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Jefferson

Jefferson Jonan-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Japan Member Since 2010

I love reading and listening to books, especially fantasy, science fiction, children's, historical, and classics.

HELPFUL VOTES
737
ratings
REVIEWS
194
167
FOLLOWERS
FOLLOWING
540
8
  • "A Clever and Entertaining Dramatiza..."

    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    What a remarkable radio dramatization of H. G. Wells??? classic novel The War of the Worlds Orson Welles and company made! They effectively distilled the essential elements from the novel into an American context, producing a concise 59-minute program that made me feel that I was listening to an intense night of terror followed by days of existential wandering and wondering.

    After a voice proclaims that we are listening to a Mercury Theater presentation of The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, Orson Welles intones a condensed version of the brilliant opening of the novel, and then quickly sets up the conceit of the first part of the broadcast, that we are listening to a radio program of innocuous dance music that is repeatedly interrupted by eye-witness news flashes from this New Jersey farm where a strange meteor has landed. From there Welles and company use a variety of voices (newsmen, astronomers, farmers, crowds, military men, etc.) and sound effects to create the illusion that the attack of the Martians, complete with heat rays, giant mobile tripods, and poison gas, is happening in real time as we listen to the radio.

    After an ???intermission,??? the second part of the dramatization changes from the ersatz radio broadcast to the first person narration by Welles of his professor character???s journal, depicting his attempts to survive and make sense of the invasion. Welles ???out of character??? closes the program by saying that the Mercury Theater was just shouting ???boo!??? at listeners on Halloween Eve and that ???we didn???t mean it.???

    Fans of science fiction, of Wells??? novel, of vintage radio theater, and of American culture generally should listen to this program; despite (or due to) its savory slightly static-y quality, it???s well worth the $5.95 ($3.95 for members) price of admission.

    More

    The War of the Worlds (Dramatized)

    • ORIGINAL (59 mins)
    • By Mercury Theatre on the Air
    • Narrated By Orson Welles
    Overall
    (243)
    Performance
    (135)
    Story
    (138)

    One of the most memorable programs in broadcast history, the Halloween Eve 1938 broadcast of The War of the Worlds set off a nationwide panic that's almost unimaginable today. Presented by the Mercury Theatre on the Air and its creatve genius, Orson Welles, the drama based on H.G. Wells' classic novel tells the story of a Martian invasion of Earth.

    Sandy says: "Classic"
  1. The War of the Worlds (Dr...
  2. .

The Talented Mr. Welles

The Best of the Best

Customer Favorites

  • UNABRIDGED
    Orson Welles, William Johnstone, Bret Morrison, Agnes Moorehead, Margot Stevenson, Marjorie Andersen, Grace Matthews

    The Shadow: Knight of Darkness

    • UNABRIDGED (8 hrs and 16 mins)
    • By Orson Welles, William Johnstone, Bret Morrison, and others
    Overall
    (96)
    Performance
    (39)
    Story
    (39)

    Radio Spirits is very pleased to present radio's greatest crime fighter, The Shadow, in this new collection of 18 digitally restored and remastered episodes selected from the classic series. Featuring Orson Welles, William Johnstone and Bret Morrison each in the title role, this set also includes the first release of two newly discovered and previously lost episodes starring Orson Welles as Lamont Cranston and The Shadow - "The Old People" and "The Vocie of the Trumpet".

    Ken says: "amazing"
  • A Sam Spade Audio Double-Feature Starring Howard Duff, Volume 1

    • UNABRIDGED (1 hr and 19 mins)
    • By Dashiell Hammett
    • Narrated By Bill Mills, Howard Duff
    Overall
    (35)
    Performance
    (19)
    Story
    (19)

    This Audio Archive presentation of The Adventures of Sam Spade, Detective, contains two complete, 30 minute,Sam Spade radio shows. Each episode is introduced by old radio aficionado and collector Bill Mills, who shares interesting behind-the-scenes anecdotes and informative facts about the program and its stars.

