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

In the realm of unforgettable radio voices, there is one that stands head and shoulders above all others - one distinctive voice that could never be convincingly duplicated, one that brought its owner undreamed of success. It was a voice of sandpaper and gravel and rusty scrap iron, rasping over a nation's loudspeakers for more than 30 years.

Everyone has secrets...but some secrets are more sinister than others. And the more malevolent the secret, the more The Whistler knows! Wander the foreboding, shadow-filled streets of the imagination in tales that explore the "nameless terrors of which we dare not speak." Bill Forman stars as The Whistler, alongside the suspiciously skillful William Conrad, Gerald Mohr, Elliott and Cathy Lewis, Howard Duff, Doris Singleton, Betty Lou Gerson, and more. Hear them all in in 20 tense tales of crime, suspense, and fate!

Imagine radio noir in the grand tradition - the mystery, excitement, and adventure of the medium's Golden Age. Now imagine that this has been combined with all of the technical polish that 21st century audio theatre techniques have to offer. That's The Adventures of Harry Nile. Produced by modern-radio legend Jim French, this collection features cases set in the 1940s. A hard-boiled but gentle-souled private investigator takes to the rain-swept streets of the Pacific Northwest.

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.

Here are Western stories with an adult sensibility - complex tales of difficult choices and moral dilemmas played out against the backdrop of frontier America. William Conrad is Marshal Matt Dillon in 20 thoughtful, exciting episodes of Gunsmoke!

When Howard Duff, radio’s regular Sam Spade, was dropped from the show, Steven Dunne donned the trench coat. Finding his own brash and boyish style with the role, Dunne’s Spade was much like creator Dashiell Hammett himself - a grown-up teenager who loved a put-on, but could be depended on to be loyal and true despite his own troubles. In these digitally remastered capers, Hammett’s hard-boiled hero delves in to the domains of daytime serials, journalism, the waterfront, and international intrigue.

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.

Here comes “This Week’s Play” with Jack Benny and all the gang! Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, Dennis Day, and Don Wilson all play their parts in parodies of Hollywood movies, wild Westerns, murder mysteries, and more. Kick back with 16 satirical skits in this collection of classics from the 1940s and 1950s, featuring guest appearances by Barbara Stanwyck, Oscar Levant, Charles Farrell, Sam Goldwyn, Frank Sinatra, and George Jessel!

When great stars (like Kirk Douglas and Ava Gardner) took their talents to the radio microphones, it was always a treat. But when these accomplished actors worked under the masterful direction of William Spier, it was radio's outstanding theater of thrills. You'll hear Angela Lansbury, Donald O'Connor, Gloria Swanson, José Ferrer, and more in well-crafted tales of doubt, double cross, and death. Steady your nerves for 20 classic tension-packed thrillers from 1947!

The late 1950s were the golden age of the radio western, and Gunsmoke stood at the top of the mesa, proudly overlooking the terrain! These searing dramas of frontier life - told with honesty, sensitivity, and nail-biting tension - feature William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon. Here are 24 unforgettable adventures of the Old West, originally broadcast between 1956 and 1958. Parley Baer co-stars as Chester, with Howard McNear as Doc, and Georgia Ellis as Kitty.

Radio’s greatest sleuths, bar none - here are Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson! Deep voiced Basil Rathbone (with his deerstalker cap and chiseled silhouette) gives his definitive portrayal of Holmes, while Nigel Bruce (Hollywood’s favorite jolly old Englishman) lends support as the delightfully amazed Watson. Venture into the fog and mist of Victorian London for 16 mind-challenging thrillers. Solve cases of intrigue and blackmail, of missing gems and missing persons, of maharajas and murder - all inspired by incidents in the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

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.

The ultra-realistic crime dramas of Dragnet were tight, tense, and always on target. Guided by Jack Webb from its radio premiere in 1949 right through to the series' end, the medium's most memorable police procedural never cut corners in its meticulous recreation of crime, investigation, and punishment. Follow LAPD Sgt. Joe Friday and his partners, Sgts. Ben Romero and Frank Smith, in 20 real-life cases from both the early weeks of the program's run and its later years!

From the late 1940s through the 1950s, in a world where space travel and nuclear annihilation were no longer merely the stuff of fantasy, science fiction began to achieve a new popularity. And the work of noted genre writers began to be adapted in movies and radio programs. Based (however implausibly) on science, these radio broadcasts reflected the depths of the nation's fears and the boundlessness of its imagination. The science fiction series presented here offer adventures that seek to find a place for humanity in a world of machines.

From out of the rain-fogged nights of 1940s Seattle strides the thinking-listener's private investigator on the trail of crime, intrigue and mystery! Tune in to The Adventures of Harry Nile, produced by modern radio legend Jim French. Larry Albert and Mary Anne Dorward star in eighteen radio tales produced in the classic style!

Who's that bear? And what's he doing in Jack Benny's basement? It's the famous Carmichael—guarding the vault and getting laughs! Dish up the Jell-O for Mary Livingston, Phil Harris, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Dennis Day, and Don Wilson in twenty classic prewar episodes—and be sure to leave a plate for you-know-who downstairs!

The unpredictable adventures of freelance troubleshooter George Valentine entertained West Coast audiences for nearly a decade. Bob Bailey delivers a definitive performance in the title role, with able support from Frances Robinson as Brooksie, Eddie Firestone as Sonny, Wally Maher as Lieutenant Riley, and Joe Kearns as Caleb the Elevator Man. Together, they gave radio one of its most distinctive private-eye programs. Come experience the exciting exploits of an intelligent investigator who'd rather think than throw down...but, who could certainly handle himself in a scrap!

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!

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.

Presented here are Western stories of unparalleled realism and uncompromising emotional complexity. Marshal Matt Dillon (William Conrad) doesn't revel in violence, but he uses it because he lives in a violent place at a violent time, where only the violent can survive.