The Shadow | Old Time Radio

The Shadow presents “Bubbling Death,” originally broadcast December 5, 1943. This surviving installment comes from the Mutual Broadcasting System’s 1943–44 Blue Coal season and stars Bret Morrison as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow, with Marjorie Anderson as Margo Lane.

At the LeGrand family’s ancestral estate, a history of violent deaths and talk of a family curse cast a sinister pall over the household. As ominous signs—including a conspicuous bubbling cauldron—heighten the fear, Lamont and Margo investigate the human truth behind the seemingly supernatural terror. Written by Eric Arthur.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced...

The Shadow presents “The Isle of the Living Dead,” originally broadcast October 13, 1940. In this 197th episode of the Mutual Broadcasting System series, sponsored by Blue Coal, Bill Johnstone stars as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow, with Marjorie Anderson as Margo Lane. The script was written by Jerry Devine.

When Betty Fulton asks for help finding her missing fiancé, Lamont and Margo travel through a storm to the tropical island of St. Jude. Tales of zombies and the forbidding hilltop plantation of Mrs. Nesbitt lead the Shadow into a dangerous mystery where island folklore may conceal a very human threat.
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The Shadow presents “Appointment with Death,” originally broadcast on March 12, 1939, as episode 163 of the Mutual Broadcasting System series. This Blue Coal-sponsored installment stars Bill Johnstone as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow and Agnes Moorehead as Margot Lane.

Fresh from prison, Blacky Carmichael launches a criminal campaign meant to lure The Shadow into a deadly confrontation at an isolated island on White Lake. As Lamont Cranston and Margot Lane investigate, the unseen crime-fighter faces a trap designed to expose even an invisible adversary.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing anno...

The Shadow presents “Death Stalks the Shadow,” originally broadcast on the Mutual Broadcasting System on October 9, 1938. This is episode 55, season 2, episode 3, starring Bill Johnstone as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow and Agnes Moorehead as Margot Lane.

On the eve of a condemned man’s execution, Lamont Cranston discovers the prisoner may hold vital information about a dangerous criminal operation. Following the trail to a prominent attorney, The Shadow and Margot face a sinister new threat: photoelectric security technology that can turn invisibility into a deadly disadvantage.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introd...

The Shadow presents “Death Prowls at Night,” originally broadcast on Mutual on March 23, 1941. Episode 220 of the Blue Coal-sponsored series stars Bill Johnstone as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow and Marjorie Anderson as Margot Lane.

On a ski holiday in wooded mountain country, Lamont and Margot find themselves drawn into reports of a great wolf stalking the night. Their search leads toward an isolated sanatorium, an enigmatic doctor, and a growing sense that something sinister may be controlling the fear. Jerry Devine wrote this horror-tinged adventure, adapted from the Shadow novels by Walter B. Gibson.

The Shadow presents the...

The Shadow presents “Cold Death,” originally broadcast on December 19, 1937. This Christmas-season episode is identified as script no. 13 and is also cataloged as episode #099. Orson Welles stars as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow, with Agnes Moorehead as Margo Lane, in this Mutual Broadcasting System broadcast sponsored by Blue Coal.

Shortly before Christmas, Cranston investigates Carverville, a mill town ruled by its powerful owner, Daniel Carver. With reporters shut out and workers facing bitter cold, poverty, and unsafe homes, the Shadow confronts a grim situation with a distinctly Dickensian moral atmosphere.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newl...

From The Shadow: “The House That Death Built,” originally broadcast January 25, 1948. Common old-time-radio logs list it as episode 432, though some guides use alternate overall numbering. This archival presentation features Bret Morrison as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow and Grace Matthews as Margot Lane; the story was written by Alfred Bester.

When a blizzard strands Lamont and Margot at an isolated, grotesque old mansion, they find a group of uneasy strangers and a house with a sinister history. With the storm closing in, the Shadow investigates a deadly maze of secrets and execution-themed traps.

The Shadow presents the orig...

The Shadow presents “The Plot Murder,” originally broadcast February 27, 1938. This early Mutual Broadcasting System drama, sponsored by Blue Coal, stars Orson Welles as Lamont Cranston and Agnes Moorehead as Margot Lane.

