Old Time Radio Blog

Groucho Marx was chosen to be the host and quizmaster of this early radio quiz show...not because of his extensive knowledge of practically everything. No, he was chosen because he could make the show entertaining by ad libbing with each pair of contestants. Several times I've listened to these episodes and laughed myself into hiccups.

Paladin, the first class gentleman, former Confederate officer, man who takes care of those who can't take care of themselves. His catch phrase: have gun, will travel.

If you enjoy science fiction, you'll love X Minus One. Take one part good writing, add a generous helping of great production value and you make a great old time radio show.

Fibber McGee & Molly was a long-running situation comedy / variety show. One of my favorite things about this series is the cast of loony characters that somehow end up in almost every episode.

Jack Benny and his cast of characters created a special kind of magic when they were on the air. No, Jack was not a horrendous cheapskate in real life. Yes, Jack and Mary were real life husband-and-wife.

Often regarded as the best show from the Old Time Radio era, Gunsmoke set the standard in many ways. The quality of the scripts, the exceptional acting, the production quality second-to-none, every aspect of this series put it among the best of the best.

Once Arch Oboler took over the Lights Out anthology series, his imagination took the show into a fantastic direction where the unimaginable became reality, at least for 30 minutes. Add good writing to good acting and good production and you've got a winner.

Groucho Marx was a master at ad libbing, which is why he was chosen to host the game show You Bet Your Life. While the quiz show aspect was pretty minimal, the laughs abounded as Groucho simply played off the contestants during the ice breaker portion of each segment.

Jack Benny was, and still remains, one of the funniest men alive. He built a career on pretending to be the cheapest man alive, but in reality was one of the most generous, especially with the show. If you listen closely, you'll notice he very often gives the other cast members the biggest gags. This episode features a Buck Benny skit, where Jack is a western hero, and it features Andy Devine who was well known for his distinctive voice.

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were an amazing team in the late 1940's and into the early and mid 1950's. Their nightclub act, which turned into a radio show, which led to movies and TV, was a huge hit. Typically, their act featured Dean singing (a great crooner) and setting up jokes for Jerry. Very often, the scripted jokes were a little corny but funny, but the best laughs came when Jerry went off script and left Dean cracking up with an ad lib.

Our Miss Brooks was a series that aired first on radio and then both on TV and radio. Unlike many of the co-media series of the day, however, the Our Miss Brooks radio show was simply the audio from the TV series. In this episode, we find the usual cast of characters creating their typical mayhem, centered around Madison High School English teacher Constance Brooks, ever chasing after relatively clueless Biology teacher Mr. Boynton.

Jim and Marion Jordan brought Fibber McGee and Molly to life every week for their sponsors Johnson Wax. In this episode, Fibber accidentally gives himself a black eye and nobody believes the real story.

Fred Allen's show was not very typical of his time. He tended to avoid the standard variety format in favor of topical humor approached from several directions within the half-hour. Over the years, it became more or less a trademark that Allen would tell one of the scripted jokes and that would fall flat...only to have Fred ad lib some crack about how bad the joke was, getting a much bigger laugh in the process.

X Minus One was one of the better science fiction anthology series on the air in the 1950s. This episode is adapted from a Ray Bradbury story, called "The Long Years" in its first print publication.

Gunsmoke was a long-running radio series and also a TV series that ran for two decades. Each series had its own cast and frankly, I like the radio cast much better. In this episode (the 344th of almost 500), Marshall Dillon gets on the wrong side of some shoot-first-think-later types and they decide the best way to get to him is through his "deputy" and friend, Chester.

George Burns and Gracie Allen started their married lives as a vaudeville act where Gracie was the "straight man" and George delivered the punchlines. They very soon realized it was MUCH better the other way around and before long, Gracie was delivering the legendary zingers we all know and love. In this episode, you'll learn how Gracie files the grocery bill alphabetically under "T." And in a pleasant surprise for me, Meredith Wilson, their bandleader, exchanges a few lines with Gracie. Meredith wrote "The Music Man," which is mine and my wife's favorite musical.

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis...the perfect team for a while in the 1940's and 1950's. Their radio show eventually started featuring several contributors, as the months unfolded. Just try to keep track of Jerry's shenanigans and Dean's smooth singing.

Have Gun Will Travel was a series on both radio and TV, with a different cast for both (just like Gunsmoke). Frankly, I like the radio version much better. The production quality, writing, and acting are all top notch. About the negative is their portrayal of the Chinese characters. But, even then, Paladin (played beautifully by John Dehner) is a total class act all the way.

Henry was sometimes just a little too clever for his own good. Some very good examples on this episode. In my opinion, it's a shame there aren't more of his shows available.

This episode from the long running anthology series features John Dehner narrating "The Last Letter of Dr. Bronson." Suspense always featured top-notch acting, writing, and production values.