All MPIR Streams Updated

For your listening enjoyment here's a brief run down on what's playing on the Mystery Play Internet Radio streams.

The MPIR Comedy OTR stream:

Meet Me At Parky's  Bust loose with this rare comedy show. Listen in and laugh on with Parky, the head cook and bottle washer at a Greek restaurant. Parky was a character created by Harry Einstein and originally debuted, with the Al Jolson and Eddie Cantor shows.

People Are Funny is an American radio and television game show, created by John Guedel that ran from 1942 to 1960 in which contestants were asked to carry out stunts. The Show went on the air April 10, 1942 with Art Baker as host. In a popular first-season stunt, a man was assigned to register a trained seal at the Knickerbocker Hotel while explaining that the seal was his girlfriend. On October 1, 1943, Baker was replaced by Art Linkletter, who continued for the rest of the series.

A Date with Judy  is a comedy radio series aimed at a teenage audience which had a long run from 1941 to 1950. The show began as a summer replacement for Bob Hope's show, sponsored by Pepsodent and airing on NBC from June 24 to September 16, 1941, with 14-year-old Ann Gillis in the title role. Dellie Ellis portrayed Judy Foster when the series returned the next summer (June 23 – September 15, 1942).

The MPIR History Capsule stream:

Biography in Sound  was an hour-long documentary radio program that was produced and broadcast in the 1950s. It's one of the best examples of radio excellence - the production is exemplary.

Democracy in America  is based on Alexis de Tocqueville’s book published in 1835 about his travels and observations of America.  Originally sent by the French government to study the United States prison system, Tocqueville expanded his research to all aspects of American life.  Democracy in America includes dramatizations as well as a discussion on the observations Tocqueville raises about American society.  Historian Dorothy Gordon and students from NYU add to the fascinating discussion. 

Inheritance  A highly patriotic show, the series revisits amazing people and times in American History from John Sullivan to Lewis and Clark to Dorothea Dix. The show covers a number of important historical events as well including the ratification of the 19th Amendment which gave women the equal right to vote on August 18th, 1920.  Inheritance was produced in co-operation with The American Legion. 

The Golden Age of Radio  Was the creation of WTIC personality Dick Bertel and radio collector-historian Ed Corcoran, and was first broadcast in April of 1970. For the next seven years the program featured interviews with radio actors, writers, producers, engineers and musicians from radio's early days. In addition, each show featured excerpts from Ed's collection. Fortunately, these programs have been preserved, capturing for future generations the history of this vital medium during its formative years.

The main Mystery Play Internet Radio stream:

I Love A Mystery. February 1940. NBC net. "The Temple Of Vampires". This is a rare treat for you fans of MPIR because I researched and found the complete series and edited them together. For many years  only the exerpt, just after an earthquake shook the Temple and a second earthquake destroyed the Temple. The program is dated near the end of the story, which ran from January 22 to February 16, 1940). However the missing episodes were re-created from the original script. You'll probably notice the voice change in the actors. This doesn't take anything away from the exciting saga! Enjoy!

Let George Do It  was a radio drama series produced by Owen and Pauline Vinson from 1946 to 1954. It starred Bob Bailey as detective-for-hire George Valentine. Clients came to Valentine's office after reading a newspaper carrying his classified ad: Personal notice: Danger's my stock in trade. If the job's too tough for you to handle, you've got a job for me. George Valentine.

In rotation is Bold Venture, Richard Diamond Private Detective, The Adventures of Phillip Marlowe, Suspense, CBS Radio Mystery Theater, and more.

Old Time Radio Treat!

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.