Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Adventures of Frank Merriwell "The Quarantine" (12-18-48)

The Quarantine (Aired December 18, 1948)


The Adventures of Frank Merriwell first ran on NBC radio from March 26 to June 22, 1934 as a 15-minute serial airing three times a week at 5:30pm. Sponsored by Dr. West's Toothpaste, this program starred Donald Briggs in the title role. Harlow Wilcox was the announcer. After a 12-year gap, the series returned October 5, 1946 as a 30-minute NBC Saturday morning show, continuing until June 4, 1949. Lawson Zerbe starred as Merriwell, Jean Gillespie and Elaine Rostas as Inza Burrage, Harold Studer as Bart Hodge and Patricia Hosley as Elsie Belwood. The announcer was Harlow Wilcox, and the Paul Taubman Orchestra supplied the background music. There are at least three generations of Merriwells: Frank, his half-brother Dick, and Frank's son, Frank Jr. There is a marked difference between Frank and Dick. Frank usually handled challenges on his own. Dick has mysterious friends and skills that help him, especially an old Indian friend without whom the stories would not have been quite as interesting.

THIS EPISODE:

December 18, 1948. NBC network. "The Quarantine". Sustaining. A false alarm case of measles almost keeps the Frank and Bart from winning a basketball game for Yale. Lawson Zerbe, Hal Studer, Elaine Rost, Harlow Wilcox (announcer), Burt L. Standish (creator). 1/2 hour.

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Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Lightning Jim" - The Outlaw's Son (1940)

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Lightning Jim" - The Outlaw's Son (1940)

J. David Goldin's The Golden Age of Radio published by Radio Yesteryear in 1998 indicates that 41 Lightning Jim broadcasts have been located. The program originated in the 1940s and was called The Adventures of Lightning Jim. At this time it was a West coast program. The program returned to the air in the 1950s. A total of 98 radio programs were produced.

THIS EPISODE:

Program #2. ZIV Syndication. "The Outlaw's Son". Commercials added locally. Jim tries to help a young orphan who is secretly trying to kill him. . 1/2 hour.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The New Adventures Of Nero Wolf "A Slight Case Of Perjury" (04-06-51)

A Slight Case Of Perjury (Aired April 6, 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. Wolfe drinks beer throughout the day. 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.

THIS EPISODE:

April 6, 1951. NBC network. "A Slight Case Of Perjury". Sustaining. An attempt is made on the life of Tom Wilcox, just after Wilcox is acquitted of the murder of Keith Hanson. Part of the final promotional announcement and the system cue have been deleted. Sydney Greenstreet, Rex Stout (creator), Gladys Williams (writer), J. Donald Wilson (producer, director), Harry Bartell, William Johnstone, Don Stanley (announcer), Edwin Fadiman (producer), Mary Lansing, Jeanne Bates, Barney Phillips, Paul Marion, Ken Peters. 29:19.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - CBS Radio Mystery Theater "Men Without Mouths" (04-16-74)

Men Without Mouths (Aired April 16, 1974)


CBS Radio Mystery Theater - Created by Himan Brown (who had by then become a radio legend due to his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries and other shows dating back to the 1930s), and aired on affiliate stations across the CBS Radio network, the series began its long run on January 6, 1974. The final episode ran on December 31, 1982. A host of prominent actors from radio and screen performed on the series, including Agnes Moorehead, Joan Hackett, Mercedes McCambridge, Morey Amsterdam, Roy Thinnes, Keir Dullea, Fred Gwynne, Richard Crenna, Kim Hunter, Larry Haines, Morgan Fairchild, John Lithgow, and even a very young Sarah Jessica Parker. Actors were paid union scale at around $73.92 per show. Writers earned a flat rate of $350.00 per show. The production took place with assembly-line precision. Brown would meet with actors at 9:00 AM for the first reading of the script. He would then assign roles and recording would begin. By noon the recording of the actors was complete and Brown handed everyone their checks. Post-production would take place in the afternoon. In 1975, CBSRMT won the prestigious Peabody Award, and in 1990 it was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. In 1998, the still-active Brown attempted a brief revival of the series, rebroadcasting selected old episodes with his own introductions replacing Marshall's.

THIS EPISODE:

April 16, 1974. Program #75. CBS network. "Men Without Mouths". Sponsored by: Kellogg's, 7-Up, Budweiser. Dan Ocko, E. G. Marshall (host), Henry Slesar (writer), Ira Lewis, Joe Silver, Patricia Elliot. 52 minutes.

