tried twice for the same murder. Percy Hoskins (researcher), Wyllis Cooper (writer, director), Horace Braham, Lester Fletcher, Lionel Ricou (announcer), Beulah Garrick, Harvey Hayes, Winston Ross, Jared Burke, Carl Harburg. 29:21.
A Date with Judy was a comedy radio series aimed at a teenage audience which had a long run from 1941 to 1950. The show began as a summer replacement for Bob Hope's show, sponsored by Pepsodent and airing on NBC from June 24 to September 16, 1941, with 14-year-old Ann Gillis in the title role. Dellie Ellis portrayed Judy when the series returned the next summer (June 23d to September 15, 1942). Louise Erickson took over the role the following summer (June 30th to September 22, 1943) when the series, with Bristol Myers as its new sponsor, replaced The Eddie Cantor Show for the summer. Louise Erickson continued in the role of Judy over the next seven years as the series, sponsored by Tums, aired from January 18, 1944 to January 4, 1949. Ford Motors and Revere Cameras were the sponsors for the final season of the radio series on ABC from October 13, 1949 to May 25, 1950. Teenagers could relate to Judy and her problems with school, boyfriends and parental rules and adults enjoyed remembering their youth as seen through the eyes of a typical teenager. A delighful comedy that ended in 1950, A Date with Judy remains a favorite even today as we realize that teenagers will always face the same problems growing up as Judy and her friends did.A Date with Judy remains a favorite even today as we realize that teenagers will always face the same problems growing up as Judy and her friends did.
THIS EPISODE:
April 3, 1945 Judy's Singing Debut - Judy's interview with guest Charles Boyer, is more to do with her dreams of a singing career. Louise Erickson, Richard Crenna, Joseph Cotten, Dix Davis, Paul Sawtelle (composer, conductor), John Brown, Myra Marsh, Aleen Leslie (writer), Helen Mack (producer, director), Doug Gorlay (announcer). 29:35.
The FBI in Peace and War was a radio crime drama inspired by Frederick Lewsis Collins' book, The FBI in Peace and War. The idea for the show came from Louis Pelletier who wrote many of the scripts. Among the show's other writers were Jack Finke, Ed Adamson and Collins. Airing on CBS from November 25, 1944 to September 28, 1958, it had a variety of sponsors (including Lava Soap, Wildroot Cream Oil, Lucky Strike, Nescafe and Wrigley's) over the years. Martin Blaine and Donald Briggs headed the cast.
THIS EPISODE:
November 16, 1955. CBS network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "Room For Improvement". An F. H. A. kickback racket is broken by the Feds when Eddie Norris falls for the daughter of a gangster. Frederick L. Collins (creator). 24:30.
The Adventures of Sam Spade was a radio series based loosely on the private detective character Sam Spade, created by writer Dashiell Hammett for The Maltese Falcon. The show ran for 13 episodes on ABC in 1946, for 157 episodes on CBS in 1946-1949, and finally for 51 episodes on NBC in 1949-1951. The series starred Howard Duff (and later, Steve Dunne) as Sam Spade and Lurene Tuttle as his secretary Effie, and took a considerably more tongue-in-cheek approach to the character than the novel or movie. In 1947, scriptwriters Jason James and Bob Tallman received an Edgar Award for Best Radio Drama from the Mystery Writers of America. Before the series, Sam Spade had been played in radio adaptations of The Maltese Falcon by both Edward G. Robinson (in a 1943 Lux Radio Theater production) and by Bogart himself (in a 1946 Academy Award Theater production), both on CBS.
THIS EPISODE:
July 11, 1948. CBS network. "The Wheel Of Life Caper". Sponsored by: Wildroot Cream Oil. Sam meets a mystery woman with no memory and a corpse that's been killed by a buzz saw! Sandra Gould replaces Lurene Tuttle as Effie, Sam's secretary. Howard Duff, Dashiell Hammett (creator), William Spier (producer, director), Sandra Gould, Gil Doud (writer), Robert Tallman (writer), Lud Gluskin (music director), Dick Joy (announcer). 29:45.
The Beulah Show is an American situation-comedy series that ran in radio on CBS from 1945 to 1954, and in television on ABC from 1950 to 1953. It is notable for being the first sitcom to star an African American. Originally portrayed by Caucasian actor Marlin Hurt, Beulah Brown first appeared in 1939 when Hurt introduced and played the character on the Hometown Incorporated radio series and in 1940 on NBC radio's Show Boat series. In 1943, Beulah moved over to That's Life and then became a supporting character on the popular Fibber McGee and Molly radio series in late 1944. In 1945, Beulah was spun off into her own radio show, The Marlin Hurt and Beulah Show, with Hurt still in the role. Beulah was employed as a housekeeper and cook for the Henderson family: father Harry, mother Alice and son Donnie. After Hurt died of a heart attack in 1946, he was replaced by another white actor, Bob Corley, and the series was retitled The Beulah Show. When black actress Hattie McDaniel took over the role on November 24, 1947, she earned $1000 a week for the first season, doubled the ratings of the original series and pleased the NAACP which was elated to see a historic first: a black woman as the star of a network radio program. McDaniel continued in the role until she became ill in 1952 and was replaced by Lillian Randolph, who was in turn replaced for the 1953-54 radio season by her sister, Amanda Randolph.
THIS EPISODE:
August 13, 1945. CBS network, KNX, Los Ageles aircheck. Sponsored by: Tums. We're having a heat wave! Cleaning the basement and keeping cool. Marlin Hurt (triples), Carol Stewart, Albert Sack and His Orchestra, Phil Leslie (writer), Helen Mack (producer, director), John Brown, Katharine Carr, Jess Kirkpatrick, Ken Niles (announcer). 29:42.
CHRISTOPHER LONDON was the name and the hero of this 1950 radio show that related the adventures and exploits of a private eye who will "go anywhere and do anything...for a price." Of an added interest is the fact that this guy is supposedly based on a character created by Erle Stanley Gardner. It's an excellent detective drama with Glen Ford in the lead role. Supporting cast compliment his talent. There is little else known about this NBC 1950 presentation.
Crime Club was a Mutual Network murder and mystery series, a product of the Doubleday Crime Book Club imprints found weekly in bookstores everywhere. The telephone rings"Hello, I hope I haven't kept you waiting. Yes, this is the Crime Club. I'm the Librarian. Murder Rents A Room? Yes, we have that Crime Club story for you.Come right over. (The organist in the shadowed corner of the Crime Club library shivers the ivories) The doorbell tones sullenly"And you are here. Good. Take the easy chair by the window. Comfortable? The book is on this shelf." (The organist hits the scary chord) "Let's look at it under the reading lamp." The Librarian, played by Raymond E. Johnson, begins reading the tale. Veteran Willis Cooper (Lights Out, Quiet Please) did some of the scripts from the Crime Club books.
THIS EPISODE:
June 5, 1947. Mutual network. "Murder Rents A Room". Sustaining. A rich man "dies" but most of his money is missing. The man's ne'er-do-well nephew is suspect. Sarah Elizabeth Mason (writer), Elspeth Eric, Helen Shields, Shirling Oliver, Bill Smith, Cameron Prud'Homme. 1/2 hour.
The Fred Allen Show - Born John Florence Sullivan on May 31, 1894, Fred Allen began his career in vaudeville before becoming one of radio’s most acerbic and admired wits. Allen and his wife, former chorus girl Portland Hoffa, began their radio career on October 23, 1932, starring on The Linit Bath Club Revue. By 1934, Allen was starring on Town Hall Tonight, a one-hour show which featured Allen examining current events and interviewing unusual guests. It was here that Allen began radio’s longest-running “feud” in 1937, when he made a series of jokes about fellow comedian Jack Benny. Allen's best-remembered feature was “Allen's Alley,” a weekly segment in which he would discuss issues of the day with eccentric creations like the blustery Senator Claghorn, Brooklyn housewife Pansy Nussbaum and stoic New Englander Titus Moody. Allen was known to read up to nine newspapers a day and often spent 12 to 14 hours a day writing and re-writing his scripts. Poor health forced Allen off the air in 1944, but he returned in the fall of 1945 with The Fred Allen Show, which lasted until June 26, 1949. Fred Allen died on March 17, 1956. Fred Allen was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1988.
THIS EPISODE:
February 12, 1941. CBS network, WABC, New York aircheck. Sponsored by: Texaco. News Of The Week: Heavy rains have damaged the East Coast. The program's guest is Penobscot indian chief Nee Da Bay, who gives bird and animal imitations. The Texaco Workshop Players do "Truth Of Subsequences," a satire on guess-what-show hosted by "Ralph Deadwoods." This is another example of Fred's ongoing attack on the quiz show genre. Fred Allen, Portland Hoffa, Jimmy Wallington (announcer), Al Goodman and His Orchestra, Kenny Baker, Larry Elliott (commercial spokesman), Alan Reed, Nee Da Bay. 59:35.
Bonanza chronicled the weekly adventures of the Cartwright family, headed by wise widowed patriarch Ben Cartwright (played by Lorne Greene). He had three biological sons, each by a different wife: the oldest was the intelligent and moody Adam Cartwright (Pernell Roberts); the second was the fun and lovable Eric, better known to viewers by his middle name: "Hoss" (Dan Blocker); and the youngest was the hotheaded and impetuous Joseph or "Little Joe" (Michael Landon). The family's cook was the Chinese immigrant Hop Sing (Victor Sen Yung). The family lived on a thousand-square-mile ranch called "The Ponderosa", on the shore of Lake Tahoe in Nevada; the name refers to the Ponderosa Pine, common in the West.
THIS EPISODE:
The Saga of Annie O'Toole adapted for radio from Bonanza aired October 24, 1959. Annie O'Toole and her father head out to the Washoe Diggings after her boyfriend, Swede Lundberg, returns with the deeds to two mines. Annie takes one of the deeds in return for the grub stake she gave Swede. Upon her arrival in Nevada, her father dies and she meets up with the Cartwrights. Against Adam's advice (and with his help), Annie decides to open up a restaurant to supply meals to the hungry miners. Things seem to be going well until Swede shows up with another man who claims that Annie's mine is his.
Escape was radio's leading anthology series of high adventure, airing on CBS from July 7, 1947 to September 25, 1954. Since the program did not have a regular sponsor like Suspense, it was subjected to frequent schedule shifts and lower production budgets, although Richfield Oil signed on as a sponsor for five months in 1950. Despite these problems, Escape enthralled many listeners during its seven-year run. The series' well-remembered opening combined Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain with the introduction, intoned by Paul Frees and William Conrad: “Tired of the everyday routine? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... Escape!” Of the more than 230 Escape episodes, most have survived in good condition. Many story premises, both originals and adaptations, involved a protagonist in dire life-or-death straits, and the series featured more science fiction and supernatural tales than Suspense. Some of the memorable adaptations include Algernon Blackwood's "Confession", Ray Bradbury's oft-reprinted "Mars Is Heaven," George R. Stewart's Earth Abides, Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game," F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz," John Collier's "Evening Primrose", later adapted to TV as a Stephen Sondheim musical starring Anthony Perkins. Vincent Price and Harry Bartell were heard in the chilling "Three Skeleton Key," the tale of three men trapped in an isolated lighthouse by thousands of rats. The half-hour was adapted from an Esquire short story by the French writer George Toudouze.
TODAY'S SHOW:
July 28, 1947. CBS network. "Typhoon". Sustaining. A famous sea adventure about the big storm, the dumb sea captain, and two hundred cut-throat Chinese below the decks. Frank Lovejoy, Joseph Conrad (author), Les Crutchfield (adaptor), William N. Robson (director). 1/2 hour.
December 31, 1947. CBS network. "Confession". Sustaining. A good story about a shell-shocked soldier walking the fog-filled streets of London...finding murder and terror! Algernon Blackwood (author), William Conrad, Peggy Webber, William N. Robson (producer, director), John Dunkel (adaptor), Cy Feuer (music conceiver, conductor), Ramsay Hill. 29:40.
The Adventures Of Ellery Queen - Tuska cited Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940) and Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery (1941) as the best of the Bellamy-Lindsay pairings. "The influence of The Thin Man series was apparent in reverse", Tuska noted about Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery. "Ellery and Nikki are unmarried but obviously in love with each other. Probably the biggest mystery... is how Ellery ever gets a book written. Not only is Nikki attractive and perfectly willing to show off her figure", Tuska wrote, "but she also likes to write her own stories on Queen's time, and gets carried away doing her own investigations." In Ellery Queen, Master Detective, "the amorous relationship between Ellery and Nikki Porter was given a dignity, and therefore integrity", Tuska wrote, "that was lacking in the two previous entries in the series", made at Republic Pictures before Bellamy and Lindsay were signed by Columbia. On radio, The Adventures of Ellery Queen was heard on all three networks from 1939 to 1948. During the 1970s, syndicated radio fillers, Ellery Queen's Minute Mysteries, began with an announcer saying, "This is Ellery Queen..." and contained a short one-minute case. The radio station encouraged callers to solve the mystery and win a sponsor's prize. Once a winner was found, the solution was broadcast as confirmation.
TODAY'S SHOW:
March 28, 1943. NBC network. "The Adventure Of The Circus Train". Sponsored by: Bromo Seltzer. The owner of a circus is killed, three $10,000 bills have been removed from the body! The "Guest Armchair Detective" sequence has been deleted, the mystery is complete. The West Coast broadcast has been researched as being on March 25, 1943, the East Coast broadcast on March 27, 1943. Carleton Young, Marian Shockley, Santos Ortega, Ted de Corsia, Bruce Kamman (producer, director), Charles Paul (organ), Ernest Chappell (announcer), Frederic Dannay (writer), Manfred B. Lee (writer). 28:47.
September 7, 1947. NBC network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "Number Thirty-One". A murdered butler provides the clue Ellery needs to convict Mr. Arkaris of diamond smuggling. AFRS program name: "Mystery Theatre." Don Hancock (announcer), Lawrence Dobkin, Chet Kingsbury (organist), Charlotte Keane, Bill Smith, Ed Latimer, Tom Everitt (writer), Manfred B. Lee (writer), Tom Victor (producer, director). 24:36.
Dragnet was a long-running radio and television police procedural drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. The show takes its name from an actual police term, a "dragnet", meaning a system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects. Dragnet debuted inauspiciously. The first several months were bumpy, as Webb and company worked out the program’s format and eventually became comfortable with their characters (Friday was originally portrayed as more brash and forceful than his later usually relaxed demeanor). Gradually, Friday’s deadpan, fast-talking persona emerged, described by John Dunning as "a cop's cop, tough but not hard, conservative but caring." (Dunning, 210) Friday’s first partner was Sgt. Ben Romero, portrayed by Barton Yarborough, a longtime radio actor. When Dragnet hit its stride, it became one of radio’s top-rated shows. While most radio shows used one or two sound effects experts, Dragnet needed five; a script clocking in at just under 30 minutes could require up to 300 separate effects. Accuracy was underlined: The exact number of footsteps from one room to another at Los Angeles police headquarters were imitated, and when a telephone rang at Friday’s desk, the listener heard the same ring as the telephones in Los Angeles police headquarters. A single minute of "A Gun For Christmas" is a representative example of the evocative sound effects featured on "Dragnet". While Friday and others investigate bloodstains in a suburban backyard, the listener hears a series of overlapping effects: a squeaking gate hinge, footsteps, a technician scraping blood into a paper envelope, the glassy chime of chemical vials, bird calls and a dog barking in the distance. Scripts tackled a number of topics, ranging from the thrilling (murders, missing persons and armed robbery) to the mundane (check fraud and shoplifting), yet "Dragnet" made them all interesting due to fast-moving plots and behind-the-scenes realism. In "The Garbage Chute" (15 December 1949), they even had a locked room mystery.
TODAY'S SHOW: "Helen Corday Murdered With Pipe" (7-07-49) and "The Big Fraud" (10-27-53)
July 7, 1949. Program #5. NBC network. Sustaining. A well liked waitress named Helen Corday has been murdered with a steel pipe. The suspect's name is Larson. Jack Webb, Barton Yarborough, Raymond Burr. 29:25.
October 27, 1953. Program #219. NBC network. "The Big Fraud". Sponsored by: Chesterfield, Fatima. Sergeant Friday goes undercover to trap a gang posing as narcotic cops to con out-of-towners. Jack Webb, Ben Alexander, George Fenneman (announcer), Hal Gibney (announcer), John Robinson (writer), Walter Schumann (music), Ben Hogan (Chesterfield testimonial), Vic Perrin, Paul Richards, Herb Ellis. 29:32.
The Whisperer was an American old-time radio show broadcast from July 8 to September 30, 1951 on NBC. It ran for only 13 episodes. The premise of the series was as improbable as its storylines. The protagonist was Philip Gault (Carleton G. Young), a lawyer who, due to some unexplained accident, lost his voice and could only speak in an eerie whisper. Gault infiltrates "the syndicate" in his native Central City to bring down organized crime from within; to the underworld, he becomes known as the Whisperer. Later, his voice is restored through surgery, but he continues to lead a double life as the Whisperer, relaying instructions from the syndicate bosses in New York (who don't know he's a mole) to their lackeys in Central City, whom Gault is actually setting up. By today's standards, the stories are dated and their message-mongering usually criticized as ham-fisted, the product of what might be considered the unenlightened attitudes of the time. The first episode ("Tea Time for Teenagers") is typical, an overwrought "it can happen here" melodrama about a syndicate plot to create "200 regular marijuana addicts" among high school students. The episode makes a blatant appeal to the moral indignation of its audience, ending with Gault advising PTA's to "show some of the fine educational films available on marijuana and how it leads to a worse addiction." Carleton G. Young, who played Gault, is sometimes confused with the actor Carleton Young. Betty Moran portrayed his girlfriend Ellen, the only other person who knew Gault's double identity. Moran had to deliver lines like, "But marijuana means broken lives, heartbreak for parents!" To collectors today, the series is considered an amusing time capsule of a long gone period of America's past.
**TODAY'S DOUBLE FEATURE:"Into Each Life (08-19-51) and "Woman On Ice" (09-09-51)
August 19, 1951. NBC network. Sustaining. This program includes a scene where "The Whisperer" recounts his origins to Ellen. "The Syndicate" is determined to kill a nightclub owner who refuses to pay them off. They've already tried to assassinate him seven times! Bernard Phillips, Betty Lou Gerson, Betty Moran, Bill Cairn (director), Byron Kane, Carleton Young, Don Rickles (announcer), John Duffy (original music), Stetson Humphrey (creator). 29:20.
September 9, 1951. NBC network. Sustaining. Not auditioned. "The Whisperer" gives "The Syndicate's" instructions. It's only one word, "Now." Carleton Young, Betty Moran, Stetson Humphrey (creator), John Duffy (original music), Bill Cairn (producer, director), Don Rickles (announcer), Sidney Miller, Stacy Harris, Charles Moody, Michael Ann Barrett, Jonathan Twice (writer). 29:26.**
Dick Tracy had a long run on radio, from 1934 weekdays on NBC's New England stations to the ABC network in 1948. Bob Burlen was the first radio Tracy in 1934, and others heard in the role during the 1930s and 1940s were Barry Thompson, Ned Wever and Matt Crowley. The early shows all had 15-minute episodes. On CBS, with Sterling Products as sponsor, the serial aired four times a week from February 4, 1935 to July 11, 1935, moving to Mutual from September 30, 1935 to March 24, 1937 with Bill McClintock doing the sound effects. NBC's weekday afternoon run from January 3, 1938 to April 28, 1939 had sound effects by Keene Crockett and was sponsored by Quaker Oats, which brought Dick Tracy into primetime (Saturdays at 7pm and, briefly, Mondays at 8pm) with 30-minute episodes from April 29, 1939 to September 30, 1939. The series returned to 15-minute episodes on the ABC Blue Network from March 15, 1943 to July 16, 1948, sponsored by Tootsie Rolls, which used the music theme of "Toot Toot, Tootsie" for its 30-minute Saturday ABC series from October 6, 1945 to June 1, 1946. Sound effects on ABC were supplied by Walt McDonough and Al Finelli. Directors of the series included Mitchell Grayson, Charles Powers and Bob White. Cast members at various times included Walter Kinsella as Pat Patton, Helen Lewis as Tess Trueheart and Andy Donnelly and Jackie Kelk as Junior Tracy. Announcers were Ed Herlihy and Dan Seymour.
TODAY'S SHOW:
April 11, 1938. NBC network. Sponsored by: Quaker Cereals. Not auditioned. The announcer mentions that the program is "electrically transcribed." It is therefore possible that even though the series was being broadcast on NBC at this time, these might be syndicated versions, as no system cues are heard. Vernon Kyle is terrorizing the citizens of the Yukon to getting their radium ore (pitchblende). . 14:56.
April 12, 1938. NBC network. Sponsored by: Quaker Cereals (Dick Tracy Club offer). Not auditioned. The system cue has been deleted. Vernon Kyle continues to terrorize the Yukon town of Pitchblende. What was the weird cry in the night? "The Purple Rider" offers to help Dick Tracy and the Mounties. As the dog teams pass through "Dead Man's Pass," Vernon Kyle causes an avalanche. . 15:01.
Crime and Peter Chambers - This program was born from a detective book series and inspired by author Henry Kane who became the director and producer for the radio show. The series only ran five months, 30 minutes each episode, from April 6, 1954 to September 7, 1954. Peter Chambers was played by Dane Clark who also appeared on the Suspense radio shows. Chambers acted the role of a playboy detective with an eye for solving crime and a taste for the women. Bill Zuckert, who went on to guest star in many 1970s shows including The Mary Tyler Moore Show and the Partridge Family, plays Lt. Parker.
TODAY'S SHOW: "Abigail Chrisenberry" (05-04-54) and "Stoney Carter" (06-15-54)
May 4, 1954. NBC net. Sustaining. Peter meets beautiful Abigail Christenberry in a bar. He soon finds himself accused of Abigail's murder! Fred Collins (announcer), Fred Weihe (director), William Zuckert, Elaine Rost, Joe DeSantis, David Clark, Henry Kane (creator, writer). 24:22.
June 15, 1954. NBC net. Sustaining. Peter Chambers is called on to speak to a murder suspect, a boy Chambers knows. Did he do it? Dane Clark, Henry Kane (creator, writer, producer), Fred Collins (announcer), Fred Weihe (director), William Zuckert, Fran Carlon, Everett Sloane.
Dark Fantasy was a series dedicated to dealings with the unknown. Originating from radio station WKY, Oklahoma City, it was written by Scott Bishop (of Mysterious Traveler and The Sealed Book fame) and was heard Fridays over stations. Tom Paxton served as announcer. The shows covered horror, science fiction and murder mysteries. Although a short series, the shows are excellent with some stories way ahead of their time. The following is a news promo promoting the show: Every since Lights Out went out several years ago, fans of the fiendish have been clamoring for more good old goose-pimple horror drama on the air. Now they have it. One of the programs that currently freezes the airwaves with its chilling stories is Dark Fantasy comparatively new to the networks. In the late hours of Friday nights these shivery, shocking stories go out over NBC - right straight from Oklahoma City, which you might not have thought of as headquarters for haunts. Station WKY is the home of the Dark Fantasy plays, and the writer is Scott Bishop, who lives in the midst of mystery and the supernatural, represented by the innurnerable volumes of thriller fiction, fantasy lore and all kinds of horror literature that fill his home andhis office. Bishop has long contributed to network broadcasting and to magazines. He says, "Give the listener enough material to let his imagination go to work, and he'll supply his own goose-pimples." Dark Fantasy has been furnishing plenty of such material since last November. And judging from enthusiastic comment, the horror fans are responding with goose-pimples galore! Tune in every Friday on Station WKY Oklahoma City. SHOW NOTES From the Old Time Radio Researcher's Group.
THIS EPISODE:
January 9, 1942. Program #8. NBC network, WKY, Oklahoma City origination. "The Curse Of The Neanderthal". Sustaining. Not auditioned. "The story of a grave forty thousand years old, and the awesome secret that it contained." Scott Bishop (writer), Tom Paxton (announcer), Ben Morris, Eleanor Naylor Corin, Murillo Scofield, Fred Wayne, Daryl McAllister. 26:55.
Jeff Regan Investigator was one of the three detective shows Jack Webb did before Dragnet (see also Pat Novak For Hire and Johnny Modero: Pier 23). It debuted on CBS in July 1948. Webb played JEFF REGAN, a tough private eye working in a Los Angeles investigation firm run by Anthony J. Lyon. Regan introduced himself on each show "I get ten a day and expenses...they call me the Lyon's Eye." The show was fairly well-plotted, Webb's voice was great, and the supporting cast were skillful. Regan handled rough assignments from Lion, with whom he was not always on good terms. He was tough, tenacious, and had a dry sense of humor. The voice of his boss, Anthony Lion, was Wilms Herbert. The show ended in December 1948 but was resurrected in October 1949 with a new cast; Frank Graham played Regan (later Paul Dubrov was the lead) and Frank Nelson portrayed Lion. This version ran on CBS, sometimes as a West Coast regional, until August 1950. Both versions were 30 minutes, but the day and time slot changed several times. A total of 29 episodes from this series are in trading currency.
TODAY'S SHOW:
November 27, 1948. CBS network. "The Man Who Fought Back". Sustaining. Regan is hired to spend the weekend with Alice and Bill LaFarge. Alice is promptly shot, Bill disppears. Counterfeit football tickets are behind the caper. Laurette Fillbrandt, Charles Seel, Ken Christy, Jack Petruzzi (as Lieutenant Santucci, gets to speak in Italian), Sidney Miller, Larry Roman (writer), Sterling Tracy (producer), Milton Charles (organ), Bob Stevenson (announcer), Jack Webb, Herb Butterfield, Yvonne Peattie. 29:41.
July 17, 1948. CBS network. "The Prodigal Daughter". Sustaining. Regan travels to New Orleans to find a wealthy man's daughter. He succeeds, but finds her laid out for burial...or does he? Betty Lou Gerson, Del Castillo (organ), E. Jack Neuman (writer), Eve McVeagh, Gordon T. Hughes (producer, director), Harry Lang, Jack Webb, Laurette Fillbrandt, Lou Krugman, Theodore Von Eltz, Wilms Herbert, Bob Stevenson (announcer). 29:43.
The Chase is an exciting Old Time Radio series in which every episode contains, well, a chase. Tales, highly melodramatic and often improbable, of people on the run. The concept of "hunter and hunted" was built into the signatures. with the lone bugle of a fox hunt, the braying of dogs, the sounds of a man running, a gunshot, and the slowing footsteps and eventual fall of the victim. It may be an adventure story, a crime story, or even science fiction, but there will always be a suspense filled chase.
THIS EPISODE:
June 15, 1952. NBC network. "Terminate Professor Kolcheck". Sustaining. An Hungarian secret policeman named Andre Provich has become disillusioned with "The Party." When Provich is ordered to liquidate his old friend Professor Kolcheck, the two decide to defect. The story has a good surprise ending. The story title may not be accurate. Edgar Stehli, Fred Collins (announcer), June Foray, Lawrence Klee (creator, writer), Lee Cramer (engineer), Norman Rose, Stefan Schnabel, Walter McGraw (director, transcriber). 29:29.
The Campbell Playhouse was a sponsored continuation of the Mercury Theater on the Air, a direct result of the instant publicity from the War of the Worlds panic. The switch occurred on December 9, 1938. In spite of using the same creative staff, the show had a different flavor under sponsorship, partially attributed to a guest star policy in place, which relegated the rest of the Mercury Players to supporting cast for Orson Welles and the Hollywood guest of the week. There was a growing schism between Welles, still reaping the rewards of his Halloween night notoriety, and his collaborator John Houseman, still in the producer's chair but feeling more like an employee than a partner. The writer, as during the unsponsored run, was Howard Koch.
THIS EPISODE:
September 24, 1939. CBS net. "What Every Woman Knows". Sponsored by: Campbell's Soup. Drama about an Irish M.P. and his plain and apparently useless wife. Agnes Moorehead, Alfred Shirley, Bernard Herrmann (composer, conductor), Ernest Chappell (announcer), Eustace Wyatt, Everett Sloane, Helen Hayes (narrator), Naomi Campbell, Orson Welles (host), Ray Collins (narrator). 55:24.
Case DismissedThus with the pounding of the gavel, the fate of men and women have been decided by the judge. This is the story of our legal rights, the battle to preserve and protect them, and how easily they can be lost. The program shows us just how fragile liberty and justice can be. These stories of everyday events are still interesting, even after 50 years. Stories of criminal liability, legal wills, buying on installment, and leasing an apartment. Each story is well written, and the acting, though dated and a bit hokey by today’s standards, still manages to achieve the desired effect. Not much information is available for this series, it was apparently broadcast on a limited basis, and originated on WMAQ Chicago, an NBC station. It was comprised of thirteen episodes, twelve of which are currently available, and was heard from January 30, 1954 through April 24, 1954.
THIS EPISODE:
February 20, 1954. NBC network, WMAQ, Chicago origination. Sustaining. The program is produced in co-operation with the Chicago Bar Association. A louse of a father plans to skip town to avoid paying his ex-wife child support. A program about child support and domestic relations. Harry Elders, Robert Carmen (writer), Betty Ross (producer), Herbert Littow (director), Rosemary Kelly, Muriel Monsell (?), Jack Lester, Claire Baum, Tom Evans (sound), John C. Fitzgerald (host, Dean of the Law School, Loyola University), Phillip Lord, Harold Witteberry (engineer), Lee Bennett (announcer). 29:09.
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT) was an ambitious and sustained attempt to revive the great drama of old-time radio in the 1970s. Created by Himan Brown (who had by then become a radio legend due to his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries and other shows dating back to the 1930s), and aired on affiliate stations across the CBS Radio network, the series began its long run on January 6, 1974. The final episode ran on December 31, 1982. The show was broadcast nightly and ran for one hour, including commercials. Typically, a week consisted of three to four new episodes, with the remainder of the week filled out with reruns. There were a total of 1399 original episodes broadcast. The total number of broadcasts, including reruns, was 2969. The late E.G. Marshall hosted the program every year but the final one, when actress Tammy Grimes took over. Each episode began with the ominous sound of a creaking door, slowly opening to invite listeners in for the evening's adventure. At the end of each show, the door would swing shut, with Marshall signing off, "Until next time, pleasant...dreams?"
THIS EPISODE:
January 24, 1975. Program #211. CBS network. "Flowers Of Death". Sponsored by: Vigne Wine, Buick, Sine-Off. E. G. Marshall (host), Sam Dann (writer), Mercedes McCambridge, Larry Haines, Roberta Maxwell, Gilbert Mack. 52 minutes.
Adventures In ResearchThrough the magic of radio this unique collection of shows captures American History like no other medium can. From dramatizations of events prior to the formation of the United States and our fight for freedom from England through manifest destiny and our push to the Pacific Ocean. From live radio broadcasts of a date which will live in infamy to the resignation of a defeated and humiliated President and so much more. These shows will offer hours of entertainment bringing our early history alive and remind of us what it was like to be glued to our radios before we were glued to 24 hour news channels and instant access internet connections. A Public service production by the Westinghouse Research Labs. The series ran from the early 1940's -mid 1950's. HOST: Paul Shannon.
Candid Microphone is a 1940s radio show which soon became the long-running TV series "Candid Camera". The show involved scenarios in which unwitting members of the public would be placed in a situation where unusual things began happening (caused by actors hired by the producers as well as various props). The victim of the prank's reactions would be recorded and at some stage the joke is finally revealed to them. Introduced by Allen Funt, this is a rare bit of broadcasting history, perfect for radio buffs and Candid Camera fans who wish to revisit the program's roots. Candid Microphone was first heard on Saturday, June 28, 1947, at 7:30pm on ABC radio. Funt's concept came to television on August 10, 1948.
The Boston Blackie radio series, also starring Morris, began June 23, 1944, on NBC as a summer replacement for The Amos 'n' Andy Show. Sponsored by Rinso, the series continued until September 15 of that year. Unlike the concurrent films, Blackie had a steady romantic interest in the radio show: Lesley Woods appeared as Blackie's girlfriend Mary Wesley. Harlow Wilcox was the show's announcer. On April 11, 1945, Richard Kollmar took over the title role in a radio series syndicated by Frederic W. Ziv to Mutual and other network outlets. Over 200 episodes of this series were produced between 1944 and October 25, 1950. Other sponsors included Lifebuoy Soap, Champagne Velvet beer, and R&H beer. While investigating mysteries, Blackie invaribly encountered harebrained Police Inspector Farraday (Maurice Tarplin) and always solved the mystery to Farraday's amazement. Initially, friction surfaced in the relationship between Blackie and Farraday, but as the series continued, Farraday recognized Blackie's talents and requested assistance. Blackie dated Mary Wesley (Jan Miner), and for the first half of the series, his best pal Shorty was always on hand. The humorless Farraday was on the receiving end of Blackie's bad puns and word play. Kent Taylor starred in the half-hour TV series, The Adventures of Boston Blackie. Syndicated in 1951, it ran for 58 episodes, continuing in repeats over the following decade.
Bulldog Drummond has come to wreak havoc on unsuspecting killers, counterfeiters, and underworld characters. The opening of the show starts with a the sounds of footsteps, foghorn, then two shots ring out, followed by three blows of a police officer's whistle. Bulldog, who's really name is Hugh (played by George Coulouris), was a methodical crime-solving sleuth who let nothing get in his way of his goal, which was to put a stop to crime! Bulldog believed in uncomplicated and decisive means of getting his way with the lords of the underworld. This usually led to their swift capture, and the easing of the city's burden brought about by these ruthless thugs.
THIS EPISODE:
September 24, 1945. Mutual network, WCPO, Cincinnati aircheck. "Escape Into Death". Sustaining. A chemical engineer for an explosives company is stopped by a false road barricade and killed by a thrown knife through his neck...or was he? Capt. Drummond and Denny discover a Japanese plot. . 29:17.
The FORD THEATER, sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, presented hour long dramas first on NBC for one only season. The series moved to CBS for its second and last season. There were 39 NBC and 39 CBS hour- long shows (not verified). The show initially received an unfavorable review from the New York Times for poor script adaptation but was still highly rated for the actors' performance and overall production. The show was supposed to feature only original scripts but had to forgo that plan due to lack of quality material. The first season on NBC used radio actors under the direction of George Zachary. Martin Gabel announced the first show but was soon replaced by Kenneth Banghart. The second season, on CBS, used Hollywood screen actors in the lead roles, supported by radio actors. Fletcher Markle, who previously produced CBS's STUDIO ONE series, was the producer for the second season. Although a short series, it still has some of radio's best dramas.
THIS EPISODE:
January 4, 1948. NBC network. "The Adventures Of A Bad Boy". Sponsored by: Ford. A fine murder mystery, deduced and solved by Ellery Queen. A good radio production; Ellery picks the killer like a rabbit out of a magician's hat...almost literally! Guy Wallace, Kenneth Banghart (announcer), Charlotte Keane, Brad Barker, Jane Houston, Walter Vaughn, Harold Dryanforth, Avril Harris, Frederic Dannay (writer, as "Ellery Queen"), Manfred B. Lee (writer, as "Ellery Queen"), Santos Ortega, Ted de Corsia, Sarah Fussell, Hugh Marlowe, Anne Seymour, John Gibson. 1 hour.
The Casebook of Gregory Hood,/B>, starring Gale Gordon in the title role, took over where Sherlock Holmes had left off. Sponsored by Petri wine, it used the same "weekly visit" format and the same team of Anthony Boucher and Dennis Green that had written The New Adventured of Sherlock Holmes. Gregory Hood was modelled after true-life San Francisco importer Richard Gump, and many of the stories revolve around a mystery surrounding some particular imported treasure. Hood's sidekick Sanderson "Sandy" Taylor was played by Bill Johnstone. The show aired from June, 1946 through August, 1950. There were an additional couple of shows aired in October 1951. Hood and Sanderson were played in later episodes by Elliott Lewis and Howard McNear, respectively.
Bold Venture - The Hollywood husband and wife team of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall set sail for adventure in the Bold Venture radio series in early 1951. There were well over 400 stations that aired the program. Since thiswas syndicated * the starting date varied from station to station but Mar 26, 1951 was the official date of the first show. Humphrey Bogart portrayed Slate Shannon, owner of a rundown Havana hotel, Shannon's Place. The action took place on land as well aboard Slate's boat, The Bold Venture, thus the title of the series. Lauren Bacall was his ward Sailor Duval, a stubborn and flirtatious young woman whose late father had willed her to Slate for her protection. Together the duo found adventure, intrigue, mystery and romance in the sultry settings of tropical Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean.
The Amazing Mr. Malone radio series aired 1947-1951 based on the John Malone series of mystery novels by Craig Rice, the author of fourteen novels, countless short stories, and a number of true crime pieces. She once rivaled Agatha Christie in sales,and was on the cover of Time Magazine in 1946. John J. Malone, socialite and ladies man, is a brilliant criminal lawyer taking up a new case in every episode. Using his finely-honed deductive and persuasive skills, he never gives up until justice is done.
THIS EPISODE:
- NBC network. "The Lucky Stiff". Sustaining. Lucky at everything, or is he. George Petrie, Larry Haines, Craig Rice (creator), Eugene Wang (writer), Bernard L. Schubert (producer), Richard Lewis (director), Fred Collins (announcer). 29:38.
The Jack Benny Show Benny had been only a minor vaudeville performer, but he became a national figure with The Jack Benny Program, a weekly radio show which ran from 1932 to 1948 on NBC and from 1949 to 1955 on CBS, and was consistently among the most highly rated programs during most of that run. With Canada Dry Ginger Ale as a sponsor, Benny came to radio on The Canada Dry Program, beginning May 2, 1932, on the NBC Blue Network and continuing there for six months until October 26, moving the show to CBS on October 30. With Ted Weems leading the band, Benny stayed on CBS until January 26, 1933. Arriving at NBC on March 17, Benny did The Chevrolet Program until April 1, 1934. He continued with sponsors General Tires, Jell-O and Grape Nuts. Lucky Strike was the radio sponsor from 1944 to the mid-1950s. The show returned to CBS on January 2, 1949, as part of CBS president William S. Paley's notorious "raid" of NBC talent in 1948-49. There it stayed for the remainder of its radio run, which ended on May 22, 1955. CBS aired reruns of old radio episodes from 1956 to 1958 as The Best of Benny.
THIS EPISODE:
January 17, 1954. Program #364. CBS network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. After lunch with the gang, Jack gets a Beverly Hills parking ticket. AFRS program name: "The Jack Benny Program." The program was recorded January 13, 1954. Dennis Day, Don Wilson, Sara Berner, Eddie Anderson, Frank Nelson, Mel Blanc, Milt Josefsberg (writer), Al Gordon (writer), Hal Goldman (writer), Hilliard Marks (producer, transcriber), John Tackaberry (writer), Jack Benny, Bob Crosby. 25 minutes.
Crime Classics was a U. S. radio docudrama which aired over CBS from June 15, 1953 to June 30, 1954. Created, produced, and directed by radio actor/director Elliott Lewis, the program was basically a historical true crime series, examining crimes, and especially murders, from the past. It grew out of Lewis's personal interest in famous murder cases, and took a documentary-like approach to the subject, carefully recreating the facts, personages, and feel of the time period. Comparatively little dramatic license was taken with the facts and events, but the tragedy was leavened with humor, expressed largely through the narration.
THIS EPISODE:
February 10, 1954. CBS network. "Twenty Three Knives Against Caesar". Sustaining. Hail Caesar...from a "Crime Classics" point of view. Lou Merrill (host), Morton Fine (writer), David Friedkin (writer), Edgar Barrier, Hy Averback, Marvin Miller, Harry Bartell, Bob Lemond (announcer), Bernard Herrmann (composer, conductor), Elliott Lewis (producer, director), Lou Krugman, Irene Tedrow, Betty Harford. 30:12.
Cloak and Dagger - "Are you willing to undertake a dangerous mission for the United States, knowing in advance you may never return alive?" Cloak and Dagger first aired over the NBC network on May 7, 1950. It had a short run through the Summer on Sundays, changing to Fridays after its Summer run. The last show aired Oct. 22, 1950. This is the story of the WWII special governmental agency, the OSS, or Office of Strategic Services. Its mission was to develop and maintain spy networks throughout Europe and into Asia, while giving aid to underground partisan groups and developing espionage activities for Allied forces overseas.The show is based on the book of the same name by Lt. Col. Corey Ford and Major Alastair MacBain (who were associated with the OSS from its early days.) The dramas are not Hollywood-style, in that they sometimes end with plans foiled or leading characters dead.
THIS EPISODE:
September 22, 1950. NBC network. "Operation Sell-Out". Sustaining. 8:00 P. M. A two-man mission into occupied France to locate a German submarine base is turned into a three-man mission. The final promotional announcement and system cue have been deleted. Karl Weber, Ken Field (writer), Carl Eastman, Louise Erickson, Ian Martin, Luis Van Rooten, Arnold Moss, Jon Gart (music director), Alistair MacBain (creator), Raymond Edward Johnson, Manny Segal (sound effects), John Powers (sound effects), Don Abbott (engineer), Louis G. Cowan (producer), Alfred Hollander (producer), Sherman Marks (director, supervisor), Corey Ford (creator). 29:12.
The Adventures of Frank Merriwell first ran on NBC radio from March 26 to June 22, 1934 as a 15-minute serial airing three times a week at 5:30pm. Sponsored by Dr. West's Toothpaste, this program starred Donald Briggs in the title role. Harlow Wilcox was the announcer. After a 12-year gap, the series returned October 5, 1946 as a 30-minute NBC Saturday morning show, continuing until June 4, 1949. Lawson Zerbe starred as Merriwell, Jean Gillespie and Elaine Rostas as Inza Burrage, Harold Studer as Bart Hodge and Patricia Hosley as Elsie Belwood. The announcer was Harlow Wilcox, and the Paul Taubman Orchestra supplied the background music. There are at least three generations of Merriwells: Frank, his half-brother Dick, and Frank's son, Frank Jr. There is a marked difference between Frank and Dick. Frank usually handled challenges on his own. Dick has mysterious friends and skills that help him, especially an old Indian friend without whom the stories would not have been quite as interesting.
THIS EPISODE:
October 2, 1948. NBC network. "The Ransomed Football". Sustaining. After a hard-fought football game against Rutgers, the victory football disappears. Frank vows to return the ball before returning to Yale. The University Of Denver "Youth Month" scholarship premium is a four-year full tuition scholarship. Mr. Atwater Kent has donated an additional $500 for expenses while the winner attends college. The program closing has been partially deleted. Elaine Rost, Paul Taubman (composer, conductor), Ruth Braun (writer), Gilbert Braun (writer), William Welch (writer), Edward King (director), William Griffis, David Alexander, Ed Latimer, Lawson Zerbe, Hal Studer, Burt L. Standish (creator). 28:48.
Counterspy was an espionage drama radio series that aired on ABC and Mutual from May 18, 1942 to November 29, 1957. David Harding (Don MacLaughlin) was the chief of the United States Counterspies, a unit engaged during World War II in counterespionage against Japan's Black Dragon and Germany's Gestapo. With spies still lurking in the post-war years, the adventures continued apace well after World War II ended.
THIS EPISODE:
July 28, 1946. ABC network. Sponsored by: Old Nick Candy, Bit O' Honey Candy. Not auditioned. A rehearsal recording about a stolen car racket. The cast cracks up at the end. The announcer's last words are, "32:45" (presumably the running time of the recording). Phillips H. Lord (producer). 32:46.
Hollywood Radio Theater (Lux Radio Theater) strove to feature as many of the original stars of the original stage and film productions as possible, usually paying them $5,000 an appearance to do the show. It was when sponsor Lever Brothers (who made Lux soap and detergent) moved the show from New York to Hollywood in 1936 that it eased back from adapting stage shows and toward adaptations of films. The first Lux film adaptation was The Legionnaire and the Lady, with Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable, based on the film Morocco. That was followed by a Lux adaptation of The Thin Man, featuring the movie's stars, Myrna Loy and William Powell.
THIS EPISODE:
September 21, 1953. Program #92. CBS network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "I Confess". A priest hears the confession of a murderer. Because he cannot reveal the killer's identity, the priest finds himself accused of the crime. AFRS program name: "Hollywood Radio Theatre." Cary Grant, Phyllis Thaxter, Irving Cummings (host), Ken Carpenter (announcer), Rudy Schrager (music director), Jack Kruschen, Leonard Penn, Edgar Barrier, Shepard Menken, George Baxter, Anne Morrison, Charlie Lung, Jill Oppenheim, William Johnstone, Herb Butterfield, Tony Michaels, Edward Marr, George Tabori (screenwriter), William Archibald (screenwriter), Paul Anthelme (author), Earl Ebi (director), Sanford Barnett (adaptor), Charlie Forsyth (sound effects). 55 minutes.
The FalconThis hard boiled spy drama began as an RKO Radio Pictures theatrical serial in the 1940s, went on radio in 1945, and then came to TV ten years later in this Syndicated series produced for distribution by NBC Films; Charles McGraw had been in many motion pictures before and after including "The Killers", "Spartacus" and "Cimarron"; in this series he played the title role of a man whose real name was supposedly Mike Waring, an American agent whose code name was "Falcon"; Later Charles McGraw starred in a short lived TV version of "Casablanca" (1955 - 1956) in the character of Rick; He also had a role on the detective drama "Staccato" (1959) Actor McGraw (whose birth name was Charles Butters) met an unfortunate death in real life when he fell through a shower glass door in 1980 at his home in Studio City, CA.
THIS EPISODE:
December 10, 1950. NBC network. "The Case Of The Raw Deal". Sponsored by: Kraft. A gunman robs a hotel room poker game of $65,000. The victims hire "The Falcon" to find the gunman, but Mike Waring suspects that one of the card players was in on the deal. Les Damon, Ed Herlihy (announcer), Drexel Drake (creator). 29:34.
Duffy's Tavern, an American radio situation comedy (CBS, 1941-1942; NBC-Blue Network, 1942-1944; NBC, 1944-1952), often featured top-name stage and film guest stars but always hooked those around the misadventures, get-rich-quick-scheming, and romantic missteps of the title establishment's malaprop-prone, metaphor-mixing manager, Archie, played by the writer/actor who created the show, Ed Gardner.
THIS EPISODE:
April 13, 1949. NBC network origination, Nostalgia Broadcasting Corporation syndication. Commercials added locally. Suspecting that one of his non-paying customers is really a millionaire, Archie holds an open house at Duffy's. Duffy himself enters his tavern, but is not heard. Ed Gardner, Eddie Green, Charlie Cantor, Alan Reed, Ken Christy. 26:02.
Diary of Fate is a mystery and horror program where “Fate” narrates and always wins by the end of the story. These are great suspense filled stories about average people who are subject to the mysteries of their ‘Fate’.
TODAY'S SHOW:
May 25, 1948. Program #24. Finley syndication. "The Entry Of Walter Vincent". Commercials added locally. Book 97, page 854. A chemist realizes he never should have become a scientist. His wife has bigger plans, Walter has to make a choice. The date is subject to correction. Larry Finley (producer), Herb Lytton, Tom Brown, Peter Leeds, John Arthur Gillespie, Gloria Blondell, Ray Ehrlenborn (probable sound effects), Ivan Ditmars (organ), Ivan Ditmars, Hal Sawyer. 27:45.
June 29, 1948. Program #29. Finley syndication. "Victor Wakeman". Commercials added locally. Book 54, page 806. Not auditioned. An American citizen works in Berlin for U. S. government intelligence. The date is subject to correction. Herb Lytton, Mary Lansing, Barney Phillips, Walter Craig, Ray Ehrlenborn, Hal Sawyer, Gene Twombley, Larry Finley (producer). 26:07.
Burns and Allen are one of the most beloved couple in old time radio. They got started, like many of the greats of old time radio, in vaudeville, which is really just the touring popular entertainment in America prior to movies. Gracie was the sparkplug of the act, always the center of attention. George played the foil, the guy vainly trying to make sense of the ditzy world of Gracie. By the early 30s, Gracie was probably the best known woman on radio. Gracie often sang in a voice that showed she was also an excellent comedienne songstress. The shows had names after the sponsors, such as Maxwell House Coffee Time, or The Ammident Show - it was the Burns and Allen show to the public. Other fine radio actors were a part of the fun. Mel Blanc did the happy postman, and was also famous for his zany characters on The Jack Benny Show, and his own Mel Blanc Show. Elliott Lewis, a veteran of many radio dramas, played many of the bit parts on the Burns and Allen shows of the 40s. Burns & Allen were touring England in 1929 when they made their first radio appearance on the BBC. Gracie Allen died on August 27, 1964. George Burns died on March 9, 1996. First Broadcast date february 15th 1932. Last Broadcast date may 17th 1950.
Academy Award Theater - Stars and movies with Oscars were the idea - in most cases, the movie stars recreated their academy award roles for the show, or in other cases, fine actors played the parts and gave it a different character. Both ways make for great radio drama and first class Hollywood motion picture star entertainment. The Lux Radio Theater had been doing this kind of radio show in the grandest manner for many years, but sponsor Squibb had the hubris and deep pockets to take on the competition by doing Academy Award Theater right after the Second World War. The year 1946 was pre-television, and so movies were still the major American visual art form, with radio the other popular network entertainment. In this final pre-TV time, Academy Award Theater was thought of as a premier radio production, a wow show, much like CinemaScope was to be in the 1950's when Hollywood felt the box office blow of early TV.
THIS EPISODE:
September 25, 1946. CBS network. "Guest In The House". Sponsored by: Squibb Drugs. A neurotic disrupts the happy home life of her doctor's family. Joan Lorring, Anita Louise, Kirk Douglas. 1/2 hour.
Calling All Cars was one of radio’s earliest cop shows, dramatizing true crime stories and introduced by officers from the Los Angeles and other police departments. The narrator of the program was speech professor Charles Frederick Lindsley, and the only other regular voice heard on the program week after week belonged to that of Sergeant Jesse Rosenquist of the L.A.P.D., whose name and voice were so unusually distinctive that he was retained for the show’s entire run. None of the actors on the show ever received on-air credit, but among the talent OTR fans can hear the likes of Elvia Allman, Jackson Beck, Charles Bickford, John Gibson, Richard LeGrand and Hanley Stafford, just to name a few.
THIS EPISODE:
January 22, 1935. Program #61. CBS Pacific network (Don Lee network). "The San Quentin Prison Break". Sponsored by: Rio Grande Oil. Four convicts have just escaped from San Quentin prison, they are reported heading north with four members of the prison board as hostages. The actual prison break happened just "last Wednesday." The program has also been dated January 16, 1935. The initial dramatization of the event (also on the Don Lee net, which was used as the CBS Pacific net) took place just a half hour after the capture of the escaped convicts. William N. Robson dramatized how this story was produced on "The Columbia Workshop" on September 5, 1936. The system cue has been deleted. Not auditioned. District Attorney Albert Bagshaw speaks from KFRC, San Francisco. William N. Robson (writer, producer), Charles Frederick Lindsley (narrator), Albert Bagshaw (may be impersonated). 29:05.
Broadway Is My Beat, a radio crime drama, ran on CBS from February 27, 1949 to August 1, 1954. With music by Robert Stringer, the show originated from New York during its first three months on the air, with Anthony Ross portraying Times Square Detective Danny Clover. John Dietz directed for producer Lester Gottlieb. Beginning with the July 7, 1949 episode, the series was broadcast from Hollywood with producer Elliott Lewis directing a new cast in scripts by Morton Fine and David Friedkin. The opening theme of "I'll Take Manhattan" introduced Detective Danny Clover (now played by Larry Thor), a hardened New York City cop who worked homicide "from Times Square to Columbus Circle -- the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world."
2000 AD (2000 Plus) is known as the first of the network science fiction shows, although it ran on Mutual just a month prior to the introduction of the landmark series, Dimension X. It was a half hour of science fiction wonder in an exciting package. The stories have a charm that is always present in science fiction of the future that is written in the past. "When The Worlds Met" takes place "at the giant space port in Washington, temporary capitol of the federated world government as in April 21, 2000 Plus 20 (2020) crowds throng as audio and televox networks cover a space ship carrying in its space hold the first load of uranium taken from the pits of Luna, satellite of Earth.
The Avenger is an Old Time Radio show aired by the South African Broadcasting System in the 1940s. It featured a biochemist crime-fighter by the name of Jim Brandon. Mr. Brandon had two inventions which assisted him in the fight against crime. Mr. Brandon was able to pick up telpathic thought flashes and had a diffusion capsule which allowed him to become invisible. SYNDICATED by:Charles Michelson WRITTER: Walter Gibson STARS: James Monks, Dick Janiver as the invisible Jim Brandon WITH: James LaCurto.
THIS EPISODE:
The Avenger. November 16, 1945. Program #24. Michelson syndication. "The Diploma Of Death". Commercials added locally. Charles Michelson (producer), Walter Gibson (writer), Ruth Braun (writer), Gilbert Braun (writer). 1/2 hour.
Box 13The premise of the program was that Dan Holiday was an author who wrote mystery novels. To get ideas for his novels he placed an advertisement in a newspaper saying "Adventure wanted, will go anywhere, do anything, Box 13." The ads always brought fun adventures of all kinds: from racketeer's victim to psychotic killer looking for fun. Most of the episodes were based on Dan Holiday replying to a letter he received at Box 13. He would generally solve a mystery in the process, and return to his office in time to enjoy a hearty laugh at the expense of Suzy, his amusingly stupid secretary. He would certainly not meet the strictest requirements for private eyes (not licensed, collected no fees from clients), but the definition should stretch to sneak him in under the rope. It was heard over the Mutual Broadcasting System as well as being syndicated. The series was produced by Mayfair Productions. Box 13, starring Alan Ladd as Dan Holiday. Sylvia Picker played Suzy, Dan Holiday's secretary and Edmond MacDonald as Lt. Kling. Other stars in the series were Betty Lou Gerson, Lurene Tuttle, Alan Reed, Luis Van Rooten, John Beal and Frank Lovejoy. Music was by Rudy Schrager and the writer was Russell Hughes. Announcer/Director was Vern Carstensen. The series was produced by Richard Sanville with Alan Ladd as co-producer.
THIS EPISODE:
November 14, 1948. Program #13. Mayfair syndication. "Damsel In Distress". Commercials added locally. Constance McLain, a wealthy girl at a private school, asks Dan to protect her from a blackmailer. She then disappears! A loud crash is heard in the studio during the program, which is ignored by the cast. Alan Ladd, Edmond MacDonald, Richard Sanville (director), Rudy Schrager (composer, conductor), Russell Hughes (writer), Sylvia Picker, Vern Carstensen (production supervisor). 27:28.
Blair of the Mounties is the story of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police -- a fictional series based on the work of the Northwest Mounted Police before the World War I. It was a fifteen minute weekly serial heard every Monday for 36 weeks beginning January 31st, 1938 and running through the 3rd of October of 1938. It may have been on the air as early as 1935, although there’s no actual proof of this. Little is known of the series other than it followed the exploits of Sgt. Blair of the Northwest Mounted Police. and probably was the inspiration for Trendell, Campbell and Muir's Challenge of the Yukon. The series was written by Colonel Rhys Davies, who also played the Colonel Blair in the series. Jack Abbot played the Constable. Jack French, one of OTR’s best researchers says this about the series: “Blair is not restricted to Canada, as other Mounties, as we find him, in a few cases, in Great Britain, solving cases. Overall the series is amateurishly written, with the actor playing Blair coming accros as a bit stuffy.”
THIS EPISODE:
April 4, 1938. Program #10. Walter Biddick syndication. "The Cherry Hill Mystery" Part one. An innocent man will be hanged unless Blair can find out how two men were shot...without a gun! . 12 1/4 minutes.
April 11, 1938. Program #11. Walter Biddick syndication. "The Cherry Hill Mystery" Part two. With clever deduction, Blair discovers the killer and the murder weapon. . 13 1/4 minutes.
The Arthur Godfrey Show - Godfrey was born in New York City. While his family was originally well off, his mother was unsuccessful as a performer with aspirations to fame and stardom that never materialized, and his father was a failed sportswriter who left the family. With the family in sudden poverty, Godfrey tried to help them survive by going on the road accepting odd jobs, and hoboing. He served in the United States Navy from 1920 to 1924 as a radio operator on naval destroyers. Additional training in radio came during Godfrey's service in the Coast Guard from 1927 to 1930. It was during a Coast Guard stint in Baltimore that he appeared on a local talent show and became popular enough to land his own brief weekly program.
The Clock, Imported from Austrailia, was a dramatic thirty-minute suspense and mystery series. It was written by Lawrence Klee and was first broadcast in November 1946. The story always began the same; “Sunrise and sunset, promise and fulfilment, birth and death … the whole drama of life is written in the sands of time”. This is a great series where the main theme seems to be Retribution. Stories as told by Father Time.
THIS EPISODE:
July 21, 1947. Syndicated, WRVR-FM, New York aircheck. "Gus Fowler". Participating sponsors. A man with a month to live and a strange bargain. WRVR rebroadcast date: August 31, 1973. The date above is the date of the first broadcast on ABC. . 1/2 hour.
The Air Adventures Of Jimmy Allen This series included the boy wonder and pilot, Jimmie Allen, his best teenage buddy, Speed Robertson, and mechanic Flash Lewis. As a team they would solve crimes often at the hands of their enemies the corrupt Black Pete and the dishonorable Digger Dawson. Young listeners could join the very popular Jimmie Allen Flying club, complete with a "personal letter" from the boy wonder himself. Jimmie Allen was so popular a character that Paramount shot the feature film The Sky Parade.
Big Town is a radio show that aired from 1937 to 1952. Edward G. Robinson had the lead role of Steve Wilson from 1937 to 1942. Claire Trevor was Wilson's society editor sidekick Lorelei Kilbourne, with Ona Munson taking over that role in 1940. Edward J. Pawley portrayed Wilson from 1942 until 1952 when Walter Greaza was heard as Wilson in the final episodes in the radio series. When Big Town moved to television, the program was telecast live, but in 1952 the production switched to film after the move from New York City to Hollywood. The television series ran on CBS from 1950 through 1954, continuing on NBC from 1955 through 1956. Repeat episodes aired on the DuMont Network (under the title City Assignment) while Big Town was still showing first-run episodes on CBS. Reruns were also shown under the titles Heart of the City, Headline and Byline Steve Wilson. THIS EPISODE:
November 30, 1948. NBC network. "I Remember Murder". Sponsored by: Lifebuoy, Rinso. A band-leader steals $50,000 from The High Hatters Club and leaves town in a hurry. After he's "taken for a ride," the girl singer who was with him developes amnesia. "Harry The Hack" finds her...and the murder victim too. Edward Pawley, Fran Carlon, Mason Adams, Jerry McGill (writer, director). 29:55.
21ST PRECINCT was one of the realistic police drama series of the early- to mid-1950's that were aired in the wake of DRAGNET. In 1953 CBS decided to use New York City as the backdrop for their own half-hour police series and focus on the day-to-day operation of a single police precinct. Actual cases were used as the basis for stories. The Precinct Captain acted as the narrator for the series.The official title of the series according to the series scripts and the CBS series promotional materials was 21ST PRECINCT and not TWENTY-FIRST PRECINCT or TWENTY FIRST PRECINCT which appears in many Old-Time Radio books. In 1953 CBS decided to use New York City as the backdrop for their own half-hour police series and focus on the day-to-day operations of a single police precinct. Actual cases would be used as the basis for stories. It was mentioned in each episode's closing by the announcer that, "Twenty-firstPrecinct is presented with the official cooperation of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association an organization of more than 20,000 members of the Police Department, City of New York."
The Adventures of Frank Race, by Bruce Ells Productions, was first heard in May of 1949. The main character, Frank Race, was an attorney before World War II. As a result of his activities in the war, when it was over, he traded his law books for a career with the OSS. There, "Adventure" became his business. Tom Collins played the role of Frank Race initially, immediately following his stint as Chandu, The Magician. The lead role was taken over later by Paul Dubof. THIS EPISODE:
January 22, 1950. Program #39. Broadcasters Program Syndicate syndication. "The Adventure Of The Night Crawler". Commercials added locally. Treachery in the live bait business. Race sees that the worm turns! Paul Dubov, Tony Barrett, Buckley Angel (writer, director), Joel Murcott (writer, director), Bruce Eells (producer), Ivan Ditmars (organist), Art Gilmore (announcer), Michael Ann Barrett, Dick Ryan, Hal March, Gunnar Peterson, Wilms Herbert, Bill Crawford. 26:48.
Author’s Playhouse - Famous stories by celebrated authors: among them, Elementals (Stephen Vincent Benet), The Piano (William Saroyan), and The Snow Goose (Paul Gallico).March 5, 1941 till June 4, 1945, NBC; Blue Network until mid-October 1941, then the Red Network. Many briefly held 30m timeslots, including Sundays at 11:30, 1941-42; Wednesdays at 11:30, 1942-44; Mondays at 11:30, 1944-45. Sponsor was Philip Morris, 1942-43. Cast: John Hodiak, Fern Persons, Arthur Kohl, Laurette Fillbrandt, Kathryn Card, Bob Jellison, Nelson Olmsted, Marvin Miller, Olan Soule, Les Tremayne, Clarence Hartzell, Curley Bradley, etc. Orchestra: Rex Maupin, Roy Shield, J6seph Gallicchio. Creator: Wynn Wright. Directors: Norman Felton, Fred Weihe, Homer Heck, etc. THIS EPISODE:
September 15, 1944. NBC network. "Southern Exposure". Sustaining. A writer and photographer gang up on a government official in Old Mexico. Robert Parsons (author). 1/2 hour.
ABC Mystery Time was hosted by Don Dowd and starred Sir Laurence Olivier. Great special effects will grab your attention, accented by creepy organ rips. Stories are offered such as death gathered round a card table at a local chapter of The Suicide Club, or a man who desperately tries to hire a 24 hour bodyguard all the while trying to make himself the victim of a murder, and other baffling peculiar tales of yore. Also known as Mystery Time and Mystery Time Classics, this one is sure to excite and mystify. THIS EPISODE:
ABC network. "Success Story". Not auditioned. The program is also known as, "Masters Of Mystery." "The story of a man who believes in making plans for his future. Plans that include even murder!" Don Dowd (host), Robert Foster (writer), Clark Andrews (producer). 24:00.
The Black Museum - Opening in 1875, the Crime Museum at Scotland Yard is the oldest museum in the world purely for recording crime. The name Black Museum was coined in 1877 by a reporter from The Observer, a London newspaper, although the museum is still referred to as the Crime Museum. The idea of a crime museum was conceived by Inspector Neame who had already collected together a number of items, with the intention of giving police officers practical instruction on how to detect and prevent burglary. It is this museum that inspired the Black Musuem radio series. The museum is not open to members of the public but is now used as a lecture theatre for the curator to lecture police and like bodies in subjects such as Forensic Science, Pathology, Law and Investigative Techniques. A number of famous people have visited the musuem including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry Houdini, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Orsen Welles hosted and narrated the shows. Following the opening, Mr. Welles would introduce the museum's item of evidence that was central to the case, leading into the dramatization. He also provided narration during the show and ended each show with his characteristic closing from the days of his Mercury Theater on the Air, 'remaining obediently yours'.
THIS EPISODE:
Harry Alan Towers syndication. "Glass Shards". Sponsored by: Commercials added localy. A man and his son find an intruder in their apartment. The older man is shot by a small man. Orson Welles, Ira Marion (writer), Sidney Torch (composer, conductor), Harry Alan Towers (producer). 29:46.
Burns and Allen were an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen.Burns wrote most of the material, and played the straight man. Allen played a silly, addleheaded woman. Both attributed their success to the other, to the ends of their lives. Early on, the team had played the opposite roles until they noticed that the audience was laughing at Gracie's straight lines, so they made the change. Burns and Allen developed their popular routine over more than three decades of stage, radio, film, and television. Historians of popular culture have often stated that Allen was a brilliant comedian, whose entire career consisted of engaging in dialogues of "illogical logic" that left her verbal opponents dazed and confused, and her audiences in stitches. During a typical 23-minute episode of the Burns and Allen show, the vast majority of the dialogue and speaking parts were written for Allen, who was credited with having the genius to deliver her lengthy diatribes in a fashion that made it look as though she was making her arguments up on the spot. (One running gag on the TV show was the existence of a closet full of hats belonging to various visitors to the Burns household, where the guests would slip out the door unnoticed, leaving their hats behind, rather than face another round with Gracie.) A continuing joke on the show was that George would say, "Say good night, Gracie," and Gracie would say, "Good night Gracie!" Ralph Pape used the catchphrase for the title of his play, Say Goodnight, Gracie, produced by Steppenwolf in 1983, and the phrase lives on as a title of other books and stage productions.
Adventures of Leonidas Witherall was a radio mystery series broadcast on Mutual in the mid-1940s. Based on the novels of Phoebe Atwood Taylor (writing as Alice Tilton), the 30-minute dramas were produced by Roger Bower and starred Walter Hampden as Leonidas Witherall, a New England boys' school instructor in Dalton, Massachusetts, a fictional Boston suburb. Witherall, who resembled William Shakespeare, is an amateur detective and the accomplished author of the "popular Lieutenant Hazeltine stories." His housekeeper Mrs. Mollett was played by Ethel Remey (1895-1979) and Jack MacBryde appeared as Police Sgt. McCloud. The announcer was Carl Caruso. Milton Kane supplied the music. The series began June 4, 1944 and continued until May 6, 1945.
THIS EPISODE:
September 7, 1943. CBS network. Sustaining. This series deals with a college professor who looks like Shakespeare and is very good at solving murders. This story takes place at a mountain resort where a murder has been committed by someone very adept at throwing knives. Walter Hampden, Agnes Moorehead. 1/2 hour
Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator (AKA Barry Crane" and then "Barrie Craig) is one of the few detective radio series that had separate versions of it broadcast from both coasts. Even the spelling changed over the years. It was first "Barry Crane" and then "Barrie Craig". NBC produced it in New York from 1951 to 1954 and then moved it to Hollywood where it aired from 1954 to 1955. It attracted only occasional sponsors so it was usually a sustainer. William Gargan, who also played the better known television (and radio) detective Martin Kane, was the voice of New York eye BARRY CRAIG while Ralph Bell portrayed his associate, Lt. Travis Rogers. Craig's office was on Madison Avenue and his adventures were fairly standard PI fare. He worked alone, solved cases efficiently, and feared no man. As the promos went, he was "your man when you can't go to the cops. Confidentiality a speciality." Like Sam Spade, Craig narrated his stories, in addition to being the leading character in this 30 minute show.
The Mysterious Traveler Written and directed by Robert A. Arthur and David Kogan, the series began on the Mutual Broadcasting System, December 5, 1943, continuing in many different timeslots until September 16, 1952. Unlike many other shows of the era, The Mysterious Traveler was without a sponsor for its entire run. The lonely sound of a distant locomotive heralded the arrival of the malevolent narrator, portrayed by Maurice Tarplin, who introduced himself each week in the following manner. This is the Mysterious Traveler, inviting you to join me on another journey into the strange and terrifying. I hope you will enjoy the trip, that it will thrill you a little and chill you a little. So settle back, get a good grip on your nerves and be comfortable -- if you can! THIS EPISODE:
April 16, 1944. Mutual network. "The Accusing Corpse". Sustaining. A journey to the grave to learn the secrets of the dead. An old scam leads to an accusation by a dead body. The show will switch to Sunday at 3:30 P. M. (EST) next week. The script was also used on "The Sealed Book" on April 29, 1945. Don Randolph, Phillip Clark, Maurice Tarplin, Doc Whipple (music), Jock MacGregor (director), Robert A. Arthur (writer), David Kogan (writer). 29:45.
The adventures of Casey Crime Photographer for The Morning Express, were told in this series, which moved to television after a highly successful run on radio in the 1940’s. Casey hung out at the Blue Note Café, where the music was provided by the Tony Mottola Trio, and was friendly with Ethelbert, the bartender, to whom he recounted his various exploits. Richard Carlyle and John Gibson portrayed the roles when the series premiered in April, 1951, but by June they were replaced by Darren McGavin and Cliff Hall. Ann Williams, a reporter on The Morning Express, was Casey’s girlfriend. During the summer of 1951 he acquired a partner in cub reporter Jack Lipman, who wrote copy to go with Casey’s pictures. This live series was set in and broadcast from, New York City. THIS EPISODE:
April 17, 1947. CBS network. "Box Of Death". Sponsored by: Anchor Hocking Glass. A crook with a lucky penny delivers a woman's husband to her, dead in a box. Staats Cotsworth, John Gibson, Tony Marvin (announcer), Archie Bleyer (music), George Harmon Coxe (creator), Alonzo Deen Cole (writer). 1/2 hour.
Arch Oboler's Plays was a radio drama series written, produced and directed by Arch Oboler. Minus a sponsor, it ran for one year, airing Saturday evenings on NBC from March 25, 1939 to March 23, 1940 and revived five years later on Mutual for a sustaining summer run from April 5, 1945 to October 11, 1945. Leading film actors were heard on this series, including Gloria Blondell, Eddie Cantor, James Cagney, Ronald Colman, Joan Crawford, Greer Garson, Edmund Gwenn, Van Heflin, Katharine Hepburn, Elsa Lanchester, Peter Lorre, Frank Lovejoy, Raymond Massey, Burgess Meredith, Paul Muni, Alla Nazimova, Edmond O'Brien, Geraldine Page, Gale Sondergaard, Franchot Tone and George Zucco. THIS EPISODE:
June 7, 1945. Mutual network. "Night". Sustaining. An excellent, beautiful radio montage in the central theme of "night." Arch Oboler, Barney James, Bruce Elliott (narrator), David Raxon and His Orchestra, Dorothy Scott, Edmond MacDonald, Everett Allen, Frank Martin (announcer), Gloria Blondell, Griff Barnett (Swan Soap commercial), Joseph Granby, Roseanne Murray, Theodore Von Eltz, Therese Lyon. 1/2 hour.
Amos 'n' Andy was a situation comedy popular in the United States from the 1920s through the 1950s. The show began as one of the first radio comedy serials, written and voiced by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll and originating from station WMAQ in Chicago, Illinois. After the series was first broadcast in 1928, it grew in popularity and became a huge influence on the radio serials that followed. Amos 'n' Andy creators Gosden and Correll were white actors familiar with minstrel traditions. They met in Durham, North Carolina in 1920, and by the fall of 1925, they were performing nightly song-and-patter routines on the Chicago Tribune's station WGN. Since the Tribune syndicated Sidney Smith's popular comic strip The Gumps, which had successfully introduced the concept of daily continuity, WGN executive Ben McCanna thought the notion of a serialized drama could also work on radio. He suggested to Gosden and Correll that they adapt The Gumps to radio. They instead proposed a series about "a couple of colored characters" and borrowed certain elements of The Gumps. THIS EPISODE:
February 25, 1944. NBC network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. Replacing "The Great Gildersleeve." Andy is convinced that he's written the hit tune, "Sunday, Monday, Or Always." He and The Kingfish go into the song writing business! Guests are Kay Kyser, Harry Babbitt. Also Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen (the real composers of the tune). Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Harlow Wilcox (announcer), Kay Kyser, Harry Babbitt, Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen, Kay Kyser and His Orchestra (music fill), Georgia Carroll (vocal). 29:42.
The Damon Runyon Theater was a 52 show series that was syndicated across the USA beginning in early 1949. Damon Runyon was a gifted sports writer in New York City as well as being a great journalist and great short story writer. His stories were humorous ones, written in the "dem" and "dose" vernacular of the city's loveable and not so loveable characters of Broadway, the prize ring and the underworld. His most famous collection of short stories, Guys and Dolls, was on Broadway and later made into a movie. Many of his stories were filmed including Sorrowful Jones, A Pocketful of Miracles, Lady for a Day, Blue Plate Special, The Lemon Drop Kid (twice) and Little Miss Marker (four times). In addition to this The Damon Runyon Theater was syndicated for television in the mid 1950s. THIS EPISODE:
- Program #12. Mayfair syndication. "Pick The Winner". Commercials added locally. Hot Horse Herbie, Cutie Andrews and Broadway travel to Florida to play the horses. They run into "The Professor," which is a horse of another color! Damon Runyon (author), John Brown, Richard Sanville (director), Russell Hughes (writer), Vern Carstensen (production supervisor). 27:05.
Academy Award Theater Stars and movies with Oscars were the idea - in most cases, the movie stars recreated their academy award roles for the show, or in other cases, fine actors played the parts and gave it a different character. Both ways make for great radio drama and first class Hollywood motion picture star entertainment. The Lux Radio Theater had been doing this kind of radio show in the grandest manner for many years, but sponsor Squibb had the hubris and deep pockets to take on the competition by doing Academy Award Theater right after the Second World War. The year 1946 was pre-television, and so movies were still the major American visual art form, with radio the other popular network entertainment. In this final pre-TV time, Academy Award Theater was thought of as a premier radio production, a wow show, much like CinemaScope was to be in the 1950's when Hollywood felt the box office blow of early TV. THIS EPISODE:
October 16, 1946. CBS network. "Blood On The Sun". Sponsored by: Squibb. A crusading newspaper editor in pre-war Japan uncovers the "Tanaka Plan" of world conquest. John Garfield, Jeff Chandler. 1/2 hour.
Broadway Is My Beat A radio crime drama, ran on CBS from February 27, 1949 to August 1, 1954. With music by Robert Stringer, the show originated from New York during its first three months on the air, with Anthony Ross portraying Times Square Detective Danny Clover. John Dietz directed for producer Lester Gottlieb. Beginning with the July 7, 1949 episode, the series was broadcast from Hollywood with producer Elliott Lewis directing a new cast in scripts by Morton Fine and David Friedkin. The opening theme of "I'll Take Manhattan" introduced Detective Danny Clover (now played by Larry Thor), a hardened New York City cop who worked homicide "from Times Square to Columbus Circle -- the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world." THIS EPISODE:
March 7, 1953. CBS network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. Harry Carson is an old man who won't talk, and a dead body who can't! See cat. #52621 for a network version of this broadcast. Elliott Lewis (producer, director), Alexander Courage (composer, conductor), Larry Thor, Charles Calvert, Jack Kruschen, Morton Fine (writer), David Friedkin (writer), Herb Butterfield, Whitfield Connor, Jerry Hausner, James McCallion, Lurene Tuttle, Eddie Fields, Bill Anders (announcer). 28:30.
Your's Truly Johnny Dollar - For over twelve years, from 1949 through 1962 (including a one year hiatus in 1954-1955), this series recounted the cases "the man with the action-packed expense account, America’s fabulous freelance insurance investigator, Johnny Dollar". Johnny was an accomplished 'padder' of his expense account. The name of the show derives from the fact that he closed each show by totaling his expense account, and signing it "End of report... Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar". Terry Salomonson in his authoritative "A Radio Broadcast Log of the Drama Program Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar", notes that the original working title was "Yours Truly, Lloyd London". Salomonson writes "Lloyd London was scratched out of the body of (the Dick Powell) audition script and Johnny Dollar was written in. Thus the show was re-titled on this script and the main character was renamed. Why this was done was unclear – possibly to prevent a legal run-in with Lloyd’s of London Insurance Company." Although based in Hartford, Connecticut, the insurance capital of the world, freelancer Johnny Dollar managed to get around quite a bit – his adventures taking him all over the world. There were some unusual devices used in the show that help set it apart from other shows. There was no partner, assistant, or secretary for Johnny. The character closest to a continuing role was that of Pat McCracken of the Universal Adjustment Bureau, who assigned Johnny many of his cases. Another atypical aspect gave the show additional credibility – frequently, characters on the show would mention that they had heard about Johnny’s cases on the radio. Johnny often used his time when filling out his expense accounts to give the audience background information or to express his thoughts about the current case.
THIS EPISODE:
August 7, 1949. CBS network. "The Investigation Of Bonnie Goodwin," or "Murder Ain't Minor". Sustaining. Johnny takes a case on behalf of "King Hart," (not an insurance company!) to try to find his missing girl. Paul Dubov, Martha Wentworth, Lou Krugman, Charles Russell, Georgia Ellis, Jeanne Bates, Lawrence Dobkin, Roy Rowan (announcer), Leith Stevens (composer, conductor), Gordon T. Hughes (director), Paul Dudley (writer), Gil Doud (witer). 29:36.
The Adventures of Sam Spade was a radio series based loosely on the private detective character Sam Spade, created by writer Dashiell Hammett for The Maltese Falcon. The show ran for 13 episodes on ABC in 1946, for 157 episodes on CBS in 1946-1949, and finally for 51 episodes on NBC in 1949-1951. The series starred Howard Duff (and later, Steve Dunne) as Sam Spade and Lurene Tuttle as his secretary Effie, and took a considerably more tongue-in-cheek approach to the character than the novel or movie. In 1947, scriptwriters Jason James and Bob Tallman received an Edgar Award for Best Radio Drama from the Mystery Writers of America. Before the series, Sam Spade had been played in radio adaptations of The Maltese Falcon by both Edward G. Robinson (in a 1943 Lux Radio Theater production) and by Bogart himself (in a 1946 Academy Award Theater production), both on CBS. THIS EPISODE:
July 18, 1948. CBS network. "The Missing Newshawk Caper". Sponsored by: Wildroot Cream Oil. Spade is hired to find a reporter named Ray McCully. Spade finds him all right, stabbed to death! Howard Duff, Lurene Tuttle, Dashiell Hammett (creator), William Conrad, Sara Berner, Bea Benaderet (possibly), Alan Reed, Gil Doud (writer, director), Robert Tallman (writer), Lud Gluskin (music), Dick Joy (announcer). 29:40.
The Abbott and Costello Show- William (Bud) Abbott and Lou Costello (born Louis Francis Cristillo) were an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film and television made them one of the most popular teams in the history of comedy. Thanks to the endurance of their most popular and influential routine, "Who's on First?"---whose rapid-fire word play and comprehension confusion set the preponderant framework for most of their best-known routines---the team are also the only comedians known to have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Abbott and Costello Show mixed comedy with musical interludes (usually, by singers such as Connie Haines, Marilyn Maxwell, the Delta Rhythm Boys, Skinnay Ennis, and the Les Baxter Singers). Regulars and semi-regulars on the show included Artie Auerbrook, Elvia Allman, Iris Adrian, Mel Blanc, Wally Brown, Sharon Douglas, Verna Felton, Sidney Fields, Frank Nelson, Martha Wentworth, and Benay Venuta. Ken Niles was the show's longtime announcer, doubling as an exasperated foil to Abbott & Costello's mishaps (and often fuming in character as Costello insulted his on-air wife routinely); he was succeeded by Michael Roy, with annoncing chores also handled over the years by Frank Bingman and Jim Doyle. THIS EPISODE:
December 25, 1943. Red network, KFI, Los Angeles aircheck. Sponsored by: Camels. Abbott and Costello plan to kill Ingrid, Costello's pet turkey, for Thanksgiving. Guest Jane Wyman joins in a routine, "What is the wind?" Connie Haines sings, "Shoo, Shoo Baby." Mel Blanc appears as Bugs Bunny. Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Freddie Rich and His Orchestra, Ken Niles (announcer), Jane Wyman, Connie Haines, Mel Blanc (triples), Don Prindle (writer), Leo Solomon (writer), Alan Woods (writer), Martin Gosch (director), Billy Gray, Elvia Allman, John Brown. 29:45.
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT) was an ambitious and sustained attempt to revive the great drama of old-time radio in the 1970s. Created by Himan Brown (who had by then become a radio legend due to his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries and other shows dating back to the 1930s), and aired on affiliate stations across the CBS Radio network, the series began its long run on January 6, 1974. The final episode ran on December 31, 1982. The show was broadcast nightly and ran for one hour, including commercials. Typically, a week consisted of three to four new episodes, with the remainder of the week filled out with reruns. There were a total of 1399 original episodes broadcast. The total number of broadcasts, including reruns, was 2969. The late E.G. Marshall hosted the program every year but the final one, when actress Tammy Grimes took over. Each episode began with the ominous sound of a creaking door, slowly opening to invite listeners in for the evening's adventure. At the end of each show, the door would swing shut, with Marshall signing off, "Until next time, pleasant...dreams?" THIS EPISODE: January 25, 1974. Program #20. CBS net. "Speak Of The Devil". Sponsored by: Kellogg's, Budweiser. E. G. Marshall (host), Ian Martin (writer, performer), Jada Rowland, Bryna Raeburn, Nick Pryor. 52 minutes.
Familiar Ghost (Aired December 18, 1978)
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT) was an ambitious and sustained attempt to revive the great drama of old-time radio in the 1970s. Created by Himan Brown (who had by then become a radio legend due to his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries and other shows dating back to the 1930s), and aired on affiliate stations across the CBS Radio network, the series began its long run on January 6, 1974. The final episode ran on December 31, 1982.The show was broadcast nightly and ran for one hour, including commercials. Typically, a week consisted of three to four new episodes, with the remainder of the week filled out with reruns. There were a total of 1399 original episodes broadcast. The total number of broadcasts, including reruns, was 2969. The late E.G. Marshall hosted the program every year but the final one, when actress Tammy Grimes took over. Each episode began with the ominous sound of a creaking door, slowly opening to invite listeners in for the evening's adventure. At the end of each show, the door would swing shut, with Marshall signing off, "Until next time, pleasant...dreams?"
Abbott and Costello William (Bud) Abbott and Lou Costello (born Louis Francis Cristillo) were an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film and television made them one of the most popular teams in the history of comedy. Thanks to the endurance of their most popular and influential routine, "Who's on First?"---whose rapid-fire word play and comprehension confusion set the preponderant framework for most of their best-known routines---the team are also the only comedians known to have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Bud Abbott was born in Asbury Park, NJ, October 2, 1897 and died April 24, 1974 in Woodland Hills, California. Lou Costello was born in Paterson, NJ, March 6, 1906 and died March 3, 1959 in East Los Angeles, California. After working as Allen's summer replacement, Abbott and Costello joined Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy on The Chase and Sanborn Hour in 1941, while two of their films (Buck Privates and Hold That Ghost) were adapted for Lux Radio Theater. They launched their own weekly show October 8, 1942, sponsored by Camel cigarettes. THIS EPISODE:
May 9, 1944. NBC network. Sponsored by: Camels, Prince Albert Pipe Tobacco. Costello wants to join the circus. Abbott loses his place in the script. Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Carl Hoff and His Orchestra, Amy Arnell (vocal), Bert Cordon (sound effects), John Pawlek (engineer), Ken Niles (announcer), Elvia Allman, Sharon Douglas (doubles), Mel Blanc (quadruples), Sidney Fields, Don Prindle (writer), Ed Forman (writer), Don Bernard (producer, director), Andrew Potter (producer, director). 29:46.
The Screen Director's Playhouse - From 01/09/49 to 09/28/51 this series was greatly enjoyed by the radio listening audience. It opened as NBC Theater and was also known as The Screen Director’s Guild and The Screen Director’s Assignment. But most people remember it simply as Screen Director’s Playhouse. Many of the Hollywood elite were heard recreating their screen roles over the radio. John Wayne in his rare radio appearances, Cary Grant, Edward G. Robinson, Lucille Ball, Claire Trevor, Tallulah Bankhead and many others were on the air week after week during these broadcasts. Many of Hollywood’s directors were also heard in the recreation of their movies. The President of the Screen Director’s Guild appeared on 02/13/49, and Violinist Isaac Stern supplied the music for the 04/19/51 broadcast. THIS EPISODE: October 10, 1949. NBC network. "Criss Cross". Sustaining. A good gangster story about a planned armored car holdup and a double-double cross. Screen director Robert Siodmak appears by transcription. Burt Lancaster, Betty Lou Gerson, Jeff Corey, Betty Morgan, Jimmy Wallington (announcer), Robert Siodmak. 1/2 hour.
The Whistler was one of radio's most popular mystery dramas, with a 13-year run from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955. If it now seems to have been influenced explicitly by The Shadow, The Whistler was no less popular or credible with its listeners, the writing was first class for its genre, and it added a slightly macabre element of humor that sometimes went missing in The Shadow's longer-lived crime stories. Writer-producer J. Donald Wilson established the tone of the show during its first two years, and he was followed in 1944 by producer-director George Allen. Other directors included Sterling Tracy and Sherman Marks with final scripts by Joel Malone and Harold Swanton. A total of 692 episodes were produced, yet despite the series' fame, over 200 episodes are lost today. In 1946, a local Chicago version of The Whistler with local actors aired Sundays on WBBM, sponsored by Meister Brau beer. THIS EPISODE: October 25, 1942. CBS network. "The Alibi". Sustaining. A domineering old lady controls all those around her...several of whom have a good reason for doing her in. J. Donald Wilson (writer, director), Wilbur Hatch (composer, conductor), Herbert Connor (writer). 29:31
Our Miss Brooks, an American situation comedy, began as a radio hit in 1948 and migrated to television in 1952, becoming one of the earlier hits of the so-called Golden Age of Television, and making a star out of Eve Arden (1908-1990) as comely, wisecracking, but humane high school English teacher Connie Brooks. The show hooked around Connie's daily relationships with Madison High School students, colleagues, and pompous principal Osgood Conklin (Gale Gordon), not to mention favourite student Walter Denton (future television and Rambo co-star Richard Crenna, who fashioned a higher-pitched voice to play the role) and biology teacher Philip Boynton ( Jeff Chandler), the latter Connie's all-but-unrequited love interest, who saw science everywhere and little else anywhere. THIS EPISODE: January 1, 1956. CBS network. Sponsored by: Colgate Toothpaste, Lustre Creme Shampoo, Palmolive Soap. "What The Board Of Education Means To Me." Walter's essay and Mr. Conklin's deafness. A funny show! The program may be dated January 4, 1956. Al Lewis (director, writer), Eve Arden, Jane Morgan, Richard Crenna, Leonard Smith, Verne Smith (announcer), Jeff Chandler, Gloria McMillan, Larry Berns (producer), Wilbur Hatch (music), Bob Lemond (announcer), Gale Gordon. 29:50.
Broadcast on NBC, Nightbeat ran from 1949 to 1952 and starred Frank Lovejoy as Randy Stone, a tough and streetwise reporter who worked the nightbeat for the Chicago Star looking for human interest stories. He met an assortment of people, most of them with a problem, many of them scared, and sometimes he was able to help them, sometimes he wasn’t. It is generally regarded as a ‘quality’ show and it stands up extremely well. Frank Lovejoy (1914-1962) isn’t remembered today, but he was a powerful and believable actor with a strong delivery, and his portrayal of Randy Stone as tough guy with humanity was perfect. The scripts were excellent, given that they had to pack in a lot in a short time, and there was a good supporting cast, orchestra, and sound effects. ‘The Slasher’, broadcast on 10 November 1950, the last show of season one, has a very loosely Ripper-derived plot in which Stone searches for an artist. Supporting actors included Parley Baer, William Conrad, Jeff Corey, Lawrence Dobkin, Paul Frees, Jack Kruschen, Peter Leeds, Howard McNear, Lurene Tuttle and Martha Wentworth. THIS EPISODE: April 9, 1950. NBC netWORK. Sustaining. Tom Morrison is a man with "noctophobia," a fear of darkness. He is being driven to commit murder by George Brewster. Nightbeat was being heard more than once a week at this time. Brian Donlevy appears on the show to promote his "Dangerous Assignment" series. Frank Lovejoy, Brian Donlevy, Jane Morgan, Larry Marcus (writer), Frank Worth (music), Warren Lewis (director), Ruth Perrott, David Ellis, Lurene Tuttle, Charles Seel, Margaret Brayton. 29:24.
Perry Mason is the longest running lawyer show in American television history. Its original run lasted nine years and its success in both syndication and made-for-television movies confirm its impressive stamina. Mason's fans include lawyers and judges who were influenced by this series to enter their profession. The Mason character was created by mystery writer Erle Stanley Gardner and delivered his first brief in the novel The Case of the Velvet Claws (1933). From 1934 to 1937 Warners produced six films featuring Mason. A radio series also based on Mason ran every weekday afternoon on CBS radio from 1944 to 1955 as a detective/soap opera. When the CBS television series was developed as an evening drama, the radio series was changed from Perry Mason to The Edge of Night and the cast renamed so as not to compete against the television series.
This Episode: The Case of the Nervous Accomplice from Perry Mason aired October 5, 1957. Sybil Granger hires Perry to help her buy stock in her estranged husband's oil company on the sly. By this, Sybil hopes to force her husband's latest girlfriend, Roxy Howard, out of the company and his life altogether. Things get complicated when George Lutz enters the picture.
Let George Do It was a radio drama series produced by Owen and Pauline Vinson from 1946 to 1954. It starred Bob Bailey as detective-for-hire George Valentine (with Olan Soule stepping into the role in 1954). Clients came to Valentine's office after reading a newspaper carrying his classified ad: "Personal notice: Danger's my stock in trade. If the job's too tough for you to handle, you've got a job for me. George Valentine." Valentine's secretary was Claire Brooks, aka Brooksie (Frances Robinson, Virginia Gregg, Lillian Buyeff). As Valentine made his rounds in search of the bad guys, he usually encounted Brooksie's kid brother, Sonny (Eddie Firestone), Lieutenant Riley (Wally Maher) and elevator man Caleb (Joseph Kearns). Sponsored by Standard Oil, the program was broadcast on the West Coast Mutual Broadcasting System from October 18, 1946 to September 27, 1954, first on Friday evenings and then on Mondays. In its last season, transcriptions were aired in New York, Wednesdays at 9:30pm, from January 20, 1954 to January 12, 1955. John Hiestand was the program's announcer. Don Clark directed the scripts by David Victor and Jackson Gillis. The background music was supplied by Eddie Dunstedter on the organ.
ROCKY JORDAN was the title character of one of the better and more exotic radio detective series. In fact, it's one of the best detective series I have ever heard. The series had two separate incarnations. The first, A Man Named Jordan, started as a daily 15 minute show and after about six months changed to a weekly 30 minute show. It took place in Istanbul and the Cafe was described as "a small restaurant in a narrow street off Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, permeated with by the smoke of Oriental tobacco, alive with the babble of many tongues, and packed with intrigue." The second incarnation, Rocky Jordan, was a weekly 30 minute series took place in Cairo - "the gateway to the ancient East where adventure and intrigue unfold against the backdrop of antiquity." Jordan was a hard-boiled owner of the Cafe Tambourine who spent most of his time solving mysteries that he usually became involved in by accident. During the Cairo-based run, he often encountered Captain Sam Sabaaya of the Cairo police. John Dunning in his "On The Air: The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio" describes Jordan as "a rugged hero who each week was confronted by a crime, a mystery, a beautiful woman or a combination of the three. It was a detective show with a difference: the Oriental background was played to the hilt, giving it a sound like no other." THIS EPSIODE: March 6, 1949. CBS Pacific network. "The Two O'Clock Man". Sustaining. A young boy breaks into the Cafe Tamboruine, and is later shot and killed. Rocky is held responsible! Jack Moyles, Larry Thor (announcer), Richard Aurandt (composer, conductor), Cliff Howell (producer, director), Larry Roman (editor), Gomer Cool (editor), William Froug (writer). 29:37.
The Mysterious Traveler - Written and directed by Robert A. Arthur and David Kogan, the series began on the Mutual Broadcasting System, December 5, 1943, continuing in many different timeslots until September 16, 1952. Unlike many other shows of the era, The Mysterious Traveler was without a sponsor for its entire run. The lonely sound of a distant locomotive heralded the arrival of the malevolent narrator, portrayed by Maurice Tarplin, who introduced himself each week in the following manner. This is the Mysterious Traveler, inviting you to join me on another journey into the strange and terrifying. I hope you will enjoy the trip, that it will thrill you a little and chill you a little. So settle back, get a good grip on your nerves and be comfortable -- if you can!
THIS EPISODE:
February 19, 1952. Mutual network. "Strange New World". Sustaining. A shipwreck survivor on a British sub tells the story of being stranded on a desert island, being made to fight a war against giant crabs. David Kogan (writer, producer, director), Maurice Tarplin, Robert A. Arthur (writer). 1/2 hour.
Academy Award Theater - The list of films and actors on Academy Award Theater is very impressive. Bette Davis begins the series in Jezebel, with Ginger Rogers following in Kitty Foyle, and then Paul Muni in The Life of Louis Pasteur. The Informer had to have Victor Mclaglen, and the Maltese Falcon, Humphrey Bogart, Sidney Greenstreet (this movie was his first major motion picutre role) plus Mary Astor for the hat trick. Suspicion starred Cary Grant with Ann Todd doing the Joan Fontaine role, Ronald Coleman in Lost Horizon, and Joan Fontaine and John Lund were in Portrait of Jenny. How Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio were done is something to hear!
THIS EPISODE: Brief Encounter (1946) is director David Lean's brilliantly-crafted, classic British masterpiece. It is one of the greatest romantic tearjerkers/weepers of all time, with a very downbeat ending. Lean's film is a simple but realistically-honest, unsentimental, self-told social melodrama of the quiet desperation involved in an illicit, extra-marital love affair between two married, middle-class individuals over seven weekly meetings, mostly against the backdrop of a railway station. The romantic couple includes a wife/mother looking for escape from her humdrum life and sterile marriage, and a dashing doctor. tale of The screenplay was adapted and based on playwright Noel Coward's 1935 short one-act (half-hour) stage play Still Life. It was expanded from five short scenes in a train station (the refreshment tea room of Milford Junction Station) to include action in other settings (the married woman's house, the apartment of the married man's friend, restaurants, parks, train compartments, shops, a car, a boating lake and at the cinema), although the film still maintains chaste minimalism.
The Untouchables is the name of a television series that ran from 1959 to 1963 on the American Broadcasting Company. Based on the memoir of the same name by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley, it fictionalized the experiences of Eliot Ness, a real-life Prohibition Agent, as he fought crime in Chicago in the 1930s with the help of a special team of agents handpicked for their courage & incorruptibility, nicknamed the Untouchables. It was remade into a 1987 film by Brian De Palma also called The Untouchables, with a script by David Mamet. The stories often revolved around Ness' enmity with the criminal empire of Chicago mob boss Al Capone, and many focused on crimes related to Prohibition. The show starred Robert Stack as Eliot Ness and Neville Brand as Al Capone, and was narrated by Walter Winchell. The show drew harsh criticism from some Italian-Americans including Frank Sinatra[1], who felt it promoted negative stereotypes of them as mobsters and gangsters. The Capone family sued the show for $1,000,000 for its unauthorized use of Al Capone's likeness for profit.
This Episode: The Troubleshooter adapted for radio aired originally October 12, 1961 starring Robert Stack as Eliot Ness with guest star Peter Falk, who went on to do Columbo. In the summer of 1934, a new gambling device was sweeping the nation: the punchboards. Even though they were nickel-and-dime games, it added up, they made more money than the numbers racket. After Ness and his men smash some of the punchboard manufacturing sites, the 5 members running the punchboards hold a meet at a building by the freight yards.
The FORD THEATER, sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, presented hour long dramas first on NBC for one only season. The series moved to CBS for its second and last season. There were 39 NBC and 39 CBS hour- long shows (not verified). The show initially received an unfavorable review from the New York Times for poor script adaptation but was still highly rated for the actors' performance and overall production. The show was supposed to feature only original scripts but had to forgo that plan due to lack of quality material. The first season on NBC used radio actors under the direction of George Zachary. Martin Gabel announced the first show but was soon replaced by Kenneth Banghart. The second season, on CBS, used Hollywood screen actors in the lead roles, supported by radio actors. Fletcher Markle, who previously produced CBS's STUDIO ONE series, was the producer for the second season. Although a short series, it still has some of radio's best dramas. THIS EPISODE: A Farewell To Arms - Lieutenant Frederic Henry is a young American ambulance driver serving in the Italian army during World War I. At the beginning of the novel, the war is winding down with the onset of winter, and Henry arranges to tour Italy. The following spring, upon his return to the front, Henry meets Catherine Barkley, an English nurse’s aide at the nearby British hospital and the love interest of his friend Rinaldi. Rinaldi, however, quickly fades from the picture as Catherine and Henry become involved in an elaborate game of seduction. Grieving the recent death of her fiancé, Catherine longs for love so deeply that she will settle for the illusion of it. Her passion, even though pretended, wakens a desire for emotional interaction in Henry, whom the war has left coolly detached and numb. When Henry is wounded on the battlefield, he is brought to a hospital in Milan to recover. Several doctors recommend that he stay in bed for six months and then undergo a necessary operation on his knee. Unable to accept such a long period of recovery, Henry finds a bold, garrulous surgeon named Dr. Valentini who agrees to operate immediately. Henry learns happily that Catherine has been transferred to Milan and begins his recuperation under her care.
Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator is one of the few detective radio series that had separate versions of it broadcast from both coasts. Even the spelling changed over the years. It was first "Barry Crane" and then "Barrie Craig". NBC produced it in New York from 1951 to 1954 and then moved it to Hollywood where it aired from 1954 to 1955. It attracted only occasional sponsors so it was usually a sustainer.William Gargan, who also played the better known television (and radio) detective Martin Kane, was the voice of New York eye BARRY CRAIG while Ralph Bell portrayed his associate, Lt. Travis Rogers. Craig's office was on Madison Avenue and his adventures were fairly standard PI fare. He worked alone, solved cases efficiently, and feared no man. As the promos went, he was "your man when you can't go to the cops. Confidentiality a speciality."Like Sam Spade, Craig narrated his stories, in addition to being the leading character in this 30 minute show. Nearly sixty episodes are in trading circulation today.
THIS EPISODE: January 2, 1952. NBC network. "Death Of A Private Eye". Sustaining. Not auditioned. "(Barry) is hired to help a man pay a visit, but discovers instead that (the) visitor has a visitor first, death!" William Gargan, Himan Brown (director), Don Pardo (announcer), Louis Vittes (writer), Fran Carlon. 28:27
Amos 'n' Andy was a situation comedy popular in the United States from the 1920s through the 1950s. The show began as one of the first radio comedy serials, written and voiced by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll and originating from station WMAQ in Chicago, Illinois. After the series was first broadcast in 1928, it grew in popularity and became a huge influence on the radio serials that followed.Amos 'n' Andy creators Gosden and Correll were white actors familiar with minstrel traditions. They met in Durham, North Carolina in 1920, and by the fall of 1925, they were performing nightly song-and-patter routines on the Chicago Tribune's station WGN. Since the Tribune syndicated Sidney Smith's popular comic strip The Gumps, which had successfully introduced the concept of daily continuity, WGN executive Ben McCanna thought the notion of a serialized drama could also work on radio.
Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator is one of the few detective radio series that had separate versions of it broadcast from both coasts. Even the spelling changed over the years. It was first "Barry Crane" and then "Barrie Craig". NBC produced it in New York from 1951 to 1954 and then moved it to Hollywood where it aired from 1954 to 1955. It attracted only occasional sponsors so it was usually a sustainer.William Gargan, who also played the better known television (and radio) detective Martin Kane, was the voice of New York eye BARRY CRAIG while Ralph Bell portrayed his associate, Lt. Travis Rogers. Craig's office was on Madison Avenue and his adventures were fairly standard PI fare. He worked alone, solved cases efficiently, and feared no man. As the promos went, he was "your man when you can't go to the cops. Confidentiality a speciality."Like Sam Spade, Craig narrated his stories, in addition to being the leading character in this 30 minute show. Nearly sixty episodes are in trading circulation today.
The NBC University Theater - dramatic anthology Offered novels, with programs for college credit. Broadcast History : July 30th, 1948 - February 14th, 1951 NBC. Mostly 60 minutes. Mostly aired on Sundays, with occasional weeknight airings. Announcer : Don Stanley Music : Albert Harris, Henry Russell Director : Andrew C. Love Writers : Claris A. Ross, Ernest Kinoy, George Lefferts, Jack C. Wilson Sound Effects : Bob Holmes, Rod Sutton.
THIS EPISODE:
February 12, 1950. NBC network. "The Light That Failed". Sustaining. A painter, interested only in money, loses his sight after his masterpiece has been defaced. The closing credits have been deleted. Alec Harford, Crauford Kent, Dan O'Herlihy, Earl Keen, Eileen Erskine, Eric Snowden, George Lefferts (writer), Henry Outland (Outland?--intermission commentator), John Ramsay Hill, Marlene Ames, Queenie Leonard, Rudyard Kipling (author), Tom Dylan, Tudor Owen. 56:28.
The FORD THEATER, sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, presented hour long dramas first on NBC for one only season. The series moved to CBS for its second and last season. There were 39 NBC and 39 CBS hour- long shows (not verified). The show initially received an unfavorable review from the New York Times for poor script adaptation but was still highly rated for the actors' performance and overall production. The show was supposed to feature only original scripts but had to forgo that plan due to lack of quality material. The first season on NBC used radio actors under the direction of George Zachary. Martin Gabel announced the first show but was soon replaced by Kenneth Banghart. The second season, on CBS, used Hollywood screen actors in the lead roles, supported by radio actors. Fletcher Markle, who previously produced CBS's STUDIO ONE series, was the producer for the second season. Although a short series, it still has some of radio's best dramas.
THIS EPISODE:
October 29, 1948. CBS network, KNX, Los Angeles aircheck. "Of Human Bondage". Sponsored by: Ford, Bulova Watch (local). Not auditioned. Ray Milland, Joan Lorring, Somerset Maugham (author), Fletcher Markle (host, director), Hedley Rennie, Susan Douglas, Jack Manning, Elwood Hoffman (adaptor), Cy Feuer (conductor), Rita Vale, Robert Dryden, Miriam Wolfe, Neal Fitzgerald, Gregory Morton. 57:19.
Father Knows Best, a family comedy of the 1950s, is perhaps more important for what it has come to represent than for what it actually was. In essence, the series was one of a slew of middle-class family sitcoms in which moms were moms, kids were kids, and fathers knew best. Today, many critics view it, at best, as high camp fun, and, at worst, as part of what critic David Marc once labeled the "Aryan melodramas" of the 1950s and 1960s.
The Adventures Of Horatio Hornblower - Broadcast 1952; Transcribed in England for the BBC; aired in U.S. on CBS, then again on ABC in 1954 and Mutual in 1957. Starring Michael Redgrave as Horatio Hornblower. a captain in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic era. The radio series was based on twelve Horatio Hornblower novels written by C.S. Forester. These novels were, and still are, well liked due to their realistic tone and historical accuracy in telling the tales of Naval life in the late 1700s through the mid 1800s. C.S. Forester was well known for his novels about military and naval life, including such fine titles as The African Queen, The Gun, The Barbary Pirates, and The General.
The Aldrich Family, a popular radio teenage situation comedy (1939-1953), is remembered first and foremost for its unforgettable introduction: awkward teen Henry's mother calling, "Hen-reeeeeeeeeeeee! Hen-ree Al-drich!" A top-ten ratings hit within two years of its birth (in 1941, the showm carried a 33.4 Crossley rating, landing it solidly alongside Jack Benny and Bob Hope), the show is considered a prototype for teen-oriented situation comedies to follow on radio and television and is a favourite if dated find for old-time radio collectors today. The Aldrich Family as a separate radio show was born as a summer replacement for Jack Benny in NBC's Sunday night lineup, July 2, 1939, and it stayed there until October 1, 1939, when it moved to Tuesday nights at 8 p.m., sponsored by General Foods's popular gelatin dessert Jell-O---which also sponsored Jack Benny at the time. The Aldriches ran in that slot from October 10, 1939 until May 28, 1940, moving to Thursdays, from July 4, 1940 until July 20, 1944. After a brief hiatus, the show moved to CBS, running on Fridays from September 1, 1944 until August 30, 1946 with sponsors Grape Nuts and Jell-O,.before moving back to NBC from September 05, 1946 to June 28, 1951 on Thursdays and, then, its final run of September 21, 1952 to April 19, 1953 on Sundays.
Screen Director's Playhouse - From 01/09/49 to 09/28/51 this series was greatly enjoyed by the radio listening audience. It opened as NBC Theater and was also known as The Screen Directorâs Guild and The Screen Directorâs Assignment. But most people remember it simply as Screen Directorâs Playhouse. Many of the Hollywood elite were heard recreating their screen roles over the radio. John Wayne in his rare radio appearances, Cary Grant, Edward G. Robinson, Lucille Ball, Claire Trevor, Tallulah Bankhead and many others were on the air week after week during these broadcasts. Many of Hollywoodâs directors were also heard in the recreation of their movies. The President of the Screen Directorâs Guild appeared on 02/13/49, and Violinist Isaac Stern supplied the music for the 04/19/51 broadcast.
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Caged aired August 2, 1951 starring Eleanor Parker as Marie Allen and Hope Emerson as Evelyn Harper. Caged tells the story of a teenage newlywed, who is sent to prison for being an accessory to a robbery. Her experiences while incarcerated, along with the killing of her husband, change her from a very frightened young girl into a hardened convict. This is one of the finest productions ever done for radio from Screen Director's Playhouse. The Academny Award performances by Parker and Emerson are nothing less than spectacular.
Lux Radio Theater, one of the genuine classic radio anthology series (NBC Blue Network (1934-1935); CBS (1935-1954); NBC (1954-1955)) adapted first Broadway stage works, and then (especially) films to hour-long live radio presentations. It quickly became the most popular dramatic anthology series on radio, running more than twenty years. The program always began with an announcer proclaiming, "Ladies and gentlemen, Lux presents Hollywood!" Cecil B. DeMille was the host of the series each Monday evening from June 1, 1936, until January 22, 1945. On one occasion, however, he was replaced by Leslie Howard.
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In life a selfish, mean-spirited old man, Peter Grimm returns from the grave to right the wrongs he committed while on Earth. The spectral Grimm pays a visit to his nasty nephew Frederick (John Roche), the husband of Grimm's ward Catherine (Janet Gaynor), who had been forced into the marriage. Literally entering Frederick's conscience, Grimm transforms his covetous, philandering nephew into a "good guy." After several similar episodes, both comic and dramatic, Return of Peter Grimm comes to a tear-stained finale as the tubercular young William (Mickey McBan) joins his grandfather Grimm in the hereafter.
Beyond Midnight - A replacement series for SF 68, this South African horror anthology was far more successful than its predecessor, running from 1968 through 1969. Its success may have been due in part to producer Michael McCabe - who also produced SF 68 - honing his talents to a higher degree. Little else is known about it, including the number of shows produced. As far as I can discover, there were at least 43 episodes, all in half-hour format.
The First Nighter Program. January 29, 1948. CBS net. "A Writer In The Family". Sponsored by: Campana cosmetics, DDD Prescription. Highway Eighty Seven is coming right through the living room in a romantic/comedy of mistaken identity and "Shorty West," a writer of western adventures. James Arthur Rotie (writer), Frank Worth and His Orchestra, Olan Soule, Barbara Luddy, Paul Frees, Hugh Studebaker, Arthur Q. Bryan, Mary Lansing, Larry Keating (announcer). 29:39
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March 29, 1944. Mutual network. "The Chinese Gong". Sponsored by: Campana's cosmetics. Barbara Luddy, Olan Soule, Arch Oboler (author). 1/2 hour.
Calling All Cars was one of radioâs earliest cop shows, dramatizing true crime stories and introduced by officers from the Los Angeles and other police departments. The narrator of the program was speech professor Charles Frederick Lindsley, and the only other regular voice heard on the program week after week belonged to that of Sergeant Jesse Rosenquist of the L.A.P.D., whose name and voice were so unusually distinctive that he was retained for the showâs entire run. None of the actors on the show ever received on-air credit, but among the talent OTR fans can hear the likes of Elvia Allman, Jackson Beck, Charles Bickford, John Gibson, Richard LeGrand and Hanley Stafford, just to name a few.
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May 2, 1934. Program #23. CBS Pacific network (Don Lee net). "Murder At Southgate". Sponsored by: Rio Grande Oil. A disturbance has taken place on San Gabriel Avenue in Southgate. A dramatization of the first murder ever to take place in Southgate. The system cue has been deleted. Not auditioned. Ann Sawyer, Martha Wentworth, True Boardman, Charlie Lung (triples), Caranina Burt (?), Hanley Stafford, Sam Pierce, Richard LeGrand, Robert Frazer, Wade Ling (?). 28:11.
My Friend Irma, created by writer-director-producer Cy Howard, was a top-rated, long-run radio situation comedy, so popular in the late 1940s that its success escalated to films and television, while Howard scored with another radio comedy hit, Life with Luigi. Dependable and level-headed Jane Stacy (Cathy Lewis) narrated the misadventures of her innocent and bewildered roommate, Irma Peterson (Marie Wilson), a dim-bulb stenographer. Wilson portrayed the character on radio, in two films and a TV series. The successful radio series with Marie Wilson ran on CBS Radio from April 11, 1947 to August 23, 1954. The TV version, seen on CBS from January 8, 1952 until June 25, 1954, was the first series telecast from the CBS Television City facility in Hollywood. The movie My Friend Irma (1949) starred Marie Wilson and Diana Lynn but is mainly remembered today for introducing Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis to moviegoers, resulting in even more screen time for Martin and Lewis in the sequel, My Friend Irma Goes West (1950).
Counterspy was an espionage drama radio series that aired on ABC and Mutual from May 18, 1942 to November 29, 1957. David Harding (Don MacLaughlin) was the chief of the United States Counterspies, a unit engaged during World War II in counterespionage against Japan's Black Dragon and Germany's Gestapo. With spies still lurking in the post-war years, the adventures continued apace well after World War II ended.
THIS EPISODE:
September 29, 1949. ABC network. "The Case Of The Vicious Vistor". Sponsored by: Pepsi Cola. Not auditioned. A prison guard is beaten in the dark, a man and his wife are both murdered. The system cue has been deleted. Don MacLaughlin, Mandel Kramer, Phillips H. Lord (producer), William Sweets (director), Edward Adamson (writer), Jesse Crawford (organ). 28:55.
Academy Award Theater - The list of films and actors on Academy Award Theater is very impressive. Bette Davis begins the series in Jezebel, with Ginger Rogers following in Kitty Foyle, and then Paul Muni in The Life of Louis Pasteur. The Informer had to have Victor Mclaglen, and the Maltese Falcon, Humphrey Bogart, Sidney Greenstreet (this movie was his first major motion picutre role) plus Mary Astor for the hat trick. Suspicion starred Cary Grant with Ann Todd doing the Joan Fontaine role, Ronald Coleman in Lost Horizon, and Joan Fontaine and John Lund were in Portrait of Jenny. How Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio were done is something to hear!
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June 8, 1946. CBS network. "Ruggles Of Red Gap". Sponsored by: Squibb Drugs. The famous story of the English valet in the wild American West. Charles Laughton, Charles Ruggles. 1/2 hour.
The Chase is an exciting Old Time Radio series in which every episode contains, well, a chase. Tales, highly melodramatic and often improbable, of people on the run. The concept of "hunter and hunted" was built into the signatures. with the lone bugle of a fox hunt, the braying of dogs, the sounds of a man running, a gunshot, and the slowing footsteps and eventual fall of the victim. It may be an adventure story, a crime story, or even science fiction, but there will always be a suspense filled chase.
THIS EPISODE:
March 29, 1953. NBC network. Sustaining. The curator of a museum of murderers tells the story of a British chap who marries ladies of wealth for his own mercenary purposes. Doris Smith, Fred Collins (announcer), Fred Weihe (director, transcriber), Ivor Francis, John Stanley, Cathleen Cordell, Lawrence Klee (creator, writer), Leona Powers, Ted Osborne, William Podmore. 29:52.
The Avenger is an Old Time Radio show aired by the South African Broadcasting System in the 1940s. It featured a biochemist crime-fighter by the name of Jim Brandon. Mr. Brandon had two inventions which assisted him in the fight against crime. Mr. Brandon was able to pick up telpathic thought flashes and had a diffusion capsule which allowed him to become invisible.
The Shadow - In September of 1939, a new voice of the Shadow appeared in the form of radio actor Bill Johnstone. Later in 1939, Agnes Moorehead left the show and was replaced by Marjorie Anderson as Margo Lane. The plot lines began to follow the standard formula of Margo Lane being in danger and the Shadow rescuing her from the clutches of evil. Bill Johnstone would be the voice of the Shadow for five seasons, until March 1943. Bret Morrison took over the Shadow role in 1943 for one season. John Archer and Steve Courtleigh took the Shadow role through the 1944-45 season. Bret Morrison then returned to be the Shadow for the duration of the program's run which lasted until December 26, 1954.
THIS EPISODE:
1938. Syndicated. "Murder On Approval". Sponsored by: B. F. Goodrich Tires. A foreign agent tries to conquer America by infecting the U. S. Army with a secret disease. Orson Welles, Margot Stevenson, Ken Roberts (announcer). 1/2 hour.
Authorâs Playhouse - Famous stories by celebrated authors: among them, Elementals (Stephen Vincent Benet), The Piano (William Saroyan), and The Snow Goose (Paul Gallico).March 5, 1941 till June 4, 1945, NBC; Blue Network until mid-October 1941, then the Red Network. Many briefly held 30m timeslots, including Sundays at 11:30, 1941-42; Wednesdays at 11:30, 1942-44; Mondays at 11:30, 1944-45. Sponsor was Philip Morris, 1942-43. Cast: John Hodiak, Fern Persons, Arthur Kohl, Laurette Fillbrandt, Kathryn Card, Bob Jellison, Nelson Olmsted, Marvin Miller, Olan Soule, Les Tremayne, Clarence Hartzell, Curley Bradley, etc. Orchestra: Rex Maupin, Roy Shield, J6seph Gallicchio. Creator: Wynn Wright. Directors: Norman Felton, Fred Weihe, Homer Heck, etc.
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November 13, 1944. NBC network. "The Long Way Round". Sustaining. A man has just returned from a sanitarium after a mental break-down to find that wife has developed her own mental problems. James Ronald (author). 1/2 hour.
21ST PRECINCT was one of the realistic police drama series of the early- to mid-1950's that were aired in the wake of DRAGNET. In 1953 CBS decided to use New York City as the backdrop for their own half-hour police series and focus on the day-to-day operation of a single police precinct. Actual cases were used as the basis for stories. The Precinct Captain acted as the narrator for the series.
THIS EPISODE:
September 29, 1953. CBS network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. A young drug user tries to kick the habit by making a false alarm so he can go "cold turkey" in jail. Everett Sloane, Lawson Zerbe, Raymond Edward Johnson, Ken Lynch, Robert Readick, Gaylord Avery (announcer). 1/2 hour.
Fibber McGee and Molly premiered in 1935. The program struggled in the ratings until 1940, when it became a national sensation. Within three years, it was the top-rated program in America. Few radio shows were more beloved than Fibber McGee and Molly. The programâs lovable characters included Mayor LaTrivia, Doc Gamble, Mrs. Uppington, Wallace Wimple, Alice Darling, Gildersleeve, Beulah, Myrt, and the Old Timer. 79 Wistful Vista was one of Americaâs most famous addresses and Mollyâs warning to Fibber not to open the hall closet door (and his subsequent decision to do it) created one of radioâs best remembered running gags that audiences expected each week. Jim Jordan (Fibber) was born on a farm on November 16, 1896, near Peoria, Illinois. Marian Driscoll (Molly), a coal minerâs daughter, was born in Peoria on November 15, 1898. After years of hardship and touring in obscurity on the small-time show biz circuit, they arrived in Chicago in 1924, where they eventually performed on thousands of shows and developed 145 different voices and characters.
Box 13 - The premise of the program was that Dan Holiday was an author who wrote mystery novels. To get ideas for his novels he placed an advertisement in a newspaper saying "Adventure wanted, will go anywhere, do anything, Box 13." The ads always brought fun adventures of all kinds: from racketeer's victim to psychotic killer looking for fun. Most of the episodes were based on Dan Holiday replying to a letter he received at Box 13. He would generally solve a mystery in the process, and return to his office in time to enjoy a hearty laugh at the expense of Suzy, his amusingly stupid secretary. He would certainly not meet the strictest requirements for private eyes (not licensed, collected no fees from clients), but the definition should stretch to sneak him in under the rope. It was heard over the Mutual Broadcasting System as well as being syndicated. The series was produced by Mayfair Productions. Box 13, starring Alan Ladd as Dan Holiday. Sylvia Picker played Suzy, Dan Holiday's secretary and Edmond MacDonald as Lt. Kling.
THIS EPISODE:
August 14, 1949. Program #52. Mayfair syndication. "Round Robin". Commercials added locally. Dan Holiday foils a blackmail plot involving a valuable necklace and a lady's gambling losses. The last show of the series. Alan Ladd, Arthur Boland (writer), Richard Sanville (director), Rudy Schrager (composer, conductor), Sylvia Picker, Vern Carstensen (production supervisor). 26:42.
CBS Radio Mystery Theater - As you walk through the creaking door you enter into another world, the world of imagination. This world is inside you, a part of you, and you take this journey alone. Each person hears and then sees with his or her mind's eye the events portrayed within these dramas. All of us interprets what they hear differently. The images we see is unique to ourselves. A voice becomes a person, living, breathing they come alive. They take on a physical form and characteristics that we assign to them. The wonders of your own mind are boundless. Scary thoughts? Perhaps, but what powers they bring us! To exercise one's imagination is to exercise one's soul. These dramas provide us with an escape from reality. To adventures beyond our own lives. Enjoy them. And pleasant dreams!
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January 14, 1974. Program #9. CBS network. "Death Rides A Stallion". Sponsored by: Budweiser, Kellogg's. E. G. Marshall (host), Sam Dann (writer), Mason Adams, Marian Seldes, Paul McGrath. 52 minutes.
The Falcon - Regardless of the date of his first literary appearance, The Falcon was first brought to the screen in a 1941 RKO film, as a replacement for its popular series of B's featuring Leslie Charteris' The Saint. Except for the name change, at first at least it was pretty hard to tell the difference. The Falcon was also a good-looking suave, sophisticated type, a sort of freelance gentleman adventurer.
THIS EPISODE
September 3, 1950. NBC network. "Tthe Case Of The Quarrelsome Quartet". Sponsored by: Kraft Mayonnaise, Kraft Malted Milk. Who killed Dixie Saunders? Who killed George Saunders? Thieves fall out! Les Damon, Amzie Strickland, Jackson Beck, Jay Jackson (announcer), Arlo (music), Drexel Drake (creator), Richard Lewis (director), Bernard L. Schubert (producer), Eugene Wang (writer). 29:30.
The Black Musuem - Opening in 1875, the Crime Museum at Scotland Yard is the oldest museum in the world purely for recording crime. The name Black Museum was coined in 1877 by a reporter from The Observer, a London newspaper, although the museum is still referred to as the Crime Museum. The idea of a crime museum was conceived by Inspector Neame who had already collected together a number of items, with the intention of giving police officers practical instruction on how to detect and prevent burglary. It is this museum that inspired the Black Musuem radio series.
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1952. Syndicated, WCRB, Boston aircheck. "The Service Card". A murderer is trapped by the odometer reading on his victim's car. The date is approximate. This series was heard on the Mutual net during 1952, but was probably produced in England and broadcast earlier on British radio. The series was syndicated by Harry Alan Towers after the network run for many years. Orson Welles (narrator), Harry Alan Towers (producer), Ira Marion (writer), Sidney Torch (composer, conductor). 1/2 hour.
Curtain Time, like First Nighter, presented romantic drama in a theater setting complete with the announcer shouting, âTickets please, thank youâ. The shows announcer was Harry Halcomb who was later known best for his appearances on the 60 minutes television show. Great scripts and superb acting, Curtain Time is truly an Old Time Radio Classic. Mutual Network, local KNX show sustained, heard Fridays 7:30 - 8:00 pm
Murder By Experts. August 15, 1949. Mutual network. "Dig Your Own Grave". Sustaining. A woman becomes "the seed" to promote her husband's romance with another woman. Then, she gives him the idea to commit murder. John Dickson Carr (host), Joseph Ruscoll (writer), Ken Lynch, Richard Dupage (composer), Emerson Buckley (conductor), Ann Shephard, Ron Rawson, James Stevens, Robert A. Arthur (producer, director), David Kogan (producer, director), Hester Sondergaard. 29:49.
Duffy's Tavern, an American radio situation comedy (CBS, 1941-1942; NBC-Blue Network, 1942-1944; NBC, 1944-1952), often featured top-name stage and film guest stars but always hooked those around the misadventures, get-rich-quick-scheming, and romantic missteps of the title establishment's malaprop-prone, metaphor-mixing manager, Archie, played by the writer/actor who created the show, Ed Gardner.
THIS EPISODE:
February 9, 1949. NBC network origination, Nostalgia Broadcasting Corporation syndication. Commercials added locally. Archie's doctor has told him that he only has three days to live...or did he? Archie keeps the true diagnosis from the gang down at the tavern. The system cue has been deleted. Ed Gardner, Eddie Green, Charlie Cantor, Hazel Shermet. 24:37.
The Golden Age of Radio was ending, not with a whimper, but with a robust bang. Many of the best network and syndicated shows began in the 1950s, even though public interest and advertising dollars were switching to television, FORT LARAMIE was certainly one of the finest radio series, and were it not for GUNSMOKE, it could be termed the best adult Western program ever aired. FORT LARAMIE is a close relative of GUNSMOKE since it had the same producer-director, same writers, same sound effects men, and many of the same actors. GUNSMOKE had been running for almost four years when Norman Macdonnell brought FORT LARAMIE to CBS. The latter had the same gritty realism, attention to detail, and integrity that audiences admired in GUNSMOKE.
Adventures of Frank Merriwell first ran on NBC radio from March 26 to June 22, 1934 as a 15-minute serial airing three times a week at 5:30pm. Sponsored by Dr. West's Toothpaste, this program starred Donald Briggs in the title role. Harlow Wilcox was the announcer. After a 12-year gap, the series returned October 5, 1946 as a 30-minute NBC Saturday morning show, continuing until June 4, 1949. Lawson Zerbe starred as Merriwell, Jean Gillespie and Elaine Rostas as Inza Burrage, Harold Studer as Bart Hodge and Patricia Hosley as Elsie Belwood. The announcer was Harlow Wilcox, and the Paul Taubman Orchestra supplied the background music. There are at least three generations of Merriwells: Frank, his half-brother Dick, and Frank's son, Frank Jr. There is a marked difference between Frank and Dick. Frank usually handled challenges on his own. Dick has mysterious friends and skills that help him, especially an old Indian friend without whom the stories would not have been quite as interesting.
Hercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters: he appeared in 33 novels and 54 short stories. Poirot has been portrayed on screen, for films and TV, by various actors including Albert Finney, Peter Ustinov, Ian Holm, Tony Randall, Alfred Molina and David Suchet. His character was based on two other fictional detectives of the time: Marie Belloc Lowndes' Hercule Popeau and Frank Howel Evans' Monsieur Poiret, a retired French police officer living in London. A more obvious influence on the early Poirot stories is that of Arthur Conan Doyle.
Blackie was a tough, wisecracking private detective working in New York, billed as "enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend." His speciality was making fools of the police, a simple task with Inspector Farraday heading the official investigations. "An enemy to those who call him an enemy, a friend to those who have no friends." Boston Blackie is a reformed jewel thief who is never far from trouble. Inspector Farraday of the homicide squad tries to pin Blackie for the crime in every episode. To save his own skin, with the help of his girlfriend Mary and sidekick Shorty, Blackie ends up solving the case.
The Green Hornet program began in January of 1936 and played to December 5, 1952. The shows typically ran thirty minutes and ran twice a week in the beginning years. They later reverted to being broadcast once a week. The last season of the show in 1952 the show reverted back to a twice a week schedule. Al Hodge played the role of Britt Reid for seven years. Fran Striker, a co-creator of the Lone Ranger, wrote all of the scripts for the Green Hornet until April 1944. After that, several other writers were brought in to script the show. The writing output of Fran Striker was incredible. While he was scripting the Green Hornet he was also writing the scripts for the Lone Ranger program.
People are Funny was a television game show that premiered and ended on NBC from 1954-1961. It was shot in the outside world and dared people to do stunts for fun for spectators. This was done to "reveal the true nature" of their guests. This show was considered a predecessor to most of the reality game shows we know today, such as "Survivor" and MTV's "Jackass." Art Linkletter was the more well-known host of the show. Viewers grew up with him, but not just on People are Funny. He was also seen on Life With Linkletter (1950-52 & 1969-70), Art Linkletter's House Party (1952-69), and The Art Linkletter Show (1963).
Adventures In Research - A Public service production by the Westinghouse Research Labs. The series is very informative and entertaining. Series ran from the early 1940's -mid 1950's. HOST: Paul Shannon
Today's Show:
Piece of Silk (2-02-43) and Fight Against Fire (2-09-43
The Story Of Doctor Kildare - Dr. James Kildare was a fictional character, the primary character in a series of American theatrical films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, an early 1950s radio series, a 1960s television series of the same name and a comic book based on the TV show. The character was invented by the author Frederick Schiller Faust (aka Max Brand). The character began in the film series as a medical intern; after becoming a doctor he was mentored by an older physician, Dr. Leonard Gillespie. After the first ten films, the series eliminated the character of Kildare and focused instead on Gillespie.
THIS EPISODE:
December 8, 1950. Program #46. WMGM, New York-Mutual network origination, MGM syndication. Commercials added locally. The wife of an auto accident victim refuses to allow an operation to save his life. Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore. 1/2 hour.
The General Electric Theater featured a mix of romance, comedy, adventure, tragedy, fantasy and variety music. Occupying the Sunday evening spot on CBS following the Toast of the Town/Ed Sullivan Show from 1 February 1953 to 27 May 1962, the General Electric Theater presented top Hollywood and Broadway stars in dramatic roles calculated to deliver company voice advertising to the largest possible audience.
THIS EPISODE:
September 24, 1953. CBS network. "The Enchanted Cottage". Sponsored by: General Electric. Not auditioned. A plain woman and a criplled man fall in love and see a magic transformation in each other. The story was previously used on, "The Gulf Screen Guild Theatre" on November 26, 1939. Joan Fontaine, William Johnstone, Tom Tully, Gloria Gordon, Lurene Tuttle, Dan O'Herlihy, Arthur Wing Pinero (author), Jaime del Valle (director, transcriber), Ken Carpenter (announcer, host), Walter Newman (adaptor), Hett Manheim (editorial supervisor), Wilbur Hatch (music). 29:43.
Abbott and Costello William (Bud) Abbott and Lou Costello (born Louis Francis Cristillo) were an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film and television made them one of the most popular teams in the history of comedy. Thanks to the endurance of their most popular and influential routine, "Who's on First?"---whose rapid-fire word play and comprehension confusion set the preponderant framework for most of their best-known routines---the team are also the only comedians known to have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
THIS EPISODE:
December 6, 1945. Red network. Sponsored by: Camels, Prince Albert Tobacoo. Abbott and Costello are working as fireman. Mrs. O'Lay Hee's house is on fire. Abbott explains vitamins to Costello ("vitamins go from A to H...go to H?"). Camels salutes the "Fighting" 69th Division. Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Ken Niles (announcer), Will Osborne and His Orchestra, Iris Adrian, Sidney Fields, Frederick Shields (commercial spokesman), Virginia Gordon, Dick Mack (director). 29:29
THE FAT MAN - "There he goes across the street into the drugstore, steps on the scale, height: 6 feet, weight: 290 pounds, fortune: Danger. Who isit? The Fat Man." Brad Runyon was the Fat Man, played by Jack Scott Smart. The series was created by Dashall Hammott and was first heard on the ABC network Jan. 21, 1946. J. Scott Smart fit the part of the Fat Man perfectly, weighing in at 270 pounds himself. When he spoke, there was no doubt that this was the voice of a big guy. Smart gave a witty, tongue-in-cheek performance and helped make THE FAT MAN one of the most popular detective programs on the air. Smart also appeared in The March Of Time (early 1930s), the Theater Guild On The Air, Blondie, The Fred Allen Show, and The Jack Benny Program.
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who first appeared in publication in 1887. He is the creation of Scottish born author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A brilliant London-based detective, Holmes is famous for his intellectual prowess, and is renowned for his skillful use of deductive reasoning (somewhat mistakenly - see inductive reasoning) and astute observation to solve difficult cases. He is arguably the most famous fictional detective ever created, and is one of the best known and most universally recognisable literary characters in any genre. Conan Doyle wrote four novels and fifty-six short stories that featured Holmes. All but four stories were narrated by Holmes' friend and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson, two having been narrated by Holmes himself, and two others written in the third person. The first two stories, short novels, appeared in Beeton's Christmas Annual for 1887 and Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1890. The character grew tremendously in popularity with the beginning of the first series of short stories in The Strand Magazine in 1891; further series of short stories and two serialized novels appeared almost right up to Conan Doyle's death in 1930. The stories cover a period from around 1878 up to 1903, with a final case in 1914.
The Clock, Imported from Austrailia, was a dramatic thirty-minute suspense and mystery series. It was written by Lawrence Klee and was first broadcast in November 1946. The story always began the same; âSunrise and sunset, promise and fulfilment, birth and death â the whole drama of life is written in the sands of timeâ. This is a great series where the main theme seems to be Retribution. Stories as told by Father Time.
THIS EPISODE:
November 27, 1947. ABC network. Sustaining. An untitled story about Lucy, who visits her Aunt Emmie" in the country. See also cat. #12031. Lawrence Klee (writer), Clark Andrews (director), Glenn Osser (music director), Alice Frost, Leora Thatcher. 28:31.
Pat Novak, played by Jack Webb, was a private detective working out of Pier 19, a waterfront office in San Francisco. The stories were always very similar: Someone would hire him, (if not a beautiful woman, the job would lead to a beautiful woman) someone would get murdered, he would investigate the case, get beaten up by the thugs, and then the case would be solved and end with glorious violence. The closing was always the same; the listener would be told who had done what, to whom and why they had done it.
THIS EPISODE:
March 6, 1949. Program #2. ABC network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. A dead horse leads to a dead jockey and a hot tip on murder. Jack Webb, Virginia Gregg, Hugh Thomas. 1/2 hour.
THE FRED ALLEN SHOW - Born John Florence Sullivan on May 31, 1894, Fred Allen began his career in vaudeville before becoming one of radioâs most acerbic and admired wits. Allen and his wife, former chorus girl Portland Hoffa, began their radio career on October 23, 1932, starring on The Linit Bath Club Revue. By 1934, Allen was starring on Town Hall Tonight, a one-hour show which featured Allen examining current events and interviewing unusual guests. It was here that Allen began radioâs longest-running âfeudâ in 1937, when he made a series of jokes about fellow comedian Jack Benny. Allen's best-remembered feature was âAllen's Alley,â a weekly segment in which he would discuss issues of the day with eccentric creations like the blustery Senator Claghorn, Brooklyn housewife Pansy Nussbaum and stoic New Englander Titus Moody. Allen was known to read up to nine newspapers a day and often spent 12 to 14 hours a day writing and re-writing his scripts. Poor health forced Allen off the air in 1944, but he returned in the fall of 1945 with The Fred Allen Show, which lasted until June 26, 1949. Fred Allen died on March 17, 1956. Fred Allen was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1988.
The Adventures of Frank Race was a 1949-50 radio adventure serial syndicated by Bruce Ellis Productions. The 30-minute program was first broadcast in some markets beginning May 1, 1949. An attorney who turned international adventurer after WWII, Frank Race (Tom Collins, Paul Dubov) mainly investigated insurance scams. After the first 22 shows, Dubov took over the title role. Tony Barnett portrayed Mark Donovan. The series was written and directed by Joel Murcott and Buckley Angel. The announcer was Art Gilmore, and Ivan Ditmars provided the background organ music.
The Secrets of Scotland Yard is hosted by Clive Brook, narrator of LM Radio. Brook was a successful director writer, and actor in many films, including âDressed to Thrillâ in 1935, âThe Flemish Farmâ in 1943 and âOn Approvalâ in 1944. He was probably best remembered for playing opposite Marlene Dietrich in the 1932 movie, âShanghai Express.â He also played Sherlock Holmes in the 1932 movie of the same name.
THIS EPISODE:
Towers Of London syndication. "The Perfect Detective". Commercials added locally. The story Jonathan Wild, an extraordinary "fence" and all-around criminal. He also excelled at arresting criminals! To be a perfect detective, you have to be a perfect crook! Clive Brook (host). 30:01.
THE REAL MCCOYS - A happy-go-lucking West Virginia mountain family picks up stakes and moves to a ranch in California's San Fernando Valley. Center of the action, and undisputed star of the show, was Grandpa, a porch-rockin', gol-darnin', consarnin' old geezer with a wheezy voice who liked to meddle in practically everybody's affairs, neighbors and kin alike. His kin were grandson Luke and his new bride, Kate; Luke's teenage sister, Hassie; and Luke's 11-year-old brother, Little Luke (their parents were deceased). Completing the regular cast were Pepino, their loyal farm hand; George MacMichael, their crusty neighbor and Amos' best friend; and Flora, George's spinster sister who had eyes for Amos
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Grampa Sells His Gun adapted for radio aired on October 24, 1957. The Real McCoys was a situation comedy that aired on the ABC network from 1957 through 1962. It aired for one more season on CBS before its end in 1963. The series revolved around the lives of a mountain family who originally hailed from West Virginia. The McCoys moved to California where they became dirt farmers. The family consisted of Grampa Amos McCoy, the head of the family played by Walter Brennan, his grandson Luke played by Richard Crenna, Luke's new bride Kate played by Kathleen Nolan, teenage sister Hassie played be Lydia Reed, and 11-year-old brother Little Luke played by Michael Winkelman. The Real McCoys paved the way for such rural hits as The Beverly Hillbillies and The Andy Griffith Show.
BLONDIE - Not many cartoon strips from the 30's are still popular, but Blondie is one of the few. Still widely read today, Blondie was also made into movies and of course, radio. Her beau, soon to be husband, Dagwood and her were an unlikely match. Dagwood actually came from money and his parents were displeased with his choice of girlfriend, but boldly defying them, he accepted being disowned and married Blondie anyway. In the beginning, Blondie was a flapper and portrayed as a bit of an airhead, but marriage seemed to mature her and she was actually the more levelheaded of the two, often getting Dagwood out of the messes he got himself into when he would cry out "BLONDIEEEEEEEE!!" Almost everyone could see a bit of themselves in the everyday lives of the Bumsteads and judging from the continued enjoyment of the characters, almost everyone still can. Truly a delightful show.
THIS EPISODE:
1950. ABC netwoek origination, AFRS rebroadcast. Dagwood loses an important package with $5000 in it. Now, where did he put it for safekeeping? The AFRS music fill has been deleted. Arthur Lake, Ann Rutherford, Hanley Stafford. 24:37.
Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator is one of the few detective radio series that had separate versions of it broadcast from both coasts. Even the spelling changed over the years. It was first "Barry Crane" and then "Barrie Craig". NBC produced it in New York from 1951 to 1954 and then moved it to Hollywood where it aired from 1954 to 1955. It attracted only occasional sponsors so it was usually a sustainer. William Gargan, who also played the better known television (and radio) detective Martin Kane, was the voice of New York eye BARRY CRAIG while Ralph Bell portrayed his associate, Lt. Travis Rogers. Craig's office was on Madison Avenue and his adventures were fairly standard PI fare. He worked alone, solved cases efficiently, and feared no man. As the promos went, he was "your man when you can't go to the cops. Confidentiality a speciality."
Like Sam Spade, Craig narrated his stories, in addition to being the leading character in this 30 minute show. Nearly sixty episodes are in trading circulation today.
Casey, Crime Photographer - The adventures of Casey, crack photographer for The Morning Express, were told in this series, which moved to television after a highly successful run on radio in the 1940âs. Casey hung out at the Blue Note CafÃ, where the music was provided by the Tony Mottola Trio, and was friendly with Ethelbert, the bartender, to whom he recounted his various exploits. Richard Carlyle and John Gibson portrayed the roles when the series premiered in April, 1951, but by June they were replaced by Darren McGavin and Cliff Hall. Ann Williams, a reporter on The Morning Express, was Caseyâs girlfriend. During the summer of 1951 he acquired a partner in cub reporter Jack Lipman, who wrote copy to go with Caseyâs pictures. This live series was set in and broadcast from, New York City.
THIS EPISODE:
September 5, 1946. CBS network. "The Handkerchief". Sponsored by: Anchor Hocking Glass. A tavern owner is killed and his $20,000 is missing. The identity of the culprit is obvious, or is he? Alonzo Deen Cole (writer), Tony Marvin (announcer), John Gibson, John Dietz (director), Staats Cotsworth, Lesley Woods, Bernard Lenrow, Herman Chittison (piano), Archie Bleyer (composer), George Harmon Coxe (creator). 29:51.
Cloak & Dagger - "Are you willing to undertake a dangerous mission for the United States, knowing in advance you may never return alive?" Cloak and Dagger first aired over the NBC network on May 7, 1950. It had a short run through the Summer on Sundays, changing to Fridays after its Summer run. The last show aired Oct. 22, 1950. This is the story of the WWII special governmental agency, the OSS, or Office of Strategic Services. Its mission was to develop and maintain spy networks throughout Europe and into Asia, while giving aid to underground partisan groups and developing espionage activities for Allied forces overseas.The show is based on the book of the same name by Lt. Col. Corey Ford and Major Alastair MacBain (who were associated with the OSS from its early days.) The dramas are not Hollywood-style, in that they sometimes end with plans foiled or leading characters dead.
THIS EPISODE:
May 28, 1950. NBC network. "The Trojan Horse". Sustaining. 4:00 P. M. Gabrielle Monet, a Parisian nightclub singer, is brought to Casablanca to give her former lover the wrong information about the planned Allied invasion of North Africa. Jane White, Raymond Edward Johnson, Berry Kroeger, Leon Janney, Joseph Julian, Karl Weber, Guy Sorel, Bernie Gould, Jon Gart (music director), Louis G. Cowan (producer), Corey Ford (originator), Alfred Hollander (producer), Sherman Marks (director, supervisor), Winifred Wolfe (writer), Alistair MacBain (originator). 29:25.
The Bickersons - This old time radio series from the 1940s was an extremely popular situation comedy performed by Don Ameche and Frances Langford as battling spouses, John and Blanche Bickerson. Other actors portrayed the parts in later years with Lew Parker ("That Girl") joining Langford and the non-stop petty insults on the television series. The unhappy couple was routinely overheard during their vituperative pillow talk sessions, spouting marital mayhem drenched in caustic wit.
Crime Does Not Pay was an anthology radio crime drama series based on MGM's short film series. The films began in 1935 with Crime Does Not Pay: Buried Loot. For the most part, actors who appeared in B-films were featured, but occasionally, one of MGM's major stars would make an appearance. The radio series aired in New York on WMGM (October 10, 1949-October 10, 1951) and then moved to the Mutual network (January 7-December 22, 1952). Actors included Bela Lugosi, Everett Sloane, Ed Begley, John Loder and Lionel Stander.
THIS EPISODE:
December 19, 1949. MGM syndication. "Dead Pigeon". Commercials added locally. Louie "The Dasher" Monroe decides Georgie is a stool pigeon. The best stool pigeon is a dead stool pigeon! The date above is the date of the first broadcast on WMGM, New York from which this syndicated version may have been taken. Marx B. Loeb (director), Myron McCormick, Jon Gart (composer, conductor), Ira Marion (writer), Burton B. Turkas (technical advisor). 26:23.
Lux Radio Theater, one of the genuine classic radio anthology series (NBC Blue Network (1934-1935); CBS (1935-1954); NBC (1954-1955)) adapted first Broadway stage works, and then (especially) films to hour-long live radio presentations. It quickly became the most popular dramatic anthology series on radio, running more than twenty years. The program always began with an announcer proclaiming, "Ladies and gentlemen, Lux presents Hollywood!" Cecil B. DeMille was the host of the series each Monday evening from June 1, 1936, until January 22, 1945. On one occasion, however, he was replaced by Leslie Howard.
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September 17, 1951. CBS network. "Sunset Boulevard". Sponsored by: Lux. The famous story about the faded Hollywood star and the young screen writer. Nancy Gates, John Wengraf, Gloria Swanson, William Holden, William Conrad, William Keighley (host), John Milton Kennedy (announcer), Rudy Schrager (music director), William Johnstone, George Neise, Herb Butterfield, Dan Riss, Irene Martin (intermission guest), Charles Brackett (author, screenwriter), Billy Wilder (author, screenwriter), D. M. Marshman Jr. (screenwriter), Earl Ebi (director), Sanford Barnett (adaptor), Charlie Forsyth (sound effects). 59:29.
THE HALLS OF IVY - Ronald Colman and his wife Benita Hume starred in the Halls of Ivy, a very well-written, superbly acted radio program that was full of warmth and wit. The show aired from 1950 to 1952 on NBC and is not often mentioned when old-time radio programs are the topic of conversation, but it is one of my favorites. The combination of Mr. & Mrs. Colman's acting and Don Quinn's writing made for an enjoyable half-hour's worth of entertainment. The show was created by Don Quinn who for many, many years put words in the mouths of Fibber McGee and Molly. Quinn wrote jokes that made you think. On the McGee program there was a fast and furious onslaught of crazy puns, mangled cliches, and double-meanings. Sometimes all at once -- when delivered by the superb timing of the talented Jim Jordan as Fibber.
Crime Club was a Mutual Network murder and mystery series, a product of the Doubleday Crime Book Club imprints found weekly in bookstores everywhere. The telephone rings"Hello, I hope I haven't kept you waiting. Yes, this is the Crime Club. I'm the Librarian. Murder Rents A Room? Yes, we have that Crime Club story for you.Come right over. (The organist in the shadowed corner of the Crime Club library shivers the ivories) The doorbell tones sullenly"And you are here. Good. Take the easy chair by the window. Comfortable? The book is on this shelf." (The organist hits the scary chord) "Let's look at it under the reading lamp." The Librarian, played by Raymond E. Johnson, begins reading the tale. Veteran Willis Cooper (Lights Out, Quiet Please) did some of the scripts from the Crime Club books.
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT) was an ambitious and sustained attempt to revive the great drama of old-time radio in the 1970s. Created by Himan Brown (who had by then become a radio legend due to his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries and other shows dating back to the 1930s), and aired on affiliate stations across the CBS Radio network, the series began its long run on January 6, 1974. The final episode ran on December 31, 1982. The show was broadcast nightly and ran for one hour, including commercials. Typically, a week consisted of three to four new episodes, with the remainder of the week filled out with reruns. There were a total of 1399 original episodes broadcast. The total number of broadcasts, including reruns, was 2969. The late E.G. Marshall hosted the program every year but the final one, when actress Tammy Grimes took over.
The Chicago Theater Of The Air was a rather unique program that was created in 1940, during a time when operas and dramas were popular. The show attempted to add a degree of high culture to American entertainment. The operas were translated into English. A few examples of high end creations were Madame Butterfly, The Vagabond King and The Merry Widow.
The Life of Riley, with William Bendix in the title role, was a popular radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film and continued as a long-running television series during the 1950s. The show began as a proposed Groucho Marx radio series, The Flotsam Family, but the sponsor balked at what would have been essentially a straight head-of-household role for the comedian. Then producer Irving Brecher saw Bendix as taxicab company owner Tim McGuerin in the movie The McGuerins from Brooklyn (1942). The Flotsam Family was reworked with Bendix cast as blundering Chester A. Riley, riveter at a California aircraft plant, and his frequent exclamation of indignation---"What a revoltin' development this is!"---became one of the most famous catch phrases of the 1940s. The radio series also benefited from the immense popularity of a supporting character, Digby "Digger" O'Dell (John Brown), "the friendly undertaker.
These were stories written by well-known science fiction authors dramatised by very high quality actors. It was a thirty-minute adult science fiction drama series with 45 episodes being broadcast before it was later revived as X Minus One. The shows were narrated by Norman Rose, perfecting the combination between authoritative resonance and dark irony.
SPONSORS: General Mills for Wheaties
CAST: Art Carney, Jack Grimes, Jack Lemmon, Santos Ortega, Norman Rose, Jackson Beck, Mandel Kramer, Peter Lazer, Larry Haines, Everett Sloane, Joan Alexander, Jan Miner, Claudia Morgan, Ralph Bell, Raymond Edward Johnson, Bryna Raeburn, Patricia Wheel, Joyce Gordon, Ronald Liss, Leon Janney, Luis Van Rooten
ANNOUNCERS: Bob Warren, Fred Collins
PRODUCERS/DIRECTORS: Danny Sutter, Ed King, Fred Weihe
WRITERS: Ray Bradbury, Earl Hamner, Jr
SOUND EFFECTS: Sam Monroe, Agnew Horine
Nightwatch - January 7, 1954. CBS network. Audition program. Real police recordings, no actors are used. Car 54 and police reporter Donn Reed answer the first all, a Code 2 alert that a burglary is taking place. A woman is pushed in the bathroom by an alcoholic young man wearing a tie. He's captured in another house...wearing no clothes! A patrol through Culver City. Later, two witnesses to a homicide are interviewed. The suspect is captured and confesses on the air. Chief W. N. Hildebrand tells how the cases were resolved. Sterling Tracy (supervisor), Donn Reed (police reporter), W. N. Hildebrand. 25:34
Arch Oboler's Plays was a radio drama series written, produced and directed by Arch Oboler. Minus a sponsor, it ran for one year, airing Saturday evenings on NBC from March 25, 1939 to March 23, 1940 and revived five years later on Mutual for a sustaining summer run from April 5, 1945 to October 11, 1945. Leading film actors were heard on this series, including Gloria Blondell, Eddie Cantor, James Cagney, Ronald Colman, Joan Crawford, Greer Garson, Edmund Gwenn, Van Heflin, Katharine Hepburn, Elsa Lanchester, Peter Lorre, Frank Lovejoy, Raymond Massey, Burgess Meredith, Paul Muni, Alla Nazimova, Edmond O'Brien, Geraldine Page, Gale Sondergaard, Franchot Tone and George Zucco.
THIS EPISODE:
April 26, 1945. Mutual network. "The House I Live In". Sustaining. A man's son is in a Japanese prison camp, and the neighborhood doesn't seem the same. Program #3 of a series of twenty six. Arch Oboler (writer, host), Raymond Massey, Mercedes McCambridge, Hester Sondergaard, Ann Shephard, Alfred Ryder, Sylvan Levin (conductor). 1/2 hour.
Diary of Fate is a mystery and horror program where âFateâ narrates and always wins by the end of the story. These are great suspense filled stories about average people who are subject to the mysteries of their âFateâ. In This episode, March 9, 1948. Program #13. Finley syndication. "The Entry Of Trina Crowley". Commercials added locally. Book 74, page 309. A mysterious and wealthy man checks into a rundown motel in the Mojave desert. Could he be the murderer with $20,000 in the trunk of his car? The date is subject to correction. No cast credits given. Larry Finley (producer). 26:46.
BEYOND MIDNIGHT - Let us journey âinto the land that lies beyond midnight,â into a world of ghost hunters, men going mad, and DEATH DEATH DEATH! Written by the masterful Michael McCabe, these well-done South African radio shows will capture your attention and keep you up listening to them well beyond midnight.
CBS Radio Workshop - April 13, 1956. CBS network. "Jacob's Hands". Sustaining. A good story about a farm hand who discovers he has the power to heal. Aldous Huxley (author), Christopher Isherwood (author), Hans Conried, Harry Bartell, Helen Kleeb, Herb Butterfield, Janet Stewart, John Dehner, Lawrence Dobkin, Parley Baer, Vic Perrin, Virginia Gregg, William Conrad. 1/2 hour
Jacob Ericson is a shy, enigmatic, and somewhat inept ranch hand who works for crotchety Professor Carter and his crippled daughter, Sharon, on a ranch in California's Mojave Desert in the 1920s. One day he learns that his hands possess the mysterious gift of healing, a gift he uses to cure animals (whom he adores). Sharon (whom he also adores) then persuades him to heal her.
Gunsmoke - Some listeners (such as old time radio expert John Dunning) have argued that the radio version of Gunsmoke was far more realistic than the television program. Episodes were aimed at adults, and featured some of the most explicit content of the day: there were violent crimes and scalpings, massacres and opium addicts. Miss Kitty's occupation as a prostitute was made far more obvious on the radio version than on television. Many episodes ended on a down-note, and villains often got away with their crimes.
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March 15, 1959. CBS network. "Incident At Indian Ford". Commercials deleted. Marshal Dillon and Chester meet up with eight cavalry soldiers traveling with Mary Taber, who has just been ransomed back from the Arapahos. The script was used on the Gunsmoke television series on December 2, 1961. William Conrad, John Dunkel (writer), Howard McNear, Georgia Ellis, Jeanne Bates, Jack Moyles, Vic Perrin, Parley Baer, John Meston (editorial supervisor), George Walsh (announcer), Norman Macdonnell (producer, director). 25:09.
The Jack Benny Program - Benny had been only a minor vaudeville performer, but he became a national figure with The Jack Benny Program, a weekly radio show which ran from 1932 to 1948 on NBC and from 1949 to 1955 on CBS, and was consistently among the most highly rated programs during most of that run. With Canada Dry Ginger Ale as a sponsor, Benny came to radio on The Canada Dry Program, beginning May 2, 1932, on the NBC Blue Network and continuing there for six months until October 26, moving the show to CBS on October 30. With Ted Weems leading the band, Benny stayed on CBS until January 26, 1933. Arriving at NBC on March 17, Benny did The Chevrolet Program until April 1, 1934. He continued with sponsors General Tires, Jell-O and Grape Nuts. Lucky Strike was the radio sponsor from 1944 to the mid-1950s. The show returned to CBS on January 2, 1949, as part of CBS president William S. Paley's notorious "raid" of NBC talent in 1948-49. There it stayed for the remainder of its radio run, which ended on May 22, 1955. CBS aired reruns of old radio episodes from 1956 to 1958 as The Best of Benny.
Amos 'n' Andy creators Gosden and Correll were white actors familiar with minstrel traditions. They met in Durham, North Carolina in 1920, and by the fall of 1925, they were performing nightly song-and-patter routines on the Chicago Tribune's station WGN. Since the Tribune syndicated Sidney Smith's popular comic strip The Gumps, which had successfully introduced the concept of daily continuity, WGN executive Ben McCanna thought the notion of a serialized drama could also work on radio. He suggested to Gosden and Correll that they adapt The Gumps to radio. They instead proposed a series about "a couple of colored characters" and borrowed certain elements of The Gumps. Their new series, Sam 'n' Henry, began January 12, 1926, fascinating radio listeners throughout the Midwest.
Tuska cited Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940) and Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery (1941) as the best of the Bellamy-Lindsay pairings. "The influence of The Thin Man series was apparent in reverse", Tuska noted about Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery. "Ellery and Nikki are unmarried but obviously in love with each other. Probably the biggest mystery... is how Ellery ever gets a book written. Not only is Nikki attractive and perfectly willing to show off her figure", Tuska wrote, "but she also likes to write her own stories on Queen's time, and gets carried away doing her own investigations." In Ellery Queen, Master Detective, "the amorous relationship between Ellery and Nikki Porter was given a dignity, and therefore integrity", Tuska wrote, "that was lacking in the two previous entries in the series", made at Republic Pictures before Bellamy and Lindsay were signed by Columbia.
THIS EPISODE:
April 15, 1948. ABC network. "The Slicer". Sustaining. An unknown madman has murdered nineteen women by attacking them at night while they are alone. The identity of "The Slicer" is quite a surprise, you'll never guess whodunit. The "Guest Armchair Detective" is Gene Handsaker (Hollywood columnist). Paul Masterson (announcer), Gene Handsaker, Anthony Boucher (writer), Manfred B. Lee (writer), Rex Koury (organist), Dick Woollen (producer, director), Lawrence Dobkin, Kaye Brinker, Herb Butterfield, Alan Reed. 29:30.
Academy Award Theater - The list of films and actors on Academy Award Theater is very impressive. Bette Davis begins the series in Jezebel, with Ginger Rogers following in Kitty Foyle, and then Paul Muni in The Life of Louis Pasteur. The Informer had to have Victor Mclaglen, and the Maltese Falcon, Humphrey Bogart, Sidney Greenstreet (this movie was his first major motion picutre role) plus Mary Astor for the hat trick. Suspicion starred Cary Grant with Ann Todd doing the Joan Fontaine role, Ronald Coleman in Lost Horizon, and Joan Fontaine and John Lund were in Portrait of Jenny. How Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio were done is something to hear!
THIS EPISODE:
November 13, 1946. CBS network. "Night Train". Sponsored by: Squibb Drugs. An exciting spy story about a British agent who recaptures a kidnapped scientist from the Gestapo, just before WWII. Rex Harrison. 1/2 hour.
The Murder at Midnight series was a thirty-minute broadcast featuring tales of the supernatural. The actors included Mercedes McCambridge and Lawson Zerbe and the show was narrated using the spooky, creepy voice of Raymond Morgan and always opened using the same gripping signature; âthe witching hour, when night is darkest, our fears are the strongest, our strength at its lowest ebbâ Midnight! â when graves gape open and death strikes!â
THIS EPISODE:
September 11, 1946. Program #13. Syndicated. "'Til Death Do Us Part". Commercials added locally. A new bridegroom feels a compulsion to strangle his bride! A surprise ending! Anton M. Leader (director), Charles Paul (organ), Elspeth Eric, Eric Dressler, Joseph Ruscoll (writer), Louis G. Cowan (producer). 27:00.
Escape was radio's leading anthology series of high adventure, airing on CBS from July 7, 1947 to September 25, 1954. Since the program did not have a regular sponsor like Suspense, it was subjected to frequent schedule shifts and lower production budgets, although Richfield Oil signed on as a sponsor for five months in 1950. Despite these problems, Escape enthralled many listeners during its seven-year run. The series' well-remembered opening combined Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain with the introduction, intoned by Paul Frees and William Conrad: âTired of the everyday routine? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... Escape!â Of the more than 230 Escape episodes, most have survived in good condition. Many story premises, both originals and adaptations, involved a protagonist in dire life-or-death straits, and the series featured more science fiction and supernatural tales than Suspense.
The Boston Blackie radio series, also starring Morris, began June 23, 1944, on NBC as a summer replacement for The Amos 'n' Andy Show. Sponsored by Rinso, the series continued until September 15 of that year. Unlike the concurrent films, Blackie had a steady romantic interest in the radio show: Lesley Woods appeared as Blackie's girlfriend Mary Wesley. Harlow Wilcox was the show's announcer. On April 11, 1945, Richard Kollmar took over the title role in a radio series syndicated by Frederic W. Ziv to Mutual and other network outlets. Over 200 episodes of this series were produced between 1944 and October 25, 1950. Other sponsors included Lifebuoy Soap, Champagne Velvet beer, and R&H beer.
THIS EPISODE:
July 14, 1944. NBC network. Sponsored by: Rinso, Lifebuoy Soap. A fabulous gem called "The Star Of The Nile" disappears from a train between Chicago and New York. It's an emerald worth $200,000...or does it? The burglary is scheduled to take place at the jewelry store's vault at midnight. The story has one of the corniest conclusions ever broadcast! The organist jumps his cue at the end of the concluding public service announcement. Chester Morris, Shirley Mitchell, Richard Lane, Tony Barrett, Ralph Moody, Charles Cornell (organ), Harlow Wilcox (announcer). 29:36.
Broadway Is My Beat, a radio crime drama, ran on CBS from February 27, 1949 to August 1, 1954. With music by Robert Stringer, the show originated from New York during its first three months on the air, with Anthony Ross portraying Times Square Detective Danny Clover. John Dietz directed for producer Lester Gottlieb. Beginning with the July 7, 1949 episode, the series was broadcast from Hollywood with producer Elliott Lewis directing a new cast in scripts by Morton Fine and David Friedkin. The opening theme of "I'll Take Manhattan" introduced Detective Danny Clover (now played by Larry Thor), a hardened New York City cop who worked homicide "from Times Square to Columbus Circle -- the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world."
THIS EPISODE:
May 12, 1951. CBS network. Sustaining. Charles Crandall is found murdered in an alley. He has no wallet, but he does have an expensive watch and a parking ticket! Charlie Crandall proves to be very much alive. Larry Thor, Elliott Lewis (producer, director), Alexander Courage (composer, conductor), Charles Calvert, Morton Fine (writer), David Friedkin (writer), Jack Kruschen, Lou Merrill, Jeanette Nolan, Joe Walters (announcer), Adam Williams, Peggy Webber, Joy Terry. 29:33.
Dragnet was a long-running radio and television police procedural drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. The show takes its name from an actual police term, a "dragnet", meaning a system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects. Dragnet debuted inauspiciously. The first several months were bumpy, as Webb and company worked out the programâs format and eventually became comfortable with their characters (Friday was originally portrayed as more brash and forceful than his later usually relaxed demeanor). Gradually, Fridayâs deadpan, fast-talking persona emerged, described by John Dunning as "a cop's cop, tough but not hard, conservative but caring." (Dunning, 210) Fridayâs first partner was Sgt. Ben Romero, portrayed by Barton Yarborough, a longtime radio actor.
Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons was one of network radio's longest running detectives, although listening to it now would hardly explain why. This kind, elderly, boring sleuth, in company with his bumbling assistant, Mike Clancy, was on the airwaves from 1937 to 1955, logging nearly 20 years of fighting crime. The series came out of the soap opera fiction factory of Frank and Anne Hummert and encompassed most of the trite dialogue and snail plotting of daytime serials.
THIS EPISODE:
September 15, 1949. CBS network. "The Case Of Murder and The Bloodstained Necklace". Sponsored by: Anacin, Kolynos, Heet, Kriptin, Bisodol, Hills Cold Tabs. A widow for one week is found dead in a hotel room with a string of worthless pearls clutched in her hand. Frank Hummert, Anne Hummert (author), Bennett Kilpack. 1/2 hour.
The Creaking Door was an old-time radio series of horror and suspense shows originating in South Africa. There are at present anywhere from 34-37 extant episodes in MP3 circulation, yet no currently available program logs for the series indicate the year of the series' broadcast (though it was likely sometime in the 1950s, given the generally high audio quality of the available shows), or the total number of episodes, and only a handful of them are known by their broadcast order. The stories are thrillers in the Inner Sanctum vein, and generally thought of favorably by most fans of OTR.
The Planet Man
Episode7 "Kidnapping Order" Episode8 "Bill & Jane Need Help" and Episode9 "Hoping For A Miracle"
This is the fascinating story of Dantro, The Planet Man, troubleshooter for the League of Planets organization, the law enforcement body for peace and justice in the celestial world - whose headquarters and center of operations are situated on the capital of all the planets, Planeria Rex. From Mercury to Pluto, wherever danger threatens the universe, you will find Dantro the Planet Man fighting for fair play.
Although Molle Mystery Theatre was initially sponsored by Molle Shaving Cream, other sponsors (such as Bayer Aspirin, Ironized Yeast, Phillips Milk of Magnesia) also sponsored the program. Sometimes, when it was not sponsored by Molle, the program was called "Mystery Theater". The show was first heard on NBC, on 9/7/43. Time slot was originally Sunday nights at 9:00 PM, but was later moved to Tuesday at 9:00 PM, and Friday at 10:00 PM. In 1948, the show moved to CBS (Tues, 8:00 PM), and in 1951, it moved to ABC, where it was called "Mark Sabre", and heard on Wednesdays at either 8:00 PM or 9:30 PM. The shows were tight and tension filled, with a fine orchestra score and solid production values. Classic tales from well-known authors, as well as modern unknowns were presented, and the endings were often twists or shockers.
THIS EPISODE:
April 26, 1946. NBC network. "The Doctor and The Lunatic". Sponsored by: Molle. Not auditioned. Bernard Lenrow (host, as "Geoffrey Barnes"), Richard Connell (writer), Dan Seymour (announcer), Alexander Semmler (composer, conductor), Frederick Maytho (? adaptor), Luis Van Rooten, Alan Hewitt. 29:08.
Burns and Allen are one of the most beloved couple in old time radio. They got started, like many of the greats of old time radio, in vaudeville, which is really just the touring popular entertainment in America prior to movies. Gracie was the sparkplug of the act, always the center of attention. George played the foil, the guy vainly trying to make sense of the ditzy world of Gracie. By the early 30s, Gracie was probably the best known woman on radio. Gracie often sang in a voice that showed she was also an excellent comedienne songstress. The shows had names after the sponsors, such as Maxwell House Coffee Time, or The Ammident Show - it was the Burns and Allen show to the public. Other fine radio actors were a part of the fun. Mel Blanc did the happy postman, and was also famous for his zany characters on The Jack Benny Show, and his own Mel Blanc Show. Elliott Lewis, a veteran of many radio dramas, played many of the bit parts on the Burns and Allen shows of the 40s. Burns & Allen were touring England in 1929 when they made their first radio appearance on the BBC. Gracie Allen died on August 27, 1964. George Burns died on March 9, 1996. First Broadcast date february 15th 1932. Last Broadcast date may 17th 1950.
MAYOR OF THE TOWN - An NBC offering. Aired on Sundays from 7:00PM to 7:30PM, starring Lional Barrymore and Agnes Moorehead. The creator and writer was Jean Holloway, the announcer Harlow Wilcox, music by Gordon Jenkins and sponsored by Rinso detergent.
CONFESSION
NBC 30 minutes Sunday at 9:30PM.Cast Paul Frees, virginia
Christine,Herb Butterfield, Parley Bear and other Hollywood radio
actors. Announcer John Wald. From: July 5, 1953 to September 13, 1954
The Show had a texture and sound not unlike Dragnet, indeed the influence was realized throughout the show. These were true stories of Crime and Punishment, the obvious difference that Dragnet began with the crime while Confession unfolded in reverse order, from the end. Confession was less noisy, it's theme was played on a single piano, but there was still the deadpan dialogue, the thief or killer giving his confession with an air of resignation and defeat. The criminal thus became a stream-of-consciousness narrator, with the action frequently cutting away into drama. "Names were changed to protect the legal rights of the subject"
By the 1940's, Frank and Ann Hummert controlled four and a half hours of national weekday broadcast schedules. Their features reportedly spawned more that 5 million pieces of correspondence annually from steadfast fans. Simultaneously they brought in more than half of the national radio chain's advertising revenues generated during the daylight hours. The couple broadcast 18 quarter-hour serials five times weekly, a total of 90 original episodes for 52 weeks per year, with none of those ever repeated. Some shows were "Amanda of Honeymoon Hill", "Backstage Wife","Chaplin Jim USA", "David Harum", "Easy Aces", "Front Page Farrell", "John's Other Wife", "Just Plain Bill", "The Life of Mary Sothern","Lora Lawton", "Lorenzo Jones", "Ma Perkins", "Mrs Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch", "Our Gal Sunday", "The Romance of Helen Trent" and "Young Widder Brown".
The Black Museum - Opening in 1875, the Crime Museum at Scotland Yard is the oldest museum in the world purely for recording crime. The name Black Museum was coined in 1877 by a reporter from The Observer, a London newspaper, although the museum is still referred to as the Crime Museum. The idea of a crime museum was conceived by Inspector Neame who had already collected together a number of items, with the intention of giving police officers practical instruction on how to detect and prevent burglary. It is this museum that inspired the Black Musuem radio series. The museum is not open to members of the public but is now used as a lecture theatre for the curator to lecture police and like bodies in subjects such as Forensic Science, Pathology, Law and Investigative Techniques. A number of famous people have visited the musuem including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry Houdini, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Orsen Welles hosted and narrated the shows. Following the opening, Mr. Welles would introduce the museum's item of evidence that was central to the case, leading into the dramatization. He also provided narration during the show and ended each show with his characteristic closing from the days of his Mercury Theater on the Air, 'remaining obediently yours'.
Crime Classics was a U. S. radio docudrama which aired over CBS from June 15, 1953 to June 30, 1954. Created, produced, and directed by radio actor/director Elliott Lewis, the program was basically a historical true crime series, examining crimes, and especially murders, from the past. It grew out of Lewis's personal interest in famous murder cases, and took a documentary-like approach to the subject, carefully recreating the facts, personages, and feel of the time period. Comparatively little dramatic license was taken with the facts and events, but the tragedy was leavened with humor, expressed largely through the narration.
THIS EPISODE:
September 14, 1953. CBS network. "The Bloody, Bloody Banks Of Fall River". Sustaining. What happened at 92nd Street on a hot summer's evening in 1892. Since Lizzie was acquitted, who killed Mr. and Mrs. Borden? The program is possibly dated September 30, 1953. A similar script was used on "Suspense" on October 4, 1955 (see cat. #24241). Lou Merrill, Morton Fine (writer), David Friedkin (writer), Bernard Herrmann (composer, conductor), Irene Tedrow, Jeanette Nolan, Herb Butterfield, Bob Lemond (announcer), Elliott Lewis (producer, director), Betty Harford, Sarah Selby, William Johnstone, Paul Frees. 29:43.
VICTORY THEATER
"Victory Theater" was the 1942 summer replacement series for "Lux Radio Theater" and was sponsored by the United States Government.
THIS EPISODE:
THE PHILADELPHIA STORY
Philadelphia heiress Tracy Lord throws out her playboy husband C.K. Dexter Haven shortly after their marriage. Two years later, Tracy is about to marry respectable George Kittredge whilst Dexter has been working for "Spy" magazine. Dexter arrives at the Lord's mansion the day before the wedding with writer Mike Connor and photographer Liz Imbrie, determined to spoil things. Written by Col Needham {col@imdb.com}
Cast:Cary Grant as C.K. Dexter Haven , Katharine Hepburn as Tracy Lord , James Stewart as Macaulay Connor, Ruth Hussey as Elizabeth Imbrie, John Howard as George Kittredge, Roland Young as Uncle Willie.
Horatio Hornblower
Based on the novels by C. S. Forester.
1952-1953 Series
Broadcast 1952; Transcribed in England for the BBC; aired in U.S. on CBS, then again on ABC in 1954 and Mutual in 1957. Starring Michael Redgrave as Horatio Hornblower. a captain in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic era. The radio series was based on twelve Horatio Hornblower novels written by C.S. Forester. These novels were, and still are, well liked due to their realistic tone and historical accuracy in telling the tales of Naval life in the late 1700s through the mid 1800s. C.S. Forester was well known for his novels about military and naval life, including such fine titles as The African Queen, The Gun, The Barbary Pirates, and The General.
Honest Harold Hemp lived with his mother and nephew and did a radio homemaker's program. The series received undeserved negative ratings and general negative attitude of the critics. The HONEST HAROLD scripts were well crafted with well developed characters and had excellent acting and production values. Many people, including Harold Peary, believed that THE GREAT GILDERSLEEVE would not survive without Peary. However, Willard Waterman assumed the role and most listeners didn't notice the difference, as Mr. Waterman did an excellent job in capturing the essence of the Gildersleeve character. This may have been the single greatest blow to the survival of HONEST HAROLD. There were just too many similarities between the two series. Also, the series was without a sponsor, although some of the last shows were sponsored by the US Armed Forces.
Mr. and Mrs. North are fictional American amateur detectives. Created by Frances and Richard Lockridge, the couple were featured in a series of twenty-six Mr. and Mrs. North novels, a Broadway play, a motion picture, and several different radio and television series. Mr. and Mrs. North was a radio mystery series that aired on CBS from 1942 to 1954. Alice Frost and Joseph Curtin had the title roles when the series began in 1942. Publisher Jerry North and his wife Pam lived in Greenwich Village at 24 St. Anne's Flat. They were not professional detectives but simply an ordinary couple who stumbled across a murder or two every week for 12 years. The radio program eventually reached nearly 20 million listeners.
Archie Andrews, created in 1941 by Bob Montana, is a fictional character in an American comic book series published by Archie Comics, a long-run radio series, a syndicated comic strip and animation -- The Archie Show, a Saturday morning cartoon television series by Filmation, plus Archie's Weird Mysteries.
Archie on radio
Montana's characters were heard on radio in the early 1940s. Archie Andrews began on the Blue Network on May 31, 1943, switched to Mutual in 1944, and then continued on NBC from 1945 until September 5 1953. Archie was first played by Charles Mullen, Jack Grimes and Burt Boyar, with Bob Hastings as the title character during the NBC years.
Hancock's Half-Hour is the yardstick against which all subsequent British sitcoms have been measured, the vast majority failing to size up to its extremely high standards. Based on his famous radio show of the same name, the TV run consolidated Tony Hancock's standing as Britain's leading comic of the day, the entertainer providing ample proof that his wonderfully flexible face could be as expressive as his dextrous radio voice. Tony Hancock was at the height of his powers during the late 1950s, squeezing every comic ounce out of his lines, pulling off perfectly judged pauses and demonstrating a sense of timing to match the great Jack Benny's. His character - Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock - was invariably a loser, whose aspirations and plans were dashed by fate, circumstance, Sid James or, more often than not, his own pomposity or unfettered ambition.
The Ford Theater aired 1947 - 1949. It was broadcast on NBC until October 8, 1948 then moved to CBS. It was hosted by Howard Lindsay. The show tried to use good but not to famous radio performers. Producer George Zachary, first producer, attempting to use popular radio stars instead of Hollywood stars offered limited success. Followed was low ratings which forced the replacement of Zachary with Fletcher Markle, husband of radio legend Mercedes McCambridge. Needing a change the show moved to California and began starring celebrities from Hollywood like Lucille Ball. Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Bette Davis to mention a few. This combination made for a hit radio show.
Box 13 - The premise of the program was that Dan Holiday was an author who wrote mystery novels. To get ideas for his novels he placed an advertisement in a newspaper saying "Adventure wanted, will go anywhere, do anything, Box 13." The ads always brought fun adventures of all kinds: from racketeer's victim to psychotic killer looking for fun. Most of the episodes were based on Dan Holiday replying to a letter he received at Box 13. He would generally solve a mystery in the process, and return to his office in time to enjoy a hearty laugh at the expense of Suzy, his amusingly stupid secretary. He would certainly not meet the strictest requirements for private eyes (not licensed, collected no fees from clients), but the definition should stretch to sneak him in under the rope. It was heard over the Mutual Broadcasting System as well as being syndicated. The series was produced by Mayfair Productions. Box 13, starring Alan Ladd as Dan Holiday. Sylvia Picker played Suzy, Dan Holiday's secretary and Edmond MacDonald as Lt. Kling. Other stars in the series were Betty Lou Gerson, Lurene Tuttle, Alan Reed, Luis Van Rooten, John Beal and Frank Lovejoy. Music was by Rudy Schrager and the writer was Russell Hughes. Announcer/Director was Vern Carstensen. The series was produced by Richard Sanville with Alan Ladd as co-producer.
Spy Catcher - (BBC) 1960-1961. A series of true stories in the unceasing search for enemy spys in wartime. Based on the memoirs of Lt. Col. Oreste Pinto of Allied Counterintelligence Services. The shows were extremly popular during the golden age of radio.
THIS EPISODE:
The Infernal Triangle - In May 1945 the war in Europe was over but the search for spys was still on and a mass of letters on known spy activities continued to pour in to the new intellegence headquarters located in the wing of a prison at the Hague known as the Hotel Orange. Amonst these letters was found a single sheet of paper, a cheap scribble pad with no water mark. The words in large blocked capital letters and unsigned, written In dutch, it read "Mrs. Sanders is a spy and it is your duty to investigate her". The investigation begins.
Groucho Marx matches wits with the American public in four episodes of this classic game show. Starting on the radio in 1947, You Bet Your Life made its television debut in 1950 and aired for 11 years with Groucho as host and emcee. Sponsored rather conspicuously by the Dodge DeSoto car manufacturers, the show featured two contestants working as a team to answer questions for cash prizes. Another mainstay of these question and answer segments was the paper mache duck that would descend from the ceiling with one hundred dollars in tow whenever a player uttered the "secret word." The quiz show aspect of "You Bet Your Life" was always secondary, to the clever back-and-forth between host and contestant, which found Groucho at his funniest. It's in these interview segments that "You Bet Your Life" truly makes its mark as one of early television's greatest programs. Directed by: Robert Dwan.
2000 AD (2000 Plus) is known as the first of the network science fiction shows, although it ran on Mutual just a month prior to the introduction of the landmark series, Dimension X. It was a half hour of science fiction wonder in an exciting package. The stories have a charm that is always present in science fiction of the future that is written in the past. "When The Worlds Met" takes place "at the giant space port in Washington, temporary capitol of the federated world government as in April 21, 2000 Plus 20 (2020) crowds tas audio and televox networks cover a space ship carrying in its space hold the first load of uranium taken from the pits of Luna, satellite of Earth.
THIS EPISODE:
1950. Mutual net origination, AFRS rebroadcast.. "Flying Saucers". Sustaining. Not auditioned. In the year 2012, a second "Zeus" rocket is about to be launched from White Sands. The saucers have been visiting for the last three months and are considered a potential threat. Ralph Bell, Luis Van Rooten, Bryna Raeburn, Pierre Gerson (writer), Ken Williams, Emerson Buckley (conductor), Elliot Jacoby (conductor), Walt Shaver (sound), Adrian Penner (sound), Martin Enghauser (engineer), Ken Marvin (announcer). 29:04.
Sherlock Holmes detective stories appeared on radio for more than 25 years, with a long list of performers playing the parts of Holmes and Dr Watson. FIRST BROADCAST: October 20th 1930 LAST BROADCAST: September 4th 1956. The stories were written by Edith Meiser, a self-confessed Holmes addict. These were so well written that she was warmly praised by Arthur Conan Doyleâs widow and son.
The Adventures Of Philip Marlowe - The first portrayal of Phillip Marlowe on the radio was by Dick Powell, when he played Raymond Chandler's detective on the Lux Radio Theater on June 11, 1945. This was a radio adaptation of the 1944 movie, from RKO, in which Mr. Powell played the lead. Two years later, Van Heflin starred as Marlowe in a summer replacement series for the Bob Hope Show on NBC. This series ran for 13 shows. On September 26, 1948, Gerald Mohr became the third radio Marlowe, this time on CBS. It remained a CBS show through its last show in 1951.
THIS EPISODE:
August 18, 1950. CBS network "The Dark Tunnel". Sustaining. A beautiful girl and a disfiguring fire...and it only starts with a guy getting beat up in an alley. Gerald Mohr, Roy Rowan (announcer), Lurene Tuttle, Bob Sweeney, Paul Dubov, Barney Phillips, Lawrence Dobkin, David Ellis, Raymond Chandler (creator). 30:04.
The Chase is an exciting Old Time Radio series in which every episode contains, well, a chase. Tales, highly melodramatic and often improbable, of people on the run. The concept of "hunter and hunted" was built into the signatures. with the lone bugle of a fox hunt, the braying of dogs, the sounds of a man running, a gunshot, and the slowing footsteps and eventual fall of the victim. It may be an adventure story, a crime story, or even science fiction, but there will always be a suspense filled chase.
THIS EPISODE:
August 14, 1952. NBC network. "The Amusement Park". Sustaining. A young woman leaves her shooting gallery with a new friend to solve a murder and catch a pyromaniac. The system cue has been deleted. Adelaide Klein, Arthur Gary (announcer), Bill Lipton, Charles O'Neill (writer), Daniel Sutter (director, transcriber), Jack Lloyd, Lawrence Klee (creator, writer), Patrick Campbell, Sydney Smith, Walter Black. 29:27.
21ST PRECINCT was one of the realistic police drama series of the early- to mid-1950's that were aired in the wake of DRAGNET. Hard-boiled private detective series that often portrayed police as inept or incompetent were losing favor. NBC's DRAGNET had proven that a realistic police show could attract and hold an audience. In 1953 CBS decided to use New York City as the backdrop for their own half-hour police series and focus on the ay-to- day operations of a single police precinct. Actual cases would be used as the basis for stories. It was mentioned in each episode's closing by the announcer that, "Twenty-first Precinct is presented with the official cooperation of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association an organization of more than 20,000 members of the Police Department, City of New York."
Adventures In Research
Episode 9 "The Immigrant Inventor" (3-30-43)
Episode 10 "Dirty Hands" (4-06-43)
A wonderfully informative old time radio series can be found in Adventures In Research. With tales that are not only wonderfully dramatic, but at the same time extremely interesting and entertaining. Adventures In Research offers the listener accounts in American scientific research history. You will be enthralled, as will your children. Best of all, in regards to providing a great educational tool for children, the episodes are made for their attention span, and run approximately fifteen minutes. Hear about the development of the parachute; History of 1st Regular Radio Broadcast; learn about the George Westinghouse; be amazed at The First American Patent; the horrible Dread Scourge - Typhus; be in awe of The Man Who Found A Continent; and so much more wonderful history.
1984-1986 There were 69 episodes in the original series. The series continued after that under various names and formats. "The point between reality and fantasy. Where imagination holds the key to new worlds. That point of no return---The Vanishing Point." Favorably compared to Rod Sterling's classic TV series, The Twilight Zone, these finely tuned radio dramas from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation provide compelling excursions into the realm of mystery and fantasy.
Richard Diamond, Private Detective was a radio show starring Dick Powell which aired from 1949 to 1953, first on NBC, then ABC and finally on CBS. The title character was a rather light-hearted detective who often ended the episodes singing to his girlfriend, Helen. The television series was produced by Powell's company, Four Star Television, and that series ran for 3 years from 1957 to 1960. On TV, David Janssen played the hard boiled private eye and his secretary renamed âSamâ, was only ever shown on camera from the waist down, most assurardidly to display her beautiful legs. It was later leared that the legs belonged to Mary Tyler Moore. Original music by Frank DeVol and pete rugolo and later by richard shores. Good scripts, a solid cast and Powellâs exceptional talent made a good time 30 minute program that was quite popular during that Golden Age of Radio. So Letâs sit back now, relax and enjoy this truly otr radio classic.,â, Dick powell as Richard Diamond.., Private Detective.
THIS EPISODE:
October 29, 1949. NBC net. Sustaining. Mrs. Lenore Kirby asks Diamond to help find her ex-private eye son named Bill Kirby. Bill soon turns up dead, with two very tough hombres out to get Kirby's shoe! Dick Powell doesn't sing on this show! Part of the last promotional announcement and the system cue have been deleted. Blake Edwards (writer), Dick Powell, Ed Begley, Edward King (announcer), Frank Worth (composer, conductor), Peggy Webber, Richard Sanville (director), Steve Dunne, Virginia Gregg, William Johnstone, Wilms Herbert. 29:28.
Baby Snooks - FIRST BROADCAST: 29th February 1936 as part of The Ziegfield Follies of the Air LAST BROADCAST: 29th May 1951 CAST: Fanny Brice as Baby Snooks. Henley Stafford as Lancelot âDaddyâ Higgins, Baby Snooks father. Lalive Brownell as âMommyâ Higgins (later played by Lois Corbet and Arlene Harris).Leone Ledoux as Snookâs little brother Roberspierre. ANNOUNCERS: John Conte (late 30s and early 40s). Tobe Reed (1944-45), Harlow Willcox (mid to late 1940s), Dick Joy, Don Wilson and Ken Wilson. VOCALIST: Bob Graham MUSIC: Meredith Willson (37-44), Carmen Dragon. PRODUCER-DIRECTORS: Mann Holiner (early 1940s), Al Kaye (1944), Ted Bliss, Walter Bunker, Arthur Stander. WRITERS: Phil Rapp, Jess Oppenheimer, Everett Freeman, Bill Danch, Sid Dorfman, Arthur Stander, Robert Fisher. SOUND EFFECTS: Clark Casey, David Light. Baby Snooks became a character for Fanny Brice at some point in the early 30s, nobody seems to know exactly when. What is for sure is that by 1934 Fanny was appearing on-stage in her baby costume as part of the Follies show on Broadway. In 1936, at 45 years of age, she used this baby persona to great effect on the CBS show The Ziegfield Follies of the Air and a radio legend was born.
THE MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER - Written and directed by Robert A. Arthur and David Kogan, the series began on the Mutual Broadcasting System, December 5, 1943, continuing in many different timeslots until September 16, 1952. Unlike many other shows of the era, The Mysterious Traveler was without a sponsor for its entire run. The lonely sound of a distant locomotive heralded the arrival of the malevolent narrator, portrayed by Maurice Tarplin, who introduced himself each week in the following manner. This is the Mysterious Traveler, inviting you to join me on another journey into the strange and terrifying. I hope you will enjoy the trip, that it will thrill you a little and chill you a little. So settle back, get a good grip on your nerves and be comfortable -- if you can! Cast members included Jackson Beck, Lon Clark, Roger DeKoven, Elspeth Eric, Wendell Holmes, Bill Johnstone, Joseph Julian, Jan Miner, Santos Ortega, Bryna Raeburn, Frank Readick, Ann Shepherd, Lawson Zerbe and Bill Zuckert. Sound effects were by Jack Amrhein, Jim Goode, Ron Harper, Walt McDonough and Al Schaffer.
Big Town is a radio show that aired from 1937 to 1952. Edward G. Robinson had the lead role of Steve Wilson from 1937 to 1942. Claire Trevor was Wilson's society editor sidekick Lorelei Kilbourne, with Ona Munson taking over that role in 1940. Edward J. Pawley portrayed Wilson from 1942 until 1952 when Walter Greaza was heard as Wilson in the final episodes in the radio series. When Big Town moved to television, the program was telecast live, but in 1952 the production switched to film after the move from New York City to Hollywood. The television series ran on CBS from 1950 through 1954, continuing on NBC from 1955 through 1956. Repeat episodes aired on the DuMont Network (under the title City Assignment) while Big Town was still showing first-run episodes on CBS. Reruns were also shown under the titles Heart of the City, Headline and Byline Steve Wilson.
Manhunt - CRIME DRAMA
1945-1946 15 Minutes transcribed syndication (ZIV network), with crime stories complete in each episode. CAST: Larry Haines as Drew Stevens. New York players were in support. The shows were well written and, for the time period, quite well performed.
In Episode One "Clue Of The Masked Murderer", police are notiified of a murder. Upon arrival at the scene, they find nothing. Under their watch, a body suddenly appears and sends everyone into a search of surrounding apartments. As this investigation continues, a second body is discovered. Drew Stevens and his associate discover the motive and suspect. Can they make an arrest?
In Episode Two, "The Contridicting Confessions", a mother and her son both confess to the murder of Andrew Winters, the woman's brother who owned the farm they all lived on. Winters was about to reposses the property and force the others to leave. Police attempting to solve the crime were further confussed by even a third confession.
The Third Man (The Lives of Harry Lime) was a old-time radio adventure series that ran in 1951 and 1952. It was based on the 1949 film of the same name. Orson Welles stars as Harry Lime, a perpetually broke confidence man, smuggler, and general scoundrel. He will participate in virtually any criminal activity to make a fast buck, but uses his wits rather than a gun. He draws the line short of murder, blackmail, or drugs. Even so, Harry is an endearing character and listeners love to hear of his one-step-ahead-of-the-law misadventures as he hops around the globe looking for his next pigeon. The zither music of Anton Karas adds a wonderful Viennese ambience to each episode and really makes this show special.
THIS EPISODE:
October 19, 1951. Program #12. Lang-Worth syndication. "Blue Bride". Commercials added locally. Harry's involved in a counterfeiting scheme in Bordeaux. Orson Welles, Anton Karas (zither), Harry Alan Towers (producer), Tig Roe (director). 26:34.
The Haunting Hour - The shows are classic chills from the old school, with creepy organ, overwrought women and over the top men. Perhaps not the highest of melodrama, but obsessively workmanlike. After all, they might have known they were a skeleton staff toiling relentlessly without a ghost of a chance of fame. Thanks to transcription, these unknowns are still with us. John Dunning, succinctly states in "On the Air, The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio," "There were no credits, so casts and production crews are unknown."
THIS EPISODE:
NBC syndication, WRVR-FM, New York aircheck. "Occupation Murder". Participating sponsors. Syndicated rebroadcast date: January 17, 1975. . 28:20.
The Philip Morris Playhouse - Philip Morris invested heavily in radio advertising throughout the 1930s and â40s, often having two weekly programs on competing networks. The first, a variety show that ran for twelve seasons (1934-47) and combined musical and dramatic elements, was called Johnny Presents, essentially giving Roventini "top billing" above all the big name guests that appeared on the broadcasts. The cigarette company also sponsored Philip Morris Playhouse, a dramatic anthology series that lasted 14 seasons (1939-53), finally switching to television.
THIS EPISODE:
July 29, 1949. CBS net. "The Ironman". Sponsored by: Philip Morris, Revelation Pipe tobacco. The three owners of a failing New York bar decide to do in a barfly after taking out an insurance policy on his life. This is not as easy as it sounds. A well done production of a classic story. William Spier (director, producer, editor), Sidney Miller, Jerry Hausner, Joseph Kearns, John Holbrook (announcer), Harold Swanton (writer), Lud Gluskin (music director), Art Ballinger (announcer), James Matthews. 29:35
Bold Venture - The Hollywood husband and wife team of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall set sail for adventure in the Bold Venture radio series in early 1951. There were well over 400 stations that aired the program. Since thiswas syndicated * the starting date varied from station to station but Mar 26, 1951 was the official date of the first show. Humphrey Bogart portrayed Slate Shannon, owner of a rundown Havana hotel, Shannon's Place. The action took place on land as well aboard Slate's boat, The Bold Venture, thus the title of the series. Lauren Bacall was his ward Sailor Duval, a stubborn and flirtatious young woman whose late father had willed her to Slate for her protection. Together the duo found adventure, intrigue, mystery and romance in the sultry settings of tropical Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean.
THIS EPISODE:
ZIV Syndication. "Slate's Stolen Identity". Commercials added locally. A southerner hires Slate and Sailor to take his client off a freighter (the "S. S. Paloma," Didn't that ship burn in "The Maltese Falcon?"). Slate is shanghaied, his identification papers are taken and is almost arrested as being Louis Gaspar. Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Barton Yarborough, Jester Hairston (singing transitions), David Rose (composer, conductor). 26:39.
The Green Valley Line is "the story of a back-country railroad in the early years of the 20th Century". Not much is known about the people or history of the Green Valley Line radio show. It was probably a single radio station production, since it doesn't even have credits. There's a real live quality to the show, since there's mis-reading of dialogue, and skewed inflections, but that's a great deal of the charm with this rarely-heard local show. It has simple, direct dialogue and almost no sound effects except for the great sounds of the trains and some random railroad office sounds such as typewriters and such.
Dick Tracy had a long run on radio, from 1934 weekdays on NBC's New England stations to the ABC network in 1948. Bob Burlen was the first radio Tracy in 1934, and others heard in the role during the 1930s and 1940s were Barry Thompson, Ned Wever and Matt Crowley. The early shows all had 15-minute episodes. On CBS, with Sterling Products as sponsor, the serial aired four times a week from February 4, 1935 to July 11, 1935, moving to Mutual from September 30, 1935 to March 24, 1937 with Bill McClintock doing the sound effects. NBC's weekday afternoon run from January 3, 1938 to April 28, 1939 had sound effects by Keene Crockett and was sponsored by Quaker Oats, which brought Dick Tracy into primetime (Saturdays at 7pm and, briefly, Mondays at 8pm) with 30-minute episodes from April 29, 1939 to September 30, 1939. The series returned to 15-minute episodes on the ABC Blue Network from March 15, 1943 to July 16, 1948, sponsored by Tootsie Rolls, which used the music theme of "Toot Toot, Tootsie" for its 30-minute Saturday ABC series from October 6, 1945 to June 1, 1946. Sound effects on ABC were supplied by Walt McDonough and Al Finelli. Directors of the series included Mitchell Grayson, Charles Powers and Bob White. Cast members at various times included Walter Kinsella as Pat Patton, Helen Lewis as Tess Trueheart and Andy Donnelly and Jackie Kelk as Junior Tracy. Announcers were Ed Herlihy and Dan Seymour.
Let George Do It was a radio drama series produced by Owen and Pauline Vinson from 1946 to 1954. It starred Bob Bailey as detective-for-hire George Valentine (with Olan Soule stepping into the role in 1954). Clients came to Valentine's office after reading a newspaper carrying his classified ad: "Personal notice: Danger's my stock in trade. If the job's too tough for you to handle, you've got a job for me. George Valentine." Valentine's secretary was Claire Brooks, aka Brooksie (Frances Robinson, Virginia Gregg, Lillian Buyeff). As Valentine made his rounds in search of the bad guys, he usually encounted Brooksie's kid brother, Sonny (Eddie Firestone), Lieutenant Riley (Wally Maher) and elevator man Caleb (Joseph Kearns). Sponsored by Standard Oil, the program was broadcast on the West Coast Mutual Broadcasting System from October 18, 1946 to September 27, 1954, first on Friday evenings and then on Mondays. In its last season, transcriptions were aired in New York, Wednesdays at 9:30pm, from January 20, 1954 to January 12, 1955. John Hiestand was the program's announcer. Don Clark directed the scripts by David Victor and Jackson Gillis. The background music was supplied by Eddie Dunstedter on the organ.
The Great Gildersleeve (1941-1957) was the arguable founding father of the spin-off program, as well as one of the first true situation comedies (as opposed to sketch programs) in broadcast history. Hooked around a character who had been a staple on the classic radio hit Fibber McGee and Molly, The Great Gildersleeve enjoyed its greatest period in the 1940s, when Harold Peary graduated the character from the earlier show into the sitcom and in a quartet of likeable feature films at the height of the show's popularity.
THIS EPISIODE:
June 4, 1944. NBC network. Sponsored by: Kraft Parkay, Pabst-Ett. Eve's mother comes for a visit, and Gildersleeve meets his future mother-in-law. Bea Benaderet, Claude Sweeten (music), Earle Ross, Harold Peary, John Whedon (writer), Ken Carpenter (announcer), Lillian Randolph, Lurene Tuttle, Richard LeGrand, Sam Moore (writer), Shirley Mitchell (?), Walter Tetley. 29:32.
The Adventures Of Maisie - The first in 1939, was from the book "Dark Dame" by the writer Wilson Collison,who did decades of scripting for the silver screen along with Broadway plays and magazine fiction. From the first, MGM wanted Ann Sothern to play Maisie. She began in Hollywood as an extra in 1927. "Maisie and I were just together - I just understood her," Sothern, born Harriette Arlene Lake, said after several of the films made her a star. Throughout the 1930s and '40s, Ann Sothern and Lucille Ball, like many performers in Hollywood, had not one but two careers - one in motion pictures and one on radio. MGM Studios had created the series of ten motion pictures based on a brash blonde with a heart "of spun gold." Maisie, the first in 1939, was from the book "Dark Dame" by the writer Wilson Collison, who did decades of scripting for the silver screen along with Broadway plays and magazine fiction.
THE WEIRD CIRCLE was a syndicated series that was heard on Mutual
stations November, 1943 through October, 1947 and very briefly in
September/October of 1947 on ABC. The show presented 30 minute tales of horror, frequently inspired by classic horror or ghost stories, frequently done by French authors. It opened with the sound of the surf and the chant-like opening, "In this cave by the restless sea, we are met to call from out of past, stories strange and weird. Bell keeper, toll the bell, so that all may know that we are gathered again in the Weird Circle".
THIS EPISODE:
April 13, 1945. Program #49. NBC syndication. "Mad Monkton". Commercials added locally. An excellent ghost story. Ancient prophesy and the unburied dead. Wilkie Collins (author). 26:00.
The Man Called X was an espionage radio drama which aired on CBS and NBC from July 10, 1944 to May 20, 1952. Herbert Marshall had the lead role of agent Ken Thurston who took on dangerous cases in a variety of exotic locations. Gordon Jenkins Orchestra supplied the background music. Leon Belasco played Mr. X's comedic sidekick, Pagan Zeldchmidt, who always turned up in remote parts of the world because he had a "cousin" there. Pagan would annoy and help Mr. X
Hollywood Radio Theater (Lux), one of the genuine classic radio anthology series (NBC Blue Network, 1934-1935; CBS 1935-1955), adapted first Broadway stage and then (and especially) films to hour-long live radio presentations and became the standard by which future radio and early television anthologies would be judged. Cecil B. DeMille was the host of the series each Monday evening from June 1, 1936 until January 22, 1945.
Have Gun â Will Travel was a popular American Western television series that aired on CBS from 1957 through 1963. It was one of the few television shows to spawn a successful radio version. The radio series debuted on November 23, 1958. The show followed the adventures of Paladin, a gentleman-turned-gunfighter (played by Richard Boone on television, and by John Dehner on radio), who preferred to settle problems without violence, yet, when forced to fight, excelled.
The Price Of Fear - For the 1970âs late-night horror show, The Price of Fear, the BBC dramatized the most chilling stories they could find, drawing on talented new writers as well as the established master of terror who narrated tale, re-written as though Price actually experienced each chilling adventure himself. The show was enormously successful in the UK and abroad, and a number of series were made during 1973, 1975 and 1982.
EPISODE:
Program #1. Syndicated, KCRW-FM, Santa Monica, California aircheck. "Not Wanted On The Voyage". Sustaining. An eternal triangle aboard an ocean liner, with murder for the crippled wife. Vincent Price (host, narrator), William Ingraham (writer), Margaret Courtney, Sheila Grant, Henry Stamper, John Dias (director), Shandor Ellis. 28:05.
People are Funny was a television game show that premiered and ended on NBC from 1954-1961. It was shot in the outside world and dared people to do stunts for fun for spectators. This was done to "reveal the true nature" of their guests. This show was considered a predecessor to most of the reality game shows we know today, such as "Survivor" and MTV's "Jackass." Art Linkletter was the more well-known host of the show. Viewers grew up with him, but not just on People are Funny. He was also seen on Life With Linkletter (1950-52 & 1969-70), Art Linkletter's House Party (1952-69), and The Art Linkletter Show (1963).
Our Miss Brooks, an American situation comedy, began as a radio hit in 1948 and migrated to television in 1952, becoming one of the earlier hits of the so-called Golden Age of Television, and making a star out of Eve Arden (1908-1990) as comely, wisecracking, but humane high school English teacher Connie Brooks. The show hooked around Connie's daily relationships with Madison High School students, colleagues, and pompous principal Osgood Conklin (Gale Gordon), not to mention favourite student Walter Denton (future television and Rambo co-star Richard Crenna, who fashioned a higher-pitched voice to play the role) and biology teacher Philip Boynton ( Jeff Chandler), the latter Connie's all-but-unrequited love interest, who saw science everywhere and little else anywhere.
THIS EPISODE:
January 16, 1949. CBS network. Sponsored by: Palmolive Soap, Palmolive Shaving Cream, Lustre Creme Shampoo. As Mr. Conklin cracks down on discipline at Madison High, Miss Brooks is assigned to the stock room. The program is possibly dated February 6 or 8, 1949. Eve Arden, Verne Smith (announcer), Richard Crenna, Gale Gordon, Jane Morgan, Wilbur Hatch (music), Jeff Chandler, Gloria McMillan. 29:48.
The Lone Ranger was a long-running early radio and television show based on characters created by George W. Trendle, and developed by writer Fran Striker. The titular character is a masked cowboy in the American Old West, who gallops about righting injustices, usually with the aid of a clever and laconic American Indian called Tonto, and his horse Silver. He would famously say "Heigh-ho Silver, away!" to get the horse to gallop.
Rogue's Gallery came to the Mutual network on September 27, 1945 with Dick Powell portraying Richard Rogue, a private detective who invariably ended up getting knocked out each week and spending his dream time in acerbic conversation with his subconscious self, Eugor. Rogue's Gallery was, in a sense, Dick Powell's rehearsal for Richard Diamond, Private Detective. Powell played private detective Richard Rogue, who trailed luscious blondes, protected witness, and did whatever else detectives do to make a living. It was a good series, though not destined to make much of a mark. Under the capable direction of Dee Englebach and accompanied by the music of Leith Stevens, Powell floated through his lines with the help of such competents as Lou Merrill, Gerald Mohr, Gloria Blondell, Tony Barrett, and Lurene Tuttle. Peter Leeds played Rogue's friend Eugor, an obscure play on names with Eugor spelling Rogue backwards.
Sam Spade was a tough private investigator. Each case was unfolded as a report dictated to his secretary, Effie, who was always flustered and secretly in love with him. He always quoted his license number and referred to each investigation as a âcaperâ. Each report was dated with the actual airdate. CAST: Howard Duff, Steve Dunne, Lurene Tuttle, John McIntire, William Conrad, Cathy and Elliot Lewis, June Havoc, Joseph Kearns, Jerry Hausner, Elliott Reid, Mary Jane Croft, Jeanette Nolan, Betty Lou Gerson.
Life with Luigi was a radio comedy-drama series which began September 21, 1948 on CBS. The story concerned Italian immigrant Luigi Basco, and his experiences as an immigrant in Chicago. Many of the shows take place at the US citizenship classes that Luigi attends with other immigrants from different countries, as well as trying to fend off the repeated advances of the morbidly-obese daughter of his landlord/sponsor. Luigi was played by J. Carrol Naish, an Irish-American. Naish continued in the role on the short-lived television version in 1952, and was later replaced by Vito Scotti. With a working title of The Little Immigrant, Life with Luigi was created by Cy Howard, who earlier had created the hit radio comedy, My Friend Irma. The show was often seen as the Italian counterpart to the radio show The Goldbergs, which chronicled the experience of Jewish immigrants in New York.
THIS EPISODE:
March 6, 1949. CBS network. Sustaining. Luigi gets a letter from the income tax department! Has he paid his "E Pluribus Unum Tax?" .. Alan Reed (?), Bob Stevenson (announcer), Cy Howard (writer, producer, director), Hans Conried, J. Carrol Naish, Jody Gilbert, Joe Forte, Lou Derman (writer), Lyn Murray (music), Mac Benoff (writer), Mary Shipp. 29:37.
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, an American radio and television series, was once the longest-running, live-action situation comedy on American television, having aired on ABC from 1952 to 1966 after a ten-year run on radio. Starring former bandleader Ozzie Nelson and his wife, vocalist Harriet, the show's sober, gentle humor captured a large, sustaining audience, even if it never reached the top ten in the actual ratings and later critics tended to dismiss it as fostering a slightly unrealistic picture of post-World War II American family life.
The Adventures of Frank Race was a 1949-50 radio adventure serial syndicated by Bruce Ellis Productions. The 30-minute program was first broadcast in some markets beginning May 1, 1949. An attorney who turned international adventurer after WWII, Frank Race (Tom Collins, Paul Dubov) mainly investigated insurance scams. After the first 22 shows, Dubov took over the title role. Tony Barnett portrayed Mark Donovan. The series was written and directed by Joel Murcott and Buckley Angel. The announcer was Art Gilmore, and Ivan Ditmars provided the background organ music.
THIS EPISODE:
May 22, 1949. Program #4. Broadcasters Program Syndicate syndication. "Seventeen, Black". Commercials added locally. An embezzler from Yonkers has committed suicide after taking $70,000. Tom Collins, Tony Barrett, Buckley Angel (writer, director), Joel Murcott (writer, director), Bruce Eells (producer), Art Gilmore (announcer), Ivan Ditmars (organist), Paul Dubov. 26:31.
Duffy's Tavern, an American radio situation comedy (CBS, 1941-1942; NBC-Blue Network, 1942-1944; NBC, 1944-1952), often featured top-name stage and film guest stars but always hooked those around the misadventures, get-rich-quick-scheming, and romantic missteps of the title establishment's malaprop-prone, metaphor-mixing manager, Archie, played by the writer/actor who created the show, Ed Gardner.
THIS EPISODE:
January 12, 1951. NBC network. Sponsored by: RCA Victor, Anacin. Archie becomes smitten with beautiful Mary Ann, not knowing she's from the Draft Board! Archie accuses her of being a "Matzah Hari." The system cue is added live. Ed Gardner, Bert Gordon, Charlie Cantor, Cesar Concepcion and His Orchestra. 30:02.
SCREEN GUILD THEATER - The theatrical society in U.S.A. is termed as Theatre Guild. Founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner (1890-1962) and others, the group proposed to produce high-quality, noncommercial plays. Its board of directors shared responsibility for choice of plays, management, and production. After the premiere of George Bernard Shawâs Heartbreak House in 1920, the Guild became his U.S. agent and staged 15 of his plays. It also produced successful plays by Eugene OâNeill, Maxwell Anderson, and Robert Sherwood and featured actors such as the Lunts and Helen Hayes. It helped develop the American musical by staging Porgy and Bess (1935), Oklahoma! (1943), and Carousel (1945); later also producing the radio series Theatre Guild on the Air (1945-53) and even presented plays on television.
Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator is one of the few detective radio series that had separate versions of it broadcast from both coasts. Even the spelling changed over the years. It was first "Barry Crane" and then "Barrie Craig". NBC produced it in New York from 1951 to 1954 and then moved it to Hollywood where it aired from 1954 to 1955. It attracted only occasional sponsors so it was usually a sustainer. William Gargan, who also played the better known television (and radio) detective Martin Kane, was the voice of New York eye BARRY CRAIG while Ralph Bell portrayed his associate, Lt. Travis Rogers. Craig's office was on Madison Avenue and his adventures were fairly standard PI fare. He worked alone, solved cases efficiently, and feared no man. As the promos went, he was "your man when you can't go to the cops. Confidentiality a speciality."
THE FALCON: This hard boiled spy drama began as an RKO Radio Pictures theatrical serial in the 1940s, went on radio in 1945, and then came to TV ten years later in this Syndicated series produced for distribution by NBC Films; Charles McGraw had been in many motion pictures before and after including "The Killers", "Spartacus" and "Cimarron"; in this series he played the title role of a man whose real name was supposedly Mike Waring, an American agent whose code name was "Falcon"; Later Charles McGraw starred in a short lived TV version of "Casablanca" (1955 - 1956) in the character of Rick; He also had a role on the detective drama "Staccato" (1959) Actor McGraw (whose birth name was Charles Butters) met an unfortunate death in real life when he fell through a shower glass door in 1980 at his home in Studio City, CA.
THIS EPISODE:
November 19, 1950. NBC network. "The Case Of The Puzzling Pinup". Sponsored by: Kraft Miracle Whip, Velveeta, Kraft Dinner. A dead woman is found with a gun in her hand. Where is the other body? A newspaper photographer has a set of photos worth $500,000, but dies right after being punched by "The Falcon." The photographer's beautiful "partner" admits to killing the photographer and then is shot herself! Les Damon, Ed Herlihy (announcer), Drexel Drake (creator). 29:38.
Matinee Theater represented a serious attempt by CBS to provide quality dramatic programming for its Sunday afternoon listeners. A continuation of the series Dangerously Yours, it was renamed Matinee Theater with a view towards presenting "a greater range of stories". That broader scope was able to accommodate such episodes as "Beautiful Dreamer" (the Stephen Foster story) and "The Love Story of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning". Victor Jory and several different female stars paired to bring classics like "Wuthering Heights", "Jane Eyre", and "The Scarlet Pimpernel" to the audience, as well as a number of more contemporary works. The first of these thirty-minute broadcasts aired October 22, 1944 and the final one on April 8, 1945. The Vick Chemical Company sponsored throughout.
THIS EPISODE:
As the First World War ends a soldier wanders out of a Midlands asylum. Smithy was found in the trenches having lost his memory and all contact with the past. Amidst the noise of the armistice celebrations he meets a music hall actress. They fall in love, marry, move to a country cottage, and have a son. On a trip alone to Liverpool Smithy is involved in an accident. His original memory returns, but he now remembers nothing at all about his new life. Written by Jeremy Perkins. Writer is jwp@aber.ac.uk
The Theatre Guild On The Air - The theatrical society in U.S.A. is termed as Theatre Guild. Founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner (1890-1962) and others, the group proposed to produce high-quality, noncommercial plays. Its board of directors shared responsibility for choice of plays, management, and production. After the premiere of George Bernard Shawâs Heartbreak House in 1920, the Guild became his U.S. agent and staged 15 of his plays. It also produced successful plays by Eugene OâNeill, Maxwell Anderson, and Robert Sherwood and featured actors such as the Lunts and Helen Hayes. It helped develop the American musical by staging Porgy and Bess (1935), Oklahoma! (1943), and Carousel (1945); later also producing the radio series Theatre Guild on the Air (1945-53) and even presented plays on television.
THIS EPISODE:
February 24, 1946. ABC network. "Dead End". Sponsored by: United States Steel. The story of New York's slums that led to the creation of the "Dead End Kids," and is based on the play and film of the same name. Agnes Young, Alan Baxter, Anne Burr, Ann Thomas, Arnold Stang, Danny Leon, George Hicks (commercial spokesman), Joan Tetzel, Norman Brokenshire (announcer), Richard Conte, Sidney Kingsley (author). 59:20.
THE UNEXPECTED - Weird 15 minute stories that have a âtwistâ ending. The listener gets a sudden shock, as this time of program should intend to deliver. Actors included Barry Sullivan, Lurene Tuttle and Virginia Gregg, who played Helen Asher in the Richard Diamond detectve series. Director is Frank Danzig.
THE MILTON BERLE SHOW - In 1934-36, Berle was heard regularly on The Rudy Vallee Hour, and he got much publicity as a regular on The Gillette Original Community Sing, a Sunday night comedy-variety program broadcast on CBS from September 6, 1936 to August 29, 1937. In 1939, he was the host of Stop Me If You've Heard This One with panelists spontaneously finishing jokes sent in by listeners. Three Ring Time, a comedy-variety show sponsored by Ballantine Ale was followed by a 1943 program sponsored by Campbell's Soups. The audience participation show Let Yourself Go (1944-45) could best be described as slapstick radio with studio audience members acting out long suppressed urges (often directed at host Berle). Kiss and Make Up, on CBS in 1946, featured the problems of contestants decided by a jury from the studio audience with Berle as the Judge. He also made guest appearances on many comedy-variety radio programs during the 1930s and 1940s. Scripted by Hal Block and Martin Ragaway, The Milton Berle Show brought Berle together with Arnold Stang, later a familiar face as Berle's TV sidekick.
The Clock, Imported from Austrailia, was a dramatic thirty-minute suspense and mystery series. It was written by Lawrence Klee and was first broadcast in November 1946. The story always began the same; âSunrise and sunset, promise and fulfilment, birth and death â the whole drama of life is written in the sands of timeâ. This is a great series where the main theme seems to be Retribution. Stories as told by Father Time.
THIS EPISODE:
April 27, 1947. Grace Gibson syndication. "The Criminal Mind". Commercials added locally. The perfect crime...committed by a policeman! WRVR rebroadcast date: September 21, 1973. The program was heard on ABC on the date above and on August 4, 1947. Lawrence Klee (writer), Harp McGuire (narrator, as "The Clock"), John Saul (director), Grace Gibson (producer), Ken Wayne, John Mellion, George Sterling, Joe McCormick, Owen Weingart. 26:24.
The Devil and Mr. 'O' - With its premiere on the nationwide NBC hookup in 1935, Lights Out was billed "the ultimate in horror." Never had such sounds been heard on the air. Heads rolled, bones were crushed, people fell from great heights and splattered wetly on pavement. There were garrotings, choking, heads split by cleavers, and, to a critic at Radio Guide, "the most monstrous of all sounds, human flesh being eaten." Few shows had ever combined the talents of actors and imaginative writers so well with the graphic art of the sound technician. Wyllis Cooper, who created, wrote, and produced it, was then a 36-year-old staffer in Chicago's NBC Studios.
The Six Shooter, the only radio series staring James Stewart, aired on September 20, 1953. In this radio western, Jimmy played Britt Ponset, a man with a reputation for having a fast gun but is really very different from the hard, tough talking gun slinger type. Here the hero is a slow talking, thinking man who is ready with his gun, but first looks for options to violence. James Stewart played this character very well. Jimmy had appeared on many other radio shows including the Hollywood Star Playhouse where the character of Britt Ponset was introduced in an episode called "The Six Shooter". The same script was used for the audition of THE SIX SHOOTER series, again with Jimmy as Britt. The show aired between September 1953 and June 1954.
The Clitheroe Kid was James Robertson Clitheroe, Jimmy Clitheroe to most, who by some strange coincidence did come from the town of that name without having to change his family name! At his full height he was 4ft 3in, and played the naughty schoolboy from 1958 to 1972. Although plausable from a distance, he was not really able to pass himself off as a youngster close up, so a TV career did not really take off too well, but at the peak of his fame the radio show was raking in about 10 million listeners, although by the end this had dropped to a tenth of that figure. Clitheroe was a very private person, and the shows became a sort of escape for him, as well as the release from the worries of his diminutive size, but despite this, his popularity increased and increased, making this series one of the longer running on the radio - a total of 17 series.
The Saint â 1945-1951
There were at least 24 episodes broadcast of this series. It was a fascinating detective adventure series based on the books by Leslie Charteris. Edgar Barrier first played Simon Templar, aka The Saint, a debonair private detective in January 1945. He was then played by Brian Aherne in June 1945 and later Vincent Price from July 1947 up until May 1951. The Saint was said to have been like a modern day Robin Hood. He didnât care for justice and always helped victims hindered by the lawâs restrictions.
Pat Novak, For Hire â 1949-1950
Pat Novak, played by Jack Webb, was a private detective working out of Pier 19, a waterfront office in San Francisco. The stories were always very similar: Someone would hire him, (if not a beautiful woman, the job would lead to a beautiful woman) someone would get murdered, he would investigate the case, get beaten up by the thugs, and then the case would be solved and end with glorious violence. The closing was always the same; the listener would be told who had done what, to whom and why they had done it.
Wild Bill Hickock - This juvenile western followed the same format as the TV show of the same name that ran throughout the same years. This format certainly was not new as the charismatic hero and comic side-kick was something that had been done before with Hopalong Cassidy and The Cisco Kid, and to some extent with the Lone Ranger. FIRST BROADCAST: May 17, 1951 LAST BROADCAST: February 12, 1956 SPONSORS: Kellog CAST: Guy Madison and Andy Devine. ANNOUNCERS: Charlie Lyon PRODUCERS/DIRECTORS: Paul Pierce.
Suspense was one of the premier programs of the Golden Age of Radio (aka old-time radio), and advertised itself as "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." It was heard in one form or another from 1942 through 1962. There were approximately 945 episodes broadcast during its long run, over 900 of which are extant in mostly high-quality recordings. Suspense went through several major phases, characterized by different hosts, sponsors and director/producers. There were a few rules which were followed for all but a handful of episodes: Protagonists were usually a normal person suddenly dropped into a threatening or bizarre situation. Evildoers must be punished in the end. The program made only occasional forays into science fiction and fantasy. Among its science fiction entries were "The Man who Went Back to Save Lincoln" (a time travel fantasy), and an adaptation of "Donovan's Brain".
THIS EPISODE:
February 7, 1948. CBS network. "Donovan's Brain". Sustaining. The classic tale of the mad scientist and his "brain in the bottle." The story was previously produced on "Suspense," as two half hour programs, on May 18 and May 25, 1944 (see cat. #245 and #61158). John McIntire (doubles), Robert Montgomery (host, performer), William Johnstone, Wally Maher, Jeanette Nolan, Joseph Kearns (announcer, performer), Curt Siodmak (author), Robert L. Richards (adaptor), William Spier (producer, director, editor), Lucien Moraweck (composer), Lud Gluskin (conductor), Burne Surrey (sound effects), Bob Anderson (sound engineer). 61:28.
Academy Award Theater - The list of films and actors on Academy Award Theater is very impressive. Bette Davis begins the series in Jezebel, with Ginger Rogers following in Kitty Foyle, and then Paul Muni in The Life of Louis Pasteur. The Informer had to have Victor Mclaglen, and the Maltese Falcon, Humphrey Bogart, Sidney Greenstreet (this movie was his first major motion picutre role) plus Mary Astor for the hat trick. Suspicion starred Cary Grant with Ann Todd doing the Joan Fontaine role, Ronald Coleman in Lost Horizon, and Joan Fontaine and John Lund were in Portrait of Jenny. How Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio were done is something to hear!
THIS EPISODE:
October 9, 1946. CBS network. "It Happened Tomorrow". Sponsored by: Squibb. The delightful story about the newspaper reporter who had access to the next day's newspaper! Eddie Bracken, Ann Blyth, Hugh Brundage (announcer), Frank Wilson (adaptor), Leith Stevens (composer, conductor), Dee Englebach (producer, director). 29:36.
Authorâs Playhouse - Famous stories by celebrated authors: among them, Elementals (Stephen Vincent Benet), The Piano (William Saroyan), and The Snow Goose (Paul Gallico).March 5, 1941 till June 4, 1945, NBC; Blue Network until mid-October 1941, then the Red Network. Many briefly held 30m timeslots, including Sundays at 11:30, 1941-42; Wednesdays at 11:30, 1942-44; Mondays at 11:30, 1944-45. Sponsor was Philip Morris, 1942-43. Cast: John Hodiak, Fern Persons, Arthur Kohl, Laurette Fillbrandt, Kathryn Card, Bob Jellison, Nelson Olmsted, Marvin Miller, Olan Soule, Les Tremayne, Clarence Hartzell, Curley Bradley, etc. Orchestra: Rex Maupin, Roy Shield, J6seph Gallicchio. Creator: Wynn Wright. Directors: Norman Felton, Fred Weihe, Homer Heck, etc.
THIS EPISODE:
July 28, 1944. NBC network. "Two Of A Kind". Sustaining. Two divers descend beneath the sea to rescue men and papers from a sunken sub. H. Vernon Dickson (writer). 1/2 hour.
Gunsmoke - The radio show first aired on April 26, 1952 and ran until June 18, 1961 on the CBS radio network. The series starred William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon, Howard McNear as Doc Charles Adams, Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell, and Parley Baer as Deputy Chester Proudfoot. Doc's first name and Chester's last name were changed for the television program. Gunsmoke was notable for its critically acclaimed cast and writing, and is commonly regarded as THE true adult western and one of the finest old time radio shows.
THIS EPISODE:
July 5, 1952. CBS network. "Never Pester Chester". Sustaining. Two Texas cowboys drag Chester behind a horse for fun, almost killing him. Marshal Dillon brings in the cowboys...without his guns. The script was used on the Gunsmoke television series on November 16, 1957. William Conrad, Parley Baer, Howard McNear, Georgia Ellis, Paul Dubov, Lou Krugman, Jack Kruschen, Roy Rowan (announcer), Don Diamond, John Meston (writer), Norman Macdonnell (director), Rex Koury (composer, conductor), Gil Stratton. 30:27.
The Martin and Lewis Show - On July 25, 1946, Jerry began a show business partnership with Dean Martin, an association that would soon skyrocket both to fame. It started when Jerry was performing at the 500 Club in Atlantic City and one of the other entertainers quit suddenly. Lewis, who had worked with Martin at the Glass Hat in New York City, suggested Dean as a replacement. At first they worked separately, but then ad-libbed together, improvising insults and jokes, squirting seltzer water, hurling bunches of celery and exuding general zaniness. In less than eighteen weeks their salaries soared from $250.00 a week to $5,000.00. For ten years Martin and Lewis sandwiched sixteen money making films between nightclub engagements, personal appearances, recording sessions, radio shows, and television bookings.
THIS EPISODE:
November 9, 1951. NBC netwoek. Sponsored by: Dentyne, Chesterfield, Anacin. Unedited tape. The recording features lots of fooling around, including some near off-color jokes. The first tune is, "It's The Toast Of The Town," and takes almost ten minutes to play. Guest Danny Thomas and the boys do their version of, "You Bet Your Life." A funny recording, the audience sounds like it's having a great time, and was obviously intended for editing. Great Martin and Lewis. When Jimmy Wallington declines to read an Anacin commercial, Dean suggests that he put his head through the window "and the pane will be gone." Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Dick Mack (producer, director), Dick Stabile and His Orchestra, Jimmy Wallington (announcer), Bonnie Bishop (vocal), Danny Thomas, Norman Lear (writer), Ed Simmons (writer). 1:05:48.
My Friend Irma, created by writer-director-producer Cy Howard, was a top-rated, long-run radio situation comedy, so popular in the late 1940s that its success escalated to films and television, while Howard scored with another radio comedy hit, Life with Luigi. Dependable and level-headed Jane Stacy (Cathy Lewis) narrated the misadventures of her innocent and bewildered roommate, Irma Peterson (Marie Wilson), a dim-bulb stenographer. Wilson portrayed the character on radio, in two films and a TV series. The successful radio series with Marie Wilson ran on CBS Radio from April 11, 1947 to August 23, 1954. The TV version, seen on CBS from January 8, 1952 until June 25, 1954, was the first series telecast from the CBS Television City facility in Hollywood. The movie My Friend Irma (1949) starred Marie Wilson and Diana Lynn but is mainly remembered today for introducing Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis to moviegoers, resulting in even more screen time for Martin and Lewis in the sequel, My Friend Irma Goes West (1950).
THIS EPISODE:
April 11, 1947. CBS network. "Irma Meets Jane". Sustaining. The first show of the series; how Jane met Irma. Irma invites Jane's wealthy boss to dinner, and Al shows up, Irma's impoverished boyfriend. Cathy Lewis, Marie Wilson, John Brown. 1/2 hour.
Casey, Crime Photographer - The adventures of Casey, crack photographer for The Morning Express, were told in this series, which moved to television after a highly successful run on radio in the 1940âs. Casey hung out at the Blue Note CafÃ, where the music was provided by the Tony Mottola Trio, and was friendly with Ethelbert, the bartender, to whom he recounted his various exploits. Richard Carlyle and John Gibson portrayed the roles when the series premiered in April, 1951, but by June they were replaced by Darren McGavin and Cliff Hall. Ann Williams, a reporter on The Morning Express, was Caseyâs girlfriend. During the summer of 1951 he acquired a partner in cub reporter Jack Lipman, who wrote copy to go with Caseyâs pictures. This live series was set in and broadcast from, New York City.
THIS EPISODE:
July 17, 1947. CBS network. "Self-Made Hero". Sponsored by: Anchor Hocking Glass. Wellington Cliffside wants more than anything to be a hero and impress his bobby-soxed lady-love. The script was used previously on the program on March 18, 1944 and July 8, 1944. Alonzo Deen Cole (writer), Archie Bleyer (music), Herman Chittison (piano), Jack Grimes, Jan Miner, John Dietz (director), John Gibson, Staats Cotsworth, Tony Marvin (announcer), George Harmon Coxe (creator). 29:38.
From the age of twelve, Bob Hope worked at a wide variety of odd jobs at a local board walk. When not doing this he would busk, doing dance and comedy patter to make extra money. He entered many dancing and amateur talent contests, and won prizes for his impersonation of Charlie Chaplin. He also boxed briefly and unsuccessfully under the name Packy East, making it once as far as the semi-finals of the Ohio novice championship. Fallen silent film comedian Fatty Arbuckle saw one of his performances and in 1925 got him steady work with Hurley's Jolly Follies. A year later Hope had formed an act called the Dancemedians with George Burns (who would also live to see his own 100th birthday) and the Hilton Sisters, conjoined twins who had a tap dancing routine. Hope and his partner George Byrne had an act as a pair of Siamese twins as well, and both danced and sang while wearing blackface before friends advised Hope that he was funnier as himself.
The NBC University Theater - dramatic anthology Offered novels, with programs for college credit. Broadcast History : July 30th, 1948 - February 14th, 1951 NBC. Mostly 60 minutes. Mostly aired on Sundays, with occasional weeknight airings. Announcer : Don Stanley Music : Albert Harris, Henry Russell Director : Andrew C. Love Writers : Claris A. Ross, Ernest Kinoy, George Lefferts, Jack C. Wilson Sound Effects : Bob Holmes, Rod Sutton.
THIS EPISODE:
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, better known as The Pickwick Papers, is the first novel by Charles Dickens. It was originally an idea by the illustrator Robert Seymour, although in his preface to the 1867 edition, Dickens strenuously denied this, writing that "Mr Seymour never originated or suggested an incident, a phrase, or a word, to be found in the book." At any event, Dickens was asked to contribute to the project as an up and coming writer following the success of Sketches by Boz, published in 1836. Dickens, supremely confident as ever, increasingly took over the unsuccessful monthly publication after Seymour had committed suicide. With the introduction of Sam Weller in chapter 10, the book became the first real publishing phenomenon, with bootleg copies, theatrical performances, Sam Weller joke books and other merchandise.
Broadway Is My Beat, a radio crime drama, ran on CBS from February 27, 1949 to August 1, 1954. With music by Robert Stringer, the show originated from New York during its first three months on the air, with Anthony Ross portraying Times Square Detective Danny Clover. John Dietz directed for producer Lester Gottlieb. Beginning with the July 7, 1949 episode, the series was broadcast from Hollywood with producer Elliott Lewis directing a new cast in scripts by Morton Fine and David Friedkin. The opening theme of "I'll Take Manhattan" introduced Detective Danny Clover (now played by Larry Thor), a hardened New York City cop who worked homicide "from Times Square to Columbus Circle -- the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world."
Fibber McGee and Molly premiered in 1935. The program struggled in the ratings until 1940, when it became a national sensation. Within three years, it was the top-rated program in America. Few radio shows were more beloved than Fibber McGee and Molly. The programâs lovable characters included Mayor LaTrivia, Doc Gamble, Mrs. Uppington, Wallace Wimple, Alice Darling, Gildersleeve, Beulah, Myrt, and the Old Timer. 79 Wistful Vista was one of Americaâs most famous addresses and Mollyâs warning to Fibber not to open the hall closet door (and his subsequent decision to do it) created one of radioâs best remembered running gags that audiences expected each week. Jim Jordan (Fibber) was born on a farm on November 16, 1896, near Peoria, Illinois. Marian Driscoll (Molly), a coal minerâs daughter, was born in Peoria on November 15, 1898.
Screen Director's Playhouse - From 01/09/49 to 09/28/51 this series was greatly enjoyed by the radio listening audience. It opened as NBC Theater and was also known as The Screen Directorâs Guild and The Screen Directorâs Assignment. But most people remember it simply as Screen Directorâs Playhouse. Many of the Hollywood elite were heard recreating their screen roles over the radio. John Wayne in his rare radio appearances, Cary Grant, Edward G. Robinson, Lucille Ball, Claire Trevor, Tallulah Bankhead and many others were on the air week after week during these broadcasts. Many of Hollywoodâs directors were also heard in the recreation of their movies. The President of the Screen Directorâs Guild appeared on 02/13/49, and Violinist Isaac Stern supplied the music for the 04/19/51 broadcast.
THIS EPISODE:
November 18, 1949. NBC network. " The Uninvited ". Sustaining. A weepy ghost story set in England. A bit heavy handed. Ray Milland, June Foray, John Dehner, Lewis Allen. 1/2 hour.
Nightfall is the title of a radio drama series produced and aired by CBC Radio ( Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ) from July 1980 to June 1983. While primarily a supernatural/horror series, Nightfall featured some episodes in other genres, such as science fiction, mystery, fantasy, and human drama. One episode was even adapted from a folk song by Stan Rogers. Some of Nightfall's episodes were so terrifying that the CBC registered numerous complaints and some affiliate stations dropped it. Despite this, the series went on to become one of the most popular shows in CBC Radio history, running 100 episodes that featured a mix of original tales and adaptations of both classic and obscure short stories.
THIS EPISODE:
July 11, 1980. Program #2. CBC origination, NPR network, WPBH-FM, Middlefield, Conn. aircheck. "The Monkey's Paw". Sustaining. A horror tale about three wishes. The WPBH-FM rebroadcast date is January 31, 1982. W. W. Jacobs (author), Henry Ramer (host), Ruth Springford, Eric House, Chris Wiggins, Michael Wincott, Graham Haley, John Jessop (recording engineer), Bill Robinson (sound effects), Doris Buchanan, Bill Howell (producer, director), John Douglas (story editor). 29:09.
The Sealed Book starred Philip Clarke as the keeper of the book, a croaking, cackling hermit, with knowledge of the black arts, who in each show unlocked the great padlock that kept the sealed book safe from prying eyes. There was a spook story each week with tales of secrets and mysteries of mankind through the ages. This MUTUAL network entry in the horror and mystery genre was far from the best remembered, such as Suspense, Quiet Please, and Inner Sanctum. The Sealed Book begins with a classic intro, in which when gonged, we are escorted by the tuxedoed announcer with unseen organist as the keeper of the book opens the ponderous, albeit squeaky door "to the secret vault wherein is kept the great sealed book, in which is recorded all the secrets and mysteries of mankind through the ages, Here are tales of every kind, tales of murder, of madness, of dark deeds strange and terrible beyond all belief." First broadcast date march 18th 1945. Last broadcast date september 9th 1945. Narrated by Philip Clarke and written by Bob Arthur and David Kogan, this mystery anthology was aired over the MUTUAL network Sunday nights at 10:30 p.m.
Night Beat - Frank Lovejoy stars as Randy Stone, a toughened, street-wise Chicago Star reporter working the Night Beat in the early 1950's. Sometimes the capers are cops and robbers. Or just normal people in trouble. Sometimes they deserve it. Sometimes fate twists their arm. Sometimes they're just too scared or confused to know the difference. Lovejoy is a seasoned pro of radio and film with an honest, gripping delivery. Solid supporting casts, good writing and direction.
The Life of Riley, with William Bendix in the title role, was a popular radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film and continued as a long-running television series during the 1950s. The show began as a proposed Groucho Marx radio series, The Flotsam Family, but the sponsor balked at what would have been essentially a straight head-of-household role for the comedian. Then producer Irving Brecher saw Bendix as taxicab company owner Tim McGuerin in the movie The McGuerins from Brooklyn (1942). The Flotsam Family was reworked with Bendix cast as blundering Chester A. Riley, riveter at a California aircraft plant, and his frequent exclamation of indignation---"What a revoltin' development this is!"---became one of the most famous catch phrases of the 1940s. The radio series also benefited from the immense popularity of a supporting character, Digby "Digger" O'Dell (John Brown), "the friendly undertaker."Beginning October 4, 1949, the show was adapted for television for the DuMont Television Network, but Bendix's film contracts prevented him from appearing in the role. Instead, Jackie Gleason starred along with Rosemary DeCamp as wife Peg, Gloria Winters as daughter Barbara (Babs), Lanny Rees as son Chester Jr. (Junior), and Sid Tomack as Gillis, Riley's manipulative best buddy and next-door neighbor.
In 1946 and 1950-1951 Nero Wolfe was aired on radio. Sidney Greenstreet played Nero Wolfe in the later series. The two earlier series have only one episode each available. A variety of actors played Archie Goodwin. NETWORK: NBC, SPONSOR: SUSTAINED, TIME: Fridays: 8:00 - 8:30 pm STARS: Sidney Greenstreet as Nero Wolfe. Archie played by various actors WRITER: Louis Vittes based on the stories by Rex Stout; ANNOUNCER: Don Stanley; PRODUCER: Edwin Fadiman; DIRECTOR: J. Donald Wilson.
DIARY OF FATE is a mystery and horror program where âFateâ narrates and always wins by the end of the story. These are great suspense filled stories about average people who are subject to the mysteries of their âFateâ.
THIS EPISODE:
April 6, 1948. Program #17. Finley syndication. "The Entry Of Tyler White". Commercials added locally. Book 93, page 861. The story of Tyler White who is about to be executed for a murder he did not commit...because of a stray dog and a forgotten cigarette lighter. The date is subject to correction. Herb Lytton, Ruth Perrott, Herbert Rawlinson, Tyler McVey, Hal Sawyer, Ray Erlenborn (probable sound effects), Bob Lowery, Ivan Ditmars (organ), Larry Finley (producer). 28:39.
TWO EPISODES FROM 1945
"The Little Gift" and "The Mad King Of Bavaria"
A series of mystery and drama from the 1940's, always with a theme that surrounded some aspect of the precious gem, always the stories of admiration, smuggling, and thievery and the evil deeds of those who wished to possess them. Today we bring you two episodes.
Jeff Regan, Investigator was one of the three detective shows Jack Webb did before Dragnet (see also Pat Novak For Hire and Johnny Modero: Pier 23). It debuted on CBS in July 1948. Webb played JEFF REGAN, a tough private eye working in a Los Angeles investigation firm run by Anthony J. Lyon. Regan introduced himself on each show "I get ten a day and expenses...they call me the Lyon's Eye." The show was fairly well-plotted, Webb's voice was great, and the supporting cast were skillful. Regan handled rough assignments from Lion, with whom he was not always on good terms. He was tough, tenacious, and had a dry sense of humor. The voice of his boss, Anthony Lion, was Wilms Herbert. The show ended in December 1948 but was resurrected in October 1949 with a new cast; Frank Graham played Regan (later Paul Dubrov was the lead) and Frank Nelson portrayed Lion. This version ran on CBS, sometimes as a West Coast regional, until August 1950. Both versions were 30 minutes, but the day and time slot changed several times. A total of 29 episodes from this series are in trading currency.
THIS EPISODE:
October 2, 1948. CBS network. "The Man With The Key". Sustaining. Jeff, a private investigator, is hired to protect a safe deposit box key for seven hours. Bob Stevenson (announcer), Herb Butterfield, Jack Webb, June Martell, Ken Christy, Marvin Miller, Paul Frees, Yvonne Peattie, E. Jack Neuman (writer), Larry Roman (writer), Sterling Tracy (producer). 29:49.
INHERITANCE - A Dramatized look into American History. NBC Networ in cooperation with the AMERICAN LEGION Sundays 4:30 - 5:00 pm PRUDUCER/DIRECTOR: Albert McCleary ANNOUNCER: John Wald MUSIC: Robert Armbruster.
The Witch's Tale was a horror-fantasy radio series which aired from 1931 to 1938 on WOR and Mutual and in syndication. The program was created, written and directed by Alonzo Deen Cole, who was born February 22, 1897 in St. Paul, Minnesota and died April 7, 1971. Cole's spooky show was hosted by Old Nancy, the Witch of Salem, who introduced a different terror tale each week. The role of Old Nancy was created by stage actress Adelaide Fitz-Allen, who died in 1935 at the age of 79. Cole replaced her with 13-year-old Miriam Wolfe, and Martha Wentworth was also heard as Old Nancy on occasion. Cole himself provided the sounds of Old Nancy's cat, Satan. Cole's wife, Marie O'Flynn, portrayed the lead female characters on the program, and the supporting cast included Mark Smith and Alan Devitte. For syndication, the shows were recorded live during broadcast and distributed to other stations. These recordings were destroyed by Cole in 1961, so few episodes survive. Cole was also the writer, producer and director of the radio mystery-crime drama, Casey, Crime Photographer.
Burns and Allen are one of the most beloved couple in old time radio. They got started, like many of the greats of old time radio, in vaudeville, which is really just the touring popular entertainment in America prior to movies. Gracie was the sparkplug of the act, always the center of attention. George played the foil, the guy vainly trying to make sense of the ditzy world of Gracie. By the early 30s, Gracie was probably the best known woman on radio. Gracie often sang in a voice that showed she was also an excellent comedienne songstress. The shows had names after the sponsors, such as Maxwell House Coffee Time, or The Ammident Show - it was the Burns and Allen show to the public. Other fine radio actors were a part of the fun. Mel Blanc did the happy postman, and was also famous for his zany characters on The Jack Benny Show, and his own Mel Blanc Show. Elliott Lewis, a veteran of many radio dramas, played many of the bit parts on the Burns and Allen shows of the 40s. Burns & Allen were touring England in 1929 when they made their first radio appearance on the BBC. Gracie Allen died on August 27, 1964. George Burns died on March 9, 1996. First Broadcast date february 15th 1932. Last Broadcast date may 17th 1950.
Tuska cited Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940) and Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery (1941) as the best of the Bellamy-Lindsay pairings. "The influence of The Thin Man series was apparent in reverse", Tuska noted about Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery. "Ellery and Nikki are unmarried but obviously in love with each other. Probably the biggest mystery... is how Ellery ever gets a book written. Not only is Nikki attractive and perfectly willing to show off her figure", Tuska wrote, "but she also likes to write her own stories on Queen's time, and gets carried away doing her own investigations." In Ellery Queen, Master Detective, "the amorous relationship between Ellery and Nikki Porter was given a dignity, and therefore integrity", Tuska wrote, "that was lacking in the two previous entries in the series", made at Republic Pictures before Bellamy and Lindsay were signed by Columbia.
Hollywood Startime - Return Of Frank James
Frank James, the brother of Jesse James, has been laying low, living as a farmer and taking care of Clem, the son of one of the members of the James gang. He gets word that Jesse was killed by Bob and Charlie Ford, he hoped that the law would deal with them but when he learns that the railroad man whom he and Jesse terrorized contracted them to kill Jesse and helped them get off, he goes after them. Clem whom he told to remain on the farm goes with him and when it's impossible for him to do so, Frank has no choice to let him tag along. Now in order to cover their tracks they start telling people that Frank James is dead and that they saw it. Eleanor Stone, a female reporter, who wants to write about it interviews them and they are both taken with each other. But eventually she learns who Frank is from the Pinkerton detective who is tracking them but doesn't turn them in. But eventually Frank learns that his farm hand, Pinky has been arrested as his accomplice and is about to be hung. Now short of knowing who Frank is, he has not done anything to help Frank, so Frank has to decide what is more important getting the Fords or helping Pinky. Written by: rcs0411@yahoo.com
The Jack Benny Program is a classic comedy that is truly one of the best-loved programs from the Golden Age of Radio. It started life as The Canada Dry Program in 1932 on the Blue Network and finished off as The Lucky Strike Program on CBS in 1955. In between, it kept the audience in stitches and established Benny as one of America's all-time great comedians. The format of the show, and the personality of its star, so well honed in two decades on radio, made the transition to television almost intact. Jack's stinginess, vanity about his supposed age of 39, basement vault where he kept all his money, ancient Maxwell automobile, and feigned ineptness at playing the violin were all part of the act. Added to Jack's famous pregnant pause and exasperated "Well!" were a rather mincing walk, an affected hand to the cheek, and a painted look of disbelief when confronted by life's little tragedies.
Little Luke's Education (Aired February 6, 1958)
A happy-go-lucking West Virginia mountain family picks up stakes and moves to a ranch in California's San Fernando Valley. Center of the action, and undisputed star of the show, was Grandpa, a porch-rockin', gol-darnin', consarnin' old geezer with a wheezy voice who liked to meddle in practically everybody's affairs, neighbors and kin alike. His kin were grandson Luke and his new bride, Kate; Luke's teenage sister, Hassie; and Luke's 11-year-old brother, Little Luke (their parents were deceased). Completing the regular cast were Pepino, their loyal farm hand; George MacMichael, their crusty neighbor and Amos' best friend; and Flora, George's spinster sister who had eyes for Amos.
FAVORITE STORY aired from September 1947 through December of 1949 hosted by Ronald Colman. This is an excellent dramatic series of great stories from classic literature brought to radio. It's popularity was so high and with such well done stories, it was rebroadcasted for many years.
Wuthering Heights is Emily BrontÃ's only novel. It was first published in 1847 under the pseudonym Ellis Bell, and a posthumous second edition was edited by her sister Charlotte. The name of the novel comes from the Yorkshire manor on the moors on which the story centres. (As an adjective, wuthering is a Yorkshire word referring to turbulent weather.) The narrative tells the tale of the all-encompassing and passionate, yet thwarted love between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, and how this unresolved passion eventually destroys both themselves and many around them. Now considered a classic of English literature, Wuthering Heights has also given rise to many adaptations and inspired works, including films, radio, television dramatisations, musicals and songs (notably the hit Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush) and opera.
Was a Communist for the FBI was an American espionage thriller radio series with 78 episodes syndicated by Ziv to more than 600 stations in 1952-54. Made without FBI cooperation, the series was adapted from the book by undercover agent Matt Cvetic, who was portrayed by Dana Andrews.The series was crafted to warn people about the threat of Communist subversion of American society. The tone of the show is very jingoistic and ultra-patriotic. Communists are evil incarnate and the FBI can do no wrong. As a relic of the Joe McCarthy era, this show is a time capsule of American society during the Second Red Scare.
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater - As you walk through the creaking door you enter into another world, the world of imagination. This world is inside you, a part of you, and you take this journey alone. Each person hears and then sees with his or her mind's eye the events portrayed within these dramas. All of us interprets what they hear differently. The images we see is unique to ourselves. A voice becomes a person, living, breathing they come alive. They take on a physical form and characteristics that we assign to them. The wonders of your own mind are boundless. Scary thoughts? Perhaps, but what powers they bring us! To exercise one's imagination is to exercise one's soul. These dramas provide us with an escape from reality. To adventures beyond our own lives. Enjoy them. And pleasant dreams!
THIS EPISODE:
January 29, 1974. Program #24. CBS network. "The Man Who Heard Voices". Sponsored by: Budweiser, Kellogg's. Augusta Dabney, Leon Janney, Suzanne Grossman, E. G. Marshall (host), Sam Dann (writer), Larry Haines. 52 minutes.
I Love Adventure was a 30-minute weekly adventure series which only appeared in the summer of 1948. The show continued the adventures of the I Love A Mystery series
CAST: Michael Raffetto, Tom Collins, Barton Yarborough, Russell Thorson, Lillian Buyeff, Earl Lee, Harry Lang, Janet Logan, John McIntire, Jeanette Nolan, Rolfe Sedan, Donal Morrison, Luis Van Rooten, Lal Chand Mehra, Alma Lawton, Barbara Jean Wong, Henry Blair, Betty Lou Gerson, Dix Davis, Peggy Webber, Lou Krugman, Frank Richards, Jeanne Bates, Everett Glass.
SHOW TWO OF TWO
When Dragnet hit its stride, it became one of radioâs top-rated shows. While most radio shows used one or two sound effects experts, Dragnet needed five; a script clocking in at just under 30 minutes could require up to 300 separate effects. Accuracy was underlined: The exact number of footsteps from one room to another at Los Angeles police headquarters were imitated, and when a telephone rang at Fridayâs desk, the listener heard the same ring as the telephones in Los Angeles police headquarters. A single minute of "A Gun For Christmas" is a representative example of the evocative sound effects featured on "Dragnet". While Friday and others investigate bloodstains in a suburban backyard, the listener hears a series of overlapping effects: a squeaking gate hinge, footsteps, a technician scraping blood into a paper envelope, the glassy chime of chemical vials, bird calls and a dog barking in the distance. Scripts tackled a number of topics, ranging from the thrilling (murders, missing persons and armed robbery) to the mundane (check fraud and shoplifting), yet "Dragnet" made them all interesting due to fast-moving plots and behind-the-scenes realism. In "The Garbage Chute" (15 December 1949), they even had a locked room mystery.
The Hollywood Star Playhouse , well written and performed, presented many original plays and popular Hollywood stars. Some of those who accepted roles in this great series included Jimmy Stewart, William Conrad, Deborah Kerr, Vincent Price, Harry Bartell and Betty Lou Gerson. Highlights included an episode entitled The Six Shooter and which later became itâs own series staring James Stewart. In 1952, Marilyn Monroe made her radio debut on The Hollywood Star Playhouse.
Dragnet was a long-running radio and television police procedural drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. The show takes its name from an actual police term, a "dragnet", meaning a system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects. Dragnet debuted inauspiciously. The first several months were bumpy, as Webb and company worked out the programâs format and eventually became comfortable with their characters (Friday was originally portrayed as more brash and forceful than his later usually relaxed demeanor). Gradually, Fridayâs deadpan, fast-talking persona emerged, described by John Dunning as "a cop's cop, tough but not hard, conservative but caring." (Dunning, 210) Fridayâs first partner was Sgt. Ben Romero, portrayed by Barton Yarborough, a longtime radio actor.
"THE HOUSE OF DESPAIR" (SHOW THREE OF THREE)
Dark Shadows is a Gothic television soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis, who tells of a dream he had in which a girl takes a long train ride to visit a large mansion. The story "bible", which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements. It was considered daring (and unprecedented in daytime television) when ghosts were introduced about six months after it began. The series became hugely popular when, a year into its run, vampire Barnabas Collins, played by Jonathan Frid, appeared. In addition to vampires, Dark Shadows featured werewolves, ghosts, zombies, man-made monsters, witches, warlocks, time travel, both into the past and into the future, and a parallel universe.
The Fred Allen Show - Born John Florence Sullivan on May 31, 1894, Fred Allen began his career in vaudeville before becoming one of radioâs most acerbic and admired wits. Allen and his wife, former chorus girl Portland Hoffa, began their radio career on October 23, 1932, starring on The Linit Bath Club Revue. By 1934, Allen was starring on Town Hall Tonight, a one-hour show which featured Allen examining current events and interviewing unusual guests. It was here that Allen began radioâs longest-running âfeudâ in 1937, when he made a series of jokes about fellow comedian Jack Benny. Allen?s best-remembered feature was âAllen?s Alley,â a weekly segment in which he would discuss issues of the day with eccentric creations like the blustery Senator Claghorn, Brooklyn housewife Pansy Nussbaum and stoic New Englander Titus Moody.
"THE HOUSE OF DESPAIR" (SHOW 2 OF THREE)
A small company of actors each played many roles and, as actors came and went, some characters were played by several actors. Major writers in addition to Art Wallace included Sam Hall, Gordon Russell, and Violet Welles. Dark Shadows has the distinction of being the only long-running soap to have every episode released for home video (including a reconstruction episode #1219, the videotape for which is lost), first on VHS and currently in progress on DVD. (Episodes were numbered from #1 to #1245, but some episodes were pre-empted due to holidays, news, etc. so the number of episodes actually broadcast is 1225.) Dark Shadows was distinguished by its vividly melodramatic performances, atmospheric interiors, memorable story lines and an unusually adventurous music score.
Damon Runyon Theater- Broadcast from January to December 1949, "The Damon Runyon Theater" dramatized 52 of Runyon's short stories for radio. Damon Runyon (October 4, 1884 â December 10, 1946) was a newspaperman and writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. He spun tales of gamblers, petty thieves, actors and gangsters; few of whom go by "square" names, preferring instead to be known as "Nathan Detroit", "Big Jule", "Harry the Horse", "Good Time Charlie", "Dave the Dude", and so on. These stories were written in a very distinctive vernacular style: a mixture of formal speech and colorful slang, almost always in present tense, and always devoid of contractions.
THIS EPISODE:
1948. Program #27. Mayfair syndication. "The Big Umbrella". Commercials added locally. Not every heavyweight folds when the going gets rough. Damon Runyon (author), John Brown, Richard Sanville (director), Russell Hughes (writer), Vern Carstensen (production supervisor). 27:36.
Dark Shadows is a Gothic television soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis, who tells of a dream he had in which a girl takes a long train ride to visit a large mansion. The story "bible", which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements. It was considered daring (and unprecedented in daytime television) when ghosts were introduced about six months after it began. The series became hugely popular when, a year into its run, vampire Barnabas Collins, played by Jonathan Frid, appeared. In addition to vampires, Dark Shadows featured werewolves, ghosts, zombies, man-made monsters, witches, warlocks, time travel, both into the past and into the future, and a parallel universe.
Groucho Marx matches wits with the American public in four episodes of this classic game show. Starting on the radio in 1947, You Bet Your Life made its television debut in 1950 and aired for 11 years with Groucho as host and emcee. Sponsored rather conspicuously by the Dodge DeSoto car manufacturers, the show featured two contestants working as a team to answer questions for cash prizes. Another mainstay of these question and answer segments was the paper mache duck that would descend from the ceiling with one hundred dollars in tow whenever a player uttered the "secret word." The quiz show aspect of "You Bet Your Life" was always secondary, to the clever back-and-forth between host and contestant, which found Groucho at his funniest. It's in these interview segments that "You Bet Your Life" truly makes its mark as one of early television's greatest programs. Directed by: Robert Dwan.
Nick Carter, Master Detective - Nick Carter is the name of a popular fictional detective who first appeared in in a dime novel entitled "The Old Detective's Pupil" on September 18, 1886. In 1915, Nick Carter Weekly became Street & Smith's Detective Story Magazine. Novels featuring Carter continued to appear through the 1950s, by which time there was also a popular radio show, Nick Carter, Master Detective, which aired on Mutual from 1943 to 1955. Nick Carter first came to radio as The Return of Nick Carter. Then Nick Carter, Master Detective, with Lon Clark in the title role, began April 11, 1943, on Mutual, continuing in many different timeslots for well over a decade.
THIS EPISODE:
December 28, 1947. Mutual network. "The Case Of The Missing Street". Sponsored by: Old Dutch Cleanser, Del Rich Margarine. A talking typewriter and a recorder trip up the evil Mr. Nixon and his cosmopolis racket. Lon Clark. 1/2 hour.
Escape was radio's leading anthology series of high adventure, airing on CBS from July 7, 1947 to September 25, 1954. Since the program did not have a regular sponsor like Suspense, it was subjected to frequent schedule shifts and lower production budgets, although Richfield Oil signed on as a sponsor for five months in 1950. Despite these problems, Escape enthralled many listeners during its seven-year run. The series' well-remembered opening combined Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain with the introduction, intoned by Paul Frees and William Conrad: âTired of the everyday routine? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... Escape!â
The Creaking Door was an old-time radio series of horror and suspense shows originating in South Africa. There are at present anywhere from 34-37 extant episodes in MP3 circulation, yet no currently available program logs for the series indicate the year of the series' broadcast (though it was likely sometime in the 1950s, given the generally high audio quality of the available shows), or the total number of episodes, and only a handful of them are known by their broadcast order. The stories are thrillers in the Inner Sanctum vein, and generally thought of favorably by most fans of OTR.
Amos 'n' Andy began March 19, 1928, on WMAQ, and prior to airing each program they recorded their show on 78 rpm disks at Marsh Laboratories, Orlando R. Marsh, owner. Initially, Gosden and Correll portrayed all the male roles. Between the two, they voiced over 170 distinct characterizations in the show's first decade. With the episodic drama and suspense heightened by cliffhanger endings, Amos 'n' Andy reached an ever-expanding radio audience. It was one of the earliest success stories of radio syndication, and at least 70 stations besides WMAQ carried the program using prerecorded records. Amos Jones and Andy Brown worked on a farm near Atlanta, Georgia, and during the episodes of the first week, they made plans to find a better life in Chicago, despite warnings from a friend. With four ham and cheese sandwiches and $24, they bought train tickets and headed for Chicago where they lived in a State Street rooming house and experienced some rough times before launching their own business, the Fresh Air Taxi Company.
RADIO CITY PLAYHOUSE - Half-hour drama, sometimes comedy, often very exciting and suspenseful. The cast were made up of New York veterans of radio and stage, including Jan Minor and John Larkin as featured performers. The director, Harry W. Junkin, also served as the show's host and narrator. Each week the show introduced a new story, often written by well-known writers of fantasy and suspense such as Ray Bradbury, Cornell Woolrich, Agatha Christie and Paul Gallico. They were dramatized with a full orchestral soundtrack and excellent sound effects.
The Silent Men - Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. played the parts of "special agents of all branches of the federal government, who daily risk their lives to protect the lives of all of us... to guard our welfare and our liberties, they must remain nameless - The Silent Men!" At each episode, Fairbank checked in with his chief, played by either William Conrad or Herb Butterfield. Regulars included Virginia Gregg, Raymond Burr, Lou Merrill Lurene Tuttle, Paul Frees and John Dehner. Don Stanley was the announcer. The show was produced and directed by Warren Lewis, who wrote many of the scripts along with Joel Murcott. The series ran on NBC.
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November 11, 1951. NBC network. "The Transatlantic Push". Sustaining. A concentration camp victim from Buchenwald is arrested for passing counterfeit currency! The G-Men follow the trail to Paris and the source of the "queer." Walter McGraw (director), John Gibson, William Keene, Fred Collins (announcer), Joe DeSantis, Joel Murcott (writer), Roc Rogers, Ruth Yorke, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Warren Lewis (producer). 29:28.
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was a radio drama about a freelance insurance investigator "with the action-packed expense account." The show aired on CBS Radio from February 11, 1949 to September 30, 1962. There were 811 episodes in the 12-year run, and over 720 still exist today. Each story started with a phone call from an insurance agent, calling on Johnny to investigate an unusual claim. Each story required Johnny to travel to some distant locale, usually within the United States but sometimes abroad, where he was almost always threatened with personal danger in the course of his investigations.
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1950. CBS network. "The Virginia Beach Matter". Sustaining. Johnny is hired to protect a beautiful woman from her husband, who is getting out of prison. The husband turns out to be a homicidal maniac. The final show of the series until September 30, 1950. Edmond O'Brien, Howard McNear, Gil Doud (writer), Leith Stevens (composer, conductor), Bob Sweeney, Jeanne Bates, Jaime del Valle (transcirber), Virginia Gregg, Hy Averback. 29:43.
THAT HAMMER GUY
Mickey Spillane wrote violent, sex-filled tales that epitomized the hard-boiled detective genre of tough guys, fist fights and sultry dames. That Hammer Guy was a detective drama well inside the hard-boiled tradition. This was the rough and rugged series that hit hard and fast and it was unlike some other shows, such as, "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar" or "Richard Diamond" that where more upbeat with humor and sly wit. Mike Hammer believes in justice, rough justice... his justice.
THIS EPISODE:
April 7, 1953. Mutual network. Sponsored by: Esquire Magazine, Kix, Camels (G & D Vermouth: local). Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer as rough and tough as ever. Mike's after a pair of saddle shoes after their owner shoots first to kill...and almost does. The system cue has been deleted. Larry Haines, Jan Miner, Mickey Spillane (creator), Edward Adamson (writer), Richard Lewis (director, co-producer), Ed Ladd (announcer). 29:18.
Gangbusters was an American dramatic radio program heralded as "the only national program that brings you authentic police case histories." It premiered as G-Men, sponsored by Chevrolet, on July 20, 1935. After the title was changed to Gang Busters January 15, 1936, the show had a 21-year run through November 20, 1957. Beginning with a barrage of loud sound effects â guns firing and tires squealing â this intrusive introduction led to the popular catch phrase "came on like Gang Busters."The series dramatized FBI cases, which producer-director Phillips H. Lord arranged in close association with Bureau director J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover insisted that only closed cases would be used. The initial series was on NBC Radio from July 20 - October 12, 1935. It then aired on CBS from January 15, 1936 to June 15, 1940, sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive and Cue magazine. From October 11, 1940 to December 25, 1948, it was heard on the Blue Network, with various sponsors that included Sloan's Liniment, Waterman pens and Tide. Returning to CBS on January 8, 1949, it ran until June 25, 1955, sponsored by Grape-Nuts and Wrigley's chewing gum. The final series was on the Mutual Broadcasting System from October 5, 1955 to November 27, 1957. It was once narrated by Norman Schwarzkopf, Sr., former head of the New Jersey State Police. The radio series was adapted for DC Comics, Big Little Books and a 1942 movie serial. The 1952 Gang Busters TV series was reedited into two feature films, Gang Busters (1954) and Guns Don't Argue (1957).
Blackie was a tough, wisecracking private detective working in New York, billed as "enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend." His speciality was making fools of the police, a simple task with Inspector Farraday heading the official investigations. "An enemy to those who call him an enemy, a friend to those who have no friends." Boston Blackie is a reformed jewel thief who is never far from trouble. Inspector Farraday of the homicide squad tries to pin Blackie for the crime in every episode. To save his own skin, with the help of his girlfriend Mary and sidekick Shorty, Blackie ends up solving the case.
DAD'S ARMY - The unmistakable voice of Bud Flanagan singing 'Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr Hitler?', a cod-Second World War propaganda singalong written especially for the show (by Jimmy Perry), introduced Dad's Army, the zenith of the British broad-comedy ensemble sitcom. Consistently good writing and a wonderful cast of old timers and newer talents combined to produce a whimsical period-piece that continues, justifiably, to be savoured and has now assumed a place in the 'hall of greats' pantheon, adored by new generations of the British public.
THIS EPISODE:
Sgt. Wilson's Little Secret (11-15-68)
When Mrs Pike tells Pike there is a little Arthur on the way, having taken in an evacuee, (Arthur) Wilson gets worried and assumes that it is his child, and begins to plan a wedding.
LIGHTS OUT was an American old-time radio program featuring "tales of the supernatural and the supernormal." It was immensely popular, and was one of the first horror programs, predating Suspense and Inner Sanctum. In its heydey, Lights Out rivalled the popularity of those shows. Lights Out ran through several series and networks, from January 1, 1934 to August 6, 1947. The principal sponsor was Ironized Yeast. Most episodes were broadcast at midnight. Lights Out then made the transition to television in 1949, where it was broadcast until 1952. Created in Chicago by writer Wyllis Cooper in 1934.
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July 27, 1946. NBC network. "The Battle Of The Magicians". Sustaining. Not auditioned. Wyllis Cooper (writer), Everett Clark, Tony Parish, Meg Hahn, Duke Watson, Boris Aplon, Nathan Davis, Ernest Andrews, Albert Crews (producer, director). 29:54.
Father Knows Best, a family comedy of the 1950s, is perhaps more important for what it has come to represent than for what it actually was. In essence, the series was one of a slew of middle-class family sitcoms in which moms were moms, kids were kids, and fathers knew best. Today, many critics view it, at best, as high camp fun, and, at worst, as part of what critic David Marc once labeled the "Aryan melodramas" of the 1950s and 1960s.
Curtain Time, like First Nighter, presented romantic drama in a theater setting complete with the announcer shouting, âTickets please, thank youâ. The shows announcer was Harry Halcomb who was later known best for his appearances on the 60 minutes television show. Great scripts and superb acting, Curtain Time is truly an Old Time Radio Classic. Mutual Network, local KNX show sustained, heard Fridays 7:30 - 8:00 pm
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February 7, 1948. NBC network, Chicago origination. "Broadway Interlude". Sponsored by: Snickers. A romantic triangle on the Gay White Way. Arthur Peterson, Nannette Sargent, George Cisar, Geraldine Kaye, Margaret Brayton, Harry Holcomb (director), John Weigle (announcer), Patrick Allen (host), Harry Elders, Bert Farber (arranger, conductor). 29:39.
The Ford Theater aired 1947 - 1949. It was broadcast on NBC until October 8, 1948 then moved to CBS. It was hosted by Howard Lindsay. The show tried to use good but not to famous radio performers. Producer George Zachary, first producer, attempting to use popular radio stars instead of Hollywood stars offered limited success. Followed was low ratings which forced the replacement of Zachary with Fletcher Markle, husband of radio legend Mercedes McCambridge. Needing a change the show moved to California and began starring celebrities from Hollywood like Lucille Ball. Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Bette Davis to mention a few. This combination made for a hit radio show.
THIS IS OUR ENEMY is one of a number of war propaganda presentations that were popular during the years leading up to and during World War II. In this episode, parents are asked to send their children, most sickly from food and staple rationing, to a camp that would "make them strong again". During the time away from home, the youth attended "school" which resulted in pro-nazi indoctrination into the "Youth Movement". As members of the Black Brigade and "servants of the Fuhrer", brainwashed children now report on any anti nazi sentiment, even turning in their own families. Narration by war correspondent and author, Mr. Henry J. Taylor, the last American able to get into and out of Germany as the war began.
The Golden Age of Radio was ending, not with a whimper, but with a robust bang. Many of the best network and syndicated shows began in the 1950s, even though public interest and advertising dollars were switching to television, FORT LARAMIE was certainly one of the finest radio series, and were it not for GUNSMOKE, it could be termed the best adult Western program ever aired. FORT LARAMIE is a close relative of GUNSMOKE since it had the same producer-director, same writers, same sound effects men, and many of the same actors. GUNSMOKE had been running for almost four years when Norman Macdonnell brought FORT LARAMIE to CBS. The latter had the same gritty realism, attention to detail, and integrity that audiences admired in GUNSMOKE.
The Fat Man - "There he goes across the street into the drugstore, steps on the scale, height: 6 feet, weight: 290 pounds, fortune: Danger. Who isit? THE FAT MAN." Brad Runyon was the Fat Man, played by Jack Scott Smart. The series was created by Dashall Hammott and was first heard on the ABC network Jan. 21, 1946. J. Scott Smart fit the part of the Fat Man perfectly, weighing in at 270 pounds himself. When he spoke, there was no doubt that this was the voice of a big guy. Smart gave a witty, tongue-in-cheek performance and helped make THE FAT MAN one of the most popular detective programs on the air. Smart also appeared in The March Of Time (early 1930s), the Theater Guild On The Air, Blondie, The Fred Allen Show, and The Jack Benny Program. There was also an version made in Australia, syndicated on the Artansa lable, about 1954. There are at least 36 shows availablefrom vendors. The Australian Fat Man was played possibly by Lloyd Berrell. Although not featuring J. Scott Smart, who really fit the part, the series is quite good.
21ST PRECINCT was one of the realistic police drama series of the early- to mid-1950's that were aired in the wake of DRAGNET. In 1953 CBS decided to use New York City as the backdrop for their own half-hour police series and focus on the day-to-day operation of a single police precinct. Actual cases were used as the basis for stories. The Precinct Captain acted as the narrator for the series.
The first portrayal of Phillip Marlowe on the radio was by Dick Powell, when he played Raymond Chandler's detective on the Lux Radio Theater on June 11, 1945. This was a radio adaptation of the 1944 movie, from RKO, in which Mr. Powell played the lead. Two years later, Van Heflin starred as Marlowe in a summer replacement series for the Bob Hope Show on NBC. This series ran for 13 shows. On September 26, 1948, Gerald Mohr became the third radio Marlowe, this time on CBS. It remained a CBS show through its last show in 1951.
Archie Andrews, created in 1941 by Bob Montana, is a fictional character in an American comic book series published by Archie Comics, a long-run radio series, a syndicated comic strip and animation -- The Archie Show, a Saturday morning cartoon television series by Filmation, plus Archie's Weird Mysteries.
Archie On Radio
Montana's characters were heard on radio in the early 1940s. Archie Andrews began on the Blue Network on May 31, 1943, switched to Mutual in 1944, and then continued on NBC from 1945 until September 5 1953. Archie was first played by Charles Mullen, Jack Grimes and Burt Boyar, with Bob Hastings as the title character during the NBC years.
ROCKY JORDAN was the title character of one of the better and more exotic radio detective series. In fact, it's one of the best detective series I have ever heard. The series had two separate incarnations. The first, A Man Named Jordan, started as a daily 15 minute show and after about six months changed to a weekly 30 minute show. It took place in Istanbul and the Cafe was described as "a small restaurant in a narrow street off Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, permeated with by the smoke of Oriental tobacco, alive with the babble of many tongues, and packed with intrigue." The second incarnation, Rocky Jordan, was a weekly 30 minute series took place in Cairo - "the gateway to the ancient East where adventure and intrigue unfold against the backdrop of antiquity." Jordan was a hard-boiled owner of the Cafe Tambourine who spent most of his time solving mysteries that he usually became involved in by accident
SHOW 2 OF 2
Tom Corbett is the main character in a series of Tom Corbett â Space Cadet stories that were depicted in television, radio, books, comic books, comic strips, coloring books, punch-out books and View-Master reels in the 1950s. The stories followed the adventures of Tom Corbett, Astro, and Roger Manning, cadets at the Space Academy as they train to become members of the elite Solar Guard.
BEYOND MIDNIGHT
Let us journey âinto the land that lies beyond midnight,â into a world of ghost hunters, men going mad, and DEATH DEATH DEATH! Written by the masterful Michael McCabe, these well-done South African radio shows will capture your attention and keep you up listening to them well beyond midnight.
Tom Corbett is the main character in a series of Tom Corbett â Space Cadet stories that were depicted in television, radio, books, comic books, comic strips, coloring books, punch-out books and View-Master reels in the 1950s. The stories followed the adventures of Tom Corbett, Astro, and Roger Manning, cadets at the Space Academy as they train to become members of the elite Solar Guard. The action takes place at the Academy in classrooms and bunkroom, aboard their training ship the rocket cruiser Polaris, and on alien worlds, both within our solar system and in orbit around nearby stars. The Tom Corbett universe partook of pseudo-science, not equal to the standards of accuracy set by John W. Campbell in the pages of Astounding. And yet, by the standards of the day, it was much more accurate than most media science fiction. Mars was a desert, Venus a jungle, and the asteroids a haunt of space pirates, but at least planets circled suns and there was no air in space. Contrast this with Twilight Zone, years later, where people could live on asteroids wearing ordinary clothes, or Lost in Space, years after that, where a spaceship could be passing "Jupiter and Andromeda" at the same time. Before Star Trek, Tom Corbett â Space Cadet was the most scientifically accurate series on television, in part due to official science advisor Willy Ley, and later due to Frankie Thomas. Thomas read up on science and everyone on the set turned to him for advice on matters scientific.
The Blue Beetle had a relatively short career on the radio, between May and September of 1940. Motion picture and radio actor Frank Lovejoy was the Blue Beetle for the first 13 episodes, while for the rest of the shows, the voice was provided by a different, uncredited actor. The Blue Beetle was a young police officer who saw the need for extra-ordinary crime fighting. He took the task on himself by secretly donning a superhero costume to create fear in the criminals who were to learn to fear the Blue Beetle's wrath. The 13-minute segments were usually only two-parters, so the stories were often more simple than other popular programs, such as the many-parted Superman radio show.
The CBS Columbia Workshop was the first to experiment with what radio drama was all about, introducing new techniques never before used in over the airwaves drama and because it received little encouragement from established writers, actors, etc., it was only by breaking new ground with new ideas and new techniques from writers who were not versed in the old ways that it was going to survive. Unlike theater drama which required scenery to stage the settings of a play. Radio drama relied only on the imagination of the listener to interpret the scene.
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.
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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
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT) was an ambitious and sustained attempt to revive the great drama of old-time radio in the 1970s. Created by Himan Brown (who had by then become a radio legend due to his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries and other shows dating back to the 1930s), and aired on affiliate stations across the CBS Radio network, the series began its long run on January 6, 1974. The final episode ran on December 31, 1982.
The Great Gildersleeve (1941-1957) was the arguable founding father of the spin-off program, as well as one of the first true situation comedies (as opposed to sketch programs) in broadcast history. Hooked around a character who had been a staple on the classic radio hit Fibber McGee and Molly, The Great Gildersleeve enjoyed its greatest period in the 1940s, when Harold Peary graduated the character from the earlier show into the sitcom and in a quartet of likeable feature films at the height of the show's popularity.
THIS EPISIODE:
April 4, 1943. NBC networek. Sponsored by: Kraft Pabst-Ett, Kraft Parkay. Gildersleeve's car isn't running well, and Marjorie's boyfriend is just the fellow to fix the problem! Claude Sweeten (music), Earle Ross, Harold Peary, John Whedon (writer), Ken Carpenter (announcer), Lillian Randolph, Lurene Tuttle, Richard LeGrand, Sam Moore (writer), Walter Tetley. 29:42.
Life with Luigi was a radio comedy-drama series which began September 21, 1948 on CBS. The story concerned Italian immigrant Luigi Basco, and his experiences as an immigrant in Chicago. Many of the shows take place at the US citizenship classes that Luigi attends with other immigrants from different countries, as well as trying to fend off the repeated advances of the morbidly-obese daughter of his landlord/sponsor. Luigi was played by J. Carrol Naish, an Irish-American. Naish continued in the role on the short-lived television version in 1952, and was later replaced by Vito Scotti. With a working title of The Little Immigrant, Life with Luigi was created by Cy Howard, who earlier had created the hit radio comedy, My Friend Irma. The show was often seen as the Italian counterpart to the radio show The Goldbergs, which chronicled the experience of Jewish immigrants in New York.
THE SHADOW - On July 31, 1930 a sinister voice came over the radio into American Homes. The voice of the Shadow appeared for the first time. In the beginning the Shadow was not a crime fighter. He was a mysterious narrator of mystery tales taken from the pages of Street & Smith's Detective Story Magazine. The publisher Street & Smith began to use radio as an advertising medium to promote their fiction publications. The Shadow was a perfectly creepy teller of tales promoting Street & Smith. This format continued until 1935 when creative differences between Street & Smith and NBC called a halt to the Shadow on the air. On September 26, 1937, the Shadow reappeared on radio with the voice of Orson Welles playing the part. The Shadow was now a full-fledged character on radio, not just narrating and introducing stories. The Shadow had an identity as Lamont Cranston, a wealthy man about town. He was accompanied by Margo Lane, originally played by Agnes Moorehead. Margo Lane was the only person who knew that Lamont Cranston and the Shadow were one and the same. No other agents assisted the Shadow, as did in the Walter Gibson fictional accounts. This radio Shadow had hypnotic power to make himself invisible to those around him and he possessed mental telepathy to read minds. Orson Welles played the Shadow from 1937 through March 1938. The Shadow became the highest rated radio show on the air at that time.
Box 13 - The premise of the program was that Dan Holiday was an author who wrote mystery novels. To get ideas for his novels he placed an advertisement in a newspaper saying "Adventure wanted, will go anywhere, do anything, Box 13." The ads always brought fun adventures of all kinds: from racketeer's victim to psychotic killer looking for fun. Most of the episodes were based on Dan Holiday replying to a letter he received at Box 13. He would generally solve a mystery in the process, and return to his office in time to enjoy a hearty laugh at the expense of Suzy, his amusingly stupid secretary. He would certainly not meet the strictest requirements for private eyes (not licensed, collected no fees from clients), but the definition should stretch to sneak him in under the rope.
