Boxcars711 Old Time Radio

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Our Miss Brooks "Cafeteria Boycott" (3-13-49) Jun 29, 2007

Show notes

Our Miss Brooks, an American situation comedy, began as a radio hit in 1948 and migrated to television in 1952, becoming one of the earlier hits of the so-called Golden Age of Television, and making a star out of Eve Arden (1908-1990) as comely, wisecracking, but humane high school English teacher Connie Brooks. The show hooked around Connie's daily relationships with Madison High School students, colleagues, and pompous principal Osgood Conklin (Gale Gordon), not to mention favourite student Walter Denton (future television and Rambo co-star Richard Crenna, who fashioned a higher-pitched voice to play the role) and biology teacher Philip Boynton ( Jeff Chandler), the latter Connie's all-but-unrequited love interest, who saw science everywhere and little else anywhere.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Charlie Chan "Curious Ride Of The Sea Witch" (1950) Jun 29, 2007

Show notes

Charlie Chan was the Chinese detective created by Earl Derr Biggers. Over 40 Charlie Chan movies were done from the early 1930's through 1949, all of which starred non-Chinese actors as Charlie. Supposedly working as a Honolulu police detective, Charlie was almost always somewhere else, like Paris, Rio, LA, even Treasure Islandâbut he did have a wonderful home life, too, with a reported 14 children, including his famous #1, #2 etc. sons, ever intent on helping "pop" solve the case.Still, it's fun to hear ABC radio's daytime serial version of the Hawaiian family man who gave us all a little exotic wit and wisdom while uncovering dishonorable culprit. The other shows are more of "the incomparable" at work. Unfortunately, Chan on radio is very rare, the very opposite of the ubiquitous Charlie Chan movie reruns on TV. This is a mysterious absence even the great Charlie Chan might be needed to solve! Many mystery lovers sniff at Chan. But here's one more from Charlie that might applyâ"Mind, like parachute, only function when open."

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Mayor Of The Town "Musician Is Going Deaf" (12-02-42) Jun 28, 2007

Show notes

An NBC offering. Aired on Sundays from 7:00PM to 7:30PM, starring Lional Barrymore and Agnes Moorehead. The creator and writer was Jean Holloway, the announcer Harlow Wilcox, music by Gordon Jenkins and sponsored by Rinso detergent.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Honest Harold "Harold Loses His Job" (12-06-53) Jun 28, 2007

Show notes

HONEST HAROLD, THE HOMEMAKER AKA: THE HAROLD PEARY SHOW (Sep 17, 1950 to Jun 13, 1951 with an Audition Show Aug 23, 1950) Harold Peary began his radio career at age 13 and was a popular actor through the 1930's. In the end of the 1930's he played assorted characters on FIBBER MCGEE AND MOLLY, including a stuffed-shirt type named Gildersleeve. The character of Gildersleeve developed into a sizeable, eventually leading to the series THE GREAT GILDERSLEEVE. This was due to no small part to the ability of Harold Peary. In 1950, Harold Peary decided to move from NBC to CBS, assuming that the sponsor for THE GREAT GILDERSLEEVE, the Kraft Food Company, would follow, bringing that series to CBS. When Kraft didn't move, HONEST HAROLD, THE HOMEMAKER (also known as THE HAROLD PEARY SHOW) was created. Honest Harold Hemp lived with his mother and nephew and did a radio homemaker's program. The series received undeserved negative ratings and general negative attitude of the critics. The HONEST HAROLD scripts were well crafted with well developed characters and had excellent acting and production values.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - X Minus One "Real Gone" (2-27-57) Jun 27, 2007

Show notes

X MINUS ONE was an NBC science fiction series that was an extension, or revival, of NBC's earlier science fiction series, DIMENSION X. which ran from Apr. 8, 1950 through Sept. 29, 1951. Both are remembered for bringing really first rate science fiction to the air. The first X MINUS ONE shows used scripts from DIMENSION X, but soon created new shows from storied from the pages of Galaxy Magazine. A total of 125 programs were broadcast, some repeats or remakes, until the last show of Jan. 9, 1958. There was a one-program revival attempt in 1973, shown at the end of the log.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Shadow "Inventor Of Death" (11-12-39) Jun 27, 2007

