Golden Age of Radio Online

meow

The Radio Drama Hour

In 1974 KNX brought back radio drama. And it has met with great success! These exciting, action-packed programs continue to be a popular listening habit for all ages. For those of you listening to the Drama Hour online world-wide, please note that the programs you see in our drama hour listings will be available one day AFTER they are broadcast on the air. For example, Friday night's lineup of shows will be available Saturday, Monday night's on Tuesday, and so forth. In some cases, they may be available to hear online the same day. See below for program schedule dates.

Golden Age of Radio, March-April 2008




See if your favorite person, TV series or motion picture is available: video/DVD/books


Saturday 3-1-08
The Green Hornet (Robert Hall) "A Question of Time" 3/2/46, things get foggy at the waterfront when Britt & Kato are framed for the murder of a German scientist's assistant
Lum & Abner "Cedrick Wants to be an Officer" 6/18/42, after they read a public service announcement, the 4F Cedric wants to know how to give up playing pinball to join the Marines (a military recruit who fails all 4 major physical & mental examinations is called 4F)

Sunday 3-2
Richard Diamond "Red Rose & John Allyson Assasination" 3/2/51, an embezzler hires Diamond to find out who he hired to kill him after he changes his mind and puts back the money
Strange "Greenwood Acres" 5/8/55, a Civil War ghost story narrated by Walter B. Gibson

Monday 3-3
Fibber McGee & Molly "Boomer's Suitcase" 3/3/42, Boomer: Bill Thompson
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar 6/12/56 "The Laughing Matter" part 2 of 5

Tuesday 3-4
Jack Benny Program "Pick Up Bags At Train Station" 3/4/45
Gas Rationing Special 12/6/42 Jack Benny & Eddie Cantor try to explain rationing to Gracie, with Burns & Allen

Wednesday 3-5
The Whistler "Chinese Elephant Puzzle" 3/5/50, Willard Waterman as a smuggler turned killer
Fibber McGee & Molly "Phantom Burglar Nabbed" 11/3/53, a burglar hits Doc Gamble and the McGees, taking Fibber's watch that always runs slow

Thursday 3-6
Hopalong Cassidy "Ten Strike Gold" 3/5/50
Tarzan 9/16/32 "Tarzan in Young Manhood" (cont. from last week)

Friday 3-7
Escape, 3/7/48 "Jimmy Goggles, The God" by H.G. Wells, a deepsea diving suit is used to convince island cannibals that he's a god, but someone's going to end up dead when they learn otherwise
Perry Mason "Show Business or the Law" 12/28/53

Saturday 3-8
Have Gun, Will Travel 3/8/59 "Monster of Moon Ridge" by Gene Roddenberry (this was one of at least three old time radio scripts later adapted as Star Trek episodes, this one as Devil In The Dark. Others included Gene's version of Shakespeare's Taming Of The Shrew and pilot episode The Cage)
Captain Midnight "Water in the Cave" 11/13/39

Sunday 3-9
Green Hornet "The Letter" 3/9/46, the Mayor is accused of graft, then a minor official is gunned down on the City Hall steps (it turns out to be a corrupt insider named Nixon)
Lum & Abner "How to Handle a Woman" 6/19/42, Cedrick decides to dump Clarabell when she gets engaged to someone else

Monday 3-10
Sherlock Holmes 3/10/47 "The Egyptian Curse" starring Nigel Bruce (Watson) and Ben Wright (substituting for Tom Conway as Holmes, who doesn't believe a mummy's curse caused a series of deaths)
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar 6/13/56 "The Laughing Matter" part 3 of 5

Tuesday 3-11
Fibber McGee & Molly "Fibber's Energy" 3/11/47, Fibber thinks 4 hours of sleep is enough
Bill Stern's Sports Newsreel 3/19/53, guest: movie star Susan Hayward

Wednesday 3-12
The Shadow "Death to the Shadow" 3/12/44, a vengeful crook uses a remote TV camera to see The Shadow and set a trap
Blackstone, The Magic Detective "Frozen Lady" 1/9/49, a fake swami is exposed after drugging a girl to hold for ransom. Blackstone: Ed Jerome

Thursday 3-13
Burns & Allen "The Plot to Murder George" 3/13/47, Exterminator: Sheldon Leonard
Vic & Sade "Dull Evening Comes to Life" 12/3/45

Friday 3-14
X Minus One, 3/14/56 "Tunnel Under the World" by Frederick Pohl, survivors of a nuclear war wake up screaming after reliving their last moments as a nightmare. Then a strange tunnel under the city is discovered. It's all some kind of test, but not by the Government or aliens...
The Strange Dr. Weird "The Man Who Played Dead" 5/1/45, an escaped murderer hides out as an exhibit in a wax museum. Little does he know that...

Saturday 3-15
Nick Carter, Master Detective "Case Of The Last Old Timer" 3/14/48, a 70-year-old safecracker seems to be back in business, then he's found dead
Sgt. Preston of the Yukon "Murder on Train Time" 9/23/43, a killer switches clothes with an unconscious Preston so he'll be arrested for the crime

Sunday 3-16
Mysterious Traveler "They Struck It Rich" 3/16/48, bank robbers discover a sunken ship carrying gold buried under Manhattan
Tarzan "Tarzan Attacked by Sabor" 9/19/32 (continued from last week)

Monday 3-17
CBS Radio Workshop "The Endless Road" 3/17/57, an American couple in Latin America decide to improve things for the locals but instead make everyone unhappy when they bring civilization to the remote valley
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar "The Laughing Matter" Part 4, 6/14/56 (concludes next week)

Tuesday 3-18
Escape "Violent Night" 3/18/54, starring & narrated by William Conrad as an American caught in a Latin American revolution
The Unexpected "Fool's Silver" Barry Sullivan (syndicated, 1948) a crazy old prospector thinks his lead mine is silver (twist ending: it's valuable uranium)

Wednesday 3-19
Fibber McGee & Molly "Dog License" 3/19/40, Fibber is ordered to get a dog license though they haven't had a dog in 7 years
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 12/21/45, guest Ezra Stone tells us why Olympic hopeful General George Patton held a grudge against Germany, where he died in 1945

Thursday 3-20
Dark Fantasy "Pennsylvania Turnpike" 3/20/42, broadcast live from Oklahoma City. An elderly man walks into a remote roadside diner with a gold coin from 1700s, little knowledge of the 20th century, and says he's looking for a man with red hair
Origin of Superstitions/Superstition On The Air, 4/18/35 "Knocking on Wood" dates back 3000 years

Friday 3-21
Cavalcade of America "I, Mary Peabody" 3/21/50 starring Elizabeth Taylor (of 1949's Little Women)
The Black Book "On Schedule" 2/17/52, a man plots to cut the lights in a subway car to cover his murder of a collegue but did his planning the wrong time of day; host/narrator Paul Frees, guest star John Dehner

Saturday 3-22
Green Hornet "Youth Takes the Headlines" 3/23/46, a teen gang is composed of bored latchkey kids
Captain Midnight "Trying to Rescue Dolores" 11/16/39

Sunday 3-23
Frontier Gentleman "The Actress" 3/23/58, a Shakespearean actress in the old west is not what she seems, and someone will end up dead due to her jealous husband
Chandu the Magician "Uncle Frank Comes to Visit" 6/28/48

Monday 3-24
Jack Benny Program 3/24/46, guest Peter Lorre as a lodger who pays Jack thousands of dollars a week in rent
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar "The Laughing Matter" Part 5 of 5, 6/15/56

Tuesday 3-25
Arch Oboler's Plays "The Ugliest Man in the World" (done at least twice, see Lights Out) 3/25/39, an ugly man from a freak show contemplates suicide when his blind girlfriend is about to regain her sight
Blackstone, the Magic Detective "The Reluctant Saw" 10/10/48, bad guys plan to saw Blackstone's pretty assistant in half to frame him for murder

Wednesday 3-26
The Cisco Kid "Bank Robbery in Cactus Junction" 3/26/53, an ex-con romances a bank teller so he can trick her into letting him into the bank afterhours
Bill Stern 12/30/49, guest is big band singer Morton Downey Sr. (see below)

Thursday 3-27
The Crime Club "Silent Witnesses" 3/27/47
The Strange Dr. Weird "The Secret Room" 2/13/45, a Nazi escapes from an American POW camp and demands that his elderly American father hide him in a secret basement room, not knowing that...

