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The Hall Of Fantasy "Crawling Thing" (5-18-53) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 09, 2008

Show notes

There were four series under the HALL OF FANTASY banner, all produced by Richard Thorne. The first HALL OF FANTASY originated from radio station KALL in Salt Lake City, Utah. Richard Thorne and Carl Greyson were announcers for the station and produced the rather barebones shows, possibly late in 1946 and into 1947. The series consisted of 26 shows. Broadcast dates for the shows are not known. The shows were written or adapted by Robert Olson and directed by Mr. Thorne. Most were classic murder mysteries with traditional endings; the evil-doer got his just rewards. The series was sponsored by the Granite Furniture Company, although existing shows are missing the commercials, apparently because they were inserted live.

Mr. Moto "Project 77 (7-01-51)" Episode7 - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 09, 2008

Show notes

Mr. Moto is small in stature but strong and an expert in judo. He was the title character of a series of books, beginning with No Hero (1935; British title: Mr Moto Takes a Hand, reprint title: Your Turn, Mr. Moto), and of eight films between 1937 and 1939, in which he was portrayed by Peter Lorre. With the beginning of World War II, Mr. Moto fell out of favor with Americans, and no new books or movies about him appeared between 1942 and 1957. A dedicated and cold-blooded spy for Imperial Japan, Moto is not a conventional hero. He does not look for opportunities to commit violence but has no problem with killing people who obstruct his plans, and he would not hesitate to take his own life if necessary. But he is a master of concealing his true nature while under cover, and usually appears dull, naive, utterly harmless. He does not try to correct the bigoted attitudes of Westerners toward him and other Asians, and is not above encouraging such condescension. It often works to his advantage, leading Westerners to ignore or underestimate him.THIS EPISODE:Mr. I. A. Moto. July 1, 1951. NBC net. "Project 77". Sustaining. Not auditioned. A scientist is tortured to revealed the secrets of, "Project 77." John P. Marquand (creator), Harry W. Junkin (writer, director), Carol Irwin (producer), Bill Smith, Connie Lembcke, Bill Lipton, James Monks, Fred Collins (announcer), Scott Tennyson, Ian Martin. 29:35.

Arch Oboler's Plays "African Story" (11-28-64) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 09, 2008

Show notes

Arch Oboler's Plays was a radio drama series written, produced and directed by Arch Oboler. Minus a sponsor, it ran for one year, airing Saturday evenings on NBC from March 25, 1939 to March 23, 1940 and revived five years later on Mutual for a sustaining summer run from April 5, 1945 to October 11, 1945. Leading film actors were heard on this series, including Ingrid Bergman, Gloria Blondell, Eddie Cantor, James Cagney, Ronald Colman, Joan Crawford, Greer Garson, Edmund Gwenn, Van Heflin, Katharine Hepburn, Elsa Lanchester, Peter Lorre, Frank Lovejoy, Raymond Massey, Burgess Meredith, Paul Muni, Alla Nazimova, Edmond O'Brien, Geraldine Page, Gale Sondergaard, Franchot Tone and George Zucco.

Ellery Queen "Message In Red" (11-04-45) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 08, 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.

The Fred Allen Show "Guest Frank Sinatra" (10-21-45) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 08, 2008

Show notes

Fred Allen (born John Florence Sullivan on May 31, 1894 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, died March 17, 1956 in New York City) was an American comedian whose absurdist, pointed radio show (1934â1949) made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists in the so-called classic era of American radio. His best-remembered gag may be his long-running mock feud with friend and fellow comedian Jack Benny, but Allen didn't need it to make or secure his own reputation. He was one of the most accomplished, daring humorists of his (and most any) time. The unchallenged master ad libber, he battled censorship and created routines whose style and substance alike influenced several future comic generations. Perhaps more than any of his generation, Fred Allen wielded an influence that outlived both his contemporaries and the medium that made him famous.

Space Patrol "The Electronic Burglar" (11-19-52) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 08, 2008

Show notes

Space Patrol debuted on March 9, 1950 as a fifteen minute show on KECA-TV in Los Angeles, a little over 6 months before the Tom Corbett series began. The first half hour Saturday show began on December 30, 1950 and lasted until February 26, 1955. The fifteen minute shows were kinescoped for broadcast outside of the Los Angles area within a week or two of the California broadcast. In June of 1952 the Saturday shows were broadcast live from coast to coast and the daily 15 minute shows continued to be broadcast on the West Coast for at least three years after the coast to coast syndication had ended. The shows creator, Mike Moser, was a Navy veteran of World War II who had trained hurricane-hunter squadrons. In a 1952 Time article, Mr. Moser said the show was inspired while he was flying over the Pacific and thinking about the universe. He wanted kids to grow up with the same sense of wonder for the future he had experienced during his childhood with Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. Broadcast History : September 18th, 1950 - March 19th, 1955 ABC. 30m, Mondays and Fridays at 5:30pm Cast : Ed Kemmer as Buzz Corry, Lyn Osborn as Cadet Happy Virginia Hewitt as Carol Karlyle Ken Mayer as Maj. Robbie Robertson, Norman Jolley as Dr. Malingro, Nina Bara as Tonga, Bela Kovacs as Prince Baccarritti - Announcers : DIck Tufeld, Dick Wesson - Producer/Directors : Larry Robertson, Mike Moser - Writer : Lou Huston - Notes : Ran concurrently on TV and Radio, with most of the same performers.

