Opening Night

Helen and Steve Ethelville, newlyweds, travel by train from Chicago to Northridge, where Steve's obsession with railroads takes up much of their time. Steve is a devoted model railway enthusiast, and Helen finds herself drawn into his world of timetables, locomotives and the local model railway club. Their marriage is tested as Steve's hobby increasingly crowds out time with his wife, and Helen begins to feel neglected. The story is told in the Hallmark Playhouse episode Mrs. Union Station, first broadcast on June 17, 1948, adapted from a magazine story by Douglas Welch and introduced by novelist James Hilton.

With Helen Ethelville, Steve Ethelville, Harry Johnson, Tommy Dumouille.

Listen for: Steve's enthusiasm for railroads and Helen's growing frustration with his hobby

First aired on June 17, 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.

Nick Charles, a retired private detective, is approached at a Christmas Eve gathering in New York by Dorothy Winant, whose inventor father Clyde Winant has vanished without a word. Her worry draws Nick into a search, and the trail quickly grows darker when Julia Wolf, Winant's secretary, is found dead. This Lux Radio Theatre presentation adapts the story of The Thin Man, a film version directed by W. S. Van Dyke, and stars William Powell as Nick and Myrna Loy as his wife Nora. The episode was broadcast from Hollywood on June 8, 1936, and the cast includes Minna Gombell and Porter Hall. Nick and Nora move between the nightclub, the Winant household and Julia Wolf's apartment as the evidence grows more tangled.

With Nick Charles, Nora Charles, Dorothy Winant, Clyde Winant, Julia Wolf, Herbert McCauley, Joe Morelli, Mimi Wyman.

Listen for: Nick's wry banter with Nora and the growing questions about Julia Wolf's death

First aired on June 8, 1936.

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.

Alice Brown, engaged to the English manor-house owner Richard Devon, reveals in a late-night talk that she once fell for a bandleader named Jerry Gale, the so-called rhythm Romeo. Alice's fiancé, Dick, is unsettled by the news, and the two men eventually meet in New York. Jerry, a broadcaster and orchestra leader, has an overbearing manager named Lester who manages his public image. This is a musical comedy from the Screen Guild Theater, first broadcast on January 15, 1939, with Loretta Young, Herbert Marshall, and Fred Astaire featured in the cast. The opening act sets up the romantic tangle between the three characters.

With Alice Brown, Richard Devon, Jerry Gale, Lester.

Listen for: Jerry Gale's harmonica and the song 'This Can't Be Love' sung in the Skyroom

First aired on January 15, 1939.

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.

Advertising executive Duke Crawford is worn down by the demands of his most important client, cosmetics heiress Michelle Bennett, who keeps changing her mind about his campaign. Pressed by his employer, Marty, to take a rest, Duke reads a book called Let's Live a Little by neurologist Dr. Joe Lorring and visits her office. Lorring treats his frazzled nerves, and their sessions turn into a series of comic misunderstandings. This episode of Screen Director's Guild Presents, part of the NBC Theater, presents the film's story with Robert Cummings in the lead role of Duke Crawford.

With Duke Crawford, Michelle Bennett, Dr. Joe Lorring, Marty, Miss Adams, Dr. Field, Phil.

Listen for: Duke's escalating nerves and his mistaken belief that Dr. Lorring is a man

First aired on January 16, 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.

Hallmark Playhouse presents Stephen Vincent Benet's The Devil and Daniel Webster, broadcast on June 10, 1948. A struggling New Hampshire farmer, J.B. Stone, is plagued by bad luck until a dark-dressed stranger called Scratch offers him seven years of prosperity in exchange for his soul. When the seven years end and Scratch comes to collect, Stone turns to the famous lawyer Daniel Webster for help, and Webster agrees to argue his case before a jury of notorious figures from American history. John Nighty Dyer plays Webster and Alan Reid plays Scratch.

With J.B. Stone, Jane, Scratch, Daniel Webster.

Listen for: Webster's courtroom speech to the jury, in which he appeals to their shared American heritage.

First aired on June 10, 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.