  • The Adventures of Philip Marlowe: Old Time Radio - 105 Shows
    Play The Adventures of Philip Marlowe: Old Time Radio - 105 Shows

    The Adventures of Philip Marlowe: Old Time Radio - 105 Shows

    • ORIGINAL (48 hrs and 27 mins)
    • By Raymond Chandler, Gene Levitt, Robert Mitchell, and others
    • Narrated By Gerald Mohr, Jeff Corey, Howard McNear
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    Philip Marlowe is a fictional private eye created by Raymond Chandler. Marlowe first appeared, under that name, in The Big Sleep, published in 1939. The Adventures of Philip Marlowe was a radio series featuring the Marlowe character. It first aired 17 June 1947 on NBC radio and moved to CBS radio a few months later. By 1949, it had the largest audience in radio. The CBS version ran for 114 episodes. While many fans of classic hard-boiled detective stories are familiar with Chandler's novels and short stories, few have heard these radio shows.

  • Orson Welles: The Ultimate Collection
    Play Orson Welles: The Ultimate Collection

    Orson Welles: The Ultimate Collection

    • ORIGINAL (60 hrs and 44 mins)
    • By Orson Welles
    Overall
    (30)
    Performance
    (25)
    Story
    (23)

    If you are a lover of old-time radio and a fan of Orson Welles, you won't want to miss this treasure chest of legendary Orson Welles radio broadcasts! With his flair for the sensational and innovative, Welles captured audiences' attention with his 1930s CBS weekly drama series The Mercury Theatre on the Air, later renamed The Campbell Playhouse, which featured hour-long dramatizations of classic books. His 1938 production, The War of the Worlds (an H. G. Wells adaptation) was especially memorable, as were many other productions, each featuring talented voices and actors.

    Sandy says: "Sixty Hours of great radio Plays"
  • War of the Worlds (Dramatized)
    Play War of the Worlds (Dramatized)

    War of the Worlds (Dramatized)

    • ORIGINAL (51 mins)
    • By Orson Welles
    • Narrated By Orson Welles
    Overall
    (15)
    Performance
    (14)
    Story
    (13)

    On the evening of October 30th, 1938, Earth went to war with Mars. Martians invaded New Jersey! Here is the famous panic-inducing broadcast that shook the world, starring Orson Welles.

    Ken says: "The classic that shook the world"
  • Brave New World (Dramatized)
    Play Brave New World (Dramatized)

    Brave New World (Dramatized)

    • ORIGINAL (1 hr)
    • By Aldous Huxley
    • Narrated By Aldous Huxley
    Overall
    (14)
    Performance
    (12)
    Story
    (12)

    The CBS Radio Workshop was an experimental series of productions, subtitled "radio's distinguished series to man's imagination" that ran between 27 January 1956 and 22 September 1957. The premiere production was Brave New World, narrated by Huxley himself, with a complicated sound-effects score that evidently took a long time to construct, and comprised a ticking metronome, tom-tom beats, bubbling water, an air hose, a cow's moo, an oscillator, and three kinds of wine glasses clicking together.

  •  
  • The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe: Old Time Radio - 52 Episodes
    Play The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe: Old Time Radio - 52 Episodes

    The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe: Old Time Radio - 52 Episodes

    • ORIGINAL (4 hrs and 24 mins)
    • By Rex Stout, Louis Vittes
    • Narrated By Sydney Greenstreet, Don Stanley
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    Nero Wolfe is an armchair detective created in 1934 by Rex Stout. Like many great detectives from the classic era, Nero Wolfe made the jump to radio and television. Five radio series have been produced starring Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin. These episodes come primarily from The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe which aired on NBC radio from October, 1950 to April, 1951.

