Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod

The Whistler - Meet Mr. Death (04-23-45)

Bob Camardella — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:26:20 GMT

Meet Mr. Death (Aired April 23, 1945)
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: April 23, 1945. CBS Pacific network. "Meet Mr. Death". Sponsored by: Signal Oil. A pharmacist is offered $5000 to poison a newspaper man. Needing the money and tempted take the offer, he finds out that he might have been overheard. A better-than-usual production. Harold Swanton (writer), George W. Allen (director), Wilbur Hatch (music), Marvin Miller (announcer), Howard Duff (?), Ken Christy. 29:39.

Dark Fantasy - Rendezvous With Satan (05-29-42)

Bob Camardella — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:54:21 GMT

Rendezvous With Satan (Aired May 29, 1942)
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.

THIS EPISODE: May 29, 1942. Program #28. NBC network, WKY, Oklahoma City origination. "Rendezvous With Satan". Sustaining. Scott Bishop (writer), Tom Paxton (announcer), Ben Morris, Beloise Wright (?), Eleanor Naylor Corin, Fred Wayne, Muir Hite, Georgiana Cook (billed as Georgiana Cook Hite). 29:20.

The Halls Of Ivy - Romiette & Julio (04-18-51)

Bob Camardella — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:37:35 GMT

Romiette & Julio (Aired April 18, 1951)
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.

The Milton Berle Show - Salute To Literature (03-02-48)

Bob Camardella — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:50:47 GMT

Salute To Literature (Aired March 2, 1948)
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. The Ray Bloch Orchestra provided the music for the series. Sponsored by Philip Morris, it aired on NBC from March 11, 1947, until April 13, 1948. His last radio series was The Texaco Star Theater, which began September 22, 1948 on ABC and continued until June 15, 1949, with Berle heading the cast of Stang, Kelton and Gallop, along with Charles Irving, Kay Armen and double-talk specialist Al Kelly. It employed top comedy writers (Nat Hiken, brothers Danny and Neil Simon, Aaron Ruben), and Berle later recalled this series as "the best radio show I ever did... a hell of a funny variety show." It served as a springboard for Berle’s rise as television’s first major star.

THIS EPISODE: March 2, 1948. NBC network. Sponsored by: Philip Morris. A "Salute To Literature". Milton’s book has just been published, Milton tries to get a library card. Frank Gallop (announcer), Milton Berle, Ray Bloch and His Orchestra. 1/2 hour.

The Green Valley Line - Ep.01 and Ep.02 (1947)

Bob Camardella — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:24:11 GMT

Episode 01 "Spider And The Stranger" and Program 02 "Pop’s New Assistant" (1947)
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.

TODAY’S SHOW: Program #1. "Spider And The Stranger" - Syndicated. A pre-war series. "A story of a small back-country railroad in the early years of the twentieth century. A story of the lives of small town people in the America of thirty five years ago." Spider McGee and "Slim" arrive in Morristown to find that the Green Valley Line may be sold to the C. K. and W. railroad. "Slim" is really named Bill, and is the son of the millionaire owner of the C. K. and W.! Bill is played by Rollon Parker, the voice of John Todd (Tonto!) is also heard. Since both Parker and Todd are veterans of "The Lone Ranger" program, it’s safe to conclude that this series was probably recorded at and syndicated by WXYZ, Detroit. Rollon Parker, John Todd. 13:04.

Program #2. "Pop’s New Assistant" - Syndicated. Bill meets Carrie and it’s hate at first sight! The Green Valley Line has a $160,000 mortgage due in three months! Rollon Parker, John Todd. 12:46.

Jeff Regan Investigator - Two Little Sisters (11-16-48)

Bob Camardella — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 01:23:53 GMT

Two Little Sisters (Aired November 16, 1948)
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.

Father Knows Best - Always Tell The Truth (02-22-51)

Bob Camardella — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 21:24:13 GMT

Always Tell The Truth (Aired February 22, 1951)
The series began August 25, 1949, on NBC Radio. Set in the Midwest, it starred Robert Young as General Insurance agent Jim Anderson. His wife Margaret was first portrayed by June Whitley and later by Jean Vander Pyl. The Anderson children were Betty (Rhoda Williams), Bud (Ted Donaldson) and Kathy (Norma Jean Nillson). Others in the cast were Eleanor Audley, Herb Vigran and Sam Edwards. Sponsored through most of its run by General Foods, the series was heard Thursday evenings on NBC until March 25, 1954. The show is often regarded as an example of the conservative and paternalistic nature of American family life in the 1950s and it is also cited as an overly rosy portrayal of American family life. On the radio program, the character of Jim differs from the later television character. The radio Jim is far more sarcastic and shows he really "rules" over his family. Jim also calls his children names, something common on radio but lost in the TV series; for example, Jim says, "What a bunch of stupid children I have." Margaret is portrayed as a paragon of solid reason and patience, unless the plot calls for her to act a bit off. For example, in a Halloween episode, Margaret cannot understand how the table floats in the air, but that is a rare exception. Betty, on radio, is portrayed as a status seeking, boy-crazy teenage girl. To her, every little thing is "the worst thing that could ever happen." Bud, on radio, is portrayed as an "all-American" boy who always seems to need "just a bit more" money, though he gets $1.25 per week in allowance.

Defense Attorney - Client Jim Leonard (09-14-51)

Bob Camardella — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:21:21 GMT

Client Jim Leonard (Aired September 14, 1951)
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.

THIS EPISODE: September 14, 1951. ABC network. Sustaining. "Jimmy Leonard" is accused of an hit-and-run murder with his hot rod. Jimmy seems reluctant to defend himself. Tony Barrett, Tom McKee, Joel Nessler, Rex Koury (composer, conductor), Dwight Hauser (director), Joel Murcott (writer), Howard Culver, George Pirrone, Mercedes McCambridge, Irene Tedrow. 29:34.

The Adventures Of Maisie - Quackenbush (05-10-51)

Bob Camardella — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 03:25:20 GMT

Quackenbush (Aired May 10, 1951)
In July, 1945, Ann took Maisie to radio in a half-hour weekly radio for CBS. Famed radio actor Elliott Lewis co-starred as boyfriend Bill, with other parts going to such seasoned radio players as John Brown and Lurene Tuttle. The series ran two seasons, and was revived in 1949 as a syndicated program, now called The Adventures of Maisie. Included in the repertory cast were Hans Conreid (later on Life with Liugi), Sheldon Leonard, Joan Banks, Elvia Allman, Bea Benadaret, and Sandra Gould. The radio show continued in the tried and true Maisie tradition of one part adventure of the emotional kind, one part romance, and one part laughs. To the end Maisie was the single girl, as this allowed her to get involved in continuing adventures of many kinds. These radio adventures of a liberated American "dame" from Brooklyn were tailored to post-WWII, and featured Maisie making her way (and having her way, most of the time) on both sides of the Atlantic. Maisie’s favorite comment - "Likewise, I’m sure."

THIS EPISODE: May 10, 1951. "Quackenbush" - Program #65. MGM syndication. Commercials added locally. Maisie has contracted "Flabmeyer’s Disease," and there’s only one cure! The program has also been identified as program #77. The date above is the date of first broadcast on WMGM, New York City Ann Sothern, Bud Hiestand (announcer), Hans Conried, Harry Zimmerman (composer, conductor), John L. Green (writer), John McGovern, Peter Leeds, Sidney Miller, Virginia Gregg. 27:10.

Our Miss Brooks - Taxi Fare (06-19-55)

Bob Camardella — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 23:36:40 GMT

Taxi Fare (Aired June 19, 1955)
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: June 19, 1955. "Taxi Fare" - CBS network. Miss Brooks has no money to pay off a cab driver, who becomes a constant companion. The system cue and the commercials and/or public service announcements have been deleted. Al Lewis (writer), Arthur Alsberg (writer), Bob Rockwell, Eve Arden, Gale Gordon, Gloria McMillan, Jane Morgan, Jeff Chandler, Jerry Hausner, Joseph Kearns, Larry Berns (producer, director), Lud Gluskin, Richard Crenna. 23:13.

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Gunsmoke" - Paid Killer (01-17-53)

Bob Camardella — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 05:20:10 GMT

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Gunsmoke" - Paid Killer (Aired January 17, 1953)
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.

THIS EPISODE: January 17, 1953. CBS network. "Paid Killer". Sustaining. Lawson Hales hires a killer to gun down Marshal Dillon for $5000 in gold. The script was used again on November 22, 1959. Strangely enough, in 1959, the price offered to shoot the Marshal was only $1000! William Conrad, Parley Baer, Harry Bartell, Lawrence Dobkin, Jack Kruschen, Ralph Moody, Roy Rowan (announcer), Rex Koury (composer, conductor), Les Crutchfield (writer), Norman Macdonnell (director), Georgia Ellis. 30:05.

The Judy Canova Show - Picnic (09-15-45)

Bob Camardella — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 01:38:20 GMT

Picnic (Aired September 15, 1945)
In 1943, she began her own radio program, The Judy Canova Show, that ran for 12 years—first on CBS and then on NBC. Playing herself as a love-starved Ozark bumpkin dividing her time between home and Southern California, Canova was accompanied by a cast that included voicemaster Mel Blanc as Pedro (using the accented voice he later gave the cartoons’ Speedy Gonzales) and Sylvester (using the voice that later became associated with the Looney Tunes character), Ruth Perrott as Aunt Aggie, Ruby Dandridge as Geranium, Joseph Kearns as Benchley Botsford and Sharon Douglas as Brenda—with Gale Gordon, Sheldon Leonard and Hans Conried also making periodic appearances.[citation needed] The Sportsmen Quartet joined the show in 1943 and backed Judy on most of her songs, and the Charles Dant Orchestra provided the rest, usually supporting Canova’s country warble. Western singer and actor Eddie Dean also appeared with Canova on numerous occasions during the 1930s. During World War II, she closed her show with the song "Goodnight, Soldier" ("Wherever you may be... my heart’s lonely... without you") and used her free time to sell U.S. War Bonds. After the war, she introduced a new closing theme that she once said she remembered her own mother singing to her when she was a small child.