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Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Frontier Town" - Lefty Slaughter (1950)

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Frontier Town" - Lefty Slaughter (1950)


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:

Program #5. Broadcasters Program Syndicate/Bruce Eells and Associates syndication. Commercials added locally. Lefty Slaughter is trying to take over the town by killing the storekeeper and calling all debts. The date is approximate. Jeff Chandler, Wade Crosby, Bob Mitchell (organist), Ivan Ditmars (possible organist), Bill Forman (announcer), Paul Franklin (writer, director). 25 minutes.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Dimension X "The Embassy" (06-03-50)

The Embassy (Aired June 3, 1950)


Dimension X was first heard on NBC April 8, 1950, and ran until September 29, 1951. Strange that so little good science fiction came out of radio; they seem ideally compatible, both relying heavily on imagination. Some fine isolated science fiction stories were developed on the great anthology shows, Suspense and Escape. But until the premiere of Dimension X -- a full two decades after network radio was established -- there were no major science fiction series of broad appeal to adults. This show dramatized the work of such young writers as Ray Bradbury, Robert (Psycho) Bloch, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and Kurt Vonnegut.

THIS EPISODE:

June 3, 1950. NBC network. "The Embassy". Sustaining. A strange man hires a private detective to find the Martian Embassy, which is hidden somewhere in New York. Joe DeSantis (?), Don Abbott (engineer), Albert Buhrman (music), Donald Wollheim (author), George Lefferts (adaptor), Joseph Julian, Berry Kroeger, Van Woodward (producer), Norman Rose (host), Edward King (director), Bob Warren (announcer), Dan Ocko, John McGovern, Elaine Rost, Bryna Raeburn, Joseph Boland. 1/2 hour.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Quiet Please "Nothing Behind The Door" (06-08-47)

Nothing Behind The Door (Aired June 6, 1947)


Considered by many to be the best horror / science fiction series ever on radio, Quiet Please came from the pen of Lights Out creator Willis Cooper. Every episode was written in first person and starred the incredibly versatile Ernest Chappell. The shows range from deeply personal human interest shows to some of the most original horror / science fiction stories ever written.

THIS EPISODE:

June 8, 1947. Mutual network. "Nothing Behind The Door". Sustaining. The first show of the series. What's in the strange house next to the Mount Wilson observatory? When the man says "nothing," he really means it! Wyllis Cooper (writer, director), Ernest Chappell ("the man who spoke to you"), Martin Lawrence, James Van Dyke, Pat O'Malley, Gene Paratzo (composer, conductor). 29:36.

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Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Six Shooter" - Trail To Sunset (01-31-54)

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Six Shooter" - Trail To Sunset (Aired January 31, 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. Information from John Dunning’s "Tune In Yesterday The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio".

THIS EPISODE:

January 31, 1954. NBC network. Sustaining. Britt shoots Ace Tressler when Ace tries to steal Britt's horse. Britt promises him that he'll get medical treatment for Ace and not let him get lynched. Jimmy Stewart, Basil Adlam (music), Jack Johnstone (director), Frank Burt (creator, writer), Howard McNear, Robert Griffin, Forrest Lewis, John Wald (announcer), Harry Bartell, Lamont Johnson. 29:27.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Rogue's Gallery "Phyllis Adrian Is Missing" (06-29-47)

Phyllis Adrian Is Missing (Aired June 29, 1947)


Rogue's Gallery came to the Mutual network on September 27, 1945 with Dick Powell portraying Richard Rogue, a private detective who invariably ended up getting knocked out each week and spending his dream time in acerbic conversation with his subconscious self, Eugor. Rogue's Gallery was, in a sense, Dick Powell's rehearsal for Richard Diamond, Private Detective. Powell played private detective Richard Rogue, who trailed luscious blondes, protected witness, and did whatever else detectives do to make a living. It was a good series, though not destined to make much of a mark. Under the capable direction of Dee Englebach and accompanied by the music of Leith Stevens, Powell floated through his lines with the help of such competents as Lou Merrill, Gerald Mohr, Gloria Blondell, Tony Barrett, and Lurene Tuttle. Peter Leeds played Rogue's friend Eugor, an obscure play on names with Eugor spelling Rogue backwards. The gimmick in Rogue's Gallery was the presence of an alter ego, "Eugor," who arrived in the middle of the show to give Rogue enough information for his final deduction. Eugor was a state of mind, achieved when Rogue was knocked unconcious. During the summer of 1946, the show was billed as Bandwagon Mysteries, with a tip of the hat to the sponsor. In the summer of 1947, it was again revived on NBC Sundays for Fitch, with Barry Sullivan in the title role. In 1950 the character again turned up in a two-year sustainer on the ABC Wednesday-night schedule. Chester Morris played the lead. Chester Morris was the original Boston Blackie. (From the Old Time Radio Researcher's Group)

THIS EPISODE:

June 29, 1947. NBC network, KFI, Los Angeles aircheck. Sponsored by: Fitch's Shampoo, Quinoil Hair Tonic, Fitch's Skin Pep After Shave. "Bullet" ball point pen premium (made from a genuine .30 caliber bullet). Richard Rogue is hired by Howard Adrian to find his missing wife Phyllis. Barry Sullivan, Peter Leeds, Gerald Mohr, Lurene Tuttle, Edwin Max, Charles Vanda (producer, director), Jim Doyle (announcer), Doug Hayes (writer). 29:35.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Rocky Fortune "Too Many Husbands" (02-16-54)

Too Many Husbands (Aired February 16, 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:

February 16, 1954. NBC network. Sustaining. Fine cops and robbers with Frank in a straight non-singing role. Well written and fine Sinatra. A case of Too Many Husbands after Rocky is hired by a beautiful woman to kill her husband...for $5000! Frank Sinatra, Betty Lou Gerson, Barney Phillips, Norm Sickle (writer), Andrew C. Love (director), John Stevenson, Maurice Hart. 24:44.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Planet Man "2 Episodes From 1950"

Episode-10 "Billy And Jane Are On-board A Ship" and Episode-11 "3D Dantro" 1950


Produced in about 1950 by Palladium Radio Productions, "The Planet Man" is the golly-gee-whillikers saga of Dantro, an intergalactic troubleshooter for an organization known as the League of Planets - "the law enforcement body for peace and justice in the celestial world." (Think of him as an outer-space version of Marshal Matt Dillon - "It's a chancy job, and it makes a [planet] man watchful...") With their center of operations situated on Planeria Rex, "the capital of the planets," the League sends their water-carrier Dantro out into the celestial world to maintain law and order "whenever danger threatens the universe." Dantro is assisted in his quest for law-and-order by the members of Earth's first rocket expedition: Dr. John Darrow, his daughter Pat, and engineer Slats, who are rescued by the Planet Man before their rocket comes perilously close to crashing into the moon. (The explanation for this is that Darrow and crew took on a pair of stowaways before blast-off, namely his nephew Billy and niece Jane - which makes a listener wonder why the heck they weren't in school.) These five individuals join forces with the Planet Man to defeat evildoers like Marston, the ruler of Mars who possesses an insatiable appetite for interplanetary domination. Background on "The Planet Man" is sketchy at best - even with the original disks close at hand.

TODAYS SHOW: Episode-10 "Billy And Jane Are On-board A Ship" and Episode-11 "3D Dantro"

Program #10. Palladium Radio Productions syndication. Commercials added locally. Not auditioned. Pat finds a hidden room filled with ancient Martian machines. A Martian scout ship taking off comes to the attention of Martson. Billy and Jane are on board. The interplanetary war is about to begin. Phil Tonken (announcer), Jon Gart (organ), Joseph Boland (on those programs featuring the robot). 11:21.

Program #11. Palladium Radio Productions syndication. Commercials added locally. Not auditioned. Billy and Jane are still heading away from Mars. An three-dimensional image of Dantro (a hologram) appears inside the ship, ready to help fight the Martians. Phil Tonken (announcer), Jon Gart (organ), Joseph Boland (on those programs featuring the robot). 11:26.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod "Nightwatch" Kidnap (11-11-54)

Kidnap (Aired November 11, 1954)


Nightwatch. Real police recordings, no actors are used. Car 54 and police reporter Donn Reed answer the first all, a Code 2 alert that a burglary is taking place. A woman is pushed in the bathroom by an alcoholic young man wearing a tie. He's captured in another house...wearing no clothes! A patrol through Culver City. Later, two witnesses to a homicide are interviewed. The suspect is captured and confesses on the air. Chief W. N. Hildebrand tells how the cases were resolved. Sterling Tracy (supervisor), Donn Reed (police reporter), W. N. Hildebrand. These are examples of this "real-time" action series.

