Today we’re dipping into a popular post-war genre, suspense and noir. The series is The Whistler, one of the leading crime-thriller shows of the era. The story is from June 12, 1949, broadcast over CBS, Perfect Alibi, complete with that Signal Oil sponsorship and the unmistakable voice of Jack Webb before his Dragnet days. We have the original transcription discs of this one, and it's firing on all the proper tropes: a slick private eye named Johnny Seltzer, a dangerous woman named Alice Collins, and a gangster called Frankie Benson. What starts as a clever setup to frame a mobster for murder quickly spirals into a deadly double-cross, ending with The Whistler’s signature twist. Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/ Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297 Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD

Today we’re heading back to July 1946 for a zany half hour with The Jack Kirkwood Show, a fast-talking, anything-goes comedy that’s as unpredictable as its star. Jack Kirkwood might not be a household name anymore, but his irreverent and absurdist humor works just as well today as it did back then. In this episode, Kirkwood finds himself in a tight spot. Fifteen years of mooching off his buddy William finally catch up to him, and now he’s got to come up with $195 in back rent or else marry his landlady, Mrs. Lapnotch.  Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/ Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297 Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD

Today for our Halloween episode, we’re going back to 1943 for a chilling mystery from the golden age of radio suspense. It’s Suspense with “The Devil’s Saint,” starring the incomparable Peter Lorre as the sinister Count Stefan Kohari. In this haunting tale, a young Englishman named Lord Edward Whiteford dares to spend a night in the cursed Tapestry Room of Kohari’s ancient chateau, hoping to win the hand of the Count’s niece, Elona. What follows is a masterfully crafted descent into fear and illusion written by mystery legend John Dickson Carr and set to the eerie strains of Bernard Herrmann’s music. Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/ Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297 Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD

Today we’re going back to October 4, 1943, for one of the wildest and weirdest comedy programs ever to hit the airwaves, It Pays to Be Ignorant. Hosted by Tom Howard and featuring his panel of so-called “experts,” Harry McNaughton, Lulu McConnell, and George Shelton, the show turns the idea of a quiz show upside down, serving up ridiculous questions, nonsensical answers, and nonstop vaudeville-style banter. You’ll also hear authentic 1940s flavor with wartime bond announcements and classic Peele’s Beer ads, plus a musical interlude from the Korn Kobblers, a novelty band in the spirit of Spike Jones and His City Slickers. The perfect ending to a half hour of vintage radio nonsense. Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/ Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297 Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD

Welcome to the fourth installment in our lead-up to Halloween on The Good Old Days of Radio Show. In this episode, we have an episode of The Shadow, titled “The Face,” originally aired on September 21, 1947. The plot follows Hugh Windham, a former actor whose face is horribly disfigured in a plane accident. After plastic surgery fails, Windham becomes a ruthless killer, targeting women who knew his original looks, until The Shadow steps in to stop him. You’ll also hear the original Blue Coal advertisements as they appeared in the broadcast, and John talks about how those ads and occasional mentions of post-war fuel shortages remind us of the real-world backdrop listeners faced at the time. Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/ Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297 Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD

On this episode of The Good Old Days of Radio Show, we are bringing you a powerful World War II–era broadcast from March 14, 1944: “The Long Name None Could Spell,” part of the Columbia Presents Corwin series. Written, directed, and produced by Norman Corwin, this dramatic program is a heartfelt tribute to Czechoslovakia after its betrayal and breakup following the 1938 Munich Agreement. Featuring narration by Martin Gabel and commentary from journalist William L. Shirer (who later wrote the famous book “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich”), the broadcast captures the intense emotion, patriotism, and moral conviction of wartime America. Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/ Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297 Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD

This week, we continue our countdown to Halloween with the third spooky installment in the series. Today’s episode is Quiet, Please classic “Wear the Dead Man’s Coat,” originally broadcast on February 23, 1948. Written and directed by Willis Cooper and starring Ernest Chappell, this story follows Floyd, a man who helps a shady character named Kidney Foot Cassidy get his hands on a warm overcoat… and ends up tangled in a murder, a mysterious coat that turns its wearer invisible, and the signature Wyllis Cooper twist. Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/ Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297 Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD

Today we shine a spotlight on one of the great but often forgotten comedians of the 1940s and ’50s: Henry Morgan. We’ll be hearing his April 4, 1950 NBC broadcast, and includes a few fun sketches, like an interview with a wrestler named “Gorgeous Carney,” a musical number from the Billy Williams Quartet, and a parody of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde featuring Henry Morgan alongside familiar voices like Art Carney and Arnold Stang. It’s clever, fast-paced, and a great reminder of just how ahead of his time Henry Morgan really was. Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/ Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297 Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD

Today we have another quietly spooky one. This is the classic "Coffin In Studio B," a script written by the highly original Wyllis Cooper, back in the '30s when Cooper was heavily involved in the legendary (and mostly lost), Lights Out! run. We have it from a short revival series from July 13th, 1946. The story focuses on three men late at night in a lonely radio studio, frantically rehearsing for the radio drama, minutes before it goes live. Maybe the best realistic portrayal of what working on a live radio show was like. Oh, except for that coffin part. Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/ Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297 If you don't do Facebook, we’re also on Gab: https://gab.com/OldRadio

We have an extended episode of the podcast for you today. It’s a rare, full 90-minute CBS broadcast from October 1945 called Stars in the Afternoon. This previously uncirculated broadcast originally aired live from Carnegie Hall, and was a special, designed as a big promotional preview for CBS’s fall lineup. Produced by Norman Corwin, you'll hear snippets and appearances from popular shows of the day, including The Aldrich Family, Inner Sanctum, We the People, Take It or Leave It, and The Thin Man. It’s a fascinating time capsule from the golden age of radio, and gives a real picture of what radio entertainment sounded like in 1945. Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/ Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297 Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD

On this first Thursday of October we are featuring a chilling installment from the classic series Mystery in the Air, starring the famous Peter Lorre. Originally broadcast on September 4, 1947 (and yes, sponsored by Camel Cigarettes), the story is titled The Mask of Medusa. The plot takes us into the world of a wax museum owner with a horrifying secret: the “figures” in his museum aren’t wax at all, but real people transformed into living statues by the ancient Mask of Medusa. One of these victims narrates the terror of being trapped, fully conscious but unable to move, while surrounded by forty-seven other frozen murderers. It’s Peter Lorre at his creepy best, in a story that mixes horror, mythology, and 1940s radio magic. Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/ Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297 Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD

On this episode, in addition to listening to a newly restored version of “Nothing Behind the Door” by Wyllis Cooper, John and Joel Tefteller dive into the fascinating (and often painstaking) world of audio restoration. They’re joined by Corey Harker, president of SPERDVAC (the Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety, and Comedy) to talk about the group’s history and its renewed push to keep classic radio alive. Corey and Joel get into the nuts and bolts of working with old transcription discs: how to clean up the sound without making it artificial, and just how much time and care goes into the process. To really show the difference, they play “before and after” examples from Quiet Please and Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel, a great reminder of why professional restoration matters. It’s all about making sure these historic recordings don’t just survive, but can actually be enjoyed by listeners today and generations to come. Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/ Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297 Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD

This episode wraps up our 10 More Monsters series with a once-lost recording of Escape. It’s a tense story set in the Louisiana bayou, where villagers suspect a stranger named Zeb of being a loup-garou ("werewolf") after livestock disappear and a baby dies. Host John Tefteller shares the story of how this rare episode turned up in a collection of reel-to-reel tapes from a late collector, and what it means for preserving old-time radio treasures. Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/ Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297 Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD

This time on The Good Old Days of Radio Show, we’re looking at another rare take on Daphne du Maurier’s The Birds. This is an hour-long version from 1953, a year earlier than the Escape version we presented last week. The story here follows John Waite (played in this version by Herbert Marshall), a writer living with his family on the Dover coast, as the birds go from being a minor annoyance to a terrifying, organized threat that forces the family to barricade themselves inside their home.  Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/ Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297 Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD

On this episode we bring you “More Monsters” with an early radio adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s classic short story The Birds. Long before Alfred Hitchcock turned it into a famous film, the story was produced on the radio series Escape, starring British actor Ben Wright. John sets the stage with some background on the show and the tricky business of preserving old recordings. The story is a chilling tale of a family on the English coast facing wave after wave of birds that seem to be growing more aggressive and more organized than anyone could have imagined. Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/ Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297 Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD

Today we’re featuring two skits with Fanny Brice as “Baby Snooks,” where Snooks drives “Daddy” (played brilliantly by radio veteran Hanley Stafford) up the wall with forged report cards and phony camp emergencies. In between, you’ll hear Red Skelton as “Junior the Mean Widdle Kid.” Unlike Fanny Brice, Skelton didn’t sound much like a kid, which was part of the uniqueness of the character. These rare recordings, taken from original master discs and dating back to 1942, showcase the early days of two unforgettable radio brats at their mischievous best. Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/ Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297 Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD

What if a monster could come to life just because enough people believed in it? That’s the unique premise behind today’s episode of The Mysterious Traveler, titled If You Believe, first aired on December 29, 1946. Our More Monsters host, John Tefteller, sets the scene for this strange tale of Professor Jonathan Davis, a solitary scientist working quietly to create artificial life. But when slick newspaper reporter Dan Duncan spins the story into headlines about a man building a monster, public imagination runs wild, and in a chilling twist, their belief actually turns Davis’s harmless protoplasmic experiment into a grotesque, living creature. Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/ Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297 Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD

Today’s show takes us to September 24, 1950, for an episode of The Jack Kirkwood Show, a fast-paced satirical comedy that aired on the Mutual Radio Network. Kirkwood is not very well remembered, but his crazy humor is in the vein of Stan Freberg or Henry Morgan. This episode is packed with sketches, musical numbers, and recurring bits like “Mad House Theater” and “Poet’s Nook,” all built around Kirkwood’s wordplay, sly observations, and quick back-and-forth with his cast, including Connie Haines, Wally Brown, and Lillian Leigh.  Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/ Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297 Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD

This time monsters are lurking in the deep. This episode of Quiet, Please from 1948 is a haunting tale with a twist. It centers on a Greek doctor who calmly confesses to murdering people he swears are fish-like Atlanteans living among us in secret and plotting to wipe out the surface world. In his account, he describes traveling to the sunken city of Atlantis. We also take a look at the story’s eerie sea dwellers and other works in pop culture, from H.G. Wells’ Into the Abyss to Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water. Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/ Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297 Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD

A visit with George and Gracie today. We go back to the spring of 1943 for a full episode of The Burns and Allen Show, the beloved comedy series. This time, Gracie has cooked up a plan to play a “One-Finger Concerto” with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, much to George’s horror. Along the way there’s a running gag about Gracie’s “friend,” who turns out to be none other than her pet duck, Herman, voiced by Clarence Nash (yes, the voice of Donald Duck himself). You’ll also hear those wonderfully period ads for Vims Vitamins and Swan Soap. Host John Tefteller rounds things out with historical notes on the episode, from Whiteman’s controversial “King of Jazz” title to the star power behind the mic. Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/ Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297 Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD