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

Jim French, the producer-director of Imagination Theatre, kept the tradition of great radio drama alive for nearly 40 years. He combined old-time skills with new-time production values - and here are 17 thought-provoking thrillers to prove it! In this collection, you'll hear favorites from his stock company, actors from radio's "Golden Age", and performers better known for their television work. You'll even hear a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright who guest stars as a writer of horror novels!

Head to distant worlds and alternate futures! Explore the limitless potential for twists and turns when stories are fueled by the infinite power of imagination! Here are twenty-four thought-provoking tales as up-to-date as tomorrow. It's new-time radio in the classic old-time-radio manner, from the mind of producer Jim French.

Crime is everywhere in postwar Los Angeles—and so is Sgt. Joe Friday. From robbery detail to the Bunco Squad, from narcotics to homicide, he's on the job in radio's definitive police procedural series.

Dragnet was radio's most successful police procedural series, and by far its most influential, shaping an entire generation's view of law enforcement, and bringing police work to life in carefully-documented detail. Never sensationalistic, but always a gripping listening experience, Jack Webb's signature creation remains the standard against which crime dramas are judged. Webb, who produced and directed the series, stars as Sergeant Joe Friday in gritty dramas of unprecedented realism.

Come to 221B Baker Street for 15 incredible capers from the world's only consulting detective - presented in full-cast audio! Based on the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and dramatized by noted British writer M.J. Elliott, these absorbing adventures star John Patrick Lowrie as Holmes and Lawrence Albert as Dr. Watson. Also heard in these sterling stories are Dennis Bateman, Rick May, David Natale, Jeffrey Hitchen, Rachel Glass, Hugh Hastings, Louise Moore, and Jim French himself!

Let's play ball! Or hit the track! Or roam the links! Or lace on the gloves! You name the sport, Jack Benny's a fan...and maybe even a participant! Whether he's sitting in the stands or standing in the thick of the action, it all adds up to clutch classic radio comedy! Cheer on Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Dennis Day, Kenny Baker, and Don Wilson in 16 half hour episodes filled with equal parts rah-rah-rah and ha-ha-ha!

The greatest stars of screen and stage, the greatest writers of print and radio—all combine to keep you in…suspense! Here are twenty nerve-stretching exercises in crime, mystery, and the uncanny featuring Robert Montgomery, Gregory Peck, Lana Turner, William Powell, Ronald Reagan, Joseph Cotton, and more. Fates and fortunes may be threatened by a jealous spouse, an unscrupulous authority figure…or the truth. Find out what rash decisions are made in the desperation of the moment in riveting radio plays produced and directed by Anton M. Leader, William Spier, and Norman Macdonnell.

Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar debuted in 1948 and endured for 14 years as one of the most popular programs of latter day radio drama. In fact, it became the last network drama when it ultimately signed off the air in 1962. An eminently appealing character, Dollar was pragmatic, flirtatious, and sympathetic (to a point) - better at reserving judgment than he was at restraining his impulses. This set brings you the voices of all eight men who took on the role of "America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator" - from the well-known to the obscure.

Based on the famous detective created by Rex Stout, The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe stars Sydney Greenstreet as “the balkiest, bulkiest, smartest, and most unpredictable detective in the world...that brilliant eccentric private detective, orchid fancier and gargantuan gourmet.” Nero Wolfe, armchair detective in the classic tradition, and Archie Goodwin, wisecracking hard-boiled investigator, shine in eight radio tales from this classic detective series first broadcast in 1950-1951.

Here is radio situation comedy at its finest - from the cartoony fun of Fibber McGee and Molly to the well-drawn family humor of The Great Gildersleeve, from the broad gags of The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show to the subtle wit of The Couple Next Door, from the double-edged meta-comedy of The Jack Benny Program to the blue collar comedy of The Life of Riley. Spend time with Burns & Allen, Ozzie & Harriet, Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Dennis Day, and all the rest of your favorites in 10 big hours of The Great Radio Sitcoms!

