Radio Mystery Theatre

Cafe Society
1

It’s sometime in the mid-1970s. School’s out, and my dad and I have visited his parents in Southern Oregon. We’re on our way home. The night is dark. The 5 is long and straight through California’s central valley. I’m too young to drive, so I’m enduring the boring trip. Then, turning the knob on the radio, I found E.G. Marshall’s Radio Mystery Theatre. The play is The White Wolf, about a werewolf lurking in the Hartz Mountains. I was hooked. I don’t remember how often I listened, but I do remember lying awake in bed on school nights listening to the trademark squeaking door…

One thing led to another tonight, surfing from here to there on the Internet, and I thought of the show. Poking around a little more I found this site. There were nearly 1,400 episodes of CBS Radio Mystery Theatre. Old Time Radio Fans has 55 of them. Sadly, The White Wolf isn’t among them. But I’ve still downloaded what they have. They’re on my iPod, so I can listen to them as I drive to work on dark mornings.

I only remember three of the tales: The White Wolf, as I’ve mentioned; a story about a man who fell asleep while driving; and There’s No Business Like. I’m listening to There’s No Business Like now. It’s about a guy who is a machinist for a scientist who builds a time machine. It’s a bumpy ride into the future, and the scientist hits his head and is killed. The machinist awakes in a strange, seemingly totalitarian society, where he is charged with murder. Actually, murder is the least of his crimes. He’s also charged with making an unlicensed entertainment (the time machine) and with possessing false papers (his driver’s license and Social Security card). He’s sentenced to 15 years… in Show Biz. See, the actors aren’t actors as such; they’re convicted criminals. And a hundred years in the future special effects aren’t so special. They’re real. If you die in Show Business, you really die in Show Business!

I remember that some of the stories were a bit lame. But I also remember liking a lot of them. Just thought I’d share.

2

I heard a few back then growing up. Yeah, compared to the Golden Age of Radio they don’t hold up as well, but they did spark an interest which led me to seeking out the best of OTR.

Great hobby, great stories for the imagination.

Sir Rhosis

3

Flash Gordon! Terry and the Pirates! The Saint! The Adventures of Phillip Marlowe!
Much of my annoyance with you has ceased, Johnny.
:slight_smile:

4

I was a kid during the 70s, and I remember listening to both the Radio Mystery Theater and to the less-scary, shorter-lived, for-kids Radio Adventure Theater (hosted by Tom Bosley).

Recently I’ve listened to some of those old Radio Mystery Theater shows, as well as numerous older shows from the 30s, 40s, and 50s that it was patterned after. (Many of these are available for download from various places on the Web, and there are also several people selling (fairly cheaply) CDs or DVDs full of MP3 files of such shows, on their own websites or on ebay.)

I’ve come to believe that the 45-minutes-plus-commercial-breaks format of the CBS Mystery Theater is too slow-moving, and that the half-hour that most older shows lasted works better, making for a tighter, more effective story.

There are numerous websites where you can read more about old-style radio drama. If you like Sci-Fi, I particularly recommend The Plot Spot, which has a page devoted to the CBS Mystery Theater.

5

Check iTunes as bunches of old radio shows are now available as free podcasts.

6

Thanks for that link!

7

There’s also a lot of stuff here: Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free & Borrowable Books, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine

8

Check your private messages! I may be able to help you out with this.