audio drama/old time radio anyone?

[sonnylarue]

as bendis likes to point out, i am an 80 yr old soul trapped in my 43 yr old body.

i love radio shows. i like some comedies , like Jack benny...

but i really love a ton of 40's detective shows, like Pat Novak, Yours Truly Johnny Dollar, Richard Diamond Private Detective, i love a mystery, dragnet

anyone else?

[Supreme Convoy]

I forgot where I got them (archive.org?) but I have The Shadow episodes with Orson Welles. I was going to listen to them all on the trip down to Comic-Con but ended up listening to other podcasts.

But the episode I did catch did rock.

[sonnylarue]

i like welles shadow, but really love the lives of harry lime, which is a prequel series to the carol reed film the third man. welles of course plays lime in both.

btw, loved alan moore's harry lime cameo in the black dossier

[Supreme Convoy]

i like welles shadow, but really love the lives of harry lime, which is a prequel series to the carol reed film the third man. welles of course plays lime in both.

btw, loved alan moore's harry lime cameo in the black dossier

I claim to be film nerd... yet I've never seen The Third Man :surrend:

Just bumped it to the top of Netflix!

[Stupendous Man]

Have you ever heard the radio dramatization of It's a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart? It was on around here last year around Christmastime. It was really cool on the one hand because it's It's a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart, but it was very bizarre at the same time because you're so used to the lines being delivered in a certain way with certain intonation, and anything different is kind of jarring.

[sonnylarue]

Have you ever heard the radio dramatization of It's a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart? It was on around here last year around Christmastime. It was really cool on the one hand because it's It's a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart, but it was very bizarre at the same time because you're so used to the lines being delivered in a certain way with certain intonation, and anything different is kind of jarring.

yep.

i also love the lux radio theater, which had movie adaptations, like Gary Cooper in Pride Of The Yankees, etc.

The cool eps of Lux also had interesting alternate casting for the radio versions, like Edward G Robinson as Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon, and Alan Ladd played Rick in Casablanca,

[ChuckMcButcalf]

I hear you on Jack Benny. The man had some amazing comic timing. His show had a hell of an ensemble cast too. Didn't Mel Blanc guest on Benny's show quite a bit?

[sonnylarue]

I hear you on Jack Benny. The man had some amazing comic timing. His show had a hell of an ensemble cast too. Didn't Mel Blanc guest on Benny's show quite a bit?

yep mel was a recurring actor who played many diifferent characters.

i always am confused when some historians point to various early TV shows as the "first sitcom" , when Benny, George Burns, Ozzie nelson, and many others were doing sitcoms on radio 10 years before TV became widely viewed.

[paul brian deberry]

I L O V E Old Time Radio! This will be my new favorite thread.

If you have Sirius (or XM) radio you have to dial into 118 they play classic radio shows 24/7.

[Shannon Chenoweth]

Just about to get a hold of some old Detective radio mp3s. I do enjoy listening to the stuff, but this one is for research for a story. :)

[sonnylarue]

the late 40's early 50's avd of philip marlowe was pretty faithful to the chandler character.
but also bbc radio has dramatized many chandler novels directly, and their marlowe was excellent.

[Shannon Chenoweth]

the late 40's early 50's avd of philip marlowe was pretty faithful to the chandler character.
but also bbc radio has dramatized many chandler novels directly, and their marlowe was excellent.

Awesome, I'll have to check into those!

[chazbot]

The Orson Welles' voiced The Shadow radio programs are perhaps my favorite.

[ChuckMcButcalf]

yep mel was a recurring actor who played many diifferent characters.

i always am confused when some historians point to various early TV shows as the "first sitcom" , when Benny, George Burns, Ozzie nelson, and many others were doing sitcoms on radio 10 years before TV became widely viewed.

