Boxcars711 Old Time Radio

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The City "Airport" (6-29-47) Dec 13, 2007

Show notes

The City. June 28, 1947. CBS network. "Airport". Sustaining. "An impression for radio." "A cross section of the thousands of stories and dramas that are enacted daily in the city." Anne Morrison, Dave Vaille (? director), Earl Lee, Frank Burt (writer), Rita Lynn, Robert Libbott (writer), Sandy Becker, Wilbur Hatch (music), Norman Macdonnell (producer, director), Frank Goss (announcer), Gil Warren, Herb Butterfield, Leonore Kingston, Monty Margetts. 24:39.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Official Detective "Currency Exchange" (1950) Dec 12, 2007

Show notes

Police Melodrama1-19-47 thru 3-7-57 . Mutual network. Many weekly timeslots. Presented in cooperation with Official Detective Stories Magazine. CAST: Craig McDonnell as Detective Lt. Dan Britt. Tommy Evans as Sgt. Al Bowen. Directed by Wynn Wright.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Price Of Fear "Family Album" (1973) Dec 12, 2007

Show notes

For the 1970âs late-night horror show, The Price of Fear, the BBC dramatized the most chilling stories they could find, drawing on talented new writers as well as the established master of terror who narrated tale, re-written as though Price actually experienced each chilling adventure himself. The show was enormously successful in the UK and abroad, and a number of series were made during 1973, 1975 and 1982.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Crime Classics "Good Evening My Name Is Jack The Ripper" (6-30-54) Dec 12, 2007

Show notes

Crime Classics. June 30, 1954. CBS net origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "Good Evening, My Name Is Jack The Ripper". The story of the activities of the famed British slasher, as seen through the eyes of a young lass. The last show of the series. AFRTS program name: "Mystery Theatre." The AFRTS version omits the opening scene. AFRTS broadcast date: November 11, 1973. See cat. #73753 for an AFRTS version, not in the "Mystery Theatre" format that is a more complete version of this broadcast. Lou Merrill (host), Morton Fine (writer), David Friedkin (writer), Elliott Lewis (producer, director), Bernard Herrmann (composer, conductor), Betty Harford, B. J. Thompson, Irene Tedrow, Ben Wright, Paula Winslowe, James McCallion, Richard Peel, Roy Rowan (announcer). 25 minutes.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Dad's Army "The King Was In His Counting House" (5-20-75) Dec 11, 2007

Show notes

The unmistakable voice of Bud Flanagan singing 'Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr Hitler?', a cod-Second World War propaganda singalong written especially for the show (by Jimmy Perry), introduced Dad's Army, the zenith of the British broad-comedy ensemble sitcom. Consistently good writing and a wonderful cast of old timers and newer talents combined to produce a whimsical period-piece that continues, justifiably, to be savoured and has now assumed a place in the 'hall of greats' pantheon, adored by new generations of the British public.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - A Case For Dr Morelle "The Gambler" (1945) Dec 11, 2007

Show notes

That eminent criminologist, Dr. Morelle, has just solved another crime and incidentally administered a crushing rebuke to his pretty secretary Miss Frayle. This is his usual reaction to his somewhat scatterbrained amanuensis, but it does not seem to have put the smallest dent in her devotion to the psychiatrist whose infallibility is the despair of criminals and the delight of his friend Inspector Hood of Scotland Yard. Dr. Morelle has had some time to form these theories, having started his career as a sleuth in the early years of the war. "He was dreamed up in a coal cellar in Bristol, said his creator Ernest Dudley. It was 1940, and the coal cellar underneath my flat provided a comforting place during the Luftwaffeâs attacks on Bristol, where I was with the BBC Variety Department. I wrote the original series called Meet Dr. Morelle for Harry Pepper and Ronnie Waldmanâs famous show, Monday Night at Eight. I was briefed to get right away from the Scotland Yard detective idea; and also to provide a comedy role in the series for Jane Grahame, who had made a success in several radio shows. Since Miss Grahame was in private life my wife, I was quite happy about this."

