Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Adventures Of Horatio Hornblower "Chasing The Papillion" (05-15-53)

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - 21st Precinct "The Brother" (04-14-54)

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Crime Club "Dead Man Control" (03-20-47)

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Agatha Christie "Sad Cypress Part 2 0f 2" (1973)

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Broadway Is My Beat "Robert Turk" (10-18-52)

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

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

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Agatha Christie "Sad Cypress Part 1 0f 2" (1973)

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Adventures Of Leonidas Witherall "Murder At The State Fair" (09-24-44)

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Bob & Ray Show "WOR Radio New York" (03-13-73)

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Pat Novak For Hire "The Laundry Mix-Up" (05-07-49)

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Casebook Of Gregory Hood "The Black Museum" (06-10-46)

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

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

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Devil & Mr. O "Ancestor" (10-29-71)

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - People Are Funny "The Quickest Way To Borrow Money" (10-01-58)

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The American Trail "Louisiana Purchase & California Gold Rush" (1953)

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The New Adventures Of Nero Wolf "Calculated Risk" (01-19-51)

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Rocky Jordan "The Makeup Man" (05-22-49)

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Zero Hour "Once A Thief" (06-05-74)

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Box 13 "Mexican Maze" (04-10-49)

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Campbell Playhouse "The Glass Key" (03-10-39)

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny "I Stand Condemned" (01-19-47)

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Dangerous Assignment "Bombay Gun Runners" (08-23-50)

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

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

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Dragnet "The Big Watch" (04-13-50)

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes "Silver Blaze" (07-24-62)

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.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711