Return to Manderley this week on The Shiver Show, as we present the 1950 Lux Radio Theatre production of Rebecca—the only time Hollywood’s golden couple Vivien Leigh and Sir Laurence Olivier performed on radio together. Recorded before a live audience this broadcast brings Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 gothic masterpiece to life.

Olivier is prickly and brooding as Maxim. Leigh’s unnamed narrator is meek, sweet, and utterly alone in this haunting tale. Strong supporting turns from Betty Blythe as a chilling Mrs Danvers and John Dodson as Jack Favell keep the drama simmering. 

We talk about the real-life drama of Vivien Leigh’s health struggles, and the cracks forming in her marriage to Olivier. Their love—complicated as it was—still glows through this performance. We also explore the little known controversy surrounding the similarities between Rebecca and the earlier Brazilian novel, The Successor, by Carolina Nabuco.

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All aboard for a journey where chance, obsession, and murder share the same carriage. This week on The Shiver Show, we feature the Lux Radio Theater adaptation of Strangers on a Train (December 1951) — a chilling broadcast based on Patricia Highsmith’s acclaimed novel of the same name.

Just months earlier, Alfred Hitchcock’s 1951 film had dazzled audiences with its sleek black-and-white cinematography and psychological menace. The radio dramatization captures that same creeping dread through the power of voice, sound, and imagination.

Ray Milland stars as Guy Haines, a well-mannered tennis professional whose chance meeting with the unsettling Bruno Antony — played superbly by Frank Lovejoy — changes everything. With unnerving charm, Bruno proposes the unthinkable: a “murder swap” — his father for Guy’s unfaithful wife. No motive. No connection. No trace.

After the drama, Mary and Greg discuss the challenges of performing before a live audience, the stellar cast, and that master of suspense himself, Alfred Hitchcock. Strangers on a Train proves that stranger danger is real.

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Clutch your rosary and uncork your vial of holy water! This week on The Shiver Show, we unleash one of the creepiest episodes of the CBS Radio Mystery Theater: “Possessed by the Devil” (1974). Hosted by the unflappable E.G. Marshall, written by Ian Martin, and scored by horror maestro Hyman Brown, this is a delicious horror classic.

There must have been something in the air, because this cautionary tale of possession and damnation came one year after the release of, "The Exorcist" - a film that scared the pants off of anyone who watched it. 

In Possessed by the Devil, an injured man is wheeled into a hospital ward, and placed beside a dying patient - that’s when all hell breaks loose. Donald Buka stars as Mike, the man who falls under spell of Satan - or is it Beelzebub? Greg, our Shiver Show theologian, is still pondering this important question. 

Mary and Greg discuss the off-the-leash acting, whether the cat was feline or human, and how to make holy water. This is perfect Hallowe'en listening! Join us!

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This week on The Shiver Show, we bring you The Lonely Hearts Matter from the legendary detective series Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar.

Bob Bailey stars as Johnny Dollar, the cool-headed insurance investigator with the “action-packed expense account.” Johnny never shies away from danger—or a dame in distress.  A young woman hires Johnny Dollar to investigate the suspicious death of her recently remarried (and very insured) father. But would the new step-mother commit murder just to be the beneficiary to a $50,000 insurance policy?

Produced and directed by Jack Johnstone, this 1956 broadcast showcases Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar at the height of its Golden Age glory. Bailey’s performance remains the definitive portrayal of the wisecracking, world-weary gumshoe—equal parts charm, grit, and moral conviction. Backed by sharp writing and atmospheric sound design, this episode delivers everything you’d want in a classic radio noir: smoky voices, crackling suspense, and a touch of heartbreak.

Time Warp Studios has remastered the episode and removed all the advertisements, so that you get the Johnny Dollar story, and nothing but the story. So pour yourself a whiskey, dim the lights, and listen in as Johnny Dollar tallies up another billable adventure.

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Turn out the lights, lock the doors, and prick up your ears — this week on The Shiver Show, we’re hitting the open road with a woman who should have stayed home. Our featured presentation is “Terror by Night,” a spine-tingling installment from the legendary radio series Inner Sanctum Mysteries, first broadcast in 1945 and written by Amo Tepperman.

Anne Shepherd stars as Linda Dixon, a weary traveller heading into the mountains for a well-earned holiday. But when her car breaks down on a lonely road and the rain begins to fall, she learns of an escaped killer — Lee Hartley — on the loose.

Inner Sanctum was famous for its trademark creaking door, its tongue-in-cheek host, and its perfect balance of humour and horror. Terror by Night is a masterclass in atmosphere — produced by Hyman Brown, this chilling half-hour of radio suspense delivers the shivers.