  • Inner Sanctum Mysteries: Oldtime Radio Shows
    Play Inner Sanctum Mysteries: Oldtime Radio Shows

    Inner Sanctum Mysteries: Oldtime Radio Shows

    • ORIGINAL (66 hrs and 11 mins)
    • By Radio Revival
    • Narrated By Old Time Radio
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    This is an collection of Inner Sanctum Mysteries, an oldtime radio show from the 1940s and 1950s. If you love a good horror story, you'll love these. You get all these (and many others plus more of the same genre):

    • Homicidal Maniac
    • The Tell-Tale Heart
    • Song of the Slasher
    • Murder Comes to Life
    • Death on the Highway
    • The Scream
    • Island of Death
    • Man From Yesterday
    • Color Blind Formula
    • Desert Death

  • Green Hornet Vol. 1
    Play Green Hornet Vol. 1

    Green Hornet Vol. 1

    • ORIGINAL (2 hrs and 30 mins)
    • By Green Hornet
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    This collection of Green Hornet contains five episodes of the classic radio series:

    Political Racket (5/5/1938)
    Put it on Ice (7/4/1939)
    The Parking Lot Racket (10/31/1939)
    The Corpse That Wasn't There (2/28/1943)
    Unexpected Meeting (8/23/1945)

  • Death in the Dark
    Play Death in the Dark

    Death in the Dark

    • ORIGINAL (29 mins)
    • By Green Hornet
    Overall
    (12)
    Performance
    (5)
    Story
    (5)

    This episode of The Green Hornet first aired on August 31, 1946.

  •  
  • Audio Archive Presents Dashiell Hammett's 'The Thin Man': A LUX Theater Episode Plus Special Commentary
    Play Audio Archive Presents Dashiell Hammett's 'The Thin Man': A LUX Theater Episode Plus Special Commentary

    Audio Archive Presents Dashiell Hammett's 'The Thin Man': A LUX Theater Episode Plus Special Commentary

    • UNABRIDGED (1 hr and 15 mins)
    • By Dashiell Hammett
    • Narrated By William Powell, Myrna Loy, Bill Mills
    Overall
    (60)
    Performance
    (36)
    Story
    (36)

    Here is the classic 60-minute Lux Radio Theater adaptation of the 1930s movie hit, recreated with the original film stars and director! This Audio Archive feature presentation delivers William Powell and Myrna Loy, who reprise thei roles as Nick and Nora Charles, the sophisticated lovers at the heart of Dashiell Hammett's immortal romantic-mystery masterpiece, The Thin Man.

    donna says: "I still love the thin man!"
  • The Night Before Christmas and The Darlington Substitution: The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Episode #25
    Play The Night Before Christmas and The Darlington Substitution: The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Episode #25

    The Night Before Christmas and The Darlington Substitution: The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Episode #25

    • ORIGINAL (1 hr and 2 mins)
    • By Anthony Boucher, Denis Green
    • Narrated By Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce
    Overall
    (25)
    Performance
    (13)
    Story
    (14)

    When Dr. Watson plays Santa for a group of young children on Christmas Eve, a simple mistake puts everyone’s life in jeopardy. Can Holmes prevent this tragedy and solve a puzzling crime at the same time?

  • The Phil Harris - Alice Faye Show: Money, Beauty & Brains
    Play The Phil Harris - Alice Faye Show: Money, Beauty & Brains

    The Phil Harris - Alice Faye Show: Money, Beauty & Brains

    • ORIGINAL (9 hrs and 51 mins)
    • By Dick Chevillat
    • Narrated By Phil Harris, Alice Faye, Elliott Lewis, and others
    Overall
    (2)
    Performance
    (2)
    Story
    (2)

    The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show was one of radio’s brightest lights; a hilarious situation comedy featuring a friendly sardonic and sarcastic edge that set it apart from its contemporaries. Featuring Phil Harris, fresh off plying his comedic and musical talents on The Jack Benny Program, and his movie-star wife, Alice Faye. The show also starred Elliott Lewis as the remarkable Frankie Remley - one of radio’s most unforgettable characters - a humorously irresponsible con-artist with an endless thirst for the good stuff.

  • A Christmas Carol [Radio Spirits Version] (Dramatized)
    Play A Christmas Carol [Radio Spirits Version] (Dramatized)

    A Christmas Carol [Radio Spirits Version] (Dramatized)

    • ORIGINAL (55 mins)
    • By Charles Dickens
    • Narrated By Orson Welles, Lionel Barrymore
    Overall
    (78)
    Performance
    (42)
    Story
    (43)

    Orson Welles' dramatic anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air, infamous for its Halloween broadcast of War of the Worlds, found a sponsor and became Campbell Playhouse in December 1938. The program continued to feature the charismatic and fiery Welles as both a host and an actor. The great Lionel Barrymore portrayed Ebenezer Scrooge in Campbell Playhouse's annual performance of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

    Serval says: "Fun dramatization"
  • Doctor Death #3 April 1935
    Play Doctor Death #3 April 1935

    Doctor Death #3 April 1935

    • ORIGINAL (5 hrs and 59 mins)
    • By RadioArchives.com, Zorro
    • Narrated By Joey D'Auria
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    The maddest of the Mad Scientists - Doctor Death - starred in his own bizarre pulp magazine in early 1935. He consorted with demons, elementals, zombies, disinterred mummies, and other unclean denizens of Hell. Standing against him were the Secret Twelve, a band of the top U. S. civil and business leaders, headed by Jimmy Holm, a millionaire criminologist and occultist. One of the rare unabashedly supernatural series the pulps ever produced, Doctor Death returns in vintage pulp tales, reissued for today's listeners.

  • The Adventures of Philip Marlowe: Old Time Radio - 105 Shows
    Play The Adventures of Philip Marlowe: Old Time Radio - 105 Shows

    The Adventures of Philip Marlowe: Old Time Radio - 105 Shows

    • ORIGINAL (48 hrs and 27 mins)
    • By Raymond Chandler, Gene Levitt, Robert Mitchell, and others
    • Narrated By Gerald Mohr, Jeff Corey, Howard McNear
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    Philip Marlowe is a fictional private eye created by Raymond Chandler. Marlowe first appeared, under that name, in The Big Sleep, published in 1939. The Adventures of Philip Marlowe was a radio series featuring the Marlowe character. It first aired 17 June 1947 on NBC radio and moved to CBS radio a few months later. By 1949, it had the largest audience in radio. The CBS version ran for 114 episodes. While many fans of classic hard-boiled detective stories are familiar with Chandler's novels and short stories, few have heard these radio shows.

  • Richard Diamond, Private Detective: Old Time Radio - 122 Shows
    Play Richard Diamond, Private Detective: Old Time Radio - 122 Shows

    Richard Diamond, Private Detective: Old Time Radio - 122 Shows

    • ORIGINAL (49 hrs and 43 mins)
    • By Blake Edwards
    • Narrated By Dick Powell, Virginia Gregg
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    Richard Diamond, Private Detective is a detective drama which was on radio from 1949 to 1953 and on television from 1957 to 1960. Dick Powell starred in the Richard Diamond, Private Detective radio series as a rather light-hearted detective who often ended the episodes singing to his girlfriend, Helen (played by Virginia Gregg).

  • Inner Sanctum Mysteries: Oldtime Radio Shows
    Play Inner Sanctum Mysteries: Oldtime Radio Shows

    Inner Sanctum Mysteries: Oldtime Radio Shows

    • ORIGINAL (66 hrs and 11 mins)
    • By Radio Revival
    • Narrated By Old Time Radio
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    This is an collection of Inner Sanctum Mysteries, an oldtime radio show from the 1940s and 1950s. If you love a good horror story, you'll love these. You get all these (and many others plus more of the same genre):

    • Homicidal Maniac
    • The Tell-Tale Heart
    • Song of the Slasher
    • Murder Comes to Life
    • Death on the Highway
    • The Scream
    • Island of Death
    • Man From Yesterday
    • Color Blind Formula
    • Desert Death

  •  
  • The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe: Old Time Radio - 52 Episodes
    Play The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe: Old Time Radio - 52 Episodes

    The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe: Old Time Radio - 52 Episodes

    • ORIGINAL (4 hrs and 24 mins)
    • By Rex Stout, Louis Vittes
    • Narrated By Sydney Greenstreet, Don Stanley
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    Nero Wolfe is an armchair detective created in 1934 by Rex Stout. Like many great detectives from the classic era, Nero Wolfe made the jump to radio and television. Five radio series have been produced starring Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin. These episodes come primarily from The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe which aired on NBC radio from October, 1950 to April, 1951.