Show notes

On September 26, 1937, the Shadow reappeared on radio with the voice of Orson Welles playing the part. The Shadow was now a full-fledged character on radio, not just narrating and introducing stories. The Shadow had an identity as Lamont Cranston, a wealthy man about town. He was accompanied by Margo Lane, originally played by Agnes Moorehead. Margo Lane was the only person who knew that Lamont Cranston and the Shadow were one and the same. No other agents assisted the Shadow, as did in the Walter Gibson fictional accounts. This radio Shadow had hypnotic power to make himself invisible to those around him and he possessed mental telepathy to read minds. Orson Welles played the Shadow from 1937 through March 1938. The Shadow became the highest rated radio show on the air at that time.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Whistler "The Professor And The Fox" (12-03-47) Jun 26, 2007

Show notes

The Whistler was one of radio's most popular mystery dramas, with a 13-year run from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955. If it now seems to have been influenced explicitly by The Shadow, The Whistler was no less popular or credible with its listeners, the writing was first class for its genre, and it added a slightly macabre element of humor that sometimes went missing in The Shadow's longer-lived crime stories. Writer-producer J. Donald Wilson established the tone of the show during its first two years, and he was followed in 1944 by producer-director George Allen. Other directors included Sterling Tracy and Sherman Marks with final scripts by Joel Malone and Harold Swanton. A total of 692 episodes were produced, yet despite the series' fame, over 200 episodes are lost today. In 1946, a local Chicago version of The Whistler with local actors aired Sundays on WBBM, sponsored by Meister Brau beer.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Cloak & Dagger "Swastika On The Windmill" (7-30-50) Jun 26, 2007

Show notes

"Are you willing to undertake a dangerous mission for the United States, knowing in advance you may never return alive?" Cloak and Dagger first aired over the NBC network on May 7, 1950. It had a short run through the Summer on Sundays, changing to Fridays after its Summer run. The last show aired Oct. 22, 1950. This is the story of the WWII special governmental agency, the OSS, or Office of Strategic Services. Its mission was to develop and maintain spy networks throughout Europe and into Asia, while giving aid to underground partisan groups and developing espionage activities for Allied forces overseas.The show is based on the book of the same name by Lt. Col. Corey Ford and Major Alastair MacBain (who were associated with the OSS from its early days.) The dramas are not Hollywood-style, in that they sometimes end with plans foiled or leading characters dead.

Boxcars711 Weekend Matinee - The Lux Radio Theater "Once Upon A Honeymoon" (4-12-43) Jun 24, 2007

Show notes

THE LUX RADIO THEATER was first heard on NBC October 14, 1934 as a Sunday afternoon show. On July 19, 1935, it moved to CBS and into it's long running Monday night time slot. All shows were one hour long. Less than a year after it's arrival on the air, the series' ratings began to drop. Danny Danker, an executive working for the advertising agency handling the Lux account, was given the responsibility to improve the show. What the show needed was extravaganza, and what the show got was Cecil B. DeMille. With DeMille as host, THE LUX RADIO THEATER brought in big name stars and brought the show back up to the top of the charts. DeMille became an institution on the show, conveying an almost frantic "the show must go on" attitude. Mr. DeMille left after the Jan. 22, 1945 show. The role of show host changed a number of times through the remainder of the show's history. William Keightley was the last host, remaining for the show's last curtain call on June 7, 1955. The CBS series ran through the Summer initially. It was off for the Summer every season after the first season. In 1953, CBS offered the Lux Summer Theater, a series of 14 hour-long shows, that aired in the same time slot as the regular Lux series. Both times that Lux was heard on NBC was for a single season.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Crime Classics "The Hangman & William Palmer" (10-07-53) Jun 23, 2007

Show notes

Crime 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.THIS EPISODE:October 7, 1953. CBS net. "The Hangman and William Palmer: Who Won?". Sustaining. Dr. Palmer enjoys horse racing and poisoning. Lou Merrill, Morton Fine (writer), David Friedkin (writer), Bernard Herrmann (composer, conductor), Jay Novello, Betty Harford, Bob Lemond (announcer), Elliott Lewis (producer, director), Ellen Morgan, Joseph Kearns, Ben Wright, Alistair Duncan. 29:41.

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