Old Time Radio Blog

"Suspense" was one of the longest running series on radio, with 945 episodes produced. Of these, about 900 are known to exist and are available online now in various places. Suspense is considered by many to be among the finest radio dramas, notable both for high-quality production and its ability to attract some of the top talent of the day.

This is the second of 25 episodes total in this "sustaining" series. That means the network paid the bills to put and keep this show on the air. Why would they do this? Very simply because Frank Sinatra was one of the rising stars of the day and the network could get much more money from a variety of sponsors outbidding each other to sponsor the show. Sinatra plays the title character with a perfect bit of over the top-ness that makes the show a winner.

One of the more interesting shows of this long-running show, this episode essentially amounts to a recruiting commercial for the WACS (Womens Army Corps), which was essential during the WW-2 efforts. The clever writing makes it just as funny as any of their other shows. Fibber McGee & Molly grew out of Jim and Marion Jordan's vaudeville act, becoming one of the most popular radio attractions of all time. And it's no wonder when you hear their crazy cast of characters. Even their topical humor is timeless.

Often considered one of the best series to have aired on radio, Gunsmoke was billed as an "adult western drama." This was mostly because the characters and situations were very realistic and the situations very often showed people at their worst. Marshall Matt Dillon, played superbly by William Conrad, is one of the most enduring American icons.

The science fiction show X Minus One featured interesting and entertaining stories, mostly adapted from those appearing in Galaxy magazine. Such sci-fi notables as Phillip K. Dick (wrote this episode), Ray Bradbury, and Gene Roddenberry wrote for this series. This particular episode features an interesting twist on human colonization and how one planet defends itself.

"Suspense" was one of the longest running series on radio, with 945 episodes produced. Of these, about 900 are known to exist and are available online now in various places. Suspense is considered by many to be among the finest radio dramas, notable both for high-quality production and its ability to attract some of the top talent of the day.

In 1971, Arch Oboler hand picked 25 of his favorite episodes from the old Lights Out anthology series. This episode was originally broadcast on Sept 14, 1943 as "The Word." According to one source I found, Oboler picked this one for the revival because he was particularly proud of how his characters created a feeling of anxiety that reached its peak right as the episode ends. Personally, I think Oboler was one of the most imaginative storytellers of the old time radio era.

My collection of old time radio shows that aired on Oct 7 is somewhat limited. That said, I did luck out to get a Fibber McGee and Molly episode that really represents how far the stars had brought their characters in just six short years. I think you'll enjoy a glimpse into the life of Fibber McGee just two short months of the US entering WW-2.

Frank Sinatra starred as Rocky Fortune, a footloose and fancy free private detective. NBC put the show on as a "sustaining" series, meaning they didn't have a particular sponsor but produced the show at the network's expense. There were only 25 episodes altogether. This is the first and sets the tone for an enjoyable show. Frank played this part his way (excuse the pun) and it was the perfect amount of over the top.

Fibber McGee and Molly was a long-running situation comedy (1935-1954) and is actually often credited with creating the "situation comedy." Oddly enough, there was indeed some sort of situation that acted as a loose plot device, but the best part of this show week in and week out was the interplay between Fibber and large cast of characters that visited him and Molly each week. This episode is centered on renting the McGee's spare room to a war worker. Interesting to hear the historical context here.

This show, starring James Stewart as Britt Ponsit, only ran for one season and featured a totally different approach to the western yarn. Supposedly a gunman, Britt almost never actually draws his gun. Instead, he lets his reputation do most of the talking and uses his brains in every other case. James Stewart plays the part with a great deal of humor and tries to bring realism to the role, without going overboard.

Alan Ladd, probably best known for his title role in the move "Shane," played Dan Holiday in this wonderfully well produced radio series. The basic premise is that Dan was an author who needs story ideas so he puts an ad in the local paper saying he will go anywhere and do anything for adventure. "Box 13" refers to part of his address at the newspaper where people can connect with him.

In this great episode of my favorite old time radio show, Marshall Matt Dillon actually gets outdrawn and is shot when facing a gunfighter. Always well produced, Gunsmoke set a very high standard for "adult western drama" shows. I've left the cigarette ads intact only to preserve the episode intact.

"Escape" was a fairly long-running anthology series that was peculiar in that the network originally didn't give it a fixed timeslot. And the introductory line changed pretty frequently too. But, those notwithstanding, this is a very high-quality series. This episode is a very good dramatization of Richard Connell's 1924 short story.

You Bet Your Life was officially a quiz show, but in reality was more a vehicle for Groucho Marx to ad lib in response to the contestants. Along the way, some absolute hilarity ensues. It's also interesting to hear how game shows were done in the early days.

Stan Freberg was one of radio comedy's most imaginative writers when he pitched a "spec show" to the network. In other words, he had no sponsorship and was only speculating they would ever get one. Unfortunately, they never really got a long term sponsor and there were only 14 original episodes and a "best of" 15th. This was the 12th episode and features some of Stan's quirkiest writing.

The "Life of Riley" was a radio show in the 1940s, a movie and TV show in the 1950s and even spawned a comic book. In the radio version, William Bendix played Chester Riley, who always had a scheme brewing and seldom succeeded at said scheme. The cast that did all the other voices will probably be familiar, especially Alan Reed, who most of us know as Fred Flintstone. Although some of the humor seems a little trite, it's a fun show nonetheless.

Set in San Francisco in 1875, "Have Gun Will Travel" was available on both radio and TV. Similar to the "Gunsmoke" series, the radio version included one cast and the TV version included a completely different cast. On radio, we hear John Dehner in the role of Paladin, the main character and one of my favorites. A top of the line gentleman, Paladin was never above the use of force when necessary. If you can excuse the horribly insensitive Chinese caricatures as a product of the era, each episode of "Have Gun Will Travel" is well worth your time.

X Minus One is one of my favorite sci-fi radio series. Usually, the episodes were adapted from Galaxy science fiction magazine stories written by such luminaries as Frederik Pohl (one of my favorites). This episode features one of my favorite 1950s topics: space travel. I hope you enjoy.

Our Miss Brooks, starring Eve Arden as English teacher Miss Brooks, Jeff Chandler as the ever-oblivious biology teacher, and one of my favorites from that era - Gale Gordon as dictatorial Principal Osgood Conklin. Many of these episodes, especially later in the show, were actually made for TV and the audio then simulcast on radio. With a fantastic group of veteran character actors surrounding her, Our Miss Brooks always entertains.