THIS EPISODE:

November 11, 1954. CBS network. Sustaining. "Kidnap" - The first call is about a juvenile "blowing his top" on marijuana. A kidnap case follows. Donn Reed (police recorder), W. N. Hildebrand (Chief of Police), Sterling Tracy (producer, director), Jim Headlock (producer), Ron Perkins (technical advisor). 24:59.

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Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Luke Slaughter Of Tombstone" - Heritage (05-11-58)

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Luke Slaughter Of Tombstone" - Heritage (Aired May 11, 1958)


CBS started the year 1958 off with the introduction on 01/29/58 of Frontier Gentleman. That series lasted 41 broadcasts. Near the end of the year, the network launched Have Gun, Will Travel on 11/23/58, which continued for 106 programs. In between, a very short series was offered and discontinued after only 16 broadcasts, Luke Slaughter Of Tombstone. 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. Each program had an authoritative opening statement: "Slaughter's my name, Luke Slaughter. Cattle's my business. It's a tough business, it's a big business. I got a big stake in it. And there's no man west of the Rio Grande big enough to take it away from me." Junius Matthews was heard as Slaughter's sidekick, Wichita.

THIS EPISODE:

May 11, 1958. CBS network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. Bringing renegade Apaches to town to be hanged, Luke and Wichita see a peaceful Mormon gun down a man in cold blood. Sam Buffington, Vic Perrin, Karl Swenson, William N. Robson (director), Wilbur Hatch (composer, conductor). 25 minutes.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - My Friend Irma "It's All Relative" (02-23-48)

It's All Relative (Aired February 23, 1948)

My Friend Irma, created by writer-director-producer Cy Howard, was a top-rated, long-run radio situation comedy, so popular in the late 1940s that its success escalated to films and television, while Howard scored with another radio comedy hit, Life with Luigi. Dependable and level-headed Jane Stacy (Cathy Lewis) narrated the misadventures of her innocent and bewildered roommate, Irma Peterson (Marie Wilson), a dim-bulb stenographer. Wilson portrayed the character on radio, in two films and a TV series. The successful radio series with Marie Wilson ran on CBS Radio from April 11, 1947 to August 23, 1954. The TV version, seen on CBS from January 8, 1952 until June 25, 1954, was the first series telecast from the CBS Television City facility in Hollywood. The movie My Friend Irma (1949) starred Marie Wilson and Diana Lynn but is mainly remembered today for introducing Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis to moviegoers, resulting in even more screen time for Martin and Lewis in the sequel, My Friend Irma Goes West (1950).

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The LineUp "Obscene Phone Calls" (The Cutie-Calling Culprit Case) 10-22-52

Obscene Phone Calls (Aired October 22, 1952)


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:

October 22, 1952. CBS network. "The Cutie-Calling Culprit Case". Sustaining. model victims...obscene phone call. William Johnstone. Jack Moyles, William J. Radcliff (writer), Dan Cubberly (announcer), Eddie Dunstedter (music), Hy Averback, Howard McNear, Peter Leeds, Tony Barrett, Sidney Miller, John McIntire, Jeanette Nolan, Jaime del Valle (producer, director).

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Life Of Riley "Riley Meets Clem Kadiddlehopper" (09-03-48)

Riley Meets Clem Kadiddlehopper (Aired September 3, 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."Beginning October 4, 1949, the show was adapted for television for the DuMont Television Network, but Bendix's film contracts prevented him from appearing in the role. Instead, Jackie Gleason starred along with Rosemary DeCamp as wife Peg, Gloria Winters as daughter Barbara (Babs), Lanny Rees as son Chester Jr. (Junior), and Sid Tomack as Gillis, Riley's manipulative best buddy and next-door neighbor. John Brown returned as the morbid counseling undertaker Digby (Digger) O'Dell ("Well, I guess I'll be... shoveling off"; "Business is a little dead tonight"). Television's first Life of Riley won television's first Emmy (for "Best Film Made For and Shown on Television").

THIS EPISODE:

September 3, 1948. NBC network. Commercials deleted. Riley spoils Babs' romance by hiding in the closet, so he sets her up with a new boy...Clem Kadiddlehopper. William Bendix, Irving Brecher (producer), Ken Niles (announcer), Paula Winslowe, Barbara Eiler, Red Skelton, John Brown. 26:26.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Let George Do It "Knock On Wood" (01-22-51)

Knock On Wood (Aired January 22, 1951)


Bob Bailey played George Valentine as a detective handy man, who got his jobs from responses to a newspaper ad. Part-time detective and writer Dan Holiday in Box 13 also used the premise. It pays to advertise! The shows follow the usual formats of crime caper shows, with toughs, mysterious rendezvous and people who aren't who they say they are. Network was Mutual. Sponsor was Standard Oil. STARS:Bob Bailey,Eddie Firestone jr, Francis Robinson, Joe Kearn: Producer, Owen Vinson WRITER: Polly Hopkins MUSIC: Eddie Dunstedter.

THIS EPISODE:

January 22, 1951. Mutual-Don Lee network. "Knock On Wood". Sponsored by: Standard Oil. Ken Peters substitutes for Bob Bailey (who was out sick) in the lead. A landlord asks George Valentine for help with a problem tenant. Murder soon takes out a lease. A second murder by electrocution takes place soon after! By the time the third murder takes place, even George is ready to knock on wood! Ken Peters, Virginia Gregg, Ken Christy, Howard McNear, John McIntire, Jeanette Nolan, Joseph Du Val, Fred Howard, Bud Hiestand (announcer), Eddie Dunstedter (composer, conductor), Don Clark (director), David Victor (writer), Jackson Gillis (writer). 29:38.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - I Was Communist For FBI "Violence Preferred" (09-10-52)

Violence Preferred (Aired September 10, 1952)


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:

September 10, 1952. Program #21. ZIV Syndication. "Violence Preferred". Commercials added locally. When the Party orders all incriminating papers destroyed, Cvetic tries to get them to the FBI first. A hat-check girl provides unintentional help. The date is subject to correction. Dana Andrews, Truman Bradley (announcer), Olan Soule, Parley Baer. 27:36.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Halls Of Ivy "Eddie Gray's Wedding" (03-07-51)

Eddie Gray's Wedding (Aired March 7, 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.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Hallmark Playhouse "Berkeley Square" (03-03-49)

Berkeley Square (Aired March 3, 1949)

THE HALLMARK PLAYHOUSE was heard over CBS stations Thursday evenings. This drama anthology of 30-minute shows was sponsored by, of course, Hallmark Greeting Cards. It was preceded by the RADIO READER'S DIGEST, which ran from September 13, 1942 thorugh June 3, 1948. Hallmark sponsored the RADIO READER'S DIGEST from January 13, 1946 to it's end. On Feb. 8, 1953, the series name and format was changed. It was now called THE HALLMARK HALL OF FAME and presented biographal sketches of famous persons, past and present. The new format was used until the end of the 1955 season. The exception to the new format was the broadcast each Christmas season of "A Christmas Carol". Like other dramatic series of this time, this one made use of major screen actors in the productions. James Hilton, author of "Random Harvest", "Lost Horizon" and "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" plus others, served as host and Narrator. Dee Engelbach produced and directed the shows. Jean Holloway was the writer. Sound Effects were by Harry Essman and Gene Twombly. Musical conductor was Lyn Murray. The show's theme was "Dream of Olwne" by Charles Williams.

THIS EPISODE:

March 3, 1949. CBS network. "Berkeley Square". Sponsored by: Hallmark Cards. British time-travel story about a love that transcends the centuries. David Niven, Lurene Tuttle, Frances Robinson, James Hilton (host), Jean Holloway (adaptor), John Balderston (author). 1/2 hour.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Fibber Mcgee & Molly "Jewelry Store Robbery" (12-12-39)

Jewelry Store Robbery (December 12, 1939)


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:

December 12, 1939. NBC network. Sponsored by: Johnson's Wax. Fibber the detective recovers a missing necklace after a jewelry store robbery. Jim Jordan, Marian Jordan, Harlow Wilcox, Billy Mills and His Orchestra, Bill Thompson, Isabel Randolph, Jimmy Shields. 29:06.

