Boxcars711 Old Time Radio

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Yours Truly Johnny Dollar "The Rochester Theft Matter" (5-12-53) Jun 05, 2007

Show notes

Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was a radio drama about a freelance insurance investigator that aired from February 11, 1949 to September 30, 1962 on CBS. There were 811 episodes in the 12-year run, and over 720 still exist today. Charles Russell was the first to star as Johnny Dollar, the smart and tough detective who tossed silver dollar tips to bellhops. With the first three actors to play Johnny Dollar there was little to distinguish it from other detective series at the time (Richard Diamond, Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade).While always a friend of the police,Johnny wasn't necessarily a stickler for the strictest interpretation of the law. He was willing to let some things slide to satisfy his own sense of justice, as long as the interests of his employer were protected.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Fibber McGee & Molly "Missing Screwdriver" (10-15-40).mp3 Jun 05, 2007

Show notes

Fibber McGee and Molly premiered in 1935. The program struggled in the ratings until 1940, when it became a national sensation. Within three years, it was the top-rated program in America. Few radio shows were more beloved than Fibber McGee and Molly. The programâs lovable characters included Mayor LaTrivia, Doc Gamble, Mrs. Uppington, Wallace Wimple, Alice Darling, Gildersleeve, Beulah, Myrt, and the Old Timer. 79 Wistful Vista was one of Americaâs most famous addresses and Mollyâs warning to Fibber not to open the hall closet door (and his subsequent decision to do it) created one of radioâs best remembered running gags that audiences expected each week. Jim Jordan (Fibber) was born on a farm on November 16, 1896, near Peoria, Illinois. Marian Driscoll (Molly), a coal minerâs daughter, was born in Peoria on November 15, 1898. After years of hardship and touring in obscurity on the small-time show biz circuit, they arrived in Chicago in 1924, where they eventually performed on thousands of shows and developed 145 different voices and characters. Broadcast to the nation from WMAQ/Chicago, the show entertained America until March 1956, and continued on NBCâs Monitor until 1959. Jim Jordan died on April 1, 1988. Marian Jordan died on April 7, 1961. Fibber McGee and Molly was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1989. First Broadcast date April 16, 1935. Last Broadcast date September 6, 1959.

Boxcars711 Weekend Matinee - The Lux Radio Theater "Detective Story" (4-26-54) Jun 02, 2007

Show notes

Detective Story aired on the Lux Radio Show on April 26, 1954. Starring Kirk Douglas as detective Jim McLeod, Eleanor Parker as his wife Mary and William Conrad as Lt. Monaghan, Detective Story is based on a Beroadway play and is noted as one of Douglas's best performances. The show incorporates a mixture of police procedure, comedy, drama, and outright tragedy and was nominated for 4 Oscars.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Life With Luigi "Easter Birthday Party" (4-08-52) Jun 02, 2007

Show notes

Life With Luigi. April 8, 1952. CBS net. Sponsored by: Wrigley's Spearmint Gum. Luigi plans to hold an Easter feast for his friends, but Pasquale sees to it that there's no food at the party. J. Carrol Naish, Cy Howard (creator, producer), Mac Benoff (writer, director), Alan Reed, Pat Burton (associate producer), Lou Derman (writer), Hans Conried, Mary Shipp, Ken Peters, Joe Forte, Charles Lyon (announcer), Lud Gluskin (music director), Jody Gilbert. 30:00.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Case Dismissed "Liability For Minors" (3-27-54) Jun 02, 2007

Show notes

Thus with the pounding of the gavel, the fate of men and women have been decided by the judge. This is the story of our legal rights, the battle to preserve and protect them, and how easily they can be lost. The program shows us just how fragile liberty and justice can be. These stories of everyday events are still interesting, even after 50 years. Stories of criminal liability, legal wills, buying on installment, and leasing an apartment. Each story is well written, and the acting, though dated and a bit hokey by todayâs standards, still manages to achieve the desired effect. Not much information is available for this series, it was apparently broadcast on a limited basis, and originated on WMAQ Chicago, an NBC station. It was comprised of thirteen episodes, twelve of which are currently available, and was heard from January 30, 1954 through April 24, 1954.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Secrets Of Scotland Yard "Black Market Murder" Jun 01, 2007

