Bette Davis was already one of Hollywood’s most commanding stars when radio brought her performances into living rooms across the country.
In this 1944 Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of The Letter, Davis stars alongside Herbert Marshall and Vincent Price in a story built around murder, deception and a secret that refuses to stay buried.
Golden Radio Hour Android app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.goldenradiohour.radio
I’ve been building Golden Radio Hour beyond YouTube, and the Android app is now part of that.
The idea is to make the archive easier to actually use for listening, especially for people who want old time radio available without always having to start with a YouTube video.
If you use Android and want to try it:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.goldenradiohour.radio
If you do give it a try, I’d genuinely be interested in what works well and what you’d want improved next.
You may know the voice before you know the name.
Mercedes McCambridge had one of the most distinctive voices in American radio and film. Decades after building a career behind the microphone, she became famous to a completely different generation as the demonic voice in The Exorcist.
But radio listeners already knew what that voice could do.
McCambridge could sound warm, severe, frightened, calculating or completely unhinged without ever losing control of a scene. She returned again and again to dramatic radio, including CBS Radio Mystery Theater, where she appeared in a wide range of mystery and suspense stories.
One preserved example in the Golden Radio Hour archive is “The Horse That Wasn’t for Sale,” broadcast February 24, 1974.
Golden Radio Hour Android app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.goldenradiohour.radio
#MercedesMcCambridge #CBSRadioMysteryTheater #OldTimeRadio #GoldenRadioHour #RadioDrama
On October 4, 1951, Jack Webb starred as Joe Friday in Dragnet: “The Big Want Ad.”
Friday investigates criminals posing as legitimate automobile dealers. Their operation looks ordinary from the outside, but behind it is a carefully designed scheme that cheats unsuspecting buyers out of thousands of dollars.
That everyday realism was one of Dragnet’s strengths. The criminals were not always masterminds hiding in dark alleys. Sometimes they were people using ordinary businesses, paperwork and trust to make the crime work.
Hear The Big Want Ad:
https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/dragnet-the-big-want-ad-1951-10-04/
Also on October 4:
The Line-Up: “The Wild, Wild Woman Case” (1951)
A jewelry-store lineup turns into something much larger when detectives discover that a supposed victim has been lying and connect two suspects to crimes stretching across several states.
Theatre Royal: “Queen of Spades” (1953)
A man becomes obsessed with an old countess’s supposed secret for choosing winning cards. His attempt to learn it leads to death, a ghostly bargain and a final card that destroys him.
https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/theatre-royal-queen-of-spades-1953-10-04/
Listen anytime in the Golden Radio Hour app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.goldenradiohour.radio
#OnThisDayInRadio #JackWebb #Dragnet #TheLineUp #OldTimeRadio #GoldenRadioHour
Peter Lorre is probably not the first person you picture walking into Duffy’s Tavern, which is exactly why this one is worth hearing.
On October 19, 1943, Lorre guest-starred in an episode built around a very serious problem at Duffy’s: somebody’s sandwich has disappeared.
Archie naturally decides that this requires an investigation. Before long, Peter Lorre and Raffles the talking mynah bird are mixed up in the case.
It is one of those broadcasts that shows how strange and fun old radio could get when a performer strongly associated with sinister screen roles was dropped into a comedy setting.
You can hear the complete episode in the Golden Radio Hour archive:
Anyone else have a favorite unexpected guest appearance in old-time radio?
On September 30, 1962, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar aired its final episode, “The Tip-Off Matter.”
Mandel Kramer made his last appearance as Johnny Dollar in a story written by longtime producer and writer Jack Johnstone. The broadcast is often remembered as part of the closing chapter of the Golden Age of American network radio drama.
Johnny Dollar had been on the air, with interruptions, since 1949, and over the years several actors took on the role. Mandel Kramer was the final Johnny Dollar, bringing the series to its conclusion on this date in 1962.
Listen to the actual final broadcast, “The Tip-Off Matter,” from September 30, 1962:
Explore more On This Day in Radio history:
https://goldenradiohour.com/#on-this-day
Who was your favorite Johnny Dollar?
#OnThisDayInRadio #OldTimeRadio #RadioHistory #JohnnyDollar #MandelKramer
Two very different moods tonight.
At 6:30 PM Pacific, Golden Radio Hour is going into The Twilight Zone with a long run of the radio dramas:
https://youtube.com/live/rzX3oTVhFzk?feature=share
Then at 8:00 PM Pacific, Radio Past Midnight is switching over to Orson Welles as The Shadow:
https://youtube.com/live/N1lklqsRoY8
The Shadow stream starts with The Death House Rescue and stays in that early Orson Welles run for the night.
Also, sorry if you caught one of the recent streams ending early. It has been very windy here in the Pacific Northwest, and the connection has not been very cooperative.
I also did a picture of Orson and Stacy for the post, which felt fitting for tonight.
