Boxcars711 Old Time Radio

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The Twilight Zone "Mr Denton On Doomsday" (10-16-59) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Feb 28, 2008

Show notes

Throughout the 1950s, Rod Serling had established himself as one of the hottest names in television, equally famous for his success in writing televised drama as he was for criticizing the medium's limitations. His most vocal complaints concerned the censorship frequently practiced by sponsors and networks. "I was not permitted to have my Senators discuss any current or pressing problem," he said of his 1957 production 'The Arena', intended to be an involving look into contemporary politics. "To talk of tariff was to align oneself with the Republicans; to talk of labor was to suggest control by the Democrats. To say a single thing germane to the current political scene was absolutely prohibited." THIS EPISODE:Portrait of a town drunk named Al Denton. This is a man who's begun his dying earlyâa long agonizing route through a maze of bottles. Al Denton, who would probably give an arm or a leg or a part of his soul to have another chance, to be able to rise up and shake the dirt from his body and the bad dreams that infest his consciousness.

Favorite Story "The Man Without A Country" (5-01-48) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Feb 28, 2008

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FAVORITE STORY aired from September 1947 through December of 1949 hosted by Ronald Colman. This is an excellent dramatic series of great stories from classic literature brought to radio. It's popularity was so high and with such well done stories, it was rebroadcasted for many years.THIS EPISODE:MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRYThe protagonist of the story is a (fictional) young United States Army lieutenant named Philip Nolan, who developed a friendship with the visiting Aaron Burr. When Burr is tried for treason (as he actually was in 1807), Nolan was tried as an accomplice. During his testimony, Nolan bitterly renounced his nation, angrily shouting "D--n the United States! I wish I may never hear of the United States again!" (When the novel was first published, the word "damn" was considered too obscene for publication.) Upon conviction, the judge icily granted Nolan his wish: he was to spend the rest of his life on warships of the United States Navy, in exile, with no right to ever again set foot on U.S. soil, and with no mention ever again made to him about his country. The sentence is carried out to the letter. None of those in whose custody Nolan remains will speak to him about the U.S., and his newspapers are censored. Nolan is unrepentant at first, but over the years becomes sadder and wiser. Deprived of a homeland, Nolan slowly and painfully learned the true worth of his country. He missed it more than his friends or family, more than art or music or love or nature. Without it, he was nothing. Dying, he shows his room to an officer named Danforth; it is "a little shrine" of patriotism. The Stars and Stripes are draped around a picture of George Washington. Over his bed, Nolan had painted an eagle, with lightning "blazing from his beak" and his claw grasping the globe. At the foot of his bed was a dated map of the old territories. Nolan smiled. "Here, you see, I have a country!" Nolan dies content after Danforth finally tells him all that has happened to the U.S. since his sentence was imposed.

Fibber McGee & Molly "Running Kramers Drug Store" (3-25-52) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Feb 28, 2008

Show notes

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 developed 145 different voices and characters. Broadcast to the nation from WMAQ/Chicago, the show entertained America until March 1956, and continued on NBCâs Monitor until 1959. Jim Jordan died on April 1, 1988. Marian Jordan died on April 7, 1961. Fibber McGee and Molly was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1989. First Broadcast date April 16, 1935. Last Broadcast date September 6, 1959.

Family Theater "Verdict Guilty" (1-29-48) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Feb 27, 2008

Show notes

THIS EPISODE:FAMILY THEATER - January 29, 1948. Mutual network. "Verdict: Guilty". Sustaining. A father tells his two sons a story about a young man who was unjustly sent to jail, and how he planned his revenge on the judge who sentenced him. Dan Dailey (host), Alexander Knox, Stanley Clements, Jean Vander Pyl, Noreen Gammill, Tommy Bernard, Roland Morris, Ross Forrester, Lou Krugman, Griff Barnett, Herbert Rawlinson, Charles Maxwell, George Pirrone, Edward Colmans, Jack Price (writer), Max Terr (composer, conductor), David Young (director), Tony La Frano (announcer). 29:40. This show is posted with the expressed written consent of the owner and exclusively granted to Boxcars711 Old Time Radio. To learn more about Family Theater Productions or to view a list of local radio stations that air our programs or to purchase episodes, follow this link: http://www.familytheater.org/radio-classic.html

The Clitheroe Kid "A Load Of Chinese Junk" (12-29-63) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Feb 27, 2008

Show notes

The Clitheroe Kid was James Robertson Clitheroe, Jimmy Clitheroe to most, who by some strange coincidence did come from the town of that name without having to change his family name! At his full height he was 4ft 3in, and played the naughty schoolboy from 1958 to 1972. Although plausable from a distance, he was not really able to pass himself off as a youngster close up, so a TV career did not really take off too well, but at the peak of his fame the radio show was raking in about 10 million listeners, although by the end this had dropped to a tenth of that figure. Clitheroe was a very private person, and the shows became a sort of escape for him, as well as the release from the worries of his diminutive size, but despite this, his popularity increased and increased, making this series one of the longer running on the radio. The producer was Geoff Lawrence, with the music supplied by the BBC Northern Dance Orchestra, conducted by Alyn Ainsworth, and broadcast in the North of England only.

The Creaking Door "Man In The Morgue" (1950) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Feb 27, 2008

Show notes

In 1964, South Africa began The Creaking Door, using original scripts which included stories with a heavy emphasis on the supernatural. The topics ranged from haunted houses to a woman who turns into a giant cat, and of course, the typical paranoid murderer so often presented on the original Inner Sanctum. The host for this series was Peter Bloomfield. 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.