There was a Benny documentary on PBS that I caught earlier in the summer where some of the surviving writers from the show pointed that out. I guess Jack was really good to his writing staff and this was one of the reasons he was at the top of his game for so long. He was the complete opposite of the cheapskate he played and seemed like he was a down to earth guy (which makes me dig him all the more).

[Whipping Boy]

John... us radio geeks need to stick together.

Remember some stations used to run "When Radio Was" with your host Stan Freberg?
(I was at one station and ordered the demo just so I could have a copy of War of the Worlds on CD.)
I had a lot of old shows on cassette but was to lazy to transfer them over to digital... so I went to itunes.

I have found:
Sherlock Holmes
Batman Adventures
Boston Blackie
Dragnet
Ellery Queen
Green Hornet
Inner Sanctum
Old Time Radio Suspense
Orson Welles: On the Air
The Shadow
X Minus One
and others
ALL FOR FREE!
I am sure if you just keep clicking links you will find more. That's how I did it.

This might help you in looking for titles:
http://www.whenradiowas.com/

Hope it helps and if you find more on itunes then please let me know!

[sonnylarue]

good stuff whipping boy

i think these archives have a lot of free shows.

http://otr-reviews.com/download-all-episodes/

http://www.archive.org/details/oldtimeradio

[ashwin]

yep.

i also love the lux radio theater, which had movie adaptations, like Gary Cooper in Pride Of The Yankees, etc.

The cool eps of Lux also had interesting alternate casting for the radio versions, like Edward G Robinson as Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon, and Alan Ladd played Rick in Casablanca,

Holy fuck balls... I need to get that!!

[Supreme Convoy]

I finally found a MP3 of It's a Wonderful Life (http://www.electricdisk.com/Downloads/19470310_Its_a_Wonderful_Life.mp3)... it sounds great!

I'm setting it aside for post-Thanksgiving gluttony.

One more tradition to go a long with viewings of It's a Wonderful Life, Charlie Brown Christmas, and The Family Man?

[NeverWanderer]

I'm not sure if it counts as old by this thread's standards, but the original Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy british radio series is definitely my favorite. Accept no substitutes!

Oh! And, I was also reared as a child on the cassette tape copies my brother made for me of the old Superman and 6 Million Dollar Man vinyls.

I really want to check out the original Shadow radio plays -- they have a boxed set of them now!

[sonnylarue]

]I'm not sure if it counts as old by this thread's standards, but the original Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy british radio series is definitely my favorite. Accept no substitutes![/B]


sure it counts. that's why i included audio drama in the thread title .

hitchhikers radio version is the original one adams wrote the story for.

btw, bbc7 radio channel still runs a ton of good current audio dramas.

i love a scottish cop procedural called p division code 41

also, a great mini series called the psychedellic spy

baldi-a italian preist hanging out in ireland as a college instructor, gets into mysteries.

[DaniDarko]

I'm not sure how interested you'd be in modern stuff, but there have been some excellent radio plays made by Crazy Dog Audio Theatre in the past few years. http://crazydogaudiotheatre.com/ has a few bits worth listening to. I really enjoyed a piece called "Press 3", that's like a trippier version of "1984".

[NeverWanderer]

sure it counts. that's why i included audio drama in the thread title .

hitchhikers radio version is the original one adams wrote the story for.

btw, bbc7 radio channel still runs a ton of good current audio dramas.

i love a scottish cop procedural called p division code 41

also, a great mini series called the psychedellic spy

baldi-a italian preist hanging out in ireland as a college instructor, gets into mysteries.

Awesome! This may sound like a silly question, but are those accessable on a regular radio station? Or do I have to have satellite or something?

[sonnylarue]

Awesome! This may sound like a silly question, but are those accessable on a regular radio station? Or do I have to have satellite or something?

the BBC has "listen again:" real player files of their dramas that they keep on hand for a week after their airing .

I usually stream/listen with my audio software running, to turn them into mp3s to hear later.