Bunco Squad - April 20, 1950. CBS network. "The Case Of The Bookworm". Sustaining. A con-artist in St. Louis poses as a scientist. He plans to swindle his mark out of $15,000 by "publishing" his book. The date is approximate. Frank Trumbull (host), Ralph Rose (producer, director), Del Castillo (composer, conductor), Merrick Goldman (writer), Troy Leonard (writer), Joe Walters (announcer). 29:32.
Cloak & Dagger - "Are you willing to undertake a dangerous mission for the United States, knowing in advance you may never return alive?" Cloak and Dagger first aired over the NBC network on May 7, 1950. It had a short run through the Summer on Sundays, changing to Fridays after its Summer run. The last show aired Oct. 22, 1950. This is the story of the WWII special governmental agency, the OSS, or Office of Strategic Services. Its mission was to develop and maintain spy networks throughout Europe and into Asia, while giving aid to underground partisan groups and developing espionage activities for Allied forces overseas.The show is based on the book of the same name by Lt. Col. Corey Ford and Major Alastair MacBain (who were associated with the OSS from its early days.) The dramas are not Hollywood-style, in that they sometimes end with plans foiled or leading characters dead.
Adventures of Leonidas Witherall was a radio mystery series broadcast on Mutual in the mid-1940s. Based on the novels of Phoebe Atwood Taylor (writing as Alice Tilton), the 30-minute dramas were produced by Roger Bower and starred Walter Hampden as Leonidas Witherall, a New England boys' school instructor in Dalton, Massachusetts, a fictional Boston suburb. Witherall, who resembled William Shakespeare, is an amateur detective and the accomplished author of the "popular Lieutenant Hazeltine stories." His housekeeper Mrs. Mollett was played by Ethel Remey (1895-1979) and Jack MacBryde appeared as Police Sgt. McCloud. The announcer was Carl Caruso. Milton Kane supplied the music. The series began June 4, 1944 and continued until May 6, 1945.
Hollywood Star Playhouse - This 30 minute anthology program was heard over three different networks during its three seasons. Many leading Hollywood stars appeared before the microphones for this programs original scripts. Marilyn Monroe made her radio debut on the 08/31/52 broadcast. Several programs were intended to become new series. On 04/13/52, the broadcast # 99 of The Six Shooter w/James Stewart did indeed become a new NBC series The Six Shooter in 1953, while the broadcast of 05/18/52 #104 Safari w/Ray Milland failed to make it. There was a title change to this series. During the third network change to NBC the series picked up the sponsorship of the American Bakers and the series was called Bakerâs Theater Of Stars.
THIS EPISODE:
January 29, 1951. CBS network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "Later Than You Think". Racketeer Nick LaGrange has been bailed out of jail, much to the annoyance of the district attorney. A bomb has been planted in LaGrange's car, set to explode in sixteen minutes. The show makes excellent use of sound effects; good radio! The system cue has been deleted. Victor Mature, Herbert Rawlinson (host), Jack Johnstone (director), Jeff Alexander (composer, conductor), Maggie Morely, Freeman Lusk (?), Theodore Von Eltz, Wilms Herbert, Paul Dubov. 24:52.
The Murder at Midnight series was a thirty-minute broadcast featuring tales of the supernatural. The actors included Mercedes McCambridge and Lawson Zerbe and the show was narrated using the spooky, creepy voice of Raymond Morgan and always opened using the same gripping signature; âthe witching hour, when night is darkest, our fears are the strongest, our strength at its lowest ebbâ Midnight! â when graves gape open and death strikes!â
"Rocky Fortune" about a wanderer that took odd jobs to support himself and never stayed in one place too long. He almost always seemed to meet beautiful women along with trouble. Sinatra was good and was proving to Hollywood that he could do serious work. When casting began for the movie "From Here To Eternity", Frank campaigned tirelessly for a part and because of that and a good word put in for him by Gardner, who he was now separated from, he won a part that would mark his return to Hollywood. Sadly for us, it also meant he didn't have time to do radio and "Rocky Fortune" was rather short lived, although it was popular. It only ran from 1953 - 1954, but" It was a very good year".
Although Molle Mystery Theatre was initially sponsored by Molle Shaving Cream, other sponsors (such as Bayer Aspirin, Ironized Yeast, Phillips Milk of Magnesia) also sponsored the program. Sometimes, when it was not sponsored by Molle, the program was called "Mystery Theater". The show was first heard on NBC, on 9/7/43. Time slot was originally Sunday nights at 9:00 PM, but was later moved to Tuesday at 9:00 PM, and Friday at 10:00 PM. In 1948, the show moved to CBS (Tues, 8:00 PM), and in 1951, it moved to ABC, where it was called "Mark Sabre", and heard on Wednesdays at either 8:00 PM or 9:30 PM. The shows were tight and tension filled, with a fine orchestra score and solid production values. Classic tales from well-known authors, as well as modern unknowns were presented, and the endings were often twists or shockers.
The Hollywood husband and wife team of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall set sail for adventure in the Bold Venture radio series in early 1951. There were well over 400 stations that aired the program. Since thiswas syndicated * the starting date varied from station to station but Mar 26, 1951 was the official date of the first show. Humphrey Bogart portrayed Slate Shannon, owner of a rundown Havana hotel, Shannon's Place. The action took place on land as well aboard Slate's boat, The Bold Venture, thus the title of the series. Lauren Bacall was his ward Sailor Duval, a stubborn and flirtatious young woman whose late father had willed her to Slate for her protection. Together the duo found adventure, intrigue, mystery and romance in the sultry settings of tropical Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean.
The Third Man (The Lives of Harry Lime) was a old-time radio adventure series that ran in 1951 and 1952. It was based on the 1949 film of the same name. Orson Welles stars as Harry Lime, a perpetually broke confidence man, smuggler, and general scoundrel. He will participate in virtually any criminal activity to make a fast buck, but uses his wits rather than a gun. He draws the line short of murder, blackmail, or drugs. Even so, Harry is an endearing character and listeners love to hear of his one-step-ahead-of-the-law misadventures as he hops around the globe looking for his next pigeon. The zither music of Anton Karas adds a wonderful Viennese ambience to each episode and really makes this show special.
Hear It Now, an American radio program on CBS, began in 1950 and was hosted by Edward R. Murrow and produced by Fred Friendly. It ran for one hour on Fridays at 9 p.m. One of the most popular and best selling records of 1948 was I Can Hear It Now 1933-1945. The record was a collaboration between Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly. The record interwove historical events with speeches and Murrow's narration and marked the beginning of one of the most famous pairings in journalism history. The huge success of the record prompted the pair to parlay it into a weekly radio show for CBS. That show was Hear It Now. The show had a "magazine format." It drove to include a variety of sounds from current events such as an atom smasher at work or artillery fire from Korea. It was the artillery fire that produced one of the show's more poignant moments as it backdropped the words of American soldiers fighting the Korean War. The entire premise of the show was to include the "actual sound of history in the making," according to Murrow. Some of the show's audio was what Time Magazine called "fairly routine" in 1950. Such audio soundbites as Communist China's General Wu and Russia's Vishinsky along with the U.S. Delegate Warren Austin were included among the routine group of audio use. Television, by 1955, usurped radio in terms of audience share and a reluctant Murrow, in 1951, set about doing a TV version of the radio show called See It Now. With the inception of the television version of the show in 1951 Hear It Now ended its on air run.
Stars and movies with Oscars were the idea - in most cases, the movie stars recreated their academy award roles for the show, or in other cases, fine actors played the parts and gave it a different character. Both ways make for great radio drama and first class Hollywood motion picture star entertainment. The Lux Radio Theater had been doing this kind of radio show in the grandest manner for many years, but sponsor Squibb had the hubris and deep pockets to take on the competition by doing Academy Award Theater right after the Second World War. The year 1946 was pre-television, and so movies were still the major American visual art form, with radio the other popular network entertainment. In this final pre-TV time, Academy Award Theater was thought of as a premier radio production, a wow show, much like CinemaScope was to be in the 1950's when Hollywood felt the box office blow of early TV.
Perry Mason is the longest running lawyer show in American television history. Its original run lasted nine years and its success in both syndication and made-for-television movies confirm its impressive stamina. Mason's fans include lawyers and judges who were influenced by this series to enter their profession. The Mason character was created by mystery writer Erle Stanley Gardner and delivered his first brief in the novel The Case of the Velvet Claws (1933). From 1934 to 1937 Warners produced six films featuring Mason. A radio series also based on Mason ran every weekday afternoon on CBS radio from 1944 to 1955 as a detective/soap opera. When the CBS television series was developed as an evening drama, the radio series was changed from Perry Mason to The Edge of Night and the cast renamed so as not to compete against the television series.
Lux Radio Theater, one of the genuine classic radio anthology series (NBC Blue Network, 1934-1935; CBS 1935-1955), adapted first Broadway stage and then (and especially) films to hour-long live radio presentations and became the standard by which future radio and early television anthologies would be judged. Cecil B. DeMille was the host of the series each Monday evening from June 1, 1936 until January 22, 1945.
THIS EPISODE:
Spellbound
Dr. Constance Petersen (Ingrid Bergman) is a psychoanalyst at a mental hospital. The other (male) doctors constantly accuse her of being too intellectual and not expressing her emotions. The new head of the hospital, Dr. Anthony Edwardes (Gregory Peck), arrives and turns out to be surprisingly young and good-looking. He and Constance fall in love. However, Edwardes has his own mental problems: whenever he sees a white object with black lines on it, he enters a state of intense stress. When reading a signed copy of Edwardes's book on the guilt complex, Constance notices that the signature is different to that of the man who has arrived at the hospital. She realizes that Edwardes is an imposter. It transpires that the real Dr. Edwardes has been murdered, and the man who assumed his identity is the chief suspect. But Constance believes he is suffering from amnesia and could be exonerated if his repressed memories could be unearthed.
The Avenger is an Old Time Radio show aired by the South African Broadcasting System in the 1940s. It featured a biochemist crime-fighter by the name of Jim Brandon. Mr. Brandon had two inventions which assisted him in the fight against crime. Mr. Brandon was able to pick up telpathic thought flashes and had a diffusion capsule which allowed him to become invisible.
People are Funny was a television game show that premiered and ended on NBC from 1954-1961. It was shot in the outside world and dared people to do stunts for fun for spectators. This was done to "reveal the true nature" of their guests. This show was considered a predecessor to most of the reality game shows we know today, such as "Survivor" and MTV's "Jackass." Art Linkletter was the more well-known host of the show. Viewers grew up with him, but not just on People are Funny. He was also seen on Life With Linkletter (1950-52 & 1969-70), Art Linkletter's House Party (1952-69), and The Art Linkletter Show (1963).
THIS EPISODE:
October 1954. NBC network. Sponsored by: Pamper Shampoo, Prom Home Permanent, Forever Yours. A man is told to give a mink coat to a strange woman, and then take it back! A widowed school teacher returns from her trip around the world. This program is either TV audio or a simulcast. Art Linkletter, John Guedel (producer). 29:52.
Crime Does Not Pay was an anthology radio crime drama series based on MGM's short film series. The films began in 1935 with Crime Does Not Pay: Buried Loot. For the most part, actors who appeared in B-films were featured, but occasionally, one of MGM's major stars would make an appearance. The radio series aired in New York on WMGM (October 10, 1949-October 10, 1951) and then moved to the Mutual network (January 7-December 22, 1952). Actors included Bela Lugosi, Everett Sloane, Ed Begley, John Loder and Lionel Stander.
THIS EPISODE:
October 17, 1949. Program #2. MGM syndication. "All American Fake". Commercials added locally. Taylor Dunn is a con-man who looks like football hero Kit Marlowe. He uses the resemblance to swindle people. Even his wife doesn't know that he's a phoney! The date above is the date of the first broadcast on WMGM, New York, from which this syndication version may have been taken. Jon Gart (composer, conductor), Sidney Blackmer, Marx B. Loeb (director), Ira Marion (writer). 27:13
Richard Diamond, Private Detective was a radio show starring Dick Powell which aired from 1949 to 1953, first on NBC, then ABC and finally on CBS. The title character was a rather light-hearted detective who often ended the episodes singing to his girlfriend, Helen. The television series was produced by Powell's company, Four Star Television, and that series ran for 3 years from 1957 to 1960. On TV, David Janssen played the hard boiled private eye and his secretary renamed âSamâ, was only ever shown on camera from the waist down, most assurardidly to display her beautiful legs. It was later leared that the legs belonged to Mary Tyler Moore. Original music by Frank DeVol and pete rugolo and later by richard shores. Good scripts, a solid cast and Powellâs exceptional talent made a good time 30 minute program that was quite popular during that Golden Age of Radio. So Letâs sit back now, relax and enjoy this truly otr radio classic.,â, Dick powell as Richard Diamond.., Private Detective.
Mr. Moto is small in stature but strong and an expert in judo. He was the title character of a series of books, beginning with No Hero (1935; British title: Mr Moto Takes a Hand, reprint title: Your Turn, Mr. Moto), and of eight films between 1937 and 1939, in which he was portrayed by Peter Lorre. With the beginning of World War II, Mr. Moto fell out of favor with Americans, and no new books or movies about him appeared between 1942 and 1957. A dedicated and cold-blooded spy for Imperial Japan, Moto is not a conventional hero. He does not look for opportunities to commit violence but has no problem with killing people who obstruct his plans, and he would not hesitate to take his own life if necessary. But he is a master of concealing his true nature while under cover, and usually appears dull, naive, utterly harmless. He does not try to correct the bigoted attitudes of Westerners toward him and other Asians, and is not above encouraging such condescension. It often works to his advantage, leading Westerners to ignore or underestimate him.
THIS EPISODE:
May 20, 1951. NBC network. "A Force Called X07". Sustaining. Mr. Moto foils a communist plot to destroy part of New York with a portable atomic weapon. The music bridges have been deleted. The program may be dated March 26, 1951. James Monks, Peter Capell, John P. Marquand (creator), Harry W. Junkin (writer, director), John Larkin, Gavin Gordon, Scott Tennyson, Fred Collins (announcer). 27:56.
Luke Slaughter Of Tombstone - CBS started the year 1958 off with the introduction on January 1, 1958 of Frontier Gentleman. That series lasted 41 broadcasts. Near the end of the year, the network launched Have Gun, Will Travel on November 11, 1958, which continued for 106 programs. In between, a very short series was offered and discontinued after only 16 broadcasts, Luke Slaughter Of Tombstone. Sam Buffington starred as Luke Slaughter, a Civil War cavalryman who turned to cattle ranching in post war Arizona territory near Fort Huachuca. William N. Robson, known from his work with such series as Escape, Suspense and The CBS Radio Workshop, directed.
Rogue's Gallery came to the Mutual network on September 27, 1945 with Dick Powell portraying Richard Rogue, a private detective who invariably ended up getting knocked out each week and spending his dream time in acerbic conversation with his subconscious self, Eugor. Rogue's Gallery was, in a sense, Dick Powell's rehearsal for Richard Diamond, Private Detective. Powell played private detective Richard Rogue, who trailed luscious blondes, protected witness, and did whatever else detectives do to make a living. It was a good series, though not destined to make much of a mark. Under the capable direction of Dee Englebach and accompanied by the music of Leith Stevens, Powell floated through his lines with the help of such competents as Lou Merrill, Gerald Mohr, Gloria Blondell, Tony Barrett, and Lurene Tuttle. Peter Leeds played Rogue's friend Eugor, an obscure play on names with Eugor spelling Rogue backwards. The gimmick in Rogue's Gallery was the presence of an alter ego, "Eugor," who arrived in the middle of the show to give Rogue enough information for his final deduction. Eugor was a state of mind, achieved when Rogue was knocked unconcious.
Let George Do It was a radio drama series produced by Owen and Pauline Vinson from 1946 to 1954. It starred Bob Bailey as detective-for-hire George Valentine (with Olan Soule stepping into the role in 1954). Clients came to Valentine's office after reading a newspaper carrying his classified ad: "Personal notice: Danger's my stock in trade. If the job's too tough for you to handle, you've got a job for me. George Valentine." Valentine's secretary was Claire Brooks, aka Brooksie (Frances Robinson, Virginia Gregg, Lillian Buyeff). As Valentine made his rounds in search of the bad guys, he usually encounted Brooksie's kid brother, Sonny (Eddie Firestone), Lieutenant Riley (Wally Maher) and elevator man Caleb (Joseph Kearns). Sponsored by Standard Oil, the program was broadcast on the West Coast Mutual Broadcasting System from October 18, 1946 to September 27, 1954, first on Friday evenings and then on Mondays. In its last season, transcriptions were aired in New York, Wednesdays at 9:30pm, from January 20, 1954 to January 12, 1955. John Hiestand was the program's announcer. Don Clark directed the scripts by David Victor and Jackson Gillis. The background music was supplied by Eddie Dunstedter on the organ.
Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons was one of network radio's longest running detectives, although listening to it now would hardly explain why. This kind, elderly, boring sleuth, in company with his bumbling assistant, Mike Clancy, was on the airwaves from 1937 to 1955, logging nearly 20 years of fighting crime. The series came out of the soap opera fiction factory of Frank and Anne Hummert and encompassed most of the trite dialogue and snail plotting of daytime serials.
Broadcast constantly sometimes once a week sometimes 3 times a week By Mutual, between 1942 and 1956. Western Drama mainly for the young ones or maybe just the young at heart. I say the young at heart, because The Cisco Kid and his likeable but simple partner Pancho were a couple of lovable rogues and because there was usually a lovely senorita around in every episode who fell madly in love with Sisco, there may well have been an element of lady listeners included in the audience rating figures. Here they were, these two Mexican bandits, travelling from sunset to sunset (because that's where they always road off to at the end of each episode) robbing the rich, but I wouldn't say giving it to the poor. At least they did it in a kind and humorous way. It was more a question of the victim being relieved of the heavy burden of his or her riches, rather than having some of their prized possessions taken away from them. Half the fun in the series was listening to Pancho try to explain in his simple Mexican way that the sheriff's posse was hard on their heels and to quote him, "Ceesco, eef they catch up with us, perhaps they weel keel us."
THE MAN CALLED X
Sponsored by Frigidaire and later General Motors, this spy series starred Herbert Marshall as Ken Thurston, Intelligence Agent. Marshall, British by birth, starred in films with many of the greatest, especially Detreich in Blonde Venus, Bette Davis in The Virgin Queen, Vincent Price in The Fly, and a great cast in The Razor's Edge, where he portrayed W. Somerset Maugham.
The Green Hornet program began in January of 1936 and played to December 5, 1952. The shows typically ran thirty minutes and ran twice a week in the beginning years. They later reverted to being broadcast once a week. The last season of the show in 1952 the show reverted back to a twice a week schedule. Al Hodge played the role of Britt Reid for seven years. Fran Striker, a co-creator of the Lone Ranger, wrote all of the scripts for the Green Hornet until April 1944. After that, several other writers were brought in to script the show. The writing output of Fran Striker was incredible. While he was scripting the Green Hornet he was also writing the scripts for the Lone Ranger program.
Spy Catcher (BBC) 1960-1961. A series of true stories in the unceasing search for enemy spys in wartime. Based on the memoirs of Lt. Col. Oreste Pinto of Allied Counterintelligence Services. The shows were extremly popular during the golden age of radio.
THIS EPISODE:
"Traitor In The Forest" - Takes place in the winter of 1944 when the scope of war activities in Europe had widened. Col. Pinto was assigned to infultrate the spy network in enemy territory as well as gain intelligence that would aid in the protection of allied forces into Belgium and Holland. This incident investigates a document found in the pocket of a dead German officer. The part of Lt. Col. Oreste Pinto is played by Vernon Archer.
"The Cedar Lake Mystery" (3-14-38) and "The Train Wreckers Mystery" (4-18-38)
Blair of the Mounties is the story of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police -- a fictional series based on the work of the Northwest Mounted Police before the World War I. It was a fifteen minute weekly serial heard every Monday for 36 weeks beginning January 31st, 1938 and running through the 3rd of October of 1938. It may have been on the air as early as 1935, although thereâs no actual proof of this. Little is known of the series other than it followed the exploits of Sgt. Blair of the Northwest Mounted Police. and probably was the inspiration for Trendell, Campbell and Muir's Challenge of the Yukon. The series was written by Colonel Rhys Davies, who also played the Colonel Blair in the series. Jack Abbot played the Constable. Jack French, one of OTRâs best researchers says this about the series: âBlair is not restricted to Canada, as other Mounties, as we find him, in a few cases, in Great Britain, solving cases. Overall the series is amateurishly written, with the actor playing Blair coming accros as a bit stuffy.â
Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator is one of the few detective radio series that had separate versions of it broadcast from both coasts. Even the spelling changed over the years. It was first "Barry Crane" and then "Barrie Craig". NBC produced it in New York from 1951 to 1954 and then moved it to Hollywood where it aired from 1954 to 1955. It attracted only occasional sponsors so it was usually a sustainer.
Honest Harold The Homemaker - AKA: THE HAROLD PEARY SHOW 1950 - 1951 First Show: Sep 17, 1950 Last Show: Jun 13, 1951 Number Shows: 38 Audition Show: Aug 23, 1950 Series Description: Harold Peary began his radio career at age 13 and was a popular actor through the 1930's. In the end of the 1930's he played assorted characters on FIBBER MCGEE AND MOLLY, including a stuffed-shirt type named Gildersleeve. The character of Gildersleeve developed into a sizeable, eventually leading to the series THE GREAT GILDERSLEEVE. This was due to no small part to the ability of Harold Peary. In 1950, Harold Peary decided to move from NBC to CBS, assuming that the sponsor for THE GREAT GILDERSLEEVE, the Kraft Food Company, would follow, bringing that series to CBS. When Kraft didn't move, HONEST HAROLD, THE HOMEMAKER (also known as THE HAROLD PEARY SHOW) was created.
Arch Oboler's Plays was a radio drama series written, produced and directed by Arch Oboler. Minus a sponsor, it ran for one year, airing Saturday evenings on NBC from March 25, 1939 to March 23, 1940 and revived five years later on Mutual for a sustaining summer run from April 5, 1945 to October 11, 1945. Leading film actors were heard on this series, including Gloria Blondell, Eddie Cantor, James Cagney, Ronald Colman, Joan Crawford, Greer Garson, Edmund Gwenn, Van Heflin, Katharine Hepburn, Elsa Lanchester, Peter Lorre, Frank Lovejoy, Raymond Massey, Burgess Meredith, Paul Muni, Alla Nazimova, Edmond O'Brien, Geraldine Page, Gale Sondergaard, Franchot Tone and George Zucco.
THIS EPISODE:
June 21, 1945. Mutual network. "The Naked Mountain". Sustaining. A melodrama about two Spanish war orphans who sabotage the jeep being driven by an American officer. "Good" propaganda for Spanish War Relief. Arch Oboler (writer, producer, director, narrator), Franchot Tone, Lurene Tuttle, Tommy Cook, Joel Davis. 1/2 hour.
Dangerous Assignment - This thirty-minute international spy adventure featured Steve Mitchell (Brian Donlevy), and investigator of crimes in exotic locations. 60 episodes. Herb Butterfield played the Commissioner and Betty Moran was the Commissioner's secretary. Other cast members were GeGe Pearson, Ken Peters, Betty Lou Gerson, Dan OâHerlihy. The director was Bill Cairn and the writer for the series was Robert Ryf. The opening was the same every week âYeah, danger is my assignment. I get sent to a lot of places I canât even pronounce. They all spell the same thing though, trouble.â He would be summoned to his bossâs office where he would be given his assignment; he would then fly halfway across the globe to save the day!
THIS EPISODE:
August 9, 1950. NBC network. Sponsored by: Wheaties. Steve Mitchell travels to Secondi on the Gold Coast of Africa to stop trouble being stirred up by the local witch doctors. Brian Donlevy, Frank Martin (commercial spokesman), William Conrad, Robert Ryf (writer), Basil Adlam (composer), Ralph Hollenbeck (conductor), Bill Cairn (producer, director). 29:30.
Dimension X â 1950-1951
These were stories written by well-known science fiction authors dramatised by very high quality actors. It was a thirty-minute adult science fiction drama series with 45 episodes being broadcast before it was later revived as X Minus One. The shows were narrated by Norman Rose, perfecting the combination between authoritative resonance and dark irony.
THIS EPISODE:
June 24, 1950. NBC network. "Destination Moon". Sustaining. The story is adapted from the George Pal movie of the same name. The story of the first expedition to the moon. The program is interrupted after eighteen minutes for a news bulletin announcing that North Korea has declared war on and has invaded South Korea. The closing credits have been deleted. Robert Heinlein (author), Wendell Holmes, Ralph Bell, Santos Ortega, Van Woodward (producer), Norman Rose (host), Edward King (director), Bob Warren (announcer), Roger De Koven, Ralph Bell. 28:49.
The Clitheroe Kid was James Robertson Clitheroe, Jimmy Clitheroe to most, who by some strange coincidence did come from the town of that name without having to change his family name! At his full height he was 4ft 3in, and played the naughty schoolboy from 1958 to 1972. Although plausable from a distance, he was not really able to pass himself off as a youngster close up, so a TV career did not really take off too well, but at the peak of his fame the radio show was raking in about 10 million listeners, although by the end this had dropped to a tenth of that figure. Clitheroe was a very private person, and the shows became a sort of escape for him, as well as the release from the worries of his diminutive size, but despite this, his popularity increased and increased, making this series one of the longer running on the radio - a total of 17 series. It is surprising then that with such a success, and with such a long run that the shows are rarely broadcast.
In The Name Of The Law (1936) - was a True Crime radio show from 1936. It says "In the name of the law, we bring you another of the thrilling stories in this exciting series, taken from actual police case files.
"In the name of the Law, we bring you another of the thrilling stories in this exciting series, taken from actual police case files."Mrs Mary James found dead in her pool 8-05-35. Her husband Bob is suspected. He had been married several times before and a previous wife was also found dead under suspicious circumstances. Police investigation led to the Killer's arrest. Was it Bob James?
THE ADVENTURES OF MAISIE - Maisie, the first in 1939, was from the book "Dark Dame" by the writer Wilson Collison,who did decades of scripting for the silver screen along with Broadway plays and magazine fiction. From the first, MGM wanted Ann Sothern to play Maisie. She began in Hollywood as an extra in 1927. "Maisie and I were just together - I just understood her," Sothern, born Harriette Arlene Lake, said after several of the films made her a star. Throughout the 1930s and '40s, Ann Sothern and Lucille Ball, like many performers in Hollywood, had not one but two careers - one in motion pictures and one on radio. MGM Studios had created the series of ten motion pictures based on a brash blonde with a heart "of spun gold." Maisie, the first in 1939, was from the book "Dark Dame" by the writer Wilson Collison, who did decades of scripting for the silver screen along with Broadway plays and magazine fiction.
The first portrayal of Phillip Marlowe on the radio was by Dick Powell, when he played Raymond Chandler's detective on the Lux Radio Theater on June 11, 1945. This was a radio adaptation of the 1944 movie, from RKO, in which Mr. Powell played the lead. Two years later, Van Heflin starred as Marlowe in a summer replacement series for the Bob Hope Show on NBC. This series ran for 13 shows. On September 26, 1948, Gerald Mohr became the third radio Marlowe, this time on CBS. It remained a CBS show through its last show in 1951.
Have Gun â Will Travel was a popular American Western television series that aired on CBS from 1957 through 1963. It was one of the few television shows to spawn a successful radio version. The radio series debuted on November 23, 1958. The show followed the adventures of Paladin, a gentleman-turned-gunfighter (played by Richard Boone on television, and by John Dehner on radio), who preferred to settle problems without violence, yet, when forced to fight, excelled.
Adventures of Frank Merriwell first ran on NBC radio from March 26 to June 22, 1934 as a 15-minute serial airing three times a week at 5:30pm. Sponsored by Dr. West's Toothpaste, this program starred Donald Briggs in the title role. Harlow Wilcox was the announcer. After a 12-year gap, the series returned October 5, 1946 as a 30-minute NBC Saturday morning show, continuing until June 4, 1949. Lawson Zerbe starred as Merriwell, Jean Gillespie and Elaine Rostas as Inza Burrage, Harold Studer as Bart Hodge and Patricia Hosley as Elsie Belwood. The announcer was Harlow Wilcox, and the Paul Taubman Orchestra supplied the background music. There are at least three generations of Merriwells: Frank, his half-brother Dick, and Frank's son, Frank Jr. There is a marked difference between Frank and Dick. Frank usually handled challenges on his own. Dick has mysterious friends and skills that help him, especially an old Indian friend without whom the stories would not have been quite as interesting.
There were four series under the HALL OF FANTASY banner, all produced by Richard Thorne. The first HALL OF FANTASY originated from radio station KALL in Salt Lake City, Utah. Richard Thorne and Carl Greyson were announcers for the station and produced the rather barebones shows, possibly late in 1946 and into 1947. The series consisted of 26 shows. Broadcast dates for the shows are not known. The shows were written or adapted by Robert Olson and directed by Mr. Thorne. Most were classic murder mysteries with traditional endings; the evil-doer got his just rewards. The series was sponsored by the Granite Furniture Company, although existing shows are missing the commercials, apparently because they were inserted live.
The Secrets of Scotland Yard was an independent production of the Towers of London syndicate in England for world wide distribution. Each week, an audience of anxious radio-listeners tuned in to hear these true crime stories of the London Metropolitan Police unfold, as the detectives at the Yard investigated some of Englandâs most famous criminals. Their trials have become legendary. Stories presented in the series include the theft of the British crown jewels by Colonel Thomas Blood; the story of a man who finds an armless and legless body wrapped in ribbons and lace; or the strange story of two close brothers who love one another enough to contemplate the murder of a brotherâs affluent, yet unsightly and ignorant, wife. Murders, forgery, and robberies all get a through review on the program. Each time, Scotland Yard detectives are afoot to solve the crime mystery!
Fibber McGee and Molly premiered in 1935. The program struggled in the ratings until 1940, when it became a national sensation. Within three years, it was the top-rated program in America. Few radio shows were more beloved than Fibber McGee and Molly. The programâs lovable characters included Mayor LaTrivia, Doc Gamble, Mrs. Uppington, Wallace Wimple, Alice Darling, Gildersleeve, Beulah, Myrt, and the Old Timer. 79 Wistful Vista was one of Americaâs most famous addresses and Mollyâs warning to Fibber not to open the hall closet door (and his subsequent decision to do it) created one of radioâs best remembered running gags that audiences expected each week. Broadcast to the nation from WMAQ/Chicago, the show entertained America until March 1956, and continued on NBCâs Monitor until 1959. Jim Jordan died on April 1, 1988. Marian Jordan died on April 7, 1961. Fibber McGee and Molly was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1989. First Broadcast date April 16, 1935. Last Broadcast date September 6, 1959.
The Falcon - This hard boiled spy drama began as an RKO Radio Pictures theatrical serial in the 1940s, went on radio in 1945, and then came to TV ten years later in this Syndicated series produced for distribution by NBC Films; Charles McGraw had been in many motion pictures before and after including "The Killers", "Spartacus" and "Cimarron"; in this series he played the title role of a man whose real name was supposedly Mike Waring, an American agent whose code name was "Falcon"; Later Charles McGraw starred in a short lived TV version of "Casablanca" (1955 - 1956) in the character of Rick; He also had a role on the detective drama "Staccato" (1959) Actor McGraw (whose birth name was Charles Butters) met an unfortunate death in real life when he fell through a shower glass door in 1980 at his home in Studio City, CA.
THIS EPISODE:
April 22, 1951. NBC network. "The Case Of The Missing Miss". Sponsored by: Kraft Salad Oil (being introduced), Kraft Caramels. Michael Waring tackles the mysterious Premium Oil Company. Why do Senators commit suicide, and who is Jean Colbert? Les Damon, Ed Herlihy (announcer), Bernard L. Schubert (producer), Ken Lynch, Drexel Drake (creator), Eugene Wang (writer), Richard Lewis (director), Arlo (music). 29:36.
The Black Museum - Opening in 1875, the Crime Museum at Scotland Yard is the oldest museum in the world purely for recording crime. The name Black Museum was coined in 1877 by a reporter from The Observer, a London newspaper, although the museum is still referred to as the Crime Museum. The idea of a crime museum was conceived by Inspector Neame who had already collected together a number of items, with the intention of giving police officers practical instruction on how to detect and prevent burglary. It is this museum that inspired the Black Musuem radio series. The museum is not open to members of the public but is now used as a lecture theatre for the curator to lecture police and like bodies in subjects such as Forensic Science, Pathology, Law and Investigative Techniques.
THIS EPISODE:
- Syndicated, AFRTS rebroadcast. "The Telegram". A chauffeur with a taste for murder and a poor ability to spell is tripped up by a telegram and a long string of co-incidences. The date is approximate. Orson Welles (narrator), Harry Alan Towers (producer), Ira Marion (writer), Sidney Torch (composer, conductor). 24:10.
Bronco was a Western series on ABC from 1958 through 1962. The program starred Ty Hardin as Bronco Layne, a former Confederate officer who wandered the Old West, meeting such famous people as Wild Bill Hickok, Billy the Kid, Jesse James, Theodore Roosevelt, Belle Starr and Cole Younger. Bronco was born when Warner Bros. executives and actor Clint Walker clashed over Walker's contract on the series Cheyenne. Walker had walked out on his show over such stringent clauses as a requirement that he kick back half of all personal appearance fees to Warner Bros., and that he only record for Warner music labels. When the two sides came to an impasse, the network hired newcomer Ty Hardin to play the new character of Bronco Layne, but kept the title of Cheyenne. When Walker came back to his series, Bronco Layne was spun off into his own show. Bronco at first alternated with another Western series, Sugarfoot, featuring Will Hutchins. In 1960, the two began alternating with Cheyenne under the Cheyenne title. Sugarfoot was dropped in 1961, leaving only Bronco and Cheyenne to alternate. Other Warner Bros. westerns in production around this time included Maverick with James Garner, Jack Kelly, and Roger Moore, Colt .45 with Wayde Preston, and Lawman with John Russell; series characters occasionally crossed over into each others' shows.
The travelers continue to explore the coastline, and find a passageway marked by Saknussemm as the way ahead. However, it is blocked by what appears to be a recent cave-in and the three despair at being unable to hack their way through the granite wall. The adventurers proceed to blast the rock with gun cotton and paddle out to sea to escape the blast, but the explosion is larger than they expected and they are swept away as the sea rushes into the large open gap in the ground. After spending hours being swept along at lightning speeds by the water, the raft ends up inside a large chimney filling with water and magma. Terrified, the three are rushed upwards, through stifling heat, and are ejected onto the surface from a side-vent of a volcano. When they regain consciousness, they discover that they have been thrown out of Stromboli, at the southern tip of Italy. They return to Hamburg to great acclaim - Professor Lidenbrock is hailed as one of the great scientists of history, Axel marries his sweetheart GraÃben, and Hans eventually returns to his peaceful life in Iceland.
The Life of Riley, with William Bendix in the title role, was a popular radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film and continued as a long-running television series during the 1950s. The show began as a proposed Groucho Marx radio series, The Flotsam Family, but the sponsor balked at what would have been essentially a straight head-of-household role for the comedian. Then producer Irving Brecher saw Bendix as taxicab company owner Tim McGuerin in the movie The McGuerins from Brooklyn (1942). The Flotsam Family was reworked with Bendix cast as blundering Chester A. Riley, riveter at a California aircraft plant, and his frequent exclamation of indignation---"What a revoltin' development this is!"---became one of the most famous catch phrases of the 1940s. The radio series also benefited from the immense popularity of a supporting character, Digby "Digger" O'Dell (John Brown), "the friendly undertaker."
For the 1970âs late-night horror show, The Price of Fear, the BBC dramatized the most chilling stories they could find, drawing on talented new writers as well as the established master of terror who narrated tale, re-written as though Price actually experienced each chilling adventure himself. The show was enormously successful in the UK and abroad, and a number of series were made during 1973, 1975 and 1982.
Night Beat - Frank Lovejoy stars as Randy Stone, a toughened, street-wise Chicago Star reporter working the Nightbeat in the early 1950's. Sometimes the capers are cops and robbers. Or just normal people in trouble. Sometimes they deserve it. Sometimes fate twists their arm. Sometimes they're just too scared or confused to know the difference. Lovejoy is a seasoned pro of radio and film with an honest, gripping delivery. Solid supporting casts, good writing and direction.
Tales of the Texas Rangers, a western adventure old-time radio drama, premiered on July 8, 1950, on the NBC radio network and remained on the air through September 14, 1952. Movie star Joel McCrea starred as Texas Ranger Jayce Pearson, who used the latest scientific techniques to identify the criminals and his faithful horse, Charcoal, to track them down. The shows were reenactments of actual Texas Ranger cases. The series was produced and directed by Stacy Keach, Sr., and was sponsored for part of its run by Wheaties. Captain Manuel T. "Lone Wolf" Gonzaullas, a Ranger for 30 years and who was said to have killed 31 men during his career, served as consultant for the series. The series was adapted for television from 1955 to 1957. During the opening and closing credits of the TV show, the actors would march toward the camera and sing the theme song, "We are the Texas Rangers", to the tune of "The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You", which is also the tune of "I've Been Working on the Railroad".
Inner Sanctum Mysteries was a popular old-time radio program that aired from January 7, 1941 to October 5, 1952. Created by Himan Brown, the anthology series featured stories of mystery, terror and suspense. The tongue-in-cheek introductions were in sharp contrast to shows like Suspense and The Whistler. A total of 526 episodes are known to have been produced. The early 1940s programs opened with Raymond Edward Johnson introducing himself as, "Your host, Raymond," in a mocking sardonic voice. A spooky melodramatic organ score punctuated Raymond's many morbid jokes and playful puns. Raymond's closing was an elongated "Pleasant dreeeammsss?!" His tongue-in-cheek style and ghoulish relish of his own tales became the standard for many such horror narrators to follow, from fellow radio hosts like Ernest Chappell (on Cooper's later series, Quiet, Please) and Maurice Tarplin (on The Mysterious Traveler) to EC Comics' Crypt-Keeper in various incarnations of Tales from the Crypt. In interviews, EC publisher Bill Gaines stated that he based EC's three horror hosts not on Raymond but on Old Nancy, host of radio's earlier The Witch's Tale (1931-38). When Johnson left the series in 1946, he was replaced by Paul McGrath, who did not keep the "Raymond" name and was known only as "your host" or "Mr. Host." Beginning in 1945, Lipton Tea sponsored the series, pairing first Raymond and then McGrath with cheery commercial spokeswoman Mary Bennett, whose blithesome pitches for Lipton tea contrasted sharply with the macabre themes of the stories, and who primly chided the host for his trademark dark humor and creepy manner.
Escape was radio's leading anthology series of high adventure, airing on CBS from July 7, 1947 to September 25, 1954. Since the program did not have a regular sponsor like Suspense, it was subjected to frequent schedule shifts and lower production budgets, although Richfield Oil signed on as a sponsor for five months in 1950. Despite these problems, Escape enthralled many listeners during its seven-year run. The series' well-remembered opening combined Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain with the introduction, intoned by Paul Frees and William Conrad: âTired of the everyday routine? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... Escape!â Of the more than 230 Escape episodes, most have survived in good condition. Many story premises, both originals and adaptations, involved a protagonist in dire life-or-death straits, and the series featured more science fiction and supernatural tales than Suspense. Some of the memorable adaptations include Algernon Blackwood's "Confession", Ray Bradbury's oft-reprinted "Mars Is Heaven," George R. Stewart's Earth Abides, Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game," F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz," John Collier's "Evening Primrose", later adapted to TV as a Stephen Sondheim musical starring Anthony Perkins. Vincent Price and Harry Bartell were heard in the chilling "Three Skeleton Key," the tale of three men trapped in an isolated lighthouse by thousands of rats. The half-hour was adapted from an Esquire short story by the French writer George Toudouze.
ABBOTT & COSTELLO SHOW - They launched their own weekly show October 8, 1942, sponsored by Camel cigarettes. The Abbott and Costello Show mixed comedy with musical interludes (usually, by singers such as Connie Haines, Marilyn Maxwell, the Delta Rhythm Boys, Skinnay Ennis, and the Les Baxter Singers). Regulars and semi-regulars on the show included Artie Auerbrook, Elvia Allman, Iris Adrian, Mel Blanc, Wally Brown, Sharon Douglas, Verna Felton, Sidney Fields, Frank Nelson, Martha Wentworth, and Benay Venuta. Ken Niles was the show's longtime announcer, doubling as an exasperated foil to Abbott & Costello's mishaps (and often fuming in character as Costello insulted his on-air wife routinely); he was succeeded by Michael Roy, with annoncing chores also handled over the years by Frank Bingman and Jim Doyle. The show went through several orchestras during its radio life, including those of Ennis, Charles Hoff, Matty Matlock, Jack Meaking, Will Osborne, Freddie Rich, Leith Stevens, and Peter van Steeden. The show's writers included Howard Harris, Hal Fimberg, Parke Levy, Don Prindle, Ed Cherokee, Len Stern, Martin Ragaway, Paul Conlan, and Ed Forman, as well as producer Martin Gosch. Sound effects were handled mostly by Floyd Caton.
The Unexpected 1948
Program #115. Hamilton Whitney syndication. "The Mink Coat". Music fill for local commercial insert. A not-so-dumb book-keeper buys herself a mink coat with company funds. The date is approximate. Frank Burt (writer), Frank Danzig (director), Lurene Tuttle, Robert Libbott (writer). 15:14.
Program #124. Hamilton Whitney syndication. "The Revere Cup". Music fill for local commercial insert. A woman who is cheated out of her inheritance gets all her money back, almost. The date is approximate. Lurene Tuttle, Frank Danzig (director), Robert Libbott (writer), Frank Burt (writer). 14:40.
The Six Shooter, the only radio series staring James Stewart, aired on September 20, 1953. In this radio western, Jimmy played Britt Ponset, a man with a reputation for having a fast gun but is really very different from the hard, tough talking gun slinger type. Here the hero is a slow talking, thinking man who is ready with his gun, but first looks for options to violence. James Stewart played this character very well. Jimmy had appeared on many other radio shows including the Hollywood Star Playhouse where the character of Britt Ponset was introduced in an episode called "The Six Shooter". The same script was used for the audition of THE SIX SHOOTER series, again with Jimmy as Britt. The show aired between September 1953 and June 1954.
THE HAUNTING HOUR - The shows are classic chills from the old school, with creepy organ, overwrought women and over the top men. Perhaps not the highest of melodrama, but obsessively workmanlike. After all, they might have known they were a skeleton staff toiling relentlessly without a ghost of a chance of fame. Thanks to transcription, these unknowns are still with us. John Dunning, succinctly states in "On the Air, The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio," "There were no credits, so casts and production crews are unknown."
THIS EPISODE:
NBC syndication. "The Thought" (1949). Commercials added locally. A mental telepathist in a nightclub reading the minds of his audience detects thoughts of murder. . 25 minutes.
DIARY OF FATE is a mystery and horror program where âFateâ narrates and always wins by the end of the story. These are great suspense filled stories about average people who are subject to the mysteries of their âFateâ.
THIS EPISODE:
June 1, 1948. Program #25. Finley syndication. "Phillip Vale". Commercials added locally. Book 63, page 209. Phillip Vale decides to kill his wealthy Aunt Ruth when he loses $20,000 of her money on a bad stock market investment. The date is subject to correction. Larry Finley (producer). 27:27.
Boston Blackie was a tough, wisecracking private detective working in New York, billed as "enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend." His speciality was making fools of the police, a simple task with Inspector Farraday heading the official investigations. "An enemy to those who call him an enemy, a friend to those who have no friends." Boston Blackie is a reformed jewel thief who is never far from trouble. Inspector Farraday of the homicide squad tries to pin Blackie for the crime in every episode. To save his own skin, with the help of his girlfriend Mary and sidekick Shorty, Blackie ends up solving the case.
THIS EPISODE: August 6, 1947. Program #121. Mutual network origination, Ziv syndication. Commercials added locally. Blackie tackles the "Butcher Boys" gang. Richard Kollmar. 26:38.
Broadway Is My Beat, a radio crime drama, ran on CBS from February 27, 1949 to August 1, 1954. With music by Robert Stringer, the show originated from New York during its first three months on the air, with Anthony Ross portraying Times Square Detective Danny Clover. John Dietz directed for producer Lester Gottlieb. Beginning with the July 7, 1949 episode, the series was broadcast from Hollywood with producer Elliott Lewis directing a new cast in scripts by Morton Fine and David Friedkin. The opening theme of "I'll Take Manhattan" introduced Detective Danny Clover (now played by Larry Thor), a hardened New York City cop who worked homicide "from Times Square to Columbus Circle -- the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world."
The Lone Ranger was a long-running early radio and television show based on characters created by George W. Trendle, and developed by writer Fran Striker. The titular character is a masked cowboy in the American Old West, who gallops about righting injustices, usually with the aid of a clever and laconic American Indian called Tonto, and his horse Silver. He would famously say "Heigh-ho Silver, away!" to get the horse to gallop.
DEFENSE ATTORNEY - Playing radio's last lady crime fighter was a prominent actress, Mercedes McCambridge. The series began on NBC under the title "The Defense Rests" in the spring of 1951. NBC soon dropped it so ABC picked it up, kept the same cast, re-titled it :"Defense Attorney" and aired it from August 1951 to December 1952. McCambridge, portraying an attorney named Martha Ellis Bryant, spent virtually no time in the courtroom and instead was in the streets, solving crimes and mysteries. She was assisted by her boy friend, Jud Barnes, a reporter, played by Howard Culver (whose "Straight Arrow" series had just gone off the air.) Six episodes of the ABC series and one of the NBC version have survived and all attest to the excellent writing, good acting, and fast pace of a well-done adventure show. When Attorney Bryant solved her last case on 12-30-52, it brought down the curtain on OTR's lady crime fighters.
Counterspy was an espionage drama radio series that aired on ABC and Mutual from May 18, 1942 to November 29, 1957. David Harding (Don MacLaughlin) was the chief of the United States Counterspies, a unit engaged during World War II in counterespionage against Japan's Black Dragon and Germany's Gestapo. With spies still lurking in the post-war years, the adventures continued apace well after World War II ended.
THIS EPISODE:
Counterspy. April 4, 1950 - ABC network. "The Case Of The Magic Murder". Sponsored by: Pepsi Cola. Counterspy operative Peters is shot in the head while filling out a security questionnaire with a famous European jet engine scientist. Only a famous brain surgeon, who happens to be in Venezuela, can possibly save the agent's life! The system cue has been deleted. Leonard L. Bass (director), Paul Milton (writer), Don MacLaughlin, Mandel Kramer, Jesse Crawford (music), Jay Jackson (announcer), Phillips H. Lord (producer). 29:27.
Crime & Peter Chambers - This program was born from a detective book series and inspired by author Henry Kane who became the director and producer for the radio show. The series only ran five months, 30 minutes each episode, from April 6, 1954 to September 7, 1954. Peter Chambers was played by Dane Clark who also appeared on the Suspense radio shows. Chambers acted the role of a playboy detective with an eye for solving crime and a taste for the women. Bill Zuckert, who went on to guest star in many 1970s shows including The Mary Tyler Moore Show and the Partridge Family, plays Lt. Parker.
Although Molle Mystery Theatre was initially sponsored by Molle Shaving Cream, other sponsors (such as Bayer Aspirin, Ironized Yeast, Phillips Milk of Magnesia) also sponsored the program. Sometimes, when it was not sponsored by Molle, the program was called "Mystery Theater". The show was first heard on NBC, on 9/7/43. Time slot was originally Sunday nights at 9:00 PM, but was later moved to Tuesday at 9:00 PM, and Friday at 10:00 PM. In 1948, the show moved to CBS (Tues, 8:00 PM), and in 1951, it moved to ABC, where it was called "Mark Sabre", and heard on Wednesdays at either 8:00 PM or 9:30 PM. The shows were tight and tension filled, with a fine orchestra score and solid production values. Classic tales from well-known authors, as well as modern unknowns were presented, and the endings were often twists or shockers.
THEATER FIVE - This was ABC's attempt to recapture some of what radio was. The effort was not the best, but at least an effort was made. The stories ranged from science fiction, comedy, social drama and human interest drama, to detective mystery, psychological drama, melodrama and suspense drama. News programs help fill out the remaining time left in the 30 minute time spot from 5 - 5:30 p.m.
ABC Mystery Time was hosted by Don Dowd and starred Sir Laurence Olivier. Great special effects will grab your attention, accented by creepy organ rips. Stories are offered such as death gathered round a card table at a local chapter of The Suicide Club, or a man who desperately tries to hire a 24 hour bodyguard all the while trying to make himself the victim of a murder, and other baffling peculiar tales of yore. Also known as Mystery Time and Mystery Time Classics, this one is sure to excite and mystify.
Pat Novak, played by Jack Webb, was a private detective working out of Pier 19, a waterfront office in San Francisco. The stories were always very similar: Someone would hire him, (if not a beautiful woman, the job would lead to a beautiful woman) someone would get murdered, he would investigate the case, get beaten up by the thugs, and then the case would be solved and end with glorious violence. The closing was always the same; the listener would be told who had done what, to whom and why they had done it.
THIS EPISODE:
Pat Novak For Hire. April 2, 1949. Program #3. ABC network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. A priest puts Pat on the trail of an escaped convict named Joe Feldman. This leads to a slit throat, a dead cop, and the standard frame. Jack Webb, Raymond Burr, Richard Breen (writer), Basil Adlam (music), George Fenneman (announcer), Tudor Owen, Paul Frees (doubles), Parley Baer, Lurene Tuttle, William P. Rousseau (producer, director). 30:10.
THE MARTIN & LEWIS SHOW - On July 25, 1946, Jerry began a show business partnership with Dean Martin, an association that would soon skyrocket both to fame. It started when Jerry was performing at the 500 Club in Atlantic City and one of the other entertainers quit suddenly. Lewis, who had worked with Martin at the Glass Hat in New York City, suggested Dean as a replacement. At first they worked separately, but then ad-libbed together, improvising insults and jokes, squirting seltzer water, hurling bunches of celery and exuding general zaniness. In less than eighteen weeks their salaries soared from $250.00 a week to $5,000.00. For ten years Martin and Lewis sandwiched sixteen money making films between nightclub engagements, personal appearances, recording sessions, radio shows, and television bookings. Their last film together was "Hollywood or Bust" (1956). On July 25th of that year the two made their last nightclub appearance together at the Copacabana, exactly ten years to the day since they became a team.
THIS EPISODE:
March 24, 1949. NBC network. Sustaining. Possibly their first show for NBC. Unedited tape, lots of wild ad libs with Bob. The program aired right before the program with guest William Bendix. The above date might be the recording session, possibly for broadcast April 3, 1949. Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope, Flo McMichaels, Michael Roy, The Martingales, Dick Stabile and His Orchestra. 43:59
Television and radio pioneer Jack Parr has been called the most imitated personality in broadcasting. He virtually created the late-night talk show format as the host of The Tonight Show , one of television's longest continuously running programs. The Washington Post said, "Jack Paar was genuine, and the footprints he left on the loony moonscape of television are enormous; they will be there forever." As the stars of stage and screen were rising around him, Paar was becoming an icon himself, on television sets in the homes of millions of Americans across the country. During the Golden Age of television, Paar was its golden boy, charming guests and viewers alike. From 1957 to 1962, Paar was the king of late-night television as host of The Tonight Show, which NBC eventually renamed The Jack Paar Show. He turned it from a typical variety format into something very different. With a rare combination of intelligence, irreverence and intuition, he invented a new genre of programming that would become ubiquitous to television. Paar helped launch the careers of such performers as Carol Burnett, Woody Allen and Liza Minnelli, but his guests weren't limited to the glitterati. He discussed religion with Billy Graham, visited Albert Schweitzer in Africa, and talked politics with Richard Nixon, all before the transfixed eyes of the American television audience.
THE DEVIL & MR. O
With its premiere on the nationwide NBC hookup in 1935, Lights Out was billed "the ultimate in horror." Never had such sounds been heard on the air. Heads rolled, bones were crushed, people fell from great heights and splattered wetly on pavement. There were garrotings, choking, heads split by cleavers, and, to a critic at Radio Guide, "the most monstrous of all sounds, human flesh being eaten." Few shows had ever combined the talents of actors and imaginative writers so well with the graphic art of the sound technician. Oboler's shows are well represented -- this series of Lights Out was syndicated in The Devil and Mr. O offerings of 1970 - 73. A transcribed syndication of original broadcasts from 1942 - 43 with Arch Oboler as the host.
VANISHING POINT
1984-1986 There were 69 episodes in the original series. The series continued after that under various names and formats. "The point between reality and fantasy. Where imagination holds the key to new worlds. That point of no return---The Vanishing Point." Favorably compared to Rod Sterling's classic TV series, The Twilight Zone, these finely tuned radio dramas from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation provide compelling excursions into the realm of mystery and fantasy.
Crime Club was a Mutual Network murder and mystery series, a product of the Doubleday Crime Book Club imprints found weekly in bookstores everywhere. The telephone rings"Hello, I hope I haven't kept you waiting. Yes, this is the Crime Club. I'm the Librarian. Murder Rents A Room? Yes, we have that Crime Club story for you.Come right over. (The organist in the shadowed corner of the Crime Club library shivers the ivories) The doorbell tones sullenly"And you are here. Good. Take the easy chair by the window. Comfortable? The book is on this shelf." (The organist hits the scary chord) "Let's look at it under the reading lamp." The Librarian, played by Raymond E. Johnson, begins reading the tale. Veteran Willis Cooper (Lights Out, Quiet Please) did some of the scripts from the Crime Club books.
THIS EPISODE:
September 11, 1947. Mutual network. "Fish For Entree". Sustaining. A corpse with a dead fish in his pocket is fished out of the harbor. Stedman Coles (writer), Walter Kinsella, Virginia Dwyer, Bill Smith, Julie Stevens, Paul Hammond. 1/2 hour.
"Spanglers Attic" (1-26-47)
The Clock, Imported from Austrailia, was a dramatic thirty-minute suspense and mystery series. It was written by Lawrence Klee and was first broadcast in November 1946. The story always began the same; âSunrise and sunset, promise and fulfilment, birth and death â the whole drama of life is written in the sands of timeâ. This is a great series where the main theme seems to be Retribution. Stories as told by Father Time.
Flash Gordon - 1935-1936
FIRST BROADCAST: April 1935 LAST BROADCAST: February 1936 CAST: Gale Gordon, Maurice Franklin, Bruno Wick, James Meighan PRODUCER: Himan Brown This science-fiction adventure originally began as a comic strip. Flash Gordon had saved the world by firing a rocket at the planet Mongo which was on a collision course with earth. He had crashlanded on Mongo which was a planet packed with villains and baddies featuring lots of ray-guns and rockets.
Today's Show:
"Dale is Rescued by the Boys" (8-10-35) and "A Voice From The Shadows" (8-17-45)
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was a radio drama about a freelance insurance investigator "with the action-packed expense account." The show aired on CBS Radio from February 11, 1949 to September 30, 1962. There were 811 episodes in the 12-year run, and over 720 still exist today. As originally conceived, Johnny Dollar was a smart, tough, wisecracking detective who tossed silver-dollar tips to waiters and bellhops. Dick Powell starred in the audition show, recorded in 1948, but withdrew from the role in favor of other projects. The role went instead to Charles Russell. With the first three actors to play Johnny Dollar -- radio actor Russell and movie tough-guy actors Edmond O'Brien and John Lund -- there was little to distinguish Johnny Dollar from other detective series at the time (Richard Diamond, Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade). While always a friend of the police, Johnny wasn't necessarily a stickler for the strictest interpretation of the law. He was willing to let some things slide to satisfy his own sense of justice, as long as the interests of his employer were protected.
THIS EPISODE:
October 14, 1950. CBS network. "The Yankee Pride Mater". Sustaining. Johnny investigates murder, intrigue and sabotage in mysterious Singapore. Edmond O'Brien, Gil Doud (writer), Alexander Courage (conductor),Ben Wright, Jaime del Valle (producer, director), Bob Stevenson (announcer), Jack Kruschen, Virginia Gregg, Tudor Owen, William Johnstone, Wally Maher, Ben Wright. 29:42.
Produced in about 1950 by Palladium Radio Productions, "The Planet Man" is the golly-gee-whillikers saga of Dantro, an intergalactic troubleshooter for an organization known as the League of Planets - "the law enforcement body for peace and justice in the celestial world." (Think of him as an outer-space version of Marshal Matt Dillon - "It's a chancy job, and it makes a [planet] man watchful...") With their center of operations situated on Planeria Rex, "the capital of the planets," the League sends their water-carrier Dantro out into the celestial world to maintain law and order "whenever danger threatens the universe." Dantro is assisted in his quest for law-and-order by the members of Earth's first rocket expedition: Dr. John Darrow, his daughter Pat, and engineer Slats, who are rescued by the Planet Man before their rocket comes perilously close to crashing into the moon. (The explanation for this is that Darrow and crew took on a pair of stowaways before blast-off, namely his nephew Billy and niece Jane - which makes a listener wonder why the heck they weren't in school.) These five individuals join forces with the Planet Man to defeat evildoers like Marston, the ruler of Mars who possesses an insatiable appetite for interplanetary domination.
The Mercury Theatre was a theatre company founded in New York City by Orson Welles and John Houseman. They had initial success in the theatre, then went to radio, and one of the most notable radio broadcasts of all time, The War of the Worlds. Welles had already worked extensively in radio drama, playing the Shadow for a year, and directing a seven-part adaptation of Victor Hugo's Les MisÃrables. In 1938, he was offered a chance to direct his own weekly, hour-long radio series, initially called First Person Singular, then The Mercury Theatre on the Air. Welles insisted his Mercury company--actors and crew--be involved in the radio series. This was an unprecedented and expensive request, especially for one so young as Welles. He won out, however, and went on to produce some of the finest radio drama of any era.
Michael Shayne was a fictional sleuth created by Brett Halliday (a pen name for author Davis Dresser) who was first initiated into the fraternity for detectives in the 1939 novel "Dividend of Death". Dresser based the character on a âtall and rangyâ brawler who once saved his life during a braw in a Mexican cantina. The Shayne character would go on to appear in 69 novels, plus a long-running mystery magazineâand in 1941, was brought to the silver screen in Paramountâs Michael Shayne, Private Detective, an adaptation of Dividend of Death that starred Lloyd Nolan, and paved the way for six additional B-mysteries to follow. The New Adventures of Michael Shayneâpremiered on July 15, 1948 starring Jeff Chandler.
Crime Classics was a U. S. radio docudrama which aired over CBS from June 15, 1953 to June 30, 1954. Created, produced, and directed by radio actor/director Elliott Lewis, the program was basically a historical true crime series, examining crimes, and especially murders, from the past. It grew out of Lewis's personal interest in famous murder cases, and took a documentary-like approach to the subject, carefully recreating the facts, personages, and feel of the time period. Comparatively little dramatic license was taken with the facts and events, but the tragedy was leavened with humor, expressed largely through the narration.
THIS EPISODE:
CBS network. "Billy Bonney, Bloodletter: Also Known As 'The Kid'". Sustaining. The story of the very violent life of young William Bonney. William Conrad (as Pat Garrett) plays the entire first scene by grunting six times. Lou Merrill (host), Morton Fine (writer), David Friedkin (writer), Bernard Herrmann (composer, conductor), Elliott Lewis (producer, director), William Conrad, Sam Edwards, Jane Webb, Dick Beals, Frederick Shields, Bob Lemond (announcer), Clayton Post, Tony Barrett, Harry Bartell, Barney Phillips. 29:32.
The Ford Theater aired 1947 - 1949. It was broadcast on NBC until October 8, 1948 then moved to CBS. It was hosted by Howard Lindsay. The show tried to use good but not to famous radio performers. Producer George Zachary, first producer, attempting to use popular radio stars instead of Hollywood stars offered limited success. Followed was low ratings which forced the replacement of Zachary with Fletcher Markle, husband of radio legend Mercedes McCambridge. Needing a change the show moved to California and began starring celebrities from Hollywood like Lucille Ball. Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Bette Davis to mention a few. This combination made for a hit radio show.
The Adventures of Frank Race was a 1949-50 radio adventure serial syndicated by Bruce Ellis Productions. The 30-minute program was first broadcast in some markets beginning May 1, 1949. An attorney who turned international adventurer after WWII, Frank Race (Tom Collins, Paul Dubov) mainly investigated insurance scams. After the first 22 shows, Dubov took over the title role. Tony Barnett portrayed Mark Donovan. The series was written and directed by Joel Murcott and Buckley Angel. The announcer was Art Gilmore, and Ivan Ditmars provided the background organ music.
THIS EPISODE:
July 24, 1949. Program #13. Broadcasters Program Syndicate syndication. "The Adventure Of The Garrulous Bartender". Commercials added locally. From $100,000 embezzlement, the trail leads to Juarez, Mexico, and murder. Tom Collins, Tony Barrett, Buckley Angel (writer, director), Joel Murcott (writer, director), Bruce Eells (producer), Ivan Ditmars (organist), Art Gilmore (announcer). 1/2 hour.
Tuska cited Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940) and Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery (1941) as the best of the Bellamy-Lindsay pairings. "The influence of The Thin Man series was apparent in reverse", Tuska noted about Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery. "Ellery and Nikki are unmarried but obviously in love with each other. Probably the biggest mystery... is how Ellery ever gets a book written. Not only is Nikki attractive and perfectly willing to show off her figure", Tuska wrote, "but she also likes to write her own stories on Queen's time, and gets carried away doing her own investigations." In Ellery Queen, Master Detective, "the amorous relationship between Ellery and Nikki Porter was given a dignity, and therefore integrity", Tuska wrote, "that was lacking in the two previous entries in the series", made at Republic Pictures before Bellamy and Lindsay were signed by Columbia.
TOP SECRET 6-12-50 to 10-26-50 NBC, various 30 minute timeslots. STAR: Ilona Massey as a Mata Hari-style operative in World War II. ORCHESTRAL: Roy Shield. WRITER-DIRECTOR: Harry W. Junkin. Top secret was highly effective, said Radio Life: the role played by the Hungarian actress was âtailor-made for her sultry voice and heavy accentâ
THIS EPISODE:
July 23, 1950. Program #7. NBC network. "Midnight For Danger". Sustaining. Cloaks and daggers in neutral Switzerland. An arthritic clockmaker holds the key to, "Operation Das." Allan Sloane (writer), Andrew Duggan, Earl Hammond, Fred Collins (announcer), Harry W. Junkin (writer), Ilona Massey, Peter Capell, Ronald Long, Roy Shield (composer, conductor), Ruth Yorke, Theo Goetz. 29:29.
The Green Hornet program began in January of 1936 and played to December 5, 1952. The shows typically ran thirty minutes and ran twice a week in the beginning years. They later reverted to being broadcast once a week. The last season of the show in 1952 the show reverted back to a twice a week schedule. Al Hodge played the role of Britt Reid for seven years. Fran Striker, a co-creator of the Lone Ranger, wrote all of the scripts for the Green Hornet until April 1944. After that, several other writers were brought in to script the show. The writing output of Fran Striker was incredible. While he was scripting the Green Hornet he was also writing the scripts for the Lone Ranger program.
Amos 'n' Andy was a situation comedy popular in the United States from the 1920s through the 1950s. The show began as one of the first radio comedy serials, written and voiced by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll and originating from station WMAQ in Chicago, Illinois. After the series was first broadcast in 1928, it grew in popularity and became a huge influence on the radio serials that followed. Amos 'n' Andy creators Gosden and Correll were white actors familiar with minstrel traditions.
THIS EPISODE:
November 26, 1943. NBC network. Commercials deleted. Andy spreads the rumor that he's inherited $10,000 so he can find out who his true friends are. He shortly finds himself in the hospital about to be operated on by a madman! Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Harlow Wilcox (announcer), Donald Meek (guest), Ernestine Wade. 26:05. Audio condition: Excellent. Otherwise complete.
The Jack Benny Program is a classic comedy that is truly one of the best-loved programs from the Golden Age of Radio. It started life as The Canada Dry Program in 1932 on the Blue Network and finished off as The Lucky Strike Program on CBS in 1955. In between, it kept the audience in stitches and established Benny as one of America's all-time great comedians. The format of the show, and the personality of its star, so well honed in two decades on radio, made the transition to television almost intact. Jack's stinginess, vanity about his supposed age of 39, basement vault where he kept all his money, ancient Maxwell automobile, and feigned ineptness at playing the violin were all part of the act. Added to Jack's famous pregnant pause and exasperated "Well!" were a rather mincing walk, an affected hand to the cheek, and a painted look of disbelief when confronted by life's little tragedies.
This Is Your FBI was a radio crime drama which aired in the United States on ABC from April 6, 1945 to January 30, 1953. FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover gave it his endorsement, calling it "the finest dramatic program on the air." Producer-director Jerry Devine was given access to FBI files by Hoover, and the resulting dramatizations of FBI cases were narrated by Frank Lovejoy (1945), Dean Carleton (1946-47) and William Woodson (1948-53). Stacy Harris had the lead role of Special Agent Jim Taylor. Others in the cast were William Conrad, Bea Benaderet and Jay C. Flippen.
VOYAGE OF THE SCARLET QUEEN - First heard on Mutual featuring Elliott Lewis, who as Leonard Maltin writes in "The Great American Broadcast, "âwore every hat imaginable-actor, producer, and director-also penned a good number of scripts for series he supervised, including Suspense." And Maltin says of this show, "On the terrific late-1940's high-adventure series The Voyage of the Scarlet Queen he held down both jobs simultaneously as director and star." As Maltin continues, âLewis had the ability to make you believe whatever he said. Cast as the skipper on the high-adventure series The Voyage of the Scarlet Queen, he was completely convincing as seagoing ship's master Philip Carney-never corny or overblown." So let a master captain of drama chart a course to exotic ports of call and thrilling adventures. All you have to do is step aboard The Scarlet Queen.
I DEAL IN CRIME - Though he was much better in Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator, gravely-voiced William Gargan starred several more times on radio. This is another well done series.
THIS EPISODE
January 21, 1946. ABC network. Sustaining. Possibly the first show of the series. William Gargan as detective Ross Dolan. Laura Shields hires Dolan to be her bodyguard. He finds plenty of murder. Dresser Dahlstead (announcer), Leonard Reeg (director), Skitch Henderson (composer, conductor), Ted Hediger (director), William Gargan. 29:31.
GangBusters was an American dramatic radio program heralded as "the only national program that brings you authentic police case histories." It premiered as G-Men, sponsored by Chevrolet, on July 20, 1935. After the title was changed to Gang Busters January 15, 1936, the show had a 21-year run through November 20, 1957. Beginning with a barrage of loud sound effects â guns firing and tires squealing â this intrusive introduction led to the popular catch phrase "came on like Gang Busters."The series dramatized FBI cases, which producer-director Phillips H. Lord arranged in close association with Bureau director J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover insisted that only closed cases would be used. The initial series was on NBC Radio from July 20 - October 12, 1935. It then aired on CBS from January 15, 1936 to June 15, 1940, sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive and Cue magazine. From October 11, 1940 to December 25, 1948, it was heard on the Blue Network, with various sponsors that included Sloan's Liniment, Waterman pens and Tide. Returning to CBS on January 8, 1949, it ran until June 25, 1955, sponsored by Grape-Nuts and Wrigley's chewing gum.
2000 AD (2000 Plus) is known as the first of the network science fiction shows, although it ran on Mutual just a month prior to the introduction of the landmark series, Dimension X. It was a half hour of science fiction wonder in an exciting package. The stories have a charm that is always present in science fiction of the future that is written in the past. "When The Worlds Met" takes place "at the giant space port in Washington, temporary capitol of the federated world government as in April 21, 2000 Plus 20 (2020) crowds throng as audio and televox networks cover a space ship carrying in its space hold the first load of uranium taken from the pits of Luna, satellite of Earth.
RADIO CITY PLAYHOUSE - A Half-hour drama, sometimes comedy, often very exciting and suspenseful. The cast were made up of New York veterans of radio and stage, including Jan Minor and John Larkin as featured performers. The director, Harry W. Junkin, also served as the show's host and narrator. Each week the show introduced a new story, often written by well-known writers of fantasy and suspense such as Ray Bradbury, Cornell Woolrich, Agatha Christie and Paul Gallico. They were dramatized with a full orchestral soundtrack and excellent sound effects.
The Adventures of Sam Spade â 1946-1951
Sam Spade was a tough private investigator. Each case was unfolded as a report dictated to his secretary, Effie, who was always flustered and secretly in love with him. He always quoted his license number and referred to each investigation as a âcaperâ. Each report was dated with the actual airdate. CAST: Howard Duff, Steve Dunne, Lurene Tuttle, John McIntire, William Conrad, Cathy and Elliot Lewis, June Havoc, Joseph Kearns, Jerry Hausner, Elliott Reid, Mary Jane Croft, Jeanette Nolan, Betty Lou Gerson.
Murder By Experts. December 26, 1949. Mutual network. "The Case Of The Missing Mind". Sustaining. A comedy about a Broadway character being driven mad by "Mr. Aladdin." John Dickson Carr (host), Carl Eastman, Ann Shephard, William Zuckert, Bert Cowlan, Ralph Camargo, Phil Tonken (announcer), Robert A. Arthur (producer, director), David Kogan (producer, director), Emerson Buckley (conductor), Craig Rice (guest expert), Joseph Ruscoll (writer). 29:54.
MAN FROM HOMICIDE 1951 ABC show with Dan Duryea
Lieutenant Lou Dana, the man from homicide. Dan Duryea stars in this action packed series heard on ABC.
THIS EPISODE:
July 16, 1951. ABC network. Sustaining. An excellent action-packed whodunit. "Old Man" Kelso, a man with $9 million is found dead with a spear through his body. Lieutenant Lou Dana investigates. Barney Phillips, Basil Adlam (composer, conductor), Bill Bouchey, Dan Duryea, Dick Powell, Dwight Hauser (director), Herb Butterfield, Joe Gilbert (writer), Orval Anderson (announcer), Tony Barrett. 29:30.
The Perada Treasure Episode20 and Episode 21 (11-14-39)
SHOW ONE OF TWO
Captain Midnight was a U.S. radio serial broadcast from 1938 to 1949. Created by radio scripters Wilfred G. Moore and Robert M. Burtt, the program was developed at WGN in Chicago. Sponsored by the Skelly Oil Company, it began as a syndicated show in the fall of 1938, airing on a few midwest stations through the spring of 1940. In the fall of 1940, Ovaltine took over sponsorship, and the series was then heard nationally on the Mutual Radio Network where it remained until December, 1949.
Philo Vance was the detective creation of S. S. Van Dine first published in the mid 1920s. Vance, in the original books, is an intellectual so highly refined he seems he might be ghostwritten by P. G. Wodehouse. Take this quote from The Benson Murder Case, 1924, as Vance pontificates in his inimitable way: "That's your fundamental error, don't y' know. Every crime is witnessed by outsiders, just as is every work of art. The fact that no one sees the criminal, or the artist, actu'lly at work, is wholly incons'quential." Thankfully, the radio series uses only the name, and makes Philo a pretty normal, though very intelligent and extremely courteous gumshoe. Jose Ferrer played him in 1945. From 1948-1950, the fine radio actor Jackson Beck makes Vance as good as he gets. George Petrie plays Vance's constantly impressed public servant, District Attorney Markham. Joan Alexander is Ellen Deering, Vance's secretary and right-hand woman. The organist for the show is really working those ivories, and fans of old time radio organ will especially enjoy this series. Perhaps one reason the organist "pulls out all the stops" is because there seems to be little, if any, sound effects on the show. Philo Vance, the radio series, does pay homage to the original books in that both were, even in their own time, a bit out of date and stilted.
THIS EPISODE:
Program #7. ZIV Syndication. "The Poetic Murder Case". Commercials added locally. Two drama critics are murdered, with a poem knifed to their chests. A third critic is then killed, and the main suspect in, "Longfellow." Jackson Beck. 26:23.
The Wayside Theater. January 1, 1939. WBBM, Chicago. "The Adventure Of The Absent Minded Professor". Sponsored by: The Chicago Motor Club. The ultimate absent minded professor story...as the chemistry building explodes! Olan Soule, Patricia Dunlap, Addison Simmons (writer), Verne Smith (announcer), Bill Bouchey, Reese Taylor, Frank Dane, Herb Butterfield, Lesley Woods, Forrest Lewis. 29:29.
Perry Mason is the longest running lawyer show in American television history. Its original run lasted nine years and its success in both syndication and made-for-television movies confirm its impressive stamina. Mason's fans include lawyers and judges who were influenced by this series to enter their profession. The Mason character was created by mystery writer Erle Stanley Gardner and delivered his first brief in the novel The Case of the Velvet Claws (1933). From 1934 to 1937 Warners produced six films featuring Mason. A radio series also based on Mason ran every weekday afternoon on CBS radio from 1944 to 1955 as a detective/soap opera. When the CBS television series was developed as an evening drama, the radio series was changed from Perry Mason to The Edge of Night and the cast renamed so as not to compete against the television series.
THIS EPISODE:
The Case of the Crooked Candle from Perry Mason aired November 30, 1957. While Martha Bradford is waiting for her appointment at a beauty parlor, she meets Rita Bradford who apparently is also married to Joe Bradford and lives at the same address. Joe Bradford is preparing for a business meeting in San Diego. He makes plans to meet his wife Martha but fails to show up. Joe Bradford is found dead on his boat the next morning and Martha Bradford is accused of his murder when her fingerprints are found on a candle located on the boat.
It's A Crime Mr. Collins. 1956. Mutual network origination, syndicated. "The Brown Alligator Briefcase". Commercials added locally. Not auditioned. "Any girl would want to be alone in the Mediterranean moonlight, with a very handsome man...unless he were a murderer!" The accent of the Italian police chief sounds Transylvanian. The date is approximate. Mandel Kramer, Gail Collins, Richard Denning. 23:25.
Throughout the 1950s, Rod Serling had established himself as one of the hottest names in television, equally famous for his success in writing televised drama as he was for criticizing the medium's limitations. His most vocal complaints concerned the censorship frequently practiced by sponsors and networks. "I was not permitted to have my Senators discuss any current or pressing problem," he said of his 1957 production 'The Arena', intended to be an involving look into contemporary politics. "To talk of tariff was to align oneself with the Republicans; to talk of labor was to suggest control by the Democrats. To say a single thing germane to the current political scene was absolutely prohibited."
THIS EPISODE:
Portrait of a town drunk named Al Denton. This is a man who's begun his dying earlyâa long agonizing route through a maze of bottles. Al Denton, who would probably give an arm or a leg or a part of his soul to have another chance, to be able to rise up and shake the dirt from his body and the bad dreams that infest his consciousness.
FAVORITE STORY aired from September 1947 through December of 1949 hosted by Ronald Colman. This is an excellent dramatic series of great stories from classic literature brought to radio. It's popularity was so high and with such well done stories, it was rebroadcasted for many years.
THIS EPISODE:
MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY
The protagonist of the story is a (fictional) young United States Army lieutenant named Philip Nolan, who developed a friendship with the visiting Aaron Burr. When Burr is tried for treason (as he actually was in 1807), Nolan was tried as an accomplice. During his testimony, Nolan bitterly renounced his nation, angrily shouting "D--n the United States! I wish I may never hear of the United States again!" (When the novel was first published, the word "damn" was considered too obscene for publication.) Upon conviction, the judge icily granted Nolan his wish: he was to spend the rest of his life on warships of the United States Navy, in exile, with no right to ever again set foot on U.S. soil, and with no mention ever again made to him about his country. The sentence is carried out to the letter. None of those in whose custody Nolan remains will speak to him about the U.S., and his newspapers are censored. Nolan is unrepentant at first, but over the years becomes sadder and wiser. Deprived of a homeland, Nolan slowly and painfully learned the true worth of his country. He missed it more than his friends or family, more than art or music or love or nature. Without it, he was nothing. Dying, he shows his room to an officer named Danforth; it is "a little shrine" of patriotism. The Stars and Stripes are draped around a picture of George Washington. Over his bed, Nolan had painted an eagle, with lightning "blazing from his beak" and his claw grasping the globe. At the foot of his bed was a dated map of the old territories. Nolan smiled. "Here, you see, I have a country!" Nolan dies content after Danforth finally tells him all that has happened to the U.S. since his sentence was imposed.
Fibber McGee and Molly premiered in 1935. The program struggled in the ratings until 1940, when it became a national sensation. Within three years, it was the top-rated program in America. Few radio shows were more beloved than Fibber McGee and Molly. The programâs lovable characters included Mayor LaTrivia, Doc Gamble, Mrs. Uppington, Wallace Wimple, Alice Darling, Gildersleeve, Beulah, Myrt, and the Old Timer. 79 Wistful Vista was one of Americaâs most famous addresses and Mollyâs warning to Fibber not to open the hall closet door (and his subsequent decision to do it) created one of radioâs best remembered running gags that audiences expected each week. Jim Jordan (Fibber) was born on a farm on November 16, 1896, near Peoria, Illinois. Marian Driscoll (Molly), a coal minerâs daughter, was born in Peoria on November 15, 1898. After years of hardship and touring in obscurity on the small-time show biz circuit, they arrived in Chicago in 1924, where they eventually performed on thousands of shows and developed 145 different voices and characters. Broadcast to the nation from WMAQ/Chicago, the show entertained America until March 1956, and continued on NBCâs Monitor until 1959. Jim Jordan died on April 1, 1988. Marian Jordan died on April 7, 1961. Fibber McGee and Molly was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1989. First Broadcast date April 16, 1935. Last Broadcast date September 6, 1959.
THIS EPISODE:
FAMILY THEATER - January 29, 1948. Mutual network. "Verdict: Guilty". Sustaining. A father tells his two sons a story about a young man who was unjustly sent to jail, and how he planned his revenge on the judge who sentenced him. Dan Dailey (host), Alexander Knox, Stanley Clements, Jean Vander Pyl, Noreen Gammill, Tommy Bernard, Roland Morris, Ross Forrester, Lou Krugman, Griff Barnett, Herbert Rawlinson, Charles Maxwell, George Pirrone, Edward Colmans, Jack Price (writer), Max Terr (composer, conductor), David Young (director), Tony La Frano (announcer). 29:40.
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The Clitheroe Kid was James Robertson Clitheroe, Jimmy Clitheroe to most, who by some strange coincidence did come from the town of that name without having to change his family name! At his full height he was 4ft 3in, and played the naughty schoolboy from 1958 to 1972. Although plausable from a distance, he was not really able to pass himself off as a youngster close up, so a TV career did not really take off too well, but at the peak of his fame the radio show was raking in about 10 million listeners, although by the end this had dropped to a tenth of that figure. Clitheroe was a very private person, and the shows became a sort of escape for him, as well as the release from the worries of his diminutive size, but despite this, his popularity increased and increased, making this series one of the longer running on the radio. The producer was Geoff Lawrence, with the music supplied by the BBC Northern Dance Orchestra, conducted by Alyn Ainsworth, and broadcast in the North of England only.
In 1964, South Africa began The Creaking Door, using original scripts which included stories with a heavy emphasis on the supernatural. The topics ranged from haunted houses to a woman who turns into a giant cat, and of course, the typical paranoid murderer so often presented on the original Inner Sanctum. The host for this series was Peter Bloomfield. There are at present anywhere from 34-37 extant episodes in MP3 circulation, yet no currently available program logs for the series indicate the year of the series' broadcast (though it was likely sometime in the 1950s, given the generally high audio quality of the available shows), or the total number of episodes, and only a handful of them are known by their broadcast order. The stories are thrillers in the Inner Sanctum vein, and generally thought of favorably by most fans of OTR.
Let George Do It was a radio drama series produced by Owen and Pauline Vinson from 1946 to 1954. It starred Bob Bailey as detective-for-hire George Valentine (with Olan Soule stepping into the role in 1954). Clients came to Valentine's office after reading a newspaper carrying his classified ad: "Personal notice: Danger's my stock in trade. If the job's too tough for you to handle, you've got a job for me. George Valentine." Valentine's secretary was Claire Brooks, aka Brooksie (Frances Robinson, Virginia Gregg, Lillian Buyeff). As Valentine made his rounds in search of the bad guys, he usually encounted Brooksie's kid brother, Sonny (Eddie Firestone), Lieutenant Riley (Wally Maher) and elevator man Caleb (Joseph Kearns). Sponsored by Standard Oil, the program was broadcast on the West Coast Mutual Broadcasting System from October 18, 1946 to September 27, 1954, first on Friday evenings and then on Mondays. In its last season, transcriptions were aired in New York, Wednesdays at 9:30pm, from January 20, 1954 to January 12, 1955. John Hiestand was the program's announcer. Don Clark directed the scripts by David Victor and Jackson Gillis. The background music was supplied by Eddie Dunstedter on the organ.
THIS EPISODE:
August 23, 1948. Mutual-Don Lee network. "The Corpse That Took A Powder". Sponsored by: Standard Oil, Chevron. George Valentine gets a letter from Marsha Palmer, telling him that she's going to commit suicide. Later, at her apartment, the scrub woman disappears, and so does Marsha's dead body! Bob Bailey, Bud Hiestand (announcer), David Victor (writer), Don Clark (director), Eddie Dunstedter (music), Frances Robinson, Gwen Delano, Harry Lang, Herbert Little Jr. (writer), Jacqueline DeWitt, Ralph Moody, Tony Barrett, Wally Maher. 29:44.
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT) was an ambitious and sustained attempt to revive the great drama of old-time radio in the 1970s. Created by Himan Brown (who had by then become a radio legend due to his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries and other shows dating back to the 1930s), and aired on affiliate stations across the CBS Radio network, the series began its long run on January 6, 1974. The final episode ran on December 31, 1982.The show was broadcast nightly and ran for one hour, including commercials. Typically, a week consisted of three to four new episodes, with the remainder of the week filled out with reruns. There were a total of 1399 original episodes broadcast. The total number of broadcasts, including reruns, was 2969. The late E.G. Marshall hosted the program every year but the final one, when actress Tammy Grimes took over. Each episode began with the ominous sound of a creaking door, slowly opening to invite listeners in for the evening's adventure. At the end of each show, the door would swing shut, with Marshall signing off, "Until next time, pleasant...dreams?"
THIS EPISODE:
February 15, 1977. Program #600. CBS net. "The Star Killers". Sponsored by: Buick, Ex Lax, Ballantine Books. E. G. Marshall (host), Sam Dann (writer), Mercedes McCambridge, Norman Rose, Court Benson, Judith Light. 52 minutes.
Lux Radio Theater, one of the genuine classic radio anthology series (NBC Blue Network (1934-1935); CBS (1935-1954); NBC (1954-1955)) adapted first Broadway stage works, and then (especially) films to hour-long live radio presentations. It quickly became the most popular dramatic anthology series on radio, running more than twenty years. The program always began with an announcer proclaiming, "Ladies and gentlemen, Lux presents Hollywood!" Cecil B. DeMille was the host of the series each Monday evening from June 1, 1936, until January 22, 1945. On one occasion, however, he was replaced by Leslie Howard.
THIS EPISODE:
January 18, 1937. CBS network. "Criminal Code". Sponsored by: Lux. A nice kid with all the breaks going against him gets ten years in the Big House, and finds love! Edward G. Robinson, Beverly Roberts, Cecil B. DeMille, Frank Nelson (performer, program opening announcer), Lou Merrill (doubles), Earle Ross, Louis Silvers (music director), Melville Ruick (announcer), Noel Madison, Paul Guilfoyle, Martin Flavin (author), Gladys Lloyd (intermission guest: wife of Edward G. Robinson), James B. Holohan (intermission quest: former warden of San Quentin), Walter Kingsford, William Williams (triples), Richard Abbott (triples), Ernie Adams (doubles), Justina Wayne (doubles), Joe Franz (doubles), Hilda Haywood (doubles), Margaret Brayton (doubles, commercial spokesman), Ross Forrester (triples), David Kerman (triples), Charles Emerson (commercial spokesman), Frank Woodruff (director), George Wells (adaptor), Charlie Forsyth (sound effects). 59:17
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who first appeared in publication in 1887. He is the creation of Scottish born author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A brilliant London-based detective, Holmes is famous for his intellectual prowess, and is renowned for his skillful use of deductive reasoning (somewhat mistakenly - see inductive reasoning) and astute observation to solve difficult cases. He is arguably the most famous fictional detective ever created, and is one of the best known and most universally recognisable literary characters in any genre. Conan Doyle wrote four novels and fifty-six short stories that featured Holmes. All but four stories were narrated by Holmes' friend and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson, two having been narrated by Holmes himself, and two others written in the third person. The first two stories, short novels, appeared in Beeton's Christmas Annual for 1887 and Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1890. The character grew tremendously in popularity with the beginning of the first series of short stories in The Strand Magazine in 1891; further series of short stories and two serialized novels appeared almost right up to Conan Doyle's death in 1930. The stories cover a period from around 1878 up to 1903, with a final case in 1914.
"Double Cross In Space" (Part 2 of 2 Aired 4-03-52)
Tom Corbett is the main character in a series of Tom Corbett â Space Cadet stories that were depicted in television, radio, books, comic books, comic strips, coloring books, punch-out books and View-Master reels in the 1950s. The stories followed the adventures of Tom Corbett, Astro, and Roger Manning, cadets at the Space Academy as they train to become members of the elite Solar Guard. The action takes place at the Academy in classrooms and bunkroom, aboard their training ship the rocket cruiser Polaris, and on alien worlds, both within our solar system and in orbit around nearby stars. The Tom Corbett universe partook of pseudo-science, not equal to the standards of accuracy set by John W. Campbell in the pages of Astounding. And yet, by the standards of the day, it was much more accurate than most media science fiction. Mars was a desert, Venus a jungle, and the asteroids a haunt of space pirates, but at least planets circled suns and there was no air in space. Contrast this with Twilight Zone, years later, where people could live on asteroids wearing ordinary clothes, or Lost in Space, years after that, where a spaceship could be passing "Jupiter and Andromeda" at the same time. Before Star Trek, Tom Corbett â Space Cadet was the most scientifically accurate series on television, in part due to official science advisor Willy Ley, and later due to Frankie Thomas. Thomas read up on science and everyone on the set turned to him for advice on matters scientific.
"Double Cross In Space" (Part 1 of 2 Aired 4-01-52)
Tom Corbett is the main character in a series of Tom Corbett â Space Cadet stories that were depicted in television, radio, books, comic books, comic strips, coloring books, punch-out books and View-Master reels in the 1950s. The stories followed the adventures of Tom Corbett, Astro, and Roger Manning, cadets at the Space Academy as they train to become members of the elite Solar Guard. The action takes place at the Academy in classrooms and bunkroom, aboard their training ship the rocket cruiser Polaris, and on alien worlds, both within our solar system and in orbit around nearby stars. The Tom Corbett universe partook of pseudo-science, not equal to the standards of accuracy set by John W. Campbell in the pages of Astounding. And yet, by the standards of the day, it was much more accurate than most media science fiction. Mars was a desert, Venus a jungle, and the asteroids a haunt of space pirates, but at least planets circled suns and there was no air in space. Contrast this with Twilight Zone, years later, where people could live on asteroids wearing ordinary clothes, or Lost in Space, years after that, where a spaceship could be passing "Jupiter and Andromeda" at the same time. Before Star Trek, Tom Corbett â Space Cadet was the most scientifically accurate series on television, in part due to official science advisor Willy Ley, and later due to Frankie Thomas. Thomas read up on science and everyone on the set turned to him for advice on matters scientific.
Burns and Allen are one of the most beloved couple in old time radio. They got started, like many of the greats of old time radio, in vaudeville, which is really just the touring popular entertainment in America prior to movies. Gracie was the sparkplug of the act, always the center of attention. George played the foil, the guy vainly trying to make sense of the ditzy world of Gracie. By the early 30s, Gracie was probably the best known woman on radio. Gracie often sang in a voice that showed she was also an excellent comedienne songstress.
THIS EPISODE:
The Hinds Honey and Almond Cream Program. May 8, 1940. CBS network. Sponsored by: Hinds Honey and Almond Cream. Gracie leaves for the train station, departing for Omaha. George is expected to take care of Gracie's Aunt Clara while she's gone. Gracie sings, "April Played The Fiddle." Not auditioned. George Burns, Gracie Allen, Frank Parker, Ray Noble and His Orchestra, Truman Bradley (announcer). 29:30.
The Mysterious Traveler
Written and directed by Robert A. Arthur and David Kogan, the series began on the Mutual Broadcasting System, December 5, 1943, continuing in many different timeslots until September 16, 1952. Unlike many other shows of the era, The Mysterious Traveler was without a sponsor for its entire run. The lonely sound of a distant locomotive heralded the arrival of the malevolent narrator, portrayed by Maurice Tarplin, who introduced himself each week in the following manner. This is the Mysterious Traveler, inviting you to join me on another journey into the strange and terrifying. I hope you will enjoy the trip, that it will thrill you a little and chill you a little. So settle back, get a good grip on your nerves and be comfortable -- if you can!
THIS EPISODE:
March 10, 1945. Mutual network. "The Case Of Charles Foster". Sustaining. Prussic acid for the cocker spaniel? Definitely justifiable homicide! David Kogan (writer), Henry Sylvern (music), Jock MacGregor (director), Nancy Sheridan, Joan Shea, Humphrey Davis, Robert A. Arthur (writer). 29:48.
The Damon Runyon Theater dramatized 52 of Runyon's short stories for radio. Damon Runyon (October 4, 1884 â December 10, 1946) was a newspaperman and writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. He spun tales of gamblers, petty thieves, actors and gangsters; few of whom go by "square" names, preferring instead to be known as "Nathan Detroit", "Big Jule", "Harry the Horse", "Good Time Charlie", "Dave the Dude", and so on. These stories were written in a very distinctive vernacular style: a mixture of formal speech and colorful slang, almost always in present tense, and always devoid of contractions.
CANDY MATSON was the private eye star of Candy Matson, YUkon 2-8208, an NBC West Coast show which first aired in March 1949 and was created by Monty Masters. He cast his wife, Natalie Parks, in the title role of this sassy, sexy PI. Her understated love interest, Lt. Ray Mallard, was played by Henry Leff while her assistant and best pal, aptly named Rembrandt Watson, was the voice of Jack Thomas. Every show opened with a ringing telephone and our lady PI answering it with "Candy Matson, YU 2-8209" and then the organ swung into the theme song, "Candy". Each job took Candy from her apartment on Telegraph Hill into some actual location in San Francisco. The writers, overseen by Monty, worked plenty of real Bay Area locations into every plot.
Box 13 was a syndicated radio series about the escapades of mystery novelist Dan Holiday (Alan Ladd), a former newsman. Created by Mayfair Productions, the series premiered August 22, 1948, on New York's WOR and aired in syndication on the East Coast from August 22, 1948, to August 14. 1949. On the West Coast, Box 13 was heard from March 15, 1948 to March 7, 1949. To seek out new ideas for his fiction, Holiday ran a classified ad in the Star-Times newspaper. "Adventure wanted, will go anywhere, do anything -- Box 13." The stories followed Holiday's adventures when he responded to the letters sent to him by such people as a psycho killer and various victims.
Dangerous Assignment â 1950-1954
This thirty-minute international spy adventure featured Steve Mitchell (Brian Donlevy), and investigator of crimes in exotic locations. 60 episodes. Herb Butterfield played the Commissioner and Betty Moran was the Commissioner's secretary. Other cast members were GeGe Pearson, Ken Peters, Betty Lou Gerson, Dan OâHerlihy. The director was Bill Cairn and the writer for the series was Robert Ryf. The opening was the same every week âYeah, danger is my assignment. I get sent to a lot of places I canât even pronounce. They all spell the same thing though, trouble.â He would be summoned to his bossâs office where he would be given his assignment; he would then fly halfway across the globe to save the day! SPONSORS: Ford Motors, General Mills.
The Aldrich Family, a popular radio teenage situation comedy (1939-1953), is remembered first and foremost for its unforgettable introduction: awkward teen Henry's mother calling, "Hen-reeeeeeeeeeeee! Hen-ree Al-drich!" A top-ten ratings hit within two years of its birth (in 1941, the showm carried a 33.4 Crossley rating, landing it solidly alongside Jack Benny and Bob Hope), the show is considered a prototype for teen-oriented situation comedies to follow on radio and television and is a favourite if dated find for old-time radio collectors today. The Aldrich Family as a separate radio show was born as a summer replacement for Jack Benny in NBC's Sunday night lineup, July 2, 1939, and it stayed there until October 1, 1939, when it moved to Tuesday nights at 8 p.m., sponsored by General Foods's popular gelatin dessert Jell-O---which also sponsored Jack Benny at the time. The Aldriches ran in that slot from October 10, 1939 until May 28, 1940, moving to Thursdays, from July 4, 1940 until July 20, 1944. After a brief hiatus, the show moved to CBS, running on Fridays from September 1, 1944 until August 30, 1946 with sponsors Grape Nuts and Jell-O,.before moving back to NBC from September 05, 1946 to June 28, 1951 on Thursdays and, then, its final run of September 21, 1952 to April 19, 1953 on Sundays.
Cloak and Dagger
"Are you willing to undertake a dangerous mission for the United States, knowing in advance you may never return alive?" Cloak and Dagger first aired over the NBC network on May 7, 1950. It had a short run through the Summer on Sundays, changing to Fridays after its Summer run. The last show aired Oct. 22, 1950. This is the story of the WWII special governmental agency, the OSS, or Office of Strategic Services. Its mission was to develop and maintain spy networks throughout Europe and into Asia, while giving aid to underground partisan groups and developing espionage activities for Allied forces overseas.The show is based on the book of the same name by Lt. Col. Corey Ford and Major Alastair MacBain (who were associated with the OSS from its early days.) The dramas are not Hollywood-style, in that they sometimes end with plans foiled or leading characters dead.
THE HALLMARK PLAYHOUSE was heard over CBS stations Thursday evenings. This drama anthology of 30-minute shows was sponsored by, of course, Hallmark Greeting Cards. It was preceded by the RADIO READER'S DIGEST, which ran from September 13, 1942 thorugh June 3, 1948. Hallmark sponsored the RADIO READER'S DIGEST from January 13, 1946 to it's end. On Feb. 8, 1953, the series name and format was changed. It was now called THE HALLMARK HALL OF FAME and presented biographal sketches of famous persons, past and present. The new format was used until the end of the 1955 season. The exception to the new format was the broadcast each Christmas season of "A Christmas Carol". Like other dramatic series of this time, this one made use of major screen actors in the productions. James Hilton, author of "Random Harvest", "Lost Horizon" and "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" plus others, served as host and Narrator. Dee Engelbach produced and directed the shows. Jean Holloway was the writer. Sound Effects were by Harry Essman and Gene Twombly. Musical conductor was Lyn Murray. The show's theme was "Dream of Olwne" by Charles Williams.
THIS EPISODE:
September 29, 1949. CBS network, KMBC, Kansas City Missouri aircheck. "August Heat". Sponsored by: Hallmark Cards. An eerie story about an artist caught in a New York heatwave, and a tombstone with his name cut into it. The script was also used on "Suspense" on May 3, 1945, and on "Sleep No More" on November 28, 1956. James Hilton (host), Frank Goss (announcer), Fred MacMurray, Ed Begley, W. F. Harvey (writer). 29:32.
Episode13 "Magazine_Murder" and Episode14 "Movie Murder" (1946)
1945-1946 15 Minutes transcribed syndication (ZIV network), with crime stories complete in each episode. CAST: Larry Haines as Drew Stevens. New York players were in support. The shows were well written and, for the time period, quite well performed.
Space Patrol - Space Adventure - Broadcast History : September 18th, 1950 - March 19th, 1955 ABC. 30m, Mondays and Fridays at 5:30pm - Cast : Ed Kemmer as Buzz Corry, Lyn Osborn as Cadet Happy Virginia Hewitt as Carol Karlyle Ken Mayer as Maj. Robbie Robertson, Norman Jolley as Dr. Malingro, Nina Bara as Tonga, Bela Kovacs as Prince Baccarritti - Announcers : DIck Tufeld, Dick Wesson - Producer/Directors : Larry Robertson, Mike Moser - Writer : Lou Huston - Notes : Ran concurrently on TV and Radio, with most of the same performers.
The Scarlet Pimpernel is a classic play and adventure novel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, set during the French Revolution. It was first produced as a record-breaking play in an adaptation by Julia Neilson and Fred Terry. The play first opened on 15 October 1903 at Nottinghamâs Theatre Royal; it was not a success. But Terry had confidence in the play and, with a re-written last act, he took it to London where at the New Theatre on 5 January 1905 it began a run of 122 performances and numerous revivals. The novel became a runaway bestseller and Fred Terry had a hit, playing the Pimpernel for the rest of his life, on and off. On radio, transcribed in London in 1952 for the Towers of London. Sold to NBC as a summer replacement for The Cavalcade of America July 1- Aug 19, 1952 30m, Tuesdays at 8:00pm. - September 21st, 1952 - September 20th, 1953 30m, Sundays at 6:00pm. The action takes place during the French Revolution, when a secret society of English aristocrats, called the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, is engaged in rescuing their French counterparts from the guillotine. Their leader, the Scarlet Pimpernel, takes his nickname from the small red flower with which he signs his messages. No one except his small band of 19 followers, and possibly the Prince of Wales, knows his true identity. Stars Marius Goring as Sir Percy Blakeney.
Murder At Midnight â 1946-1947
The Murder at Midnight series was a thirty-minute broadcast featuring tales of the supernatural. The actors included Mercedes McCambridge and Lawson Zerbe and the show was narrated using the spooky, creepy voice of Raymond Morgan and always opened using the same gripping signature; âthe witching hour, when night is darkest, our fears are the strongest, our strength at its lowest ebbâ Midnight! â when graves gape open and death strikes!â
The first portrayal of Phillip Marlowe on the radio was by Dick Powell, when he played Raymond Chandler's detective on the Lux Radio Theater on June 11, 1945. This was a radio adaptation of the 1944 movie, from RKO, in which Mr. Powell played the lead. Two years later, Van Heflin starred as Marlowe in a summer replacement series for the Bob Hope Show on NBC. This series ran for 13 shows. On September 26, 1948, Gerald Mohr became the third radio Marlowe, this time on CBS. It remained a CBS show through its last show in 1951.
The Fat Man premiered on ABC on Monday, January 21, 1946, at 8:30pm, as part of a block of four new programs which also included "I Deal in Crime," "Forever Tops," and "Jimmy Gleason's Diner." "The Fat Man" originated in the studios of WJZ in New York and began as a modestly priced sustainer [no sponsor but the station] vaguely based upon character ideas in Dashiell Hammett's writings and fleshed out by producer, E.J. ("Mannie") Rosenberg. The announcer was Charles Irving. The directors for the program were Clark Andrews, creator of "Big Town," and Charles Powers. The main writer for the series was Richard Ellington, but it was also scripted by Robert Sloane, Lawrence Klee and others. The veteran character actor Ed Begley was featured as Sgt. O'Hara. Regulars on the program included Petty Garde, Paul Stewart, Linda Watkins, Mary Patton as Lila North, and Vicki Vola, also the female lead in "Mr. District Attorney." Amzie Strickland played the ingenue, Cathy Evans, and Nell Harrison played Runyon's mother during the early episodes. The cast also included Dan Ocko, Roily Bester (wife of Alfred Pester, the science fiction writer), and Robert Dryden. An eleven-piece orchestra was on hand to provide live music, and was directed by Bernard Green, who also wrote that memorably stirring theme. The sound effects were by Ed Blaney, who actually did drop a coin in a change slot each week for the sound of the drug store scale."
THE WEIRD CIRCLE was a syndicated series that was heard on Mutual
stations November, 1943 through October, 1947 and very briefly in
September/October of 1947 on ABC. The show presented 30 minute tales of horror, frequently inspired by classic horror or ghost stories, frequently done by French authors. It opened with the sound of the surf and the chant-like opening, "In this cave by the restless sea, we are met to call from out of past, stories strange and weird. Bell keeper, toll the bell, so that all may know that we are gathered again in the Weird Circle".
THIS EPISODE:
Program #37. NBC syndication. "The Werewolf". Commercials added locally. A simple woodland hunter marries a lady with sharp teeth. The date is approximate. Frederick Marryatt (author). 25:30.
Frank Merriwell, the much-loved fictional hero of Street and Smith's Tip Top Weekly, was first introduced to readers on April 18, 1896. Merriwell was the creation of writer Burt L. Standish (real name: Gilbert Patten), and embodied a new type of dime novel hero, one who relied as much upon mental as physical prowess. The Yale-educated Merriwell possessed "a body like Tarzan's and a head like Einstein's," wrote one admiring writer, and thus represented "the perfect union of brain and brawn." First broadcast over NBC from 03/26/34 to 06/22/34 and again, on NBC, from 10/05/46 until 06/04/49. A 1946 Movie was also made.
INSPECTOR THORNE - Was another radio detective from the pen of Frank and Ann Hummert. The series was short-lived and also had two stars portraying the lead. The first was Karl Weber and the second was Staats Cotsworth.
By the 1940's, Frank and Ann Hummert controlled four and a half hours of national weekday broadcast schedules. Their features reportedly spawned more that 5 million pieces of correspondence annually from steadfast fans. Simultaneously they brought in more than half of the national radio chain's advertising revenues generated during the daylight hours. The couple broadcast 18 quarter-hour serials five times weekly, a total of 90 original episodes for 52 weeks per year, with none of those ever repeated. Some shows were "Amanda of Honeymoon Hill", "Backstage Wife","Chaplin Jim USA", "David Harum", "Easy Aces", "Front Page Farrell", "John's Other Wife", "Just Plain Bill", "The Life of Mary Sothern","Lora Lawton", "Lorenzo Jones", "Ma Perkins", "Mrs Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch", "Our Gal Sunday", "The Romance of Helen Trent" and "Young Widder Brown".
The Blue Beetle had a relatively short career on the radio, between May and September of 1940. Motion picture and radio actor Frank Lovejoy was the Blue Beetle for the first 13 episodes, while for the rest of the shows, the voice was provided by a different, uncredited actor. The Blue Beetle was a young police officer who saw the need for extra-ordinary crime fighting. He took the task on himself by secretly donning a superhero costume to create fear in the criminals who were to learn to fear the Blue Beetle's wrath. The 13-minute segments were usually only two-parters, so the stories were often more simple than other popular programs, such as the many-parted Superman radio show
The Life of Riley, with William Bendix in the title role, was a popular radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film and continued as a long-running television series during the 1950s. The show began as a proposed Groucho Marx radio series, The Flotsam Family, but the sponsor balked at what would have been essentially a straight head-of-household role for the comedian. Then producer Irving Brecher saw Bendix as taxicab company owner Tim McGuerin in the movie The McGuerins from Brooklyn (1942). The Flotsam Family was reworked with Bendix cast as blundering Chester A. Riley, riveter at a California aircraft plant, and his frequent exclamation of indignation---"What a revoltin' development this is!"---became one of the most famous catch phrases of the 1940s. The radio series also benefited from the immense popularity of a supporting character, Digby "Digger" O'Dell (John Brown), "the friendly undertaker."
The Hollywod Star Playhouse was a CBS presentation sponsored by Bromo Seltzer and aired on Mondays 8:00PM to 8:30PM. The host/narrator was Herb Rawlinson, the announcer was Norman Brokenshire, director Jack Johnstone and the Orchestra Jeff Alexander. The show was well written and many greats appeared during itâs run. James Stewart, Deborah Kerr, William Conrad, Betty Lou Gerson and Harry Bartell, among others.
The Adventures of Falcon (espionage adventure, starring Charles McGraw) (Syndicated, 1954) This hard boiled spy drama began as an RKO Radio Pictures theatrical serial in the 1940s, went on radio in 1945, and then came to TV ten years later in this Syndicated series produced for distribution by NBC Films; Charles McGraw had been in many motion pictures before and after including "The Killers", "Spartacus" and "Cimarron"; in this series he played the title role of a man whose real name was supposedly Mike Waring, an American agent whose code name was "Falcon"; Later Charles McGraw starred in a short lived TV version of "Casablanca" (1955 - 1956) in the character of Rick; He also had a role on the detective drama "Staccato" (1959) Actor McGraw (whose birth name was Charles Butters) met an unfortunate death in real life when he fell through a shower glass door in 1980 at his home in Studio City, CA.
Jeff Regan, Investigator was one of the three detective shows Jack Webb did before Dragnet (see also Pat Novak For Hire and Johnny Modero: Pier 23). It debuted on CBS in July 1948. Webb played JEFF REGAN, a tough private eye working in a Los Angeles investigation firm run by Anthony J. Lyon. Regan introduced himself on each show "I get ten a day and expenses...they call me the Lyon's Eye." The show was fairly well-plotted, Webb's voice was great, and the supporting cast were skillful. Regan handled rough assignments from Lion, with whom he was not always on good terms. He was tough, tenacious, and had a dry sense of humor. The voice of his boss, Anthony Lion, was Wilms Herbert. The show ended in December 1948 but was resurrected in October 1949 with a new cast; Frank Graham played Regan (later Paul Dubrov was the lead) and Frank Nelson portrayed Lion. This version ran on CBS, sometimes as a West Coast regional, until August 1950. Both versions were 30 minutes, but the day and time slot changed several times. A total of 29 episodes from this series are in trading currency.
Voyage of the Scarlet Queen was a radio adventure on the high seas, airing on Mutual from 3 July 1947 to 14 February 1948. James Burton produced the scripts by Gil Doud and Robert Tallman. Elliott Lewis starred as Philip Carney, master of the ketch Scarlet Queen, with Ed Max as Mr. Gallagher. With a gambit later used by Star Trek, the opening was an entry from the ship's log: "Log entry, the ketch Scarlet Queen, Philip Carney, master. Position -- three degrees, seven minutes north, 104 degrees, two minutes east. Wind, fresh to moderate; sky, fair..." with a similar closing: "Ship secured for the night. Signed, Philip Carney, master." In between he would almost always have an adventure at an exotic port of call that involved saving one of his crew from great trouble with local customs.
Dimension X was first heard on NBC April 8, 1950, and ran until September 29, 1951. Strange that so little good science fiction came out of radio; they seem ideally compatible, both relying heavily on imagination. Some fine isolated science fiction stories were developed on the great anthology shows, Suspense and Escape. But until the premiere of Dimension X -- a full two decades after network radio was established -- there were no major science fiction series of broad appeal to adults. This show dramatized the work of such young writers as Ray Bradbury, Robert (Psycho) Bloch, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and Kurt Vonnegut. In-house script writer was Ernest Kinoy, who adapted the master works and contributed occasional storied of his own. Dimension X was a very effective demonstration of what could be done with science fiction on the air. It came so late that nobody cared, but some of the stories stand as classics of the medium.
Text From the Old Time Radio Researcher's Group
The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Gale Gordon in the title role, took over where Sherlock Holmes had left off. Sponsored by Petri wine, it used the same "weekly visit" format and the same team of Anthony Boucher and Dennis Green that had written The New Adventured of Sherlock Holmes. Gregory Hood was modelled after true-life San Francisco importer Richard Gump, and many of the stories revolve around a mystery surrounding some particular imported treasure. Hood's sidekick Sanderson "Sandy" Taylor was played by Bill Johnstone. The show aired from June, 1946 through August, 1950. There were an additional couple of shows aired in October 1951. Hood and Sanderson were played in later episodes by Elliott Lewis and Howard McNear, respectively.
21ST PRECINCT was one of the realistic police drama series of the early- to mid-1950's that were aired in the wake of DRAGNET. Hard-boiled private detective series that often portrayed police as inept or incompetent were losing favor. NBC's DRAGNET had proven that a realistic police show could attract and hold an audience.
NOTE: The official title of the series according to the series scripts and the CBS series promotional materials was 21ST PRECINCT and not Twenty First Precinct or Twenty First Precinct which appears in many Old-Time Radio books.
Richard Diamond, Private Detective was a radio show starring Dick Powell which aired from 1949 to 1953, first on NBC, then ABC and finally on CBS. The title character was a rather light-hearted detective who often ended the episodes singing to his girlfriend, Helen. The television series was produced by Powell's company, Four Star Television, and that series ran for 3 years from 1957 to 1960. On TV, David Janssen played the hard boiled private eye and his secretary renamed âSamâ, was only ever shown on camera from the waist down, most assurardidly to display her beautiful legs. It was later leared that the legs belonged to Mary Tyler Moore. Original music by Frank DeVol and pete rugolo and later by richard shores. Good scripts, a solid cast and Powellâs exceptional talent made a good time 30 minute program that was quite popular during that Golden Age of Radio. So Letâs sit back now, relax and enjoy this truly otr radio classic.,â, Dick powell as Richard Diamond.., Private Detective.
The Man Called X was an espionage radio drama which aired on CBS and NBC from July 10, 1944 to May 20, 1952. Sponsored by Frigidaire and later General Motors, this spy series starred Herbert Marshall as Ken Thurston, Intelligence Agent. Marshall, British by birth, starred in films with many of the greatest, especially Detreich in Blonde Venus, Bette Davis in The Virgin Queen, Vincent Price in The Fly, and a great cast in The Razor's Edge, where he portrayed W. Somerset Maugham.The Gordon Jenkins Orchestra supplied the exotic background music.
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The Screen Guild Theater was a popular radio anthology series during the Golden Age of Radio that was heard from 1939 until 1952 with adaptations from films in programs starring top Hollywood actors of the time. The show had a long run, lasting for 14 seasons and 527 episodes. It ran on CBS from January 8, 1939 until June 28, 1948, continuing on NBC from October 7, 1948 until June 29, 1950. It was broadcast on ABC from September 7, 1950 to May 31, 1951 and returned to CBS on March 13, 1952. It aired under several different titles: The Gulf Screen Guild Show, The Screen Guild Players, The Gulf Screen Guild Theater, The Lady Esther Screen Guild Theater and The Camel Screen Guild Theater.
THIS EPISODE:
Roy 'Mad Dog' Earle is broken out of prison by an old associate who wants him to help with an upcoming robbery. When the robbery goes wrong and a man is shot and killed Earle is forced to go on the run, and with the police and an angry press hot on his tail he eventually takes refuge among the peaks of the Sierra Nevadas, where a tense siege ensues. But will the Police make him regret the attachments he formed with two women during the brief planning of the robbery. Written by Mark Thompson {mrt@oasis.icl.co.uk}
Mr. and Mrs. North was a radio mystery series that aired on CBS from 1942 to 1954. Alice Frost and Joseph Curtin had the title roles when the series began in 1942. Publisher Jerry North and his wife Pam lived in Greenwich Village at 24 St. Anne's Flat. They were not professional detectives but simply an ordinary couple who stumbled across a murder or two every week for 12 years. The radio program eventually reached nearly 20 million listeners.
In September of 1939, a new voice of the Shadow appeared in the form of radio actor Bill Johnstone. Later in 1939, Agnes Moorehead left the show and was replaced by Marjorie Anderson as Margo Lane. The plot lines began to follow the standard formula of Margo Lane being in danger and the Shadow rescuing her from the clutches of evil. Bill Johnstone would be the voice of the Shadow for five seasons, until March 1943. Bret Morrison took over the Shadow role in 1943 for one season. John Archer and Steve Courtleigh took the Shadow role through the 1944-45 season. Bret Morrison then returned to be the Shadow for the duration of the program's run which lasted until December 26, 1954.
Opening in 1875, the Crime Museum at Scotland Yard is the oldest museum in the world purely for recording crime. The name Black Museum was coined in 1877 by a reporter from The Observer, a London newspaper, although the museum is still referred to as the Crime Museum. The idea of a crime museum was conceived by Inspector Neame who had already collected together a number of items, with the intention of giving police officers practical instruction on how to detect and prevent burglary. It is this museum that inspired the Black Musuem radio series. The museum is not open to members of the public but is now used as a lecture theatre for the curator to lecture police and like bodies in subjects such as Forensic Science, Pathology, Law and Investigative Techniques. A number of famous people have visited the musuem including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry Houdini, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Orsen Welles hosted and narrated the shows.
Adventures of Superman â 1938-1951
This juvenile adventure series was first broadcast on Mutual in 1940 with Clayton (Bud) Collyer starring as Superman/Clark Kent. It first began as a fifteen-minute show but later, in 1949, it moved to ABC as a thirty-minute Saturday show with Michael Fitzmaurice as Superman. At the end of its thirteen-year run it had totalled over 1600 episodes. The opening for the show was one of radioâs best, setting the stage for those flights into fantasy with a cascade of voices, narration and sound effects. âFaster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!â âLook! Up in the sky!â âItâs a bird!â âItâs a plane!â âItâs Superman!â
MURDER ON THE HOMEFRONT:
There were three main BBC Radio stations broadcasting in Britain in the 1950s. The most widely listened-to service, the "Light Programme", brought us popular music as well as mainstream light entertainment in the form of variety shows, comedy, and drama. The "Home Service", general entertainment programmes, was the main channel for news, features, and drama. The "Third Programme" meanwhile was unashamedly highbrow in character , its output consisted of classical music concerts and recitals, talks on matters scientific, philosophical, and cultural, together with poetry readings and classic or experimental plays. Each week we will present programs from the best of British Radio Shows from 1940's to the early 1960's.
The theatrical society in U.S.A. is termed as Theatre Guild. Founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner (1890-1962) and others, the group proposed to produce high-quality, noncommercial plays. Its board of directors shared responsibility for choice of plays, management, and production. After the premiere of George Bernard Shawâs Heartbreak House in 1920, the Guild became his U.S. agent and staged 15 of his plays. It also produced successful plays by Eugene OâNeill, Maxwell Anderson, and Robert Sherwood and featured actors such as the Lunts and Helen Hayes. It helped develop the American musical by staging Porgy and Bess (1935), Oklahoma! (1943), and Carousel (1945); later also producing the radio series Theatre Guild on the Air (1945-53) and even presented plays on television.
This program was born from a detective book series and inspired by author Henry Kane who became the director and producer for the radio show. The series only ran five months, 30 minutes each episode, from April 6, 1954 to September 7, 1954. Peter Chambers was played by Dane Clark who also appeared on the Suspense radio shows. Chambers acted the role of a playboy detective with an eye for solving crime and a taste for the women. Bill Zuckert, who went on to guest star in many 1970s shows including The Mary Tyler Moore Show and the Partridge Family, plays Lt. Parker.
The CBS Radio Workshop aired from January 27, 1956 through September 22, 1957 and was a revival of the prestigious Columbia Workshop from the 1930s and 1940s. Creator William Froug launched the series with this powerhouse two-part adaptation of "Brave New World" and booked author Aldous Huxley to narrate his famous novel. "Weâll never get a sponsor anyway," CBS vice president Howard Barnes explained to Time, "so we might as well try anything." The CBS Workshop regularly featured the works of the worldâs greatest writers. including Ray Bradbury, Archibald MacLeish, William Saroyan, Lord Dunsany and Ambrose Bierce.
The Hollywood husband and wife team of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall set sail for adventure in the Bold Venture radio series in early 1951. There were well over 400 stations that aired the program. Since thiswas syndicated * the starting date varied from station to station but Mar 26, 1951 was the official date of the first show. Humphrey Bogart portrayed Slate Shannon, owner of a rundown Havana hotel, Shannon's Place. The action took place on land as well aboard Slate's boat, The Bold Venture, thus the title of the series. Lauren Bacall was his ward Sailor Duval, a stubborn and flirtatious young woman whose late father had willed her to Slate for her protection. Together the duo found adventure, intrigue, mystery and romance in the sultry settings of tropical Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean.
Dark Fantasy was an series dedicated to dealings with the unknown. Originating from radio station WKY, Oklahoma City, it was written by Scott Bishop (of Mysterious Traveler and The Sealed Book fame) and was heard Fridays over stations. Keith Paynton served as announcer. The shows covered horror, science fiction and murder mysteries. Although a short series, the shows are excellent with some stories way ahead of their time.
THE HAUNTING HOUR:
The shows are classic chills from the old school, with creepy organ, overwrought women and over the top men. Perhaps not the highest of melodrama, but obsessively workmanlike. After all, they might have known they were a skeleton staff toiling relentlessly without a ghost of a chance of fame. Thanks to transcription, these unknowns are still with us. John Dunning, succinctly states in "On the Air, The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio," "There were no credits, so casts and production crews are unknown."
THIS EPISODE:
Program #6. NBC syndication, WRVR-FM, New York aircheck. "If The Shoe Fits". Sustaining. Syndicated rebroadcast date: October 25, 1974. . 28:00.
The Red Skelton Show, which premiered on 30 September 1951, was not only one of the longest running variety series on television, but also one of the first variety shows to make the successful transition from radio to television. Despite his popularity as an entertainer in nightclubs, vaudeville, radio and 26 feature films, Skelton was unsure of the new medium. Consequently, he continued his weekly radio broadcasts while simultaneously working on the first two season of his television show. The series originally aired in a half-hour format on NBC. Despite an outstanding first year in which his show was ranked fourth in the Nielsens and won two Emmy awards, the series' ratings toppled in its second season. When NBC canceled the show, it was immediately picked up by CBS, and The Red Skelton Show became a Tuesday night staple from 1954 to 1970.
Suspense was one of the premier programs of the Golden Age of Radio (aka old-time radio), and advertised itself as "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." It was heard in one form or another from 1942 through 1962. There were approximately 945 episodes broadcast during its long run, over 900 of which are extant in mostly high-quality recordings. Suspense went through several major phases, characterized by different hosts, sponsors and director/producers. There were a few rules which were followed for all but a handful of episodes: Protagonists were usually a normal person suddenly dropped into a threatening or bizarre situation. Evildoers must be punished in the end.
Broadway Is My Beat, a radio crime drama, ran on CBS from February 27, 1949 to August 1, 1954. With music by Robert Stringer, the show originated from New York during its first three months on the air, with Anthony Ross portraying Times Square Detective Danny Clover. John Dietz directed for producer Lester Gottlieb. Beginning with the July 7, 1949 episode, the series was broadcast from Hollywood with producer Elliott Lewis directing a new cast in scripts by Morton Fine and David Friedkin. The opening theme of "I'll Take Manhattan" introduced Detective Danny Clover (now played by Larry Thor), a hardened New York City cop who worked homicide "from Times Square to Columbus Circle -- the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world."
THIS EPISODE:
January 21, 1950. CBS network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. John Gail is found dead in a flower shop...with the burglar alarm still ringing. Possibly also dated May 8, 1949. Larry Thor, Morton Fine (writer), David Friedkin (writer), Irene Tedrow, Howard McNear, Jack Kruschen, Edgar Barrier, Herb Vigran, Alexander Courage (composer), Wilbur Hatch (conductor), Elliott Lewis (producer, director), Charles Calvert, Jerry Hausner. 1/2 hour.
DOUBLE FEATURE:
Castaways (11-28-56)
Haunted Corpse (7-25-57)
X MINUS ONE was an NBC science fiction series that was an extension, or revival, of NBC's earlier science fiction series, DIMENSION X. which ran from Apr. 8, 1950 through Sept. 29, 1951. Both are remembered for bringing really first rate science fiction to the air. The first X MINUS ONE shows used scripts from DIMENSION X, but soon created new shows from storied from the pages of Galaxy Magazine. A total of 125 programs were broadcast, some repeats or remakes, until the last show of Jan. 9, 1958. There was a one-program revival attempt in 1973, shown at the end of the log.
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT) was an ambitious and sustained attempt to revive the great drama of old-time radio in the 1970s. Created by Himan Brown (who had by then become a radio legend due to his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries and other shows dating back to the 1930s), and aired on affiliate stations across the CBS Radio network, the series began its long run on January 6, 1974. The final episode ran on December 31, 1982.
THIS EPISODE:
The Meteorite - April 11, 1977. Program #631. CBS network. Sponsored by: G-E CB Radios, Buick, Allied Van Lines, Ballantine Books. E. G. Marshall (host), Roy Winsor (writer), John Beal, Marian Seldes, Joe Silver, Evie Juster, Russell Horton. 52 minutes.
The show first broadcast its fantastic thirty-minute crime mystery series in May 1942 and did not finish until September 1948. There were more than 450 shows of murder and intrigue in all. Although it ran for 6 years it was broadcast for only one year on a national network. The show opened to the sound of footsteps and an eerie whistle, which went on throughout the introductory music. The Whistler always began the show with the opening lines; I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak??
Ronald Colman and his wife Benita Hume starred in the Halls of Ivy, a very well-written, superbly acted radio program that was full of warmth and wit. The show aired from 1950 to 1952 on NBC and is not often mentioned when old-time radio programs are the topic of conversation, but it is one of my favorites. The combination of Mr. & Mrs. Colman's acting and Don Quinn's writing made for an enjoyable half-hour's worth of entertainment. The show was created by Don Quinn who for many, many years put words in the mouths of Fibber McGee and Molly. Quinn wrote jokes that made you think. On the McGee program there was a fast and furious onslaught of crazy puns, mangled cliches, and double-meanings. Sometimes all at once -- when delivered by the superb timing of the talented Jim Jordan as Fibber.
2000 AD (2000 Plus) is known as the first of the network science fiction shows, although it ran on Mutual just a month prior to the introduction of the landmark series, Dimension X. It was a half hour of science fiction wonder in an exciting package. The stories have a charm that is always present in science fiction of the future that is written in the past. "When The Worlds Met" takes place "at the giant space port in Washington, temporary capitol of the federated world government as in April 21, 2000 Plus 20 (2020) crowds throng as audio and televox networks cover a space ship carrying in its space hold the first load of uranium taken from the pits of Luna, satellite of Earth.
Danger With Granger arrived too late in the Golden Age of Radio to have any real impact on the listening public. Mutual aired this show, starting in 1956, on Monday nights at 8:30 pm. It was a half hour show that featured a private eye in New York City, STEVE GRANGER. His two primary companions were Cal Hendrix, a reporter who served as an all-purpose source of criminal info, and Jake Rankin, a police detective with whom he had a grudging rivalry. The writing on the show seemed to incorporate most of the standard cliche's of the P.I. world. Granger, who was both the star and the first-person narrator of the show (not an uncommon practice with radio gumshoes), never saw a woman, instead "he gave the doll the once-over." He didn't kick with his foot, he "lifted a size 10." Instead of paying cash, he "forked over numbered lettuce." The mysteries he solved were fairly reasonable, and while he was a tough guy who roughed up lesser mortals, he seemed to get knocked unconscious at least once in every program. A total of 28 episodes survived and are in trading currency.
Abbott Mysteries was a comedy-mystery radio program adapted from the novels of Frances Crane (1896-1981). Initially a summer replacement for Quick As a Flash, the series was heard on Mutual and NBC between the years 1945 and 1955. The Mutual series, sponsored by Helbros Watches, debuted June 10, 1945, airing Sundays at 6pm. Scripts were by Howard Merrill and Ed Adamson in the lighthearted tradition of Mr. and Mrs. North. Julie Stevens and Charles Webster starred as Jean and Pat Abbott, a San Francisco married couple who solved murder mysteries. In the supporting cast were Jean Ellyn, Sydney Slon and Luis Van Rooten. Moving to 5:30pm in 1946, Les Tremayne and Alice Reinheart took over the roles until the end of the series on August 31, 1947. Seven years later, the characters returned October 3, 1954, on NBC in The Adventures of the Abbotts, broadcast on NBC Sunday evenings at 8:30pm. The Abbotts were portrayed by Claudia Morgan and Les Damon. The NBC series ran until June 12, 1955.
THIS EPISODE:
January 23, 1955. Program #1. NBC network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "The Royal Purple Scooter". Not auditioned. Les Damon, Claudia Morgan, Ann Corio, Mandel Kramer, Frances Crane (creator), David Pfeffer, Howard Merrill (writer), Dewey Bergman (composer, conductor), Bernard L. Schubert (producer), Ted Lloyd (producer), Harry Frazee (director, recordist), Roger Tuttle (announcer). 28:38.
ABC Mystery Time was hosted by Don Dowd and starred Sir Laurence Olivier. Great special effects will grab your attention, accented by creepy organ rips. Stories are offered such as death gathered round a card table at a local chapter of The Suicide Club, or a man who desperately tries to hire a 24 hour bodyguard all the while trying to make himself the victim of a murder, and other baffling peculiar tales of yore. Also known as Mystery Time and Mystery Time Classics, this one is sure to excite and mystify.
Duffy's Tavern, an American radio situation comedy (CBS, 1941-1942; NBC-Blue Network, 1942-1944; NBC, 1944-1952), often featured top-name stage and film guest stars but always hooked those around the misadventures, get-rich-quick-scheming, and romantic missteps of the title establishment's malaprop-prone, metaphor-mixing manager, Archie, played by the writer/actor who created the show, Ed Gardner.
THIS EPISODE:
Duffy's Tavern. December 14, 1951. NBC net origination, Nostalgia Broadcasting Corporation syndication. Commercials added locally. Archie's old teacher from P. S. 4 ("Turkey Neck Tompkins") is visiting the Tavern and joins in a Round Table Discussion! "Fats" plays and sings, "Sweet Lorraine." Ed Gardner, Ed Pinchon, Charlie Cantor. 29:28.
Our Miss Brooks, an American situation comedy, began as a radio hit in 1948 and migrated to television in 1952, becoming one of the earlier hits of the so-called Golden Age of Television, and making a star out of Eve Arden (1908-1990) as comely, wisecracking, but humane high school English teacher Connie Brooks. The show hooked around Connie's daily relationships with Madison High School students, colleagues, and pompous principal Osgood Conklin (Gale Gordon), not to mention favourite student Walter Denton (future television and Rambo co-star Richard Crenna, who fashioned a higher-pitched voice to play the role) and biology teacher Philip Boynton ( Jeff Chandler), the latter Connie's all-but-unrequited love interest, who saw science everywhere and little else anywhere.
All Gas and Gaiters is a British sitcom that aired on BBC1 from 1966 to 1971. It was written by Pauline Devaney and Edwin Apps, a husband-and-wife team. They used the pseudonym John Wraith when writing the pilot. David Climie and Austin Steele co-wrote the 1968 special. All Gas and Gaiters re-ran on radio from 1971 to 1972. All Gas and Gaiters is set in the close of St Oggs Cathedral, and concerns the rivalries amongst the clergymen in it. The Bishop is easygoing; his friend the Archdeacon is elderly, tippling, and still with an eye for an attractive woman; and the Rev. Noote is naÃve and accident prone. Their wish to live a quiet bachelor life is ruined by the overbearing Dean, who tries to bring rule by the book to the Cathedral. The series initially aroused some controversy because of its portrayal of senior churchmen as bungling incompetents, although some churchmen quite enjoyed it, partly because it made them look human. In the opening credits, the Church of Saint Mary in Chesterfield with its twisted spire was shown as the fictional "St. Ogg's".
The radio show first aired on April 26, 1952 and ran until June 18, 1961 on the CBS radio network. The series starred William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon, Howard McNear as Doc Charles Adams, Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell, and Parley Baer as Deputy Chester Proudfoot. Doc's first name and Chester's last name were changed for the television program. Gunsmoke was notable for its critically acclaimed cast and writing, and is commonly regarded as THE true adult western and one of the finest old time radio shows. Some listeners (such as old time radio expert John Dunning) have argued that the radio version of Gunsmoke was far more realistic than the television program. Episodes were aimed at adults, and featured some of the most explicit content of the day: there were violent crimes and scalpings, massacres and opium addicts. Miss Kitty's occupation as a prostitute was made far more obvious on the radio version than on television. Many episodes ended on a down-note, and villains often got away with their crimes.
Dramatic Adventure Anthology
Broadcast 4/27/1952-6/28/1953 30 minutes
The Chase is an exciting Old Time Radio series in which every episode contains, well, a chase. Tales, highly melodramatic and often improbable, of people on the run. The concept of "hunter and hunted" was built into the signatures. with the lone bugle of a fox hunt, the braying of dogs, the sounds of a man running, a gunshot, and the slowing footsteps and eventual fall of the victim. It may be an adventure story, a crime story, or even science fiction, but there will always be a suspense filled chase.
Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons was one of network radio's longest running detectives, although listening to it now would hardly explain why. This kind, elderly, boring sleuth, in company with his bumbling assistant, Mike Clancy, was on the airwaves from 1937 to 1955, logging nearly 20 years of fighting crime. The series came out of the soap opera fiction factory of Frank and Anne Hummert and encompassed most of the trite dialogue and snail plotting of daytime serials. Over the years it changed days, time slots, sponsors, and even networks (although it was usually on CBS) and it was a 30 minute weekly show for nearly all of it run, changing to the daily 15 minute show in 1952. Bennett Kilpack was the voice of Mr. Keen and Jim Kelly played Clancy. Later in the run Keen was played by Arthur Hughes and finally, Phil Clarke.
Speed Gibson of the International Secret Police
TODAY'S SHOW: (4 Episodes)
"The Octopus Gang Active" (1-02-37) " Secret Police" (1-09-37) "Hong Kong" (1-16-37) "A Shooting Attempt" (1-23-37)
The thrilling adventures of Speed Gibson follows the exploits of another flying âaceâ. This popular character held the listeners attention with his tracking down of international crime operatives. Speed and his pals are on the trail of a super-gang and its dreaded leader "The Octopus." The enemy of society had his tentacles in crime everywhere, and without the International Secret Police, the world would be his oyster. The fifteen-minute episode is action-packed! Strangely, the boy who played Speed is not known, says the authoritative "On the Air, The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio," Speed's pal is Barney Dunlap, acted by John Gibson. Barney's OK, but no match for the cunning of the Octopus and his gang.
Pat Novak, For Hire â 1949-1950
Pat Novak, played by Jack Webb, was a private detective working out of Pier 19, a waterfront office in San Francisco. The stories were always very similar: Someone would hire him, (if not a beautiful woman, the job would lead to a beautiful woman) someone would get murdered, he would investigate the case, get beaten up by the thugs, and then the case would be solved and end with glorious violence. The closing was always the same; the listener would be told who had done what, to whom and why they had done it.
Barry Craig (AKA Barry Crane" and then "Barrie Craig)
Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator is one of the few detective radio series that had separate versions of it broadcast from both coasts. Even the spelling changed over the years. It was first "Barry Crane" and then "Barrie Craig". NBC produced it in New York from 1951 to 1954 and then moved it to Hollywood where it aired from 1954 to 1955. It attracted only occasional sponsors so it was usually a sustainer. William Gargan, who also played the better known television (and radio) detective Martin Kane, was the voice of New York eye BARRY CRAIG while Ralph Bell portrayed his associate, Lt. Travis Rogers. Craig's office was on Madison Avenue and his adventures were fairly standard PI fare. He worked alone, solved cases efficiently, and feared no man. As the promos went, he was "your man when you can't go to the cops. Confidentiality a speciality." Like Sam Spade, Craig narrated his stories, in addition to being the leading character in this 30 minute show. Nearly sixty episodes are in trading circulation today.
Abbott & Costello were one of the greatest comedy teams in the history of show business. They mastered the straightman/clown relationship, creating a magical chemistry that would take them from the burlesque stage to radio, to broadway, to film...and finally, to television.
THIS EPISODE
February 10, 1944. NBC network, KFI, Los Angeles aircheck. Sponsored by: Camels, Prince Albert Pipe Tobacco. The opening routine is about St. Valentine's Day and abbreviations. Guest Charles Laughton joins the cast in, "The Adventures Of Robinson Crusoe." Ted R. Gamble (of the Treasury Department), speaks from Washington, D. C. about the Fourth War Loan. Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Freddie Rich and His Orchestra, Connie Haines, Ken Niles, Elvia Allman, Charles Laughton, Mel Blanc, Ted R. Gamble. 29:38.
Charles Laughton His extravagant, bravura style of acting, which made his portrayals of Nero, Henry VIII and Captain Bligh so memorable, was perfectly suited for Charles Laughton's two famous horror roles--that of the evil, whip-cracking Dr. Moreau in Island of Lost Souls (Erle C. Kenton, 1932) and the pathetic Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (William Dieterle, 1939).
