The Twenty Greatest Old-Time Radio Shows
Selected by John McDevitt
Introduction:
Before reading my list, I would like to make sure that you know a bit about what to expect and how to read it. Each of the items in my list consists of
1) the title of a radio play or an episode (in bold type)
2) the date on which it first aired
3) the program or series on which it aired (in italicized type)
4) a description of what makes the play/episode and the program/series so exceptional.
They are not organized by which is better, for each of them is outstanding in its own way. They are organized chronologically by the dates on which each first aired, from the earliest to the latest. The episodes are all from the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. Please note that each of the episodes is just as worthy of a mention as the program on which it aired, so both should be regarded with equal attention. My goal was to cover the full range of genres. In this, I feel that I have been successful. My list pays homage to exceptional comedies, stories of suspense, adventures, science-fiction tales, mysteries, westerns and combinations of these. Since it is just a top twenty list, there are numerous other plays that are very worthy of mentioning but are not. Nevertheless, the following are very good and worthy choices.
“Cat Wife”
04/06/38
Lights Out
Description: The program Lights Out is radio’s first horror series. “Cat Wife” is one of the best plays to air on the program, and reins as one of the greatest psychological thrillers in the history of Old-Time radio. It stars Boris Karloff as John Taylor, a husband to an insensitive, manipulative wife. At the story’s beginning, John insults her at the peak of an intense argument by repeatedly calling her a cat. Mrs. Taylor is dismayed by this and pleads for her husband to stop, but he does not. Then, John watches in horror as she turns very slowly into a huge cat. There are very few sound effects, for the extremely powerful and realistic performances are what moves the story along. Mrs. Taylor’s meow is terrifying and unforgettable.
“White God”
05/01/38
The Shadow
Description: “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? …The Shadow knows…” It is difficult to forget the haunting words, the eerie laughter, and the deep string music that begin each episode of The Shadow. The program is full of an intriguing mystery that does not loosen its hold from the listener. For nearly two decades, The Shadow was radio’s highest rated daytime series. “White God” begins with The Shadow, played by Orson Wells, investigating the disappearance of fifteen ships. His investigation leads him to a remote island where a scientist uses his mastery of magnetism to pose as a god before a tribe of natives. As always, The Shadow’s female friend Margot Lane comes along with him to help.
“War of the Worlds”
10/30/38
The Mercury Theatre on the Air
Description: In “War of the Worlds,” a radio program of “dance music” is interrupted numerous times by reports of a Martian invasion of New Jersey. The Martians quickly attack and conquer Earth, but one survivor does not lose hope for the future of mankind. The power of this play comes through its using news reports to tell the story, giving it an eyewitness, simultaneous quality. The famous live reportage of the Hindenburg disaster was used as a model for a newscaster’s reaction to the first attack. This innovative approach to telling a story made many people believe the tale and fear for their lives.
“Death Rides the Highway”
1940
Big Town
Description: At its peak, the program Big Town was radio’s highest rated drama. It stars Edward G. Robinson as newspaper editor, Steve Wilson, crusading against crime and injustice. Robinson believed that the show “would be ample opportunity for me to deal with pressing social matters.” In “Death Rides the Highway,” Wilson becomes outraged by all of the traffic accidents that occur each year, particularly a recent case involving a truck hitting a school bus. Wilson’s co-worker, Lorelei, believes that there might have been a third vehicle that caused the truck to swerve, suggesting the truck driver’s moral innocence. The excellent acting makes for a very moving drama.
“Sorry, Wrong Number”
08/21/43
Suspense
Description: A mysterious person who calls himself “the man in black” introduces each episode of the Saturday morning program, Suspense. As he says before each show, “Suspense is compounded of mystery and suspicion and dangerous adventure. In the series are tales calculated to intrigue you, to stir your nerves, to offer you a precarious situation, and then withhold the solution until the last possible moment.” “Sorry, Wrong Number” stars Agnes Moorehead as a bedridden invalid who begins to panic one night after she accidentally hears a murder plot over crossed telephone lines. The action is in real time, something very rare in radio plays and that is used here to produce incredible suspense.
