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Hollywood Radio Theater (Lux) "Appointment With Danger" (10-19-53) - Boxcars711 Saturday Matinee Two Jan 13, 2008

Show notes

Hollywood Radio Theater (Lux), one of the genuine classic radio anthology series (NBC Blue Network, 1934-1935; CBS 1935-1955), adapted first Broadway stage and then (and especially) films to hour-long live radio presentations and became the standard by which future radio and early television anthologies would be judged. Cecil B. DeMille was the host of the series each Monday evening from June 1, 1936 until January 22, 1945. Lux Radio Theater strove to feature as many of the original stars of the original stage and film productions as possible, usually paying them $5,000 an appearance to do the show. It was when sponsor Lever Brothers (who made Lux soap and detergent) moved the show from New York to Hollywood in 1936 that it eased back from adapting stage shows and toward adaptations of films. The first Lux film adaptation was The Legionnaire and the Lady, with Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable, based on the film Morocco. That was followed by a Lux adaptation of The Thin Man, featuring the movie's stars, Myrna Loy and William Powell.

The CBS Radio Mystery Theater "The Tenth Life" (2-02-77) - Boxcars711 Saturday Matinee One Jan 12, 2008

Show notes

The CBS Radio Mystery Theater was an ambitious effort by veteran radio producer Himan Brown to revive interest in American radio drama. Every night from 1974 to 1982, host E. G. Marshall (later Tammy Grimes) ushered listeners through a creaking door -- similar to the one Brown used on Inner Sanctum decades earlier -- for an hour of âthe fear you can hear.â Brown produced nearly 200 new episodes of Mystery Theater every year, using both original scripts and adaptations of classic stories by Edgar Allen Poe, Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The Mystery Theater brought many veterans from radioâs golden age back before the microphone, including Agnes Moorehead, Richard Widmark, Celeste Holm, Mercedes McCambridge and Howard daSilva. The show also featured performances from many up-and-coming stage and film actors, including Tony Roberts, John Lithgow, Morgan Fairchild, Mandy Patinkin and Sarah Jessica Parker. The CBS Radio Mystery Theater won the George A. Peabody Award in 1975. After eight years and over 1,500 shows, the show ended its run on December 30, 1982. E. G. Marshall died on August 24, 1998. The CBS Radio Mystery Theater was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1990.

Inner Sanctum "Deaths Little Brother" (8-29-49) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 12, 2008

Show notes

Taking its name from a popular series of mystery novels, Inner Sanctum Mysteries debuted over NBCâs Blue Network in January 1941. Inner Sanctum Mysteries featured one of the most memorable and atmospheric openings in radio history: an organist hit a dissonant chord, a doorknob turned and the famous âcreaking doorâ slowly began to open. Every week, Inner Sanctum Mysteries told stories of ghosts, murderers and lunatics. Produced in New York, the cast usually consisted of veteran radio actors, with occasional guest appearances by such Hollywood stars Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Claude Rains. What made Inner Sanctum Mysteries unique among radio horror shows was its host, a slightly-sinister sounding man originally known as âRaymond.â The host had a droll sense of humor and an appetite for ghoulish puns, and his influence can be seen among horror hosts everywhere, from the Crypt-Keeper to Elvira. Raymond Edward Johnson was the showâs host until 1945; Paul McGrath took over the role until the show left the air in 1952. Producer Hiram Brown would utilize the creaking door again in the 1970s, when he produced and directed The CBS Radio Mystery Theater. Inner Sanctum Mysteries was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1988.

21st Precinct "The Bartender" (7-21-53) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 11, 2008

Show notes

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. Hard-boiled private detective series that often portrayed police as inept or incompetent were losing favor. NBC's DRAGNET had proven that a realistic police show could attract and hold an audience. NOTE: The official title of the series according to the series scripts and the CBS series promotional materials was 21ST PRECINCT and not TWENTY-FIRST PRECINCT or TWENTY FIRST PRECINCT which appears in many Old-Time Radio books. In 1953 CBS decided to use New York City as the backdrop for their own half-hour police series and focus o the day-to-day operations of a single police precinct. Actual cases would be used as the basis for stories.

The Falcon - "Case Of The King Of Clubs" (7-17-52) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 11, 2008

Show notes

THE FALCON was the nom de guerre of a true man of mystery. He was either MICHAEL WARING, a shadowy figure who took on the underworld with the aid of his friend Sarge, avoiding the police because they tended to blame him for their unsolved crimes, created by Drexel Drake in 1936 and originally appearing in a series of novels and at least one short story. Or he was GAY STANHOPE FALCON, a sort of freelance adventurer and troubleshooter, definitely on the hardboiled side,.created by Michael Arlen in a 1940 short story. Either way, though, he was a man who made his living "keeping his mouth shut and engaging in dangerous entreprises," according to Otto Penzler et al's Detectionary. And, like Boston Blackie, a long, lucrative and convuluted career in film, radio and television soon followed, as The Falcon's occupation and even his name were changed from medium to medium.THIS EPISODE:July 17, 1952. NBC network. "The Case Of The King Of Clubs". Sustaining. Not auditioned. Michael Waring travels to Berlin for Army Intellignce, where he learns that "when trumps are led, the game can murder!" tThe system cue is added live. Les Damon, Drexel Drake (creator), Fred Collins (announcer), Bernard L. Schubert (producer, transcriber), Richard Lewis (director), Eugene Wang (writer), Lily Valente. 30:49.