When Army Lieutenant John Wilson is convicted of sabotaging a secret experimental “flying torpedo,” his dazed behavior convinces Margot that the case deserves another look. The Shadow investigates a tense world of court-martial proceedings, military espionage, and a looming weapons demonstration.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned and mastered audio for a more con...

The Shadow presents “The Killers Rendezvous,” originally broadcast December 15, 1940, as episode 206. This Mutual Broadcasting System production, sponsored by Blue Coal, stars William Johnstone as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow and Marjorie Anderson as Margo Lane.

When a storm forces their commercial flight to land, Lamont and Margo join a group of stranded travelers at a remote roadside inn. A gunshot, a dead man, and a missing case of jewels turn the unexpected stop into a dangerous mystery. Written by Jerry Devine, this 1940 adventure follows The Shadow as he weighs the clues and suspects.

The Shadow presents the orig...

The Shadow presents “Dream of Death,” originally broadcast November 9, 1947. In episode 421 of the Mutual Broadcasting System’s Blue Coal series, Bret Morrison stars as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow, with Grace Matthews as Margot Lane.

At an isolated house high above the sea, Lyra Sander is plagued by terrifying dreams and fears that her husband, lost in a sailing accident, has returned. When her sister turns to Cranston and Margot Lane, The Shadow investigates the ominous events surrounding the cliffside home.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and ge...

The Shadow presents “Dead Men Talk,” originally broadcast September 24, 1939. Episode 166 of the Mutual Broadcasting System series, this Blue Coal-sponsored adventure stars Bill Johnstone as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow and was written by Jerry Devine.

When racketeer Joe Gordon vanishes, Cranston and Margot Lane begin tracing uneasy links to respected civic leader Grant Flynn. A reported death, a funeral home, and an underground river tunnel lead The Shadow into a dangerous investigation filled with deception and disappearance.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audi...

The Shadow presents “Death Hunt,” originally broadcast October 26, 1947, and identified as episode 419. In this Mutual Broadcasting System installment, sponsored by Blue Coal, Bret Morrison stars as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow alongside Grace Matthews as Margo Lane.

A debt-ridden gambler accepts a terrifying wager that turns him into prey among a block of condemned city houses. As his frightened wife seeks help, Lamont and Margo follow the trail into a dangerous world of gambling, obsession, and high-stakes sport.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mast...

The Shadow presents “The Chill of Death,” originally broadcast January 4, 1948. Commonly cataloged as episode 429, this preserved Mutual Broadcasting System broadcast was sponsored by Blue Coal and written by Louis Vittes. Bret Morrison stars as Lamont Cranston, with Grace Matthews as Margo Lane.

When an insurance executive detects a troubling pattern involving the deaths of maids employed by the Baileys, Lamont and Margo begin to investigate. To get closer to the truth, Margo takes a dangerous undercover job in the household as the Baileys’ new maid, Margaret Flynn.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produc...

The Shadow presents “Preview of Terror,” originally broadcast June 5, 1949. Written by Frank Kane, this episode is cataloged as script-series number 378, though some audio listings use a different episode count.

Driving through a storm, Lamont Cranston and Margo Lane are diverted to an isolated old house, where a Hollywood director’s elaborate mystery preview brings staged chills uncomfortably close to real danger. Bret Morrison stars as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow, with Grace Matthews as Margo Lane.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a...

The Shadow presents “Murder by Rescue,” originally broadcast on December 11, 1938. Common broadcast listings identify it as episode 64, or Season 2, episode 12, of the Mutual Broadcasting System’s Blue Coal-sponsored run.

When wealthy heir Warren Mitchell becomes entangled in a strange scheme involving a phonograph record, hypnosis, and an apparent roadside rescue, Lamont Cranston and Margot Lane are drawn into the danger. This early installment stars Bill Johnstone as The Shadow and Agnes Moorehead as Margot Lane.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned and mastered audio...

The Shadow presents “The Tomb of Terror,” originally broadcast June 19, 1938, and commonly cataloged as episode 125. In this Orson Welles-era production, Margot Stevenson co-stars as Margot Lane.

At the City Museum, an ancient Egyptian tomb is readied for public display when a series of deaths seems to confirm the legend of a deadly curse. Lamont Cranston and Margot investigate a case of archaeology, scientific menace, and mounting fear beneath the museum’s imposing exhibit.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more c...

