Showing results by author "Original Radio Broadcasts"

Racketeers and robbers, crap-shooters and kidnappers, hit men and hard cases - watch out! Joe Friday's on the job, and he isn't here to fool around! Join Jack Webb for 20 gritty true-life tales of urban crime from the files of the Los Angeles Police Department. Ben Alexander, Martin Milner, Jack Kruschen, Virginia Gregg, June Whitley, Stacy Harris, and more co-star as the city's cops, concerned citizens, and cold criminals. 

An orange glow peeks through the window on a crisp October night. Is it a jack-o'-lantern? Or, is it the radio dial? It's both! This collection of radio's happiest Halloween moments is replete with good old-fashioned haunted houses, costume parties, cemeteries, tricks and treats. Have fun with favorites like Jack Benny, Hal Peary, William Bendix, Ozzie and Harriet, Lucille Ball, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, and Boris Karloff. This wholesome, family-oriented on-air All Hallows' Eve comedy celebration includes 12 digitally restored and remastered episodes.

Encounter the death who walks, rats, descents into madness, ghosts, mad scientists, crimes against nature, and much more in this classic collection presenting 22 tales of the supernatural from authors such as Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, Charles Dickens, and Ambrose Bierce. Features performances from Peter Lorre, Hal Holbrooke, Boris Karloff, and the work of many leading radio directors, writers, and actors of the day. Also included are episodes from Strange, a rarely heard series narrated by Walter Gibson, creator and author of The Shadow.

Agonizing predicaments, stellar sound effects, and high wattage Hollywood star power combine in radio's top thriller. Myrna Loy, Joseph Cotten, Lucille Ball, Robert Taylor, Ronald Colman, and Agnes Moorehead give brilliant performances in blood-chilling stories. Twenty white-knuckled episodes (produced and directed by the legendary William Spier) feature a superior supporting cast, including John Dehner, Howard Duff, Elliott Lewis, William Johnstone, Joseph Kearns, and more. The tension and excitement of this Peabody Award-winning series are well calculated to keep you in...Suspense!

Wealthy dilettante Lamont Cranston led a double life as a mysterious crime fighter. He dispatched his share of racketeers and kidnappers but was at his fiercest when facing globe-threatening villains and insane masters of the occult. Orson Welles, Bill Johnstone, and Bret Morrison star as The Shadow. This collection includes many rare episodes not heard since their original broadcast (one with Welles in the lead and others featuring Johnstone). In addition, several are presented here with sound upgrades. Listen to Lamont fight crime with unmistakable panache!

Here comes “This Week’s Play” with Jack Benny and all the gang! Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, Dennis Day, and Don Wilson all play their parts in parodies of Hollywood movies, wild Westerns, murder mysteries, and more. Kick back with 16 satirical skits in this collection of classics from the 1940s and 1950s, featuring guest appearances by Barbara Stanwyck, Oscar Levant, Charles Farrell, Sam Goldwyn, Frank Sinatra, and George Jessel!

The name of Sherlock Holmes conjures images of gas-lit streets and dark mysteries from a bygone age. Solving crimes alongside his trusted friend Dr. John H. Watson, Holmes is, without a doubt, the most famous sleuth the world has ever known. Now, with full authorization from the Conan Doyle estate, we bring you 23 newly written adventures as presented on the long-running dramatic radio series starring John Patrick Lowrie as Holmes, with Lawrence Albert as Dr. Watson, Rick May as Inspector Lestrade, and Mary Anne Dorward as Mary Watson. 

Johnny has a way with the ladies, but will his last date be with death? For free trips and a fat fee, Johnny Dollar descends into cases of missing money and missing men. But, what can he do when the bodies are walled up, washed up, and fallen down? When the jewels and the paintings are fake? And, when everything from trucks to trout to widows are on the loose? He'd better bring his gun.

Next stop: Summerfield! Join Fibber McGee's battling next-door neighbor as he sets out on a brand new life in this collection of early episodes of The Great Gildersleeve! Gildy's new family fast becomes the most important part of his life - and this bombastic bachelor quickly develops a strong sense of heart.

Laughs come in twos with America's favorite comedy team! Here comes George Burns and Gracie Allen in 16 illogically logical half hours featuring a parade of guest stars, including Frank Sinatra, Clark Gable, and Cary Grant! Bill Goodwin, Tobe Reed, and Meredith Willson are on hand as George and Gracie find themselves tangling with madcap matters of crime, competition, money, and matrimony. This collection features rare episodes and rare talent!