Let George Do It - The Corpse That Took A Powder (8-23-48) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Feb 27, 2008

Show notes

Let George Do It was a radio drama series produced by Owen and Pauline Vinson from 1946 to 1954. It starred Bob Bailey as detective-for-hire George Valentine (with Olan Soule stepping into the role in 1954). Clients came to Valentine's office after reading a newspaper carrying his classified ad: "Personal notice: Danger's my stock in trade. If the job's too tough for you to handle, you've got a job for me. George Valentine." Valentine's secretary was Claire Brooks, aka Brooksie (Frances Robinson, Virginia Gregg, Lillian Buyeff). As Valentine made his rounds in search of the bad guys, he usually encounted Brooksie's kid brother, Sonny (Eddie Firestone), Lieutenant Riley (Wally Maher) and elevator man Caleb (Joseph Kearns). Sponsored by Standard Oil, the program was broadcast on the West Coast Mutual Broadcasting System from October 18, 1946 to September 27, 1954, first on Friday evenings and then on Mondays. In its last season, transcriptions were aired in New York, Wednesdays at 9:30pm, from January 20, 1954 to January 12, 1955. John Hiestand was the program's announcer. Don Clark directed the scripts by David Victor and Jackson Gillis. The background music was supplied by Eddie Dunstedter on the organ.THIS EPISODE:August 23, 1948. Mutual-Don Lee network. "The Corpse That Took A Powder". Sponsored by: Standard Oil, Chevron. George Valentine gets a letter from Marsha Palmer, telling him that she's going to commit suicide. Later, at her apartment, the scrub woman disappears, and so does Marsha's dead body! Bob Bailey, Bud Hiestand (announcer), David Victor (writer), Don Clark (director), Eddie Dunstedter (music), Frances Robinson, Gwen Delano, Harry Lang, Herbert Little Jr. (writer), Jacqueline DeWitt, Ralph Moody, Tony Barrett, Wally Maher. 29:44.

The CBS Radio Theater "The Star Killer" (2-15-77) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Feb 26, 2008

Show notes

The CBS Radio Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT) was an ambitious and sustained attempt to revive the great drama of old-time radio in the 1970s. Created by Himan Brown (who had by then become a radio legend due to his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries and other shows dating back to the 1930s), and aired on affiliate stations across the CBS Radio network, the series began its long run on January 6, 1974. The final episode ran on December 31, 1982.The show was broadcast nightly and ran for one hour, including commercials. Typically, a week consisted of three to four new episodes, with the remainder of the week filled out with reruns. There were a total of 1399 original episodes broadcast. The total number of broadcasts, including reruns, was 2969. The late E.G. Marshall hosted the program every year but the final one, when actress Tammy Grimes took over. Each episode began with the ominous sound of a creaking door, slowly opening to invite listeners in for the evening's adventure. At the end of each show, the door would swing shut, with Marshall signing off, "Until next time, pleasant...dreams?"THIS EPISODE:February 15, 1977. Program #600. CBS net. "The Star Killers". Sponsored by: Buick, Ex Lax, Ballantine Books. E. G. Marshall (host), Sam Dann (writer), Mercedes McCambridge, Norman Rose, Court Benson, Judith Light. 52 minutes.

Lux Radio Theater "Criminal Code" (1-18-37) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Feb 26, 2008

Show notes

Lux Radio Theater, one of the genuine classic radio anthology series (NBC Blue Network (1934-1935); CBS (1935-1954); NBC (1954-1955)) adapted first Broadway stage works, and then (especially) films to hour-long live radio presentations. It quickly became the most popular dramatic anthology series on radio, running more than twenty years. The program always began with an announcer proclaiming, "Ladies and gentlemen, Lux presents Hollywood!" Cecil B. DeMille was the host of the series each Monday evening from June 1, 1936, until January 22, 1945. On one occasion, however, he was replaced by Leslie Howard.THIS EPISODE:January 18, 1937. CBS network. "Criminal Code". Sponsored by: Lux. A nice kid with all the breaks going against him gets ten years in the Big House, and finds love! Edward G. Robinson, Beverly Roberts, Cecil B. DeMille, Frank Nelson (performer, program opening announcer), Lou Merrill (doubles), Earle Ross, Louis Silvers (music director), Melville Ruick (announcer), Noel Madison, Paul Guilfoyle, Martin Flavin (author), Gladys Lloyd (intermission guest: wife of Edward G. Robinson), James B. Holohan (intermission quest: former warden of San Quentin), Walter Kingsford, William Williams (triples), Richard Abbott (triples), Ernie Adams (doubles), Justina Wayne (doubles), Joe Franz (doubles), Hilda Haywood (doubles), Margaret Brayton (doubles, commercial spokesman), Ross Forrester (triples), David Kerman (triples), Charles Emerson (commercial spokesman), Frank Woodruff (director), George Wells (adaptor), Charlie Forsyth (sound effects). 59:17

Sherlock Holmes "The Adventure Of The Second Stain" (1-30-55) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Feb 26, 2008

Show notes

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who first appeared in publication in 1887. He is the creation of Scottish born author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A brilliant London-based detective, Holmes is famous for his intellectual prowess, and is renowned for his skillful use of deductive reasoning (somewhat mistakenly - see inductive reasoning) and astute observation to solve difficult cases. He is arguably the most famous fictional detective ever created, and is one of the best known and most universally recognisable literary characters in any genre. Conan Doyle wrote four novels and fifty-six short stories that featured Holmes. All but four stories were narrated by Holmes' friend and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson, two having been narrated by Holmes himself, and two others written in the third person. The first two stories, short novels, appeared in Beeton's Christmas Annual for 1887 and Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1890. The character grew tremendously in popularity with the beginning of the first series of short stories in The Strand Magazine in 1891; further series of short stories and two serialized novels appeared almost right up to Conan Doyle's death in 1930. The stories cover a period from around 1878 up to 1903, with a final case in 1914.

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