Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Hear It Now "Edward R. Murrow" (January 12, 1951)

Edward R. Murrow (January 12, 1951)


Hear It Now, an American radio program on CBS, began in 1950 and was hosted by Edward R. Murrow and produced by Fred Friendly. It ran for one hour on Fridays at 9 p.m. One of the most popular and best selling records of 1948 was I Can Hear It Now 1933-1945. The record was a collaboration between Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly. The record interwove historical events with speeches and Murrow's narration and marked the beginning of one of the most famous pairings in journalism history. The huge success of the record prompted the pair to parlay it into a weekly radio show for CBS. That show was Hear It Now. The show had a "magazine format." It drove to include a variety of sounds from current events such as an atom smasher at work or artillery fire from Korea. It was the artillery fire that produced one of the show's more poignant moments as it backdropped the words of American soldiers fighting the Korean War. The entire premise of the show was to include the "actual sound of history in the making," according to Murrow. Some of the show's audio was what Time Magazine called "fairly routine" in 1950. Such audio soundbites as Communist China's General Wu and Russia's Vishinsky along with the U.S. Delegate Warren Austin were included among the routine group of audio use. Television, by 1955, usurped radio in terms of audience share and a reluctant Murrow, in 1951, set about doing a TV version of the radio show called See It Now. With the inception of the television version of the show in 1951 Hear It Now ended its on air run.

THIS EPISODE:

January 12, 1951. Program #5. CBS network. Sustaining. Retreat in Korea, Eisenhower returns to Europe, Truman vs. Taft (a look at their differences), the "Twentieth Anniversary" of Bing Crosby, the story of Lieutenant Henry, a Medal Of Honor winner. Good radio. Edward R. Murrow (narrator). 1 hour.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Creaking Door "I See Ghosts" (1950)

I See Ghosts (1950)


The Creaking Door was an old-time radio series of horror and suspense shows originating in South Africa. There are at present anywhere from 34-37 extant episodes in MP3 circulation, yet no currently available program logs for the series indicate the year of the series' broadcast (though it was likely sometime in the 1950s, given the generally high audio quality of the available shows), or the total number of episodes, and only a handful of them are known by their broadcast order. The stories are thrillers in the Inner Sanctum vein, and generally thought of favorably by most fans of OTR.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Burns & Allen Show "George Sells Chicken Farm" (03-14-46)

George Sells Chicken Farm (Aired March 14, 1946)


Burns and Allen were an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen.Burns wrote most of the material, and played the straight man. Allen played a silly, addleheaded woman. Both attributed their success to the other, to the ends of their lives. Early on, the team had played the opposite roles until they noticed that the audience was laughing at Gracie's straight lines, so they made the change. Burns and Allen developed their popular routine over more than three decades of stage, radio, film, and television. Historians of popular culture have often stated that Allen was a brilliant comedian, whose entire career consisted of engaging in dialogues of "illogical logic" that left her verbal opponents dazed and confused, and her audiences in stitches. During a typical 23-minute episode of the Burns and Allen show, the vast majority of the dialogue and speaking parts were written for Allen, who was credited with having the genius to deliver her lengthy diatribes in a fashion that made it look as though she was making her arguments up on the spot. (One running gag on the TV show was the existence of a closet full of hats belonging to various visitors to the Burns household, where the guests would slip out the door unnoticed, leaving their hats behind, rather than face another round with Gracie.) A continuing joke on the show was that George would say, "Say good night, Gracie," and Gracie would say, "Good night Gracie!" Ralph Pape used the catchphrase for the title of his play, Say Goodnight, Gracie, produced by Steppenwolf in 1983, and the phrase lives on as a title of other books and stage productions.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Walk Softly Peter Troy "Blonde With The Delicate Air" (12-10-63)

Blonde With The Delicate Air (Aired December 10, 1963)


The Herrick Merril Production of Walk Softly Peter Troy, a detective drama from the Golden Age of radio. The show was sponsored by Irving & Johnson, who also sponsored the "Gunsmoke" series which "Walk Softly, Peter Troy" replaced. There was a sequel to this series which was heard on the "English Radio Service" from 5/19/64 to 11/28/64. This was the first series on the English Radio Service that came from an independent production house, not produced by the SABC. There was an Australian version of this radio series produced prior to the South African productions.

