Journey back to a time when radio reigned supreme in the hearts and minds of most Americans. Enjoy two Old Time Radio shows from the Golden Age of Radio.
The Golden Age of Radio was host to some of the greatest shows of all time. Here are two of the best! So put your thinking cap on and tag along with these gumshoes and try to crack the case before they do. And while youre at it, rediscover some of the greatest detectives of radio in this landmark collection from Radios Golden Age. The Golden Age of Radio lives again in two classic broadcasts digitally restored and remastered for your listening pleasure.
Lights Out (A Willis Cooper Production) - Battle of the Magicians:
Chicago writer Willis Cooper created Lights Out in 1934 as a 15-minute radio series of intense horror. Chicago station WENR tucked it away in an after midnight timeslot to protect youngsters from hearing it. It soon became so popular that NBC picked it up for the network in 1935 and expanded it to 30 minutes, still in a very late timeslot. The stories were so bone-chilling that it was soon being billed as Lights Out the Ultimate in Horror. Each week, the sounds of heads rolling, bones being crushed, people being thrown out of 20-story windows (splat), and human flesh being eaten became standard fare. Cooper had always longed to write for movies and abandoned Lights Out in 1936 to move to Hollywood. In stepped young play write Arch Oboler who wasted no time establishing himself as the new master of the macabre. Between May 1936 and July 1938, he wrote and directed more than 100 Lights Out plays and burned himself out. The series continued with some NBC staffers for a short time then went off the air. Short of money, Oboler resurrected the series in 1942 and gave us his best work for two seasons but again found himself burned out. In 1947 the series was revived yet again, this time for ABC, with the originator Willis Cooper at the helm. It lasted one season.
Molle Mystery Theatre- Follow that Cab:
This terrific series featured the best in mystery and detective fiction with tales running the gamut of classics to modern day. The stories were full of high tension and often had twist endings. Hosted by crime-fiction connoisseur Geoffrey Barnes, it featured many of New Yorks most prominent radio actors, including Richard Widmark, Frank Lovejoy, Anne Seymour, Joseph Julian, and Elspeth Eric. Barnes was a fictional character portrayed by Bernard Lenrow. It came to radio in 1943 and lasted until 1954 having gone through various name changes including The Mystery Theatre, Mark Sabre, and Mark Sabre of the Death Squad.
