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:

Fibber McGee & Molly Ep. #81 Jul 22, 2022

Show notes

Enjoy two free comedy episodes of Fibber McGee & Molly w/ Jim and Marian Jordan

A) 2/17/48 Book Nook

B) 6/1/48 Fibber’s Tune

Fibber McGee & Molly had a long and successful run on radio (1935-1959). The program showcased terrific comic and musical talent. Headlined by its co-creators and stars, Jim and Marian Jordan, they were a real-life husband and wife team that had been working in radio since the 1920s. Living in the fictional Midwestern town of Wistful Vista, Fibber was an American teller of tall tales and lovable braggart, usually to the exasperation of his long-suffering wife, Molly. Life in Wistful Vista followed a well-developed formula, but was always fresh. Fibber's weekly schemes would be interrupted, inspired by, and often played upon the people of Wistful Vista. Regular characters included Mayor LaTrivia, Doc Gamble, Mrs. Uppington, Wallace Wimple, Alice Darling, Beulah, Myrt, the Old Timer and Fibber’s next-door neighbor, Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve (the Gildersleeve character would be spun-off into its own successful radio series, The Great Gildersleeve). Fibber McGee & Molly began as a comic reflection of Depression Era America, but as time went on and the shadows of war came over the nation, the show again caught the mood of the country. WWII was fought on the home front at Wistful Vista as surely as anywhere else in America, but here they had the benefit of Fibber's somewhat addled perspective. In the peak of the show’s success in the 1940s, it was adapted for the silver screen in a series of feature films. An attempt to bring the series to TV in 1959 with a different cast and new writers was both a critical and commercial failure proving that success in one medium is no guarantee of success in another.

The Story of Dr. Kildare Ep. #80 Jul 22, 2022

Show notes

Enjoy two free medical drama episodes of The Story of Dr. Kildare w/ Lew Ayres and Lionel Barrymore

A) 12/7/49 Appendectomy

B) 12/14/49 Experimental Cancer Treatment

In 1949, MGM Studios decided to embark on a new and potentially very profitable business venture – producing transcription discs of radio programs for syndication. Convinced they could build on the success of the already released Dr. Kildare motion-picture series, the studio hired Lew Ayres and Lionel Barrymore to reprise their screen roles as Dr. James Kildare and Dr. Leonard Gillespie, respectively. Kildare was a compassionate, caring physician at Blair General Hospital, New York City; Gillespie a crusty, lovable diagnostician. As Kildare reminded listeners week after week in the opening signature: Whatsoever house I enter, there will I go for the benefit of the sick, and whatever things I see or hear concerning the life of men I will keep silent thereon, counting such things to be held as sacred trusts. Lionel Barrymore became physically disabled before his screen role as Dr. Gillespie came to an end. Having already broken his hip twice, his condition deteriorated and he was confined to a wheelchair. Louis B. Mayer, the head of MGM, assured the actor that there would always be employment for him at the studio and he was true to his word. Barrymore was soon in front of the microphone playing the physically active Dr. Gillespie and the radio audience was none the wiser. A total of 78 transcription discs were produced and syndicated across the country on local stations, with commercial time sold to local interests. Stations nationwide continued to air The Story of Dr. Kildare on radio a few years after Barrymore’s death in 1954.

The Adventures of Sam Spade, Detective Ep. #79 Jul 22, 2022

Show notes

Enjoy two free detective episodes of The Adventures of Sam Spade, Detective w/ Howard Duff

A) 6/27/48 The Bail-Bond Caper

B) 7/4/48 The Rushlight Diamond Caper

The detective character, Sam Spade, was created by Dashiell Hammett for his crime novel The Maltese Falcon. Spade was a hard-boiled detective with cold detachment, a keen eye for detail and unflinching determination to achieve his own justice. The character is most closely associated with Humphrey Bogart who played Sam Spade in the third and most famous film version of The Maltese Falcon (1941). In 1946, one of radio’s top producers, William Spier, brought Sam Spade to CBS radio starring newcomer Howard Duff with Lurene Tuttle (and occasionally Sandra Gould) as Spade’s secretary, Effie Perrine and sponsored by Wildroot Cream-Oil. Duff took a considerably more tongue-in-cheek approach to the character than the novel or movies. Dashiell Hammett lent his name to the radio series but had little involvement. In 1947, scriptwriters Jason James and Bob Tallman received an Edgar Award for “Best Radio Drama” from the Mystery Writers of America. In 1949, The Adventures of Sam Spade, Detective moved to NBC, and soon after, Howard Duff was replaced by Steve Dunne.