“The Undecided Molecule”
07/17/45
Columbia Presents Corwin
Description: Norman Corwin is often said to be “radio’s poet laureate.” “The Undecided Molecule” is one of the eight plays that he produced, directed, and wrote for the program Columbia Presents Corwin. “The Undecided Molecule” is an absolutely wonderful, entirely clever, and hilarious fantasy told entirely in verse. It concerns a molecule that is undecided whether it would like to be part of the vegetable, mineral, or animal kingdom. The cast is lead superbly by Groucho Marx and Vincent Price and features delightful music by Carmen Dragon.
“The Meteor from Krypton”
09/25/45
The Adventures of Superman
Description: At the beginning of every Adventures of Superman episode, listeners were greeted with the words that would live for so long: “Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman!” It was on the air when editor Perry White, Inspector Henderson, copyboy Jimmy Olsen, and the Daily Planet newspaper were first introduced. In “The Meteor from Krypton,” Clark Kent vividly tells Lois Lane and Perry White the story of the Man of Steel’s coming to Earth as an infant due to the destruction of his home planet, Krypton. The story is told at a fast and exciting speed that captures the full attention of the listener.
“The Hitchhiker”
06/21/46
The Mercury Summer Theatre
Description: “The Hitchhiker,” a radio play by the writer of “Sorry, Wrong Number,” stars Orson Wells as a driver on a cross-country trip from his home in Brooklyn to California. He becomes more and more unnerved as he sees the same ominous hitchhiker on the road ahead over and over again. This was one of Wells’ favorite plays to act, and he does so with entirely convincing confusion and terror. The play uses inventive sound techniques that give a very controlled pace to the play, which was a trademark of Wells’ radio productions with The Mercury Summer Theatre and his other programs.
“The Jazz Singer”
06/02/47
The Lux Radio Theatre
Description: In its time, The Lux Radio Theatre was the biggest dramatic program on radio. Its success came through showcasing America’s top stars in adaptations of Hollywood’s most popular movies. “The Jazz Singer” allowed star Al Jolson to more fully voice his title role than he was able to do with his 1927 film of the same name in which the talking had to be limited to the musical numbers. In the radio production, Jolson plays Jack Robbin, a man who was disowned by his father for following his dream to become a jazz singer instead of following the family tradition. The story is nostalgic and very moving.
“Red Wind”
06/17/47
The Adventures of Philip Marlowe
Description: The character Philip Marlowe is a detective who was first introduced to the world in the 1939 classic mystery novel The Big Sleep. The Adventures of Philip Marlowe is a very serious and atmospheric program about the experiences of the title private detective. Marlow is one of the more intriguing detectives to be heard on the air, and his adventures are of the more grave and suspenseful. The pace of each episode is slower and more mature than what was represented by most of the other detective programs that caught audiences with their quick pace and ample humor. “Red Wind” was the first episode in the summer series.
“Leinengen vs. the Ants”
01/14/48
Escape
Description: Escape was a program that alternated between classical adaptations of adventure, horror, westerns, and science fiction. “Leinengen vs. the Ants” is the “Sorry, Wrong Number” of Escape. It aired four times during the program’s seven-year run. The episode is introduced as follows: “You are isolated on a remote plantation in the crawling Amazon jungle. An immense army of ravenous ants is closing in on you, swarming to eat you alive, a deadly black army from which there is no—Escape!” When listened to, the story is completely believable, and, with its countless twists, intense situations, and vivid imagery, it is completely engaging and utterly terrifying.