The Shadow presents “Altar of Death,” originally broadcast March 15, 1942. Cataloged as episode 249 in some listings, this Mutual Broadcasting System adventure stars Bill Johnstone as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow and Marjorie Anderson as Margo Lane.

Lamont and Margo travel to Port St. Luce, a tropical volcanic island haunted by an annual rite known as “the night that eats people.” As fear gathers around the volcano and its ominous ceremonies, the Shadow investigates the deadly force behind the island’s cult.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cle...

The Shadow presents “The Comic Strip Killer,” originally broadcast November 23, 1947, as episode 425. In this late-period Mutual Broadcasting System mystery, Bret Morrison stars as Lamont Cranston, with Grace Matthews as Margot Lane.

Poison murders begin echoing the exploits of Hypo, a villain from a current newspaper comic strip. As Lamont and Margot investigate cartoonist Jack Prescott and the disturbing connection between fiction and crime, the case leads through newspaper files, disguises, and an unnerving new method of murder. Written by Herb Baumgartner and sponsored by Blue Coal.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced cont...

The Shadow presents “Dead Men Tell,” originally broadcast March 1, 1942. Cataloged as episode 247, this Mutual Broadcasting System adventure stars Bret Morrison as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow, with Marjorie Anderson as Margo Lane.

When debt-ridden John Matley faces disinheritance from his wealthy father, suspicion falls on him after a murder within the family. The Shadow investigates a tense case of financial desperation and a frightening long-range killing device.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.

Chapters:

The Shadow presents “The House of Horror,” an archival episode of The Shadow. The original broadcast date and episode number are not supplied with this recording.

The available source identifies this as a local archival recording and provides no verified plot or credit details. The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.

Chapters:
00:00 Victor Sterling Introduction
00:15 Original Broadcast
24:44 Closing

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From The Shadow, “Ghosts Can Kill” originally aired on January 15, 1939. It is episode 69 of the series (season 2, episode 17), written by Jerry Devine for the Mutual Broadcasting System.

Convicted gangster Ralph Gorman vows revenge on the men he holds responsible for his fate—and the eerie sound of his mouth organ soon makes his threat seem frighteningly possible. Lamont Cranston and Margot Lane investigate in this Blue Coal-sponsored mystery, starring Bill Johnstone as The Shadow and Agnes Moorehead as Margot Lane.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and ge...

The Shadow presents “The Cat and the Killer,” originally broadcast January 12, 1947. In this 1946–47 season episode, Bret Morrison stars as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow, with Grace Matthews as Margo Lane. Written by Lewis Reed, the program aired on the Mutual Broadcasting System and was sponsored by Blue Coal.

After a Siamese cat is rescued from the waterfront, its valuable engraved silver collar draws Lamont Cranston and Margo into a dangerous mystery. Their search leads from a pier and carnival house of mirrors to the estate of a recently deceased cat owner, where the animal’s fate may hold the key to a...

The Shadow presents “A Gift of Murder,” originally broadcast December 21, 1947, as episode 427. Bret Morrison stars as Lamont Cranston, with Grace Matthews as Margo Lane, in this Mutual Broadcasting System Christmas-season mystery sponsored by Blue Coal.

On a snowy Christmas Eve, Cranston and Margo attend a family gathering at a country estate, where rumors of an inheritance turn holiday cheer into suspicion. As rivalries, conflicting stories, and ominous gifts unsettle the celebration, The Shadow must unravel a dangerous web of greed and deception.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short clos...

The Shadow presents “Murder with Music,” originally broadcast on February 3, 1946. This Mutual Broadcasting System episode, number 357, stars Bret Morrison as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow and Lesley Woods as Margo Lane.

A society musicale at Harriet Hamilton’s mansion turns deadly when actress Jennifer Gaye is found murdered. With the elegant guests under suspicion, Lamont Cranston and Margo Lane investigate a closed-circle mystery where music, high society, and danger share the same stage. Written by Joe Bates Smith and directed by John Cole.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closin...

The Shadow presents “Fountain of Death,” originally broadcast November 27, 1938. This is episode 148 of the Mutual Broadcasting System series, starring Bill Johnstone as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow and Agnes Moorehead as Margot Lane.