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Clitheroe Kid "Whatever Happened To Grandad" (5-16-71) Dec 10, 2007

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 - a total of 17 series. It is surprising then that with such a success, and with such a long run that the shows are rarely broadcast. The humour was very obvious and probably wouldn't stand up in todays climes, but there has been one release from the BBC radio collection, so if you wanted to hear some of the shows, you can hunt this down in the shops.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Rocky Jordan "Up In Flames" (12-19-48) Dec 10, 2007

Show notes

ROCKY JORDAN was the title character of one of the better and more exotic radio detective series. In fact, it's one of the best detective series I have ever heard. The series had two separate incarnations. The first, A Man Named Jordan, started as a daily 15 minute show and after about six months changed to a weekly 30 minute show. It took place in Istanbul and the Cafe was described as "a small restaurant in a narrow street off Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, permeated with by the smoke of Oriental tobacco, alive with the babble of many tongues, and packed with intrigue." The second incarnation, Rocky Jordan, was a weekly 30 minute series took place in Cairo - "the gateway to the ancient East where adventure and intrigue unfold against the backdrop of antiquity." Jordan was a hard-boiled owner of the Cafe Tambourine who spent most of his time solving mysteries that he usually became involved in by accident. During the Cairo-based run, he often encountered Captain Sam Sabaaya of the Cairo police. John Dunning in his "On The Air: The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio" describes Jordan as "a rugged hero who each week was confronted by a crime, a mystery, a beautiful woman or a combination of the three. It was a detective show with a difference: the Oriental background was played to the hilt, giving it a sound like no other." The writers worked hard to give it authenticity - actual places and streets in Cairo were often and accurately mentioned. The music score also added to the exoticness of the series. Moyles, a veteran of radio, was much more believable in the role than Raft.

Boxcars711 Sunday Matinee Three- The Great Gildersleeve "The Canary Won't Sing" (11-30-51) Dec 10, 2007

Show notes

he Great Gildersleeve (1941-1957), initially written by Leonard L. Levinson, was arguably the first spin-off program in broadcast history. Built around a character who had been a staple on the classic radio situation comedy Fibber McGee and Molly, The Great Gildersleeve enjoyed its greatest success in the 1940s. Actor Harold Peary played the character during its transition from the parent show into the spin-off and later in a quartet of feature films released at the height of the show's popularity. On Fibber McGee and Molly, Peary's Gildersleeve was a pompous windbag who became a consistent McGee nemesis ("You're a haa-aa-aa-aard man, McGee!" became a Gildersleeve catch phrase). But he also became a popular enough windbag that Kraft Foods â looking primarily to promote its Parkay margarine spread â sponsored a new series with Peary's Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve (the character was given several conflicting first names on Fibber McGee and Molly, and on one episode of that show revealed his middle name as Philharmonic) as the central, slightly softened, and slightly befuddled focus of a lively new family.

Boxcars711 Sunday Matinee Two - Screen Directors Playhouse "The Killers" (6-05-49) Dec 10, 2007

Show notes

From 01/09/49 to 09/28/51 this series was greatly enjoyed by the radio listening audience. It opened as NBC Theater and was also known as The Screen Directorâs Guild and The Screen Directorâs Assignment. But most people remember it simply as Screen Directorâs Playhouse. Many of the Hollywood elite were heard recreating their screen roles over the radio. John Wayne in his rare radio appearances, Cary Grant, Edward G. Robinson, Lucille Ball, Claire Trevor, Tallulah Bankhead and many others were on the air week after week during these broadcasts. Many of Hollywoodâs directors were also heard in the recreation of their movies. The President of the Screen Directorâs Guild appeared on 02/13/49, and Violinist Isaac Stern supplied the music for the 04/19/51 broadcast. THIS EPISODE:June 5, 1949. NBC network. "The Killers". Sustaining. Screen director Robert Siodmak appears. After a $200,000 robbery, a gangster just out of jail double crosses the gang and is double crossed in turn. Burt Lancaster, Dan Riss, Frank Barton (announcer), Frank Gerstle, Gwen Delano, Milton Geiger (adaptor), Robert Siodmak (guest screen director), Sam Edwards, Shelley Winters, Tony Barrett, William Conrad. 29:35.

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