Showing results by author "Original Radio Broadcasts" in All Categories

An orange glow peeks through the window on a crisp October night. Is it a jack-o'-lantern? Or, is it the radio dial? It's both! This collection of radio's happiest Halloween moments is replete with good old-fashioned haunted houses, costume parties, cemeteries, tricks and treats. Have fun with favorites like Jack Benny, Hal Peary, William Bendix, Ozzie and Harriet, Lucille Ball, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, and Boris Karloff. This wholesome, family-oriented on-air All Hallows' Eve comedy celebration includes 12 digitally restored and remastered episodes.

Cases of safe-cracking, gambling, kidnapping, car theft, and murder - police across the nation are tracking small-time crooks and big-time trouble. This landmark series of Philips H. Lord, arguably responsible for the entire idea of reality-based police dramas, featured true stories that played like fiction. A novel idea for the time, and one that is still powerful today. After the story was told, and the crooks were apprehended, listeners heard bulletin style updates of other criminals at large and helped bring hundreds of them to justice.

Racketeers and robbers, crap-shooters and kidnappers, hit men and hard cases - watch out! Joe Friday's on the job, and he isn't here to fool around! Join Jack Webb for 20 gritty true-life tales of urban crime from the files of the Los Angeles Police Department. Ben Alexander, Martin Milner, Jack Kruschen, Virginia Gregg, June Whitley, Stacy Harris, and more co-star as the city's cops, concerned citizens, and cold criminals.

Mask in place, cloak flowing, gas gun at the ready - radio's pulpiest crime-fighter prowls the streets of a corrupt American city as The Green Hornet! Hop aboard the sleek, supercharged vehicle known as The Black Beauty with wealthy young publisher Britt Reid and his faithful valet Kato for 20 thrilling tales of urban crime! Jack McCarthy stars as Britt Reid, the mysterious vigilante, skulking in the night - raining sudden vengeance down on unwitting evildoers before vanishing back into the mists of his secret identity.

Actor and singer Dick Powell, after many musicals for the Warner Brothers and Fox studios, embarked on a new career as a hard-boiled tough guy. Powell got the opportunity to further flex his new tough-guy muscles in the medium of radio, starring in the role of investigator Richard Rogue in the crime drama Rogue’s Gallery. In this collection, Powell portrays Rogue with a charming lack of care and refusal to take things too seriously, all while delivering solid entertainment for detective and crime drama fans.

In 1940, America was still staggering its way out of the Great Depression, and war clouds were rolling in from Europe. The upcoming Presidential campaign spotlight turned to perhaps the unlikeliest, but certainly the most entertaining, candidate of all - Gracie Allen. Politics was perfect for Gracie's particular brand of logical illogic. Join the hilarity, and the throngs of supporters, as George Burns, Gracie, and their entire cast embark on a whistle-stop tour all the way to the Surprise Party's national convention in Omaha, Nebraska.

Tough, yet compassionate - and a first-class detective besides - that's Boston Blackie. The infamous safe cracker turned private eye will lead you through 16 hard-hitting crime classics from 1947-48! Richard Kollmar stars as Blackie, with Lesley Woods as Mary Wesley, and Maurice Tarplin as Inspector Faraday. The race is on for our hero to capture the killers, recover the diamonds, and clear his own name!

The listener is traveling on a train, the sound of its whistle echoing in the background followed by the clickity-clack of the tracks. A quiet, somber voice, the eponymous host, speaks: "This is the Mysterious Traveler, inviting you to join me on another journey into the strange and terrifying. I hope you will enjoy the trip; that it will thrill you a little, and chill you a little. So settle back, get a good grip on your nerves, and be comfortable - if you can!" With that each of the Mysterious Traveler radio dramas in this collection begin; journeys that might be horrific, a whodunit, or even science fictional.

Radio Spirits brings you classic tales of mystery, crime, and suspense featuring everyday individuals caught in a web of their own making and tripped up by a twist of fate in the end. And heard throughout each radio play, as the events become a tangled web of crime, is that shadowy voice-of-fate, your host, The Whistler! Dripping with sarcasm, The Whistler follows the murderers’ slow descent into destruction while cautioning listeners about the futility of the criminal act they just heard.

