Boxcars711 Old Time Radio

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Amos & Andy "The Marriage Counselor" (12-17-43) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod May 06, 2008

Show notes

Amos 'n' Andy creators Gosden and Correll were white actors familiar with minstrel traditions. They met in Durham, North Carolina in 1920, and by the fall of 1925, they were performing nightly song-and-patter routines on the Chicago Tribune's station WGN. Since the Tribune syndicated Sidney Smith's popular comic strip The Gumps, which had successfully introduced the concept of daily continuity, WGN executive Ben McCanna thought the notion of a serialized drama could also work on radio. He suggested to Gosden and Correll that they adapt The Gumps to radio. They instead proposed a series about "a couple of colored characters" and borrowed certain elements of The Gumps. Their new series, Sam 'n' Henry, began January 12, 1926, fascinating radio listeners throughout the Midwest.

Ellery Queen Mysteries "Nick The Knife" (8-09-45) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod May 06, 2008

Show notes

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:April 15, 1948. ABC network. "The Slicer". Sustaining. An unknown madman has murdered nineteen women by attacking them at night while they are alone. The identity of "The Slicer" is quite a surprise, you'll never guess whodunit. The "Guest Armchair Detective" is Gene Handsaker (Hollywood columnist). Paul Masterson (announcer), Gene Handsaker, Anthony Boucher (writer), Manfred B. Lee (writer), Rex Koury (organist), Dick Woollen (producer, director), Lawrence Dobkin, Kaye Brinker, Herb Butterfield, Alan Reed. 29:30.

Academy Award Theater "Night Train" (11-13-46) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod May 06, 2008

Show notes

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:November 13, 1946. CBS network. "Night Train". Sponsored by: Squibb Drugs. An exciting spy story about a British agent who recaptures a kidnapped scientist from the Gestapo, just before WWII. Rex Harrison. 1/2 hour.

Murder AT Midnight "Till Death Do Us" (9-11-46) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod May 05, 2008

Show notes

The Murder at Midnight series was a thirty-minute broadcast featuring tales of the supernatural. The actors included Mercedes McCambridge and Lawson Zerbe and the show was narrated using the spooky, creepy voice of Raymond Morgan and always opened using the same gripping signature; âthe witching hour, when night is darkest, our fears are the strongest, our strength at its lowest ebbâ Midnight! â when graves gape open and death strikes!âTHIS EPISODE:September 11, 1946. Program #13. Syndicated. "'Til Death Do Us Part". Commercials added locally. A new bridegroom feels a compulsion to strangle his bride! A surprise ending! Anton M. Leader (director), Charles Paul (organ), Elspeth Eric, Eric Dressler, Joseph Ruscoll (writer), Louis G. Cowan (producer). 27:00.

Escape "The Earthmen" (7-25-51) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod May 05, 2008

Show notes

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: âTired of the everyday routine? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... Escape!â 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.

Boston Blackie "Star Of The Nile" (7-14-44) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod May 04, 2008

Show notes

The Boston Blackie radio series, also starring Morris, began June 23, 1944, on NBC as a summer replacement for The Amos 'n' Andy Show. Sponsored by Rinso, the series continued until September 15 of that year. Unlike the concurrent films, Blackie had a steady romantic interest in the radio show: Lesley Woods appeared as Blackie's girlfriend Mary Wesley. Harlow Wilcox was the show's announcer. On April 11, 1945, Richard Kollmar took over the title role in a radio series syndicated by Frederic W. Ziv to Mutual and other network outlets. Over 200 episodes of this series were produced between 1944 and October 25, 1950. Other sponsors included Lifebuoy Soap, Champagne Velvet beer, and R&H beer.THIS EPISODE:July 14, 1944. NBC network. Sponsored by: Rinso, Lifebuoy Soap. A fabulous gem called "The Star Of The Nile" disappears from a train between Chicago and New York. It's an emerald worth $200,000...or does it? The burglary is scheduled to take place at the jewelry store's vault at midnight. The story has one of the corniest conclusions ever broadcast! The organist jumps his cue at the end of the concluding public service announcement. Chester Morris, Shirley Mitchell, Richard Lane, Tony Barrett, Ralph Moody, Charles Cornell (organ), Harlow Wilcox (announcer). 29:36.

Broadway Is My Beat "The Case Of Charles Crandall" (5-12-51) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod May 04, 2008

Show notes

Broadway Is My Beat, a radio crime drama, ran on CBS from February 27, 1949 to August 1, 1954. With music by Robert Stringer, the show originated from New York during its first three months on the air, with Anthony Ross portraying Times Square Detective Danny Clover. John Dietz directed for producer Lester Gottlieb. Beginning with the July 7, 1949 episode, the series was broadcast from Hollywood with producer Elliott Lewis directing a new cast in scripts by Morton Fine and David Friedkin. The opening theme of "I'll Take Manhattan" introduced Detective Danny Clover (now played by Larry Thor), a hardened New York City cop who worked homicide "from Times Square to Columbus Circle -- the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world."

THIS EPISODE:

May 12, 1951. CBS network. Sustaining. Charles Crandall is found murdered in an alley. He has no wallet, but he does have an expensive watch and a parking ticket! Charlie Crandall proves to be very much alive. Larry Thor, Elliott Lewis (producer, director), Alexander Courage (composer, conductor), Charles Calvert, Morton Fine (writer), David Friedkin (writer), Jack Kruschen, Lou Merrill, Jeanette Nolan, Joe Walters (announcer), Adam Williams, Peggy Webber, Joy Terry. 29:33.

Dragnet "Big Convertible" (6-28-55) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod May 04, 2008

Show notes

Dragnet was a long-running radio and television police procedural drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. The show takes its name from an actual police term, a "dragnet", meaning a system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects. Dragnet debuted inauspiciously. The first several months were bumpy, as Webb and company worked out the programâs format and eventually became comfortable with their characters (Friday was originally portrayed as more brash and forceful than his later usually relaxed demeanor). Gradually, Fridayâs deadpan, fast-talking persona emerged, described by John Dunning as "a cop's cop, tough but not hard, conservative but caring." (Dunning, 210) Fridayâs first partner was Sgt. Ben Romero, portrayed by Barton Yarborough, a longtime radio actor.

Mr Keen - Murder & The Bloodstained Necklace (9-15-49) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod May 04, 2008

Show notes

Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons was one of network radio's longest running detectives, although listening to it now would hardly explain why. This kind, elderly, boring sleuth, in company with his bumbling assistant, Mike Clancy, was on the airwaves from 1937 to 1955, logging nearly 20 years of fighting crime. The series came out of the soap opera fiction factory of Frank and Anne Hummert and encompassed most of the trite dialogue and snail plotting of daytime serials.THIS EPISODE:September 15, 1949. CBS network. "The Case Of Murder and The Bloodstained Necklace". Sponsored by: Anacin, Kolynos, Heet, Kriptin, Bisodol, Hills Cold Tabs. A widow for one week is found dead in a hotel room with a string of worthless pearls clutched in her hand. Frank Hummert, Anne Hummert (author), Bennett Kilpack. 1/2 hour.

The Creaking Door "Three Wishes" (1940) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod May 02, 2008

Show notes

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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