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:

Dangerous Assignment Ep. #51 May 06, 2022

Show notes

Enjoy two free drama episodes of Dangerous Assignment w/ Brian Donlevy

A) 8/6/49 Investigate Millionaire Murder Conspiracy

B) 3/25/53 Assignment in Portugal

Movie actor Brian Donlevy came to NBC radio in 1949 to star as Steve Mitchell, a globe-trotting secret agent working for our Government. International espionage was the main theme of this action-packed series. Each episode found Mitchell being summoned to the office of “The Commissioner” a nameless administrator who was part of a Big Brother-type government agency enforcing law and order abroad. Mitchell’s usual assignment was to infiltrate various hotbeds of terrorism and thwart forces against America. Radio veteran Herb Butterfield co-starred as “The Commissioner.” The west coast’s best supporting actors were heard, including: William Conrad, Paul Frees, Virginia Gregg, Cathy Lewis, Harry Bartell, Joseph Kearns and Tony Barrett. The radio run lasted until 1953. Donlevy invested his own money in a TV series based on the radio show, reprising his role as Steve Mitchell. In the 39 TV episodes that were produced, Herb Butterfield was seen as “The Commissioner” and featured many of the same supporting actors from the radio series.

The Charlie McCarthy Show Ep. #50 May 06, 2022

Show notes

Enjoy two free comedy episodes of The Charlie McCarthy Show w/ Edgar Bergan

A) 3/4/51 w/ guest, Robert Cummings

B) 3/14/54 w/ guest, Jane Wyman

Vaudeville in the 1930s had its fair share of ventriloquists but none was more successful than Edgar Bergen. After the entertainer made a guest appearance on Rudy Vallee’s variety program in 1936, many doubted the wisdom of launching a radio ventriloquist. This, however, was a gamble executive at Chase and Sanborn were willing to take. From 1937 onwards, Edgar Bergen and his “innocent” adolescent dummy, Charlie McCarthy, proved that radio listeners did not need to see the act to enjoy the jokes. The hour-long Sunday evening program quickly became fashionable with Hollywood celebrities making guest appearances and the trading of insults between Charlie and cast regulars W.C. Fields and Don Ameche was always a high point. Within two years The Chase and Sanborn Hour overtook Rudy Vallee on the ratings charts and became the most prestigious Sunday evening radio broadcast. Bergen introduced other dummy characters, notably slow-witted Mortimer Snerd and man-chasing Effie Klinker, but the spotlight never strayed far from Charlie. In 1940, the series switched to a 30-minute format that would last until the late 1950s. Bergen tried a few times to bring the series to television but it did not stick. He would, however, father the very talented future actress, Candice Bergen.

The Whistler Ep. #49 May 06, 2022

Show notes

Enjoy two free mystery episodes of The Whistler w/ Elliott Lewis

A) 3/19/45 Murder Will Shout

B) 11/12/45 The Seeing Eye

Eerie whistling, picked up by the orchestra for dramatic effect, was the signature tune for this CBS mystery/crime anthology created by J. Donald Wilson. Many considered The Whistler a sister program to Suspense but without the celebrity guests. Through a careless mistake or a twist of fate, nearly every killer, blackmailer, and criminal would ultimately be brought to justice by the show’s conclusion. Always looming in the shadows was the Whistler, an omnipresent figure acting almost as a guilty conscience. Having foreseen the fate of the protagonists, he nevertheless urged them on, strangely aware of what they were thinking. The Whistler’s grim chortles concluded each story of those unfortunate enough to be caught in a dark web of their own making. The program initially aired on the CBS Pacific Network without a sponsor, then in December of 1943 secured the backing of Signal Oil. Two productions with recycled scripts were also broadcast for both Chicago and the East Coast, but with a different cast. The radio program never managed to secure a coast-to-coast sponsor for a nationwide hook-up yet it still had a long and successful run airing from 1942 until 1955. For a time, Gale Gordon, Marvin Miller and Joseph Kearns supplied the voice of the Whistler but Bill Forman had the role the longest. Columbia Pictures produced a series of eight motion pictures based on the radio series from 1944 to 1948. A television series comprising 39 episodes was produced in 1954 which was distributed via syndication throughout the rest of the decade.

The Lives of Harry Lime Ep. #48 Apr 29, 2022

Show notes

Enjoy two free drama episodes of The Lives of Harry Lime

A) 11/23/51 Horse Play w/ Orson Welles

B) 2/1/52 The Dark Enchantress w/ Orson Welles

The Lives of Harry Lime was produced in the United Kingdom during the 1951 and 1952 seasons. Orson Welles reprised his role of Harry Lime from the celebrated 1949 film The Third Man which was based on the Graham Greene novel. The radio series was a prequel to the film, and depicted the many capers of con-artist Harry Lime. Lime engaged in any form of double-dealings that brought him cash but used only his wits to make his way and never a gun. British radio producer Harry Alan Towers and his company, Towers of London, secured rights to the character of Harry Lime and approached Orson Welles about reprising his role in a radio series that preceded the story told in The Third Man film. Welles was living in Paris at the time and agreed, making special trips to London to tape the episodes. Each episode would begin with an echoing gunshot. Then Welles would speak: “That was the shot that killed Harry Lime. He died in a sewer beneath Vienna, as those of you know who saw the movie The Third Man. Yes, that was the end of Harry Lime … but it was not the beginning. Harry Lime had many lives … and I can recount all of them. How do I know? Very simple. Because my name is Harry Lime.” 52 episodes of The Lives of Harry Lime were broadcast in the United States with only 16 episodes broadcast in the UK. When Welles discovered that Harry Alan Towers was paying a whopping $1,000 per script, he offered to write several scripts himself. The scripts were delivered to Towers and Welles was paid $6,000. Then one day, a man named Ernest Borneman walked into Towers’ office, demanding to be paid for the scripts which he had ghostwritten for Welles. When Welles was asked about it later, he smiled and said: “Don’t pay him. They weren’t very good scripts.” Eventually, Borneman was paid in full by Welles for the scripts.

Dragnet Ep. #47 Apr 29, 2022

Show notes

Enjoy two free true-crime episodes of Dragnet

A) 5/10/53 The Big Joke w/ Jack Webb

B) 1/26/54 The Big Bid w/ Jack Webb

Jack Webb was a supporting actor on radio when he proposed Dragnet to CBS. The network heads, content with their own detective programs, turned down the idea but NBC saw its potential. However, a low-key dramatization of the real-life detection techniques used by two Los Angeles policemen and adapted from official case files at the Los Angeles Police Department, was not an original concept: the Gang Busters radio series had beaten Dragnet to the punch more than a decade earlier. But Webb’s insistence on a gritty brand of realism, coupled with innovative direction, storytelling, and convincing dialogue proved to be a winning formula. The result was often imitated but never came close to Dragnet. Jack Webb not only produced and directed each episode, he also played the central character of Sergeant Joe Friday. NBC paid him a mere $300 per broadcast in the first year and $600 in the second, but by the fourth year, Webb and his series were a bonafide hit. Unlike most radio detective programs, Dragnetdidn’t use the standard murder-solving format for each weekly episode. Cases were varied and reflected a wide range of criminal activities, such as supplying obscene comic books for sale in high schools, or forging checks. In December 1951, Dragnet made a monumentally-successful transition to television. Three years later a major motion picture, with some cast members from the radio program, was released. By giving fans a taste of real-life policing instead of the usual Hollywood theatrics, Jack Webb broke the mold. “From beginning to end – from crime to punishment – Dragnet is the story of your police force in action.”

Lights Out! Ep. #46 Apr 29, 2022

Show notes

Enjoy two horror episodes of Lights Out! w/ Boris Karloff

A) 4/26/39 The Devil’s Due w/ Arthur Kohl

B) 7/16/47 Death Robbery w/ Boris Karloff

Lights Out! was the brainchild of Wyllis Cooper. Originating out of the studios of WENR in Chicago, Cooper presented a late-night horror program - heard only in the Midwest - seething with vampires, invisible monsters, evil beings, and survivors of an atomic apocalypse. Several fan clubs sprang up and in 1935, NBC decided to expand its coverage nationwide. A year later, Wyllis Cooper went to Hollywood to pursue a screenwriting career, leaving the program in the capable hands of playwright Arch Oboler. Oboler wrote, directed and hosted the series confining most of the casts to two or three players. His favorite cast members included Lou Merrill, Bea Benaderet (who would later voice “Betty Rubble” on The Flintstones), Joseph Kearns, Mercedes McCambridge and Hans Conried. Oboler employed elaborate sound effects with the stark reality of no music, using only a gong sound for scene transitions. Under Oboler’s guidance, the show broadcast psychological chillers with stream-of-consciousness narrative, each featuring an element of classic horror – from giant worms and haunted houses to monsters from outer space. Announcer Frank Martin would often banter with Oboler after the story inquiring as to Oboler’s motivation for writing it. The Sterling Drug company was the sponsor (Ironized Yeast tablets and Energine Shoe polish) for the 1942-43 seasons, hosted by Oboler from Hollywood. In the summers of 1945, 1946 and 1947, Wyllis Cooper returned to the fold. His career in Hollywood never really panned out, so he chose to return to his roots. Lights Out! made a transition to television in 1949 hosted by Frank Gallop as a disembodied head introducing and closing each creepy episode.

The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet Ep. #45 Apr 22, 2022

Show notes

Enjoy two free comedy episodes of The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet

A) 4/18/52 Baseball Team w/ Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard

B) 4/25/52 $5 Too Much Change w/ Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is one of the longest-running radio and television sitcoms in history, spanning 32 years on the air. Looking to supplement his earnings as a Rutgers law school graduate, Ozzie Nelson took up the baton as a bandleader in the 1930s, playing a circuit of hotel ballrooms, dance halls and school proms. Record deals and radio were contributing factors to his career jump. It was through his profession that Ozzie met Harriet Hilliard, an Iowa beauty queen and vocalist. Harriet was booked for the floorshow at the Hollywood Restaurant when Nelson was seeking a vocalist for his band. According to Ozzie himself, the decision to hire her took only thirty seconds. The business proposition soon blossomed into a marriage proposal. Ozzie and Harriet performed for numerous radio programs in the late '30s and early '40s. By the mid-forties, Red Skelton hired the couple to not only supply musical numbers for his program, but also provide a comic interlude once a week. This eventually led to a radio program of their own, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, beginning in 1944 for sponsor, International Silver. Variety reviewed the program two days after the premiere as "the surprise show of the season.” At the start, the Nelson boys were played by professional actors, Tommy Bernard and Henry Blair. The couple's sons Ricky and David eventually replaced the child stars on the radio show in 1949. In 1952, about the same time the radio program was making the transition to television, Universal-International theatrically released a motion-picture, Here Come the Nelsons. This served as the pilot for the proposed television series.

Richard Diamond, Private Detective Ep. #44 Apr 22, 2022

Show notes

Enjoy two free detective episodes of Richard Diamond, Private Detective

A) 7/5/50 The Mike Burton Case w/ Dick Powell

B) 2/8/52 The Eddie Burke Case w/ Dick Powell

Richard Diamond, Private Detective may have bounced around on three different networks in five years but its creator, Blake Edwards, could be relied on to add a brilliant twist to an old genre. And it also starred Dick Powell, fresh from the movies, as Richard Diamond. The wisecracking, carefree gumshoe had an eye for a trim ankle, a penchant for getting mixed up with underworld characters, and smoked Camels, the brand of one of the show’s sponsors. Diamond also had a fine set of vocal chords as did Dick Powell, who started out as a professional singer, and he performed a song at the end of most broadcasts. In essence, this was a lighthearted detective series so if you took the program too seriously you missed most of the fun. Homicide lieutenant, Walt Levinson, bore the brunt of Diamond’s put-downs and Otis Ludlam, the dim-witted desk sergeant, added more humor. Sex appeal came courtesy of the red-headed Helen Asher, Diamond’s wealthy girlfriend, who always offered solace after a long day of violence. It came to radio in 1949 and lasted until 1953. In 1957, Richard Diamond, Private Detective made the transition to television starring David Janssen in the lead and produced by Powell’s television company. For a while, the beautiful legs of Diamond’s secretary were provided by Mary Tyler Moore.

Gang Busters Ep. #43 Apr 22, 2022

Show notes

Enjoy two free true-crime episodes of Gang Busters

A) 10/4/47 The Case of the Kidnapped Paymaster w/ Joseph Julian

B) 6/10/50 The Case of the Inside Track w/ Barbara Weeks

When Phillips H. Lord created Gang Busters, the crime rate was high and confidence in law enforcement was low. Crimes were highly publicized and their perpetrators were sometimes glamorized in Hollywood movies. With most radio crime programs dramatizing pulp-fiction stories, Lord decided to portray the procedure and practices of real-life law enforcement officers, basing his dramas on court records and police files. Official guest speakers, including Lewis J. Valentine, the former Commissioner of Police of New York City, further enhanced the program’s authenticity and credibility. At the close of the program, nationwide “clues,” consisting of descriptions of suspects and contact information for the relevant police force or FBI, were given out. Later, popular TV programs, such as America’s Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries, would make use of this same device. By May 1942, nearly 300 criminals had been apprehended as a result of the clues on Gang Busters, reinforcing the series’ central message – the futility of crime. The series premiered in 1935 under its original title, G-Men, and consisted of stories from official FBI case files that Lord adapted and dramatized. When FBI head J. Edgar Hoover attempted to gain control of the series, Lord revised the program to focus on local law enforcement and changed the name to Gang Busters. Soon, there was a craze for “true crime” and both Shirley Temple and Babe Ruth were ardent fans of the program. Universal Studios released a cliffhanger serial adapted from one of the episodes and DC Comics produced a series of comic books based on the radio program. In 1952, NBC premiered a television series of the same name that alternated with Dragnet on a weekly basis. Despite its higher ratings, Gang Busters was dropped in favor of Dragnet. The graphic descriptions of crime in the radio program may not have gone down well with the Parents and Teachers Association, but listeners were enthralled by narrator Colonel H. Norman Schwarzkopf, a former New Jersey State Police superintendent, who didn’t hold back “…and so this desperado ended his career with his bullet-ridden corpse stretched out in the mud and filth of a backstreet gutter. Crime does not pay.” It lasted on radio until 1957.

The Bing Crosby Show Ep. #42 Apr 15, 2022

Show notes

Enjoy two free musical/variety episodes of The Bing Crosby Show

A) 3/21/54 w/ Bing Crosby and guest, Frank Sinatra

B) 12/11/52 w/ Bing Crosby and guests, Rosemary Clooney and Joe Venuti

Bing Crosby was “discovered” in June of 1931 by William S. Paley, president of CBS, who was on a ship crossing the Atlantic. After listening to the crooner’s rich chords on record, Paley negotiated a deal for regular radio broadcasts before the voyage was over. Sponsors began expressing an interest and Crosby would soon become one of the hottest commodities at CBS. Until his semi-retirement in 1958, Bing Crosby worked steadily on radio and had a sizeable number of chart singles over two consecutive decades. Among the most popular was The Kraft Music Hall, starring Al Jolson and the Paul Whiteman orchestra. Crosby soon replaced the long-standing Jolson as the weekly host and the crooner was given a free hand with the content. The show was jam-packed with entertainment: Crosby sung a song or two, participated in verbal banter with celebrity guests, and joined in on the fun with a comedy sketch. Crosby’s radio success led Paramount Pictures to make The Big Broadcast (1932) and the studio quickly offered him a long-term contract. By one estimate, his movies were the most profitable in the studio’s history throughout the 1940s. In a number of Road pictures, Crosby and fellow radio star Bob Hope took potshots at one another – a successful comic device that carried over into their radio broadcasts. In 1946, at the height of his career, the Oscar-winning Crosby demanded that his sponsor, Kraft, allow him to pre-record multiple radio broadcasts in a single day, rather than broadcasting “live” and on schedule week after week. Through shrewd investments, Crosby had become very wealthy, but made just $6 per radio broadcast after taxes. Kraft duly released Crosby from his contract and the singer invested his own money into a new recording system on Ampex reel-to-reel tape recorders. The entertainment industry quickly saw its potential and radio broadcasting forever changed. Now, free to record shows around his schedule, he starred in The Bing Crosby Show for sponsor General Electric. Although his movie appearances began to decline, Crosby appeared on radio for the Ford Motor Company in 1956 and then joined forces with Rosemary Clooney, staying on the air until 1962.

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