[Jeffery Longmont]

See, this cool, because I bought loads of tapes from Cracker Barrels all over the midwest long before I read a single comic page. To me, the real heroes are always going to be the Shadow, Green Hornet, Lone Ranger, Sgt Preston of the Yukon, and Sgt Joe Friday.

Although I did really enjoy the Jack Benny show and Abbot and Costello. My favorite Jack Benny skit is when he's doing a spoof of a movie at the time; it was set in the dessert of Texas and he and the announcer were looking for hidden gold. They find the treasure and Jack says something like, "There's enough gold here to make one of us rich for the rest of our days." "Only one of us?" says the other guy. BANG "I hated to do it, he was my best friend." Jack narrates. Haha, what a loo loo!

[ChuckMcButcalf]

See, this cool, because I bought loads of tapes from Cracker Barrels all over the midwest long before I read a single comic page. To me, the real heroes are always going to be the Shadow, Green Hornet, Lone Ranger, Sgt Preston of the Yukon, and Sgt Joe Friday.

Although I did really enjoy the Jack Benny show and Abbot and Costello. My favorite Jack Benny skit is when he's doing a spoof of a movie at the time; it was set in the dessert of Texas and he and the announcer were looking for hidden gold. They find the treasure and Jack says something like, "There's enough gold here to make one of us rich for the rest of our days." "Only one of us?" says the other guy. BANG "I hated to do it, he was my best friend." Jack narrates. Haha, what a loo loo!

Holy Shit! I had those Cracker Barrel tapes too! One of the Benny Tapes had Jimmy Stewart guest star which was pretty great. I love how they sometimes not so subtly sneak in a plug for the guest star's new movie. The one Jimmy was pimping must have been a flop because I hadn't even heard of it.

[sonnylarue]

yet another reason i wish there was a cracker barell closer to chgo. :(

[sonnylarue]

I like the Benny shows where Ronald and Benita Coleman were guests. They were very funny as Jack's on-air next door neighbors , and were always appalled at his behaviour.

Of course it was Coleman's Oscar Benny had for the infamous Your money or your life scene.

[Vigilance]

Where are some good sites to find old time radio shows on the web?

[sonnylarue]

Where are some good sites to find old time radio shows on the web?

here's 2


http://otr-reviews.com/download-all-episodes/

http://www.archive.org/details/oldtimeradio

[Eddie Edmends]

I teach Drama and am doing Voice with my year 10's, i played a few old radio dramas to get them used to what was expected of them in this unit

[Jim Yost]

I love OTR. I think the iTunes Live 365 channel is Mystery iPlay Theater or some such... Can't get enough (although I wish they had a broader selection). My true devotion is to the Shadow, but... I didn't even know about this Lives of Harry Lime series - is it available for download? I have SERIOUS issues with THIRD MAN, mostly because I read the novella/script before I saw the movie and had a MUCH darker movie in my mind, nonetheless Welles is the man of course. I'd love to hear that.

[rufusTfirefly]

yet another reason i wish there was a cracker barell closer to chgo. :(


I88/Rt. 59 nestled in between Naperville/Warrenville and Aurora. Drive right past it every day...

[rufusTfirefly]

While growing up and going on family vacations, my parents always listened to CBS Radio Mystery Theater in the car. Hour after hour of it. Hated it as a ten year old, but now I love 'em. E.G. Marshall's voice still rings in my ears. I never realized till a few years back that they weren't actually old shows at all, but produced during the late '70's.

My mom picked up a couple DVD's of MP3 files of them last summer and I ended up down loading them on my computer. Someday, if I ever get caught up with everything else sitting on my Ipod, I plan on checking them out again...

[sonnylarue]

the cbs radio mystery theaters has plenty of ties to radio's golden age of drama.
not only a bunch of the great radio actors came back for the show, but the producer himan brown, was the man behind INNER SANCTUM , a great thriller anthology of the old days.

