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

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.

With a quick mind and a quicker tongue (occasionally planted firmly in cheek), Dashiell Hammett's daring detective takes the case, takes a few punches, takes the dough (when there is any), and takes advantage of Effie's...good nature, in eight digitally restored and remastered capers.

Michael Waring is the freelance investigator, troubleshooter, and adventurer known to one and all as The Falcon. One part The Saint, one part Boston Blackie, and one part Philip Marlowe - Waring can be suave and charming, especially when a lady is involved. But, there's never any doubt about his nail-spitting toughness, nor of his impatience with the plodding methods of the police - most often expressed in an endless stream of clenched-teeth wisecracks.

In one corner...we have John Bickerson (played by Don Ameche and Lew Parker), the undisputed snoring champion of the world! In the other corner...we have Blanche Bickerson (played by Frances Langford and Marsha Hunt), radio's most relentless battle ax! Love conquers all? Well, we'll see about that. Listen in as radio's most contentious couple goes to the mat. The sleep-deprived are about to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous matrimony in this cutting comedy.

Welcome to The Lineup, "where under the cold, glaring lights pass the innocent, the vagrant, the thief, and the murderer". This tightly scripted radio series traced the activities Lieutenant Ben Guthrie (Bill Johnstone) and his Sergeants Matt Greb (Wally Maher) and Peter Carger (Jack Moyles). Ride along with the squad and follow the parade of arrests they make, through witness identifications, subsequent investigations, and the apprehension of additional criminals - all eventually culminating in the cracking (and closing) of the day's case.

Hilarious Hollywood spoofs were a beloved feature on many classic Jack Benny radio shows. Regular cast members and guest stars alike were recruited to send up cinema classics like Casablanca, High Noon, and Sunset Boulevard. Celebrities could count on large laughs - and, looking good next to Jack’s lovably vainglorious and miserly self - while poking fun at their most famous films. A treasure trove for both Benny-philes and film fans, this set includes 12 digitally restored and remastered episodes, performances by the likes of Bob Hope and Edward G. Robinson.

On a cold, rainy night in the darkest shadows of your imagination, fate is waiting for you...in the form of The Whistler! Join him for 20 excursions into the realm of those nameless terrors of which we dare not speak! Bill Forman plays the role of the omniscient storyteller, offering terrible tales from the perspective of the very culprits themselves. Yet somehow, even though you know who’s guilty, there is always a shocking twist at the end!

Philo Vance, America's most popular fictional detective of the 1920s and 1930s, moved from S. S. Van Dine's novels onto the silver screen and later radio. The aristocratic amateur sleuth was portrayed in more than 100 radio broadcasts by Jackson Beck, the versatile actor who had previously starred as the Cisco Kid and announced The Adventures of Superman. Return to the scene of the crime in 18 classic whodunits, costarring Joan Alexander (radio's Lois Lane) as Ellen Deering and George Petrie as District Attorney Markham.

Widely acclaimed as the greatest writer-director-producer of the Golden Age of Radio, Norman Corwin perfected his own unique recipe for success: Begin with the human mind and knead gently; add a dash of poetry, wit and wonder; add a cup of raw passion and stir vigorously; garnish with sound effects, and marinate in a musical score. Season liberally with intelligence and digest slowly. Corwin’s works - musicals, fantasies, satires, and dramas - were presented on CBS in prestige series under his own direction.

Two radio stalwarts, Ted DeCorsia and Ben Wright, give voice to the dignified, professional, and persistent Peter Black. Once on a case, he never relents until the suspect is behind bars. Black’s boss, Chief Inspector Harkness, is portrayed by Bill Johnstone - who also sets the tone each week as the powerful narrator of the series. Skillfully directed by William Robson and Elliott Lewis, and taughtly written by masters of the craft Antony Ellis, Morton Fine, and David Friedkin, this series is sure to capture your imagination.

Phil Harris and Alice Faye are back in 20 new digitally remastered episodes - including 18 episodes available for the first time anywhere. As we join Curly and the Mrs., spring is in the air, but the show is on thin ice with its sponsor RCA Victor and its president Clyde Scott (Gale Gordon). Amid contract worries, battles with writers, family outings, sorority girls, and selling television sets, the show takes a dramatic turn - and chaos and hilarity follow!