If you had to pick one, Twilight Zone or The Shadow?
Two very different moods tonight.
At 6:30 PM Pacific, Golden Radio Hour is going into The Twilight Zone with a long run of the radio dramas:
https://youtube.com/live/rzX3oTVhFzk?feature=share
Then at 8:00 PM Pacific, Radio Past Midnight is switching over to Orson Welles as The Shadow:
https://youtube.com/live/N1lklqsRoY8
The Shadow stream starts with The Death House Rescue and stays in that early Orson Welles run for the night.
Also, sorry if you caught one of the recent streams ending early. It has been very windy here in the Pacific Northwest, and the connection has not been very cooperative.
I also did a picture of Orson and Stacy for the post, which felt fitting for tonight.
If you had to pick one, Twilight Zone or The Shadow?
On September 29, 1947, Vincent Price, Ella Raines and Edmond O’Brien stepped before the microphones of Lux Radio Theatre for a radio adaptation of The Web. The three stars reprised their roles from the Universal-International film released earlier that year, with Price playing wealthy businessman Andrew Colby, Raines as Noel Faraday and O’Brien as attorney Bob Regan.
The story drops O’Brien’s Regan into exactly the sort of polished trap that made film noir so effective. He is hired to serve as Colby’s bodyguard and apparently kills a man while protecting his employer, only to begin realizing that the shooting may have been arranged from the beginning. Price was particularly well suited to Colby, bringing the smooth sophistication and underlying menace that would become such an important part of his screen persona. The radio version is also a good example of what Lux Radio Theatre could do so well: take a current Hollywood picture and reunite much of its original cast for listeners at home.
Price would eventually become one of the most recognizable voices and faces in horror, but broadcasts like The Web show another side of his career. Long before the run of Gothic horror films most associated with him today, he was already an accomplished dramatic actor capable of making a charming, respectable character feel increasingly dangerous.
That September 29, 1947 broadcast survives in the Golden Radio Hour archive today.
Listen to “The Web”:
https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/lux-radio-theatre-1947-09-29-47-the-web-vincent-price-ella-rains-edmond-o-brien/#listen
More On This Day in Radio:
https://goldenradiohour.com/#on-this-day
I’ve got two old time radio marathons running tonight for anyone looking for something to leave on through the evening.
Golden Radio Hour, 6:30 PM Pacific
Duffy’s Tavern | 12 Hours of Classic Radio Comedy
Ed Gardner as Archie, with guests including Charles Laughton, Rudy Vallee, Peggy Lee, Desi Arnaz, Mickey Rooney, Hedda Hopper, Veronica Lake and more.
https://youtube.com/live/edTePWfdkJo?feature=share
Then at 8:00 PM Pacific on Radio Past Midnight:
Agnes Moorehead in “Sorry, Wrong Number” + 11 Hours of SUSPENSE After Dark
It opens with Moorehead’s Sorry, Wrong Number, then keeps going through nearly 12 hours of Suspense, with murder, paranoia, strange situations and late-night radio drama.
https://youtube.com/live/RyFuKihCYwc?feature=share
So basically: Duffy’s Tavern if you want comedy, Suspense if you want something darker.
Golden Radio Hour: Not A Cult... Just An OTR Family
On September 28, 1945, composer and music critic Deems Taylor stepped into Duffy’s Tavern as Archie’s guest. Taylor was one of the best-known musical voices in America, but at Duffy’s he found himself listening to Archie’s latest attempt at high culture: a new opera called “Salami.” It was exactly the kind of setup Duffy’s Tavern did so well, dropping a distinguished real-life guest into Archie’s world of big ideas, bad plans and absolute confidence.
Taylor was much more than a celebrity guest. He was a composer whose operas had been performed at the Metropolitan Opera, a prominent music critic and radio commentator, and later became familiar to millions as the narrator of Walt Disney’s Fantasia. Putting someone with that background across from Ed Gardner’s Archie gave the episode an especially good comic contrast and shows how old-time radio regularly brought major figures from music, film and culture directly into its comedy programs.
That September 28, 1945 broadcast survives in the Golden Radio Hour archive today.
Listen to “Guest: Deems Taylor”:
https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/duffys-tavern-1945-09-28-177-guest-deems-taylor/#listen
More On This Day in Radio:
https://goldenradiohour.com/#on-this-day
I’ve been doing a lot of work behind the scenes on the Golden Radio Hour website, and two of the biggest additions are now ready to explore.
The Performers section has been greatly expanded, with biographies, show connections and direct links to the broadcasts each person appears in. You can now move from a performer to a specific program and see the exact recordings that connect them.
The Network pages have also been expanded, making it easier to explore programs connected with CBS, NBC, Mutual, ABC, the Blue Network, BBC and others.
