The 50 Greatest Old Time Radio Shows | Old Time Radio

X Minus One presents “And the Moon Be Still as Bright,” episode 19, originally broadcast on September 22, 1955. This NBC science-fiction drama adapts Ray Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles story for radio, with Ernest Kinoy’s adaptation and Norman Rose as narrator.

After three Earth expeditions fail to return, Captain Wilder leads a fourth mission to Mars and discovers a vast, silent Martian city. Among its deserted streets, towers, and monuments, the explorers confront the legacy of an unfamiliar civilization—and differing ideas about what discovery demands of its newcomers.

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Gunsmoke presents “The Man Who Would Be Marshal,” originally broadcast on CBS on March 18, 1956. Episode 206 stars William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon, with John Dehner as Emmett Egan. Written by John Meston and produced and directed by Norman Macdonnell, the drama is set in frontier Dodge City.

Former military man Emmett Egan arrives convinced that his money and command experience make him better suited than Dillon to wear the marshal’s badge. Instead of simply sending him away, Dillon gives Egan a close look at the responsibilities—and dangers—of keeping the peace.

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Lux Radio Theatre presents “The Curtain Rises,” episode 102, originally broadcast on CBS on October 12, 1936. Hosted by Cecil B. DeMille and sponsored by Lux Soap, this adaptation of Benjamin Mark Kaye’s romantic comedy stars Ginger Rogers and Warren William.

At a fashionable New York penthouse party, shy, bespectacled Elsa Carling finds herself drawn toward the theater. Acting lessons offer her a chance to remake herself—and perhaps to share romantic scenes with celebrated stage idol Ronald Phillips. Alan Mowbray and Verree Teasdale also appear.

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Suspense presents “Black Death,” originally broadcast on CBS on August 2, 1955. Episode 609 stars Edgar Barrier as Dr. Gebhardt and William Conrad as Police Chief Williams, in a script by Lawrence Goldman.

When a laboratory cat exposed to plague bacteria escapes into the city, Dr. Gebhardt and the police face a desperate race to find it before panic—or infection—spreads. The crisis becomes even more urgent when the doctor’s young daughter, devoted to the missing cat, may be in danger.

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Dragnet, “The Big Sophomore” (episode 110), originally broadcast on NBC on July 19, 1951. Jack Webb stars as Sergeant Joe Friday, joined by Barton Yarborough as Sergeant Ben Romero, in this Fatima Cigarettes-sponsored radio drama.

Working the LAPD Juvenile Bureau night watch, Friday and Romero investigate a series of small food thefts from grocery stores near a local high school. The reports seem routine at first, but the lunch-hour pattern and a possible lead involving red-haired student Harry Dunbar give the case added urgency.

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Escape presents “The Silent Horror,” originally broadcast on CBS on August 22, 1951. Episode 150 stars Harry Bartell as Tom Dawson, in a radio adaptation by Les Crutchfield of Hugh B. Cave’s story.

Following a broken love affair, painter Tom Dawson withdraws to a remote jungle valley in New Guinea, where the steady ticking of his pocket watch becomes increasingly important—and increasingly unsettling. This unsponsored CBS drama builds suspense from isolation, unfamiliar surroundings, and one small, inescapable sound.

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The Whistler presents “Escape to Skull Island,” originally broadcast on CBS on January 15, 1950. This is episode 398, written by R. Sprague Hall and sponsored by Signal Oil.

Escaped convict Steve Henshaw flees a nighttime waterfront pursuit and finds refuge aboard a barge near Skull Island, where George and Melody Gromick are involved in a dangerous deep-sea salvage operation. Ted de Corsia, Fay Baker, Tom Tully, and William Conrad are featured in this shadowy tale of dark water, hidden treasure, and competing interests.

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Gunsmoke, “Crowbait Bob,” originally broadcast November 10, 1956, is episode 239 of the classic CBS radio western. William Conrad stars as Marshal Matt Dillon, with Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell, in a script by Les Crutchfield produced and directed by Norman Macdonnell.

In Dodge City, the dying and penniless Crowbait Bob asks that a will be prepared leaving his few possessions to Kitty. His unexpected request draws Dillon and those around Kitty into the old man’s final affairs, where compassion and curiosity surround the legacy he leaves behind.

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Inner Sanctum Mysteries presents “The Murder Prophet,” originally broadcast on CBS on September 4, 1945. Episode 235 stars Wendy Barrie as Claudia Dale, with Paul McGrath as host; Himan Brown produced and directed.

On a dark, stormy night beside a cemetery, Claudia Dale offers a ride to an unsettling hitchhiker who seems to know far too much about her life. As his ominous predictions follow her home, Claudia must decide whether she has met a true prophet—or someone with a more sinister connection to the danger surrounding her.

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Suspense presents “Coffin for Mr Cash,” originally broadcast on CBS on March 27, 1960. Catalogued as episode 846, this Robert Arthur thriller stars Leon Janney as ex-convict Pete Wilson and Mandel Kramer as his former cellmate, Al Thomas.

Working nights at a municipal crematorium, Pete is drawn into a dangerous plan to move stolen payroll money under the seemingly respectable cover of a coffin. With police attention mounting around the crematorium, the scheme becomes a tense test of nerve and timing. The story was adapted from Arthur’s earlier radio tale, “A Coffin for Charley.”

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Lux Radio Theatre presents “The Paradine Case,” originally broadcast on May 9, 1949. Episode 657 adapts Alfred Hitchcock’s 1947 courtroom drama, based on Robert Smythe Hichens’s novel. Joseph Cotten stars as barrister Anthony Keane, alongside Alida Valli and Louis Jourdan, who reprise their film roles.

In England, Keane undertakes the defense of Mrs. Maddalena Paradine, accused of poisoning her blind war-hero husband. As the investigation moves from London to the prison, courtroom, and the Paradine estate, the lawyer’s growing fascination with his client threatens to complicate both the case and his personal life.

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Escape presents “Figure a Dame,” originally broadcast on CBS on December 20, 1949. Episode 90 stars Frank Lovejoy in a film-noir-tinged mystery adapted by Morton Fine and David Friedkin from Richard Sale’s short story; William N. Robson produced and directed.

An American insurance investigator is assigned to protect a wealthy woman and her extraordinarily valuable emerald as they travel by train toward Calcutta. When an elegant fellow passenger draws his suspicion, professional duty, temptation, and danger begin to converge in the close quarters of the Indian rail journey.

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X Minus One presents “The Man in the Moon,” episode 6, originally broadcast on May 29, 1955. This NBC science-fiction drama was written by George Lefferts and directed by Fred Weihe, and remade an earlier Dimension X story of the same title.

At the Federal Bureau of Missing Persons, a routine bulletin is interrupted by an SOS apparently coming from the Moon. Records custodian Henry Timpkin, played by Luis Van Rooten, recognizes a name in the transmission—and as reports of vanished scientific specialists mount, he and his skeptical chief, Mr. Wade, follow a deeply unsettling trail. Santos Ortega co-stars as Wade.<...

Dragnet presents “Max Tyler - Escaped Convict,” episode 32, originally broadcast on NBC on January 5, 1950. Jack Webb stars as Sergeant Joe Friday, with Barton Yarborough as his regular partner, Sergeant Ben Romero. The episode is also cataloged under the alternate title “The Big Escape.”

Working the LAPD robbery detail in Los Angeles, Friday and Romero investigate a series of armed holdups targeting major jewelry stores. The case becomes especially difficult when Friday discovers a personal connection to Max Tyler, an old friend from his Army days. Directed by Jack Webb and sponsored by Fatima Cigarettes, this early Dragnet installment brings t...

Gunsmoke, “Another Man’s Poison,” originally broadcast on CBS on September 29, 1957. This is episode 286, written by Les Crutchfield and produced by Norman Macdonnell, with William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon.

In Dodge City, a woman’s settled life is thrown into turmoil when a husband believed lost at sea unexpectedly returns. As tensions rise between the people involved, Dillon is drawn into an emotional and potentially dangerous domestic conflict. Parley Baer, Georgia Ellis, and Howard McNear also star.

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Suspense presents “Golden Years,” originally broadcast on CBS on September 16, 1962. Often cataloged as episode 943 (with some logs listing it as #942), this late-series drama was written by William N. Robson and features Peter Fernandez, Rosemary Rice, and Ivor Francis.

Teenager Buddy Birdwell’s anger toward his adoptive stepfather escalates after he is denied use of the family car. His girlfriend Sue initially tries to dismiss his talk as youthful frustration, but unsettling signs leave her wondering whether the adults around Buddy will recognize the danger before it is too late.

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Lux Radio Theatre presents “The Kiss of Death,” originally broadcast on CBS on January 12, 1948. Episode 598 adapts the 1947 20th Century-Fox film noir, based on a story by Eleazar Lipsky. Victor Mature, Coleen Gray, and Richard Widmark reprise their screen roles.

In New York City, ex-convict Nick Bianco faces an impossible choice after a jewelry-store robbery: accept the consequences himself or cooperate with authorities against the dangerous criminal world he knows. This tense drama explores loyalty, family, and the risks faced by an informer.

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The Whistler presents “Stranger in the House,” originally broadcast on CBS on June 2, 1948. This is episode 314 of the suspense anthology series, sponsored by Signal Oil Company, and features Virginia Gregg and Gerald Mohr, with Marvin Miller as announcer.

Helen Van Norton has waited nearly seven years for news of her foster brother Ted, missing since a prewar government mission to the Far East. When a cablegram announces his arrival in Seattle, Helen goes to meet him—but the man stepping off the ship raises unsettling questions about identity, family, and a valuable estate.

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Escape presents “A Matter of Conscience - 1,” originally broadcast on CBS on January 18, 1953. Episode 166 is an Antony Ellis drama directed by Norman Macdonnell, with Parley Baer, Ben Wright, John Dehner, and others.

In colonial-era Bali, a Dutch resident and Captain Logan face a fast-growing crisis after three English visitors offend a sacred temple. As anger spreads, cultural misunderstanding and personal responsibility threaten to turn a diplomatic incident into violence.

The 50 Greatest Old Time Radio Shows presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more...

Inner Sanctum Mysteries presents “Birdsong for a Murderer,” originally broadcast on June 22, 1952. Episode 512 of the CBS series stars Boris Karloff and features a story by Louis Vittes.

Carl Warner finds comfort in a room filled with singing canaries—until a stormy-night visitor from Crag Mount asylum brings troubling knowledge and a demand for money. As suspicion grows, Lieutenant Greg follows a disturbing clue involving a canary and its cage in this compact mystery of blackmail, secrets, and unease.

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Gunsmoke, “Legal Revenge” (episode 200), originally broadcast on CBS on February 5, 1956. William Conrad stars as Marshal Matt Dillon, with Parley Baer as Chester and Howard McNear as Doc Adams. The episode was written by John Meston and produced by Norman Macdonnell.

When Doc Adams reports a troubling situation at an isolated homestead outside Dodge City, Matt and Chester investigate under the guise of prospective settlers. A wounded man, a guarded woman, and a ready six-gun turn a medical concern into a tense question of danger, identity, and frontier justice.

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Suspense presents “Nightmare,” episode 348, originally broadcast on CBS on September 1, 1949. Gregory Peck stars in this opening broadcast of the 1949–50 season, with Lurene Tuttle and Alan Reed; the drama was written by Sam Blas and produced by William Spier.

During a family fishing trip in the mountains, Ben leaves his stalled car to seek help at a nearby gas station. When he returns, his wife and young son have vanished from the roadside, setting off a harrowing search shadowed by danger, grief, and the possibility of revenge.

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Lux Radio Theatre presents “Vivacious Lady,” episode 289, originally broadcast on CBS on January 6, 1941. Sponsored by Lux, this radio adaptation stars Alice Faye and Don Ameche.

A reserved college botany professor impulsively marries a lively New York nightclub singer, then faces the challenge of bringing her into his conservative college-town world. Adapted from the 1938 RKO romantic comedy based on I. A. R. Wylie’s story, the comedy plays Manhattan glamour against small-town respectability.

The 50 Greatest Old Time Radio Shows presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio...

Dragnet, “The Big Border,” originally broadcast on March 20, 1952, is episode 145 of the NBC police drama. Jack Webb stars as Los Angeles robbery detective Sergeant Joe Friday, with Barney Phillips as Sergeant Ed Jacobs; the episode was written by Jim Moser.

Friday and Jacobs are assigned to track two armed convicts who have escaped from San Quentin and may be heading for Los Angeles. Following leads tied to one fugitive’s former fiancée, the detectives coordinate with fellow officers as the search pushes south toward the Mexican border. As was customary for Dragnet, the drama presents itself as drawn f...

Escape presents “Ancient Sorceries,” episode 28, originally broadcast nationally on CBS on February 15, 1948. This sustaining production was adapted from Algernon Blackwood’s supernatural short story, written for radio by Les Crutchfield and directed by William N. Robson. The cast includes Paul Frees, William Conrad, Jeff Corey, and Ramsay Hill.

A traveler pauses overnight in an isolated Welsh town, only to find that its quiet, watchful residents seem to know him—and that the village exerts an unsettling pull he cannot easily explain. What begins as an ordinary stopover becomes an increasingly eerie encounter with the unknown.

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X Minus One presents “The Martian Death March,” episode 17, originally broadcast on NBC on September 8, 1955. Written by Ernest Kinoy, this production remakes a script first heard on Dimension X in 1951.

On Mars in 1997, an Earthman recalls meeting John, a man sympathetic to the Martians confined to reservations, and Cantalcar, a displaced Martian Highlander. When Martians begin a dangerous desert journey toward their ancestral northern mountains, the story becomes a powerful science-fiction allegory of conquest, prejudice, and the meaning of home. Norman Rose narrates.

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The Whistler, “Murder in Haste,” originally broadcast December 17, 1947, is episode 290. In this CBS Pacific Network presentation, sponsored by Signal Oil, Bill Forman stars as the ominous Whistler.

After a wealthy Miami woman dies, her husband Albert Taylor heads north by train under the watchful eye of a suspicious detective. Desperate to leave his past behind, Taylor glimpses a dangerous chance to take on the identity of a celebrated mystery writer. Written by Eleanor Beeson, this tense tale was a remake of a 1946 Whistler episode of the same title.

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Dimension X presents “Mars Is Heaven,” episode 33, broadcast January 7, 1951. This NBC science-fiction drama adapts Ray Bradbury’s short story “Mars Is Heaven!”; the production was written for radio by Ernest Kinoy and is a rebroadcast of the version first heard in July 1950.

Captain John Black, played by Wendell Holmes, leads Earth’s first expedition to Mars in 1987. Instead of the alien landscape the crew expects, they find an eerily familiar small American town, where Black and Dr. Horst (Peter Capell) confront unsettling signs that Mars may hold more than anyone anticipated. Norman Rose narrates.

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Suspense presents “The Moonstone - Part Two,” originally broadcast on CBS on November 23, 1953. This is episode 527 and the conclusion of a two-part adaptation of Wilkie Collins’s landmark detective novel.

As Franklin Blake and Sergeant Cuff continue their search for a remarkable yellow diamond that vanished from the Verinder estate, suspicion shifts inward among the household’s family, guests, and servants. Peter Lawford stars as Franklin Blake in this Richard Chandlee adaptation, produced and directed by Elliott Lewis.

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Gunsmoke presents “Cavalcade,” episode 396, broadcast on CBS Radio on November 8, 1959. This airing repeats the original January 31, 1953 broadcast, with William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon and Parley Baer as Chester Proudfoot.

A deputy sheriff arrives in Dodge City from Richmond, Virginia, carrying murder warrants for two fugitives. When the names and an old photograph raise troubling questions close to home, Dillon must carefully sort evidence, duty, and friendship. Written by Les Crutchfield and directed by Norman Macdonnell, the episode also features Lawrence Dobkin as Deputy Ed Hunter.

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Inner Sanctum Mysteries presents “Murder Comes at Midnight,” originally broadcast on September 9, 1946. Episode 283 stars Mercedes McCambridge and was written by Emile C. Tepperman, with Himan Brown directing and producing.

On a dark summer night in a rented country house, Ethel Canning waits alone while her young daughter sleeps upstairs. When a wounded stranger arrives claiming car trouble, a police bulletin raises chilling questions about the man at her door. This taut CBS mystery turns an isolated home and a nearby radio into instruments of mounting suspense.

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Lux Radio Theatre presents “Mother Didn’t Tell Me AFRS,” originally broadcast November 16, 1954. This is episode 897, adapted from the 1950 Twentieth Century-Fox comedy-drama based on Mary Bard’s book The Doctor Wears Three Faces.

Dorothy McGuire reprises her film role as advertising-jingle writer Jane Morgan, opposite Frank Lovejoy as Dr. Bill Wright. After a rainstorm brings Jane to Bill’s office with a cold, their fast-moving romance encounters the everyday pressures of a doctor’s demanding career and the adjustments of young married life. The surviving AFRTS/Hollywood Radio Theater presentation is introduced by producer Irving Cummings.

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Dragnet presents “The Big Make,” episode 66, originally broadcast on NBC on September 14, 1950. Jack Webb stars as Los Angeles police sergeant Joe Friday, with Barton Yarborough as his partner, Sergeant Ben Romero.

Friday and Romero investigate a violent holdup at Stendahl’s Bakery Shop, where the proprietor and his daughter have been wounded. With only limited information from the neighborhood bakery crime scene, the detectives begin assembling the facts in this early, tightly focused Dragnet robbery-detail procedural. The broadcast was sponsored by Fatima Cigarettes.

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Escape presents “A Shipment of Mute Fate,” originally broadcast on CBS on October 15, 1947. Episode 10 stars Jack Webb and was written by Les Crutchfield, from Martin Storm’s short story of the same name.

In the Venezuelan port of La Guaira, collector Chris Warner arranges to ship a crated bushmaster snake aboard the liner Chan Kay, bound for New York. With the captain wary of the cargo and a stewardess attempting to smuggle her cat aboard, the voyage begins under increasingly uneasy circumstances. William N. Robson directed and produced.

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Suspense presents “Circumstantial Terror,” originally broadcast on CBS on March 8, 1954. Episode 542 stars Ronald Reagan as Frank Thompson and was written by Ross Murray, produced and directed by Elliott Lewis.

Months without work have left Frank desperate and on edge. After an angry confrontation with a liquor-store owner, he returns to make amends—only to find himself caught in a frightening chain of circumstances that makes him look like the police’s most obvious suspect.

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Gunsmoke, “Spring Freshet” (episode 258), originally broadcast on CBS on March 17, 1957. William Conrad stars as Marshal Matt Dillon, with Parley Baer as Chester, Georgia Ellis as Kitty, and Howard McNear as Doc. Written by Les Crutchfield and produced by Norman Macdonnell, this circulating copy is identified as better sounding but less complete.

When two wanted robbers bring danger to Dodge City’s Long Branch Saloon, Kitty is caught in a hostage crisis close to home. Matt Dillon, Chester, and Doc face a tense standoff in a drama of pressure, strategy, and the risks of confronting armed men in a crowde...

Dimension X presents “Destination Moon,” episode 12, originally broadcast on NBC on June 24, 1950. Adapted from George Pal’s 1950 film and credited to Robert A. Heinlein and George Pal, this unsponsored sustaining-program broadcast features Santos Ortega, Luis van Rooten, and Norman Rose as host/narrator.

At a Texas rocket project, a determined team races to send the first crewed expedition to the Moon before official intervention can halt the launch. Treating spaceflight as an urgent engineering and logistical challenge, the drama is also notable for a real NBC news bulletin interrupting the surviving broadcast with reports of North Korea’s invasion...

X Minus One presents “Death Wish,” episode 115, originally broadcast on NBC on October 10, 1957. This science-fiction drama was adapted for radio by William Welch from Robert Sheckley’s 1956 Galaxy Science Fiction story, published under the pseudonym Ned Lang.

Bound for Mars, Captain Summers and his two crewmates discover troubling flaws in their ship’s newly installed computer equipment. When the spacecraft is forced far beyond the Solar System with limited fuel, the crew faces an urgent and increasingly desperate fight for survival. The cast includes Ralph Camargo, Maurice Tarplin, Walter Black, and Joseph Bell.

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Lux Radio Theatre presents “Dark Victory,” episode 245, originally broadcast on CBS on January 8, 1940. Produced by Cecil B. DeMille and sponsored by Lux Flakes, this 60-minute adaptation revisits the 1939 Warner Bros. film.

Bette Davis reprises her role as spirited Long Island socialite Judith Treherne, opposite Spencer Tracy as the eminent Dr. Frederick Steele. When troubling symptoms disrupt Judith’s reckless, privileged life, doctor and patient are drawn into a powerful drama of illness, love, courage, and an uncertain future. Lurene Tuttle co-stars as Ann King.

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Escape presents “The Time Machine - Jeff Corey,” originally broadcast on May 9, 1948. Episode 40 adapts H. G. Wells’s classic novel, with Jeff Corey as inventor Dr. Dudley and Erik Rolf as his skeptical friend, Fowler.

Dudley invites Fowler to test an extraordinary machine capable of traveling through time. Their experiment carries them to the year 100,080, where a beautiful garden world and its seemingly gentle people hold unsettling mysteries. Irving Ravetch adapted the story for radio, in a production directed by Norman Macdonnell.

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