THIS EPISODE:

December 10, 1963 "The Blonde With The Delicate Air" Detective drama produced in the Durban Studios of Herrick Merril Productions. It starred Tom Meehan, John Simpson, and Merle Wayne. 23:31

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Black Museum "Claw Hammer" (1952)

Claw Hammer (1952)


Opening in 1875, the Crime Museum at Scotland Yard is the oldest museum in the world purely for recording crime. The name Black Museum was coined in 1877 by a reporter from The Observer, a London newspaper, although the museum is still referred to as the Crime Museum. The idea of a crime museum was conceived by Inspector Neame who had already collected together a number of items, with the intention of giving police officers practical instruction on how to detect and prevent burglary. It is this museum that inspired the Black Musuem radio series. The museum is not open to members of the public but is now used as a lecture theatre for the curator to lecture police and like bodies in subjects such as Forensic Science, Pathology, Law and Investigative Techniques. A number of famous people have visited the musuem including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry Houdini, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Orsen Welles hosted and narrated the shows. Following the opening, Mr. Welles would introduce the museum's item of evidence that was central to the case, leading into the dramatization. He also provided narration during the show and ended each show with his characteristic closing from the days of his Mercury Theater on the Air, 'remaining obediently yours'.

THIS EPISODE:

1952. Syndicated, WRVR-FM, New York aircheck. "The Claw Hammer". Sustaining. An old lady's handyman demands fifty pounds and kills her when he doesn't get it. The date is approximate. Syndicated rebroadcast date: January 8, 1975. Harry Alan Towers (producer), Orson Welles (narrator), Ira Marion (writer), Sidney Torch (composer, conductor). 32:34.

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Boxcars711 Overnight Western - Have Gun Will Travel "Blind Courage" (05-31-59)

Boxcars711 Overnight Western - Have Gun Will Travel "Blind Courage" (Aired May 31, 1959 )


Have Gun — Will Travel was a popular American Western television series that aired on CBS from 1957 through 1963. It was one of the few television shows to spawn a successful radio version. The radio series debuted on November 23, 1958. 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.

THIS EPISODE:

May 31, 1959. CBS network. "Blind Courage". Sponsored by: Longines Watches, Mutual Of Omaha, Look Magazine. Paladin is hired by the fabulously wealthy Mr. Sutherland to teach him how to shoot, even though he's blind! The system cue is added live. John Dehner, Ben Wright, Hugh Douglas (announcer), Norman Macdonnell (producer, director), Tom Hanley (writer, sound effects), Jack Moyles, Tracy Roberts, Barbara Eiler, Sam Edwards, Frank Knight (Longines commercial), Bill James (sound effects), Sam Rolfe (creator), Herb Meadow (creator). 25:31.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Halls Of Ivy "New English Teacher" (10-04-50)

New English Teacher (Aired October 4, 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:

October 4, 1950. NBC network. Sponsored by: Schlitz Beer. Mr. bentley Brook has come to at Ivy College. He's quite good looking, and he's apparently fallen in love with Mrs. Hall! Ronald Colman, Benita Hume, Ken Carpenter (announcer), Sandra Gould, Jerome Lawrence (writer), Robert E. Lee (writer), Ken Peters, Helen Crutchfield, Mary Alden, Henry Russell (composer, conductor), Nat Wolff (director), Don Quinn (creator). 29:25.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - X Minus One "Cold Equations" (8-25-55)

Cold Equations (Aired August 25, 1955)


X Minus One was a half-hour science fiction radio series broadcast from April 24, 1955 to January 9, 1958 in various timeslots on NBC. Initially a revival of NBC's Dimension X (1950-51), X Minus One is widely considered among the finest science fiction dramas ever produced for radio. The first 15 episodes were new versions of Dimension X episodes, but the remainder were adaptations of newly published science fiction stories by leading writers in the field, including Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, Robert A. Heinlein, Frederik Pohl and Theodore Sturgeon, along with a few original scripts.

