Opening Night

Billy Crocker, a young man out of work, meets Reno Sweeney, a nightclub entertainer, on the dock as she sails for England. Billy has just spent six hours in an elevator with a girl named Hope Smith and has been searching for her ever since. Aboard ship, Billy sneaks onto the liner without a ticket or passport, and a mistaken identity puts him at odds with the captain and the crew. Hope is engaged to a Sir Evelyn Oakley, and Billy hopes to change her mind. The episode is a musical comedy of the Railroad Hour series, aired October 11, 1948, starring Gordon MacRae, Margaret Whiting and Victor Moore.

With Billy Crocker, Reno Sweeney, Hope Smith, Moon Face McGee, Sir Evelyn Oakley, E.J. Kippney.

Listen for: The songs "I Get a Kick Out of You" and "Anything Goes", sung by Gordon MacRae and Margaret Whiting.

First aired on October 11, 1948.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. Two new episodes a week: Railroad Hour on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Tommy Marlow, Tate College's star football player, learns that he has failed his astronomy exam just before a big game against Colton. Pat Bingham, his fiancée, is upset, and her cousin Connie Lane is asked to tutor him. Connie and Tommy study together behind the chemistry laboratory, and their evening together leads to unexpected feelings between them. Tommy's roommate Bobby Randall and Pat's concerns about their own relationships add to the tangle as the big game approaches. This episode of the Railroad Hour presents a musical adaptation of the Broadway musical Good News, with Gordon MacRae, Dinah Shore and Jane Powell in the leading roles.

With Tommy Marlow, Connie Lane, Pat Bingham, Bobby Randall, Bebo Day, Professor Kenyon, Coach Johnson, Beef.

Listen for: The musical numbers 'The Varsity Drag' and 'Good News', and the scene where Tommy and Connie study the stars

First aired on October 4, 1948.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. Two new episodes a week: Railroad Hour on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Dan McGinty, a down-on-his-luck tramp, is recruited by a political boss to vote several times in a city election and then to collect protection money for him. His rise in the crooked machine takes him to alderman and then to a campaign for reform mayor, where a hasty marriage to his secretary Catherine complicates his public image. Brian Donlevy stars in this Academy Award Theater adaptation of The Great McGinty, first broadcast on April 20, 1946, on CBS. The story follows McGinty as political favors and private deals pull him further into a life he never planned for.

With Dan McGinty, Louie, Thompson, Brannigan, Katherine, Maxwell, Catherine.

Listen for: Dan McGinty's rise from a vagrant voting for a machine boss to a politician with a new suit and an offer of the mayoralty.

First aired on April 20, 1946.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: Academy Award Theater on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Julie Carey and her husband Roger face a painful split after years of marriage, shaped by the loss of a child and the struggles of their early life together. Julie reflects on their history through a collection of records, recalling how they met in New York, moved to Westchester and later adopted a little girl named Trina. The adaptation is presented on the Hallmark Playhouse, a radio series, in an episode first broadcast on July 1, 1948. Hosted by novelist James Hilton, the story is taken from Martha Gellhorn's novel and presented as a dramatization.

With Julie Carey, Roger Carey, Trina, Philip Carey, Applejack Jones, Miss Oliver.

Listen for: Julie's memories set to the records she plays, and the couple's conversation about whether their marriage can be saved

First aired on July 1, 1948.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: Hallmark Playhouse on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Basil Rathbone plays both Murdoch Glowery, a ghost bound to haunt Glowery Castle until he is forgiven, and his living descendant Donald Glowery. Peggy Martin, an American visitor, arrives to look at the castle her father wants to buy, and she is drawn to the young laird. Donald is struggling with debts, and his household servants fear the ghost that walks the halls at midnight. The guide's first portion ends with the castle being prepared for sale and a plan to move it across the Atlantic. The series is Screen Guild Theater, first broadcast on 21 August 1944, and the cast is Basil Rathbone, Marcia Hunt, Eugene Palette and Charles Irwin.

With Murdoch Glowery, Donald Glowery, Peggy Martin, Joe Martin, Mrs. Martin, Mr. Glowery, MacNiff, Ed Biglow.

