Showing results by author "Original Radio Broadcast" in All Categories

Horror stars, action heroes, matinee idols, leading ladies - Suspense offered them all a showcase that expanded and emphasized their distinctive talents. Peter Lorre and Edward G. Robinson were particular favorites and appear here in tortured, desperate roles and never failing to wring every bit of tension from the scripts in their hands. Popular comedians - like Bob Hope and Milton Berle - were also regularly featured. Cast hard against type, the audience was forced to view them in an entirely different light and were left gasping in their wake.

In the wildness of the territories, greed lurks behind the grin of a gambler, vulnerable families meet their fates, and range wars are brewing. Outsiders come to town to start over, to start some trouble, or to die. The creak of leather, the rattle of spurs, the dry wind whistling along the dusty streets of Dodge City - that’s the world of Marshal Matt Dillon (played by William Conrad). Join him for twenty journeys into the West, with Parley Baer as Chester, Howard MacNear as Doc, and Georgia Ellis as Kitty.

During the late 1940s and early 1950s, several different radio programs brought in Hollywood stars to reprise their performances from popular films. Among them, Screen Directors' Playhouse offered something that no other show had: the directors. Imagine, if you will, listening to a radio play of A Foreign Affair and then hearing Marlene Dietrich and director Billy Wilder share their thoughts on the making of this classic film. In addition to Wilder, you'll hear directors like Tay Garnett, Robert Siodmak, and George Marshall in this set of 16 digitally remastered and restored episodes.

Box Thirteen is your address for radio mystery at its best! Alan Ladd stars in sixteen intriguing episodes as former newspaper reporter turned freelance fiction writer Dan Holiday. His excursions into mystery and crime for the characters in his books lead him to thrill-packed adventures all his own! At his side is a scatter-brained secretary named Suzy (played by Sylvia Picker), and in his way is the gruff Lieutenant Kling (portrayed by Edmund McDonald) and Inspector Black (Luis van Rooten).

Karen Heaven is back as the bold, brassy, British investigator Hilary Caine! Our girl detective is as adventurous as ever in scripts adapted from the works of British mystery novelist M. J. Elliot. She takes a holiday in the Bahamas and travels to the United States on assignment for the British War Department - but wherever she goes, murder follows.

There are no black hats or white hats in Dodge City, Kansas. Gunsmoke gives you Western stories for grown-ups, with hard-hitting tales set against the rugged majesty of the American frontier. Producer/director Norman Macdonnell and writer/editor John Meston bring you gripping accounts of folks who have come to Dodge to leave the past behind…and those who come to Dodge because they can’t. William Conrad stars as US Marshal Matt Dillon, with Parley Baer as Chester, Howard McNear as Doc, and Georgia Ellis as Kitty in 20 half-hours of radio drama at its best.

With four new writers and plenty of brand-new gags, radio's favorite comedian entertains home front America, as well as troops at Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine camps. In fact, the whole gang is here! Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Dennis Day, Larry Stevens, and Don Wilson are all on hand—along with plenty of unexpected guests! Here are sixteen laugh-packed episodes from the early 1940s, featuring favorites like Mel Blanc, Frank Nelson, Minerva Pious, John Brown, and Butterfly McQueen.

Dodge City and frontier Kansas come to life on the limitless plain of your imagination in 20 intense western dramas. In these gritty and poignant stories, originally broadcast in 1955, making a wrong call about whether or not to trust a man could cost you your fortune…or your life.

He’s a smart tough guy…or a tough smart guy. Either way, he’s Pacific Northwestern private eye Harry Nile. From the imagination of Seattle-based writer-producer Jim French come 24 tense, exciting radio thrillers produced in the classic style by modern talent. Phil Harper is back as Nile, with Pat French as Murphy, in these hard-boiled cases for hard luck customers. Get set for radio excitement the way you like it best - with The Adventures of Harry Nile!

Jack Benny's supporting cast - his "gang" - was the heart, soul, and success of his radio program. Mary Livingstone, Don Wilson, Phil Harris, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Dennis Day, Frank Nelson, Mel Blanc, Artie Auerbach, and Ronald and Benita Colman delivered many of the best jokes - and earned biggest laughs - on the show. Many members of this talented ensemble went on to star in programs of their own - always with Jack's support. This collection includes some of the gang's best work - both on and off of Benny's program.

