The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

This month marks 100 years since the birth of actor/writer/director/ producer Antony Ellis! Our listener Mark suggested we celebrate Ellis’ remarkable career and we have chosen an episode of Escape to do just that! The Abominable Snowman was written and directed by Ellis and it tells the tale of a hunting expedition in the Himalayas […]

Our thanks to Mark for sending us to the Listener Library this week for a special treat, “The Case of the Flaming Skull,” an episode of The Shadow that was rebroadcast as part of Mystery Playhouse. It’s a treat because we get Peter Lorre serving as host to the Shadow! In this particular episode, our […]

There’s been a murder and we’re joining San Francisco P.I. Candy Matson to find the solution to “The Cable Car Case!” When a shopping trip puts Candy on the same cable car as a murder victim, our sharp-witted heroine sees a chance to earn a few bucks if she can solve the crime before the […]

This week is the second of two episodes in which we check out the beginning of Suspense and its end! “Devilstone” was the last episode of the classic series to be broadcast and it features the tale of a haunted Irish manor that has a peculiar effect on the dead. What secret drove the previous […]

We keep surpassing Patreon goals! This week, we are cerebrating with episodes featuring the beginning and end of Suspense! For the first part, we listen to the (sort-of) audition episode presented as part of the Forecast series in July of 1940. Alfred Hitchcock (sort of, not really) presented this adaptation of the short story and […]

We have passed another Patreon goal and to celebrate we are exploring strange new territory: classic radio comedies! This week we listen to three different comedic takes on our usual suspense and horror diet. First, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis get the creeps with Peter Lorre! Then Stan Freberg parodies a beloved crime drama! And […]

It’s time to look back over the last year and choose which of the episodes we listened to stood above the rest and which sank to the bottom! Based on listener polls, the learned opinions of esteemed special guests, and our own unfocused rambling, one episode shall be declared champion and another shall be declared […]

Pardon our delay! Apparently we were a little slow getting back from the Listener Library where we found “The Dark Wall,” from Escape, recommended to us by Sarah. Thanks, Sarah! This story, written by Kathleen Hite, tells the story of a man traveling through Andora with his wife. She starts to behave strangely, her love […]

We are still celebrating the new year by listening to “Rain on New Year’s Eve,” an episode of Quiet, Please that was probably inspired by Wyllis Cooper’s time spent working on Son of Frankenstein! The story features a beleaguered screenwriter who is trapped in a seemingly endless film production. Can anything convince this director to […]

Happy holidays, everyone! Please join us as we celebrate with Campbell Playhouse’s 1939 version of A Christmas Carol featuring Orson Welles and Lionel Barrymore. This treasured annual tradition tells the story of Ebeneezer Scrooge, whose miserly ways summon three spirits to teach him the true meaning of Christmas. Was Barrymore’s performance the definitive Scrooge? Is […]