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

They say the "Old Time Radio Era" ended in 1962, but radio drama carried right on...and here's the proof! Provocative, thoughtful, and up-to-the-minute in its treatment of life as it was lived, that was Theatre 5! This powerful anthology series featured an invigorating combination of veteran performers and rising young actors in sharp, concise stories with a message and an impact!

Widely acclaimed as the greatest writer-director-producer of the Golden Age of Radio, Norman Corwin perfected his own unique recipe for success: Begin with the human mind and knead gently; add a dash of poetry, wit and wonder; add a cup of raw passion and stir vigorously; garnish with sound effects, and marinate in a musical score. Season liberally with intelligence and digest slowly. Corwin’s works - musicals, fantasies, satires, and dramas - were presented on CBS in prestige series under his own direction.

Is Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve (Harold Peary), Summerfield's most notorious "bachelor on the prowl," about to adopt a third child? That's how it seems when he finds an abandoned baby girl in the backseat of his car. Informed that the child could be taken away from him because of his bachelor status, The Great Man proposes to Adeline…and her cousin…Gildy's old flame, Leila Ransom!

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.

He knows crime, and he knows criminals...because he was once on the wrong side of the law himself. That's Boston Blackie - a friend to those who have no friends, an enemy to those who make him an enemy! Broadway actor Richard Kollmar stars in his best-remembered radio role as the tough yet sympathetic ex-safecracker. Lesley Woods costars as his lady friend Mary Wesley, with Maurice Tarplin as Inspector Faraday. Join them for 16 exciting investigations of jewel heists, murder and more!

Connie Brooks (Eve Arden) rewrote the textbook on how popular culture looked at teachers - with a fresh, funny, and always human take on the pedagogic profession. Come and study these 16 terrific episodes from 1954-1956. If you travel with her through the halls, you might encounter adolescent blunderer Walter Denton (Richard Crenna), the principal’s bobby-soxer daughter Harriet (Gloria McMillan), or the fumbling frog-obsessed science teacher Philip Boynton (Robert Rockwell). Principal Osgood Conklin (Gale Gordon) was her outstanding comic foil.

Some people collect coins, some people collect stamps, but Barton Drake collects murders! He's an author, a bon vivant, and an expert in the dark corners of the criminal mind. There's no homicide he won't investigate, no killing he can't solve! Glenn Langan stars as Barton Drake, with Norman Field as Inspector Danton. Together, they crack 16 classic cases of radio mystery from 1945 to 1946!

Doctors and nurses exchanging tense, meaningful dialogue! A gurney rumbles down a corridor, surgical instruments clatter, and a rubber glove snaps at the end of a life-saving operation! Here is medical drama at its best - tense, taut, and intensely human! Lew Ayres stars as Dr. James Kildare, an intern at the start of his medical career, who takes on the hectic routine of a major metropolitan hospital. Lionel Barrymore co-stars as his gruff-but-kindly mentor Dr. Leonard Gillespie.

Underground espionage - uncovered! Dana Andrews stars as a fictionalized version of real-life intelligence operative Matt Cvetic. This average citizen joined the Communist Party…and reported back to the FBI about their activities. Here are 16 adventures of double-dealing and intrigue set against the home front atmosphere of the early Cold War. First broadcast in 1953, these recordings feature radio regulars Lawrence Dobkin, Sheldon Leonard, Gerald Mohr, William Conrad, Parley Baer, Bill Johnstone, Virginia Gregg, and more.

Jim Brandon is a biochemist, a scientific marvel, a master of the Black Light of Invisibility. He's the Avenger! This classic pulp hero was adapted for radio, continuing to fight evil-doers with the help of the Telepathic Indicator and the Diffusion Capsule.

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.

The final classic radio adventures of The Green Hornet were crafted for their times. In these exciting episodes, the Green Hornet (portrayed by Jack McCarthy) and Kato (Paul Carney) combat communism and communist sympathizers, take down crooked politicians, and smash rackets on the waterfront.

Radio's longest-running private detective wasn't a smart-mouthed, gun-toting wise guy. He was the gentle, dignified, soft-spoken Mr. Keen. Bennet Kilpack stars as the intelligent investigator in this 16-episode collection. The "kindly old tracer" didn't get into gunfights with thugs on foggy waterfront nights, he simply solved crimes…with a dogged determination. And he was always accompanied by his dense-but-loyal sidekick Mike Clancy (Jim Kelly). Join them as they uncover secrets and crack cases.

Crusader against crime, foe of gangland, smasher of every corrupt and vicious racket - the underworld fears the wrath of Mr. District Attorney! He's not a costumed superhero - he's even mightier, using the forces of law and order to tear down the web of corruption and vice that has ensnared a major American city. Film star David Brian stars as District Attorney Paul Garrett in 16 high-powered episodes. Can he crack the case? Can he pin the crime on the right guy and ensure that justice is served? Listen in and find out!

Bell keeper, toll the bell! Here come stories of the mysterious, the uncanny, and the supernatural from the pens of literature's greatest authors! Between 1943-1945, The Weird Circle adapted works by Victor Hugo, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson, Honoré de Balzac, Nathanial Hawthorne, and more to thrill wartime radio audiences. Here are sixteen classic tales of fantasy, terror and mystery brought to life by masters of the medium, including Eleanor Audley, Bret Morrison, Lesley Woods, Berry Kroeger, Elspeth Eric, Everett Sloane, Jan Miner, and Richard Gordon.

The voice of Bob Bailey conjured both the weariness of the world and all its kindness. You may know him best as Johnny Dollar or George Valentine, but he was so much more. Sample the breadth of Bob Bailey's talent in this tribute collection. Here are 10 hours of classic radio dramas, comedies, mysteries, and even a science fiction tale…all of which feature the talented thespian. You'll also hear wonderful performances by an array of outstanding co-stars, including Shelley Winters, Raymond Burr, Mercedes McCambridge, Burgess Meredith, John Dehner, and many more.

The Halls of Ivy presents real-life husband and wife Ronald Colman and Benita Hume as the first couple of Ivy College: William Toddhunter (“Toddy”) Hall and his wife, Victoria (“Vicky”) Cromwell Hall, a former actress of the British comedy stage. Although President Hall is an erudite and polished professor, he is completely unpretentious and truly concerned for the well-being of the students and faculty. Vicky - who is always at his side, and on his side - keeps her husband in check with her playful and down-to-earth ways.

It's a city of a million stories, and Broadway knows them all! High rollers and low lifes, classy dames and shady dealers are in it for the laughs (and the payoff) in this collection of 16 tales from the pen of Damon Runyon. John Brown stars as your narrator in these yarns of the Great White Way, along with Paul Dubov as homicide detective Johnny Brannigan (and a good many other characters). Join radio favorites Jack Webb, Ed Begley, Jeff Chandler, Alan Reed, Sheldon Leonard, and more for unusual bets, uncommonly good luck, and an unearthly meal at Mindy's.

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.

Life goes on for The Couple Next Door - they are preparing for a family wedding, taking a trip, and planning the construction of a brand new house. Mr. and Mrs. Piper always manage to find a way to get things done, no matter what unpredictable obstacles pop up along the way. Here are 32 episodes of realistic scenarios tinged with a real sense of humor. This classic daytime radio favorite was created and written by Peg Lynch, who stars in these programs, along with Alan Bunce and Margaret Hamilton.