The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show was one of radio’s brightest lights; a hilarious situation comedy featuring a friendly sardonic and sarcastic edge that set it apart from its contemporaries. Featuring Phil Harris, fresh off plying his comedic and musical talents on The Jack Benny Program, and his movie star wife Alice Faye. The show also starred Elliott Lewis as the remarkable Frankie Remley - one of radio’s most unforgettable characters - a humorously irresponsible con-artist with an endless thirst for the good stuff.

Lum and Abner are facing off against Squire Skimp and find themselves in a bit of legal hot water. Lum considers several changes of profession, and Abner aims to take over the Jot 'Em Down Store on his own. Will Squire finally get his comeuppance? Will the Edwards-Peabody partnership end for good? Are synthetic diamonds the answer to their troubles? What changes are afoot in Pine Ridge? Come listen to Chester Lauck and Norris Goff in 36 consecutive episodes from the winter of 1943 to 1944 and find out!

William Bendix stars as Chester A. Riley in producer Irving Brecher's outstanding radio comedy series The Life of Riley. Co-starring with Bendix is Paula Winslowe as Riley's long-suffering wife, Peg, and John Brown performing in two roles, that of Riley's pal Gillis and, most memorably, as the hilarious "friendly undertaker" Digger O'Dell. This collection features 16 classic radio episodes, including rare and previously unavailable selections, all digitally remastered and restored for your listening enjoyment.

Douse the lights, and sharpen your imagination for this collection of unforgettable thrillers, based on the works of some of the world's greatest mystery authors! These spine-chilling tales by Edgar Allan Poe, Guy de Maupassant, Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and more are brought to life by radio favorites Santos Ortega, Lesley Woods, Ted de Corsia, Alfred Shirley, Stacy Harris, and Edwin Jerome.

Mr. and Mrs. Piper are at it again - navigating the ebb and flow of postwar suburbia in The Couple Next Door. The head of the household takes up a new hobby, navigates changes at work, and faces a few domestic dilemmas - all while his lovely wife stands by...and stands her ground! Peg Lynch and Alan Bunce star in 32 consecutive episodes from 1959, featuring Margaret Hamilton as Aunt Effie!

In October 1964, as the "British Invasion" of pop music came into its own, Playboy Magazine assigned Jean Shepherd to travel with, and interview, the Beatles on their tour of the United Kingdom. Shepherd also took advantage of his assignment to further travel the UK on his own, exploring from Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands to London with a portable recorder to record material for use on his own syndicated radio program. The result is a fascinating audio documentary of the UK at a distinct point in time, with Shepherd offering commentary and musings uniquely his own on the popular culture and mores of the day.

Our Duffy's Tavern: Volume One is the very first in our Archives collection. Once again these fantastic episodes from the 1951 season are available - along with a bonus track: the series' 1940 audition performance on Forecast. Come on back to the place where "the elite meet to eat", and visit with Archie and the gang. There is never a dull moment at the tavern on New York's 3rd Avenue.

From out of the murk of a terrifying night come tales of the unexplained, the unfathomable, and the uncanny! Howard Duff, William Conrad, Elliott Lewis, Jack Moyles, Marvin Miller, Lou Merrill, Betty Lou Gerson, and narrator John Lake take you on 10 radio journeys into the darkest reaches of the human soul!

He's a specialist in insurance fraud and the finer points of human nature. He's insouciant, cynical, and glib...but honest when it counts. Wherever he goes, there's intrigue, excitement, and mystery! He's the Man with the Action Packed Expense Account: Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar.

He'd rather use his head than his fists or a gun, but sometimes you can't be too choosy! Bob Bailey stars as freelance investigator George Valentine, roaming postwar California in search of adventure, mystery, and more! Wally Maher plays his contrary police contact, Lieutenant Riley, alongside many of radio's usual suspects: Joseph Kearns, Gloria Blondell, Howard McNear, Virginia Gregg, Larry Dobkin, Lurene Tuttle, and more.

In Wistful Vista, there's never a dull moment - not when Fibber McGee's around to make trouble, get in trouble, or completely misunderstand the very nature of trouble! Whether down at the bowling alley, at the Elk's Club dance, or just hanging around at the corner of 14th and Oak, you'll always find plenty of laughs. Here are 20 classic radio romps with everyone's favorite couple, in broadcasts from 1948-1950. Bill Thompson, Gale Gordon, Arthur Q. Bryan, Richard LeGrand, and salesman supreme Harlow Wilcox are heard along with Jim and Marian Jordan as Fibber McGee and Molly!