Boxcars711 Old Time Radio

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.THIS EPISODE: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 EPISODEThe 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 1938-1951This 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 AnthologyBroadcast 4/27/1952-6/28/1953 30 minutesTales, 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 UnknownTrue 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.