Friday 3-28
Burns & Allen Show 3/28/44, Gracie's Uplift Society club wants to use the underwear of a famous movie star (guest Brian Aherne) for charity fund-raising
Abe Burrows Show "The Big Pot Roast Of 1947" 11/8/47

Saturday 3-29
Screen Guild Theatre 3/29/43 "This Thing Called Love" Alice Fay, George Brent, Allyn Joslyn (for some reason Radio Spirits themesong continues playing 1st 4 minutes during old radio show in background)
The Unexpected "Finale" 5/2/48, a woman plans to dump her boyfriend, but who's dumping who?

Sunday 3-30
Boston Blackie "Amadon Pearls" 3/30/49, the same pearls are stolen 3 times, and one person is dead
Tarzan "Tarzan See A Ship" 9/21/32, bad guys bring a man ashore; Tarzan is cautious

Monday 3-31
Hopalong Cassidy "Hoppy Elects a Sheriff" 3/31/51, how to prove ballot-stuffing with assist from a swindler
Hop Harrigan "The Riddle Of The Ghostly Avengers" 9/18/47

Tuesday 4-1-08
Life With Luigi "April Fool's Day Joke" 4/1/52, will Luigi go to jail for opening someone else's mail?
Fibber McGee & Molly "Freeway Ride" 4/15/54, they get on the new freeway and can't get off

Wednesday 4-2
Gangbusters "Case of The Mistreated Lady" 4/2/55, a killer's partner beats up his girlfriend & she calls the FBI; current 10 most wanted described/named at end of show. Guest star Mason Adams
Lum & Abner "Abner & Elizabeth Arguement" 6/22/42, Lum decides to end it by calling 'lizabeth himself to 'pologize for him

Thursday 4-3
A Date With Judy 4/3/45 "Judy Makes Her Singing Debut." Due to a misunderstanding, Charles Boyer invites Judy to sing at his fundraiser thinking she's the French daughter of a friend
Vic & Sade "Two Tons of Coal" 7/5/39, the previous owner of the house next door told them they can have a basement full of heating coal, but they need to get it before the new owner rents it out

Friday 4-4
Philo Vance "The Mimic Murder Case" 4/4/50, a nightclub impressionist is hired to do Philo's voice, then the real Vance is kidnapped before testifying at a trial
The Black Book "The Vagabond Murder" 3/2/52, time & tides wait for no one, not even the perfect murder. Paul Frees, John Dehner

Saturday 4-5
Suspense 4/5/55 "Zero Hour" by Ray Bradbury, one of the most controversal episodes broadcast, about a mom (Paula Winslow) who slowly realizes that Earth's children have been enlisted to kill all adults. Narrated by John Dehner. Story used at least once previously on Suspense, as well as on X-1/Dimension X
Bill Stern's Sports Newsreel "Season Finale" 6/29/51, final broadcast for Colgate/Palmolive after 12 years (sponsor presents him with a gold watch). Stern had been a popular sportscaster when he lost one leg above the knee in a car accident (1935) before going on to narrated sports newsreels in movie theaters and then the radio series.

Sunday 4-6
The Shadow "Murder From The Grave" 4/6/41, plastic surgeon experimenting on a criminal who died and was successfully brought back, is killed by his patient but no one knows what he looks like now
The Unexpected "Cargo Unknown" 5/9/48, guest star Lyle Talbot as a diver hired for a job with no questions (twist ending: the fortune in a sunken ship turns out to be old Japanese money from WW2, almost worthless)

Monday 4-7
Great Gildersleeve "Adeline Gets Gildy Jealous" 4/7/48, Miss Fairchild (Una Merkel) is infatuated with the star of a romantic movie
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel 5/24/46, guest Lucille Ball

Tuesday 4-8
Dimension X "The Outer Limit" 4/8/50, the pilot of the first Moon rocket being tested encounters a UFO and returns 10 hours later to say that they wanted to warn Earth that a new bomb being tested tomorrow will destroy the world. First episode of series
Tarzan "Tarzan Rescues The Captain" 9/23/32

Wednesday 4-9
Hopalong Cassidy "Takes the Bull By The Horns" 4/9/50, a dead man's son-in-law and his lawyer want to sell his cattle quickly
Origin of Superstition "Black Cats" 4/18/1905

Thursday 4-10
The Falcon "Case of the Carved Ham" 4/8/51, sometimes even a dumb cop can solve a case when a suicide looks suspicious
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar 6/25/56 "The Long Shot Matter" Part 1

Friday 4-11
Jack Benny Program "Cracking Up Orson Welles" 4/11/43, Jack Benny returns after a 5-week absence due to illness (guest-hosted by Orson, who returns to play himself now)
Vic & Sade "Broken Alarm Clocks" 10/31/41, the mystery of smashed alarm clocks is solved

Saturday 4-12
Columbia Workshop "He Should Have Stood in Elba" 4/12/42, a big-time mobster gets out of prison to find that everything's changed since Prohibition
Jack Kirkwood "No Matter How Hungry a Horse…" 11/9/45

Sunday 4-13
The Shadow "Death on The Rails" 4/13/41, Lamont hires actors to teach Margo a lesson at her remote summer home
Chandu the Magician "Robert Regent May Still be Alive" 6/30/48

Monday 4-14
Escape "The Golden Snake" 4/14/50, treasure hunters in the Yucatan discover that some things in the jungle are not a myth
The Strange Dr. Weird "The Summoning of Chandor" 11/14/44, about the unwitting summoning of a corpse bride

Tuesday 4-15
The Whistler "Triple Cross" 4/15/51, guest star Gerald Mohr as a bitter ex-con who is double crossed, by a killer who already double crossed her other partner. Story by Nancy Cleveland, host: Marvin Miller
The Unexpected "Birthday Present" 4/18/48, guest star Marsha Hunt (Hitchcock Presents, Twilight Zone, Outer Limits) has heart set on a gold bracelet but husband can only afford a silver one...or is it?

Wednesday 4-16
Pat Novak For Hire (Jack Webb) "Go Away Dixie Gillian" 4/16/49, Patsy is given a gun to scare someone but it goes off, killing the guy. But the bullet doesn't match the gun
Tarzan "Tarzan Rescues The Captain Again" 9/26/32, Jane & Tarzan played by Edgar Rice Burrough's daughter Joan & her husband James Pierce

Thursday 4-17
Inner Sanctum "Beneficiary: Death" 4/17/50, ad by the Bromo-Seltzer train. A man (Everett Sloane) with a failing business is worth more dead than alive, then there's a fatal accident with a hitch-hiker
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar 6/26/56 "The Long Shot Matter" Part 2 of 5

Friday 4-18
Ozzie & Harriet "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" 4/18/52, Ozzie is outraged that the local team may be disbanded due to lack of interest. Mr. Gleason: Gale Gordon
Lum & Abner "Feed Room Filled With Owls" 6/2/42, Lum discovers that Abner's started an owl business in the back room

Saturday 4-19
Bird's Eye Open House With Dinah Shore 4/19/45, guest singer/host Ginny Simms, guest: Groucho Marx as Dr. Hackenbush, cameo by Arthur Q. Bryan as his patient. Groucho helps(?) with a commercial for Bird's Eye Spinich. Ginny was a popular MGM singer/actress during WW2 (a B17 was named after her) and married the founder of Hyatt Hotels in 1945
Vic and Sade "Double Feature in Hopewood" 10/6/39, ad for Crisco Slogan Contest by Ralph Edwards

Sunday 4-20
Lights Out "Kill" 4/20/43, guest star Lou Merrill (host of Crime Classics) as a man in a nightmare
Chandu the Magician "A Trip to Alexandria" 7/1/48

Monday 4-21
Jimmy Durante Show, 4/21/50 with Don Ameche & Vera Vague
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel, guest Columbia coach Lou Little 11/1/43

Tuesday 4-22
Boston Blackie "Missing Millicent Bromley" 4/22/47, Blackie is not heard in this one, about kidnapping and ransom
The Unexpected 5/30/48 "The Cripple" guest star Marjorie Riordan

Wednesday 4-23
Pat Novak For Hire (Jack Webb) "Rita Malloy / Pat's Boat is Missing" 4/23/49
Tarzan 9/28/32, Did the Bottle Really Go Overboard?

Thursday 4-24
Fred Allen 4/24/49 "Do you think teaching techniques have improved?" guest star Basil Rathbone
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar "The Long Shot Matter" Part 3, 6/27/56

Friday 4-25
The Clock 4/25/48 "Bad Dreams" by Lucille Fletcher, narrated by William Conrad
Lum and Abner "Diogene's Printing Press" 5/12/42

Saturday 4-26
Arch Oboler's Plays "The House I Live In" 4/26/45, a depressed man wonders whether he should stay in his empty house if his son & daughter never return from serving in the war
The Strange Dr. Weird "Murder Comes Home" 11/28/44, a woman waits for her criminal son to return home

Sunday 4-27
Jack Benny Program 4/28/46, guest Danny Kaye meets Jack on the street, then Jack decides to read himself to sleep while reading about ghosts
Chandu the Magician "Dorothy Disappears" 7/2/48

Monday 4-28
Broadway Is My Beat "Georgia Gray" 4/28/51, dime-a-dance lady is murdered and her boyfriend has dangerous associates
The Unexpected "Find the Man" 5/16/48, school teacher goes to a resort to find a husband, silly ending

Tuesday 4-29
Burns & Allen Show "George Gets A New Car" 4/29/48, Gracie trades George's postwar new car priority slip for a $25 car from 1918.
Captain Midnight "Blocked in Underground Passage" 11/17/39

Wednesday 4-30
Molle Mystery Theatre "Make No Mistake" 4/30/48, the police won't believe it was a mistake
Tarzan 9/30/32, The Captain is in the Quicksand
         More feature titles to be announced
Paul Harvey has been broadcasting for 50 years so far. Listen to Paul Harvey archives for this week

Mitt Romney to sub for Paul Harvey.
The former Republican presidential candidate served as guest host of ABC Radio Network's "Paul Harvey News & Comment" on Thursday, April 10, 2008. Harvey recently recovered from pneumonia, and is scheduled for cataract surgery. His wife "Angel" passed away 5-3-08. Paul Harvey returned to do new Rest Of The Story features on 5-19-08, and to semi-daily newscasts in August

Robert L. Ripley's radio series ran from 1930 to his death in 1949. Music was provided by band leader Ozzie Nelson and vocalist Harriet Hilliard who later became sitcom stars, believe it or not!
Want to get away from it all? We offer you Escape
Turner Classic Movies is doing movies based on radio series this year including Fibber McGee, Gildersleeve, I Love A Mystery, The Whistler, Crime Doctor, etc.
Blake Edwards created Richard Diamond for radio, then later the hard-boiled private eye tv-series "Peter Gunn"
Peter Gunn themesong

click top link to watch entire episode

Jack Benny Show broadcasting live

Part 2 of Jack Benny broadcast


Jack sneaks onto Groucho's quiz show as a contestant

Beverly Sills died 7-2-07 from cancer complications. Beverly Sills spoofing opera on the Danny Kaye Show

Gracie Allen vs. the Tax Auditor

(he leaves in confusion)

Miss a recent broadcast? You may be able to "hear it now" on your computer for up to a week after broadcast, check the archives

Ripley's Believe It Or Not (1932 clip)

Origin of the term "Pot-head" for a drunk in Korea

Paul Harvey has been broadcasting for 50 years so far.
Listen to Paul Harvey archives for this week

This is Wally Ballou reminding you to Hang by your thumbs.
I love a mystery so welcome again through the squeaking door

Note: Stan Freberg hosted "When Radio Was" for 10 years, after previous host Art Fleming passed away suddenly. His final broadcast as host was 10/6/06. The new host from then until June, 2007 was Chuck Schaden. Greg Bell, program director and host of XM Radio’s very popular old-time radio channel, "Radio Classics", has been named as the new host. Chuck Schaden has interviewed some of the radio stars (recorded in the 1970s, see broadcast archive).

Superman 1950s TV intro, now a major motion picture

Download & watch your favorite TV-shows online from episodes of "24" to Star Trek, whether they're available on video/DVD or not!
Or your choice of over 3000 movies online

See banner below for the two radio episodes available to hear today online

The Shadow: Greatest Radio Adventures is available from Amazon.com (40 episodes, 20 hours), episode list on Shadow page 2

Also - The Shadow: The Lost Shows (no episode title list available) and The Shadow 3-Hour Collection (18 episodes), plus other Old Time Radio series on tape or CD produced by Radio Spirits in association with the Smithsonian

Fun fact:
Jimmy Stewart's The Six Shooter only lasted one season (he wouldn't accept a tobacco company as sponsor), and he made the Hitchcock movie "Rear Window" the same year.

Walter B. Gibson co-created and wrote the Shadow novels. When he left The Shadow magazine after asking for more money, he became head script writer for radio's Nick Carter, Master Detective for awhile.

Print version of this page (no background or graphics) for months of:
January-March 2007...April-June...July-October...November-December

October-December 2006...July-September...April-June...January-March
Nov-December 2005...Sept-October...July-August...May-June...March-April...Jan-February
Nov-December 2004...Sept-October...August...July...June...May...April
November 2003...October...September...August...July...June...May...April...March...February...January
December 2002...November...October...August-September...July...June...May...March-April...February...January 2002 (with organ music background) or January 2002 (silent)
December...November 2001, or here for Previous Months before that

Jack Benny vs. the Floor Walker (Frank Nelson)
Note: in 1943, NBC sold its Blue network, creating the American Broadcasting System (the name was changed to American Broadcasting Company the following year). The Columbia Broadcasting System promptly dropped the call letters of its New York radio station WABC (which ABC snatched up)

For those interested in more trivia facts about radio drama, we suggest the book, "On The Air: An Encyclopedia Of Old Time Radio," by John Dunning. The publisher is Oxford Press. It is one of the many books used in radio drama research.

These programs are made available by a guy who's nuts about old time radio and a retired CBS executive: More





Possible alternate webcast available:
Zenith 1950s radio
All programs heard are supplied by & available from the above company.
The show titles shown on this banner are for a nationally-syndicated version of this program with different radio shows on weekends.
Click here for the When Radio Was upcoming national schedule courtesy RadioSpirits

Radio classics are also available on XM and Sirius Satellite Radio

Carl also produces the Twilight Zone radio series based on TV's Twilight Zone

Back to Monstervision listings or Scifans.com

Ripley's is back on the Sci-Fi Channel, believe it or not

Email: scifanscom


Click here to stop the background music from Keytrax. More music from Keytrax

Gracie Allen's Roast Beef Recipe
1 large roast beef
1 small roast beef
Take the 2 roasts and put them in the oven. Turn oven on. When the little one burns, the big one is done.

Fran Stryker wrote the life output of Shakespeare every 15 weeks: How he did it

NBC/GE chimes (G-E-C musical notes, for General Electric Co.) NBC's special alert 4 chimes (used for Hindenberg crash, Pearl Harbor, and WW2 bulletins)

Countdown to blast-off X-5,4,3,2,X-1...Fire
It's Sunday night and time for Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy
Who is it? The Fatman...The Falcon...The Green Hornet strikes again
The Shadow knows in 1939, in 1941 and 1948...the end
The Jack Benny Program presented by Lucky Strike. There's always room for Jello...Sold: American!
Welcome to the Hermit's Cave...Duffy ain't here
Welcome to the Black Museum (Orson Welles) That was the end of Harry Lime
I'm the first person they look for and the last they want to meet
Henry? Henry Aldrich...Hi ya, Baldy!
I carry a badge. Hi-Ho Silver. I am The Whistler. Yes King, this case is closed. A tale calculated to keep you in Suspense!
Join the new 1940 Flight Patrol with Captain Midnight. Flash! Ethiopia surrenders to Mussolini
Turn your lights out, everybody. If you are easily frightened, turn your radio off now.
It is I, Digby Odell, the friendly undertaker By golly, I believe that's our ring. Don't open that closet. Heavenly days!
Mr. Keen, tracer of lost persons. How do you do? Yours truly, Johnny Dollar

This is your FBI

Google
Who're you gonna vote for?
I wonder what The Lone Ranger would sound like in Jamaica

© Bill Laidlaw. All rights reserved.