Tag: Old Time Radio

The Big Story: A Search That Saved a Life (EP5077)

Today’s Mystery:

A chance encounter in a Chicago courtroom leads reporters Virginia Marmaduke and Joe Kordek into a deeply personal story. A mother is seeking a divorce because she believes her husband is willing to risk their young daughter’s life. The reporters soon discover that the child suffers from a serious medical condition and that her parents are bitterly divided over a dangerous decision that could determine her future. When they learn that another child may hold the answer, Virginia and Joe set out to find her—but will they reach her in time?

Original Radio Broadcast: February 10, 1954

Originating from New York

Cast:

  • Virginia Marmaduke — M.C. Strickland
  • Joe Kordek — Sid Pohl
  • Mandel Kramer
  • Jan Miner
  • Guy Sorel
  • Madeline Pierce
  • Shirley Hayes
  • Joan Tompkins

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The Saint: The Chiseling Chimpanzee (EP5076)

Vincent Price

Today’s Mystery:

Simon Templar becomes involved in a strange murder mystery after meeting a frightened man named Prebble, who believes he may be headed for prison because of a trained chimpanzee named Wenceslas. When Prebble is murdered and the chimpanzee is subsequently killed, The Saint discovers that the animal may have been involved in the theft of valuable jewels. Simon follows the trail to a group of jewel thieves and must determine who killed Prebble and Wenceslaus—and who has the missing jewels.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: December 10, 1950

Originating from Hollywood

Starring: Vincent Price as Simon Templar

Cast:

  • Maggie Morley as Lola
  • George Nees as Roland Ames
  • Sheldon Leonard as Max
  • Theodor von Eltz as Haig
  • Jack Moyles as Prebble
  • Jerry Hausner as the Monkey

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Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar: The Really Gone Matter (EP5075)

Bob Bailey

Today’s Mystery:

Johnny Dollar is hired by a life insurance company to locate a missing beneficiary named Jonathan Doe, who is set to receive $50,000 from a policy belonging to a recently deceased farmer. The problem is that no one in the area seems to have ever met Jonathan Doe, and even his supposed farm contains few clues that he ever existed. As Johnny investigates, suspicion falls on the farmer’s son, who stands to inherit the money if Doe remains missing. Johnny must uncover the truth behind the mysterious beneficiary and determine why no one seems to know who he really was.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: August 30, 1959

Originating from Hollywood

Cast:

  • Virginia Gregg
  • Lawrence Dobkin
  • Marvin Miller
  • Sam Edwards
  • Judas Matthews
  • Stacey Harris
  • Bart Robinson

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Broadway’s My Beat: The Ruth Nelson Murder Case (EP5073)

Larry Thor

Today’s Mystery:

Detective Danny Clover investigates the murder of Ruth Nelson, a woman found stabbed to death on the very day she was released from prison after serving thirty years. As Clover searches for answers, he discovers that Ruth’s past may hold the key to her death. The investigation takes another turn when Louise Downey, the woman who helped Ruth find a place to live, is also found dead. Clover must uncover the connection between the two women and the secrets someone is determined to keep hidden.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: October 11, 1952

Originating from Hollywood

Cast:

  • Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover

  • Charles Calvert as Tattaglia

  • Jack Kruschen as Mugavin

  • Mary Jane Croft as Vicky

  • Jane Novello as Jonathan

  • Irene Tedrow

  • Harry Bartell

  • Paul Frees

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The Big Story: Too Terrible to be Believed (EP5072)

Today’s Mystery:

Prince George’s County reporter Arthur Milky becomes suspicious when a young child dies at a nursery home and the medical examiner determines that the boy’s severe head injuries could not have been self-inflicted. When the woman running the home offers conflicting explanations for the injuries, Milky begins investigating both the child’s death and the operator’s troubling history, determined to uncover evidence strong enough to establish what really happened.

Original Radio Broadcast: January 27, 1954

Originating from New York

Cast:

  • Lyle Sudrow as Arthur Milky
  • Court Benson
  • Maurice Wells
  • Louis Van Rooten
  • Barbara Weeks
  • Joan Lorring
  • Ted Osborne

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The Saint: Marvin Hickerson, Private Eye (EP5071)

Vincent Price

Today’s Mystery:

Simon Templar is drawn into a dangerous mystery when Alice Parks asks for his help after her fiancé, Marvin Hickerson, disappears under suspicious circumstances. Marvin, a private investigator with a complicated case on his hands, has become entangled with a group of people involved in a dangerous scheme. As The Saint begins following the clues, he discovers that money, deception, and a murder may all be connected. With powerful people determined to keep the truth hidden, Simon must use his wits to uncover what really happened before the mystery turns deadly.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: December 3, 1950

Originating from Hollywood

Cast:
  • Vincent Price as Simon Templar
  • Leslie Banning
  • Maggie Morley
  • Victor Rodman
  • Edmund MacDonald
  • Herb Vigran
  • Bill Tracy
  • Bonnie Phillips.

