Theater Five was ABC’s mid 60’s attempt to revive radio dramas. Every episode is about something different and the show covers a variety of different genres, though a majority of it would be considered Sci-Fi. This show is great, and with so many episodes available (more coming here soon) you can chew on this show […]
Back before we had screens to endlessly gaze into, people turned the lights off and gazed at the radio with their ears (and sometimes their eyes, too) with the same intensity. Radio can be more magical than any of the best special effects you've seen in movies because it doesn't do everything for you. With the visual component of the story taken out, one is left to fill in that blank with whatever wild fantasies they might come up with. Good writing, characters, acting and all-around storytelling can coax the mind into releasing it's impressions of reality and transport you to another time or place.
Dark Fantasy
Dark Fantasy was a short 1940’s Radio show featuring stories of the weird, grotesque and unknown. It aired on NBC as a horror drama. I got these radio shows from this source.
Adventures of Philip Marlowe
This Old Time Radio show details the dangerous adventures of Philip Marlowe, a hard-boiled no-nonsense detective living and working in a gritty city. Though hard-boiled, Marlowe is also intelligent. He has been through college, enjoys chess and appreciates classical music. He also has a strong sense of morals and ethics, sometimes refusing a job if it […]
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
Here is another long running detective OTR series akin to Phillip Marlowe. In this detective Richard Diamond usually gets beat up and solves a murder or something with the help of the Police. A pretty solid overall. This show was later adapted for television as well, I will see if any of it is available […]
The Devil and Mr. O
The Devil and Mr. O was a creation of Arch Oboler for the famous Lights Out radio series. You can also get these at their source at the archive.org
The Strange Dr. Weird
The Strange Dr. Weird was a horror produced my Mutual from 1944 to 1945. People who have listened to the Mysterious Traveler know these two shows are sister shows. Maurice Tarplin was the same creepy voice for both shows. Mutual produced 29 episodes of the Strange Dr. Weird.
Nick Carter, Master Detective
Nick Carter, Master Detective is a 1940s – 1950s Mutual radio program enacting stories of the popular fictional character from pulp magazines. Here is the source for these over at the Archive.org.
Black Museum
Black Museum is a Crime Drama radio show produced by BBC starting in 1951. Each episode features a story based of real files from Scotland Yard. My favorite thing about this show is that Orson Welles both hosts and narrates it. Here’s the source for this show over at the Archive.org
Box 13
Adventure wanted — will go anywhere, do anything — Box 13 To gain inspiration for his stories, mystery writer Dan Holiday advertises he will go anywhere and do anything for an adventure. Box 13 refers to the P.O. box people drop their adventure submissions. Box 13 was a syndicated radio show broadcasted over Mutual radio […]