The Creaking Door – The Vagrant – Air Date 04/29/1964

The Creaking Door was South African Radio’s attempt to create a compelling program of highly suspenseful, dramatic thrillers with a supernatural bent for their sponsor, State Express Cigarettes. Some commentators insist it was conceived as a spin-off of the already successful Inner Sanctum episodes that had been syndicated for broadcast in Australia and South Africa during the 1950s. Given the format, one can see the inference, but in fact The Creaking Door stands on its own as a unique, well-produced, engaging supernatural thriller series on its own merit.

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The etymology of the name, The Creaking Door, bears some reflection. When legendary producer and director, Himan Brown first presented Inner Sanctum as one of three requested sponsorship candidates to Carter Products, he presented Inner Sanctum as The Creaking Door. Carter didn’t care for the name, so on the spur of the moment Hi Brown suggested Inner Sanctum as an alternative, and voila, Radio history was made.

The emphasis on high production values is perhaps the very reason that several early, morally challenged Radio traders felt they could get away with interspersing many of the Creaking Door episodes with their Inner Sanctum, Mysterious Traveler, and Strange Dr. Weird offerings to a still naive community of radio recording collectors. Although somewhat left-handed, it’s still a compliment to both SABC and Springbok Radio that those early ‘otr hooligans’ managed to get away with the practice for well over 20 years.

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OTR – Bing Crosby’s Christmas Program – 12/21/1944

Here is an epsiode of Bing Crosby’s radio program. This broadcast is from December 21st, 1944, and is his annual Christmas Program. Enjoy!

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The Black Museum: ‘The Silencer’ – Hosted By Orson Welles

Here is an episode of The Black Museum hosted by Orson Welles which is titled, “The Silencer”. I don’t have an air date for this one though.

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A little background from Archive.org…

Opening in 1875, the Crime Museum at Scotland Yard is the oldest museum in the world purely for recording crime. The name “Black Museum” was coined in 1877 by a reporter from “The Observer”, a London newspaper, although the museum is still referred to as the Crime Museum. It is this museum that inspired The Black Museum radio series, produced in London by Harry Alan Towers.

From Jay Hickerson’s “The Ultimate History of Network Radio Programming and Guide To All Circulating Shows”, the earliest US broadcast date was January 1, 1952. Thirty nine shows, from the full syndication of fifty two shows, aired over Mutual stations from January 1, 1952 through June 24, 1952 and September 30, 1952 through December 30, 1952.

This may be the earliest broadcast of the series worldwide. It was later broadcast over Radio Luxembourg starting May 7, 1953. Radio Luxembourg broadcast sponsored programs at night to England (the BBC was state-owned and had no commercials). The shows were sponsored by Dreft and Mirro (cleaning products).

The series continued to be offered in syndication and was heard on AFRTS broadcasts and in the US on NPR stations through the 1960′s, 70′s and 80′s. Some shows were broadcast by the BBC in England in 1994.

This murder mystery series was based on true life cases from Scotland Yard’s files. Each episode was based on an item or items of evidence in the museum.

Orsen Welles hosted and narrated the shows. Mr. Welles opened each show slightly differently but followed a standard format. For example, the show, “The Bathtub”, open as follows:

“This is Orson Welles speaking from London.” (Big Ben starts himing in the background). “The Black Museum, repository of death… Here, in this grim stone structure on the Thames which houses Scotland Yard, is a warehouse of homocide, where everyday objects, a piece of wire, a chemist’s flask, a silver shilling, all are touched by murder.” (dramatic music)

Following the opening, Mr. Welles would introduce the museum’s item or items of evidence that was central to the case, leading into the dramatization. He also provided narration during the show and ended each show with his characteristic closing from the days of his Mercury Theater of the Air, remaining “obediently yours”.

Harry Alan Towers produced the series from scripts written by Ira Marion. Music was composed and conducted by Sidney Torch.