The Abbott & Costello Show Ep. #78 Jul 15, 2022

Show notes

Enjoy two free comedy episodes of The Abbott & Costello Show w/ Bud Abbott and Lou Costello

A) 5/30/46 Cleopatra in Egypt

B) 4/21/48 Matrimonial Bureau

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello started in vaudeville in the early 1930s and by 1938 they were appearing as regulars on The Kate Smith Hour. By the fall of 1942, they had their own weekly radio program which topped the popularity polls of Radio Daily and Radio Guide. At first, radio listeners had trouble telling them apart, so they quickly adapted by Bud lowering his voice a tad with Lou raising his (something they continued to do throughout their careers). Their celebrated Who’s On First baseball routine helped make them a national sensation. The Abbott & Costello Show ran for seven years until the summer of 1949 when the boys ventured into the television business. Produced by Costello’s wife, Patricia, their television series lasted two seasons and gave Bud and Lou an opportunity to reprise the best comedic sketches and scenarios from their radio scripts. The next time you watch one of their television programs, or one of their big screen movies, remember that the flat sarcasm of Bud Abbott and shrieks from Lou Costello originated on radio – the perfect medium for verbal standup that is often imitated today.

Suspense Ep. #77 Jul 15, 2022

Show notes

Enjoy two free mystery episodes of Suspense w/ Lana Turner and Joseph Cotten

A) 5/3/45 Fear Paints a Picture

B) 9/27/45 The Earth is Made of Glass

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 suspenseful 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.

The Adventures of Maisie #76 Jul 15, 2022

Show notes

Enjoy two free comedy episodes of The Adventures of Maisie w/ Ann Sothern

A) 11/16/50 Maisie and the Wrestler

B) 11/30/50 Census and Screen Test Racket

In the mid 1930’s, MGM purchased the rights to a popular novel by Wilson Collison titled Dark Dame which they had planned to film with their platinum blonde glamour gal, Jean Harlow. Due to Harlow’s untimely death, MGM shelved the project until 1939 when it was retooled as a film called Maisie for another of their film stars, Ann Sothern. In total, MGM released 10 Maisie films from 1939 until 1947 and although the films were strictly B-movie fare, they proved quite popular. In 1945, CBS decided to bring the character to radio and cast Ann Sothern in the role she made famous on the big screen. On radio, as in the pictures, Maisie was a Brooklyn beauty and Jane-of-all-trades. Maisie was an underemployed burlesque dancer, who fell in love often, but always went her own way in the end. The radio casts included: Hy Averback, Arthur Q. Bryan, Hans Conried, Virginia Gregg, Peter Leeds, Johnny McGovern, Sheldon Leonard and Sidney Miller. During the height of the radio run, Sothern contracted infectious hepatitis after receiving an impure serum shot while she was in England for a stage performance. Confined to her bed, she continued to work on the Maisie radio series while she recuperated.

This Is Your FBI Ep. #75 Jul 08, 2022

Show notes

Enjoy two free true-crime episodes of This Is Your FBI w/ Stacy Harris

A) 5/14/48 The Big Guy

B) 11/21/52 The Swamp Killer

J. Edgar Hoover, the powerful first director of the F.B.I., insisted any portrayal of the bureau on radio should be positive, emphasizing its successes in the war on crime and the effectiveness of its modern techniques. Local police departments had already cooperated with producers of true-crime programs by providing files of old cases that could be dramatized. The F.B.I.’s files were bursting with robberies, murders, and assorted acts of skullduggery. For This Is Your FBI, Hoover gave producer/director Jerry Devine access to its closed F.B.I. files and fans of the series had a weekly treat in store. Told from the agent’s point of view, stories had our men in blue tracking down embezzlers, murderers, kidnappers, burglars and enemies of the state. Over a period of 8 years, screen star Frank Lovejoy, followed by Dean Carleton and William Woodson, narrated exciting, realistic dramatizations of racket-busting and crime detection. Special Agent Jim Taylor, played by Stacy Harris, took the lead role. His character was fictional but the cases were real, with the names of criminals, as well as locations, changed to protect the identity of innocent people involved. The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States sponsored This Is Your FBI for the entire run (1945-1953). The program covered much of the same ground as Gang Busters, which was created in 1935 by Phillips H. Lord.

