The Good Old Days of Radio Show

Today we are bringing you a new find; a “lost” episode of Duffy's Tavern from November 23, 1945. This is the Armed Forces Radio Service version. That means, because the Armed Forces did not allow advertising on their stations, the commercials were edited out and music filler put in to round the program out to a half-hour. Because of the difference in network and government practices, many missing radio shows only survive thanks to the work of AFRS. In this “lost” episode, Duffy’s is struggling, leading Archie (Ed Gardner) to concoct a contest in which patrons must write why they like eating at the tavern, with a $5 prize for the winner. The episode features characters such as Eddie (Eddie Green), Miss Duffy (Sandra Gould), Officer Clancy (Arthur Q. Bryan), and Finnegan (Charlie Cantor).

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We are heading toward the end of our current series dedicated to radio dramas of adventure. Despite its rather non-descript title, today's story is a race against time to locate a bomb planted aboard a train carrying a defecting nuclear scientist. It stars voice over legend William Conrad, and is from near the end of the series, Escape. Regardless of severely reduced budgets on radio in 1953, as all the money was moving to television, this is a high-caliber production that once again showed the amazing innovative work being done on radio at that time.

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Today in our on-going series of new transfers, we did a February 6, 1947 episode of the Abbott and Costello show sponsored by Camel cigarettes. This episode can be found in collector circles, but this new digital transfer, despite surface noise, should prove valuable. The episode includes their signature fast-paced comedic style and their classic "dying" at a dry cleaning plant.

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Our series of adventure shows turns from the series Escape today to look at its big brother series, Suspense. Suspense rarely did straight up adventure stories, but this 1948 radio broadcast of "Hitch-Hike Poker" featuring Gregory Peck as an ex-GI hitchhiker, in a wild tale that begins innocently enough playing license plate poker with a seemingly charming travelling companion. But soon, things go off-the-rails, as sinister plots emerge.

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Today's episode features a new transfer we did of a missing September 2, 1945 episode of The Charlie McCarthy Show, starring ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his dummy Charlie McCarthy. The episode includes guest appearances by Carmen Miranda and Keenan Wynn, and features a humorous skit about the then-novelty of television.

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Today's adventure is "Seven Hours to Freedom," another production from the 1950s adventure series Escape. This is a story of fishermen and escaped convicts who hijack their boat. The attention to detail is remarkable here, especially the sequence of fish flopping on the deck, and shows just how far producer Norman Macdonnell was pushing technical innovation in audio drama. That, and excellent performances, make this show a great listen today.

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Today we are featuring a 1944 radio episode from, "It Pays To Be Ignorant," showcasing a vaudeville-style comedy act. The show consists of a series of absurd jokes and puns, interspersed with goofy musical interludes, and features a panel of intentionally inept contestants answering ridiculous questions. The episode is presented in its original, unrestored form, offering listeners a glimpse into a wild and zany past.

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Today we continue 10 More Great Adventure Stories, and we are pulling back from adventure realism to a fanciful pulp adventure from 1949, "Seeds of Greed," from the Escape series. The story follows Kenneth Brown, a man who partners with a ruthless killer/fortune hunter to locate a sunken treasure.

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Today we’re featuring a rare, unrestored recording of a 1945 radio show, "The FreshUp Show," starring Bert Wheeler of the comedy duo Wheeler & Woolsey. This is a mix between a 1940s sitcom and a standup vaudeville style comedy, with a loose plot revolving around Wheeler's attempts to avoid marrying his boss's daughter by getting himself arrested.

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Today we’re featuring a 1938 Mercury Theatre on the Air adaptation of Commander Edward Ellsberg's “Hell on Ice.” The play, a dramatic retelling of the disastrous 1879-1881 Jeannette Arctic expedition, recounts the realistic experiences of the crew, including their entrapment in ice, dwindling supplies, and eventual fate. This is a great example of Orson Welles's early work as a director and features a cast of notable Mercury actors.

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