Radio’s greatest sleuths, bar none - here are Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson! Deep voiced Basil Rathbone (with his deerstalker cap and chiseled silhouette) gives his definitive portrayal of Holmes, while Nigel Bruce (Hollywood’s favorite jolly old Englishman) lends support as the delightfully amazed Watson. Venture into the fog and mist of Victorian London for 16 mind-challenging thrillers. Solve cases of intrigue and blackmail, of missing gems and missing persons, of maharajas and murder - all inspired by incidents in the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

From fishing in the lake for Old Muley to fishing in the closet for just about everything else, wartime America’s favorite couple keeps the fun coming. Head on down to Wistful Vista and hear it for yourself in this collection of comedy classics from 1944 and 1945! Jim and Marian Jordan star as Fibber McGee and Molly - with Arthur Q. Bryan as Doc Gamble, Shirley Mitchell as Alice Darling, Bea Benaderet as Mrs. Carstairs, Marlin Hurt as the unforgettable Beulah, and Harlow Wilcox selling the Glo-Coat!  

Radio Spirits is pleased to present 20 classic episodes of Suspense, one of radio's longest running and best mystery anthology series. This collection features programs from the early 1950s as produced and directed by Elliott Lewis. Suspense was well-known for its guest star performers and the shows presented here are no exception, featuring appearances by Dana Andrews, Joseph Cotton, Richard Widmark, Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, Alan Ladd, Dennis Day, Fred MacMurray, Agnes Moorehead, William Bendix, Ronald Colman, Joan Crawford, Phil Harris and Alice Faye and more.

Harry Nile is a former Chicago cop, who quit the force after uncovering a vein of corruption. He stalks the rainy streets of pre-war Seattle on behalf of private clients with the help of his assistant, a lady named Murphy. Phil Harper stars as Nile, with Pat French as Murphy, in this exciting series that has been heard on radio stations coast to coast in the US and Canada, on satellite radio, and reached a worldwide audience online. After more than 25 years, it's the longest running private-eye show in American radio history.

In 1940, America was still staggering its way out of the Great Depression, and war clouds were rolling in from Europe. The upcoming Presidential campaign spotlight turned to perhaps the unlikeliest, but certainly the most entertaining, candidate of all - Gracie Allen. Politics was perfect for Gracie's particular brand of logical illogic. Join the hilarity, and the throngs of supporters, as George Burns, Gracie, and their entire cast embark on a whistle-stop tour all the way to the Surprise Party's national convention in Omaha, Nebraska.

Come back to the tradition and warmth of Christmas in the Golden Age of Radio, with the great performers and shows of yesteryear. Go shopping with Jack Benny. Go to the snow covered woods with Johnny Dollar. Go to Bethlehem with Family Theater. The voices of Vincent Price, George and Gracie, Bergen and McCarthy, Abbott and Costello, Red Skelton, Jimmy Durante, and more are lifted in story and song. They celebrate the yuletide with equal parts hope and hokum, silliness and sacrifice, merriment and mystery....

Spend your yuletide with the greatest stars of radio's Golden Age! Trim the tree, wrap the presents, and deck the halls as festive broadcast favorites like Jack Benny, Burns and Allen, Abbott and Costello, and The Great Gildersleeve keep you entertained! Hark to the voices of Christmases past - including Frank Sinatra and Will Rogers, Jr. - as they bring you merry mysteries and endearing dramas. 

For 20 years Suspense brought radio listeners incalculable sharp inhales, tingled spines, and shortened breaths. Every week brought a fresh slate, a fresh cast, and a fresh challenge with an attention to detail and consistent script quality that never lost ground. From beginning to end, Suspense stands as one of radio’s lasting achievements - and the creative peak of the broadcast anthology format. Suspense: Omnibus includes 20 of the best episodes from the series.

In October 1964, as the "British Invasion" of pop music came into its own, Playboy Magazine assigned Jean Shepherd to travel with, and interview, the Beatles on their tour of the United Kingdom. Shepherd also took advantage of his assignment to further travel the UK on his own, exploring from Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands to London with a portable recorder to record material for use on his own syndicated radio program. The result is a fascinating audio documentary of the UK at a distinct point in time, with Shepherd offering commentary and musings uniquely his own on the popular culture and mores of the day. 

Lamont Cranston (aka The Shadow) and Margot Lane are intrepid world travelers, adventuring in major countries, remote islands, hidden valleys, and bizarre towns. Their perilous ports of call included places like “Devil’s Island” and “The Valley of Living Terror”. Join them on their journeys, in which you will hear four of the outstanding actors who played The Shadow: Orson Welles, Bill Johnstone, John Archer, and Bret Morrison. We also pay tribute to eight actresses who braved the jungles, swamps, and curses as risk-taking heroine and damsel-in-distress, Margot Lane....