Exploring Tomorrow "How Big Is A Man" (2-12-58) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 11, 2008

Show notes

EXPLORING TOMORROWStarting as a replacement show for Gangbusters and Counterspy, the series premiered December 11, 1957 and it ran until June 13, 1958. Quoting from Astounding Magazine, "Exploring Tomorrow is the first science fiction radio show of science-fictioneers, by science- fictioneers, and for science-fictioneers" The shows were narrated by the editor of Astounding Magazine, John W. Campbell, Jr., with scripts written by Gordon Dickson, Robert Silverberg and many other notable science fiction writers. THIS EPISODEHow Big Is A Man - Poul Anderson (author), John Campbell Jr. (host), Guy Wallace (announcer). 20 minutes.

The Damon Runyon Theater "The Brain Goes Home" (4-03-49) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 11, 2008

Show notes

He was born Alfred Damon Runyan in Manhattan, Kansas, and grew up in Pueblo, Colorado, where Runyon Field and Runyon Lake are named after him. He was a third-generation newspaperman, and started in the trade under his father in Pueblo. He worked for various newspapers in the Rocky Mountain area; at one of those, the spelling of his last name was changed from "Runyan" to "Runyon", a change he let stand. After a notable failure in trying to organize a Colorado minor baseball league, Runyon moved to New York City in 1910. For the next ten years he covered the New York Giants and professional boxing for the New York American. In his first New York byline, the American editor dropped the "Alfred", and the name "Damon Runyon" appeared for the first time. Broadcast from January to December 1949, "The Damon Runyon Theatre" dramatized 52 of Runyon's short stories for radio.The Damon Runyon Theater was a series that was syndicated across the USA beginning in early 1949. Damon Runyon was a gifted sports writer in New York City as well as being a great journalist and great short story writer. His stories were humorous ones, written in the "dem" and "dose" vernacular of the city's loveable and not so loveable characters of Broadway, the prize ring and the underworld. His most famous collection of short stories, Guys and Dolls, was on Broadway and later made into a movie. Many of his stories were filmed including Sorrowful Jones, A Pocketful of Miracles, Lady for a Day, Blue Plate Special, The Lemon Drop Kid (twice) and Little Miss Marker (four times). In addition to this The Damon Runyon Theater was syndicated for television in the mid 1950s.

Matinee Theater "Till We Meet Again" (3-25-45) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 10, 2008

Show notes

This show represented a serious attempt by CBS to provide quality dramatic programming for its Sunday afternoon listeners. A continuation of the series "Dangerously Yours," it was renamed "Matinee Theater" with a view towards presenting "a greater range of stories." That broader scope was able to accommodate such episodes as "Beautiful Dreamer" (the Stephen Foster story) and "The Love Story of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning." Victor Jory and several different female stars paired to bring classics like "Wuthering Heights," "Jane Eyre" and "The Scarlet Pimpernel" to the audience, as well as a number of more contemporary works. The first of these thirty-minute broadcasts aired October 22, 1944 and the final one on April 8, 1945. The Vick Chemical Company sponsored throughout.

It's Higgins Sir "Mrs Roberts Has A Car Accident" (7-17-51) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 10, 2008

Show notes

IT'S HIGGINS SIRFirst Show: July 3, 1951Last Show: September 25, 1951The Roberts, a normal, middle income American family inherit a silver tea set from distant relative in England. The tea set is accompanied by it's caretaker, Higgins, their new butler. Normal family situations are punctuated by Higgin's smart aleck comments and his general disdain for otrt things American and all things common. The show was a Summer Replacement Series for The Bob Hope Show.CAST: Starring: Harry McNaughton (as Higgins), Vinton Hayworth, Peggy Allenby, Charles Nevil, Pat Hosley and Denise Alexander.Creator/Director: Paul Harrison Writers: Paul Harrison and Rick Vollick.

The Amos & Andy Show "Andy The Fugitive" (5-26-44)- Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 09, 2008

Show notes

Amos 'n' Andy, still written entirely by the two stars, was the top-rated program of all in 1930, with a 54.4 rating and 30 million listeners (compare that to the Super Bowl's 44.2 rating in 2004). By this time, the wily, coniving Kingfish was becoming a major personality, eventually supplanting sensible Amos as star of the show (Freeman Gosden gave voice to both characters while Charles Correll played Andrew H. Brown).

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