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Old Time Radio Snack Wagon Smorgasboard #3 (EP5070e)

In this episode, we serve up four classic old-time radio snacks, featuring a special Family Theater presentation for Citizenship Day, an episode of Family Doctor, a New Year’s drama from Guest Star, and a classic performance by Orson Welles.

Family Theater: Treasury of Homes

In honor of Citizenship Day, this episode features an excerpt from Family Theater, a dramatic anthology series that promoted family prayer and presented stories centered around American family life.

This excerpt, Treasury of Homes, celebrates the pioneers who settled the American West and the immigrants who came to the United States seeking a better life. The story follows the Simmons family as they search for a place to build their new home and dream of the community that will eventually grow around them.

The program also features a performance by John Charles Thomas singing The Homeland.

Original Air Date: February 14, 1951

Family Doctor: Error in Diagnosis

In this episode of Family Doctor, Dr. Grant Adams treats Griff Miller, an elderly man struggling to make the interest payment on the mortgage for his family boathouse.

When the mortgage holder, lawyer Ralph Bates, prepares to foreclose, Doc Adams comes up with an unusual solution. By convincing Bates that he has chicken pox and later poison oak, the country doctor buys Griff enough time to save his property.

The story offers a humorous look at the traditional image of the country doctor as a trusted community figure who cares for more than just his patients’ physical health.

Original Air Date: 1937

Guest Star: Time is Sacred

Spend New Year’s Eve with Bill Cooper and Louise Marston, two office workers who become trapped in an elevator when the power goes out.

As they realize that the elevator cable may not hold until help arrives, the two strangers discover that they have fallen in love. With midnight approaching, they face what may be their final moments together.

Starring Joan Leslie, this dramatic story combines romance, suspense, and a New Year’s message about recognizing the importance of time.

Original Air Date: December 26, 1948

Mercury Theatre: I’m a Fool

Orson Welles stars in this adaptation of Sherwood Anderson’s story I’m a Fool.

A young man attending a horse race attempts to impress a girl by pretending to be wealthy and claiming that his father owns one of the horses. His lies bring him closer to the girl, but as the evening comes to an end, he realizes the painful consequences of trying to be someone he isn’t.

This experimental Mercury Theatre broadcast presented three short stories in a single episode, making it an ideal example of the snack-sized radio storytelling featured on the Old Time Radio Snack Wagon.

Original Air Date: August 8, 1938

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Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar: The Embarcadero Matter (EP5070)

Bob Bailey

Today’s Mystery:

Johnny Dollar is asked to help recover a priceless Cellini medallion stolen from the Louvre, which is believed to be smuggled into the United States aboard a ship carrying French wine. After traveling from Paris to San Francisco, Johnny turns to his underworld contacts for information and learns that the medallion may be hidden somewhere along the Embarcadero. His investigation takes a dangerous turn when he and Smoky Sullivan discover a murdered watchman and must locate the stolen treasure before it falls into the hands of a professional fence.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: August 23, 1959.

Originating from Hollywood

Cast:

  • Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar
  • Virginia Gregg as Smoky Sullivan

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Broadway’s My Beat: The Tony Blair Murder Case (EP5068)

Larry Thor

Today’s Mystery:

Detective Danny Clover investigates a dangerous situation surrounding dancer Sylvia Douglas after she claims that Peter Ciuro wants to kill her. Ciuro insists that he loves Sylvia and points Clover toward another man, longshoreman Johnny Moore, whom he believes could be a threat to her. As Clover investigates the three people connected to Sylvia, the situation takes a deadly turn when Tony Blair, Sylvia’s dancing teacher, is found murdered.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: September 20, 1952.

Originating from Hollywood

Cast:

  • Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover
  • Charles Calvert as Sergeant Gino Tartaglia
  • Jack Kruschen as McGovern
  • Sammy Hill as Sylvia Douglas
  • Sidney Miller as Peter Ciuro
  • Sheldon Leonard as Johnny Moore
  • Martha Wentworth as the landlady
  • True de Marten as Mrs. Blair

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The Saint: The Terrible TinType (EP5066)

Vincent Price

Today’s Mystery:

Simon Templar becomes involved in a murder mystery after discovering a dead man named Marsh. When a photograph that could provide an important clue goes missing, The Saint sets out to discover who killed Marsh and why someone is so determined to keep the picture from being found. Simon’s investigation leads him through a dangerous trail of deception as he searches for the missing photograph and the truth behind the murder.

