Boxcars711 Old Time Radio

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 1946-1947The 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.

CONFESSIONFrom: July 5, 1953 to September 13, 1954Had 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.