Co-hosts Mary Labrie and Greg Flynn get under the hood of Terror by Night, exploring how its masterful sound design, voice performances, and classic horror tropes combine to create a perfect fright night. Find out what the patented Scream-o-Meter reading is for this episode eighty years on.

So buckle up, keep your headlights on, and don’t pick up any strangers — the night may be darker than you think.

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First Contact — Dimension X (1951)

Before Star Trek imagined the Prime Directive, Murray Leinster dreamed up a story about the most dangerous meeting in the universe — the first contact between two intelligent species. His 1945 novelette, later honored with a Retro Hugo in 1996, introduced the idea of a universal translator — decades before science fiction made it standard issue.

In this Dimension X adaptation by Howard Rodman, two ships — one human, one alien — encounter each other in deep space. Neither can turn back without risking the safety of its home world, and neither can advance without trust. Should they trade, communicate… or destroy each other? As tensions rise, the Earthlings grapple with curiosity, fear, protocol, and the thin line between self-defense and a senseless preemptive strike.

Co-host Greg and Mary talk about the thought-provoking themes in First Contact, and contrast the radio drama with the novella. What do you think happens at the end of this enigmatic sci-fi thriller? 

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This week on The Shiver Show, we take you to the world of insurance fraud, shady dealings, and one very slippery string of pearls with The Kranesburg Matter, a classic tale from Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar. First broadcast in 1949, this episode features the inimitable Bob Bailey in his signature role as “the man with the action-packed expense account.”

Johnny Dollar, hardboiled but never humorless, is sent to investigate a stolen pearl necklace that carries a hefty insurance claim. What looks like a simple case of theft quickly twists into something darker and more devious. At the center of it all are a rogues’ gallery of characters: the sly Smiley Pro, the calculating Finneus Krane, and the enigmatic Melba Krane. Each one has something to hide, and Johnny has to decide who’s telling the truth and who’s just stringing him along.

Greg and Mary talk about the witty and crisp writing of Les Crutchfield that made Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar such a standout in the field of old time radio dramas.  Add to this some terrific foley work—footsteps, smokey bars, doors slamming, phones ringing—and a moody music score, and you’ve got a perfect slice of vintage crime noir. 

While The Kranesburg Matter was originally broadcast in six, fifteen-minute episodes, we have remastered the series and brought it to you in two parts. So make sure you join us next week for the second part of The Kranesburg Matter. Now sit back, curl up and listen as we bring you this gripping case of missing pearls, crooked suspects, and a tough insurance investigator who never quits. 

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This week on The Shiver Show, we bring you the second part and the finale of The Kranesburg Matter, from the series Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (1949).  

Johnny Dollar, is still on the case of the stolen pink pearl necklace with a hefty insurance claim. With dubious characters, double-crosses and maybe even triple- crosses, The Kranesburg Matter is a satisfying noir crime thriller. 

Join us and find out "who done it" and why.  

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This week The Shiver Show brings you The Killers, a 1949 episode from NBC Theatre / Screen Directors’ Playhouse.

Based on a short story by Ernest Hemingway, and directed for radio by Robert Siodmak, this production features Burt Lancaster reprising his film role, Shelley Winters as femme fatale, Kitty, and William Conrad as crime boss, Jim Colefax. 

Tense and raw with moral ambiguity, The Killers tells the story of two hit men sent to execute a prizefighter known as “the Swede” who chooses not to run—and the consequences of that choice. With Hemingway's economical style and Siodmak’s direction, The Killers is a stark, noir drama.

So put on your snap-brim fedora, pour yourself a whiskey, and let The Shiver Show take you down a long, dark alley with The Killers. 

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This week on The Shiver Show, we tune to Drive-In, a standout 1946 episode from the Suspense series.

In this taut drama, the legendary Judy Garland steps away from her familiar world of musicals and light romcoms to deliver a rare and powerful dramatic performance. She plays a young waitress closing up a Southern California drive-in restaurant for the night—just one more customer to serve before she can head home. But when that final order is placed, it becomes clear that this is no ordinary customer.

That sinister patron is brought to life by Elliott Lewis, a gifted performer who goes on to become one of the most influential figures in radio as an actor, producer, director, and writer. Lewis lends his voice a chilling calm, perfectly balancing Garland’s vulnerability and tension. 

After you listen to the remastered recording of Drive-in, stick around and hear Mary and Greg talk about Drive-In's tight pacing, excellent sound effects, and Judy Garland's masterful voice acting. Nearly eighty years on, Drive-in still grips the listener. 

So dim the lights, settle in, and join us as we bring you Judy Garland in Suspense’s unforgettable Drive-In on The Shiver Show.

Thank you for listening! If you like the show, please share us with your friends and family AND give us a review! If you have a suggestion for a show or a question, please drop it in the comments!

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