Showing results by narrator "Old Time Radio" in All Categories

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.

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.

Racketeers and swindlers, thieves and killers - they all feel the sting of The Green Hornet! World War II might be over, but there’s more crime than ever in Britt Reid’s corner of the world. That means action for the crusading publisher turned masked avenger - apprehending scheming crooks, corrupt politicians, and Communist spies. Jack McCarthy wields the gas gun as the streamlined Black Beauty prowls the streets in 20 exciting 1948 adventures - many of which have not been available since their original broadcasts!

Wherever he goes, whatever the assignment, you can count on Rocky Fortune to tackle the task with aplomb…and a wisecrack or two. Frank Sinatra stars as the versatile charmer who'll take on any job and emerge with distinction…and a gal on each arm. Whether acquiescing to assignments as an oyster shucker or short order cook, messenger or musician, tour guide or truck driver, this restless, footloose fellow follows his instincts and finds trouble. These stories, from a comparatively little-known corner of Sinatra's career, will be enjoyed by new fans and nostalgia-lovers alike.

He’s a smart tough guy…or a tough smart guy. Either way, he’s Pacific Northwestern private eye Harry Nile. From the imagination of Seattle-based writer-producer Jim French come 24 tense, exciting radio thrillers produced in the classic style by modern talent. Phil Harper is back as Nile, with Pat French as Murphy, in these hard-boiled cases for hard luck customers. Get set for radio excitement the way you like it best - with The Adventures of Harry Nile!

It's a rainy night in postwar Seattle. There's a crime to be solved, and an investigator is needed. But it's a dangerous profession! Sometimes the source of a scream is elusive, sometimes a surveillance job goes south, and sometimes someone's got their gun sight set on you! From out of the Pacific Northwest come 24 more adventures produced by Jim French. Phil Harper stars as Harry Nile, with Pat French as his all-knowing assistant Murphy. It's new-time radio drama produced in the classic style.

Some people collect coins, some people collect stamps, but Barton Drake collects murders! He's an author, a bon vivant, and an expert in the dark corners of the criminal mind. There's no homicide he won't investigate, no killing he can't solve! Glenn Langan stars as Barton Drake, with Norman Field as Inspector Danton. Together, they crack 16 classic cases of radio mystery from 1945 to 1946!

He stood just three feet tall, but his wit was larger than life! Charlie McCarthy was made of wood, but to millions of radio listeners, he was as real as Edgar Bergen - and much, much funnier. Impudent, irreverent, and positively irrepressible, here are 16 rare and classic radio episodes featuring Charlie himself.

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.

There are no black hats or white hats in Dodge City, Kansas. Gunsmoke gives you Western stories for grown-ups, with hard-hitting tales set against the rugged majesty of the American frontier. Producer/director Norman Macdonnell and writer/editor John Meston bring you gripping accounts of folks who have come to Dodge to leave the past behind…and those who come to Dodge because they can’t. William Conrad stars as US Marshal Matt Dillon, with Parley Baer as Chester, Howard McNear as Doc, and Georgia Ellis as Kitty in 20 half-hours of radio drama at its best.

Radio Spirits is pleased to present 20 classic tales from one of radio's greatest action and adventure series. This collection will bring you tales of black pearls, headhunters, volcanoes, Nazi convoys and cargos of gold in exotic settings and locales - from South of the Border to Dutch East India, Paris, North Africa, and points unknown! These tightly scripted and directed episodes feature many of radio's finest voices, including William Conrad, Paul Frees, Georgia Ellis, Harry Bartell, Raymond Burr, Joseph Kearns, Parley Baer, Jeanette Nolan, John Dehner, Virginia Greg and many more.

Here comes the cowboy hero who took 1950 by storm - thundering across the West of your own wild imagination! Dressed in his famous black suit and riding his trusty horse Topper, it’s Hopalong Cassidy in 16 original radio adventures! William Boyd stars as Hoppy, with Joseph Duval as California Carlson. Though most of their adventures are in the general vicinity of the Bar 20 ranch, our heroes do venture out on occasion for exploits in the wider world. Listen in as they encounter scoundrels and schemes from the frontier to the formidable streets of New York!

In the anything-goes world of post-Civil War California, there were some who went looking for trouble. And there was one who sat back and let trouble come to him. Stern-voiced John Dehner stars as Paladin in twenty exciting radio adventures. The black-clad troubleshooter was a thoughtful man, a figure of erudite sophistication who preferred not to use his gun unless pressed to do so by circumstance. But you really didn't want to press him.

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!

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.

They say the "Old Time Radio Era" ended in 1962, but radio drama carried right on...and here's the proof! Provocative, thoughtful, and up-to-the-minute in its treatment of life as it was lived, that was Theatre 5! This powerful anthology series featured an invigorating combination of veteran performers and rising young actors in sharp, concise stories with a message and an impact!

He might seem like just a regular guy, but don't let that fool you. Beneath the affable exterior he's tough as nails, smart as a whip, and ready for whatever crime wants to dish out! He's Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator - and he's on the track of 16 red-hot cases in this exciting eight-hour collection starring William Gargan! Cases cross the threshold of his Madison Avenue office, and he's got a crack team of supporting cast members to back him up.

Wherever there's a scheme afoot, radio's fabulous freelance insurance investigator is on the job to stop it! Bob Bailey stars as Johnny Dollar, picking up the ringing telephone to take on cases of double indemnity and double cross, foul weather and foul play. Bailey is the definitive Dollar - the character's wry sense of humor fits the actor like a tailor-made suit. He's a man of keen analytical skills and good nature, a man who can use his fists in a tight spot without being an obnoxious "tough guy".

In the darkest reaches of the human psyche, there is no corner quite so dark as the fear of nameless, inevitable Fate. With its startling twists and its mocking laughter, Fate can take any of us at any time. We confront this fear by taking a grim satisfaction with the cruelties that Fate metes out to others. Because if it's happening to someone else, it isn't happening to us...right? The Whistler, the sneering narrator of each story, is the personification of Fate - bringing characters to their grim, well-deserved destinies with considerable panache.