Out of a rainy Seattle night comes crime, mystery, adventure...and Harry Nile! Here is Jim French's legendary private eye, investigating the dark corners of the 1940s Northwest. Larry Albert stars in this collection of 20 radio adventures - which include the first four episodes of the ongoing WWII story line "War Comes to Harry Nile"! It's new-time radio drama in the old-time tradition!

From the imaginative radio mind of writer/producer Jim French comes the tough-but-thoughtful private eye who roams the rain-swept streets of the Pacific Coast in search of crime, adventure, and enough dough to keep the office lights on for another month - Harry Nile! It's modern radio drama produced in the classic style, with stories set in the golden age of private-eye drama. Phil Harper stars as Harry in high-powered, hard-luck radio adventures! The 21 episodes featured here include the last show of the character's 1970s run, and the first 20 episodes of his glorious return in 1990.

Dragnet was radio's most successful police procedural series, and by far its most influential, shaping an entire generation's view of law enforcement, and bringing police work to life in carefully-documented detail. Never sensationalistic, but always a gripping listening experience, Jack Webb's signature creation remains the standard against which crime dramas are judged. Webb, who produced and directed the series, stars as Sergeant Joe Friday in gritty dramas of unprecedented realism.

A soft-spoken paragon of virtue on the range, Hopalong Cassidy brought law, order, and justice to the frontier. He was a model of integrity, courage, hard work, tolerance, patriotism, chivalry, and good-natured decency - and he attempted to instill these values in his young listeners - all while delivering action-packed entertainment. Cassidy, the creation of Clarence E. Mulford, who dreamed of the West he had never visited, was brought to life by former silent-movie matinee idol William Boyd.

Nero Wolfe is "a gourmet who never walks when he can sit and never sits when he can lie down." Join Rex Stout's reclusive, overweight, orchid-loving super-sleuth as masterfully portrayed by Sydney Greenstreet in this exciting radio series. Ever in search of a perfect meal and a cold bottle of beer, Wolfe often sends Archie Goodwin, his secretary and operative, in his stead. Learn the logic of this armchair detective extraordinaire as he presides over 18 digitally remastered cases of treasure maps and love triangles, carelessness and con artists, bad business and bad medicine.

Out of the rain and fog of the teeming Pacific Northwest he comes - the tough, methodical, incorruptible private eye Harry Nile. He's the foe of corruption, enemy of gangland, and the best friend you'll ever have when you're up against the wall. Harry gives as good as he gets in this collection of powerful radio adventures, produced, written, and directed by Jim French. Larry Albert takes over the role of Nile from the late Phil Harper, with Pat French back as the detective's assistant Murphy, for 16 cases of back streets and bad news.

She's like Sherlock Holmes with a sassy 1930s attitude! She's Hilary Caine, staff investigator for a British tabloid who knows her way around London…and around every murder case that comes her way!

For over 40 years, Seattle-based radio personality Jim French kept the flame of radio drama alive with Imagination Theatre! Noir-ish private eye Harry Nile, globetrotting adventurer Dameron, Kincaid the Strangeseeker, the methodical investigator Mr. Darnborough - plus fresh new takes on Raffles the Gentleman Thief, and even Sherlock Holmes himself - all had compelling stories to tell.

Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar debuted in 1948 and endured for 14 years as one of the most popular programs of latter day radio drama. In fact, it became the last network drama when it ultimately signed off the air in 1962. An eminently appealing character, Dollar was pragmatic, flirtatious, and sympathetic (to a point) - better at reserving judgment than he was at restraining his impulses. This set brings you the voices of all eight men who took on the role of "America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator" - from the well-known to the obscure.

Fred Allen specialized in literate wordplay, lacerating satire, and a squinty-eyed critique of the passing scene. His style was entirely his own: the slate-pencil whine of his voice, the ludicrously-named supporting characters, and the small-town-cum-big-city rattle of his dialogue. Join him in a promenade through parody, along with co-stars Portland Hoffa, Alan Reed, Kenny Delmar, Minerva Pious, John Brown, Charlie Cantor, and Parker Fennelly. Even Fred’s guest stars jump into the jest!