Boxcars711 Old Time Radio

Latest Episodes:

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Adventures Of Frank Race "Reckless Daughter" (7-10-49) Nov 01, 2007

Show notes

The Adventures of Frank Race, by Bruce Ells Productions, was first heard in May of 1949. The main character, Frank Race, was an attorney before World War II. As a result of his activities in the war, when it was over, he traded his law books for a career with the OSS. There, "Adventure" became his business. Tom Collins played the role of Frank Race initially, immediately following his stint as Chandu, The Magician. The lead role was taken over later by Paul Dubof.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Crime Classics "The Assassination Of Abraham Lincoln" (12-09-53) Nov 01, 2007

Show notes

Classics was a U. S. radio docudrama which aired over CBS from June 15, 1953 to June 30, 1954. Created, produced, and directed by radio actor/director Elliott Lewis, the program was basically a historical true crime series, examining crimes, and especially murders, from the past. It grew out of Lewis's personal interest in famous murder cases, and took a documentary-like approach to the subject, carefully recreating the facts, personages, and feel of the time period. Comparatively little dramatic license was taken with the facts and events, but the tragedy was leavened with humor, expressed largely through the narration.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Perry Mason - The Case Of The Restless Redhead (1943-1945) Oct 31, 2007

Show notes

When someone mentions the name "Perry Mason" the first image that runs through their mind is of a lawyer who unmasks murderers and crooks in the courtroom. Even though the television Perry Mason is the one everyone remembers, the original Perry Mason, whose derivation came from radio, is a lot different. The Perry Mason of radio would rather swap gunshots with evildoers than sit in a boring courtroom, waiting for the deliberation! Geared more towards action than courtroom drama, Perry Mason ran 12 seasons and later led to the development of the now-popular Raymond Burr television show, which started in the late 1950's.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Screen Guild Theater "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (6-16-47) Oct 31, 2007

Show notes

The Screen Guild Theater boasted some of the greatest all-star casts ever assembled for radio. Nearly every major film star lined up to perform in Screen Guild's half-hour movie adaptations because they knew it was for a good cause: All talent fees went to the Motion Picture Country House for aging and indigent film actors.THIS EPISODE:

Nick Smith, the middle-aged proprietor of a roadside restaurant, hires drifter Frank Chambers as a handyman. Frank eventually begins an affair with Nick's beautiful wife Cora, who talks Frank into helping her kill Nick, by "accident." But the best laid plans...... Written by Jim Beaver {jumblejim@prodigy.net}

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Boston Blackie "Fifty-Thousand In Bonds To Be Divided" (2-09-49) Oct 31, 2007

Show notes

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.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Abbott & Costello Show "Bugs Bunny & Lucille Ball" (11-28-43) Oct 30, 2007

Show notes

Abbott and Costello William (Bud) Abbott and Lou Costello (born Louis Francis Cristillo) were an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film and television made them one of the most popular teams in the history of comedy. Thanks to the endurance of their most popular and influential routine, "Who's on First?"---whose rapid-fire word play and comprehension confusion set the preponderant framework for most of their best-known routines---the team are also the only comedians known to have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. 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).

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Dad's Army "Don't Fence Me In" (5-15-75) Oct 30, 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 - Rocky Jordan "The Man In The Morgue" (11-21-48) Oct 30, 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."

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Whistler "Notes In The Night" (6-27-46) Oct 30, 2007

Show notes

"I am the Whistler and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak..." These words followed by a whistling that was distinctive and well-remembered recalls one of the best mystery crime series of the past. Eminating for all its life from the West Coast this broadcast had a run of almost 13 years. Aired over the CBS radio network it was sponsored for much of the time by the Signal Oil Co. The show first broadcast its fantastic thirty-minute crime mystery series in May 1942 and did not finish until September 1948. There were more than 450 shows of murder and intrigue in all. Although it ran for 6 years it was broadcast for only one year on a national network. The show opened to the sound of footsteps and an eerie whistle, which went on throughout the introductory music. The Whistler always began the show with the opening lines; I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak??

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Theater Five "It's My Funeral" (4-09-65) Oct 29, 2007

Show notes

Theater Five was ABC's attempt to revive radio drama during the early 1960s. The series name was derived from its time slot, 5:00 PM. Running Monday through Friday, it was an anthology of short stories, each about 20 minutes long. News programs and commercials filled out the full 30 minutes. There was a good bit of science fiction and some of the plots seem to have been taken from the daily newspaper. Fred Foy, of The Lone Ranger fame, was an ABC staff announcer in the early 60s, who, among other duties, did Theater Five.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected