Old Time Radio Blog

You Bet Your Life was officially a game show and unofficially just a way to take advantage of Groucho's ability to ad lib and play off the contestants as they answered his ice breaker questions.

Fibber McGee and Molly, a long running situation comedy, has become one of my favorites. I could listen to Fibber telling his tall tales and the cast of characters that popped in to 79 Wistful Vista just about every week. Every single episode is a crackup.

Dragnet was not the original radio detective show, but in my opinion was definitely the best. Jack Webb (who also played Joe Friday) insisted on the absolute maximum realism for the show. I've read in several different places that Webb even insisted the sound techs go to the actual Los Angeles police station and record different police officers walking in the halls to and from the offices mentioned in the shows just to be sure the sounds were realistic enough. Every single episode of this show is a winner. Enjoy!

Jack Benny has somehow remained timeless, regardless of how many decades pass. With his ability to ad lib (listen to how often everyone else in the cast cracks up) and his willingness to allow his fellow cast members to get the biggest laughs, Jack Benny has become one of my favorites. I can listen to his shows over and over and over and this episode, from very early in his radio career, is a great example.

This is a radio version of the infamous movie, featuring Humphrey Bogart in the role he brought to the silver screen. I love this radio version and hope you agree.

X Minus One featured radio versions of stories that appeared in Galaxy science fiction magazine. Typically, the stories were clever, well-written, well-acted and well-produced. This particular episode explores the ideas of conformity, government control, and freedom - especially of thought. I hope you enjoy "Tsylana."

This episode originally aired on September 18, 1947. Suspense is one of my favorite old time radio series. Each 30-minute episode was well-written, well-acted, and well-produced. And in my humble opinion, these shows still stand the test of time in their production value and the plot lines. Please enjoy this episode of Suspense.

This was the last original episode in the long running radio show considered by many (including me) to be the best. I've included this one early in my podcast series because this episode too often gets overlooked on the various directories. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do.

Stan Freberg had been 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. Listening to these now, I think you'll agree that Stan and his gang (including June Foray and Daws Butler - world famous voiceover artists) didn't catch on with the world at large.

This show, the Martin and Lewis audition show, featured Bob Hope as their special guest. It's obvious while listening that the producers hadn't quite figured out what to do with the boys yet. But it's also obvious the boys more than made up for that with their raw talent and energy.

This show, featuring the inimitable Peter Lorre, ran in the late 1940s to generally favorable reviews. This particular episode, a clever and authentic retelling of the classic novel Crime and Punishment, is one of only eight I know can be found online or in any of the popular collections.

The Devil and Mr. O was a revival show of the Lights Out series that originally aired in the 1930s - 1950s. For the revival, Arch Oboler hand-picked his favorite episodes from the original series. If you never heard of Arch Oboler, he was truly a radio pioneer in the horror and suspense genres and in my opinion is one of the most underrated writer / director / producer actors of the Old Time Radio era.

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.

This is the debut episode of the Groucho Marx vehicle, You Bet Your Life. Technically this was a game show, but in reality it was more of a platform for Groucho's legendary ad lib skills. Playing off the contestants' answers to his icebreaking questions, Groucho kept the audience in stitches.

Box 13 was a syndicated show starring Alan Ladd (famous for the movie "Shane") as Dan Holiday. The basic premise is that Holiday is an author looking for story ideas, so he posts an ad in his local paper looking for adventure...will go anywhere, will do anything...Every single one of the 52 total episodes in this short-lived series is well written and well acted. This first episode also features Alan Reed, who voiced Fred Flinstone.

This is the first episode of the long-running western radio show, Gunsmoke. Considered by many to be one of the best shows ever produced during the old time radio era, Gunsmoke was geared for an adult audience and still stands out for its realistic portrayal of the Old West. In this episode, the historical figure of Billy the Kid is plays a part in the drama. Many, many thanks to the Old Time Radio Researchers group for making this high-quality recording available.