Boxcars711 Old Time Radio

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Escape "Up Periscope" (8-08-51) - Boxcars711Old Time Radio Pod Mar 12, 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. Some of the memorable adaptations include Algernon Blackwood's "Confession", Ray Bradbury's oft-reprinted "Mars Is Heaven," George R. Stewart's Earth Abides, Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game," F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz," John Collier's "Evening Primrose", later adapted to TV as a Stephen Sondheim musical starring Anthony Perkins. Vincent Price and Harry Bartell were heard in the chilling "Three Skeleton Key," the tale of three men trapped in an isolated lighthouse by thousands of rats. The half-hour was adapted from an Esquire short story by the French writer George Toudouze.

Abbott & Costello "English Butler" (12-09-43) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Mar 11, 2008

Show notes

ABBOTT & COSTELLO SHOW - They launched their own weekly show October 8, 1942, sponsored by Camel cigarettes. The Abbott and Costello Show mixed comedy with musical interludes (usually, by singers such as Connie Haines, Marilyn Maxwell, the Delta Rhythm Boys, Skinnay Ennis, and the Les Baxter Singers). Regulars and semi-regulars on the show included Artie Auerbrook, Elvia Allman, Iris Adrian, Mel Blanc, Wally Brown, Sharon Douglas, Verna Felton, Sidney Fields, Frank Nelson, Martha Wentworth, and Benay Venuta. Ken Niles was the show's longtime announcer, doubling as an exasperated foil to Abbott & Costello's mishaps (and often fuming in character as Costello insulted his on-air wife routinely); he was succeeded by Michael Roy, with annoncing chores also handled over the years by Frank Bingman and Jim Doyle. The show went through several orchestras during its radio life, including those of Ennis, Charles Hoff, Matty Matlock, Jack Meaking, Will Osborne, Freddie Rich, Leith Stevens, and Peter van Steeden. The show's writers included Howard Harris, Hal Fimberg, Parke Levy, Don Prindle, Ed Cherokee, Len Stern, Martin Ragaway, Paul Conlan, and Ed Forman, as well as producer Martin Gosch. Sound effects were handled mostly by Floyd Caton.

The Unexpected "2 Episodes From 1948" (Ep16 and Ep22) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Mar 11, 2008

Show notes

The Unexpected 1948 Program #115. Hamilton Whitney syndication. "The Mink Coat". Music fill for local commercial insert. A not-so-dumb book-keeper buys herself a mink coat with company funds. The date is approximate. Frank Burt (writer), Frank Danzig (director), Lurene Tuttle, Robert Libbott (writer). 15:14.Program #124. Hamilton Whitney syndication. "The Revere Cup". Music fill for local commercial insert. A woman who is cheated out of her inheritance gets all her money back, almost. The date is approximate. Lurene Tuttle, Frank Danzig (director), Robert Libbott (writer), Frank Burt (writer). 14:40.

The Six Shooter "Apron Faced Sorrel" (02-07-54) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Mar 11, 2008

Show notes

The Six Shooter, the only radio series staring James Stewart, aired on September 20, 1953. In this radio western, Jimmy played Britt Ponset, a man with a reputation for having a fast gun but is really very different from the hard, tough talking gun slinger type. Here the hero is a slow talking, thinking man who is ready with his gun, but first looks for options to violence. James Stewart played this character very well. Jimmy had appeared on many other radio shows including the Hollywood Star Playhouse where the character of Britt Ponset was introduced in an episode called "The Six Shooter". The same script was used for the audition of THE SIX SHOOTER series, again with Jimmy as Britt. The show aired between September 1953 and June 1954.

The Haunting Hour "The Thought" (1950) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Mar 11, 2008

Show notes

THE HAUNTING HOUR - The shows are classic chills from the old school, with creepy organ, overwrought women and over the top men. Perhaps not the highest of melodrama, but obsessively workmanlike. After all, they might have known they were a skeleton staff toiling relentlessly without a ghost of a chance of fame. Thanks to transcription, these unknowns are still with us. John Dunning, succinctly states in "On the Air, The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio," "There were no credits, so casts and production crews are unknown."THIS EPISODE:NBC syndication. "The Thought" (1949). Commercials added locally. A mental telepathist in a nightclub reading the minds of his audience detects thoughts of murder. . 25 minutes.

Diary Of Fate "Phillip Vale" (6-01-48) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Mar 10, 2008

Show notes

DIARY OF FATE is a mystery and horror program where âFateâ narrates and always wins by the end of the story. These are great suspense filled stories about average people who are subject to the mysteries of their âFateâ.THIS EPISODE:June 1, 1948. Program #25. Finley syndication. "Phillip Vale". Commercials added locally. Book 63, page 209. Phillip Vale decides to kill his wealthy Aunt Ruth when he loses $20,000 of her money on a bad stock market investment. The date is subject to correction. Larry Finley (producer). 27:27.

Boston Blackie "Butcher Boy Gang" (8-06-47) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Mar 10, 2008

Show notes

Boston 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.THIS EPISODE: August 6, 1947. Program #121. Mutual network origination, Ziv syndication. Commercials added locally. Blackie tackles the "Butcher Boys" gang. Richard Kollmar. 26:38.

Broadway Is My Beat - Eugene Bullock Case (11-19-49) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Mar 10, 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."

The Lone Ranger "Crooked Banker And Sheriff" (5-10-37) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Mar 10, 2008

Show notes

The Lone Ranger was a long-running early radio and television show based on characters created by George W. Trendle, and developed by writer Fran Striker. The titular character is a masked cowboy in the American Old West, who gallops about righting injustices, usually with the aid of a clever and laconic American Indian called Tonto, and his horse Silver. He would famously say "Heigh-ho Silver, away!" to get the horse to gallop.

Defense Attorney "Mr. Masters" (4-10-52) - Boxcars711 Weekend Matrinee Two Mar 10, 2008

Show notes

DEFENSE ATTORNEY - Playing radio's last lady crime fighter was a prominent actress, Mercedes McCambridge. The series began on NBC under the title "The Defense Rests" in the spring of 1951. NBC soon dropped it so ABC picked it up, kept the same cast, re-titled it :"Defense Attorney" and aired it from August 1951 to December 1952. McCambridge, portraying an attorney named Martha Ellis Bryant, spent virtually no time in the courtroom and instead was in the streets, solving crimes and mysteries. She was assisted by her boy friend, Jud Barnes, a reporter, played by Howard Culver (whose "Straight Arrow" series had just gone off the air.) Six episodes of the ABC series and one of the NBC version have survived and all attest to the excellent writing, good acting, and fast pace of a well-done adventure show. When Attorney Bryant solved her last case on 12-30-52, it brought down the curtain on OTR's lady crime fighters.

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