Boxcars711 Old Time Radio

Academy Award Theater - The list of films and actors on Academy Award Theater is very impressive. Bette Davis begins the series in Jezebel, with Ginger Rogers following in Kitty Foyle, and then Paul Muni in The Life of Louis Pasteur. The Informer had to have Victor Mclaglen, and the Maltese Falcon, Humphrey Bogart, Sidney Greenstreet (this movie was his first major motion picutre role) plus Mary Astor for the hat trick. Suspicion starred Cary Grant with Ann Todd doing the Joan Fontaine role, Ronald Coleman in Lost Horizon, and Joan Fontaine and John Lund were in Portrait of Jenny. How Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio were done is something to hear!THIS EPISODE:June 8, 1946. CBS network. "Ruggles Of Red Gap". Sponsored by: Squibb Drugs. The famous story of the English valet in the wild American West. Charles Laughton, Charles Ruggles. 1/2 hour.

The Chase is an exciting Old Time Radio series in which every episode contains, well, a chase. Tales, highly melodramatic and often improbable, of people on the run. The concept of "hunter and hunted" was built into the signatures. with the lone bugle of a fox hunt, the braying of dogs, the sounds of a man running, a gunshot, and the slowing footsteps and eventual fall of the victim.  It may be an adventure story, a crime story, or even science fiction, but there will always be a suspense filled chase.THIS EPISODE:March 29, 1953. NBC network. Sustaining. The curator of a museum of murderers tells the story of a British chap who marries ladies of wealth for his own mercenary purposes. Doris Smith, Fred Collins (announcer), Fred Weihe (director, transcriber), Ivor Francis, John Stanley, Cathleen Cordell, Lawrence Klee (creator, writer), Leona Powers, Ted Osborne, William Podmore. 29:52.

The Avenger is an Old Time Radio show aired by the South African Broadcasting System in the 1940s. It featured a biochemist crime-fighter by the name of Jim Brandon. Mr. Brandon had two inventions which assisted him in the fight against crime. Mr. Brandon was able to pick up telpathic thought flashes and had a diffusion capsule which allowed him to become invisible.

The Shadow - In September of 1939, a new voice of the Shadow appeared in the form of radio actor Bill Johnstone. Later in 1939, Agnes Moorehead left the show and was replaced by Marjorie Anderson as Margo Lane. The plot lines began to follow the standard formula of Margo Lane being in danger and the Shadow rescuing her from the clutches of evil. Bill Johnstone would be the voice of the Shadow for five seasons, until March 1943. Bret Morrison took over the Shadow role in 1943 for one season. John Archer and Steve Courtleigh took the Shadow role through the 1944-45 season. Bret Morrison then returned to be the Shadow for the duration of the program's run which lasted until December 26, 1954. THIS EPISODE:1938. Syndicated. "Murder On Approval". Sponsored by: B. F. Goodrich Tires. A foreign agent tries to conquer America by infecting the U. S. Army with a secret disease. Orson Welles, Margot Stevenson, Ken Roberts (announcer). 1/2 hour.

Authorâs Playhouse - Famous stories by celebrated authors: among them, Elementals (Stephen Vincent Benet), The Piano (William Saroyan), and The Snow Goose (Paul Gallico).March 5, 1941 till June 4, 1945, NBC;  Blue Network until mid-October 1941, then the Red Network.  Many briefly held 30m timeslots, including Sundays at 11:30, 1941-42;  Wednesdays at 11:30, 1942-44;   Mondays at 11:30, 1944-45.  Sponsor was Philip Morris, 1942-43. Cast:  John Hodiak, Fern Persons, Arthur Kohl, Laurette Fillbrandt, Kathryn Card, Bob Jellison, Nelson Olmsted, Marvin Miller, Olan Soule, Les Tremayne, Clarence Hartzell, Curley Bradley, etc.  Orchestra:  Rex Maupin, Roy Shield, J6seph Gallicchio. Creator:  Wynn Wright.  Directors:  Norman Felton, Fred Weihe, Homer Heck, etc.THIS EPISODE:November 13, 1944. NBC network. "The Long Way Round". Sustaining. A man has just returned from a sanitarium after a mental break-down to find that wife has developed her own mental problems. James Ronald (author). 1/2 hour.

21ST PRECINCT was one of the realistic police drama series of the early- to mid-1950's that were aired in the wake of DRAGNET. In 1953 CBS decided to use New York City as the backdrop for their own half-hour police series and focus on the day-to-day operation of a single police precinct. Actual cases were used as the basis for stories. The Precinct Captain acted as the narrator for the series.THIS EPISODE:September 29, 1953. CBS network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. A young drug user tries to kick the habit by making a false alarm so he can go "cold turkey" in jail. Everett Sloane, Lawson Zerbe, Raymond Edward Johnson, Ken Lynch, Robert Readick, Gaylord Avery (announcer). 1/2 hour.

Fibber McGee and Molly premiered in 1935. The program struggled in the ratings until 1940, when it became a national sensation. Within three years, it was the top-rated program in America. Few radio shows were more beloved than Fibber McGee and Molly. The programâs lovable characters included Mayor LaTrivia, Doc Gamble, Mrs. Uppington, Wallace Wimple, Alice Darling, Gildersleeve, Beulah, Myrt, and the Old Timer. 79 Wistful Vista was one of Americaâs most famous addresses and Mollyâs warning to Fibber not to open the hall closet door (and his subsequent decision to do it) created one of radioâs best remembered running gags that audiences expected each week. Jim Jordan (Fibber) was born on a farm on November 16, 1896, near Peoria, Illinois. Marian Driscoll (Molly), a coal minerâs daughter, was born in Peoria on November 15, 1898. After years of hardship and touring in obscurity on the small-time show biz circuit, they arrived in Chicago in 1924, where they eventually performed on thousands of shows and develope

Box 13 - 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 MacDon

CBS Radio Mystery Theater - As you walk through the creaking door you enter into another world, the world of imagination. This world is inside you, a part of you, and you take this journey alone. Each person hears and then sees with his or her mind's eye the events portrayed within these dramas. All of us interprets what they hear differently. The images we see is unique to ourselves. A voice becomes a person, living, breathing they come alive. They take on a physical form and characteristics that we assign to them. The wonders of your own mind are boundless. Scary thoughts? Perhaps, but what powers they bring us! To exercise one's imagination is to exercise one's soul. These dramas provide us with an escape from reality. To adventures beyond our own lives. Enjoy them. And pleasant dreams!THIS EPISODE:January 14, 1974. Program #9. CBS network. "Death Rides A Stallion". Sponsored by: Budweiser, Kellogg's. E. G. Marshall (host), Sam Dann (writer), Mason Adams, Marian Seldes, Paul McGrath. 52 minutes.

The Falcon - Regardless of the date of his first literary appearance, The Falcon was first brought to the screen in a 1941 RKO film, as a replacement for its popular series of B's featuring Leslie Charteris' The Saint. Except for the name change, at first at least it was pretty hard to tell the difference. The Falcon was also a good-looking suave, sophisticated type, a sort of freelance gentleman adventurer.THIS EPISODESeptember 3, 1950. NBC network. "Tthe Case Of The Quarrelsome Quartet". Sponsored by: Kraft Mayonnaise, Kraft Malted Milk. Who killed Dixie Saunders? Who killed George Saunders? Thieves fall out! Les Damon, Amzie Strickland, Jackson Beck, Jay Jackson (announcer), Arlo (music), Drexel Drake (creator), Richard Lewis (director), Bernard L. Schubert (producer), Eugene Wang (writer). 29:30.

The Black Musuem - 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. THIS EPISODE:1952. Syndicated, WCRB, Boston aircheck. "The Service Card". A murderer is trapped by the odometer reading on his victim's car. The date is approximate. This series was heard on the Mutual net during 1952, but was probably produced in England and broadcast earlier on British radio. The series was syndicated by Harry Alan Towers after the network run for many years. Orson Welles (narrator), Harry Alan Towers (producer), Ira Marion (write

Curtain Time, like First Nighter, presented romantic drama in a theater setting complete with the announcer shouting, âTickets please, thank youâ. The shows announcer was Harry Halcomb who was later known best for his appearances on the 60 minutes television show. Great scripts and superb acting, Curtain Time is truly an Old Time Radio Classic. Mutual Network, local KNX show sustained, heard Fridays 7:30 - 8:00 pm

Murder By Experts. August 15, 1949. Mutual network. "Dig Your Own Grave". Sustaining. A woman becomes "the seed" to promote her husband's romance with another woman. Then, she gives him the idea to commit murder. John Dickson Carr (host), Joseph Ruscoll (writer), Ken Lynch, Richard Dupage (composer), Emerson Buckley (conductor), Ann Shephard, Ron Rawson, James Stevens, Robert A. Arthur (producer, director), David Kogan (producer, director), Hester Sondergaard. 29:49.

