Boxcars711 Old Time Radio

Latest Episodes:

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Cloak And Dagger "Secret Box" (7-23-50) Apr 21, 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 Old Time Radio Pod - Tales Of The Texas Rangers "Night Chase" (1-28-51) Apr 20, 2007

Show notes

Tales of the Texas Rangers, a western adventure old-time radio drama, premiered on July 8, 1950, on the NBC radio network and remained on the air through September 14, 1952. Movie star Joel McCrea starred as Texas Ranger Jayce Pearson, who used the latest scientific techniques to identify the criminals and his faithful horse, Charcoal, to track them down. The shows were reenactments of actual Texas Ranger cases. The series was produced and directed by Stacy Keach, Sr., and was sponsored for part of its run by Wheaties. Captain Manuel T. "Lone Wolf" Gonzaullas, a Ranger for 30 years and who was said to have killed 31 men during his career, served as consultant for the series. The series was adapted for television from 1955 to 1957. During the opening and closing credits of the TV show, the actors would march toward the camera and sing the theme song, "We are the Texas Rangers", to the tune of "The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You", which is also the tune of "I've Been Working on the Railroad".

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Mr And Mrs North "Coat Of Arms" (6-30-53) Apr 20, 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 - Philo Vance "Million Dollar Murder Case" (3-15-49) Apr 19, 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.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Perry Mason "2 Episodes From 1950" Apr 19, 2007

Show notes

"The Case Of The Restless Redhead" and "Raid On A Den Of Marijuana"Perry Mason aired from 1943 to 1955. Although it is ostensibly a crime drama, Perry Mason sounds and feels like a soap opera. With 10-minute shows every weekday for years on end, the famous defense lawyer handled a myriad of cases, each one blending into the next. the original Perry Mason, whose derivation came from radio, is a lot different. The Perry Mason of radio 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 - You Bet Your Life "Secret Word Foot" (5-17-50) Apr 18, 2007

Show notes

Broadcast History - October 27th, 1947 - May 25th, 1949ABC, 30m, Mondays at 8pmWednesdays at 9:30 from December 31st, 1947Elgin-American bracelets, compacts, cigarette cases, dresser sets.October 5th, 1949 - June 28th, 1950, CBS30m, Wednesdays at9pm, Elgin-American until Januar 4th, thenDesoto-PlymouthOctober 4th, 1950 - September 19th, 1956, NBC, 30mWednesdays at 9pm. Desoto-PlymouthHost : Groucho MarxAnnouncers : Jack Slattery, briefly, then George Fenneman;Mike Wallace for Elgin-AmericanOrchestra : Billy May with a 10-piece band; later, Jack Meakin, Jerry FieldingCreator-Producer-Director : John GuedelDirectors : Bernie Smith, Bob DwanWriters : Ed Tyler, Hy FreedmanTheme : Hooray for Captain Spaulding, by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby,from the Marx Brothers film Animal Crackers

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Sears Radio Theater "White Out" (6-8-79) Apr 18, 2007

Show notes

The series premiered on Monday 02/05/79 and offered a different genre each weekday night. Each genre was hosted by a different celebrity. The program was produced on Paramount's Stage F in Hollywood. These first 130 programs were broadcast over a six month period and then rebroadcast over the following six months. From 02/14/80 to 12/19/81 this series was heard again, this time over Mutual, as The Mutual Radio Theater. This was clearly one of the last big attempts to produce radio programming, with many of radioâs best talents, the way radio was heard in its âgolden days.â Despite budget and talent, it just wasnât to be.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Pat Novak For Hire "Rubin Callaways Pictures" (3-13-49) Apr 17, 2007

Show notes

Pat Novak, For Hire Ãïï 1949-1950 Pat Novak, played by Jack Webb, was a private detective working out of Pier 19, a waterfront office in San Francisco. The stories were always very similar: Someone would hire him, (if not a beautiful woman, the job would lead to a beautiful woman) someone would get murdered, he would investigate the case, get beaten up by the thugs, and then the case would be solved and end with glorious violence. The closing was always the same; the listener would be told who had done what, to whom and why they had done it.

Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%

Boxcars711 Weekend Matinee - Lux Theater "Mr Blandings Builds Dream House" (10-10-49) Apr 15, 2007

Show notes

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House presented by Lux Radio Theater October 10, 1949 broadcast on CBS with Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. This is a hilarious story about the trials and tribulations of building a new home. The Blandings lived in New York City and in order to get away from the hustle and bustle, they decided to build their home in Connecticut and Murphy's Law moves in.

Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Fear On Four "The Snowman Killing" (1-03-88) Apr 14, 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.

Go To GoDaddy, use the promo code blu19 and save 10%

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected