Best Old Time Radio Dramas

Everyone loves a good drama. Be it a melodrama that makes you cry, or a spine-tingling suspense drama that keeps you on the edge of your seat! Dramas for years have been the life blood of both the written word and stage & screen presentations.

And dramas ruled old time radio, too!

Here for your listening pleasure is a sample of many of the finest dramatic programs ever presented during radio's golden years. So get out your handkerchiefs, get ready to move to the edge of your seat -- or enjoy stories of bravery and courage.

There is nothing like a good old time radio drama!

Joan Fontaine

Bakers' Theater of Stars

Bakers' Theater of Stars was a half-hour anthology series that ran on CBS on Sunday nights in 1953. It was sponsored by The Bakers of America, which was an industry group that represented large baking companies around the country.

The show featured some of the top name Hollywood movie talent of the time. Folks like Joan Fontaine, Joseph Cotten, Vincent Price, Dana Andrews, Robert Taylor and and Ronald Reagan all appeared on the show.

Sadly, only 13 scripts were produced before the show was cancelled. Of those, only five remain in circulation today. It is sad because the production values were very high, the stories first rate and the acting top-notch. It all made for very enjoyable and very entertaining listening.

Listen to episodes of Bakers Theater of Stars

Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart

Bold Venture

Slate Shannon is the owner of a hotel in Havana named Shannon's Place.

The hotel is the part-time home of a wide assortment of shady characters, from treasure hunters to revolutionaries.

Sailor Duvall is the daughter of Slate's close friend; before the friend's death he asks Slate to watch after her when he's gone. With his his new partner by his side, the two encounter a wide assortment of modern-day pirates, ne'er do wells and scallywags that abound in Havana in the 1950s.

While aboard the Bold Venture, Slate's boat, the duo experience: Adventure, intrigue, mystery and romance in the sultry settings of tropical Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean."

Listen to episodes of Bold Venture

Mercedes McCambridge

Defense Attorney

Defense Attorney was a hard hitting radio drama that had a unique twist -- the title character was a woman (not common in 1950!). Attorney Martha Ellis Bryant, potrayed by very talented Mercedes MacCambridge, begins each episode with the oath that she will "defend the defenseless."

In most episodes her clients, usually innocent, find themselves in extremely difficult legal situations -- even on death row. Once Bryant is convinced of their innocence and sincerity, she goes to work to overturn every stone in order to right the wrongs and free her innocent clients.

The show was well written, had outstanding production values, and top-notch acting. A show very much worth listening to!

Listen to episodes of Defense Attorney

William Conrad, Narrator for Escape!

Escape!

Escape! was old time radio's leading anthology series featuring high-adventure, high stakes personal dramas. The show aired on CBS from 1947 to 1954. Most of the stories were original radio plays, although some were adaptations of previously published works. The plots almost always involved a protagonist in a dire life-or-death situation.

Escape! enthralled many listeners during its seven-year run. The series is particularly well-remembered for its opening which combined Mussorgsky's music with the dulcet tones of William Conrad (and later Paul Frees):

"Tired of the everyday grind? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... Escape!"

Listen to episodes of Escape!

Hollywood Star Playhouse

Hollywood Star Playhouse featured movie stars performing as radio stars -- if even for a single performance. When the Hollywood Star Playhouse first premiered it promised to showcase a different top screen personality each week in an original dramatic script that would be written by a leading Hollywood writer.

John Dunning, radio historian, said about Hollywood Star Playhouse that the stories were tense, original and suspenseful and very well suited for the half-hour radio format. Many of the scripts were written with specific stars in mind. For instance, The Six Shooter originally premiered as a story on Hollywood Star Playhouse. The success of that single story dictated it be turned into its own weekly program featuring the same movie star: Jimmy Stewart

Listen to episodes of Hollywood Star Playhouse

Orson Welles as Harry Lime

Lives of Harry Lime

Harry Lime cares only for making money and enjoying nice things. It doesn't really matter what underhanded activity he must perform to achieve his goals.

What makes Harry interesting is that he readily tales advantage of individuals who are trying to take advantage of him.

Thanks to witty scripts, and superb performances by Welles and a stock company of talented actors, including Diana Foster, Frances Hyland, Suzanne Cloutier, and many others, the nefarious Harry Lime and his Rogue's Gallery of associates always make for great listening entertainment.

Listen to Lives of Harry Lime

Lux Radio Theatre

Lux Radio Theatre, a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast between 1934 and 1955.

The goal at first was to feature as many original stars from Broadway productions as possible. Originally broadcast from New York, Lever Brothers ( manufacturer of the Lux brand) moved the show to Hollywood in 1936 and switched the emphasis to movie adaptations rather than stage plays.

From that point forward, Lux became a must-hear Monday night radio staple. The shows were performed live in front of a large audience. Movie scripts were adapted into one hour radio plays. Whenever possible (which was often) the original stars appeared on Lux in the same roles they had made famous on the screen.

Comedies, dramas, romance and musicals were all included. And the plays hold up as well today as they did 70+ years ago!

Listen to Lux Radio Theatre

Frank Lovejoy stars as Randy Stone

Night Beat

Nightbeat is the story of a tough and streetwise reporter who works the late night beat for the Chicago Star, searching out stories of human interest.

Many of the people he meets have problems; some are scared, some have given up.

Frank Lovejoy as Randy Stone is both powerful and believable as the tough reporter with a conscience and a big heart. Some of the stories are tense and dramatic, while others are emotional and heart-rending. All of them are highly entertaining.

This series has held up very well and the stories told are often as compelling today as they were 70 years ago.

Listen to Night Beat

Radio's outstanding theater of thrills

Suspense

Suspense proved to be one of the truly outstanding drama programs during the Golden Age of Radio. The program advertised itself as "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" and its focus was on suspenseful scripts, often filled with thrills and chills.

Many episodes, especially during the program's heyday, featured leading Hollywood actors and actresses in roles that were often against type. Like Jim and Marian Jordan as victims in a taut drama, or Lucille Ball as a scheming woman plotting out a murder.

While most of the stories on Suspense were original, they also worked in some adaptations of previously published works. No matter the original source, each program offered a told tale well calculated to keep you in suspense!

Listen to episodes of Suspense

The Whistler

"I am the Whistler, and I know many things for I walk by night. I know many strange tales hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak."

The Whistler was a crime anthology drama which became a particular favorite of mystery show buffs. It played in the Western United States
from 1942 to 1955 on CBS.

The fun part of the show was always the surprise twist at the very end of each story. So come along and listen as The Whistler takes us on a tour of the dark recesses of the human mind and spirit.

Listen to episodes of The Whistler