Duffy's Tavern, an American radio situation comedy (CBS, 1941-1942; NBC-Blue Network, 1942-1944; NBC, 1944-1952), often featured top-name stage and film guest stars but always hooked those around the misadventures, get-rich-quick-scheming, and romantic missteps of the title establishment's malaprop-prone, metaphor-mixing manager, Archie, played by the writer/actor who created the show, Ed Gardner.THIS EPISODE:February 9, 1949. NBC network origination, Nostalgia Broadcasting Corporation syndication. Commercials added locally. Archie's doctor has told him that he only has three days to live...or did he? Archie keeps the true diagnosis from the gang down at the tavern. The system cue has been deleted. Ed Gardner, Eddie Green, Charlie Cantor, Hazel Shermet. 24:37.

The Golden Age of Radio was ending, not with a whimper, but with a robust bang. Many of the best network and syndicated shows began in the 1950s, even though public interest and advertising dollars were switching to television, FORT LARAMIE was certainly one of the finest radio series, and were it not for GUNSMOKE, it could be termed the best adult Western program ever aired. FORT LARAMIE is a close relative of GUNSMOKE since it had the same producer-director, same writers, same sound effects men, and many of the same actors. GUNSMOKE had been running for almost four years when Norman Macdonnell brought FORT LARAMIE to CBS. The latter had the same gritty realism, attention to detail, and integrity that audiences admired in GUNSMOKE.

Adventures of Frank Merriwell first ran on NBC radio from March 26 to June 22, 1934 as a 15-minute serial airing three times a week at 5:30pm. Sponsored by Dr. West's Toothpaste, this program starred Donald Briggs in the title role. Harlow Wilcox was the announcer. After a 12-year gap, the series returned October 5, 1946 as a 30-minute NBC Saturday morning show, continuing until June 4, 1949. Lawson Zerbe starred as Merriwell, Jean Gillespie and Elaine Rostas as Inza Burrage, Harold Studer as Bart Hodge and Patricia Hosley as Elsie Belwood. The announcer was Harlow Wilcox, and the Paul Taubman Orchestra supplied the background music. There are at least three generations of Merriwells: Frank, his half-brother Dick, and Frank's son, Frank Jr. There is a marked difference between Frank and Dick. Frank usually handled challenges on his own. Dick has mysterious friends and skills that help him, especially an old Indian friend without whom the stories would not have been quite as interesting.

Hercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters: he appeared in 33 novels and 54 short stories. Poirot has been portrayed on screen, for films and TV, by various actors including Albert Finney, Peter Ustinov, Ian Holm, Tony Randall, Alfred Molina and David Suchet. His character was based on two other fictional detectives of the time: Marie Belloc Lowndes' Hercule Popeau and Frank Howel Evans' Monsieur Poiret, a retired French police officer living in London. A more obvious influence on the early Poirot stories is that of Arthur Conan Doyle.

Blackie was a tough, wisecracking private detective working in New York, billed as "enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend." His speciality was making fools of the police, a simple task with Inspector Farraday heading the official investigations. "An enemy to those who call him an enemy, a friend to those who have no friends." Boston Blackie is a reformed jewel thief who is never far from trouble. Inspector Farraday of the homicide squad tries to pin Blackie for the crime in every episode. To save his own skin, with the help of his girlfriend Mary and sidekick Shorty, Blackie ends up solving the case.

The Green Hornet program began in January of 1936 and played to December 5, 1952. The shows typically ran thirty minutes and ran twice a week in the beginning years. They later reverted to being broadcast once a week. The last season of the show in 1952 the show reverted back to a twice a week schedule. Al Hodge played the role of Britt Reid for seven years. Fran Striker, a co-creator of the Lone Ranger, wrote all of the scripts for the Green Hornet until April 1944. After that, several other writers were brought in to script the show. The writing output of Fran Striker was incredible. While he was scripting the Green Hornet he was also writing the scripts for the Lone Ranger program.

People are Funny was a television game show that premiered and ended on NBC from 1954-1961. It was shot in the outside world and dared people to do stunts for fun for spectators. This was done to "reveal the true nature" of their guests. This show was considered a predecessor to most of the reality game shows we know today, such as "Survivor" and MTV's "Jackass." Art Linkletter was the more well-known host of the show. Viewers grew up with him, but not just on People are Funny. He was also seen on Life With Linkletter (1950-52 & 1969-70), Art Linkletter's House Party (1952-69), and The Art Linkletter Show (1963).