Showing results by author "original radio broadcast" in All Categories

Phil Harris was brash, egotistical, and charming as hell. Alice Faye was regarded by George Gershwin and Cole Porter as the best female singer in Hollywood. Together, they starred in one of the most uninhibited and funny comedy series on radio. Benefiting from the likeability of its stars, a wonderfully cast group of supporting players, and one of the most prolific and clever writing teams of the mid-20th century (Ray Singer and Dick Chevillat), The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show is a complete delight. This collection features 20 digitally remastered programs.

Inner Sanctum Mysteries set the standard for what a radio horror show was all about. Equal parts wildly improbable scripting, stylized acting, and threatening organ music, the show took radio horror in a new direction - and cast an influence that would far outlast even radio drama itself. Pass through the squeal and groan of the iconic creaking door as your sinister host guides you through 12 digitally remastered episodes of the radio equivalent of a midnight ride through a carnival house of horrors…with an evil clown as your seatmate.

NYPD detective Danny Clover, poignantly portrayed by Larry Thor, patrols The Great White Way. With each block he bears witness to regret and redemption, to desperation and debauchery, to wealth and want. Each leaves its mark on this poetic policeman. At Clover’s side, and covering his back, are Sgt. Tartaglia (Charles Calvert) and Sgt. Muggavan (Jack Kruschen). The unhappy endings of hard luck stories drive Danny to search for justice - pounding the pavement to track down an eye witness, find that one scrap of evidence, or just to walk until it all makes sense.

"Hen-reeeeeeeee! Henry Aldrich!" "Coming, Mother!" Yes, here comes radio's favorite teenager, stumbling and bumbling his way through 16 classic episodes. Ezra Stone stars as Henry Aldrich, a likeable sort of kid who managed to turn everything he touched into catastrophe. With a constantly cracking voice, and a head full of absurdities, he confronts the awkwardness of adolescence…with hilarious results.

Carrol Naish stars as earnest Italian immigrant Luigi Basco - proud of the Old Country, yet eager to become an American. Attending night classes to prepare for his citizenship test, he mingles with a smorgasbord of funny fellows who teach him how quickly friendship can cross cultural boundaries. Alan Reed co-stars as the jolly, conniving restaurateur Pasquale - consistently capitalizing on his friend's confusion about American ways. He's wily, willful, and says he wants to do whatever he can to make Luigi's life better…as long as that means marrying him to his robust daughter Rosa!

Lum and Abner meet Buster V. Davenport of Toledo, Ohio…but, he sure looks a lot like our old friend Grandpappy Spears of Pine Ridge! And, that's just one of the problems facing the proprietors of the Jot 'Em Down Store in this collection. There's a war on! The town's truck line is in trouble, "little" Pearl is leaving town to become a nurse, and the boys' secret recipe for making synthetic rubber is lost. Can the Golden Era Discussion Club study up a way to get things back to normal? Here are 36 serialized episodes from the winter of 1943!

For gamblers, burlesque queens, murderers and innocents, comedy and tragedy were found in equal measure on the streets of Damon Runyon's Manhattan. Runyon, one of the most popular and widely-read figures of the Golden Age of the American Short Story, found his work was cut to measure for success in the most verbal medium of all: radio drama. John Brown stars as the glib Broadway, whose scene-setting brings a distinctive unifying touch to these fourteen digitally remastered episodes of the classic Damon Runyon Theatre radio series.

The voice of Orson Welles - smooth and sure, but edged with danger – speaks to you from London. He’s here to tell you about a repository of death, a warehouse of homicide “in the grim stone structure on the Thames which houses Scotland Yard.” Welles will draw your attention to small artifacts from murders most foul, each of which provide a vital clue to a killer’s identity. An international cast - including Joan Lord, Harp McGuire, and Joe McCormick – breathe life into these twelve tales of death.

Saddle up for six hours of adventures with William Boyd as Hopalong Cassidy! This cowboy hero, dressed all in black, is well-mannered, believes in justice, and has a great laugh. Andy Clyde and Joe DuVal co-star as California Carlson. When Hoppy and California ride out from the Bar-20 Ranch, there’s always "plenty of action that spells trouble!"

In early 1943, funnyman Jack Benny developed a serious case of pneumonia while traveling to entertain the troops. Someone would need to stand in for the sultan of Sunday night radio. But who? Orson Welles, the prestige-project prodigy, was an unlikely but inspired choice. Benny’s regular gang is on hand; Phil Harris returns from the military; and additional guests George Burns, Gracie Allen, Barbara Stanwyck, and Butterfly McQueen pop in for a visit. This is The Jack Benny Program like you’ve never heard it before.

By day, the daring young publisher Britt Reid uses editorials to campaign against corruption. By night, he takes matters into his own hands. Radio's definitive masked hero roams the night once more in twenty exciting radio adventures starring Jack McCarthy!

Enter the world of The Whistler, a scheming story-teller who goads the guilty towards their own downfall. Oh, the identity of the murder is never a mystery, but there's always a shocking twist in the tale!

Jeff “Tex” Chandler and Reed Hadley star as Chad Remington in twelve tales of the early west. These are stories of daring men and “the towns they fought to live in and lived to fight for.”

The inimitable Ed Gardner stars as Archie, the bartender at Third Avenue’s most magnificent dive bar: Duffy’s Tavern. He’s got big dreams and wild schemes – most of which rely on the participation of prominent celebrities. But that’s okay, because the stars saunter in right on cue! Come hear Jimmy Durante, Esther Williams, Rudy Vallee, Rex Harrison, Dinah Shore, and many more banter with the bartender. Regulars Eddie Green and Charlie Cantor add a little local flavor, along with the three actresses who take on the role of Miss Duffy, Florence Halop, Florence Robinson, and Sandra Gould.

Just what is Wistful Vista, anyway? Is it a street? A neighborhood? A state of mind? Whatever it is, one thing's for sure—it had just the right mix of personalities to keep things lively! First and foremost, there's Fibber McGee and Molly, brought to life by Jim and Marian Jordan. When they heard a knock on their front door, they might open it up to discover the hard-headed Doc Gamble, played by Arthur Q. Bryan, who never once bought into anything Fibber had to say.

It's a busy winter down in Pine Ridge! You'll find a whole lot going on at the Jot-em-Down Store, as Lum and Abner return for two full months' worth of silliness and struggles. What happens when Abner sets himself up as a marriage expert? Will Lum ever recover from his terrifying experience with hair dye? There’s only one way to find out. Tune in for 36 consecutive episodes from 1944-45. Chester Lauck and Norris Goff are back as your favorite old fellers from the Ozarks!

What happens when radio's favorite comedy couple opens a closet door? A cascade of chaos and fun falls right out! Jim and Marian Jordan star as Fibber McGee & Molly in sixteen laugh-packed episodes written by Don Quinn and Phil Leslie.