THIS EPISODE:

August 25, 1955. Program #15. NBC network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "Cold Equations". A good story without the expected happy ending. A beautiful young girl stows away on a spaceship, and must be killed. The script was subsequently used on "Future Tense" May 22, 1974 and on October 6, 1990 on "Audion Theatre". Bill Rippe (announcer), Bob Hastings, Court Benson, George Lefferts (adaptor), Jack Arthur, Jay Meredith, Kenneth MacGregor (studio director), Milo Boulton, Tom Godwin (author), Walter Kinsella, William Welch (producer). 25 minutes.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Jeff Regan Investigator "Cain & Abel & The Santa Maria" (09-11-48)

Cain & Abel & The Santa Maria (Aired September 11, 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

THIS EPISODE:

September 11, 1948. CBS network. "Cain and Abel and The Santa Maria". Sustaining. A little silver ship has been stolen, and Jeff has been hired to get it back. Jack Webb, Wilms Herbert, Lurene Tuttle, Dickie Chambers, Paul Frees, Wally Maher, Marvin Miller, E. Jack Neuman (writer), Sterling Tracy (producer), Richard Aurandt (music), Bob Stevenson (announcer). 29:40.
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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The CBS Radio Mystery Theater "The Island On Silver Tree Lake" (10-19-77)

The Island On Silver Tree Lake (Aired October 19, 1977)


The CBS Radio Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT) was an ambitious and sustained attempt to revive the great drama of old-time radio in the 1970s. 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. The show was broadcast nightly and ran for one hour, including commercials. Typically, a week consisted of three to four new episodes, with the remainder of the week filled out with reruns. There were a total of 1399 original episodes broadcast. The total number of broadcasts, including reruns, was 2969. The late E.G. Marshall hosted the program every year but the final one, when actress Tammy Grimes took over. Each episode began with the ominous sound of a creaking door, slowly opening to invite listeners in for the evening's adventure. At the end of each show, the door would swing shut, with Marshall signing off, "Until next time, pleasant...dreams?"

THIS EPISODE:

October 19, 1977. Program #725. CBS network. "The Island On Silver Tree Lake". Commercials deleted. E. G. Marshall (host), Victoria Dann (writer), Patricia Elliot, Lloyd Batista, Teri Keane, Earl Hammond. 46 minutes.

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Boxcars711 Overnight Western - The Lone Ranger "Marked For Death" (10-27-50)

Boxcars711 Overnight Western - The Lone Ranger "Marked For Death" (Aired October 27, 1950)


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. Karl May's tales of Old Shatterhand and Chief Winnetou may have influenced the creation of the concept; they in turn were influenced by The Leatherstocking Tales of James Fenimore Cooper. The legends of Robin Hood and the popular character Zorro were also a likely inspiration.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Ford Theater "It's A Gift" (03-21-48)

It's A Gift (03-21-48)


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 21, 1948. CBS network. "It's A Gift. Sponsored by: Ford. A comedy about a wounded war vet who gets dizzy and has to "concentrate." When he "concentrates," he can make people do whatever he wants them to do. A new industry is born! Howard Lindsay (host), Kenneth Banghart (commercial spokesman), Lee Bloomgarten (author), Cliff Carpenter, Carl Eastman, William Zuckert, George Faulkner (continuity), Helen Lewis, James Van Dyke, Elspeth Eric, Howard Teichman (editor), Lyn Murray (composer, conductor), Frank Dane, Ivor Francis, George Zacherle (director), Rod Hendrickson. 59:28.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Box 13 "Suicide Or Murder" (10-31-48)

Suicide Or Murder (Aired October 31, 1948)


The premise of the program was that Dan Holiday was an author who wrote mystery novels. To get ideas for his novels he placed an advertisement in a newspaper saying "Adventure wanted, will go anywhere, do anything, Box 13." The ads always brought fun adventures of all kinds: from racketeer's victim to psychotic killer looking for fun. Most of the episodes were based on Dan Holiday replying to a letter he received at Box 13. He would generally solve a mystery in the process, and return to his office in time to enjoy a hearty laugh at the expense of Suzy, his amusingly stupid secretary. He would certainly not meet the strictest requirements for private eyes (not licensed, collected no fees from clients), but the definition should stretch to sneak him in under the rope. It was heard over the Mutual Broadcasting System as well as being syndicated. The series was produced by Mayfair Productions. Box 13, starring Alan Ladd as Dan Holiday. Sylvia Picker played Suzy, Dan Holiday's secretary and Edmond MacDonald as Lt. Kling. Other stars in the series were Betty Lou Gerson, Lurene Tuttle, Alan Reed, Luis Van Rooten, John Beal and Frank Lovejoy. Music was by Rudy Schrager and the writer was Russell Hughes. Announcer/Director was Vern Carstensen. The series was produced by Richard Sanville with Alan Ladd as co-producer.