Original Radio Broadcast Date:November 26, 1950.

Originating from Hollywood

Cast:

  • Vincent Price as Simon Templar
  • Joan Banks as Valerie Marsh
  • Lamont Johnson as Pete Bryan
  • Helen Parrish as Sally Blair
  • Ken Christie as Lieutenant Riley
  • Anna Hurley as Graves, the butler
  • Larry Dobkin as Louie

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Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Night in Paris Matter (EP5065)

Bob Bailey

Today’s Mystery:

Johnny Dollar travels to Paris after his underworld contact Louis de Marsac claims to know the whereabouts of the Olney diamonds, a three-quarter-million-dollar necklace stolen during its owner’s recent visit to the United States. But Johnny’s arrival is greeted by a ransacked apartment and a sudden assault, suggesting that recovering the jewels will mean navigating some dangerous figures in the Paris underworld.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: August 16, 1959.

Originating from Hollywood

Cast:

  • Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar
  • Virginia Gregg
  • Forrest Lewis
  • G. Stanley Jones
  • Tony Barrett
  • Bill James
  • Gus Bay
  • Jack Johnstone, writer, producer, and director

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Dragnet: The Big Donation (EP5064)

Today’s Mystery:

Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Bill Lockwood investigate a group of confidence men posing as authorized solicitors for legitimate charities and pocketing the donations they collect. An early arrest appears promising until the suspect proves he merely copied the scheme, leaving Friday and Lockwood searching for the experienced bunco artists whose fraud is depriving charitable causes of badly needed funds.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: June 12, 1952

Originating from Hollywood

Cast:

  • Jack Webb as Sgt. Joe Friday
  • Ken Peters as Bill Lockwood
  • Virginia Gregg
  • Vic Rodman
  • Jim Moser, writer
  • Walter Schumann, music
  • Technical advice from the office of Chief W.H. Parker
  • Captain Jack Donahoe, Sgt. Marty Wynn, and Sgt. Vance Brasher, technical advisors
  • Hal Gibney, announcer

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The Saint: No Hiding Place (EP5061)

Vincent Price

Today’s Mystery:

Simon Templar tries to help Tommy Patrick, a prisoner who claims someone has repeatedly tried to kill him and then escapes before Simon can speak with him. Searching for the reason Tommy has been marked for death leads Simon to Tommy’s sister Nancy, a powerful nightclub owner, and questions about the robbery that sent Tommy to prison three years earlier.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: November 19, 1950.

Originating from Hollywood

Cast:

  • Vincent Price as Simon Templar
  • Peggy Webber as the landlady
  • Sheldon Leonard as Frank
  • Victor Rodman as Farrelly
  • Peter Leeds as Sam
  • Dick Crenna as Tommy Patrick
  • Fred Shields as the Warden
  • Larry Dobkin as Louie
  • Dick Powell, writer
  • Leslie Charteris, creator of The Saint
  • James L. Saphier, producer
  • Helen Mack, director
  • Don Stanley, announcer

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Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Cronin Matter Omnibus (EP5060s)

Bob Bailey

Today’s Mystery:

Johnny Dollar is hired to protect the Circle of Fire, a half-million-dollar diamond-and-emerald necklace belonging to former Broadway sensation Dolly Cronin, who plans to wear it while recreating the lavish parties of her youth. But with Dolly inviting friends from a past she remembers through rose-colored glasses, Johnny quickly discovers that the celebrated necklace may attract people with motives far less sentimental than hers.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: December 5-9, 1955

Originating from Hollywood

Cast:

  • Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar
  • Virginia Gregg
  • Shirley Mitchell
  • Vivi Janis
  • Barbara Fuller
  • Benny Rubin
  • John Dehner
  • Parley Baer
  • Les Crutchfield, writer
  • Jack Johnstone, producer and director
  • Amerigo Marino, musical supervision
  • Roy Rowan, announcer

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Counterspy: Vicious Visitor (A0122)

Today’s Adventure:

Violent bank robber Rocky Gaines escapes from federal prison, and David Harding and Harry Peters join the manhunt as the wounded fugitive heads into the mountains. Gaines seeks refuge with Norma Benton, a woman from his past who has built a new life with her husband, and threatens to expose her secret unless she helps him hide from the authorities.

Original Radio Broadcast: September 29, 1949

Originating from New York

Starring Don McLaughlin as David Harding; Mandel Kramer as Peters

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