[Jonathan Callan]

Oh God yes! I love the old Shadow broadcasts, I have a ton of old science fiction shows on my I-Pod. I'll have to look up the name but there are a ton that adapt old Philip K. Dick and Isaac Asmiov short stories.

John -I need to point you toward some stuff if you haven't already seen it.

For radio drama done in my life time, very little has ever surpassed a series of dramas done on the sci-fi channel website called "SEEING EAR THEATER". They adapt great stories, hire great writers and cast the shit of them: guys like Oliver Platt, Steve Buscemi, etc. There's even two episodes written by Neil Gaiman.

On the same site, JMS also did a TZ-styled anthology series called "CITY OF DREAMS" which was pretty darn good. Strazcynski I should point out is also a life-long lover of radio drama and did a series in Canada I can never track down called "Apocalypse Al".

[Jonathan Callan]

I have SERIOUS issues with THIRD MAN, mostly because I read the novella/script before I saw the movie and had a MUCH darker movie in my mind, nonetheless Welles is the man of course.

That's one of the reasons The Third Man was so good though. Such a dark and serious plot with this kind of light air of wit and frivolity. I don't know how the director pulls it off, but it's this tightrope of tone and plot that's crafted by every shot, joke, and note of odd music.

To me it's all perfectly encapsulated by Orson's cuckoo clock speech - a witty punchline that's actually making a very dark point.

[sonnylarue]

I didn't even know about this Lives of Harry Lime series - is it available for download? I have SERIOUS issues with THIRD MAN, mostly because I read the novella/script before I saw the movie and had a MUCH darker movie in my mind, nonetheless Welles is the man of course. I'd love to hear that.

the otr links in this thread should connect you to many free eps of the harry lime series.

[SteveZegers]

I have the Superman ones, which just entertain me all to hell, and have listened to The Shadow. I love them.

[JamesSeals]

For Christmas one year, my parents tracked down the entire run of Superman radio show adventures, complete with the adverts. I still haven't finished the entire series, each disk is several hours long and there's roughly six of them. But they are a lot of fun, and highly recommended.

-James

[sonnylarue]

couple of weeks ago i heard an interview on bob edwards talk show that credited the writer of a superman radio story arc, for exposing a lot of the truth behind the ku klux klan.

[Jammer]

Was the CBS Radio Mystery Theater the one that opened with the squeaky door and the steps down the stairs? I can remember staying up late listening to this on this old transister radio that I had to sneak into the bedroom with an earpiece. It used to make my parents crazy trying to stop me from listening to this late at night.

[Jammer]

as bendis likes to point out, i am an 80 yr old soul trapped in my 43 yr old body.

Don't feel bad. I have an 80 year old that is trapped in a 12-year-old's body. He is so into old radio theater it is a riot. Anytime we are in the car he wants to turn on the Sirius and see if suspense, or superman, or dragnet are on. He is crazy for them. His ipod is loaded up with all kinds of old radio shows. Thank goodness for the feeds like Suspense Replay, The Shadow, and others.

He also walks down to the barber shop and hangs out with the old men every other week and at the bakery once a week. The real old men miss him when he doesn't show.

[Jurassicalien]

I'm all about the british radio shows, I know that's not like radio dramas. But the Hitchhiker stuff is classic comedy. Little Britain had some great radio skits, and of course the early days of Cleese, Chapman, Palin, Idle and Jones...or Monty Python

[Jeffery Longmont]

Don't feel bad. I have an 80 year old that is trapped in a 12-year-old's body. He is so into old radio theater it is a riot. Anytime we are in the car he wants to turn on the Sirius and see if suspense, or superman, or dragnet are on. He is crazy for them. His ipod is loaded up with all kinds of old radio shows. Thank goodness for the feeds like Suspense Replay, The Shadow, and others.

He also walks down to the barber shop and hangs out with the old men every other week and at the bakery once a week. The real old men miss him when he doesn't show.

