Mystery Play Internet Radio

Old Time Radio Lives Here!

Mystery Play Internet Radio has been broadcasting old-time radio on the internet for 22 years. MPIR has evolved from simple playlists of mp3 formatted radio plays to sophisticated live stream programming to net casting on various listening devices. Clyde J. Kell the owner and operator of Mystery Play Internet Radio has only one purpose and passion. To enable as many people as possible from all over the world to listen and share old-time radio. My creativity now extends to creating visual art in acrylic, oil, watercolor, and pen and ink illustrations.

Old Time Radio Treat!

August 25, 2014  /  Clyde Kell

In the playlists mix today we have a special treat. A rare thought to be lost old time radio episode of The Adventures of Sam Spade "The Dead Duck Caper" aired Feb 02, 1947. One of the members of the Old Time Radio Researcher Group, found it on YouTube. The recording was from an Armed Forces Radio transcription disc. For me this is the exciting aspect of Old Time Radio, finding recordings that are thought to be lost and never heard for 40 to 70 years or more. This episode is place in rotation, listen for it. I'm sure you'll enjoy!

The Adventures of Sam Spade was a radio series based loosely on the private detective character Sam Spade, created by writer Dashiell Hammett for The Maltese Falcon. The show ran for 13 episodes on ABC in 1946, for 157 episodes on CBS in 1946-1949, and finally for 51 episodes on NBC in 1949-1951. The series starred Howard Duff (and later, Steve Dunne) as Sam Spade and Lurene Tuttle as his secretary Effie, and took a considerably more tongue-in-cheek approach to the character than the novel or movie. The series was largely overseen by producer/director William Spier. In 1947, scriptwriters Jason James and Bob Tallman received an Edgar Award for Best Radio Drama from the Mystery Writers of America.

Crime Does Not Pay was an anthology radio crime drama series based on MGM's short film series. The films began in 1935 with Crime Does Not Pay: Buried Loot. For the most part, actors who appeared in B-films were featured, but occasionally, one of MGM's major stars would make an appearance.

Counterspy was an espionage drama radio series that aired on the NBC Blue Network (later the ABC) and Mutual from May 18, 1942 to November 29, 1957. David Harding (Don MacLaughlin) was the chief of the United States Counterspies, a unit engaged during World War II in counterespionage against Japan's Black Dragon and Germany's Gestapo. With spies still lurking in the post-war years, as well as the Communist threat, the adventures continued  well after World War II ended.

The Weird Circle was a 30-minute, syndicated, supernatural/fantasy series that ran from 1943 through 1945. There were 78 episodes produced. The show's strength was stories from famous writers of the two genres, including Robert Lewis Stevenson, Victor Hugo, Edgar Alan Poe and even Charles Dickens. Most all of the stories came from the Victorian era or older.

Voyage of the Scarlet Queen  was a radio adventure on the high seas, airing on Mutual from 3 July 1947 to 14 February 1948. James Burton produced the scripts by Gil Doud and Robert Tallman. Elliott Lewis starred as Philip Carney, master of the 78-foot ketch Scarlet Queen, with Ed Max as first mate Red Gallagher.

Each episode opens with an entry from the ship's log: "Log entry, the ketch Scarlet Queen, Philip Carney, master. Position -- three degrees, seven minutes north, 104 degrees, two minutes east. Wind, fresh to moderate; sky, fair..." with a similar closing: "Ship secured for the night. Signed, Philip Carney, master." Arriving at an exotic port of call, the captain and first mate would go ashore and immediately run into trouble with local authorities, agents of rival merchants, or desperate women in need of rescue. After some investigation and at least one good fight they would solve the problem, get back on the ship and sail away, Carney and Gallagher sharing a laugh and a drink at the wheel before the captain's closing log entry.

Technically the show was among the better radio productions of the time, employing realistic sound effects and sailing terminology, well paced stories and colorfully detailed settings. Most places visited by the Queen are real. Even the map coordinates given by the captain are mostly accurate, following a zigzag course around the South Pacific.

The Zero Hour (aka Hollywood Radio Theater) was a 1973-74 radio drama anthology series hosted by Rod Serling. With tales of mystery, adventure and suspense, the program aired in stereo for two seasons. Some of the scripts were written by Serling.

Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator  was a detective drama heard on NBC Radio from October 3, 1951 to June 30, 1955. Detective Barrie Craig (William Gargan) worked alone from his Madison Avenue office. Unlike his contemporaries Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, Craig had a laid-back personality, somewhat cutting against the popular hard-boiled detective stereotype.

Comment