The Man Called X - Rhythm Of Death (12-30-50)

Bob Camardella — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:07:57 GMT

Rhythm Of Death (Aired December 30, 1950)
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. CBS FRIGIDAIRE - GENERAL MOTORS Thursdays 10:30 - 11:00 pm STARS: Herbert Marshall as Ken Thurston, Intelligence Agent WITH: Leon Belasco as Pagan Seldchmidt ANNOUNCER: Wendell Niles DIRECTOR: Jack Johnstone MUSIC: Johnny Green.

THIS EPISODE: December 30, 1950. NBC network - "Rhythm Of Death". Sponsored by: Anacin, RCA Victor. Ken Thurston investigates witchcraft and death at a uranium mine in the Belgian Congo. J. Richard Kennedy (producer), Felix Mills (composer, conductor), Robert Libbott (writer), Frank Burt (writer), Herbert Marshall, Leon Belasco, Jack Latham (announcer). 29:01.

The Damon Runyon Theater - What No Butler? (12-04-49)

Bob Camardella — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:33:49 GMT

What No Butler? (December 4, 1949)
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.

THIS EPISODE: 1949. Program #49. Mayfair syndication. "What, No Butler?". Commercials added locally. Justin Vesey is found murdered. Broadway and Ambrose Hammer (the art critic) work on solving the case. Damon Runyon (author), John Brown, Richard Sanville (director), Russell Hughes (adaptor), Vern Carstensen (production supervisor). 28:15.

Dad’s Army - Sorry Wrong Number (05-06-74)

Bob Camardella — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:15:56 GMT

Sorry Wrong Number (Aired May 6, 1974)
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: May 6, 1974 - "Sorry Wrong Number". Captain Mainwaring is horrified when he discovers half the platoon do not know how to use a telephone correctly. He attempts to instruct them on the correct use to aid better communication between men on patrol and the church hall. However, when a German plane crashes in the resevoir, Jones puts these methods to the test with chaotic results...Cast: Arthur Lowe (Captain Mainwaring) , John Le Mesurier (Sergeant Wilson), Clive Dunn (Lance Corporal Jones), John Laurie (Private Frazer), Ian Lavender (Private Pike), Graham Stark (Private Walker), Bill Pertwee (The ARP Warden), Pearl Hackney (Mrs Pike), Avril Angers (The Telephone Operator), John Forest (Lieutenant Hope-Bruce), John Snagge (BBC Announcer.

The Silent Men - Confess Or Die (03-19-52)

Bob Camardella — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:26:19 GMT

Confess Or Die (Aired March 19, 1952)
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, Fairbanks 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.

THIS EPISODE: March 19, 1952. NBC network. "Confess Or Die". Sustaining. A newspaperman is rescued by a government-man. American Magazine has voted the program, "The top family adventure program on the air." Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Don Stanley (announcer), Warren Lewis (producer, director, writter), Lou Rusoff (writer), William Johnstone, Vivi Janis, Shepard Menken, Joan Banks, Stan Waxman. 30:12.

The Sealed Book - Till Death Do Us Part (07-08-45)

Bob Camardella — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:06:48 GMT

Till Death Do Us Part (Aired July 8, 1945)
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 EPISODE: July 8, 1945. Program #17. Mutual network origination, syndicated. "Till Death Do Us Part". Commercials added locally. A husband plans to murder his wife because she loves him too much! He drowns her but she returns. Robert A. Arthur (writer), David Kogan (writer), Phillip Clark (host). 1/2 hour.

The Theater Guild On The Air - The Third Man (01-07-51)

Bob Camardella — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 01:19:08 GMT

The Third Man (Aired January 7, 1951)
The Theater 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 Shaw’s Heartbreak House in 1920, the Guild became his U.S. agent and staged 15 of his plays. It also produced successful plays by Eugene O’Neill, 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: January 7, 1951. NBC network. "The Third Man". Commercials deleted. The program originates from the Belasco Theater, New York. The program is also known as, "The United States Steel Hour" and "The NBC Theatre Guild." An excellent production of the thriller set in post-war Vienna. Intrigue and death in the sewers beneath the city. Zither transitions possibly by Anton Karas. The program closing has been deleted. Graham Greene (writer), Joseph Cotten, Signe Hasso, Anthony Ireland, Stefan Schnabel, Berry Kroeger, Roger Pryor (host), Anton Karas. 55 minutes.

The Great Gildersleeve - Leroy Buys A Car (09-05-51)

Bob Camardella — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:48:40 GMT

Leroy Buys A Car (Aired September 5, 1951)
The Great Gildersleeve (1941-1957), initially written by Leonard Lewis Levinson, 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: "Leroy Buys A Car" - September 5, 1951. NBC network. Sponsored by: Kraft. The first show of the season. It’s finally time to teach Leroy how to drive. Willard Waterman, Paul West (writer), John Elliotte (writer), Andy White (writer), Walter Tetley, Marylee Robb, Robert Armbruster (music), Lillian Randolph, Bud Hiestand (announcer), Ken Christy, Earle Ross, Richard LeGrand. 30:04.

Pete Kelly’s Blues - Gus Trudeaux (08-22-51)

Bob Camardella — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 05:43:42 GMT

Gus Trudeaux (Aired August 22, 1951)
The supporting cast was minimal; apart from the off-mike character Lupo and occasional speaking parts by the band members (notably Red the bass player, played by Jack Kruschen), the only other regular role of note was Maggie Jackson, the torch singer at another club (Fat Annie’s, "across the river on the Kansas side"), played by blues singer Meredith Howard. In one episode, Bessie Smith is mentioned as the singer at Fat Annie’s instead of Maggie Jackson. Boozy ex-bootlegger Barney Ricketts would show up occasionally, an informant not unlike the character Jocko Madigan on Webb and Breen’s Pat Novak for Hire. The episodic roles were filled by William Conrad (as various mob bosses), Vic Perrin, and Roy Glenn, amongst others. The music dominated the series.

THIS EPISODE: August 22, 1951. Program #7. NBC network. Sustaining. Dutch Courtney has been murdered. Gus Trudeau goes on the lam from Courtney’s men and the cops. The first tune is, "Sensation Rag." Another recording of this program has a different cast and begins with, "Jazz Me Blues." Dick Cathcart (cornet), Jack Webb, James Moser (writer), Matty Matlock, Richard Breen (creator), Matty Matlock (scoring), Richard Green (creator). 29:22.

The Falcon - The Case Of The Vanishing Varmint (07-11-44)

Bob Camardella — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 03:27:23 GMT

The Case Of The Vanishing Varmint (Aired July 11, 1944)
The success of Falcon films led to a radio series that premiered on the American Blue Network in April 1943, and aired for the next ten years on various networks. It was here that his transition into a private eye was finalized, with The Falcon, now called MICHAEL WARING working as a hardboiled insurance investigator, with an office and a secretary, Nancy. Barry Kroeger was the first radio voice of the Falcon, followed by James Meighan, Les Tremayne, George Petrie, and Les Damon. Nearly all the shows were broadcast from New York. Each show usually started out with a telephone call to The Falcon from a beautiful woman. Answering in his slightly British accent, he would reply to her and another adventure would follow. Waring was snappy and sarcastic with the incompetent police who were inevitably unable to solve the mysteries without his help. Like the films, the radio plots mixed danger, romance and comedy in equal parts.

THIS EPISODE: July 11, 1944 - NBC network. "The Case Of The Vanishing Varmint". Sponsored by: Kraft Miracle Whip, Kraft Malted Milk. "Dead bodies, like bad pennies, always turn up!" Les Damon, Ed Herlihy (announcer), Drexel Drake (creator), Bernard L. Schubert (producer), Richard Lewis (director), Eugene Wang (writer), Arlo (music), Charles Webster. 31:55.

You Bet Your Life - Secret Word Is "Paper" (01-14-55)

Bob Camardella — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:24:38 GMT

Secret Word Is Paper (Aired January 14, 1955)
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. It was one of many non-rigged quiz shows of the 1950’s which suffered in the ratings due to the scandals surrounding "Twenty One", "The $64,000 Question" and "Dotto".

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "The Six Shooter" - The Silver Buckle (01-17-54)

Bob Camardella — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:09:30 GMT

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "The Six Shooter" - The Silver Buckle (Aired January 17, 1954)
The Six Shooter brought James Stewart to the NBC microphone on September 20, 1953, in a fine series of folksy Western adventures. Stewart was never better on the air than in this drama of Britt Ponset, frontier drifter created by Frank Burt. The epigraph set it up nicely: "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. People call them both The Six Shooter." Ponset was a wanderer, an easy-going gentleman and -- when he had to be -- a gunfighter. Stewart was right in character as the slow-talking maverick who usually blundered into other people’s troubles and sometimes shot his way out. His experiences were broad, but The Six Shooter leaned more to comedy than other shows of its kind.

THIS EPISODE: January 17, 1954. "The Silver Buckle" - NBC network. Sustaining. A trip through a mountain pass with two strange companions...with a strange purpose. Jimmy Stewart, Jack Johnstone (director), Basil Adlam (music), Forrest Lewis, William Conrad, Frank Burt (creator, writer), Hal Gibney (announcer), Eleanor Audley, Frank Gerstle, Joel Cranston. 29:27.

Amos & Andy Show - A Birthday Gift For Sapphire (03-12-46)

Bob Camardella — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:42:09 GMT

A Birthday Gift For Sapphire (Aired March 12, 1946)
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: March 12, 1946. NBC network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "A Birthday Gift For Sapphire". The Kingfish buys Sapphire a beaver coat for her birthday. When it turns out to be stolen, The Kingfish tries to have it stolen back. The date and net origination is subject to correction. The correct date may be December 7, 1952. Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll. 25 minutes.

The New Adventures Of Michael Shayne - The Case Of The Popular Corpse (1947)

Bob Camardella — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:14:28 GMT

The Case Of The Popular Corpse (1947)
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: 1947. Program #15. Broadcaster’s Guild syndication. "The Case Of The Popular Corpse". Commercials added locally. Shayne is hired to find a rich heiress. An hour later, a mysterious man hires Shayne to find the same girl. The date is approximate. Jeff Chandler, Don W. Sharp (producer), William P. Rousseau (director, host), Brett Halliday (creator), Robert Ryf (writer), John Duffy (composer, conductor). 26:50.