Bulldog Drummond has come to wreak havoc on unsuspecting killers, counterfeiters, and underworld characters. The opening of the show starts with a the sounds of footsteps, foghorn, then two shots ring out, followed by three blows of a police officer's whistle. Bulldog, who's really name is Hugh (played by George Coulouris), was a methodical crime-solving sleuth who let nothing get in his way of his goal, which was to put a stop to crime! Bulldog believed in uncomplicated and decisive means of getting his way with the lords of the underworld. This usually led to their swift capture, and the easing of the city's burden brought about by these ruthless thugs.
THIS EPISODE:
September 10, 1945. Mutual network. "Murder In The Death House". Sustaining. A convicted killer is knifed to death in his cell, while awaiting execution. The only two suspects have airtight alibis. . 29:07.
For the 1970âs late-night horror show, The Price of Fear, the BBC dramatized the most chilling stories they could find, drawing on talented new writers as well as the established master of terror who narrated tale, re-written as though Price actually experienced each chilling adventure himself. The show was enormously successful in the UK and abroad, and a number of series were made during 1973, 1975 and 1982.
Bob Bailey played George Valentine as a detective handy man, who got his jobs from responses to a newspaper ad. Part-time detective and writer Dan Holiday in Box 13 also used the premise. It pays to advertise! The shows follow the usual formats of crime caper shows, with toughs, mysterious rendezvous and people who aren't who they say they are. Francis Robinson first played Brooksie, then Virginia Gregg took the role through its best years. Both ladies played Brooksie smart and sassy. Brooksie took every occasion to make it clear to George that the case he was the most off base on was the "Case of the Missing Engagement Ring." In the late '40's, an organist was used for the scene transitions, and sound effects were fairly minimal, as the show was loaded with snappy patter. In the 1950's, the music turns orchestral, and the production values are a little more thorough.
The CBS Radio Workshop aired from January 27, 1956 through September 22, 1957 and was a revival of the prestigious Columbia Workshop from the 1930s and 1940s. Creator William Froug launched the series with this powerhouse two-part adaptation of "Brave New World" and booked author Aldous Huxley to narrate his famous novel. "Weâll never get a sponsor anyway," CBS vice president Howard Barnes explained to Time, "so we might as well try anything." The CBS Workshop regularly featured the works of the worldâs greatest writers. including Ray Bradbury, Archibald MacLeish, William Saroyan, Lord Dunsany and Ambrose Bierce.
Starting as a replacement show for Gangbusters and Counterspy, the series premiered December 11, 1957 and it ran until June 13, 1958. Quoting from Astounding Magazine, "Exploring Tomorrow is the first science fiction radio show of science-fictioneers, by science- fictioneers, and for science-fictioneers" The shows were narrated by the editor of Astounding Magazine, John W. Campbell, Jr., with scripts written by Gordon Dickson, Robert Silverberg and many other notable science fiction writers.
THIS EPISODE:
The Convict - Poul Anderson (author), John Campbell Jr. (host), Guy Wallace (announcer). 20 minutes.
Taking its name from a popular series of mystery novels, Inner Sanctum Mysteries debuted over NBCâs Blue Network in January 1941. Inner Sanctum Mysteries featured one of the most memorable and atmospheric openings in radio history: an organist hit a dissonant chord, a doorknob turned and the famous âcreaking doorâ slowly began to open. Every week, Inner Sanctum Mysteries told stories of ghosts, murderers and lunatics. Produced in New York, the cast usually consisted of veteran radio actors, with occasional guest appearances by such Hollywood stars Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Claude Rains.What made Inner Sanctum Mysteries unique among radio horror shows was its host, a slightly-sinister sounding man originally known as âRaymond.â The host had a droll sense of humor and an appetite for ghoulish puns, and his influence can be seen among horror hosts everywhere, from the Crypt-Keeper to Elvira. Raymond Edward Johnson was the showâs host until 1945; Paul McGrath took over the role until the show left the air in 1952. Producer Hiram Brown would utilize the creaking door again in the 1970s, when he produced and directed The CBS Radio Mystery Theater.
Inner Sanctum Mysteries was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1988.
Arch Oboler's shows are well represented -- this series of Lights Out was syndicated in The Devil and Mr. O offerings of 1970 - 73. A transcribed syndication of original broadcasts from 1942 - 43 with Arch Oboler as the host. With its premiere on the nationwide NBC hookup in 1935, Lights Out was billed "the ultimate in horror." Never had such sounds been heard on the air. Heads rolled, bones were crushed, people fell from great heights and splattered wetly on pavement. There were garrotings, choking, heads split by cleavers, and, to a critic at Radio Guide, "the most monstrous of all sounds, human flesh being eaten." Few shows had ever combined the talents of actors and imaginative writers so well with the graphic art of the sound technician.
Suspense was one of the premier programs of the Golden Age of Radio (aka old-time radio), and advertised itself as "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." It was heard in one form or another from 1942 through 1962. There were approximately 945 episodes broadcast during its long run, over 900 of which are extant in mostly high-quality recordings. Suspense went through several major phases, characterized by different hosts, sponsors and director/producers. There were a few rules which were followed for all but a handful of episodes: Protagonists were usually a normal person suddenly dropped into a threatening or bizarre situation. Evildoers must be punished in the end.
THE TODD MATTER ( Originally presented in 5 episodes, contained here in 2 episodes)
SHOW TWO OF TWO
September 13, 1956. Program #1. CBS network. "The Todd Matter". Sustaining. An expensive tip from an ex-con starts Johnny on the trail of stolen goods, and a murder attempt! The system cue has been deleted. Amerigo Moreno (music supervisor), Bob Bailey, Barbara Fuller, Frank Gerstle (doubles), Jack Johnstone (producer, director), John Dawson (writer), Lawrence Dobkin (quadruples), Marvin Miller (doubles), Roy Rowan (announcer), Shirley Mitchell (doubles), Vivi Janis.
DIARY OF FATE is a mystery and horror program where âFateâ narrates and always wins by the end of the story. These are great suspense filled stories about average people who are subject to the mysteries of their âFateâ. In This episode, March 16, 1948. Program #14. Finley syndication. "Joe Mattock". Commercials added locally. Book 63, page 397. A truck driver and his beautiful hitch-hiker commit murder to get their hands on $100,000, kept in a little black bag. The date is subject to correction. Ivan Ditmars (music), Larry Finley (producer), Hal Sawyer, Frank Albertson, Gloria Blondell, Herb Lytton, Jerry Hausner, Ray Ehrlenborn (probable sound effects). 26:47
THIS EPISODE:
June 15, 1948. Program #27. Finley syndication. "Nelson Walker". Commercials added locally. Book 97, page 302. A drifter faces "an instant of horror." Not auditioned. The date is subject to correction. Larry Finley (producer), Gloria Blondell, Herb Lytton, Jack Edwards Jr., Pat McGeehan, Ray Ehrlenborn (probable sound effects), Hal Sawyer, Bern Surrey. 27:06.
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was a radio drama about a freelance insurance investigator "with the action-packed expense account." The show aired on CBS Radio from February 11, 1949 to September 30, 1962. There were 811 episodes in the 12-year run, and over 720 still exist today. Each story started with a phone call from an insurance agent, calling on Johnny to investigate an unusual claim. Each story required Johnny to travel to some distant locale, usually within the United States but sometimes abroad, where he was almost always threatened with personal danger in the course of his investigations. In 1955, radio actor Bob Bailey, fresh from his long run as George Valentine in LET GEORGE DO IT, stepped into the role as the fourth Johnny Dollar. CBS Radio revived Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar with this new leading man, a new director, and a new format. The program changed from a 30-minute, one-episode-per-week affair to a 15-minute, five-nights-a-week.The Todd Matter aired January 9-13, 1956 starring Bob Bailey. All five 15 minute parts are included.
THIS EPISODE:
THE TODD MATTER ( Originally presented in 5 episodes, contained here in 2 episodes)
September 13, 1956. Program #1. CBS network. "The Todd Matter". Sustaining. An expensive tip from an ex-con starts Johnny on the trail of stolen goods, and a murder attempt! The system cue has been deleted. Amerigo Moreno (music supervisor), Bob Bailey, Barbara Fuller, Frank Gerstle (doubles), Jack Johnstone (producer, director), John Dawson (writer), Lawrence Dobkin (quadruples), Marvin Miller (doubles), Roy Rowan (announcer), Shirley Mitchell (doubles), Vivi Janis. 13:55.
SUSPENSE was one of the premier programs of the Golden Age of Radio (aka old-time radio), and advertised itself as "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." It was heard in one form or another from 1942 through 1962. There were approximately 945 episodes broadcast during its long run, over 900 of which are extant in mostly high-quality recordings. Suspense went through several major phases, characterized by different hosts, sponsors and director/producers. There were a few rules which were followed for all but a handful of episodes: Protagonists were usually a normal person suddenly dropped into a threatening or bizarre situation. Evildoers must be punished in the end.
THIS EPISODE:
January 14, 1952. CBS network. "The Fall River Tragedy". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. Lizzie Borden tells her side of the story! Agnes Moorehead, Harlow Wilcox (commercial spokesman), Joseph Kearns, Elliott Lewis (producer, director), Gil Doud (writer), Peggy Webber, Will Wright, Herb Butterfield, Lucien Moraweck (composer), Lud Gluskin (conductor), Rolfe Sedan, Stuffy Singer, Larry Thor (announcer), Bert Holland (commercial spokesman). 29:29.
"Lizzie Borden took an ax, and gave her mother 40 whacks; when she saw what she had done, she gave her father 41. Most of us know the grisly rhyme, but not the whole story. Who was Lizzie Borden? Did she really murder her father and stepmother on that muggy morning in August 1892? Or does she stand wrongly accused"?
Tuska cited Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940) and Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery (1941) as the best of the Bellamy-Lindsay pairings. "The influence of The Thin Man series was apparent in reverse", Tuska noted about Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery. "Ellery and Nikki are unmarried but obviously in love with each other. Probably the biggest mystery... is how Ellery ever gets a book written. Not only is Nikki attractive and perfectly willing to show off her figure", Tuska wrote, "but she also likes to write her own stories on Queen's time, and gets carried away doing her own investigations." In Ellery Queen, Master Detective, "the amorous relationship between Ellery and Nikki Porter was given a dignity, and therefore integrity", Tuska wrote, "that was lacking in the two previous entries in the series", made at Republic Pictures before Bellamy and Lindsay were signed by Columbia.
Blackie was a tough, wisecracking private detective working in New York, billed as "enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend." His speciality was making fools of the police, a simple task with Inspector Farraday heading the official investigations. "An enemy to those who call him an enemy, a friend to those who have no friends." Boston Blackie is a reformed jewel thief who is never far from trouble. Inspector Farraday of the homicide squad tries to pin Blackie for the crime in every episode. To save his own skin, with the help of his girlfriend Mary and sidekick Shorty, Blackie ends up solving the case.
Box 13, starring Alan Ladd as Dan Holiday. Sylvia Picker played Suzy, Dan Holiday's secretary and Edmond MacDonald as Lt. Kling. Other stars in the series were Betty Lou Gerson, Lurene Tuttle, Alan Reed, Luis Van Rooten, John Beal and Frank Lovejoy. Music was by Rudy Schrager and the writer was Russell Hughes. Announcer/Director was Vern Carstensen. The series was produced by Richard Sanville with Alan Ladd as co-producer.
THIS EPISODE:
Dan Holiday finds himself in possession of a little girl...with two mothers! A man with a gun and his henchman have some other ideas. Ted Hedager (writer, director), Rudy Schrager (composer, conductor). Note: This episode is also known as "Rendezvous In The Park At Night"
Dangerous Assignment first aired in 1949. Brian Donlevy played the lead as Steve Mitchell in this international spy series. Herb Butterfield played the Commissioner and Betty Moran was the Commissioner's secretary. The director was Bill Cairn and the writer for the series was Robert Ryf. Dangerous Assignment is a product of the Cold War, with mystery and intrigue cropping up across the globe. Mitchell, an agent for an unnamed U.S. goverment agency, is dispatched to some exotic, faraway place at the beginning of each episode. The plot is always good, working against the unspeakable evil (Communism).
Groucho Marx matches wits with the American public in four episodes of this classic game show. Starting on the radio in 1947, You Bet Your Life made its television debut in 1950 and aired for 11 years with Groucho as host and emcee. Sponsored rather conspicuously by the Dodge DeSoto car manufacturers, the show featured two contestants working as a team to answer questions for cash prizes.
Groucho Marx did 26 movies total, of these 15 were with his
brothers Chico and Harpo. Of those 15 movies only 14 were actually released. The
first movie was a silent film, that Groucho is said to of cut up the movie into
guitar picks, to prevent it's release. Needless to say, he didn't like it.
Although students of the cinema still try to find a copy of the film, feeling it
has great historical value. They were one of the world's most famous comedy
teams. They had their own zany brand of slapstick comedy. That was mixed with
quick witted one-liners, usually delivered by Groucho. Some of Groucho's
one-liners were often imitated, even by some of todays biggest comedians. You
can also find them in some of the old Buggs Bunny cartoons. There were six
brothers, all born in New York City. Manfred Marx died in infancy.
BEYOND MIDNIGHT
A replacement series for SF 68, this South African horror anthology was far more successful than its predecessor, running from 1968 through 1969. Its success may have been due in part to producer Michael McCabe - who also produced SF 68 - honing his talents to a higher degree. Little else is known about it, including the number of shows produced. As far as I can discover, there were at least 43 episodes, all in half-hour format.
THIS EPISODE:
"The Visits" (1969) *Exact Date Is Unknown
An old man who makes regular monthly visits to an abandoned house is the key to a dark secret out of the past.
THREE EPISODES:
"Daddy's An Elk" (1-22-39) "Barking Rabbit" (5-11-39) And "Golf Tea" (5-18-39)
The Baby Snooks Show was an American radio program starring comedienne and Ziegfeld Follies alumna Fanny Brice as a mischievous young girl who was 40 years younger than the actress who played her when she first went on the air. The series began on CBS September 17, 1944, airing on Sunday evenings at 6:30pm as Toasties Time. The title soon changed to The Baby Snooks Show, and the series was sometimes called Baby Snooks and Daddy. In 1944, the character was given her own show, and during the 1940s, it became one of the nation's favorite radio situation comedies, with products from a variety of sponsors (Post Cereals, Sanka, Spic-n-Span, Jell-O) being touted by a half-dozen announcers -- John Conte (early 1940s), Tobe Reed (1944-45), Harlow Willcox (mid-1940s), Dick Joy, Don Wilson and Ken Wilson. Hanley Stafford was best known for his portrayal of Snooks' long-suffering, often-cranky father, Lancelot âDaddyâ Higgins, a role played earlier by Alan Reed on the 1936 Follies broadcasts. Lalive Brownell was âMommyâ Higgins, also portrayed by Lois Corbet (mid-1940s) and Arlene Harris (after 1945). Beginning in 1945, child impersonator Leone Ledoux was first heard as Snookâs younger brother Robespierre, and Snooks returned full circle to the comics when comic book illustrator Graham Ingels and his wife Gertrude named their child Robby (born 1946) after listening to Ledoux's Robespierre baby voices.
The Navy Colt, by Frank Gruber, from Johnny Fletcher Mystery (NBC) aired on March 25, 1946 starring Albert Decker and Mike Mazurki. Book agents Johnny Fletcher and Sam Cragg find their low finances and the Chicago winter incompatible, so they accept an offer of $10.00 to punch James Maxwell in the nose. When the deed is done, the debt remains unpaid, the two are accused of Maxwell's murder, and the only thing which stands between them and destitution is an antique colt revolver.
Escape was radio's leading anthology series of high adventure, airing on CBS from July 7, 1947 to September 25, 1954. Since the program did not have a regular sponsor like Suspense, it was subjected to frequent schedule shifts and lower production budgets, although Richfield Oil signed on as a sponsor for five months in 1950. Despite these problems, Escape enthralled many listeners during its seven-year run. The series' well-remembered opening combined Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain with the introduction, intoned by Paul Frees and William Conrad: âTired of the everyday routine? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... Escape!â Of the more than 230 Escape episodes, most have survived in good condition. Many story premises, both originals and adaptations, involved a protagonist in dire life-or-death straits, and the series featured more science fiction and supernatural tales than Suspense. Some of the memorable adaptations include Algernon Blackwood's "Confession", Ray Bradbury's oft-reprinted "Mars Is Heaven," George R. Stewart's Earth Abides, Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game," F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz," John Collier's "Evening Primrose", later adapted to TV as a Stephen Sondheim musical starring Anthony Perkins. Vincent Price and Harry Bartell were heard in the chilling "Three Skeleton Key," the tale of three men trapped in an isolated lighthouse by thousands of rats. The half-hour was adapted from an Esquire short story by the French writer George Toudouze.
THE HALLMARK PLAYHOUSE was heard over CBS stations Thursday evenings. This drama anthology of 30-minute shows was sponsored by, of course, Hallmark Greeting Cards. It was preceded by the RADIO READER'S DIGEST, which ran from September 13, 1942 thorugh June 3, 1948. Hallmark sponsored the RADIO READER'S DIGEST from January 13, 1946 to it's end. On Feb. 8, 1953, the series name and format was changed. It was now called THE HALLMARK HALL OF FAME and presented biographal sketches of famous persons, past and present. The new format was used until the end of the 1955 season.
THIS EPISODE:
This classic story about a boy and his horse still stands strong. It's more an inspiring account of growing up and gaining self-assurance than it is a horse story. Wells is a surprising choice for narrating this book. His voice is urban and sophisticated, with no hint of soft edges that might be more suitable for a novel set in a simpler time in the American West. Fortunately, Wells deftly handles the life lessons discovered by 9-year-old Ken. Through Wells's voice we sense the vast gap between Ken's gentle mother and his demanding father, and what each parent brings to the son.
Arthur Godfrey was born in New York City. While his family was originally well off, his mother was unsuccessful as a performer with aspirations to fame and stardom that never materialized, and his father was a failed sportswriter who left the family. With the family in sudden poverty, Godfrey tried to help them survive by going on the road accepting odd jobs, and hoboing. He served in the United States Navy from 1920 to 1924 as a radio operator on naval destroyers. Additional training in radio came during Godfrey's service in the Coast Guard from 1927 to 1930. It was during a Coast Guard stint in Baltimore that he appeared on a local talent show and became popular enough to land his own brief weekly program.
Amos Jones and Andy Brown worked on a farm near Atlanta, Georgia, and during the episodes of the first week, they made plans to find a better life in Chicago, despite warnings from a friend. With four ham and cheese sandwiches and $24, they bought train tickets and headed for Chicago where they lived in a State Street rooming house and experienced some rough times before launching their own business, the Fresh Air Taxi Company. With the listening audience increasing in the spring and summer of 1928, the show's success prompted the Pepsodent Company to bring it to the NBC Blue Network on August 19, 1929. At this time the Blue Network was not heard on stations in the West. Western listeners complained to NBC, they wanted to hear the show. Under special arrangements Amos 'n' Andy debuted coast-to-coast November 28, 1929 on NBC's Pacific Orange Network and continued on the Blue. At the same time, the serial's central characters -- Amos, Andy and George "The Kingfish" Stevens -- relocated from Chicago to Harlem. Amos was naÃve but honest, hard-working and (after his 1933 marriage to Ruby Taylor) a dedicated family man. Andy was more blustering, with overinflated self-confidence. Andy, being a dreamer, tended to let Amos do most of the work. Their lodge leader, the Kingfish, was always trying to lure the two into get-rich-quick schemes. Other characters included John Augustus "Brother" Crawford, an industrious but long-suffering family man; Henry Van Porter, a social-climbing real estate and insurance salesman; Frederick Montgomery Gwindell, a hard-charging newspaperman; William Lewis Taylor, the well-spoken, college-educated father of Amos's fiancee; and "Lightning", a slow-moving Stepin Fetchit-type character. The Kingfish's catch phrase "Holy mackerel!" soon entered the American lexicon.
Gang Busters was an American dramatic radio program heralded as "the only national program that brings you authentic police case histories." It premiered as G-Men, sponsored by Chevrolet, on July 20, 1935. After the title was changed to Gang Busters January 15, 1936, the show had a 21-year run through November 20, 1957. Beginning with a barrage of loud sound effects â guns firing and tires squealing â this intrusive introduction led to the popular catch phrase "came on like Gang Busters."The series dramatized FBI cases, which producer-director Phillips H. Lord arranged in close association with Bureau director J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover insisted that only closed cases would be used.
The Green Hornet program began in January of 1936 and played to December 5, 1952. The shows typically ran thirty minutes and ran twice a week in the beginning years. They later reverted to being broadcast once a week. The last season of the show in 1952 the show reverted back to a twice a week schedule. Al Hodge played the role of Britt Reid for seven years. Fran Striker, a co-creator of the Lone Ranger, wrote all of the scripts for the Green Hornet until April 1944. After that, several other writers were brought in to script the show. The writing output of Fran Striker was incredible. While he was scripting the Green Hornet he was also writing the scripts for the Lone Ranger program. Following Al Hodge, three other radio actors played Britt Reid. Donovan Faust took the role for the 1943 season. Robert Hall played the part for three years, from 1943 to 1946. Jack McCarthy finished the last years of the series from 1946 through 1952. Thus ended a tremendous 16-year radio program full of action, high-speed chases, and the overcoming of evil by the Green Hornet.
The Campbell Playhouse was a sponsored continuation of the Mercury Theater on the Air, a direct result of the instant publicity from the War of the Worlds panic. The switch occurred on December 9, 1938. In spite of using the same creative staff, the show had a different flavor under sponsorship, partially attributed to a guest star policy in place, which relegated the rest of the Mercury Players to supporting cast for Orson Welles and the Hollywood guest of the week. There was a growing schism between Welles, still reaping the rewards of his Halloween night notoriety, and his collaborator John Houseman, still in the producer's chair but feeling more like an employee than a partner. The writer, as during the unsponsored run, was Howard Koch.
Bonanza chronicled the weekly adventures of the Cartwright family, headed by wise widowed patriarch Ben Cartwright (played by Lorne Greene). He had three biological sons, each by a different wife: the oldest was the intelligent and moody Adam Cartwright (Pernell Roberts); the second was the fun and lovable Eric, better known to viewers by his middle name: "Hoss" (Dan Blocker); and the youngest was the hotheaded and impetuous Joseph or "Little Joe" (Michael Landon). The family's cook was the Chinese immigrant Hop Sing (Victor Sen Yung). The family lived on a thousand-square-mile ranch called "The Ponderosa", on the shore of Lake Tahoe in Nevada; the name refers to the Ponderosa Pine, common in the West.
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Enter Mark Twain
October 10, 1959
Samuel Clemens arrives in Virginia City to write for the Territorial Enterprise at the same time a crooked politician tries to lay claim on the Ponderosa.
The Adventures of Frank Race, by Bruce Ells Productions, was first heard in May of 1949. The main character, Frank Race, was an attorney before World War II. As a result of his activities in the war, when it was over, he traded his law books for a career with the OSS. There, "Adventure" became his business. Tom Collins played the role of Frank Race initially, immediately following his stint as Chandu, The Magician. The lead role was taken over later by Paul Dubof.
Crime Does Not Pay was an anthology radio crime drama series based on MGM's short film series. The films began in 1935 with Crime Does Not Pay: Buried Loot. For the most part, actors who appeared in B-films were featured, but occasionally, one of MGM's major stars would make an appearance. The radio series aired in New York on WMGM (October 10, 1949-October 10, 1951) and then moved to the Mutual network (January 7-December 22, 1952). Actors included Bela Lugosi, Everett Sloane, Ed Begley, John Loder and Lionel Stander.
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December 5, 1949. Program #9. MGM syndication. "A Piece Of Rope". Commercials added locally. Dukie Defore works for a "service" business that murders people on contract...and Dukie always kills with a rope! The date above is the date of the first broadcast of this program on WMGM, New York from which this syndicated version may have been taken. Cameron Mitchell, Ira Marion (writer), Marx B. Loeb (director), Jon Gart (composer, conductor), Burton B. Turkas (technical advisor). 26:01.
The CBS Radio Workshop
Broadcast from 1936 through to 1947 with just an occasional break. Revived again from January 1956 to September 1957 as CBS Radio Workshop with pretty much the same format. Broadcast from 1936 through to 1947 with just an occasional break. Revived again from January 1956 to September 1957 as CBS Radio Workshop with pretty much the same format. This was drama with a difference. Columbia Workshop was not everybodyâs cup of tea and in terms of audience popularity it was always noted that it was never a strong contender for the title âRadios Top Rated Drama Seriesâ and yet it was always considered to be the drama program that led the way in radio standards. Columbia was the first to mexperiment with what radio drama was all about, introducing new techniques never before used in over the airwaves drama and because it received little encouragement from established writers, actors, etc., it was only by breaking new ground with new ideas and new techniques from writers who were not versed in the old ways that it was going to survive.
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April 28, 1957. CBS net. "Lightship". Sustaining. A drama about a group of men aboard a lightship in a fog face boredom, madness, and disaster on a reef. Luis Van Rooten, Dan Ocko, Ralph Bell, Santos Ortega, Warren Sweeney (announcer). 25 minutes.
Arch Oboler (December 7, 1909 - March 19, 1987) was a Chicago-born scriptwriter, novelist, producer and director who was active in films, radio and television. boler generated much attention for his radio scripts, and his work in radio remains the outstanding period of his career. Although some noted a tendency for gruesomeness, he received praise as one of broadcasting's top talents, and he is regarded today as one of the innovators of old time radio.
Arch Oboler's Plays was a radio drama series written, produced and directed by Arch Oboler. Minus a sponsor, it ran for one year, airing Saturday evenings on NBC from March 25, 1939 to March 23, 1940 and revived five years later on Mutual for a sustaining summer run from April 5, 1945 to October 11, 1945. Leading film actors were heard on this series, including Ingrid Bergman, Gloria Blondell, Eddie Cantor, James Cagney, Ronald Colman, Joan Crawford, Greer Garson, Edmund Gwenn, Van Heflin, Katharine Hepburn, Elsa Lanchester, Peter Lorre, Frank Lovejoy, Raymond Massey, Burgess Meredith, Paul Muni, Alla Nazimova, Edmond O'Brien, Geraldine Page, Gale Sondergaard, Franchot Tone and George Zucco.
Crime Club was a Mutual Network murder and mystery series, a product of the Doubleday Crime Book Club imprints found weekly in bookstores everywhere. The telephone rings"Hello, I hope I haven't kept you waiting. Yes, this is the Crime Club. I'm the Librarian. Murder Rents A Room? Yes, we have that Crime Club story for you.Come right over. (The organist in the shadowed corner of the Crime Club library shivers the ivories) The doorbell tones suddenly"And you are here. Good. Take the easy chair by the window. Comfortable? The book is on this shelf." (The organist hits the scary chord) "Let's look at it under the reading lamp." The Librarian, played by Raymond E. Johnson, begins reading the tale. Veteran Willis Cooper (Lights Out, Quiet Please) did some of the scripts from the Crime Club books.
Broadcast on NBC, Nightbeat ran from 1949 to 1952 and starred Frank Lovejoy as Randy Stone, a tough and streetwise reporter who worked the nightbeat for the Chicago Star looking for human interest stories. He met an assortment of people, most of them with a problem, many of them scared, and sometimes he was able to help them, sometimes he wasnât. It is generally regarded as a âqualityâ show and it stands up extremely well. Frank Lovejoy (1914-1962) isnât remembered today, but he was a powerful and believable actor with a strong delivery, and his portrayal of Randy Stone as tough guy with humanity was perfect. The scripts were excellent, given that they had to pack in a lot in a short time, and there was a good supporting cast, orchestra, and sound effects. Supporting actors included Parley Baer, William Conrad, Jeff Corey, Lawrence Dobkin, Paul Frees, Jack Kruschen, Peter Leeds, Howard McNear, Lurene Tuttle and Martha Wentworth.
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March 20, 1950. NBC net. Sustaining. Randy Stone meets a man in the park on a very hot day. The body is wearing a heavy overcoat! Mr. Henry Kazarian claims to be dead, and a doctor confirms it! A well written story, good radio! Part of the final public service announcement and the system cue have been deleted. Frank Lovejoy, Larry Marcus (writer, editor), Ben Wright, Betty Lou Gerson, Paul Dubov, Warren Lewis (director), Frank Worth (music), Jeff Corey, Lou Krugman. 28:52.
Before the recent "Reality TV" glut, there was "Reality Radio" and Night Watch was there. This show is a straight crime documentary with no music, sound effects, or actors. Police reporter Don Reid rode in a prowl car on the night shift with officers from the Culver City, California police department. While wearing a hidden microphone, he captures the sounds and voices of real life drama. From the worried child to the hardened criminal, their stories come through loud and clear. The names were changed to protect identities, but everything else in this gripping series is real. Text From www.otrfan.com/
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Juvenile Burglar. May 3, 1954. CBS net. Sustaining. The first report in the patrol car is a report of a burglary on Burlingame. A burglar is actually captured on-mike inside a gas station. He turns out to be a tearful fifteen year old who begs to be released. Excellent radio! The system cue has been deleted. Ron Perkins (technical advisor), Sterling Tracy (producer), Donn Reed (police recorder), W. N. Hildebrand, Jim Headlock (producer). 23:14.
Jack Benny had been only a minor vaudeville performer, but he became a national figure with The Jack Benny Program, a weekly radio show which ran from 1932 to 1948 on NBC and from 1949 to 1955 on CBS, and was consistently among the most highly rated programs during most of that run. With Canada Dry Ginger Ale as a sponsor, Benny came to radio on The Canada Dry Program, beginning May 2, 1932, on the NBC Blue Network and continuing there for six months until October 26, moving the show to CBS on October 30. With Ted Weems leading the band, Benny stayed on CBS until January 26, 1933. Arriving at NBC on March 17, Benny did The Chevrolet Program until April 1, 1934. He continued with sponsors General Tires, Jell-O and Grape Nuts. Lucky Strike was the radio sponsor from 1944 to the mid-1950s. The show returned to CBS on January 2, 1949, as part of CBS president William S. Paley's notorious "raid" of NBC talent in 1948-49. There it stayed for the remainder of its radio run, which ended on May 22, 1955. CBS aired reruns of old radio episodes from 1956 to 1958 as The Best of Benny.
Mr. President ran on the ABC Radio Network from June of 1947 until September of 1953 and starred Edward Arnold and Betty Lou Gerson. Each week, Arnold would play the part of a different President of the United States in historical dramas based on real events - some familiar, many little-known and largely untold. The unique aspect of the show was that the identity of the President being portrayed would not be revealed until the end of the program - a guessing game that often challenged the most fervent and knowledgeable students of American history.
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Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 â June 8, 1845) was the 7th President of the United States (1829â1837). He was also military governor of Florida (1821), commander of the American forces at the Battle of New Orleans (1815), and the eponym of the era of Jacksonian democracy. He was a polarizing figure who dominated American politics in the 1820s and 1830s. His political ambition combined with the masses of people shaped the modern Democratic Party.[1] Nicknamed "Old Hickory" because he was renowned for his toughness, Jackson was the first President primarily associated with the frontier, as he based his career in Tennessee.
Michael Shayne was a fictional sleuth created by Brett Halliday (a pen name for author Davis Dresser) who was first initiated into the fraternity for detectives in the 1939 novel "Dividend of Death". Dresser based the character on a âtall and rangyâ brawler who once saved his life during a braw in a Mexican cantina. The Shayne character would go on to appear in 69 novels, plus a long-running mystery magazineâand in 1941, was brought to the silver screen in Paramountâs Michael Shayne, Private Detective, an adaptation of Dividend of Death that starred Lloyd Nolan, and paved the way for six additional B-mysteries to follow. The New Adventures of Michael Shayneâpremiered on July 15, 1948 starring Jeff Chandler.
Inheritance. May 16, 1954. Program #6. NBC net. "Flight To Nowhere". Sustaining. Not auditioned. 4:30 P. M. The program is produced in co-operation with The American Legion. After the drama, the National Vice Commander of The American Legion, North Carolina, Thomas Byrd is the speaker. Albert McCleary (producer, director), John Wald (announcer), Robert Armbruster (composer, conductor), Thomas Byrd, Milt Kahn (writer), Whitfield Connor, John Dehner, Sam Edwards, Joe Cranston, Frank Gerstle, Anne Whitfield, Jack Carroll, Alice Rolf, Howard Culver. 29:51.
YOU ARE THERE
Aired: November 1939 to May 1940, CBS Blue Network
A Dramatic Historical Recreation
Imagine if CBS radio news existed when the Bastille was stormed in 1789, or if radio reporters were stationed in Ford Theater as Lincoln was assassinated, or again at the Battle of Gettysburg? Indeed, such was the premise behind the CBS series, You Are There. Audiences witnessed history through the present-tense accounts of newsmen allegedly witnessing historical events transpiring before their eyes. Don Hollenbeck and John Daley (known for his TV game show panelist appearances) played the lead anchors, while real-life newsman provided the remote commentaries as the dramas unfolded. As show opened, an anchor would describe the present situation with "As it stands nowâ" and segue into commentaries, live remote feeds or analysis as the story unfurled.The show was well received, but perhaps was doomed to eventual failure in part due John Daly's emoting. Bernard DeVoto in Harper Magazine lamented: "We have heard his (Daly) voice vibrate with the real emotion, and our memory of the real simply turns the imagined to ham."
'The man you love to hate!', psychoanalyst-detective and male chauvinist pig, whose detection powers were dazzling, but whose treatment of females, especially his fluttery secretary Miss Frayle, verged on the abominable. Written by author Ernest Dudley, Morelle was overbearing, sarcastic, patronising, contemptuous, cruel and unusually vindictive, Morelle was nevertheless doted upon by millions of listeners to his adventures on the radio in the 1940s and 1950s. The first radio Morelle was played by the acerbic and distinctly toffish Dennis Arundell - a Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge, who later starred in many West End productions. A second series featured the even darker tones of Heron Carvic, later to write best-selling mysteries of his own, featuring the interfering spinster-sleuth Miss Seaton. In the 1950s, the part was played to pompous, thin-lipped perfection by Cecil Parker. The first Miss Frayle was played by author Dudley's wife, Jane Grahame, while a later incarnation was Sheila Sim. Through the 1950s Ernest Dudley wrote for both radio and television. His most popular TV series was 'Judge For Yourself', one of the earliest viewer-participation shows, in which, after a half-hour "trial", viewers were invited by Dudley to send in their verdicts, "Guilty" or "Not guilty". His catch-phrase, spoken to camera at the end, was always "Remember - you are the judge".
The Clock, Imported from Austrailia, was a dramatic thirty-minute suspense and mystery series. It was written by Lawrence Klee and was first broadcast in November 1946. The story always began the same; âSunrise and sunset, promise and fulfilment, birth and death â the whole drama of life is written in the sands of timeâ. This is a great series where the main theme seems to be Retribution. Stories as told by Father Time.
First Broadcast November 3rd 1946
Last Broadcast May 23rd 1948
Orson Welles hosted and narrated the shows. Mr. Welles opened each show slightly differently but followed a standard format. For example, the show, "The Bathtub", open as follows:"This is Orson Welles speaking from London." (Big Ben starts chiming in the background). "The Black Museum, repository of death... Here, in this grim stone structure on the Thames which houses Scotland Yard, is a warehouse of homocide, where everyday objects, a piece of wire, a chemist's flask, a silver shilling, all are touched by murder." (dramatic music) Following the opening, Mr. Welles would introduce the museum's item or items of evidence that was central to the case, leading into the dramatization. He also provided narration during the show and ended each show with his characteristic closing from the days of his Mercury Theater of the Air, remaining "obediently yours".
ENCORE THEATER was a 1946 Summer replacement series, sponsored by Schenley Labs, Inc. All shows had a medical theme, some concerned medical research, some covered personal stories of people in the medical field but all based on true stories. Schenley Labs, Inc. was the sponsor for the series. The shows aired Tuesday evenings from 9:30 to 10:00 PM over CBS affiliated stations. Members of the cast were typically well-known radio or screen actors, such as Lurene Tuttle, Eric Snowden, Gerald Mohr, Ronald Colman, Robert Young or Lionel Barrymore. Producer for series was Bill Lawrence, who also directed the series. The announcer was Frank Graham. Music was by Leith Stevens. Scripts were written and adapted by Jean Holloway, Lloyd C. Douglas, Sidney Kingsley and Milton Geiger. Twelve of the thirteen scripts were adapted by Jean Holloway. The 1946 Summer series ended with the August 27th show, replaced by "Cresta Blanca Hollywood Players" (possibly known as "The Hollywood Players Company". There was a second ENCORE THEATER Summer series in 1949, however there is little information on it. It aired on Sundays. Eight shows are known to be in circulation. Known air dates are April 17, April 24, May 8 and June 5.
Today's Show:
"The Antidote" (7-13-35) and "Its Finally Over" (10-12-35)
FIRST BROADCAST: April 1935
LAST BROADCAST: February 1936
CAST: Gale Gordon, Maurice Franklin, Bruno Wick, James Meighan PRODUCER: Himan Brown This science-fiction adventure originally began as a comic strip. Flash Gordon had saved the world by firing a rocket at the planet Mongo which was on a collision course with earth. He had crashlanded on Mongo which was a planet packed with villains and baddies featuring lots of ray-guns and rockets.
The first two seasons of General Electric Theater established the half-hour anthology format of adaptations of popular plays, short stories, novels, magazine fiction and motion pictures. "The Eye of the Beholder," for example, a Hitchcock-like telefilm thriller starring Richard Conte and Martha Vickers, dramatized an artist's relationship with his model from differing, sometimes disturbing psychological perspectives. The addition of Ronald Reagan as program host commencing the third season 26 September 1954 reflected GE's decision to pursue a campaign of continuous, consistent company voice advertising. The Reagan role of program host and occasional guest star brought needed continuity to disparate anthology offerings. The casting of Don Herbert of TV's Watch Mr. Wizard fame in the role of "General Electric Progress Reporter" established a clear-cut company identity for commercials. "Outstanding entertainment" became the watchword of GE's public and employee relations specialists. Reagan, in the employ of BBDO, helped merchandise the concept within the company itself. The first of many promotional tours orchestrated by BBDO and the GE Department of Public Relations Services sent Reagan to twelve GE plant cities in November 1954 to promote the program idea, further his identity as spokesman, and become familiar with company people and products.
This hit radio series with Marie Wilson ran on CBS Radio from April 11, 1947 to August 23, 1954. The TV version, seen on CBS from January 8, 1952 until June 25, 1954, was the first series telecast from the CBS Television City facility in Hollywood. The movie My Friend Irma (1949) starred Marie Wilson and Diana Lynn but is mainly remembered today for introducing Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis to moviegoers, resulting in even more screen time for Martin and Lewis in the sequel, My Friend Irma Goes West (1950).
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March 8, 1948. CBS net. Sponsored by: Swan Soap ($100,000 fur contest), Spry. "Jane's New Boyfriend". Not auditioned. Irma and Jane have had fights with Al and Richard. Plans are made for an intimate dinner for four. Professor Kropotkin is matched up with Mrs. O'Reilly. Marie Wilson, Cathy Lewis, John Brown, Cy Howard (creator, producer, director, writer), Parke Levy, Hans Conried, Frank Bingman (announcer), Leif Erickson, Gloria Gordon. 30:04
NBC University Theater is an unusual series that focused on reenacting novels by great authors for college classes. Many accredited American universities such as Washington State College, University of Louisville, and University of Tulsa, used this dramatic series as a supplement to correspondent college courses. The series' creators made study guides to accompany the courses. Students studying great literature by Steinbeck, Faulkner, Hemingway, Huxley, and many others listened to these shows every week. It was an ambitious series that remained popular despite its academic and non-commercial appeal. The shows are high quality and will please many fans of great literature.
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At Heaven's Gate is the story of Sue Murdock, daughter of the powerful and wealthy Bogan Murdock. Sue struggles to escape her father's control in a southern American city before the Great Depression. She takes up with Jerry (Bull's Eye) Calhoun, a college football star who graduates to work in a bank controlled by her father. She leaves Jerry when he defends Sue's grandfather's honor. Sue takes her own apartment in a seedy part of town and starts associating with Slim Sarrett, a writer and intellectual. Her relationship with Slim falls apart after he is visited by an old lover. Sue falls into the care of a labor organizer named Sweetwater. Sarrett returns, but Sue will not have him.
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT) was an ambitious and sustained attempt to revive the great drama of old-time radio in the 1970s. Created by Himan Brown (who had by then become a radio legend due to his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries and other shows dating back to the 1930s), and aired on affiliate stations across the CBS Radio network, the series began its long run on January 6, 1974. The final episode ran on December 31, 1982. The show was broadcast nightly and ran for one hour, including commercials. Typically, a week consisted of three to four new episodes, with the remainder of the week filled out with reruns.
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November 5, 1976. Program #547. CBS net. "The Secret Chamber". Sponsored by: True Value Hardware, Buick, Certainteed Insulation. Master Lock Burglar Alarms. E. G. Marshall (host), H. G. Wells (author), Arnold Moss (adaptor), Kristoffer Tabori, Earl Hammond, Court Benson, Catherine Byers. 52 minutes.
Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles (1950)
The Martian Chronicles is a 1950 science fiction novel by Ray Bradbury that chronicles the colonization of Mars by humans fleeing from a troubled Earth, and the conflict between aboriginal Martians and the new colonists. The book lies somewhere between a short story collection and an episodic novel, containing Bradbury stories originally published in the late 1940s in science fiction magazines. For publication, the stories were loosely woven together with a series of short, interstitial vignettes.
THIS EPISODE:
The Off Season (1950)
Visions of atomic apocalypse were published in some numbers in the years immediately following the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Even though in 1948 the Soviet Union was far from posing any serious nuclear threat, Bradbury's story reflects the fears o f many that humanity had entered an era of unprecedented danger. In which earlier story did Sam Parkhill play a role? Is his behavior here consistent with that in the earlier story? Explain. How does this story compare with t he traditional battle-with-aliens-for-survival story? The description of the death of Earth is even more fantastic than the collapse of an entire city from the impact of a single bullet earlier in the story. Why do you think Bradbury uses such exaggerated language? What would a real nuclear war probably look like from Mars?
Aliens in the Mind started life as an outline for Doctor Who. Although not commissioned for the show Robert Holmes was asked to develop the idea for Radio 4 however work commitments meant that the scripts were ultimately written by Rene Bascilico based on Holmes' original idea. Unlike the Doctor Who 'talking books' and stable-mate 'The Quatermass Memoirs' which are also due for release on July 3rd this is a full blown sci-fi radio drama starring kings of horror Vincent Price and Peter Cushing. Investing the death of a friend Curtis Lark (Price) and John Cornelius (Cushing) discover the presence of a new race of humans on a remote Scottish island. The key to the mystery seems to be a local young girl who Lark and Cornelius resolve to take to London for tests where they discover she may not be the only mutant to have left the island...Split over six episodes and running almost three hours the plot moves a cracking pace - it seemed like no time at all had passed between inserting the first CD and reaching the end of episode two. Relying heavily on the talents of Price and Cushing this is a gripping and atmospheric drama which owes more than a passing nod to the US TV series The Invaders and, despite being almost 30 years old, feels reasonably modern in style and content. Highlighting the original weekly broadcast format each episode starts with a recap of the events of the previous installment and a reprise. Rather sensibly chapter points have been arranged in such a way that these form a self contained track making them easy to skip if listening to more than one episode at a time. The initial three titles in the range seem to have been chosen to appeal to Doctor Who fans and this title in particular should appeal to those who already listen to the many Big Finish ranges.
Cloak and Dagger first aired over the NBC network on May 7, 1950. It had a short run through the Summer on Sundays, changing to Fridays after its Summer run. The last show aired Oct. 22, 1950. This is the story of the WWII special governmental agency, the OSS, or Office of Strategic Services. Its mission was to develop and maintain spy networks throughout Europe and into Asia, while giving aid to underground partisan groups and developing espionage activities for Allied forces overseas.The show is based on the book of the same name by Lt. Col. Corey Ford and Major Alastair MacBain (who were associated with the OSS from its early days.) The dramas are not Hollywood-style, in that they sometimes end with plans foiled or leading characters dead.
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August 27, 1950. NBC net. "The Black Radio". Sustaining. 4:00 P. M. An O. S. S. operative parachutes behind the enemy lines to rendezvous with "Lucille" and set up a "black radio." When the Gestapo closes in, the plan is saved by a "Hedy Lamarr." The announcer mispronounces the "three chimes" slogan during the system cue! Raymond Edward Johnson, Jon Gart (music director), Sherman Marks (director, supervisor), Larry Haines, Lily Darvas, Berry Kroeger, Arnold Moss, Stefan Schnabel, Bob Wile, Jerry Jarrett, Winifred Wolfe (writer), Jack Gordon (writer), Chet Hill (sound effect), Dick Gillespie (sound effects), Art Cooper (sound effects), Corey Ford (creator), Alistair MacBain (creator), Louis G. Cowan (producer), Alfred Hollander (producer). 29:30.
The Screen Director's Playhouse. From 01/09/49 to 09/28/51 this series was greatly enjoyed by the radio listening audience. It opened as NBC Theater and was also known as The Screen Directorâs Guild and The Screen Directorâs Assignment. But most people remember it simply as Screen Directorâs Playhouse.
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WATERLOO BRIDGE is perhaps best described as one of a number of films "with an English accent" that played to American sympathies for England in the years when England largely stood alone against Nazi Germany. The story itself has a wartime setting: Beautiful ballerina Myra (Vivien Leigh) meets and falls passionately in love with officer Roy Cronin (Robert Taylor), only to be parted from him when he is called to duty during World War I. Alone and increasingly destitute, she learns that he has been killed in action--and so, broken hearted and unconcerned for herself, she drifts into prostitution, plying the world's oldest profession along Waterloo Bridge. Although Robert Taylor is a bit miscast, Leigh carries the film with a truly remarkable performance. In the opening portion of the scene, she is at the height of her youthful beauty, and cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg makes the most of it; later, when experience has hardened her, she turns the graceful charm of her earlier scenes upside down to create the bitter, brassy tart that Myra has become. The cast also features an exceptional performance by Lucile Watson as Lady Margaret and notable turns by Maria Ouspenskaya, C. Aubrey Smith, and a host of others. Although less well known than such tragic romances as Garbo's CAMILLE, WATERLOO BRIDGE is easily the equal of such and considerably better than most. The romantic aura is powerful, the production values are meticulous, the direction, photography, and script are first rate. And at the center of it all we have perhaps the single most beautiful actress of her era, Vivien Leigh, in one of her finest performances. You'll need a box of tissues for this one; don't miss it. Text From: Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer
The Great Gildersleeve 1941-1958
In 1941 Throckmorton P Gildersleeve spun off into his own radio program, becoming the first radio character to do so. He had originally appeared on Fibber McGee and Molly in 1937 and left to become the Water Commissioner of Summerfield and to raise his niece and nephew. The series had the same appeal as todays soaps because each episode was connected. Gildersleeves romances were often at the centre of it all. The best of the romances is the one with Leila Ransom.
Curtain Time, like First Nighter, presented romantic drama in a theater setting complete with the announcer shouting, âTickets please, thank youâ. The shows announcer was Harry Halcomb who was later known best for his appearances on the 60 minutes television show. Great scripts and superb acting, Curtain Time is truly an Old Time Radio Classic. Mutual Network, local KNX show sustained, heard Fridays 7:30 - 8:00 pm
The first portrayal of Phillip Marlowe on the radio was by Dick Powell, when he played Raymond Chandler's detective on the Lux Radio Theater on June 11, 1945. This was a radio adaptation of the 1944 movie, from RKO, in which Mr. Powell played the lead. Two years later, Van Heflin starred as Marlowe in a summer replacement series for the Bob Hope Show on NBC. This series ran for 13 shows. On September 26, 1948, Gerald Mohr became the third radio Marlowe, this time on CBS. It remained a CBS show through its last show in 1951.
Frank Merriwell, the much-loved fictional hero of Street and Smith's Tip Top Weekly, was first introduced to readers on April 18, 1896. Merriwell was the creation of writer Burt L. Standish (real name: Gilbert Patten), and embodied a new type of dime novel hero, one who relied as much upon mental as physical prowess. The Yale-educated Merriwell possessed "a body like Tarzan's and a head like Einstein's," wrote one admiring writer, and thus represented "the perfect union of brain and brawn." First broadcast over NBC from 03/26/34 to 06/22/34 and again, on NBC, from 10/05/46 until 06/04/49. A 1946 Movie was also made.
First show: Mar 3, 1980 Original shows: 103 Last show: Dec 10, 1980 Number of programs aired including new and repeats: 210 Hosts: Lorne Greene, Andy Griffith, Vincent Price, Cicely Tyson, Leonard Nimoy In December 1979 the Mutual Broadcasting System acquired the Sears Radio Theater renaming it, the MUTUAL Radio Theater. It retained the same format as before with the same theme for different nights of the week. Lorne Greene remained host for Monday's Western night, Andy Griffith handled Tuesday's Comedy, Vincent Price still was host for Mystery on Wednesdays, Cicely Tyson did Love on Thurs- day, while Leonard Nimoy was now the Friday night Adventure host. As before the series aired week nights, Monday through Friday. The Mutual Radio Theater debuted Mar 3, 1980 and was to run for 13 weeks on almost 300 stations. The shows were then to be repeated over the summer and fall. It proved to be fairly successful and another 8 weeks of original programs were added; this was followed by another 8 weeks of repeats. The series was broadcast in stereo, making it the only commercial radio network drama program in the nation to use this technology at the time. Great writers were employed for this series including Arch Oboler and Norman Corwin. Good choices were made when it came to cast members. Old familiar voices and names included Janet Waldo, John Dehner, Vic Perrin, Mary Jane Croft, Hans Conried, Marvin Miller, Parley Baer, Elliot Lewis, Jeff Corey, Virginia Gregg, Lesley Woods, Robert Rockwell and Lurene Tuttle. Then from movies and TV - Eve Arden, Keith Andes, Harriet Nelson, Aan Young, Tom Bosley and Marian Ross, Lloyd Bochner, Rick Jason, Frank Campanella, Toni Tennille, Arthur Hill, Dan O'Herlihy, Jesse White and Frank Nelson. A curious note: Many collectors and vendors list a total of 104 broadcasts. Apparently what was done by them was to count a repeat of "The Ship", first broadcast on March 7, 1980 as another show when it was aired again during the first 13 week cycle (May 23, 1980). Please note - - The previous edition of this log indicated some difficulty in establishing show titles for the weeks begining July 7, 1980 and July 14, 1980. The mystery has been solved with the able assistance of Mr. Bryan Wright. Thank you, Bryan! Mr. Rick Woodward and Mr. Shawn A. Wells offered additional audio copies which were gratefully accepted. Thank you, gentlemen!
EDGAR ALLAN POE'S "FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER"
The NBC Short Stories were very high quality productions. Authors ranger from Shelley to Bradbury to Edgar Allen Poe. In this episode, The Fall Of The House Of Usher, as like many of Poe's stories, does not use the typical, first person point of view where the protagonist tells a personal account of a crime that he or she has committed. Instead, the narrator is a character of whom we know very little, who acts like a participant/observer. It is easy for the reader to become "the friend" in Poe's story as both the narrator and the reader invite "madness" as they are drawn into the underworld of the mind where fantasy becomes reality. Twice near the end of the story, Roderick calls the narrator "Madman!" However, the narrator escapes, to watch both the tenants and the house of Usher disappear into the tarn, an underworld which is their true home.
The Secrets of Scotland Yard was a successful crime drama series, initially airing internationally between 1949 and 1951. Selected episodes finally came to a US radio network for a brief run much later in 1957 over the Mutual Broadcasting System. The series boasted well over 100 episodes, one of which, "The Bone From A Voice Box", apparently served as the prototype for another well remembered Towers Of London dramatic series, The Black Museum. In both series, well known actors were employed as host / narrator, Orson Welles in The Black Museum and Clive Brook here. In fact, the shows were so similar that some of the same actual Scotland Yard cases were dramatized for both series (with totally different scripts, and casts).
The Life of Riley, with William Bendix in the title role, was a popular radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film and continued as a long-running television series during the 1950s. The show began as a proposed Groucho Marx radio series, The Flotsam Family, but the sponsor balked at what would have been essentially a straight head-of-household role for the comedian. Then producer Irving Brecher saw Bendix as taxicab company owner Tim McGuerin in the movie The McGuerins from Brooklyn (1942). The Flotsam Family was reworked with Bendix cast as blundering Chester A. Riley, riveter at a California aircraft plant, and his frequent exclamation of indignation---"What a revoltin' development this is!"---became one of the most famous catch phrases of the 1940s. The radio series also benefited from the immense popularity of a supporting character, Digby "Digger" O'Dell (John Brown), "the friendly undertaker."Beginning October 4, 1949, the show was adapted for television for the DuMont Television Network, but Bendix's film contracts prevented him from appearing in the role. Instead, Jackie Gleason starred along with Rosemary DeCamp as wife Peg, Gloria Winters as daughter Barbara (Babs), Lanny Rees as son Chester Jr. (Junior), and Sid Tomack as Gillis, Riley's manipulative best buddy and next-door neighbor. John Brown returned as the morbid counseling undertaker Digby (Digger) O'Dell ("Well, I guess I'll be... shoveling off"; "Business is a little dead tonight"). Television's first Life of Riley won television's first Emmy (for "Best Film Made For and Shown on Television"). However, it came to an end on March 28, 1950 because of low ratings and because Gleason left the show, thinking he could find a better showcase for his unique abilities. Groucho Marx received a credit for "story."
Bob Hope first appeared on television in 1932 during a test transmission from an experimental CBS studio in New York. His career in broadcasting spanned sixty-four years and included a long association with NBC. Hope made his network radio debut in 1937 on NBC. His first regular series for NBC Radio was the Woodbury Soap Hour. A year later The Pepsodent Radio Show Starring Bob Hope began, and would run through 1953. Hope did many specials for the NBC television network in the following decades and these were often sponsored by Chrysler and Hope served as a spokesman for the firm for many years. Hope's Christmas specials were popular favorites and often featured a performance of "Silver Bells" (from his 1951 film The Lemon Drop Kid) done as a duet with an often much younger female guest star (such as Olivia Newton-John or Brooke Shields). His final television special was in 1996 with Tony Danza helping Hope present a retrospective about presidents of the United States. He also made a guest appearance on the NBC show "The Golden Girls" in the late 1980s.
Dadâs Army was a British sitcom about the Home Guard in the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The British Home Guard consisted of local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, usually owing to age, and as such the series starred several veterans of British film, television and stage, including Arthur Lowe (1915â82), John Le Mesurier (1912â83), Arnold Ridley (also a veteran playwright; 1896â1984) and John Laurie (1897â1980). Relative youngsters in the regular cast were Ian Lavender (b.1946), Clive Dunn (b.1920), who was made-up to play the elderly Jones, and James Beck (1929â1973), the latter dying suddenly part way through the programmeâs long run despite being one of the youngest cast members. Popular at the time and still repeated, it was voted into fourth place in a 2004 BBC poll for Britainâs Best Sitcom. Previously, in a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes. drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, it was placed thirteenth.
The Saint â 1945-1951
There were at least 24 episodes broadcast of this series. It was a fascinating detective adventure series based on the books by Leslie Charteris. Edgar Barrier first played Simon Templar, aka The Saint, a debonair private detective in January 1945. He was then played by Brian Aherne in June 1945 and later Vincent Price from July 1947 up until May 1951. The Saint was said to have been like a modern day Robin Hood. He didnât care for justice and always helped victims hindered by the lawâs restrictions.
"The Horseless Carriage" (2-24-47)
"Affair Of The Ancient Egyptian Curse" (3-10-47)
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who first appeared in publication in 1887. He is the creation of Scottish born author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A brilliant London-based detective, Holmes is famous for his intellectual prowess, and is renowned for his skillful use of deductive reasoning (somewhat mistakenly - see inductive reasoning) and astute observation to solve difficult cases. He is arguably the most famous fictional detective ever created, and is one of the best known and most universally recognisable literary characters in any genre. Conan Doyle wrote four novels and fifty-six short stories that featured Holmes. All but four stories were narrated by Holmes' friend and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson, two having been narrated by Holmes himself, and two others written in the third person. The first two stories, short novels, appeared in Beeton's Christmas Annual for 1887 and Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1890. The character grew tremendously in popularity with the beginning of the first series of short stories in The Strand Magazine in 1891; further series of short stories and two serialized novels appeared almost right up to Conan Doyle's death in 1930. The stories cover a period from around 1878 up to 1903, with a final case in 1914.
Calling All Cars. January 10, 1934. Program #7. CBS Pacific net (Don Lee net). "The Caliente Money Car Holdup". Sponsored by: Rio Grande Oil (free copy of "Calling All Car News"). "The robbers in this case were stupid. All criminals are stupid." The system cue has been deleted. Not auditioned. Charles Frederick Lindsley (narrator). 30:25.
Hercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters: he appeared in 39 novels and 50 short stories. Poirot has been portrayed on screen, for films and TV, by various actors including Albert Finney, Peter Ustinov, Ian Holm, Tony Randall, Alfred Molina and, most recently, and famously, David Suchet. His character was based on two other fictional detectives of the time: Marie Belloc Lowndes' Hercule Popeau and Frank Howel Evans' Monsieur Poiret, a retired French police officer living in London. A more obvious influence on the early Poirot stories is that of Arthur Conan Doyle. In An Autobiography Christie admits that "I was still writing in the Sherlock Holmes tradition â eccentric detective, stooge assistant, with a Lestrade-type Scotland Yard detective, Inspector Japp."Poirot also bears a striking resemblance to A. E. W. Mason's fictional detective â Inspector Hanaud of the French surete-who, first appearing in the 1910 novel "At the Villa Rose," predates the writing of the first Poirot novel by six years.
Crime Classics was a U. S. radio docudrama which aired over CBS from June 15, 1953 to June 30, 1954. Created, produced, and directed by radio actor/director Elliott Lewis, the program was basically a historical true crime series, examining crimes, and especially murders, from the past. It grew out of Lewis's personal interest in famous murder cases, and took a documentary-like approach to the subject, carefully recreating the facts, personages, and feel of the time period. Comparatively little dramatic license was taken with the facts and events, but the tragedy was leavened with humor, expressed largely through the narration.
On July 31, 1930 a sinister voice came over the radio into American Homes. The voice of the Shadow appeared for the first time. In the beginning the Shadow was not a crime fighter. He was a mysterious narrator of mystery tales taken from the pages of Street & Smith's Detective Story Magazine. The publisher Street & Smith began to use radio as an advertising medium to promote their fiction publications. The Shadow was a perfectly creepy teller of tales promoting Street & Smith. This format continued until 1935 when creative differences between Street & Smith and NBC called a halt to the Shadow on the air. On September 26, 1937, the Shadow reappeared on radio with the voice of Orson Welles playing the part. The Shadow was now a full-fledged character on radio, not just narrating and introducing stories. The Shadow had an identity as Lamont Cranston, a wealthy man about town. He was accompanied by Margo Lane, originally played by Agnes Moorehead. Margo Lane was the only person who knew that Lamont Cranston and the Shadow were one and the same. No other agents assisted the Shadow, as did in the Walter Gibson fictional accounts. This radio Shadow had hypnotic power to make himself invisible to those around him and he possessed mental telepathy to read minds. Orson Welles played the Shadow from 1937 through March 1938. The Shadow became the highest rated radio show on the air at that time.
Maisie, the first in 1939, was from the book "Dark Dame" by the writer Wilson Collison,who did decades of scripting for the silver screen along with Broadway plays and magazine fiction. From the first, MGM wanted Ann Sothern to play Maisie. She began in Hollywood as an extra in 1927. "Maisie and I were just together - I just understood her," Sothern, born Harriette Arlene Lake, said after several of the films made her a star. Throughout the 1930s and '40s, Ann Sothern and Lucille Ball, like many performers in Hollywood, had not one but two careers - one in motion pictures and one on radio. MGM Studios had created the series of ten motion pictures based on a brash blonde with a heart "of spun gold." Maisie, the first in 1939, was from the book "Dark Dame" by the writer Wilson Collison, who did decades of scripting for the silver screen along with Broadway plays and magazine fiction.
The Philip Morris Playhouse was originally called "Johnny Presents" and named after the Philip Morris trademark, a bellhop by the name of Johnny Roventini. Johnny was discovered when an ad man for Philip Morris, spotted him in a popular New York Hotel. The thought occured that the new show could lead off with Johnny walking through the lobby yelling "Last Call For Philip Morris". The idea was an instant success and the tabacco company paid him $20000.00 a year for his participation. Guest stars included some of Hollywood's tops, Marlene Dietrich, Vincent Price and Howard Duff to name a few.
THIS EPISODE:
May 13, 1949. CBS net. "Four Hours To Kill". Sponsored by: Philip Morris, Revelation Pipe Tobacco. After killing his brother, a man has only four hours to find and kill the woman who heard the crime over the telephone. The script was also used on "Suspense" on January 12, 1950 (see cat. #16382 and #72438). Howard Duff, William Spier (producer, editor, director), Cathy Lewis, John Holbrook (announcer), Harold Swanton (writer), Lud Gluskin (music director), Art Ballinger (announcer). 29:14.
Lux Radio Theater strove to feature as many of the original stars of the original stage and film productions as possible, usually paying them $5,000 an appearance to do the show. It was when sponsor Lever Brothers (who made Lux soap and detergent) moved the show from New York to Hollywood in 1936 that it eased back from adapting stage shows and toward adaptations of films. The first Lux film adaptation was The Legionnaire and the Lady, with Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable, based on the film Morocco. That was followed by a Lux adaptation of The Thin Man, featuring the movie's stars, Myrna Loy and William Powell.
"Charles Walsh" (7-09-49) and "Counterfeiting Ring" (10-15-49)
Dick Powell was known as a song and dance man until his rebirth as a movie tough guy in Murder My Sweet, where he played Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe. He then appeared in a string of crime and detective flicks, and eventually parlayed it into a successful radio show. Powell played RICHARD DIAMOND, "radio's singing gumshoe", an ex-OSS man turned New York City private detective who was tough when he needed to be, but tried to have a little fun while on the job. He often closed the show with a song to his uptown girlfriend, Helen. The show was a hit, the first of many for writer/director Blake Edwards, who went on to create Peter Gunn and the Pink Panther movies. And when that upstart new medium television beckoned, deciding at this point he was too busy (or a bit long in the tooth) to star, Powell became a producer, formed Four Star Productions, and unleashed Richard Diamond, Private Detective on the world, with newcomer David Meyer (who changed his name to Janssen, at Powell's suggestion) as Diamond (pictured). He remained in New York, but the former OSS operative became the former cop. He remained in New York for two seasons, but the third season began with Diamond moving to Los Angles where he gets a girlfriend, Karen (Barbara Bain), a spiffy car with a phone in it, and an answering service, run by Sam (played by Mary Tyler Moore's legs). And what LA gumshoe needs is an eccentric fading movie star as a client. In this case, former film queen Laura Renault (Hillary Brooke) filled the bill.
The Campbell Playhouse was a sponsored continuation of the Mercury Theater on the Air, a direct result of the instant publicity from the War of the Worlds panic. The switch occurred on December 9, 1938. In spite of using the same creative staff, the show had a different flavor under sponsorship, partially attributed to a guest star policy in place, which relegated the rest of the Mercury Players to supporting cast for Orson Welles and the Hollywood guest of the week. There was a growing schism between Welles, still reaping the rewards of his Halloween night notoriety, and his collaborator John Houseman, still in the producer's chair but feeling more like an employee than a partner. The writer, as during the unsponsored run, was Howard Koch.
The Golden Age of Radio was ending, not with a whimper, but with a robust bang. Many of the best network and syndicated shows began in the 1950s, even though public interest and advertising dollars were switching to television, FORT LARAMIE was certainly one of the finest radio series, and were it not for GUNSMOKE, it could be termed the best adult Western program ever aired. FORT LARAMIE is a close relative of GUNSMOKE since it had the same producer-director, same writers, same sound effects men, and many of the same actors. GUNSMOKE had been running for almost four years when Norman Macdonnell brought FORT LARAMIE to CBS. The latter had the same gritty realism, attention to detail, and integrity that audiences admired in GUNSMOKE.
The CBS Radio Workshop was an experimental dramatic radio anthology series that aired on CBS from January 27, 1956, until September 22, 1957. Subtitled âradioâs distinguished series to manâs imagination,â it was a revival of the earlier Columbia Workshop, broadcast by CBS from 1936 to 1947, and it used some of the same writers and directors employed on the earlier series. The premiere broadcast was a two-part adaptation of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, introduced and narrated by Huxley. It took a unique approach to sound effects, as described in a review that week in Time (February 6, 1956): It took three radio sound men, a control-room engineer and five hours of hard work to create the sound that was heard for less than 30 seconds on the air. The sound consisted of a ticking metronome, tom-tom beats, bubbling water, air hose, cow moo, boing! (two types), oscillator, dripping water (two types) and three kinds of wine glasses clicking against each other. Judiciously blended and recorded on tape, the effect was still not quite right. Then the tape was played backward with a little echo added. That did it. The sound depicted the manufacturing of babies in the radio version of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Music for the series was composed by Jerry Goldsmith, Amerigo Moreno, Ray Noble and Leith Stevens. Other writers adapted to the series included Robert A. Heinlein, Sinclair Lewis, H. L. Mencken, Edgar Allan Poe, Frederik Pohl, James Thurber and Thomas Wolfe.
A host of prominent actors from radio and screen performed on the series, including Agnes Moorehead, Joan Hackett, Mercedes McCambridge, Morey Amsterdam, Roy Thinnes, Keir Dullea, Fred Gwynne, Richard Crenna, Kim Hunter, Larry Haines, Morgan Fairchild, John Lithgow, and even a very young Sarah Jessica Parker. Actors were paid union scale at around $73.92 per show. Writers earned a flat rate of $350.00 per show. The production took place with assembly-line precision. Brown would meet with actors at 9:00 AM for the first reading of the script. He would then assign roles and recording would begin. By noon the recording of the actors was complete and Brown handed everyone their checks. Post-production would take place in the afternoon. In 1975, CBSRMT won the prestigious Peabody Award, and in 1990 it was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. In 1998, the still-active Brown attempted a brief revival of the series, rebroadcasting selected old episodes with his own introductions replacing Marshall's.
The Whistler was one of radio's most popular mystery dramas, with a 13-year run from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955. If it now seems to have been influenced explicitly by The Shadow, The Whistler was no less popular or credible with its listeners, the writing was first class for its genre, and it added a slightly macabre element of humor that sometimes went missing in The Shadow's longer-lived crime stories. Writer-producer J. Donald Wilson established the tone of the show during its first two years, and he was followed in 1944 by producer-director George Allen. Other directors included Sterling Tracy and Sherman Marks with final scripts by Joel Malone and Harold Swanton. A total of 692 episodes were produced, yet despite the series' fame, over 200 episodes are lost today. In 1946, a local Chicago version of The Whistler with local actors aired Sundays on WBBM, sponsored by Meister Brau beer.
The Avenger is an Old Time Radio show aired by the South African Broadcasting System in the 1940s. It featured a biochemist crime-fighter by the name of Jim Brandon. Mr. Brandon had two inventions which assisted him in the fight against crime. Mr. Brandon was able to pick up telpathic thought flashes and had a diffusion capsule which allowed him to become invisible.
SYNDICATED by : Charles Michelson. WRITTER: Walter Gibson STARS: James Monks, Dick Janiver as the invisible Jim Brandon WITH: James LaCurto.
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was a radio drama about a freelance insurance investigator "with the action-packed expense account." The show aired on CBS Radio from February 11, 1949 to September 30, 1962. There were 811 episodes in the 12-year run, and over 720 still exist today. As originally conceived, Johnny Dollar was a smart, tough, wisecracking detective who tossed silver-dollar tips to waiters and bellhops. Dick Powell starred in the audition show, recorded in 1948, but withdrew from the role in favor of other projects. The role went instead to Charles Russell. With the first three actors to play Johnny Dollar -- radio actor Russell and movie tough-guy actors Edmond O'Brien and John Lund -- there was little to distinguish Johnny Dollar from other detective series at the time (Richard Diamond, Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade). While always a friend of the police, Johnny wasn't necessarily a stickler for the strictest interpretation of the law. He was willing to let some things slide to satisfy his own sense of justice, as long as the interests of his employer were protected. After a year-long break (August 1954 to August 1955), the show changed from a 30-minute, one-episode-per-week affair to a 15-minute, five-nights-a-week serial that introduced the most successful Johnny Dollar: Bob Bailey, who had just come off another network detective series, Let George Do It.
Counterspy was an espionage drama radio series that aired on ABC and Mutual from May 18, 1942 to November 29, 1957. David Harding (Don MacLaughlin) was the chief of the United States Counterspies, a unit engaged during World War II in counterespionage against Japan's Black Dragon and Germany's Gestapo. With spies still lurking in the post-war years, the adventures continued apace well after World War II ended.
2000 AD (2000 Plus) is known as the first of the network science fiction shows, although it ran on Mutual just a month prior to the introduction of the landmark series, Dimension X. It was a half hour of science fiction wonder in an exciting package. The stories have a charm that is always present in science fiction of the future that is written in the past. "When The Worlds Met" takes place "at the giant space port in Washington, temporary capitol of the federated world government as in April 21, 2000 Plus 20 (2020) crowds throng as audio and televox networks cover a space ship carrying in its space hold the first load of uranium taken from the pits of Luna, satellite of Earth.
The Clitheroe Kid was James Robertson Clitheroe, Jimmy Clitheroe to most, who by some strange coincidence did come from the town of that name without having to change his family name! At his full height he was 4ft 3in, and played the naughty schoolboy from 1958 to 1972. Although plausable from a distance, he was not really able to pass himself off as a youngster close up, so a TV career did not really take off too well, but at the peak of his fame the radio show was raking in about 10 million listeners, although by the end this had dropped to a tenth of that figure. Clitheroe was a very private person, and the shows became a sort of escape for him, as well as the release from the worries of his diminutive size, but despite this, his popularity increased and increased, making this series one of the longer running on the radio - a total of 17 series. It is surprising then that with such a success, and with such a long run that the shows are rarely broadcast. The humour was very obvious and probably wouldn't stand up in todays climes, but there has been one release from the BBC radio collection, so if you wanted to hear some of the shows, you can hunt this down in the shops. I would like to thank Tony Lang for the following information about the series. I do not have any of this series on tape myself, so if anyone has comments to make I would be most grateful. The scripts were generally written by James Casey and Frank Roscoe, with the shows production by James Casey. The series sprang from a single show broadcast on 24-4-56 as part of a Variety Playhouse series The pilot series did not have individual names for the episodes. The producer was Geoff Lawrence, with the music supplied by the BBC Northern Dance Orchestra, conducted by Alyn Ainsworth, and broadcast in the North of England only.
The adventures of Casey, crack photographer for The Morning Express, were told in this series, which moved to television after a highly successful run on radio in the 1940âs. Casey hung out at the Blue Note CafÃ, where the music was provided by the Tony Mottola Trio, and was friendly with Ethelbert, the bartender, to whom he recounted his various exploits. Richard Carlyle and John Gibson portrayed the roles when the series premiered in April, 1951, but by June they were replaced by Darren McGavin and Cliff Hall. Ann Williams, a reporter on The Morning Express, was Caseyâs girlfriend. During the summer of 1951 he acquired a partner in cub reporter Jack Lipman, who wrote copy to go with Caseyâs pictures. This live series was set in and broadcast from, New York City.
The shows had names after the sponsors, such as Maxwell House Coffee Time, or The Ammident Show - it was the Burns and Allen show to the public. Other fine radio actors were a part of the fun. Mel Blanc did the happy postman, and was also famous for his zany characters on The Jack Benny Show, and his own Mel Blanc Show. Elliott Lewis, a veteran of many radio dramas, played many of the bit parts on the Burns and Allen shows of the 40s. Burns & Allen were touring England in 1929 when they made their first radio appearance on the BBC. Gracie Allen died on August 27, 1964. George Burns died on March 9, 1996. First Broadcast date february 15th 1932. Last Broadcast date may 17th 1950.
Buck Rogers In The 25th Century - The Mechanical Mole (Parts 4-5-6-7) 1939
In 1987 NASA launches a manned probe on a 5 month trip around the solar system. The probe's pilot is Captain William "Buck" Rogers. Something goes awry causing the ships life support systems to freeze Buck in a cryogenic suspension. The malfunction sends Ranger 3 in a deep space orbit that will return the disable spacecraft to Earth in the year 2491. Buck awakens from his deep cryogenic sleep to find himself 500 years in the future. Earth is still recovering from the aftermath of a late 20th Century nuclear holocaust which nearly destroyed the planet. Due to his incredible fighter pilot skills Buck becomes a valuable member of the Earth's Defense Directorate, which is headed by Dr. Elias Huer. Captain Rogers also finds himself a part of a fighter squadron headed by the beautiful Colonel Wilma Deering. Among his other compatriots are Twiki -- a likable robot who becomes Buck's pal -- and Dr. Theopolis -- a mechanical brain in a box who is part of Earth's Computer Council.
Lights Out was an American old-time radio program featuring "tales of the supernatural and the supernormal." It was immensely popular, and was one of the first horror programs, predating Suspense and Inner Sanctum. In its heydey, Lights Out rivalled the popularity of those shows. Lights Out ran through several series and networks, from January 1, 1934 to August 6, 1947. The principal sponsor was Ironized Yeast. Most episodes were broadcast at midnight. Lights Out then made the transition to television in 1949, where it was broadcast until 1952. Created in Chicago by writer Wyllis Cooper in 1934.
THE MAN FROM HOMICIDE
THIS EPISODE:
Ice Pick Murder from The Man From Homicide aired September 16, 1950 starring Charles McGraw as Lieutenant Dana, one tough cop! A dead man has been found in a ditch, killed by an ice pick. Then, Harold Winthrop is killed by a gun. The corpse wore silk socks. What happens Next?
Diary of Fate is a mystery and horror program where âFateâ narrates and always wins by the end of the story. These are great suspense filled stories about average people who are subject to the mysteries of their âFateâ. In This episode, March 16, 1948. Program #14. Finley syndication. "Joe Mattock". Commercials added locally. Book 63, page 397. A truck driver and his beautiful hitch-hiker commit murder to get their hands on $100,000, kept in a little black bag. The date is subject to correction. Ivan Ditmars (music), Larry Finley (producer), Hal Sawyer, Frank Albertson, Gloria Blondell, Herb Lytton, Jerry Hausner, Ray Ehrlenborn (probable sound effects). 26:47
SHOW ONE OF TWO
In 1987 NASA launches a manned probe on a 5 month trip around the solar system. The probe's pilot is Captain William "Buck" Rogers. Something goes awry causing the ships life support systems to freeze Buck in a cryogenic suspension. The malfunction sends Ranger 3 in a deep space orbit that will return the disable spacecraft to Earth in the year 2491. Buck awakens from his deep cryogenic sleep to find himself 500 years in the future. Earth is still recovering from the aftermath of a late 20th Century nuclear holocaust which nearly destroyed the planet. Due to his incredible fighter pilot skills Buck becomes a valuable member of the Earth's Defense Directorate, which is headed by Dr. Elias Huer. Captain Rogers also finds himself a part of a fighter squadron headed by the beautiful Colonel Wilma Deering. Among his other compatriots are Twiki -- a likable robot who becomes Buck's pal -- and Dr. Theopolis -- a mechanical brain in a box who is part of Earth's Computer Council.
Mr. District Attorney was a popular radio crime drama which aired on NBC and ABC from April 3, 1939 to June 13, 1952 (and in transcribed syndication through 1953). The series focused on a crusading D.A., known throughout the series only as "Mister District Attorney," or "Chief", and was later translated to television. Created, written, and directed by former law student Ed Byron, the series was inspired by the early years of New York governor Thomas E. Dewey. It was Dewey's public war against racketeering which led to his election as governor. Phillips H. Lord, creator of Gangbusters, helped to develop the concept and coined the title. Byron lent an air of accuracy and immediacy to his scripts through close study of crime statistics, a library of criminology texts, following the newspapers, and even going around rough bars to gain tips, background, and color from crooks and police alike. His techniques sometimes enabled Byron to accurately predicting major crime waves before the news broke.
These shows were pitched at an aggressive level, anything-for-a-laugh, which perfectly suited Berle's comic style and profile. This also tended to make his programs very visual. Slapstick routines, outrageous costumes (Berle often appeared in drag), and various ludicrous skits became trademarks of his television humor. Audiences across the country wanted to see what Berle would do next, and he quite obviously thrived on this anticipation. From his malaprop greetings (e.g., "Hello, ladies and germs") to the frenetic, relentless pacing of his jokes and rejoinders, and even in his reputation for stealing and recycling material, Berle presented himself as one part buffoon and one part consummate, professional entertainer--a kind of veteran of the Borscht Belt trenches. Yet even within his shows' sanctioned exhibitionism, some of Berle's behavior could cross the line from affability to effrontery. At its worst, the underlying tone of the Berle programs can appear to be one of contempt should the audience not respond approvingly. In some cases, this led to a surprising degree of self-consciousness about TV itself--Texaco's original commercial spokesman, Sid Stone, would sometimes hawk his products until driven from the stage by a cop. But the uneven balance of excess and decorum proved wildly successful.
YOU ARE THERE
November 1939 to May 1940, CBS Blue Network
Dramatic historical recreation
Imagine if CBS radio news existed when the Bastille was stormed in 1789, or if radio reporters were stationed in Ford Theater as Lincoln was assassinated, or again at the Battle of Gettysburg? Indeed, such was the premise behind the CBS series, You Are There. Audiences witnessed history through the present-tense accounts of newsmen allegedly witnessing historical events transpiring before their eyes. Don Hollenbeck and John Daley (known for his TV game show panelist appearances) played the lead anchors, while real-life newsman provided the remote commentaries as the dramas unfolded. As show opened, an anchor would describe the present situation with "As it stands nowâ" and segue into commentaries, live remote feeds or analysis as the story unfurled.The show was well received, but perhaps was doomed to eventual failure in part due John Daly's emoting. Bernard DeVoto in Harper Magazine lamented: "We have heard his (Daly) voice vibrate with the real emotion, and our memory of the real simply turns the imagined to ham."
In October of 1934, "Lux Radio Theater" debuted in New York on NBC's Blue radio network. Presenting audio versions of popular Broadway plays, the show failed to garner an audience and soon ran out of material. After switching networks to CBS and moving to Hollywood, Lux found its true market. The show began featuring adaptations of popular films, performed by as many of the original stars as possible. With an endless supply of hit films scripts and an audience of more than 40 million, Lux enjoyed a prosperous run until the curtain fell in 1956
THIS EPISODE:
Secret Of The Incas (12-14-54)
An Incan legend states that the Inca Empire was destroyed by the gods when a gold and jeweled starburst was stolen from the Temple of the Sun centuries ago, and that the ancient civilization will be reborn once the treasure is returned. Harry Steele (Charlton Heston), an American adventurer is seeking the artifact, as is his nemesis Thomas Mitchell, along with Elena Antonescu (Nicole Maurey), an Iron Curtain refugee.
Written and directed by Robert A. Arthur and David Kogan, the series began on the Mutual Broadcasting System, December 5, 1943, continuing in many different timeslots until September 16, 1952. Unlike many other shows of the era, The Mysterious Traveler was without a sponsor for its entire run. The lonely sound of a distant locomotive heralded the arrival of the malevolent narrator, portrayed by Maurice Tarplin, who introduced himself each week in the following manner. This is the Mysterious Traveler, inviting you to join me on another journey into the strange and terrifying. I hope you will enjoy the trip, that it will thrill you a little and chill you a little. So settle back, get a good grip on your nerves and be comfortable -- if you can!
LET GEORGE DO IT
Detective Drama (1946 - 54)
Bob Bailey played George Valentine as a detective handy man, who got his jobs from responses to a newspaper ad. Part-time detective and writer Dan Holiday in Box 13 also used the premise. It pays to advertise! The shows follow the usual formats of crime caper shows, with toughs, mysterious rendezvous and people who aren't who they say they are.
Network was Mutual, Sponsor was Standard Oil. STARS: Bob Bailey, Eddie Firestone Jr., Francis Robinson, Joe Kearn PRODUCER: Owen Vinson WRITER: Polly Hopkins MUSIC: Eddie Dunstedter.
Hollywood Radio Theater (Lux), one of the genuine classic radio anthology series (NBC Blue Network, 1934-1935; CBS 1935-1955), adapted first Broadway stage and then (and especially) films to hour-long live radio presentations and became the standard by which future radio and early television anthologies would be judged. Cecil B. DeMille was the host of the series each Monday evening from June 1, 1936 until January 22, 1945. Lux Radio Theater strove to feature as many of the original stars of the original stage and film productions as possible, usually paying them $5,000 an appearance to do the show. It was when sponsor Lever Brothers (who made Lux soap and detergent) moved the show from New York to Hollywood in 1936 that it eased back from adapting stage shows and toward adaptations of films. The first Lux film adaptation was The Legionnaire and the Lady, with Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable, based on the film Morocco. That was followed by a Lux adaptation of The Thin Man, featuring the movie's stars, Myrna Loy and William Powell.
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater was an ambitious effort by veteran radio producer Himan Brown to revive interest in American radio drama. Every night from 1974 to 1982, host E. G. Marshall (later Tammy Grimes) ushered listeners through a creaking door -- similar to the one Brown used on Inner Sanctum decades earlier -- for an hour of âthe fear you can hear.â Brown produced nearly 200 new episodes of Mystery Theater every year, using both original scripts and adaptations of classic stories by Edgar Allen Poe, Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The Mystery Theater brought many veterans from radioâs golden age back before the microphone, including Agnes Moorehead, Richard Widmark, Celeste Holm, Mercedes McCambridge and Howard daSilva. The show also featured performances from many up-and-coming stage and film actors, including Tony Roberts, John Lithgow, Morgan Fairchild, Mandy Patinkin and Sarah Jessica Parker. The CBS Radio Mystery Theater won the George A. Peabody Award in 1975. After eight years and over 1,500 shows, the show ended its run on December 30, 1982. E. G. Marshall died on August 24, 1998. The CBS Radio Mystery Theater was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1990.
Taking its name from a popular series of mystery novels, Inner Sanctum Mysteries debuted over NBCâs Blue Network in January 1941. Inner Sanctum Mysteries featured one of the most memorable and atmospheric openings in radio history: an organist hit a dissonant chord, a doorknob turned and the famous âcreaking doorâ slowly began to open. Every week, Inner Sanctum Mysteries told stories of ghosts, murderers and lunatics. Produced in New York, the cast usually consisted of veteran radio actors, with occasional guest appearances by such Hollywood stars Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Claude Rains. What made Inner Sanctum Mysteries unique among radio horror shows was its host, a slightly-sinister sounding man originally known as âRaymond.â The host had a droll sense of humor and an appetite for ghoulish puns, and his influence can be seen among horror hosts everywhere, from the Crypt-Keeper to Elvira. Raymond Edward Johnson was the showâs host until 1945; Paul McGrath took over the role until the show left the air in 1952. Producer Hiram Brown would utilize the creaking door again in the 1970s, when he produced and directed The CBS Radio Mystery Theater. Inner Sanctum Mysteries was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1988.
21ST PRECINCT was one of the realistic police drama series of the early- to mid-1950's that were aired in the wake of DRAGNET. Hard-boiled private detective series that often portrayed police as inept or incompetent were losing favor. NBC's DRAGNET had proven that a realistic police show could attract and hold an audience.
NOTE: The official title of the series according to the series scripts and the CBS series promotional materials was 21ST PRECINCT and not TWENTY-FIRST PRECINCT or TWENTY FIRST PRECINCT which appears in many Old-Time Radio books. In 1953 CBS decided to use New York City as the backdrop for their own half-hour police series and focus o the day-to-day operations of a single police precinct. Actual cases would be used as the basis for stories.
THE FALCON was the nom de guerre of a true man of mystery. He was either MICHAEL WARING, a shadowy figure who took on the underworld with the aid of his friend Sarge, avoiding the police because they tended to blame him for their unsolved crimes, created by Drexel Drake in 1936 and originally appearing in a series of novels and at least one short story. Or he was GAY STANHOPE FALCON, a sort of freelance adventurer and troubleshooter, definitely on the hardboiled side,.created by Michael Arlen in a 1940 short story. Either way, though, he was a man who made his living "keeping his mouth shut and engaging in dangerous entreprises," according to Otto Penzler et al's Detectionary. And, like Boston Blackie, a long, lucrative and convuluted career in film, radio and television soon followed, as The Falcon's occupation and even his name were changed from medium to medium.
THIS EPISODE:
July 17, 1952. NBC network. "The Case Of The King Of Clubs". Sustaining. Not auditioned. Michael Waring travels to Berlin for Army Intellignce, where he learns that "when trumps are led, the game can murder!" tThe system cue is added live. Les Damon, Drexel Drake (creator), Fred Collins (announcer), Bernard L. Schubert (producer, transcriber), Richard Lewis (director), Eugene Wang (writer), Lily Valente. 30:49.
EXPLORING TOMORROW
Starting as a replacement show for Gangbusters and Counterspy, the series premiered December 11, 1957 and it ran until June 13, 1958. Quoting from Astounding Magazine, "Exploring Tomorrow is the first science fiction radio show of science-fictioneers, by science- fictioneers, and for science-fictioneers" The shows were narrated by the editor of Astounding Magazine, John W. Campbell, Jr., with scripts written by Gordon Dickson, Robert Silverberg and many other notable science fiction writers.
THIS EPISODE
How Big Is A Man - Poul Anderson (author), John Campbell Jr. (host), Guy Wallace (announcer). 20 minutes.
He was born Alfred Damon Runyan in Manhattan, Kansas, and grew up in Pueblo, Colorado, where Runyon Field and Runyon Lake are named after him. He was a third-generation newspaperman, and started in the trade under his father in Pueblo. He worked for various newspapers in the Rocky Mountain area; at one of those, the spelling of his last name was changed from "Runyan" to "Runyon", a change he let stand. After a notable failure in trying to organize a Colorado minor baseball league, Runyon moved to New York City in 1910. For the next ten years he covered the New York Giants and professional boxing for the New York American. In his first New York byline, the American editor dropped the "Alfred", and the name "Damon Runyon" appeared for the first time. Broadcast from January to December 1949, "The Damon Runyon Theatre" dramatized 52 of Runyon's short stories for radio.
The Damon Runyon Theater was a series that was syndicated across the USA beginning in early 1949. Damon Runyon was a gifted sports writer in New York City as well as being a great journalist and great short story writer. His stories were humorous ones, written in the "dem" and "dose" vernacular of the city's loveable and not so loveable characters of Broadway, the prize ring and the underworld. His most famous collection of short stories, Guys and Dolls, was on Broadway and later made into a movie. Many of his stories were filmed including Sorrowful Jones, A Pocketful of Miracles, Lady for a Day, Blue Plate Special, The Lemon Drop Kid (twice) and Little Miss Marker (four times). In addition to this The Damon Runyon Theater was syndicated for television in the mid 1950s.
This show represented a serious attempt by CBS to provide quality dramatic programming for its Sunday afternoon listeners. A continuation of the series "Dangerously Yours," it was renamed "Matinee Theater" with a view towards presenting "a greater range of stories." That broader scope was able to accommodate such episodes as "Beautiful Dreamer" (the Stephen Foster story) and "The Love Story of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning." Victor Jory and several different female stars paired to bring classics like "Wuthering Heights," "Jane Eyre" and "The Scarlet Pimpernel" to the audience, as well as a number of more contemporary works. The first of these thirty-minute broadcasts aired October 22, 1944 and the final one on April 8, 1945. The Vick Chemical Company sponsored throughout.
IT'S HIGGINS SIR
First Show: July 3, 1951
Last Show: September 25, 1951
The Roberts, a normal, middle income American family inherit a silver tea set from distant relative in England. The tea set is accompanied by it's caretaker, Higgins, their new butler. Normal family situations are punctuated by Higgin's smart aleck comments and his general disdain for otrt things American and all things common. The show was a Summer Replacement Series for The Bob Hope Show.
CAST: Starring: Harry McNaughton (as Higgins), Vinton Hayworth, Peggy Allenby, Charles Nevil, Pat Hosley and Denise Alexander.Creator/Director: Paul Harrison Writers: Paul Harrison and Rick Vollick.
Amos 'n' Andy, still written entirely by the two stars, was the top-rated program of all in 1930, with a 54.4 rating and 30 million listeners (compare that to the Super Bowl's 44.2 rating in 2004). By this time, the wily, coniving Kingfish was becoming a major personality, eventually supplanting sensible Amos as star of the show (Freeman Gosden gave voice to both characters while Charles Correll played Andrew H. Brown).
There were four series under the HALL OF FANTASY banner, all produced by Richard Thorne. The first HALL OF FANTASY originated from radio station KALL in Salt Lake City, Utah. Richard Thorne and Carl Greyson were announcers for the station and produced the rather barebones shows, possibly late in 1946 and into 1947. The series consisted of 26 shows. Broadcast dates for the shows are not known. The shows were written or adapted by Robert Olson and directed by Mr. Thorne. Most were classic murder mysteries with traditional endings; the evil-doer got his just rewards. The series was sponsored by the Granite Furniture Company, although existing shows are missing the commercials, apparently because they were inserted live.
Mr. Moto is small in stature but strong and an expert in judo. He was the title character of a series of books, beginning with No Hero (1935; British title: Mr Moto Takes a Hand, reprint title: Your Turn, Mr. Moto), and of eight films between 1937 and 1939, in which he was portrayed by Peter Lorre. With the beginning of World War II, Mr. Moto fell out of favor with Americans, and no new books or movies about him appeared between 1942 and 1957. A dedicated and cold-blooded spy for Imperial Japan, Moto is not a conventional hero. He does not look for opportunities to commit violence but has no problem with killing people who obstruct his plans, and he would not hesitate to take his own life if necessary. But he is a master of concealing his true nature while under cover, and usually appears dull, naive, utterly harmless. He does not try to correct the bigoted attitudes of Westerners toward him and other Asians, and is not above encouraging such condescension. It often works to his advantage, leading Westerners to ignore or underestimate him.
THIS EPISODE:
Mr. I. A. Moto. July 1, 1951. NBC net. "Project 77". Sustaining. Not auditioned. A scientist is tortured to revealed the secrets of, "Project 77." John P. Marquand (creator), Harry W. Junkin (writer, director), Carol Irwin (producer), Bill Smith, Connie Lembcke, Bill Lipton, James Monks, Fred Collins (announcer), Scott Tennyson, Ian Martin. 29:35.
Arch Oboler's Plays was a radio drama series written, produced and directed by Arch Oboler. Minus a sponsor, it ran for one year, airing Saturday evenings on NBC from March 25, 1939 to March 23, 1940 and revived five years later on Mutual for a sustaining summer run from April 5, 1945 to October 11, 1945. Leading film actors were heard on this series, including Ingrid Bergman, Gloria Blondell, Eddie Cantor, James Cagney, Ronald Colman, Joan Crawford, Greer Garson, Edmund Gwenn, Van Heflin, Katharine Hepburn, Elsa Lanchester, Peter Lorre, Frank Lovejoy, Raymond Massey, Burgess Meredith, Paul Muni, Alla Nazimova, Edmond O'Brien, Geraldine Page, Gale Sondergaard, Franchot Tone and George Zucco.
Tuska cited Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940) and Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery (1941) as the best of the Bellamy-Lindsay pairings. "The influence of The Thin Man series was apparent in reverse", Tuska noted about Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery. "Ellery and Nikki are unmarried but obviously in love with each other. Probably the biggest mystery... is how Ellery ever gets a book written. Not only is Nikki attractive and perfectly willing to show off her figure", Tuska wrote, "but she also likes to write her own stories on Queen's time, and gets carried away doing her own investigations." In Ellery Queen, Master Detective, "the amorous relationship between Ellery and Nikki Porter was given a dignity, and therefore integrity", Tuska wrote, "that was lacking in the two previous entries in the series", made at Republic Pictures before Bellamy and Lindsay were signed by Columbia.
Fred Allen (born John Florence Sullivan on May 31, 1894 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, died March 17, 1956 in New York City) was an American comedian whose absurdist, pointed radio show (1934â1949) made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists in the so-called classic era of American radio. His best-remembered gag may be his long-running mock feud with friend and fellow comedian Jack Benny, but Allen didn't need it to make or secure his own reputation. He was one of the most accomplished, daring humorists of his (and most any) time. The unchallenged master ad libber, he battled censorship and created routines whose style and substance alike influenced several future comic generations. Perhaps more than any of his generation, Fred Allen wielded an influence that outlived both his contemporaries and the medium that made him famous.
Space Patrol debuted on March 9, 1950 as a fifteen minute show on KECA-TV in Los Angeles, a little over 6 months before the Tom Corbett series began. The first half hour Saturday show began on December 30, 1950 and lasted until February 26, 1955. The fifteen minute shows were kinescoped for broadcast outside of the Los Angles area within a week or two of the California broadcast. In June of 1952 the Saturday shows were broadcast live from coast to coast and the daily 15 minute shows continued to be broadcast on the West Coast for at least three years after the coast to coast syndication had ended. The shows creator, Mike Moser, was a Navy veteran of World War II who had trained hurricane-hunter squadrons. In a 1952 Time article, Mr. Moser said the show was inspired while he was flying over the Pacific and thinking about the universe. He wanted kids to grow up with the same sense of wonder for the future he had experienced during his childhood with Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers.
Broadcast History : September 18th, 1950 - March 19th, 1955 ABC. 30m, Mondays and Fridays at 5:30pm
Cast : Ed Kemmer as Buzz Corry, Lyn Osborn as Cadet Happy Virginia Hewitt as Carol Karlyle Ken Mayer as Maj. Robbie Robertson, Norman Jolley as Dr. Malingro, Nina Bara as Tonga, Bela Kovacs as Prince Baccarritti - Announcers : DIck Tufeld, Dick Wesson - Producer/Directors : Larry Robertson, Mike Moser - Writer : Lou Huston - Notes : Ran concurrently on TV and Radio, with most of the same performers.
Nightfall is the title of a radio drama series produced and aired by CBC Radio ( Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ) from July 1980 to June 1983. While primarily a supernatural/horror series, Nightfall featured some episodes in other genres, such as science fiction, mystery, fantasy, and human drama. One episode was even adapted from a folk song by Stan Rogers. Some of Nightfall's episodes were so terrifying that the CBC registered numerous complaints and some affiliate stations dropped it. Despite this, the series went on to become one of the most popular shows in CBC Radio history, running 100 episodes that featured a mix of original tales and adaptations of both classic and obscure short stories.
THIS EPISODE:
August 29, 1980. Program #9. CBC origination, NPR net, WPBH-FM, Middlefield, Conn. aircheck. "The Body Snatchers". Sustaining. A story of the acquisition of fresh cadavers for medical school. The WPBH-FM rebroadcast date is October 10, 1981. Neil Munro (narrator), Graham Haley, Robert Christie, Richard Donat, Sean Mulcahy (doubles), Wendy Thatcher, Michael Wincott, Bill Robinson (sound effects), Eric House, John Jessop (recording engineer), John Douglas (senior story editor), Nina Callaghan (production assistant), Bill Howell (producer, director), Robert Louis Stevenson (author), Frank W. McEnaney (adaptor), Henry Ramer (host). 29:54
The shows are classic chills from the old school, with creepy organ, overwrought women and over the top men. Perhaps not the highest of melodrama, but obsessively workmanlike. After all, they might have known they were a skeleton staff toiling relentlessly without a ghost of a chance of fame. Thanks to transcription, these unknowns are still with us. John Dunning, succinctly states in "On the Air, The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio," "There were no credits, so casts and production crews are unknown."
The FORD THEATER, sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, presented hour long dramas first on NBC for one only season. The series moved to CBS for its second and last season. There were 39 NBC and 39 CBS hour- long shows (not verified). The show initially received an unfavorable review from the New York Times for poor script adaptation but was still highly rated for the actors' performance and overall production. The show was supposed to feature only original scripts but had to forgo that plan due to lack of quality material. The first season on NBC used radio actors under the direction of George Zachary. Martin Gabel announced the first show but was soon replaced by Kenneth Banghart. The second season, on CBS, used Hollywood screen actors in the lead roles, supported by radio actors. Fletcher Markle, who previously produced CBS's STUDIO ONE series, was the producer for the second season. Although a short series, it still has some of radio's best dramas.
THIS EPISODE:
Arrowsmith tells the story of bright and scientifically-minded Martin Arrowsmith as he makes his way from a small town in the Midwest to the upper echelons of the scientific community. (He is born in Elk Mills, Winnemac, the same fictional state in which several of Lewis's other novels are set.) Along the way he experiences medical school, private practice as the only doctor in tiny Wheatsylvania, North Dakota, various stints as regional health official, the lure of high-paying hospital jobs. Finally, Arrowsmith is recognized by his former medical school mentor, Max Gottlieb, for a scientific paper he has written and is invited to take a post with a prestigious research institute in New York. The book's climax deals with Dr. Arrowsmith's discovery of a phage that destroys bacteria and his experiences as he faces an outbreak of bubonic plague on a fictional Caribbean island.
In October of 1934, "Lux Radio Theater" debuted in New York on NBC's Blue radio network. Presenting audio versions of popular Broadway plays, the show failed to garner an audience and soon ran out of material. After switching networks to CBS and moving to Hollywood, Lux found its true market. The show began featuring adaptations of popular films, performed by as many of the original stars as possible. With an endless supply of hit films scripts and an audience of more than 40 million, Lux enjoyed a prosperous run until the curtain fell in 1956.
THIS EPISODE:
October 20, 1941. CBS net. "Blood and Sand". Sponsored by: Lux. The
rise and fall of a great bull fighter, the role made famous by Rudolph
Valentino. Kathleen Fitz, Lester Schott, Lou Merrill, Louis Silvers
(music director), Elsa Brand, Erik Rolf, Gale Gordon, Howard McNear,
Jeff Corey, Bruce Payne (doubles), Cecil B. DeMille, Anne Stone, Tyrone
Power, Annabella, Bea Benaderet, Sanford Barnett (director), George
Wells (adaptor), Charlie Forsyth (sound effects), Vicente Blasco Ibanez
(author), Lois Collier (commercial spokesman), Nancy Bickell
(commercial spokesman), Jo Swerling (screenwriter), Nick Toms
(doubles), Paul Dubov, Walter Tetley, Ben Alexander (commercial
spokesman), Julie Bannon (commercial spokesman), Melville Ruick
(announcer). 59:45.
Murder At Midnight â 1946-1947
The Murder at Midnight series was a thirty-minute broadcast featuring tales of the supernatural. The actors included Mercedes McCambridge and Lawson Zerbe and the show was narrated using the spooky, creepy voice of Raymond Morgan and always opened using the same gripping signature; âthe witching hour, when night is darkest, our fears are the strongest, our strength at its lowest ebbâ Midnight! â when graves gape open and death strikes!â
THIS EPISODE:
August 3, 1946. Program #8. Syndicated. "Nightmare". Commercials added locally. A woman has a very vivid dream that her husband is going to kill her! Anton M. Leader (director), Charles Paul (organ), Elspeth Eric, Joseph Ruscoll (writer), Walter Vaughn, Louis G. Cowan (producer). 27:15.
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT) was an ambitious and sustained attempt to revive the great drama of old-time radio in the 1970s. Created by Himan Brown (who had by then become a radio legend due to his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries and other shows dating back to the 1930s), and aired on affiliate stations across the CBS Radio network, the series began its long run on January 6, 1974. The final episode ran on December 31, 1982. The show was broadcast nightly and ran for one hour, including commercials. Typically, a week consisted of three to four new episodes, with the remainder of the week filled out with reruns. There were a total of 1399 original episodes broadcast. The total number of broadcasts, including reruns, was 2969. The late E.G. Marshall hosted the program every year but the final one, when actress Tammy Grimes took over. Each episode began with the ominous sound of a creaking door, slowly opening to invite listeners in for the evening's adventure. At the end of each show, the door would swing shut, with Marshall signing off, "Until next time, pleasant...dreams?"
THIS EPISODE:
IN THE DARK - 1/8/1981
In a totalitarian state, a woman's husband fails to return home. Her best friend has mysteriously "divorced" her husband, and her friends refuse to talk to her. Despite evidence, she cannot believe the secret police have kidnapped her husband. Teri Keane, Carol Teitel, Ray Owens, Ralph Bell.
THIS EPISODE:
The White Cliffs of Dover is one of those overlong MGM wartime films that everyone seems to have seen a part of, but no one can remember the film as a sum total. Based on a poem by Alice Duer Miller, the story chronicles the trials and tribulations of one courageous woman through two world wars. Irene Dunne plays an American girl who, in 1914, falls in love with titled Englishman Alan Marshal. At the end of World War 1 in 1918, it is painfully clear that Marshal will not be returning from the battlefields. Remaining loyal to her husband, Irene vows to raise their child in England. Played by Roddy McDowell in his early scenes, Irene's son grows up to be Peter Lawford. At the outbreak of World War 2, Irene despairs at the thought of losing another loved one, but Lawford convinces her that his dad would have wanted him to answer his country's call to the colors. While working as a Red Cross volunteer, Irene finds that she must tend her own mortally wounded son. Unable to save his life, she is grief-stricken, but is gratified with the notion that neither her husband nor her boy have died in vain. Like many films of its ilk and era, White Cliffs of Dover struck a responsive chord with filmgoers, to the tune of a $4 million profit.
CANDY MATSON was the private eye star of Candy Matson, YUkon 2-8208, an NBC West Coast show which first aired in March 1949 and was created by Monty Masters. He cast his wife, Natalie Parks, in the title role of this sassy, sexy PI. Her understated love interest, Lt. Ray Mallard, was played by Henry Leff while her assistant and best pal, aptly named Rembrandt Watson, was the voice of Jack Thomas. Every show opened with a ringing telephone and our lady PI answering it with "Candy Matson, YU 2-8209" and then the organ swung into the theme song, "Candy". Each job took Candy from her apartment on Telegraph Hill into some actual location in San Francisco. The writers, overseen by Monty, worked plenty of real Bay Area locations into every plot.
The Real McCoys was a situation comedy that aired on the ABC network from 1957 through 1962. It aired for one more season on CBS before its end in 1963. The series revolved around the lives of a mountain family who originally hailed from West Virginia. The McCoys moved to California where they became dirt farmers. The family consisted of Grampa Amos McCoy, the head of the family played by Walter Brennan, his grandson Luke played by Richard Crenna, Luke's new bride Kate played by Kathleen Nolan, teenage sister Hassie played be Lydia Reed, and 11-year-old brother Little Luke played by Michael Winkelman. The Real McCoys paved the way for such rural hits as The Beverly Hillbillies and The Andy Griffith Show.
Adventures of Leonidas Witherall was a radio mystery series broadcast on Mutual in the mid-1940s. Based on the novels of Phoebe Atwood Taylor (writing as Alice Tilton), the 30-minute dramas were produced by Roger Bower and starred Walter Hampden as Leonidas Witherall, a New England boys' school instructor in Dalton, Massachusetts, a fictional Boston suburb. Witherall, who resembled William Shakespeare, is an amateur detective and the accomplished author of the "popular Lieutenant Hazeltine stories." His housekeeper Mrs. Mollett was played by Ethel Remey (1895-1979) and Jack MacBryde appeared as Police Sgt. McCloud. The announcer was Carl Caruso. Milton Kane supplied the music. The series began June 4, 1944 and continued until May 6, 1945.
-Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who first appeared in publication in 1887. He is the creation of Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A brilliant London-based detective, Holmes is famous for his intellectual prowess, and is renowned for his skillful use of deductive reasoning (somewhat mistakenly so called â see inductive reasoning) and astute observation to solve difficult cases. He is arguably the most famous fictional detective ever created, and is one of the best known and most universally recognisable literary characters in any genre. Conan Doyle wrote four novels and fifty-six short stories that featured Holmes. All but four stories are narrated by Holmes' friend and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson; two are narrated by Holmes himself, and two others are written in the third person. The first two stories, short novels, appeared in Beeton's Christmas Annual for 1887 and Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1890. The character grew tremendously in popularity with the beginning of the first series of short stories in The Strand Magazine in 1891; further series of short stories and two serialised novels appeared almost right up to Conan Doyle's death in 1930. The stories cover a period from around 1878 up to 1903, with a final case in 1914.
Abbott and Costello William (Bud) Abbott and Lou Costello (born Louis Francis Cristillo) were an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film and television made them one of the most popular teams in the history of comedy. Thanks to the endurance of their most popular and influential routine, "Who's on First?"---whose rapid-fire word play and comprehension confusion set the preponderant framework for most of their best-known routines---the team are also the only comedians known to have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Bud Abbott was born in Asbury Park, NJ, October 2, 1897 and died April 24, 1974 in Woodland Hills, California. Lou Costello was born in Paterson, NJ, March 6, 1906 and died March 3, 1959 in East Los Angeles, California. After working as Allen's summer replacement, Abbott and Costello joined Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy on The Chase and Sanborn Hour in 1941, while two of their films (Buck Privates and Hold That Ghost) were adapted for Lux Radio Theater. They launched their own weekly show October 8, 1942, sponsored by Camel cigarettes. The Abbott and Costello Show mixed comedy with musical interludes (usually, by singers such as Connie Haines, Marilyn Maxwell, the Delta Rhythm Boys, Skinnay Ennis, and the Les Baxter Singers). Regulars and semi-regulars on the show included Artie Auerbrook, Elvia Allman, Iris Adrian, Mel Blanc, Wally Brown, Sharon Douglas, Verna Felton, Sidney Fields, Frank Nelson, Martha Wentworth, and Benay Venuta. Ken Niles was the show's longtime announcer.
Box 13 was a syndicated radio series about the escapades of mystery novelist Dan Holiday (Alan Ladd), a former newsman. Created by Mayfair Productions, the series premiered August 22, 1948, on New York's WOR and aired in syndication on the East Coast from August 22, 1948, to August 14. 1949. On the West Coast, Box 13 was heard from March 15, 1948 to March 7, 1949. To seek out new ideas for his fiction, Holiday ran a classified ad in the Star-Times newspaper. "Adventure wanted, will go anywhere, do anything -- Box 13." The stories followed Holiday's adventures when he responded to the letters sent to him by such people as a psycho killer and various victims.
Suspense was one of the premier programs of the Golden Age of Radio (aka old-time radio), and advertised itself as "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." It was heard in one form or another from 1942 through 1962. There were approximately 945 episodes broadcast during its long run, over 900 of which are extant in mostly high-quality recordings. Suspense went through several major phases, characterized by different hosts, sponsors and director/producers. There were a few rules which were followed for all but a handful of episodes: Protagonists were usually a normal person suddenly dropped into a threatening or bizarre situation. Evildoers must be punished in the end.
The Hollywood husband and wife team of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall set sail for adventure in the Bold Venture radio series in early 1951. There were well over 400 stations that aired the program. Since thiswas syndicated * the starting date varied from station to station but Mar 26, 1951 was the official date of the first show. Humphrey Bogart portrayed Slate Shannon, owner of a rundown Havana hotel, Shannon's Place. The action took place on land as well aboard Slate's boat, The Bold Venture, thus the title of the series. Lauren Bacall was his ward Sailor Duval, a stubborn and flirtatious young woman whose late father had willed her to Slate for her protection. Together the duo found adventure, intrigue, mystery and romance in the sultry settings of tropical Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean.
ABC Mystery Time was hosted by Don Dowd and starred Sir Laurence Olivier. Great special effects will grab your attention, accented by creepy organ rips. Stories are offered such as death gathered round a card table at a local chapter of The Suicide Club, or a man who desperately tries to hire a 24 hour bodyguard all the while trying to make himself the victim of a murder, and other baffling peculiar tales of yore. Also known as Mystery Time and Mystery Time Classics, this one is sure to excite and mystify.
Mystery in the Air was a Summer series consisting of mystery / horror shows. The series was hosted by Peter Lorre who also played the title role in a few of the shows. The shows were well done and all entertaining! This collection is also included in the Peter Lorre Collection.
The characters were originally invented by Richard for some vignettes he wrote for the New York Sun during the early thirties and which he later resurrected in the short domestic comedies he contributed to The New Yorker, by which time the Norths had acquired their full names but not yet their abilities as amateur detectives. A collection of the stories was published in 1936 as Mr. and Mrs. North. The crime novels originated when Frances Lockwood started writing a mystery during one summer vacation. Stuck on a plot complication she called on her husband for help and the writing team was launched. Because the Norths already had some name recognition, the Lockridges decided to use Pam and Jerry as their central characters and retain the humorous tone and the playful interaction between the couple from the earlier stories. The first Mr. and Mrs. North mystery, The Norths Meet Murder, was published in 1940.
Based on the novels by C. S. Forester.
1952-1953 Series
Broadcast 1952; Transcribed in England for the BBC; aired in U.S. on CBS, then again on ABC in 1954 and Mutual in 1957. Starring Michael Redgrave as Horatio Hornblower. a captain in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic era. The radio series was based on twelve Horatio Hornblower novels written by C.S. Forester. These novels were, and still are, well liked due to their realistic tone and historical accuracy in telling the tales of Naval life in the late 1700s through the mid 1800s. C.S. Forester was well known for his novels about military and naval life, including such fine titles as The African Queen, The Gun, The Barbary Pirates, and The General.
Groucho Marx matches wits with the American public in four episodes of this classic game show. Starting on the radio in 1947, You Bet Your Life made its television debut in 1950 and aired for 11 years with Groucho as host and emcee. Sponsored rather conspicuously by the Dodge DeSoto car manufacturers, the show featured two contestants working as a team to answer questions for cash prizes. Another mainstay of these question and answer segments was the paper mache duck that would descend from the ceiling with one hundred dollars in tow whenever a player uttered the "secret word." The quiz show aspect of "You Bet Your Life" was always secondary, to the clever back-and-forth between host and contestant, which found Groucho at his funniest. It's in these interview segments that "You Bet Your Life" truly makes its mark as one of early television's greatest programs. Directed by: Robert Dwan.
The first portrayal of Phillip Marlowe on the radio was by Dick Powell, when he played Raymond Chandler's detective on the Lux Radio Theater on June 11, 1945. This was a radio adaptation of the 1944 movie, from RKO, in which Mr. Powell played the lead. Two years later, Van Heflin starred as Marlowe in a summer replacement series for the Bob Hope Show on NBC. This series ran for 13 shows. On September 26, 1948, Gerald Mohr became the third radio Marlowe, this time on CBS. It remained a CBS show through its last show in 1951.
Crime Club was a Mutual Network murder and mystery series, a product of the Doubleday Crime Book Club imprints found weekly in bookstores everywhere. The telephone rings"Hello, I hope I haven't kept you waiting. Yes, this is the Crime Club. I'm the Librarian. Murder Rents A Room? Yes, we have that Crime Club story for you.Come right over. (The organist in the shadowed corner of the Crime Club library shivers the ivories) The doorbell tones suddenly"And you are here. Good. Take the easy chair by the window. Comfortable? The book is on this shelf." (The organist hits the scary chord) "Let's look at it under the reading lamp." The Librarian, played by Raymond E. Johnson, begins reading the tale. Veteran Willis Cooper (Lights Out, Quiet Please) did some of the scripts from the Crime Club books.
THIS EPISODE
October 9, 1947. Mutual net. "Sentence Of Death". Sustaining. A very well done story of a judge who has a lot of trouble trying to sentence a convicted murderer to death. . 1/2 hour.
Dramatic Intrigue
FIRST BROADCAST: October 14, 1951
LAST BROADCAST: May 28, 1952
NBC, 30 min. "This is Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.... In a moment, it will be my pleasure to introduce to you stories of the Silent Men, the special agents of federal law-enforcement who silently, and for little material reward, daily risk their lives to protect the lives of all of us. Their tradition is long and proud, yet to guard our welfare and our liberties, they must remain nameless..." Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. played the parts of "special agents. At each episode, Fairbanks checked in with his chief, played by either William Conrad or Herb Butterfield.
The Creaking Door was an old-time radio series of horror and suspense shows originating in South Africa. There are at present anywhere from 34-37 extant episodes in MP3 circulation, yet no currently available program logs for the series indicate the year of the series' broadcast (though it was likely sometime in the 1950s, given the generally high audio quality of the available shows), or the total number of episodes, and only a handful of them are known by their broadcast order. The stories are thrillers in the Inner Sanctum vein, and generally thought of favorably by most fans of OTR.
Adventures of Superman â 1938-1951
This juvenile adventure series was first broadcast on Mutual in 1940 with Clayton (Bud) Collyer starring as Superman/Clark Kent. It first began as a fifteen-minute show but later, in 1949, it moved to ABC as a thirty-minute Saturday show with Michael Fitzmaurice as Superman. At the end of its thirteen-year run it had totalled over 1600 episodes. The opening for the show was one of radioâs best, setting the stage for those flights into fantasy with a cascade of voices, narration and sound effects. âFaster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!â âLook! Up in the sky!â âItâs a bird!â âItâs a plane!â âItâs Superman!
Ronald Colman and his wife Benita Hume starred in the Halls of Ivy, a very well-written, superbly acted radio program that was full of warmth and wit. The show aired from 1950 to 1952 on NBC and is not often mentioned when old-time radio programs are the topic of conversation, but it is one of my favorites. The combination of Mr. & Mrs. Colman's acting and Don Quinn's writing made for an enjoyable half-hour's worth of entertainment. The show was created by Don Quinn who for many, many years put words in the mouths of Fibber McGee and Molly. Quinn wrote jokes that made you think. On the McGee program there was a fast and furious onslaught of crazy puns, mangled cliches, and double-meanings. Sometimes all at once -- when delivered by the superb timing of the talented Jim Jordan as Fibber.
Whitehall 1212 is a crime drama featuring cases from New Scotland Yard's "Black Museum". Unlike the show starring Orson Welles, however, this series was done with the official support of The Yard and tries to downplay the sensational aspects of thes cases and highlight the rigorous police work that went into solving them.
THIS EPISODE:
January 13, 1952. Program #8. NBC net. Sustaining. A foreigner is found shot to death in his car. A "copper's narc" is then found drowned and with a bullet through his heart. Part of the final public service announcement and the system cue have been deleted. Percy Hoskins (researcher), Wyllis Cooper (writer, director), Jack Goldstein (producer), Collie Small (producer). 29:12.
THE HALLMARK PLAYHOUSE was heard over CBS stations Thursday evenings. This drama anthology of 30-minute shows was sponsored by, of course, Hallmark Greeting Cards. It was preceded by the RADIO READER'S DIGEST, which ran from September 13, 1942 thorugh June 3, 1948. Hallmark sponsored the RADIO READER'S DIGEST from January 13, 1946 to it's end. On Feb. 8, 1953, the series name and format was changed. It was now called THE HALLMARK HALL OF FAME and presented biographal sketches of famous persons, past and present. The new format was used until the end of the 1955 season. The exception to the new format was the broadcast each Christmas season of "A Christmas Carol". Like other dramatic series of this time, this one made use of major screen actors in the productions. James Hilton, author of "Random Harvest", "Lost Horizon" and "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" plus others, served as host and Narrator. Dee Engelbach produced and directed the shows. Jean Holloway was the writer. Sound Effects were by Harry Essman and Gene Twombly. Musical conductor was Lyn Murray. The show's theme was "Dream of Olwne" by Charles Williams.
Dragnet was perhaps the most famous and influential police procedural drama in American media history. The series gave millions of Americans a feel for the boredom and drudgery, as well as the danger and heroism, of real-life police work. Dragnet earned praise for improving the public opinion of police officers. Actor and producer Jack Webbâs aims in Dragnet were for realism and unpretentious acting. He achieved both goals, and Dragnet remains a key influence on subsequent police dramas in many media. The show's cultural impact is demonstrated by the fact that even after five decades, elements of Dragnet are known to those who've never seen or heard the program.
Big Town is a radio show that aired from 1937 to 1952. Edward G. Robinson had the lead role of Steve Wilson from 1937 to 1942. Claire Trevor was Wilson's society editor sidekick Lorelei Kilbourne, with Ona Munson taking over that role in 1940. Edward J. Pawley portrayed Wilson from 1942 until 1952 when Walter Greaza was heard as Wilson in the final episodes in the radio series. When Big Town moved to television, the program was telecast live, but in 1952 the production switched to film after the move from New York City to Hollywood. The television series ran on CBS from 1950 through 1954, continuing on NBC from 1955 through 1956. Repeat episodes aired on the DuMont Network (under the title City Assignment) while Big Town was still showing first-run episodes on CBS. Reruns were also shown under the titles Heart of the City, Headline and Byline Steve Wilson.
The Adventures of Frank Race, by Bruce Ells Productions, was first heard in May of 1949. The main character, Frank Race, was an attorney before World War II. As a result of his activities in the war, when it was over, he traded his law books for a career with the OSS. There, "Adventure" became his business. Tom Collins played the role of Frank Race initially, immediately following his stint as Chandu, The Magician. The lead role was taken over later by Paul Dubof.
(AKA Barry Crane" and then "Barrie Craig)
Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator is one of the few detective radio series that had separate versions of it broadcast from both coasts. Even the spelling changed over the years. It was first "Barry Crane" and then "Barrie Craig". NBC produced it in New York from 1951 to 1954 and then moved it to Hollywood where it aired from 1954 to 1955. It attracted only occasional sponsors so it was usually a sustainer. William Gargan, who also played the better known television (and radio) detective Martin Kane, was the voice of New York eye BARRY CRAIG while Ralph Bell portrayed his associate, Lt. Travis Rogers. Craig's office was on Madison Avenue and his adventures were fairly standard PI fare. He worked alone, solved cases efficiently, and feared no man. As the promos went, he was "your man when you can't go to the cops. Confidentiality a speciality." Like Sam Spade, Craig narrated his stories, in addition to being the leading character in this 30 minute show. Nearly sixty episodes are in trading circulation today.
In 1952, Orson Welles narrated 52 radio programs for a series on the Mutual Network called "The Black Museum" featuring true stories from the Old Scotland Yard. The program was named after the world-renowned investigative body's former home, a weather stained red brick building sitting in the shadows of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament on the River Thames. It is the oldest museum in the world put together purely for recording crime and contains an infamous collection of memorabilia of grisly crimes of the past. In a unique tribute to the legendary star who died in 1993, "The Black Museum" now returns as a brand new television series featuring Orson Welles' original commentary over filmed dramatizations of the infamous murder mysteries of the Old Scotland Yard. Each episode will feature a leading contemporary star playing a key role in the dramatization.
"Rocky Fortune" about a wanderer that took odd jobs to support himself and never stayed in one place too long. He almost always seemed to meet beautiful women along with trouble. Sinatra was good and was proving to Hollywood that he could do serious work. When casting began for the movie "From Here To Eternity", Frank campaigned tirelessly for a part and because of that and a good word put in for him by Gardner, who he was now separated from, he won a part that would mark his return to Hollywood. Sadly for us, it also meant he didn't have time to do radio and "Rocky Fortune" was rather short lived, although it was popular. It only ran from 1953 - 1954, but" It was a very good year".
THIS EPISODE:
December 22, 1953. NBC net. "The Plot To Murder Santa Claus". Sustaining. Not auditioned. Frank Sinatra, Theodore Von Eltz, Mary McGovern, Kay Stewart, Frank Gerstle, James Nusser, Barney Phillips, Bill Justine, George Lefferts (writer), Andrew C. Love (director). 24:34.
The Third Man (The Lives of Harry Lime) was a old-time radio adventure series that ran in 1951 and 1952. It was based on the 1949 film of the same name. Orson Welles stars as Harry Lime, a perpetually broke confidence man, smuggler, and general scoundrel. He will participate in virtually any criminal activity to make a fast buck, but uses his wits rather than a gun. He draws the line short of murder, blackmail, or drugs. Even so, Harry is an endearing character and listeners love to hear of his one-step-ahead-of-the-law misadventures as he hops around the globe looking for his next pigeon. The zither music of Anton Karas adds a wonderful Viennese ambience to each episode and really makes this show special.
From 01/09/49 to 09/28/51 this series was greatly enjoyed by the radio listening audience. It opened as NBC Theater and was also known as The Screen Directorâs Guild and The Screen Directorâs Assignment. But most people remember it simply as Screen Directorâs Playhouse. Many of the Hollywood elite were heard recreating their screen roles over the radio. John Wayne in his rare radio appearances, Cary Grant, Edward G. Robinson, Lucille Ball, Claire Trevor, Tallulah Bankhead and many others were on the air week after week during these broadcasts. Many of Hollywoodâs directors were also heard in the recreation of their movies. The President of the Screen Directorâs Guild appeared on 02/13/49, and Violinist Isaac Stern supplied the music for the 04/19/51 broadcast.
THIS EPISODE:
Shadow Of A Doubt (An Alfred Hitchcock Thriller) (Stars: Carey Grant) - Uncle Charlie relies heavily on his relationship with his niece and name sake Charlie to make him appear like butter wouldn't melt. However, as soon as Niece Charlie puts two and two together and comes to realise the truth about her Uncle the close relationship between them deteriorates at a rapid pace. But, it is less the fact that niece Charlie realises what her uncle really is, but it is because she is growing into a woman that Charlie doesn't like. In becoming a woman niece Charlie now represents all that her uncle can't abide. And it is this misogynistic streak in Uncle Charlie that compels him to attempt to murder his niece, as opposed to what she knows of him.
THE WEIRD CIRCLE was a syndicated series that was heard on Mutual
stations November, 1943 through October, 1947 and very briefly in
September/October of 1947 on ABC. The show presented 30 minute tales of horror, frequently inspired by classic horror or ghost stories, frequently done by French authors. It opened with the sound of the surf and the chant-like opening, "In this cave by the restless sea, we are met to call from out of past, stories strange and weird. Bell keeper, toll the bell, so that all may know that we are gathered again in the Weird Circle".
THIS EPISODE:
The Weird Circle. 1945. Program #22. NBC syndication. "A Terrible Night". Commercials added locally. Two friends lost in the north woods seek shelter in the house of the strange "Joel." The date is approximate. Fitzjames O'Brien (author). 24:40.
While producing films for Columbia Pictures, CBS offered Lucy a Radio show based upon the book, Mr. and Mrs. Cugat by Isabelle Scott Rorick. Lucy was interested, and she was soon teamed with Richard Denning in My Favorite Husband. This half-hour weekly show revolved around the travails of Liz and George Cugat, a very normal, middle-class couple from Minneapolis. Liz is a dizzy, scheming wife who gets into relatively minor but vexing scrapes that makes life challenging for her long-suffering husband, a banker played by Richard Denning. Gale Gordon was the bank president, the same role that was to be his on The Lucy Show. The characters of Liz and George Cugat soon had their names changed to Liz and George Cooper. Her writers for the show were Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. and the producer-director was Jess Oppenheimer, a connection that would become particularly fruitful in the years to come.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
The Glums first appeared in a regular series of sketches during the 1950s in the BBC radio programme, Take It From Here. In the radio version, Pa Glum (Jimmy Edwards) was a bad-tempered old boozer with a tendency to "rant and rave" at his gormless son, Ron (Dick Bentley). The other regular character was Ron's fiancee, Eth (June Whitfield). The original series of sketches ended in March, 1960. The family reappeared briefly in 1962 as part of Jimmy Edwards' BBC television series, Faces Of Jim. In 1978, Frank Muir and Dennis Norden revived The Glums for a series of short sketches in an ITV variety programme, Bruce Forsyth's Big Night. Jimmy Edwards reprised his role as Pa Glum, with Ian Lavender and Patricia Brake taking over the roles of Ron and Eth. A second series of programmes was screened in 1979, each programme consisting of new versions of two of the original radio scripts from the 1950s.
This Is Your FBI was a radio crime drama which aired in the United States on ABC from April 6, 1945 to January 30, 1953. FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover gave it his endorsement, calling it "the finest dramatic program on the air." Producer-director Jerry Devine was given access to FBI files by Hoover, and the resulting dramatizations of FBI cases were narrated by Frank Lovejoy (1945), Dean Carleton (1946-47) and William Woodson (1948-53). Stacy Harris had the lead role of Special Agent Jim Taylor. Others in the cast were William Conrad, Bea Benaderet and Jay C. Flippen.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
In October of 1934, "Lux Radio Theater" debuted in New York on NBC's Blue radio network. Presenting audio versions of popular Broadway plays, the show failed to garner an audience and soon ran out of material. After switching networks to CBS and moving to Hollywood, Lux found its true market. The show began featuring adaptations of popular films, performed by as many of the original stars as possible. With an endless supply of hit films scripts and an audience of more than 40 million, Lux enjoyed a prosperous run until the curtain fell in 1956.
THIS EPISODE:
March 10, 1947. CBS network. "It's A Wonderful Life". Sponsored by: Lux Soap, Spry. Tired of his life on Earth, a man finds out what it's like never to have been born. Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, Victor Moore, William Keighley (host), John Milton Kennedy (announcer), Louis Silvers (music director), William Johnstone, John McIntire, Leo Cleary, Edwin Maxwell, Janet Scott, Noreen Gammill, Cliff Clark, Norma Jean Nilsson, Edward Marr, Norman Field, Franklyn Parker, Ann Carter, Charles Seel, Doris Singleton (commercial spokesman: as "Libby"), Susan Blanchard (intermission guest), Frances Goodrich (screenwriter), Albert Hackett (screenwriter), Jo Swerling (screenwriter), Frank Capra (screenwriter), Philip Van Doren (author), Fred MacKaye (director), Sanford Barnett (adaptor), Charlie Forsyth (sound effects). 1 hour.
On January 31, 1936, the Green Hornet radio program aired on WXYZ in Detroit, Michigan. Al Hodge played the part of the Green Hornet from 1936 through January of 1943. The program was created by George W. Trendle, the same man associated with the creation of the Lone Ranger radio show. The premise of the Green Hornet was that of a modern day Lone Ranger. The main character was Britt Reid, a newspaper publisher of the Daily Sentinel by day and the Green Hornet by night. Britt Reid was the great-nephew of the Lone Ranger. Britt Reid's war against crime was an extension of his family history. The Green Hornet fought crime with his high-powered car, the Black Beauty. He also utilized a gun that fired knockout gas instead of bullets. His fists also came in handy on a regular basis. He was assisted by his Filipino valet, Kato. Kato would drive the Black Beauty, keep watch out for the police or the bad guys and sometimes lend a helping fist to the fighting. The Green Hornet pretended to be a villain while really battling the forces of crime in the big city.
"Gone Fishing" (6-01-39) "Violet_Ray" (6-08-39) and "Missing Dollar" (2-22-40)
The Baby Snooks Show was an American radio program starring comedienne and Ziegfeld Follies alumna Fanny Brice as a mischievous young girl who was 40 years younger than the actress who played her when she first went on the air. The series began on CBS September 17, 1944, airing on Sunday evenings at 6:30pm as Toasties Time. The title soon changed to The Baby Snooks Show, and the series was sometimes called Baby Snooks and Daddy. In 1944, the character was given her own show, and during the 1940s, it became one of the nation's favorite radio situation comedies, with products from a variety of sponsors (Post Cereals, Sanka, Spic-n-Span, Jell-O) being touted by a half-dozen announcers -- John Conte (early 1940s), Tobe Reed (1944-45), Harlow Willcox (mid-1940s), Dick Joy, Don Wilson and Ken Wilson. Hanley Stafford was best known for his portrayal of Snooks' long-suffering, often-cranky father, Lancelot âDaddyâ Higgins, a role played earlier by Alan Reed on the 1936 Follies broadcasts. Lalive Brownell was âMommyâ Higgins, also portrayed by Lois Corbet (mid-1940s) and Arlene Harris (after 1945). Beginning in 1945, child impersonator Leone Ledoux was first heard as Snookâs younger brother Robespierre, and Snooks returned full circle to the comics when comic book illustrator Graham Ingels and his wife Gertrude named their child Robby (born 1946) after listening to Ledoux's Robespierre baby voices.
The Beulah Show, the first radio and television sitcom to star an African American. The show was broadcast on radio from 1945 to 1954 and seen on TV from 1950 to 1953. Originally portrayed by Caucasian actor Marlin Hurt, Beulah first appeared in 1939 when Hurt introduced the character on the Hometown Incorporated radio series. In 1943, Beulah moved over to That's Life and then became a supporting character on the popular Fibber McGee and Molly radio series. In 1945, Beulah was spun off into her own radio show, The Marlin Hurt and Beulah Show, with Hurt still in the role. Beulah was employed as a housekeeper and cook for the Henderson family: father Harry, mother Alice and son Donnie. After Hurt died of a heart attack in 1946, he was replaced by another white actor, Bob Corley, and the series was retitled The Beulah Show.
When black actress Hattie McDaniel took over the role on November 24, 1947, she earned $1000 a week for the first season, doubled the ratings of the original series and pleased the NAACP which was elated to see a historic first: a black woman as the star of a network radio program.
McDaniel continued in the role until she became ill in 1952 and was replaced by Lillian Randolph, who was in turn replaced for the 1953-54 radio season by her sister, Amanda Randolph.
This hit radio series with Marie Wilson ran on CBS Radio from April 11, 1947 to August 23, 1954. The TV version, seen on CBS from January 8, 1952 until June 25, 1954, was the first series telecast from the CBS Television City facility in Hollywood. The movie My Friend Irma (1949) starred Marie Wilson and Diana Lynn but is mainly remembered today for introducing Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis to moviegoers, resulting in even more screen time for Martin and Lewis in the sequel, My Friend Irma Goes West (1950).
Television and radio pioneer Jack Par has been called the most imitated personality in broadcasting. He virtually created the late-night talk show format as the host of The Tonight Show , one of television's longest continuously running programs. The Washington Post said, "Jack Paar was genuine, and the footprints he left on the loony moonscape of television are enormous; they will be there forever." As the stars of stage and screen were rising around him, Paar was becoming an icon himself, on television sets in the homes of millions of Americans across the country. During the Golden Age of television, Paar was its golden boy, charming guests and viewers alike. From 1957 to 1962, Paar was the king of late-night television as host of The Tonight Show, which NBC eventually renamed The Jack Paar Show. He turned it from a typical variety format into something very different. With a rare combination of intelligence, irreverence and intuition, he invented a new genre of programming that would become ubiquitous to television.Paar helped launch the careers of such performers as Carol Burnett, Woody Allen and Liza Minnelli, but his guests weren't limited to the glitterati. He discussed religion with Billy Graham, visited Albert Schweitzer in Africa, and talked politics with Richard Nixon, all before the transfixed eyes of the American television audience.
This was ABC's attempt to recapture some of what radio was. The effort was not the best, but at least an effort was made. The stories ranged from science fiction, comedy, social drama and human interest drama, to detective mystery, psychological drama, melodrama and suspense drama. News programs help fill out the remaining time left in the 30 minute time spot from 5 - 5:30 p.m.
Based of the Mickey Spillane series, Larry Haines stars as Mike Hammer-the ever entertaining handsome, violent, hard-boiled private eye. Tune in to any exciting episode which would not be complete without the ever beautiful Velda accompanything Mike while he insults some beautiful dame, takes a mysterious phone call, goes wild with reckless driving, and shoots some his gun off to solve the murder case.
Broadcast from 1936 through to 1947 with just an occasional break. Revived again from January 1956 to September 1957 as CBS Radio Workshop with pretty much the same format. Broadcast from 1936 through to 1947 with just an occasional break. Revived again from January 1956 to September 1957 as CBS Radio Workshop with pretty much the same format. This was drama with a difference. Columbia Workshop was not everybodyâs cup of tea and in terms of audience popularity it was always noted that it was never a strong contender for the title âRadios Top Rated Drama Seriesâ and yet it was always considered to be the drama program that led the way in radio standards. Columbia was the first to mexperiment with what radio drama was all about, introducing new techniques never before used in over the airwaves drama and because it received little encouragement from established writers, actors, etc., it was only by breaking new ground with new ideas and new techniques from writers who were not versed in the old ways that it was going to survive.
Half-hour drama, sometimes comedy, often very exciting and suspenseful. The cast were made up of New York veterans of radio and stage, including Jan Minor and John Larkin as featured performers. The director, Harry W. Junkin, also served as the show's host and narrator. Each week the show introduced a new story, often written by well-known writers of fantasy and suspense such as Ray Bradbury, Cornell Woolrich, Agatha Christie and Paul Gallico. They were dramatized with a full orchestral soundtrack and excellent sound effects.