Listen for: Murdoch's ghostly voice calling from limbo, and the midnight arrival of Peggy Martin at the castle

First aired on August 21, 1944.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. Two new episodes a week: Screen Guild Theater on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Radio reporter Larry Lawrence, a self-proclaimed crime buster, is hired by Mary Carter to look into an inherited island castle off Cuba that is said to be haunted. Warned by a threatening telegram, Larry agrees to travel with Mary, and the two make their way across the water to Black Island. This episode of Screen Directors Playhouse is a 1949 radio adaptation of the Bob Hope film, first broadcast on April 3, 1949, with Bob Hope in his original role as Larry Lawrence and Shirley Mitchell as Mary Carter.

With Larry Lawrence, Mary Carter, Miss Coggs, Raspy Kelly, Frenchy Duval, Senor Parada, Jeff Montgomery.

Listen for: Larry's bravado contrasted with his fear, the organ music and the marching-men clue inside the castle, and the rapid comic exchanges between Larry and Mary

First aired on April 3, 1949.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: Screen Directors Playhouse on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Scott Henderson, an engineer in New York, spends a sultry August evening with a stranger he meets at a bar after his friend Jack Marlow leaves for Brazil. The woman wears an unusual hat and accompanies him to a theater. When he returns home, he finds his wife Marcella murdered, and the police arrest him. He insists he was with a woman all evening, but no bartender, cab driver or theater employee remembers her. His secretary Carol Richmond, who believes in his innocence, begins searching for the woman. Radio drama starring Brian Aherne, Ella Raines and Alan Curtis, from the Lux Radio Theatre, broadcast March 27, 1944.

With Scott Henderson, Jack Marlow, Carol Richmond, Marcella, Inspector Burgess, Miss Montero, Mike Falano, Mack.

Listen for: The witnesses' blank memories of the mysterious woman in the funny hat, and Carol's first steps in the search for her.

First aired on March 27, 1944.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every day: Lux Radio Theatre on Stupid Potato, live around the clock.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

An American gambler known as Harry Lime arrives in a Central American capital during a revolution and is drawn into a plot involving a missing million dollars and a revolutionary leader known as El Zorro. Lime is pressed by a menacing man named Jose to find a fugitive named Pietro, and he sets about tracking him down through the city's bars and cafes. The episode is part of the series The Lives of Harry Lime, based on the character from the film The Third Man, and features Orson Welles in the title role. Its original air date was 1951-11-16.

With Harry Lime, Jose, Consuelo, Pietro, El Zorro, General Valdez.

Listen for: Harry Lime's wary exchanges with Jose and the revolutionary leaders, and his pursuit of the man called Pietro

First aired on November 16, 1951.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: The Lives of Harry Lime on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Dr. Martin Arrowsmith, a young medical man, is honored by the Nobel Prize Committee and recalls how his career began. As a medical freshman he is drawn to research under the demanding bacteriologist Dr. Gottlieb, who sees promise in him. Martin later meets Leora Tozer, a probationer nurse, and the two marry. The episode presents Arrowsmith as part of the Campbell Playhouse, a series hosted by Orson Welles, and stars Helen Hayes, who plays the same role she created in the 1931 film. The broadcast is dated February 3, 1939.

With Martin Arrowsmith, Dr. Gottlieb, Leora Tozer, Dr. Swenson, Bert Tozer.

Listen for: Martin's first meeting with Dr. Gottlieb in the chemistry laboratory, and his first encounter with Leora at Zenith Hospital

First aired on February 3, 1939.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: The Campbell Playhouse on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Lamont Cranston, who is also the crime fighter called the Shadow, watches a murder trial in which Senator Durham is accused of taking a $50,000 bribe from the late Mario Renaldi. The prosecution shows a sound film of a meeting between the two men, but Lamont believes the film's soundtrack does not match the senator's lips. Lamont, in the company of Margot Lane, goes to see the lawyer Anthony Vogel, who arranged the filming. Vogel's henchman Travis and the shadow's presence in the room add to the danger as the case against the senator is challenged. This Mercury Theatre on the Air adaptation of The Shadow was first broadcast on February 6, 1938.

With Lamont Cranston, The Shadow, Margot Lane, Senator Durham, Mario Renaldi, Anthony Vogel, Wilson, Travis.

Listen for: The soundtrack of the motion picture shown in court and what Lamont says about the senator's lips.

First aired on February 6, 1938.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. Two new episodes a week: Orson Welles on the Air on Stupid Potato, live around the clock.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.