The CBS Radio Mystery Theater - Resident Kill (10-25-82)

Bob Camardella — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:33:31 GMT

Resident Kill (Aired October 25, 1982)
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 Fat Man - Murder Pays Dividends (1949)

Bob Camardella — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:16:53 GMT

Murder Pays Dividends (1949)
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.

The Adventures Of Horatio Hornblower - Chasing The Papillion (05-15-53)

Bob Camardella — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 01:20:49 GMT

Chasing The Papillion (Aired May 15, 1953)
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.

21st Precinct - The Brother (04-14-54)

Bob Camardella — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:39:32 GMT

The Brother (Aired April 14, 1954)
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. 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 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: April 14, 1954. The Brother - CBS network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. The music fill has been deleted. Everett Sloane, John Ives (producer), Stanley Niss (writer, director), Eileen Palmer, Bryna Raeburn, Wendell Holmes, Joe DeSantis, Martin Newman, Santos Ortega, Art Hannes (announcer). 26:55.

The Crime Club - Dead Man Control (03-20-47)

Bob Camardella — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 06:11:51 GMT

Dead Man Control (Aired March 20, 1947)
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: March 20, 1947. Mutual network. "Dead Men Control". Sustaining. A millionaire is killed while opening his wall safe. A large diamond is found missing, but is found again too soon. Helen Riley (writer), Ted Osborne, Alice Frost, Elspeth Eric. 1/2 hour.

Agatha Christie - Sad Cypress Part 2 0f 2 (1973)

Bob Camardella — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 03:49:40 GMT

Sad Cypress Part 2 0f 2 (1973)
Some of Christie’s best-known works are The ABC Murders (1936), And Then There Were None [also known as Ten Little Indians] (1945), The Mousetrap (longest ever running stage play in London, first performed in 1952), Hickory Dickory Dock (1955), Witness for the Prosecution (1957), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), and Death on the Nile (1978). From her first novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920) “This affair must all be unravelled from within.” He tapped his forehead. “These little grey cells. It is ‘up to them’—as you say over here.” (Poirot, Ch. 10) to her last, Sleeping Murder (1976), Christie enjoyed a career that spanned over fifty years and her works have now sold into the billions. They have been translated to dozens of languages, inspired numerous other authors’ works, and have been adapted to radio, the stage, and film. As well as a writer of crime mysteries, she also read stories for BBC Radio, wrote non-fiction, romances, plays, and poetry.

Broadway Is My Beat - Robert Turk (10-18-52)

Bob Camardella — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 21:43:54 GMT

Robert Turk (Aired October 18, 1952)
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: October 18, 1952. CBS network. Sustaining. Robert Turk is found with a cut throat in an apartment filled with incense and opium. There’s a 7-armed idol and a parakeet with a twisted neck. Larry Thor, Charles Calvert, Jack Kruschen, Sammie Hill, Lee Miller, Truda Marson, Lou Merrill, Elliott Lewis (transcribed, director), Alexander Courage (composer, conductor), Bill Anders (announcer). 28:59.

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Hopalong Cassidy" - Death Crosses The River (01-13-51)

Bob Camardella — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 05:50:11 GMT

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Hopalong Cassidy" - Death Crosses The River (Aired January 13, 1951)
A western that was greater than The Roy Rogers Show or Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch. Hoppy was a hero to one and all. He and his sidekick, California Carlson, roamed the Southwest in thrilling stories week after week. Almost every tale had a little mystery in it, and almost every story ended with Hoppy’s boiserous laugh. Clarence Mulford, the author of the Hopalong Cassidy stores, created a hard- fisted, rough and tought cowboy. Nowhewre’s near or liked the loveable Hoppy of the movies and radio series. He became a hero in black and on a white horse - a super hero of the West. He rescued damsels and cowboys in trouble, along with ranchers and bankers and railroad owners always against the bad guys - robbers, thieves, rustlers and the like. William Boyd was Hoppy and his sidekick was played by either Andy Clyde or Joe DuVal. Boyd who began his movie career in the days of silent films was a forgotten man until he was asked to portray Hopalong Cassidy in the movies of the 1940s. By 1946 or so he had been in over 60 Hoppy movies and was crowned the king of the cowboys. He became the hero of kids around the world and this lasted until another resurgence in the form of the Hoppy radio series.

THIS EPISODE: January 13, 1951. Program #67. Commodore syndication. "Death Crosses The River". Commercials added locally. Hoppy and California finds themselves $50,000 richer after a stagecoach robbery. They uncover a gun-running operation William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Walter White Jr. (producer, trasncriber), Herb Purdum (writer). 26:59.

Agatha Christie - Sad Cypress Part 1 0f 2 (1973)

Bob Camardella — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 01:50:23 GMT

Sad Cypress Part 1 0f 2 (1973)
Dame Agatha Christie DBE (15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976), was an English crime writer of novels, short stories and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but is best remembered for her 80 detective novels and her successful West End theatre plays. Her works, particularly those featuring detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple, have given her the title the ’Queen of Crime’ and made her one of the most important and innovative writers in the development of the genre. Christie has been referred to by the Guinness Book of World Records as the best-selling writer of books of all time and the best-selling writer of any kind, along with William Shakespeare. Only the Bible is known to have outsold her collected sales of roughly four billion copies of novels.

THIS EPISODE: Sad Cypress is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in March 1940 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edition retailed at eight shillings and threepence (8/3) – the first price rise for a UK Christie edition since her 1921 debut - and the US edition retailed at $2.00. The novel is notable for being the first courtroom drama in the Hercule Poirot series. The novel is written in three parts: in the first place an account, largely from the perspective of the subsequent defendant, Elinor Carlisle, of the death of her aunt, Laura Welman, and the subsequent death of the victim, Mary Gerrard; secondly an account of Poirot’s investigation; and, thirdly, a sequence in court, again mainly from Elinor’s dazed perspective.

The Adventures Of Leonidas Witherall - Murder At The State Fair (09-24-44)

Bob Camardella — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 20:41:07 GMT

Murder At The State Fair (Aired September 24, 1944)
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, who in the novels is constantly offering her "candied opinion", was played by Ethel Remey (1895-1979) and Agnes Moorehead[1] 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 24, 1944. Murder At The State Fair". Mutual network. Sustaining. 9:00 P. M. Three different people threaten the life of a miserable old women. When she is found dead at the state fair, all are suspect. The program is next on the air on October 8, 1944 at 7:00 P. M. Walter Hampden, Ethel Remey, Alice Tilton (creator), Howard Merrill (writer), Roger Bower (director). 29:16.

The Bob & Ray Show - WOR Radio New York (03-13-73)

Bob Camardella — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 05:33:20 GMT

WOR Radio New York (Aired March 13, 1973)
Bob Elliott (born 1923) and Ray Goulding (1922–1990) were an American comedy team whose career spanned five decades. Their format was typically to satirize the medium in which they were performing, such as conducting radio or television interviews, with off-the-wall dialogue presented in a generally deadpan style as though it were a serious interview. Elliott and Goulding began as disc jockeys in Boston with their own separate programmes on station WHDH-AM, and each would visit with the other while on the air. Their informal banter was so appealing that WHDH would call on them, as a team, to fill in when Red Sox baseball broadcasts were rained out. Elliott and Goulding (not yet known as Bob and Ray) would improvise comedy routines all afternoon, and joke around with studio musicians. Some of their radio episodes were released on recordings, and others were adapted into graphic story form for publication in Mad magazine. Their earlier shows were mostly ad-libbed, but later programs relied more heavily on scripts. While Bob and Ray wrote much of their material, their writers included Tom Koch, who scripted many of their best-known routines, and the pioneering radio humorist Raymond Knight.

Pat Novak For Hire - The Laundry Mix-Up (05-07-49)

Bob Camardella — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:19:24 GMT

The Laundry Mix-Up (Aired May 7, 1949)
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: May 7, 1949. Program #10. ABC network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "The Laundry Mix-up". The wrong shirt leads Novak to murder and grief. Jack Webb. 30:22.

The Casebook Of Gregory Hood - The Black Museum (06-10-46)

Bob Camardella — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:48:10 GMT

The Black Museum (Aired June 10, 1946)
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.

THIS EPISODE: June 10, 1946. Mutual network. "The Black Museum". Sponsored by: Petri Wine. Gregory Hood meets "Markham," a fellow collector of murder weapons. Mr. Markham has a dishonest assistant and an unfaithful wife. Gregory has just imported an Aztec sacrificial knife...with a very real curse on it. Gale Gordon, Harry Bartell (announcer), Dean Fosler (composer, conductor), Denis Green (writer), Anthony Boucher (writer), Art Gilmore. 29:29.

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Have Gun Will Travel" - Deliver The Body (07-19-59)

Bob Camardella — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 06:00:06 GMT

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Have Gun Will Travel" - Deliver The Body (07-19-59)
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. 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 in reference to his name — possibly a nickname or working name — and his occupation as a champion-for-hire (see paladin). 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: July 19, 1959. CBS network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "Deliver The Body". Ben Tyler has been accused of murdering the sheriff. Paladin is anxious to leave San Francisco to avoid women fighting over him. He accepts the job to return Ben to trial. The script was reportedly used on the "Have Gun, Will Travel" television show on May 24, 1958, but there is conflicting evidence. John Dehner, Ben Wright, Virginia Gregg, Richard Crenna, Harry Bartell, Herb Meadow (creator), Sam Rolfe (creator), Norman Macdonnell (producer, director), Buckley Angel (writer), John Dawson (adaptor), Bartlett Robinson, James Westerfield, Hugh Douglas (announcer), Bill James (sound effects), Tom Hanley (sound effects). 25 minutes.

The Devil & Mr. O - Ancestor (10-29-71)

Bob Camardella — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:49:38 GMT

Ancestor (Aired October 29, 1971)
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. 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.