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Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Frontier Fighters" - 2 Episodes From 1935

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Frontier Fighters" - Program 28 "The Hero Of Fort Kearney" and Program 29 "Oklahoma Land Rush" (1935)



FRONTIER FIGHTERS This is not your typical western drama -- it is a series that will transport you back in time to the days of the wild, unsettled west. Retrace the steps of heroes who, despite the odds, fought and conquered the West. Frontier Fighters was a syndicated series that ran sometime during the 1930s. Each show dealt with some bit of history about the early West and ran for approximately 15 minutes.

TODAY'S SHOW:

Program #28. Broadcasters Program Syndicate/Bruce Eells and Associates syndication. "The Hero Of Fort Kearney". Music fill for local commercial insert. Because of the bravery of John Phillips, a fort on the Bozeman Trail was saved from the Indians. Originally syndicated by Radio Transcription Company Of America (Transco. 14:49

Program #29. Broadcasters Program Syndicate/Bruce Eells and Associates syndication. "Oklahoma Land Rush". Music fill for local commercial insert. The Federal government ignores its promise to the Indians and opens the Indian Territory to settlers. Originally syndicated by Radio Transcription Of America (Transco). 14:43

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Suspense "Will You Make A Bet With Death" (11-10-42)

Will You Make A Bet With Death (Aired November 10,1942)


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:

November 10, 1942. CBS network. "Will You Make A Bet With Death?". Sustaining. A great, suspenseful story about a man who matches his life against his evil stepfather for $25,000. Ted de Corsia, Michael Fitzmaurice, Nicholas Joy, Lesley Woods, John Dickson Carr (writer), William Spier (producer), Marx B. Loeb (director), Joseph Kearns (announcer), Bernard Herrmann (composer, conductor). 1/2 hour.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Screen Director's Playhouse "Magic Town" (01-06-50)

Magic Town (Aired January 6, 1950)


Screen Director's Playhouse - From 01/09/49 to 09/28/51 this series was greatly enjoyed by the radio listening audience. It opened as NBC Theater and was also known as The Screen Director’s Guild and The Screen Director’s Assignment. But most people remember it simply as Screen Director’s Playhouse. Many of the Hollywood elite were heard recreating their screen roles over the radio. John Wayne in his rare radio appearances, Cary Grant, Edward G. Robinson, Lucille Ball, Claire Trevor, Tallulah Bankhead and many others were on the air week after week during these broadcasts. Many of Hollywood’s directors were also heard in the recreation of their movies. The President of the Screen Director’s Guild appeared on 02/13/49, and Violinist Isaac Stern supplied the music for the 04/19/51 broadcast.

THIS EPISODE:
January 6, 1950. NBC network. "Magic Town". Sponsored by: RCA. A pollster finds the perfectly average American city, and moves in to take advantage of it. Edward Marr, George Marshall, Hans Conried, Jerry Hausner, Jimmy Stewart, Jimmy Wallington (announcer), Sam Hayes, Virginia Gregg. 1/2 hour.

Rip Smith's opinion-poll business is a failure...until he discovers that the small town of Grandview is statistically identical to the entire country. He and his assistants go there to run polls cheaply and easily, in total secrecy (it would be fatal to let the townsfolk get self-conscious). And of course, civic crusader Mary Peterman must be kept from changing things too much. But romantic involvement with Mary complicates life for Rip; then suddenly everything changes... Written by Rod Crawford {puffinus@u.washington.edu}

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Adventures Of Frank Race "Adventure In Mormon Country" (10-23-49)

Adventure In Mormon Country (Aired October 23, 1949)


The Adventures of Frank Race, by Bruce Ells Productions, was first heard in May of 1949. The main character, Frank Race, was an attorney before World War II. As a result of his activities in the war, when it was over, he traded his law books for a career with the OSS. There, "Adventure" became his business. Tom Collins played the role of Frank Race initially, immediately following his stint as Chandu, The Magician. The lead role was taken over later by Paul Dubof.

THIS EPISODE:

November 1, 1949. Program #27. Broadcasters Program Syndicate syndication. "The Adventure Of The Mormon Country". Commercials added locally. A wealthy playboy named Sonny Krueger has been kidnapped and held for $50,000 ransom. Paul Dubov, Tony Barrett, Buckley Angel (writer, director), Joel Murcott (writer, director), Bruce Eells (producer), Ivan Ditmars (organist), Michael Roy (announcer), Wilms Herbert, Bert Holland, William Johnstone, Michael Ann Barrett, Inga Yolis. 26:44.

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