Show notes

The Secrets of Scotland Yard is hosted by Clive Brook, narrator of LM Radio. Brook was a successful director writer, and actor in many films, including âDressed to Thrillâ in 1935, âThe Flemish Farmâ in 1943 and âOn Approvalâ in 1944. He was probably best remembered for playing opposite Marlene Dietrich in the 1932 movie, âShanghai Express.â He also played Sherlock Holmes in the 1932 movie of the same name.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Michael Shayne "The Eager Victim" (12-09-48) Ep.24 Jun 01, 2007

Show notes

Michael Shayne was a fictional sleuth created by Brett Halliday (a pen name for author Davis Dresser) who was first initiated into the fraternity for detectives in the 1939 novel "Dividend of Death". Dresser based the character on a âtall and rangyâ brawler who once saved his life during a braw in a Mexican cantina. The Shayne character would go on to appear in 69 novels, plus a long-running mystery magazineâand in 1941, was brought to the silver screen in Paramountâs Michael Shayne, Private Detective, an adaptation of Dividend of Death that starred Lloyd Nolan, and paved the way for six additional B-mysteries to follow. The New Adventures of Michael Shayneâpremiered on July 15, 1948 starring Jeff Chandler.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Mr & Mrs North "The Fallen Star" (3-16-54) May 31, 2007

Show notes

Mr. and Mrs. North was a radio mystery series that aired on CBS from 1942 to 1954. Alice Frost and Joseph Curtin had the title roles when the series began in 1942. Publisher Jerry North and his wife Pam lived in Greenwich Village at 24 St. Anne's Flat. They were not professional detectives but simply an ordinary couple who stumbled across a murder or two every week for 12 years. The radio program eventually reached nearly 20 million listeners.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Encore Theater "Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet" (7-23-46) May 31, 2007

Show notes

CBS SCHENLEY LABS, INC. Tuesdays 9:30 - 10:00 pm PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: Bill Lawrence ANNOUNCER: Frank Graham MUSIC: Leith Stevens SCRIPTS: Jean HollowayCBS Schenley Labs, Inf. Tuesdays 9:30PM to 10:00PM. Producer/Director was Bill Lawrence. Announcer Frank Graham. Music Leith Stevens. Scripts by Jean Holloway.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Philo Vance "Masters Murder Case" (5-03-49) May 30, 2007

Show notes

Philo Vance was the detective creation of S. S. Van Dine first published in the mid 1920s. Vance, in the original books, is an intellectual so highly refined he seems he might be ghostwritten by P. G. Wodehouse. Take this quote from The Benson Murder Case, 1924, as Vance pontificates in his inimitable way: "That's your fundamental error, don't y' know. Every crime is witnessed by outsiders, just as is every work of art. The fact that no one sees the criminal, or the artist, actu'lly at work, is wholly incons'quential." Thankfully, the radio series uses only the name, and makes Philo a pretty normal, though very intelligent and extremely courteous gumshoe. Jose Ferrer played him in 1945. From 1948-1950, the fine radio actor Jackson Beck makes Vance as good as he gets. George Petrie plays Vance's constantly impressed public servant, District Attorney Markham. Joan Alexander is Ellen Deering, Vance's secretary and right-hand woman. The organist for the show is really working those ivories, and fans of old time radio organ will especially enjoy this series. Perhaps one reason the organist "pulls out all the stops" is because there seems to be little, if any, sound effects on the show. Philo Vance, the radio series, does pay homage to the original books in that both were, even in their own time, a bit out of date and stilted. (OTRR)

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