Frontier Gentleman Ep. #74 Jul 08, 2022

Show notes

Enjoy two free western episodes of Frontier Gentleman w/ John Dehner

A) 2/16/58 The Honkey Tonkers

B) 8/17/58 The Wonder Boy

Frontier Gentleman was a radio western series aimed at adults that aired on CBS radio for one season in 1958. It starred radio veteran John Dehner as J.B. Kendall, reporter for The London Times newspaper. The series followed the adventures of Kendall, an English journalist, as he roamed the western United States in search of stories for his newspaper. In order to survive in these turbulent times, Kendall became as proficient with a gun as he was with a pen. The announcer opened each show with “Herewith, an Englishman's account of life and death in the West. As a reporter for the London Times, he writes his colorful and unusual accounts. But as a man with a gun, he lives and becomes a part of the violent years in the new territories. Now, starring John Dehner, this is the story of J. B. Kendall, Frontier Gentleman.” Created,written, produced and directed by Antony Ellis, Kendall often crossed paths with well-known historical figures, such as Jesse James, Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok. Music was by Wilbur Hatch and Jerry Goldsmith and the casts included Harry Bartell, Lawrence Dobkin, Virginia Gregg, Joseph Kearns, Jack Moyles and Vic Perrin.

The Adventures of The Saint #73 Jul 08, 2022

Show notes

Enjoy two free detective episodes of The Saint w/ Vincent Price

A) 8/27/50 Cupid and the Corpse

B) 6/3/51 The Girl in the Lowe Berth

The Saintwas a freelance detective with a dark side. He devoted his time and resources to curtailing the activities of murderers, embezzlers, and thieves … but heaven help those who interrupted his dinner. The protagonist of the novels penned by Leslie Charteris was not particularly saintly and his alias derives from the initials of his name, Simon Templar. Not adverse to breaking the law when necessary and always willing to hire himself out to the highest bidder, Templar was more of an anti-hero and the character often needed a little adjustment to make it past radio censors during the 1940s and 1950s. In the radio series, the Saint assisted law enforcement agencies when red tape hampered investigation and was portrayed as a “Robin Hood of modern crime,” who always came to the aid of victims. Sophisticated yet streetwise, he was an art lover, a fighter, and a super-sleuth. The program ran for less than a year with screen actors Edgar Barrier and Brian Aherne in the title role. Leslie Charteris wrote the scripts and produced the series, ensuring his literary property would remain faithful to the printed page. In the summer of 1947, the program returned with Hollywood star Vincent Price (and later Tom Conway) in the lead. By this point, Charteris had taken a back seat. In the new incarnation, the Saint was more of a lighthearted character and the scripts were peppered with witticisms and throwaway lines. It ran on radio until 1951 but by 1962, TV audiences were enjoying Roger Moore as the sophisticated Simon Templar.

The Milton Berle Show Ep. #72 Jul 01, 2022

Show notes

Enjoy two free comedy episodes of The Milton Berle Show w/ Milton Berle

A) 9/23/47 Saluting the Auto Industry

B) 9/30/47 Saluting Brooklyn

Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger) had a comedy career that spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and television. As the host of NBC’s Texaco Star Theater (1948-55), he was the first major American television star and was known to millions of viewers as “Uncle Miltie” and “Mr. Television.” From 1934-36, Berle appeared regularly on Rudy Vallee’s radio show. In 1939, he became host of Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One with panelists spontaneously finishing jokes sent in by listeners. In the late 1940s, he cancelled high-paying nightclub appearances to expand his radio career. His Philip Morris-sponsored show aired on NBC in 1947 and 1948. Scripted by Hal Block and Martin Ragaway, The Milton Berle Show brought Berle together with Arnold Stang. Others in the cast were Pert Kelton, Mary Shipp, Jack Albertson, Arthur Q. Bryan and Ed Begley. It served as a springboard for Berle’s emergence as television’s first major star.

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