Yeah, see, that's what my twin brother has been doing since he was 8. Guy's hilarious.

[maverick-99]

How about the old Star Wars radio drama? That is some classic stuff there.

[sonnylarue]

How about the old Star Wars radio drama? That is some classic stuff there.

sure, i even like the audio adaptations of the dark horse stories like dark empire tales of the jedi

[sonnylarue]

i noticed on saturdays bbc radio 7 is running 90 minute philip marlowe dramas.

they're up for 7 days and can be heard via real player streaming.

[Dr. Hackenbush]

I forgot where I got them (archive.org?) but I have The Shadow episodes with Orson Welles. I was going to listen to them all on the trip down to Comic-Con but ended up listening to other podcasts.

But the episode I did catch did rock.

Yes. archive.org. They have lots of great stuff. I love the Jack Benny shows.

[Dr. Hackenbush]

i noticed on saturdays bbc radio 7 is running 90 minute philip marlowe dramas.

they're up for 7 days and can be heard via real player streaming.


I haven't listened to any Phillip Marlowe. Any good? I know that archive.org has plenty:
http://www.archive.org/details/OTRR_Philip_Marlowe_Singles

[sonnylarue]

I haven't listened to any Phillip Marlowe. Any good? I know that archive.org has plenty:
http://www.archive.org/details/OTRR_Philip_Marlowe_Singles


the american gerald mohr phillip marlowe radio shows were top notch.

these bbc dramas are very good and authentic chandler adaptations

[sonnylarue]

Don't feel bad. I have an 80 year old that is trapped in a 12-year-old's body. He is so into old radio theater it is a riot. Anytime we are in the car he wants to turn on the Sirius and see if suspense, or superman, or dragnet are on. He is crazy for them. His ipod is loaded up with all kinds of old radio shows. Thank goodness for the feeds like Suspense Replay, The Shadow, and others.

He also walks down to the barber shop and hangs out with the old men every other week and at the bakery once a week. The real old men miss him when he doesn't show.

i was just like your son at 12, which is about when i discovered radio drama.

[sonnylarue]

Was the CBS Radio Mystery Theater the one that opened with the squeaky door and the steps down the stairs? I can remember staying up late listening to this on this old transister radio that I had to sneak into the bedroom with an earpiece. It used to make my parents crazy trying to stop me from listening to this late at night.

me too.

the rmt shows vary in quality, but tyhere ae plenty of good ones that still hold up.

the cbc had a good thriller drama called night fall from the early 80's which also had solid plays.

[sleep]

couple of weeks ago i heard an interview on bob edwards talk show that credited the writer of a superman radio story arc, for exposing a lot of the truth behind the ku klux klan.

There was a chapter about this in the book Freakanomics, too.

[The Funketeer]

I liked the Shadow pretty well but my favorite was Jack Armstrong All American Boy.

[sonnylarue]

I liked the Shadow pretty well but my favorite was Jack Armstrong All American Boy.

really?

i find the kids serials tough to listen ro.

[Jeffery Longmont]

I liked the Shadow pretty well but my favorite was Jack Armstrong All American Boy.

WHEATIES BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS!

I love the comercials on that program as much as the show itself. Haha!

[EmarAndZeb]

*accidental double post deleted*

[EmarAndZeb]

Hooray for Nightfall!



I listen to a fair bit of horror/thriller OTR when I'm working. I'm a big fan of Quiet Please, both for the general quality of its episodes, and for the fact that it's largely what started my interest in OTR.

Basically, we used to have a pretty neat pirate radio station in town, and one Halloween night I was in my car listening and happened to catch a DJ who was of a mood to play some seasonally appropriate OTR. The particular selection he was playing when I tuned in was the infamous Quiet, Please episode "The Thing on the Fourble Board." Anyone who's unfamiliar with the show/episode of which I speak should probably listen to the recording on Archive.org; that episode was ahead of its time, and even by today's standards (at least when it comes to things intended for general broadcast) is kind of "out there" for pure weirdness.

http://ia310139.us.archive.org/2/items/QuietPlease/qp60.mp3

[Pulp Messenger]

really?

i find the kids serials tough to listen ro.

