The Secret Of The Mausoleum (Aired February 1, 1965)
The Creaking Door was South African Radio's attempt to create a compelling program of highly suspenseful, dramatic thrillers with a supernatural bent for their sponsor, State Express Cigarettes. Some commentators insist it was conceived as a spin-off of the already successful Inner Sanctum episodes that had been syndicated for broadcast in Australia and South Africa during the 1950s. Given the format, one can see the inference, but in fact The Creaking Door stands on its own as a unique, well-produced, engaging supernatural thriller series on its own merit. The etymology of the name, The Creaking Door, bears some reflection. When legendary producer and director, Himan Brown first presented Inner Sanctum as one of three requested sponsorship candidates to Carter Products, he presented Inner Sanctum as The Creaking Door. Carter didn't care for the name, so on the spur of the moment Hi Brown suggested Inner Sanctum as an alternative, and voila, Radio history was made. The The emphasis on high production values is perhaps the very reason that several early, morally challenged Radio traders felt they could get away with interspersing many of the Creaking Door episodes with their Inner Sanctum, Mysterious Traveler, and Strange Dr. Weird offerings to a still naive community of radio recording collectors. Although somewhat left-handed, it's still a compliment to both SABC and Springbok Radio that those early 'otr hooligans' managed to get away with the practice for well over 20 years. That takes nothing away from this excellent series in its own right. Show Notes From The Digital Deli.
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