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

Cases of safe-cracking, gambling, kidnapping, car theft, and murder - police across the nation are tracking small-time crooks and big-time trouble. This landmark series of Philips H. Lord, arguably responsible for the entire idea of reality-based police dramas, featured true stories that played like fiction. A novel idea for the time, and one that is still powerful today. After the story was told, and the crooks were apprehended, listeners heard bulletin style updates of other criminals at large and helped bring hundreds of them to justice.

When Phillips H. Lord created his long running Gang Busters radio series in January of 1936, crime was rampant and criminals (both actual and fictional) were being glamorized in movies and newspapers. In response, Lord brought the public this police procedural series, dramatizing stories of real cops who kept real counterfeiters, safe crackers, and killers off the streets - and even broadcasting alerts for criminals known to be at large.

This anthology of post-World War II crime radio drama presents fictionalized crime, dramatizations of actual crimes, and programs that presented on-the-spot recordings of real police investigations. Radio Spirits is proud to present 20 adventures from 15 of the best (and most unusual) programs broadcast in the last dozen or so years of commercial network dramatic radio. Series include Gang Busters, The Line Up, Broadway's My Beat, Man from Homicide, Night Watch, and more!

Presented here are Western stories of unparalleled realism and uncompromising emotional complexity. Marshal Matt Dillon (William Conrad) doesn't revel in violence, but he uses it because he lives in a violent place at a violent time, where only the violent can survive.

In the darkest reaches of the human psyche, there is no corner quite so dark as the fear of nameless, inevitable Fate. With its startling twists and its mocking laughter, Fate can take any of us at any time. We confront this fear by taking a grim satisfaction with the cruelties that Fate metes out to others. Because if it's happening to someone else, it isn't happening to us...right? The Whistler, the sneering narrator of each story, is the personification of Fate - bringing characters to their grim, well-deserved destinies with considerable panache.

Follow Jack Benny and his gang around the calendar in this 16-episode collection that takes you from week to week, from season to season, from holiday to holiday, and from laugh to laugh! And you never know who might pop up to join in the fun. It might be Barbara Stanwyck, or Claude Rains, or Jack's real life daughter, Joan.

The listener is traveling on a train, the sound of its whistle echoing in the background followed by the clickity-clack of the tracks. A quiet, somber voice, the eponymous host, speaks: "This is the Mysterious Traveler, inviting you to join me on another journey into the strange and terrifying. I hope you will enjoy the trip; that it will thrill you a little, and chill you a little. So settle back, get a good grip on your nerves, and be comfortable - if you can!" With that each of the Mysterious Traveler radio dramas in this collection begin; journeys that might be horrific, a whodunit, or even science fictional.

Let's play ball! Or hit the track! Or roam the links! Or lace on the gloves! You name the sport, Jack Benny's a fan...and maybe even a participant! Whether he's sitting in the stands or standing in the thick of the action, it all adds up to clutch classic radio comedy! Cheer on Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Dennis Day, Kenny Baker, and Don Wilson in 16 half hour episodes filled with equal parts rah-rah-rah and ha-ha-ha!

Reality isn't all it's cracked up to be - at least not whenever Gracie's around! That means that things are always hopping down at the Burns house in this collection of 16 laugh-packed episodes of The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show! Pitchman Bill Goodwin is on hand, and so is a whole gang of famous guests (including Charles Laughton, Eddie Cantor, Herbert Marshall, Bob Burns, and Claudette Colbert). Join the stars, along with Elvia Allman as Tootsie Sagwell, Clarence Nash as Herman the Duck, and Mel Blanc as "The Happy Postman" for eight solid hours of logically-illogical fun!

Catch the buzz - before the buzz catches you! Britt Reid, daring young publisher, masks up against organized crime and urban corruption as The Green Hornet! Join our hero and his stalwart valet Kato for another collection of 20 classic adventures from the 1948-49 seasons, including several previously uncirculated episodes not heard since their original broadcast.

"If the job's too tough for you to handle, you've got a job for me." Whatever your problem, he's the solution! George Valentine is sardonic yet sympathetic as he solves mysteries, unravels crises, and gets to the bottom of whatever's complicating the lives of his paid-up clients. Bob Bailey made his first big impression on radio audiences in this series of tightly-packed, thought-provoking thrillers! Here are 16 of his most fascinating exploits, with Virginia Gregg co-starring as Claire "Brooksie" Brooks.

Hit the road, Jack! Take a train, a plane, or even a ship! Wherever he goes, and however he gets there, Jack Benny is always good for a laugh. Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, Dennis Day, and Don Wilson come along for the ride in 16 travel themed adventures in this collection. Climb aboard for coast to coast clowning, with special appearances by the infamous racetrack “tout” (Sheldon Leonard) and the reliable railway announcer (Mel Blanc). “Train leaving on track five for Anaheim, Azusa, and Cuc-amonga!”

With a quick mind and a quicker tongue (occasionally planted firmly in cheek), Dashiell Hammett's daring detective takes the case, takes a few punches, takes the dough (when there is any), and takes advantage of Effie's...good nature, in eight digitally restored and remastered capers.

Philo Vance, America's most popular fictional detective of the 1920s and 1930s, moved from S. S. Van Dine's novels onto the silver screen and later radio. The aristocratic amateur sleuth was portrayed in more than 100 radio broadcasts by Jackson Beck, the versatile actor who had previously starred as the Cisco Kid and announced The Adventures of Superman. Return to the scene of the crime in 18 classic whodunits, costarring Joan Alexander (radio's Lois Lane) as Ellen Deering and George Petrie as District Attorney Markham.

When last we left our pals from Pine Ridge, they were involved in considerable intrigue. They were receiving reports from the Masked Muskrat, threats from the Black Pelican, and a baby from a melancholy mother. The further adventures of Lum Edwards and Abner Peabody find them confounded by one commotion after another. At the Jot 'em Down Store, there is much bother about the baby, a mystery about a coat-of-arms, and mischief about ghosts, gunshots, and gold mines.

Wherever he goes, whatever the assignment, you can count on Rocky Fortune to tackle the task with aplomb…and a wisecrack or two. Frank Sinatra stars as the versatile charmer who'll take on any job and emerge with distinction…and a gal on each arm. Whether acquiescing to assignments as an oyster shucker or short order cook, messenger or musician, tour guide or truck driver, this restless, footloose fellow follows his instincts and finds trouble. These stories, from a comparatively little-known corner of Sinatra's career, will be enjoyed by new fans and nostalgia-lovers alike.

During the late 1940s and early 1950s, several different radio programs brought in Hollywood stars to reprise their performances from popular films. Among them, Screen Directors' Playhouse offered something that no other show had: the directors. Imagine, if you will, listening to a radio play of A Foreign Affair and then hearing Marlene Dietrich and director Billy Wilder share their thoughts on the making of this classic film. In addition to Wilder, you'll hear directors like Tay Garnett, Robert Siodmak, and George Marshall in this set of 16 digitally remastered and restored episodes.

The impeccably dressed Charlie McCarthy was as sarcastic as he was stylish. His country cousin Mortimer Snerd was buck-toothed, bucolic...and just as fondly remembered. But it was the egalitarian and exquisitely entertaining Edgar Bergen who brought them to life. Enjoy this Peabody Award winning team in 16 digitally restored and remastered episodes - many of which have not been available since their original broadcast in 1942! Hear performances by Rita Hayworth, W. C. Fields, Harold Peary, Hedy Lamarr, Don Ameche, Dale Evans, and more....

Tough as leather, hard as nails, and always ready for frontier danger—that's Luke Slaughter of Tombstone. This Civil War soldier turned Arizona range rider is never on the wrong end of a fist fight or a gun battle. Sam Buffington stars in sixteen rough-hewn radio adventures, produced and directed by William N. Robson. Junius Matthews co-stars as Luke's sidekick Wichita. Trouble awaits them around every bend in the trail. Watch out for sketchy lawmen, corrupt politicians, cowards, corpses, false accusations, and fierce fighting!

Everyone has secrets...but some secrets are more sinister than others. And the more malevolent the secret, the more The Whistler knows! Wander the foreboding, shadow-filled streets of the imagination in tales that explore the "nameless terrors of which we dare not speak." Bill Forman stars as The Whistler, alongside the suspiciously skillful William Conrad, Gerald Mohr, Elliott and Cathy Lewis, Howard Duff, Doris Singleton, Betty Lou Gerson, and more. Hear them all in in 20 tense tales of crime, suspense, and fate!