Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod

Amos 'n' Andy began March 19, 1928, on WMAQ, and prior to airing each program they recorded their show on 78 rpm disks at Marsh Laboratories, Orlando R. Marsh, owner. Initially, Gosden and Correll portrayed all the male roles. Between the two, they voiced over 170 distinct characterizations in the show's first decade. With the episodic drama and suspense heightened by cliffhanger endings, Amos 'n' Andy reached an ever-expanding radio audience. It was one of the earliest success stories of radio syndication, and at least 70 stations besides WMAQ carried the program using prerecorded records. Amos Jones and Andy Brown worked on a farm near Atlanta, Georgia, and during the episodes of the first week, they made plans to find a better life in Chicago, despite warnings from a friend. With four ham and cheese sandwiches and $24, they bought train tickets and headed for Chicago where they lived in a State Street rooming house and experienced some rough times before launching their own business, the Fresh Air Taxi Company.

RADIO CITY PLAYHOUSE - Half-hour drama, sometimes comedy, often very exciting and suspenseful. The cast were made up of  New York veterans of radio and stage, including Jan Minor and John Larkin as featured performers. The director, Harry W. Junkin, also served as the show's host and narrator. Each week the show introduced a new story, often written by well-known writers of fantasy and suspense such as Ray Bradbury, Cornell Woolrich, Agatha Christie and Paul Gallico. They were dramatized with a full orchestral soundtrack and excellent sound effects.

The Silent Men - Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. played the parts of "special agents of all branches of the federal government, who daily risk their lives to protect the lives of all of us... to guard our welfare and our liberties, they must remain nameless - The Silent Men!" At each episode, Fairbank  checked in with his chief, played by either William Conrad or Herb Butterfield. Regulars included Virginia Gregg, Raymond Burr, Lou Merrill  Lurene Tuttle, Paul Frees and John Dehner. Don Stanley was the announcer. The show was produced and directed by Warren Lewis, who wrote many of the scripts along with Joel Murcott. The series ran on NBC.THIS EPISODE:November 11, 1951. NBC network. "The Transatlantic Push". Sustaining. A concentration camp victim from Buchenwald is arrested for passing counterfeit currency! The G-Men follow the trail to Paris and the source of the "queer." Walter McGraw (director), John Gibson, William Keene, Fred Collins (announcer), Joe DeSantis, Joel Murcott (writer), Roc Rogers, Ruth Yorke, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Warren Lewis (producer). 29:28.

Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was a radio drama about a freelance insurance investigator "with the action-packed expense account." The show aired on CBS Radio from February 11, 1949 to September 30, 1962. There were 811 episodes in the 12-year run, and over 720 still exist today. Each story started with a phone call from an insurance agent, calling on Johnny to investigate an unusual claim. Each story required Johnny to travel to some distant locale, usually within the United States but sometimes abroad, where he was almost always threatened with personal danger in the course of his investigations.THIS EPISODE:1950. CBS network. "The Virginia Beach Matter". Sustaining. Johnny is hired to protect a beautiful woman from her husband, who is getting out of prison. The husband turns out to be a homicidal maniac. The final show of the series until September 30, 1950. Edmond O'Brien, Howard McNear, Gil Doud (writer), Leith Stevens (composer, conductor), Bob Sweeney, Jeanne Bates, Jaime del Valle (transcirber), Virginia Gregg, Hy Averback. 29:43.

Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was a radio drama about a freelance insurance investigator "with the action-packed expense account." The show aired on CBS Radio from February 11, 1949 to September 30, 1962. There were 811 episodes in the 12-year run, and over 720 still exist today. Each story started with a phone call from an insurance agent, calling on Johnny to investigate an unusual claim. Each story required Johnny to travel to some distant locale, usually within the United States but sometimes abroad, where he was almost always threatened with personal danger in the course of his investigations.THIS EPISODE:1950. CBS network. "The Virginia Beach Matter". Sustaining. Johnny is hired to protect a beautiful woman from her husband, who is getting out of prison. The husband turns out to be a homicidal maniac. The final show of the series until September 30, 1950. Edmond O'Brien, Howard McNear, Gil Doud (writer), Leith Stevens (composer, conductor), Bob Sweeney, Jeanne Bates, Jaime del Valle (transcirber), Virginia Gregg, Hy Averback. 29:43.