THIS EPISODE: October 29, 1971. CBS network. "Ancestor". Sponsored by: Ironized Yeast, Energene. A woman held prisoner by three gangsters is rescued by a strange hero. The program includes a war bond appeal by Claudette Colbert. The story is also known as, "The Archer." Arch Oboler (writer, host), Claudette Colbert, Frank Martin (commercial spokesman). 29:34.

People Are Funny - The Quickest Way To Borrow Money (10-01-58)

Bob Camardella — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:28:02 GMT

The Quickest Way To Borrow Money (Aired October 1, 1958)
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 1, 1958. NBC network. Sponsored by: Sustaining, Vick’s Vapo-Rub. Rebroadcast as a feature on "Nightline." A housewife tries to pawn her husband...for $1000! Art Linkletter, Walter O’Keefe (host of "Nightline"), John Guedel (producer), Bert Parks (promotional announcement for "Bandstand"), Arnold Stang (promotional announcement for "Bandstand"), Dorothy Olsen (promotional announcement for "Bandstand"), Skitch Henderson (promotional announcement for "Bandstand"), Richard Hayes (promotional announcement for "Bandstand"). 23:00.

The American Trail - Louisiana Purchase & California Gold Rush (1953)

Bob Camardella — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 05:55:09 GMT

Louisiana Purchase & California Gold Rush (1953)
The American Trail tells the stories of brave men and women who helped build our nation, the “Land of Opportunity”. These are the people who looked at our flag and repeated the words penned by George M. Cohan, "You’re a grand old flag, You’re a high flying flag/ And forever in peace may you wave." 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. The Ladies’ Auxiliary of The Veterans of Foreign Wars syndication.

TODAY’S SHOW

Program #3 "The Louisiana Purchase" 14:32.

Program #9 "The California Goldrush" 14:18.

The New Adventures Of Nero Wolf - Calculated Risk (01-19-51)

Bob Camardella — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:56:47 GMT

Calculated Risk (Aired January 19, 1951)
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. 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.

Rocky Jordan - The Makeup Man (05-22-49)

Bob Camardella — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:26:31 GMT

The Makeup Man (Aired May 22, 1949)
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.

THIS EPISODE: May 29, 1949. CBS Pacific network. "The Make-Up Man". Sustaining. Max Vladny, a Hollywood make-up man with a Russian accent as thick as borscht (which is supposed to be a Hungarian accent), asks Rocky Jordan for protection from assassination attempts. An announcement is made that the program is moving next week to 5:00 P. M. Jack Moyles, Larry Thor (announcer), Paul Frees, Richard Aurandt (composer, conductor), Cliff Howell (producer, director), Larry Roman (story editor), Gomer Cool (story editor), E. Jack Neuman (writer). 29:44.

The Zero Hour - Once A Thief (06-05-74)

Bob Camardella — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:06:12 GMT

Once A Thief (Aired June 5, 1974)
Rod Serling is known to most people as the TV host (and some times writer) for The Twilight Zone. A decade later, he returned to TV to host the spooky Night Gallery series. The series was sold to the networks on Serling’s name and reputation, but in reality, he had signed away creative control. A few of his scripts were produced, but others were rejected for being "too thoughtful." (We can’t have any of that on television, can we?) He was banned from the casting sessions and had no real say on the show. Despite the shabby treatment by hot shot execs, Serling grit his teeth and did his duty. He continued to lead TV viewers through a darkened museum every week, looking at paintings with even darker themes. (It was very similar to the role Orson Welles served two decades earlier as the host to The Black Museum.) When Night Gallery was canceled in 1972, Serling was probably happy to retire from TV and move to upstate New York. He taught at Ithaca College, not far from where he grew up.

Box 13 - Mexican Maze (04-10-49)

Bob Camardella — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 02:46:53 GMT

Mexican Maze (Aired April 10, 1949)
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.

THIS EPISODE: April 10, 1949. Program #34. Mutual network origination, Mayfair syndication. "Mexican Maze". Commercials added locally. A frame for murder, south of the border style. Richard Sanville (director), Robert Mitchell (writer), Gene Levin (writer), Rudy Schrager (composer, conductor), Alan Ladd, Vern Carstensen (production supervisor), Sylvia Picker. 26:37.

The Campbell Playhouse - The Glass Key (03-10-39)

Bob Camardella — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:26:55 GMT

The Glass Key (Aired March 10, 1939)
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: March 10, 1939. CBS network. "The Glass Key". Sponsored by: Campbell’s Soup. A portrait of "the dark ways of the underworld" during the Depression. Crooked politics, murder, violence, a good story. Guest Warden Lawes of Sing Sing is interviewed after the story. Bernard Herrmann (composer, conductor), Edgar Barrier, Effie Palmer, Elizabeth Morgan, Elspeth Eric, Ernest Chappell (announcer), Everett Sloane, Howard Smith, Laura Baxter, Lewis E. Lawes (warden of Sing Sing), Myron McCormick, Orson Welles (host), Paul Stewart, Ray Collins (narrator). 60:10.

The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny - I Stand Condemned (01-19-47)

Bob Camardella — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 03:52:46 GMT

I Stand Condemned (Aired January 19, 1947)
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 EPISODE: January 19, 1947. NBC network. Commercials deleted. The cast does its version of, "I Stand Condemned." A mysterious, wealthy stranger is giving money away! The plot is similar to "The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny" of March 24, 1946. Boris Karloff (guest), Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone, Mel Blanc, Phil Harris, Eddie Anderson, Dennis Day, Jeanette Eymann, Frank Nelson, George Balzer (writer), John Tackaberry (writer), Milt Josefsberg (writer), Sam Perrin (writer), Mahlon Merrick (conductor). 24:34.

Dangerous Assignment - Bombay Gun Runners (08-23-50)

Bob Camardella — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 20:05:28 GMT

Bombay Gun Runners (Aired August 23, 1950)
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.

THIS EPISODE: August 23, 1950. "Bombay Gun Runners." NBC Network. Sponsored by: Wheaties. Steve Mitchell is off to Bombay to help an American who has been framed for gun running. Brian Donlevy, Frank Martin (commercial spokesman), Robert Ryf (writer, commercial spokesman), Basil Adlam (composer), Ralph Hollenbeck (conductor), Bill Cairn (producer, director). 29:29.

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Frontier Gentleman" - The Honky Tonkers (02-16-58)

Bob Camardella — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 06:37:20 GMT

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Frontier Gentleman" - The Honky Tonkers (Aired February 16, 1958)
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. Written and directed by Antony Ellis, it followed the adventures of journalist Kendall as he roamed the Western United States in search of stories for the Times. Along the way, he encountered various fictional drifters and outlaws in addition to well-known historical figures, such as Jesse James, Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok. Music for the series was by Wilbur Hatch and Jerry Goldsmith, who also supplied the opening trumpet theme. The announcers were Dan Cubberly, Johnny Jacobs, Bud Sewell and John Wald. Supporting cast: Harry Bartell, Lawrence Dobkin, Virginia Gregg, Stacy Harris, Johnny Jacobs, Joseph Kearns, Jack Kruschen, Jack Moyles, Jeanette Nolan, Vic Perrin and Barney Phillips.

THIS EPISODE: February 16, 1958. CBS network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "Honky Tonkers". A funny story as J. B. Kendall, reporter, meets Wild Bill Bascombe in a saloon and becomes J. B. Kendall, surgeon. AFRTS program name: "Sagebrush Theatre." The program is also known as "Son-Of-A-Gun." John Dehner, Antony Ellis (writer, producer, director), Jerry Goldsmith (composer, conductor), John Wald (announcer), Jack Kruschen, Stacy Harris, Virginia Gregg, Eve McVeagh, Barney Phillips, Charles Seel. 25 minutes.

Dragnet - The Big Watch (04-13-50)

Bob Camardella — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 01:40:49 GMT

The Big Watch (Aired April 13, 1950)
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.

THIS EPISODE: April 13, 1950. Program #44. NBC network. "The Big Watch". Sponsored by: Fatima. A gang of "Hitch-Hike Bandits" are assaulting and killing soldiers. Jack Webb, Barton Yarborough. 29:35.

The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes - Silver Blaze (07-24-62)

Bob Camardella — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:13:57 GMT

Silver Blaze (Aired July 24, 1962)
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 — 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.

THIS EPISODE: June 18, 1978. BBC Radio4, Birmingham origination. "Silver Blaze". Barry Foster, David Buck, Arthur Conan Doyle (author), Michael Bakewell (adaptor), Roger Pine (director), Jeffrey Matthews, Alexander John, Patricia Gibson, Patricia Gallimore, Peter Brooks, Adrian Brenton. 27:20.

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Tales Of The Texas Rangers" - Illegal Entry (06-08-52)

Bob Camardella — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 05:38:31 GMT

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Tales Of The Texas Rangers" - Illegal Entry (Aired June 8, 1952)
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 o’clock time slot.

THIS EPISODE: June 8, 1952. NBC network. "Illegal Entry". Sustaining. A Mexican knifes a fellow countryman and kidnaps a girl. An escape on a train filled with sheep leads Jace and the Rangers on a cross-country race. Jose escapes from jail and the hunt begins once again. Joel McCrea, Stacy Keach (producer, director), M. T. Lone Wolf Gonzaullas (technical advisor), Herb Ellis, Tony Barrett, Lillian Buyeff, Hal March, Jay Arvan, Charles E. Israel (adaptor, transcriber), Hal Gibney (announcer), Jeanette Nolan. 29:26.

The Misadventures Of Si & Elmer - Mystery Of The Bank Vault (2 Episodes) 1931

Bob Camardella — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:27:34 GMT

Mystery Of The Bank Vault (2 Episodes) 1931
The Misadventures Of Si and Elmer - Silas Q. Perkins and Elmer Peabody from Punkinville are the Hayseed Sherlocks, recent graduates of the Snoop & Sneak Correspondent School. The early MIS-adventure serial, traces their investigative careers and resulting misadventures. This is the earliest adventure serial known to be available.Syndicated by R.U. McIntosh and Associates (Perry Crandall). Transcribed (Hollywood Radioscriptions, Inc. Studios).