The Halls of Ivy presents real-life husband and wife Ronald Colman and Benita Hume as the first couple of Ivy College: William Toddhunter (“Toddy”) Hall and his wife, Victoria (“Vicky”) Cromwell Hall, a former actress of the British comedy stage. Although President Hall is an erudite and polished professor, he is completely unpretentious and truly concerned for the well-being of the students and faculty. Vicky - who is always at his side, and on his side - keeps her husband in check with her playful and down-to-earth ways.

Celebrated authors John Dickson Carr and Bret Halliday are the hosts of Murder by Experts. This scintillating series was crafted by the suspense specialists who also brought Mysterious Traveler, The Sealed Book, and Strange Dr. Weird to radio: David Kogan and Robert A. Arthur. Each tightly-woven thriller has been selected by an elite member of the Mystery Writers of America. And, whether the plots of these tales play out on an isolated island, in the snow-swept surge of a blizzard, in a locked room, or in the warm bed right beside you, they all lead to just one place...murder!

When last we left our pals from Pine Ridge, they were involved in considerable intrigue. They were receiving reports from the Masked Muskrat, threats from the Black Pelican, and a baby from a melancholy mother. The further adventures of Lum Edwards and Abner Peabody find them confounded by one commotion after another. At the Jot 'em Down Store, there is much bother about the baby, a mystery about a coat-of-arms, and mischief about ghosts, gunshots, and gold mines.

Molle Mystery Theatre, the program that brings you “the best in mystery and detective fiction”, is presented here in eight digitally restored and remastered episodes, including rare recordings. The brilliant Bernard Lenrow plays the role of your host “Geoffrey Barnes” - a connoisseur, criminologist, and expert on crime, suspense, and detective fiction - guiding listeners through superior adaptations of mystery classics and original stories by the best radio writers. These exciting episodes will keep you riveted and tense.

Laughs come in twos with America's favorite comedy team! Here comes George Burns and Gracie Allen in 16 illogically logical half hours featuring a parade of guest stars, including Frank Sinatra, Clark Gable, and Cary Grant! Bill Goodwin, Tobe Reed, and Meredith Willson are on hand as George and Gracie find themselves tangling with madcap matters of crime, competition, money, and matrimony. This collection features rare episodes and rare talent!

What's more entertaining than a witty, snappy-talking detective? How about two witty, snappy-talking detectives? Publisher Jerry North and his always inquisitive wife Pamela are sophisticated sleuthing spouses who solved cases everywhere from magazine fiction, to novels, the stage, movies, radio and television. In these eight digitally remastered episodes from their long running radio series, the Norths can't seem to avoid mysteries and murders. In spite of Jerry's best attempts to put aside corpses and confessions - even quiet evenings at home and romantic ocean cruises turns deadly!

Larry Thor, a staff announcer turned actor with an expressive and powerful voice, played the role of Detective Danny Clover. His beat was Broadway, and each week he narrated a new tale of nighttime drama along the Great White Way. Writers Morton Fine and David Friedkin delivered scripts of elegant intricacy that turned routine description into near poetry. Three soundmen worked in unison to create one of the densest soundscapes on radio - capturing the chaotic buzz of the New York night as a counterpoint to the music and dialogue. It was the most lyrical crime show on the air.

The boys from Pine Ridge get quite an education when the town finds itself in need of a new school teacher. The candidate they hire is eminently qualified - and not at all what president of the school board, Lum Edwards, had in mind! Professor Sloane, tireless in the pursuit of knowledge, spearheads ambitious plans for an observatory, a rocket ship, and a trip to Mars - manned by none other than Lum and Abner! With financial backing from the unscrupulous Squire Skimp, the duo declares themselves "scientifics" and set their sights on the stars.

Created and written by Philip Rapp, Mr. and Mrs. Bickerson were the first married couple on radio to have a truly adversarial relationship. Scathing, sarcastic and comical, John and Blanche would fight about anything. Although they often argued about Blanche’s good-for-nothing brother, she would certainly insist that the big troubles were caused by John’s snoring and her resulting insomnia. There was nothing sweet or tender about their pillow talk, but it sure was funny!