THIS EPISODE:

October 31, 1948. Program #11. Mayfair syndication. "Suicide Or Murder". Commercials added locally. A woman asks Dan Holiday to look into the death of her son who was killed in a drunken brawl. What really happened to Arthur Daily? Russell Hughes (writer), Richard Sanville (director), Alan Ladd, Sylvia Picker, Edmond MacDonald, Rudy Schrager (composer, conductor). 26:51.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Speed Gibson Of The International Secret Police "2 Episodes" (2-20-37) and (2-27-37)

"Splinters Into Custody" (08) 1937-02-20 and "Splinters Get Away" (09) 1937-02-27



The thrilling adventures of Speed Gibson follows the exploits of another flying “ace”. This popular character held the listeners attention with his tracking down of international crime operatives. Speed and his pals are on the trail of a super-gang and its dreaded leader "The Octopus." The enemy of society had his tentacles in crime everywhere, and without the International Secret Police, the world would be his oyster. The fifteen-minute episode is action-packed! Strangely, the boy who played Speed is not known, says the authoritative "On the Air, The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio," Speed's pal is Barney Dunlap, acted by John Gibson. Barney's OK, but no match for the cunning of the Octopus and his gang.

TODAY'S SHOW

Program #8. Radio Attractions syndication. Music fill for local commercial insert. Speed has knocked out and captured Splinters. Clint has convinced him to talk...when the Octopus strikes! Hanley Stafford, John Gibson, Gale Gordon, Ed Gardner. 15 minutes.

Program #9. Radio Attractions syndication. Music fill for local commercial insert. A radio message from The Octopus, but his "Bullet Plane" is now in possession of Clint, Barney, and Speed. Hanley Stafford, John Gibson, Gale Gordon, Ed Gardner. 15 minutes.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Adventures Of Horatio Hornblower "The Mutiny On The Flame" (10-24-52)

The Mutiny On The Flame (Aired October 24, 1952)


1952-1953 Series
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.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Inspector Thorne "The Dark Cigarette Murder Case" (08-31-51)

The Dark Cigarette Murder Case (Aired August 31, 1951)


Another radio detective from the pen of Frank and Ann Hummert was Inspector Thorne. The series was short-lived and also had two stars portraying the lead. The first was Karl Weber and the second was Staats Cotsworth. By the 1940's, Frank and Ann Hummert controlled four and a half hours of national weekday broadcast schedules. Their features reportedly spawned more that 5 million pieces of correspondence annually from steadfast fans. Simultaneously they brought in more than half of the national radio chain's advertising revenues generated during the daylight hours. The couple broadcast 18 quarter-hour serials five times weekly, a total of 90 original episodes for 52 weeks per year, with none of those ever repeated. Some shows were "Amanda of Honeymoon Hill", "Backstage Wife","Chaplin Jim USA", "David Harum", "Easy Aces", "Front Page Farrell", "John's Other Wife", "Just Plain Bill", "The Life of Mary Sothern","Lora Lawton", "Lorenzo Jones", "Ma Perkins", "Mrs Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch", "Our Gal Sunday", "The Romance of Helen Trent" and "Young Widder Brown".

THIS EPISODE:

August 31, 1951. NBC network. "The Dark Cigarette Murder Case". Sustaining. The program concludes with an announcement that the next program will be, "The Nickels and Dimes Murder Case," to be heard next Thursday. Fred Collins (announcer), Frank Hummert (author), Anne Hummert (author), Karl Weber, Edward Slattery (director), Bill Delgarde (writer). 29:42.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Escape "The Most Dangerous Game" (10-01-47)

The Most Dangerous Game (Aired October 1, 1947)


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? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... Escape!” Of the more than 230 Escape episodes, most have survived in good condition. Many story premises, both originals and adaptations, involved a protagonist in dire life-or-death straits, and the series featured more science fiction and supernatural tales than Suspense. Some of the memorable adaptations include Algernon Blackwood's "Confession", Ray Bradbury's oft-reprinted "Mars Is Heaven," George R. Stewart's Earth Abides, Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game," F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz," John Collier's "Evening Primrose", later adapted to TV as a Stephen Sondheim musical starring Anthony Perkins. Vincent Price and Harry Bartell were heard in the chilling "Three Skeleton Key," the tale of three men trapped in an isolated lighthouse by thousands of rats. The half-hour was adapted from an Esquire short story by the French writer George Toudouze.

THIS EPISODE:

October 1, 1947. CBS network. "The Most Dangerous Game". Sustaining. A big game hunt for the biggest game of all...man! Hans Conried, Irving Ravetch (adaptor), Paul Frees, Richard Connell (writer), William N. Robson (producer), Richard Sanville (director), Cy Feuer (music conceiver, conductor). 1/2 hour.

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Boxcars711 Overnight Western - The Six Shooter "The Shooting Of Wyatt King" (05-20-54)

Boxcars711 Overnight Western - The Six Shooter "The Shooting Of Wyatt King" (Aired May 20, 1954)


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:

May 20, 1954. NBC network. Sustaining. Who shot the bank robber named Wyatt King? He was also known as, "The Wyoming Kid." Was it the Six-Shooter? Of course!. Jimmy Stewart, Jack Johnstone (director), Basil Adlam (music), William Johnstone, Herb Vigran, Barney Phillips, Junius Matthews, Frank Burt (creator, writer), Joel Cranston, John Wald (announcer). 29:42.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Sky King "A Message In Code" (12-04-47)

A Message In Code (Aired December 4, 1947)


Sky King was a 1940s and 1950s American radio and television adventure series featuring Arizona rancher and aircraft pilot Schuyler (or Skyler) "Sky" King. The series was likely based on a true-life person, Jack Cones, the Flying Constable of Twentynine Palms during the 1930's. Although it had strong cowboy show elements, King always captured criminals and even spies and found lost hikers using his plane. King's personal plane was called the Songbird. Though he changed from one plane to another over the course of the show, the later plane was not given a number (i.e., "Songbird II"), but was simply known as Songbird. He and his niece, Penny (and sometimes Clipper, his nephew) lived on the Flying Crown Ranch, near the (fictitious) town of Grover City, Arizona. Penny and Clipper were also pilots, though still relatively inexperienced and looking to their uncle for guidance and mentoring. Penny was an accomplished air racer and rated multiengine pilot, who Sky trusted to fly the Songbird. The radio show, based on a radio story by Roy Winsor, was the brainchild of Robert Morris Burtt and Wilfred Gibbs Moore, who also created Captain Midnight, first aired in 1946. Several actors played the part of Sky, including Earl Nightingale and John Reed King. Like many radio shows of the day there were many "radio premiums" offered to listeners. On November 2, 1947 in the episode titled "Mountain Detour" the Sky King Secret Signalscope was used. Listeners were advised to get their own for only 15 cents and the inner seal from a jar of Peter Pan Peanut Butter (produced by sponsor Derby Foods). The Signalscope included a glow-in-the-dark signaling device, whistle, magnifying glass and Sky King's private code. With the Signalscope you could also see around corners and trees! The premiums were innovative, such as the Sky King Spy-Detecto Writer, which had a "decoder" (cipher disk), magnifying glass, measuring scale, and printing mechanism in a single package slightly over 2 inches long. Other notable premiums included the Magni-Glo Writing Ring, which had a luminous element, a secret compartment, a magnifier, and a ballpoint pen all in the crownpiece of a "fits any finger" ring. The radio show ran until 1954, being aired simultaneously with the television version.

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Adventures Of Ellery Queen "The Singing Rat" (1-07-43)

The Singing Rat (Aired January 7, 1943)


Tuska cited Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940) and Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery (1941) as the best of the Bellamy-Lindsay pairings. "The influence of The Thin Man series was apparent in reverse", Tuska noted about Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery. "Ellery and Nikki are unmarried but obviously in love with each other. Probably the biggest mystery... is how Ellery ever gets a book written. Not only is Nikki attractive and perfectly willing to show off her figure", Tuska wrote, "but she also likes to write her own stories on Queen's time, and gets carried away doing her own investigations." In Ellery Queen, Master Detective, "the amorous relationship between Ellery and Nikki Porter was given a dignity, and therefore integrity", Tuska wrote, "that was lacking in the two previous entries in the series", made at Republic Pictures before Bellamy and Lindsay were signed by Columbia.

THIS EPISODE:

TJanuary 7, 1943. NBC network. "The Adventure Of The Singing Rat". Sponsored by: Bromo Seltzer. Racketeer Musso has been set up by a stool pigeon. A hollow cigarette holds the secret of murder. This is the West Coast broadcast, the East cast broadcast took place on January 9, 1943. The system cue has been deleted. Carleton Young, Marian Shockley, Santos Ortega, Ted de Corsia, Ann Corio (guest armchair detective), Alfred McKelvey ("a prominent Eastern manufacturer" second guest armchair detective), Ernest Chappell (announcer), Frederic Dannay (writer), Manfred B. Lee (writer), Bruce Kamman (producer, director), Charles Paul (organ). 29:30.

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