The Whistler - The Blank Wall (03-31-47)

Bob Camardella — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 19:29:42 GMT

The Blank Wall (Aired March 31, 1947)
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: March 31, 1947. CBS Pacific network. "The Blank Wall". Sponsored by: Signal Oil. An ex-con’s daughter is about to marry into society, but first a pause for blackmail by the butler. The same title was used on the program four years earlier, but the stories are different. One of the scripts was used subsequently on the program on July 28, 1955. Charles Seel, Jack Petruzzi, George W. Allen (producer), Bill Forman, Wilbur Hatch (music), Marvin Miller (announcer). 29:53.

The New Adventures Of Michael Shayne - Mail Order Murders (1950)

Bob Camardella — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 06:13:54 GMT

The Case Of The Mail Order Murders (1950)
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: Broadcaster’s Guild syndication, AFRS rebroadcast. "The Case Of The Mail Order Murders". A murder letter and Demetrius, the organ grinder. Jeff Chandler, Jack Webb, William P. Rousseau (host, director), Brett Halliday (creator). 1/2 hour.

The Adventures Of Frank Merriwell - The Snow Trap (01-15-49)

Bob Camardella — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 01:21:28 GMT

The Snow Trap (Aired January 15, 1949)
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.

THIS EPISODE: January 15, 1949. NBC network. "The Snow Trap". Sustaining. Frank and Bart rescue Inza and Elsie (Bart’s girl) who are trapped in a cabin after an avalanche. Lawson Zerbe, Hal Studer, Elaine Rost, Harlow Wilcox (announcer), Burt L. Standish (creator). 1/2 hour.

Life With Luigi - Luigi Goes Dancing (03-27-49)

Bob Camardella — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:54:23 GMT

Luigi Goes Dancing (Aired March 27, 1949)
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: Life With Luigi. March 27, 1949. CBS network. Sustaining. After a quick visit to Arthur Murray’s, Luigi takes an American girl to a dance. J. Carrol Naish, Cy Howard (creator, producer), Alan Reed, Hans Conried, Jody Gilbert, Joe Forte, Ken Peters, Mary Shipp, Mac Benoff (writer, director), Lou Derman (writer). 29:53.

The Adventures Of Philip Marlowe - Heat Wave (04-16-49)

Bob Camardella — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:30:38 GMT

Heat Wave (Aired April 16, 1949)
The revival of Philip Marlowe was more favorably received, probably because of a combination of writing and acting. No one could duplicate the writing of Raymond Chandler, but this group of writers was very good. While Chandler’s distinctive similes were largely lacking, the strong dry, sarcastic narration was there, and the way Gerald Mohr delivered the lines had a way of making you forget that they weren’t written by Chandler. Mr. Mohr seemed born for the part of the cynical detective. His voice and timing were perfect for the character. In a letter to Gene Levitt, one of the show’s writers, Raymond Chandler commented that a voice like Gerald Mohr’s at least packed personality; a decided an improvement over his opinion of the original show. By 1949 the show had the largest audience in radio. CBS capitalized on the popularity of Philip Marlowe to introduce a look-alike show a few months later, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar. During the period both shows were broadcast, Johnny Dollar played second fiddle to the popular Philip Marlowe. Even after Marlowe went off the air in 1951, Dollar remained an average detective show. That was to end Oct 3, 1955 when Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar changed everything; the writers, the format to 15 minutes and the lead actor.

THIS EPISODE: April 16, 1949. CBS network. "The Heat Wave". Sustaining. Why is "The Heat Wave," a burlesque dancer wearing a golden mask? Marlowe’s been hired to find out. Murder tries a strip tease! Barney Phillips, Byron Kane, Ed Begley, Elsie Holmes, Gene Levitt (writer), Gerald Mohr, Mel Dinelli (writer), Norman Macdonnell (producer, director), Raymond Chandler (creator), Richard Aurandt (music), Robert Mitchell (writer), Roy Rowan (announcer), Vivi Janis, Wilms Herbert. 29:41.

The FBI In Peace & War - The Eighty Grand Exit (10-27-54)

Bob Camardella — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:11:51 GMT

The Eighty Grand Exit (Aired October 27, 1954)
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. It aired 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. In 1955 it was the eighth most popular show on radio, as noted in Time: The Nielsen ratings of the top ten radio shows seemed to indicate that not much has changed in radio: 1) Jack Benny Show (CBA), 2) Amos ’n’ Andy (CBS), 3) People Are Funny (NBC), 4) Our Miss Brooks (CBS) 5) Lux Radio Theater (NBC), 6) My Little Margie (CBS), 7) Dragnet (NBC), 8) FBI in Peace and War (CBS), 9) Bergen and McCarthy (CBS), 10) Groucho Marx (NBC). Martin Blaine and Donald Briggs headed the cast. The theme was the March from Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges.

THIS EPISODE: October 27, 1954. CBS network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "The Eighty-Grand Exit". A large embezzlement that’s foolproof...except for the double-cross. Frederick L. Collins (creator). 25 minutes.

Front Page Drama - 2 Episodes (04-04-41) (04-11-41)

Bob Camardella — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:16:17 GMT

"Twenty Days Of Terror" (04-04-41) and "Escape In The Night" (04-11-41)
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.

TODAY’S SHOW: April 4, 1941. Program #415. Hearst syndication. "Twenty Days Of Terror". Sponsored by: The American Weekly. The story will appear in The American Weekly under the title, "When The Yankee Clipper Ruled The Seven Seas." The program concludes with an over-dramatized story of forest preservation for defense. The format is identical to that of "The Shadow, but the name is not used. The voice on the filter mike sounds like Orson Welles. Gerald Mohr, Dave Landers (author), Orson Welles (?). 14:17.

April 11, 1941. Program #416. Hearst syndication. "Escape In The Night". Sponsored by: The American Weekly. The story will appear in The American Weekly under the title, "Lady Howard’s Mysterious Arrest By The English Secret Agents." Gerald Mohr. 14:41.

The Abbott & Costello Show - Guest The Great Gildersleeve (01-20-44)

Bob Camardella — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 06:15:07 GMT

Guest The Great Gildersleeve (Aired January 20, 1944)
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.

THIS EPISODE: January 20, 1944. Red network, KFI, Los Angeles aircheck. Sponsored by: Camels, Prince Albert Tobacco. Costello takes on "The Great Gildersleeve," on and off the fottball field. Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Harold Peary, Elvia Allman, Arthur Q. Bryan, Ken Niles (announcer), Freddie Rich and His Orchestra, Connie Haines. 29:19.

Your’s Truly Johnny Dollar - The Missing Masterpiece (03-28-50)

Bob Camardella — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 01:42:18 GMT

The Missing Masterpiece (Aired March 28, 1950)
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: March 28, 1950. CBS network. "The Missing Masterpiece". Sustaining. A $250,000 painting is stolen from a failing Boston art gallery. Possibly recorded March 23, 1950. Edmond O’Brien, Charles McGraw, Walter Burke, Lillian Buyeff, Robert Griffin, James Nusser, Joan Banks, Tyler McVey, Leith Stevens (music), Gil Doud (writer), Paul Dudley (writer), Jaime del Valle (producer, director). 29:01.

The Mysterious Traveler - The Man From Singapore (04-04-50)

Bob Camardella — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:41:16 GMT

The Man From Singapore (Aired April 4, 1950)
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: April 4, 1950. Program #249. Mutual network. "The Man From Singapore". Sustaining. Two schemers kill their ex-partner in Hawaii, planning the perfect crime. Robert A. Arthur (writer, producer, director), David Kogan (writer, producer, director), Grace Gotham (?), John Gibson, Luis Van Rooten, Al Fanelli (composer, conductor), Bob Emerick (announcer). 29:37.

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Straight Arrow" - Stage From Calvaydos (05-06-48)

Bob Camardella — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:26:08 GMT

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Straight Arrow" - Stage From Calvaydos (Aired May 6, 1948)
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. 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.

THIS EPISODE: May 6, 1948. Mutual-Don Lee network. Sponsored by: Nabisco Shredded Wheat (palomino colt premium). "Stage From Calvaydos" . Randy Culver seems to have robbed the stage to Calvado. He was framed, but it will take Straight Arrow to prove him innocent. Howard Culver, Fred Howard, Sheldon Stark (writer). 29:59.

I Was Communist For The FBI - The Sleeper (02-04-53)

Bob Camardella — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:04:20 GMT

The Sleeper (Aired February 4, 1953)
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: February 4, 1953. Program #42. ZIV Syndication. "The Sleeper". Commercials added locally. The wife of a well-known congressman is blackmailed by the Party. The date is subject to correction. Dana Andrews, Truman Bradley (announcer). 1/2 hour.

Casey Crime Photographer - Case Of The Grey Kitten (02-06-47)

Bob Camardella — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:45:21 GMT

Case Of The Grey Kitten (Aired February 6, 1947)
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 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: February 6, 1947. CBS network. "The Grey Kitten". Sponsored by: Anchor Hocking Glass. A re-incarnated cat helps Casey track down a bluebeard murderer. Staats Cotsworth, John Gibson, Tony Marvin (announcer), George Harmon Coxe (creator), Herman Chittison (piano), Alonzo Deen Cole (writer). 1/2 hour.

Adventures In Research - 2 Episodes (08-20-46) (08-27-46)

Bob Camardella — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 05:50:27 GMT

"The First American Patent" (08-20-46)) and "Typewriter History" (08-27-46)
The series began about 1942 and were distributed, probably as a public service educational feature, for weekly programming. The early shows were discussions with Paul Shannon asking the questions, Dr. Phillips Thomas (research physicist for Westinghouse, specializing in electronics) answering the questions. The later programs were written by Dr. Thomas, but were dramatizations instead of the Q and A fomat. The programs themselves present a fascinating look at the state of scientific knowledge during the war and the immediate post-war years. Many of the topics are hopelessly outdated, a surprising number are still up to date and reflect the state of knowledge about the subject many years later. The purpose of instilling an interest in science in the general public is still as valid now as it was then. Even more important, the program themselves are good radio and interesting. Those listeners with little or no interest in science will still be captivated. The post-war programs feature an organist whose efforts range from mediocre to absolutely great!