Nightfall -The Body Snatchers (8-29-80) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 07, 2008

Show notes

Nightfall is the title of a radio drama series produced and aired by CBC Radio ( Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ) from July 1980 to June 1983. While primarily a supernatural/horror series, Nightfall featured some episodes in other genres, such as science fiction, mystery, fantasy, and human drama. One episode was even adapted from a folk song by Stan Rogers. Some of Nightfall's episodes were so terrifying that the CBC registered numerous complaints and some affiliate stations dropped it. Despite this, the series went on to become one of the most popular shows in CBC Radio history, running 100 episodes that featured a mix of original tales and adaptations of both classic and obscure short stories. THIS EPISODE:August 29, 1980. Program #9. CBC origination, NPR net, WPBH-FM, Middlefield, Conn. aircheck. "The Body Snatchers". Sustaining. A story of the acquisition of fresh cadavers for medical school. The WPBH-FM rebroadcast date is October 10, 1981. Neil Munro (narrator), Graham Haley, Robert Christie, Richard Donat, Sean Mulcahy (doubles), Wendy Thatcher, Michael Wincott, Bill Robinson (sound effects), Eric House, John Jessop (recording engineer), John Douglas (senior story editor), Nina Callaghan (production assistant), Bill Howell (producer, director), Robert Louis Stevenson (author), Frank W. McEnaney (adaptor), Henry Ramer (host). 29:54

The Haunting Hour "The Old Old Men" (Ep.03 - 1944) - Boxcars711 Sunday Matinee Three Jan 07, 2008

Show notes

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."

The Ford Theater "Arrowsmith" (6-27-48) - Boxcars711 Sunday Matinee Two Jan 07, 2008

Show notes

The FORD THEATER, sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, presented hour long dramas first on NBC for one only season. The series moved to CBS for its second and last season. There were 39 NBC and 39 CBS hour- long shows (not verified). The show initially received an unfavorable review from the New York Times for poor script adaptation but was still highly rated for the actors' performance and overall production. The show was supposed to feature only original scripts but had to forgo that plan due to lack of quality material. The first season on NBC used radio actors under the direction of George Zachary. Martin Gabel announced the first show but was soon replaced by Kenneth Banghart. The second season, on CBS, used Hollywood screen actors in the lead roles, supported by radio actors. Fletcher Markle, who previously produced CBS's STUDIO ONE series, was the producer for the second season. Although a short series, it still has some of radio's best dramas. THIS EPISODE:Arrowsmith tells the story of bright and scientifically-minded Martin Arrowsmith as he makes his way from a small town in the Midwest to the upper echelons of the scientific community. (He is born in Elk Mills, Winnemac, the same fictional state in which several of Lewis's other novels are set.) Along the way he experiences medical school, private practice as the only doctor in tiny Wheatsylvania, North Dakota, various stints as regional health official, the lure of high-paying hospital jobs. Finally, Arrowsmith is recognized by his former medical school mentor, Max Gottlieb, for a scientific paper he has written and is invited to take a post with a prestigious research institute in New York. The book's climax deals with Dr. Arrowsmith's discovery of a phage that destroys bacteria and his experiences as he faces an outbreak of bubonic plague on a fictional Caribbean island.

The Lux Radio Theater "Blood & Sand" (10-20-41) - Boxcars711 Sunday Matinee One Jan 06, 2008

Show notes

In October of 1934, "Lux Radio Theater" debuted in New York on NBC's Blue radio network. Presenting audio versions of popular Broadway plays, the show failed to garner an audience and soon ran out of material. After switching networks to CBS and moving to Hollywood, Lux found its true market. The show began featuring adaptations of popular films, performed by as many of the original stars as possible. With an endless supply of hit films scripts and an audience of more than 40 million, Lux enjoyed a prosperous run until the curtain fell in 1956.THIS EPISODE:October 20, 1941. CBS net. "Blood and Sand". Sponsored by: Lux. The rise and fall of a great bull fighter, the role made famous by Rudolph Valentino. Kathleen Fitz, Lester Schott, Lou Merrill, Louis Silvers (music director), Elsa Brand, Erik Rolf, Gale Gordon, Howard McNear, Jeff Corey, Bruce Payne (doubles), Cecil B. DeMille, Anne Stone, Tyrone Power, Annabella, Bea Benaderet, Sanford Barnett (director), George Wells (adaptor), Charlie Forsyth (sound effects), Vicente Blasco Ibanez (author), Lois Collier (commercial spokesman), Nancy Bickell (commercial spokesman), Jo Swerling (screenwriter), Nick Toms (doubles), Paul Dubov, Walter Tetley, Ben Alexander (commercial spokesman), Julie Bannon (commercial spokesman), Melville Ruick (announcer). 59:45.

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