When medical researcher Dr. Anna Marler develops a serum with the power to restore youth, her discovery draws dangerous attention from forces eager to turn a scientific breakthrough into an instrument of power. The adventure moves from Marler’s laboratory to a transatlantic flight as the Shadow confronts an international threat. The surviving broadcast includes a B. F. Goodrich Safety Silvertown commercial.

The Shadow presen...

The Shadow presents “Death in a Minor Key,” originally broadcast June 2, 1946, episode 374. In this Mutual Broadcasting System production, Bret Morrison stars as Lamont Cranston, with Lesley Woods as Margot Lane.

A troubling case at Dr. Norton’s private sanitarium draws Lamont and Margot into a web of suspicious deaths, a disputed inheritance, ominous music, and lurking danger. Written by Tom Wilson and sponsored by Blue Coal, this title should not be confused with a separate 1940 Shadow broadcast of the same name.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announ...

The Shadow presents “Death Shows the Way,” originally broadcast on December 3, 1939. In this Mutual Broadcasting System adventure, sponsored by Blue Coal, Bill Johnstone stars as Lamont Cranston, the man known to the world as the Shadow.

Lamont and Margot Lane arrive for a country weekend at the Barton home, where a valuable diamond is being kept. When a guest becomes suddenly ill and the jewel disappears, a gathering of family and visitors—including the mysterious Count Santo—finds itself caught in a troubling theft-and-murder mystery.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduc...

The Shadow presents “The Death Triangle,” originally broadcast December 12, 1937. It is episode 12 of the 1937–38 Orson Welles season, though some overall-series listings number it 98. Orson Welles stars as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow, with Agnes Moorehead as Margot Lane, on the Mutual Broadcasting System’s Blue Coal program.

A startling news bulletin reports that a wounded man claims to be the Shadow, drawing Lamont Cranston into Dr. James Evans’s fearful connection to an old Devil’s Island escape. With ominous clues and long-buried betrayals closing in, the meaning of the “death triangle” becomes a matter of urgent danger.

The Shadow...

The Shadow presents “Death by Imagination,” episode 394, originally broadcast January 26, 1947. This surviving archival recording is incomplete. Bret Morrison stars as Lamont Cranston, with Grace Matthews as Margo Lane; the script was written by William Morwood.

At a mental institution, reports of unexplained deaths and terrified talk of a phantom cat draw The Shadow into a chilling investigation. This episode is preserved as a local archival recording.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.

Chapters:

The Shadow presents “Death on the Bridge,” originally broadcast March 3, 1940. Episode 189 of the Mutual Broadcasting System series, sponsored by Blue Coal, stars Bill Johnstone as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow and Marjorie Anderson as Margo Lane. The script was written by Sidney Slon.

A series of fatal falls haunts a newly built bridge, where fear has taken hold among the workers. Lamont Cranston goes undercover as a laborer high above the ground, while Margo and Shrevie help him probe the ominous threats surrounding the construction site.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual intr...

The Shadow presents “Death Has Eight Arms,” originally broadcast November 2, 1947. Bret Morrison stars as Lamont Cranston, with Grace Matthews as Margot Lane, in a script by William Morwood for the Mutual Broadcasting System.

A theft from a Burmese temple reaches across the world when a valuable paper vanishes and murder follows. As an apparent curse surrounds the temple’s idol, Cranston and Margot investigate the document’s true importance before more lives are threatened.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more c...

The Shadow presents “The Ghost Wore a Silver Slipper,” originally broadcast on April 7, 1946. This Mutual Broadcasting System episode, sponsored by Blue Coal, is listed as program 366 and stars Bret Morrison as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow, with Lesley Woods as Margo Lane.

When Lamont and Margo offer a ride to a young woman near a cemetery, she vanishes before they reach her destination—leaving behind a disturbing clue. Their search for an explanation draws them into a shadowy criminal mystery. Written by Lawrence Crowley, this atmospheric 1946 adventure balances graveyard unease with a contemporary crime investigation.

The Shadow presen...

From The Shadow: “The Ghost Walks Again,” originally broadcast March 16, 1941. Episode 219 follows Lamont Cranston and Margot Lane into a small New England town haunted by reports that its long-dead colonial governor, Sir Roger Mathus, has returned.

Victims are found clutching death warrants bearing Mathus’s signature, and the local sheriff seeks Cranston’s help. As midnight approaches at the town’s old meeting hall, The Shadow investigates a deadly legend while refusing to accept a supernatural explanation too quickly. Written by Jerry Devine, the episode stars Bill Johnstone as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow and Marjorie Anderson as Margot Lane, with...

The Shadow presents “A Mask for Murder,” originally broadcast on October 10, 1948. This Mutual Broadcasting System episode, sponsored by Blue Coal, is program 455 and stars Bret Morrison as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow, with Grace Matthews as Margo Lane.

When a man appears to seek out a professional assassin to arrange his own death, Lamont Cranston and Margo Lane are drawn into a perilous web of deception, hidden motives, and possible double-crosses. Written by Edward J. Adamson, this tense mystery challenges The Shadow to uncover what is truly being planned.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newl...

From The Shadow: “The Ghost That Gleams,” originally broadcast April 4, 1948 (episode 442). This late-run Mutual Broadcasting System mystery stars Bret Morrison as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow and Grace Matthews as Margo Lane, from a script by Louis Vittes.

At his isolated Oceanside cottage, Max Hale is haunted by a tall, pale-faced figure that appears outside his window. When police and psychiatrists fail to explain the terror, Lamont and Margo spend the night investigating clues in the windswept dunes—including a troubling trace of wet seaweed—to learn whether the visitor is a ghost or a more earthly threat.

The...

The Shadow presents “Murderer’s Vanity,” originally broadcast on March 17, 1940. This surviving Mutual Broadcasting System episode, sponsored by Blue Coal, is generally listed as episode 191 and stars Bill Johnstone as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow alongside Marjorie Anderson as Margo Lane.

When a man faces the electric chair after being accused of murdering his mother for money, the Shadow and Margo race to uncover the truth behind a deadly scheme. This local archival recording captures the suspenseful Bill Johnstone-era series at its tense, fast-moving best.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a shor...

The Shadow presents “Scent of Death” (also known as “The Scent of Death”), originally broadcast on February 2, 1947. Episode 395 of the Mutual Broadcasting System series stars Bret Morrison as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow and Grace Matthews as Margot Lane.

A woman’s sudden death after opening an apparently empty perfume bottle draws Cranston and Margot into a dangerous investigation involving exclusive perfume sellers, counterfeit goods, and a mysterious chemist. Written by Frank Kane and directed by John Cole, this archival recording also preserves the era’s Blue Coal commercials.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produc...

The Shadow presents “Dragon’s Tongue Murders,” originally broadcast October 12, 1941. This is episode 227 of the series, starring William Johnstone as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow and Marjorie Anderson as Margo Lane.

When Margo accepts a women’s-magazine feature assignment at the wealthy Post family estate, she and Lamont Cranston find themselves amid financial pressures, long-held resentments, and unsettling secrets. As the household’s tensions turn dangerous, the Shadow begins to investigate. Written by Sidney Slon and Peter Barry, the Mutual Broadcasting System drama was sponsored by Blue Coal.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced c...

The Shadow presents “Makeup for Murder,” originally broadcast December 1, 1946. Bret Morrison stars as Lamont Cranston, with Joe Bates Smith credited as writer; the Mutual Broadcasting System broadcast was sponsored by Carey’s Salt.

After a terrified beggar dies on Beggar’s Road, Lamont Cranston and Margo Lane investigate a troubling pattern of deaths at Mike’s Flophouse, a grim shelter known as “the graveyard.” With the authorities unconvinced, the Shadow goes undercover as an acrobat called Flipper to uncover the danger facing the flophouse’s desperate residents.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced context...

The Shadow presents “The Man Who Murdered Time,” originally broadcast on Mutual on January 1, 1939. Episode 153 features Bill Johnstone as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow and Agnes Moorehead as Margot Lane.

On New Year’s Eve in New York, Lamont Cranston and Margot Lane find themselves trapped in a day that keeps repeating while nearly everyone around them remains unaware. Their investigation leads to the gravely ill Dr. Willard and a dangerous experiment that may leave the world permanently caught in December 31.

The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and ge...