The Whistler was one of radio's most popular mystery dramas, with a 13-year run from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955. If it now seems to have been influenced explicitly by The Shadow, The Whistler was no less popular or credible with its listeners, the writing was first class for its genre, and it added a slightly macabre element of humor that sometimes went missing in The Shadow's longer-lived crime stories. Writer-producer J. Donald Wilson established the tone of the show during its first two years, and he was followed in 1944 by producer-director George Allen. Other directors included Sterling Tracy and Sherman Marks with final scripts by Joel Malone and Harold Swanton. A total of 692 episodes were produced, yet despite the series' fame, over 200 episodes are lost today. In 1946, a local Chicago version of The Whistler with local actors aired Sundays on WBBM, sponsored by Meister Brau beer.
"Are you willing to undertake a dangerous mission for the United States, knowing in advance you may never return alive?" Cloak and Dagger first aired over the NBC network on May 7, 1950. It had a short run through the Summer on Sundays, changing to Fridays after its Summer run. The last show aired Oct. 22, 1950. This is the story of the WWII special governmental agency, the OSS, or Office of Strategic Services. Its mission was to develop and maintain spy networks throughout Europe and into Asia, while giving aid to underground partisan groups and developing espionage activities for Allied forces overseas.The show is based on the book of the same name by Lt. Col. Corey Ford and Major Alastair MacBain (who were associated with the OSS from its early days.) The dramas are not Hollywood-style, in that they sometimes end with plans foiled or leading characters dead.
Burns and Allen are one of the most beloved couple in old time radio. They got started, like many of the greats of old time radio, in vaudeville, which is really just the touring popular entertainment in America prior to movies. Gracie was the sparkplug of the act, always the center of attention. George played the foil, the guy vainly trying to make sense of the ditzy world of Gracie. By the early 30s, Gracie was probably the best known woman on radio. Gracie often sang in a voice that showed she was also an excellent comedienne songstress.
The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Gale Gordon in the title role, took over where Sherlock Holmes had left off. Sponsored by Petri wine, it used the same "weekly visit" format and the same team of Anthony Boucher and Dennis Green that had written The New Adventured of Sherlock Holmes. Gregory Hood was modelled after true-life San Francisco importer Richard Gump, and many of the stories revolve around a mystery surrounding some particular imported treasure. Hood's sidekick Sanderson "Sandy" Taylor was played by Bill Johnstone. The show aired from June, 1946 through August, 1950. There were an additional couple of shows aired in October 1951. Hood and Sanderson were played in later episodes by Elliott Lewis and Howard McNear, respectively.
"WAYSIDE THEATRE" WBBM-LOCAL CHICAGO MOTOR CLUB Staff Stars: Olan Soule, Patricia Dunlap . "A FRIEND OF GERTRUDE'S" (05-14-39) 30:00 Minutes and staring Gail Henshaw, Bret Morrison, Leslie Woods, Herb Butterfield, Bill Bouchey. Gail Henshaw.
"Christmas Double Feature"
Episode#61 (12-20-42) and Episode# 424 (12-26-51)
December 20, 1942. NBC network. Sponsored by: Kraft Parkay. Christmas program. As Leila leaves for the South, Gildersleeve buys a present for Judge Hooker, the old goat! Arthur Q. Bryan, Billy Mills (composer, conductor), Earle Ross, Harold Peary, John Whedon (writer), Ken Carpenter (announcer), Lillian Randolph, Lurene Tuttle, Richard LeGrand, Shirley Mitchell (?), Verna Felton, Walter Tetley. 29:28.
December 26, 1951. NBC network. Sponsored by: Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Kraft Mustards. Babs Bullard has given Leroy an expensive watch, and he's given her a string of pearls! Gildersleeve and Bullard agree that the gifts must be returned. Andy White (writer), Barbara Whiting, Bud Hiestand (announcer), Earle Ross, Frank Pittman (producer, director), Gale Gordon, John Elliotte (writer), Leon Frye (engineer), Lillian Randolph, Marylee Robb, Monte Fraser (sound effects), Paul West (writer), Richard Crenna, Richard LeGrand, Virgil Rhymer (NBC liaion), Walter Tetley, Willard Waterman. 29:37.
In October of 1934, "Lux Radio Theater" debuted in New York on NBC's Blue radio network. Presenting audio versions of popular Broadway plays, the show failed to garner an audience and soon ran out of material. After switching networks to CBS and moving to Hollywood, Lux found its true market. The show began featuring adaptations of popular films, performed by as many of the original stars as possible. With an endless supply of hit films scripts and an audience of more than 40 million, Lux enjoyed a prosperous run until the curtain fell in 1956.
Blackie was a tough, wisecracking private detective working in New York, billed as "enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend." His speciality was making fools of the police, a simple task with Inspector Farraday heading the official investigations. "An enemy to those who call him an enemy, a friend to those who have no friends." Boston Blackie is a reformed jewel thief who is never far from trouble. Inspector Farraday of the homicide squad tries to pin Blackie for the crime in every episode. To save his own skin, with the help of his girlfriend Mary and sidekick Shorty, Blackie ends up solving the case.
Broadway Is My Beat, a radio crime drama, ran on CBS from February 27, 1949 to August 1, 1954. With music by Robert Stringer, the show originated from New York during its first three months on the air, with Anthony Ross portraying Times Square Detective Danny Clover. John Dietz directed for producer Lester Gottlieb. Beginning with the July 7, 1949 episode, the series was broadcast from Hollywood with producer Elliott Lewis directing a new cast in scripts by Morton Fine and David Friedkin. The opening theme of "I'll Take Manhattan" introduced Detective Danny Clover (now played by Larry Thor), a hardened New York City cop who worked homicide "from Times Square to Columbus Circle -- the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world."
This 30 minute anthology program was heard over three different networks during its three seasons. Many leading Hollywood stars appeared before the microphones for this programs original scripts. Marilyn Monroe made her radio debut on the 08/31/52 broadcast. Several programs were intended to become new series. On 04/13/52, the broadcast # 99 of The Six Shooter w/James Stewart did indeed become a new NBC series The Six Shooter in 1953, while the broadcast of 05/18/52 #104 Safari w/Ray Milland failed to make it. There was a title change to this series. During the third network change to NBC the series picked up the sponsorship of the American Bakers and the series was called Bakerâs Theater Of Stars.
"Milton Berle Christmas Show" (12-23-47) and "Philco Radio Time Christmas Show" (12-24-47)
Christmas time, in the 1930s and the 1940's meant putting a log in the fire, making a big dinner, putting up a tree, and listening to the radio. No television, no internet, the main source of entertainment was The Radio. The series that were on at the time were directly out of Vaudeville. Jack Benny, Fred Allen, Fibber and Molly. Yet there holiday shows remain as relivant as ever in a world filled with war.
Curtain Time, like First Nighter, presented romantic drama in a theater setting complete with the announcer shouting, âTickets please, thank youâ. The shows announcer was Harry Halcomb who was later known best for his appearances on the 60 minutes television show. Great scripts and superb acting, Curtain Time is truly an Old Time Radio Classic. Mutual Network, local KNX show sustained, heard Fridays 7:30 - 8:00 pm.
Bulldog Drummond has come to wreak havoc on unsuspecting killers, counterfeiters, and underworld characters. The opening of the show starts with a the sounds of footsteps, foghorn, then two shots ring out, followed by three blows of a police officer's whistle. Bulldog, who's really name is Hugh (played by George Coulouris), was a methodical crime-solving sleuth who let nothing get in his way of his goal, which was to put a stop to crime! Bulldog believed in uncomplicated and decisive means of getting his way with the lords of the underworld. This usually led to their swift capture, and the easing of the city's burden brought about by these ruthless thugs.
From 01/09/49 to 09/28/51 this series was greatly enjoyed by the radio listening audience. It opened as NBC Theater and was also known as The Screen Directorâs Guild and The Screen Directorâs Assignment. But most people remember it simply as Screen Directorâs Playhouse. Many of the Hollywood elite were heard recreating their screen roles over the radio. John Wayne in his rare radio appearances, Cary Grant, Edward G. Robinson, Lucille Ball, Claire Trevor, Tallulah Bankhead and many others were on the air week after week during these broadcasts. Many of Hollywoodâs directors were also heard in the recreation of their movies. The President of the Screen Directorâs Guild appeared on 02/13/49, and Violinist Isaac Stern supplied the music for the 04/19/51 broadcast.
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was a radio drama about a freelance insurance investigator "with the action-packed expense account." The show aired on CBS Radio from February 11, 1949 to September 30, 1962. There were 811 episodes in the 12-year run, and over 720 still exist today. As originally conceived, Johnny Dollar was a smart, tough, wisecracking detective who tossed silver-dollar tips to waiters and bellhops. Dick Powell starred in the audition show, recorded in 1948, but withdrew from the role in favor of other projects. The role went instead to Charles Russell. With the first three actors to play Johnny Dollar -- radio actor Russell and movie tough-guy actors Edmond O'Brien and John Lund -- there was little to distinguish Johnny Dollar from other detective series at the time (Richard Diamond, Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade). While always a friend of the police, Johnny wasn't necessarily a stickler for the strictest interpretation of the law. He was willing to let some things slide to satisfy his own sense of justice, as long as the interests of his employer were protected. After a year-long break (August 1954 to August 1955), the show changed from a 30-minute, one-episode-per-week affair to a 15-minute, five-nights-a-week serial that introduced the most successful Johnny Dollar: Bob Bailey, who had just come off another network detective series, Let George Do It. With a new lead and 75 minutes of air time (minus commercials), it became possible to develop more complex story lines with interesting characters. Bob Bailey was exceptionally good in this format, making Johnny more sensitive and thoughtful in addition to his other attributes. It is agreed by many that this single season of five-part stories constitute some of the greatest drama in vintage radio. The serial scripts were usually written by radio veterans Jack Johnstone or Les Crutchfield, and always produced and directed by Johnstone.
"INHERITANCE" A Dramatized look into American History. NBC Networ in cooperation with the AMERICAN LEGION Sundays 4:30 - 5:00 pm PRUDUCER/DIRECTOR: Albert McCleary ANNOUNCER: John Wald MUSIC: Robert Armbruster.
THIS EPISODE
"THE MOUNTAIN MEN" 2 04-18-54 :29:20 Howard Culver, Parley Baer, Robert Easton, Alice Bacus, Billy Chappin, Donald Laughton, Stanley Farrer, Gil Harmon, Mike Darrin.
Although Molle Mystery Theatre was initially sponsored by Molle Shaving Cream, other sponsors (such as Bayer Aspirin, Ironized Yeast, Phillips Milk of Magnesia) also sponsored the program. Sometimes, when it was not sponsored by Molle, the program was called "Mystery Theater". The show was first heard on NBC, on 9/7/43. Time slot was originally Sunday nights at 9:00 PM, but was later moved to Tuesday at 9:00 PM, and Friday at 10:00 PM. In 1948, the show moved to CBS (Tues, 8:00 PM), and in 1951, it moved to ABC, where it was called "Mark Sabre", and heard on Wednesdays at either 8:00 PM or 9:30 PM.
Hancock's Half-Hour is the yardstick against which all subsequent British sitcoms have been measured, the vast majority failing to size up to its extremely high standards. Based on his famous radio show of the same name, the TV run consolidated Tony Hancock's standing as Britain's leading comic of the day, the entertainer providing ample proof that his wonderfully flexible face could be as expressive as his dextrous radio voice. Tony Hancock was at the height of his powers during the late 1950s, squeezing every comic ounce out of his lines, pulling off perfectly judged pauses and demonstrating a sense of timing to match the great Jack Benny's. His character - Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock - was invariably a loser, whose aspirations and plans were dashed by fate, circumstance, Sid James or, more often than not, his own pomposity or unfettered ambition.
The BBC presents "Guilty Party". A problem in Crime detection in which you are invited to match your wits with a panel of experts - John Arlott, F.R. Buckley and Robert Fabian. So began a typical episode of the long running panel show. It was devised by Tony Shryane and Edward J. Mason. The scripts were written by Mason and the series produced by Shryane. The shows started with a dramatised crime play, the panel then decided on a line of investigation and cross examined the suspects, who gave unscripted answers to their questions. This cross examination should then lead the panel to the Guilty Party! From the Second series, two regular characters were featured in the dramatisations. Private detective Joe McCready (Jon Farrell) and Police Inspector Galloway (Hamilton Dyce).
Gang Busters was an American dramatic radio program heralded as "the only national program that brings you authentic police case histories." It premiered as G-Men, sponsored by Chevrolet, on July 20, 1935. After the title was changed to Gang Busters January 15, 1936, the show had a 21-year run through November 20, 1957. Beginning with a barrage of loud sound effects â guns firing and tires squealing â this intrusive introduction led to the popular catch phrase "came on like Gang Busters."The series dramatized FBI cases, which producer-director Phillips H. Lord arranged in close association with Bureau director J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover insisted that only closed cases would be used. The initial series was on NBC Radio from July 20 - October 12, 1935. It then aired on CBS from January 15, 1936 to June 15, 1940, sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive and Cue magazine. From October 11, 1940 to December 25, 1948, it was heard on the Blue Network, with various sponsors that included Sloan's Liniment, Waterman pens and Tide. Returning to CBS on January 8, 1949, it ran until June 25, 1955, sponsored by Grape-Nuts and Wrigley's chewing gum. The final series was on the Mutual Broadcasting System from October 5, 1955 to November 27, 1957. It was once narrated by Norman Schwarzkopf, Sr., former head of the New Jersey State Police. The radio series was adapted for DC Comics, Big Little Books and a 1942 movie serial. The 1952 Gang Busters TV series was reedited into two feature films, Gang Busters (1954) and Guns Don't Argue (1957).
This 1958 BBC production from the Journey Into Space series takes us on a wild 12-part adventure to the moon. Captain "Jet" Morgan, Stephen "Mitch" Mitchell, Doc Matthews , and Lemmy Barnet are the first astronauts to reach the moon, and what they find there is truly astonishing! Airing weekly beginning March 26, 1958, the show featured Andrew Faulds, David Williams, Guy Kingsley Pointer, and Alfie Bass.
Thus with the pounding of the gavel, the fate of men and women have been decided by the judge. This is the story of our legal rights, the battle to preserve and protect them, and how easily they can be lost. The program shows us just how fragile liberty and justice can be. These stories of everyday events are still interesting, even after 50 years. Stories of criminal liability, legal wills, buying on installment, and leasing an apartment. Each story is well written, and the acting, though dated and a bit hokey by todayâs standards, still manages to achieve the desired effect. Not much information is available for this series, it was apparently broadcast on a limited basis, and originated on WMAQ Chicago, an NBC station. It was comprised of thirteen episodes, twelve of which are currently available, and was heard from January 30, 1954 through April 24, 1954.
BOXCARS711 CHRISTMAS SHOW
Fibber McGee and Molly. December 23, 1952. NBC network. Sponsored by: Reynolds Aluminum. Fibber and his friends are planning a surprise Christmas party for Doc Gamble. "Teeny" sings, "Twas The Night Before Christmas" with The King's Men. Unedited tape or rehearsal. The recording ends after the song, there is no program closing. Arthur Q. Bryan, Bill Thompson, Billy Mills and His Orchestra, Harlow Wilcox, Jim Jordan, Keith Fowler (writer), Marian Jordan, Max Hutto (director), Phil Leslie (writer), Richard LeGrand, The King's Men. 29:41.
Episodes5 (Once To Every Boy) and Episode6 (Cupid Without Wings) 1932
Dramatic Serial (1932)
The Family Doctor was a story about Dr. Grant Adams, a small town doctor who doubled as the communityâs moral rectifier. He was more than just respected, he was loved by all. Each week he confronted issues from robbery to suicide, and always with common sense and gentle moral judgment. Though his old-fashioned remedies for sicknesses are outdated compared to modern medical practicing, The Family Doctor's attitude towards life's daily issues transcend time. Of the 39 intended episodes, only 12 were aired.
Boxcars711 supports the efforts of the Old Time Radio Researchers Group (OTRR) whose goals include restoring, preserving and sharing the classic shows from what is commonly known as the "Golden Age of Radio" (1930-1960). Please visit and support this great organization at:
http://www.otrr.org/
The City. June 28, 1947. CBS network. "Airport". Sustaining. "An impression for radio." "A cross section of the thousands of stories and dramas that are enacted daily in the city." Anne Morrison, Dave Vaille (? director), Earl Lee, Frank Burt (writer), Rita Lynn, Robert Libbott (writer), Sandy Becker, Wilbur Hatch (music), Norman Macdonnell (producer, director), Frank Goss (announcer), Gil Warren, Herb Butterfield, Leonore Kingston, Monty Margetts. 24:39.
Police Melodrama
1-19-47 thru 3-7-57 . Mutual network. Many weekly timeslots. Presented in cooperation with Official Detective Stories Magazine. CAST: Craig McDonnell as Detective Lt. Dan Britt. Tommy Evans as Sgt. Al Bowen. Directed by Wynn Wright.
For the 1970âs late-night horror show, The Price of Fear, the BBC dramatized the most chilling stories they could find, drawing on talented new writers as well as the established master of terror who narrated tale, re-written as though Price actually experienced each chilling adventure himself. The show was enormously successful in the UK and abroad, and a number of series were made during 1973, 1975 and 1982.
Crime Classics. June 30, 1954. CBS net origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "Good Evening, My Name Is Jack The Ripper". The story of the activities of the famed British slasher, as seen through the eyes of a young lass. The last show of the series. AFRTS program name: "Mystery Theatre." The AFRTS version omits the opening scene. AFRTS broadcast date: November 11, 1973. See cat. #73753 for an AFRTS version, not in the "Mystery Theatre" format that is a more complete version of this broadcast. Lou Merrill (host), Morton Fine (writer), David Friedkin (writer), Elliott Lewis (producer, director), Bernard Herrmann (composer, conductor), Betty Harford, B. J. Thompson, Irene Tedrow, Ben Wright, Paula Winslowe, James McCallion, Richard Peel, Roy Rowan (announcer). 25 minutes.
The unmistakable voice of Bud Flanagan singing 'Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr Hitler?', a cod-Second World War propaganda singalong written especially for the show (by Jimmy Perry), introduced Dad's Army, the zenith of the British broad-comedy ensemble sitcom. Consistently good writing and a wonderful cast of old timers and newer talents combined to produce a whimsical period-piece that continues, justifiably, to be savoured and has now assumed a place in the 'hall of greats' pantheon, adored by new generations of the British public.
That eminent criminologist, Dr. Morelle, has just solved another crime and incidentally administered a crushing rebuke to his pretty secretary Miss Frayle. This is his usual reaction to his somewhat scatterbrained amanuensis, but it does not seem to have put the smallest dent in her devotion to the psychiatrist whose infallibility is the despair of criminals and the delight of his friend Inspector Hood of Scotland Yard. Dr. Morelle has had some time to form these theories, having started his career as a sleuth in the early years of the war. "He was dreamed up in a coal cellar in Bristol, said his creator Ernest Dudley. It was 1940, and the coal cellar underneath my flat provided a comforting place during the Luftwaffeâs attacks on Bristol, where I was with the BBC Variety Department. I wrote the original series called Meet Dr. Morelle for Harry Pepper and Ronnie Waldmanâs famous show, Monday Night at Eight. I was briefed to get right away from the Scotland Yard detective idea; and also to provide a comedy role in the series for Jane Grahame, who had made a success in several radio shows. Since Miss Grahame was in private life my wife, I was quite happy about this."
The Clitheroe Kid was James Robertson Clitheroe, Jimmy Clitheroe to most, who by some strange coincidence did come from the town of that name without having to change his family name! At his full height he was 4ft 3in, and played the naughty schoolboy from 1958 to 1972. Although plausable from a distance, he was not really able to pass himself off as a youngster close up, so a TV career did not really take off too well, but at the peak of his fame the radio show was raking in about 10 million listeners, although by the end this had dropped to a tenth of that figure. Clitheroe was a very private person, and the shows became a sort of escape for him, as well as the release from the worries of his diminutive size, but despite this, his popularity increased and increased, making this series one of the longer running on the radio - a total of 17 series. It is surprising then that with such a success, and with such a long run that the shows are rarely broadcast. The humour was very obvious and probably wouldn't stand up in todays climes, but there has been one release from the BBC radio collection, so if you wanted to hear some of the shows, you can hunt this down in the shops.
ROCKY JORDAN was the title character of one of the better and more exotic radio detective series. In fact, it's one of the best detective series I have ever heard. The series had two separate incarnations. The first, A Man Named Jordan, started as a daily 15 minute show and after about six months changed to a weekly 30 minute show. It took place in Istanbul and the Cafe was described as "a small restaurant in a narrow street off Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, permeated with by the smoke of Oriental tobacco, alive with the babble of many tongues, and packed with intrigue." The second incarnation, Rocky Jordan, was a weekly 30 minute series took place in Cairo - "the gateway to the ancient East where adventure and intrigue unfold against the backdrop of antiquity." Jordan was a hard-boiled owner of the Cafe Tambourine who spent most of his time solving mysteries that he usually became involved in by accident. During the Cairo-based run, he often encountered Captain Sam Sabaaya of the Cairo police. John Dunning in his "On The Air: The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio" describes Jordan as "a rugged hero who each week was confronted by a crime, a mystery, a beautiful woman or a combination of the three. It was a detective show with a difference: the Oriental background was played to the hilt, giving it a sound like no other." The writers worked hard to give it authenticity - actual places and streets in Cairo were often and accurately mentioned. The music score also added to the exoticness of the series. Moyles, a veteran of radio, was much more believable in the role than Raft.
he Great Gildersleeve (1941-1957), initially written by Leonard L. Levinson, was arguably the first spin-off program in broadcast history. Built around a character who had been a staple on the classic radio situation comedy Fibber McGee and Molly, The Great Gildersleeve enjoyed its greatest success in the 1940s. Actor Harold Peary played the character during its transition from the parent show into the spin-off and later in a quartet of feature films released at the height of the show's popularity. On Fibber McGee and Molly, Peary's Gildersleeve was a pompous windbag who became a consistent McGee nemesis ("You're a haa-aa-aa-aard man, McGee!" became a Gildersleeve catch phrase). But he also became a popular enough windbag that Kraft Foods â looking primarily to promote its Parkay margarine spread â sponsored a new series with Peary's Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve (the character was given several conflicting first names on Fibber McGee and Molly, and on one episode of that show revealed his middle name as Philharmonic) as the central, slightly softened, and slightly befuddled focus of a lively new family.
From 01/09/49 to 09/28/51 this series was greatly enjoyed by the radio listening audience. It opened as NBC Theater and was also known as The Screen Directorâs Guild and The Screen Directorâs Assignment. But most people remember it simply as Screen Directorâs Playhouse. Many of the Hollywood elite were heard recreating their screen roles over the radio. John Wayne in his rare radio appearances, Cary Grant, Edward G. Robinson, Lucille Ball, Claire Trevor, Tallulah Bankhead and many others were on the air week after week during these broadcasts. Many of Hollywoodâs directors were also heard in the recreation of their movies. The President of the Screen Directorâs Guild appeared on 02/13/49, and Violinist Isaac Stern supplied the music for the 04/19/51 broadcast.
THIS EPISODE:
June 5, 1949. NBC network. "The Killers". Sustaining. Screen director Robert Siodmak appears. After a $200,000 robbery, a gangster just out of jail double crosses the gang and is double crossed in turn. Burt Lancaster, Dan Riss, Frank Barton (announcer), Frank Gerstle, Gwen Delano, Milton Geiger (adaptor), Robert Siodmak (guest screen director), Sam Edwards, Shelley Winters, Tony Barrett, William Conrad. 29:35.
Our Miss Brooks, an American situation comedy, began as a radio hit in 1948 and migrated to television in 1952, becoming one of the earlier hits of the so-called Golden Age of Television, and making a star out of Eve Arden (1908-1990) as comely, wisecracking, but humane high school English teacher Connie Brooks. The show hooked around Connie's daily relationships with Madison High School students, colleagues, and pompous principal Osgood Conklin (Gale Gordon), not to mention favourite student Walter Denton (future television and Rambo co-star Richard Crenna, who fashioned a higher-pitched voice to play the role) and biology teacher Philip Boynton ( Jeff Chandler), the latter Connie's all-but-unrequited love interest, who saw science everywhere and little else anywhere.
British Science Fictions presents The Closed Planet 10/24/1962 A crippled starship is compelled to make landfall on a remote colony world, where the locals refuse to allow the crew to disembark except under the strictest control. What terrible secret are they hiding?
Amos 'n' Andy, still written entirely by the two stars, was the top-rated program of all in 1930, with a 54.4 rating and 30 million listeners (compare that to the Super Bowl's 44.2 rating in 2004). By this time, the wily, coniving Kingfish was becoming a major personality, eventually supplanting sensible Amos as star of the show (Freeman Gosden gave voice to both characters while Charles Correll played Andrew H. Brown).
Bob Bailey played George Valentine as a detective handy man, who got his jobs from responses to a newspaper ad. Part-time detective and writer Dan Holiday in Box 13 also used the premise. It pays to advertise! The shows follow the usual formats of crime caper shows, with toughs, mysterious rendezvous and people who aren't who they say they are. Network was Mutual, Sponson was Standard Oil. STARS:Bob Bailey,Eddie Firestone jr, Francis Robinson, Joe Kearn PRODUCER:Owen Vinson WRITER: Polly Hopkins MUSIC: Eddie Dunstedter
THIS EPISODE:
March 27, 1950. Mutual-Don Lee Network. "The Tears Of Sorrow". Sponsored by: Standard Oil. A motel/restaurant in the desert is run by an angry cook and his wife, who has a wandering eye. A traveling salesman and a corpse in a silver coffin named Charley George Washington add to the fun. Bob Bailey, Virginia Gregg, Don Clark (director), Eddie Dunstedter (composer, presenter), Bud Hiestand (announcer), David Victor (writer), Jackson Gillis (writer), Alan Reed, Louise Arthur, Lawrence Dobkin, Walter Burke, Bill Bouchey. 29:37.
FIRST BROADCAST: June 8th 1947
LAST BROADCAST: June 25th 1949
NARRATORS: Ernest Chappell, Jim Boles, Cathleen Cordell, Dan Sutter, Cecil Roy, Bruno Wick, Peggy Stanley, Claudia Morgan
PRODUCER/WRITER/DIRECTOR: Wyllis Cooper
SOUND EFFECTS: Bill McClintock
THEME: Second Movement of Franckâs Symphony in D Minor
MUSIC: Albert Berman
Quiet Please â 1947-1949
Wyllis Cooper, the creator of Lights Out, wrote and directed this thriller series. The program was similar but not so graphic and the sound effects not quite so disturbing. These were not tales of people living happily ever after. Ernest Chappell told the tales and each week he played some âordinary fellow who gets all bollixed up with the supernatural.â
THIS EPISODE:
January 12, 1948. Mutual network. "The Room Where The Ghosts Lived". Sustaining. A dying man tells a ghost story to his doctor. He tells how he released the spirit of a woman dead one hundred and seventy five years, from a secret room in his house. Albert April (sound effects), Claudia Morgan, Ernest Chappell, James Van Dyke, Wyllis Cooper (writer, director). 24:34.
One of the most popular radio shows in history debuted in August 1930 when "The Shadow" went on the air. "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!" The opening lines of the "Detective Story" program captivated listeners and are instantly recognizable even today. Originally the narrator of the series of macabre tales, the eerie voice known as The Shadow became so popular to listeners that "Detective Story" was soon renamed "The Shadow," and the narrator became the star of the old-time mystery radio series, which ran until 1954. A figure never seen, only heard, the Shadow was an invincible crime fighter. He possessed many gifts which enabled him to overcome any enemy. Besides his tremendous strength, he could defy gravity, speak any language, unravel any code, and become invisible with his famous ability to "cloud men's minds."
This show was based on the life of real treasury dept. gangbuster Eliot Ness, who had in fact played an important part in stopping the power of the notorious Al Capone in 1931 Chicago. The Ness autobiography served as the basis of a two-part semidocumentary dramatization of the Capone affair, presented on a 1959 Desilu Playhouse. It was a huge hit that turned into a regular series the next fall. It followed Ness and his small band of incorruptible agents (called the "Untouchables" by a Chicago newspaper) as they battled the worst people in organized crime. (Ness had in real life disbanded the Untouchables after cracking the Capone case, and had nothing to do with most of the cases dramatized on TV.) The Untouchables went after hoods like Bugs Moran, in whose garage the St. Valentine's Day Massacre took place.
Perry Mason is the longest running lawyer show in American television history. Its original run lasted nine years and its success in both syndication and made-for-television movies confirm its impressive stamina. Mason's fans include lawyers and judges who were influenced by this series to enter their profession. The Mason character was created by mystery writer Erle Stanley Gardner and delivered his first brief in the novel The Case of the Velvet Claws (1933). From 1934 to 1937 Warners produced six films featuring Mason. A radio series also based on Mason ran every weekday afternoon on CBS radio from 1944 to 1955 as a detective/soap opera. When the CBS television series was developed as an evening drama, the radio series was changed from Perry Mason to The Edge of Night and the cast renamed so as not to compete against the television series.
Let us journey âinto the land that lies beyond midnight,â into a world of ghost hunters, men going mad, and DEATH DEATH DEATH! Written by the masterful Michael McCabe, these well-done South African radio shows will capture your attention and keep you up listening to them well beyond midnight. Date UnknownA replacement series for SF 68, this South African horror anthology was far more successful than its predecessor. Its success may have been due in part to producer Michael McCabe - who also produced SF 68 - honing his talents to a higher degree. Little else is known about it, including the number of shows produced. As far as I can discover, there were at least 43 episodes, all in half-hour format.
Richard Diamond, Private Detective was a radio show starring Dick Powell which aired from 1949 to 1953, first on NBC, then ABC and finally on CBS. The title character was a rather light-hearted detective who often ended the episodes singing to his girlfriend, Helen. The television series was produced by Powell's company, Four Star Television, and that series ran for 3 years from 1957 to 1960. On TV, David Janssen played the hard boiled private eye and his secretary renamed âSamâ, was only ever shown on camera from the waist down, most assurardidly to display her beautiful legs. It was later leared that the legs belonged to Mary Tyler Moore. Original music by Frank DeVol and pete rugolo and later by richard shores. Good scripts, a solid cast and Powellâs exceptional talent made a good time 30 minute program that was quite popular during that Golden Age of Radio. So Letâs sit back now, relax and enjoy this truly otr radio classic.,â, Dick powell as Richard Diamond.., Private Detective.
Adventure Ahead from 1944 aired Saturdays 10:30 - 11:00 am on NBC and was directed by Joseph Mansfield. Swashbuckling tales to running away with the circus, anything adventurous.
THIS EPISODE:
A Tooth for Paul Revere (9-09-44)
Paul Revere (bap. December 22, 1734 (OS) / January 1, 1735 (NS) â May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith and a patriot in the American Revolution. Because he was immortalized after his death for his role as a messenger in the battles of Lexington and Concord, Revere's name and his "midnight ride" are well-known in the United States as a patriotic symbol. In his lifetime, Revere was a prosperous and prominent Boston craftsman, who helped organize an intelligence and alarm system to keep watch on the British military. Revere later served as an officer in one of the most disastrous campaigns of the American Revolutionary War, a role for which he was later exonerated. After the war, he was early to recognize the potential for large-scale manufacturing of metal.
Damon Runyon Theatre - Broadcast from January to December 1949, "The Damon Runyon Theatre" dramatized 52 of Runyon's short stories for radio. Damon Runyon (October 4, 1884 â December 10, 1946) was a newspaperman and writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. He spun tales of gamblers, petty thieves, actors and gangsters; few of whom go by "square" names, preferring instead to be known as "Nathan Detroit", "Big Jule", "Harry the Horse", "Good Time Charlie", "Dave the Dude", and so on. These stories were written in a very distinctive vernacular style: a mixture of formal speech and colorful slang, almost always in present tense, and always devoid of contractions.
Stamboul Quest from MGM Theater of The Air aired August 11, 1950 starring Angela Lansbury. During World War One a notorious German spy, on a STAMBOUL QUEST for naval secrets, finds herself falling in love with a most persistent young American. This enjoyable espionage thriller features plenty of romance and a convoluted plot.
Crime Does Not Pay. November 14, 1949. MGM syndication. "Body Of The Crime". Commercials added locally. Sarah and Alma Johnson have disappeared from the Swenson homestead. Norman Williams knows all-too-well what happened to them, but the law seems powerless with the bodies! This was one of the cases that helped to convict Bruno Hauptmann for the murder of the Lindbergh baby, even though the body was not found. The date above is the date of the first broadcast of the program on WMGM, New York, from which this syndicated version may have been taken. Burton B. Turkas (technical advisor), Ira Marion (writer), Jon Gart (music), Marx B. Loeb (director), Parker Fennelly. 27:34.
Dan Garrett, rookie policeman, is secretly the Blue Beetle, friend of the unfortunate and crusader for the law. He is loved by everyone (including the chief's daughter) and suspected of being the Blue Beetle by none. He hides behind a strange mask and wears a blue costume that is as flexible as silk but as strong as steel.
In 1946 the National Broadcasting System created a series of eight half hour radio shows dramatizing the dangers of Atomic Warfare. This was part of an organized effort to turn control of Atomic weapons over to the United Nations so that no individual country would be able to use them.
On July 4, 1946 the first program in the The Fifth Horseman series, called "Rehearsal", aired starring Henry Fonda. Written and produced by Arnold Marquis, this program used the recent atomic bomb test at Bikini Atoll to illustrate that atomic weapons are designed to be used on cities, not military targets. Fonda portrays an American POW present during the bombing of Hiroshima. The atomic bombing of that city is portrayed in a short drama. Henry Fonda was the first of several stars who contributed to this series, including William Bendix, Glenn Ford and Robert Young among others. The series ran through the summer.
Lighthouse_Point_Smigglers (Episodes 73-74-75) 1940
This juvenile adventure series was first broadcast on Mutual in 1940 with Clayton (Bud) Collyer starring as Superman/Clark Kent. It first began as a fifteen-minute show but later, in 1949, it moved to ABC as a thirty-minute Saturday show with Michael Fitzmaurice as Superman. At the end of its thirteen-year run it had totalled over 1600 episodes. The opening for the show was one of radioâs best, setting the stage for those flights into fantasy with a cascade of voices, narration and sound effects. âFaster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!â âLook! Up in the sky!â âItâs a bird!â âItâs a plane!â âItâs Superman!
Truly THE original adult western and, It was created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. The radio show first aired on April 26, 1952 and ran until June 18, 1961 on the CBS radio network. The series starred William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon, Howard McNear as Doc Charles Adams, Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell, and Parley Baer as Deputy Chester Proudfoot. Doc's first name and Chester's last name were changed for the television program. Gunsmoke was notable for its critically acclaimed cast and writing, and is commonly regarded as THE true adult western and one of the finest old time radio shows. Some listeners (such as old time radio expert John Dunning) have argued that the radio version of Gunsmoke was far more realistic than the television program. Episodes were aimed at adults, and featured some of the most explicit content of the day: there were violent crimes and scalpings, massacres and opium addicts. Miss Kitty's occupation as a prostitute was made far more obvious on the radio version than on television. Many episodes ended on a down-note, and villains often got away with their crimes.
Lights Out was an American old-time radio program featuring "tales of the supernatural and the supernormal." It was immensely popular, and was one of the first horror programs, predating Suspense and Inner Sanctum. In its heydey, Lights Out rivalled the popularity of those shows. Lights Out ran through several series and networks, from January 1, 1934 to August 6, 1947. The principal sponsor was Ironized Yeast. Most episodes were broadcast at midnight. Lights Out then made the transition to television in 1949, where it was broadcast until 1952. Created in Chicago by writer Wyllis Cooper in 1934.
The Whisperer was an American old-time radio show broadcast from July 8 to September 30, 1951 on NBC. It ran for only 13 episodes. The premise of the series was as improbable as its storylines. The protagonist was Philip Gault (Carleton G. Young), a lawyer who, due to some unexplained accident, lost his voice and could only speak in an eerie whisper. Gault infiltrates "the syndicate" in his native Central City to bring down organized crime from within; to the underworld, he becomes known as the Whisperer. Later, his voice is restored through surgery, but he continues to lead a double life as the Whisperer, relaying instructions from the syndicate bosses in New York (who don't know he's a mole) to their lackeys in Central City, whom Gault is actually setting up.
The Sealed Book starred Philip Clarke as the keeper of the book, a croaking, cackling hermit, with knowledge of the black arts, who in each show unlocked the great padlock that kept the sealed book safe from prying eyes. There was a spook story each week with tales of secrets and mysteries of mankind through the ages. This MUTUAL network entry in the horror and mystery genre was far from the best remembered, such as Suspense, Quiet Please, and Inner Sanctum. The Sealed Book begins with a classic intro, in which when gonged, we are escorted by the tuxedoed announcer with unseen organist as the keeper of the book opens the ponderous, albeit squeaky door "to the secret vault wherein is kept the great sealed book, in which is recorded all the secrets and mysteries of mankind through the ages, Here are tales of every kind, tales of murder, of madness, of dark deeds strange and terrible beyond all belief." First broadcast date march 18th 1945. Last broadcast date september 9th 1945. Narrated by Philip Clarke and written by Bob Arthur and David Kogan, this mystery anthology was aired over the MUTUAL network Sunday nights at 10:30 p.m.
First Show: 10-05-47 Last Show: 07-01-49 Number Shows: 78 (39 on NBC, 39 on CBS) Audition Show: none known Series Description: The FORD THEATER, sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, presented hour long dramas first on NBC for one only season. The series moved to CBS for its second and last season. There were 39 NBC and 39 CBS hour- long shows (not verified). The show initially received an unfavorable review from the New York Times for poor script adaptation but was still highly rated for the actors' performance and overall production. The show was supposed to feature only original scripts but had to forgo that plan due to lack of quality material. The first season on NBC used radio actors under the direction of George Zachary. Martin Gabel announced the first show but was soon replaced by Kenneth Banghart. The second season, on CBS, used Hollywood screen actors in the lead roles, supported by radio actors. Fletcher Markle, who previously produced CBS's STUDIO ONE series, was the producer for the second season. Although a short series, it still has some of radio's best dramas.
Lux Radio Theater strove to feature as many of the original stars of the original stage and film productions as possible, usually paying them $5,000 an appearance to do the show. It was when sponsor Lever Brothers (who made Lux soap and detergent) moved the show from New York City to Hollywood in 1936 that it eased back from adapting stage shows and toward adaptations of films. The first Lux film adaptation was The Legionnaire and the Lady, with Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable, based on the film Morocco. That was followed by a Lux adaptation of The Thin Man, featuring the movie's stars, Myrna Loy and William Powell. Many of the greatest names in film appeared in the series, most in the roles they made famous on the screen, including Abbott and Costello, Lauren Bacall, Lucille Ball, Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, Charles Boyer, Claudette Colbert, Gary Cooper, Joseph Cotton, Bing Crosby, Dan Duryea, Ava Gardner, Cary Grant, Bob Hope, Vivien Leigh, Agnes Moorehead, Vincent Price, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra, Ann Sothern, Barbara Stanwyck, James Stewart, Gene Tierney, John Wayne, Jane Wyman, Orson Welles and Loretta Young.
The Phyl Coe Mysteries was a syndicated radio series that came out in 1936, with the lead character's name designed to reflect the sponsor, Philco Radio Tubes. PHYL (short for Phyllis) COE is described as the "beautiful girl detective". She was a private investigator who was smart, aggressive, and a "take-charge" lady. In one episode where a magician is shot on stage, Phyl, who is attending the performance, with her boy friend, leaps to the stage, barks orders to theatre personnel, and solves the crime before the cops even get there. In other mysteries, she identifies the thief of a famous painting, solves the mystery involving a new death-ray gun, and solves a murder aboard an aeroplane. Cast and crew have not yet been identified. None of the solutions to each episode appear in it, since the original listeners were supposed to send in their answers to Philco and win cash prizes. About 12 episodes are known to be in circulation. At the heigth of its popularity about 250 radio stations throughout the U.S. were airing this 15 program. The contest was run by Geare-Marston, Inc of Philadelphia.
You Can't Do Business with Hitler, based on the experiences of Douglas Miller, who was for 15 years commercial attachà to the American Embassy in Berlin. Douglas Miller reveals the NAZI technique of plundering and looting conquered lands. This transcribed program written by Elwood Hoffman and directed by Frank Telford was brought to you by the Radio Section of the Office for Emergency Management in Washington.
Abbott and Costello William (Bud) Abbott and Lou Costello (born Louis Francis Cristillo) were an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film and television made them one of the most popular teams in the history of comedy. Thanks to the endurance of their most popular and influential routine, "Who's on First?"---whose rapid-fire word play and comprehension confusion set the preponderant framework for most of their best-known routines---the team are also the only comedians known to have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Bud Abbott was born in Asbury Park, NJ, October 2, 1897 and died April 24, 1974 in Woodland Hills, California. Lou Costello was born in Paterson, NJ, March 6, 1906 and died March 3, 1959 in East Los Angeles, California. After working as Allen's summer replacement, Abbott and Costello joined Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy on The Chase and Sanborn Hour in 1941, while two of their films (Buck Privates and Hold That Ghost) were adapted for Lux Radio Theater. They launched their own weekly show October 8, 1942, sponsored by Camel cigarettes. The Abbott and Costello Show mixed comedy with musical interludes (usually, by singers such as Connie Haines, Marilyn Maxwell, the Delta Rhythm Boys, Skinnay Ennis, and the Les Baxter Singers). Regulars and semi-regulars on the show included Artie Auerbrook, Elvia Allman, Iris Adrian, Mel Blanc, Wally Brown, Sharon Douglas, Verna Felton, Sidney Fields, Frank Nelson, Martha Wentworth, and Benay Venuta. Ken Niles was the show's longtime announcer, doubling as an exasperated foil to Abbott & Costello's mishaps (and often fuming in character as Costello insulted his on-air wife routinely); he was succeeded by Michael Roy, with annoncing chores also handled over the years by Frank Bingman and Jim Doyle. The show went through several orchestras during its radio life, including those of Ennis, Charles Hoff, Matty Matlock, Jack Meaking, Will Osborne, Freddie Rich, Leith Stevens, and Peter van Steeden.
Inner Sanctum Mysteries was a popular old-time radio program that aired from January 7, 1941 to October 5, 1952. Created by Himan Brown, the anthology series featured stories of mystery, terror and suspense. The tongue-in-cheek introductions were in sharp contrast to shows like Suspense and The Whistler. A total of 526 episodes are known to have been produced. The early 1940s programs opened with Raymond Edward Johnson introducing himself as, "Your host, Raymond," in a mocking sardonic voice. A spooky melodramatic organ score punctuated Raymond's many morbid jokes and playful puns. Raymond's closing was an elongated "Pleasant dreaaaaammmmssss!" His tongue-in-cheek style and ghoulish relish of his own tales became the standard for many such horror narrators to follow, from fellow radio hosts like Ernest Chappell (on Cooper's later series, Quiet, Please) and Maurice Taupin (on The Mysterious Traveler) to the Crypt-Keeper in various incarnations of Tales from the Crypt.
Danger With Granger arrived too late in the Golden Age of Radio to have any real impact on the listening public. Mutual aired this show, starting in 1956, on Monday nights at 8:30 pm. It was a half hour show that featured a private eye in New York City, STEVE GRANGER. His two primary companions were Cal Hendrix, a reporter who served as an all-purpose source of criminal info, and Jake Rankin, a police detective with whom he had a grudging rivalry. The writing on the show seemed to incorporate most of the standard cliche's of the P.I. world. Granger, who was both the star and the first-person narrator of the show (not an uncommon practice with radio gumshoes), never saw a woman, instead "he gave the doll the once-over." He didn't kick with his foot, he "lifted a size 10." Instead of paying cash, he "forked over numbered lettuce."
Tuska cited Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940) and Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery (1941) as the best of the Bellamy-Lindsay pairings. "The influence of The Thin Man series was apparent in reverse", Tuska noted about Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery. "Ellery and Nikki are unmarried but obviously in love with each other. Probably the biggest mystery... is how Ellery ever gets a book written. Not only is Nikki attractive and perfectly willing to show off her figure", Tuska wrote, "but she also likes to write her own stories on Queen's time, and gets carried away doing her own investigations." In Ellery Queen, Master Detective, "the amorous relationship between Ellery and Nikki Porter was given a dignity, and therefore integrity", Tuska wrote, "that was lacking in the two previous entries in the series", made at Republic Pictures before Bellamy and Lindsay were signed by Columbia.
Arch Oboler's Plays was a radio drama series written, produced and directed by Arch Oboler. Minus a sponsor, it ran for one year, airing Saturday evenings on NBC from March 25, 1939 to March 23, 1940 and revived five years later on Mutual for a sustaining summer run from April 5, 1945 to October 11, 1945. Leading film actors were heard on this series, including Gloria Blondell, Eddie Cantor, James Cagney, Ronald Colman, Joan Crawford, Greer Garson, Edmund Gwenn, Van Heflin, Katharine Hepburn, Elsa Lanchester, Peter Lorre, Frank Lovejoy, Raymond Massey, Burgess Meredith, Paul Muni, Alla Nazimova, Edmond O'Brien, Geraldine Page, Gale Sondergaard, Franchot Tone and George Zucco.
Maisie, the first in 1939, was from the book "Dark Dame" by the writer Wilson Collison,who did decades of scripting for the silver screen along with Broadway plays and magazine fiction. From the first, MGM wanted Ann Sothern to play Maisie. She began in Hollywood as an extra in 1927. "Maisie and I were just together - I just understood her," Sothern, born Harriette Arlene Lake, said after several of the films made her a star. Throughout the 1930s and '40s, Ann Sothern and Lucille Ball, like many performers in Hollywood, had not one but two careers - one in motion pictures and one on radio. MGM Studios had created the series of ten motion pictures based on a brash blonde with a heart "of spun gold." Maisie, the first in 1939, was from the book "Dark Dame" by the writer Wilson Collison, who did decades of scripting for the silver screen along with Broadway plays and magazine fiction.
'Dick Barton Special Agent!' followed by the fast and furious signature tune. The serial was broadcast in 15 minute episodes, Monday to Friday at 6:45pm. Each story spanned 2-4 weeks. Luckily it was broadcast on the very powerful Light Programme so I could even listen on a 1920's crystal set. On a Saturday at 11:00 am. there was a full hour of Barton. This was called an omnibus edition and consisted of the previous week's episodes linked into one long program.
Philo Vance was the detective creation of S. S. Van Dine first published in the mid 1920s. Vance, in the original books, is an intellectual so highly refined he seems he might be ghostwritten by P. G. Wodehouse. Take this quote from The Benson Murder Case, 1924, as Vance pontificates in his inimitable way: "That's your fundamental error, don't y' know. Every crime is witnessed by outsiders, just as is every work of art. The fact that no one sees the criminal, or the artist, actu'lly at work, is wholly incons'quential." Thankfully, the radio series uses only the name, and makes Philo a pretty normal, though very intelligent and extremely courteous gumshoe. Jose Ferrer played him in 1945. From 1948-1950, the fine radio actor Jackson Beck makes Vance as good as he gets. George Petrie plays Vance's constantly impressed public servant, District Attorney Markham. Joan Alexander is Ellen Deering, Vance's secretary and right-hand woman. The organist for the show is really working those ivories, and fans of old time radio organ will especially enjoy this series. Perhaps one reason the organist "pulls out all the stops" is because there seems to be little, if any, sound effects on the show. Philo Vance, the radio series, does pay homage to the original books in that both were, even in their own time, a bit out of date and stilted. (OTRR)
"Power Lawn Mower" (5-29-45) & "Out Of Coal" (2-14-49)
Fibber McGee and Molly premiered in 1935. The program struggled in the ratings until 1940, when it became a national sensation. Within three years, it was the top-rated program in America. Few radio shows were more beloved than Fibber McGee and Molly. The programâs lovable characters included Mayor LaTrivia, Doc Gamble, Mrs. Uppington, Wallace Wimple, Alice Darling, Gildersleeve, Beulah, Myrt, and the Old Timer. 79 Wistful Vista was one of Americaâs most famous addresses and Mollyâs warning to Fibber not to open the hall closet door (and his subsequent decision to do it) created one of radioâs best remembered running gags that audiences expected each week.
Based of the Mickey Spillane series, Larry Haines stars as Mike Hammer-the ever entertaining handsome, violent, hard-boiled private eye. Tune in to any exciting episode which would not be complete without the ever beautiful Velda accompanything Mike while he insults some beautiful dame, takes a mysterious phone call, goes wild with reckless driving, and shoots some his gun off to solve the murder case.
JACK ARMSTRONG - 2 Episodes:
"A Clue To Prof. Loring" (1-06-41) and "Yates The Traitor Returns" (1-08-41)
CAST: Jim Ameche, Stanley Harris, Frank Behrens, Charles Flynn, Rye Billsbury, St John Terrell, John Gannon, Roland Butterfield, Murray McLean, Milton Guion, Dick York, Shaindel Kalish, Sarajane Wells, Loretta Poynton, Naomi May, Patricia Dunlap, Jim Goss, Don Ameche, Frank Dane and Jack Doty, Herb Butterfield, Ed Davison, Arthur Van Slyke, Olan Soule, Ken Christy, Frank Behrens, Michael Romano, Robert Barron, Ken Griffin, Carlton KaDell.
Dr. James Kildare was a fictional character, the primary character in a series of American theatrical films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, an early 1950s radio series, a 1960s television series of the same name and a comic book based on the TV show. The character was invented by the author Frederick Schiller Faust (aka Max Brand). The character began in the film series as a medical intern; after becoming a doctor he was mentored by an older physician, Dr. Leonard Gillespie. After the first ten films, the series eliminated the character of Kildare and focused instead on Gillespie.
Diary of Fate is a mystery and horror program where âFateâ narrates and always wins by the end of the story. These are great suspense filled stories about average people who are subject to the mysteries of their âFateâ. In This episode, March 16, 1948. Program #14. Finley syndication. "Joe Mattock". Commercials added locally. Book 63, page 397. A truck driver and his beautiful hitch-hiker commit murder to get their hands on $100,000, kept in a little black bag. The date is subject to correction. Ivan Ditmars (music), Larry Finley (producer), Hal Sawyer, Frank Albertson, Gloria Blondell, Herb Lytton, Jerry Hausner, Ray Ehrlenborn (probable sound effects). 26:47
The Columbia Workshop was the first to experiment with what radio drama was all about, introducing new techniques never before used in over the airwaves drama and because it received little encouragement from established writers, actors, etc., it was only by breaking new ground with new ideas and new techniques from writers who were not versed in the old ways that it was going to survive. Unlike theater drama which required scenery to stage the settings of a play. Radio drama relied only on the imagination of the listener to interpret the scene.
The list of films and actors on Academy Award Theater is very impressive. Bette Davis begins the series in Jezebel, with Ginger Rogers following in Kitty Foyle, and then Paul Muni in The Life of Louis Pasteur. The Informer had to have Victor Mclaglen, and the Maltese Falcon, Humphrey Bogart, Sidney Greenstreet (this movie was his first major motion picutre role) plus Mary Astor for the hat trick. Suspicion starred Cary Grant with Ann Todd doing the Joan Fontaine role, Ronald Coleman in Lost Horizon, and Joan Fontaine and John Lund were in Portrait of Jenny. How Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio were done is something to hear!
Have you ever wondered what it might be like inside the mind of a criminal? The stories of Mystery Playhouse (Dark Venture) try to imagine. In this thrilling drama series, you will be drawn in to the murky calculations behind sinister acts. How much money would make stealing worthwhile? If your business partner caught you stealing $50,000 from your company, would he turn you in to the authorities? Would you let yourself be blackmailed? Or, would you let yourself commit another, more serious crime? On the verge of breaking the law, or taking a life, all risks and dangers must be considered.
That strange publishing firm owned by Dan and Barbara Glenn - where each new novel is acted out by the Mystery House staff, before it is accepted for publication. Mystery House was a program in the 1950âs, but not your run of the mill type program. Actually it was more of a proving ground for novels. Dan and Barbara Glenn owned a publishing company named âMystery Houseâ located at 70 Park Avenue, New York City. Dan and Barbara decided to test some of their novels on a real listening audience. Each episode was taken from a novel they were planning on publishing. The entire staff at Mystery House was involved, everyone doing their part, whether it was rewriting to adapt it to radio, playing the parts or doing sound effects, everyone joined in. Sadly, not a lot is known about this series. Only 15 are known to exist.
General Mills Radio Adventure Theater
The series had it origins in the meeting of two minds: the ad agency for General Mills at the time, Dancer-Fitzgerald-Sample was looking for a different means to reach a child audience besides television, which was decreasing commercial minutes and increasing costs; and Himan Brown, producer-director of the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, who wanted to introduce new audiences to the dramatic form on radio. Tom Bosley was chosen as the host because of his television recognition from a kidâs oriented series, Happy Days. CBS chose to produce 52 original broadcasts followed by 52 repeat broadcasts. I believe they had hoped to maintain General Mills sponsorship during the complete 104 episodes, but General Mills dropped their sponsorship after the original broadcasts. The series continued for the next 52 repeats as the CBS Radio Adventure Theater.
The FBI in Peace and War was a radio crime drama inspired by Frederick Lewsis Collins' book, The FBI in Peace and War. The idea for the show came from Louis Pelletier who wrote many of the scripts. Among the show's other writers were Jack Finke, Ed Adamson and Collins. Airing on CBS from November 25, 1944 to September 28, 1958, it had a variety of sponsors (including Lava Soap, Wildroot Cream Oil, Lucky Strike, Nescafe and Wrigley's) over the years. Martin Blaine and Donald Briggs headed the cast. Theme music was "The Love for Three Oranges" (Prokofiev)
In 1964, South Africa began The Creaking Door, using original scripts which included stories with a heavy emphasis on the supernatural. The topics ranged from haunted houses to a woman who turns into a giant cat, and of course, the typical paranoid murderer so often presented on the original Inner Sanctum. The host for this series was Peter Bloomfield. There are at present anywhere from 34-37 extant episodes in MP3 circulation, yet no currently available program logs for the series indicate the year of the series' broadcast (though it was likely sometime in the 1950s, given the generally high audio quality of the available shows), or the total number of episodes, and only a handful of them are known by their broadcast order. The stories are thrillers in the Inner Sanctum vein, and generally thought of favorably by most fans of OTR.
Sherlock Holmes described himself as a "consulting detective", an expert who is brought into cases that have proven too difficult for other (typically official) investigators; we are told that he is on many an occasion able to solve a problem without leaving his home. Naturally, this aspect is minimized in the stories themselves, which tend to focus on the more interesting cases that require him to do actual legwork. He specializes in solving unusual cases using his extraordinary powers of observation and logical reasoning, and frequently demonstrates these abilities to new clients by making on-the-spot deductions about their personalities and recent activities. This simple marketing strategy rarely fails to impress and build confidence in his services.
Space Patrol. ABC net origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. Commander Corry and Cadet Happy are stranded a half-million light-years from home, but are helped by a friendly alien. Ed Kemmer, Lyn Osborn. 25 minutes.
THIS EPISODE:
Space Patrol. December 6, 1952. ABC network. "The Space Shark". Sponsored by: Ralston Cereals. While attempting to rescue Tonga from food poisoners, Commander Corry and Cadet Happy are nearly fried by heat mirrors on Venus. Later, Commander Corry dodges a guided missile through the rings of Saturn! Bela Kovacs, Dick Tufeld (announcer), Ed Kemmer, Ken Mayer, Larry Robertson (producer, director), Lou Houston (writer), Lyn Osborn, Mike Mosser (creator), Nina Bara. 29:28.
"Are you willing to undertake a dangerous mission for the United States, knowing in advance you may never return alive?" Cloak and Dagger first aired over the NBC network on May 7, 1950. It had a short run through the Summer on Sundays, changing to Fridays after its Summer run. The last show aired Oct. 22, 1950. This is the story of the WWII special governmental agency, the OSS, or Office of Strategic Services. Its mission was to develop and maintain spy networks throughout Europe and into Asia, while giving aid to underground partisan groups and developing espionage activities for Allied forces overseas.The show is based on the book of the same name by Lt. Col. Corey Ford and Major Alastair MacBain (who were associated with the OSS from its early days.) The dramas are not Hollywood-style, in that they sometimes end with plans foiled or leading characters dead.
Theater Guild On The Air - Jacobowsky And The Colonel.mp3
Jacobowsky and the Colonel Originally aired September 16, 1945 (adapted by S. N. Behrman from a play by Franz Werfel; produced by the Theater Guild in association with Jack H. Skirball) uses one of the grimmest moments of the warâthe fall of Franceâfor half-satiric, half-fantastic comedy. Its comic thesis is that flight from the Nazis makes strange carfellows. A swaggering, snooty Polish colonel with "a perfect 15th-Century mind" (well played by Louis Calhern) and a rueful, humorous, clever Jewish refugee (delightfully played by Oscar Karlweis) both have to bolt from Paris on the run. The colonel cannot find a car; Jacobowsky finds one but cannot drive. Grandly tossing out Jacobowsky's luggage, the colonel condescends to take the wheel, and off they goâsmack toward the Nazis in order to fetch the colonel's pretty mistress (Annabellaâsee p. 62). From then on, while the colonel remains majestically helpless, Jacobowsky gets the party out of tight squeezes, ferrets out food, locates gasoline. As the colonel's lady becomes more & more admiring of Jacobowsky, the colonel becomes more & more jealous, issues a challenge, creates an opÃra-bouffe atmosphere that makes the trip as much a flight from reality as from the Nazis.
Dragnet was perhaps the most famous and influential police procedural drama in American media history. The series gave millions of Americans a feel for the boredom and drudgery, as well as the danger and heroism, of real-life police work. Dragnet earned praise for improving the public opinion of police officers. Actor and producer Jack Webbâs aims in Dragnet were for realism and unpretentious acting. He achieved both goals, and Dragnet remains a key influence on subsequent police dramas in many media. The show's cultural impact is demonstrated by the fact that even after five decades, elements of Dragnet are known to those who've never seen or heard the program.
It's A Crime Mr. Collins. 1956. Mutual net origination, syndicated. "Rockabye Murder". Commercials added locally. Mr. Collins finds himself Mayor-for-a-day in a small town out west...and he finds murder too! The date is approximate. Mandel Kramer, Gail Collins, Richard Denning. 25 minutes.
The Falcon - 1943-1954 This was a 30-minute detective serial. The character of the series was created by Michael Arlen in 1940. It was subsequently made in to a movie series. The original hero was called Gay Lawrence and was played by George Sanders.
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April 15, 1951. NBC net. "The Case Of The Shopkeeper's Gun". Sponsored by: Kraft. Not auditioned. Drexel Drake (creator), Ed Herlihy (announcer), Bernard L. Schubert (producer), Jerome Epstein (writer), Richard Lewis (director), Arlo (music), Les Damon, Ken Lynch. 28:48.
The adventures of Casey, crack photographer for The Morning Express, were told in this series, which moved to television after a highly successful run on radio in the 1940âs. Casey hung out at the Blue Note CafÃ, where the music was provided by the Tony Mottola Trio, and was friendly with Ethelbert, the bartender, to whom he recounted his various exploits. Richard Carlyle and John Gibson portrayed the roles when the series premiered in April, 1951, but by June they were replaced by Darren McGavin and Cliff Hall. Ann Williams, a reporter on The Morning Express, was Caseyâs girlfriend. During the summer of 1951 he acquired a partner in cub reporter Jack Lipman, who wrote copy to go with Caseyâs pictures. This live series was set in and broadcast from, New York City.
Dangerous Assignment first aired in 1949. Brian Donlevy played the lead as Steve Mitchell in this international spy series. Herb Butterfield played the Commissioner and Betty Moran was the Commissioner's secretary. The director was Bill Cairn and the writer for the series was Robert Ryf.
Barry Craig
(AKA Barry Crane" and then "Barrie Craig)
Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator is one of the few detective radio series that had separate versions of it broadcast from both coasts. Even the spelling changed over the years. It was first "Barry Crane" and then "Barrie Craig". NBC produced it in New York from 1951 to 1954 and then moved it to Hollywood where it aired from 1954 to 1955. It attracted only occasional sponsors so it was usually a sustainer. William Gargan, who also played the better known television (and radio) detective Martin Kane, was the voice of New York eye BARRY CRAIG while Ralph Bell portrayed his associate, Lt. Travis Rogers. Craig's office was on Madison Avenue and his adventures were fairly standard PI fare. He worked alone, solved cases efficiently, and feared no man. As the promos went, he was "your man when you can't go to the cops. Confidentiality a speciality." Like Sam Spade, Craig narrated his stories, in addition to being the leading character in this 30 minute show. Nearly sixty episodes are in trading circulation today.
The Jack Benny Program is a classic comedy that is truly one of the best-loved programs from the Golden Age of Radio. It started life as The Canada Dry Program in 1932 on the Blue Network and finished off as The Lucky Strike Program on CBS in 1955. In between, it kept the audience in stitches and established Benny as one of America's all-time great comedians.
Nick Carter, Master Detective - Nick Carter is the name of a popular fictional detective who first appeared in in a dime novel entitled "The Old Detective's Pupil" on September 18, 1886. In 1915, Nick Carter Weekly became Street & Smith's Detective Story Magazine. Novels featuring Carter continued to appear through the 1950s, by which time there was also a popular radio show, Nick Carter, Master Detective, which aired on Mutual from 1943 to 1955. Nick Carter first came to radio as The Return of Nick Carter. Then Nick Carter, Master Detective, with Lon Clark in the title role, began April 11, 1943, on Mutual, continuing in many different timeslots for well over a decade. Jock MacGregor was the producer-director of scripts by Alfred Bester, Milton J. Kramer, David Kogan and others. Background music was supplied by organists Hank Sylvern, Lew White and George Wright. Patsy Bowen, Nick's assistant, was portrayed by Helen Choate until mid-1946 and then Charlotte Manson stepped into the role. Nick and Patsy's friend was reporter Scubby Wilson (John Kane). Nick's contact at the police department was Sgt. Mathison (Ed Latimer). The supporting cast included Raymond Edward Johnson, Bill Johnstone and Bryna Raeburn. Michael Fitzmaurice was the program's announcer. The series ended on September 25, 1955. Chick Carter, Boy Detective was a serial adventure that aired weekday afternoons on Mutual. Chick Carter, the adopted son of Nick Carter, was played by Bill Lipton (1943-44) and Leon Janney (1944-45). The series aired from July 5, 1943 to July 6, 1945.
Hollywood Radio Theater (Lux), one of the genuine classic radio anthology series (NBC Blue Network, 1934-1935; CBS 1935-1955), adapted first Broadway stage and then (and especially) films to hour-long live radio presentations and became the standard by which future radio and early television anthologies would be judged. Cecil B. DeMille was the host of the series each Monday evening from June 1, 1936 until January 22, 1945.
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The President's Lady from Hollywood Radio Theater aired on September 28, 1953 starring Charlton Heston and Joan Fontaine. Based on the novel by Irving Stone this is the story of one of the most vicious rumor campaigns in American political history. It is the story of how the love of the life of our seventh President was destroyed by these rumors, which were based on half-truths. Without question one of the great romances of all time.
Half-hour drama, sometimes comedy, often very exciting and suspenseful. The cast were made up of New York veterans of radio and stage, including Jan Minor and John Larkin as featured performers. The director, Harry W. Junkin, also served as the show's host and narrator. Each week the show introduced a new story, often written by well-known writers of fantasy and suspense such as Ray Bradbury, Cornell Woolrich, Agatha Christie and Paul Gallico. They were dramatized with a full orchestral soundtrack and excellent sound effects.
The list of films and actors on Academy Award Theater is very impressive. Bette Davis begins the series in Jezebel, with Ginger Rogers following in Kitty Foyle, and then Paul Muni in The Life of Louis Pasteur. The Informer had to have Victor Mclaglen, and the Maltese Falcon, Humphrey Bogart, Sidney Greenstreet (this movie was his first major motion picutre role) plus Mary Astor for the hat trick. Suspicion starred Cary Grant with Ann Todd doing the Joan Fontaine role, Ronald Coleman in Lost Horizon, and Joan Fontaine and John Lund were in Portrait of Jenny. How Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio were done is something to hear!
Robert A. Arthur was the writer of these grisly, macabre fifteen-minute thrillers. Maurice Tarplin played Dr Weird, the narrator of these fantastic tales. The closing line was always the same: âOh, you have to leave now â too bad! But perhaps youâll drop in on me again soon. Iâm always home. Just look for the house on the other side of the cemetery â the house of Dr Weird!â
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January 30, 1945. Program #13. Mutual network aircheck, syndicated on an RCA transcription. "The Man Who Lived Twice". Sponsored by: Adam Hats, one commercial added live. A mad scientist undergoes a genuine brain transplant! The program may be dated April 17, 1945. The program closing is added locally or has been deleted. . 11:59
February 6, 1945. Program #14. Mutual network. "The Dark Wings Of Death". Sponsored by: Adam Hats. A married couple decides to kill an eccentric uncle for his money, but his pet Raven poses a problem. . 15 minutes.
Adventures of Superman â 1938-1951
Cooked Oil Association (Episodes 1,2,3,4, - Complete)
This juvenile adventure series was first broadcast on Mutual in 1940 with Clayton (Bud) Collyer starring as Superman/Clark Kent. It first began as a fifteen-minute show but later, in 1949, it moved to ABC as a thirty-minute Saturday show with Michael Fitzmaurice as Superman. At the end of its thirteen-year run it had totalled over 1600 episodes. The opening for the show was one of radioâs best, setting the stage for those flights into fantasy with a cascade of voices, narration and sound effects. âFaster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!â âLook! Up in the sky!â âItâs a bird!â âItâs a plane!â âItâs Superman!
From 01/09/49 to 09/28/51 this series was greatly enjoyed by the radio listening audience. It opened as NBC Theater and was also known as The Screen Directorâs Guild and The Screen Directorâs Assignment. But most people remember it simply as Screen Directorâs Playhouse. Many of the Hollywood elite were heard recreating their screen roles over the radio. John Wayne in his rare radio appearances, Cary Grant, Edward G. Robinson, Lucille Ball, Claire Trevor, Tallulah Bankhead and many others were on the air week after week during these broadcasts. Many of Hollywoodâs directors were also heard in the recreation of their movies. The President of the Screen Directorâs Guild appeared on 02/13/49, and Violinist Isaac Stern supplied the music for the 04/19/51 broadcast.
MAN FROM HOMICIDE 1951
ABC show with Dan Duryea
Lieutenant Lou Dana, the man from homicide. tracks the killer of an 18 year old drug addict. Before an arrest could be made, 2 others met their death at the hands of the killer. Dan Duryea stars in this action packed series heard on ABC. Unfortunately, it appears that only 4 episodes still exist. Well written, well acted.
Escape was radio's leading anthology series of high adventure, airing on CBS from July 7, 1947 to September 25, 1954. Since the program did not have a regular sponsor like Suspense, it was subjected to frequent schedule shifts and lower production budgets, although Richfield Oil signed on as a sponsor for five months in 1950. Despite these problems, Escape enthralled many listeners during its seven-year run. The series' well-remembered opening combined Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain with the introduction, intoned by Paul Frees and William Conrad: âTired of the everyday routine? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... Escape!â Of the more than 230 Escape episodes, most have survived in good condition. Many story premises, both originals and adaptations, involved a protagonist in dire life-or-death straits, and the series featured more science fiction and supernatural tales than Suspense. Some of the memorable adaptations include Algernon Blackwood's "Confession", Ray Bradbury's oft-reprinted "Mars Is Heaven," George R. Stewart's Earth Abides, Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game," F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz," John Collier's "Evening Primrose", later adapted to TV as a Stephen Sondheim musical starring Anthony Perkins. Vincent Price and Harry Bartell were heard in the chilling "Three Skeleton Key," the tale of three men trapped in an isolated lighthouse by thousands of rats. The half-hour was adapted from an Esquire short story by the French writer George Toudouze.
Dangerously Yours eventually became Matinee Theater.The show was produced by Nick Dawson, directed bgy Richard Sanville and written by Jean Holloway. Music was by The Mark Warnow Orchestra and was sponsored by Vic's nose drops, vapor rubs, and other great products by the Vic Chemical Company, this collection contains all known episodes in existence of the short-run series of 1944, Dangerously Yours. Hollywood star, Victor Jory, was the primary herostarring in story adaptation of pirates, espionage, adventure and romance. The series was later renamed in October 1944 to Matinee Theater.
THE WEIRD CIRCLE presented 30 minute tales of horror, frequently inspired by classic horror or ghost stories, frequently done by French authors. It opened with the sound of the surf and the chant-like opening, "In this cave by the restless sea, we are met to call from out of past, stories strange and weird. Bell keeper, toll the bell, so that all may know that we are gathered again in the Weird Circle". The show was heard on Mutual stations November, 1943 through October, 1947 and very briefly in September/October of 1947 on ABC.
The General Mills Radio Adventure Theater was a 1977 anthology radio drama series with Tom Bosley as host. Himan Brown, already producing the CBS Radio Mystery Theater for the network, added this twice-weekly anthology radio drama series to his workload in 1977. It usually aired on weekends on stations which cleared it.General Mills's advertising agency was looking for a means of reaching children that would be less expensive than television advertising. Brown and CBS were willing to experiment with a series aimed at younger listeners, reaching that audience through ads in comic books. Apart from Christian or other religious broadcasting, this may have been the only nationwide attempt in the U.S. in the 1970s to air such a series. General Mills did not continue as sponsor after the first 52 weeks, and the series then repeated the 52 shows as The CBS Radio Adventure Theater.
2000 AD (2000 Plus) is known as the first of the network science fiction shows, although it ran on Mutual just a month prior to the introduction of the landmark series, Dimension X. It was a half hour of science fiction wonder in an exciting package. The stories have a charm that is always present in science fiction of the future that is written in the past. "When The Worlds Met" takes place "at the giant space port in Washington, temporary capitol of the federated world government as in April 21, 2000 Plus 20 (2020) crowds throng as audio and televox networks cover a space ship carrying in its space hold the first load of uranium taken from the pits of Luna, satellite of Earth.
Big Town is a radio show that aired from 1937 to 1952. Edward G. Robinson had the lead role of Steve Wilson from 1937 to 1942. Claire Trevor was Wilson's society editor sidekick Lorelei Kilbourne, with Ona Munson taking over that role in 1940. Edward J. Pawley portrayed Wilson from 1942 until 1952 when Walter Greaza was heard as Wilson in the final episodes in the radio series. When Big Town moved to television, the program was telecast live, but in 1952 the production switched to film after the move from New York City to Hollywood. The television series ran on CBS from 1950 through 1954, continuing on NBC from 1955 through 1956. Repeat episodes aired on the DuMont Network (under the title City Assignment) while Big Town was still showing first-run episodes on CBS. Reruns were also shown under the titles Heart of the City, Headline and Byline Steve Wilson.
Pat Novak, For Hire
Pat Novak, For Hire â 1949-1950
CAST: Jack Webb, Tudor Owen, John Galbraith, Raymond Burr
ANNOUNCERS: George Fenneman
PRODUCERS/DIRECTORS: William P Rousseau
MUSICAL DIRECTOR: Buzz Adlam
WRITERS: Richard Breen
ORCHESTRA: Basil Adlam
Pat Novak, played by Jack Webb, was a private detective working out of Pier 19, a waterfront office in San Francisco. The stories were always very similar: Someone would hire him, (if not a beautiful woman, the job would lead to a beautiful woman) someone would get murdered, he would investigate the case, get beaten up by the thugs, and then the case would be solved and end with glorious violence. The closing was always the same; the listener would be told who had done what, to whom and why they had done it.
The first portrayal of Phillip Marlowe on the radio was by Dick Powell, when he played Raymond Chandler's detective on the Lux Radio Theater on June 11, 1945. This was a radio adaptation of the 1944 movie, from RKO, in which Mr. Powell played the lead. Two years later, Van Heflin starred as Marlowe in a summer replacement series for the Bob Hope Show on NBC. This series ran for 13 shows. On September 26, 1948, Gerald Mohr became the third radio Marlowe, this time on CBS. It remained a CBS show through its last show in 1951.
Mystery (1957-1958)
ABC Mystery Time was hosted by Don Dowd and starred Sir Laurence Olivier. Great special effects will grab your attention, accented by creepy organ rips. Stories are offered such as death gathered round a card table at a local chapter of The Suicide Club, or a man who desperately tries to hire a 24 hour bodyguard all the while trying to make himself the victim of a murder, and other baffling peculiar tales of yore. Also known as Mystery Time and Mystery Time Classics, this one is sure to excite and mystify.
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ABC Mystery Time. ABC net. "Death Walked In". Not auditioned. The program is also known as, "Masters Of Mystery." Ann Loring, William Johnstone, Peggy Allenby, Don Dowd (host), Frank Butler, Clark Andrews (producer), Ronald Dawson (producer), Robert A. Arthur (producer). 22:47
Duffy's Tavern, an American radio situation comedy (CBS, 1941-1942; NBC-Blue Network, 1942-1944; NBC, 1944-1952), often featured top-name stage and film guest stars but always hooked those around the misadventures, get-rich-quick-scheming, and romantic missteps of the title establishment's malaprop-prone, metaphor-mixing manager, Archie, played by the writer/actor who created the show, Ed Gardner.
NIGHTFALL was a horror series heard over the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation first from July 4, 1980 to May 22, 1981 and then from November 20, 1981 to June 24, 1983. Thirty shows were selected from the first season to be rebroadcast on NPR from October 2, 1981 to June 25, 1982. Since it is a fairly modern series, most shows are available in stereo. Because it's a modern series, it's not widely available (copyright issues). This show may be the most horrifying series ever done. It was so terrifying, that many stations refused to play it or had to cancel the broadcasts due to listener complaints. This is a well done series and well worth searching for sources.
Hercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters: he appeared in 39 novels and 50 short stories. Poirot has been portrayed on screen, for films and TV, by various actors including Albert Finney, Peter Ustinov, Ian Holm, Tony Randall, Alfred Molina and, most recently, and famously, David Suchet. His character was based on two other fictional detectives of the time: Marie Belloc Lowndes' Hercule Popeau and Frank Howel Evans' Monsieur Poiret, a retired French police officer living in London. A more obvious influence on the early Poirot stories is that of Arthur Conan Doyle. In An Autobiography Christie admits that "I was still writing in the Sherlock Holmes tradition â eccentric detective, stooge assistant, with a Lestrade-type Scotland Yard detective, Inspector Japp."Poirot also bears a striking resemblance to A. E. W. Mason's fictional detective â Inspector Hanaud of the French surete-who, first appearing in the 1910 novel "At the Villa Rose," predates the writing of the first Poirot novel by six years.
Orson Welles hosted and narrated the shows. Mr. Welles opened each show slightly differently but followed a standard format. For example, the show, "The Bathtub", open as follows:"This is Orson Welles speaking from London." (Big Ben starts chiming in the background). "The Black Museum, repository of death... Here, in this grim stone structure on the Thames which houses Scotland Yard, is a warehouse of homocide, where everyday objects, a piece of wire, a chemist's flask, a silver shilling, all are touched by murder." (dramatic music) Following the opening, Mr. Welles would introduce the museum's item or items of evidence that was central to the case, leading into the dramatization. He also provided narration during the show and ended each show with his characteristic closing from the days of his Mercury Theater of the Air, remaining "obediently yours".
Frank Lovejoy stars as Randy Stone, a toughened, street-wise Chicago Star reporter working the Nightbeat in the early 1950's. Sometimes the capers are cops and robbers. Or just normal people in trouble. Sometimes they deserve it. Sometimes fate twists their arm. Sometimes they're just too scared or confused to know the difference. Lovejoy is a seasoned pro of radio and film with an honest, gripping delivery. Solid supporting casts, good writing and direction.
Curtain Time, like First Nighter, presented romantic drama in a theater setting complete with the announcer shouting, âTickets please, thank youâ. The shows announcer was Harry Halcomb who was later known best for his appearances on the 60 minutes television show. Great scripts and superb acting, Curtain Time is truly an Old Time Radio Classic.
Let us journey âinto the land that lies beyond midnight,â into a world of ghost hunters, men going mad, and DEATH DEATH DEATH! Written by the masterful Michael McCabe, these well-done South African radio shows will capture your attention and keep you up listening to them well beyond midnight.
In October of 1934, "Lux Radio Theater" debuted in New York on NBC's Blue radio network. Presenting audio versions of popular Broadway plays, the show failed to garner an audience and soon ran out of material. After switching networks to CBS and moving to Hollywood, Lux found its true market. The show began featuring adaptations of popular films, performed by as many of the original stars as possible. With an endless supply of hit films scripts and an audience of more than 40 million, Lux enjoyed a prosperous run until the curtain fell in 1956
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Sorry, Wrong Number is a 1948 suspense film which tells the story of a woman who overhears a plot for murder. It stars Barbara Stanwyck, Burt Lancaster, Ann Richards, Wendell Corey, Ed Begley, Leif Erickson and William Conrad. The film was adapted by Lucille Fletcher from her radio play. Stanwyck plays Leona Stevenson, a spoiled, bedridden daughter of a millionaire. The telephone is her sole connection with the outside world. One day, while listening to what seems to be a crossed phone connection, she eavesdrops on two men planning a woman's murder. Leona calls the phone company and police, only to be ignored. Adding to Leona's dilemma is the fact that her husband Henry (Lancaster) is missing. After a number of phone calls, the terrorized Leona begins to piece together the mystery. Her uneducated husband, who works for her wealthy father, turns out to be not all he seems. She finally realizes that she is the intended victim.
The initial series was on NBC Radio from July 20 - October 12, 1935. It then aired on CBS from January 15, 1936 to June 15, 1940, sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive and Cue magazine. From October 11, 1940 to December 25, 1948, it was heard on the Blue Network, with various sponsors that included Sloan's Liniment, Waterman pens and Tide. Returning to CBS on January 8, 1949, it ran until June 25, 1955, sponsored by Grape-Nuts and Wrigley's chewing gum. The final series was on the Mutual Broadcasting System from October 5, 1955 to November 27, 1957. It was once narrated by Norman Schwarzkopf, Sr., former head of the New Jersey State Police. The radio series was adapted for DC Comics, Big Little Books and a 1942 movie serial. The 1952 Gang Busters TV series was reedited into two feature films, Gang Busters (1954) and Guns Don't Argue (1957).
First heard on Mutual featuring Elliott Lewis, who as Leonard Maltin writes in "The Great American Broadcast, "âwore every hat imaginable-actor, producer, and director-also penned a good number of scripts for series he supervised, including Suspense." And Maltin says of this show, "On the terrific late-1940's high-adventure series The Voyage of the Scarlet Queen he held down both jobs simultaneously as director and star." As Maltin continues, âLewis had the ability to make you believe whatever he said. Cast as the skipper on the high-adventure series The Voyage of the Scarlet Queen, he was completely convincing as seagoing ship's master Philip Carney-never corny or overblown." So let a master captain of drama chart a course to exotic ports of call and thrilling adventures. All you have to do is step aboard The Scarlet Queen.
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT) was an ambitious and sustained attempt to revive the great drama of old-time radio in the 1970s. Created by Himan Brown (who had by then become a radio legend due to his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries and other shows dating back to the 1930s), and aired on affiliate stations across the CBS Radio network, the series began its long run on January 6, 1974. The final episode ran on December 31, 1982. The show was broadcast nightly and ran for one hour, including commercials. Typically, a week consisted of three to four new episodes, with the remainder of the week filled out with reruns. There were a total of 1399 original episodes broadcast. The total number of broadcasts, including reruns, was 2969. The late E.G. Marshall hosted the program every year but the final one, when actress Tammy Grimes took over. Each episode began with the ominous sound of a creaking door, slowly opening to invite listeners in for the evening's adventure. At the end of each show, the door would swing shut, with Marshall signing off, "Until next time, pleasant...dreams?"
I Was a Communist for the FBI was an American espionage thriller radio series with 78 episodes syndicated by Ziv to more than 600 stations in 1952-54. Made without FBI cooperation, the series was adapted from the book by undercover agent Matt Cvetic, who was portrayed by Dana Andrews.The series was crafted to warn people about the threat of Communist subversion of American society. The tone of the show is very jingoistic and ultra-patriotic. Communists are evil incarnate and the FBI can do no wrong. As a relic of the Joe McCarthy era, this show is a time capsule of American society during the Second Red Scare.
From the age of twelve, Bob Hope worked at a wide variety of odd jobs at a local board walk. When not doing this he would busk, doing dance and comedy patter to make extra money. He entered many dancing and amateur talent contests, and won prizes for his impersonation of Charlie Chaplin. He also boxed briefly and unsuccessfully under the name Packy East, making it once as far as the semi-finals of the Ohio novice championship. Fallen silent film comedian Fatty Arbuckle saw one of his performances and in 1925 got him steady work with Hurley's Jolly Follies. A year later Hope had formed an act called the Dancemedians with George Burns (who would also live to see his own 100th birthday) and the Hilton Sisters, conjoined twins who had a tap dancing routine. Hope and his partner George Byrne had an act as a pair of Siamese twins as well, and both danced and sang while wearing blackface before friends advised Hope that he was funnier as himself.. After five years on the Vaudeville circuit, by his own account Hope was surprised and humbled when he and his partner Grace Louise Troxell failed a 1930 screen test for Pathà at Culver City, California. (Hope had been on the screen in small parts, 1927's The Sidewalks of New York and 1928's Smiles. Hope returned to New York City and subsequently appeared in several Broadway musicals including Roberta, Say When, the 1936 Ziegfeld Follies, and Red, Hot and Blue with Ethel Merman. His performances were generally well-received and critics noted his keen sense of comedic timing. He changed his name from "Leslie" to "Bob", reportedly because people in the US were calling him "Hopelessly", although in the 1920s he sometimes used the name "Lester Hope".
JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH is Jules Verne's science fiction story of Professor Lidenbrock, his nephew Axel and their quest for the secrets contained at the earth's core. Led by Hans, their Icelandic guide, Lidenbrock and Axel descend deeper into the planet than anyone has ever gone before . . . but will they make it back to the surface alive? Alien Voices' productions are an adventure in sound: classic works of science fiction and fantasy come to life in completely new, bold and wonderful audio dramatizations featuring virtuoso performances from the entire cast, riveting sound effects and original music. BBC
Murder At Midnight â 1946-1947
The Murder at Midnight series was a thirty-minute broadcast featuring tales of the supernatural. The actors included Mercedes McCambridge and Lawson Zerbe and the show was narrated using the spooky, creepy voice of Raymond Morgan and always opened using the same gripping signature; âthe witching hour, when night is darkest, our fears are the strongest, our strength at its lowest ebbâ Midnight! â when graves gape open and death strikes!â
CAST: Elspeth Eric, Mercedes McCambridge, Berry Kroeger, Betty Caine, Carl Frank, Barry Hopkins, Lawson Zerbe, Charlotte Holland
NARRATORS: Raymond Morgan
MUSIC: Charles Paul
PRODUCERS/DIRECTORS: Lewis G Cowan, Anton M Leader
WRITERS: Robert Newman, Joseph Ruscoll, Max Ehrlich, William Morwood
Suspense was one of the premier programs of the Golden Age of Radio (aka old-time radio), and advertised itself as "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." It was heard in one form or another from 1942 through 1962. There were approximately 945 episodes broadcast during its long run, over 900 of which are extant in mostly high-quality recordings. Suspense went through several major phases, characterized by different hosts, sponsors and director/producers. There were a few rules which were followed for all but a handful of episodes: Protagonists were usually a normal person suddenly dropped into a threatening or bizarre situation. Evildoers must be punished in the end.
Have you ever wondered what it might be like inside the mind of a criminal? The stories of Dark Venture try to imagine. In this thrilling drama series, you will be drawn in to the murky calculations behind sinister acts. How much money would make stealing worthwhile? If your business partner caught you stealing $50,000 from your company, would he turn you in to the authorities? Would you let yourself be blackmailed? Or, would you let yourself commit another, more serious crime? On the verge of breaking the law, or taking a life, all risks and dangers must be considered.
THIS EPISODE: Eclipse (7-31-45)
Elliot Lewis stars in this episode of Dark Venture about a man who cannot remember who he is.
The Secrets of Scotland Yard is hosted by Clive Brook, narrator of LM Radio. Brook was a successful director writer, and actor in many films, including âDressed to Thrillâ in 1935, âThe Flemish Farmâ in 1943 and âOn Approvalâ in 1944. He was probably best remembered for playing opposite Marlene Dietrich in the 1932 movie, âShanghai Express.â He also played Sherlock Holmes in the 1932 movie of the same name.
Broadway Is My Beat, a radio crime drama, ran on CBS from February 27, 1949 to August 1, 1954. With music by Robert Stringer, the show originated from New York during its first three months on the air, with Anthony Ross portraying Times Square Detective Danny Clover. John Dietz directed for producer Lester Gottlieb. Beginning with the July 7, 1949 episode, the series was broadcast from Hollywood with producer Elliott Lewis directing a new cast in scripts by Morton Fine and David Friedkin. The opening theme of "I'll Take Manhattan" introduced Detective Danny Clover (now played by Larry Thor), a hardened New York City cop who worked homicide "from Times Square to Columbus Circle -- the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world."
FAVORITE STORY aired from September 1947 through December of 1949 hosted by Ronald Colman. This is an excellent dramatic series of great stories from classic literature brought to radio. It's popularity was so high and with such well done stories, it was rebroadcasted for many years
Crime club was a Mutual Network murder and mystery series, a product of the Doubleday Crime Book Club imprints found weekly in bookstores everywhere. The telephone rings"Hello, I hope I haven't kept you waiting. Yes, this is the Crime Club. I'm the Librarian. Murder Rents A Room? Yes, we have that Crime Club story for you.Come right over. (The organist in the shadowed corner of the Crime Club library shivers the ivories) The doorbell tones sullenly"And you are here. Good. Take the easy chair by the window. Comfortable? The book is on this shelf." (The organist hits the scary chord) "Let's look at it under the reading lamp." The Librarian, played by Raymond E. Johnson, begins reading the tale. Veteran Willis Cooper (Lights Out, Quiet Please) did some of the scripts from the Crime Club books.
THIS EPISODE:
Crime Club. July 10, 1947. Mutual net. "Coney Island Nocturne". Sustaining. A dumb cop has his pocket picked on the boardwalk. His wallet is found later on a corpse. Stedman Coles (writer), Walter Kinsella, Joan Alexander. 1/2 hour.
Murder By Experts was a radio drama anthology series that ran on American radio from 1949-1951, and was hosted first by John Dickson Carr, and later by Brett Halliday. Evidently, a mystery, authored by a leading crime fiction writer, was presented, and "guest experts," such as Alfred Hitchcock or Craig Rice, were invited to solve it. Or maybe not -- nobody seems to know much about this one. David Kogan, the writer/creator of Murder by Experts, also created and wrote The Mysterious Traveler.
Directors/Producers: David Kogan And Robert A. Arthur
Hosts: John Dickson Carr (June 13, 1949-March 13, 1950)
and Brett Halliday (March 20, 1950-December 17, 1951)
Sound Effects: Mario Siletti
Guest experts: Alfred Hitchcock, Craig Rice
Guest stars: Ann Shepard, Larry Haines, Carl Eastman, Ann Sheperd, Bill Zuckert, Ralph Camargo, Burt Cullen, Lawson Zerbe, Marilyn Erskin
The First Nighter Program aired on the Blue Network and on Thursday nights at 8:30PM till 9:00PM, sponsored by Campana and starring Don Ameche and June Meredith. On October 4, 1942, The First Nighter program switched over from CBS to Mutual and was broadcast from 6:00 to 6:30 on Sunday evenings. At the end of the regular season for The First Nighter, on May 2, 1942, Murder Clinic switched time periods and came on three hours earlier as the summer replacement for the other program.
People are Funny was a television game show that premiered and ended on NBC from 1954-1961. It was shot in the outside world and dared people to do stunts for fun for spectators. This was done to "reveal the true nature" of their guests. This show was considered a predecessor to most of the reality game shows we know today, such as "Survivor" and MTV's "Jackass." Art Linkletter was the more well-known host of the show. Viewers grew up with him, but not just on People are Funny. He was also seen on Life With Linkletter (1950-52 & 1969-70), Art Linkletter's House Party (1952-69), and The Art Linkletter Show (1963).
For the 1970âs late-night horror show, The Price of Fear, the BBC dramatized the most chilling stories they could find, drawing on talented new writers as well as the established master of terror who narrated tale, re-written as though Price actually experienced each chilling adventure himself. The show was enormously successful in the UK and abroad, and a number of series were made during 1973, 1975 and 1982.
Box 13 was a syndicated radio series about the escapades of mystery novelist Dan Holiday (Alan Ladd), a former newsman. Created by Mayfair Productions, the series premiered August 22, 1948, on New York's WOR and aired in syndication on the East Coast from August 22, 1948, to August 14. 1949. On the West Coast, Box 13 was heard from March 15, 1948 to March 7, 1949. To seek out new ideas for his fiction, Holiday ran a classified ad in the Star-Times newspaper. "Adventure wanted, will go anywhere, do anything -- Box 13." The stories followed Holiday's adventures when he responded to the letters sent to him by such people as a psycho killer and various victims.
First Show: 10-05-47 Last Show: 07-01-49 Number Shows: 78 (39 on NBC, 39 on CBS) Audition Show: none known Series Description: The FORD THEATER, sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, presented hour long dramas first on NBC for one only season. The series moved to CBS for its second and last season. There were 39 NBC and 39 CBS hour- long shows (not verified). The show initially received an unfavorable review from the New York Times for poor script adaptation but was still highly rated for the actors' performance and overall production. The show was supposed to feature only original scripts but had to forgo that plan due to lack of quality material. The first season on NBC used radio actors under the direction of George Zachary. Martin Gabel announced the first show but was soon replaced by Kenneth Banghart. The second season, on CBS, used Hollywood screen actors in the lead roles, supported by radio actors. Fletcher Markle, who previously produced CBS's STUDIO ONE series, was the producer for the second season. Although a short series, it still has some of radio's best dramas.
THIS EPISODE:
The Man Who Played God (47-12-21)
Montgomery Royale. He returns to New York with this sister, friend Mildred and fiancÃe Grace. He becomes philanthropic, using binoculars and lip reading to decide what anonymous gifts to bestow on strangers. He sees Grace tell her love Howard that she must stay with him because of his deafness. Moved, he asks her to break their engagement. He then donates a pipe organ to a needy church and is joined at the dedication by Mildred. Written by Ed Stephan {stephan@cc.wwu.edu}
"THE JACK PAAR SHOW" NBC â Sponsored by Lucky Strike Cigarettes. Sundays 7:00 - 7:30 pm Summer Replacement for the Jack Benny Show STARS: Jack Paar (The Tonight Show) ANNOUNCER: Hy Averback - MUSIC: Jerry Fielding's Orchestra - VOCALS: The Page Cavanaugh Trio, Trudy Erwin.
Television and radio pioneer Jack Par has been called the most imitated personality in broadcasting. He virtually created the late-night talk show format as the host of The Tonight Show , one of television's longest continuously running programs. The Washington Post said, "Jack Paar was genuine, and the footprints he left on the loony moonscape of television are enormous; they will be there forever." As the stars of stage and screen were rising around him, Paar was becoming an icon himself, on television sets in the homes of millions of Americans across the country. During the Golden Age of television, Paar was its golden boy, charming guests and viewers alike. From 1957 to 1962, Paar was the king of late-night television as host of The Tonight Show, which NBC eventually renamed The Jack Paar Show. He turned it from a typical variety format into something very different. With a rare combination of intelligence, irreverence and intuition, he invented a new genre of programming that would become ubiquitous to television.Paar helped launch the careers of such performers as Carol Burnett, Woody Allen and Liza Minnelli, but his guests weren't limited to the glitterati. He discussed religion with Billy Graham, visited Albert Schweitzer in Africa, and talked politics with Richard Nixon, all before the transfixed eyes of the American television audience.
November 1939 to May 1940, CBS Blue Network
Dramatic historical recreation
Imagine if CBS radio news existed when the Bastille was stormed in 1789, or if radio reporters were stationed in Ford Theater as Lincoln was assassinated, or again at the Battle of Gettysburg? Indeed, such was the premise behind the CBS series, You Are There. Audiences witnessed history through the present-tense accounts of newsmen allegedly witnessing historical events transpiring before their eyes. Don Hollenbeck and John Daley (known for his TV game show panelist appearances) played the lead anchors, while real-life newsman provided the remote commentaries as the dramas unfolded. As show opened, an anchor would describe the present situation with "As it stands nowâ" and segue into commentaries, live remote feeds or analysis as the story unfurled.The show was well received, but perhaps was doomed to eventual failure in part due John Daly's emoting. Bernard DeVoto in Harper Magazine lamented: "We have heard his (Daly) voice vibrate with the real emotion, and our memory of the real simply turns the imagined to ham."
The list of films and actors on Academy Award Theater is very impressive. Bette Davis begins the series in Jezebel, with Ginger Rogers following in Kitty Foyle, and then Paul Muni in The Life of Louis Pasteur. The Informer had to have Victor Mclaglen, and the Maltese Falcon, Humphrey Bogart, Sidney Greenstreet (this movie was his first major motion picutre role) plus Mary Astor for the hat trick. Suspicion starred Cary Grant with Ann Todd doing the Joan Fontaine role, Ronald Coleman in Lost Horizon, and Joan Fontaine and John Lund were in Portrait of Jenny. How Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio were done is something to hear! Some films are less well known, such as Guest in the House, with Kirk Douglas and Anita Louise, It Happened Tomorrow, with Eddie Bracken and Ann Blythe playing Dick Powell and Linda Darnell's roles, and Cheers for Miss Bishop with Olivia de Havilland. Each adaptation is finely produced and directed by Dee Engelbach, with music composed and conducted by Leith Stevens. Frank Wilson wrote the movie adaptations.
The theatrical society in U.S.A. is termed as Theatre Guild. Founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner (1890-1962) and others, the group proposed to produce high-quality, noncommercial plays. Its board of directors shared responsibility for choice of plays, management, and production. After the premiere of George Bernard Shawâs Heartbreak House in 1920, the Guild became his U.S. agent and staged 15 of his plays. It also produced successful plays by Eugene OâNeill, Maxwell Anderson, and Robert Sherwood and featured actors such as the Lunts and Helen Hayes. It helped develop the American musical by staging Porgy and Bess (1935), Oklahoma! (1943), and Carousel (1945); later also producing the radio series Theatre Guild on the Air (1945-53) and even presented plays on television.
RADIO CITY PLAYHOUSE premiered over NBC on July 3rd, 1949 as a half-hour dramatic program representing a different drama on each broadcast. The dramas chosen, according to NBC, were because they were considered âgood dramaâ regardless of the name of the author, the fame of the play, etc. In many instances, original radio plays were used on the series. Director of production and author of some of the original radio plays was Harry W. Junkin. The cast varied according to the script needs but New York radio actors and actresses were used, some of them experienced and others chosen from the best in radio acting newcomers. The overall production for the series was under the supervision of Richard McDonagh, NBC Script Manager. Musical bridges were by Roy Shields and his Orchestra. The announcer was Robert Warren.
This Is Your FBI was a radio crime drama which aired in the United States on ABC from April 6, 1945 to January 30, 1953. FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover gave it his endorsement, calling it "the finest dramatic program on the air." Producer-director Jerry Devine was given access to FBI files by Hoover, and the resulting dramatizations of FBI cases were narrated by Frank Lovejoy (1945), Dean Carleton (1946-47) and William Woodson (1948-53). Stacy Harris had the lead role of Special Agent Jim Taylor. Others in the cast were William Conrad, Bea Benaderet and Jay C. Flippen.
Weird 15 minute stories that have a âtwistâ ending. The listener gets a sudden shock, as this time of program should intend to deliver. Actors included Barry Sullivan, Lurene Tuttle and Virginia Gregg, who played Helen Asher in the Richard Diamond detectve series. Director is Frank Danzig.
TWO EPISODES:
"The Cripple". . Hamilton Whitney syndication. Music fill for local commercial insert. A woman gets married to escape her hated sister. The date is approximate. Marjorie Riordan, Robert Libbott (writer), Frank Burt (writer), Frank Danzig (director). 15:14. Audio condition: Excellent. Complete as above.
"Fool's Silver". Hamilton Whitney syndication.Music fill for local commercial insert. An old prospector thinks his mine is filled with pure silver! The date is approximate. Barry Sullivan, Frank Burt (writer), Frank Danzig (director), Robert Libbott (writer). 14:58. Audio condition: Excellent. Complete as above.
The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Gale Gordon in the title role, took over where Sherlock Holmes had left off. Sponsored by Petri wine, it used the same "weekly visit" format and the same team of Anthony Boucher and Dennis Green that had written The New Adventured of Sherlock Holmes. Gregory Hood was modelled after true-life San Francisco importer Richard Gump, and many of the stories revolve around a mystery surrounding some particular imported treasure.Hood's sidekick Sanderson "Sandy" Taylor was played by Bill Johnstone. The show aired from June, 1946 through August, 1950. There were an additional couple of shows aired in October 1951. Hood and Sanderson were played in later episodes by Elliott Lewis and Howard McNear, respectively.
The Blue Beetle had a relatively short career on the radio, between May and September of 1940. Motion picture and radio actor Frank Lovejoy was the Blue Beetle for the first 13 episodes, while for the rest of the shows, the voice was provided by a different, uncredited actor. The Blue Beetle was a young police officer who saw the need for extra-ordinary crime fighting. He took the task on himself by secretly donning a superhero costume to create fear in the criminals who were to learn to fear the Blue Beetle's wrath. The 13-minute segments were usually only two-parters, so the stories were often more simple than other popular programs, such as the many-parted Superman radio show.
Bob Bailey played George Valentine as a detective handy man, who got his jobs from responses to a newspaper ad. Part-time detective and writer Dan Holiday in Box 13 also used the premise. It pays to advertise! The shows follow the usual formats of crime caper shows, with toughs, mysterious rendezvous and people who aren't who they say they are. Francis Robinson first played Brooksie, then Virginia Gregg took the role through its best years. Both ladies played Brooksie smart and sassy. Brooksie took every occasion to make it clear to George that the case he was the most off base on was the "Case of the Missing Engagement Ring."
The Adventures of Frank Race, by Bruce Ells Productions, was first heard in May of 1949. The main character, Frank Race, was an attorney before World War II. As a result of his activities in the war, when it was over, he traded his law books for a career with the OSS. There, "Adventure" became his business. Tom Collins played the role of Frank Race initially, immediately following his stint as Chandu, The Magician. The lead role was taken over later by Paul Dubof.
Classics was a U. S. radio docudrama which aired over CBS from June 15, 1953 to June 30, 1954. Created, produced, and directed by radio actor/director Elliott Lewis, the program was basically a historical true crime series, examining crimes, and especially murders, from the past. It grew out of Lewis's personal interest in famous murder cases, and took a documentary-like approach to the subject, carefully recreating the facts, personages, and feel of the time period. Comparatively little dramatic license was taken with the facts and events, but the tragedy was leavened with humor, expressed largely through the narration.
When someone mentions the name "Perry Mason" the first image that runs through their mind is of a lawyer who unmasks murderers and crooks in the courtroom. Even though the television Perry Mason is the one everyone remembers, the original Perry Mason, whose derivation came from radio, is a lot different. The Perry Mason of radio would rather swap gunshots with evildoers than sit in a boring courtroom, waiting for the deliberation! Geared more towards action than courtroom drama, Perry Mason ran 12 seasons and later led to the development of the now-popular Raymond Burr television show, which started in the late 1950's.
The Screen Guild Theater boasted some of the greatest all-star casts ever assembled for radio. Nearly every major film star lined up to perform in Screen Guild's half-hour movie adaptations because they knew it was for a good cause: All talent fees went to the Motion Picture Country House for aging and indigent film actors.
THIS EPISODE:
Nick Smith, the middle-aged proprietor of a roadside
restaurant, hires drifter Frank Chambers as a handyman. Frank eventually begins
an affair with Nick's beautiful wife Cora, who talks Frank into helping her kill
Nick, by "accident." But the best laid plans...... Written by Jim Beaver
{jumblejim@prodigy.net}
Blackie was a tough, wisecracking private detective working in New York, billed as "enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend." His speciality was making fools of the police, a simple task with Inspector Farraday heading the official investigations. "An enemy to those who call him an enemy, a friend to those who have no friends." Boston Blackie is a reformed jewel thief who is never far from trouble. Inspector Farraday of the homicide squad tries to pin Blackie for the crime in every episode. To save his own skin, with the help of his girlfriend Mary and sidekick Shorty, Blackie ends up solving the case.
Abbott and Costello William (Bud) Abbott and Lou Costello (born Louis Francis Cristillo) were an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film and television made them one of the most popular teams in the history of comedy. Thanks to the endurance of their most popular and influential routine, "Who's on First?"---whose rapid-fire word play and comprehension confusion set the preponderant framework for most of their best-known routines---the team are also the only comedians known to have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. They launched their own weekly show October 8, 1942, sponsored by Camel cigarettes. The Abbott and Costello Show mixed comedy with musical interludes (usually, by singers such as Connie Haines, Marilyn Maxwell, the Delta Rhythm Boys, Skinnay Ennis, and the Les Baxter Singers).
The unmistakable voice of Bud Flanagan singing 'Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr Hitler?', a cod-Second World War propaganda singalong written especially for the show (by Jimmy Perry), introduced Dad's Army, the zenith of the British broad-comedy ensemble sitcom. Consistently good writing and a wonderful cast of old timers and newer talents combined to produce a whimsical period-piece that continues, justifiably, to be savoured and has now assumed a place in the 'hall of greats' pantheon, adored by new generations of the British public.
ROCKY JORDAN was the title character of one of the better and more exotic radio detective series. In fact, it's one of the best detective series I have ever heard. The series had two separate incarnations. The first, A Man Named Jordan, started as a daily 15 minute show and after about six months changed to a weekly 30 minute show. It took place in Istanbul and the Cafe was described as "a small restaurant in a narrow street off Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, permeated with by the smoke of Oriental tobacco, alive with the babble of many tongues, and packed with intrigue." The second incarnation, Rocky Jordan, was a weekly 30 minute series took place in Cairo - "the gateway to the ancient East where adventure and intrigue unfold against the backdrop of antiquity." Jordan was a hard-boiled owner of the Cafe Tambourine who spent most of his time solving mysteries that he usually became involved in by accident. During the Cairo-based run, he often encountered Captain Sam Sabaaya of the Cairo police. John Dunning in his "On The Air: The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio" describes Jordan as "a rugged hero who each week was confronted by a crime, a mystery, a beautiful woman or a combination of the three. It was a detective show with a difference: the Oriental background was played to the hilt, giving it a sound like no other."
"I am the Whistler and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak..." These words followed by a whistling that was distinctive and well-remembered recalls one of the best mystery crime series of the past. Eminating for all its life from the West Coast this broadcast had a run of almost 13 years. Aired over the CBS radio network it was sponsored for much of the time by the Signal Oil Co. The show first broadcast its fantastic thirty-minute crime mystery series in May 1942 and did not finish until September 1948. There were more than 450 shows of murder and intrigue in all. Although it ran for 6 years it was broadcast for only one year on a national network. The show opened to the sound of footsteps and an eerie whistle, which went on throughout the introductory music. The Whistler always began the show with the opening lines; I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak??
Theater Five was ABC's attempt to revive radio drama during the early 1960s. The series name was derived from its time slot, 5:00 PM. Running Monday through Friday, it was an anthology of short stories, each about 20 minutes long. News programs and commercials filled out the full 30 minutes. There was a good bit of science fiction and some of the plots seem to have been taken from the daily newspaper. Fred Foy, of The Lone Ranger fame, was an ABC staff announcer in the early 60s, who, among other duties, did Theater Five.
Zero Hour - Desperate Witness (Aired December 14, 1973) Show 5 of A 5 Part Series
The Zero Hour was a 1973-74 radio broadcast hosted by Rod Serling. The Zero Hour featured well known actors and actresses.
Inner_Sanctum Inner Sanctum Mysteries was a popular old-time radio program that aired from January 7, 1941 to October 5, 1952. Created by Himan Brown, the anthology series featured stories of mystery, terror and suspense. The tongue-in-cheek introductions were in sharp contrast to shows like Suspense and The Whistler. A total of 526 episodes are known to have been produced. Great actors, a spooky organ and chilling sound effects presented by a creepy, rib-tickling host, was a strange brew indeed. Inner Sanctum did it in spades! To this day the show remains a wonderful "guilty" pleasure of many old time radio fans, who listened back then when these shows first fired the imaginations of all but the most jaded.
NBC University Theater is an unusual series that focused on reenacting novels by great authors for college classes. Many accredited American universities such as Washington State College, University of Louisville, and University of Tulsa, used this dramatic series as a supplement to correspondent college courses. The series' creators made study guides to accompany the courses. Students studying great literature by Steinbeck, Faulkner, Hemingway, Huxley, and many others listened to these shows every week. It was an ambitious series that remained popular despite its academic and non-commercial appeal. The shows are high quality and will please many fans of great literature.
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was a radio drama about a freelance insurance investigator that aired from February 11, 1949 to September 30, 1962 on CBS. There were 811 episodes in the 12-year run, and over 720 still exist today. Charles Russell was the first to star as Johnny Dollar, the smart and tough detective who tossed silver dollar tips to bellhops. With the first three actors to play Johnny Dollar there was little to distinguish it from other detective series at the time (Richard Diamond, Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade).While always a friend of the police,Johnny wasn't necessarily a stickler for the strictest interpretation of the law. He was willing to let some things slide to satisfy his own sense of justice, as long as the interests of his employer were protected.
The Life of Riley, with William Bendix in the title role, was a popular radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film and continued as a long-running television series during the 1950s.The show began as a proposed Groucho Marx radio series, The Flotsam Family, but the sponsor balked at what would have been essentially a straight head-of-household role for the comedian. Then producer Irving Brecher saw Bendix as taxicab company owner Tim McGuerin in the movie The McGuerins from Brooklyn (1942). The Flotsam Family was reworked with Bendix cast as blundering Chester A. Riley, riveter at a California aircraft plant, and his frequent exclamation of indignation---"What a revoltin' development this is!"---became one of the most famous catch phrases of the 1940s. The radio series also benefited from the immense popularity of a supporting character, Digby "Digger" O'Dell (John Brown), "the friendly undertaker." "Living the life of Riley" suggests an ideal life of prosperity and contentment, possibly living on someone else's money, time or work. Rather than a negative freeloading or golddigging aspect, it instead implies that someone is kept or advantaged. The expression was popular in the 1880s, a time when James Whitcomb Riley's poems depicted the comforts of a prosperous home life [1], but it could have an Irish origin: After the Riley clan consolidated its hold on County Cavan, they minted their own money, accepted as legal tender even in England. These coins, called âO'Reillysâ and âReilly's,â became synonymous with a monied person, and a gentleman freely spending was âliving on his Reillys.â Thus, the radio-TV title has an ironic edge.
Zero Hour - Desperate Witness (Aired December 13, 1973) Show 4 of A 5 Part Series
The Zero Hour was a 1973-74 radio broadcast hosted by Rod Serling. The Zero Hour featured well known actors and actresses.
The Screen Guild Theater boasted some of the greatest all-star casts ever assembled for radio. Nearly every major film star lined up to perform in Screen Guild's half-hour movie adaptations because they knew it was for a good cause: All talent fees went to the Motion Picture Country House for aging and indigent film actors.
EPISODE:
Cary Grant
Katharine Hepburn
James Stewart
The Philadelphia Story has become such a classic that even the musical remake High Society doesn't try to copy it, it just presents a softer musical alternative. But I'd kind of liked to have seen Hepburn do this with her original cast as well. Oscars were in the future for Van Heflin and Shirley Booth and Joseph Cotten the following year made his debut in the biggest film of all.
Zero Hour - Desperate Witness (Aired December 12, 1973) Show 3 of A 5 Part Series
The Zero Hour was a 1973-74 radio broadcast hosted by Rod Serling. The Zero Hour featured well known actors and actresses.
By age 13, Young had become a radio performer, and by age 17, he was writing and performing in his own radio show for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The show was broadcast in the U.S. and led to an invitation to New York in 1944, as a summer replacement for Eddie Cantor, which resulted in Young getting his own radio show, orininally broadcast from New York and later from Hollywood. While initially gaining success on his "Alan Young Radio Show," Young's popularity waned as he lost control over his show's scripts and radio was being replaced by television. When his radio show was cancelled in 1947, Young decided to put together a comedy act and tour the U.S. theater circuit, playing such houses as the Chicago Theatre, the Fox in Detroit, and the Strand on Broadway.
John Brown as " Broadway " takes the listener with him to the inside world of some the Big Apple's toughest, but yet charming offenders. Solid radio professionals played the regular characters on the show with the strange sounding names. There was Harry the Horse, Dave the Dude (William Conrad, Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke), and Sorrowful Jones (Gerald Mohr, Philip Marlowe). Anne Whitfield played Little Miss Marker. Occasional parts were taken by well-known actors like Frank Lovejoy (Nightbeat), Jeff Chandler (Mr. Boynton on Our Miss Brooks), Hans Conried and Parley Baer (Chester on Gunsmoke).
BBC SERIAL PRODUCED BY & STARS: George Edwards, complete in 52 fifteen minute episodes. Written by Warren Berry, the story line contains a mysterious Aztec necklace, pirates, intrigue, plots and counter plots. Very interesting, and is set in the Carribean.
Morgan is accused of stealing an Aztec Necklace
1 Morgan Accused Of Stealing An Aztec Necklace
2 Kitty, Taken By The Necklace, Wants It
3 Morgan Offered A Deal By The Governor
4 Morgan Starts To Assemble His Fleet
Life with Luigi was a radio comedy-drama series which began September 21, 1948 on CBS. The story concerned Italian immigrant Luigi Basco, and his experiences as an immigrant in Chicago. Many of the shows take place at the US citizenship classes that Luigi attends with other immigrants from different countries, as well as trying to fend off the repeated advances of the morbidly-obese daughter of his landlord/sponsor. Luigi was played by J. Carrol Naish, an Irish-American. Naish continued in the role on the short-lived television version in 1952, and was later replaced by Vito Scotti. With a working title of The Little Immigrant, Life with Luigi was created by Cy Howard, who earlier had created the hit radio comedy, My Friend Irma. The show was often seen as the Italian counterpart to the radio show The Goldbergs, which chronicled the experience of Jewish immigrants in New York.
Zero Hour - Desperate Witness (Aired December 11, 1973) Show 2 of A 5 Part Series
The Zero Hour was a 1973-74 radio broadcast hosted by Rod Serling. The Zero Hour featured well known actors and actresses.
The ruthless, moneyed Hubbard clan lives in, and poisons, their part of the deep South at the turn of the 20th century. Regina Giddons nÃe Hubbard has her daughter under her thumb. Mrs. Giddons is estranged from her husband, who lives in Chicago and suffers from a terminal illness. But she needs him home, and will manipulate her daughter to help bring him back. She has a sneaky business deal that she's cooking up with her two elder brothers, Oscar and Ben. Oscar has a flighty, unhappy wife and a dishonest worm of a son. Will the daughter have to marry this contemptible cousin? Who will she grow up to be - her mother or her aunt? Or can she escape the fate of both? Written by J. Spurlin
Adventures of Sam Spade â 1946-1951
Sam Spade was a tough private investigator. Each case was unfolded as a report dictated to his secretary, Effie, who was always flustered and secretly in love with him. He always quoted his license number and referred to each investigation as a âcaperâ. Each report was dated with the actual airdate. CAST: Howard Duff, Steve Dunne, Lurene Tuttle, John McIntire, William Conrad, Cathy and Elliot Lewis, June Havoc, Joseph Kearns, Jerry Hausner, Elliott Reid, Mary Jane Croft, Jeanette Nolan, Betty Lou Gerson.
Zero Hour - Desperate Witness (Aired December 10, 1973) Show 1 of A 5 Part Series
The Zero Hour was a 1973-74 radio broadcast hosted by Rod Serling. The Zero Hour featured well known actors and actresses. The stories were exciting and action-packed and will keep you on the edge of you seat, as we approach the Zero Hour. The 5-part series was syndicated by Mutual and the programs were allowed to be aired when convenient. Therefore, broadcast dates vary around the country. This section of the log is listed in Mutual's suggested ordering. Broadcast dates start on the premier date and continue until completion without break. The single-part show broadcast dates were more tightly defined by Mutual.
Dramatic Intrigue
FIRST BROADCAST: October 14, 1951
LAST BROADCAST: May 28, 1952
NBC, 30 min. "This is Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.... In a moment, it will be my pleasure to introduce to you stories of the Silent Men, the special agents of federal law-enforcement who silently, and for little material reward, daily risk their lives to protect the lives of all of us. Their tradition is long and proud, yet to guard our welfare and our liberties, they must remain nameless..." Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. played the parts of "special agents. At each episode, Fairbanks checked in with his chief, played by either William Conrad or Herb Butterfield.
This hit radio series with Marie Wilson ran on CBS Radio from April 11, 1947 to August 23, 1954. The TV version, seen on CBS from January 8, 1952 until June 25, 1954, was the first series telecast from the CBS Television City facility in Hollywood. The movie My Friend Irma (1949) starred Marie Wilson and Diana Lynn but is mainly remembered today for introducing Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis to moviegoers, resulting in even more screen time for Martin and Lewis in the sequel, My Friend Irma Goes West (1950).
Whitehall 1212 is a crime drama featuring cases from New Scotland Yard's "Black Museum". Unlike the show starring Orson Welles, however, this series was done with the official support of The Yard and tries to downplay the sensational aspects of thes cases and highlight the rigorous police work that went into solving them.
THIS EPISODE:
Whitehall 1212. September 28, 1952. NBC net. Sustaining. The last show of the series. An electric torch is in the "Black Museum" because it made an excellent wepon. A drunkard has been killed, by a man in love with the alcoholic's wife. It sounds as if the announcer had some fun with the writer-director of the program and pronounced his name at the very end of the show "Wyllis Cuckoo." Percy Hoskins (research), Wyllis Cooper (writer, director), Horace Braham, Lester Fletcher, Harvey Hayes, Cathleen Cordell, Maurice Delamore, Carl Harburg, Florence Sears. 29:32.
The Lone Ranger was a long-running early radio and television show based on characters created by George W. Trendle, and developed by writer Fran Striker. The titular character is a masked cowboy in the American Old West, who gallops about righting injustices, usually with the aid of a clever and laconic American Indian called Tonto, and his horse Silver. He would famously say "Heigh-ho Silver, away!" to get the horse to gallop.
On July 31, 1930 a sinister voice came over the radio into American Homes. The voice of the Shadow appeared for the first time. In the beginning the Shadow was not a crime fighter. He was a mysterious narrator of mystery tales taken from the pages of Street & Smith's Detective Story Magazine. The publisher Street & Smith began to use radio as an advertising medium to promote their fiction publications. The Shadow was a perfectly creepy teller of tales promoting Street & Smith. This format continued until 1935 when creative differences between Street & Smith and NBC called a halt to the Shadow on the air. On September 26, 1937, the Shadow reappeared on radio with the voice of Orson Welles playing the part. The Shadow was now a full-fledged character on radio, not just narrating and introducing stories. The Shadow had an identity as Lamont Cranston, a wealthy man about town. He was accompanied by Margo Lane, originally played by Agnes Moorehead. Margo Lane was the only person who knew that Lamont Cranston and the Shadow were one and the same. No other agents assisted the Shadow, as did in the Walter Gibson fictional accounts. This radio Shadow had hypnotic power to make himself invisible to those around him and he possessed mental telepathy to read minds. Orson Welles played the Shadow from 1937 through March 1938. The Shadow became the highest rated radio show on the air at that time.
Mr. Television
In 1948, NBC decided to bring Texaco Star Theater from radio to television, with Berle as one of the show's four rotating hosts. For the fall season, NBC named Berle the permanent host. His highly visual, sometimes outrageous vaudeville style proved ideal for the burgeoning new medium. Berle and Texaco owned Tuesday nights for the next several years, reaching the number one slot in the Nielsen ratings and keeping it, with as much as an 80% share of the recorded viewing audience. Berle and the show each won Emmy Awards after the first season. Berle is credited for the huge spike in the sale of TV sets during the medium's early years. After Berle's show began, set sales more than doubled, reaching two million in 1949. His stature as the medium's first superstar earned Berle the sobriquet "Mr. Television." [3] He also earned a slightly more familiar nickname after ending a 1949 broadcast with a brief ad lib remark to children watching the show: "Listen to your Uncle Miltie and go to bed."
Throughout the early 1940's on American Radio, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce performed as Holmes and Watson, respectively, in several series of canonical and original Sherlock Holmes stories. When Rathbone finally departed the role before the 1947 season, Tom Conway played Sherlock Holmes opposite Nigel Bruce for one season. After a change of networks, there were two more pairings: John Stanley as Holmes and Alfred Shirley as Watson in 1947-1948 and John Stanley and Ian Martin in 1948-1949. The stories were written by Edith Meiser, a self-confessed Holmes addict. At first she used Arthur Conan Doylesâ original stories, but, after the series outlived the original material, she created her own new stories. These were so well written that she was warmly praised by Arthur Conan Doyleâs widow and son. First broadcast date October 20, 1930. Last broadcast date September 4, 1956.
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater was an ambitious effort by veteran radio producer Himan Brown to revive interest in American radio drama. Every night from 1974 to 1982, host E. G. Marshall (later Tammy Grimes) ushered listeners through a creaking door -- similar to the one Brown used on Inner Sanctum decades earlier -- for an hour of âthe fear you can hear.â Actors were paid union scale at around $73.92 per show. Writers earned a flat rate of $350.00 per show. The production took place with assembly-line precision. Brown would meet with actors at 9:00 AM for the first reading of the script. He would then assign roles and recording would begin. By noon the recording of the actors was complete and Brown handed everyone their checks. Post-production would take place in the afternoon. In 1975, CBSRMT won the prestigious Peabody Award, and in 1990 it was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. In 1998, the still-active Brown attempted a brief revival of the series, rebroadcasting selected old episodes with his own introductions replacing Marshall's.
"Yesterday's Secret Weapon" (3-09-43) and "The King Of Ice" (2-16-43)
A wonderfully informative old time radio series can be found in Adventures In Research. With tales that are not only wonderfully dramatic, but at the same time extremely interesting and entertaining. Adventures In Research offers the listener accounts in American scientific research history. You will be enthralled, as will your children. Best of all, in regards to providing a great educational tool for children, the episodes are made for their attention span, and run approximately fifteen minutes. Series ran from the early 1940's -mid 1950's. HOST: Paul Shannon.
As you walk through the creaking door you enter into another world, the world of imagination. This world is inside you, a part of you, and you take this journey alone. Each person hears and then sees with his or her mind's eye the events portrayed within these dramas. All of us interprets what they hear differently. The images we see is unique to ourselves. A voice becomes a person, living, breathing they come alive. They take on a physical form and characteristics that we assign to them. The wonders of your own mind are boundless. Scary thoughts? Perhaps, but what powers they bring us! To exercise one's imagination is to exercise one's soul. These dramas provide us with an escape from reality. To adventures beyond our own lives. Enjoy them. And pleasant dreams!
The radio show first aired on April 26, 1952 and ran until June 18, 1961 on the CBS radio network. The series starred William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon, Howard McNear as Doc Charles Adams, Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell, and Parley Baer as Deputy Chester Proudfoot. Doc's first name and Chester's last name were changed for the television program. Gunsmoke was notable for its critically acclaimed cast and writing, and is commonly regarded as THE true adult western and one of the finest old time radio shows.
Hop Harrigan first appeared in All American Comics #1 created by Jon Blummer (Fighting Yank, Little Boy Blue) as one of the first successful aviation heroes in comic history (Hop appeared after Tailspin Tommy, Barney Baxter, Connie Kurridge and others). Hop Harrigan was technically not a true superhero (as he had no costume or special powers) though he did meet the Justice Society of America in All American Comics #8 and he did eventually become a superhero from All American Comics #25 (April 1941) to #28 (July) as the costumed Guardian Angel.
I Deal in Crime ran for almost two years on ABC network radio and starred the very capable radio and Hollywood actor, William Gargan. In this, one of his many PI radio series (heâs best known, of course, for his role as Martin Kane), Gargan played Ross Dolan, described as a veteran detective who returned to his sleuthing job after his WW II service as a sailor. Or as Dolan puts it, âa hitch in Uncle Sugarâs Navy.â
A Question Of Discipline adapted for radio aired on October 31, 1957.
The Real McCoys was a situation comedy that aired on the ABC network from 1957 through 1962. It aired for one more season on CBS before its end in 1963. The series revolved around the lives of a mountain family who originally hailed from West Virginia. The McCoys moved to California where they became dirt farmers. The family consisted of Grampa Amos McCoy, the head of the family played by Walter Brennan, his grandson Luke played by Richard Crenna, Luke's new bride Kate played by Kathleen Nolan, teenage sister Hassie played be Lydia Reed, and 11-year-old brother Little Luke played by Michael Winkelman. The Real McCoys paved the way for such rural hits as The Beverly Hillbillies and The Andy Griffith Show.
ESCAPE opened with the gripping voice of William Conrad booming out over the airwaves: "Tired of the everyday grind? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you - ESCAPE!". Moussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain", the show's theme, assisted Conrad in creating the right opening atmosphere. (The actual series of questions used in the opening varied from week to week, frequently to match the goings-on of the times.) Over its long run, narriators included William Conrad, Paul Frees, Jack Webb, John Dehner, Jay Novello, Joan Banks, Stacy Harris, Georgia Ellis, Ben Wright and Will Geer. The show featured spine-tingling tales from such masters as Joseph Conrad, Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Allen Poe. It was produced by William N. Robeson, and featured many seasoned radio actors. ESCAPE was heard on CBS from July 1947 to September 1954. First Show: July 7, 1947 Last Show: Sep 23, 1954. There were two pilot shows before it's first run. The first pilot was OUT OF THIS WORLD: "Dead of Night" on February 28, 1947. This show was repeated as ESCAPE: "Dead of Night" on March 21.
THE SECRET WORD IS "HAND"
Groucho Marx matches wits with the American public in four episodes of this classic game show. Starting on the radio in 1947, You Bet Your Life made its television debut in 1950 and aired for 11 years with Groucho as host and emcee. Sponsored rather conspicuously by the Dodge DeSoto car manufacturers, the show featured two contestants working as a team to answer questions for cash prizes. Another mainstay of these question and answer segments was the paper mache duck that would descend from the ceiling with one hundred dollars in tow whenever a player uttered the "secret word." The quiz show aspect of "You Bet Your Life" was always secondary, to the clever back-and-forth between host and contestant, which found Groucho at his funniest. It's in these interview segments that "You Bet Your Life" truly makes its mark as one of early television's greatest programs. Directed by: Robert Dwan.
Authorâs Playhouse - Famous stories by celebrated authors: among them, Elementals (Stephen Vincent Benet), The Piano (William Saroyan), and The Snow Goose (Paul Gallico).March 5, 1941 till June 4, 1945, NBC; Blue Network until mid-October 1941, then the Red Network. Many briefly held 30m timeslots, including Sundays at 11:30, 1941-42; Wednesdays at 11:30, 1942-44; Mondays at 11:30, 1944-45. Sponsor was Philip Morris, 1942-43. Cast: John Hodiak, Fern Persons, Arthur Kohl, Laurette Fillbrandt, Kathryn Card, Bob Jellison, Nelson Olmsted, Marvin Miller, Olan Soule, Les Tremayne, Clarence Hartzell, Curley Bradley, etc. Orchestra: Rex Maupin, Roy Shield, J6seph Gallicchio. Creator: Wynn Wright. Directors: Norman Felton, Fred Weihe, Homer Heck, etc.
Danger With Granger arrived too late in the Golden Age of Radio to have any real impact on the listening public. Mutual aired this show, starting in 1956, on Monday nights at 8:30 pm. It was a half hour show that featured a private eye in New York City, STEVE GRANGER. His two primary companions were Cal Hendrix, a reporter who served as an all-purpose source of criminal info, and Jake Rankin, a police detective with whom he had a grudging rivalry. The writing on the show seemed to incorporate most of the standard cliche's of the P.I. world. Granger, who was both the star and the first-person narrator of the show (not an uncommon practice with radio gumshoes), never saw a woman, instead "he gave the doll the once-over." He didn't kick with his foot, he "lifted a size 10." Instead of paying cash, he "forked over numbered lettuce. "The mysteries he solved were fairly reasonable, and while he was a tough guy who roughed up lesser mortals, he seemed to get knocked unconscious at least once in every program. A total of 28 episodes survived and are in trading currency.
FAVORITE STORY aired from September 1947 through December of 1949 hosted by Ronald Colman. This is an excellent dramatic series of great stories from classic literature brought to radio. It's popularity was so high and with such well done stories, it was rebroadcasted for many years.
THIS EPISODE:
Ben-Hur is a 1959 epic film directed by William Wyler, and is the most popular live-action version of Lew Wallace's novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1880). It premiered at Loews Theater in New York City on November 18, 1959. The film went on to win eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, a feat equaled only by Titanic (1997) and The Lord of the Rings.
Broadcast from 1936 through to 1947 with just an occasional break. Revived again from January 1956 to September 1957 as CBS Radio Workshop with pretty much the same format. This was drama with a difference. Columbia Workshop was not everybodyâs cup of tea and in terms of audience popularity it was always noted that it was never a strong contender for the title âRadios Top Rated Drama Seriesâ and yet it was always considered to be the drama program that led the way in radio standards. Columbia was the first to experiment with what radio drama was all about, introducing new techniques never before used in over the airwaves drama and because it received little encouragement from established writers, actors, etc., it was only by breaking new ground with new ideas and new techniques from writers who were not versed in the old ways that it was going to survive. Unlike theater drama which required scenery to stage the settings of a play. Radio drama relied only on the imagination of the listener to interpret the scene.
Our Miss Brooks, an American situation comedy, began as a radio hit in 1948 and migrated to television in 1952, becoming one of the earlier hits of the so-called Golden Age of Television, and making a star out of Eve Arden (1908-1990) as comely, wisecracking, but humane high school English teacher Connie Brooks. The show hooked around Connie's daily relationships with Madison High School students, colleagues, and pompous principal Osgood Conklin (Gale Gordon), not to mention favourite student Walter Denton (future television and Rambo co-star Richard Crenna, who fashioned a higher-pitched voice to play the role) and biology teacher Philip Boynton ( Jeff Chandler), the latter Connie's all-but-unrequited love interest, who saw science everywhere and little else anywhere.
Series Description: THE HALLMARK PLAYHOUSE was heard over CBS stations Thursday evenings. This drama anthology of 30-minute shows was sponsored by, of course, Hallmark Greeting Cards. It was preceded by the RADIO READER'S DIGEST, which ran from September 13, 1942 thorugh June 3, 1948. Hallmark sponsored the RADIO READER'S DIGEST from January 13, 1946 to it's end. On Feb. 8, 1953, the series name and format was changed. It was now called THE HALLMARK HALL OF FAME and presented biographal sketches of famous persons, past and present. The new format was used until the end of the 1955 season. The exception to the new format was the broadcast each Christmas season of "A Christmas Carol". Like other dramatic series of this time, this one made use of major screen actors in the productions. James Hilton, author of "Random Harvest", "Lost Horizon" and "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" plus others, served as host and Narrator. Dee Engelbach produced and directed the shows. Jean Holloway was the writer. Sound Effects were by Harry Essman and Gene Twombly. Musical conductor was Lyn Murray. The show's theme was "Dream of Olwne" by Charles Williams.
THIS EPISODE:
Hallmark Playhouse. October 21, 1948. CBS net. "Mrs. Parkington". Sponsored by: Hallmark Cards. A woman rises from poverty in Nevada to a position of power and wealth in New York. Louis Bromfield (writer), Rosalind Russell, James Hilton (host). 1/2 hour.
TWO EPISODES:
"The Train Wreckers Mystery" (4-18-38) and "The Case Of Leftenant Ralston" (4-25-38)
Blair of the Mounties is the story of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police -- a fictional series based on the work of the Northwest Mounted Police before the World War I. It was a fifteen minute weekly serial heard every Monday for 36 weeks beginning January 31st, 1938 and running through the 3rd of October of 1938. It may have been on the air as early as 1935, although thereâs no actual proof of this. Little is known of the series other than it followed the exploits of Sgt. Blair of the Northwest Mounted Police. and probably was the inspiration for Trendell, Campbell and Muir's Challenge of the Yukon. The series was written by Colonel Rhys Davies, who also played the Colonel Blair in the series. Jack Abbot played the Constable. Jack French, one of OTRâs best researchers says this about the series: âBlair is not restricted to Canada, as other Mounties, as we find him, in a few cases, in Great Britain, solving cases. Overall the series is amateurishly written, with the actor playing Blair coming accros as a bit stuffy.â
The series premiered on Monday 02/05/79 and offered a different genre each weekday night. Each genre was hosted by a different celebrity. The program was produced on Paramount's Stage F in Hollywood. These first 130 programs were broadcast over a six month period and then rebroadcast over the following six months. From 02/14/80 to 12/19/81 this series was heard again, this time over Mutual, as The Mutual Radio Theater. This was clearly one of the last big attempts to produce radio programming, with many of radioâs best talents, the way radio was heard in its âgolden days.â Despite budget and talent, it just wasnât to be.
Starring Brian Donlevy as Steve Mitchell, Dangerous Assignment is a product of the Cold War, with mystery and intrigue cropping up across the globe. Mitchell, an agent for an unnamed U.S. goverment agency, is dispatched to some exotic, faraway place at the beginning of each episode. Herb Butterfield was the Commissioner, a taskmaster shrouded in secrecy who served up the situations that Mitchell seems never to refuse. The Commissioner's secretary is played by Betty Moran. She actually seems to care about the Steve's welfare. The Commissioner is just concerned about the fare.Mitchell's narration is done in first person, present tense, adding an unusual twist for this type of show. But the plot is always good (USA and Freedom) against unspeakable evil (Communism and the Iron Curtain).
The Campbell Playhouse was a sponsored continuation of the Mercury Theater on the Air, a direct result of the instant publicity from the War of the Worlds panic. The switch occurred on December 9, 1938. In spite of using the same creative staff, the show had a different flavor under sponsorship, partially attributed to a guest star policy in place, which relegated the rest of the Mercury Players to supporting cast for Orson Welles and the Hollywood guest of the week. There was a growing schism between Welles, still reaping the rewards of his Halloween night notoriety, and his collaborator John Houseman, still in the producer's chair but feeling more like an employee than a partner. The writer, as during the unsponsored run, was Howard Koch.
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Andrew Manson, a young, enthusiastic doctor takes his first job in a Welsh mining town, and begins to wonder at the persistent cough many of the miners have. When his attempts to prove its cause are thwarted, he moves to London. His new practice does badly. But when a friend shows him how to make a lucrative practice from rich hypochondriacs, it will take a great shock to show him what the truth of being a doctor really is. January 21, 1940. CBS net. "The Citadel". Sponsored by: Campbell's Soup. A. J. Cronin (author), Edgar Barrier, Ernest Chappell (announcer), Everett Sloane, George Coulouris, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Orson Welles (host), Ray Collins (narrator). 53 minutes.
Lux Radio Theater strove to feature as many of the original stars of the original stage and film productions as possible, usually paying them $5,000 an appearance to do the show. It was when sponsor Lever Brothers (who made Lux soap and detergent) moved the show from New York to Hollywood in 1936 that it eased back from adapting stage shows and toward adaptations of films. The first Lux film adaptation was The Legionnaire and the Lady, with Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable, based on the film Morocco. That was followed by a Lux adaptation of The Thin Man, featuring the movie's stars, Myrna Loy and William Powell.
THIS EPISODE
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer is a 1947 screwball comedy film starring Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, and Shirley Temple. Sidney Sheldon was awarded the 1948 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for this film in his first and only Academy Award nomination during his career in Hollywood. The film was directed by Irving Reis and was one of the few non-film noir outings for noted cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca.
