Boxcars711 Old Time Radio

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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Fear On Four "By The River Fontaine Bleu" (2-14-88) May 30, 2007

Show notes

FEAR ON 4 is the British Broadcasting Corporation's continuation of a tradition of horror shows dating back to 1943. Back then, the BBC offered APPOINTMENT WITH FEAR, the title given to ten series of programs running from 1943 to 1955. These are the most famous BBC horror series in it's history. The stories were introduced by The Man in Black, played by Valentine Dyall. In 1949, The Man In Black was given his own series, called THE MAN IN BLACK, again featuring Valentine Dyall. Unfortunately, only four shows from APPOINTMENT WITH FEAR are known to have survived. None of THE MAN IN BLACK shows are known to exist. The Man in Black returned to radio again in 1988, this time played by Edward de Souza. FEAR ON 4, airing on BBC Radio Four, continued in the tradition of its predecessors. Four series were produced from 1988 through 1993 with a fifth series in 1997. In 1999, one new show and 2 repeats aired under the banner of "Fear on 4" on BBC Radio 4's LATE NIGHT ON 4 series. The shows are a mix of adaptations of short stories and original radio plays. All shows from these series exist. The BBC offered selected stories from the first three series in book form, entitled "The Man in Black: Macabre Stories from Fear on Four" (BBC Books, ISBN 0-563-20904-6) in December 1990.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Haunting Hour "The Lonesome Corpse" (July-1949).mp3 May 29, 2007

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."

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Broadway's My Beat "Elizabeth Price" (8-26-51) May 29, 2007

Show notes

Broadway Is My Beat, a radio crime drama, ran on CBS from February 27, 1949 to August 1, 1954. With music by Robert Stringer, the show originated from New York during its first three months on the air, with Anthony Ross portraying Times Square Detective Danny Clover. John Dietz directed for producer Lester Gottlieb. Beginning with the July 7, 1949 episode, the series was broadcast from Hollywood with producer Elliott Lewis directing a new cast in scripts by Morton Fine and David Friedkin. The opening theme of "I'll Take Manhattan" introduced Detective Danny Clover (now played by Larry Thor), a hardened New York City cop who worked homicide "from Times Square to Columbus Circle -- the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world."

Boxcars711 Weekend Matinee - The Lux Radio Theater "Destiny Rides Again" (11-05-45) May 27, 2007

Show notes

Destry Rides Again - This is a comedy and a drama from a 1939 western film directed by George Marshall adapted for radio by Lux Radio Theater airing November 5, 1945 starring Jimmy Stewart and Joan Blondell. It is about how a corrupt and violent town can be cleaned up without relying entirely on physical force. Tom Destry, son of a legendary frontier peacekeeper, doesn't believe in gunplay. Thus he becomes the object of widespread ridicule when he rides into the wide-open town of Bottleneck. A good one!

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Luke Slaughter Of Tombstone "Worth Its Salt" (5-04-58) May 26, 2007

Show notes

CBS started the year 1958 off with the introduction on 01/29/58 of Frontier Gentleman. That series lasted 41 broadcasts. Near the end of the year, the network launched Have Gun, Will Travel on 11/23/58, which continued for 106 programs. In between, a very short series was offered and discontinued after only 16 broadcasts, Luke Slaughter Of Tombstone. Each program had an authoritative opening statement: "Slaughter's my name, Luke Slaughter. Cattle's my business. It's a tough business, it's a big business. I got a big stake in it. And there's no man west of the Rio Grande big enough to take it away from me." Junius Matthews was heard as Slaughter's sidekick, Wichita.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Ellery Queen "The Impossible Crime" (7-16-39) May 26, 2007

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.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Bold Venture "Haven's Venezuelan Isle" (3-17-52) May 25, 2007

Show notes

The Hollywood husband and wife team of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall set sail for adventure in the Bold Venture radio series in early 1951. There were well over 400 stations that aired the program. Since thiswas syndicated * the starting date varied from station to station but Mar 26, 1951 was the official date of the first show. Humphrey Bogart portrayed Slate Shannon, owner of a rundown Havana hotel, Shannon's Place. The action took place on land as well aboard Slate's boat, The Bold Venture, thus the title of the series. Lauren Bacall was his ward Sailor Duval, a stubborn and flirtatious young woman whose late father had willed her to Slate for her protection. Together the duo found adventure, intrigue, mystery and romance in the sultry settings of tropical Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Abbott And Costello Show "Return To PS 15" (11-16-44) May 25, 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. Bud Abbott was born in Asbury Park, NJ, October 2, 1897 and died April 24, 1974 in Woodland Hills, California. Lou Costello was born in Paterson, NJ, March 6, 1906 and died March 3, 1959 in East Los Angeles, California. After working as Allen's summer replacement, Abbott and Costello joined Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy on The Chase and Sanborn Hour in 1941, while two of their films (Buck Privates and Hold That Ghost) were adapted for Lux Radio Theater. 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 - The Whistler "Lady With A Knife" (12-03-50) May 24, 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.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Have Gun Will Travel "The Odds" (11-6-60) May 24, 2007

Show notes

Starring John Dehner as Paladin, Have Gun, Will Travel brought its brand of Western adventure to CBS airwaves from 1957 until 1963. What makes it a rarity, however, is that it was television show for the entire span, but the radio version did not debut until 1958 and left the air in 1960. The supporting cast included Ben Wright as Hey Boy. Virginia Gregg played Missy Wong (Heyboy's girlfriend) and other main roles.

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