  • I Was a Communist for the FBI
    Play I Was a Communist for the FBI

    I Was a Communist for the FBI

    • ORIGINAL (7 hrs and 19 mins)
    • By Cvetic Matt
    • Narrated By Dana Andrews
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    In 1941, the FBI asked citizen Matt Cvetic to join the Communist Party and report back on their activities. After emerging in 1950 to testify before congress about his experience, his exploits were chronicled in magazines, on the silver screen, and in a taut and entertaining radio series suggested by his real life adventures: I Was a Communist for the FBI. Starring Dana Andrews as Cvetic, this exciting radio series conveys the machinations of the Communists in the U.S. during the period.

  • War of the Worlds: The Radio Show that Changed the World
    Play War of the Worlds: The Radio Show that Changed the World

    War of the Worlds: The Radio Show that Changed the World

    • ORIGINAL (55 mins)
    • By H. G. Wells, Howard Koch (adaptation)
    • Narrated By Carl Phillips, Orson Wells
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    This is the "so-called" reason the government won't reveal all they know about UFOs. The panic from this broadcast was significant. Although Orson Welles, Mercury Theatre and the Columbia Broadcasting System couldn't "soap the windows" of their listeners the night before Halloween back in 1938, they could annihilate the world for them. And that's exactly what they did with this radio adaptation of H.G. Wells' famous novel, War of the Worlds.

  • The Bickersons, Volume One
    Play The Bickersons, Volume One

    The Bickersons, Volume One

    • ORIGINAL (2 hrs and 59 mins)
    • By Philip Rapp
    • Narrated By Don Ameche, Frances Langford
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    The Bickersons reigned supreme for five years as America's favorite radio couple. Like their name suggests, they spent many a night bickering, mainly over the fact that Blanche has to suffer through John's buzz saw-like snoring. The interplay between husband and wife, as they sarcastically banter back and forth, is what makes this show so great and why listeners continue to praise this "combative comedy."

  •  
  • Science Fiction Radio: Atom Age Adventures
    Play Science Fiction Radio: Atom Age Adventures

    Science Fiction Radio: Atom Age Adventures

    • ORIGINAL (9 hrs and 38 mins)
    • By Isaac Asimov
    • Narrated By Ernest Chappell
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    From the late 1940's through the 1950's, in a world where space travel and nuclear annihilation were no longer merely the stuff of fantasy, science fiction began to achieve a new popularity. And, the work of noted genre writers began to be adapted in movies and radio programs. Based (however implausibly) on science, these radio broadcasts reflected the depths of the nation's fears, and the boundlessness of its imagination.

  • Gangbusters: Cases of Crime
    Play Gangbusters: Cases of Crime

    Gangbusters: Cases of Crime

    • ORIGINAL (8 hrs and 28 mins)
    • By Phillips H. Lord
    • Narrated By Radio Spirits
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    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.

  • War of the Worlds: The Radio Show that Changed the World
    Play War of the Worlds: The Radio Show that Changed the World

    War of the Worlds: The Radio Show that Changed the World

    • ORIGINAL (55 mins)
    • By H. G. Wells, Howard Koch (adaptation)
    • Narrated By Carl Phillips, Orson Welles
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    This is the "so-called" reason the government won't reveal all they know about UFOs. The panic from this broadcast was significant. Although Orson Welles, Mercury Theatre and the Columbia Broadcasting System couldn't "soap the windows" of their listeners the night before Halloween back in 1938, they could annihilate the world for them. And that's exactly what they did with this radio adaptation of H.G. Wells's famous novel, War of the Worlds.

  • The Bob Hope Show, Vol. 14
    Play The Bob Hope Show, Vol. 14

    The Bob Hope Show, Vol. 14

    • ORIGINAL (3 hrs and 30 mins)
    • By Bob Hope
    • Narrated By Bob Hope
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    This collection features six episodes of the classic NBC radio show starring Bob Hope: William Bendix, Mickey Rooney, Burt Lancaster, Esther Williams, Grace Kelly, and Jerry Colonna.