The museum was not open to the general public. It’s purpose was then, and still is, for police training, although it did receive a considerable number of famous people, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is currently used as a lecture theater for the police and like bodies in various subjects of Criminology. But, thanks to Mr. Towers and Mr. Welles, we can still get a glimpse of what secrets are housed in The Black Museum.

Lux Radio Theater – Captain Blood – 2/22/1937

The Lux Radio Theater presents Captain Blood Starring Errol Flynn, Oliiva de Havilland and Basil Rathbone.

Air date February 22, 1937

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The Shadow – The Temple Bells Of Neban – Air Date 10/24/1937

A dangerous woman threatens to destroy the Shadow with powers that might rival his own.

Starring Orson Welles as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow and Agnes Moorehead as Margo Lane

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On September 26, 1937, The Shadow radio drama officially premiered with the story “The Deathhouse Rescue”, in which the character had “the power to cloud men’s minds so they cannot see him.” The Shadow did not have the ability to become literally invisible; he could be detected by photoelectric beams and other mindless devices. Rather, the minds of his opponents simply overlooked him due to his psychic influence, even if they knew he was in the room.

Even after decades, the unmistakable introduction from The Shadow radio program, originally intoned by actor Frank Readick Jr., has earned a place in the American idiom: “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!” These words were accompanied by a an ominous laugh and a musical theme, Camille Saint-Saëns’ Le Rouet d’Omphale (“Omphale’s Spinning Wheel”, composed in 1872). At the end of each episode, The Shadow reminded listeners, “The weed of crime bears bitter fruit. Crime does not pay…. The Shadow knows!”

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X-Minus One – A Gun For Dinosaur

X-Minus One Episode #38, A Gun For Dinosaur —- Air Date, 03-07-56 (not positive on the air date but that’s the info I have)

Story by L. Sprague de Camp

A safari into the Cretaceous to hunt for Tyrannosaurus Rex is endangered by a reckless glory hound, whose ineptitude and arrogance are matched only by his capacity for murder.

X Minus One was a science fiction radio series on NBC from April 1955 through January 1958. The show feature stories written by some of the big names in 1950s science fiction, like Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, and Issac Asimov.

When it comes to listening to old time radio, I guess I’m no different than some people in that I will listen to certain shows based on my mood at the time. A Gun For Dinosaur is an episode that I can listen to just about anytime. It’s a straight forward adventure story involving a safari traveling back in time to hunt dinosaurs. This is an episode that I usually give to people if they are new and have asked about where to begin. There are times when I want something a little deeper, but I will always enjoy listening to adventures like this one that just take you for a ride and don’t let you off until the end. This is one of my favorites.

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The War Of The Worlds Radio Broadcast – October 30th, 1938

The War of the Worlds was an episode of the American radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was performed as a Halloween episode of the series on October 30, 1938 and aired over the Columbia Broadcasting System radio network. Directed and narrated by Orson Welles, the episode was an adaptation of H. G. Wells‘ novel The War of the Worlds.

The first two thirds of the 60-minute broadcast was presented as a series of simulated news bulletins, which suggested to many listeners that an actual Martian invasion was in progress. Compounding the issue was the fact that the Mercury Theatre on the Air was a ‘sustaining show‘ (i.e., it ran without commercial breaks), thus adding to the dramatic effect. Although there were sensationalist accounts in the press about a supposed panic, careful research has shown that while thousands were frightened, there is no evidence that people fled their homes or otherwise took action. The news-bulletin format was decried as cruelly deceptive by some newspapers and public figures, leading to an outcry against the perpetrators of the broadcast, but the episode launched Welles to fame.

Welles’s adaptation was one of the Radio Project‘s first studies.

Below is the radio adaptation in seven parts using YouTube. This program is still a lot of fun to listen to and holds up VERY well on its own considering that it was broadcast 70 years ago. Enjoy the show and have a safe and sane Halloween. Read more