Classic Radio Theater

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**Classic Radio Theater**

RETURN WITH US NOW TO THOSE THRILLING DAYS OF YESTERYEAR!
Listen to the greatest radio broadcasts of the 1930s, 40s and 50s absolutely free! Each week, The Bradford Exchange presents the Classic Radio Theater, hosted by nostalgia radio expert Carl Amari.
Each and every week, we’ll bring you three hours of theater-of-the-mind radio entertainment, including The Jack Benny Program, Suspense, Gunsmoke, Dragnet, The Abbott & Costello Show, Sherlock Holmes and many more!

Latest Episodes:

Suspense Ep. #95 Nov 17, 2022

Show notes

Enjoy two free mystery episodes of Suspense

A) 4/11/46 The Name of the Beast w/ Vincent Price

B) 2/6/47 End of the Road w/ Glenn Ford

Conceived as a potential radio vehicle for Alfred Hitchcock to direct, Suspense was a radio series of epic proportion (Hitchcock was unable to avail himself for its radio run on CBS). Considered by many to be the best mystery/drama series of the golden age, Suspense was known as Radio's Outstanding Theater of Thrills and focused on climactic stories starring the biggest names in Hollywood. Early in the run, the episodes were hosted by “The Man in Black” who, from an omniscient perch, narrated stories of people thrown into dangerous or bizarre situations with plots that, at the very end, usually had an unseen twist or two. Suspense had the ability to stir your nerves and withhold solutions until the last possible moment. Hollywood’s finest actors jumped at the chance to appear on Suspense, including Cary Grant, James Stewart, Alan Ladd, Henry Fonda, Ronald Colman, Judy Garland, Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra, Glenn Ford, Robert Montgomery, Bette Davis and Orson Welles. Agnes Moorehead was dubbed “The First Lady of Suspense” for having starred in more episodes than any other actor. Music for Suspense was by Bernard Herrmann (Lucille Fletcher’s husband from 1938-1948) and scripts were by John Dickson Carr, E. Jack Neuman, Robert Tallman, Mel Dinelli, Lucille Fletcher, James Poe, Ray Bradbury and many others. Running more than 20 years, Suspense aired nearly 1,000 radio broadcasts. It made the transition to television in 1949, but it was much better suited for radio, where thetheatre of the mind could run free.

Dimension X Ep. #94 Nov 17, 2022

Show notes

Enjoy two free sci-fi episodes of Dimension X

A) 4/15/50 With Folded Hands w/ Peter Capell

B) 5/6/50 Knock w/ Arnold Moss

Hosted by Norman Rose, Dimension X was one of radio’s first adult science-fiction series and made its mark by adapting short stories by acknowledged masters in the field, including Isaac Asimov, Robert Bloch, Ray Bradbury, Fredric Brown, Robert. A. Heinlein, Clifford D. Simak, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and William Tenn. Scriptwriters, Ernest Kinoy and George Lefferts, who also contributed their own original material, adapted the stories. At the start of every broadcast, host Norman Rose promised us Adventures in time and space, told in future tense! You knew you were about to be transported from your everyday existence to somewhere completely different -- maybe even a distant planet. Radio was a fertile medium for science fiction. It was easy to visit other planets, interact with aliens or fly in a rocket ship simply by using your imagination. Dimension X debuted over NBC on April 8, 1950 accumulated some 50 episodes with its final broadcast on September 29, 1951. There was a five-month hiatus during the winter and spring of 1951.

Radio Rarities Ep. #3 - The Burns & Allen Show Nov 04, 2022

Show notes

Carl and Lisa present the radio episode The Burns & Allen Show 4/25/46 w/ George Burns and Gracie Allen

Radio Rarities Ep. #2 - Stay Tuned for Terror Nov 04, 2022

Show notes

Carl and Lisa present two radio episodes of Stay Tuned For Terror from 1945 The Man Who Raised the Dead & Wine of the Wizard

Radio Rarities Ep. #1 - The Humphrey Bogart Theater Nov 04, 2022

Show notes

Carl and Lisa present the radio episode The Humphrey Bogart Theater 8/17/49 Dead Man w/ Humphrey Bogart

Hollywood 360 10/29/22 Hours 3-4-5 Nov 04, 2022

Show notes

Carl and Lisa play Name That Tune, Is It Real Or Is It Ridiculous? and Learning the Lyrics and present radio episodes of Lights Out! 10/20/42 Poltergeist w/ Bea Benaderet, Inner Sanctum Mystery 5/7/46 You Could Die Laughing w/ Santos Ortega and Murder By Experts 7/11/49 Prescription for Murder w/ Ken Lynch

Hollywood 360 10/29/22 Hour 2 Nov 04, 2022

Show notes

Carl and Lisa play Beat the Host and present the radio episode Suspense 11/1/45 The Dunwich Horror w/ Ronald Colman

Hollywood 360 10/29/22 Hour 1 Nov 04, 2022

Show notes

Carl and Lisa present the scary radio episode Mystery House 7/3/44 The Thirsty Death w/ Bela Lugosi and John Carradine

You Bet Your Life Ep. #93 Nov 04, 2022

Show notes

Enjoy two free comedy/quiz episodes of You Bet Your Life w/ Groucho Marx

A) 4/21/54 Secret word: People

B) 4/28/54 Secret word: Smile

Created by John Guedel, You Bet Your Life was one of the best-loved quiz shows to air on both radio and television. It was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman at his side. It debuted on radio in 1947 and lasted until 1960. For much of this time it was also seen on television. Contestant teams usually consisted of one male and one female, mostly selected from the studio audience. Groucho would engage in humorous conversations with the contestants and if they said the “secret word” (a common word revealed to the audience at the outset of each episode) a toy duck resembling Groucho – with eyeglasses and a mustache – descended from the ceiling to bring a $100 prize. After the conversations, the actual game began. Contestants were allowed to choose from a list of 20 available categories and try to answer a series of questions within the category to win additional money. At the end of the show, the contestants could play for a Jackpot question, risking half of their previous earnings in the hope of winning the Jackpot.

Mystery In the Air Ep. #92 Nov 04, 2022

Show notes

Enjoy two free mystery episodes of Mystery In the Air w/ Peter Lorre

A) 8/28/47 Beyond Good and Evil

B) 9/4/47 The Mask of Medusa

Peter Lorre had always wanted to star in his own dramatic radio program so when The Abbott & Costello Show took its 1947 summer vacation, NBC and advertising agency William Esty & Company, granted his wish. They turned over the microphones to Lorre as star of thirteen episodes of a chiller series titled Mystery in the Air. Cut from the cloth of tales woven by the imaginations of some of the most famous authors in history, Mystery in the Air, brilliantly brought horror classics to life, including “The Telltale Heart,” “The Marvelous Barastro,” “The Lodger,” “The Horla,” “The Black Cat”, “Crime and Punishment” and “The Mask of Medusa”. Lorre delivered tour de force performances of men tortured and driven by dark impulses. The supporting casts were the best in the business, including Agnes Moorehead, Peggy Webber, Russell Thorson, John Brown, Hans Conried, Howard Culver, Jane Morgan, Luis Van Rooten, Herb Butterfield and Ben Wright. The announcer was Henry Morgan, who we would all know later as Harry Morgan from TV’s Dragnet and M*A*S*H. Sponsors were Camel Cigarettes and Prince Albert pipe tobacco. The series was produced and directed by Don Bernard and Cal Kuhl. Mystery in the Air was a collection of dark and compelling stories culled from the four corners of literature. Unfortunately for Peter Lorre fans, the series did not continue in the fall following its initial summer cycle.

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