"Rocky Fortune" about a wanderer that took odd jobs to support himself and never stayed in one place too long. He almost always seemed to meet beautiful women along with trouble. Sinatra was good and was proving to Hollywood that he could do serious work. When casting began for the movie "From Here To Eternity", Frank campaigned tirelessly for a part and because of that and a good word put in for him by Gardner, who he was now separated from, he won a part that would mark his return to Hollywood. Sadly for us, it also meant he didn't have time to do radio and "Rocky Fortune" was rather short lived, although it was popular. It only ran from 1953 - 1954, but" It was a very good year".
Elspeth McGillicuddy has come down from Scotland to visit her old friend, Jane Marple. On the way, she sees a woman strangled in a passing train. Only Miss Marple believes her story, and soon sets about solving the mystery. The first task is to ascertain where the body could have been hidden. Comparison of the facts of the murder with the train timetable and the local geography lead to the grounds of Rutherford Hall as the only possible location. Miss Marple calls upon an acquaintance, Lucy Eyelesbarrow, who is a professional housekeeper renowned for her efficiency and organizational skills. Lucy agrees to take a position at Rutherford Hall, and the hunt is on. Rutherford Hall was built by Josiah Crackenthorpe, purveyor of tea biscuits. His son, Luther, now a semi-invalid widower, had displayed spendthrift qualities in his youth. To preserve the family fortune, Josiah's will provided Luther with a home and income for life but otherwise left everything in trust for the grandchildren. They share equally in the estate, but only if they live long enough to inherit it.
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT) was an ambitious and sustained attempt to revive the great drama of old-time radio in the 1970s. Created by Himan Brown (who had by then become a radio legend due to his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries and other shows dating back to the 1930s), and aired on affiliate stations across the CBS Radio network, the series began its long run on January 6, 1974. The final episode ran on December 31, 1982. The show was broadcast nightly and ran for one hour, including commercials. Typically, a week consisted of three to four new episodes, with the remainder of the week filled out with reruns. There were a total of 1399 original episodes broadcast. The total number of broadcasts, including reruns, was 2969. The late E.G. Marshall hosted the program every year but the final one, when actress Tammy Grimes took over. Each episode began with the ominous sound of a creaking door, slowly opening to invite listeners in for the evening's adventure. At the end of each show, the door would swing shut, with Marshall signing off, "Until next time, pleasant...dreams?"
Two Episodes:
"King Spots Murder" (11-25-43) "Eleventh Hour" (12-16-43)
Challenge of the Yukon was a long-running radio series that began on Detroit's station WXYZ (as had The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet). The series was first heard on February 3, 1938. Under the title Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, it later transferred to television. The program was an adventure series about Sergeant William Preston of the Northwest Mounted Police and his lead sled dog, Yukon King, as they fought evildoers in the Northern wilderness during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. Preston, according to radio historian Jim Harmon, first joined the Mounties to capture his father's killer, and when he was successful he was promoted to Sergeant. Preston worked under the command of Inspector Conrad, and in the early years was often assisted by a French-Canadian guide named Pierre. Preston's staunchest ally, who was arguably the true star of the show and indeed often did more work than he did, was the brave Alaskan husky, Yukon King.
Diary of Fate is a mystery and horror program where âFateâ narrates and always wins by the end of the story. These are great suspense filled stories about average people who are subject to the mysteries of their âFateâ. In This episode, March 16, 1948. Program #14. Finley syndication. "Joe Mattock". Commercials added locally. Book 63, page 397. A truck driver and his beautiful hitch-hiker commit murder to get their hands on $100,000, kept in a little black bag. The date is subject to correction. Ivan Ditmars (music), Larry Finley (producer), Hal Sawyer, Frank Albertson, Gloria Blondell, Herb Lytton, Jerry Hausner, Ray Ehrlenborn (probable sound effects). 26:47
Tom Corbett is the main character in a series of Tom Corbett â Space Cadet stories that were depicted in television, radio, books, comic books, comic strips, coloring books, punch-out books and View-Master reels in the 1950s. The stories followed the adventures of Tom Corbett, Astro, and Roger Manning, cadets at the Space Academy as they train to become members of the elite Solar Guard. The action takes place at the Academy in classrooms and bunkroom, aboard their training ship the rocket cruiser Polaris, and on alien worlds, both within our solar system and in orbit around nearby stars. The Tom Corbett universe partook of pseudo-science, not equal to the standards of accuracy set by John W. Campbell in the pages of Astounding. And yet, by the standards of the day, it was much more accurate than most media science fiction. Mars was a desert, Venus a jungle, and the asteroids a haunt of space pirates, but at least planets circled suns and there was no air in space. Contrast this with Twilight Zone, years later, where people could live on asteroids wearing ordinary clothes, or Lost in Space, years after that, where a spaceship could be passing "Jupiter and Andromeda" at the same time. Before Star Trek, Tom Corbett â Space Cadet was the most scientifically accurate series on television, in part due to official science advisor Willy Ley, and later due to Frankie Thomas. Thomas read up on science and everyone on the set turned to him for advice on matters scientific.
The Saint â 1945-1951
There were at least 24 episodes broadcast of this series. It was a fascinating detective adventure series based on the books by Leslie Charteris. Edgar Barrier first played Simon Templar, aka The Saint, a debonair private detective in January 1945. He was then played by Brian Aherne in June 1945 and later Vincent Price from July 1947 up until May 1951. The Saint was said to have been like a modern day Robin Hood. He didnât care for justice and always helped victims hindered by the lawâs restrictions.
Hancock's Half-Hour is the yardstick against which all subsequent British sitcoms have been measured, the vast majority failing to size up to its extremely high standards. Based on his famous radio show of the same name, the TV run consolidated Tony Hancock's standing as Britain's leading comic of the day, the entertainer providing ample proof that his wonderfully flexible face could be as expressive as his dextrous radio voice. Tony Hancock was at the height of his powers during the late 1950s, squeezing every comic ounce out of his lines, pulling off perfectly judged pauses and demonstrating a sense of timing to match the great Jack Benny's. His character - Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock - was invariably a loser, whose aspirations and plans were dashed by fate, circumstance, Sid James or, more often than not, his own pomposity or unfettered ambition.
The Hollywood husband and wife team of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall set sail for adventure in the Bold Venture radio series in early 1951. There were well over 400 stations that aired the program. Since thiswas syndicated * the starting date varied from station to station but Mar 26, 1951 was the official date of the first show. Humphrey Bogart portrayed Slate Shannon, owner of a rundown Havana hotel, Shannon's Place. The action took place on land as well aboard Slate's boat, The Bold Venture, thus the title of the series. Lauren Bacall was his ward Sailor Duval, a stubborn and flirtatious young woman whose late father had willed her to Slate for her protection. Together the duo found adventure, intrigue, mystery and romance in the sultry settings of tropical Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean.
"Are you willing to undertake a dangerous mission for the United States, knowing in advance you may never return alive?" Cloak and Dagger first aired over the NBC network on May 7, 1950. It had a short run through the Summer on Sundays, changing to Fridays after its Summer run. The last show aired Oct. 22, 1950. This is the story of the WWII special governmental agency, the OSS, or Office of Strategic Services. Its mission was to develop and maintain spy networks throughout Europe and into Asia, while giving aid to underground partisan groups and developing espionage activities for Allied forces overseas.The show is based on the book of the same name by Lt. Col. Corey Ford and Major Alastair MacBain (who were associated with the OSS from its early days.) The dramas are not Hollywood-style, in that they sometimes end with plans foiled or leading characters dead.
Adventures of Superman â 1938-1951
This juvenile adventure series was first broadcast on Mutual in 1940 with Clayton (Bud) Collyer starring as Superman/Clark Kent. It first began as a fifteen-minute show but later, in 1949, it moved to ABC as a thirty-minute Saturday show with Michael Fitzmaurice as Superman. At the end of its thirteen-year run it had totalled over 1600 episodes. The opening for the show was one of radioâs best, setting the stage for those flights into fantasy with a cascade of voices, narration and sound effects. âFaster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!â âLook! Up in the sky!â âItâs a bird!â âItâs a plane!â âItâs Superman!â
Tuska cited Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940) and Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery (1941) as the best of the Bellamy-Lindsay pairings. "The influence of The Thin Man series was apparent in reverse", Tuska noted about Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery. "Ellery and Nikki are unmarried but obviously in love with each other. Probably the biggest mystery... is how Ellery ever gets a book written. Not only is Nikki attractive and perfectly willing to show off her figure", Tuska wrote, "but she also likes to write her own stories on Queen's time, and gets carried away doing her own investigations." In Ellery Queen, Master Detective, "the amorous relationship between Ellery and Nikki Porter was given a dignity, and therefore integrity", Tuska wrote, "that was lacking in the two previous entries in the series", made at Republic Pictures before Bellamy and Lindsay were signed by Columbia.
Lights Out was an American old-time radio program featuring "tales of the supernatural and the supernormal." It was immensely popular, and was one of the first horror programs, predating Suspense and Inner Sanctum. In its heydey, Lights Out rivalled the popularity of those shows. Lights Out ran through several series and networks, from January 1, 1934 to August 6, 1947. The principal sponsor was Ironized Yeast. Most episodes were broadcast at midnight. Lights Out then made the transition to television in 1949, where it was broadcast until 1952. Created in Chicago by writer Wyllis Cooper in 1934.
It's A Crime Mr. Collins. 1956. Mutual net origination, syndicated. "The Lost Film". Commercials added locally. A vacation in New York leads to a mysterious traffic homicide and the kidnapping of Mrs. Collins! The date is approximate. Mandel Kramer, Gail Collins, Richard Denning. 26:07.
As you walk through the creaking door you enter into another world, the world of imagination. This world is inside you, a part of you, and you take this journey alone. Each person hears and then sees with his or her mind's eye the events portrayed within these dramas. All of us interprets what they hear differently. The images we see is unique to ourselves. A voice becomes a person, living, breathing they come alive. They take on a physical form and characteristics that we assign to them. The wonders of your own mind are boundless. Scary thoughts? Perhaps, but what powers they bring us! To exercise one's imagination is to exercise one's soul. These dramas provide us with an escape from reality. To adventures beyond our own lives. Enjoy them. And pleasant dreams!
THIS EPISODE:
November 20, 1975. Program #382. CBS network. "The Lamps Of The Devil". Sponsored by: Luden's Cough Drops, Buick, Sine-Off. E. G. Marshall (host), Sam Dann (writer), Kristoffer Tabori, Russell Horton, Ian Martin, Joan Shea. 52 minutes.
The Plainsman is a 1936 Western movie directed by Cecil B. DeMille that presents a highly fictionalized account of the adventures and relationships between Wild Bill Hickok (Gary Cooper), Calamity Jane (Jean Arthur), Buffalo Bill Cody and General George Custer, with a gun-runner named Lattimer (Charles Bickford) as the main villain. The film is notorious for mixing timelines and even has on opening scene with Abraham Lincoln setting the stage for Hickock's adventures. Anthony Quinn has a cameo as an Indian.
With the end of the American Civil War, military industrialists are left with an oversupply of weapons. Some of the more unscrupulous ones view the Indians as possible new customers. Having been just discharged from the Union Army, Wild Bill Hickok is making his way back west. On a paddle steamer, he bumps into his old army scout colleague, Buffalo Bill Cody and his new bride. Later, Calamity Jane is the driver of their stagecoach to Hays, Kansas.
The Sealed Book starred Philip Clarke as the keeper of the book, a croaking, cackling hermit, with knowledge of the black arts, who in each show unlocked the great padlock that kept the sealed book safe from prying eyes. There was a spook story each week with tales of secrets and mysteries of mankind through the ages. This MUTUAL network entry in the horror and mystery genre was far from the best remembered, such as Suspense, Quiet Please, and Inner Sanctum. The Sealed Book begins with a classic intro, in which when gonged, we are escorted by the tuxedoed announcer with unseen organist as the keeper of the book opens the ponderous, albeit squeaky door "to the secret vault wherein is kept the great sealed book, in which is recorded all the secrets and mysteries of mankind through the ages, Here are tales of every kind, tales of murder, of madness, of dark deeds strange and terrible beyond all belief." First broadcast date march 18th 1945. Last broadcast date september 9th 1945. Narrated by Philip Clarke and written by Bob Arthur and David Kogan, this mystery anthology was aired over the MUTUAL network Sunday nights at 10:30 p.m.
Dimension X was an NBC radio program broadcast on an unsponsored, sustaining basis from April 8, 1950 to September 29, 1951. The first 13 episodes were broadcast live, and the remainder were pre-recorded. Fred Wiehe and Edward King were the directors, and Norman Rose was heard as both announcer and narrator. Preceded by Mutual's 2000 Plus (1950-52), Dimension X was not the first adult science fiction series on radio, but the acquisition of previously published stories immediately gave it a strong standing with the science fiction community, as did the choice of well established, respected writers in the field: Isaac Asimov, Robert Bloch, Ray Bradbury, Fredric Brown, Robert A. Heinlein, Murray Leinster, H. Beam Piper, Frank M. Robinson, Clifford D. Simak, William Tenn, Jack Vance, Kurt Vonnegut, Jack Williamson and Donald A. Wollheim. Ernest Kinoy and George Lefferts adapted most of the stories and also provided original scripts.
By the early 40s, Burns decided that their act needed a change. He decided that the audience knew Gracies and his reactions well enough that it would be possible to play off them, and create situations something like screwball comedy, but with the Burns and Allen touch. Jack Benny and Burns and Allen worked much the same way with their comedy. Vaudevilles snappy patter and give and take jokes, good even if the audience didnt know you, could be developed into running gags and put-downs based on character. Burns was always astute when it came to comedy - he lead the brainstorming sessions that wrote the shows, and carefully edited his writers with the final word on what was cut and what stayed. Elvia Allman played Gracies griend Tootsie Sagwell and Gale Gordon and Hans Conried made frequent appearances. So in 1942, George and Gracie became, in their characters, the perfectly normal husband and wife that is, if Gracie's non sequiturs and impulsive behavior could be considered perfectly normal. For Gracie, of course, it was perfectly normal, and the American public continued their love affair with her.
The Man Called X was an espionage radio drama which aired on CBS and NBC from July 10, 1944 to May 20, 1952. Herbert Marshall had the lead role of Intelligence Agent Ken Thurston who took on dangerous cases in a variety of exotic locations. Gordon Jenkins Orchestra supplied the background music. Cast: Leon Belasco as Pagan Seldchmidt ANNOUNCER: Wendell Niles DIRECTOR: Jack Johnstone.MUSIC: Johnny Green. CBS FRIGIDAIRE - GENERAL MOTORS Thursdays 10:30 - 11:00 pm
Dragnet was a long-running radio and television police procedural drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. The show takes its name from an actual police term, a "dragnet", meaning a system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects. Dragnet debuted inauspiciously. The first several months were bumpy, as Webb and company worked out the programâs format and eventually became comfortable with their characters (Friday was originally portrayed as more brash and forceful than his later usually relaxed demeanor). Gradually, Fridayâs deadpan, fast-talking persona emerged, described by John Dunning as "a cop's cop, tough but not hard, conservative but caring." (Dunning, 210) Fridayâs first partner was Sgt. Ben Romero, portrayed by Barton Yarborough, a longtime radio actor. When Dragnet hit its stride, it became one of radioâs top-rated shows. While most radio shows used one or two sound effects experts, Dragnet needed five; a script clocking in at just under 30 minutes could require up to 300 separate effects. Accuracy was underlined: The exact number of footsteps from one room to another at Los Angeles police headquarters were imitated, and when a telephone rang at Fridayâs desk, the listener heard the same ring as the telephones in Los Angeles police headquarters. A single minute of "A Gun For Christmas" is a representative example of the evocative sound effects featured on "Dragnet". While Friday and others investigate bloodstains in a suburban backyard, the listener hears a series of overlapping effects: a squeaking gate hinge, footsteps, a technician scraping blood into a paper envelope, the glassy chime of chemical vials, bird calls and a dog barking in the distance. Scripts tackled a number of topics, ranging from the thrilling (murders, missing persons and armed robbery) to the mundane (check fraud and shoplifting), yet "Dragnet" made them all interesting due to fast-moving plots and behind-the-scenes realism. In "The Garbage Chute" (15 December 1949), they even had a locked room mystery.
Rogue's Gallery came to the Mutual network on September 27, 1945 with Dick Powell portraying Richard Rogue, a private detective who invariably ended up getting knocked out each week and spending his dream time in acerbic conversation with his subconscious self, Eugor. Rogue's Gallery was, in a sense, Dick Powell's rehearsal for Richard Diamond, Private Detective. Powell played private detective Richard Rogue, who trailed luscious blondes, protected witness, and did whatever else detectives do to make a living. It was a good series, though not destined to make much of a mark. Under the capable direction of Dee Englebach and accompanied by the music of Leith Stevens, Powell floated through his lines with the help of such competents as Lou Merrill, Gerald Mohr, Gloria Blondell, Tony Barrett, and Lurene Tuttle. Peter Leeds played Rogue's friend Eugor, an obscure play on names with Eugor spelling Rogue backwards. The gimmick in Rogue's Gallery was the presence of an alter ego, "Eugor," who arrived in the middle of the show to give Rogue enough information for his final deduction. Eugor was a state of mind, achieved when Rogue was knocked unconcious. Eugor would appear cackling like the host of Hermit's Cave and imparted some vital information the hero had overlooked. Rogue would then awaken with a vague idea of what to do next. Rogue's Gallery also starred different actors as Rogue, in later incarnations of the series, but Richard Powell was the most popular. This series preceded Richard Powell's most famous series, Richard Diamond, Private Detective. Rogue trailed lovely blondes and protected witnesses in the new tough guy persona of Dick Powell. This was the transition series for Powell in his quest to be recognized as an actor rather than a singer. It had some of the same cute elements that would make Richard Diamond a high spot four years later. During the summer of 1946, the show was billed as Bandwagon Mysteries, with a tip of the hat to the sponsor. In the summer of 1947, it was again revived on NBC Sundays for Fitch, with Barry Sullivan in the title role. In 1950 the character again turned up in a two-year sustainer on the ABC Wednesday-night schedule. Chester Morris played the lead. Chester Morris was the original Boston Blackie. (From the Old Time Radio Researcher's Group
Dramatic Adventure Anthology
Broadcast 4/27/1952-6/28/1953 30 minutes
Tales, highly melodramatic and often improbable, of people on the run. The concept of "hunter and hunted" was built into the signatures. with the lone bugle of a fox hunt, the braying of dogs, the sounds of a man running, a gunshot, and the slowing footsteps and eventual fall of the victim. But in this episode, who IS the hunter. A small town "greese monkey" is targeted for elimination. Sounds simple enough for a cold blooded professional hit man. An episode filled with exciting twists and turns worthly of this fine series.
Not many cartoon strips from the 30's are still popular, but Blondie is one of the few. Still widely read today, Blondie was also made into movies and of course, radio. Her beau, soon to be husband, Dagwood and her were an unlikely match. Dagwood actually came from money and his parents were displeased with his choice of girlfriend, but boldly defying them, he accepted being disowned and married Blondie anyway. In the beginning, Blondie was a flapper and portrayed as a bit of an airhead, but marriage seemed to mature her and she was actually the more levelheaded of the two, often getting Dagwood out of the messes he got himself into when he would cry out "BLONDIEEEEEEEE!!"
Almost everyone could see a bit of themselves in the everyday lives of the Bumsteads and judging from the continued enjoyment of the characters, almost everyone still can. Truly a delightful show.
After working as Allen's summer replacement, Abbott and Costello joined Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy on The Chase and Sanborn Hour in 1941, while two of their films (Buck Privates and Hold That Ghost) were adapted for Lux Radio Theater. They launched their own weekly show October 8, 1942, sponsored by Camel cigarettes. The Abbott and Costello Show mixed comedy with musical interludes (by singers such as Connie Haines, Marilyn Maxwell, the Delta Rhythm Boys, Skinnay Ennis, and the Les Baxter Singers). Regulars and semi-regulars on the show included Artie Auerbach ("Mr. Kitzel"), Elvia Allman, Iris Adrian, Mel Blanc, Wally Brown, Sharon Douglas, Verna Felton, Sidney Fields, Frank Nelson, Martha Wentworth, and Benay Venuta. Ken Niles was the show's longtime announcer, doubling as an exasperated foil to Abbott & Costello's mishaps (and often fuming in character as Costello routinely insulted his on-air wife); Niles was succeeded by Michael Roy, with announcing chores also handled over the years by Frank Bingman and Jim Doyle. The show went through several orchestras during its radio life, including those of Ennis, Charles Hoff, Matty Matlock, Jack Meakin, Will Osborne, Freddie Rich, Leith Stevens, and Peter van Steeden. The show's writers included Howard Harris, Hal Fimberg, Parke Levy, Don Prindle, Eddie Cherkose (later known as Eddie Maxwell), Leonard Stern, Martin Ragaway, Paul Conlan, and Eddie Forman, as well as producer Martin Gosch. Sound effects were handled primarily by Floyd Caton. Abbott and Costello moved the show to ABC (the former NBC Blue Network) five years after they premiered on NBC. During their time on ABC, the duo also hosted a 30-minute children's radio program (The Abbott and Costello Children's Show), which aired Saturday mornings, featuring vocalist Anna Mae Slaughter and announcer Johnny McGovern.
The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Gale Gordon in the title role, took over where Sherlock Holmes had left off. Sponsored by Petri wine, it used the same "weekly visit" format and the same team of Anthony Boucher and Dennis Green that had written The New Adventured of Sherlock Holmes. Gregory Hood was modelled after true-life San Francisco importer Richard Gump, and many of the stories revolve around a mystery surrounding some particular imported treasure.Hood's sidekick Sanderson "Sandy" Taylor was played by Bill Johnstone. The show aired from June, 1946 through August, 1950. There were an additional couple of shows aired in October 1951. Hood and Sanderson were played in later episodes by Elliott Lewis and Howard McNear, respectively.
The list of films and actors on Academy Award Theater is very impressive. Bette Davis begins the series in Jezebel, with Ginger Rogers following in Kitty Foyle, and then Paul Muni in The Life of Louis Pasteur. The Informer had to have Victor Mclaglen, and the Maltese Falcon, Humphrey Bogart, Sidney Greenstreet (this movie was his first major motion picutre role) plus Mary Astor for the hat trick. Suspicion starred Cary Grant with Ann Todd doing the Joan Fontaine role, Ronald Coleman in Lost Horizon, and Joan Fontaine and John Lund were in Portrait of Jenny. How Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio were done is something to hear! Some films are less well known, such as Guest in the House, with Kirk Douglas and Anita Louise, It Happened Tomorrow, with Eddie Bracken and Ann Blythe playing Dick Powell and Linda Darnell's roles, and Cheers for Miss Bishop with Olivia de Havilland. Each adaptation is finely produced and directed by Dee Engelbach, with music composed and conducted by Leith Stevens. Frank Wilson wrote the movie adaptations. John Dunning in his book,"On the Air, The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio,"tells us why such a fine production lasted less than a year: "The House of Squibb, a drug firm, footed a stiff bill: up to $5,000 for the stars and $1,600 a week to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for use of the title.
"Farmer Shot Twelve Times"
*Aired June, 1937 Exact Date Unknown
True Detective Mysteries radio series was based on the âTrue Detectiveâ magazine. Later it was sponsored by Listerine and Oh Henry Candy, but kept the same name. Each week the show presented the âcase history of an actual crime.â Many were told from the criminalâs point of view. True Detective Mysteries were truly audience participation shows - each show provided descriptions of the true-story criminal and encouraged audiences to provide information leading to their capture. Rewards of $500 and later $1000 were offered in return for helpful clues from listeners.
First heard on Mutual featuring Elliott Lewis, who as Leonard Maltin writes in "The Great American Broadcast, "âwore every hat imaginable-actor, producer, and director-also penned a good number of scripts for series he supervised, including Suspense." And Maltin says of this show, "On the terrific late-1940's high-adventure series The Voyage of the Scarlet Queen he held down both jobs simultaneously as director and star." As Maltin continues, âLewis had the ability to make you believe whatever he said. Cast as the skipper on the high-adventure series The Voyage of the Scarlet Queen, he was completely convincing as seagoing ship's master Philip Carney-never corny or overblown." So let a master captain of drama chart a course to exotic ports of call and thrilling adventures. All you have to do is step aboard The Scarlet Queen.
The Clock, Imported from Austrailia, was a dramatic thirty-minute suspense and mystery series. It was written by Lawrence Klee and was first broadcast in November 1946. The story always began the same; âSunrise and sunset, promise and fulfilment, birth and death â the whole drama of life is written in the sands of timeâ. This is a great series where the main theme seems to be Retribution. Stories as told by Father Time.
First Broadcast November 3rd 1946
Last Broadcast May 23rd 1948
NBC University Theater is an unusual series that focused on reenacting novels by great authors for college classes. Many accredited American universities such as Washington State College, University of Louisville, and University of Tulsa, used this dramatic series as a supplement to correspondent college courses. The series' creators made study guides to accompany the courses. Students studying great literature by Steinbeck, Faulkner, Hemingway, Huxley, and many others listened to these shows every week. It was an ambitious series that remained popular despite its academic and non-commercial appeal. The shows are high quality and will please many fans of great literature.
Whitehall 1212 is a crime drama featuring cases from New Scotland Yard's "Black Museum". Unlike the show starring Orson Welles, however, this series was done with the official support of The Yard and tries to downplay the sensational aspects of thes cases and highlight the rigorous police work that went into solving them.
Curtain Time, like First Nighter, presented romantic drama in a theater setting complete with the announcer shouting, âTickets please, thank youâ. The shows announcer was Harry Halcomb who was later known best for his appearances on the 60 minutes television show. Great scripts and superb acting, Curtain Time is truly an Old Time Radio Classic.
The Secrets of Scotland Yard is hosted by Clive Brook, narrator of LM Radio. Brook was a successful director writer, and actor in many films, including âDressed to Thrillâ in 1935, âThe Flemish Farmâ in 1943 and âOn Approvalâ in 1944. He was probably best remembered for playing opposite Marlene Dietrich in the 1932 movie, âShanghai Express.â He also played Sherlock Holmes in the 1932 movie of the same name.
Lux Radio Theater strove to feature as many of the original stars of the original stage and film productions as possible, usually paying them $5,000 an appearance to do the show. It was when sponsor Lever Brothers (who made Lux soap and detergent) moved the show from New York to Hollywood in 1936 that it eased back from adapting stage shows and toward adaptations of films. The first Lux film adaptation was The Legionnaire and the Lady, with Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable, based on the film Morocco. That was followed by a Lux adaptation of The Thin Man, featuring the movie's stars, Myrna Loy and William Powell.
Dr. James Kildare was a fictional character, the primary character in a series of American theatrical films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, an early 1950s radio series, a 1960s television series of the same name and a comic book based on the TV show. The character was invented by the author Frederick Schiller Faust (aka Max Brand). The character began in the film series as a medical intern; after becoming a doctor he was mentored by an older physician, Dr. Leonard Gillespie. After the first ten films, the series eliminated the character of Kildare and focused instead on Gillespie.
Duffy's Tavern, an American radio situation comedy (CBS, 1941-1942; NBC-Blue Network, 1942-1944; NBC, 1944-1952), often featured top-name stage and film guest stars but always hooked those around the misadventures, get-rich-quick-scheming, and romantic missteps of the title establishment's malaprop-prone, metaphor-mixing manager, Archie, played by the writer/actor who co-created the show, Ed Gardner. In the show's familiar opening, "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling," either solo on an old-sounding piano or by a larger orchestra, was interrupted by the ring of a telephone and Gardner's New Yorkese accent as he answered, "Duffy's Tavern, where the elite meet to eat. Archie the manager speakin'. Duffy ain't here â oh, hello, Duffy." Duffy, the owner, was never heard (or seen, when a film based on the show was made in 1945 or when a bid to bring the show to television was tried in 1954). But Archie always was â bantering with Duffy's man-crazy daughter, Miss Duffy (played by several actresses, beginning with Gardner's real-life first wife, Shirley Booth); with Eddie, the waiter/janitor (Eddie Green); and, especially, with Clifton Finnegan (Charlie Cantor), a likeable soul with several screws loose and a knack for falling for every other salesman's scam.
Perry Mason is a fictional defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner. He appeared in over 80 novels and short stories, most of which involved his client being put on trial for murder. Typically, he was able to establish his client's innocence by demonstrating the guilt of another character. The author was one of the best-selling authors of all time, and had "135 million copies of his books in print in America alone in the year of his death" (1969).."The character of Perry Mason is also well-known from many appearances in film and television, including "television's most successful and longest-running lawyer series" from 1957 to 1966, another series in 1973-1974, and more than 25 made-for-TV movies from 1985 to 1993.Gardner provided more information about Mason's character in the earliest novels, although his character is largely taken for granted in later novels and the television series/movies. In the first novel (The Case Of The Velvet Claws, 1933), Perry Mason describes himself as follows: "You'll find that I'm a lawyer who has specialized in trial work, and in a lot of criminal work. ... I'm a specialist on getting people out of trouble. They come to me when they're in all sorts of trouble, and I work them out. ... If you look me up through some family lawyer or some corporation lawyer, he'll probably tell you that I'm a shyster. If you look me up through some chap in the District Attorney's office, he'll tell you that I'm a dangerous antagonist but he doesn't know very much about me."
Although Molle Mystery Theatre was initially sponsored by Molle Shaving Cream, other sponsors (such as Bayer Aspirin, Ironized Yeast, Phillips Milk of Magnesia) also sponsored the program. Sometimes, when it was not sponsored by Molle, the program was called "Mystery Theater". The show was first heard on NBC, on 9/7/43. Time slot was originally Sunday nights at 9:00 PM, but was later moved to Tuesday at 9:00 PM, and Friday at 10:00 PM. In 1948, the show moved to CBS (Tues, 8:00 PM), and in 1951, it moved to ABC, where it was called "Mark Sabre", and heard on Wednesdays at either 8:00 PM or 9:30 PM.
This 1958 BBC production from the Journey Into Space series takes us on a wild 12-part adventure to the moon. Captain "Jet" Morgan, Stephen "Mitch" Mitchell, Doc Matthews , and Lemmy Barnet are the first astronauts to reach the moon, and what they find there is truly astonishing! Airing weekly beginning March 26, 1958, the show featured Andrew Faulds, David Williams, Guy Kingsley Pointer, and Alfie Bass.
Let us journey âinto the land that lies beyond midnight,â into a world of ghost hunters, men going mad, and DEATH DEATH DEATH! Written by the masterful Michael McCabe, these well-done South African radio shows will capture your attention and keep you up listening to them well beyond midnight. * Exact Date Is Unknown.
ENCORE THEATER was a 1946 Summer replacement series, sponsored by Schenley Labs, Inc. All shows had a medical theme, some concerned medical research, some covered personal stories of people in the medical field but all based on true stories. Schenley Labs, Inc. was the sponsor for the series. The shows aired Tuesday evenings from 9:30 to 10:00 PM over CBS affiliated stations. Members of the cast were typically well-known radio or screen actors, such as Lurene Tuttle, Eric Snowden, Gerald Mohr, Ronald Colman, Robert Young or Lionel Barrymore. Producer for series was Bill Lawrence, who also directed the series. The announcer was Frank Graham. Music was by Leith Stevens. Scripts were written and adapted by Jean Holloway, Lloyd C. Douglas, Sidney Kingsley and Milton Geiger. Twelve of the thirteen scripts were adapted by Jean Holloway. The 1946 Summer series ended with the August 27th show, replaced by "Cresta Blanca Hollywood Players" (possibly known as "The Hollywood Players Company". There was a second ENCORE THEATER Summer series in 1949, however there is little information on it. It aired on Sundays. Eight shows are known to be in circulation. Known air dates are April 17, April 24, May 8 and June 5.
Broadway Is My Beat, a radio crime drama, ran on CBS from February 27, 1949 to August 1, 1954. With music by Robert Stringer, the show originated from New York during its first three months on the air, with Anthony Ross portraying Times Square Detective Danny Clover. John Dietz directed for producer Lester Gottlieb. Beginning with the July 7, 1949 episode, the series was broadcast from Hollywood with producer Elliott Lewis directing a new cast in scripts by Morton Fine and David Friedkin. The opening theme of "I'll Take Manhattan" introduced Detective Danny Clover (now played by Larry Thor), a hardened New York City cop who worked homicide "from Times Square to Columbus Circle -- the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world."
Suspense was one of the premier programs of the Golden Age of Radio (aka old-time radio), and advertised itself as "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." It was heard in one form or another from 1942 through 1962. There were approximately 945 episodes broadcast during its long run, over 900 of which are extant in mostly high-quality recordings. Suspense went through several major phases, characterized by different hosts, sponsors and director/producers. There were a few rules which were followed for all but a handful of episodes: Protagonists were usually a normal person suddenly dropped into a threatening or bizarre situation. Evildoers must be punished in the end.
1984-1986 There were 69 episodes in the original series. The series continued after that under various names and formats. "The point between reality and fantasy. Where imagination holds the key to new worlds. That point of no return---The Vanishing Point." Favorably compared to Rod Sterling's classic TV series, The Twilight Zone, these finely tuned radio dramas from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation provide compelling excursions into the realm of mystery and fantasy.
Fred Allen's first taste of radio came while he and Portland Hoffa waited for a promised slot in a new Arthur Hammerstein musical. In the interim, they appeared on a Chicago station's program, WLS Showboat, into which, Allen recalled, "Portland and I were presented... to inject a little class into it." Their success in these appearances helped their theater reception; live audiences in the Midwest liked to see their radio favorites in person, even if Allen and Hoffa would be replaced by Bob Hope when the radio show moved to New York several months afterward. The couple eventually got their Hammerstein show, Polly, which opened in Delaware and made the usual tour before hitting Broadway. Also in that cast was a young Englishman named Archie Leach, who received as many good notices for his romantic appeal as Allen got for his comic work. Hammerstein retooled the show before bringing it to New York, replacing everyone but two women and Allen. Leach decided to buy an old car and drive to Hollywood. "What Archie Leach didn't tell me," Allen remembered, "was that he was going to change his name to Cary Grant."Polly never succeeded in spite of several retoolings, but Allen did go on to successful shows like The Little Show (1929-30) and Three's a Crowd (1930-31), which eventually led to his full-time entry to radio in 1932.
Written and directed by Robert A. Arthur and David Kogan, the series began on the Mutual Broadcasting System, December 5, 1943, continuing in many different timeslots until September 16, 1952. Unlike many other shows of the era, The Mysterious Traveler was without a sponsor for its entire run. The lonely sound of a distant locomotive heralded the arrival of the malevolent narrator, portrayed by Maurice Tarplin, who introduced himself each week in the following manner: âThis is the Mysterious Traveler, inviting you to join me on another journey into the strange and terrifying. I hope you will enjoy the trip, that it will thrill you a little and chill you a little. So settle back, get a good grip on your nerves and be comfortable -- if you canâ!
Frank Merriwell was the fictional creation of Gilbert Patten, who wrote under the pseudonym Burt L. Standish. The model for all later American juvenile sports fiction, Merriwell excelled at football, baseball, crew and track at Yale while solving mysteries and righting wrongs. He played with great strength and received traumatic blows without injury. A biographical entry on Patten noted dryly that Frank Merriwell "had little in common with his creator or his readers." Patten offered some background on his character: "The name was symbolic of the chief characteristics I desired my hero to have. Frank for frankness, merry for a happy disposition, well for health and abounding vitality." Merriwell's classmates observed, "He never drinks. That's how he keeps himself in such fine condition all the time. He will not smoke, either, and he takes his exercise regularly. He is really a remarkable freshie." Merriwell originally appeared in a series of magazine stories starting April 18, 1896 ("Frank Merriwell: or, First Days at Fardale") in Tip Top Weekly, continuing through 1912, and later in dime novels and comic books. Patten would confine himself to a hotel room for a week to write an entire story. The Frank Merriwell comic strip began in 1928, continuing until 1936. Daily strips from 1934 provided illustrations for the 1937 Big Little Book.
The Adventures of Frank Merriwell first ran on NBC radio from March 26 to June 22, 1934 as a 15-minute serial airing three times a week at 5:30pm. Sponsored by Dr. West's Toothpaste, this program starred Donald Briggs in the title role. Harlow Wilcox was the announcer. After a 12-year gap, the series returned October 5, 1946 as a 30-minute NBC Saturday morning show, continuing until June 4, 1949. Lawson Zerbe starred as Merriwell, Jean Gillespie and Elaine Rostas as Inza Burrage, Harold Studer as Bart Hodge and Patricia Hosley as Elsie Belwood. The announcer was Harlow Wilcox, and the Paul Taubman Orchestra supplied the background music. There are at least three generations of Merriwells: Frank, his half-brother Dick, and Frank's son, Frank Jr. There is a marked difference between Frank and Dick. Frank usually handled challenges on his own. Dick has mysterious friends and skills that help him, especially an old Indian friend without whom the stories would not have been quite as interesting.
The Bickersons was an American radio comedy program that aired from 1946 to 1951. Born as a recurring skit on The Chase and Sanborn Hour and refined on the lesser-remembered Drene Time variety show, it stood the already-typical domestic presentation of radio and its infant offspring, television, so squarely on its head that there were those who feared the show. The show's married protagonists spent nearly all their time together in relentless verbal war, and many people believed that the show's sourly cynical take on the institution of marriage was more than merely detrimental to the nation's post-World War II health. (The same kind of charges of "detrimental" were later leveled against programs such as Married... with Children and The Simpsons.) The Bickersons was created by Philip Rapp, the one-time Eddie Cantor writer who had also created the Fanny Brice skits (for The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air and Maxwell House Coffee Time) that grew into radio's Baby Snooks. Several years after the latter established itself a long-running favourite, Rapp developed and presented John and Blanche Bickerson, first as a short sketch on The Old Gold Show and The Chase and Sanborn Hour (the show that made stars of Edgar Bergen and his dummy, Charlie McCarthy), and then as a 15-minute situational sketch as part of Drene Time. This was a variety show starring Don Ameche and singer-actress Frances Langford as co-hosts, airing on NBC and sponsored by Drene Shampoo. Announcing the showâand later familiar to television viewers as The Millionaire's presenter and executive secretary, Michael Anthonyâwas Marvin Miller. Drene Time typically opened with Langford singing a big band-style arrangement before Ameche and Langford would slip into routine comedy, often aided by co-star (and future Make Room for Daddy star) Danny Thomas, in routines that often hooked around Ameche's frustration that Thomas seemed more interested in modern technology and discoveries than in women. After another musical number and a commercial spot for Drene Shampoo, Miller would announce Ameche and Langford as the Bickersons, "in 'The Honeymoon's Over'," for the final 15 minutes of the show.
2000 AD is known as the first of the network science fiction shows, although it ran on Mutual just a month prior to the introduction of the landmark series, Dimension X. It was a half hour of science fiction wonder in an exciting package. The stories have a charm that is always present in science fiction of the future that is written in the past. "When The Worlds Met" takes place "at the giant space port in Washington, temporary capitol of the federated world government as in April 21, 2000 Plus 20 (2020) crowds throng as audio and televox networks cover a space ship carrying in its space hold the first load of uranium taken from the pits of Luna, satellite of Earth.
THIS EPISODE:
Mutual network. "The Rocket and The Skull". Sustaining. The most important man in the country's race to the Moon is wounded in a plane crash...and starts to hear strange messages to Mars! The date is approximate. Arnold Robertson, Emerson Buckley and His Orchestra, William Griffis. 28 minutes.
This was ABC's attempt to recapture some of what radio was. The effort was not the best, but at least an effort was made. The stories ranged from science fiction, comedy, social drama and human interest drama, to detective mystery, psychological drama, melodrama and suspense drama. News programs help fill out the remaining time left in the 30 minute time spot from 5 - 5:30 p.m.
General Electric Theater featured a mix of romance, comedy, adventure, tragedy, fantasy and variety music. Occupying the Sunday evening spot on CBS following the Toast of the Town/Ed Sullivan Show from 1 February 1953 to 27 May 1962, the General Electric Theater presented top Hollywood and Broadway stars in dramatic roles calculated to deliver company voice advertising to the largest possible audience. Despite a long technical and practical experience with television production, GE's previous attempts to establish a Sunday evening company program had fared poorly. In the fall of 1948 GE entered commercial television for the first time with the Dennis James Carnival, a variety show dropped after one performance. A quiz program entitled Riddle Me This substituted for twelve weeks and was also dropped. In April 1949 GE returned to Sunday evenings with the musical-variety Fred Waring Show Produced by the Young & Rubicam advertising agency under the sponsorship of GE's Appliance, Electronics and Lamp Divisions, the program occasionally included company voice messages. In November 1951 GE transferred television production to the Batten, Barton, Durstine and Osborn (BBDO) advertising agency, under whose direction the General Electric Theater debuted 1 February 1953 as an "all-company project" sponsored by GE's Department of Public Relations Services.
I WAS A COMMUNIST FOR THE FBI - SYNDICATED
STARS: Dana Andrews as MATT CVETIC who infiltrated top ranks of the Communist Party.
I Was a Communist for the FBI was an American espionage thriller radio series with 78 episodes syndicated by Ziv to more than 600 stations in 1952-54. Made without FBI cooperation, the series was adapted from the book by undercover agent Matt Cvetic, who was portrayed by Dana Andrews.The series was crafted to warn people about the threat of Communist subversion of American society. The tone of the show is very jingoistic and ultra-patriotic. Communists are evil incarnate and the FBI can do no wrong. As a relic of the Joe McCarthy era, this show is a time capsule of American society during the Second Red Scare.
During World War II no more women sleuths arrived on the scene but 1946 was a banner year when three new ones debuted on network radio. One was as much comedienne as crime solver, Meet Miss Sherlock. This was a CBS summer sustainer that recounted the adventures of Jane Sherlock, a scatterbrained amateur detective, and her boyfriend, Peter Blossom, a civil attorney who occasionally fainted. There were two separate versions of this show; the first ran from July 3, 1946 to September 26, 1946 while the second one ran from Sept 28, 1947 to Oct 26, 1947. Both series were produced and directed by David Vaile, with scripts by E. Jack Neuman and Don Thompson. The announcer was Murray Wagner and the live orchestra was headed by Milton Charles. Sondra Gair had the title lead in the 1946 version, Captain Dingle of the NYPD was a youthful Bill Conrad and Joe Petruzzi played Peter Blossom.When the series resumed in the fall of 1947, Betty Moran did the first epiosde but her voice was not âditheryâ enough so Monty Margetts was brought in and she played the lead until it went off the air two months later. Barney Phillips was the voice of Captain Dingle. This series was more comedy than adventure, although crimes were eventually solved. Only two episodes have survived; both feature Gair in the 1946 version.
Episode#13 "Jane And Neff Talk About Deal" and Episode#14 "Everett Talks To Ace About The Deal"
Easy Aces, a long-running American serial radio comedy (1930-1945), was trademarked by the low-keyed drollery of creator and writer Goodman Ace and his wife, Jane, as an urbane, put-upon realtor and his malaprop-prone wife. A 15-minute program, airing as often as three times a week, Easy Aces wasn't quite the ratings smash that such concurrent 15-minute serial comedies as Amos 'n' Andy, The Goldbergs or Vic and Sade were. But its unobtrusive, conversational, and clever style, and the cheerful absurdism of its storylines, built a loyal enough audience of listeners and critics alike to keep it on the air for 15 years.
Jeff Regan, Investigator was one of the three detective shows Jack Webb did before Dragnet (see also Pat Novak For Hire and Johnny Modero: Pier 23). It debuted on CBS in July 1948. Webb played JEFF REGAN, a tough private eye working in a Los Angeles investigation firm run by Anthony J. Lyon. Regan introduced himself on each show "I get ten a day and expenses...they call me the Lyon's Eye." The show was fairly well-plotted, Webb's voice was great, and the supporting cast were skillful. Regan handled rough assignments from Lion, with whom he was not always on good terms. He was tough, tenacious, and had a dry sense of humor. The voice of his boss, Anthony Lion, was Wilms Herbert. The show ended in December 1948 but was resurrected in October 1949 with a new cast; Frank Graham played Regan (later Paul Dubrov was the lead) and Frank Nelson portrayed Lion. This version ran on CBS, sometimes as a West Coast regional, until August 1950. Both versions were 30 minutes, but the day and time slot changed several times. A total of 29 episodes from this series are in trading currency.
Mystery (1957-1958)
ABC Mystery Time was hosted by Don Dowd and starred Sir Laurence Olivier. Great special effects will grab your attention, accented by creepy organ rips. Stories are offered such as death gathered round a card table at a local chapter of The Suicide Club, or a man who desperately tries to hire a 24 hour bodyguard all the while trying to make himself the victim of a murder, and other baffling peculiar tales of yore. Also known as Mystery Time and Mystery Time Classics, this one is sure to excite and mystify.
Richard Diamond, Private Detective was a radio show starring Dick Powell which aired from 1949 to 1953, first on NBC, then ABC and finally on CBS. The title character was a rather light-hearted detective who often ended the episodes singing to his girlfriend, Helen. The television series was produced by Powell's company, Four Star Television, and that series ran for 3 years from 1957 to 1960. On TV, David Janssen played the hard boiled private eye and his secretary renamed âSamâ, was only ever shown on camera from the waist down, most assurardidly to display her beautiful legs. It was later leared that the legs belonged to Mary Tyler Moore. Original music by Frank DeVol and pete rugolo and later by richard shores. Good scripts, a solid cast and Powellâs exceptional talent made a good time 30 minute program that was quite popular during that Golden Age of Radio. So Letâs sit back now, relax and enjoy this truly otr radio classic.,â, Dick powell as Richard Diamond.., Private Detective.
The unmistakable voice of Bud Flanagan singing 'Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr Hitler?', a cod-Second World War propaganda singalong written especially for the show (by Jimmy Perry), introduced Dad's Army, the zenith of the British broad-comedy ensemble sitcom. Consistently good writing and a wonderful cast of old timers and newer talents combined to produce a whimsical period-piece that continues, justifiably, to be savoured and has now assumed a place in the 'hall of greats' pantheon, adored by new generations of the British public.
Theater Five was ABC's attempt to revive radio drama during the early 1960s. The series name was derived from its time slot, 5:00 PM. Running Monday through Friday, it was an anthology of short stories, each about 20 minutes long. News programs and commercials filled out the full 30 minutes. There was a good bit of science fiction and some of the plots seem to have been taken from the daily newspaper. Fred Foy, of The Lone Ranger fame, was an ABC staff announcer in the early 60s, who, among other duties, did Theater Five.
X Minus One was a science fiction radio series on NBC from April 1955 through January 1958. The show feature stories written by some of the big names in 1950s science fiction, like Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, and Issac Asimov. X Minus One followed another great sci-fi series called Dimension X that was broadcast in 1950-51. Some of the X-1 shows were rebroadcasts of Dim X. For baby boomers that liked The Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone and for all you Trekkies, X Minus One is the forefather of the science fiction you grew up with.
Fibber McGee and Molly premiered in 1935. The program struggled in the ratings until 1940, when it became a national sensation. Within three years, it was the top-rated program in America. Few radio shows were more beloved than Fibber McGee and Molly. The programâs lovable characters included Mayor LaTrivia, Doc Gamble, Mrs. Uppington, Wallace Wimple, Alice Darling, Gildersleeve, Beulah, Myrt, and the Old Timer. 79 Wistful Vista was one of Americaâs most famous addresses and Mollyâs warning to Fibber not to open the hall closet door (and his subsequent decision to do it) created one of radioâs best remembered running gags that audiences expected each week.
Charlie Chan was the Chinese detective created by Earl Derr Biggers. Over 40 Charlie Chan movies were done from the early 1930's through 1949, all of which starred non-Chinese actors as Charlie. Supposedly working as a Honolulu police detective, Charlie was almost always somewhere else, like Paris, Rio, LA, even Treasure Islandâbut he did have a wonderful home life, too, with a reported 14 children, including his famous #1, #2 etc. sons, ever intent on helping "pop" solve the case. Still, it's fun to hear ABC radio's daytime serial version of the Hawaiian family man who gave us all a little exotic wit and wisdom while uncovering dishonorable culprit. The other shows are more of "the incomparable" at work. Unfortunately, Chan on radio is very rare, the very opposite of the ubiquitous Charlie Chan movie reruns on TV. This is a mysterious absence even the great Charlie Chan might be needed to solve! Many mystery lovers sniff at Chan. But here's one more from Charlie that might applyâ"Mind, like parachute, only function when open."
Mickey Rooney was six years old when he debuted in a silent film titled "Not To Be Trusted" from 1926, yet it was not his first time on stage. He made an appearance in vaudeville as an infant. As the star in the Andy Hardy radio series, he played a teenager from Centerville, USA and the show was as successful as the 17 Hardy Family feature films made from 1938 to 1959 . In those films, his radio co-stars, Fay Holden and Lewis Stonewere were also featured.
Hope first appeared on television in 1932 during a test transmission from an experimental CBS studio in New York. His career in broadcasting spanned sixty-four years and included a long association with NBC. Hope made his network radio debut in 1937 on NBC. His first regular series for NBC Radio was the Woodbury Soap Hour. A year later The Pepsodent Radio Show Starring Bob Hope began, and would run through 1953. Hope did many specials for the NBC television network in the following decades and these were often sponsored by Chrysler and Hope served as a spokesman for the firm for many years. Hope's Christmas specials were popular favorites and often featured a performance of "Silver Bells" (from his 1951 film The Lemon Drop Kid) done as a duet with an often much younger female guest star (such as Olivia Newton-John or Brooke Shields). His final television special was in 1996 with Tony Danza helping Hope present a retrospective about presidents of the United States.
Arch Oboler (December 7, 1909 - March 19, 1987) was a Chicago-born scriptwriter, novelist, producer and director who was active in films, radio and television. boler generated much attention for his radio scripts, and his work in radio remains the outstanding period of his career. Although some noted a tendency for gruesomeness, he received praise as one of broadcasting's top talents, and he is regarded today as one of the innovators of old time radio.
As John Dunning relates in The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio:
Benny was remarkable in many ways, but in none more than this: he built a character of every sour ingredient in life, but somehow his real personality trickled through and made it wonderful. Would a real miser act that way before 30 million people each week? The Benny of the air was a fraud, a myth, a creation. It should have surprised no one to learn â after years of toupee jokes that played so well into the vanity theme â that Benny never wore one. He overtipped in restaurants, gave away his time in countless benefit performances, and was lavish in his praise of almost everyone else. "Where would I be today without my writers, without Rochester, Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, and Don Wilson?" he asked a reporter from Newsweek reporter in 1947. The reporter supplied his own answer, since Benny wasn't about to. "That he himself has handpicked the writers and cast is something that Benny never admits. He dismisses lightly the fact that he directs his own rehearsals, down to the last fine reading of a line. Nor will he ever say that part of his success stems from his own sense of timing and showmanship."
Best Plays presents theatrical paramounts of excellence. It's hosted by the drama critic of New York's Daily News, John Chapman. Dramatic and comedic performances outshine other theater radio shows, greatly performed by such greats as Boris Karloff and Alfred Drake.
THIS EPISODE:
Henry Fonda returned to films after an eight-year absence in this masterful adaptation of the actor's Broadway hit Mister Roberts. Written and partially directed by Joshua Logan, the film stars Fonda as Lt. Doug Roberts, chief cargo officer of the supply ship "Reluctant." WW2 is in its last few months, and Roberts is itching for combat duty. But the Reluctant's surly, despotic captain (James Cagney), anxious to use Roberts to expedite his own promotion, refuses to sign any of Roberts' transfer requests. Helping to brighten Mister Roberts' humdrum existence are his best friends, Ensign Frank Pulver (Jack Lemmon, in an Oscar-winning performance) and the ship's philosophical doctor (William Powell, in his final film appearance). Most of the laughs are provided by Pulver, officer "in charge of laundry and morale." When he isn't wheeling and dealing to bring a bevy of beautiful nurses on board the Reluctant, Pulver is concocting elaborate schemes to avenge himself against the Captain -- even though he's spent 14 months on the Reluctant without ever meeting his nemesis. The film's highlights include the efforts by Roberts, Pulver, and Doc to mix a bottle of Scotch from Coca-Cola, Iodine, and other vital ingredients; and Mister Roberts' (and later Ensign Pulver's) assertion of manhood by tossing the Captain's precious palm tree overboard. Halfway through shooting, legendary director John Ford was replaced, ostensibly because of illness, by Mervyn LeRoy. One of the finest service comedies ever made, Mister Roberts spawned a less amusing sequel, Ensign Pulver (1964), as well as a 1965 TV sitcom. Hal Erickson.
The Lux Radio Theater. November 28, 1949. CBS network. "Key Largo". Sponsored by: Lux Soap, Spry. An excellent Edward G. Robinson vehicle as a typical gangster. Johnny Rocco is returning to the United States to start his rackets once again. The intermission guest is nineteen year old Debbie Reynolds. Edward G. Robinson, Claire Trevor, Dan Seymour, Debbie Reynolds (intermission guest), Edmond O'Brien, William Keighley (host), John Milton Kennedy (announcer), Louis Silvers (music director), Maxwell Anderson (author), Sanford Barnett (adaptor), Frances Robinson, Herb Butterfield, William Johnstone, Howard McNear, Edward Marr, Harry Lewis, Paul Dubov, Frank Richards, Jay Novello, Lou Krugman, Don Diamond, Dorothy Lovett (commercial spokesman: as "Libby"), Richard Brooks (screenwriter), John Huston (screenwriter), Fred MacKaye (director), Charlie Forsyth (sound effects). 60:19.
Lux Radio Theater, one of the genuine classic radio anthology series (NBC Blue Network, 1934-1935; CBS 1935-1955), adapted first Broadway stage and then (and especially) films to hour-long live radio presentations and became the standard by which future radio and early television anthologies would be judged. Cecil B. DeMille was the host of the series each Monday evening from June 1, 1936 until January 22, 1945. The Lux Radio Theater strove to feature as many of the original stars of the original stage and film productions as possible, usually paying them $5,000 an appearance to do the show. It was when sponsor Lever Brothers (who made Lux soap and detergent) moved the show from New York to Hollywood in 1936 that it eased back from adapting stage shows and toward adaptations of films. The first Lux film adaptation was The Legionnaire and the Lady, with Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable, based on the film Morocco. That was followed by a Lux adaptation of The Thin Man, featuring the movie's stars, Myrna Loy and William Powell.
The shows are classic chills from the old school, with creepy organ, overwrought women and over the top men. Perhaps not the highest of melodrama, but obsessively workmanlike. After all, they might have known they were a skeleton staff toiling relentlessly without a ghost of a chance of fame. Thanks to transcription, these unknowns are still with us. John Dunning, succinctly states in "On the Air, The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio," "There were no credits, so casts and production crews are unknown."
The first portrayal of Phillip Marlowe on the radio was by Dick Powell, when he played Raymond Chandler's detective on the Lux Radio Theater on June 11, 1945. This was a radio adaptation of the 1944 movie, from RKO, in which Mr. Powell played the lead. Two years later, Van Heflin starred as Marlowe in a summer replacement series for the Bob Hope Show on NBC. This series ran for 13 shows. On September 26, 1948, Gerald Mohr became the third radio Marlowe, this time on CBS. It remained a CBS show through its last show in 1951.
May 8, 1954. ABC network. "Captain Hackett's Planetoid". Sponsored by: Ralston cereals, Nestle's chocolate (Cosmic Rocket Launcher premium). When an old asteroid miner strikes "wolfenite" ore, Prince Bacaratti grubstakes him for his own evil purposes! Bela Kovacs, Dick Tufeld (announcer), Ed Kemmer, Ken Mayer, Larry Robertson (producer, director), Lou Houston (writer), Lyn Osborn, Mike Devry (executive producer), Mike Mosser (creator), Norman Jolley, Tony Sides. 29:40.
The Campbell Playhouse was a sponsored continuation of the Mercury Theater on the Air, a direct result of the instant publicity from the War of the Worlds panic. The switch occurred on December 9, 1938. In spite of using the same creative staff, the show had a different flavor under sponsorship, partially attributed to a guest star policy in place, which relegated the rest of the Mercury Players to supporting cast for Orson Welles and the Hollywood guest of the week. There was a growing schism between Welles, still reaping the rewards of his Halloween night notoriety, and his collaborator John Houseman, still in the producer's chair but feeling more like an employee than a partner. The writer, as during the unsponsored run, was Howard Koch.
THIS EPISODE:
Samuel Dodsworth (Walter Huston) is an ambitious automobile designer, who builds his fortunes in Zenith. In addition to his success in the business world, he succeeds in winning the hand of Fran Voelker (Ruth Chatterton), a beautiful socialite. At the age of fifty, he sets out to do what he had always wanted - take a leisurely trip to Europe with his wife. His forty-one year old wife, however, is dissatisfied with married life and wants to live in Europe, not just visit. Passing up advancement in his company, Dodsworth leaves for Europe with Fran. Soon, both Sam and Fran are caught up in vastly different lifestyles. Fran falls in with a crowd of frivolous socialites. Sam meets Edith Cortright (Mary Astor), a woman who is everything his wife is not: self-assured, self-confident, and able to take care of herself. As they follow their own pursuits, their marriage is strained to the breaking point. Both Sam and Fran are forced to choose between marriage and the new lifestyles they have pursued.
"Lost" (6-26-63) and "Battle Of The Monsters" (7-09-63)
Journey to the Center of the Earth is an 1864 science fiction novel by Jules Verne (published in the original French as Voyage au centre de la Terre). The story involves a professor who leads his nephew and hired guide down a volcano in Iceland to the "center of the Earth". They encounter many adventures, including prehistoric animals and natural hazards, eventually coming to the surface again in southern Italy. From a scientific point of view, this story has not aged quite as well as other Verne stories, since most of his ideas about what the interior of the Earth is like have since been proven wrong. However, a redeeming point to the story is Verne's own belief, told within the novel from the viewpoint of a character, that the inside of the Earth does indeed differ from that which the characters encounter. Compared to his previous works, Verne takes a radically different approach to storytelling by making the main character and narrator a 16 year old boy who relates to the events as his own adventures. It is unknown whether this was done under the influence of his publisher Hetzel who wanted to distribute Verne's work as aimed towards growing teens, but the result is quite remarkable. While his previous novel and many of his later works are in fact fictionalized science, this is a grippling story of the adventures of an adolescent boy, the science taking a backdrop against his own experiences.
The Fat Man" premiered on ABC on Monday, January 21, 1946, at 8:30pm, as part of a block of four new programs which also included "I Deal in Crime," "Forever Tops," and "Jimmy Gleason's Diner." "The Fat Man" originated in the studios of WJZ in New York and began as a modestly priced sustainer [no sponsor but the station] vaguely based upon character ideas in Dashiell Hammett's writings and fleshed out by producer, E.J. ("Mannie") Rosenberg. The announcer was Charles Irving. The directors for the program were Clark Andrews, creator of "Big Town," and Charles Powers. The main writer for the series was Richard Ellington, but it was also scripted by Robert Sloane, Lawrence Klee and others. The veteran character actor Ed Begley was featured as Sgt. O'Hara. Regulars on the program included Petty Garde, Paul Stewart, Linda Watkins, Mary Patton as Lila North, and Vicki Vola, also the female lead in "Mr. District Attorney." Amzie Strickland played the ingenue, Cathy Evans, and Nell Harrison played Runyon's mother during the early episodes. The cast also included Dan Ocko, Roily Bester (wife of Alfred Pester, the science fiction writer), and Robert Dryden. An eleven-piece orchestra was on hand to provide live music, and was directed by Bernard Green, who also wrote that memorably stirring theme. The sound effects were by Ed Blaney, who actually did drop a coin in a change slot each week for the sound of the drug store scale."
THIS EPISODE:
The Fat Man. April 1, 1949. ABC net. "Murder Wins The Draw". Sponsored by: Pepto Bismol, Unguentine. In Mexico, a beautiful woman leans Runyon to Guatemala City and a dead body in a hotel...murdered with a machete! J. Scott Smart, Dick Beals (commercial spokesman), Clark Andrews (director), Bernard Green (conductor), Bryna Raeburn, Charles Irving (announcer), Lawrence Klee (writer), Jean Ellen. 29:30
Crime Classics. August 3, 1953. CBS net origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "Mr. Thrower's Hammer". A gentleman of England in 1804 has bashed in the heads of a father and daughter. Eleven years later, a doubt arises. The program closing has been deleted. See cat. #65754 for a more complete, network version of this broadcast. The program is also known as, "The Dread Events Surrounding Mr. Throwers Hammer." Lou Merrill (host), Morton Fine (writer), David Friedkin (writer), Bernard Herrmann (composer, conductor), Elliott Lewis (producer, director), William Johnstone, Eric Snowden, Alistair Duncan, Bob Lemond (announcer), Jay Novello, Joseph Kearns, Paula Winslowe, Tudor Owen. 28:09.
Rearranging Furniture (3-26-59) and Party Invitation Lost (3-27-59)
The Couple Next Door was a Peg Lynch series which began in 1953-57 on Chicago's WGN, moving to the Mutual Broadcasting System in the summer of 1957. The married couple was played by Olan Soule and Elinor Harriot. It was revived on CBS Radio (December 30, 1957-November 25, 1960) with Peg Lynch and Alan Bunce as the unnamed married couple---essentially, it reprised Ethel and Albert but the new name was necessitated because Lynch had long since lost the rights to the original title. That still wasn't the end of the show---Lynch and Bunce brought the show to NBC's legendary weekend programming block Monitor in 1963, performing three- to four-minute vignettes not unlike the original fifteen-minute shows. Their presence continued a kind-of Monitor tradition of offering new material from classic radio favourites (including James and Marian Jordan of Fibber McGee and Molly fame, until Marian Jordan's death). Even more, it returned yet again in the 1970s, as a syndicated radio feature known as The Little Things in Life.
In October of 1934, "Lux Radio Theater" debuted in New York on NBC's Blue radio network. Presenting audio versions of popular Broadway plays, the show failed to garner an audience and soon ran out of material. After switching networks to CBS and moving to Hollywood, Lux found its true market. The show began featuring adaptations of popular films, performed by as many of the original stars as possible. With an endless supply of hit films scripts and an audience of more than 40 million, Lux enjoyed a prosperous run until the curtain fell in 1956.
THIS EPISODE:
Salute to the Marines from Lux Radio Theater aired November 8, 1943 starring Wallace Beery as Sgt. Maj. William Bailey and Fay Bainter as Jenny Bailey. Leatherneck, Wallace Beery, is back in uniform.
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
US 1944, b/w, 96 min.
With Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, Walter Slezak English and German w/English Subtitles. Based on a story by John Steinbeck, Lifeboat has Hitchcock skillfully blending elements of his trademark psychological thrillers with propaganda for the Allied cause during World War II. The film takes place on a lifeboat, where Allied survivors of a shipwreck caused by a German U-boat struggle to survive. When the group saves a Nazi from the water, tensions begin to mount in the confined space of the small boat. Tallulah Bankhead gives her definitive film performance as a materialistic reporter.
The Lineup is a realistic police drama that gives radio audiences a look behind the scenes at police headquarters. Bill Johnstone plays Lt. Ben Guthrie, a quiet, calm-as-a-cupcake cucumber. Joseph Kearns (and from 1951 to 1953, Matt Maher) plays Sgt. Matt Grebb, a hot-tempered hot plate who is easily bored. The director and script writer often rode with police on the job and sat in on the police lineups to get ideas for The Lineup. They also read dozens of newspapers daily and intermeshed real stories with those that they used in the show. With Dragnet a smash hit, realism in police dramas was popular at the time this show aired. Donât be caught without this radio show in your collection!
The Lineup is a realistic police drama that gives radio audiences a look behind the scenes at police headquarters. Bill Johnstone plays Lt. Ben Guthrie, a quiet, calm-as-a-cupcake cucumber. Joseph Kearns (and from 1951 to 1953, Matt Maher) plays Sgt. Matt Grebb, a hot-tempered hot plate who is easily bored. The director and script writer often rode with police on the job and sat in on the police lineups to get ideas for The Lineup. They also read dozens of newspapers daily and intermeshed real stories with those that they used in the show. With Dragnet a smash hit, realism in police dramas was popular at the time this show aired. Donât be caught without this radio show in your collection!
Let George Do It. January 2, 1950. Mutual-Don Lee net. "Needle In The Haystack". Sponsored by: Standard Oil, Chevron. Mr. Ferdinand Vase has had his most valuable possessions stolen...twelves roses! The roses were stolen in Pasadena, just before the Rose Bowl! George Valentine tries to nip a murder in the bud...a thorny problem! Ben Wright, Bob Bailey, Robert Griffin, Bud Hiestand (announcer), Clayton Post, David Victor (writer), Don Clark (director), Eddie Dunstedter (music), Jackson Gillis (writer), Stanley Farrar, Virginia Gregg, Wally Maher, William Conrad. 29:44.
Based on Craig Riceâs (a female crime novelist who rivaled Agatha Christie in book sales) novels of crime drama, Frank Lovejoy (and later Gene Raymond and George Petrie) plays âfictionâs most famous criminal lawyer,â John J. Malone. Mr. Malone is our amazing hero, a Chicago lawyer whose bar is more famous than Cheers. His hobby is collecting clichÃs, and each weeks show is based off of one: cleanliness is next to Godliness, a strong offense is the best defense, seek and ye shall find, and so on. Stories are gripping, from tales of Chicagoâs biggest operator who runs a nightclub and his right hand man, to a man looking for trouble in a hotel and finds it in room 419, to a story of a man who owns the most luscious gambling joint this side of Vegas. So brush up on your one liners, and grab your gun, because youâll want to tune in for this exciting half hour of mystery!
Audition #1 and Audition #2 - Trans-Pacific Matter (8-29-55)
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was a radio drama about a freelance insurance investigator that aired from February 11, 1949 to September 30, 1962 on CBS. There were 811 episodes in the 12-year run, and over 720 still exist today. Charles Russell was the first to star as Johnny Dollar, the smart and tough detective who tossed silver dollar tips to bellhops. With the first three actors to play Johnny Dollar there was little to distinguish it from other detective series at the time (Richard Diamond, Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade).While always a friend of the police,Johnny wasn't necessarily a stickler for the strictest interpretation of the law. He was willing to let some things slide to satisfy his own sense of justice, as long as the interests of his employer were protected.
Hercule Poirot (pronounced in English [??kyl pwa?o]) is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters: he appeared in 39 novels and 50 short stories. Poirot has been portrayed on screen, for films and TV, by various actors including Albert Finney, Peter Ustinov, Ian Holm, Tony Randall, Alfred Molina and, most recently, and famously, David Suchet. His character was based on two other fictional detectives of the time: Marie Belloc Lowndes' Hercule Popeau and Frank Howel Evans' Monsieur Poiret, a retired French police officer living in London. A more obvious influence on the early Poirot stories is that of Arthur Conan Doyle. In An Autobiography Christie admits that "I was still writing in the Sherlock Holmes tradition â eccentric detective, stooge assistant, with a Lestrade-type Scotland Yard detective, Inspector Japp."Poirot also bears a striking resemblance to A. E. W. Mason's fictional detective â Inspector Hanaud of the French surete-who, first appearing in the 1910 novel "At the Villa Rose," predates the writing of the first Poirot novel by six years.
Superman is a fictional character and regarded as the most influential and popular superhero of DC Comics. Created by Canadian-born artist Joe Shuster and American writer Jerry Siegel in 1932 and sold to Detective Comics, Inc. in 1938, Superman first appeared in Action Comics #1 (June 1938) and subsequently appeared in various radio serials, television programs, films, newspaper strips, and video games. With a premise that taps into adolescent fantasy, Superman is born Kal-El on the alien planet Krypton, before being rocketed to Earth as an infant by his scientist father moments before the planet's destruction. Adopted and raised by a Kansas farmer and his wife, the child is raised as Clark Kent, and imbued with a strong moral compass. Upon reaching maturity the character develops superhuman abilities, resolving to use these for the benefit of humanity. With the success of his adventures, Superman helped to create the superhero genre and establish its primacy within the American comic book. Superman is widely considered to be both one of the most famous and popular comic book superheroes of all time, and an American cultural icon.
THE PHILS SILVERS SHOW (aka YOU'LL NEVER GET RICH) remains the single most underrated sitcom in television history and that Phil Silvers remains the most underrated comedian in that medium. This is really saying something because the series has indeed received great acclaim over the years. Even so, Silvers is just not given his proper due for creating the Bilko character. As for the jewels in the supporting cast--they are simply terrific in this Nat Hiken creation that surely stands shoulder to shoulder with Jackie Gleason's THE HONEYMOONERS as perhaps the greatest sitcom ever on television. Silvers did not just play Ernie Bilko--he WAS Ernie Bilko! The character of the scheme-driven, gambling-addicted army sergeant forever duping the lovable Col. Hall (Paul Ford) while manipulating his platoon for his personal aggrandizement, is so fast-paced, fresh, and funny that one wonders if BILKO ought not be a stage play.
August 7, 1952. NBC net. "The Case Of The Rolling Stones". Sustaining. Not auditioned. Army Intelligence sends Mike Waring to Sicily, where "some boy is running wild with a knife." They want "The Falcon" to offer him a proposition "he might like to take a stab at." The system cue is added live. Fred Collins (announcer), Bernard L. Schubert (producer, transcriber), Richard Lewis (director), Eugene Wang (writer), Les Damon, Jone Allison, Drexel Drake (creator). 30:55.
Big Town is a radio show that aired from 1937 to 1952. Edward G. Robinson had the lead role of Steve Wilson from 1937 to 1942. Claire Trevor was Wilson's society editor sidekick Lorelei Kilbourne, with Ona Munson taking over that role in 1940. Edward J. Pawley portrayed Wilson from 1942 until 1952 when Walter Greaza was heard as Wilson in the final episodes in the radio series. When Big Town moved to television, the program was telecast live, but in 1952 the production switched to film after the move from New York City to Hollywood. The television series ran on CBS from 1950 through 1954, continuing on NBC from 1955 through 1956. Repeat episodes aired on the DuMont Network (under the title City Assignment) while Big Town was still showing first-run episodes on CBS. Reruns were also shown under the titles Heart of the City, Headline and Byline Steve Wilson.
Meaningful Stories from Years Past that Continue to Inspire Families Today. Families, then and now, face similar situations and struggles: communication, honesty, gambling, music, alcoholism, sports and many spiritual questions, such as life after death. How we address these struggles makes all the difference in strengthening our family bonds. These compelling half-hour dramas offer inspiring insights into how to build unity within your family. Join us on a visit with the stars of the past for an uplifting, humorous and meaningful look into family life.
This show is posted with the expressed written consent of the owner and exclusively granted to Boxcars711 Old Time Radio.
Hollywood Radio Theater (Lux), one of the genuine classic radio anthology series (NBC Blue Network, 1934-1935; CBS 1935-1955), adapted first Broadway stage and then (and especially) films to hour-long live radio presentations and became the standard by which future radio and early television anthologies would be judged. Cecil B. DeMille was the host of the series each Monday evening from June 1, 1936 until January 22, 1945.
Lux Radio Theater strove to feature as many of the original stars of the original stage and film productions as possible, usually paying them $5,000 an appearance to do the show. It was when sponsor Lever Brothers (who made Lux soap and detergent) moved the show from New York to Hollywood in 1936 that it eased back from adapting stage shows and toward adaptations of films. The first Lux film adaptation was The Legionnaire and the Lady, with Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable, based on the film Morocco. That was followed by a Lux adaptation of The Thin Man, featuring the movie's stars, Myrna Loy and William Powell.
ROCKY JORDAN was the title character of one of the better and more exotic radio detective series. In fact, it's one of the best detective series I have ever heard. The series had two separate incarnations. The first, A Man Named Jordan, started as a daily 15 minute show and after about six months changed to a weekly 30 minute show. It took place in Istanbul and the Cafe was described as "a small restaurant in a narrow street off Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, permeated with by the smoke of Oriental tobacco, alive with the babble of many tongues, and packed with intrigue." The second incarnation, Rocky Jordan, was a weekly 30 minute series took place in Cairo - "the gateway to the ancient East where adventure and intrigue unfold against the backdrop of antiquity." Jordan was a hard-boiled owner of the Cafe Tambourine who spent most of his time solving mysteries that he usually became involved in by accident. During the Cairo-based run, he often encountered Captain Sam Sabaaya of the Cairo police. John Dunning in his "On The Air: The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio" describes Jordan as "a rugged hero who each week was confronted by a crime, a mystery, a beautiful woman or a combination of the three. It was a detective show with a difference: the Oriental background was played to the hilt, giving it a sound like no other." The writers worked hard to give it authenticity - actual places and streets in Cairo were often and accurately mentioned. The music score also added to the exoticness of the series. Moyles, a veteran of radio, was much more believable in the role than Raft.
On July 25, 1946, Jerry began a show business partnership with Dean Martin, an association that would soon skyrocket both to fame. It started when Jerry was performing at the 500 Club in Atlantic City and one of the other entertainers quit suddenly. Lewis, who had worked with Martin at the Glass Hat in New York City, suggested Dean as a replacement. At first they worked separately, but then ad-libbed together, improvising insults and jokes, squirting seltzer water, hurling bunches of celery and exuding general zaniness. In less than eighteen weeks their salaries soared from $250.00 a week to $5,000.00. For ten years Martin and Lewis sandwiched sixteen money making films between nightclub engagements, personal appearances, recording sessions, radio shows, and television bookings. Their last film together was "Hollywood or Bust" (1956). On July 25th of that year the two made their last nightclub appearance together at the Copacabana, exactly ten years to the day since they became a team.
THIS EPISODE:
The Martin and Lewis Show. March 24, 1949. NBC net. Sustaining. Possibly their first show for NBC. Unedited tape, lots of wild ad libs with Bob. The program aired right before the program with guest William Bendix. The above date might be the recording session, possibly for broadcast April 3, 1949. Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope, Flo McMichaels, Michael Roy, The Martingales, Dick Stabile and His Orchestra. 43:59
Murder At Midnight â 1946-1947
The Murder at Midnight series was a thirty-minute broadcast featuring tales of the supernatural. The actors included Mercedes McCambridge and Lawson Zerbe and the show was narrated using the spooky, creepy voice of Raymond Morgan and always opened using the same gripping signature; âthe witching hour, when night is darkest, our fears are the strongest, our strength at its lowest ebbâ Midnight! â when graves gape open and death strikes!â
CAST: Elspeth Eric, Mercedes McCambridge, Berry Kroeger, Betty Caine, Carl Frank, Barry Hopkins, Lawson Zerbe, Charlotte Holland
NARRATORS: Raymond Morgan
MUSIC: Charles Paul
PRODUCERS/DIRECTORS: Lewis G Cowan, Anton M Leader
WRITERS: Robert Newman, Joseph Ruscoll, Max Ehrlich, William Morwood
Tuska cited Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940) and Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery (1941) as the best of the Bellamy-Lindsay pairings. "The influence of The Thin Man series was apparent in reverse", Tuska noted about Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery. "Ellery and Nikki are unmarried but obviously in love with each other. Probably the biggest mystery... is how Ellery ever gets a book written. Not only is Nikki attractive and perfectly willing to show off her figure", Tuska wrote, "but she also likes to write her own stories on Queen's time, and gets carried away doing her own investigations." In Ellery Queen, Master Detective, "the amorous relationship between Ellery and Nikki Porter was given a dignity, and therefore integrity", Tuska wrote, "that was lacking in the two previous entries in the series", made at Republic Pictures before Bellamy and Lindsay were signed by Columbia.
Michael Shayne was a fictional sleuth created by Brett Halliday (a pen name for author Davis Dresser) who was first initiated into the fraternity for detectives in the 1939 novel "Dividend of Death". Dresser based the character on a âtall and rangyâ brawler who once saved his life during a braw in a Mexican cantina. The Shayne character would go on to appear in 69 novels, plus a long-running mystery magazineâand in 1941, was brought to the silver screen in Paramountâs Michael Shayne, Private Detective, an adaptation of Dividend of Death that starred Lloyd Nolan, and paved the way for six additional B-mysteries to follow. The New Adventures of Michael Shayneâpremiered on July 15, 1948 starring Jeff Chandler.
A happy-go-lucking West Virginia mountain family picks up stakes and moves to a ranch in California's San Fernando Valley. Center of the action, and undisputed star of the show, was Grandpa, a porch-rockin', gol-darnin', consarnin' old geezer with a wheezy voice who liked to meddle in practically everybody's affairs, neighbors and kin alike. His kin were grandson Luke and his new bride, Kate; Luke's teenage sister, Hassie; and Luke's 11-year-old brother, Little Luke (their parents were deceased). Completing the regular cast were Pepino, their loyal farm hand; George MacMichael, their crusty neighbor and Amos' best friend; and Flora, George's spinster sister who had eyes for Amos. Grandpappy Amos was an incorrigible codger who was against anything anyone else was for. He had the regulation Heart of Gold stuck away somewhere, but he was cantankerous as all get out. With his shoulders and arms jumping, Amos walked like a chicken with a limp. He bullied, he blustered, he cajoled, he did everything he could to get his own way. His not being able to read or write got him into many predicaments, for he would never admit to being illiterate to anyone outside the family. In 1962 the series moved to CBS. Luke became a widower and many of the plots began to revolve around Grandpa's attempts to match him up with a new wife.
Escape was radio's leading anthology series of high adventure, airing on CBS from July 7, 1947 to September 25, 1954. Since the program did not have a regular sponsor like Suspense, it was subjected to frequent schedule shifts and lower production budgets, although Richfield Oil signed on as a sponsor for five months in 1950. Despite these problems, Escape enthralled many listeners during its seven-year run. The series' well-remembered opening combined Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain with the introduction, intoned by Paul Frees and William Conrad: âTired of the everyday routine? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... Escape!â
First show: Mar 26, 1951
Last show: Sep 15, 1952
The Hollywood husband and wife team of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall set sail for adventure in the Bold Venture radio series in early 1951. There were well over 400 stations that aired the program. Since thiswas syndicated * the starting date varied from station to station but Mar 26, 1951 was the official date of the first show. Humphrey Bogart portrayed Slate Shannon, owner of a rundown Havana hotel, Shannon's Place. The action took place on land as well aboard Slate's boat, The Bold Venture, thus the title of the series. Lauren Bacall was his ward Sailor Duval, a stubborn and flirtatious young woman whose late father had willed her to Slate for her protection. Together the duo found adventure, intrigue, mystery and romance in the sultry settings of tropical Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean.
The Twilight Zone is a television anthology series created (and often written) by its narrator and host Rod Serling. Each episode (156 in the original series) is a self-contained fantasy, science fiction, or horror/terror story, often concluding with an eerie or unexpected twist. Although advertised as science fiction, the show rarely offered scientific explanations for its fantastic happenings and often, if not always, had a moral lesson that pertained to everyday life. The program followed in the tradition of earlier well written radio programs such as The Weird Circle and X Minus One. A popular and critical success, it introduced many Americans to serious science fiction ideas through television and also through a wide variety of Twilight Zone literature. The success of this original series led to the creation of two revival series (a cult hit series that ran for several seasons on CBS and in syndication in the '80s, and a short-lived UPN series that ran early in the new millennium), a feature film, a radio series, a comic book, a magazine and various other spinoffs that would span five decades. Writers for The Twilight Zone included leading genre authorities such as Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, Jerry Sohl, George Clayton Johnson, Earl Hamner Jr., Reginald Rose and Ray Bradbury. Many episodes also featured adaptations of classic stories by such writers as Ambrose Bierce, Lewis Padgett, Jerome Bixby and Damon Knight.
Dan Garrett, rookie policeman, is secretly the Blue Beetle, friend of the unfortunate and crusader for the law. He is loved by everyone (including the chief's daughter) and suspected of being the Blue Beetle by none. He hides behind a strange mask and wears a blue costume that is as flexible as silk but as strong as steel.
General Electric Theater featured a mix of romance, comedy, adventure, tragedy, fantasy and variety music. Occupying the Sunday evening spot on CBS following the Toast of the Town/Ed Sullivan Show from 1 February 1953 to 27 May 1962, the General Electric Theater presented top Hollywood and Broadway stars in dramatic roles calculated to deliver company voice advertising to the largest possible audience. Despite a long technical and practical experience with television production, GE's previous attempts to establish a Sunday evening company program had fared poorly. In the fall of 1948 GE entered commercial television for the first time with the Dennis James Carnival, a variety show dropped after one performance. A quiz program entitled Riddle Me This substituted for twelve weeks and was also dropped. In April 1949 GE returned to Sunday evenings with the musical-variety Fred Waring Show Produced by the Young & Rubicam advertising agency under the sponsorship of GE's Appliance, Electronics and Lamp Divisions, the program occasionally included company voice messages. In November 1951 GE transferred television production to the Batten, Barton, Durstine and Osborn (BBDO) advertising agency, under whose direction the General Electric Theater debuted 1 February 1953 as an "all-company project" sponsored by GE's Department of Public Relations Services.
The Day Th Earth Stood Still (1979) *Exact Date Is Unknown
The Day the Earth Stood Still tells the story of a humanoid alien who comes to Earth to warn its leaders not to take their conflicts into space, or they will face lethal consequences. One of the ten best Sci-Fi of all time. This radio version is from Hollywood Radio Theater. Stars Michael Rennie as Klaatu Patricia Neal as Helen Benson William.
Philo Vance was the detective creation of S. S. Van Dine first published in the mid 1920's. Vance, in the original books, is an intellectual so highly refined he's seems he might be ghostwritten by P. G. Wodehouse. Take this quote from the Benson Murder Case, 1924, as Vance pontificates in his inimitable way "That's your fundamental error, don't y' know Every crime is witnessed by outsiders, just as is every work of art. The fact that no one sees the criminal, or the artist, actu'lly at work, is wholly incons'quential." Thankfully, the radio series uses only the name, and makes Philo a pretty normal, though very intelligent and extremely courteous gumshoe. Jose Ferrer played him in 1945. From '48-50, the fine radio actor Jackson Beck makes Vance as good as he gets. George Petrie plays Vance's constantly impressed public servant, District Attorney Markham. Joan Alexander is Ellen Deering, Vance's secretary and right-hand woman.
Ronald Colman and his wife Benita Hume starred in the Halls of Ivy, a very well-written, superbly acted radio program that was full of warmth and wit. The show aired from 1950 to 1952 on NBC and is not often mentioned when old-time radio programs are the topic of conversation, but it is one of my favorites. The combination of Mr. & Mrs. Colman's acting and Don Quinn's writing made for an enjoyable half-hour's worth of entertainment. The show was created by Don Quinn who for many, many years put words in the mouths of Fibber McGee and Molly. Quinn wrote jokes that made you think. On the McGee program there was a fast and furious onslaught of crazy puns, mangled cliches, and double-meanings. Sometimes all at once -- when delivered by the superb timing of the talented Jim Jordan as Fibber.
MURDER IS MY BUSINESS *Exact Date Is Unknown
The shows are classic chills from the old school, with creepy organ, overwrought women and over the top men. Perhaps not the highest of melodrama, but obsessively workmanlike. After all, they might have known they were a skeleton staff toiling relentlessly without a ghost of a chance of fame. Thanks to transcription, these unknowns are still with us. John Dunning, succinctly states in "On the Air, The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio," "There were no credits, so casts and production crews are unknown."
Opening in 1875, the Crime Museum at Scotland Yard is the oldest museum in the world purely for recording crime. The name Black Museum was coined in 1877 by a reporter from The Observer, a London newspaper, although the museum is still referred to as the Crime Museum. The idea of a crime museum was conceived by Inspector Neame who had already collected together a number of items, with the intention of giving police officers practical instruction on how to detect and prevent burglary. It is this museum that inspired the Black Musuem radio series.
THIS EPISODE *Exact Air Date Unknown - Rebroadcast 9/18/74
1952 - Syndicated, WRVR-FM, New York aircheck. "The Door Key". Sponsored by: Hemlock Farms. A key is found beside a dead body. The actual date is unknown. Syndicated rebroadcast date: September 18, 1974. Harry Alan Towers (producer), Orson Welles (narrator), Ira Marion (writer), Sidney Torch (composer, conductor). 28:18
Gang Busters was an American dramatic radio program heralded as "the only national program that brings you authentic police case histories." It premiered as G-Men, sponsored by Chevrolet, on July 20, 1935. After the title was changed to Gang Busters January 15, 1936, the show had a 21-year run through November 20, 1957. Beginning with a barrage of loud sound effects â guns firing and tires squealing â this intrusive introduction led to the popular catch phrase "came on like Gang Busters."The series dramatized FBI cases, which producer-director Phillips H. Lord arranged in close association with Bureau director J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover insisted that only closed cases would be used. The initial series was on NBC Radio from July 20 - October 12, 1935. It then aired on CBS from January 15, 1936 to June 15, 1940, sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive and Cue magazine. From October 11, 1940 to December 25, 1948, it was heard on the Blue Network, with various sponsors that included Sloan's Liniment, Waterman pens and Tide. Returning to CBS on January 8, 1949, it ran until June 25, 1955, sponsored by Grape-Nuts and Wrigley's chewing gum. The final series was on the Mutual Broadcasting System from October 5, 1955 to November 27, 1957. It was once narrated by Norman Schwarzkopf, Sr., former head of the New Jersey State Police. The radio series was adapted for DC Comics, Big Little Books and a 1942 movie serial. The 1952 Gang Busters TV series was reedited into two feature films, Gang Busters (1954) and Guns Don't Argue (1957).
Arch Oboler's Plays was a radio drama series written, produced and directed by Arch Oboler. Minus a sponsor, it ran for one year, airing Saturday evenings on NBC from March 25, 1939 to March 23, 1940 and revived five years later on Mutual for a sustaining summer run from April 5, 1945 to October 11, 1945. Leading film actors were heard on this series, including Gloria Blondell, Eddie Cantor, James Cagney, Ronald Colman, Joan Crawford, Greer Garson, Edmund Gwenn, Van Heflin, Katharine Hepburn, Elsa Lanchester, Peter Lorre, Frank Lovejoy, Raymond Massey, Burgess Meredith, Paul Muni, Alla Nazimova, Edmond O'Brien, Geraldine Page, Gale Sondergaard, Franchot Tone and George Zucco.
Thus with the pounding of the gavel, the fate of men and women have been decided by the judge. This is the story of our legal rights, the battle to preserve and protect them, and how easily they can be lost. The program shows us just how fragile liberty and justice can be. These stories of everyday events are still interesting, even after 50 years. Stories of criminal liability, legal wills, buying on installment, and leasing an apartment. Each story is well written, and the acting, though dated and a bit hokey by todayâs standards, still manages to achieve the desired effect. Not much information is available for this series, it was apparently broadcast on a limited basis, and originated on WMAQ Chicago, an NBC station. It was comprised of thirteen episodes, twelve of which are currently available, and was heard from January 30, 1954 through April 24, 1954.
Amos 'n' Andy, still written entirely by the two stars, was the top-rated program of all in 1930, with a 54.4 rating and 30 million listeners (compare that to the Super Bowl's 44.2 rating in 2004). By this time, the wily, coniving Kingfish was becoming a major personality, eventually supplanting sensible Amos as star of the show (Freeman Gosden gave voice to both characters while Charles Correll played Andrew H. Brown).
One of the most popular radio shows in history debuted in August 1930 when "The Shadow" went on the air. "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!" The opening lines of the "Detective Story" program captivated listeners and are instantly recognizable even today. Originally the narrator of the series of macabre tales, the eerie voice known as The Shadow became so popular to listeners that "Detective Story" was soon renamed "The Shadow," and the narrator became the star of the old-time mystery radio series, which ran until 1954. A figure never seen, only heard, the Shadow was an invincible crime fighter. He possessed many gifts which enabled him to overcome any enemy. Besides his tremendous strength, he could defy gravity, speak any language, unravel any code, and become invisible with his famous ability to "cloud men's minds."
"Are you willing to undertake a dangerous mission for the United States, knowing in advance you may never return alive?" Cloak and Dagger first aired over the NBC network on May 7, 1950. It had a short run through the Summer on Sundays, changing to Fridays after its Summer run. The last show aired Oct. 22, 1950. This is the story of the WWII special governmental agency, the OSS, or Office of Strategic Services. Its mission was to develop and maintain spy networks throughout Europe and into Asia, while giving aid to underground partisan groups and developing espionage activities for Allied forces overseas.The show is based on the book of the same name by Lt. Col. Corey Ford and Major Alastair MacBain (who were associated with the OSS from its early days.) The dramas are not Hollywood-style, in that they sometimes end with plans foiled or leading characters dead.
Theater Five was ABC's attempt to revive radio drama during the early 1960s. The series name was derived from its time slot, 5:00 PM. Running Monday through Friday, it was an anthology of short stories, each about 20 minutes long. News programs and commercials filled out the full 30 minutes. There was a good bit of science fiction and some of the plots seem to have been taken from the daily newspaper. Fred Foy, of The Lone Ranger fame, was an ABC staff announcer in the early 60s, who, among other duties, did Theater Five.
Academy Award Theater began its full 39 week season with a high note -- with Bette Davis in her Oscar winning role in Jezebel. By looking at the list of actors who appeared during the series, you can see that this series ranked up there with the Lux Radio Theater in its range of movies chosen to be dramatized as well as the actors involved. Gene Hersholt, veteran radio and movie star, spoke as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences during the first show welcoming the E.R. Squibb Co., giant pharmaceutical company as sponsor. These 30 minute programs consisted of dramnatizations of movies whose pictures, players, techniques, and skills won or were nominated for the coveted golden Oscars.
Perry Mason is the longest running lawyer show in American television history. Its original run lasted nine years and its success in both syndication and made-for-television movies confirm its impressive stamina. Mason's fans include lawyers and judges who were influenced by this series to enter their profession. The Mason character was created by mystery writer Erle Stanley Gardner and delivered his first brief in the novel The Case of the Velvet Claws (1933). From 1934 to 1937 Warners produced six films featuring Mason. A radio series also based on Mason ran every weekday afternoon on CBS radio from 1944 to 1955 as a detective/soap opera. When the CBS television series was developed as an evening drama, the radio series was changed from Perry Mason to The Edge of Night and the cast renamed so as not to compete against the television series.
General Electric Theater featured a mix of romance, comedy, adventure, tragedy, fantasy and variety music. Occupying the Sunday evening spot on CBS following the Toast of the Town/Ed Sullivan Show from 1 February 1953 to 27 May 1962, the General Electric Theater presented top Hollywood and Broadway stars in dramatic roles calculated to deliver company voice advertising to the largest possible audience. Despite a long technical and practical experience with television production, GE's previous attempts to establish a Sunday evening company program had fared poorly. In the fall of 1948 GE entered commercial television for the first time with the Dennis James Carnival, a variety show dropped after one performance. A quiz program entitled Riddle Me This substituted for twelve weeks and was also dropped. In April 1949 GE returned to Sunday evenings with the musical-variety Fred Waring Show Produced by the Young & Rubicam advertising agency under the sponsorship of GE's Appliance, Electronics and Lamp Divisions, the program occasionally included company voice messages. In November 1951 GE transferred television production to the Batten, Barton, Durstine and Osborn (BBDO) advertising agency, under whose direction the General Electric Theater debuted 1 February 1953 as an "all-company project" sponsored by GE's Department of Public Relations Services.
The adventures of Casey, crack photographer for The Morning Express, were told in this series, which moved to television after a highly successful run on radio in the 1940âs. Casey hung out at the Blue Note CafÃ, where the music was provided by the Tony Mottola Trio, and was friendly with Ethelbert, the bartender, to whom he recounted his various exploits. Richard Carlyle and John Gibson portrayed the roles when the series premiered in April, 1951, but by June they were replaced by Darren McGavin and Cliff Hall. Ann Williams, a reporter on The Morning Express, was Caseyâs girlfriend. During the summer of 1951 he acquired a partner in cub reporter Jack Lipman, who wrote copy to go with Caseyâs pictures. This live series was set in and broadcast from, New York City.
The Brownstone Theater. February 21, 1945. Mutual net. "The Lion and The Mouse". Sustaining. 9:30 P. M. (EWT) The first show of the series. The story of a powerful man and a more powerful woman. The program originates from The Longacre Theatre. Gertrude Warner, Jackson Beck, Jock MacGregor (producer, director), Clayton Hamilton (host), Charles Klein (author), Peggy L. Mayer (adaptor), Sylvan Levin (music director). 28:44.
The show first broadcast its fantastic thirty-minute crime mystery series in May 1942 and did not finish until September 1948. There were more than 450 shows of murder and intrigue in all. Although it ran for 6 years it was broadcast for only one year on a national network. The show opened to the sound of footsteps and an eerie whistle, which went on throughout the introductory music. The Whistler always began the show with the opening lines; I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak??
The Campbell Playhouse was a sponsored continuation of the Mercury Theater on the Air, a direct result of the instant publicity from the War of the Worlds panic. The switch occurred on December 9, 1938. In spite of using the same creative staff, the show had a different flavor under sponsorship, partially attributed to a guest star policy in place, which relegated the rest of the Mercury Players to supporting cast for Orson Welles and the Hollywood guest of the week. There was a growing schism between Welles, still reaping the rewards of his Halloween night notoriety, and his collaborator John Houseman, still in the producer's chair but feeling more like an employee than a partner. The writer, as during the unsponsored run, was Howard Koch.
The 1950's saw both the twilight of the Golden Age of Radio and the birth of the science fiction radio series. Science fiction was not new to radio before 1950, but it was either targeted to juvenile audiences or were shows in a broader series, for example, ESCAPE's "The Time Machine". On March 15, 1950, the first show of Mutual's 2000 PLUS aired, becoming the very first true science fiction series in the US. DIMENSION X followed shortly on April 8, 1950 over NBC stations. TALES OF TOMORROW was the third dedicated science fiction series, over the stations of the American Broadcasting Corporation, following DIMENSION X by almost 2 years. The host of the show was Raymond Edward Johnson, of INNER SANCTUM fame. Mr. Johnson handled TALES OF TOMORROW openings in a similar fashion to INNER SANCTUM openings, but with a "science fiction" flavor, instead of a "macabre" sense.The shows of this series were quite good, borrowing ideas from stories in "Galaxy" magazine. Some of the story titles may seem familiar, like "The Stars Are The Styx", "The Girls From Earth" or "The Old Die Rich". These titles would appear later in CBS's X MINUS ONE. "Watch Bird" would later be done in South Africa, in a series entitled SF68. But radio was on the decline. TALES OF TOMORROW lasted only until April of that year, airing only 15 shows.
Maisie, the first in 1939, was from the book "Dark Dame" by the writer Wilson Collison,who did decades of scripting for the silver screen along with Broadway plays and magazine fiction. From the first, MGM wanted Ann Sothern to play Maisie. She began in Hollywood as an extra in 1927. "Maisie and I were just together - I just understood her," Sothern, born Harriette Arlene Lake, said after several of the films made her a star. Throughout the 1930s and '40s, Ann Sothern and Lucille Ball, like many performers in Hollywood, had not one but two careers - one in motion pictures and one on radio. MGM Studios had created the series of ten motion pictures based on a brash blonde with a heart "of spun gold." Maisie, the first in 1939, was from the book "Dark Dame" by the writer Wilson Collison, who did decades of scripting for the silver screen along with Broadway plays and magazine fiction.
There were four series under the HALL OF FANTASY banner, all produced by Richard Thorne. The first HALL OF FANTASY originated from radio station KALL in Salt Lake City, Utah. Richard Thorne and Carl Greyson were announcers for the station and produced the rather barebones shows, possibly late in 1946 and into 1947. The series consisted of 26 shows. Broadcast dates for the shows are not known. The shows were written or adapted by Robert Olson and directed by Mr. Thorne. Most were classic murder mysteries with traditional endings; the evil-doer got his just rewards. The series was sponsored by the Granite Furniture Company, although existing shows are missing the commercials, apparently because they were inserted live.
On January 31, 1936, the Green Hornet radio program aired on WXYZ in Detroit, Michigan. Al Hodge played the part of the Green Hornet from 1936 through January of 1943. The program was created by George W. Trendle, the same man associated with the creation of the Lone Ranger radio show. The premise of the Green Hornet was that of a modern day Lone Ranger. The main character was Britt Reid, a newspaper publisher of the Daily Sentinel by day and the Green Hornet by night. Britt Reid was the great-nephew of the Lone Ranger. Britt Reid's war against crime was an extension of his family history. The Green Hornet fought crime with his high-powered car, the Black Beauty. He also utilized a gun that fired knockout gas instead of bullets. His fists also came in handy on a regular basis. He was assisted by his Filipino valet, Kato. Kato would drive the Black Beauty, keep watch out for the police or the bad guys and sometimes lend a helping fist to the fighting. The Green Hornet pretended to be a villain while really battling the forces of crime in the big city. This would make for some interesting plot twists as the Green Hornet would be actively avoiding detection by the police while at the same time attempting to destroy criminal activity in the city. Many times the Green Hornet would lead the police to believe that the Green Hornet had been the mastermind of the case at hand. The police would receive an anonymous tip of where they could pick up the now subdued crooks with the Green Hornet just barely making his escape from the scene. The Green Hornet would be alerted to criminal activity through his job as editor of the Daily Sentinel. The crime stories would lead Britt Reid to transform into the Green Hornet to battle crime at night.
THE LUX RADIO THEATER was first heard on NBC October 14, 1934 as a Sunday afternoon show. On July 19, 1935, it moved to CBS and into it's long running Monday night time slot. All shows were one hour long. Less than a year after it's arrival on the air, the series' ratings began to drop. Danny Danker, an executive working for the advertising agency handling the Lux account, was given the responsibility to improve the show. What the show needed was extravaganza, and what the show got was Cecil B. DeMille. With DeMille as host, THE LUX RADIO THEATER brought in big name stars and brought the show back up to the top of the charts. DeMille became an institution on the show, conveying an almost frantic "the show must go on" attitude. Mr. DeMille left after the Jan. 22, 1945 show. The role of show host changed a number of times through the remainder of the show's history. William Keightley was the last host, remaining for the show's last curtain call on June 7, 1955. The CBS series ran through the Summer initially. It was off for the Summer every season after the first season. In 1953, CBS offered the Lux Summer Theater, a series of 14 hour-long shows, that aired in the same time slot as the regular Lux series. Both times that Lux was heard on NBC was for a single season.
This show was based on the life of real treasury dept. gangbuster Eliot Ness, who had in fact played an important part in stopping the power of the notorious Al Capone in 1931 Chicago. The Ness autobiography served as the basis of a two-part semidocumentary dramatization of the Capone affair, presented on a 1959 Desilu Playhouse. It was a huge hit that turned into a regular series the next fall. It followed Ness and his small band of incorruptible agents (called the "Untouchables" by a Chicago newspaper) as they battled the worst people in organized crime. (Ness had in real life disbanded the Untouchables after cracking the Capone case, and had nothing to do with most of the cases dramatized on TV.) The Untouchables went after hoods like Bugs Moran, in whose garage the St. Valentine's Day Massacre took place.
From 01/09/49 to 09/28/51 this series was greatly enjoyed by the radio listening audience. It opened as NBC Theater and was also known as The Screen Directorâs Guild and The Screen Directorâs Assignment. But most people remember it simply as Screen Directorâs Playhouse. Many of the Hollywood elite were heard recreating their screen roles over the radio. John Wayne in his rare radio appearances, Cary Grant, Edward G. Robinson, Lucille Ball, Claire Trevor, Tallulah Bankhead and many others were on the air week after week during these broadcasts. Many of Hollywoodâs directors were also heard in the recreation of their movies. The President of the Screen Directorâs Guild appeared on 02/13/49, and Violinist Isaac Stern supplied the music for the 04/19/51 broadcast.
LAST BROADCAST: July 1st 1953
SPONSORS: Ford Motors, General Mills
CAST: Brian Donlevy, Herb Butterfield, GeGe Pearson, Ken Peters, Betty Lou Gerson, Dan OâHerlihy
ANNOUNCERS: John Storm
PRODUCERS/DIRECTORS: Don Sharpe
WRITERS: Bob Ryf
ORCHESTRA: Steve Ashley
Dangerous Assignment â 1950-1954
This thirty-minute spy adventure featured Steve Mitchell, and investigator of crimes in exotic locations. 60 episodes. The opening was the same every week âYeah, danger is my assignment. I get sent to a lot of places I canât even pronounce. They all spell the same thing though, trouble.â He would be summoned to his bossâs office where he would be given his assignment; he would then fly halfway across the globe to save the day!
Lights Out was an American old-time radio program featuring "tales of the supernatural and the supernormal." It was immensely popular, and was one of the first horror programs, predating Suspense and Inner Sanctum. In its heydey, Lights Out rivalled the popularity of those shows. Lights Out ran through several series and networks, from January 1, 1934 to August 6, 1947. The principal sponsor was Ironized Yeast. Most episodes were broadcast at midnight. Lights Out then made the transition to television in 1949, where it was broadcast until 1952. Created in Chicago by writer Wyllis Cooper in 1934.
The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Gale Gordon in the title role, took over where Sherlock Holmes had left off. Sponsored by Petri wine, it used the same "weekly visit" format and the same team of Anthony Boucher and Dennis Green that had written The New Adventured of Sherlock Holmes. Gregory Hood was modelled after true-life San Francisco importer Richard Gump, and many of the stories revolve around a mystery surrounding some particular imported treasure. Hood's sidekick Sanderson "Sandy" Taylor was played by Bill Johnstone. The show aired from June, 1946 through August, 1950. There were an additional couple of shows aired in October 1951. Hood and Sanderson were played in later episodes by Elliott Lewis and Howard McNear, respectively.
The first portrayal of Phillip Marlowe on the radio was by Dick Powell, when he played Raymond Chandler's detective on the Lux Radio Theater on June 11, 1945. This was a radio adaptation of the 1944 movie, from RKO, in which Mr. Powell played the lead. Two years later, Van Heflin starred as Marlowe in a summer replacement series for the Bob Hope Show on NBC. This series ran for 13 shows. On September 26, 1948, Gerald Mohr became the third radio Marlowe, this time on CBS. It remained a CBS show through its last show in 1951.
Abbott and Costello William (Bud) Abbott and Lou Costello (born Louis Francis Cristillo) were an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film and television made them one of the most popular teams in the history of comedy. Thanks to the endurance of their most popular and influential routine, "Who's on First?" â whose rapid-fire word play and comprehension confusion set the preponderant framework for most of their best-known routines â the team is, as a result, featured in the Baseball Hall of Fame. (Contrary to popular belief, however, the duo was not inducted into the Hall). Bud Abbott was born in Asbury Park, NJ, October 2, 1895 and died April 24, 1974 in Woodland Hills, California. Lou Costello was born in Paterson, NJ, March 6, 1906 and died March 3, 1959 in East Los Angeles, California.
The Damon Runyon Theater was a 52 show series that was syndicated across the USA beginning in early 1949. Damon Runyon was a gifted sports writer in New York City as well as being a great journalist and great short story writer. His stories were humorous ones, written in the "dem" and "dose" vernacular of the city's loveable and not so loveable characters of Broadway, the prize ring and the underworld. His most famous collection of short stories, Guys and Dolls, was on Broadway and later made into a movie. Many of his stories were filmed including Sorrowful Jones, A Pocketful of Miracles, Lady for a Day, Blue Plate Special, The Lemon Drop Kid (twice) and Little Miss Marker (four times). In addition to this The Damon Runyon Theater was syndicated for television in the mid 1950s.
Frank Lovejoy stars as Randy Stone, a toughened, street-wise Chicago Star reporter working the Nightbeat in the early 1950's. Sometimes the capers are cops and robbers. Or just normal people in trouble. Sometimes they deserve it. Sometimes fate twists their arm. Sometimes they're just too scared or confused to know the difference. Lovejoy is a seasoned pro of radio and film with an honest, gripping delivery. Solid supporting casts, good writing and direction.
In 1937, Americans began a Sunday night ritual that lasted three decades. They tuned in to the Bergen and McCarthy show. It was the top program on radio and Hollywood's top movie stars lined up to make cameos. They included Mae West, whose flirtations with McCarthy got her banned from NBC for 15 years, and Marilyn Monroe, who once became "engaged" to marry McCarthy -- a stunt that ended when the dummy couldn't submit to a blood test. The arrival of television produced a new set of star ventriloquists, including Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney, and Senor Wences and Pedro, the famous head-in-the-box who's favorite phrase was "S'awright!" But none was as enduring as Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop, who debuted in 1957 on the Captain Kangaroo Show. Lewis went on to star in several children's TV shows in a career that spanned five decades, until her death in 1998. Asbury says she was more than just the best female ventriloquist -- she may have been the best ventriloquist ever because of "boundless talent and energy" and her ability to change with the times.
Inner Sanctum Mysteries was a popular old-time radio program that aired from January 7, 1941 to October 5, 1952. Created by Himan Brown, the anthology series featured stories of mystery, terror and suspense. The tongue-in-cheek introductions were in sharp contrast to shows like Suspense and The Whistler. A total of 526 episodes are known to have been produced. The early 1940s programs opened with Raymond Edward Johnson introducing himself as, "Your host, Raymond," in a mocking sardonic voice. A spooky melodramatic organ score punctuated Raymond's many morbid jokes and playful puns. Raymond's closing was an elongated "Pleasant dreeeammsss?!" His tongue-in-cheek style and ghoulish relish of his own tales became the standard for many such horror narrators to follow, from fellow radio hosts like Ernest Chappell (on Cooper's later series, Quiet, Please) and Maurice Tarplin (on The Mysterious Traveler) to EC Comics' Crypt-Keeper in various incarnations of Tales from the Crypt. In interviews, EC publisher Bill Gaines stated that he based EC's three horror hosts not on Raymond but on Old Nancy, host of radio's earlier The Witch's Tale (1931-38).When Johnson left the series in 1946, he was replaced by Paul McGrath, who did not keep the "Raymond" name and was known only as "your host" or "Mr. Host." Beginning in 1945, Lipton Tea sponsored the series, pairing first Raymond and then McGrath with cheery commercial spokeswoman Mary Bennett, whose blithesome pitches for Lipton tea contrasted sharply with the macabre themes of the stories, and who primly chided the host for his trademark dark humor and creepy manner.
Blackie was a tough, wisecracking private detective working in New York, billed as "enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend." His speciality was making fools of the police, a simple task with Inspector Farraday heading the official investigations. "An enemy to those who call him an enemy, a friend to those who have no friends." Boston Blackie is a reformed jewel thief who is never far from trouble. Inspector Farraday of the homicide squad tries to pin Blackie for the crime in every episode. To save his own skin, with the help of his girlfriend Mary and sidekick Shorty, Blackie ends up solving the case.
Lux Radio Theater, one of the genuine classic radio anthology series (NBC Blue Network (1934-1935); CBS (1935-1954); NBC (1954-1955)) adapted first Broadway stage works, and then (especially) films to hour-long live radio presentations. It quickly became the most popular dramatic anthology series on radio, running more than twenty years. The program always began with an announcer proclaiming, "Ladies and gentlemen, Lux presents Hollywood!" Cecil B. DeMille was the host of the series each Monday evening from June 1, 1936, until January 22, 1945. On one occasion, however, he was replaced by Leslie Howard. Lux Radio Theater strove to feature as many of the original stars of the original stage and film productions as possible, usually paying them $5,000 an appearance to do the show. It was when sponsor Lever Brothers (who made Lux soap and detergent) moved the show from New York City to Hollywood in 1936 that it eased back from adapting stage shows and toward adaptations of films. The first Lux film adaptation was The Legionnaire and the Lady, with Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable, based on the film Morocco. That was followed by a Lux adaptation of The Thin Man, featuring the movie's stars, Myrna Loy and William Powell.
Many of the greatest names in film appeared in the series, most in the roles they made famous on the screen, including Abbott and Costello, Lauren Bacall, Lucille Ball, Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, Charles Boyer, Claudette Colbert, Gary Cooper, Joseph Cotton, Bing Crosby, Dan Duryea, Ava Gardner, Cary Grant, Bob Hope, Vivien Leigh, Agnes Moorehead, Vincent Price, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra, Ann Sothern, Barbara Stanwyck, James Stewart, Gene Tierney, John Wayne, Jane Wyman, Orson Welles and Loretta Young. Among the men, Don Ameche -- eventually a radio star in The Bickersons -- appeared most often, with 18 Lux appearances, just ahead of Fred MacMurray's 17. Among the women, the honor went to Barbara Stanwyck with 15 Lux appearances, including her re-creation of her hit film Sorry, Wrong Number -- itself born of an earlier radio production, on CBS legend Suspense). Loretta Young's 14 appearances were the second most among the women.
Whitehall 1212 is a crime drama featuring cases from New Scotland Yard's "Black Museum". Unlike the show starring Orson Welles, however, this series was done with the official support of The Yard and tries to downplay the sensational aspects of thes cases and highlight the rigorous police work that went into solving them.
Sponsored by Vic's nose drops, vapor rubs, and other great products by the Vic Chemical Company, this collection contains all known episodes in existence of the short-run series of 1944, Dangerously Yours. Hollywood star, Victor Jory, was the primary herostarring in story adaptation of pirates, espionage, adventure and romance. The series was later renamed in October 1944 to Matinee Theater.
Tales of the Texas Rangers, a western adventure old-time radio drama, premiered on July 8, 1950, on the NBC radio network and remained on the air through September 14, 1952. Movie star Joel McCrea starred as Texas Ranger Jayce Pearson, who used the latest scientific techniques to identify the criminals and his faithful horse, Charcoal, to track them down. The shows were reenactments of actual Texas Ranger cases. The series was produced and directed by Stacy Keach, Sr., and was sponsored for part of its run by Wheaties. Captain Manuel T. "Lone Wolf" Gonzaullas, a Ranger for 30 years and who was said to have killed 31 men during his career, served as consultant for the series. The series was adapted for television from 1955 to 1957. During the opening and closing credits of the TV show, the actors would march toward the camera and sing the theme song, "We are the Texas Rangers", to the tune of "The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You", which is also the tune of "I've Been Working on the Railroad".
Barry Craig
(AKA Barry Crane" and then "Barrie Craig)
Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator is one of the few detective radio series that had separate versions of it broadcast from both coasts. Even the spelling changed over the years. It was first "Barry Crane" and then "Barrie Craig". NBC produced it in New York from 1951 to 1954 and then moved it to Hollywood where it aired from 1954 to 1955. It attracted only occasional sponsors so it was usually a sustainer. William Gargan, who also played the better known television (and radio) detective Martin Kane, was the voice of New York eye BARRY CRAIG while Ralph Bell portrayed his associate, Lt. Travis Rogers. Craig's office was on Madison Avenue and his adventures were fairly standard PI fare. He worked alone, solved cases efficiently, and feared no man. As the promos went, he was "your man when you can't go to the cops. Confidentiality a speciality." Like Sam Spade, Craig narrated his stories, in addition to being the leading character in this 30 minute show. Nearly sixty episodes are in trading circulation today.
For the 1970âs late-night horror show, The Price of Fear, the BBC dramatized the most chilling stories they could find, drawing on talented new writers as well as the established master of terror who narrated tale, re-written as though Price actually experienced each chilling adventure himself. The show was enormously successful in the UK and abroad, and a number of series were made during 1973, 1975 and 1982.
Mystery In The Air. September 25, 1947. NBC net. "Crime and Punishment". Sponsored by: Camels, Prince Albert. The last show of the series. Nice try, but you can't do "Crime and Punishment" in a half hour. Ben Wright, Fyodor Dostoyevsky (author), Gloria Ann Simpson, Henry Morgan, Herb Butterfield, Joseph Kearns, Luis Van Rooten, Michael Roy (announcer), Paul Baron (composer, conductor), Peggy Webber, Peter Lorre. 29:17
In 1934-36, Berle was heard regularly on The Rudy Vallee Hour, and he got much publicity as a regular on The Gillette Original Community Sing, a Sunday night comedy-variety program broadcast on CBS from September 6, 1936 to August 29, 1937. In 1939, he was the host of Stop Me If You've Heard This One with panelists spontaneously finishing jokes sent in by listeners. Three Ring Time, a comedy-variety show sponsored by Ballantine Ale was followed by a 1943 program sponsored by Campbell's Soups. The audience participation show Let Yourself Go (1944-45) could best be described as slapstick radio with studio audience members acting out long suppressed urges (often directed at host Berle). Kiss and Make Up, on CBS in 1946, featured the problems of contestants decided by a jury from the studio audience with Berle as the Judge. He also made guest appearances on many comedy-variety radio programs during the 1930s and 1940s.
Let us journey âinto the land that lies beyond midnight,â into a world of ghost hunters, men going mad, and DEATH DEATH DEATH! Written by the masterful Michael McCabe, these well-done South African radio shows will capture your attention and keep you up listening to them well beyond midnight. Exact Date Unknown
X MINUS ONE was an NBC science fiction series that was an extension, or revival, of NBC's earlier science fiction series, DIMENSION X. which ran from Apr. 8, 1950 through Sept. 29, 1951. Both are remembered for bringing really first rate science fiction to the air. The first X MINUS ONE shows used scripts from DIMENSION X, but soon created new shows from storied from the pages of Galaxy Magazine. A total of 125 programs were broadcast, some repeats or remakes, until the last show of Jan. 9, 1958. There was a one-program revival attempt in 1973, shown at the end of the log.
In 1964, South Africa began The Creaking Door, using original scripts which included stories with a heavy emphasis on the supernatural. The topics ranged from haunted houses to a woman who turns into a giant cat, and of course, the typical paranoid murderer so often presented on the original Inner Sanctum. The host for this series was Peter Bloomfield. There are at present anywhere from 34-37 extant episodes in MP3 circulation, yet no currently available program logs for the series indicate the year of the series' broadcast (though it was likely sometime in the 1950s, given the generally high audio quality of the available shows), or the total number of episodes, and only a handful of them are known by their broadcast order. The stories are thrillers in the Inner Sanctum vein, and generally thought of favorably by most fans of OTR.
Jeff grows up near Basin Street in New Orleans, playing his clarinet with the dock workers. He puts together a band, the Basin Street Hot-Shots, which includes a cornet player, Memphis. They struggle to get their jazz music accepted by the cafe society of the city. Betty Lou joins their band as a singer and gets Louie to show her how to do scat singing. Memphis and Jeff both fall in love with Betty Lou. Written by Lisa Grable {grable@unity.ncsu.edu}
Police Melodrama
1-19-47 through 3-7-57 . Mutual network. Many weekly timeslots. Presented in cooperation with Official Detective Stories Magazine. CAST: Craig McDonnell as Detective Lt. Dan Britt. Tommy Evans as Sgt. Al Bowen. Directed by Wynn Wright.
2000 AD is known as the first of the network science fiction shows, although it ran on Mutual just a month prior to the introduction of the landmark series, Dimension X. It was a half hour of science fiction wonder in an exciting package. The stories have a charm that is always present in science fiction of the future that is written in the past. "When The Worlds Met" takes place "at the giant space port in Washington, temporary capitol of the federated world government as in April 21, 2000 Plus 20 (2020) crowds throng as audio and televox networks cover a space ship carrying in its space hold the first load of uranium taken from the pits of Luna, satellite of Earth.
The unmistakable voice of Bud Flanagan singing 'Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr Hitler?', a cod-Second World War propaganda singalong written especially for the show (by Jimmy Perry), introduced Dad's Army, the zenith of the British broad-comedy ensemble sitcom. Consistently good writing and a wonderful cast of old timers and newer talents combined to produce a whimsical period-piece that continues, justifiably, to be savoured and has now assumed a place in the 'hall of greats' pantheon, adored by new generations of the British public.
The Adventures of Frank Race was a 1949-50 radio adventure serial syndicated by Bruce Ellis Productions. The 30-minute program was first broadcast in some markets beginning May 1, 1949. An attorney who turned international adventurer after WWII, Frank Race (Tom Collins, Paul Dubov) mainly investigated insurance scams. After the first 22 shows, Dubov took over the title role. Tony Barnett portrayed Mark Donovan. The series was written and directed by Joel Murcott and Buckley Angel. The announcer was Art Gilmore, and Ivan Ditmars provided the background organ music.
Although Molle Mystery Theatre was initially sponsored by Molle Shaving Cream, other sponsors (such as Bayer Aspirin, Ironized Yeast, Phillips Milk of Magnesia) also sponsored the program. Sometimes, when it was not sponsored by Molle, the program was called "Mystery Theater". The show was first heard on NBC, on 9/7/43. Time slot was originally Sunday nights at 9:00 PM, but was later moved to Tuesday at 9:00 PM, and Friday at 10:00 PM. In 1948, the show moved to CBS (Tues, 8:00 PM), and in 1951, it moved to ABC, where it was called "Mark Sabre", and heard on Wednesdays at either 8:00 PM or 9:30 PM. The shows were tight and tension filled, with a fine orchestra score and solid production values. Classic tales from well-known authors, as well as modern unknowns were presented, and the endings were often twists or shockers.
Gunsmoke was a long-running American old-time radio and television Western drama created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories took place in or about Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West.
The radio version ran from 1952 to 1961, and is commonly regarded as one of the finest radio dramas of all time; the television version ran from 1955 to 1975 and still holds the record for the longest-running U.S. prime time fictional television program.
THE UNEXPECTED
Weird stories that have a âtwistâ ending. The listener gets a sudden shock, as this time of program should intend to deliver. Actors included Barry Sullivan, Lurene Tuttle and Virginia Gregg, who played Helen Asher in the Richard Diamond detectve series. Director is Frank Danzig.
The Time Machine from Favorite Story aired on May 28, 1949 hosted by Ronald Coleman. The Time Machine was a book by H. G. Wells, first published in 1895 and later directly adapted into at least two theatrical films of the same name as well as at least one television and countless comic book adaptations. It also indirectly inspired many more works of fiction in all media.
This Is Your FBI was a radio crime drama which aired in the United States on ABC from April 6, 1945 to January 30, 1953. FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover gave it his endorsement, calling it "the finest dramatic program on the air." Producer-director Jerry Devine was given access to FBI files by Hoover, and the resulting dramatizations of FBI cases were narrated by Frank Lovejoy (1945), Dean Carleton (1946-47) and William Woodson (1948-53). Stacy Harris had the lead role of Special Agent Jim Taylor. Others in the cast were William Conrad, Bea Benaderet and Jay C. Flippen.
Bulldog Drummond is a British fictional character created by "Sapper", a pseudonym of Herman Cyril McNeile (1888-1937), in imitation of the hard boiled noir-style detectives appearing in contemporary American fiction. The stories followed Captain Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond, D.S.O., M.C., a wealthy former WWI officer of the Loamshire Regiment, who, after the war, spends his new-found leisure time as a private detective. Drummond is a proto-James Bond figure and a crudely debased version of the imperial adventurers depicted by the likes of John Buchan. In terms of the detective genre, the first Bulldog Drummond novel was published after the Sherlock Holmes stories, the Nayland Smith/Fu Manchu novels, and Richard Hannay's first adventure in The Thirty Nine Steps. The character first appeared in the novel Bulldog Drummond (1920), and was adapted into a number of films and radio serials. McNeile wrote in the style of the day which while it contained some jingoism (Drummond and his men had served in WWI so it could be expected), there was no racism. There was a story called "The Black Gang" which uninformed people have claimed was racism but this was merely the colour of the robes worn by Drummond and his men and could just have easily been "The Red Gang". Drummond fought a number of villains from all countries with equal zeal. After McNeile's death in 1938, his friend Gerard Fairlie continued to write stories based on the character.
The Lux Radio Theater strove to feature as many of the original stars of the original stage and film productions as possible, usually paying them $5,000 an appearance to do the show. It was when sponsor Lever Brothers (who made Lux soap and detergent) moved the show from New York to Hollywood in 1936 that it eased back from adapting stage shows and toward adaptations of films. The first Lux film adaptation was The Legionnaire and the Lady, with Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable, based on the film Morocco. That was followed by a Lux adaptation of The Thin Man, featuring the movie's stars, Myrna Loy and William Powell.
In a small âNegroâ church in the South, Mr. Deshee (Charles H. Moore) sets out to teach his children the Bible. He begins with a pre-Creation fish fry, which is interrupted when the angel Gabriel (Wesley Hill) arrives and announces, âGangway! Gangway for de Lawd God Jehovah!â The Lawd God (Richard B. Harrison) enters, dressed in a Prince Albert coat, black trousers, and congress gaiters. The story then proceeds through the legends of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah, Moses, and other Old Testament figures and continues up to the crucifixion of Jesus. Based on Roark Bradford's stories, the play was praised by Heywood Broun in the Telegram as âmore stirring than anything I have seen in the theatreâ and by Robert Littell in the World as âsimply and briefly one of the finest things that the theatre of our generation has seen . . . it will move you to tears and make you gasp with the simple beauty of the Old Testament pageantry.â Theatre historian William Torbert Leonard has called Gabriel's announcement âone of the greatest entrance cues ever written for the stage.â A revival in 1954 failed to run.
Box 13 was a syndicated radio series about the escapades of mystery novelist Dan Holiday (Alan Ladd), a former newsman. Created by Mayfair Productions, the series premiered August 22, 1948, on New York's WOR and aired in syndication on the East Coast from August 22, 1948, to August 14. 1949. On the West Coast, Box 13 was heard from March 15, 1948 to March 7, 1949. To seek out new ideas for his fiction, Holiday ran a classified ad in the Star-Times newspaper. "Adventure wanted, will go anywhere, do anything -- Box 13." The stories followed Holiday's adventures when he responded to the letters sent to him by such people as a psycho killer and various victims.
The Story of Dr. Kildare was based on the popular MGM films that were produced in the 1940's, so a radio version in 1949 made perfect sense. The screen actor Lew Ayres played Dr. Kildare in the films, and continued the role in this radio show. The great thespian Lionel Barrymore continued in his role as Kildare's mentor, Dr. Leonard Gillespie. Together the two fight an unending battle against disease and bureaucratic boneheadedness. In a sense, Dr. Kildare is good old fashioned soap opera, but then medical dramas have always been popular, and the good Dr. Kildare is a quiet and devoted medical hero who creates a better world one patient at a time, despite whatever gets in the way. That makes for good radio and a good object lesson for us all - good is usually done a little at a time, and there's always something or someone in the way.
The Campbell Playhouse was a sponsored continuation of the Mercury Theater on the Air, a direct result of the instant publicity from the War of the Worlds panic. The switch occurred on December 9, 1938. In spite of using the same creative staff, the show had a different flavor under sponsorship, partially attributed to a guest star policy in place, which relegated the rest of the Mercury Players to supporting cast for Orson Welles and the Hollywood guest of the week. There was a growing schism between Welles, still reaping the rewards of his Halloween night notoriety, and his collaborator John Houseman, still in the producer's chair but feeling more like an employee than a partner. The writer, as during the unsponsored run, was Howard Koch.
FIRST BROADCAST: May 17, 1951
LAST BROADCAST: February 12, 1956
SPONSORS: Kellog
CAST: Guy Madison and Andy Devine.
ANNOUNCERS: Charlie Lyon
PRODUCERS/DIRECTORS: Paul Pierce
This juvenile western followed the same format as the TV show of the same name that ran throughout the same years. This format certainly was not new as the charismatic hero and comic side-kick was something that had been done before with Hopalong Cassidy and The Cisco Kid, and to some extent with the Lone Ranger. FIRST BROADCAST: May 17, 1951 LAST BROADCAST: February 12, 1956 SPONSORS: Kellog CAST: Guy Madison and Andy Devine. ANNOUNCERS: Charlie Lyon PRODUCERS/DIRECTORS: Paul Pierce.
Bold Venture was a 1951-1952 syndicated radio series starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Morton Fine and David Friedkin scripted the taped series for Bogart's Santana Productions. Salty seadog Slate Shannon (Humphrey Bogart) owns a Cuban hotel sheltering an assortment of treasure hunters, revolutionaries and other shady characters. With his sidekick and ward, the sultry Sailor Duval (Lauren Bacall), tagging along, he encounters modern-day pirates and other tough situations while navigating the waters around Havana. Aboard his boat, the Bold Venture, Slate and Sailor seek out and find "adventure, intrigue, mystery and romance in the sultry settings of tropical Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean."
THIS EPISODE:
Murder Of Franny Lane (4-30-51) (aka He Who Laughs Last/Murder Is No Joke/Slate Shannon accused of murder)
Tales of the Texas Rangers, a western adventure old-time radio drama, premiered on July 8, 1950, on the NBC radio network and remained on the air through September 14, 1952. Movie star Joel McCrea starred as Texas Ranger Jayce Pearson, who used the latest scientific techniques to identify the criminals and his faithful horse, Charcoal, to track them down. The shows were reenactments of actual Texas Ranger cases. The series was produced and directed by Stacy Keach, Sr., and was sponsored for part of its run by Wheaties. Captain Manuel T. "Lone Wolf" Gonzaullas, a Ranger for 30 years and who was said to have killed 31 men during his career, served as consultant for the series. The series was adapted for television from 1955 to 1957. During the opening and closing credits of the TV show, the actors would march toward the camera and sing the theme song, "We are the Texas Rangers", to the tune of "The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You", which is also the tune of "I've Been Working on the Railroad".
 The Family Rosary, Inc, d/b/a Family Theater Productions All Rights Reserved
Meaningful Stories from Years Past that Continue to Inspire Families Today. Families, then and now, face similar situations and struggles: communication, honesty, gambling, music, alcoholism, sports and many spiritual questions, such as life after death. How we address these struggles makes all the difference in strengthening our family bonds. These compelling half-hour dramas offer inspiring insights into how to build unity within your family. Join us on a visit with the stars of the past for an uplifting, humorous and meaningful look into family life.
This show is posted with the expressed written consent of the owner and exclusively granted to Boxcars711 Old Time Radio. To learn more about Family Theater Productions or to view a list of local radio stations that air our programs or to purchase episodes, follow this link: http://www.familytheater.org/radio-classic.html
Tell It to the Judge from Screen Guild Theater aired on November 2, 1950 starring Rosalind Russell and Robert Cummings.This story is hysterical and lovable at the same time. Bob plays Pete Webb, a lawyer who is newly divorced from sassy Marsha Meredith, played by Rosalind Russell, who is determined to win him back. This becomes a little difficult for Marsha when Pete is a little bit fascinated with curvaceous Ginger. But never under estimate the contriving of a woman when she sets her mind to it. A screwball romantic marital comedy full of laughs. Enjoy this one.
Ozzie and Harriet started out on radio, a medium to which bandleader Ozzie Nelson and his singer/actress wife Harriet Hilliard had gravitated in the late 1930s, hoping to spend more time together than their conflicting careers would permit. In 1941 they found a permanent spot providing music for Red Skelton's program, a position that foundered when Skelton was drafted in 1944. In that year, the energetic Ozzie Nelson proposed a show of his own to network CBS and sponsor International Silver--a show in which the Nelsons would play themselves.
In October of 1934, "Lux Radio Theater" debuted in New York on NBC's Blue radio network. Presenting audio versions of popular Broadway plays, the show failed to garner an audience and soon ran out of material. After switching networks to CBS and moving to Hollywood, Lux found its true market. The show began featuring adaptations of popular films, performed by as many of the original stars as possible. With an endless supply of hit films scripts and an audience of more than 40 million, Lux enjoyed a prosperous run until the curtain fell in 1956.
Jeff Regan, Investigator was one of the three detective shows Jack Webb did before Dragnet (see also Pat Novak For Hire and Johnny Modero: Pier 23). It debuted on CBS in July 1948. Webb played JEFF REGAN, a tough private eye working in a Los Angeles investigation firm run by Anthony J. Lyon. Regan introduced himself on each show "I get ten a day and expenses...they call me the Lyon's Eye." The show was fairly well-plotted, Webb's voice was great, and the supporting cast were skillful.
Opening in 1875, the Crime Museum at Scotland Yard is the oldest museum in the world purely for recording crime. The name Black Museum was coined in 1877 by a reporter from The Observer, a London newspaper, although the museum is still referred to as the Crime Museum. The idea of a crime museum was conceived by Inspector Neame who had already collected together a number of items, with the intention of giving police officers practical instruction on how to detect and prevent burglary. It is this museum that inspired the Black Musuem radio series. The museum is not open to members of the public but is now used as a lecture theatre for the curator to lecture police and like bodies in subjects such as Forensic Science, Pathology, Law and Investigative Techniques. A number of famous people have visited the musuem including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry Houdini, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Orsen Welles hosted and narrated the shows. Following the opening, Mr. Welles would introduce the museum's item of evidence that was central to the case, leading into the dramatization. He also provided narration during the show and ended each show with his characteristic closing from the days of his Mercury Theater on the Air, 'remaining obediently yours'.
Groucho Marx matches wits with the American public in four episodes of this classic game show. Starting on the radio in 1947, You Bet Your Life made its television debut in 1950 and aired for 11 years with Groucho as host and emcee. Sponsored rather conspicuously by the Dodge DeSoto car manufacturers, the show featured two contestants working as a team to answer questions for cash prizes. Another mainstay of these question and answer segments was the paper mache duck that would descend from the ceiling with one hundred dollars in tow whenever a player uttered the "secret word." The quiz show aspect of "You Bet Your Life" was always secondary, to the clever back-and-forth between host and contestant, which found Groucho at his funniest. It's in these interview segments that "You Bet Your Life" truly makes its mark as one of early television's greatest programs. Directed by: Robert Dwan.
Broadway Is My Beat, a radio crime drama, ran on CBS from February 27, 1949 to August 1, 1954. With music by Robert Stringer, the show originated from New York during its first three months on the air, with Anthony Ross portraying Times Square Detective Danny Clover. John Dietz directed for producer Lester Gottlieb. Beginning with the July 7, 1949 episode, the series was broadcast from Hollywood with producer Elliott Lewis directing a new cast in scripts by Morton Fine and David Friedkin. The opening theme of "I'll Take Manhattan" introduced Detective Danny Clover (now played by Larry Thor), a hardened New York City cop who worked homicide "from Times Square to Columbus Circle -- the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world."
The Falcon. November 1, 1948. Mutual net. "Murder Is A Bad Bluff". Sustaining. A woman suspects that her fiance is hiding something. What does he do for a living? Hint: he robs jewelry stores and winds up dead! Les Tremayne, Drexel Drake (crator), Milton Kaye (organ), Joe DeSantis, Bernard L. Schubert (producer), Richard Lewis (director). 29:39.
Duffy's Tavern, an American radio situation comedy (CBS, 1941-1942; NBC-Blue Network, 1942-1944; NBC, 1944-1952), often featured top-name stage and film guest stars but always hooked those around the misadventures, get-rich-quick-scheming, and romantic missteps of the title establishment's malaprop-prone, metaphor-mixing manager, Archie, played by the writer/actor who created the show, Ed Gardner.
This was ABC's attempt to recapture some of what radio was. The effort was not the best, but at least an effort was made. The stories ranged from science fiction, comedy, social drama and human interest drama, to detective mystery, psychological drama, melodrama and suspense drama. News programs help fill out the remaining time left in the 30 minute time spot from 5 - 5:30 p.m.
Crime club was a Mutual Network murder and mystery series, a product of the Doubleday Crime Book Club imprints found weekly in bookstores everywhere. The telephone rings"Hello, I hope I haven't kept you waiting. Yes, this is the Crime Club. I'm the Librarian. Murder Rents A Room? Yes, we have that Crime Club story for you.Come right over. (The organist in the shadowed corner of the Crime Club library shivers the ivories) The doorbell tones suddenly"And you are here. Good. Take the easy chair by the window. Comfortable? The book is on this shelf." (The organist hits the scary chord) "Let's look at it under the reading lamp." The Librarian, played by Raymond E. Johnson, begins reading the tale. Veteran Willis Cooper (Lights Out, Quiet Please) did some of the scripts from the Crime Club books.
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was a radio drama about a freelance insurance investigator that aired from February 11, 1949 to September 30, 1962 on CBS. There were 811 episodes in the 12-year run, and over 720 still exist today. Charles Russell was the first to star as Johnny Dollar, the smart and tough detective who tossed silver dollar tips to bellhops. With the first three actors to play Johnny Dollar there was little to distinguish it from other detective series at the time (Richard Diamond, Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade).While always a friend of the police,Johnny wasn't necessarily a stickler for the strictest interpretation of the law. He was willing to let some things slide to satisfy his own sense of justice, as long as the interests of his employer were protected.
CANDY MATSON was the private eye star of Candy Matson, YUkon 2-8208, an NBC West Coast show which first aired in March 1949 and was created by Monty Masters. He cast his wife, Natalie Parks, in the title role of this sassy, sexy PI. Her understated love interest, Lt. Ray Mallard, was played by Henry Leff while her assistant and best pal, aptly named Rembrandt Watson, was the voice of Jack Thomas. Every show opened with a ringing telephone and our lady PI answering it with "Candy Matson, YU 2-8209" and then the organ swung into the theme song, "Candy". Each job took Candy from her apartment on Telegraph Hill into some actual location in San Francisco. The writers, overseen by Monty, worked plenty of real Bay Area locations into every plot.
NBC University Theater is an unusual series that focused on reenacting novels by great authors for college classes. Many accredited American universities such as Washington State College, University of Louisville, and University of Tulsa, used this dramatic series as a supplement to correspondent college courses. The series' creators made study guides to accompany the courses. Students studying great literature by Steinbeck, Faulkner, Hemingway, Huxley, and many others listened to these shows every week. It was an ambitious series that remained popular despite its academic and non-commercial appeal. The shows are high quality and will please many fans of great literature.
Written and directed by Robert A. Arthur and David Kogan, the series began on the Mutual Broadcasting System, December 5, 1943, continuing in many different timeslots until September 16, 1952. Unlike many other shows of the era, The Mysterious Traveler was without a sponsor for its entire run. The lonely sound of a distant locomotive heralded the arrival of the malevolent narrator, portrayed by Maurice Tarplin, who introduced himself each week in the following manner: "This is the Mysterious Traveler, inviting you to join me on another journey into the strange and terrifying. I hope you will enjoy the trip, that it will thrill you a little and chill you a little. So settle back, get a good grip on your nerves and be comfortable -- if you can! "
Big Town is a radio show that aired from 1937 to 1952. Edward G. Robinson had the lead role of Steve Wilson from 1937 to 1942. Claire Trevor was Wilson's society editor sidekick Lorelei Kilbourne, with Ona Munson taking over that role in 1940. Edward J. Pawley portrayed Wilson from 1942 until 1952 when Walter Greaza was heard as Wilson in the final episodes in the radio series. When Big Town moved to television, the program was telecast live, but in 1952 the production switched to film after the move from New York City to Hollywood. The television series ran on CBS from 1950 through 1954, continuing on NBC from 1955 through 1956. Repeat episodes aired on the DuMont Network (under the title City Assignment) while Big Town was still showing first-run episodes on CBS. Reruns were also shown under the titles Heart of the City, Headline and Byline Steve Wilson.
The Gunfighter from Screen Director's Playhouse starring Gregory Peck on June 7, 1951. Aging notorious gunfighter, Jimmy Ringo, trying to leave his past behind rides into town to find his true love, who doesn't want to see him. He hasn't come looking for trouble, but trouble finds him around every corner. This is a fantastic story, and without question, one of the best Westerns ever made. Old gunfighters can't just fade away. (1 hour show
Murder At Midnight â 1946-1947
The Murder at Midnight series was a thirty-minute broadcast featuring tales of the supernatural. The actors included Mercedes McCambridge and Lawson Zerbe and the show was narrated using the spooky, creepy voice of Raymond Morgan and always opened using the same gripping signature; âthe witching hour, when night is darkest, our fears are the strongest, our strength at its lowest ebbâ Midnight! â when graves gape open and death strikes!â
The Life of Riley, with William Bendix in the title role, was a popular radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film and continued as a long-running television series during the 1950s.The show began as a proposed Groucho Marx radio series, The Flotsam Family, but the sponsor balked at what would have been essentially a straight head-of-household role for the comedian. Then producer Irving Brecher saw Bendix as taxicab company owner Tim McGuerin in the movie The McGuerins from Brooklyn (1942). The Flotsam Family was reworked with Bendix cast as blundering Chester A. Riley, riveter at a California aircraft plant, and his frequent exclamation of indignation---"What a revoltin' development this is!"---became one of the most famous catch phrases of the 1940s. The radio series also benefited from the immense popularity of a supporting character, Digby "Digger" O'Dell (John Brown), "the friendly undertaker." "Living the life of Riley" suggests an ideal life of prosperity and contentment, possibly living on someone else's money, time or work. Rather than a negative freeloading or gold digging aspect, it instead implies that someone is kept or advantaged.
Network was Mutual, Sponsor was Standard Oil. STARS : Bob Bailey, Eddie Firestone jr, Francis Robinson, Joe Kearn PRODUCER: Owen Vinson WRITER: Polly Hopkins MUSIC: Eddie Dunstedter.
Bob Bailey played George Valentine as a detective handy man, who got his jobs from responses to a newspaper ad. Part-time detective and writer Dan Holiday in Box 13 also used the premise. It pays to advertise! The shows follow the usual formats of crime caper shows, with toughs, mysterious rendezvous and people who aren't who they say they are.
Adventures of Sam Spade â 1946-1951
Sam Spade was a tough private investigator. Each case was unfolded as a report dictated to his secretary, Effie, who was always flustered and secretly in love with him. He always quoted his license number and referred to each investigation as a âcaperâ. Each report was dated with the actual airdate. CAST: Howard Duff, Steve Dunne, Lurene Tuttle, John McIntire, William Conrad, Cathy and Elliot Lewis, June Havoc, Joseph Kearns, Jerry Hausner, Elliott Reid, Mary Jane Croft, Jeanette Nolan, Betty Lou Gerson.
ESCAPE opened with the gripping voice of William Conrad booming out over the airwaves: "Tired of the everyday grind? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you - ESCAPE!". Moussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain", the show's theme, assisted Conrad in creating the right opening atmosphere. (The actual series of questions used in the opening varied from week to week, frequently to match the goings-on of the times.) Over its long run, narriators included William Conrad, Paul Frees, Jack Webb, John Dehner, Jay Novello, Joan Banks, Stacy Harris, Georgia Ellis, Ben Wright and Will Geer. The show featured spine-tingling tales from such masters as Joseph Conrad, Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Allen Poe. It was produced by William N. Robeson, and featured many seasoned radio actors. ESCAPE was heard on CBS from July 1947 to September 1954. First Show: July 7, 1947 Last Show: Sep 23, 1954. There were two pilot shows before it's first run. The first pilot was OUT OF THIS WORLD: "Dead of Night" on February 28, 1947. This show was repeated as ESCAPE: "Dead of Night" on March 21.
CONFESSION
From: July 5, 1953 to September 13, 1954
Had a texture and sound not unlike Dragnet, indeed the influence was realized throughout the show. These were true stories of Crime and Punishment, the obvious difference that Dragnet began with the crime while Confession unfolded in reverse order, from the end. Confession was less noisy, it's theme was played on a single piano, but there was still the deadpan dialogue, the thief or killer giving his confession with an air of resignation and defeat. The criminal thus became a stream-of-consciousness narrator, with the action frequently cutting away into drama. "Names were changed to protect the legal rights of the subject". NBC 30 minutes Sunday at 9:30PM.Cast Paul Frees, virginia Christine,Herb Butterfield, Parley Bear and other Hollywood radio actors. Announcer John Wald.
Authorâs Playhouse - Famous stories by celebrated authors: among them, Elementals (Stephen Vincent Benet), The Piano (William Saroyan), and The Snow Goose (Paul Gallico).March 5, 1941 till June 4, 1945, NBC; Blue Network until mid-October 1941, then the Red Network. Many briefly held 30m timeslots, including Sundays at 11:30, 1941-42; Wednesdays at 11:30, 1942-44; Mondays at 11:30, 1944-45. Sponsor was Philip Morris, 1942-43. Cast: John Hodiak, Fern Persons, Arthur Kohl, Laurette Fillbrandt, Kathryn Card, Bob Jellison, Nelson Olmsted, Marvin Miller, Olan Soule, Les Tremayne, Clarence Hartzell, Curley Bradley, etc. Orchestra: Rex Maupin, Roy Shield, J6seph Gallicchio. Creator: Wynn Wright. Directors: Norman Felton, Fred Weihe, Homer Heck, etc.
Lux Radio Theater strove to feature as many of the original stars of the original stage and film productions as possible, usually paying them $5,000 an appearance to do the show. It was when sponsor Lever Brothers (who made Lux soap and detergent) moved the show from New York to Hollywood in 1936 that it eased back from adapting stage shows and toward adaptations of films. The first Lux film adaptation was The Legionnaire and the Lady, with Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable, based on the film Morocco. That was followed by a Lux adaptation of The Thin Man, featuring the movie's stars, Myrna Loy and William Powell.
The 1950's saw both the twilight of the Golden Age of Radio and the birth of the science fiction radio series. Science fiction was not new to radio before 1950, but it was either targeted to juvenile audiences or were shows in a broader series, for example, ESCAPE's "The Time Machine". On March 15, 1950, the first show of Mutual's 2000 PLUS aired, becoming the very first true science fiction series in the US. DIMENSION X followed shortly on April 8, 1950 over NBC stations. TALES OF TOMORROW was the third dedicated science fiction series, over the stations of the American Broadcasting Corporation, following DIMENSION X by almost 2 years.
A buckskin knight, Shane (Alan Ladd) rides into the middle of a range war between farmers and cattlemen, quickly siding with the "sod-busters." The title character is a taciturn former gunslinger who wishes only to settle down and put the past behind him. But as ruthless ranchers bring a diamond-hard hired gunman to the frontier town to scare off his adopted family, Shane realizes that he's the only law available to protect the innocent farmers. To illustrate the visceral effect of the violence, director George Stevens had the sounds of gunshots magnified on the soundtrack: nothing like this had been previously attempted in mainstream Hollywood and the results were galvanizing. Here were gunfights and fisticuffs in which people were visibly hurt and even killed. The risks and inevitable emotional toll of the profession gives Shane's silence immense power and offers a side of the western movie hero seldom seen to that point.
Our Miss Brooks, an American situation comedy, began as a radio hit in 1948 and migrated to television in 1952, becoming one of the earlier hits of the so-called Golden Age of Television, and making a star out of Eve Arden (1908-1990) as comely, wisecracking, but humane high school English teacher Connie Brooks. The show hooked around Connie's daily relationships with Madison High School students, colleagues, and pompous principal Osgood Conklin (Gale Gordon), not to mention favourite student Walter Denton (future television and Rambo co-star Richard Crenna, who fashioned a higher-pitched voice to play the role) and biology teacher Philip Boynton ( Jeff Chandler), the latter Connie's all-but-unrequited love interest, who saw science everywhere and little else anywhere.
Charlie Chan was the Chinese detective created by Earl Derr Biggers. Over 40 Charlie Chan movies were done from the early 1930's through 1949, all of which starred non-Chinese actors as Charlie. Supposedly working as a Honolulu police detective, Charlie was almost always somewhere else, like Paris, Rio, LA, even Treasure Islandâbut he did have a wonderful home life, too, with a reported 14 children, including his famous #1, #2 etc. sons, ever intent on helping "pop" solve the case.
Still, it's fun to hear ABC radio's daytime serial version of the Hawaiian family man who gave us all a little exotic wit and wisdom while uncovering dishonorable culprit. The other shows are more of "the incomparable" at work. Unfortunately, Chan on radio is very rare, the very opposite of the ubiquitous Charlie Chan movie reruns on TV. This is a mysterious absence even the great Charlie Chan might be needed to solve! Many mystery lovers sniff at Chan. But here's one more from Charlie that might applyâ"Mind, like parachute, only function when open."
An NBC offering. Aired on Sundays from 7:00PM to 7:30PM, starring Lional Barrymore and Agnes Moorehead. The creator and writer was Jean Holloway, the announcer Harlow Wilcox, music by Gordon Jenkins and sponsored by Rinso detergent.
HONEST HAROLD, THE HOMEMAKER AKA: THE HAROLD PEARY SHOW (Sep 17, 1950 to Jun 13, 1951 with an Audition Show Aug 23, 1950) Harold Peary began his radio career at age 13 and was a popular actor through the 1930's. In the end of the 1930's he played assorted characters on FIBBER MCGEE AND MOLLY, including a stuffed-shirt type named Gildersleeve. The character of Gildersleeve developed into a sizeable, eventually leading to the series THE GREAT GILDERSLEEVE. This was due to no small part to the ability of Harold Peary. In 1950, Harold Peary decided to move from NBC to CBS, assuming that the sponsor for THE GREAT GILDERSLEEVE, the Kraft Food Company, would follow, bringing that series to CBS. When Kraft didn't move, HONEST HAROLD, THE HOMEMAKER (also known as THE HAROLD PEARY SHOW) was created. Honest Harold Hemp lived with his mother and nephew and did a radio homemaker's program. The series received undeserved negative ratings and general negative attitude of the critics. The HONEST HAROLD scripts were well crafted with well developed characters and had excellent acting and production values.
X MINUS ONE was an NBC science fiction series that was an extension, or revival, of NBC's earlier science fiction series, DIMENSION X. which ran from Apr. 8, 1950 through Sept. 29, 1951. Both are remembered for bringing really first rate science fiction to the air. The first X MINUS ONE shows used scripts from DIMENSION X, but soon created new shows from storied from the pages of Galaxy Magazine. A total of 125 programs were broadcast, some repeats or remakes, until the last show of Jan. 9, 1958. There was a one-program revival attempt in 1973, shown at the end of the log.
On September 26, 1937, the Shadow reappeared on radio with the voice of Orson Welles playing the part. The Shadow was now a full-fledged character on radio, not just narrating and introducing stories. The Shadow had an identity as Lamont Cranston, a wealthy man about town. He was accompanied by Margo Lane, originally played by Agnes Moorehead. Margo Lane was the only person who knew that Lamont Cranston and the Shadow were one and the same. No other agents assisted the Shadow, as did in the Walter Gibson fictional accounts. This radio Shadow had hypnotic power to make himself invisible to those around him and he possessed mental telepathy to read minds. Orson Welles played the Shadow from 1937 through March 1938. The Shadow became the highest rated radio show on the air at that time.
The Whistler was one of radio's most popular mystery dramas, with a 13-year run from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955. If it now seems to have been influenced explicitly by The Shadow, The Whistler was no less popular or credible with its listeners, the writing was first class for its genre, and it added a slightly macabre element of humor that sometimes went missing in The Shadow's longer-lived crime stories. Writer-producer J. Donald Wilson established the tone of the show during its first two years, and he was followed in 1944 by producer-director George Allen. Other directors included Sterling Tracy and Sherman Marks with final scripts by Joel Malone and Harold Swanton. A total of 692 episodes were produced, yet despite the series' fame, over 200 episodes are lost today. In 1946, a local Chicago version of The Whistler with local actors aired Sundays on WBBM, sponsored by Meister Brau beer.
"Are you willing to undertake a dangerous mission for the United States, knowing in advance you may never return alive?" Cloak and Dagger first aired over the NBC network on May 7, 1950. It had a short run through the Summer on Sundays, changing to Fridays after its Summer run. The last show aired Oct. 22, 1950. This is the story of the WWII special governmental agency, the OSS, or Office of Strategic Services. Its mission was to develop and maintain spy networks throughout Europe and into Asia, while giving aid to underground partisan groups and developing espionage activities for Allied forces overseas.The show is based on the book of the same name by Lt. Col. Corey Ford and Major Alastair MacBain (who were associated with the OSS from its early days.) The dramas are not Hollywood-style, in that they sometimes end with plans foiled or leading characters dead.
THE LUX RADIO THEATER was first heard on NBC October 14, 1934 as a Sunday afternoon show. On July 19, 1935, it moved to CBS and into it's long running Monday night time slot. All shows were one hour long. Less than a year after it's arrival on the air, the series' ratings began to drop. Danny Danker, an executive working for the advertising agency handling the Lux account, was given the responsibility to improve the show. What the show needed was extravaganza, and what the show got was Cecil B. DeMille. With DeMille as host, THE LUX RADIO THEATER brought in big name stars and brought the show back up to the top of the charts. DeMille became an institution on the show, conveying an almost frantic "the show must go on" attitude. Mr. DeMille left after the Jan. 22, 1945 show. The role of show host changed a number of times through the remainder of the show's history. William Keightley was the last host, remaining for the show's last curtain call on June 7, 1955. The CBS series ran through the Summer initially. It was off for the Summer every season after the first season. In 1953, CBS offered the Lux Summer Theater, a series of 14 hour-long shows, that aired in the same time slot as the regular Lux series. Both times that Lux was heard on NBC was for a single season.
Crime Classics was a U. S. radio docudrama which aired over CBS from June 15, 1953 to June 30, 1954. Created, produced, and directed by radio actor/director Elliott Lewis, the program was basically a historical true crime series, examining crimes, and especially murders, from the past. It grew out of Lewis's personal interest in famous murder cases, and took a documentary-like approach to the subject, carefully recreating the facts, personages, and feel of the time period. Comparatively little dramatic license was taken with the facts and events, but the tragedy was leavened with humor, expressed largely through the narration.
THIS EPISODE:
October 7, 1953. CBS net. "The Hangman and William Palmer: Who Won?". Sustaining. Dr. Palmer enjoys horse racing and poisoning. Lou Merrill, Morton Fine (writer), David Friedkin (writer), Bernard Herrmann (composer, conductor), Jay Novello, Betty Harford, Bob Lemond (announcer), Elliott Lewis (producer, director), Ellen Morgan, Joseph Kearns, Ben Wright, Alistair Duncan. 29:41.
Best Plays presents theatrical paramounts of excellence. It's hosted by the drama critic of New Yorkâs Daily News, John Chapman. Dramatic and comedic performances outshine other theater radio shows, greatly performed by such greats as Boris Karloff and Alfred Drake.
Vanishing Point - Radio Dramas from the Fourth Dimension : Ray Bradbury
"The point between reality and fantasy. Where imagination holds the key to new worlds. That point of no return---The Vanishing Point." Favorably compared to Rod Sterling's classic TV series, The Twilight Zone, these finely tuned radio dramas from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation provide compelling excursions into the realm of mystery and fantasy.
094 "Jane Opens A Checking Account" and #095 "Jane Has Problems With Her Checking Account"
Easy Aces, a long-running American serial radio comedy (1930-1945), was trademarked by the low-keyed drollery of creator and writer Goodman Ace and his wife, Jane, as an urbane, put-upon realtor and his malaprop-prone wife. A 15-minute program, airing as often as three times a week, Easy Aces wasn't quite the ratings smash that such concurrent 15-minute serial comedies as Amos 'n' Andy, The Goldbergs or Vic and Sade were. But its unobtrusive, conversational, and clever style, and the cheerful absurdism of its storylines, built a loyal enough audience of listeners and critics alike to keep it on the air for 15 years.
Damon Runyon Theatre - Broadcast from January to December 1949, "The Damon Runyon Theatre" dramatized 52 of Runyon's short stories for radio. Damon Runyon (October 4, 1884 â December 10, 1946) was a newspaperman and writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. He spun tales of gamblers, petty thieves, actors and gangsters; few of whom go by "square" names, preferring instead to be known as "Nathan Detroit", "Big Jule", "Harry the Horse", "Good Time Charlie", "Dave the Dude", and so on. These stories were written in a very distinctive vernacular style: a mixture of formal speech and colorful slang, almost always in present tense, and always devoid of contractions.
The adventures of Casey, crack photographer for The Morning Express, were told in this series, which moved to television after a highly successful run on radio in the 1940âs. Casey hung out at the Blue Note CafÃ, where the music was provided by the Tony Mottola Trio, and was friendly with Ethelbert, the bartender, to whom he recounted his various exploits. Richard Carlyle and John Gibson portrayed the roles when the series premiered in April, 1951, but by June they were replaced by Darren McGavin and Cliff Hall. Ann Williams, a reporter on The Morning Express, was Caseyâs girlfriend. During the summer of 1951 he acquired a partner in cub reporter Jack Lipman, who wrote copy to go with Caseyâs pictures. This live series was set in and broadcast from, New York City.
I Deal in Crime ran for almost two years on ABC network radio and starred the very capable radio and Hollywood actor, William Gargan. In this, one of his many PI radio series (heâs best known, of course, for his role as Martin Kane), Gargan played Ross Dolan, described as a veteran detective who returned to his sleuthing job after his WW II service as a sailor. Or as Dolan puts it, âa hitch in Uncle Sugarâs Navy.â
The program was an adventure series about Sergeant William Preston of the Northwest Mounted Police and his lead sled dog, Yukon King, as they fought evildoers in the Northern wilderness during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. Preston, according to radio historian Jim Harmon, first joined the Mounties to capture his father's killer, and when he was successful he was promoted to Sergeant. Preston worked under the command of Inspector Conrad, and in the early years was often assisted by a French-Canadian guide named Pierre.
May 16, 1948 to June 21, 1951. Initially west coast Don Lee Network. 30 minutes, Thursdays at 8:00PM, Pacific Time. Mutual Network, coast to cost from February 7, 1949. 30 minutes, Mondays at 8:00PM until January 30, 1950.Often augmented by early evening broadcasts, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5, this becoming it's standard time in 1950-51.Nabisco was the sponsor throughout the series. STARS: Howard Culver as Steve Adams/Straight Arrow, Fred Howard DIRECTOR: Ted Robertson WRITER: Sheldon Stark SOUND EFFECTS: Tom Hanley, Ray Kemper. The announcer and narrator was Frank Bingman. Steve Adams was a rancher, who in times of trouble, became the commanche warrior Straight Arrow. Fred Howard as his sidekick, grizzled ranch hand Packy McCloud. Gwen Delano as Mesquite Molly.
Straight Arrow was the story of Steve Adams, a young man of Commanche decent who was taken in by a ranching family and raised as a white man. In early adulthood, Steve was told an indian legend about a fabulous warrior who would someday appear to save his people. He himself was to fulfill that destiny, riding out of his secret cave astride a magnificent golden horse.
In 1934-36, Berle was heard regularly on The Rudy Vallee Hour, and he got much publicity as a regular on The Gillette Original Community Sing, a Sunday night comedy-variety program broadcast on CBS from September 6, 1936 to August 29, 1937. In 1939, he was the host of Stop Me If You've Heard This One with panelists spontaneously finishing jokes sent in by listeners. Three Ring Time, a comedy-variety show sponsored by Ballantine Ale was followed by a 1943 program sponsored by Campbell's Soups. The audience participation show Let Yourself Go (1944-45) could best be described as slapstick radio with studio audience members acting out long suppressed urges (often directed at host Berle). Kiss and Make Up, on CBS in 1946, featured the problems of contestants decided by a jury from the studio audience with Berle as the Judge. He also made guest appearances on many comedy-variety radio programs during the 1930s and 1940s.
The Screen Guild Theater boasted some of the greatest all-star casts ever assembled for radio. Nearly every major film star lined up to perform in Screen Guild's half-hour movie adaptations because they knew it was for a good cause: All talent fees went to the Motion Picture Country House for aging and indigent film actors.
"The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse(1941) 27:47 A doctor studying crime goes into business for himself as a jewel thief. Starring Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart, from the 1938 film.
Suspense was one of the premier programs of the Golden Age of Radio (aka old-time radio), and advertised itself as "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." It was heard in one form or another from 1942 through 1962. There were approximately 945 episodes broadcast during its long run, over 900 of which are extant in mostly high-quality recordings. Suspense went through several major phases, characterized by different hosts, sponsors and director/producers. There were a few rules which were followed for all but a handful of episodes: Protagonists were usually a normal person suddenly dropped into a threatening or bizarre situation. Evildoers must be punished in the end.
Suspense was one of the premier programs of the Golden Age of Radio (aka old-time radio), and advertised itself as "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." It was heard in one form or another from 1942 through 1962. There were approximately 945 episodes broadcast during its long run, over 900 of which are extant in mostly high-quality recordings. Suspense went through several major phases, characterized by different hosts, sponsors and director/producers. There were a few rules which were followed for all but a handful of episodes: Protagonists were usually a normal person suddenly dropped into a threatening or bizarre situation. Evildoers must be punished in the end.
Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons was one of network radio's longest running detectives, although listening to it now would hardly explain why. This kind, elderly, boring sleuth, in company with his bumbling assistant, Mike Clancy, was on the airwaves from 1937 to 1955, logging nearly 20 years of fighting crime. The series came out of the soap opera fiction factory of Frank and Anne Hummert and encompassed most of the trite dialogue and snail plotting of daytime serials.
Lights Out was an American old-time radio program featuring "tales of the supernatural and the supernormal." It was immensely popular, and was one of the first horror programs, predating Suspense and Inner Sanctum. In its heydey, Lights Out rivalled the popularity of those shows. Lights Out ran through several series and networks, from January 1, 1934 to August 6, 1947. The principal sponsor was Ironized Yeast. Most episodes were broadcast at midnight. Lights Out then made the transition to television in 1949, where it was broadcast until 1952. Created in Chicago by writer Wyllis Cooper in 1934.
Dimension X. May 13, 1950. NBC net. "Almost Human". Sustaining. A large, powerful robot trained for killing, develops a sense of good and evil. The script was subsequently used on "X Minus One" on August 11, 1955 (see cat.#43257) The program was rebroadcast on "Monitor" during August, 1974. Santos Ortega, Rita Lynn, Jack Grimes, Robert Block (author), George Lefferts (adaptor), Van Woodward (producer), Norman Rose (host), Edward King (director), Bob Warren (announcer). 1/2 hour.
Dragnet was created and produced by Jack Webb, who starred as the terse Sgt. Friday. Webb had starred in a few mostly short-lived radio programs, but Dragnet would make him one of the major media personalities of his era.Webb was a stickler for accurate details, and Dragnet used many authentic touches, such as the LAPD's actual radio call sign (KMA-367), and the names of many real department officials, such as Ray Pinker and Lee Jones of the crime lab or Chief of Detectives Thad Brown.
1944-45 Transcribed syndication intended for weekly play in 30 minute time slots. The cast was Elliott Lewis, David Ellis and Russell Thorson, all serving stints as Captain Bart Friday, a San Francisco detective who roamed the world looking for dangerous adventure. Jack Edwards as Skip Turner, Fridayâs Texas talking sidekick. Writer/producer is Carlton E. Morse.
Although overshadowed by the earlier classics of anthology such as the Lux Radio Theater and The Family Theater, the Radio City Playhouse is fondly remembered for its solid dramatic content, and quality radio acting. One of the dramas, "Long Distance," starred Jan Minor as a distraught wife trying to reach a judge on the West Coast to sign an immediate stay of execution that will take her innocent husband's life in a matter of hours. That show is considered as a classic that ranks with Agnes Moorehead's "Sorry, Wrong Number," of Suspense fame.
The Clock was a dramatic thirty-minute suspense and mystery series. It was written by Lawrence Klee and was first broadcast in November 1946. The story always began the same; âSunrise and sunset, promise and fulfilment, birth and death â the whole drama of life is written in the sands of timeâ.
First Broadcast November 3rd 1946
Last Broadcast May 23rd 1948
In 1947 Marie Wilson starred in the radio sitcom "," throughout its radio run, in a 1952-54 television series and in two films that introduced the new comedy team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Her open, grinning face belying her age, Wilson continued doing her dumb-blonde act into the 1960s, starring in summer stock and dinner-theater productions of Born Yesterday and appearing in commercials. Marie Wilson's last TV assignment was a voice-over role in the 1970 animated cartoon series Where's Huddles?; two years later, she died of cancer at the age of 56. Marie Wilson is, of course, Irma Peterson. The "friend" narrator Jane is played by Cathy Lewis (wife of Elliot Lewis, "Remley" on Phil Harris/Alice Faye Show). John Brown is Irma's boyfriend Al. Professor Kropotkin is played by the hilarious Hans Conreid. Irma's boss, Mr. Clyde, is played by Alan Reed.
Noel Coward's very witty and often revived play is a mixed bag. On the one hand you have one of the master wits of the century, on par, say, with George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde, and on the other you have characters which I place near the top of my list of people I don't want to meet. Amanda and Elyot are those people. In a very clever premise, they play an ex-married couple, each newly married to another the very same day, each accidentally spending their honeymoon in the same French city, in the same hotel, on the same floor, and in fact in adjoining rooms. They meet on the adjoining terraces, reminisce over old times and decide it was a mistake to divorce. Leaving notes to their spouses (Reginald Denny and Una Merkel) they run off to a St. Moritz, Switzerland chalet, with their mystified spouses swiftly following to find them. My problem with the film is their persistent and maddening bickering - verbal violence - which they recognize they're guily of, and which each try to stem by using the expression "Solomon Isaacs" to remind the other to stop. It doesn't always work, and it sometimes results in physical violence too.
Little Women (1868) is a novel by Louisa May Alcott published on September 26, 1867, concerning the lives and loves of four sisters growing up during the American Civil War. It was based on Alcott's own experiences as a child in Concord, Massachusetts, with her sisters. This classic story of the March family women and their lives has remained enduringly popular since its publication. Poor, argumentative, loving, and optimistic, the March sisters struggle to supplement their family's meager income and realize their own dreams. This highly autobiographical novel shows us women who are strong-minded and independent in their determination to control their own destiny. This radio version from American Novels in 1947 is a two part series and a wonderful old time radio audio drama.
rSponsored by Vic's nose drops, vapor rubs, and other great products by the Vic Chemical Company, this collection contains all known episodes in existence of the short-run series of 1944, Dangerously Yours. Hollywood star, Victor Jory, was the primary herostarring in story adaptation of pirates, espionage, adventure and romance. The series was later renamed in October 1944 to Matinee Theater.
Blair of the Mounties is the story of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police -- a fictional series based on the work of the Northwest Mounted Police before the World War I. It was a fifteen minute weekly serial heard every Monday for 36 weeks beginning January 31st, 1938 and running through the 3rd of October of 1938. It may have been on the air as early as 1935, although thereâs no actual proof of this. Little is known of the series other than it followed the exploits of Sgt. Blair of the Northwest Mounted Police. and probably was the inspiration for Trendell, Campbell and Muir's Challenge of the Yukon. The series was written by Colonel Rhys Davies, who also played the Colonel Blair in the series. Jack Abbot played the Constable. Jack French, one of OTRâs best researchers says this about the series: âBlair is not restricted to Canada, as other Mounties, as we find him, in a few cases, in Great Britain, solving cases. Overall the series is amateurishly written, with the actor playing Blair coming accros as a bit stuffy.â
Robert A. Arthur was the writer of these grisly, macabre fifteen-minute thrillers. Maurice Tarplin played Dr Weird, the narrator of these fantastic tales. The closing line was always the same: âOh, you have to leave now â too bad! But perhaps youâll drop in on me again soon. Iâm always home. Just look for the house on the other side of the cemetery â the house of Dr Weird!â
EPISODE#1
The Strange Doctor Weird. November 7, 1944. Mutual net. "The House Where Death Lived". Sponsored by: Adam Hats. A strange old man baits his trap for rats with unusual bait. Possibly the first show of the series, this program is possibly dated November 14, 1944. These programs were originally dated by the dates etched on the disc matrices. These dated indicated when the disc was cut, which sometimes is the date of broadcast, sometimes later. Slight conflicts with reported broadcast dates may therefore exist. . 15 minutes.
EPISODE#2
The Strange Doctor Weird. November 14, 1944. Mutual net. "The Summoning Of Chandor". Sponsored by: Adam Hats. A good supernatural quickie about a mystic with the power to "summon." The program is possibly dated November 28, 1944. . 15 minutes.
Sherlock Holmes detective stories appeared on radio for more than 25 years, with a long list of performers playing the parts of Holmes and Dr Watson. FIRST BROADCAST: October 20th 1930 LAST BROADCAST: September 4th 1956. The stories were written by Edith Meiser, a self-confessed Holmes addict. These were so well written that she was warmly praised by Arthur Conan Doyleâs widow and son.
The Tailspin Tommy comic also became a subject for four Monogram feature movies and two, twelve-part serials along with a radio series, Big Little books, several pulp magazines and comic books. The comic strip appeared in as many as 250 newspapers and was carried on color Sunday comic pages. Most of this pen and ink "action" took place during the 1930s and the strip died out in 1942 with a minor reappearance of a comic book in 1946. Being first is always a precarious honor and eventually becomes a challenge as it engenders competition. Tailspin Tommy occupies an important spot in aviation history and is worthy of collection - thousands of young men labored over their model airplanes and enjoyed the aerial adventures of comic characters as the youth of America became "air minded" and were unknowingly prepared for the major conflict of World War 2.
GRANBY'S GREEN ACRES, situation comedy.
Broadcast History: July 3 - August 21, 1950, CBS. 30m, Mondays at 9:30. Cast: Gale Gordon and Bea Benaderet as John and Martha Granby, ex-bank teller and wife who moved to the country to become farmers. Louise Erickson as Janice, their daughter. Parley Baer as Eb, the hired hand. Announcer: Bob LeMond Music: Opie Cates Writer-Producer-Director: Jay Sommers. Granby's Green Acres grew out of characters played by Gale Gordon and Bea Benaderet on the Lucille Ball series My Favorite Husband. The names were changed, but the basic characters remained the same.
In the days prior to From Here To Eternity, Frank Sinatra's popularity was waning and this private eye show was an attempt to remedy that. In it, Frank played ROCKY FORTUNE, a "footloose and fancy-free young man," frequently unemployed, who took numerous, adventurous odd jobs. It was a relatively undistinguished series; definitely a "B grade" radio series, saved by Sinatra's charm and a tongue-in-cheek approach.
A happy-go-lucking West Virginia mountain family picks up stakes and moves to a ranch in California's San Fernando Valley. Center of the action, and undisputed star of the show, was Grandpa, a porch-rockin', gol- darnin', consarnin' old geezer with a wheezy voice who liked to meddle in practically everybody's affairs, neighbors and kin alike. His kin were grandson Luke and his new bride, Kate; Luke's teenage sister, Hassie; and Luke's 11-year-old brother, Little Luke (their parents were deceased). Completing the regular cast were Pepino, their loyal farm hand; George MacMichael, their crusty neighbor and Amos' best friend; and Flora, George's spinster sister who had eyes for Amos. Grandpappy Amos was an incorrigible codger who was against anything anyone else was for. He had the regulation Heart of Gold stuck away somewhere, but he was cantankerous as all get out. With his shoulders and arms jumping, Amos walked like a chicken with a limp. He bullied, he blustered, he cajoled, he did everything he could to get his own way. His not being able to read or write got him into many predicaments, for he would never admit to being illiterate to anyone outside the family.
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was a radio drama about a freelance insurance investigator that aired from February 11, 1949 to September 30, 1962 on CBS. There were 811 episodes in the 12-year run, and over 720 still exist today. Charles Russell was the first to star as Johnny Dollar, the smart and tough detective who tossed silver dollar tips to bellhops. With the first three actors to play Johnny Dollar there was little to distinguish it from other detective series at the time (Richard Diamond, Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade).While always a friend of the police,Johnny wasn't necessarily a stickler for the strictest interpretation of the law. He was willing to let some things slide to satisfy his own sense of justice, as long as the interests of his employer were protected.
Fibber McGee and Molly premiered in 1935. The program struggled in the ratings until 1940, when it became a national sensation. Within three years, it was the top-rated program in America. Few radio shows were more beloved than Fibber McGee and Molly. The programâs lovable characters included Mayor LaTrivia, Doc Gamble, Mrs. Uppington, Wallace Wimple, Alice Darling, Gildersleeve, Beulah, Myrt, and the Old Timer. 79 Wistful Vista was one of Americaâs most famous addresses and Mollyâs warning to Fibber not to open the hall closet door (and his subsequent decision to do it) created one of radioâs best remembered running gags that audiences expected each week. Jim Jordan (Fibber) was born on a farm on November 16, 1896, near Peoria, Illinois. Marian Driscoll (Molly), a coal minerâs daughter, was born in Peoria on November 15, 1898. After years of hardship and touring in obscurity on the small-time show biz circuit, they arrived in Chicago in 1924, where they eventually performed on thousands of shows and developed 145 different voices and characters. Broadcast to the nation from WMAQ/Chicago, the show entertained America until March 1956, and continued on NBCâs Monitor until 1959. Jim Jordan died on April 1, 1988. Marian Jordan died on April 7, 1961. Fibber McGee and Molly was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1989. First Broadcast date April 16, 1935. Last Broadcast date September 6, 1959.
Detective Story aired on the Lux Radio Show on April 26, 1954. Starring Kirk Douglas as detective Jim McLeod, Eleanor Parker as his wife Mary and William Conrad as Lt. Monaghan, Detective Story is based on a Beroadway play and is noted as one of Douglas's best performances. The show incorporates a mixture of police procedure, comedy, drama, and outright tragedy and was nominated for 4 Oscars.
Life With Luigi. April 8, 1952. CBS net. Sponsored by: Wrigley's Spearmint Gum. Luigi plans to hold an Easter feast for his friends, but Pasquale sees to it that there's no food at the party. J. Carrol Naish, Cy Howard (creator, producer), Mac Benoff (writer, director), Alan Reed, Pat Burton (associate producer), Lou Derman (writer), Hans Conried, Mary Shipp, Ken Peters, Joe Forte, Charles Lyon (announcer), Lud Gluskin (music director), Jody Gilbert. 30:00.
Thus with the pounding of the gavel, the fate of men and women have been decided by the judge. This is the story of our legal rights, the battle to preserve and protect them, and how easily they can be lost. The program shows us just how fragile liberty and justice can be. These stories of everyday events are still interesting, even after 50 years. Stories of criminal liability, legal wills, buying on installment, and leasing an apartment. Each story is well written, and the acting, though dated and a bit hokey by todayâs standards, still manages to achieve the desired effect. Not much information is available for this series, it was apparently broadcast on a limited basis, and originated on WMAQ Chicago, an NBC station. It was comprised of thirteen episodes, twelve of which are currently available, and was heard from January 30, 1954 through April 24, 1954.
The Secrets of Scotland Yard is hosted by Clive Brook, narrator of LM Radio. Brook was a successful director writer, and actor in many films, including âDressed to Thrillâ in 1935, âThe Flemish Farmâ in 1943 and âOn Approvalâ in 1944. He was probably best remembered for playing opposite Marlene Dietrich in the 1932 movie, âShanghai Express.â He also played Sherlock Holmes in the 1932 movie of the same name.
Michael Shayne was a fictional sleuth created by Brett Halliday (a pen name for author Davis Dresser) who was first initiated into the fraternity for detectives in the 1939 novel "Dividend of Death". Dresser based the character on a âtall and rangyâ brawler who once saved his life during a braw in a Mexican cantina. The Shayne character would go on to appear in 69 novels, plus a long-running mystery magazineâand in 1941, was brought to the silver screen in Paramountâs Michael Shayne, Private Detective, an adaptation of Dividend of Death that starred Lloyd Nolan, and paved the way for six additional B-mysteries to follow. The New Adventures of Michael Shayneâpremiered on July 15, 1948 starring Jeff Chandler.
Mr. and Mrs. North was a radio mystery series that aired on CBS from 1942 to 1954. Alice Frost and Joseph Curtin had the title roles when the series began in 1942. Publisher Jerry North and his wife Pam lived in Greenwich Village at 24 St. Anne's Flat. They were not professional detectives but simply an ordinary couple who stumbled across a murder or two every week for 12 years. The radio program eventually reached nearly 20 million listeners.
CBS SCHENLEY LABS, INC. Tuesdays 9:30 - 10:00 pm
PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: Bill Lawrence
ANNOUNCER: Frank Graham
MUSIC: Leith Stevens
SCRIPTS: Jean Holloway
CBS Schenley Labs, Inf. Tuesdays 9:30PM to 10:00PM. Producer/Director was Bill Lawrence. Announcer Frank Graham. Music Leith Stevens. Scripts by Jean Holloway.
Philo Vance was the detective creation of S. S. Van Dine first published in the mid 1920s. Vance, in the original books, is an intellectual so highly refined he seems he might be ghostwritten by P. G. Wodehouse. Take this quote from The Benson Murder Case, 1924, as Vance pontificates in his inimitable way: "That's your fundamental error, don't y' know. Every crime is witnessed by outsiders, just as is every work of art. The fact that no one sees the criminal, or the artist, actu'lly at work, is wholly incons'quential." Thankfully, the radio series uses only the name, and makes Philo a pretty normal, though very intelligent and extremely courteous gumshoe. Jose Ferrer played him in 1945. From 1948-1950, the fine radio actor Jackson Beck makes Vance as good as he gets. George Petrie plays Vance's constantly impressed public servant, District Attorney Markham. Joan Alexander is Ellen Deering, Vance's secretary and right-hand woman. The organist for the show is really working those ivories, and fans of old time radio organ will especially enjoy this series. Perhaps one reason the organist "pulls out all the stops" is because there seems to be little, if any, sound effects on the show. Philo Vance, the radio series, does pay homage to the original books in that both were, even in their own time, a bit out of date and stilted. (OTRR)
FEAR ON 4 is the British Broadcasting Corporation's continuation of a tradition of horror shows dating back to 1943. Back then, the BBC offered APPOINTMENT WITH FEAR, the title given to ten series of programs running from 1943 to 1955. These are the most famous BBC horror series in it's history. The stories were introduced by The Man in Black, played by Valentine Dyall. In 1949, The Man In Black was given his own series, called THE MAN IN BLACK, again featuring Valentine Dyall. Unfortunately, only four shows from APPOINTMENT WITH FEAR are known to have survived. None of THE MAN IN BLACK shows are known to exist. The Man in Black returned to radio again in 1988, this time played by Edward de Souza. FEAR ON 4, airing on BBC Radio Four, continued in the tradition of its predecessors. Four series were produced from 1988 through 1993 with a fifth series in 1997. In 1999, one new show and 2 repeats aired under the banner of "Fear on 4" on BBC Radio 4's LATE NIGHT ON 4 series. The shows are a mix of adaptations of short stories and original radio plays. All shows from these series exist. The BBC offered selected stories from the first three series in book form, entitled "The Man in Black: Macabre Stories from Fear on Four" (BBC Books, ISBN 0-563-20904-6) in December 1990.
The shows are classic chills from the old school, with creepy organ, overwrought women and over the top men. Perhaps not the highest of melodrama, but obsessively workmanlike. After all, they might have known they were a skeleton staff toiling relentlessly without a ghost of a chance of fame. Thanks to transcription, these unknowns are still with us. John Dunning, succinctly states in "On the Air, The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio," "There were no credits, so casts and production crews are unknown."
Broadway Is My Beat, a radio crime drama, ran on CBS from February 27, 1949 to August 1, 1954. With music by Robert Stringer, the show originated from New York during its first three months on the air, with Anthony Ross portraying Times Square Detective Danny Clover. John Dietz directed for producer Lester Gottlieb. Beginning with the July 7, 1949 episode, the series was broadcast from Hollywood with producer Elliott Lewis directing a new cast in scripts by Morton Fine and David Friedkin. The opening theme of "I'll Take Manhattan" introduced Detective Danny Clover (now played by Larry Thor), a hardened New York City cop who worked homicide "from Times Square to Columbus Circle -- the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world."
Destry Rides Again - This is a comedy and a drama from a 1939 western film directed by George Marshall adapted for radio by Lux Radio Theater airing November 5, 1945 starring Jimmy Stewart and Joan Blondell. It is about how a corrupt and violent town can be cleaned up without relying entirely on physical force. Tom Destry, son of a legendary frontier peacekeeper, doesn't believe in gunplay. Thus he becomes the object of widespread ridicule when he rides into the wide-open town of Bottleneck. A good one!
CBS started the year 1958 off with the introduction on 01/29/58 of Frontier Gentleman. That series lasted 41 broadcasts. Near the end of the year, the network launched Have Gun, Will Travel on 11/23/58, which continued for 106 programs. In between, a very short series was offered and discontinued after only 16 broadcasts, Luke Slaughter Of Tombstone. Each program had an authoritative opening statement: "Slaughter's my name, Luke Slaughter. Cattle's my business. It's a tough business, it's a big business. I got a big stake in it. And there's no man west of the Rio Grande big enough to take it away from me." Junius Matthews was heard as Slaughter's sidekick, Wichita.
Tuska cited Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940) and Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery (1941) as the best of the Bellamy-Lindsay pairings. "The influence of The Thin Man series was apparent in reverse", Tuska noted about Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery. "Ellery and Nikki are unmarried but obviously in love with each other. Probably the biggest mystery... is how Ellery ever gets a book written. Not only is Nikki attractive and perfectly willing to show off her figure", Tuska wrote, "but she also likes to write her own stories on Queen's time, and gets carried away doing her own investigations." In Ellery Queen, Master Detective, "the amorous relationship between Ellery and Nikki Porter was given a dignity, and therefore integrity", Tuska wrote, "that was lacking in the two previous entries in the series", made at Republic Pictures before Bellamy and Lindsay were signed by Columbia.
The Hollywood husband and wife team of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall set sail for adventure in the Bold Venture radio series in early 1951. There were well over 400 stations that aired the program. Since thiswas syndicated * the starting date varied from station to station but Mar 26, 1951 was the official date of the first show. Humphrey Bogart portrayed Slate Shannon, owner of a rundown Havana hotel, Shannon's Place. The action took place on land as well aboard Slate's boat, The Bold Venture, thus the title of the series. Lauren Bacall was his ward Sailor Duval, a stubborn and flirtatious young woman whose late father had willed her to Slate for her protection. Together the duo found adventure, intrigue, mystery and romance in the sultry settings of tropical Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean.
Abbott and Costello William (Bud) Abbott and Lou Costello (born Louis Francis Cristillo) were an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film and television made them one of the most popular teams in the history of comedy. Thanks to the endurance of their most popular and influential routine, "Who's on First?"---whose rapid-fire word play and comprehension confusion set the preponderant framework for most of their best-known routines---the team are also the only comedians known to have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Bud Abbott was born in Asbury Park, NJ, October 2, 1897 and died April 24, 1974 in Woodland Hills, California. Lou Costello was born in Paterson, NJ, March 6, 1906 and died March 3, 1959 in East Los Angeles, California. After working as Allen's summer replacement, Abbott and Costello joined Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy on The Chase and Sanborn Hour in 1941, while two of their films (Buck Privates and Hold That Ghost) were adapted for Lux Radio Theater. They launched their own weekly show October 8, 1942, sponsored by Camel cigarettes. The Abbott and Costello Show mixed comedy with musical interludes (usually, by singers such as Connie Haines, Marilyn Maxwell, the Delta Rhythm Boys, Skinnay Ennis, and the Les Baxter Singers).
"I am the Whistler and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak..." These words followed by a whistling that was distinctive and well-remembered recalls one of the best mystery crime series of the past. Eminating for all its life from the West Coast this broadcast had a run of almost 13 years. Aired over the CBS radio network it was sponsored for much of the time by the Signal Oil Co.
Starring John Dehner as Paladin, Have Gun, Will Travel brought its brand of Western adventure to CBS airwaves from 1957 until 1963. What makes it a rarity, however, is that it was television show for the entire span, but the radio version did not debut until 1958 and left the air in 1960. The supporting cast included Ben Wright as Hey Boy. Virginia Gregg played Missy Wong (Heyboy's girlfriend) and other main roles.
Adventures of Sam Spade â 1946-1951
Sam Spade was a tough private investigator. Each case was unfolded as a report dictated to his secretary, Effie, who was always flustered and secretly in love with him. He always quoted his license number and referred to each investigation as a âcaperâ. Each report was dated with the actual airdate. CAST: Howard Duff, Steve Dunne, Lurene Tuttle, John McIntire, William Conrad, Cathy and Elliot Lewis, June Havoc, Joseph Kearns, Jerry Hausner, Elliott Reid, Mary Jane Croft, Jeanette Nolan, Betty Lou Gerson
FIRST BROADCAST: July 12th 1946
LAST BROADCAST: April 27th 1951
SPONSORS: Wildroot Cream Oil, Wildroot
Starting as a replacement show for Gangbusters and Counterspy, the series premiered December 11, 1957 and it ran until June 13, 1958. Quoting from Astounding Magazine, "Exploring Tomorrow is the first science fiction radio show of science-fictioneers, by science- fictioneers, and for science-fictioneers" The shows were narrated by the editor of Astounding Magazine, John W. Campbell, Jr., with scripts written by Gordon Dickson, Robert Silverberg and many other notable science fiction writers.
THE WEIRD CIRCLE presented 30 minute tales of horror, frequently inspired by classic horror or ghost stories, frequently done by French authors. It opened with the sound of the surf and the chant-like opening, "In this cave by the restless sea, we are met to call from out of past, stories strange and weird. Bell keeper, toll the bell, so that all may know that we are gathered again in the Weird Circle".
Episode3 "Error In Diagnosis" and Episode4 "Enjoyment"
The Family Doctor (Dramatic Serial-1932) was a story about Dr. Grant Adams, a small town doctor who doubled as the communityâs moral rectifier. He was more than just respected, he was loved by all. Each week he confronted issues from robbery to suicide, and always with common sense and gentle moral judgment. Though his old-fashioned remedies for sicknesses are outdated compared to modern medical practicing, The Family Doctor's attitude towards life's daily issues transcend time. Of the 39 intended episodes, only 12 were aired.
Boxcars711 supports the efforts of the Old Time Radio Researchers Group (OTRR) whose goals include restoring, preserving and sharing the classic shows from what is commonly known as the "Golden Age of Radio" (1930-1960). Please visit and support this great organization at:
http://www.otrr.org/
Here Comes Mr. Jordan from Lux Radio Theater on Jan 26, 1942 stars Cary Grant, Claude Rains, Evelyn Keyes, and James Gleason. Here Comes Mr. Jordan is a comedy in which a boxer, accidentally killed before his time, is allowed a chance to come back to Earth in the body of a rich man who has just been murdered by his wife. It was taken from the 1941 comedy film and was also remade several times, with different titles: Heaven Can Wait (1978), Heaven's Touch (1983) and Down to Earth (2001). This radio version is an excellent production.
Murder at Midnight was an old-time radio show featuring macabre tales of suspense, often with a supernatural twist. It was produced in New York and was first heard over the Mutual Network between September 16, 1946 and September 8, 1947 on radio station WJZ. The show's writers included Robert Newman, Joseph Ruscoll, Max Erlich and William Norwood, and it was directed by Anton M. Leder. The host was Raymond Morgan, who delivered the memorable lines of introduction over Charles Paul's effective organ theme: "Midnight, the witching hour when the night is darkest, our fears the strongest, and our strength at its lowest ebb. Midnight, when the graves gape open and death strikes."
THIS EPISODE
August 17, 1946. Program #10. Syndicated. "Terror Out Of Space". Commercials added locally. A group of scientists establishes contact with the moon for the first time in history. They find electrical creatures who never die, who ride a radio wave down to Earth and start to kill the inhabitants of the planet. The announcer predicts that, "our story will long be remembered as a classic!" Robert Newman (writer), George Petrie, Peter Capell, Anton M. Leader (director), Charles Paul (music). 26:56.
QUOTE FROM JERRY LEWIS:
"Like Burns and Allen, Abbott and Costello, and Hope and Crosby, we were vaudevillians, stage performers who worked with an audience. But the difference between us and all the others is significant. They worked with a script. We exploded without one, the same way wiseguy kids do on a playground, or jazz musicians do when they're let loose. And the minute we started out in nightclubs, audiences went nuts for us. As Alan King told an interviewer a few years ago: "I have been in the business for fifty-five years, and I have never to this day seen an act get more laughs than Martin and Lewis. They didn't get laughsâit was pandemonium. People knocked over tables."
First heard on Mutual featuring Elliott Lewis, who as Leonard Maltin writes in "The Great American Broadcast, "âwore every hat imaginable-actor, producer, and director-also penned a good number of scripts for series he supervised, including Suspense." And Maltin says of this show, "On the terrific late-1940's high-adventure series The Voyage of the Scarlet Queen he held down both jobs simultaneously as director and star." As Maltin continues, âLewis had the ability to make you believe whatever he said. Cast as the skipper on the high-adventure series The Voyage of the Scarlet Queen, he was completely convincing as seagoing ship's master Philip Carney-never corny or overblown." So let a master captain of drama chart a course to exotic ports of call and thrilling adventures. All you have to do is step aboard The Scarlet Queen.
Dangerous Assignment first aired in 1949. Brian Donlevy played the lead as Steve Mitchell in this international spy series. Herb Butterfield played the Commissioner and Betty Moran was the Commissioner's secretary. The director was Bill Cairn and the writer for the series was Robert Ryf.
Suspense was one of the premier programs of the Golden Age of Radio (aka old-time radio), and advertised itself as "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." It was heard in one form or another from 1942 through 1962. There were approximately 945 episodes broadcast during its long run, over 900 of which are extant in mostly high-quality recordings. Suspense went through several major phases, characterized by different hosts, sponsors and director/producers. There were a few rules which were followed for all but a handful of episodes: Protagonists were usually a normal person suddenly dropped into a threatening or bizarre situation. Evildoers must be punished in the end.
The Clitheroe Kid was James Robertson Clitheroe, Jimmy Clitheroe to most, who by some strange coincidence did come from the town of that name without having to change his family name! At his full height he was 4ft 3in, and played the naughty schoolboy from 1958 to 1972. Although plausable from a distance, he was not really able to pass himself off as a youngster close up, so a TV career did not really take off too well, but at the peak of his fame the radio show was raking in about 10 million listeners, although by the end this had dropped to a tenth of that figure.
6-12-50 to 10-26-50 NBC, various 30 minute timeslots. STAR: Ilona Massey as a Mata Hari-style operative in World War II. ORCHESTRAL: Roy Shield. WRITER-DIRECTOR: Harry W. Junkin. Top secret was highly effective, said Radio Life: the role played by the Hungarian actress was âtailor-made for her sultry voice and heavy accentâ
The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Gale Gordon in the title role, took over where Sherlock Holmes had left off. Sponsored by Petri wine, it used the same "weekly visit" format and the same team of Anthony Boucher and Dennis Green that had written The New Adventured of Sherlock Holmes. Gregory Hood was modelled after true-life San Francisco importer Richard Gump, and many of the stories revolve around a mystery surrounding some particular imported treasure. Hood's sidekick Sanderson "Sandy" Taylor was played by Bill Johnstone. The show aired from June, 1946 through August, 1950. There were an additional couple of shows aired in October 1951. Hood and Sanderson were played in later episodes by Elliott Lewis and Howard McNear, respectively.
Lum and Abner , The Adventures of two small town shop keepers in the Town of Pine Ridge Arkansas Lum and Abner were Broadcast from 1931 until 1954 starring CHESTER LAUCK [1902-1980] AND NORRIS "TUFFY" GOFF [1906-1978] CHET PLAYED LUM EDWARDS (EDDERDS),GRAND-PAPPY SPEARS, AND CEDRIC WEEHUNT. TUFFY PLAYED ABNER PEABODY DICK HUDDLESTONE MOUSEY GRAY AND SQUIRE SKIMP ALONG WITH MOST OF THE OTHER PEOPLE PASSING THROUGH TOWN.
Ronald Colman and his wife Benita Hume starred in the Halls of Ivy, a very well-written, superbly acted radio program that was full of warmth and wit. The show aired from 1950 to 1952 on NBC and is not often mentioned when old-time radio programs are the topic of conversation, but it is one of my favorites. The combination of Mr. & Mrs. Colman's acting and Don Quinn's writing made for an enjoyable half-hour's worth of entertainment. The show was created by Don Quinn who for many, many years put words in the mouths of Fibber McGee and Molly. Quinn wrote jokes that made you think. On the McGee program there was a fast and furious onslaught of crazy puns, mangled cliches, and double-meanings. Sometimes all at once -- when delivered by the superb timing of the talented Jim Jordan as Fibber
In October of 1934, "Lux Radio Theater" debuted in New York on NBC's Blue radio network. Presenting audio versions of popular Broadway plays, the show failed to garner an audience and soon ran out of material. After switching networks to CBS and moving to Hollywood, Lux found its true market. The show began featuring adaptations of popular films, performed by as many of the original stars as possible. With an endless supply of hit films scripts and an audience of more than 40 million, Lux enjoyed a prosperous run until the curtain fell in 1956.
TODAY'S SHOW
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is a 1927 novel by the mysterious German-English bilingual author B. Traven, in which two American down-and-outers in 1920s Mexico hook up with an old-timer to prospect for gold. The book was very successfully adapted into a 1948 film by John Huston and done for radio by LUX RADIO THEATER on April 18, 1949. Humphrey DeForest Bogart (December 25, 1899 â January 14, 1957) portrays Fred C. Dobbs in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Bogart played a paranoid, self-pitying character whose small-mindedness eventually destroyed him.
Lights Out was an American old-time radio program featuring "tales of the supernatural and the supernormal." It was immensely popular, and was one of the first horror programs, predating Suspense and Inner Sanctum. In its heydey, Lights Out rivalled the popularity of those shows. Lights Out ran through several series and networks, from January 1, 1934 to August 6, 1947. The principal sponsor was Ironized Yeast. Most episodes were broadcast at midnight. Lights Out then made the transition to television in 1949, where it was broadcast until 1952. Created in Chicago by writer Wyllis Cooper in 1934.
The First Nighter Program aired on the Blue Network and on Thursday nights at 8:30PM till 9:00PM on the Blue Network, sponsored by Campana and starring Don Ameche and June Meredith.
Space Patrol - Space Adventure - Broadcast History : September 18th, 1950 - March 19th, 1955 ABC. 30m, Mondays and Fridays at 5:30pm - Cast : Ed Kemmer as Buzz Corry, Lyn Osborn as Cadet Happy Virginia Hewitt as Carol Karlyle Ken Mayer as Maj. Robbie Robertson, Norman Jolley as Dr. Malingro, Nina Bara as Tonga, Bela Kovacs as Prince Baccarritti - Announcers : DIck Tufeld, Dick Wesson - Producer/Directors : Larry Robertson, Mike Moser - Writer : Lou Huston - Notes : Ran concurrently on TV and Radio, with most of the same performers.
Detective Drama (1946 - 54)
Bob Bailey played George Valentine as a detective handy man, who got his jobs from responses to a newspaper ad. Part-time detective and writer Dan Holiday in Box 13 also used the premise. It pays to advertise! The shows follow the usual formats of crime caper shows, with toughs, mysterious rendezvous and people who aren't who they say they are. Network was Mutual, Sponson was Standard Oil. STARS:Bob Bailey,Eddie Firestone jr, Francis Robinson, Joe Kearn PRODUCER:Owen Vinson WRITER: Polly Hopkins MUSIC: Eddie Dunstedter
On January 31, 1936, the Green Hornet radio program aired on WXYZ in Detroit, Michigan. Al Hodge played the part of the Green Hornet from 1936 through January of 1943. The program was created by George W. Trendle, the same man associated with the creation of the Lone Ranger radio show. The premise of the Green Hornet was that of a modern day Lone Ranger. The main character was Britt Reid, a newspaper publisher of the Daily Sentinel by day and the Green Hornet by night. Britt Reid was the great-nephew of the Lone Ranger. Britt Reid's war against crime was an extension of his family history. The Green Hornet fought crime with his high-powered car, the Black Beauty.
Benny plays a big band trumpeter who falls asleep and dreams he is an archangel, sent to destroy earth because persecution and hatred have soared out of control. A light-hearted, farcical approach to the apocolypse that's quite enjoyable, despite Benny's longstanding jokes about being ashamed of it. The plot involves the third trumpet player in the orchestra of a radio program, named the Paradise Coffee Program, who falls asleep listening to the reading of the advertisement: "The coffee that makes you sleep." He dreams he is the angel Athaniel, a trumpeter in the orchestra of heaven, who is such a terrible musician he is relieved of his position and sent on a mission to earth. He is entrusted to blow the Last Trumpet at midnight, but complications in the plot ensue when two fallen angels, named Osidro and Doremus, want to continue their physical existence of pursuing pleasures. While Athaniel encounters experiences of mortal life, such as eating food and the need for money, the fallen angels try to prevent Athaniel from going through with his mission by having his trumpet stolen.
Benny plays a big band trumpeter who falls asleep and dreams he is an archangel, sent to destroy earth because persecution and hatred have soared out of control. A light-hearted, farcical approach to the apocolypse that's quite enjoyable, despite Benny's longstanding jokes about being ashamed of it. The plot involves the third trumpet player in the orchestra of a radio program, named the Paradise Coffee Program, who falls asleep listening to the reading of the advertisement: "The coffee that makes you sleep." He dreams he is the angel Athaniel, a trumpeter in the orchestra of heaven, who is such a terrible musician he is relieved of his position and sent on a mission to earth. He is entrusted to blow the Last Trumpet at midnight, but complications in the plot ensue when two fallen angels, named Osidro and Doremus, want to continue their physical existence of pursuing pleasures. While Athaniel encounters experiences of mortal life, such as eating food and the need for money, the fallen angels try to prevent Athaniel from going through with his mission by having his trumpet stolen.
Journey to the Center of the Earth is a classic 1864 science fiction novel by Jules Verne. The story involves a professor who leads his nephew and hired guide down a volcano in Iceland to the "Center of the Earth". This audio theater production is from BBC 1963. The story begins on Sunday 24 May 1863, in the Lidenbrock house in Hamburg, with Professor Lidenbrock rushing home to peruse his latest purchase, an original runic manuscript of an Icelandic saga written by Snorri Sturluson. While looking through the book, Lidenbrock and Axel find a coded note written in runic script.
Wyatt Earp Frontier Marshall starring Richard Conte is a selection from THE HALLMARK PLAYHOUSE which was heard over CBS stations on Thursday evenings sponsored by, of course, Hallmark Greeting Cards. This story is from the Stuart N. Lake book Frontier Marshall, a 1931 biography of Wyatt Earp. It aired March 24, 1949.
This was ABC's attempt to recapture some of what radio was. The effort was not the best, but at least an effort was made. The stories ranged from science fiction, comedy, social drama and human interest drama, to detective mystery, psychological drama, melodrama and suspense drama. News programs help fill out the remaining time left in the 30 minute time spot from 5 - 5:30 p.m.
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The radio show first aired on April 26, 1952 and ran until June 18, 1961 on the CBS radio network. The series starred William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon, Howard McNear as Doc Charles Adams, Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell, and Parley Baer as Deputy Chester Proudfoot. Doc's first name and Chester's last name were changed for the television program. Gunsmoke was notable for its critically acclaimed cast and writing, and is commonly regarded as THE true adult western and one of the finest old time radio shows.
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Tells the story of an alcoholic, Milland, on a weekend bender. While on his bender he stops in at his favorite watering stop - Nat's Bar on Third Avenue, based on the legendary P. J. Clarke's. There he seeks companionship in his drinking with congenial bartender Nat (Howard da Silva). As the weekend continues, Milland drifts deeper and deeper into his living nightmare, committing crimes and even spending time in a mental ward. Unlike the novel, the protagonist's frustration in the film stems not from homosexuality but from his frustrations as a would-be writer.
This Is Your FBI was a radio crime drama which aired in the United States on ABC from April 6, 1945 to January 30, 1953. FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover gave it his endorsement, calling it "the finest dramatic program on the air." Producer-director Jerry Devine was given access to FBI files by Hoover, and the resulting dramatizations of FBI cases were narrated by Frank Lovejoy (1945), Dean Carleton (1946-47) and William Woodson (1948-53). Stacy Harris had the lead role of Special Agent Jim Taylor. Others in the cast were William Conrad, Bea Benaderet and Jay C. Flippen.
Written and directed by Robert A. Arthur and David Kogan, the series began on the Mutual Broadcasting System, December 5, 1943, continuing in many different timeslots until September 16, 1952. Unlike many other shows of the era, The Mysterious Traveler was without a sponsor for its entire run. The lonely sound of a distant locomotive heralded the arrival of the malevolent narrator, portrayed by Maurice Tarplin, who introduced himself each week in the following manner. This is the Mysterious Traveler, inviting you to join me on another journey into the strange and terrifying. I hope you will enjoy the trip, that it will thrill you a little and chill you a little. So settle back, get a good grip on your nerves and be comfortable -- if you can!
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Tales of horror recreated by great actors, a spooky organ and chilling sound effects presented by a creepy, rib-tickling host, was a strange brew indeed. Inner Sanctum did it in spades! To this day the show remains a wonderful "guilty" pleasure of many old time radio fans, who listened back then when these shows first fired the imaginations of all but the most jaded.
Father Knows Best, a family comedy of the 1950s, is perhaps more important for what it has come to represent than for what it actually was. In essence, the series was one of a slew of middle-class family sitcoms in which moms were moms, kids were kids, and fathers knew best. Today, many critics view it, at best, as high camp fun, and, at worst, as part of what critic David Marc once labeled the "Aryan melodramas" of the 1950s and 1960s.
NIGHTFALL was a horror series heard over the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation first from July 4, 1980 to May 22, 1981 and then from November 20, 1981 to June 24, 1983. Thirty shows were selected from the first season to be rebroadcast on NPR from October 2, 1981 to June 25, 1982. Since it is a fairly modern series, most shows are available in stereo. Because it's a modern series, it's not widely available (copyright issues). This show may be the most horrifying series ever done. It was so terrifying, that many stations refused to play it or had to cancel the broadcasts due to listener complaints. This is a well done series and well worth searching for sources.
The Jack Benny Program is a classic comedy that is truly one of the best-loved programs from the Golden Age of Radio. It started life as The Canada Dry Program in 1932 on the Blue Network and finished off as The Lucky Strike Program on CBS in 1955. In between, it kept the audience in stitches and established Benny as one of America's all-time great comedians.
SYNDICATED STARS: Dana Andrews as MATT CVETIC who infiltrated top ranks of the Communist Party.
I Was a Communist for the FBI was an American espionage thriller radio series with 78 episodes syndicated by Ziv to more than 600 stations in 1952-54. Made without FBI cooperation, the series was adapted from the book by undercover agent Matt Cvetic, who was portrayed by Dana Andrews.The series was crafted to warn people about the threat of Communist subversion of American society. The tone of the show is very jingoistic and ultra-patriotic. Communists are evil incarnate and the FBI can do no wrong. As a relic of the Joe McCarthy era, this show is a time capsule of American society during the Second Red Scare.
The Story of Dr. Kildare was based on the popular MGM films that were produced in the 1940's, so a radio version in 1949 made perfect sense. The screen actor Lew Ayres played Dr. Kildare in the films, and continued the role in this radio show. The great thespian Lionel Barrymore continued in his role as Kildare's mentor, Dr. Leonard Gillespie. Together the two fight an unending battle against disease and bureaucratic boneheadedness. In a sense, Dr. Kildare is good old fashioned soap opera, but then medical dramas have always been popular, and the good Dr. Kildare is a quiet and devoted medical hero who creates a better world one patient at a time, despite whatever gets in the way. That makes for good radio and a good object lesson for us all - good is usually done a little at a time, and there's always something or someone in the way.
The series premiered on Monday 02/05/79 and offered a different genre each weekday night. Each genre was hosted by a different celebrity. The program was produced on Paramount's Stage F in Hollywood. These first 130 programs were broadcast over a six month period and then rebroadcast over the following six months. From 02/14/80 to 12/19/81 this series was heard again, this time over Mutual, as The Mutual Radio Theater. This was clearly one of the last big attempts to produce radio programming, with many of radio's best talents. Despite budget and talent, it just wasn't to be.
The Sealed Book starred Philip Clarke as the keeper of the book, a croaking, cackling hermit, with knowledge of the black arts, who in each show unlocked the great padlock that kept the sealed book safe from prying eyes. There was a spook story each week with tales of secrets and mysteries of mankind through the ages. This MUTUAL network entry in the horror and mystery genre was far from the best remembered, such as Suspense, Quiet Please, and Inner Sanctum. The Sealed Book begins with a classic intro, in which when gonged, we are escorted by the tuxedoed announcer with unseen organist as the keeper of the book opens the ponderous, albeit squeaky door "to the secret vault wherein is kept the great sealed book, in which is recorded all the secrets and mysteries of mankind through the ages, Here are tales of every kind, tales of murder, of madness, of dark deeds strange and terrible beyond all belief."
Our Miss Brooks, an American situation comedy, began as a radio hit in 1948 and migrated to television in 1952, becoming one of the earlier hits of the so-called Golden Age of Television, and making a star out of Eve Arden (1908-1990) as comely, wisecracking, but humane high school English teacher Connie Brooks. The show hooked around Connie's daily relationships with Madison High School students, colleagues, and pompous principal Osgood Conklin (Gale Gordon), not to mention favourite student Walter Denton (future television and Rambo co-star Richard Crenna, who fashioned a higher-pitched voice to play the role) and biology teacher Philip Boynton ( Jeff Chandler), the latter Connie's all-but-unrequited love interest, who saw science everywhere and little else anywhere.
The Six Shooter, the only radio series staring James Stewart, aired on September 20, 1953. In this radio western, Jimmy played Britt Ponset, a man with a reputation for having a fast gun but is really very different from the hard, tough talking gun slinger type. Here the hero is a slow talking, thinking man who is ready with his gun, but first looks for options to violence. James Stewart played this character very well. Jimmy had appeared on many other radio shows including the Hollywood Star Playhouse where the character of Britt Ponset was introduced in an episode called "The Six Shooter". The same script was used for the audition of THE SIX SHOOTER series, again with Jimmy as Britt. The show aired between September 1953 and June 1954.
Quiet, Please had its roots in the Campbell Playhouse (1938 - 1941), the successor to Orson Welles's Mercury Theatre, who achieved notoriety with their 1938 adaptation of H. G. Wells's novel The War of the Worlds. Cooper was a writer for the Campbell Playhouse, and Chappell was the announcer. They became friends, though Chappell had little (if any) acting experience, Cooper imagined him as the star of a new radio program. Cooper's earlier Lights Out was famous for its gruesome stories and sound effects, but for Quiet, Please, Cooper would cultivate a subdued, slower-paced, and much quieter atmosphere that could still, at its best, match Lights Out for frights and thrills.
Rogue's Gallery came to the Mutual network on September 27, 1945 with Dick Powell portraying Richard Rogue, a private detective who invariably ended up getting knocked out each week and spending his dream time in acerbic conversation with his subconscious self, Eugor. Rogue's Gallery was, in a sense, Dick Powell's rehearsal for Richard Diamond, Private Detective. Powell played private detective Richard Rogue, who trailed luscious blondes, protected witness, and did whatever else detectives do to make a living. It was a good series, though not destined to make much of a mark. Under the capable direction of Dee Englebach and accompanied by the music of Leith Stevens, Powell floated through his lines with the help of such competents as Lou Merrill, Gerald Mohr, Gloria Blondell, Tony Barrett, and Lurene Tuttle. Peter Leeds played Rogue's friend Eugor, an obscure play on names with Eugor spelling Rogue backwards.
Frank Lovejoy stars as Randy Stone, a toughened, street-wise Chicago Star reporter working the Nightbeat in the early 1950's. Sometimes the capers are cops and robbers. Or just normal people in trouble. Sometimes they deserve it. Sometimes fate twists their arm. Sometimes they're just too scared or confused to know the difference. Lovejoy is a seasoned pro of radio and film with an honest, gripping delivery. Solid supporting casts, good writing and direction.
The show first broadcast its fantastic thirty-minute crime mystery series in May 1942 and did not finish until September 1948. There were more than 450 shows of murder and intrigue in all. Although it ran for 6 years it was broadcast for only one year on a national network. The show opened to the sound of footsteps and an eerie whistle, which went on throughout the introductory music. The Whistler always began the show with the opening lines; I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak??
Mystery Playhouse was a short run series staring Peter Lorre as host. Each episode was preceded by Lorre's show description. In today's program, Last Laugh Murder (1943), Lorre introduces a muder mystery investigated by the famous Nero Wolfe.Wolf appears at first to be totally wrong in his evaluations, later proving his skills were never flawed and his observations no less than brilliant.
Dadâs Army was a British broad-comedy sitcom. Consistently good writing and a wonderful cast of old timers and newer talents combined to produce a whimsical period-piece that continues, justifiably, to be savoured and has now assumed a place in the 'hall of greats' pantheon, adored by new generations of the British public. The unmistakable voice of Bud Flanagan singing 'Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr Hitler?', a World War II propaganda singalong was written especially for Dads Army, (by Jimmy Perry) and served to introduce the show.
The Clock was a dramatic thirty-minute suspense and mystery series. It was written by Lawrence Klee and was first broadcast in November 1946. The story always began the same; âSunrise and sunset, promise and fulfilment, birth and death â the whole drama of life is written in the sands of timeâ.
First Broadcast November 3rd 1946
Last Broadcast May 23rd 1948
Throughout the early 1940's on American Radio, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce performed as Holmes and Watson, respectively, in several series of canonical and original Sherlock Holmes stories. When Rathbone finally departed the role before the 1947 season, Tom Conway played Sherlock Holmes opposite Nigel Bruce for one season. After a change of networks, there were two more pairings: John Stanley as Holmes and Alfred Shirley as Watson in 1947-1948 and John Stanley and Ian Martin in 1948-1949. The stories were written by Edith Meiser, a self-confessed Holmes addict. At first she used Arthur Conan Doylesâ original stories, but, after the series outlived the original material, she created her own new stories. These were so well written that she was warmly praised by Arthur Conan Doyleâs widow and son. First broadcast date October 20, 1930. Last broadcast date September 4, 1956.
Whitehall 1212 is a crime drama featuring cases from New Scotland Yard's "Black Museum". Unlike the show starring Orson Welles, however, this series was done with the official support of The Yard and tries to downplay the sensational aspects of thes cases and highlight the rigorous police work that went into solving them.
"Are you willing to undertake a dangerous mission for the United States, knowing in advance you may never return alive?" Cloak and Dagger first aired over the NBC network on May 7, 1950. It had a short run through the Summer on Sundays, changing to Fridays after its Summer run. The last show aired Oct. 22, 1950. This is the story of the WWII special governmental agency, the OSS, or Office of Strategic Services. Its mission was to develop and maintain spy networks throughout Europe and into Asia, while giving aid to underground partisan groups and developing espionage activities for Allied forces overseas.The show is based on the book of the same name by Lt. Col. Corey Ford and Major Alastair MacBain (who were associated with the OSS from its early days.) The dramas are not Hollywood-style, in that they sometimes end with plans foiled or leading characters dead.
Tales of the Texas Rangers, a western adventure old-time radio drama, premiered on July 8, 1950, on the NBC radio network and remained on the air through September 14, 1952. Movie star Joel McCrea starred as Texas Ranger Jayce Pearson, who used the latest scientific techniques to identify the criminals and his faithful horse, Charcoal, to track them down. The shows were reenactments of actual Texas Ranger cases. The series was produced and directed by Stacy Keach, Sr., and was sponsored for part of its run by Wheaties. Captain Manuel T. "Lone Wolf" Gonzaullas, a Ranger for 30 years and who was said to have killed 31 men during his career, served as consultant for the series. The series was adapted for television from 1955 to 1957. During the opening and closing credits of the TV show, the actors would march toward the camera and sing the theme song, "We are the Texas Rangers", to the tune of "The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You", which is also the tune of "I've Been Working on the Railroad".
Mr. and Mrs. North was a radio mystery series that aired on CBS from 1942 to 1954. Alice Frost and Joseph Curtin had the title roles when the series began in 1942. Publisher Jerry North and his wife Pam lived in Greenwich Village at 24 St. Anne's Flat. They were not professional detectives but simply an ordinary couple who stumbled across a murder or two every week for 12 years. The radio program eventually reached nearly 20 million listeners.
Philo Vance was the detective creation of S. S. Van Dine first published in the mid 1920s. Vance, in the original books, is an intellectual so highly refined he seems he might be ghostwritten by P. G. Wodehouse. Take this quote from The Benson Murder Case, 1924, as Vance pontificates in his inimitable way: "That's your fundamental error, don't y' know. Every crime is witnessed by outsiders, just as is every work of art. The fact that no one sees the criminal, or the artist, actu'lly at work, is wholly incons'quential." Thankfully, the radio series uses only the name, and makes Philo a pretty normal, though very intelligent and extremely courteous gumshoe. Jose Ferrer played him in 1945. From 1948-1950, the fine radio actor Jackson Beck makes Vance as good as he gets. George Petrie plays Vance's constantly impressed public servant, District Attorney Markham. Joan Alexander is Ellen Deering, Vance's secretary and right-hand woman. The organist for the show is really working those ivories, and fans of old time radio organ will especially enjoy this series. Perhaps one reason the organist "pulls out all the stops" is because there seems to be little, if any, sound effects on the show. Philo Vance, the radio series, does pay homage to the original books in that both were, even in their own time, a bit out of date and stilted.
"The Case Of The Restless Redhead" and "Raid On A Den Of Marijuana"
Perry Mason aired from 1943 to 1955. Although it is ostensibly a crime drama, Perry Mason sounds and feels like a soap opera. With 10-minute shows every weekday for years on end, the famous defense lawyer handled a myriad of cases, each one blending into the next. the original Perry Mason, whose derivation came from radio, is a lot different. The Perry Mason of radio ran 12 seasons and later led to the development of the now-popular Raymond Burr television show, which started in the late 1950's.
Broadcast History - October 27th, 1947 - May 25th, 1949
ABC, 30m, Mondays at 8pm
Wednesdays at 9:30 from December 31st, 1947
Elgin-American bracelets, compacts, cigarette cases, dresser sets.
October 5th, 1949 - June 28th, 1950, CBS
30m, Wednesdays at9pm, Elgin-American until Januar 4th, then
Desoto-Plymouth
October 4th, 1950 - September 19th, 1956, NBC, 30m
Wednesdays at 9pm. Desoto-Plymouth
Host : Groucho Marx
Announcers : Jack Slattery, briefly, then George Fenneman;
Mike Wallace for Elgin-American
Orchestra : Billy May with a 10-piece band; later, Jack Meakin, Jerry Fielding
Creator-Producer-Director : John Guedel
Directors : Bernie Smith, Bob Dwan
Writers : Ed Tyler, Hy Freedman
Theme : Hooray for Captain Spaulding, by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby,
from the Marx Brothers film Animal Crackers
The series premiered on Monday 02/05/79 and offered a different genre each weekday night. Each genre was hosted by a different celebrity. The program was produced on Paramount's Stage F in Hollywood. These first 130 programs were broadcast over a six month period and then rebroadcast over the following six months. From 02/14/80 to 12/19/81 this series was heard again, this time over Mutual, as The Mutual Radio Theater. This was clearly one of the last big attempts to produce radio programming, with many of radioâs best talents, the way radio was heard in its âgolden days.â Despite budget and talent, it just wasnât to be.
Pat Novak, For Hire Ãïï 1949-1950
Pat Novak, played by Jack Webb, was a private detective working out of Pier 19, a waterfront office in San Francisco. The stories were always very similar: Someone would hire him, (if not a beautiful woman, the job would lead to a beautiful woman) someone would get murdered, he would investigate the case, get beaten up by the thugs, and then the case would be solved and end with glorious violence. The closing was always the same; the listener would be told who had done what, to whom and why they had done it.
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Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House presented by Lux Radio Theater October 10, 1949 broadcast on CBS with Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. This is a hilarious story about the trials and tribulations of building a new home. The Blandings lived in New York City and in order to get away from the hustle and bustle, they decided to build their home in Connecticut and Murphy's Law moves in. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
FEAR ON 4 is the British Broadcasting Corporation's continuation of a tradition of horror shows dating back to 1943. Back then, the BBC offered APPOINTMENT WITH FEAR, the title given to ten series of programs running from 1943 to 1955. These are the most famous BBC horror series in it's history. The stories were introduced by The Man in Black, played by Valentine Dyall. In 1949, The Man In Black was given his own series, called THE MAN IN BLACK, again featuring Valentine Dyall. Unfortunately, only four shows from APPOINTMENT WITH FEAR are known to have survived. None of THE MAN IN BLACK shows are known to exist. The Man in Black returned to radio again in 1988, this time played by Edward de Souza. FEAR ON 4, airing on BBC Radio Four, continued in the tradition of its predecessors. Four series were produced from 1988 through 1993 with a fifth series in 1997. In 1999, one new show and 2 repeats aired under the banner of "Fear on 4" on BBC Radio 4's LATE NIGHT ON 4 series. The shows are a mix of adaptations of short stories and original radio plays. All shows from these series exist. The BBC offered selected stories from the first three series in book form, entitled "The Man in Black: Macabre Stories from Fear on Four" (BBC Books, ISBN 0-563-20904-6) in December 1990.
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The CBS Radio Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT) was an ambitious and sustained attempt to revive the great drama of old-time radio in the 1970s. Created by Himan Brown (who had by then become a radio legend due to his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries and other shows dating back to the 1930s), and aired on affiliate stations across the CBS Radio network, the series began its long run on January 6, 1974. The final episode ran on December 31, 1982.
The show was broadcast nightly and ran for one hour, including commercials. Typically, a week consisted of three to four new episodes, with the remainder of the week filled out with reruns. There were a total of 1399 original episodes broadcast. The total number of broadcasts, including reruns, was 2969. The late E.G. Marshall hosted the program every year but the final one, when actress Tammy Grimes took over. Each episode began with the ominous sound of a creaking door, slowly opening to invite listeners in for the evening's adventure. At the end of each show, the door would swing shut, with Marshall signing off, "Until next time, pleasant...dreams?"
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November 1939 to May 1940, CBS Blue Network
Dramatic historical recreation
Imagine if CBS radio news existed when the Bastille was stormed in 1789, or if radio reporters were stationed in Ford Theater as Lincoln was assassinated, or again at the Battle of Gettysburg? Indeed, such was the premise behind the CBS series, You Are There. Audiences witnessed history through the present-tense accounts of newsmen allegedly witnessing historical events transpiring before their eyes. Don Hollenbeck and John Daley (known for his TV game show panelist appearances) played the lead anchors, while real-life newsman provided the remote commentaries as the dramas unfolded. As show opened, an anchor would describe the present situation with "As it stands nowâ" and segue into commentaries, live remote feeds or analysis as the story unfurled.
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Frontier Gentleman was a radio Western series heard on CBS from February 2 to November 16, 1958. Written and directed by Antony Ellis, it followed the adventures of J.B. Kendall (John Dehner), a London Times reporter, as he roamed the Western United States, encountering various outlaws and well-known historical figures, such as Jesse James and Calamity Jane. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
The Whisperer was an American old-time radio show broadcast from July 8 to September 30, 1951 on NBC. It ran for only 13 episodes. The premise of the series was as improbable as its storylines. The protagonist was Philip Gault (Carleton G. Young), a lawyer who, due to some unexplained accident, lost his voice and could only speak in an eerie whisper. Gault infiltrates "the syndicate" in his native Central City to bring down organized crime from within; to the underworld, he becomes known as the Whisperer.
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King Kong is the name of the fictional giant ape, from the fictional Skull Island, who has appeared in several works, most of which bear his name, including the groundbreaking 1933 film, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, and numerous sequels and paraphernalia. In the original film, the character's name is Kong -- a name given to him by the inhabitants of "Skull Island" in the Indian Ocean, where Kong lived along with other over-sized animals such as a plesiosaur, pterosaurs and dinosaurs. 'King' is an appellation added by an American film crew led by Carl Denham who captures Kong and takes him to New York City to be exhibited. Kong escapes and climbs the Empire State Building (the World Trade Center in the 1976 remake) where he is shot and killed by aircraft. However, "it was beauty who killed the beast," as he only climbed the building in the first place in an attempt to protect actress Ann Darrow (Dwan in the 1976 remake).
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Lights Out was originally a 15 minute program created by Wyllis Cooper, but it was eventually expanded to 30 minutes (Buxton, 140). Cooper was a magnificent horror writer, but he moved to Hollywood in 1936 to try his hand at script writing (Dunning, 399). Cooper wrote Son Of Frankenstein and other screenplays, but nothing as remarkable as his radio stories. Arch Oboler took over the show and Lights Out grew into a household name. Obler's incredible plots included a "Chicken Heart" that ate the world, or in the case of "Meteor Man," a large alien head that floated about hungry for humans. It became increasingly difficult for Oboler to top his last story. By 1938, he also left the show to write anti-Nazi propaganda for a series called Arch Olber's Plays. Lights Out continued for another year with other NBC writers and directors. Then Oboler brought it back in 1942 and became the host, using Bob LeMond as his announcer (Dunning, 400). This was the year during the war that that the series really took off. He left it again in 1943 and it was reduced to summer status and recycled older Cooper scripts. But Oboler would return with more of his Lights Out stories from 1970 to 1973 with The Devil and Mr. O.
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The Falcon. April 29, 1951. NBC net. "The Case Of The Big Talker". Sponsored by: Kraft, Kraft Dinner. A bigmouthed loser from St. Louis is murdered, and Michael Waring is forced to come up with a false alibi. Les Damon, Ken Lynch, Ed Herlihy (announcer), Drexel Drake (creator), Bernard L. Schubert (producer), Richard Lewis (director), Eugene Wang (writer), Arlo (music). 30:12 Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
Our Town is a story of character development that details the interactions between citizens of an everyday town in the early 20th century through their everyday lives (particularly the lives of George Gibbs, a doctor's son, and Emily Webb, the daughter of a newspaper editor). Our Town was first performed at the McCarter Theater in Princeton, New Jersey on January 22, 1938. It next opened at the Wilbur Theater in Boston on January 25, 1938. Its New York City debut was on February 4, 1938 at Henry Miller's Theatre, and later moved to the Morosco Theatre. The play was produced and directed by Jed Harris.[3] It won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1938. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
Bold Venture was a 1951-1952 syndicated radio series starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Morton Fine and David Friedkin scripted the taped series for Bogart's Santana Productions. Salty seadog Slate Shannon (Bogart) owns a Cuban hotel sheltering an assortment of treasure hunters, revolutionaries and other shady characters. With his sidekick and ward, the sultry Sailor Duval (Bacall), tagging along, he encounters modern-day pirates and other tough situations while navigating the waters around Havana. Aboard his boat, the Bold Venture, Slate and Sailor seek out and find "adventure, intrigue, mystery and romance in the sultry settings of tropical Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean."
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Screen Director's Playhouse. May 26, 1950. Program #20. NBC net origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "Flamingo Road". A carnival woman is determined to enter high society, by traveling through the mud of a small town's secrets. Joan Crawford, David Brian, Michael Curtiz (guest screen director). 25:16.
Carnival dancer Lane Bellamy finds herself stranded in a southern town ruled by corrupt political boss Titus Semple. Lane becomes romantically involved with sheriff Fielding Carlisle, a weakling whose career is being driven by Titus. Seeing Lane as a liability to his own political ambitions, Titus mounts a campaign to get her driven out of town. She finds she can't get a job and even gets arrested on a trumped-up morals charge. Released from jail, Lane finds work as a "hostess" at Lutie-Mae's road house, where she meets Dan Reynolds, another member of the town's political machine. They marry and move to a home on Flamingo Road, the town's social pinnacle. Their marriage is soon marked by scandal when a drunken Carlisle visits Lane at home one evening and shoots himself.
Written by Daniel Bubbeo
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First heard on Mutual featuring Elliott Lewis, who as Leonard Maltin writes in "The Great American Broadcast, "âwore every hat imaginable-actor, producer, and director-also penned a good number of scripts for series he supervised, including Suspense." And Maltin says of this show, "On the terrific late-1940's high-adventure series The Voyage of the Scarlet Queen he held down both jobs simultaneously as director and star." As Maltin continues, âLewis had the ability to make you believe whatever he said. Cast as the skipper on the high-adventure series The Voyage of the Scarlet Queen, he was completely convincing as seagoing ship's master Philip Carney-never corny or overblown." So let a master captain of drama chart a course to exotic ports of call and thrilling adventures. All you have to do is step aboard The Scarlet Queen. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
This was ABC's attempt to recapture some of what radio was. The effort was not the best, but at least an effort was made. The stories ranged from science fiction, comedy, social drama and human interest drama, to detective mystery, psychological drama, melodrama and suspense drama. News programs help fill out the remaining time left in the 30 minute time spot from 5 - 5:30 p.m. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
The Saint â 1945-1951
There were at least 24 episodes broadcast of this series. It was a fascinating detective adventure series based on the books by Leslie Charteris. Edgar Barrier first played Simon Templar, aka The Saint, a debonair private detective in January 1945. He was then played by Brian Aherne in June 1945 and later Vincent Price from July 1947 up until May 1951. The Saint was said to have been like a modern day Robin Hood. He didnât care for justice and always helped victims hindered by the lawâs restrictions.
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Although Molle Mystery Theatre was initially sponsored by Molle Shaving Cream, other sponsors (such as Bayer Aspirin, Ironized Yeast, Phillips Milk of Magnesia) also sponsored the program. Sometimes, when it was not sponsored by Molle, the program was called "Mystery Theater". The show was first heard on NBC, on 9/7/43. Time slot was originally Sunday nights at 9:00 PM, but was later moved to Tuesday at 9:00 PM, and Friday at 10:00 PM. In 1948, the show moved to CBS (Tues, 8:00 PM), and in 1951, it moved to ABC, where it was called "Mark Sabre", and heard on Wednesdays at either 8:00 PM or 9:30 PM.
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Gang Busters was an American dramatic radio program heralded as "the only national program that brings you authentic police case histories." It premiered as G-Men, sponsored by Chevrolet, on July 20, 1935. After the title was changed to Gang Busters January 15, 1936, the show had a 21-year run through November 20, 1957. Beginning with a barrage of loud sound effects â guns firing and tires squealing â this intrusive introduction led to the popular catch phrase "came on like Gang Busters."The series dramatized FBI cases, which producer-director Phillips H. Lord arranged in close association with Bureau director J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover insisted that only closed cases would be used.
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Fibber McGee and Molly premiered in 1935. The program struggled in the ratings until 1940, when it became a national sensation. Within three years, it was the top-rated program in America. Few radio shows were more beloved than Fibber McGee and Molly. The programâs lovable characters included Mayor LaTrivia, Doc Gamble, Mrs. Uppington, Wallace Wimple, Alice Darling, Gildersleeve, Beulah, Myrt, and the Old Timer. 79 Wistful Vista was one of Americaâs most famous addresses and Mollyâs warning to Fibber not to open the hall closet door (and his subsequent decision to do it) created one of radioâs best remembered running gags that audiences expected each week. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
Suspense was one of the premier programs of the Golden Age of Radio (aka old-time radio), and advertised itself as "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." It was heard in one form or another from 1942 through 1962. There were approximately 945 episodes broadcast during its long run, over 900 of which are extant in mostly high-quality recordings. Suspense went through several major phases, characterized by different hosts, sponsors and director/producers. There were a few rules which were followed for all but a handful of episodes: Protagonists were usually a normal person suddenly dropped into a threatening or bizarre situation. Evildoers must be punished in the end.
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Lux Radio Theater strove to feature as many of the original stars of the original stage and film productions as possible, usually paying them $5,000 an appearance to do the show. It was when sponsor Lever Brothers (who made Lux soap and detergent) moved the show from New York to Hollywood in 1936 that it eased back from adapting stage shows and toward adaptations of films. The first Lux film adaptation was The Legionnaire and the Lady, with Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable, based on the film Morocco. That was followed by a Lux adaptation of The Thin Man, featuring the movie's stars, Myrna Loy and William Powell.
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Opening in 1875, the Crime Museum at Scotland Yard is the oldest museum in the world purely for recording crime. The name Black Museum was coined in 1877 by a reporter from The Observer, a London newspaper, although the museum is still referred to as the Crime Museum. The idea of a crime museum was conceived by Inspector Neame who had already collected together a number of items, with the intention of giving police officers practical instruction on how to detect and prevent burglary. It is this museum that inspired the Black Musuem radio series.
THIS EPISODE:
The Black Museum. 1952. Towers Of London syndication, WDC-FM, Glen Ellyn Illinois aircheck. "The Dictionary". Commercials deleted. A British pub owner has been poisoned. Could it have been his wife and her French-speaking lover? The date is approximate. Orson Welles (host). 25:34.
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Opening in 1875, the Crime Museum at Scotland Yard is the oldest museum in the world purely for recording crime. The name Black Museum was coined in 1877 by a reporter from The Observer, a London newspaper, although the museum is still referred to as the Crime Museum. The idea of a crime museum was conceived by Inspector Neame who had already collected together a number of items, with the intention of giving police officers practical instruction on how to detect and prevent burglary. It is this museum that inspired the Black Musuem radio series.
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Sherlock Holmes detective stories appeared on radio for more than 25 years, with a long list of performers playing the parts of Holmes and Dr Watson. FIRST BROADCAST: October 20th 1930 LAST BROADCAST: September 4th 1956. The stories were written by Edith Meiser, a self-confessed Holmes addict. These were so well written that she was warmly praised by Arthur Conan Doyleâs widow and son.
Tuska cited Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940) and Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery (1941) as the best of the Bellamy-Lindsay pairings. "The influence of The Thin Man series was apparent in reverse", Tuska noted about Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery. "Ellery and Nikki are unmarried but obviously in love with each other. Probably the biggest mystery... is how Ellery ever gets a book written. Not only is Nikki attractive and perfectly willing to show off her figure", Tuska wrote, "but she also likes to write her own stories on Queen's time, and gets carried away doing her own investigations." In Ellery Queen, Master Detective, "the amorous relationship between Ellery and Nikki Porter was given a dignity, and therefore integrity", Tuska wrote, "that was lacking in the two previous entries in the series", made at Republic Pictures before Bellamy and Lindsay were signed by Columbia.
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Transport you through your imagination to the deepest reaches of space. Exciting action packed well written adventures featuring highly skilled and renowned actors combined with outrageous theme music from the London Symphony Orchestra. All in digital stereo sound. Alien Worlds is the most complex audio adventure series ever created in terms of production value. The series was heard by millions of loyal fans each week on a network of over 600 stations worldwide.
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Tales of horror recreated by great actors, a spooky organ and chilling sound effects presented by a creepy, rib-tickling host, was a strange brew indeed. Inner Sanctum did it in spades! To this day the show remains a wonderful "guilty" pleasure of many old time radio fans, who listened back then when these shows first fired the imaginations of all but the most jaded.
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Her appeal is so huge that Christie is often called - by the Guinness Book of World Records, among others - the best-selling writer of fiction of all time, and the best-selling writer of any kind second to William Shakespeare. An estimated billion copies of her novels have been sold in English, and another billion in 103 other languages. [1]. As an example of her broad appeal, she is the all-time best-selling author in France, with over 40 million copies sold in French (as of 2003) versus 22 million for Emile Zola, the nearest contender. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
This series included the boy wonder and pilot, Jimmie Allen, his best teenage buddy, Speed Robertson, and mechanic Flash Lewis. As a team they would solve crimes often at the hands of their enemies the corrupt Black Pete and the dishonorable Digger Dawson. Young listeners could join the very popular Jimmie Allen Flying club, complete with a "personal letter" from the boy wonder himself. Jimmie Allen was so popular a character that Paramount shot the feature film The Sky Parade.
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Agatha Christie remains the most popular novelist in history, with over two billion of her books sold at a conservative estimate. The rejacketing of her books and new adaptations of Poirot and Marple on ITV have all ensured that the magic of her storytelling continues to reach a contemporary audience and that she continues to be recognised as the undisputed 'Queen of Crime'.
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Roland Young (11 November 1887, London - 5 June 1953, New York City) was a British actor. Young debuted in Hollywood in the 1922 silent film Sherlock Holmes, in which he played Doctor Watson opposite John Barrymore. Young had several supporting roles in his career, in such films as His Double Life, Ruggles of Red Gap, King Solomon's Mines, Ali Baba Goes to Town, And Then There Were None and The Great Lover. But he is probably best known for creating the title role in the comedy film Topper and its sequels. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Topper. In the 1950s, Young appeared on several episodic television series, including Lux Video Theatre, Studio One, Pulitzer Prize Playhouse and The Chevrolet Tele Theatre. Young has stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for motion picture at 6523 Hollywood Blvd. and for television at 6315 Hollywood Blvd. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
On July 31, 1930 a sinister voice came over the radio into American Homes. The voice of the Shadow appeared for the first time. In the beginning the Shadow was not a crime fighter. He was a mysterious narrator of mystery tales taken from the pages of Street & Smith's Detective Story Magazine. The publisher Street & Smith began to use radio as an advertising medium to promote their fiction publications. The Shadow was a perfectly creepy teller of tales promoting Street & Smith. This format continued until 1935 when creative differences between Street & Smith and NBC called a halt to the Shadow on the air.
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One of the most popular private detectives of all time, once upon a time, PAUL TEMPLE was a popular British private detective who made his first appearance in a BBC radio serial in 1938 and went on to appear in novels, film, television and even a daily comic strip. And on the radio itself for a whopping thirty-year run. Temple is a crime writer turned private eye, who is frenquently "sent for" by Scotland Yard to help out. Aiding him in his investigations are his faithful wife, Steve, and Sir Graham Forbes of Scotland Yard. The stories themselves are often quite suspenseful, and the radio serials were full of cliffhanger endings, but nobody's going to mistake Temple for a member of the hard-boiled school. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
The list of films and actors on Academy Award Theater is very impressive. Bette Davis begins the series in Jezebel, with Ginger Rogers following in Kitty Foyle, and then Paul Muni in The Life of Louis Pasteur. The Informer had to have Victor Mclaglen, and the Maltese Falcon, Humphrey Bogart, Sidney Greenstreet (this movie was his first major motion picutre role) plus Mary Astor for the hat trick. Suspicion starred Cary Grant with Ann Todd doing the Joan Fontaine role, Ronald Coleman in Lost Horizon, and Joan Fontaine and John Lund were in Portrait of Jenny. How Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio were done is something to hear!
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6-12-50 to 10-26-50 NBC, various 30 minute timeslots. STAR: Ilona Massey as a Mata Hari-style operative in World War II. ORCHESTRAL: Roy Shield. WRITER-DIRECTOR: Harry W. Junkin. Top secret was highly effective, said Radio Life: the role played by the Hungarian actress was âtailor-made for her sultry voice and heavy accentâ Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
A funny farce, Results Inc. stars Lloyd Nolan as Johnny Strange in this rare series. Results Inc.. December 30, 1944. Mutual net. Sustaining. Johnny Strange finds that a mummy in a museum has been going on nightly strolls! Possibly, the last show of the series. Lloyd Nolan, Claire Trevor, Sol Stein (writer), Martin Worth (writer), Lawrence Edmond Taylor (creator), Russ Crump (music), Bob O'Connor (announcer), Joseph Kearns, Harry Lang. 29:37.
The Strange detective places two ads:
âResults, Incorporated â your problem is our problem. Will locate your long-lost uncle, work your crossword puzzle, hold your baby.â
The second silly slip, âSecretary wanted â blonde, beautiful, between 22 and 28 years, unmarried, with the skin you love to touch and a heart you canât."
Terry Travers (played by Claire Trevor) answers the ad. Terryâs pay is â25% commission, my hospital bills, and bail money.â A laugh a minute!
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Michael Shayne was a fictional sleuth created by Brett Halliday (a pen name for author Davis Dresser) who was first initiated into the fraternity for detectives in the 1939 novel "Dividend of Death". Dresser based the character on a âtall and rangyâ brawler who once saved his life during a braw in a Mexican cantina. The Shayne character would go on to appear in 69 novels, plus a long-running mystery magazineâand in 1941, was brought to the silver screen in Paramountâs Michael Shayne, Private Detective, an adaptation of Dividend of Death that starred Lloyd Nolan, and paved the way for six additional B-mysteries to follow. The New Adventures of Michael Shayneâpremiered on July 15, 1948 starring Jeff Chandler. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH is Jules Verne's story of Professor Lidenbrock, his nephew Axel and their quest for the secrets contained at the earth's core. Led by Hans, their Icelandic guide, Lidenbrock and Axel descend deeper into the planet than anyone has ever gone before . . . but will they make it back to the surface alive? Alien Voices' productions are an adventure in sound: classic works of science fiction and fantasy come to life in completely new, bold and wonderful audio dramatizations featuring virtuoso performances from the entire cast, riveting sound effects and original music. BBC - EIGHT EPISODE SI-FI SERIAL
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Audition Show 6/11/49
Gunsmoke was a long-running American old-time radio and television Western drama created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories took place in or about Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West.The radio version ran from 1952 to 1961, and is commonly regarded as one of the finest radio dramas of all time; the television version ran from 1955 to 1975 and still holds the record for the longest-running U.S. prime time fictional television program. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
Rogue's Gallery came to the Mutual network on September 27, 1945 with Dick Powell portraying Richard Rogue, a private detective who invariably ended up getting knocked out each week and spending his dream time in acerbic conversation with his subconscious self, Eugor. Rogue's Gallery was, in a sense, Dick Powell's rehearsal for Richard Diamond, Private Detective. Powell played private detective Richard Rogue, who trailed luscious blondes, protected witness, and did whatever else detectives do to make a living. It was a good series, though not destined to make much of a mark. Under the capable direction of Dee Englebach and accompanied by the music of Leith Stevens, Powell floated through his lines with the help of such competents as Lou Merrill, Gerald Mohr, Gloria Blondell, Tony Barrett, and Lurene Tuttle. Peter Leeds played Rogue's friend Eugor, an obscure play on names with Eugor spelling Rogue backwards. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
Frank Lovejoy stars as Randy Stone, a toughened, street-wise Chicago Star reporter working the Nightbeat in the early 1950's. Sometimes the capers are cops and robbers. Or just normal people in trouble. Sometimes they deserve it. Sometimes fate twists their arm. Sometimes they're just too scared or confused to know the difference. Lovejoy is a seasoned pro of radio and film with an honest, gripping delivery. Solid supporting casts, good writing and direction. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
For the 1970âs late-night horror show, The Price of Fear, the BBC dramatized the most chilling stories they could find, drawing on talented new writers as well as the established master of terror who narrated tale, re-written as though Price actually experienced each chilling adventure himself. The show was enormously successful in the UK and abroad, and a number of series were made during 1973, 1975 and 1982. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, an American radio and television series, was once the longest-running, live-action situation comedy on American television, having aired on ABC from 1952 to 1966 after a ten-year run on radio. Starring former bandleader Ozzie Nelson and his wife, vocalist Harriet, the show's sober, gentle humor captured a large, sustaining audience, even if it never reached the top ten in the actual ratings and later critics tended to dismiss it as fostering a slightly unrealistic picture of post-World War II American family life. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
An NBC offering. Aired on Sundays from 7:00PM to 7:30PM, starring Lional Barrymore and Agnes Moorehead. The creator and writer was Jean Holloway, the announcer Harlow Wilcox, music by Gordon Jenkins and sponsored by Rinso detergent.
The Roberts, a normal, middle income American family inherit a silver tea set from distant relative in England. The tea set is accompanied by it's caretaker, Higgins, their new butler. Normal family situations are punctuated by Higgin's smart aleck comments and his general disdain for otrt things American and all things common. The show was a Summer Replacement Series for The Bob Hope Show.
First Show: July 3, 1951
Last Show: September 25, 1951
Starring: Harry McNaughton (as Higgins), Vinton Hayworth, Peggy Allenby, Charles Nevil, Pat Hosley and Denise Alexander.
"The time is 1863, the place is the State of Virginia. The event is a mass glook-lettint known as the Civil War, a tragic moment in time when a nation was split into two fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation...This is Joseph Paradine, Confenderate cavalry, as he heads down toward a small town in the middle of the valley. But very short, Joseph Paradine will make contact with the enemy. He will also make contact with an outpost not found on a military map - an outpost called the Twiglight Zone" . Paradine wanders into a town full of union soldiers. They are all frozen in time by an old man with a black book. Knowing he will die soon, the old man gives the book to paradine and tells him to use it to win the war. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
Nick Carter was on the air over ten years, and gave radio detectives fans another great evening watching the radio. The half-hour unfolds as a straight, dramatic narrative, with clues littering the scenes and an alert listener could solve the mystery. Nick came on at the end of the show to add it all up correctly.
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Front Page Drama ran from the early 1930's through the 1950's and was a popular show sponsored by The American Weekly Magazine. The episodes were adapted from stories that appeared in the magazine. Paul W. Keyes, an Emmy Award winner, got his start on Hearst Radio as producer and director of Front Page Drama. He went on to write and produce Dean Martin's "Laugh-In" show and was a consultant for Richard Nixon.
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2000 AD is known as the first of the network science fiction shows, although it ran on Mutual just a month prior to the introduction of the landmark series, Dimension X. It was a half hour of science fiction wonder in an exciting package. The stories have a charm that is always present in science fiction of the future that is written in the past. "When The Worlds Met" takes place "at the giant space port in Washington, temporary capitol of the federated world government as in April 21, 2000 Plus 20 (2020) crowds throng as audio and televox networks cover a space ship carrying in its space hold the first load of uranium taken from the pits of Luna, satellite of Earth. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
The Whisperer was an American old-time radio show broadcast from July 8 to September 30, 1951 on NBC. It ran for only 13 episodes. The premise of the series was as improbable as its storylines. The protagonist was Philip Gault (Carleton G. Young), a lawyer who, due to some unexplained accident, lost his voice and could only speak in an eerie whisper. Gault infiltrates "the syndicate" in his native Central City to bring down organized crime from within; to the underworld, he becomes known as the Whisperer.
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The Man Called X was an espionage radio drama which aired on CBS and NBC from July 10, 1944 to May 20, 1952. Herbert Marshall had the lead role of Intelligence Agent Ken Thurston who took on dangerous cases in a variety of exotic locations. Gordon Jenkins Orchestra supplied the background music. Cast: Leon Belasco as Pagan Seldchmidt ANNOUNCER: Wendell Niles DIRECTOR: Jack Johnstone. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
The Lone Ranger was a long-running early radio and television show based on characters created by George W. Trendle, and developed by writer Fran Striker. The titular character is a masked cowboy in the American Old West, who gallops about righting injustices, usually with the aid of a clever and laconic American Indian called Tonto, and his horse Silver. He would famously say "Heigh-ho Silver, away!" to get the horse to gallop. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
National Velvet is the story of a girl, Velvet Brown, who attempts to ride her horse to victory in the Grand National steeplechase. The fictional horse which Velvet Brown trained and rode in the National is called "The Pie". Velvet Brown is an awkward teenager living in a small English village, dreaming of one day owning horses. Her mother is a large taciturn woman who was once famous for swimming the English Channel; her father owns a butcher shop. One day when Velvet is sent on a delivery for her father, she encounters a man who, after a brief conversation with her, leaves all his horses to her in his will, then commits suicide. Velvet and her sisters manage to feed and keep the horses, and they have moderate success entering in local gymkhanas. Meanwhile, Velvet wins yet another horse in a local raffle - an ungainly, strong-willed piebald gelding known as The Pie (short for "The Piebald"). This is the horse she falls in love with; together with her father's apprentice, Mi Taylor, she starts dreaming of entering the Grand National. After scraping together the entry money and figuring out how to conceal Velvet's gender, Velvet and Mi take the trip to compete in the race. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
Ronald Colman and his wife Benita Hume starred in the Halls of Ivy, a very well-written, superbly acted radio program that was full of warmth and wit. The show aired from 1950 to 1952 on NBC and is not often mentioned when old-time radio programs are the topic of conversation, but it is one of my favorites. The combination of Mr. & Mrs. Colman's acting and Don Quinn's writing made for an enjoyable half-hour's worth of entertainment. The show was created by Don Quinn who for many, many years put words in the mouths of Fibber McGee and Molly. Quinn wrote jokes that made you think. On the McGee program there was a fast and furious onslaught of crazy puns, mangled cliches, and double-meanings. Sometimes all at once -- when delivered by the superb timing of the talented Jim Jordan as Fibber. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
Dangerous Assignment first aired in 1949. Brian Donlevy played the lead as Steve Mitchell in this international spy series. Herb Butterfield played the Commissioner and Betty Moran was the Commissioner's secretary. The director was Bill Cairn and the writer for the series was Robert Ryf. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
The Creaking Door was an old-time radio series of horror and suspense shows originating in South Africa. There are at present anywhere from 34-37 extant episodes in MP3 circulation, yet no currently available program logs for the series indicate the year of the series' broadcast (though it was likely sometime in the 1950s, given the generally high audio quality of the available shows), or the total number of episodes, and only a handful of them are known by their broadcast order. The stories are thrillers in the Inner Sanctum vein, and generally thought of favorably by most fans of OTR.
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Captain Midnight was a U.S. radio serial broadcast from 1938 to 1949. Created by radio scripters Wilfred G. Moore and Robert M. Burtt, the program was developed at WGN in Chicago. Sponsored by the Skelly Oil Company, it began as a syndicated show in the fall of 1938, airing on a few midwest stations through the spring of 1940. In the fall of 1940, Ovaltine took over sponsorship, and the series was then heard nationally on the Mutual Radio Network where it remained until December, 1949.
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The Whistler was one of radio's most popular mystery dramas, with a 13-year run from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955. If it now seems to have been influenced explicitly by The Shadow, The Whistler was no less popular or credible with its listeners, the writing was first class for its genre, and it added a slightly macabre element of humor that sometimes went missing in The Shadow's longer-lived crime stories.
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Space Patrol. November 8, 1952. ABC net. "The City Of The Sun". Sponsored by: Ralston Cereals (Space-O-Phone premium). Commander Corry and Cadet Happy are attacked with a monstrous six wheeled atomic drilling machine on the planet Mercury. Bela Kovacs, Dick Tufeld (announcer), Ed Kemmer, Larry Robertson (producer, director), Lyn Osborn, Mike Mosser (creator), Norman Jolley. 29:35.
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In October of 1934, "Lux Radio Theater" debuted in New York on NBC's Blue radio network. Presenting audio versions of popular Broadway plays, the show failed to garner an audience and soon ran out of material. After switching networks to CBS and moving to Hollywood, Lux found its true market. The show began featuring adaptations of popular films, performed by as many of the original stars as possible. With an endless supply of hit films scripts and an audience of more than 40 million, Lux enjoyed a prosperous run until the curtain fell in 1956. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
Starting as a replacement show for Gangbusters and Counterspy, the series premiered December 11, 1957 and it ran until June 13, 1958. Quoting from Astounding Magazine, "Exploring Tomorrow is the first science fiction radio show of science-fictioneers, by science- fictioneers, and for science-fictioneers" The shows were narrated by the editor of Astounding Magazine, John W. Campbell, Jr., with scripts written by Gordon Dickson, Robert Silverberg and many other notable science fiction writers.
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Dark Fantasy was an series dedicated to dealings with the unknown. Originating from radio station WKY, Oklahoma City, it was written by Scott Bishop (of Mysterious Traveler and The Sealed Book fame) and was heard Fridays over stations. Keith Paynton served as announcer. The shows covered horror, science fiction and murder mysteries. Although a short series, the shows are excellent with some stories way ahead of their time. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
Crime club was a Mutual Network murder and mystery series, a product of the Doubleday Crime Book Club imprints found weekly in bookstores everywhere. The telephone rings"Hello, I hope I haven't kept you waiting. Yes, this is the Crime Club. I'm the Librarian. Murder Rents A Room? Yes, we have that Crime Club story for you.Come right over. (The organist in the shadowed corner of the Crime Club library shivers the ivories) The doorbell tones sullenly"And you are here. Good. Take the easy chair by the window. Comfortable? The book is on this shelf." (The organist hits the scary chord) "Let's look at it under the reading lamp." The Librarian, played by Raymond E. Johnson, begins reading the tale. Veteran Willis Cooper (Lights Out, Quiet Please) did some of the scripts from the Crime Club books. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
CHRISTOPHER LONDON
was the name and the hero of this 1950 radio show that related the adventures and exploits of a private eye who will "go anywhere and do anything...for a price." Of added interest is the fact that this guy is supposedly based on a character created by Erle Stanley Gardner. Star is Glen Ford. NBC Network.
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The program was an adventure series about Sergeant William Preston of the Northwest Mounted Police and his lead sled dog, Yukon King, as they fought evildoers in the Northern wilderness during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. Preston, according to radio historian Jim Harmon, first joined the Mounties to capture his father's killer, and when he was successful he was promoted to Sergeant.
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Box 13 was a syndicated radio series about the escapades of mystery novelist Dan Holiday (Alan Ladd), a former newsman. Created by Mayfair Productions, the series premiered August 22, 1948, on New York's WOR and aired in syndication on the East Coast from August 22, 1948, to August 14. 1949. On the West Coast, Box 13 was heard from March 15, 1948 to March 7, 1949. To seek out new ideas for his fiction, Holiday ran a classified ad in the Star-Times newspaper. "Adventure wanted, will go anywhere, do anything -- Box 13." The stories followed Holiday's adventures when he responded to the letters sent to him by such people as a psycho killer and various victims.
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Arch Oboler (December 7, 1909 - March 19, 1987) was a Chicago-born scriptwriter, novelist, producer and director who was active in films, radio and television. boler generated much attention for his radio scripts, and his work in radio remains the outstanding period of his career. Although some noted a tendency for gruesomeness, he received praise as one of broadcasting's top talents, and he is regarded today as one of the innovators of old time radio.
This Episode - October 24, 1964. Syndicated, AFRTS rebroadcast. "The Day Sinatra Got Fat". Mysterious green stuff from outer space makes the entire human race grow fat as pigs...literally. Arch Oboler (writer, host, producer, director), Jack Kruschen. 23:16 Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
Abbott and Costello (William (Bud) Abbott, 1897-1974; Louis Cristillo, 1906-1959) were an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film, and television made them one of the most popular and respected teams in comedy history. Their "Who's on First?" routine, developed during their years in burlesque, is widely considered to be one of the greatest comedy sketches of all time. The two comedians first worked together in 1935 at the Eltinge burlesque theater on 42nd Street in New York. Costello became a burlesque comic in 1928 after failing as a movie stunt double and extra; Abbott had been in burlesque since 1916, as a cashier, producer, and finally a performer. They made their partnership formal in 1936, building an act by adapting and improving numerous old burlesque sketches into their own style. Abbott was the arch, often scheming straight man and Costello the confused, context-challenged naif. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
Blackie was a tough, wisecracking private detective working in New York, billed as "enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend." His speciality was making fools of the police, a simple task with Inspector Farraday heading the official investigations. "An enemy to those who call him an enemy, a friend to those who have no friends." Boston Blackie is a reformed jewel thief who is never far from trouble. Inspector Farraday of the homicide squad tries to pin Blackie for the crime in every episode. To save his own skin, with the help of his girlfriend Mary and sidekick Shorty, Blackie ends up solving the case. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
Dan Garrett, rookie policeman, is secretly the Blue Beetle, friend of the unfortunate and crusader for the law. He is loved by everyone (including the chief's daughter) and suspected of being the Blue Beetle by none. He hides behind a strange mask and wears a blue costume that is as flexible as silk but as strong as steel.
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Theater Five was ABC's attempt to revive radio drama during the early 1960s. The series name was derived from its time slot, 5:00 PM. Running Monday through Friday, it was an anthology of short stories, each about 20 minutes long. News programs and commercials filled out the full 30 minutes. There was a good bit of science fiction and some of the plots seem to have been taken from the daily newspaper. Fred Foy, of The Lone Ranger fame, was an ABC staff announcer in the early 60s, who, among other duties, did Theater Five.
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Welles had already worked extensively in radio drama, playing The Shadow for a year, and directing a seven-part adaptation of Victor Hugo's Les MisÃrables. In 1938, he was offered a chance to direct his own weekly, hour-long radio series, initially called First Person Singular (though this title was never announced on air, and the Radio Guide listed the first episode under the banner "Mercury Theatre,") then The Mercury Theatre on the Air. Welles insisted his Mercury company--actors and crew--be involved in the radio series. This was an unprecedented and expensive request, especially for one so young as Welles. He won out, however, and went on to produce some of the finest radio drama of any era.
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This Is Your FBI was a radio crime drama which aired in the United States on ABC from April 6, 1945 to January 30, 1953. FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover gave it his endorsement, calling it "the finest dramatic program on the air." Producer-director Jerry Devine was given access to FBI files by Hoover, and the resulting dramatizations of FBI cases were narrated by Frank Lovejoy (1945), Dean Carleton (1946-47) and William Woodson (1948-53). Stacy Harris had the lead role of Special Agent Jim Taylor. Others in the cast were William Conrad, Bea Benaderet and Jay C. Flippen.
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Throughout the early 1940's on American Radio, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce performed as Holmes and Watson, respectively, in several series of canonical and original Sherlock Holmes stories. When Rathbone finally departed the role before the 1947 season, Tom Conway played Sherlock Holmes opposite Nigel Bruce for one season. After a change of networks, there were two more pairings: John Stanley as Holmes and Alfred Shirley as Watson in 1947-1948 and John Stanley and Ian Martin in 1948-1949. The stories were written by Edith Meiser, a self-confessed Holmes addict. At first she used Arthur Conan Doylesâ original stories, but, after the series outlived the original material, she created her own new stories. These were so well written that she was warmly praised by Arthur Conan Doyleâs widow and son. First broadcast date October 20, 1930. Last broadcast date September 4, 1956.
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The Hollywood star playhouse , well written and performed, presented many original plays and popular Hollywood stars. Some of those who accepted roles in this great series included Jimmy Stewart, William Conrad, Deborah Kerr, Vincent Price, Harry Bartell and Betty Lou Gerson. Highlights included an episode entitled The Six Shooter and which later became itâs own series staring James Stewart. In 1952, Marilyn Monroe made her radio debut on The Hollywood Star Playhouse.
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GRANBY'S GREEN ACRES
Situation comedy. Broadcast History: July 3 - August 21, 1950, CBS. 30m, Mondays at 9:30. Cast: Gale Gordon and Bea Benaderet as John and Martha Granby, ex-bank teller and wife who moved to the country to become farmers. Louise Erickson as Janice, their daughter. Parley Baer as Eb, the hired hand. Announcer: Bob LeMond Music: Opie Cates Writer-Producer-Director: Jay Sommers. Granby's Green Acres grew out of characters played by Gale Gordon and Bea Benaderet on the Lucille Ball series My Favorite Husband. The names were changed, but the basic characters remained the same.
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Miller played and recorded with the likes of Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey (who on several of their records, featured an up-and-coming singer by the name of Bing Crosby), Gene Krupa, Eddie Condon and Coleman Hawkins. In addition, during that time, Glenn cut 18 sides for Goodman, and also worked for radio studio conductors like Victor Young, Carl Fenton and Jacques Renard. In 1934, Miller became the musical director of the Dorsey Band, and later went on to organize The Ray Noble Orchestra, which included such players as Charlie Spivak, Peewee Erwin, Bud Freeman, Johnny Mince, George Van Eps and Delmar Kaplan, among others. the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band engaged in over 800 performances. Of these, 500 were broadcasts heard by millions. There were more than 300 personal appearances including concerts and dances, with a gross attendance of over 600,000. But Glenn was not to participate in the final six months of these activities. In the Fall of 1944, the band was scheduled to be sent on a six-week tour of Europe and would be stationed in Paris during that time. Miller decided to go ahead, in order to make the proper arrangements for the group's arrival. And so, on December 15th, Glenn Miller boarded a transport plane to Paris, never to be seen again.
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Escape. January 17, 1948. CBS net. "Leinengen Vs. The Ants". Sustaining. West coast version. A determined man battles even more determined insects in the tropical jungles. The script was produced on the program subsequently on May 23, 1948 (see cat. #16723) and on August 4, 1949 (see cat. #3576). The story was also produced on "Suspense" on August 22, 1956 (?), August 25, 1957 (see cat. #61898) and on November 29, 1959. See cat. #65838 for the East Coast version of this program. Carl Stephenson (author), William N. Robson (producer), Robert Ryf (adaptor), William Conrad, Cy Feuer (music conceiver), Lou Merrill, Norman Macdonnell (director), Eddie Dunstedter (organist), Don Diamond, Lou Krugman. 29:29
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Dragnet was created and produced by Jack Webb, who starred as the terse Sgt. Friday. Webb had starred in a few mostly short-lived radio programs, but Dragnet would make him one of the major media personalities of his era.Webb was a stickler for accurate details, and Dragnet used many authentic touches, such as the LAPD's actual radio call sign (KMA-367), and the names of many real department officials, such as Ray Pinker and Lee Jones of the crime lab or Chief of Detectives Thad Brown.
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"The Season Of Disbelief" and "Hail And Farewell" *Aired 2-17-56
The CBS Radio Workshop aired from January 27, 1956 through September 22, 1957 and was a revival of the prestigious Columbia Workshop from the 1930s and 1940s. Creator William Froug launched the series with this powerhouse two-part adaptation of "Brave New World" and booked author Aldous Huxley to narrate his famous novel. "Weâll never get a sponsor anyway," CBS vice president Howard Barnes explained to Time, "so we might as well try anything." The CBS Workshop regularly featured the works of the worldâs greatest writers. including Ray Bradbury, Archibald MacLeish, William Saroyan, Lord Dunsany and Ambrose Bierce.
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The unmistakable voice of Bud Flanagan singing 'Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr Hitler?', a cod-Second World War propaganda singalong written especially for the show (by Jimmy Perry), introduced Dad's Army, the zenith of the British broad-comedy ensemble sitcom. Consistently good writing and a wonderful cast of old timers and newer talents combined to produce a whimsical period-piece that continues, justifiably, to be savoured and has now assumed a place in the 'hall of greats' pantheon, adored by new generations of the British public.
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Best Plays presented programs of theatrical excellence. Comedic and dramatic were performed by such greats as Boris Karloff and Alfred Drake. The show was hosted by John Chapman, the drama critic of the New York Daily News.
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The Columbia Workshop was the first to experiment with what radio drama was all about, introducing new techniques never before used in over the airwaves drama and because it received little encouragement from established writers, actors, etc., it was only by breaking new ground with new ideas and new techniques from writers who were not versed in the old ways that it was going to survive. Unlike theater drama which required scenery to stage the settings of a play. Radio drama relied only on the imagination of the listener to interpret the scene. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
Action 80 was an thrill packed scientific fiction show, taking the listener to top secret locations and allowed them to listen in on news behind the news. In this episode, The First Atomic Submarine, project "sailfish" ,experimental vessel x195, started in 1949 and to be revealed in 1953 at a cost of 50,000,000.00 was the subject of a possible sabatoge attempt. Naval commander Mark T. Richards is assigned to investigate and to ensure the security of this mission.
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Authorâs Playhouse - Famous stories by celebrated authors: among them, Elementals (Stephen Vincent Benet), The Piano (William Saroyan), and The Snow Goose (Paul Gallico).March 5, 1941 till June 4, 1945, NBC; Blue Network until mid-October 1941, then the Red Network. Many briefly held 30m timeslots, including Sundays at 11:30, 1941-42; Wednesdays at 11:30, 1942-44; Mondays at 11:30, 1944-45. Sponsor was Philip Morris, 1942-43. Cast: John Hodiak, Fern Persons, Arthur Kohl, Laurette Fillbrandt, Kathryn Card, Bob Jellison, Nelson Olmsted, Marvin Miller, Olan Soule, Les Tremayne, Clarence Hartzell, Curley Bradley, etc. Orchestra: Rex Maupin, Roy Shield, J6seph Gallicchio. Creator: Wynn Wright. Directors: Norman Felton, Fred Weihe, Homer Heck, etc.
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The Adventures of Frank Race was a syndicated show, out of Bruce Ells Productions in Hollywood, and began airing on radio in the spring of 1949. A total of 43 episodes were produced, broadcast first on the East coast 1949-50, and then on the West coast 1951-52. The title hero was described in the introduction by announcer Art Gilmore with these words: "Before the war, FRANK RACE worked as an attorney, but he traded his law books for the cloak-and-dagger of the OSS. When the war was over, his former life was over too....adventure became his business!" Starring "Chandu The Magician" Star Tom Collins.
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The first portrayal of Phillip Marlowe on the radio was by Dick Powell, when he played Raymond Chandler's detective on the Lux Radio Theater on June 11, 1945. This was a radio adaptation of the 1944 movie, from RKO, in which Mr. Powell played the lead. Two years later, Van Heflin starred as Marlowe in a summer replacement series for the Bob Hope Show on NBC. This series ran for 13 shows. On September 26, 1948, Gerald Mohr became the third radio Marlowe, this time on CBS. It remained a CBS show through its last show in 1951. Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%
Inner Sanctum Mysteries was a popular old-time radio program that aired from January 7, 1941 to October 5, 1952. Created by Himan Brown, the anthology series featured stories of mystery, terror and suspense. The tongue-in-cheek introductions were in sharp contrast to shows like Suspense and The Whistler. A total of 526 episodes are known to have been produced. The early 1940s programs opened with Raymond Edward Johnson introducing himself as, "Your host, Raymond," in a mocking sardonic voice. A spooky melodramatic organ score punctuated Raymond's many morbid jokes and playful puns. Raymond's closing was an elongated "Pleasant dreaaaaammmmssss!" His tongue-in-cheek style and ghoulish relish of his own tales became the standard for many such horror narrators to follow, from fellow radio hosts like Ernest Chappell (on Cooper's later series, Quiet, Please) and Maurice Taupin (on The Mysterious Traveler) to the Crypt-Keeper in various incarnations of Tales from the Crypt.
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Bogie is an actor who continues to rank near the top on everybody's list. What is not generally known is that he made many appearances on radio after he moved his act from Broadway to Hollywood. In 1930 he got a contract with Fox and his feature film debut was in a 1930 short "Broadway's Like That", co-starring Ruth Etting and Joan Blondell. Fox released him after two years. After another five years of stage and minor film roles, he broke through with "The Petrified Forest" in 1936. Leslie Howard was starring in the movie, and threatened to quit unless Bogie, his fellow actor from the Broadway production, played Duke Mantee in the film version with him. Bogie named one of his sons Leslie in gratitude for this big break.In fact, many of Bogart's radio appearances were versions of the great films he did, but often he did guest spots or played characters that weren't from films. These performances are not known to the millions of younger fans that weren't lucky enough to hear radio as it happened.
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Lights Out was an American old-time radio program featuring "tales of the supernatural and the supernormal." It was immensely popular, and was one of the first horror programs, predating Suspense and Inner Sanctum. In its heydey, Lights Out rivalled the popularity of those shows.Lights Out ran through several series and networks, from January 1, 1934 to August 6, 1947. The principal sponsor was Ironized Yeast. Most episodes were broadcast at midnight. Lights Out then made the transition to television in 1949, where it was broadcast until 1952. Created in Chicago by writer Wyllis Cooper in 1934.
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Hallmark Playhouse. January 6, 1949. CBS net. "MacLeod's Folly". Sponsored by: Hallmark Cards. A wandering ex-newspaperman breaks a boss' grip on a small town during the Depression. Dee Englebach (producer, director), Frank Goss (announcer), Jack Rubin (adaptor), James Hilton (intermission commentator), Louis Bromfield (panelist), Lyn Murray (music), Robert Young. 29:36.
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Western (1952 - 1953)
Chad Remington was a two fisted lawyer in the town of Dos Rios. Chad's sidekick, Cherokee O'Bannon, played by Wade Crosby, who performed his role in a WC Fields dialect. Mr. Chandler remained in the lead role for the first 23 shows and was replaced by Reed Hadley who played Remington until the end of the series.
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This program was born from a detective book series and inspired by author Henry Kane who became the director and producer for the radio show. The series only ran five months, 30 minutes each episode, from April 6, 1954 to September 7, 1954. Peter Chambers was played by Dane Clark who also appeared on the Suspense radio shows. Chambers acted the role of a playboy detective with an eye for solving crime and a taste for the women. Bill Zuckert, who went on to guest star in many 1970s shows including The Mary Tyler Moore Show and the Partridge Family, plays Lt. Parker.
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Let us journey âinto the land that lies beyond midnight,â into a world of ghost hunters, men going mad, and DEATH DEATH DEATH! Written by the masterful Michael McCabe, these well-done South African radio shows will capture your attention and keep you up listening to them well beyond midnight.
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The Hollywood husband and wife team of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall set sail for adventure in the Bold Venture radio series in early 1951. There were well over 400 stations that aired the program. Since thiswas syndicated * the starting date varied from station to station but Mar 26, 1951 was the official date of the first show. Humphrey Bogart portrayed Slate Shannon, owner of a rundown Havana hotel, Shannon's Place. The action took place on land as well aboard Slate's boat, The Bold Venture, thus the title of the series. Lauren Bacall was his ward Sailor Duval, a stubborn and flirtatious young woman whose late father had willed her to Slate for her protection. Together the duo found adventure, intrigue, mystery and romance in the sultry settings of tropical Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean.
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Amos 'n' Andy, still written entirely by the two stars, was the top-rated program of all in 1930, with a 54.4 rating and 30 million listeners (compare that to the Super Bowl's 44.2 rating in 2004). By this time, the wily, coniving Kingfish was becoming a major personality, eventually supplanting sensible Amos as star of the show (Freeman Gosden gave voice to both characters while Charles Correll played Andrew H. Brown).
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He walks us through the big golden doors, past the gentle ticket taker, and ushers us down to our seats in the "fourth-row center," near the First Nighter Orchestra. In a few short moments, the curtains will go up, and we will be witnessing Broadway, at its fullest. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the "little theater off time square" sponsored by Campana's.
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This old time radio series from the 1940s was an extremely popular situation comedy performed by Don Ameche and Frances Langford as battling spouses, John and Blanche Bickerson. Other actors portrayed the parts in later years with Lew Parker ("That Girl") joining Langford and the non-stop petty insults on the television series. The unhappy couple was routinely overheard during their vituperative pillow talk sessions, spouting marital mayhem drenched in caustic wit.Perhaps Amecheâs best-remembered role was that of the gruff John Bickerson, whose verbal battles with his argumentative wife Blanche (played by Frances Langford), were regularly heard on Drene Time, Amecheâs 1947 variety show. Although this sort of verbal jousting was new to both Ameche and Langford, the characters proved so enduring that the pair later recorded a series of Bickersons albums for Columbia Records. After a long and successful career in radio, television and film, Don Ameche died on December 6, 1993.
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"There he goes across the street into the drugstore, steps on the scale, height: 6 feet, weight: 290 pounds, fortune: Danger. Who isit? THE FAT MAN." Brad Runyon was the Fat Man, played by Jack Scott Smart. The series was created by Dashall Hammott and was first heard on the ABC network Jan. 21, 1946. J. Scott Smart fit the part of the Fat Man perfectly, weighing in at 270 pounds himself. When he spoke, there was no doubt that this was the voice of a big guy. Smart gave a witty, tongue-in-cheek performance and helped make THE FAT MAN one of the most popular detective programs on the air. Smart also appeared in The March Of Time (early 1930s), the Theater Guild On The Air, Blondie, The Fred Allen Show, and The Jack Benny Program.
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The Diary Of Fate. March 30, 1948. Program #16. Finley syndication. "Edward Matthews". Commercials added locally. Book 83, page 227. Not auditioned. A farmer faces hard work and poor prospects. Selling the farm and moving to the city, Edward Matthews chooses evil. The date is subject to correction. Larry Finley (producer), Herb Lytton, Virginia Gregg, Horace Murphy, Ray Ehrlenborn (probable sound effects), Ivan Ditmars (organ), Hal Sawyer. 28:24.
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Burns and Allen are one of the most beloved couple in old time radio. They got started, like many of the greats of old time radio, in vaudeville, which is really just the touring popular entertainment in America prior to movies. Gracie was the sparkplug of the act, always the center of attention. George played the foil, the guy vainly trying to make sense of the ditzy world of Gracie. By the early 30s, Gracie was probably the best known woman on radio. Gracie often sang in a voice that showed she was also an excellent comedienne songstress.
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Stars and movies with Oscars were the idea - in most cases, the movie stars recreated their academy award roles for the show, or in other cases, fine actors played the parts and gave it a different character. Both ways make for great radio drama and first class Hollywood motion picture star entertainment. The Lux Radio Theater had been doing this kind of radio show in the grandest manner for many years, but sponsor Squibb had the hubris and deep pockets to take on the competition by doing Academy Award Theater right after the Second World War. The year 1946 was pre-television, and so movies were still the major American visual art form, with radio the other popular network entertainment. In this final pre-TV time, Academy Award Theater was thought of as a premier radio production, a wow show, much like CinemaScope was to be in the 1950's when Hollywood felt the box office blow of early TV.
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The 1950's saw both the twilight of the Golden Age of Radio and the birth of the science fiction radio series. Science fiction was not new to radio before 1950, but it was either targeted to juvenile audiences or were shows in a broader series, for example, ESCAPE's "The Time Machine". On March 15, 1950, the first show of Mutual's 2000 PLUS aired, becoming the very first true science fiction series in the US. DIMENSION X followed shortly on April 8, 1950 over NBC stations. TALES OF TOMORROW was the third dedicated science fiction series, over the stations of the American Broadcasting Corporation, following DIMENSION X by almost 2 years.
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Suspense was one of the premier programs of the Golden Age of Radio (aka old-time radio), and advertised itself as "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." It was heard in one form or another from 1942 through 1962. There were approximately 945 episodes broadcast during its long run, over 900 of which are extant in mostly high-quality recordings. Suspense went through several major phases, characterized by different hosts, sponsors and director/producers. There were a few rules which were followed for all but a handful of episodes: Protagonists were usually a normal person suddenly dropped into a threatening or bizarre situation. Evildoers must be punished in the end.
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Although Molle Mystery Theatre was initially sponsored by Molle Shaving Cream, other sponsors (such as Bayer Aspirin, Ironized Yeast, Phillips Milk of Magnesia) also sponsored the program. Sometimes, when it was not sponsored by Molle, the program was called "Mystery Theater". The show was first heard on NBC, on 9/7/43. Time slot was originally Sunday nights at 9:00 PM, but was later moved to Tuesday at 9:00 PM, and Friday at 10:00 PM. In 1948, the show moved to CBS (Tues, 8:00 PM), and in 1951, it moved to ABC, where it was called "Mark Sabre", and heard on Wednesdays at either 8:00 PM or 9:30 PM.
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The Falcon. July 18, 1951. NBC net. "The Case Of The Cautious Cousin". Sponsored by: Kraft Miracle Whip, Kraft Malted Milk. Not auditioned. "When a family's fortune is in the balance, the scales can be tipped toward murder." Les Damon, Ed Herlihy (announcer), Bernard L. Schubert (producer), Richard Lewis (director), Drexel Drake (creator). 29:57.
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One of the most popular radio shows in history debuted in August 1930 when "The Shadow" went on the air. "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!" The opening lines of the "Detective Story" program captivated listeners and are instantly recognizable even today. Originally the narrator of the series of macabre tales, the eerie voice known as The Shadow became so popular to listeners that "Detective Story" was soon renamed "The Shadow," and the narrator became the star of the old-time mystery radio series, which ran until 1954. A figure never seen, only heard, the Shadow was an invincible crime fighter. He possessed many gifts which enabled him to overcome any enemy. Besides his tremendous strength, he could defy gravity, speak any language, unravel any code, and become invisible with his famous ability to "cloud men's minds."
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The Black Museum 1952. Syndicated. "The Centre-Fire Bullet". Music fill for local commercial insert. Three "youngish" men hold up a jewelry store, and commit a murder while doing it. The date is approximate. Syndicated rebroadcast date: February 18, 1975. Harry Alan Towers (producer), Orson Welles (narrator), Ira Marion (writer), Sidney Torch (composer, conductor). 28:49
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Meaningful Stories From Years Past
Families, then and now, face similar situations and struggles: communication, honesty, gambling, music, alcoholism, sports and many spiritual questions, such as life after death. How we address these struggles makes all the difference in strengthening our family bonds. These compelling half-hour dramas offer inspiring insights into how to build unity within your family. Join us on a visit with the stars of the past for an uplifting, humorous and meaningful look into family life. More than 500 of these programs have been digitally re-mastered and are "crystal clear." Twelve are available for retail sale and 52 are currently available for broadcast.
Broadway Is My Beat, a radio crime drama, ran on CBS from February 27, 1949 to August 1, 1954. With music by Robert Stringer, the show originated from New York during its first three months on the air, with Anthony Ross portraying Times Square Detective Danny Clover. John Dietz directed for producer Lester Gottlieb. Beginning with the July 7, 1949 episode, the series was broadcast from Hollywood with producer Elliott Lewis directing a new cast in scripts by Morton Fine and David Friedkin. The opening theme of "I'll Take Manhattan" introduced Detective Danny Clover (now played by Larry Thor), a hardened New York City cop who worked homicide "from Times Square to Columbus Circle -- the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world."
For the 1970âs late-night horror show, The Price of Fear, the BBC dramatized the most chilling stories they could find, drawing on talented new writers as well as the established master of terror who narrated tale, re-written as though Price actually experienced each chilling adventure himself. The show was enormously successful in the UK and abroad, and a number of series were made during 1973, 1975 and 1982.
Ronald Colman and his wife Benita Hume starred in the Halls of Ivy, a very well-written, superbly acted radio program that was full of warmth and wit. The show aired from 1950 to 1952 on NBC and is not often mentioned when old-time radio programs are the topic of conversation, but it is one of my favorites. The combination of Mr. & Mrs. Colman's acting and Don Quinn's writing made for an enjoyable half-hour's worth of entertainment. The show was created by Don Quinn who for many, many years put words in the mouths of Fibber McGee and Molly. Quinn wrote jokes that made you think. On the McGee program there was a fast and furious onslaught of crazy puns, mangled cliches, and double-meanings. Sometimes all at once -- when delivered by the superb timing of the talented Jim Jordan as Fibber.
The Clitheroe Kid was James Robertson Clitheroe, Jimmy Clitheroe to most, who by some strange coincidence did come from the town of that name without having to change his family name! At his full height he was 4ft 3in, and played the naughty schoolboy from 1958 to 1972. Although plausable from a distance, he was not really able to pass himself off as a youngster close up, so a TV career did not really take off too well, but at the peak of his fame the radio show was raking in about 10 million listeners, although by the end this had dropped to a tenth of that figure.
Blondie and Dagwood live in suburbia, next door to Herb and Tootsie Woodley. The Bumstead family has grown, with the addition of a son named Alexander (originally "Baby Dumpling"), a daughter named Cookie (born in the late 1930s/early 1940s, but permanently frozen in their late teen years as of 2006), and a dog named Daisy. Alexander and Cookie have grown up into teenagers who uncannily resemble their parents. Other regular characters include Mr. Beasley (the mailman), Elmo Tuttle (a pesky neighborhood kid), Cora Dithers (domineering wife of Julius Dithers), and Lou (owner of the diner where Dagwood frequently eats on his lunch break from working at the J.C. Dithers Company).
Challenge of Space combines the flavor of a western with the adventures of outer space. The series tells epic stories about a time when man has conquered the near planets, when reaching Mars is as simple as visiting the Statue of Liberty, when humans in space ships explore far off galaxies at the drop of a hat. Sponsored by Carling Beer. South African sci-fi serial.
The Brownstone Theatre. March 14, 1945. Mutual net, WOR, New York origination. "The Cinderella Man". Sustaining. A comedy first produced in 1916. A young, undiscovered writer meets a wealthy, lonely young lady. Jackson Beck, Jan Miner, Edward Charles Carpenter (author), Clayton Hamilton (host), Amzie Strickland (adaptor), Sylvan Levin (music director), Jock MacGregor (director). 28:55
Joel McCrea stars as Texas Ranger Jace Pearson in this thirty-minute western adventure series. The shows are all re-enactments of incidents from Texas Ranger history. The Texas lawman and his trusty steed, Charcoal, would track a criminal, often a killer, throughout the vast 260,000 square miles of Texas. With Joel McCrea lending star power, Tales of the Texas Rangers debuted over the NBC radio network on July 8, 1950. The thirty-minute show, sponsored by Wheaties, ran on Saturday nights at 9:30 for three months. In October, the show switched to Sunday evenings, eventually settling into the six oâclock time slot. The weekly adventures were set during the past two decades in order that the show have a modern slant. Ranger Jace Pearson drove an automobile, but he had a horse trailer and often galloped astride his horse Charcoal into the backcountry in pursuit of lawbreakers. First Broadcast date July 8, 1950. Last Broadcast date September 14th 1952
Orson Welles hosted and narrated the shows. Mr. Welles opened each show slightly differently but followed a standard format. For example, the show, "The Bathtub", open as follows:"This is Orson Welles speaking from London." (Big Ben starts chiming in the background). "The Black Museum, repository of death... Here, in this grim stone structure on the Thames which houses Scotland Yard, is a warehouse of homocide, where everyday objects, a piece of wire, a chemist's flask, a silver shilling, all are touched by murder." (dramatic music) Following the opening, Mr. Welles would introduce the museum's item or items of evidence that was central to the case, leading into the dramatization. He also provided narration during the show and ended each show with his characteristic closing from the days of his Mercury Theater of the Air, remaining "obediently yours".
DEFENSE ATTORNEY(8-31-51 â 12-30-52 ABC)
30 Minutes Friday Nights 8:00PM.
Starring Mercedes McCambridge as MARTY ELLIS BRYAN
and Howard Culver
The defense attorney of the title was as often in the field, investigating, as in the courtroom, filing briefs. McCambridge, who had a âcouldnât miss it in a crowdâ voice, opened the show from an echo chamber, reciting her pledge: âLadies and Gentlemen, to depend upon your judgment and to fulfill mine own obligation, I submit the factsâfully aware of my responsibility to my client and to you, as defense attorney.
Deadline Mystery
A crime drama with a newspaper background. The series ran from April 20, 1947 through August 31, 1947 and on ABC, sponsored by Knox Pharmaceutical Company. Michael Stephen Dunne as Lucky Larson, a fast-talking columnist syndicated in more than 250 newspapers around the world. Hollywood regulars in support were June Whitley, Sam Edwards, Jack Kruschen. The director was Dave Titus.
Adventures of Sam Spade â 1946-1951
Sam Spade was a tough private investigator. Each case was unfolded as a report dictated to his secretary, Effie, who was always flustered and secretly in love with him. He always quoted his license number and referred to each investigation as a âcaperâ. Each report was dated with the actual airdate. CAST: Howard Duff, Steve Dunne, Lurene Tuttle, John McIntire, William Conrad, Cathy and Elliot Lewis, June Havoc, Joseph Kearns, Jerry Hausner, Elliott Reid, Mary Jane Croft, Jeanette Nolan, Betty Lou Gerson.
Based on Craig Riceâs (a female crime novelist who rivaled Agatha Christie in book sales) novels of crime drama, Frank Lovejoy (and later Gene Raymond and George Petrie) plays âfictionâs most famous criminal lawyer,â John J. Malone. Mr. Malone is our amazing hero, a Chicago lawyer whose bar is more famous than Cheers. His hobby is collecting clichÃs, and each weeks show is based off of one: cleanliness is next to Godliness, a strong offense is the best defense, seek and ye shall find, and so on. Stories are gripping, from tales of Chicagoâs biggest operator who runs a nightclub and his right hand man, to a man looking for trouble in a hotel and finds it in room 419, to a story of a man who owns the most luscious gambling joint this side of Vegas. So brush up on your one liners, and grab your gun, because youâll want to tune in for this exciting half hour of mystery!
Crime Does Not Pay. December 12, 1949. MGM syndication. "Gasoline Cocktail". Commercials added locally. A Transylvanian arsonist is extinguished. The date above is the date of the first broadcast of the program on WMGM, New York from which this syndicated version may have been taken. Marx B. Loeb (director), Jon Gart (composer, conductor), Burton B. Turkas (technical advisor), Bela Lugosi, Ira Marion (writer). 27:00.
Arch Oboler's Plays was a radio drama series written, produced and directed by Arch Oboler. Minus a sponsor, it ran for one year, airing Saturday evenings on NBC from March 25, 1939 to March 23, 1940 and revived five years later on Mutual for a sustaining summer run from April 5, 1945 to October 11, 1945. Leading film actors were heard on this series, including Gloria Blondell, Eddie Cantor, James Cagney, Ronald Colman, Joan Crawford, Greer Garson, Edmund Gwenn, Van Heflin, Katharine Hepburn, Elsa Lanchester, Peter Lorre, Frank Lovejoy, Raymond Massey, Burgess Meredith, Paul Muni, Alla Nazimova, Edmond O'Brien, Geraldine Page, Gale Sondergaard, Franchot Tone and George Zucco.
Gunsmoke - Twelfth Night (12-25-55)
Created by director Norman
Macdonnell and writer John Meston, the
radio show first aired on April 26, 1952 and ran until June 18, 1961 on the CBS
radio network. The series starred William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon, Howard
McNear as Doc Charles Adams, Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell, and Parley Baer as
Deputy Chester Proudfoot. Doc's first name and Chester's last name were changed
for the television program. Gunsmoke was notable for its critically
acclaimed cast and writing, and is commonly regarded as THE true adult western
and one of the finest old time radio shows.
Father Knows Best, a family comedy of the 1950s, is perhaps more important for what it has come to represent than for what it actually was. In essence, the series was one of a slew of middle-class family sitcoms in which moms were moms, kids were kids, and fathers knew best. Today, many critics view it, at best, as high camp fun, and, at worst, as part of what critic David Marc once labeled the "Aryan melodramas" of the 1950s and 1960s.
Pursuit was a detective series that ran from 1949 to 1951 and stared Ted DeCorsica as Inspector Peter Black of Scotland Yard. The episodes opened all opened with the words, âA criminal strikes, and fades back into the shadows of his own dark world . . . and then, the man from Scotland Yard . . . the relentless dangerous pursuit! When man hunts man!â. First sponsor was Ford Motor Company and then included Molle Shave Cream and Dr. Lyon's Tooth Powder.
He walks us through the big golden doors, past the gentle ticket taker, and ushers us down to our seats in the "fourth-row center," near the First Nighter Orchestra. In a few short moments, the curtains will go up, and we will be witnessing Broadway, at its fullest. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the "little theater off time square" sponsored by Campana's.
The Whistler was one of radio's most popular mystery dramas, with a 13-year run from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955. If it now seems to have been influenced explicitly by The Shadow, The Whistler was no less popular or credible with its listeners, the writing was first class for its genre, and it added a slightly macabre element of humor that sometimes went missing in The Shadow's longer-lived crime stories.
Phil Harris (Wonga Philip Harris) (June 24, 1904 â August 11, 1995) was an American singer, songwriter, jazz musician and comedian. Though successful as an orchestra leader, Harris is remembered today for his recordings as a vocalist, his voice work in animation and the radio situation comedy in which he co-starred with his second wife, singer-actress Alice Faye, for eight years.
CBS started the year 1958 off with the introduction on January 1, 1958 of Frontier Gentleman. That series lasted 41 broadcasts. Near the end of the year, the network launched Have Gun, Will Travel on November 11, 1958, which continued for 106 programs. In between, a very short series was offered and discontinued after only 16 broadcasts, Luke Slaughter Of Tombstone. Sam Buffington starred as Luke Slaughter, a Civil War cavalryman who turned to cattle ranching in post war Arizona territory near Fort Huachuca. William N. Robson, known from his work with such series as Escape, Suspense and The CBS Radio Workshop, directed.
The 1950's saw both the twilight of the Golden Age of Radio and the birth of the science fiction radio series. Science fiction was not new to radio before 1950, but it was either targeted to juvenile audiences or were shows in a broader series, for example, ESCAPE's "The Time Machine". On March 15, 1950, the first show of Mutual's 2000 PLUS aired, becoming the very first true science fiction series in the US. DIMENSION X followed shortly on April 8, 1950 over NBC stations. TALES OF TOMORROW was the hird dedicated science fiction series, over the stations of the American Broadcasting Corporation, following DIMENSION X by almost 2 years. The host of the show was Raymond Edward Johnson, of INNER SANCTUM fame. Mr. Johnson handled TALES OF TOMORROW openings in a similar fashion to INNER SANCTUM openings, but with a "science fiction" flavor, instead of a "macabre" sense.
CHRISTOPHER
LONDON
was the name and
the hero of this 1950 radio show that related the adventures and exploits of a
private eye who will "go anywhere and do anything...for a price."
Ofadded interest is the fact that this guy is supposedly based on a character
created by Erle Stanley Gardner.
TODAYS SHOW:
The Price Of Sugar (2-26-50)
Christopher London is hired to find out why a competing sugar company can sell so cheaply. Created by Earle Stanley Gardner and starring Glenn Ford.
Based on the character created by Phoebe Atwood Taylor (under the pseudonym Alice Tilton) and starring Walter Hampden in the title role, The Adventures of Leonidas Witherall is an old time radio detective series with an unusual protagonist. He is the head of a distinguished New England boy's school and is best known for his remarkable resemblance to William Shakespeare! If that isn't enough, Witherall is also an accomplished author, penning the "popular Lieutenant Hazeltine stories". He always gets mixed up in murder, solving crimes with his good friend Mrs. Mullet, the neighborhood housekeeper, played by Ethel Remey.
Suspense was one of the premier programs of the Golden Age of Radio (aka old-time radio), and advertised itself as "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." It was heard in one form or another from 1942 through 1962. There were approximately 945 episodes broadcast during its long run, over 900 of which are extant in mostly high-quality recordings. Suspense went through several major phases, characterized by different hosts, sponsors and director/producers. There were a few rules which were followed for all but a handful of episodes: Protagonists were usually a normal person suddenly dropped into a threatening or bizarre situation. Evildoers must be punished in the end.
THANKS TO THE LISTENERS...THE MEDIA FILE IS NOW ATTACHED (SATURDAY 1/13/07 8:25AM - EST)
The man in the saddle is angular and long-legged his skin is sun-dyed brown the gun in his holster is gray steel and rainbow mother-of-pearl, its handle unmarked. People call them both "the Six Shooter."As a character who always seemed to stumble into otherâs troubles and sometimes had to shoot his way out, Jimmy Stewart did what he always did best, he acted as the super star he was. A great series for audiences of all ages.
On July 14, 1789, the mob, joined by some of the King's soldiers, stormed the Bastille. The commander, de Launay, attempted to surrender, but the mob would not accept it. He was killed as they poured through the gates. No guard was left alive. Later in the day the prisoners were released. There were only seven: two were convicted forgers; one was a loose-living aristocrat put in prison by his own father. Nevertheless it was a great symbolic event, one which is still celebrated in France every year. YOU ARE THERE !
21ST PRECINCT was one of the realistic police drama series of the early- to mid-1950's that were aired in the wake of DRAGNET. In 1953 CBS decided to use New York City as the backdrop for their own half-hour police series and focus on the day-to-day operation of a single police precinct. Actual cases were used as the basis for stories. The Precinct Captain acted as the narrator for the series.
Sherlock Holmes detective stories appeared on radio for more than 25 years, with a long list of performers playing the parts of Holmes and Dr Watson. FIRST BROADCAST: October 20th 1930 LAST BROADCAST: September 4th 1956. The stories were written by Edith Meiser, a self-confessed Holmes addict. These were so well written that she was warmly praised by Arthur Conan Doyleâs widow and son.
Fibber McGee and Molly premiered in 1935. The program struggled in the ratings until 1940, when it became a national sensation. Within three years, it was the top-rated program in America. Few radio shows were more beloved than Fibber McGee and Molly. The programâs lovable characters included Mayor LaTrivia, Doc Gamble, Mrs. Uppington, Wallace Wimple, Alice Darling, Gildersleeve, Beulah, Myrt, and the Old Timer. 79 Wistful Vista was one of Americaâs most famous addresses and Mollyâs warning to Fibber not to open the hall closet door (and his subsequent decision to do it) created one of radioâs best remembered running gags that audiences expected each week. Jim Jordan (Fibber) was born on a farm on November 16, 1896, near Peoria, Illinois. Marian Driscoll (Molly), a coal minerâs daughter, was born in Peoria on November 15, 1898.
After World War II Larry learns that his flying buddy Mike will only live a short time despite the efforts of the doctors. He takes on a profitable flying job for profiteers Maris to finance a good time for his buddy. As the plane takes off he shoves Maris' secretary Susan on board. When Mike falls for her, Larry tells her to play along for Mike's sake. She, of course, falls for Larry.
Hancock's Half-Hour is the yardstick against which all subsequent British sitcoms have been measured, the vast majority failing to size up to its extremely high standards. Based on his famous radio show of the same name, the TV run consolidated Tony Hancock's standing as Britain's leading comic of the day, the entertainer providing ample proof that his wonderfully flexible face could be as expressive as his dextrous radio voice. Tony Hancock was at the height of his powers during the late 1950s, squeezing every comic ounce out of his lines, pulling off perfectly judged pauses and demonstrating a sense of timing to match the great Jack Benny's. His character - Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock - was invariably a loser, whose aspirations and plans were dashed by fate, circumstance, Sid James or, more often than not, his own pomposity or unfettered ambition.
Duffy's Tavern, an American radio situation comedy (CBS, 1941-1942; NBC-Blue Network, 1942-1944; NBC, 1944-1952), often featured top-name stage and film guest stars but always hooked those around the misadventures, get-rich-quick-scheming, and romantic missteps of the title establishment's malaprop-prone, metaphor-mixing manager, Archie, played by the writer/actor who created the show, Ed Gardner.
Blackie was a tough, wisecracking private detective working in New York, billed as "enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend." His speciality was making fools of the police, a simple task with Inspector Farraday heading the official investigations. "An enemy to those who call him an enemy, a friend to those who have no friends." Boston Blackie is a reformed jewel thief who is never far from trouble. Inspector Farraday of the homicide squad tries to pin Blackie for the crime in every episode. To save his own skin, with the help of his girlfriend Mary and sidekick Shorty, Blackie ends up solving the case.
Throughout the early 1940's on American Radio, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce performed as Holmes and Watson, respectively, in several series of canonical and original Sherlock Holmes stories. When Rathbone finally departed the role before the 1947 season, Tom Conway played Sherlock Holmes opposite Nigel Bruce for one season. After a change of networks, there were two more pairings: John Stanley as Holmes and Alfred Shirley as Watson in 1947-1948 and John Stanley and Ian Martin in 1948-1949. The stories were written by Edith Meiser, a self-confessed Holmes addict. At first she used Arthur Conan Doylesâ original stories, but, after the series outlived the original material, she created her own new stories. These were so well written that she was warmly praised by Arthur Conan Doyleâs widow and son. First broadcast date October 20, 1930. Last broadcast date September 4, 1956
The series premiered on Monday 02/05/79 and offered a different genre each weekday night. Each genre was hosted by a different celebrity. The program was produced on Paramount's Stage F in Hollywood. These first 130 programs were broadcast over a six month period and then rebroadcast over the following six months. From 02/14/80 to 12/19/81 this series was heard again, this time over Mutual, as The Mutual Radio Theater. This was clearly one of the last big attempts to produce radio programming, with many of radioâs best talents, the way radio was heard in its âgolden days.â Despite budget and talent, it just wasnât to be.
Benny was remarkable in many ways, but in none more than this: he built a character of every sour ingredient in life, but somehow his real personality trickled through and made it wonderful. Would a real miser act that way before 30 million people each week? The Benny of the air was a fraud, a myth, a creation. It should have surprised no one to learn â after years of toupee jokes that played so well into the vanity theme â that Benny never wore one. He overtipped in restaurants, gave away his time in countless benefit performances, and was lavish in his praise of almost everyone else.
Hercule Poirot Detective Magnifique
Poirot, the famous Belgian detective, is the prominent character among Christie's works. He's known for his famous moustaches and his brain's "little grey cells." Poirot , in his novels and short stories, has proved that anyone can solve a crime just by simply thinking about it.
"The Adventure Of The Money Mad Ghoul" Mutual network. Sustaining. Hercule finds himself in a coffin, wearing a strong perfume, to track down a series of missing corpses. Harold Huber, Jackson Beck, Sylvan Levin (music). 29:02
Dimension X â 1950-1951
These were stories written by well-known science fiction authors dramatised by very high quality actors. It was a thirty-minute adult science fiction drama series with 45 episodes being broadcast before it was later revived as X Minus One. The shows were narrated by Norman Rose, perfecting the combination between authoritative resonance and dark irony.
The adventures of Casey, crack photographer for The Morning Express, were told in this series, which moved to television after a highly successful run on radio in the 1940âs. Casey hung out at the Blue Note CafÃ, where the music was provided by the Tony Mottola Trio, and was friendly with Ethelbert, the bartender, to whom he recounted his various exploits. Richard Carlyle and John Gibson portrayed the roles when the series premiered in April, 1951, but by June they were replaced by Darren McGavin and Cliff Hall. Ann Williams, a reporter on The Morning Express, was Caseyâs girlfriend. During the summer of 1951 he acquired a partner in cub reporter Jack Lipman, who wrote copy to go with Caseyâs pictures. This live series was set in and broadcast from, New York City.
The Avengers burst in the door of spy and super-hero adventure drama on South African radio in 1971, starring Donald Monat as John Steed, and Diane Appleby as the wonderful Emma Peel. It was based on the fine British TV series, which was very popular from the start in the UK, and is an excellent example of radio's adaptation of the television medium...as it had done with movies all along.
From Louis and Clarke to the great ol' California Gold Rush, America has had the great fortune of experiencing a plethora of awesome triumphs of the human spirit. Just gazing upon good Old Glory, one could just feel the patriotism, hard work and sacrifice that early Americans experienced in order to lay the foundation for their future children and for a Nation that will forever been known as the "Land of Opportunity." The American Trail tells the story of these brave men and women. This 13 part serial chronicles the beautiful history of the United States of America and tells of the lives that made the citizens of that great Nation look up at that Red, White, and Blue and say "You're a grand old flag, You're a high flying flag/ And forever in peace may you wave." ("You're a Grand Old Flag" by George M. Cohan)
ADVENTURES BY MORSE
From January 16, 1939 to January 26, 1952, stories from the pen of Carlton E. Morse graced the airwaves. The main ones remembered are One Man's Family, I Love A Mystery, and Adventures by Morse. Adventures by Morse related the escapades of Captain Bart Friday and Skip Turner, two San Francisco private investigators. Friday was a no-nonsense type, raised in the California. Turner was quite a bit the lady's man, complete with a laconic Southern accent. Their occasional work for U.S. Military Intelligence takes them around the globe.
Abbott and Costello (William (Bud) Abbott, 1897-1974; Louis Cristillo, 1906-1959) were an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film, and television made them one of the most popular and respected teams in comedy history. Their "Who's on First?" routine, developed during their years in burlesque, is widely considered to be one of the greatest comedy sketches of all time. The two comedians first worked together in 1935 at the Eltinge burlesque theater on 42nd Street in New York. Costello became a burlesque comic in 1928 after failing as a movie stunt double and extra; Abbott had been in burlesque since 1916, as a cashier, producer, and finally a performer. They made their partnership formal in 1936, building an act by adapting and improving numerous old burlesque sketches into their own style. Abbott was the arch, often scheming straight man and Costello the confused, context-challenged naif.
Big Town is a radio show that aired from 1937 to 1952. Edward G. Robinson had the lead role of Steve Wilson from 1937 to 1942. Claire Trevor was Wilson's society editor sidekick Lorelei Kilbourne, with Ona Munson taking over that role in 1940. Edward J. Pawley portrayed Wilson from 1942 until 1952 when Walter Greaza was heard as Wilson in the final episodes in the radio series. When Big Town moved to television, the program was telecast live, but in 1952 the production switched to film after the move from New York City to Hollywood. The television series ran on CBS from 1950 through 1954, continuing on NBC from 1955 through 1956. Repeat episodes aired on the DuMont Network (under the title City Assignment) while Big Town was still showing first-run episodes on CBS. Reruns were also shown under the titles Heart of the City, Headline and Byline Steve Wilson.
The Adventures of Frank Race, by Bruce Ells Productions, was first heard in May of 1949. The main character, Frank Race, was an attorney before World War II. As a result of his activities in the war, when it was over, he traded his law books for a career with the OSS. There, "Adventure" became his business. Tom Collins played the role of Frank Race initially, immediately following his stint as Chandu, The Magician. The lead role was taken over later by Paul Dubof.
Crime Classics was a U. S. radio docudrama which aired over CBS from June 15, 1953 to June 30, 1954. Created, produced, and directed by radio actor/director Elliott Lewis, the program was basically a historical true crime series, examining crimes, and especially murders, from the past. It grew out of Lewis's personal interest in famous murder cases, and took a documentary-like approach to the subject, carefully recreating the facts, personages, and feel of the time period. Comparatively little dramatic license was taken with the facts and events, but the tragedy was leavened with humor, expressed largely through the narration.
BEYOND TOMORROW was to be CBS's science fiction series. Three shows and one audition were transcribed to disk, but it's not certain if they were actually broadcast, despite announcements in newspapers. In the audition, the series title was BEYOND THIS WORLD and the audition show was "The Outer Limit". The first show under the series name BEYOND TOMORROW was "Requiem", a story by Robert Heinlein, which was later be done in DIMENSION X.
One of the most popular radio shows in history debuted in August 1930 when "The Shadow" went on the air. "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!" The opening lines of the "Detective Story" program captivated listeners and are instantly recognizable even today. Originally the narrator of the series of macabre tales, the eerie voice known as The Shadow became so popular to listeners that "Detective Story" was soon renamed "The Shadow," and the narrator became the star of the old-time mystery radio series, which ran until 1954. A figure never seen, only heard, the Shadow was an invincible crime fighter. He possessed many gifts which enabled him to overcome any enemy. Besides his tremendous strength, he could defy gravity, speak any language, unravel any code, and become invisible with his famous ability to "cloud men's minds."
If there is a better and more magical Christmas film than Frank Capraâs ITâS A WONDERFUL LIFE, then I would surely like to know what it is. Yes, there have been a very small selection of greatChristmas films, classics like MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET and A CHRISTMAS CAROL to more recent works like THE POLAR EXPRESS (a film that I am willing to bet my morning donut on will be much more respected in the years to come). Yet, Capraâs 1946 film still goes down as one of the most watched and cherished of all the Christmas films. Anyone doubting this assertion should consider one obvious sentiment: can you not find this film on any major television channel either on or before Christmas?
Not likely.
Our Miss Brooks, an American situation comedy, began as a radio hit in 1948 and migrated to television in 1952, becoming one of the earlier hits of the so-called Golden Age of Television, and making a star out of Eve Arden (1908-1990) as comely, wisecracking, but humane high school English teacher Connie Brooks. The show hooked around Connie's daily relationships with Madison High School students, colleagues, and pompous principal Osgood Conklin (Gale Gordon), not to mention favourite student Walter Denton (future television and Rambo co-star Richard Crenna, who fashioned a higher-pitched voice to play the role) and biology teacher Philip Boynton ( Jeff Chandler), the latter Connie's all-but-unrequited love interest, who saw science everywhere and little else anywhere.
Mystery House - that strange publishing firm owned by Dan and Barbara Glenn - where each new novel is acted out by the Mystery House staff, before it is accepted for publication. Mystery House was a program in the 1950âs, but not your run of the mill type program. Actually it was more of a proving ground for novels. Dan and Barbara Glenn owned a publishing company named âMystery Houseâ located at 70 Park Avenue, New York City. Dan and Barbara decided to test some of their novels on a real listening audience. Each episode was taken from a novel they were planning on publishing. The entire staff at Mystery House was involved, everyone doing their part, whether it was rewriting to adapt it to radio, playing the parts or doing sound effects, everyone joined in. Sadly, not a lot is known about this series. Only 15 are known to exist.
The Life Of Riley was a hilarious comedy about Chester A Riley. He lived with his wife Peg and his two children Junior and Babs. Riley had a heart of gold but he had no brain and always seemed to make a mess of everything.
The Black Pearl Of Osirus (2-08-38) and Pat Goes Overboard (2-09-38)
Dick Tracy had a long run on radio, from 1934 weekdays on NBC's New England stations to the ABC network in 1948. Bob Burlen was the first radio Tracy in 1934, and others heard in the role during the 1930s and 1940s were Barry Thompson, Ned Wever and Matt Crowley. The early shows all had 15-minute episodes. On CBS, with Sterling Products as sponsor, the serial aired four times a week from February 4, 1935 to July 11, 1935, moving to Mutual from September 30, 1935 to March 24, 1937 with Bill McClintock doing the sound effects. NBC's weekday afternoon run from January 3, 1938 to April 28, 1939 had sound effects by Keene Crockett and was sponsored by Quaker Oats, which brought Dick Tracy into primetime (Saturdays at 7pm and, briefly, Mondays at 8pm) with 30-minute episodes from April 29, 1939 to September 30, 1939. The series returned to 15-minute episodes on the ABC Blue Network from March 15, 1943 to July 16, 1948, sponsored by Tootsie Rolls, which used the music theme of "Toot Toot, Tootsie" for its 30-minute Saturday ABC series from October 6, 1945 to June 1, 1946. Sound effects on ABC were supplied by Walt McDonough and Al Finelli. Directors of the series included Mitchell Grayson, Charles Powers and Bob White. Cast members at various times included Walter Kinsella as Pat Patton, Helen Lewis as Tess Trueheart and Andy Donnelly and Jackie Kelk as Junior Tracy. Announcers were Ed Herlihy and Dan Seymour.
Based on the character created by Phoebe Atwood Taylor (under the pseudonym Alice Tilton) and starring Walter Hampden in the title role, The Adventures of Leonidas Witherall is an old time radio detective series with an unusual protagonist. He is the head of a distinguished New England boy's school and is best known for his remarkable resemblance to William Shakespeare! If that isn't enough, Witherall is also an accomplished author, penning the "popular Lieutenant Hazeltine stories". He always gets mixed up in murder, solving crimes with his good friend Mrs. Mullet, the neighborhood housekeeper, played by Ethel Remey.
A Date with Judy began as a summer replacement in 1941 but quickly became popular as listeners followed the growing pains of Judy and her friends and the exasperation of Judy's parents. Teenagers could relate to Judy and her problems with school, boyfriends and parental rules and adults enjoyed remembering their youth as seen through the eyes of a typical teenager. A delighful comedy that ended in 1950, A Date with Judy remains a favorite even today as we realize that teenagers will always face the same problems growing up as Judy and her friends did.
CANDY MATSON was the private eye star of Candy Matson, YUkon 2-8208, an NBC West Coast show which first aired in March 1949 and was created by Monty Masters. He cast his wife, Natalie Parks, in the title role of this sassy, sexy PI. Her understated love interest, Lt. Ray Mallard, was played by Henry Leff while her assistant and best pal, aptly named Rembrandt Watson, was the voice of Jack Thomas. Every show opened with a ringing telephone and our lady PI answering it with "Candy Matson, YU 2-8209" and then the organ swung into the theme song, "Candy". Each job took Candy from her apartment on Telegraph Hill into some actual location in San Francisco. The writers, overseen by Monty, worked plenty of real Bay Area locations into every plot.
Based on Craig Riceâs (a female crime novelist who rivaled Agatha Christie in book sales) novels of crime drama, Frank Lovejoy (and later Gene Raymond and George Petrie) plays âfictionâs most famous criminal lawyer,â John J. Malone. Mr. Malone is our amazing hero, a Chicago lawyer whose bar is more famous than Cheers. His hobby is collecting clichÃs, and each weeks show is based off of one: cleanliness is next to Godliness, a strong offense is the best defense, seek and ye shall find, and so on. Stories are gripping, from tales of Chicagoâs biggest operator who runs a nightclub and his right hand man, to a man looking for trouble in a hotel and finds it in room 419, to a story of a man who owns the most luscious gambling joint this side of Vegas. So brush up on your one liners, and grab your gun, because youâll want to tune in for this exciting half hour of mystery!
Written and directed by Robert A. Arthur and David Kogan, the series began on the Mutual Broadcasting System, December 5, 1943, continuing in many different timeslots until September 16, 1952. Unlike many other shows of the era, The Mysterious Traveler was without a sponsor for its entire run. The lonely sound of a distant locomotive heralded the arrival of the malevolent narrator, portrayed by Maurice Tarplin, who introduced himself each week in the following manner: âThis is the Mysterious Traveler, inviting you to join me on another journey into the strange and terrifying. I hope you will enjoy the trip, that it will thrill you a little and chill you a little. So settle back, get a good grip on your nerves and be comfortable -- if you canâ!
The Professor & The Puzzle (Aired January 9, 1949)
Box 13 was a syndicated radio series starring ALAN LADD as newspaper reporter-turned-novelist Dan Holiday. Holiday obtained ideas for his novels through an ad he placed in the Classified section of his old paper, The Star-Times. It read:
"ADVENTURE WANTED! Will go anywhere, do anything. Write BOX 13, c/o Star-Times."
This hit radio series with Marie Wilson ran on CBS Radio from April 11, 1947 to August 23, 1954. The TV version, seen on CBS from January 8, 1952 until June 25, 1954, was the first series telecast from the CBS Television City facility in Hollywood. The movie My Friend Irma (1949) starred Marie Wilson and Diana Lynn but is mainly remembered today for introducing Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis to moviegoers, resulting in even more screen time for Martin and Lewis in the sequel, My Friend Irma Goes West (1950).
The Aldrich Family as a separate radio show was born as a summer replacement for Jack Benny in NBC's Sunday night lineup, July 2, 1939, and it stayed there until October 1, 1939, when it moved to Tuesday nights at 8 p.m., sponsored by General Foods's popular gelatin dessert Jell-O---which also sponsored Jack Benny at the time. The Aldriches ran in that slot from October 10, 1939 until May 28, 1940, moving to Thursdays, from July 4, 1940 until July 20, 1944. After a brief hiatus, the show moved to CBS, running on Fridays from September 1, 1944 until August 30, 1946 with sponsors Grape Nuts and Jell-O,.before moving back to NBC from September 05, 1946 to June 28, 1951 on Thursdays and, then, its final run of September 21, 1952 to April 19, 1953 on Sundays.
The Jack Benny Program is a classic comedy that is truly one of the best-loved programs from the Golden Age of Radio. It started life as The Canada Dry Program in 1932 on the Blue Network and finished off as The Lucky Strike Program on CBS in 1955. In between, it kept the audience in stitches and established Benny as one of America's all-time great comedians.
Blackie was a tough, wisecracking private detective working in New York, billed as "enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend." His speciality was making fools of the police, a simple task with Inspector Farraday heading the official investigations. "An enemy to those who call him an enemy, a friend to those who have no friends." Boston Blackie is a reformed jewel thief who is never far from trouble. Inspector Farraday of the homicide squad tries to pin Blackie for the crime in every episode. To save his own skin, with the help of his girlfriend Mary and sidekick Shorty, Blackie ends up solving the case.
Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons was one of network radio's longest running detectives, although listening to it now would hardly explain why. This kind, elderly, boring sleuth, in company with his bumbling assistant, Mike Clancy, was on the airwaves from 1937 to 1955, logging nearly 20 years of fighting crime. The series came out of the soap opera fiction factory of Frank and Anne Hummert and encompassed most of the trite dialogue and snail plotting of daytime serials.
Maisie, the first in 1939, was from the book "Dark Dame" by the writer Wilson Collison,who did decades of scripting for the silver screen along with Broadway plays and magazine fiction. From the first, MGM wanted Ann Sothern to play Maisie. She began in Hollywood as an extra in 1927. "Maisie and I were just together - I just understood her," Sothern, born Harriette Arlene Lake, said after several of the films made her a star. Throughout the 1930s and '40s, Ann Sothern and Lucille Ball, like many performers in Hollywood, had not one but two careers - one in motion pictures and one on radio. MGM Studios had created the series of ten motion pictures based on a brash blonde with a heart "of spun gold." Maisie, the first in 1939, was from the book "Dark Dame" by the writer Wilson Collison, who did decades of scripting for the silver screen along with Broadway plays and magazine fiction.
This hit radio series with Marie Wilson ran on CBS Radio from April 11, 1947 to August 23, 1954. The TV version, seen on CBS from January 8, 1952 until June 25, 1954, was the first series telecast from the CBS Television City facility in Hollywood. The movie My Friend Irma (1949) starred Marie Wilson and Diana Lynn but is mainly remembered today for introducing Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis to moviegoers, resulting in even more screen time for Martin and Lewis in the sequel, My Friend Irma Goes West (1950).
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Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons was one of network radio's longest running detectives, although listening to it now would hardly explain why. This kind, elderly, boring sleuth, in company with his bumbling assistant, Mike Clancy, was on the airwaves from 1937 to 1955, logging nearly 20 years of fighting crime. The series came out of the soap opera fiction factory of Frank and Anne Hummert and encompassed most of the trite dialogue and snail plotting of daytime serials.
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The Man Called X was an espionage radio drama which aired on CBS and NBC from July 10, 1944 to May 20, 1952. Herbert Marshall had the lead role of Intelligence Agent Ken Thurston who took on dangerous cases in a variety of exotic locations. Gordon Jenkins Orchestra supplied the background music. Cast: Leon Belasco as Pagan Seldchmidt ANNOUNCER: Wendell Niles DIRECTOR: Jack Johnstone.
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Hollywood Radio Theater (Lux), one of the genuine classic radio anthology series (NBC Blue Network, 1934-1935; CBS 1935-1955), adapted first Broadway stage and then (and especially) films to hour-long live radio presentations and became the standard by which future radio and early television anthologies would be judged. Cecil B. DeMille was the host of the series each Monday evening from June 1, 1936 until January 22, 1945.
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The success of the radio show led to a Dragnet television pilot, aired as an episode of Chesterfield Sound Off Time in 1951, and resulted in a permanent slot for the series on NBC Television's Thursday night schedule in early 1952. Yarborogh died suddenly after the pilot aired and was eventually replaced by Ben Alexander, who played Officer Frank Smith from 1953 to the end of the series in 1959. Dragnet was an instant hit on television, maintaining a top 10 position in the ratings through 1956.
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Moby Dick Part Two of Two (Aired October 26, 1946)
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PART ONE OF TWO
The novel was first published by Richard Bentley in London on 18 October 1851 as an expurgated three-volume edition entitled The Whale, then as a single volume by Harper and Brothers, as Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, in New York on 14 November 1851. Although the book initially received mostly negative reviews, Moby-Dick is now considered to be one of the greatest novels in the English language, and has secured Melville's reputation in the first rank of American writers. The first line of the book ("Call me Ishmael") is one of the most famous in American literature.
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Excellent insight as to why we do not have civil defense today in an era of nuclear terrorism. This broadcast demonstrates the resistance of the public to a national civil defense, not the negligence of the government in providing one. Good entertainment for boomers who still remember duck and cover drills. Prophetic in many ways. Interesting that the author, Phillip Wylie, says the nation has had "10" years to prepare and done basically nothing. Since this broadcast the nation has had 50 more years to prepare and still done nothing. It's not too late.
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It's Christmas Time in the west and Britt comes across a young boy who is running away from home. The boy's father had died the previous year and his bitterness has turned him away from the season and it's meaning. Britt, always the diplomat, tell's the boy a story that has a familiar ring.
The Six Shooter, the only radio series staring James Stewart, aired on September 20, 1953. In this radio western, Jimmy played Britt Ponset, a man with a reputation for having a fast gun but is really very different from the hard, tough talking gun slinger type. Here the hero is a slow talking, thinking man who is ready with his gun, but first looks for options to violence. James Stewart played this character very well. Jimmy had appeared on many other radio shows including the Hollywood Star Playhouse where the character of Britt Ponset was introduced in an episode called "The Six Shooter". The same script was used for the audition of THE SIX SHOOTER series, again with Jimmy as Britt. The show aired between September 1953 and June 1954.
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A Christmas Carol (full title: A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas) is Charles Dickens' "little Christmas Book" first published on December 19, 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. The story met with instant success, selling six thousand copies within a week. Originally written as a potboiler to enable Dickens to pay off a debt, the tale has become one of the most popular and enduring Christmas stories of all time. In fact, contemporaries of the time noted that the popularity of the story played a critical role in redefining the importance of Christmas and the major sentiments associated with the holiday. Few modern readers realize that A Christmas Carol was written during a time of decline in the old Christmas traditions. "If Christmas, with its ancient and hospitable customs, its social and charitable observances, were in danger of decay, this is the book that would give them a new lease," said English poet Thomas Hood in his review in Hood's Magazine and Comic Review (January 1844, page 68).
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Frank Lovejoy stars as Randy Stone, a toughened, street-wise Chicago Star reporter working the Nightbeat in the early 1950's. Sometimes the capers are cops and robbers. Or just normal people in trouble. Sometimes they deserve it. Sometimes fate twists their arm. Sometimes they're just too scared or confused to know the difference. Lovejoy is a seasoned pro of radio and film with an honest, gripping delivery. Solid supporting casts, good writing and direction.
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EPISODE #6 "The Golden Ocean" and EPISODE #7 "The Magic Wire"
From Louis and Clarke to the great ol' California Gold Rush, America has had the great fortune of experiencing a plethora of awesome triumphs of the human spirit. Just gazing upon good Old Glory, one could just feel the patriotism, hard work and sacrifice that early Americans experienced in order to lay the foundation for their future children and for a Nation that will forever been known as the "Land of Opportunity." The American Trail tells the story of these brave men and women. This 13 part serial chronicles the beautiful history of the United States of America and tells of the lives that made the citizens of that great Nation look up at that Red, White, and Blue and say "You're a grand old flag, You're a high flying flag/ And forever in peace may you wave." ("You're a Grand Old Flag" by George M. Cohan)
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The Wizard of Oz (1939) is everybody's cherished favorite, a perennial fantasy film musical from MGM and during that studio's golden years. For many seasons, it was featured regularly on network TV as a prime time event (its first two showings were on CBS television on November 3, 1956 and in December, 1959) and then annually for Thanksgiving, Christmas and/or Easter time. It soon became a classic institution, and a rite of passage for everyone, and probably has been seen by more people than any other motion picture over multiple decades. Initially, however, the film was not commercially successful (at $3 million), but it was critically acclaimed.
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The Lone Ranger was a long-running early radio and television show based on characters created by George W. Trendle, and developed by writer Fran Striker. The titular character is a masked cowboy in the American Old West, who gallops about righting injustices, usually with the aid of a clever and laconic American Indian called Tonto, and his horse Silver. He would famously say "Heigh-ho Silver, away!" to get the horse to gallop.
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The Great Gildersleeve - 1941-1958
In 1941 Throckmorton P Gildersleeve spun off into his own radio program, becoming the first radio character to do so. He had originally appeared on Fibber McGee and Molly in 1937 and left to become the Water Commissioner of Summerfield and to raise his niece and nephew.The series had the same appeal as todays soaps because each episode was connected. Gildersleeve's romances were often at the centre of it all. The best of the romances is the one with Leila Ransom.
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With all the time spent looking for it throughout history, who would have thought the secret of eternal youth would be found in Riverdale? That's where it is, though, and Archie Andrews and his friends seem happy enough to keep that secret to themselves while sharing their trials, tribulations and milkshakes with generations of readers. Montana's characters were heard on radio in the early 1940s. Archie Andrews began on the Blue Network on May 31, 1943, switched to Mutual in 1944, and then continued on NBC from 1945 until September 5, 1953. Archie was first played by Charles Mullen, Jack Grimes and Burt Boyar, with Bob Hastings as the title character during the NBC years.
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Meaningful Stories from Years Past that Continue to Inspire Families Today
Families, then and now, face similar situations and struggles: communication, honesty, gambling, music, alcoholism, sports and many spiritual questions, such as life after death. How we address these struggles makes all the difference in strengthening our family bonds. These compelling half-hour dramas offer inspiring insights into how to build unity within your family. Join us on a visit with the stars of the past for an uplifting, humorous and meaningful look into family life. More than 500 of these programs have been digitally re-mastered and are "crystal clear." Twelve are available for retail sale and 52 are currently available for broadcast.
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Big Town was perhaps the most famous series of reporter dramas. It featured the adventures of Steve Wilson, the crusading editor of The Illustrated Press. The show was written by Jerry McGill, an ex-newspaperman, and his reporters were diligent, sober champions of justice, zealously pushing freedom of the press, creating a memorable slogan; âFreedom of the press is a flaming sword! Use is justly â hold it high â guard it well.â The shows occasionally attacked juvenile delinquency, racism and drink driving amongst other soapbox related incidents.
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Bulldog Drummond has come to wreak havoc on unsuspecting killers, counterfeiters, and underworld characters. The opening of the show starts with a the sounds of footsteps, foghorn, then two shots ring out, followed by three blows of a police officer's whistle. Bulldog, who's really name is Hugh (played by George Coulouris), was a methodical crime-solving sleuth who let nothing get in his way of his goal, which was to put a stop to crime! Bulldog believed in uncomplicated and decisive means of getting his way with the lords of the underworld. This usually led to their swift capture, and the easing of the city's burden brought about by these ruthless thugs.
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Abbott and Costello (William (Bud) Abbott, 1897-1974; Louis Cristillo, 1906-1959) were an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film, and television made them one of the most popular and respected teams in comedy history. Their "Who's on First?" routine, developed during their years in burlesque, is widely considered to be one of the greatest comedy sketches of all time. The two comedians first worked together in 1935 at the Eltinge burlesque theater on 42nd Street in New York. Costello became a burlesque comic in 1928 after failing as a movie stunt double and extra; Abbott had been in burlesque since 1916, as a cashier, producer, and finally a performer. They made their partnership formal in 1936, building an act by adapting and improving numerous old burlesque sketches into their own style. Abbott was the arch, often scheming straight man and Costello the confused, context-challenged naif.
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Charlie Chan was the Chinese detective created by Earl Derr Biggers. Over 40 Charlie Chan movies were done from the early 1930's through 1949, all of which starred non-Chinese actors as Charlie. Supposedly working as a Honolulu police detective, Charlie was almost always somewhere else, like Paris, Rio, LA, even Treasure IslandÂbut he did have a wonderful home life, too, with a reported 14 children, including his famous #1, #2 etc. sons, ever intent on helping "pop" solve the case.
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This Is Your FBI was a radio crime drama which aired in the United States on ABC from April 6, 1945 to January 30, 1953. FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover gave it his endorsement, calling it "the finest dramatic program on the air." Producer-director Jerry Devine was given access to FBI files by Hoover, and the resulting dramatizations of FBI cases were narrated by Frank Lovejoy (1945), Dean Carleton (1946-47) and William Woodson (1948-53). Stacy Harris had the lead role of Special Agent Jim Taylor. Others in the cast were William Conrad, Bea Benaderet and J.C. Flippen.
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Here Comes McBride. May 19, 1949. NBC net. Sustaining. The first show of the series. McBride finds a dead body in his room, stabbed to death. McBride is an insurance detective based in San Francisco. Frank Lovejoy, Cleve F. Adams (creator), Robert Ryf (writer), Warren Lewis (director). 29:26
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Throughout the early 1940's on American Radio, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce performed as Holmes and Watson, respectively, in several series of canonical and original Sherlock Holmes stories. When Rathbone finally departed the role before the 1947 season, Tom Conway played Sherlock Holmes opposite Nigel Bruce for one season. After a change of networks, there were two more pairings: John Stanley as Holmes and Alfred Shirley as Watson in 1947-1948 and John Stanley and Ian Martin in 1948-1949. The stories were written by Edith Meiser, a self-confessed Holmes addict. At first she used Arthur Conan Doylesâ original stories, but, after the series outlived the original material, she created her own new stories. These were so well written that she was warmly praised by Arthur Conan Doyleâs widow and son. First broadcast date October 20, 1930. Last broadcast date September 4, 1956
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Famed actor Ronald Colman (1947 Academy Award winner for his portrayal of a tormented actor in "A Double Life") was perfect for the part of William Todhunter Hall, the President of Ivy College in the little college town of Ivy. Colman had the authentic intelligent, English upper-crust manner to convince immediately. Coleman's wife, Benita (Colman) Hume played Hall's wife Vicky, whose background was as a former British stage actress. Thus, the pair was a great example of "opposites attract." A fine radio cast played the Ivy College's Board of Governors, the kids on campus, and the household of the Halls. Herbert Butterfield was the thorny Board of Directors member Clarence Wellman.
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Jeff Regan - Investigator -- The Woman Who Wanted to Live
VintageRadioShows.com brings you another hard boiled crime thriller. This show was yet another vehicle for Jack Webb's talents. For a year until he left the show for 'Dragnet' in 1949. At that time the lead was taken over by Frank Graham, who stars here playing the 'Lion's Eye' in The Woman Who Wanted to Live.
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The Aldrich Family, a popular radio teenage situation comedy (1939-1953), is remembered first and foremost for its unforgettable introduction: awkward teen Henry's mother calling, "Hen-reeeeeeeeeeeee! Hen-ree Al-drich!" A top-ten ratings hit within two years of its birth (in 1941, the showm carried a 33.4 Crossley rating, landing it solidly alongside Jack Benny and Bob Hope), the show is considered a prototype for teen-oriented situation comedies to follow on radio and television and is a favourite if dated find for old-time radio collectors today. The Aldrich Family as a separate radio show was born as a summer replacement for Jack Benny in NBC's Sunday night lineup, July 2, 1939, and it stayed there until October 1, 1939, when it moved to Tuesday nights at 8 p.m., sponsored by General Foods's popular gelatin dessert Jell-O---which also sponsored Jack Benny at the time. Online Meetings Made Easy with GoToMeeting Try it Free for 45 days use Promo Code Podcast
The Doris Day Show. December 23, 1953. CBS net. Sustaining. The first tune is, "Here Comes Santa Claus." Doris, Jack and Don sing "Hark The Herald Angels Sing," and other carols. Doris Day, Don Wilson (announcer), Jack Kirkwood, Martin Nelson (producer), Sam Pierce (director), Fred Fox (writer). 25:32.
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Call The Police. July 6, 1948. NBC net. "The Case Of The Sunflower Mystery Mansion". Sponsored by: Rinso. Case #4208. Mrs. Potter is found strangled to death. Since she was a believer in occultism, was her killer from the beyond? After the second murder, the evidence points to the world of the living! The date is approximate. George Petrie, Hugh James (announcer). 29:30.
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1952-1953 Series
Broadcast 1952; Transcribed in England for the BBC; aired in U.S. on CBS, then again on ABC in 1954 and Mutual in 1957. Starring Michael Redgrave as Horatio Hornblower. a captain in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic era. The radio series was based on twelve Horatio Hornblower novels written by C.S. Forester. These novels were, and still are, well liked due to their realistic tone and historical accuracy in telling the tales of Naval life in the late 1700s through the mid 1800s. C.S. Forester was well known for his novels about military and naval life, including such fine titles as The African Queen, The Gun, The Barbary Pirates, and The General.
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Dramatic Serial (1932) - "False-Witness (Ep#1) and Wanted Bright Youngster (Ep#2)"
The Family Doctor was a story about Dr. Grant Adams, a small town doctor who doubled as the communityâs moral rectifier. He was more than just respected, he was loved by all. Each week he confronted issues from robbery to suicide, and always with common sense and gentle moral judgment. Though his old-fashioned remedies for sicknesses are outdated compared to modern medical practicing, The Family Doctor's attitude towards life's daily issues transcend time. Of the 39 intended episodes, only 12 were aired.
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Counterspy was an espionage drama radio series that aired on ABC and Mutual from May 18, 1942 to November 29, 1957. David Harding (Don MacLaughlin) was the chief of the United States Counterspies, a unit engaged during World War II in counterespionage against Japan's Black Dragon and Germany's Gestapo. With spies still lurking in the post-war years, the adventures continued apace well after World War II ended.
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The Hollywood husband and wife team of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall set sail for adventure in the Bold Venture radio series in early 1951. There were well over 400 stations that aired the program. Since thiswas syndicated * the starting date varied from station to station but Mar 26, 1951 was the official date of the first show. Humphrey Bogart portrayed Slate Shannon, owner of a rundown Havana hotel, Shannon's Place. The action took place on land as well aboard Slate's boat, The Bold Venture, thus the title of the series. Lauren Bacall was his ward Sailor Duval, a stubborn and flirtatious young woman whose late father had willed her to Slate for her protection. Together the duo found adventure, intrigue, mystery and romance in the sultry settings of tropical Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean.
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Rare radio shows celebrating and exploring the western genre. Death Valley Days was an extremely popular show in the late 1930s and was based on true western stories about bandits, rangers, and other western themes. Rin Tin Tin is most known for his films and television shows, but the famous dog also starred in a radio show; there are some very rare episodes.
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A Syndicated Revival of Arch Obolerâs Lights Out series. Uses Original Transcriptions & New Opening.
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Our Miss Brooks was an American situation comedy that started on radio in 1948 and migrated to television in 1952. Miss Brooks was an English teacher in Madison High School and the show centered around her daily relationships with students, other teachers and her principal, Mr Conklin. The radio program starred Eve Arden as Connie Brooks, Jeff Chandler (actor) as biology teacher Philip Boynton, Gale Gordon as Osgood Conklin and Richard Crenna as Walter Denton, Miss Brooks' favorite student.
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Escape was radio's leading anthology series of high adventure, airing on CBS from July 7, 1947 to September 25, 1954. Since the program did not have a regular sponsor like Suspense, it was subjected to frequent schedule shifts and lower production budgets, although Richfield Oil signed on as a sponsor for five months in 1950. Despite these problems, Escape enthralled many listeners during its seven-year run. The series' well-remembered opening combined Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain with the introduction, intoned by Paul Frees and William Conrad: âTired of the everyday routine? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... Escape!â
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This is an Australian radio production of the classic MGM science fiction movie, Forbidden Planet. The production uses all the original electronic music and effects from the film. Length: 55 Min. What can I say? Years before Starfleet officers donned uniforms in Star Trek, it was done in Forbidden Planet. Long before Han Solo held a blaster, the guys in Forbidden Planet did it. Long before Star Trek's android Data and shortly before Lost in Space's Robby, a mechanical being played a major role in Forbidden Planet. Long before big special effects films ruled movie theaters, Forbidden Planet was packed with great effects, including astounding matte paintings. Long before electronically-created music became common, Forbidden Planet featured an all-synthesizer soundtrack that gave a futuristic and creepy feeling. Long before Leslie Nielson said, "Don't call me Shirley," he wore a spacesuit and wielded a ray gun.
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In 1946 and 1950-1951 Nero Wolfe was aired on radio. Sidney Greenstreet played Nero Wolfe in the later series. The two earlier series have only one episode each available. A variety of actors played Archie Goodwin. NETWORK: NBC, SPONSOR: SUSTAINED, TIME: Fridays: 8:00 - 8:30 pm STARS: Sidney Greenstreet as Nero Wolfe. Archie played by various actors WRITER: Louis Vittes based on the stories by Rex Stout; ANNOUNCER: Don Stanley; PRODUCER: Edwin Fadiman; DIRECTOR: J. Donald Wilson.
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The show began on NBC as The G-Men and was sponsored by Chevrolet. The concept of a national program that brought authentic police case histories to millions of radio listeners, was the concept of a veteran in the business, Phillips H. Lord. His idea of a cross between the newspapers and the movies was an immediate hit with his peers. With J. Edgar Hooverâs approval, Lord wrote his first episode right in the Justice Department Building in Washington. Changing to "Gangbusters" the show came on strong right from the start and was a radio sensation. The pace was fast, the action was real and sometimes violent, the crimes and criminals were acted doing what was written about in the papers.
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Arch Oboler's Plays was a radio drama series written, produced and directed by Arch Oboler. Minus a sponsor, it ran for one year, airing Saturday evenings on NBC from March 25, 1939 to March 23, 1940 and revived five years later on Mutual for a sustaining summer run from April 5, 1945 to October 11, 1945. Leading film actors were heard on this series, including Gloria Blondell, Eddie Cantor, James Cagney, Ronald Colman, Joan Crawford, Greer Garson, Edmund Gwenn, Van Heflin, Katharine Hepburn, Elsa Lanchester, Peter Lorre, Frank Lovejoy, Raymond Massey, Burgess Meredith, Paul Muni, Alla Nazimova, Edmond O'Brien, Geraldine Page, Gale Sondergaard, Franchot Tone and George Zucco.
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Amos 'n' Andy, still written entirely by the two stars, was the top-rated program of all in 1930, with a 54.4 rating and 30 million listeners (compare that to the Super Bowl's 44.2 rating in 2004). By this time, the wily, coniving Kingfish was becoming a major personality, eventually supplanting sensible Amos as star of the show (Freeman Gosden gave voice to both characters while Charles Correll played Andrew H. Brown).
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Mr District Attorney was for many years the nationâs best-liked crime show. The thirty-minute drama was inspired by the real-life exploits of Thomas E Dewey, a racket-busting district attorney of the late 30s in New York. The show was directed and often written by Ed Byron, a former law student who devoted all of his time researching crime, which was the reason that the show was so topical.
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"MATINEE THEATER" â CBS Network Sponsor Vicks Vapo Rub. Aired on Sundays 2:00 - 2:30 pm . STARS: Victor Jory Evolved from "DANGEROUSLY YOURS" DIRECTOR: Richard Sanville PRODUCER: Nick Dawson WRITER: Jean Holloway and MUSIC: Mark Warnow Orchestra.
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The Hollywod Star Playhouse was a CBS presentation sponsored by Bromo Seltzer and aired on Mondays 8:00PM to 8:30PM. The host/narrator was Herb Rawlinson, the announcer was Norman Brokenshire, director Jack Johnstone and the Orchestra Jeff Alexander. The show was well written and many greats appeared during itâs run. James Stewart, Deborah Kerr, William Conrad, Betty Lou Gerson and Harry Bartell, among others.
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The radio show first aired on April 26, 1952 and ran until June 18, 1961 on the CBS radio network. The series starred William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon, Howard McNear as Doc Charles Adams, Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell, and Parley Baer as Deputy Chester Proudfoot. Doc's first name and Chester's last name were changed for the television program. Gunsmoke was notable for its critically acclaimed cast and writing, and is commonly regarded as THE true adult western and one of the finest old time radio shows.
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Roland Young (11 November 1887, London - 5 June 1953, New York City) was a British actor. Young debuted in Hollywood in the 1922 silent film Sherlock Holmes, in which he played Doctor Watson opposite John Barrymore. Young had several supporting roles in his career, in such films as His Double Life, Ruggles of Red Gap, King Solomon's Mines, Ali Baba Goes to Town, And Then There Were None and The Great Lover. But he is probably best known for creating the title role in the comedy film Topper and its sequels. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Topper. In the 1950s, Young appeared on several episodic television series, including Lux Video Theatre, Studio One, Pulitzer Prize Playhouse and The Chevrolet Tele Theatre. Young has stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for motion picture at 6523 Hollywood Blvd. and for television at 6315 Hollywood Blvd.
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ABC Mystery Time was hosted by Don Dowd and starred Sir Laurence Olivier. Great special effects will grab your attention, accented by creepy organ rips. Stories are offered such as death gathered round a card table at a local chapter of The Suicide Club, or a man who desperately tries to hire a 24 hour bodyguard all the while trying to make himself the victim of a murder, and other baffling peculiar tales of yore. Also known as Mystery Time and Mystery Time Classics, this one is sure to excite and mystify.
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Tuska cited Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940) and Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery (1941) as the best of the Bellamy-Lindsay pairings. "The influence of The Thin Man series was apparent in reverse", Tuska noted about Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery. "Ellery and Nikki are unmarried but obviously in love with each other. Probably the biggest mystery... is how Ellery ever gets a book written. Not only is Nikki attractive and perfectly willing to show off her figure", Tuska wrote, "but she also likes to write her own stories on Queen's time, and gets carried away doing her own investigations." In Ellery Queen, Master Detective, "the amorous relationship between Ellery and Nikki Porter was given a dignity, and therefore integrity", Tuska wrote, "that was lacking in the two previous entries in the series", made at Republic Pictures before Bellamy and Lindsay were signed by Columbia.
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Curtain Time, like First Nighter, presented romantic drama in a theater setting complete with the announcer shouting, âTickets please, thank youâ. The shows announcer was Harry Halcomb who was later known best for his appearances on the 60 minutes television show. Great scripts and superb acting, Curtain Time is truly an Old Time Radio Classic.
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Let us journey âinto the land that lies beyond midnight,â into a world of ghost hunters, men going mad, and DEATH DEATH DEATH! Written by the masterful Michael McCabe, these well-done South African radio shows will capture your attention and keep you up listening to them well beyond midnight.
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O. Henry (1862-1910) was originally born William Sydney Porter in Greensboro, North Carolina.
As a young man, he moved to Austin, Texas where he worked as a bank teller. He moved again to Houston, Texas in 1895 and became a newspaper columnist. In 1896, however, he was called back to Austin, where he was charged with embezzling money from the bank where he had worked. Not wanting to go to prison for his crime, O. Henry fled to Honduras, and stayed there for six months before returning to the United States. Upon his return, the court tried him and put him in an Ohio prison for three years. While in prison, he began writing short stories and it is there that he took the pen-name O. Henry for his writings. After his release from prison in 1901, he moved to New York, which is the setting for many of his stories. He is the author of over 250 stories and is most famous for his use of surprise or 'twist' endings.
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The Falcon - 1943-1954 This was a 30-minute detective serial. The character of the series was created by Michael Arlen in 1940. It was subsequently made in to a movie series. The original hero was called Gay Lawrence and was played by George Sanders. CAST: Barry Kroeger, James Meighan, Les Tremayne, Les Damon, George Petrie, Joan Banks, Robert Dryden, Mandel Kramer. ANNOUNCERS: Ed Herlihy, Jack Costello. PRODUCER: Bernard L Schubert. DIRECTORS: Carlo De Angelo, Richard Lewis, Stuart Buchanan. WRITERS: Gene Wang, Bernard Dougall, Jay Bennett. SOUND EFFECTS: Adrian Penner.
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Rocky Jordan was the owner of the Cafe Tambourine and was the main character in a radio series featuring a more exotic background than found in other radio detective series, first in Istanbul and later in Cairo. Rocky himself is a bit of a mystery. We're never given much information about his background except he was originally from St. Louis and lived in Seattle, New Orleans, Boston, and Chicago. For some reason, he can't return to the United States, but we never find out why. What we do know is Rocky spends a lot of his time solving mysteries that he becomes involved in, usually by accident.
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Karl Weber as Dr. Ray Matson, "the guntoting frontier doctor who roamed the length and breadth of the old Indian territory, friend and phsycian to white man and Indian alike, the symbol of justice and mercy in the lawless west of the 1870s. This legendary figure was known to all as Dr. Sixgun." Bill Griffis as Pablo, the doctor's typsy sidekick, who told the stories.
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X Minus One was a science fiction radio series on NBC that aired April 1955 through January 1958. The show featured stories written by some of the big names in 1950's science fiction like Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, and Issac Asimov. X Minus One followed another great science fiction series called Dimension X that was broadcast in 1950-51. Some of the X-1 shows were rebroadcasts of Dimension X. X Minus One holds the record for the longest running science fiction radio series ever produced, airing on NBC for three years and spanning 125 episodes.
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Fibber McGee and Molly premiered in 1935. The program struggled in the ratings until 1940, when it became a national sensation. Within three years, it was the top-rated program in America. Few radio shows were more beloved than Fibber McGee and Molly. The programâs lovable characters included Mayor LaTrivia, Doc Gamble, Mrs. Uppington, Wallace Wimple, Alice Darling, Gildersleeve, Beulah, Myrt, and the Old Timer. 79 Wistful Vista was one of Americaâs most famous addresses and Mollyâs warning to Fibber not to open the hall closet door (and his subsequent decision to do it) created one of radioâs best remembered running gags that audiences expected each week. Jim Jordan (Fibber) was born on a farm on November 16, 1896, near Peoria, Illinois. Marian Driscoll (Molly), a coal minerâs daughter, was born in Peoria on November 15, 1898.
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On September 26, 1937, the Shadow reappeared on radio with the voice of Orson Welles playing the part. The Shadow was now a full-fledged character on radio, not just narrating and introducing stories. The Shadow had an identity as Lamont Cranston, a wealthy man about town. He was accompanied by Margo Lane, originally played by Agnes Moorehead. Margo Lane was the only person who knew that Lamont Cranston and the Shadow were one and the same. No other agents assisted the Shadow, as did in the Walter Gibson fictional accounts. This radio Shadow had hypnotic power to make himself invisible to those around him and he possessed mental telepathy to read minds. Orson Welles played the Shadow from 1937 through March 1938. The Shadow became the highest rated radio show on the air at that time.
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Cagney brought such bantanweight energy to his Depression- and WWII-era movie roles that it's hard to tell whether the cinematic rise of the urban underclass would have had as much pizzazz without him. No film retrospective fails to include the breakfast scene in 1931's "The Public Enemy," where he jams a grapefruit half into his yappy girlfriend's face. The act is still shocking for its suddenness, and, in our PC age, a bit of enviable audacity. "White Heat," the title of his 1949 film, is as good a description of him as it is a clue to the story, and his tap dance glissando across the stage as George M. Cohan in 1942's "Yankee Doodle Dandy" seemed a perfect expression of his infectious, irrepressible buoyancy.
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Cagney brought such bantanweight energy to his Depression- and WWII-era movie roles that it's hard to tell whether the cinematic rise of the urban underclass would have had as much pizzazz without him. No film retrospective fails to include the breakfast scene in 1931's "The Public Enemy," where he jams a grapefruit half into his yappy girlfriend's face. The act is still shocking for its suddenness, and, in our PC age, a bit of enviable audacity. "White Heat," the title of his 1949 film, is as good a description of him as it is a clue to the story, and his tap dance glissando across the stage as George M. Cohan in 1942's "Yankee Doodle Dandy" seemed a perfect expression of his infectious, irrepressible buoyancy.
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The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, an American radio and television series, was once the longest-running, live-action situation comedy on American television, having aired on ABC from 1952 to 1966 after a ten-year run on radio. Starring former bandleader Ozzie Nelson and his wife, vocalist Harriet, the show's sober, gentle humor captured a large, sustaining audience, even if it never reached the top ten in the actual ratings and later critics tended to dismiss it as fostering a slightly unrealistic picture of post-World War II American family life.
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The idea of Family Theatre was developed and then produced by Father Patrick Peyton of the Holy Cross Fathers. Father Peyton knew radio reached millions of people in its personal, emotional way. Why shouldn't someone create a special show for the entire family to enjoy together with well-known actors telling solid, meaningful stories? It could have quality, be inspiring entertainment, developed with a bottom line of delivering goodness, not money. The Mutual Radio Network was interested, and Father Peyton rallied the support of many great Hollywood stars to be on the shows.
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True Crime radio show from 1936. "In the name of the Law, we bring you another of the thrilling stories in this exciting series, taken from actual police case files."
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The Golden Age of Radio was ending, not with a whimper, but with a robust bang. Many of the best network and syndicated shows began in the 1950s, even though public interest and advertising dollars were switching to television, FORT LARAMIE was certainly one of the finest radio series, and were it not for GUNSMOKE, it could be termed the best adult Western program ever aired. FORT LARAMIE is a close relative of GUNSMOKE since it had the same producer-director, same writers, same sound effects men, and many of the same actors. GUNSMOKE had been running for almost four years when Norman Macdonnell brought FORT LARAMIE to CBS. The latter had the same gritty realism, attention to detail, and integrity that audiences admired in GUNSMOKE.
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Buckets Of Blood (Airing Date Unknown) - The Secrets of Scotland Yard is hosted by Clive Brook, narrator of LM Radio. Brook was a successful director writer, and actor in many films, including âDressed to Thrillâ in 1935, âThe Flemish Farmâ in 1943 and âOn Approvalâ in 1944. He was probably best remembered for playing opposite Marlene Dietrich in the 1932 movie, âShanghai Express.â He also played Sherlock Holmes in the 1932 movie of the same name.
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Mysterious Traveler
Written and directed by Robert A. Arthur and David Kogan, the series began on the Mutual Broadcasting System, December 5, 1943, continuing in many different timeslots until September 16, 1952. Unlike many other shows of the era, The Mysterious Traveler was without a sponsor for its entire run. The lonely sound of a distant locomotive heralded the arrival of the malevolent narrator, portrayed by Maurice Tarplin, who introduced himself each week in the following manner.
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One of the last radio shows and one of the few to go from TV to radio,
HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL started its 106 show run on November 23, 1958.
These Sunday afternoon shows were radio adaptations of the previous nights
TV script with John Dehner replacing Richard Boone. Paladin, the lead character,
played by John Dehner, was a man with a short temper and a fast gun.
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Sponsored by Vic's nose drops, vapor rubs, and other great products by the Vic Chemical Company, this collection contains all known episodes in existence of the short-run series of 1944, Dangerously Yours. Hollywood star, Victor Jory, was the primary herostarring in story adaptation of pirates, espionage, adventure and romance. The series was later renamed in October 1944 to Matinee Theater.
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The Ferryboat El Capitan Left Oakland on a pleasant fall evening, headed for the Ferry Building. Aboard was prominent San Francisco attorney, Alexander P. Crittenden, accompanied by his wife and three of their seven children. As the family sat chatting on an outdoor deck bench, a tall, slender woman wearing a waterproof coat and a heavy veil approached them. Seeing her, Crittenden stood, and as he did, the woman took a small, four-barreled pistol from her pocket and fired a single bullet into Crittendenâs heart. She then dropped the pistol, walked calmly into the passenger cabin, and took a seat. When the Harbor Police arrested her, she looked up and said quietly, âYes, I did it. I donât deny it, and I meant to kill him. He ruined both myself and my child.â The crime took place on November 3, 1870. Crittenden lingered in agony for 48 hours, then succumbed to his wound. At his funeral, all the courts in San Francisco were adjourned in his honor. The lady with the pistol was notified in her city jail cell that she was now indicted for first degree murder. Her name was Laura D. Fair, and if there was a theme to her life, it was âbad luck with men.â
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The adventures of Casey, crack photographer for The Morning Express, were told in this series, which moved to television after a highly successful run on radio in the 1940âs. Casey hung out at the Blue Note CafÃ, where the music was provided by the Tony Mottola Trio, and was friendly with Ethelbert, the bartender, to whom he recounted his various exploits. Richard Carlyle and John Gibson portrayed the roles when the series premiered in April, 1951, but by June they were replaced by Darren McGavin and Cliff Hall. Ann Williams, a reporter on The Morning Express, was Caseyâs girlfriend. During the summer of 1951 he acquired a partner in cub reporter Jack Lipman, who wrote copy to go with Caseyâs pictures. This live series was set in and broadcast from, New York City.
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Broadway Is My Beat, a radio crime drama, ran on CBS from February 27, 1949 to August 1, 1954. With music by Robert Stringer, the show originated from New York during its first three months on the air, with Anthony Ross portraying Times Square Detective Danny Clover. John Dietz directed for producer Lester Gottlieb. Beginning with the July 7, 1949 episode, the series was broadcast from Hollywood with producer Elliott Lewis directing a new cast in scripts by Morton Fine and David Friedkin. The opening theme of "I'll Take Manhattan" introduced Detective Danny Clover (now played by Larry Thor), a hardened New York City cop who worked homicide "from Times Square to Columbus Circle -- the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world."
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Dangerous Assignment first aired in 1949. Brian Donlevy played the lead as Steve Mitchell in this international spy series. Herb Butterfield played the Commissioner and Betty Moran was the Commissioner's secretary. The director was Bill Cairn and the writer for the series was Robert Ryf.
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One of the great maritime mysteries is that of the Mary Celeste. Over 125 years ago, the ship was found floating, crewless, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, in apparent pristine condition. The fate of the crew and passengers has never been adequately explained. The Mary Celeste was launched in 1861, from the shipyard at Spencer's Island near the head of the Bay of Fundy, under the name Amazon. Following an accidental grounding at Cow Bay in Cape Breton in 1868, she was repaired and renamed the Mary Celeste. She operated under an American flag out of New York. On November 7, 1872, the Mary Celeste sailed under the command of Captain Benjamin Briggs bound for Europe with a cargo of wines and liquors. He was accompanied by his wife, his young daughter and a crew of seven. On December 4, 1872, the Mary Celeste was found floating 600 miles off Gibraltar. The official reports stated that everything to be in good order, except that the ship's paper and its chronometer were missing. The last entry into the captain's logs, on November 24, gave no indication of anything untoward happening or about to happen.
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By age 13, Young had become a radio performer, and by age 17, he was writing and performing in his own radio show for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The show was broadcast in the U.S. and led to an invitation to New York in 1944, as a summer replacement for Eddie Cantor, which resulted in Young getting his own radio show, orininally broadcast from New York and later from Hollywood. While initially gaining success on his "Alan Young Radio Show," Young's popularity waned as he lost control over his show's scripts and radio was being replaced by television. When his radio show was cancelled in 1947, Young decided to put together a comedy act and tour the U.S. theater circuit, playing such houses as the Chicago Theatre, the Fox in Detroit, and the Strand on Broadway.
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Abbott and Costello (William (Bud) Abbott, 1897-1974; Louis Cristillo, 1906-1959) were an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film, and television made them one of the most popular and respected teams in comedy history. Their "Who's on First?" routine, developed during their years in burlesque, is widely considered to be one of the greatest comedy sketches of all time. The two comedians first worked together in 1935 at the Eltinge burlesque theater on 42nd Street in New York. Costello became a burlesque comic in 1928 after failing as a movie stunt double and extra; Abbott had been in burlesque since 1916, as a cashier, producer, and finally a performer. They made their partnership formal in 1936, building an act by adapting and improving numerous old burlesque sketches into their own style. Abbott was the arch, often scheming straight man and Costello the confused, context-challenged naif.
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Authorâs Playhouse - Famous stories by celebrated authors: among them, Elementals (Stephen Vincent Benet), The Piano (William Saroyan), and The Snow Goose (Paul Gallico).March 5, 1941 till June 4, 1945, NBC; Blue Network until mid-October 1941, then the Red Network. Many briefly held 30m timeslots, including Sundays at 11:30, 1941-42; Wednesdays at 11:30, 1942-44; Mondays at 11:30, 1944-45. Sponsor was Philip Morris, 1942-43. Cast: John Hodiak, Fern Persons, Arthur Kohl, Laurette Fillbrandt, Kathryn Card, Bob Jellison, Nelson Olmsted, Marvin Miller, Olan Soule, Les Tremayne, Clarence Hartzell, Curley Bradley, etc. Orchestra: Rex Maupin, Roy Shield, J6seph Gallicchio. Creator: Wynn Wright. Directors: Norman Felton, Fred Weihe, Homer Heck, etc.
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Godfrey was born in New York City. While his family was originally well off, his mother was unsuccessful as a performer with aspirations to fame and stardom that never materialized, and his father was a failed sportswriter who left the family. With the family in sudden poverty, Godfrey tried to help them survive by going on the road accepting odd jobs, and hoboing. He served in the United States Navy from 1920 to 1924 as a radio operator on naval destroyers. Additional training in radio came during Godfrey's service in the Coast Guard from 1927 to 1930. It was during a Coast Guard stint in Baltimore that he appeared on a local talent show and became popular enough to land his own brief weekly program.
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The Solitary Cyclist (8-21-64) and The Sussex Vampire (9-18-64)
221b Baker Street. Mr. Sherlock Holmes, and his colleague John H. Watson, M.D., spent many years at this address in London, England, under the rent of Mrs. Hudson. Characters of every type have frequented the rooms of this place, calling on Mr. Holmes for help and assistance on mysteries only the finest criminal detective could unravel.
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With all the time spent looking for it throughout history, who would have thought the secret of eternal youth would be found in Riverdale? That's where it is, though, and Archie Andrews and his friends seem happy enough to keep that secret to themselves while sharing their trials, tribulations and milkshakes with generations of readers.
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Arch Oboler's Plays was a radio drama series written, produced and directed by Arch Oboler. Minus a sponsor, it ran for one year, airing Saturday evenings on NBC from March 25, 1939 to March 23, 1940 and revived five years later on Mutual for a sustaining summer run from April 5, 1945 to October 11, 1945. Leading film actors were heard on this series, including Gloria Blondell, Eddie Cantor, James Cagney, Ronald Colman, Joan Crawford, Greer Garson, Edmund Gwenn, Van Heflin, Katharine Hepburn, Elsa Lanchester, Peter Lorre, Frank Lovejoy, Raymond Massey, Burgess Meredith, Paul Muni, Alla Nazimova, Edmond O'Brien, Geraldine Page, Gale Sondergaard, Franchot Tone and George Zucco.
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The Andrews Sisters were a close harmony singing group, consisting of sisters LaVerne Andrews (contralto; July 6, 1911-May 8, 1967), Maxene Anglyn Andrews (high harmony; January 3, 1916-October 21, 1995) and Patti Andrews (lead; born February 16, 1918). All were born in Minnesota to a Greek immigrant father and a Norwegian American mother. After singing with various dance bands and touring on Vaudeville, they first came to national attention with their recordings and radio broadcasts in 1937. Their music entertained Allied troops worldwide during World War II, sold war bonds, appeared in several films (including a few Abbott and Costello features), and performed for soldiers serving overseas. Their first film with Abbott and Costello, the pre-war comedy Buck Privates, introduced their best-known recording, "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" which would be nominated for Best Song at the Academy Awards.
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Amos 'n' Andy, still written entirely by the two stars, was the top-rated program of all in 1930, with a 54.4 rating and 30 million listeners (compare that to the Super Bowl's 44.2 rating in 2004). By this time, the wily, coniving Kingfish was becoming a major personality, eventually supplanting sensible Amos as star of the show (Freeman Gosden gave voice to both characters while Charles Correll played Andrew H. Brown).
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1944-45 Transcribed syndication intended for weekly play in 30 minute time slots. The cast was Elliott Lewis, David Ellis and Russell Thorson, all serving stints as Captain Bart Friday, a San Francisco detective who roamed the world looking for dangerous adventure. Jack Edwards as Skip Turner, Fridayâs Texas talking sidekick. Writer/producer is Carlton E. Morse.
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A 15 minute program, the Alka Seltzer Show (also known as Alka Seltzer Time) has an array of popular tunes sprinkled with upbeat Alka Seltzer jingles, âAlka Seltzer Time, morning noon and night, itâs Alka Seltzer time!â Martha Tilton and Curt Massey star and sing in the program. Martha Tilton, also known as âLiltinâ Tilton,â was a popular jazz singer of the 1930s and 1940s. She sang with such greats as Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Harry James and Artie Shaw. She also sang with the Billy Mills Orchestra on the radio show, Fibber McGee and Molly. Curt Massey was a great musician as well as singer. He graduated from the Kansas City Conservatory of Music and could play nearly every instrument with perfect ease. Curt Massey also guest starred on The Andrews Sisters, The Beverly Hillbillies, and wrote the theme to Petticoat Junction. Sit back and enjoy these two songsters in a wondrous blur of musical entracement.
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All Star Western Theater is an enjoyable series filled with the humor of guest stars such as Johnny Mack Brown and Smiley Burnett and in the tried and true format of The Roy Rogers Show. The words honest, sincere and un-assuming come to mind. Done live, All Star Western Theater gives the studio audience a good show, and the result is still a happy ride down memory lane.
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Based on Craig Riceâs (a female crime novelist who rivaled Agatha Christie in book sales) novels of crime drama, Frank Lovejoy (and later Gene Raymond and George Petrie) plays âfictionâs most famous criminal lawyer,â John J. Malone. Mr. Malone is our amazing hero, a Chicago lawyer whose bar is more famous than Cheers. His hobby is collecting clichÃs, and each weeks show is based off of one: cleanliness is next to Godliness, a strong offense is the best defense, seek and ye shall find, and so on. Stories are gripping, from tales of Chicagoâs biggest operator who runs a nightclub and his right hand man, to a man looking for trouble in a hotel and finds it in room 419, to a story of a man who owns the most luscious gambling joint this side of Vegas. So brush up on your one liners, and grab your gun, because youâll want to tune in for this exciting half hour of mystery!
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The Aldrich Family, a popular radio teenage situation comedy (1939-1953), is remembered first and foremost for its unforgettable introduction: awkward teen Henry's mother calling, "Hen-reeeeeeeeeeeee! Hen-ree Al-drich!" A top-ten ratings hit within two years of its birth (in 1941, the showm carried a 33.4 Crossley rating, landing it solidly alongside Jack Benny and Bob Hope), the show is considered a prototype for teen-oriented situation comedies to follow on radio and television and is a favourite if dated find for old-time radio collectors today. The Aldrich Family as a separate radio show was born as a summer replacement for Jack Benny in NBC's Sunday night lineup, July 2, 1939, and it stayed there until October 1, 1939, when it moved to Tuesday nights at 8 p.m., sponsored by General Foods's popular gelatin dessert Jell-O---which also sponsored Jack Benny at the time.
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By age 13, Young had become a radio performer, and by age 17, he was writing and performing in his own radio show for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The show was broadcast in the U.S. and led to an invitation to New York in 1944, as a summer replacement for Eddie Cantor, which resulted in Young getting his own radio show, orininally broadcast from New York and later from Hollywood. While initially gaining success on his "Alan Young Radio Show," Young's popularity waned as he lost control over his show's scripts and radio was being replaced by television. When his radio show was cancelled in 1947, Young decided to put together a comedy act and tour the U.S. theater circuit, playing such houses as the Chicago Theatre, the Fox in Detroit, and the Strand on Broadway.
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1944-45 Transcribed syndication intended for weekly play in 30 minute time slots. The cast was Elliott Lewis, David Ellis and Russell Thorson, all serving stints as Captain Bart Friday, a San Francisco detective who roamed the world looking for dangerous adventure. Jack Edwards as Skip Turner, Fridayâs Texas talking sidekick. Writer/producer is Carlton E. Morse.
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1944-45 Transcribed syndication intended for weekly play in 30 minute time slots. The cast was Elliott Lewis, David Ellis and Russell Thorson, all serving stints as Captain Bart Friday, a San Francisco detective who roamed the world looking for dangerous adventure. Jack Edwards as Skip Turner, Fridayâs Texas talking sidekick. Writer/producer is Carlton E. Morse.
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Stars and movies with Oscars were the idea - in most cases, the movie stars recreated their academy award roles for the show, or in other cases, fine actors played the parts and gave it a different character. Both ways make for great radio drama and first class Hollywood motion picture star entertainment. The Lux Radio Theater had been doing this kind of radio show in the grandest manner for many years, but sponsor Squibb had the hubris and deep pockets to take on the competition by doing Academy Award Theater right after the Second World War. The year 1946 was pre-television, and so movies were still the major American visual art form, with radio the other popular network entertainment. In this final pre-TV time, Academy Award Theater was thought of as a premier radio production, a wow show, much like CinemaScope was to be in the 1950's when Hollywood felt the box office blow of early TV.
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Abbott and Costello (William (Bud) Abbott, 1897-1974; Louis Cristillo, 1906-1959) were an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film, and television made them one of the most popular and respected teams in comedy history. Their "Who's on First?" routine, developed during their years in burlesque, is widely considered to be one of the greatest comedy sketches of all time. The two comedians first worked together in 1935 at the Eltinge burlesque theater on 42nd Street in New York. Costello became a burlesque comic in 1928 after failing as a movie stunt double and extra; Abbott had been in burlesque since 1916, as a cashier, producer, and finally a performer. They made their partnership formal in 1936, building an act by adapting and improving numerous old burlesque sketches into their own style. Abbott was the arch, often scheming straight man and Costello the confused, context-challenged naif.
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A Date with Judy began as a summer replacement in 1941 but quickly became popular as listeners followed the growing pains of Judy and her friends and the exasperation of Judy's parents. Teenagers could relate to Judy and her problems with school, boyfriends and parental rules and adults enjoyed remembering their youth as seen through the eyes of a typical teenager. A delighful comedy that ended in 1950, A Date with Judy remains a favorite even today as we realize that teenagers will always face the same problems growing up as Judy and her friends did.
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21ST PRECINCT was one of the realistic police drama series of the early- to mid-1950's that were aired in the wake of DRAGNET. In 1953 CBS decided to use New York City as the backdrop for their own half-hour police series and focus on the day-to-day operation of a single police precinct. Actual cases were used as the basis for stories. The Precinct Captain acted as the narrator for the series.
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The Body Snatcher (1884), an influential horror tale, first published in the Christmas 1884 edition of the Pall Mall Gazette. "He's come," said the landlord, grabbing the attention of the four men at the George, a local tavern. There, a sick man awaits the visit of a London doctor. Fettes, a drunk on his second glass of scotch, sits in a fog, minding the events of the pub out of the corner of his eye. The cloaked and grungy Scotsman hears the doctor's name. It is Wolfe Macfarlane. Fettes wakes suddenly from his drunken stupor, rushing to confirm the face of this golden clad man. Fettes short dialogue is mysterious, and ends abruptly with a question, "Have you seen it again?"
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The Boughten Bride (7-12-52) and The Mistake (3-19-55)
The radio show first aired on April 26, 1952 and ran until June 18, 1961 on the CBS radio network. The series starred William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon, Howard McNear as Doc Charles Adams, Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell, and Parley Baer as Deputy Chester Proudfoot. Doc's first name and Chester's last name were changed for the television program. Gunsmoke was notable for its critically acclaimed cast and writing, and is commonly regarded as THE true adult western and one of the finest old time radio shows.
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Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, DL (22 May 1859 to 7 July 1930) was a Scottish author most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered a major innovation in the field of crime fiction, and the adventures of Professor Challenger. He was a prolific writer whose other works include science fiction stories, historical novels, plays and romances, poetry, and non-fiction.
THE OFFICIAL WEB PAGE OF ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
http://www.sherlockholmesonline.org/index.htm
DAD'S ARMY DOUBLE FEATURE
Keep Young And Beautiful
(4-6-76) Ep45
Round & Round Went
The Great Big Wheel (4-20-76) Ep47
On television the show lasted for nine series and was broadcast over a period of nine years.There were 81 half-hour episodes between 1968-77 with audiences of 18.5 million in the early 1970s. The programme has developed a TV nostalgia popularity among its original audience as repeat transmissions (in 1989 for instance) and sales of home video cassettes continue to mount. A BBC Radio 4 version of Dad's Army, ran for a total of 67 episodes (20 from January 28 to June 10 1974, 20 more from February11 to June 24 1975 and 26 more from March 16 to September 7 1976. There was also a hour-long special on Christmas Day 1974).
Summer Sports (Aired 8/12/47) and Relaxation (Aired 8/19/47)
In 1934-36, Berle was heard regularly on The Rudy Vallee Hour, and he got much publicity as a regular on The Gillette Original Community Sing, a Sunday night comedy-variety program broadcast on CBS from September 6, 1936 to August 29, 1937. In 1939, he was the host of Stop Me If You've Heard This One with panelists spontaneously finishing jokes sent in by listeners. Three Ring Time, a comedy-variety show sponsored by Ballantine Ale was followed by a 1943 program sponsored by Campbell's Soups. The audience participation show Let Yourself Go (1944-45) could best be described as slapstick radio with studio audience members acting out long suppressed urges (often directed at host Berle). Kiss and Make Up, on CBS in 1946, featured the problems of contestants decided by a jury from the studio audience with Berle as the Judge. He also made guest appearances on many comedy-variety radio programs during the 1930s and 1940s.
Agatha Christie remains the most popular novelist in history, with over two billion of her books sold at a conservative estimate. The rejacketing of her books and new adaptations of Poirot and Marple on ITV have all ensured that the magic of her storytelling continues to reach a contemporary audience and that she continues to be recognised as the undisputed 'Queen of Crime'.
Agatha Christie's Miss Marple Presentation of At Bertram's Hotel Parts 1 & 2 of 4
At the height of her career, Christie wrote two novels that she intended to be published after her death. They were the last cases of her two great detectives, Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple - respectively, Curtain and Sleeping Murder. When she wrote the novels, Christie had not thought she would live so long. Following the success of the film version of Murder on the Orient Express in 1974, Christie authorised the release of Curtain, in which Poirot is killed off. In her diary, Christie explained that she had always found him insufferable. She had a great fondness for Miss Marple, on the other hand, who was apparently based on Christie's grandmother. After Miss Marple solves the mystery in Sleeping Murder, she returns home to her regular life in Saint Mary Mead.
A Dog Named Mabel (7-26-47) and Derelict Dog (8-9-47)
The program was an
adventure series about Sergeant William Preston of the Northwest Mounted Police
and his lead sled dog, Yukon King, as they fought evildoers in the Northern
wilderness during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. Preston, according to radio
historian Jim Harmon, first joined the Mounties to capture his father's killer,
and when he was successful he was promoted to Sergeant. Preston worked under
the command of Inspector Conrad, and in the early years was often assisted by a
French-Canadian guide named Pierre.
Duffy's Tavern, an American radio situation comedy (CBS, 1941-1942; NBC-Blue Network, 1942-1944; NBC, 1944-1952), often featured top-name stage and film guest stars but always hooked those around the misadventures, get-rich-quick-scheming, and romantic missteps of the title establishment's malaprop-prone, metaphor-mixing manager, Archie, played by the writer/actor who created the show, Ed Gardner.
Originally, the show starred Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson. Together, they starred in 220 episodes which aired weekly on Mondays from 8:30 to 9:00 p.m. The show first aired on the Blue Network but later moved to the Mutual Broadcasting System. Basil Rathbone's last episode as the famous detective was 'The Singular Affair of the Baconian Cipher.' He was eager to separate himself from the cast type of Holmes, and even though the show's sponsor Petri Wine offered him generous pay to continue, he decided to move on. Once he did, the sponsor did as well, and Tom Conway took the starring role, though Nigel Bruce got top billing and was always announced first. The new sponsor was Kreml Hair Tonic for Men, and the new series only lasted 39 episodes. Today, only a handful of episodes are in existence.
Lights Out was an American old-time radio program featuring "tales of the supernatural and the supernormal." It was immensely popular, and was one of the first horror programs, predating Suspense and Inner Sanctum. In its heydey, Lights Out rivalled the popularity of those shows. Lights Out ran through several series and networks, from January 1, 1934 to August 6, 1947. The principal sponsor was Ironized Yeast. Most episodes were broadcast at midnight. Lights Out then made the transition to television in 1949, where it was broadcast until 1952.
You Are There, The Execution of Joan Arc - A hero of the Hundred Years War, Joan of Arc remains a French national hero six centuries later. As a teenager she heard voices from on high urging her to save France from English domination. Despite being a young woman, she was placed at the head of an army; she attacked the English and forced them to retreat from OrlÃÆans. Later she was captured by the English, tried for heresy, and burned at the stake.
Lux Radio Theater, one of the genuine classic radio anthology series (NBC Blue Network, 1934-1935; CBS 1935-1955), adapted first Broadway stage and then (and especially) films to hour-long live radio presentations and became the standard by which future radio and early television anthologies would be judged. Cecil B. DeMille was the host of the series each Monday evening from June 1, 1936 until January 22, 1945.
Mystery Is My Hobby - Program #14. Mutual net origination, syndicated. Commercials added locally. Case #127. A Rajah buries a woman in the sand for two hours, planning to exhume her alive. She fails to survive the ordeal..but she did not suffocate...she was shot! The 1945-1946 network version is known as, "Murder Is My Hobby." Glenn Langan, Fred Howard (writer), Dave Titus (director), Ray Wilson (writer), Len Salvo (composer, conductor), Ken Christy, John McIntire, Betty Lou Gerson, Bruce Buell (anouncer), Junius Matthews. 26:32.
RADIO CITY PLAYHOUSE premered July 3, 1948 and ran until it's last curtain call on January 1, 1950 over NBC stations. This was a short lived but solid drama series that frequently compared favorably with SUSPENSE drama. Some scripts for the series were written by Ray Bradbury (for example, "The Wind"), Steven Vincent Benet and Cornell Woolrich. Frequent appearences were made by John Larkin and Jan Minor in major roles. Announcers for the series were Fred Collins and Bob Warren. Harry W. Junkin directed and narated. Production supervisor was Richard P. McDonough.
The first portrayal of Phillip Marlowe on the radio was by Dick Powell, when he played Raymond Chandler's detective on the Lux Radio Theater on June 11, 1945. This was a radio adaptation of the 1944 movie, from RKO, in which Mr. Powell played the lead. Two years later, Van Heflin starred as Marlowe in a summer replacement series for the Bob Hope Show on NBC. This series ran for 13 shows. On September 26, 1948, Gerald Mohr became the third radio Marlowe, this time on CBS. It remained a CBS show through its last show in 1951.
ARCH OBOLER PLAYS was the series title for 3 separate series, a series of 53 shows in 1939 and 1940, a series of 26 shows in 1945 and a series of 13 in 1964. The 1964 series is also known as ARCH OBOLER PRESENTS. All shows were produced and directed by Arch Oboler. The 1939-1940 series aired on the NBC network, sustained, on Saturdays and were heard 10:00 PM EST. The shows ran typically 30 minutes except the show of August 26, 1939, which ran 60 minutes. All the shows in this series were original radio plays written by Arch Oboler, except for the last two, which were adaptations done by him.
Boxcars711 Bonus Show 2Bickersons - Amos The Driving Instructor (2-23-47)
The Bickersons - Situation Comedy Broadcast History:Sep 8, 1946 - Jun 1 1947 NBC. 30m, Sundays at 10:00. Drene Time. Drene Shampoo..Sep 24, 1947-Jun 25, 1948 CBS. 30m, Wednesdays, then Fridays at 9:00. The Old Gold Show (AKA The Don Ameche Show), Old Gold Cigarettes..Jun 5, 1951-Aug 28, 1951 CBS. 30m, Tuesdays at 9:30. First series titled The Bickersons. Phillip Morris..Cast:John Bickerson Don Ameche, Lew Parker,Blanche Francis Langford,Amos Danny Thomas.- Announcer:John Holbrook..Starting out as a skit on Ameche's Drene Time 30m variety show in 1946. Ameche and Langford turned domestic bliss into warfare in their neverending verbal battles. Forerunner to shows such as The Honeymooners and All in the Family.
Source: On the Air - John Dunning
Source: Radios Golden Years - Vincent Terrace
Boxcars711 Bonus Show 2The Adventures Of Maisie A Miracle In The Rain (7-29-44)
The adventures of Maisie: Situation comedy, based on the MGM film series. Ann Sothern as Maisie Revere, a Brooklyn beauty and Jane-of-all-trades who usually ended up broke in some remote dive. Maisie was secretary to an unsuccessful attorney. rom 7-5-45 to 12-26-52 Sponsor: Eversharp Cast: Hans Conked, Sheldon Leonard, Ben Wright, Lurene Tuttle, Marin Miller, Joan Banks, Bea Benaderet. Producer/Director: Tony Sanford. Writer:Samuel Taylor. Orchastra: Albert Sack
BOXCARS711 Bonus Show 1
Author's Playhouse - A Miracle In The Rain (7-29-44)
The fate that brings lovers together can easily tear them apart as can be seen in this sentimental tragedy that centers on an ordinary-looking secretary's lonely life. Other than working and spending some free time with a spinster, who is her best friend, the woman devotes most of her time attempting to cheer up her deeply depressed, eternally grieving mother, who has never recovered from her husband's leaving her. One day the secretary is in Central Park when a cloudburst occurs and she ends up meeting a handsome young soldier from Tennessee. Although they couldn't be more different, they fall deeply in love. Unfortunately, he goes overseas and gets killed. The poor secretary nearly falls apart both mentally and physically. She seems near death when one day she is walking near St. Patrick's Cathedral when a second miracle occurs, giving her the will to live again.
Dragnetwas created and produced by Jack Webb who starred as the terse Sgt. Friday. Webb had starred in a few mostly short-lived radio programs, but Dragnet would make him one of the major media personalities of his era. Dragnet had its origins in Webbâs small role as a police forensic scientist in the 1948 film, He Walked by Night inspired by the actual murder of an LAPD officer. The film was depicted in quasi-documentary style, and Marty Wynn (an LAPD sergeant) was a technical advisor on the film. Webb and Wynn became friends, and both thought that the day-to-day activities of police officers could be realistically depicted, and could make for compelling drama without the forced sense of melodrama then so common in radio programming (and very common on movies and television today).
Broadway Is My Beat, a radio crime drama, ran on CBS from February 27, 1949 to August 1, 1954. With music by Robert Stringer, the show originated from New York during its first three months on the air, with Anthony Ross portraying Times Square Detective Danny Clover. John Dietz directed for producer Lester Gottlieb. Beginning with the July 7, 1949 episode, the series was broadcast from Hollywood with producer Elliott Lewis directing a new cast in scripts by Morton Fine and David Friedkin. The opening theme of "I'll Take Manhattan" introduced Detective Danny Clover (now played by Larry Thor), a hardened New York City cop who worked homicide "from Times Square to Columbus Circle -- the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world."
George Burns and wife Gracie Allen Burns wrote most of the material, and played the straight man. Allen played a silly, confused woman. Both attributed their success to the other, to the ends of their lives. Early on, the team had played the opposite roles until they noticed that the audience was laughing at Gracie's straight lines, so they made the change. Burns and Allen developed their popular routine over more than three decades of stage, radio, film, and television. Burns and Allen had several regulars, including Toby Reed, Gail Gordon, Elliot Louis, musician Meredith Willson, and Artie Shaw. Bill Goodwin announced the program for several years, and also went with George and Gracie to the Burns And Allen TV program.
Crime Classics was a radio docudrama which aired over CBS from June 15, 1953 to June 30, 1954. Created, produced, and directed by radio actor and director Elliott Lewis, the program was basically a historical true crime series, examining crimes, and especially murders, from the past. It grew out of Lewis's personal interest in famous murder cases, and took a documentary-like approach to the subject, carefully recreating the facts, personages, and feel of the time period. Comparatively little dramatic license was taken with the facts and events, but the tragedy was leavened with humor, expressed largely through the narration.
The Red Skelton Show, which premiered on 30 September 1951, was not only one of the longest running variety series on television, but also one of the first variety shows to make the successful transition from radio to television. Despite his popularity as an entertainer in nightclubs, vaudeville, radio and 26 feature films, Skelton was unsure of the new medium. Consequently, he continued his weekly radio broadcasts while simultaneously working on the first two season of his television show.
2 Episodes - Birth Certificate Error May 2, 1947 and Typical American Mother May 9, 1947
Young had become a radio performer, and by age 17, he was writing and performing in his own radio show for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The show was broadcast in the U.S. and led to an invitation to New York in 1944, as a summer replacement for Eddie Cantor, which resulted in Young getting his own radio show, orininally broadcast from New York and later from Hollywood.
The New Car (11-17-48) and Alexander The Actor (2-16-50)
The radio version of Blondie took to the air on CBS in the summer of 1939, also starring Singleton and Lake. Like the movies, it was more specific about Dagwood's office job and had him working for the J.C. Dithers Construction Company. The final broadcast was in 1950 and by that time Ann Rutherford was Blondie. For the first television version on NBC in 1957 Lake was once again Dagwood, but Pamela Briton portrayed Blondie. The show survived for only eight months and a 1968 attempt on CBS with Will Hutchins and Patricia Harty lasted for just four. Despite occasional rumors about a musical, the Bumsteads have thus far failed to trod the boards on Broadway.
Arch Oboler (December 7, 1909 - March 19, 1987) was a Chicago-born scriptwriter, novelist, producer and director who was active in films, radio and television.
Oboler generated much attention for his radio scripts, and his work in radio remains the outstanding period of his career. Although some noted a tendency for gruesomeness, he received praise as one of broadcasting's top talents, and he is regarded today as one of the innovators of old time radio.
Feared by criminals and dreaded by policemen the world over, the notorious Simon Templarâbetter known as The Saintâwages a one-man war on "the Ungodly." Whether in Rome, Paris, New York, or the English countryside, the so-called Robin Hood of modern crime may not go out looking for trouble, but you can bet that trouble will always come looking for him.
The Case Of The Perfect Crime (7-30-50)
The Corpse Said Ouch (8-6-50)
The Sealed Book
The Sealed Book starred Philip Clarke as the keeper of the book, a croaking, cackling hermit, with knowledge of the black arts, who in each show unlocked the great padlock that kept the sealed book safe from prying eyes. There was a spook story each week with tales of secrets and mysteries of mankind through the ages.
Welcome to day two of our two day spotlight on Richard Diamond. Today, two episodes from 1951. The Dark Blue Serge Suit (2-9-51) and The Gray Man (2-16-51).
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Richard Diamond, Private Detective proved to be the perfect radio vehicle for actor-singer Dick Powell, combining his tough-guy image, showcased in the 1944 film ÃïïMurder, My SweetÃïï and the 1945-46 radio series ÃïïRogueÃïïs Gallery,Ãïï with his tremendous talent for a song, as all those 1930s Warner Brothers/Fox musicals will bear out. The detective series, created by an aspiring screenwriter named Blake Edwards, featured a hard-boiled detective who rarely took himself too seriously; Edwards, the future director of the ÃïïPink PantherÃïï film series, conceived the Diamond character as an ex-cop who had decided to hang out his own shingle in the investigation business.
A June 2006 Oldies Broadcast (HOUR 2 of 2) Edited 'Shoutcast' Radio Network Presentation.
Vic and Sade, created and written by Paul Rhymer, had a 14-year run and was the most popular radio series of its kind, reaching 7,000,000 listeners in 1943, according to Time Magazine. For the majority of its span on the air, Vic and Sade was heard in 15-minute episodes without a continuing storyline. The central characters, known as "radio's home folks" and "the most lovable folks in radio," were accountant Victor Rodney Gook (Art Van Harvey), his wife Sade (Bernadine Flynn) and their adopted son Rush (Bill Idelson). The three lived on Virginia Avenue in "the small house halfway up in the next block."
The Whistler was one of radio's most popular mystery dramas, with a thirteen-year run from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955. If it now seems to have been influenced explicitly by The Shadow, The Whistler was no less popular or credible with its listeners, the writing was first class for its genre, and it added a slightly macabre element of humour that sometimes went missing in The Shadow's longer-lived crime stories.
Boston Blackie was a character introduced by Jack Boyle who was featured in a series of mystery films during the silent movie era and in the 1940s. The character appeared in stories in the Redbook and Cosmopolitan magazines. He first appeared in book form in "Boston Blackie", published in 1919. In 1944 a Boston Blackie radio show was played by NBC as a replacement. The series was changed, with Richard Kollomar taking the lead role, and over 200 episodes were made between 1944 and 1950.
Today, listen to The Baseball Player Murder (4-16-46) and Undersea Murder From (10-1-46)
The Black Museum Series is based on Scotland YardÃ??s Black Museum (aka Crime Museum) in London, where crime artifacts are stored. This is the largest and oldest museum of its type. Although it is not open to the public, we can get a glimpse of what lays inside through this show. Each program is based on a real crime story and an object from that museum. The show was a reenactment of a homicide in which each item was a key piece of evidence, and as enacted mainly from the police inspector in the case. The episodes describe how they arrived at clues, the step by step gathering of evidence, the unglamorous waiting and watching, until the police finally zero in on the culprit. To Read more about the Black Museum, visit http://www.met.police.uk/history/crime_museum.htm
Heart of Darkness From May15, 1949 - Day 2 of our 2 day spotlight on the NBC University Theater.
In HEART OF DARKNESS, Author Joseph Conrad's most existential hero, Marlow, is the commander of a riverboat looking for ivory to trade in the Belgian Congo. His journey into the heart of the Congo is both a thrilling adventure and a symbolic excursion into the depths of the human psyche to confront the evil that exists there. Marlow's encounter with the mysterious and corrupted Kurtz, who dies proclaiming the "horror" of what he found in the Congo, is the novel's defining moment, when Marlow recognizes his kinship with Kurtz's corruption. This insight enables Marlow to retreat from Kurtz's world and return to England. Kurtz, in his attempts to reconcile his noble ideas with his greed, can't survive.
NBC University Theater is an unusual series that focused on reenacting novels by great authors for college classes. Many accredited American universities such as Washington State College, University of Louisville, and University of Tulsa, used this dramatics series as a supplement to correspondent college courses.The series' creators made study guides to accompany the courses. Students studying great literature by Steinbeck, Faulkner, Hemingway, Huxley, and many others listened to these shows every week. It was an ambitious series that remained popular despite its academic and non-commercial appeal. The shows are high quality and will please many fans of great literature.
Sears Radio Theater - Old Bones From June 25, 1979
Clearly one of the last big attempts to produce radio programming, with many of radio's best talents, the way radio was heard in its "golden days. Despite budget and talent, it just wasn't to be. Enjoy Day Two of our spotlight on this great series.
Sears RadioTheater - An Honest Man (3-22-79) -STEREO
The series premiered on Monday 02/05/79 and offered a different genre each weekday night. Each genre was hosted by a different celebrity. The program was produced on Paramount's Stage F in Hollywood. These first 130 programs were broadcast over a six month period and then rebroadcast over the following six months. From 02/14/80 to 12/19/81 this series was heard again, this time over Mutual, as The Mutual Radio Theater. This was clearly one of the last big attempts to produce radio programming, with many of radio's best talents, the way radio was heard in its "golden days. Despite budget and talent, it just wasn"t to be.
The Lone Ranger was an early, long-running radio and television show based on characters created by George W. Trendle of Detroit, Michigan and developed by writer Fran Striker of Buffalo, New York. The basic premise is that a masked cowboy in the Old West gallops about righting injustices, usually with the aid of a clever and laconic American Indian called Tonto.
Dangerous Assignment - 2 Episodes From 1950
Dangerous Assignment first aired in 1949. Brian Donlevy played the lead as Steve Mitchell in this international spy series. Herb Butterfield played the Commissioner and Betty Moran was the Commissioner's secretary. The director was Bill Cairn and the writer for the series was Robert Ryf.
Philo Vance was a fictional American detective created by S. S. Van Dine in the 1920s who appeared in 12 novels. Although largely forgotten today, for a few years he was immensely popular in books, movies, and on the radio. He was considered America's most popular fictional detective of the 1920s and 1930s Films about Vance were made from the late 1920s to the late '40s, and among the several actors who played him on the screen were William Powell and Basil Rathbone. Vance was portrayed as being a super-dandy, super-intellectual, and super-man-about-town in Manhattan.
Nero Wolfe is a fictional detective created by American author Rex Stout in the 1930s and featured in dozens of novels and novellas.In the stories, Wolfe is one of the most famous private detectives in the United States. He weighs about 285 pounds and is 5'11" tall. He raises orchids in a rooftop greenhouse in his New York City brownstone on West 35th Street, helped by his live-in gardener Theodore Horstmann. Wolfe drinks beer throughout the day and is a gourmÃ?ÃÂ??und. He employs a live-in chef, Fritz Brenner. He is multilingual and brilliant, though apparently self-educated, and reading is his third passion after food and orchids. He works in an office in his house and almost never leaves home, even to pursue the detective work that finances his expensive lifestyle. Instead, his leg work is done by another live-in employee, Archie Goodwin. While both Wolfe and Goodwin are licensed detectives, Goodwin is more of the classic fictional gumshoe, tough, wise-cracking, and skirt-chasing. He tells the stories in a breezy first-person narrative that is semi-hard-boiled in style.
Lux Radio Theater - The Razor's Edge From 10/18/48
Well-to-do Chicagoan, Larry Darrell, breaks off his engagement to Isabel and travels the world seeking enlightenment, eventually finding his guru India. Isabel marries Gray, and following the crash of 1929, is invited to live in Paris with her rich, social climbing, Uncle Elliot. During a sojurn there, Larry, having attained his goal, is reunited with Isabel. While slumming one night Larry, Isabel and company are shocked to discover Sophie, a friend from Chicago. Having lost her husband and child in a tragic accident, Sophie is living the low-life with the help of drugs an abusive brute. Larry tries to rehabilitate her, but his efforts are sabotaged by Isabel who has tried in vain to reignite Larry's interest in her.
Philip Marlowe - Day 2 of 2 Double Feature Episodes (1948)
Philip Marlowe is perhaps the leading icon of the "hard-boiled" school of mystery writing. The fictional creation of author Raymond Chandler, Marlowe is a private detective, a smart and tough lone wolf with a sense of honor. He works mainly in Los Angeles (where Chandler himself had lived). In all Marlowe appears in seven complete novels by Chandler, beginning with The Big Sleep (published 1939) and ending with Playback (1958). Various TV and radio series also featured the Marlowe character, though they were not written by Chandler. A Marlowe novel left unfinished at Chandler's death, Poodle Springs, was finished by mystery writer Robert B. Parker and published in 1989.
Philip Marlowe was born in Santa Rosa, California, in that time out of time that allowed him to be 33 in 1933, 42 in 1953, and 43 1/2 in 1958. In many ways he was the very model of a perfect private investigator: a college graduate, 6 ft. 1/2 in. Tall and 199 Ib., with brown eyes and brown hair going gray, He liked liquor, women, and working alone. His independent detective agency was a shoestring operation which he ran from a pair of musty, scantily furnished rooms on the sixth floor of the Cahuenga Building in downtown Los Angeles. He was once employed as an investigator by Taggart Wilde, district attorney of Los Angeles, but was fired for insubordination
Have Gun â Will Travel was a popular American Western television series that aired between November 23, 1958, and November 22, 1960. There were 106 episodebroadcasts on CBS. It was the only significant radio show that originated on television, many of the episodes having been adapted from television programs broadcast earlier, though some were original to radio, and it was also one of the last radio dramas featuring continuing characters. John Dehner played Paladin and Ben Wright usually (but not always) played Hey Boy.
LET GEORGE DO IT
Bob Bailey played George Valentine as a detective handy man, who got his jobs from responses to a newspaper ad. Part-time detective and writer Dan Holiday in Box 13 also used the premise. It pays to advertise! The shows follow the usual formats of crime caper shows, with toughs, mysterious rendezvous and people who aren't who they say they are.
Inner Sanctum - 2 Episodes From 1941
Taking its name from a popular series of mystery novels, Inner Sanctum Mysteries debuted over NBCâs Blue Network in January 1941.
Inner Sanctum Mysteries featured one of the most memorable and atmospheric openings in radio history: an organist hit a dissonant chord, a doorknob turned and the famous âcreaking doorâ slowly began to open.
Every week, Inner Sanctum Mysteries told stories of ghosts, murderers and lunatics. Produced in New York, the cast usually consisted of veteran radio actors, with occasional guest appearances by such Hollywood stars Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Claude Rains.
You Bet Your Life - 2 Episodes From 1954
From 1950 until 1961, Groucho Marx ruled on NBC-TV Thursday nights with, of all things, a game show. You Bet Your Life was originally broadcast on radio beginning in 1947, initially moving to television in 1950 as a radio show with cameras. On the program, contestants could "say the secret word and win a hundred dollars" and a paper-mache duck would come down with the loot. People tuned in to see and hear Groucho grill the contestants, the game itself was almost inconsequential.
CANDY MATSON was the private eye star of Candy Matson, YUkon 2-8208, an NBC West Coast show which first aired in March 1949 and was created by Monty Masters. He cast his wife, Natalie Parks, in the title role of this sassy, sexy PI. Her understated love interest, Lt. Ray Mallard, was played by Henry Leff while her assistant and best pal, aptly named Rembrandt Watson, was the voice of Jack Thomas. Every show opened with a ringing telephone and our lady PI answering it with "Candy Matson, YU 2-8209" and then the organ swung into the theme song, "Candy".
The Shadow - 2 Episodes From 1938
On July 31, 1930 a sinister voice came over the radio into American Homes. The voice of the Shadow appeared for the first time. In the beginning the Shadow was not a crime fighter. He was a mysterious narrator of mystery tales taken from the pages of Street & Smith's Detective Story Magazine. The publisher Street & Smith began to use radio as an advertising medium to promote their fiction publications. The Shadow was a perfectly creepy teller of tales promoting Street & Smith. Orson Welles played the Shadow from 1937 through March 1938. The Shadow became the highest rated radio show on the air at that time.
Escape - 1947-1954
Escape was widely considered radioâs greatest series of high adventure. The opening was usually along the same lines of âTired of the everyday grind? Ever dream of a life of â romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you â Escape!â You, the listener, are in the shoes of some embattled hero. You are alone and you must face the impossible, alone and rise to conquer or be conquered.
LIGHTS OUT
Day 3 of 3 Double Features.
American old-time radio program featuring "tales of the supernatural and the supernormal."
LIGHTS OUT
Day 2 of 3 Double Features.
American old-time radio program featuring "tales of the supernatural and the supernormal."
Lights Out - Day 1 of 3 - (2 Episodes)
Lights Out was an American old-time radio program featuring "tales of the supernatural and the supernormal." It was immensely popular, and was one of the first horror programs, predating Suspense and Inner Sanctum. In its heydey, Lights Out rivalled the popularity of those shows. Lights Out ran through several series and networks, from January 1, 1934 to August 6, 1947. The principal sponsor was Ironized Yeast. Most episodes were broadcast at midnight.
Lights Out then made the transition to television in 1949, where it was broadcast until 1952. Created in Chicago by writer Wyllis Cooper in 1934.
Murder at Midnight was an old-time radio show featuring macabre tales of suspense, often with a supernatural twist. It was produced in New York and was first heard over the Mutual Network between September 16, 1946 and September 8, 1947 on radio station WJZ. The show's writers included Robert Newman, Joseph Ruscoll, Max Erlich and William Norwood, and it was directed by Anton M. Leder. The host was Raymond Morgan, who delivered the memorable lines of introduction over Charles Paul's effective organ theme: "Midnight, the witching hour when the night is darkest, our fears the strongest, and our strength at its lowest ebb. Midnight, when the graves gape open and death strikes."
Lux Radio Theater - Manhattan Melodrama 9/09/40
The friendship between two orphans endures even though they grow up on opposite sides of the law and fall in love with the same woman. Orphans Edward "Blackie" Gallagher and Jim Wade are lifelong friends who take different paths in life. Blackie thrives on gambling and grows up to be a hard-nosed racketeer. Bookworm Wade becomes a D.A. vying for the Governorship. When Blackie's girlfriend Eleanor leaves him and marries the more down to earth Wade, Blackie harbors no resentment. In fact, their friendship is so strong that Blackie murders an attorney threatening to derail Wade's bid to become Governor. The morally straight Wade's last job as D.A. is to convict his friend of the murder, and send him to the electric chair. After he becomes Governor, Wade has the authority to commute Blackie's death sentence-- a decision that pits his high moral ethics against a lifelong friendship.
A Tribute To Gregory Peck - The Yearling From 01-06-47
The Yearling is a 1946 film which tells the story of a boy who adopts a fawn as a pet. It stars Gregory Peck, Jane Wyman, Claude Jarman Jr., Chill Wills and Forrest Tucker. The movie was adapted by Paul Osborn and John Lee Mahin (uncredited) from the novel by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. It was adapted by Clarence Brown. It won Academy Awards for Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Color and Best Cinematography, Color and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Gregory Peck), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Jane Wyman), Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Picture.
A Tribute To Gregory Peck - Abe Lincoln The Prairie Years - 2-3-49
Somehow, between "Moby Dick" at Cal in 1938 and "Sons and Soldiers" on Broadway in 1943, Gregory Peck became one of America's most distinguished actors. "My training was telescoped," he said. "I had to pay attention. It was survival of the fittest." When he and Ferrer and McGuire founded the La Jolla Playhouse, the idea was to help Hollywood actors polish their chops. He served as president of the Academy Awards body and was active in the Motion Picture and Television Fund, American Cancer Society, National Endowment for the Arts and other causes.
A Tribute To Gregory Peck - Show 1 of 3 The Screen Director's Playhouse - The Gunfighter From 1951
Hollywood legend Gregory Peck has died aged 87. He was the star of more than 60 films, including classics Cape Fear, Spellbound and Roman Holiday. He was one of the most popular leading actors of the 20th Century and was nominated for five Oscars. He won just once, for his role as a lawyer defending a black man against an undeserved rape charge in To Kill A Mocking Bird. He tackled a wide variety of roles, including soldiers, gun fighters, Biblical figures and romantic leads. He played the renegade son in the Western Duel in the Sun and the infamous Nazi doctor Josef Mengele in The Boys from Brazil.
Jeff Regan Investigator - 2 Episodes From 1948
A half-hour crime drama which debuted on the CBS West Coast radio network on July 10, 1948. Regan was an operative for the International Detective Bureau, a Los Angeles-based agency supervised by the wily and parsimonious Anthony J. Lyon (played by Wilms Herbert and Herb Butterfield) whose money-grubbing predilections inspired both admirers and critics to dub his firm "The Lyon's Den." Regan himself earned from his clients the nickname of "The Lyon's Eye," as he was the boss' number-one gumshoe, capable of handling the trickiest of assignments.
Suspense - 2 Episodes From 1943
Suspense was one of the premier programs of the Golden Age of Radio, and advertised itself as "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." It was heard in one form or another from 1942 through 1962. In the early phase, the program was hosted by "The Man in Black" (played by Joseph Kearns or Ted Osborne) and many episodes written or adapted by the prominent mystery author John Dickson Carr. Escape was a similar anthology thriller and suspense program. Both occasionally adapted the same stories, though Escape had lower budgets -- and thus, fewer sound effects and name actors.
H onest Harold, T he Homemaker - 2 Episodes From 1950
Honest Harold Hemp lived with his mother and nephew and did a radio homemaker's program. The series received undeserved negative ratings and general negative attitude of the critics. The HONEST HAROLD scripts were well crafted with well developed characters and had excellent acting and production values. First Show: Sep 17, 1950 Last Show: Jun 13, 1951 Number Shows: 38 Audition Show: Aug 23, 1950
The Clock - 2 Episodes From 1947
The Clock was a dramatic thirty-minute suspense and mystery series. It was written by Lawrence Klee and was first broadcast in November 1946. The story always began the same; âSunrise and sunset, promise and fulfilment, birth and death â the whole drama of life is written in the sands of timeâ. Imported from Austrailia it ran from 1946 until 1948. Stories as told by Father Time. Sort of like Twilight Zone for the radio.
Lux Radio Theater Presentation Of My Darling Clementine From 4-18-47
Directed by John Ford, based on the story of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral between the Earp brothers and the Clanton gang. In 1882, the Earp brothers Wyatt, James, Morgan and Virgil are driving cattle to California when they cross the Clanton family led by the "Old Man". Told of a nearby town, Tombstone, the older brothers ride in leaving the youngest brother James to watch over the cattle. The Earps quickly find Tombstone a lawless town, and when they return to their camp they find the cattle rustled and James dead. Seeking vengeance, Wyatt returns to Tombstone and takes the open job of town Marshall, meeting with the local powers Doc Holliday and the Clantons again and again in order to find out who was responsible.
Dan Holiday in Box 13 - 2 Episodes From 1948
Box 13 was a syndicated radio series about the escapades of mystery novelist Dan Holiday (Alan Ladd), a former newsman. Created by Mayfair Productions, the series premiered August 22, 1948, on New York's WOR and aired in syndication on the East Coast from August 22, 1948, to August 14. 1949. On the West Coast, Box 13 was heard from March 15, 1948 to March 7, 1949. To seek out new ideas for his fiction, Holiday ran a classified ad in the Star-Times newspaper. "Adventure wanted, will go anywhere, do anything -- Box 13." The stories followed Holiday's adventures when he responded to the letters sent to him by such people as a psycho killer and various victims.
The Mercury Theater - Orson Wells - Count of Monte Cristo
The Count of Monte Cristo (1844-45) - The protagonist, Edmond DantÃs, is about to marry his sweetheart and become a captain of a vessel. He is framed by three enemies as a Napoleonic conspirator, shortly before Napoleon's dramatic return from Elba in 1815. DantÃs is imprisoned in the Chateau d'If, by the politician Villefort who is anxious to conceal his own father's machinations on behalf of Bonaparte. DantÃs remains in the French Alcatraz 14 years, before he manages to escape, in a highly dramatic manner. He flees to the island of Monter Cristo, and locates a fabulous treasure, hidden since the time of Renaissance. As the Count of Monte Cristo and with the wealth of the treasure DantÃs destroys his enemies and shows the wrong side of the bourgeois world. - He succeeded in his quest for slow revenge. His enemies suffered for their sins.
The Man Called X - 2 Episodes From 1951
British actor Herbert Marshall was the star of this espionage melodrama, which debuted over CBS on July 10, 1944 as a summer series sponsored by Lockheed Aircraft. It moved to the Blue network in September of that year, and then had two summer runs in 1945 and 1946 as Pepsodentâs replacement for The Bob Hope Show. After an additional season on CBS (1947-48, for Frigidaire) it moved back to NBC in October 1950 and concluded its run May 20, 1952.
The Mercury Theater On The Air - Orson Wells as Dracula (7-11-38)
During that first 9-week summer series, it became increasingly apparent to the more perceptive radio listener that The Mercury Theatre was something special. Unlike many anthology series before and since, the stories were chosen because of their suitability to the radio medium. Also, the innovative use of sound-effects and music (by CBS staff composer/conductor Bernard Herrmann), combined with the gripping performances of Mr. Welles, made The Mercury Theatre one of the most compelling programs on the air. The stories presented were also out of the ordinary. Bram Stokerâs Gothic horror tale, Dracula, opened the series, followed by, among others, Treasure Island, A Tale of Two Cities, The 39 Steps, Abraham Lincoln, and The Count of Monte Cristo.
Your's Truly Johnny Dollar - The Mojave Red Matter From 1958
Opening on a Friday night, February 18, 1949 (The Paricoff Policy Matter), right at the start of television's golden age, this radio show brought us a high-powered insurance investigator who worked chiefly for the Universal Adjustment Bureau, a clearinghouse for the many insurance companies. The series starred Charles Russell as Johnny Dollar, the smart and tough detective, whose trademark it was to toss silver dollars as tips to busboys and bellhops. At the start of the 1950 season, Charles Russell was out and veteran film actor Edmund O'Brien stepped in as the second Johnny Dollar. The series during the O'Brien years improved with scripts by expert crime writer such as E. Jack Neumann, John Michael Hayes, Sidney Marshall and Blake Edwards.
The New Adventures of Michael Shayne - 2 Episodes From 1948
Michael Shayne was a fictional sleuth created by Brett Halliday (a pen name for author Davis Dresser) who was first initiated into the fraternity for detectives in the 1939 novel "Dividend of Death". Dresser based the character on a âtall and rangyâ brawler who once saved his life during a braw in a Mexican cantina. The Shayne character would go on to appear in 69 novels, plus a long-running mystery magazineâand in 1941, was brought to the silver screen in Paramountâs Michael Shayne, Private Detective, an adaptation of Dividend of Death that starred Lloyd Nolan, and paved the way for six additional B-mysteries to follow. The New Adventures of Michael Shayneâpremiered on July 15, 1948 starring Jeff Chandler.
The Adventures of Frank Meriwell - 2 Episodes From 1948
Frank Merriwell, the much-loved fictional hero of Street and Smith's Tip Top Weekly, was first introduced to readers on April 18, 1896. Merriwell was the creation of writer Burt L. Standish (real name: Gilbert Patten), and embodied a new type of dime novel hero, one who relied as much upon mental as physical prowess. The Yale-educated Merriwell possessed "a body like Tarzan's and a head like Einstein's," wrote one admiring writer, and thus represented "the perfect union of brain and brawn." First broadcast over NBC from 03/26/34 to 06/22/34 and again, on NBC, from 10/05/46 until 06/04/49. A 1946 Movie was also made.
Nobody Lives Forever - Lux Radio Theater From 11/17/47
This Lux Radio presentation stars Jane Wyman and Ronald Reagan in a 1946 movie of the same name and which starred John Garfield and Geraldine Fitzgerald. Ex-GI Nick Blake gets involved in a scheme to fleece a rich young widow, but finds himself falling for her for real, much to the displeasure of his racketeer cohorts.
Barry Craig Confidential Investigator - 2 Episodes From 1951
Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator is one of the few detective radio series that had separate versions of it broadcast from both coasts. Even the spelling changed over the years. It was first "Barry Crane" and then "Barrie Craig". NBC produced it in New York from 1951 to 1954 and then moved it to Hollywood where it aired from 1954 to 1955. William Gargan, who also played the better known television (and radio) detective Martin Kane, was the voice of New York eye BARRY CRAIG while Ralph Bell portrayed his associate, Lt. Travis Rogers.
Our Miss Brooks - 2 Episodes From 1950
Our Miss Brooks was an American situation comedy that started on radio in 1948 and migrated to television in 1952. Miss Brooks was an English teacher in Madison High School and the show centered around her daily relationships with students, other teachers and her principal, Mr Conklin. The radio program starred Eve Arden as Connie Brooks, Jeff Chandler (actor) as biology teacher Philip Boynton, Gale Gordon as Osgood Conklin and Richard Crenna as Walter Denton, Miss Brooks' favorite student.
The Avenger - 2 Episodes From 1945
1945 - 1946 radio series run, staring James Monks as Jim Brandon and Helen Adamson as Fern Collier. The Avenger is a fictional character whose original adventures appeared from 1939 to 1942 in The Avenger magazine, published by Street and Smith Publications. Five additional short stories were published in Clues Detective magazine from 1942 to 1943, and a sixth novelette in The Shadow magazine in 1943. The Avenger is actually Richard Henry Benson, a globe trotting adventurer who decided to settle down and raise a family. In his first adventure, Benson's plans for a peaceful life are shattered when his wife and young daughter are killed by a criminal conspiracy.
The Jack Benny Show - 2 Episodes (1943 1950)
Jack Benny appeared on Ed Sullivan's radio show on March 29, 1943 and by May 2 he was the star of his own radio program. The Canada Dry Ginger Ale Program starring Jack as the Canada Dry Humorist. Jack became one of the biggest names in radio. For thirty minutes, each Sunday night at seven o'clock, Jack and his gang of regulars would hit the airwaves with "their version" of current films, with a bit of music, and always with lots of laughter. Jack's television show had a weekly audience of 18 million viewers. He died on December 26, 1974.
Duffy's Tavern - 2 Episodes From 1953
Duffy's Tavern was an American radio situation comedy, that often featured top-name stage and film guest stars when not hooking around the misadventures of the title establishment's manager, Archie, played by the writer/actor who created the show, Ed Gardner.The Show was first heard in 1940 on NBC radio and became a regular feature. It was hailed from the start by critics and whole neighborhoods of working-class listeners alikeÃÂ?ÃÂa duo that doesn't often see eye-to-eye!
Mr. & Mrs. North - 2 Episodes From 1953
Mr. and Mrs. North was a radio mystery series that ran from 1942 to 1954. It originated in New Yorker short stories written by Richard Lockridge in the 1930s. Lockridge's characters found a wider audience when he teamed with his wife Frances for a series of novels, including such best-selling titles as: "The Norths Meet Murder," "Death takes a Bow," "Death on the Aisle," and "The Dishonest Murderer." The sleuths eventually counted as their fans nearly 20 million listeners when the series was finally adapted to radio, where it ran on the CBS network until the mid-1950s.
The Damon Runyon Theater-2 Episodes From 1949
The Damon Runyon Theater was a 52 show series that was syndicated across the USA beginning in early 1949. Damon Runyon was a gifted sports writer in New York City as well as being a great journalist and great short story writer. His stories were humorous ones, written in the "dem" and "dose" vernacular of the city's loveable and not so loveable characters of Broadway, the prize ring and the underworld.
The Life of Riley - 2 Episodes From 1949
The Life of Riley was an American situation comedy, co-developed by the non-performing Marx Brother, Gummo, that appeared on both radio and television in the 1940s and 1950s and helped introduce the so-called "nuclear family" to American broadcasting.The radio version, starring William Bendix, debuted on ABC in 1944; the following year it moved to NBC, where it ran until 1951. Later, the show was adapted for television, with two different versions having been produced.
The Mysterious Traveler - 2 Episodes-1944
Created and written by Arthur and Kogan, this is the radio program for which they are most well-known and it garnered them the prestigious Edgar Award for Best Radio Drama in 1949, 1951 and 1953. This popular half-hour, weekly program consisted of 370 episodes (only about 70 survive today) which aired between 12/5/43 and 9/2/52.
The Amos 'N Andy Show - 2 Episodes From 1944
Amos 'N Andy began in March, 1928 over WMAQ and thirty-eight affiliates stretching from the East Coast to San Francisco. By distributing the series in this method, they invented the syndication market.A year after its debut, Amos 'n' Andy had become a nationwide phenomenon. The show was broadcast nationally over the NBC radio network beginning in August of 1929, sponsored by Pepsodent.
TheAdventures of Charlie Chan - 2 Episodes
The portly, impassive oriental sleuth, Charlie Chan, has cast an impressive shadow in the world of fictional mystery since 1925. He was the product of a middle-aged Caucasian journalist, Earl Derr Biggers, whose knowledge of the Eastern Hemisphere, and China in particular, was limited to casual impressions. However the author quickly captured the imagination of most of North America with his deliberative Chinese detective in magazines, books, films, and to a lesser extent, radio and the stage.
Father Knows Best-2 Episodes From 1950 STEREO
Father Knows Best was one of a slew of American middle class family sitcoms in which moms were moms, kids were kids, and fathers knew best.The brainchild of producer Eugene Rodney and series star Robert Young (who played insurance salesman Jim Anderson), Father Knows Best debuted as a radio sitcom in 1949. In the radio version the title ended with a question mark, suggesting that father's role as family leader was dubious. The series was transplanted to television in 1954 where it ran until 1963, appearing at various times on each of the three US networks.
Dorsey At His Best-STEREO-Revised
In Big Band history, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra is recognized as one of the best all-around dance bands. It could swing with the best of them, and no other band could come close to Tommy's when it came to playing ballads. Tommy Dorsey, "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", was a master at creating warm, sentimental, and always musical moods - at superb dancing and listening tempos.