THAT HAMMER GUYMickey Spillane wrote violent, sex-filled tales that epitomized the hard-boiled detective genre of tough guys, fist fights and sultry dames. That Hammer Guy was a detective drama well inside the hard-boiled tradition. This was the rough and rugged series that hit hard and fast and it was unlike some other shows, such as, "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar" or "Richard Diamond" that where more upbeat with humor and sly wit. Mike Hammer believes in justice, rough justice... his justice.THIS EPISODE:April 7, 1953. Mutual network. Sponsored by: Esquire Magazine, Kix, Camels (G & D Vermouth: local). Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer as rough and tough as ever. Mike's after a pair of saddle shoes after their owner shoots first to kill...and almost does. The system cue has been deleted. Larry Haines, Jan Miner, Mickey Spillane (creator), Edward Adamson (writer), Richard Lewis (director, co-producer), Ed Ladd (announcer). 29:18.

Gangbusters was an American dramatic radio program heralded as "the only national program that brings you authentic police case histories." It premiered as G-Men, sponsored by Chevrolet, on July 20, 1935. After the title was changed to Gang Busters January 15, 1936, the show had a 21-year run through November 20, 1957. Beginning with a barrage of loud sound effects â guns firing and tires squealing â this intrusive introduction led to the popular catch phrase "came on like Gang Busters."The series dramatized FBI cases, which producer-director Phillips H. Lord arranged in close association with Bureau director J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover insisted that only closed cases would be used. The initial series was on NBC Radio from July 20 - October 12, 1935. It then aired on CBS from January 15, 1936 to June 15, 1940, sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive and Cue magazine. From October 11, 1940 to December 25, 1948, it was heard on the Blue Network, with various sponsors that included Sloan's Liniment, Waterman pens and Tide. Returning to CBS on January 8, 1949, it ran until June 25, 1955, sponsored by Grape-Nuts and Wrigley's chewing gum. The final series was on the Mutual Broadcasting System from October 5, 1955 to November 27, 1957. It was once narrated by Norman Schwarzkopf, Sr., former head of the New Jersey State Police. The radio series was adapted for DC Comics, Big Little Books and a 1942 movie serial. The 1952 Gang Busters TV series was reedited into two feature films, Gang Busters (1954) and Guns Don't Argue (1957).

Blackie was a tough, wisecracking private detective working in New York, billed as "enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend." His speciality was making fools of the police, a simple task with Inspector Farraday heading the official investigations. "An enemy to those who call him an enemy, a friend to those who have no friends." Boston Blackie is a reformed jewel thief who is never far from trouble. Inspector Farraday of the homicide squad tries to pin Blackie for the crime in every episode. To save his own skin, with the help of his girlfriend Mary and sidekick Shorty, Blackie ends up solving the case.

DAD'S ARMY - The unmistakable voice of Bud Flanagan singing 'Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr Hitler?', a cod-Second World War propaganda singalong written especially for the show (by Jimmy Perry), introduced Dad's Army, the zenith of the British broad-comedy ensemble sitcom. Consistently good writing and a wonderful cast of old timers and newer talents combined to produce a whimsical period-piece that continues, justifiably, to be savoured and has now assumed a place in the 'hall of greats' pantheon, adored by new generations of the British public.THIS EPISODE:Sgt. Wilson's Little Secret (11-15-68)When Mrs Pike tells Pike there is a little Arthur on the way, having taken in an evacuee, (Arthur) Wilson gets worried and assumes that it is his child, and begins to plan a wedding.