TODAY’S SHOW:

Program #187. Westinghouse syndication. "The First American Patent". Sustaining. The building of the first water-powered saw mill in America, the holder of patent number one. . 15 minutes.

Program #188. Westinghouse syndication. "Typewriter History". Sustaining. The history of the typewriter and the man who invented it, Christopher Latham Sholes. . 15 minutes.

The Caltex Theater - Detectives Are Not Always Right (12-11-55)

Bob Camardella — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 02:35:42 GMT

Detectives Are Not Always Right (Aired December 11, 1955)
The Caltex Theater was an Australian show similar to the American Lux Radio Theater. It was sponsored by the Caltex Oil Company. Mostly the radio shows were adapted from top movies from the time period. The show aired from 1950 - 1959. There is little else known about the series but the presentation is first-class.

The Haunting Hour - No Escape - (11-01-48)

Bob Camardella — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 20:52:09 GMT

No Escape - (Aired November 1, 1948)
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: November 1, 1948. Program #29. NBC syndication. "No Escape". Commercials added locally. A good, if somewhat predictable, story about a murdered wife who becomes alive again. . 27:26.

The Milton Berle Show - Salute To Football (11-04-47)

Bob Camardella — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 07:32:52 GMT

Salute To Football (Aired November 4, 1947)
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." 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."

The Burns & Allen Show - Guest Brian Donlevy (01-19-43)

Bob Camardella — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 03:41:08 GMT

Guest Brian Donlevy (January 19, 1943)
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.

THIS EPISODE: January 19, 1943. CBS network. Sponsored by: Swan Soap. George forgets his anniversary which leads Gracie to attempt to make him jealous. Brian Donlevy is a special guest and the subject of her attempts. George Burns, Gracie Allen, Bill Goodwin, Paul Whitman and His Orchestra, Jimmy Cash, The Swantet.

Escape - A Bullet For Mr Smith (01-14-51)

Bob Camardella — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 01:02:19 GMT

A Bullet For Mr Smith (Aired January 14, 1951)
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?

THIS EPISODE: January 14, 1951. Program #41. CBS network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "A Bullet For Mr. Smith". Cloaks and daggers in postwar Switzerland. An American agent is instructed to assassinate an enemy agent named "Mr. Smith," but who is he? The program was broadcast on the west coast on January 19, 1951. Antony Ellis (writer), Norman Macdonnell (director), Del Castillo (composer, conductor), John Dehner, Jeanne Bates, Ben Wright, Lawrence Dobkin, Harry Bartell, Edgar Barrier, Jack Kruschen. 30:42.

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Luke Slaughter Of Tombstone" - Tracks Out Of Tombstone (03-02-58)

Bob Camardella — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 05:57:02 GMT

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Luke Slaughter Of Tombstone" - Tracks Out Of Tombstone (Aired March 2, 1958)
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. Sam Buffington enacted the title role on Luke Slaughter of Tombstone, another of CBS’s prestigious adult Westerns. The series was produced and directed by William N. Robson, one of radio’s greatest dramatic directors and Robert Stanley producer was aired from February 23 through June 15, 1958. Buffington portrayed the hard-boiled cattleman with scripts overseen by Gunsmoke sound effects artist (and sometimes scriptwriter) Tom Hanley.

THIS EPISODE: March 2, 1958. CBS network. Sustaining. Luke has a run-in with the sheriff of Tombstone, who accuses him of sheltering a fugitive named Ralston. After Luke’s cattle money is stolen by Ralston, Luke joins the sheriff’s posse to track him down. This is a network, quality upgrade. Sam Buffington, Jack Moyles, Sam Edwards, Junius Matthews, Vic Perrin, Lawrence Dobkin, Frank Gerstle, Robert Stanley (writer), William N. Robson (director), Tom Hanley (editorial supervisor), Wilbur Hatch (composer, conductor). 24:47..

General Mills Radio Adventure Theater - Master Thief (07-03-77)

Bob Camardella — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 03:49:01 GMT

Master Thief (Aired July 3, 1977)
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: July 3, 1977. Program #44. CBS network. "The Master Thief". Sponsored by: General Mills. The program was repeated on December 31, 1977 as, "The CBS Radio Adventure Theater." Tom Bosley (host), Jacob Grimm (author), Wilhelm Grimm (author), G. Frederic Lewis (adaptor), Paul Hecht, William Griffis, Himan Brown (producer, director).

Danger Dr. Danfield - Death Paints A Picture (10-20-46)

Bob Camardella — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:31:01 GMT

Death Paints A Picture (Aired October 20, 1946)
Danger, Dr Danfield was first broadcast on August 18, 1946, the last one being April 13, 1947. All episodes are available. It starred Michael Dunn as Dr. Danfield, with JoAnne Johnson as Rusty Fairfax, his secretary. The series was written by Ralph Wilkinson and produced by Wally Ramsey. The show had a formula with the crime usually being committed in the first third of the program, the good doctor solving it in the second third, and then pedantically explaining the solution to someone (usually his "pretty, young" secretary, Rusty) in the conclusion. Dr. Daniel Danfield was an obnoxious unlicensed private investigator/criminal psychologist with an ego complex. Why Rusty would put up with this guy is beyond understanding. In this case, love is not only blind, but also deaf and dumb. But then, Rusty was no prize package either. In fact, the most complex person on the show is Dr. Dan Danfield’s pretty young secretary, Miss Rusty Fairfax.

THIS EPISODE: October 20, 1946. Program #10. ABC network origination, Teleways Radio Productions syndication. "Death Paints A Picture". Commercials added locally. The program is listed as #10 on the label, #12 on the transcription matrix. An eccentric artist in Death Valley is murdered. His painting of a dead cow has been stolen! Michael Dunn, Joanne Johnson. 24:54.

Secrets Of Scotland Yard - Story Of Walter Miller (1944)

Bob Camardella — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 06:24:15 GMT

Story Of Walter Miller (1944)
The Secrets of Scotland Yardwas 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.

THIS EPISODE: Program #94. Towers Of London syndication. Commercials added locally. Walter Miller kills two and has a fine night out on the town, then cheerfully pays for his crimes. Postwar. Clive Brook (host). 1/2 hour.

Barry Craig Confidential Investigator - Murder By Error (07-13-54)

Bob Camardella — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 01:38:49 GMT

Murder By Error (Aired July 13, 1954)
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: July 13, 1954. NBC network. "Murder By Error". Sustaining. The husband of a beautiful woman is being blackmailed for $10,000 by a strange looking midget. The case soon leads to diamond smuggling and murder! The system cue has been deleted. Arthur Jacobson (director), Edward King (announcer), Herb Vigran, William Gargan, John Roeburt (writer), Jeanne Bates, Herb Ellis, Hal Gerard, Julie Bennett. 29:17.

The Diary Of Fate - Darrell James Entry (08-10-48)

Bob Camardella — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 22:15:32 GMT

Darrell James Entry (Aired August 10, 1948)
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, August 10, 1948. Program #35. Finley syndication. "Darrell James". Commercials added locally. Book and page not indicated. Not auditioned, A young man succeeds on Wall Street, with the help of murder. The date is subject to correction. Herb Lytton, Virginia Gregg, Joe Forte, Byron Kane, Ray Ehrlenborn, James Murphy, Hal Sawyer, Larry Finley (producer). 27:00.

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "The Lone Ranger" Trap For A Gambler (04-27-38)

Bob Camardella — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 06:02:22 GMT

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "The Lone Ranger" Trap For A Gambler (Aired April 27, 1938)
The Lone Ranger was an American long-running early radio and television show created by George W. Trendle (with considerable input from station staff members), and developed by writer Fran Striker. The titular character is a masked Texas Ranger in the American Old West, who gallops about righting injustices, usually with the aid of a clever and laconic American Indian sidekick called Tonto, and his horse Silver. He would famously say "Hi-yo Silver, away!" to get the horse to gallop. On the radio and TV-series, the usual opening announcement was: “ A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty ’Hi-yo Silver!’ The Lone Ranger! ”In later episodes the opening narration ended with the catch phrase "Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear.... The Lone Ranger Rides Again!" Episodes usually ended with one of the characters lamenting the fact that they never found out the hero’s name ("Who was that masked man?"), only to be told, "Why, that was the Lone Ranger!" as he and Tonto ride away. The theme music was the "cavalry charge" finale of Gioacchino Rossini’s William Tell Overture, now inseparably associated with the series, which also featured many other classical selections as incidental music including Wagner, Mendelssohn, Liszt, and Tchaikovsky. The theme was conducted by Daniel Perez Castaneda. Inspiration for the name may have come from The Lone Star Ranger, a novel by Zane Grey.

THIS EPISODE: April 27, 1938. Program #819/44. Syndicated. "Trap For A Gambler" AKA "Tommy Goodwin". Music fill for local commercial insert. Harve Riggs is a crooked gambler in Mud Flats. Accused of theft, Bart Goodwin decides to stand up to Riggs and run for sheriff...with the help of the Masked Man. Earle Graser, John Todd. 29:01.

Dangerously Assignment - Hired Killer (08-16-50)

Bob Camardella — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 04:37:09 GMT

Hired Killer (Aired August 16, 1950)
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.

Mail Call - Victor Borge Entertains The Troops (1945)

Bob Camardella — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 01:13:07 GMT

Victor Borge Entertains The Troops (1945)
Mail Call - Command Performance became the first of these, when it was produced for the first time on March 1, 1942. On May 26, 1942, the Armed Forces Radio Services was formally established. Originally, its programming comprised network radio shows with the commercials removed. However, it soon began producing other original programming, such as Mail Call, G.I. Journal, Jubilee, and G.I. Jive. At its peak in 1945, the Service produced around twenty hours of original programming each week. Mail Call was primarily played to the American soldiers of WWII and featured an amazing array of celebrities. Some of the best and brightest stars of radio came out to entertain our men in uniform when they needed it most.