For crime, mystery, and thrills, dial Whitehall 1212! That was the phone number for Scotland Yard, and that's the title of this exciting series. Presented are 16 stories of investigation, drawn from the files of London's Metropolitan Police Force - written, directed, and produced by radio legend Wyllis Cooper. Harvey Hays stars as Chief Superintendent John Davidson, custodian of The Black Museum. He is joined by an "all-British cast", including Horace Braham, Lester Fletcher, Pat O'Malley, Guy Spaull, Patricia Courtley, and more.

Nero Wolfe is "a gourmet who never walks when he can sit and never sits when he can lie down." Join Rex Stout's reclusive, overweight, orchid-loving super-sleuth as masterfully portrayed by Sydney Greenstreet in this exciting radio series. Ever in search of a perfect meal and a cold bottle of beer, Wolfe often sends Archie Goodwin, his secretary and operative, in his stead. Learn the logic of this armchair detective extraordinaire as he presides over 18 digitally remastered cases of treasure maps and love triangles, carelessness and con artists, bad business and bad medicine.

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!

And now let's see what's going on down in Pine Ridge. It looks like con man B. J. Webster is about to get what's coming to him, Grandpappy Spears is in need of a new place to live, and Lum finds himself trapped on the wrong side of the law! There's plenty of intrigue, plenty of scheming, and plenty of laughs in these 36 consecutive episodes! Radio's lovable old fellers from the hill country, Chester Lauck and Norris Goff, star in these entertaining broadcasts from 1944.

Do you relish the ridiculous? Get ready for realms of absurdity only possible with radio comedy! Here's a selection of some of Jack's best sketches, parodies, and far-fetched fables - with Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Dennis Day, Don Wilson, and a few surprise guests (including Humphrey Bogart)! The play's the thing! Whether it's a lush romance, a leather-pounding Western drama, a hard-boiled detective thriller, or a tale of rip-roaring adventure, you can count on Jack Benny to turn it sideways and make it funny!

You might think a small-town water commissioner leads a pretty dull life…but not when he's The Great Gildersleeve! This water commissioner is dealing with an unpredictable romantic life, his growing niece and nephew, and troublesome new neighbors. There's always something doing in Summerfield - and Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve is always right in the middle of it. Harold Peary stars as Gildy in these 16 classic radio episodes, along with Walter Tetley as Leroy, Louise Erickson as Marjorie, and Lillian Randolph as Birdie.

Karen Heaven is back as the bold, brassy, British investigator Hilary Caine! Our girl detective is as adventurous as ever in scripts adapted from the works of British mystery novelist M. J. Elliot. She takes a holiday in the Bahamas and travels to the United States on assignment for the British War Department - but wherever she goes, murder follows.

Jack Webb and Barton Yarborough star as Joe Friday and Ben Romero - just a couple of cops doing their job. Follow them step-by-step through 20 true-to-life cases, drawn from the files of the Los Angeles Police Department. Their dialogue was never clichéd or exaggerated, and their cases never relied on jumped-up action sequences to deliver impact. Whether they were on the trail of a car thief with violent tendencies, a fast-moving gang of safecrackers, a kidnapper, a mail thief, or a murderer, their job was the same: Get 'em.

Who's that bear? And what's he doing in Jack Benny's basement? It's the famous Carmichael—guarding the vault and getting laughs! Dish up the Jell-O for Mary Livingston, Phil Harris, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Dennis Day, and Don Wilson in twenty classic prewar episodes—and be sure to leave a plate for you-know-who downstairs!

When great stars (like Kirk Douglas and Ava Gardner) took their talents to the radio microphones, it was always a treat. But when these accomplished actors worked under the masterful direction of William Spier, it was radio's outstanding theater of thrills. You'll hear Angela Lansbury, Donald O'Connor, Gloria Swanson, José Ferrer, and more in well-crafted tales of doubt, double cross, and death. Steady your nerves for 20 classic tension-packed thrillers from 1947!