If you enjoy digging deeper into the people and history behind old time radio, take a look around:
https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-actors/
https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-networks/
There’s a lot more of the archive connected together now, and I’d love to know what you find.
Agnes Moorehead gave old-time radio some unforgettable performances, especially on Suspense.
If you only know her from television, her radio work is absolutely worth hearing. She had the kind of voice that could carry an entire story, and Suspense gave her some of the best material of her career.
I’ve been building the individual show pages on Golden Radio Hour so you can read about the program and then work your way through the available broadcasts in the archive.
Start with Suspense here:
https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-shows/suspense/
If you’ve heard Agnes Moorehead on radio before, which performance stands out most to you?
Most people know Judy Garland as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.
But did you know she actually returned to the role on radio?
More than a decade after the 1939 film, Judy Garland stepped back into Dorothy’s shoes for a special Christmas Day production of The Wizard of Oz on Lux Radio Theatre, broadcast December 25, 1950.
It gave listeners the chance to hear Garland perform Dorothy again, including the story and music that had become so closely associated with her.
And you can hear that exact 1950 broadcast in the Golden Radio Hour archive:
Did you know Judy Garland ever returned to Dorothy after the movie?
#JudyGarland #TheWizardOfOz #OldTimeRadio #LuxRadioTheatre #GoldenRadioHour
On September 23, 1956, Fort Laramie aired The Woman at Horse Creek, starring Raymond Burr as Captain Lee Quince.
Fort Laramie was one of old time radio’s more adult Western dramas, set at a frontier cavalry post and built around conflict, danger, and the difficult choices faced by soldiers and civilians on the edge of the American West. Raymond Burr brought real weight to the role of Captain Quince, years before many listeners would know him best from television.
The Woman at Horse Creek is a strong example of what made the series stand out, combining Western atmosphere with the kind of serious dramatic storytelling that gave Fort Laramie its own identity on radio.
You can hear that exact September 23, 1956 broadcast in the Golden Radio Hour archive:
Browse more old time radio:
Some of the best old time radio detectives are the ones that don’t get talked about nearly enough.
William Gargan starred as Barrie Craig, a New York private investigator who handled murder, fraud, missing people, blackmail, and plenty of cases that started simply enough before getting much more dangerous.
Gargan had exactly the kind of voice that works for this sort of radio detective story: experienced, straightforward, and believable without having to play the character as larger than life.
Barrie Craig is one of those old time radio gems worth rediscovering.
Listen to the series in the Golden Radio Hour archive:
https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-shows/barrie-craig/
#WilliamGargan #BarrieCraig #OldTimeRadio #ClassicRadio #GoldenRadioHour
On September 22, 1955, X Minus One broadcast “And the Moon Be Still as Bright,” an adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s work from The Martian Chronicles.
The story follows a group of astronauts arriving on Mars, only to find the remains of an ancient civilization and the uneasy feeling that humanity may be repeating old mistakes on a new world. It is one of those old time radio stories that feels bigger than simple science fiction, mixing space travel with loss, guilt, and the question of what people bring with them when they enter unfamiliar places.
You can hear that exact September 22, 1955 broadcast in the Golden Radio Hour archive:
Browse more old time radio:
H.G. Wells was born on this day, September 21, 1866.
His stories were a natural fit for radio, and decades later Suspense brought one of his most memorable ideas to listeners with “The Country of the Blind.”
A lost mountaineer discovers an isolated valley where everyone has been blind for generations. Certain that his sight gives him an advantage, he soon learns that the people of the valley see things very differently.
Listen to The Country of the Blind from Suspense:
If you could hear any H.G. Wells story adapted for old time radio, which one would you choose?
On September 21, 1953, Lux Radio Theatre presented I Confess, starring Cary Grant and Phyllis Thaxter.
Earlier that year, Alfred Hitchcock had brought I Confess to movie theaters with Montgomery Clift playing Father Logan. For the radio adaptation, Cary Grant stepped into the role of the priest at the center of the story.
The premise is a great one for radio: a murderer confesses his crime to a priest, but when suspicion turns toward the priest himself, he cannot reveal the killer’s identity without breaking the secrecy of the confessional.
You can hear that exact September 21, 1953 broadcast in the Golden Radio Hour archive:
Browse more old time radio:
Before I Love Lucy made Lucille Ball one of television’s biggest stars, radio listeners already knew her as a sitcom wife getting herself into trouble every week.
Beginning in 1948, Ball starred as Liz Cooper in My Favorite Husband, a CBS radio comedy with Richard Denning as her husband George.
The series became an important step toward what would eventually become I Love Lucy, but the radio version has its own personality and is well worth hearing if you only know Lucille Ball from television.
You can explore My Favorite Husband in the Golden Radio Hour archive:
https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-shows/my-favorite-husband/
Have you ever listened to Lucille Ball on radio, or do you mostly know her from I Love Lucy?