The Green Hornet - A Soldier And His Dog (02-19-46)

Bob Camardella — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:03:06 GMT

A Soldier And His Dog (Aired February 19, 1946)
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.

THIS EPISODE: February 16, 1946. ABC network origination,Michelson syndication, WRVR-FM, New York aircheck. "A Soldier and His Dog". Sponsored by: American Motors. Bill Mercer, stationed in the Aleutian Islands, impersonates a wealthy fellow soldier. Buster, his police dog, is a lot smarter than many humans! Syndicated rebroadcast date: May 30, 1973. Jack McCarthy (commercial spokesman). 29:32.

The Lineup - Old Women Found Strangled (12-27-51)

Bob Camardella — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 05:49:41 GMT

Old Women Found Strangled (Aired December 27, 1951)
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: December 27, 1950. CBS network. "The Elsner Case". Sustaining. Unidentified Woman Strangled. William Johnstone, Wally Maher, Eddie Dunstedter (organ), Jaime del Valle (producer, director). 29:47..

Hermit’s Cave - House Of Murder (1940)

Bob Camardella — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 03:25:29 GMT

House Of Murder (1940)
The Hermit’s cave Ghost stories ... weird stories ... of murder, too ... the Hermit knows them all. Horror stories with Mel Johnson and howling wolves (or dogs with indigestion?) in the background, obliterating some of the introduction. This syndicated show was one of the treats for the kiddies, cuddled up to their hollow-state radio sets to keep warm in Detroit, between 1940 and 1944. The show was also heard in Beverly Hills, CA in 1943-1944, a radio horror anthology series, syndicated by WJR Detroit in the mid-1930s, sponsored by Olga Coal after the first two years. As the wind howled, the ancient Hermit narrated his horror fantasies from his cave. The cackling character of the Hermit was played by John Kent, Charles Penman, Toby Grimmer, and Klock Ryder. William Conrad produced when the show moved to KMPC Los Angeles with Mel Johnson as the Hermit (1940-42), followed by John Dehner (1942-44).

THIS EPISODE: World syndication (?). "The House Of Murder". Sponsored by: Commercials deleted or added locally. A man’s housekeeper abruptly quits because the man’s new house in the country is haunted! The spirit of the woman who hanged herself in the house wrecks a scientific experiment...and then kills the new owner of the house! . 24:45.

Mystery In The Air - The Black Cat (09-18-47)

Bob Camardella — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 05:59:57 GMT

The Black Cat (Aired September 18, 1947)
Mystery In The Ai is cut from the cloth of tales woven by the imaginations of some of the most famous authors in history, 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 and brings these brilliant horror classics to life spooktacularly, as no other could. Peter Lorre was one of the most popular horror stars of the forties, and with a supporting cast including such greats as Agnes Moorehead, Howard Culver, Lurene Tuttle, Joseph Kearns and Ken Christy, the production was destined to be a success. This collection can also be found included in the Peter Lorre Collection.

THIS EPISODE: September 18, 1947. NBC network. "The Black Cat". Sponsored by: Camels, Prince Albert. The program is preceded by a news bulletin about a Gulf states hurricane. The classic tale about the man who kills his wife and hides her body behind a brick wall. A feline nemesis! Edgar Allan Poe (author), Paul Baron (composer, conductor), Peter Lorre, Don Bernard (producer), Cal Kul (director), Luis Van Rooten, Joseph Kearns. 29:24.

The Life Of Riley - Wrestling Matches & Lies (02-21-48)

Bob Camardella — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 01:39:57 GMT

Wrestling Matches & Lies (Aired February 21, 1948)
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."

THIS EPISODE: February 21, 1948. NBC network. Sponsored by: Prell Shampoo, Ivory Snow. You should always tell the truth. Riley has been to the Wrestling Matches, And Lies to Peg about going! William Bendix, Irving Brecher (producer), Alan Lipscott (writer), Reuben Ship (writer), Ken Niles (announcer), Lou Coslowe (music), Tommy Cook, Paula Winslowe, John Brown. 29:21.

The Shadow - Terror At Wolf’s Head Knoll (02-15-48)

Bob Camardella — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:06:34 GMT

Terror At Wolf’s Head Knoll (Aired February 15, 1948)
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: February 15, 1948. Mutual network. "The Terror At Wolf’s Head Knoll". Sponsored by: Blue Coal. A mad surgeon murders, kidnaps, and decides to "operate" on poor Margo. Andre Baruch (announcer), Bret Morrison, Grace Matthews, Peter Barry (writer). 1/2 hour.

Inner Sanctum Mysteries - The Dead Walk At Night (09-20-42)

Bob Camardella — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 05:34:40 GMT

The Dead Walk At Night (Aired September 20, 1942)
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.

THIS EPISODE: September 20, 1942, 1952. CBS network, AFRTS rebroadcast. "The Dead Walk At Night". The tap...tap...tap...of a blind man’s cane drives a young man to murder. The script was later used on "Inner Sanctum" on September 28. Donald Buka, Paul McGrath (host), Milton Lewis (writer). 23 minutes.

The Story Of Dr. Kildare - Mr. Bradley’s Heart (11-17-50)

Bob Camardella — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:25:22 GMT

Mr. Bradley’s Heart (Aired November 17, 1950)
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. 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: November 17, 1950. Program #43. WMGM, New York City-Mutual net origination, MGM syndication. Commercials added locally. Mr. Bradley, an overworked businessman, has a badly damaged heart and needs a rare operation. The date is approximate. Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, Les Crutchfield (writer), William P. Rousseau (director), Walter Schumann (composer, conductor), Virginia Gregg, Georgia Ellis, Wilms Herbert, Vic Perrin, Dick Joy (announcer). 29:13.

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Gunsmoke" - The Executioner (04-15-56)

Bob Camardella — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 06:10:54 GMT

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Gunsmoke" - The Executioner (Aired April 15, 1956)
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.

THIS EPISODE: April 15, 1956. CBS network. "The Executioner". Sponsored by: L & M, Chesterfield. A good story about Tom Clegg, a fast gunman who provokes and kills Abe Curry. Abe’s brother Morgan plans revenge. The script was used on the Gunsmoke television series on February 2, 1957. William Conrad, Parley Baer, Georgia Ellis, Howard McNear, Norman Macdonnell (producer, director), John Meston (writer), Rex Koury (composer, conductor), Ray Kemper (sound patterns), Bill James (sound patterns), Sam Edwards, Vic Perrin, John Dehner, George Fenneman (commercial spokesman), George Walsh (announcer). 24:50.

My Friend Irma - Fake Fur Coat (06-13-47)

Bob Camardella — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 02:05:02 GMT

Fake Fur Coat (Aired June 13, 1947)
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.

THIS EPISODE: June 13, 1947. CBS network. "The Fur Coat". Sustaining. Irma’s fur coat. Easy come, easy go! Alan Reed (?), Cathy Lewis, Cy Howard (writer, producer, director), Hans Conried, Irene Tedrow, John Brown, Lud Gluskin and His Orchestra, Marie Wilson, Maurie Webster (announcer), Parke Levy (writer), Stanley Adams (writer), Terry O’Sullivan, The Sportsmen. 29:21.

Fibber McGee & Molly - Fibber Cuts Down Jesse James Tree (01-17-50)

Bob Camardella — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 20:12:56 GMT

Fibber Cuts Down Jesse James Tree (Aired January 17, 1950)
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.

THIS EPISODE: January 17, 1950. NBC network. Sponsored by: Johnson’s Wax. Fibber tries to cut down an old oak tree (traced back to Jesse James), for a "free" supply of firewood. Arthur Q. Bryan, Bill Thompson, Billy Mills and His Orchestra, Cliff Arquette, Don Quinn (writer), Elvia Allman, Gale Gordon, Harlow Wilcox, Herb Vigran, Jim Jordan, Marian Jordan, Phil Leslie (writer), Richard LeGrand, The King’s Men. 29:40.

Nick Carter Master Detective - Midway Murders (08-01-48)

Bob Camardella — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 05:03:15 GMT

Midway Murders (Aired August 1, 1948)
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.

THIS EPISODE: August 1, 1948. Mutual network. "The Case Of The Midway Murders". Sponsored by: Old Dutch Cleanser, Del Rich Margarine. An escaped convict, a roller coaster corpse, and an enraged ape (Gorilla My Dreams?). Lon Clark. 1/2 hour.

The Halls Of Ivy - Traffic & Cocoanuts (04-21-50)

Bob Camardella — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 23:56:42 GMT

Traffic & Cocoanuts (Aired April 21, 1950)
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: April 21, 1950. Traffic & Cocoanuts - NBC network. Sponsored by: Schlitz Beer. Dr. Hall isn’t feeling well and Victoria is off to the drugstore. Memories of his courtship are sparked by a record of his wife singing. The date is subject to correction. Benita Hume, Don Quinn (creator, writer), Eric Snowden, Henry Russell (composer, conductor), Ken Carpenter (announcer), Nat Wolff (director), Ronald Colman, Willard Waterman. 29:20.

Bold Venture - Robbery By Joe Ralston (1951)

Bob Camardella — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:02:06 GMT

Robbery By Joe Ralston (1951)
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 this was 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.

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Frontier Town" - Sundown Valley (04-24-53)

Bob Camardella — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 06:10:12 GMT

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Frontier Town" - Sundown Valley (Aired April 24, 1953)
Chad Remington, played by Jeff Chandler for the first 23 shows, 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. FRONTIER TOWN was a syndicated Western that ran through the 1952-1953 season.

THIS EPISODE: April 24, 1953. Program #31. Broadcasters Program Syndicate/Bruce Eells and Associates syndication. "Sundown Valley". Music fill for local commercial insert. Violet Kennedy and her young son are being run out of Sundown Valley by an unscrupulous rancher. A broken leg, a landslide and a wedding soon follow! The date is approximate. Reed Hadley, Howard McNear, Wade Crosby, Ivan Ditmars (composer, conductor), Bill Forman (announcer), Bruce Eells (producer), Paul Franklin (writer, director). 30:05.