I hear what you're saying, for some reason I could never get into Terry and the Pirates no matter how badly I wanted to like it. Jack Armstrong was a little different though, maybe because it's a little more down to earth?

The story arch they've got up on archive.org is worth a shot. Be patient though, the first couple episodes take place in a typhoon or something, so there are lots of weather sounds that were probably mixed a touch too loud.

[Jeffery Longmont]

the first couple episodes take place in a typhoon or something, so there are lots of weather sounds that were probably mixed a touch too loud.

Yeah, and then they're in diving suits speaking with radios, and that's a hoot to listen to as well. But it's still good stuff.

[NeverWanderer]

Just discovered an interesting pod-drama called Silent Universe. http://www.silentuniverse.com/

It's a sci-fi series, sort of has echoes of BSG and Firefly, but with more of a gritty, low-tech tone to it. The very first episode plays more like a spy adventure than a space opera.

The acting is a little unsubtle, but not terrible. Decent production values. Intriguing plot. Worth checking out!

[NeverWanderer]

Having listened to all six of the current episodes of Silent Universe, I have to say it is WAY better than I originally thought.

It's focus is solely black-ops/espionage/political intrigue stories set in a space-faring future. No aliens, no photon torpedoes, no galaxies far, far away. Hard political sci-fi. And it's fuckin' nails. Highly recommended.

Also, I found a fun little radio series called the Waterpipe Theater. They're basically a community theater group that does bi-weekly radio dramas (or, in most cases, comedies) for the local public radio. Extremely low-tech, but extremely clever. Their three-part story "The Red Planet" had me laughing out loud quite a few times. Worth a listen.

http://johncusick.mypodcast.com/

[NeverWanderer]

Since I've been discovering a lot of cool audio dramas lately, I figured I'd throw 'em up here for people to check out.

First there's the Darker Projects website, which is chock full of kickass sci-fi, fantasy, and horror podcasts. My favorites there are:

The Byron Chronicles - http://www.darkerprojects.com/byronchronicles.php
Urban horror-fantasy about an immortal mystery man encountering supernatural situations in modern day Portland. Fans of Angel or the World of Darkness universe(s) should get a kick out of it.

Autumn - http://www.darkerprojects.com/autumn.php
Six-part apocalyptic zombie story. Not your typical zombie story, though -- the focus is much more on character relationships and the psychological trauma of living in a world suddenly over-run by the walking dead. Not a gory eat-em-up. More for fans of the original Night of the Living Dead. Perfect Halloween listening! (Also has GREAT music.)

Dark Matter - http://www.darkerprojects.com/darkmatter.php
Sci-fi anthology series. Sort of like the Twilight Zone or the Outer Limits. Sort of hit & miss, but the good episodes (Last Shot For Freedom, The Grey Matter) are REALLY good.

They also have a surprisingly well-done adaptation of Batman: No Man's Land and a ton of other series that I haven't checked out yet.

Aside from Darker Projects, I also found...

The Leviathan Chronicles - http://www.leviathanchronicles.com/
Globe-trotting sci-fi adventure series. It's basically an audio-book with a Michael Bay-sized production budget. Great music, great voice cast, great audio-production, and an addictive plot. Really, really amazing production. The best sounding audio drama I've ever heard.

[Arion]

Batman No Man's Land was a good story. I don't know why so many people seem to despise it.

[Hodge]

Anybody recommend any good books on radio dramas and their history?

If not John should write one.

[sonnylarue]

there was a great book called tune in yesterday, which was an ebcyclopedia of the history of radio dramas from 1920-1976. not sure if it's still in print john dunning was the author