The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

We’re checking out a new-to-us series this week, The Eleventh Hour for an episode entitled “The Tomb!” Robbers take a hostage to help them break into a jewelry shop’s safe, but lives are on the line when the plan takes a turn for the worse! Will their hostage survive? Will the heist ultimately succeed? Is there anything that will make Joshua truly happy? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we pay our first visit to The Adventures of Sam Spade for an episode entitled “The Mad Scientist Caper”! The story features Dashiell Hammett’s famous detective working for an inventor who believes that that the secrets of one of his creations have been stolen. But the inventor himself may be a bit unhinged! Who exactly is a murderer and who is a madman? Will Spade end up in a mental institution? What elaborate selection process did Eric use to bring this episode? Listen for yourself and find out!

As we head into August, we’re listening to the Suspense adaptation of W.F. Harvey’s story, “August Heat”! Ronald Colman stars as an illustrator who inexplicably starts drawing a man on trial. It’s a man the artist has never seen before. Caught up in a strange sense of foreboding, the artist wanders out into the oppressive heat to discover the bizarre fate that awaits him. What is the meaning of this drawing? What madness does this summer heat inspire? What hilarious TikTok content are we considering? Listen for yourself and find out!

Special guest Shanan Custer joined us at the Bryant-Lake Bowl for this live recording of the MORLS as we listened to “The Edge of the Shadow” from Dark Fantasy! The story features a farmer investigating a strange cut on his cow’s leg, which of course leads to a romantic betrayal, strange omens of the future, and an exciting eye rinse. What is the secret behind this bovine injury? Can this farmer avert inevitable disaster? Can Scott Bishop? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we’re paying a visit to the Hermit’s Cave to listen to “The Search for Life”! A scientific breakthrough has enabled a doctor to extend human life, but he may also be able to raise the dead! His colleague hopes to step away from the work, as a way to show his devotion to the woman he loves. But what does he really intend to do? What will be the ultimate result of reviving the dead? What would Mark McKinney do? Listen for yourself and find out!

Your hosts are taking the weekend off to celebrate July 4th, but we do have a treat for you! We’ve been performing live radio shows on stage at Crooners Supper Club for a while now, and here’s two examples of our work, starring Shanan Custer, Joshua English Scrimshaw, Tim Uren, and Eric Webster ! First, we present “The Cabin” a classic episode from the series, Gunsmoke! Our second performance is “The Silence of Death” from the MORLS original series, Mr. & Mrs. Nighthawk! Our supporters on Patreon have access to all the shows we’ve recorded over the years, and you can become a supporter too at patreon.com/themorls!

Suspense began its run with an adaptation of John Dickson Carr’s novel, “The Burning Court” and this week, we’re tuning in to give it a listen! A man discovers an image of a notorious 17th century poisoner who looks like exactly like his wife. And as fate would have it, his friend’s uncle has just been killed by poison! Is his wife somehow the same woman as he saw in the illustration? Can the amateur detective Cross deduce some less phantasmal explanation for the crime? Do all comedians want to be blaggards? Listen for yourself and find out!

All aboard for this adaptation of an Arthur Conan Doyle mystery that does not feature Sherlock Holmes! “The Lost Special” from Escape depicts the mysterious disappearance of a train that has Scotland Yard utterly baffled. But once they eliminate what is impossible, they begin to see how the crime could have been committed! What happened to the train? How was the apparently miraculous disappearance achieved? Did the Cub Scouts help defeat the French at the Battle of Agincourt? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week, we’re taking our place once again in the Weird Circle! This episode, “The Old Nurse’s Story” features an adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell’s short story of the same name. In this tale, a daughter’s ill-conceived marriage drives a wedge between her and her father, leading to a bitter grudge and a promise of revenge. What death will lead to a second oath? Will this family ever be reconciled? How hard would it be to use child actors borrowed from a Victorian orphanage? Listen for yourself and find out!

Special guest Laura Zabel joins us for this week’s episode recorded in front of a live audience at the Bryant-Lake Bowl! We’re listening to “A Thing of Beauty” from Suspense! Angela Lansbury stars as a reclusive woman recounting the days of her youth to two clergymen. She tells them of her time as a renowned actress and the accusation of murder that led to her marriage. What happened to take her from a life on the stage to her current reclusive state? Who did kill her rival? How can you tell if you’re less popular than your spouse? Listen for yourself and find out!