Showing results by author "original radio broadcast" in All Categories

Jim French, the producer-director of Imagination Theatre, kept the tradition of great radio drama alive for nearly 40 years. He combined old-time skills with new-time production values - and here are 17 thought-provoking thrillers to prove it! In this collection, you'll hear favorites from his stock company, actors from radio's "Golden Age", and performers better known for their television work. You'll even hear a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright who guest stars as a writer of horror novels!

Johnny Dollar was a freelance insurance investigator with an “action-packed expense account.” On radio each week from 1949 until 1962, he traveled the world for clients who would cover his expenses. From 1955 through 1956, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar ran as a popular five-a-week 15-minute serial starring Bob Bailey. Enjoy these six five-part programs.

Radio's favorite wooden wise guy springs to life once again—with a wink, a leer, and a punchline for every occasion! Charlie McCarthy and his put-upon sidekick Edgar Bergen are back, teaming up with some of the biggest names of stage, screen, and radio. These sixteen episodes—including a few rare broadcasts—feature such favorites as Jimmy Stewart, Fred Allen, Roy Rogers, Hedy Lamarr, Charles Laughton, Tallulah Bankhead, and more!

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.

Simon Templar, played here by Vincent Price (with Barry Sullivan substituting in two episodes), was wealthy and refined. He was well dressed, well traveled, and well educated. He was also The Saint, the "Robin Hood of modern crime," who was not afraid to break the law if that's what had to be done to ensure that justice was served. Larry Dobkin co-stars as Louie the Cabbie in these digitally restored and remastered tales that find Templar sailing, skiing, and delving in to the disparate worlds of mining, baseball, prizefighting, mystery writing, and more. The Saint sets all manner of matters straight, all the while maintaining excellent form.

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).

When Phillips H. Lord created his long running Gang Busters radio series in January of 1936, crime was rampant and criminals (both actual and fictional) were being glamorized in movies and newspapers. In response, Lord brought the public this police procedural series, dramatizing stories of real cops who kept real counterfeiters, safe crackers, and killers off the streets - and even broadcasting alerts for criminals known to be at large.

Robert Hall stars as millionaire newspaperman Britt Reid, fighting crime in the guise of his gas-gun toting alter ego. "Matching wits with the underworld," Reid risks his life "that criminals and racketeers within the law may feel its weight by the sting of the Green Hornet!" Raymond Toyo co-stars as Kato in these exciting episodes, one of which features the first appearance of The Green Hornet's nemesis Oliver Perry!

Insurance investigator Johnny Dollar was a man of contradictions. He was tough and compassionate, sardonic and thoughtful. You never knew quite what he might do to solve a case - but you always knew he'd get it done! You also knew that he'd be supported by many of the greatest radio performers ever to haunt "Radio Row": Virginia Gregg, Howard McNear, Lurene Tuttle, Joseph Kearns, John Dehner, Stacy Harris…even Vincent Price! Bob Bailey stars as Johnny for five fascinating five-part serial adventures, and a collection of harrowing half-hour tales! Prepare the expense report!

Johnny has a way with the ladies, but will his last date be with death? For free trips and a fat fee, Johnny Dollar descends into cases of missing money and missing men. But, what can he do when the bodies are walled up, washed up, and fallen down? When the jewels and the paintings are fake? And, when everything from trucks to trout to widows are on the loose? He'd better bring his gun.

While the shadows are lonely - a place where lost and lethal souls withdraw into the solitude of their own minds - there is one who knows that they are not deserted. Into this dark and murky realm there is one who can see with cutting clarity…The Whistler! When those who willingly put a first foot on a slippery slope, and then a second, The Whistler knows how such travels go, and how such journeys must end. At every treacherous step, the sly scorn of this circumspect counselor will whisper in their ear - urging them on…toward their undoing!

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.

Here is radio situation comedy at its finest - from the cartoony fun of Fibber McGee and Molly to the well-drawn family humor of The Great Gildersleeve, from the broad gags of The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show to the subtle wit of The Couple Next Door, from the double-edged meta-comedy of The Jack Benny Program to the blue collar comedy of The Life of Riley. Spend time with Burns & Allen, Ozzie & Harriet, Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Dennis Day, and all the rest of your favorites in 10 big hours of The Great Radio Sitcoms!

The voice of Bob Bailey conjured both the weariness of the world and all its kindness. You may know him best as Johnny Dollar or George Valentine, but he was so much more. Sample the breadth of Bob Bailey's talent in this tribute collection. Here are 10 hours of classic radio dramas, comedies, mysteries, and even a science fiction tale…all of which feature the talented thespian. You'll also hear wonderful performances by an array of outstanding co-stars, including Shelley Winters, Raymond Burr, Mercedes McCambridge, Burgess Meredith, John Dehner, and many more.

Tight, tense, and packed with excitement! No director in radio could do more with 30 minutes than William Spier...and no half hour in radio could do more to keep you on the edge of your chair than Suspense!

Come back to the tradition and warmth of Christmas in the Golden Age of Radio, with the great performers and shows of yesteryear. Go shopping with Jack Benny. Go to the snow covered woods with Johnny Dollar. Go to Bethlehem with Family Theater. The voices of Vincent Price, George and Gracie, Bergen and McCarthy, Abbott and Costello, Red Skelton, Jimmy Durante, and more are lifted in story and song. They celebrate the yuletide with equal parts hope and hokum, silliness and sacrifice, merriment and mystery....

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.

Journey back to a time when turning on your cathedral radio transported you to a fog-swirled 221-B Baker Street...and you spent a most enjoyable half-hour as "the world's greatest detective" matched wits with the most challenging criminal elements in all of London. The brilliant Sherlock Holmes is more than equal to the baffling clues and confounding mysteries that he faces. John Stanley stars as the clever Consulting Detective, with Alfred Shirley as his loyal assistant Dr. Watson. The game's well and truly afoot in 16 exciting tales from 1947-48!

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.

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.