Authors Playhouse - The Mysterious Stranger (07-14-44)

Bob Camardella — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 04:08:35 GMT

The Mysterious Stranger (Aired July 14, 1944)
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 14, 1944. NBC network. "The Mysterious Stranger". Sustaining. A fantasy about a boy who gets out of a sick bed of a day on the town with a strange yet somehow familiar man. Zachary Gold (writer). 1/2 hour.

Cloak & Dagger - Direct Line To Bombers (06-25-50)

Bob Camardella — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 20:59:53 GMT

Direct Line To Bombers (Aired June 25, 1950)
"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: June 25, 1950. NBC network. "Direct Line To Bombers". Sustaining. 4:00 P. M. Two spies for the O. S. S. enter Berlin with walkie talkies to guide Allied bombers attacking the city. Lily Darvas, Berry Kroeger, Michael Artist, Karl Weber, Jerry Jarrett, Bobby Weil, Brad Barker, Winifred Wolfe (writer), Jack Gordon (writer), Corey Ford (originator), Alistair MacBain (originator), Alfred Hollander (producer), Sherman Marks (director, supervisor), William Zuckert, Everett Sloane, Raymond Edward Johnson, Jon Gart (music director), Louis G. Cowan (producer). 29:28.

Rocky Fortune - Rodeo Murder (01-12-54)

Bob Camardella — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 05:56:45 GMT

Rodeo Murder (Aired January 12, 1954)
"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 12, 1954. "Rodeo Murder" - NBC network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. Rocky is framed for murder at the rodeo. Tony Barrett, Ernest Kinoy (writer), Dan Riss, Marion Richman, Andrew C. Love (director), Frank Sinatra, Don Diamond. 25 minutes.

The Bickersons - Two Episodes From 1947

Bob Camardella — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:05:45 GMT

Two Episodes "The New Puppy" and "The Movie" (1947)*The Exact Dates Are Unknown
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 show—and later familiar to television viewers as The Millionaire’s presenter and executive secretary, Michael Anthony—was 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.

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Wild Bill Hickock" A Shot In The Dark (04-02-52)

Bob Camardella — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 06:39:07 GMT

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Wild Bill Hickock" A Shot In The Dark (Aired April 2, 1952)
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.

THIS EPISODE: April 2, 1952. Program #66. Mutual network. "A Shot In The dark". Sponsored by: Kellogg’s Sugar Corn Pops. Wild Bill investigates a plan to take California away from the United States. The system cue is added live. Guy Madison, Andy Devine, Charles Lyon (announcer), Richard Aurandt (music), David Hire (producer), Paul Pierce (director), Larry Hayes (writer), Lillian Buyeff, Tony Barrett, Harry Bartell, Ted de Corsia, Jack Moyles. 25:01.

It’s A Crime Mr. Collins - Death Wore Green (1956)

Bob Camardella — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 02:07:11 GMT

Death Wore Green (1956)
Gail Collins, the wife of famous detective Greg Collins, tells of her adventures as she and her husband travel the world solving crime. She offers her female inside to her friend, Jack. "When your favorite perfume doesn’t put your husband in the mood, wouldn’t you be furious?” “Even though my husband is a famous private detective, I get tired of men throwing bullets at his head and women throwing themselves at his feet” “After all, how would you feel if you if your husband had a fan in San Francisco, but that fan belonged to a fan dancer.” Although the show seemed quite popular, it lasted only one season. Competition was aggresive, the Golden Age of Radio was filled with detective and police stories - stories about licensed (and unlicensed) "private eyes", insurance investigators, police detectives and amateur sleuths.

Boston Blackie - The Escaped Prisoner (05-28-46)

Bob Camardella — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:22:57 GMT

The Escaped Prisoner (May 28, 1946)
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 and continuing in repeats over the following decade.

Blair Of the Mounties - 2 Episodes From 1938

Bob Camardella — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 06:07:46 GMT

"The Goose Lake Robbery" (Aired June 20, 1938) and "Ching Wo At The Landing" (Aired July 11, 1938)
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:

June 20, 1938. Program #21. Walter Biddick syndication. "The Goose Lake Robbery". A gold robbery and a queer Englishman...what’s the connection? . 12:54.

July 11, 1938. Program #24. Walter Biddick syndication. "Ching Wo At The Landing". Chin Wo, a stingy Chinaman, has had all his gold dust stolen . 11:59.

Bulldog Drummond - The Bookstore (12-24-47)

Bob Camardella — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:01:22 GMT

The Bookstore (Aired December 24, 1947)
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: December 24, 1947. Mutual network. "The Bookstore". Captain Drummond stands in front of a bookstore to get out of the rain. He meets a beautiful blonde and murder. The program opening, closing and commercials have been deleted. . 26:11.

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "The Cisco Kid" - Baron Of Badlands (01-13-53)

Bob Camardella — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 05:57:57 GMT

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "The Cisco Kid" - Baron Of Badlands (Aired January 13, 1953)
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, traveling 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." At the beginning The Cisco Kid was played by Jackson Beck then later Jack Mather took over the role. Whilst Pancho was played first by Louis Sorin then by Harry Lang. Originally the Announcer was Michael Rye and the Director Jock McGregor and during the days of Jack Mather and Harry Lang the Producer was J. C. Lewis with the series being written by Larry Hays.

THIS EPISODE: Program #51. Mutual-Don Lee network origination, Ziv syndication. "The Baron Of The Badlands". Commercials added locally. Not auditioned. Jack Mather, Harry Lang. 27:13.

Afloat With Henry Morgan - Three Episodes From 1932

Bob Camardella — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 01:26:38 GMT

Episode (08) "Morgan Guarentees His Future Saftey" (09) "Kitty Professes Her Love To Jeffery" (10) "Jeffrey Learns Of Kitty’s Whipping".
Afloat with Henry Morgan was a 52 episode Australian series from, it is generally thought - 1933. Each episode was about 12 minutes long and the series was probably aimed at the youth market. It is not to be confused with the US show - ’The Henry Morgan Show’. It was produced by and starred George Edwards, who also produced Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Frankenstein, Corsican Brothers, and Son of Porthos, all Australian series as well. We believe that Maurice Francis, an enthusiastic writer, and Nell Sterling, two of George Edwards long-time collaborators, were also featured in ’Afloat With Henry Morgan’. To save money, Edwards played a variety of different roles and became known as ’the Man With A Thousand Voices’. It was a ventriloquial gift that encompassed small children, every variety of male voice, aged women, and foreigners. The maximum number of voices Edwards produced for a single scene was six; in the course of a single episode he would often double it.

TODAY’S SHOW: THREE EPISODES: (08) Morgan Guarentees His Future Saftey (09) Kitty Professes Her Love to Jeffery (10) Jeffrey Learns of Kitty’s Whipping.

Suspense - This Will Kill You (08-23-45)

Bob Camardella — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 20:47:24 GMT

This Will Kill You (Aired August 23, 1945)
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: August 23, 1945. CBS network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "This Will Kill You". A not-too-bright wartime assembly line worker is jealous of his boss and decides to kill him. The story was subsequently produced on "Suspense" on November 29, 1955. Dane Clark, I. A. Findley (writer), Wally Maher, Joseph Kearns (announcer), Elliott Lewis, William Spier (producer, director, editor), Lucien Moraweck (composer), Lud Gluskin (conductor). 24:02.

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Six Shooter" - Due At Lockwood (03-21-54)

Bob Camardella — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 04:52:24 GMT

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Six Shooter" - Due At Lockwood (Aired March 21, 1954)
The Six Shooter brought James Stewart to the NBC microphone on September 20, 1953, in a fine series of folksy Western adventures. Stewart was never better on the air than in this drama of Britt Ponset, frontier drifter created by Frank Burt. The epigraph set it up nicely: "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. People call them both The Six Shooter." Ponset was a wanderer, an easy-going gentleman and -- when he had to be -- a gunfighter. Stewart was right in character as the slow-talking maverick who usually blundered into other people’s troubles and sometimes shot his way out. His experiences were broad, but The Six Shooter leaned more to comedy than other shows of its kind. Ponset took time out to play Hamlet with a crude road company. He ran for mayor and sheriff of the same town at the same time. He became involved in a delighful Western version of Cinderella, complete with grouchy stepmother, ugly sisters, and a shoe that didn’t fit. And at Christmas he told a young runaway the story of A Christmas Carol, Substituting the original Dickens characters with Western heavies. Britt even had time to fall in love, but it was the age-old story of people from different worlds, and the romance was foredoomed despite their valiant efforts to save it. So we got a cowboy-into-the-sunset ending for this series, truly one of the bright spots of radio. Unfortunately, it came too late, and lasted only one season. It was a transcribed show, sustained by NBC and directed by Jack Johnstone. Basil Adlam provided the music and Frank Burt wrote the scripts. Hal Gibney announced.

THIS EPISODE: March 21, 1954. "Due At Lockwood" NBC network. Sustaining. Wes Singer is determined to get into a gunfight with the Six-Shooter, despite the fact that they’ve never met. Britt has a surprising conversation with Wes’ grandmother. Jimmy Stewart, Frank Burt (creator, writer), Basil Adlam (music), Jack Johnstone (director), Howard McNear, Elvia Allman, Sam Edwards, Will Wright, Bert Holland, John Wald (announcer). 29:34.

Ford Theater - The Horn Blows At Midnight (03-04-49)

Bob Camardella — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 23:18:25 GMT

The Horn Blows At Midnight (Aired March 4, 1949)
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 4, 1949. CBS network. "The Horn Blows At Midnight". Sponsored by: Ford. The beautiful and funny story of a junior grade angel with a brief but important task on the Earth. Anne Whitfield, Byron Kane, Claude Rains, Cy Feuer (composer, conductor), Edward Marr, Fletcher Markle (producer, director, performer), Frank Martin (announcer), Hans Conried, Herb Vigran, Howard Snyder (writer), Hugh Wedlock (writer), Jack Benny, Jane Morgan, Jay Novello, Jeanette Nolan, Jerry Farber, John McGovern, Joseph Kearns, Julian Upton, Mercedes McCambridge, Miriam Wolfe, Paul McVey, Shirley Mitchell (?), Sidney Miller. 58:38.