“The Caper with Two Death Beds”
06/20/48
The Adventures of Sam Spade, Detective
Description: Sam Spade is a quick-witted, fast-talking private detective played by Howard Duff. He is a very humorous character, especially in his interaction with Effie Perrine, the woman who types up his case reports as he dictates. The show grabs the listener’s attention with its quick and exciting pace until the very end of each episode. “The Caper with Two Death Beds” begins with a one Gordon Starbuck asking to be Spade’s client. He has been accused of murdering his brother and asks Spade to help prove his innocence. It doesn’t help that the brother’s death bed statement is that Spade’s client killed him.
“The Thing on the Fourble Board”
08/09/48
Quiet Please
Description: Quiet Please is one of the most imaginative radio series. It was created and written by the very talented Wyllis Cooper, also the creator of the legendary program Lights Out. “The Thing on the Fourble Board” is widely considered as Quiet Please’s masterpiece. The narrator of the story speaks directly to the viewer, telling of a very gruesome experience that he had twenty years ago. It begins with two oil riggers (the narrator and his friend) shocked to discover a gold ring and an ancient stone finger imbedded in a sample of rock that was brought up from a mile underground. The two men become terrified as they hear something above them on the fourble board. This tale is one of the most terrifying that I’ve ever heard.
“.22 Rifle for Christmas”
12/22/49
Dragnet
Description: “Ladies and gentleman, the story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.” Radio’s Dragnet introduced a new style of documentary realism. The program’s lead character is cop Joe Friday, played by Jack Webb. “We try to make cops human beings,” says Webb. “We try to combine the best qualities of the men I’ve seen downtown, incorporate their way of speaking, make a composite.” The show is excellent in its drama. It has a very serious and dark quality that is rarely found anywhere else in radio. The introduction to “.22 Rifle for Christmas” is as follows: “You’re a detective sergeant. You’re assigned to a homicide detail. A small boy is reported missing from his home. His age: nine years. Foul play is suspected. Your job: find him.”
“Deadly Merchandise”
1950s
Bold Venture
Description: The program Bold Venture stars Hollywood couple Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Bogart plays Slate Shannon, the owner of a run-down Havana hotel, with Bacall as his “ward,” Sailor Duval. Together, Slate and Sailor find “adventure, intrigue, mystery, and romance in the sultry settings of the Caribbean” aboard Slate’s boat, The Bold Venture. In “Deadly Merchandise,” they are wrongly suspected of having a mysterious cargo—one that people are willing to kill for. As usual, there is a charming humor that results from how flirtatious and stubborn Slate and Sailor are with one another, even in the most intense situations.
“The Corpse Said Ouch”
08/06/50
The Saint
Description: The most charming person to play Simon Templar, The Saint, is no doubt Vincent Price. His adventures are always as fun as they are exciting, and there are always ample amounts of humor flowing throughout each delightful episode. “The Corpse Said Ouch” begins with a woman named Frances Blake waking Templar one night with her knock at his door. She asks him for help in finding out why her own obituary is in the newspaper. As Templar helps her avoid harm and solve the mystery, he is his usual charming and humorous self.
“The Martian Chronicles”
08/18/50
Dimension X
Description: Dimension X was a program that featured radio adaptations of works by some of the greatest science-fiction authors of the time. “The Martian Chronicles” adapts six short stories by Ray Bradbury into one flowing script. The story concerns the life of a family on Mars, the technologically advanced condition of Earth in the future, and the traveling of humans to Mars. The acting is very moving, the story is told with a captivating eloquence, and creative sound effects are used to create an extremely vivid feeling of what Earth’s future and life on Mars might be like.
“Nightfall”
12/07/55
X-Minus One
Description: The program X-Minus One always begins with the narration: “From the far horizons of the unknown come transcribed tales of new dimensions in time and space. These are stories of the future, adventures in which you’ll live in a million could-be years on a thousand may-be worlds.” The world that “Nightfall” brings the listener to is one with six suns. Its citizens await a planetary nightfall that occurs only once every two thousand fifty years. The leading scientists predict that madness will come to the world with the darkness that no living person has ever experienced.