Legionnaire Tom Brown is a private in the foreign legion stationed at Algiers, where a cabaret singer named Amy Jolie has arrived from Europe. Amy takes a job at the Cafe Marigot, and Tom becomes drawn to her, drawing the anger of his superior, Adjutant Caesar, who has his own interest in her. Lux Radio Theatre presents the romantic melodrama The Legionnaire and the Lady, broadcast on June 1, 1936, from Hollywood, starring Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable. Caesar presses charges against Tom for insubordination, and Tom is placed under arrest. Tom suspects that Caesar is planning to have him killed in the desert.

With Tom Brown, Amy Jolie, Adjutant Caesar, Stuart, Monsieur Lebessier, Blimey, Manuel, Sergeant.

Listen for: Tom's warning from Caesar's threat and his suspicion that he will be shot in the desert

First aired on June 1, 1936.

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.

Master of ceremonies George Murphy opens the first Gulf Screen Guild Theater show, aired January 8, 1939, with Judy Garland, Reginald Gardiner, Oscar Bradley and Jack Benny among the performers. Garland sings and then asks Murphy to introduce her to Joan Crawford, who has not yet arrived. Gardiner, his arm in a sling, tells a rambling story about frightened locomotives. Benny arrives under police escort and meets Crawford, and the two trade jokes and banter about Hollywood careers and romance. Murphy, the company president and a Gulf executive introduce the segments and the sponsorship, and the program's proceeds for the Motion Picture Relief Fund are mentioned.

With George Murphy, Judy Garland, Reginald Gardiner, Joan Crawford, Jack Benny, Oscar Bradley, Ralph Morgan, Colonel Jay Frank Drake.

Listen for: Judy Garland's operatic performance and her sudden shift to jitterbug-style singing, and the exchange between Jack Benny and Joan Crawford about sex appeal and the screen.

First aired on January 8, 1939.

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.

In 1885, a stagecoach carries a mixed group of passengers from Tonto toward Lordsburg through Apache country, as the warlike Geronimo's warriors are reported raiding ranches ahead. Among them are the Ringo Kid, a prisoner under arrest for murder, Dallas, a woman others have shunned, Doc Boone, a drunken doctor, and Mrs. Mallory, who is heavily pregnant and travelling to join her husband. The sheriff rides shotgun beside the driver, Buck, as the coach presses on despite the danger, and the passengers begin to know one another over the journey. This is the Screen Directors Guild adaptation of the film Stagecoach, presented on the NBC Theater with stars John Wayne, Claire Trevor and Ward Bond, first broadcast on January 9, 1949.

With Ringo Kid, Dallas, Doc Boone, Mrs. Mallory, Curly, Buck, Hatfield.

Listen for: Listen for the passengers' debate over whether to continue through Apache country, and the Apache smoke signals seen on the ridge.

First aired on January 9, 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.

Dulcy Smith, a well-meaning but scatterbrained wife, invites a houseful of weekend guests to help her husband Gordon's business career. Her plan is to win over the powerful businessman Charles Forbes, whose share in a jewelry combine Gordon needs. Dulcy also invites a moving picture writer, Vincent Leach, hoping he will romance Forbes's daughter Angela, while a wealthy stranger, Schuyler Van Dyke, arrives unexpectedly. Dulcy's eager matchmaking and schemes begin to tangle as the weekend unfolds. This Lux Radio Theatre production stars Zasu Pitts and Jean Lockhart, and the play is adapted from George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly's Broadway comedy. The broadcast aired on October 28, 1935.

With Dulcy Smith, Gordon Smith, Willie, Charles Forbes, Mrs. Forbes, Angela Forbes, Schuyler Van Dyke, Vincent Leach.

Listen for: Dulcy's increasingly disastrous attempts to help Gordon's business and to match Angela with Vincent Leach

First aired on October 28, 1935.

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.

Harry Lime returns to New York after hearing that an old enemy, Governor James Hadley, is in trouble. Hadley, who is up for re-election, has been blackmailed with compromising photographs by a crime boss named Kato. Hadley hires Lime to recover the negatives, and Lime, sensing a chance to profit, agrees and makes contact with Kato. The episode follows Lime's dealings with Hadley's secretary, Nora Payton, and with Kato's associates as the bargaining grows tense. The episode is one of the fictional adventures of Harry Lime from the series The Lives of Harry Lime, first broadcast on August 17, 1951.

With Harry Lime, Governor James Hadley, Nora Payton, Kato, Troubis.

Listen for: Lime's negotiations with Kato and Hadley and the tense exchange at the governor's office

First aired on August 17, 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.