LIGHTS OUT was an American old-time radio program featuring "tales of the supernatural and the supernormal." It was immensely popular, and was one of the first horror programs, predating Suspense and Inner Sanctum. In its heydey, Lights Out rivalled the popularity of those shows. Lights Out ran through several series and networks, from January 1, 1934 to August 6, 1947. The principal sponsor was Ironized Yeast. Most episodes were broadcast at midnight. Lights Out then made the transition to television in 1949, where it was broadcast until 1952. Created in Chicago by writer Wyllis Cooper in 1934.THIS EPISODE:July 27, 1946. NBC network. "The Battle Of The Magicians". Sustaining. Not auditioned. Wyllis Cooper (writer), Everett Clark, Tony Parish, Meg Hahn, Duke Watson, Boris Aplon, Nathan Davis, Ernest Andrews, Albert Crews (producer, director). 29:54.

Father Knows Best, a family comedy of the 1950s, is perhaps more important for what it has come to represent than for what it actually was. In essence, the series was one of a slew of middle-class family sitcoms in which moms were moms, kids were kids, and fathers knew best. Today, many critics view it, at best, as high camp fun, and, at worst, as part of what critic David Marc once labeled the "Aryan melodramas" of the 1950s and 1960s.

Curtain Time, like First Nighter, presented romantic drama in a theater setting complete with the announcer shouting, âTickets please, thank youâ. The shows announcer was Harry Halcomb who was later known best for his appearances on the 60 minutes television show. Great scripts and superb acting, Curtain Time is truly an Old Time Radio Classic. Mutual Network, local KNX show sustained, heard Fridays 7:30 - 8:00 pm THIS EPISODE:February 7, 1948. NBC network, Chicago origination. "Broadway Interlude". Sponsored by: Snickers. A romantic triangle on the Gay White Way. Arthur Peterson, Nannette Sargent, George Cisar, Geraldine Kaye, Margaret Brayton, Harry Holcomb (director), John Weigle (announcer), Patrick Allen (host), Harry Elders, Bert Farber (arranger, conductor). 29:39.

The Ford Theater aired 1947 - 1949. It was broadcast on NBC until October 8, 1948 then moved to CBS.  It was hosted by Howard Lindsay. The show tried to use good but not to famous radio performers. Producer George Zachary, first producer, attempting to use popular radio stars instead of Hollywood stars offered limited success. Followed was low ratings which forced the replacement of Zachary with Fletcher Markle, husband of radio legend Mercedes McCambridge. Needing a change the show moved to California and began starring celebrities from Hollywood like Lucille Ball. Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Bette Davis to mention a few. This combination made for a hit radio show.

THIS IS OUR ENEMY is one of a number of war propaganda presentations that were popular during the years leading up to and during World War II. In this episode, parents are asked to send their children, most sickly from food and staple rationing, to a camp that would "make them strong again". During the time away from home, the youth attended "school" which resulted in pro-nazi indoctrination into the "Youth Movement". As members of the Black Brigade and "servants of the Fuhrer", brainwashed children now report on any anti nazi sentiment, even turning in their own families. Narration by war correspondent and author, Mr. Henry J. Taylor, the last American able to get into and out of Germany as the war began.

The Golden Age of Radio was ending, not with a whimper, but with a robust bang. Many of the best network and syndicated shows began in the 1950s, even though public interest and advertising dollars were switching to television, FORT LARAMIE was certainly one of the finest radio series, and were it not for GUNSMOKE, it could be termed the best adult Western program ever aired. FORT LARAMIE is a close relative of GUNSMOKE since it had the same producer-director, same writers, same sound effects men, and many of the same actors. GUNSMOKE had been running for almost four years when Norman Macdonnell brought FORT LARAMIE to CBS. The latter had the same gritty realism, attention to detail, and integrity that audiences admired in GUNSMOKE.