The Clock, “ Cousin Mary” 3/3/48
Inner Sanctum 2/2/45, “Death in The Depths”
Vanishing Point 2/15/85, “Startex B16“
True Detective Mysteries 8/26/37, “Shipboard Beauty”
Segment One:
The Clock was a thirty-minute suspense and mystery series that first aired on November the 3rd of 1946 and ran until May the 23rd of 1948 for a total of 78 shows. 65 of those shows were written by Lawrence Klee and produced in Australia by Grace Gibson.
Each story began with the same words, “Sunrise and sunset, promise and fulfilment, birth and death…the whole drama of life is written in the sands of time”. The Clock was imported into the United States by ABC.. The series with it’s generally generic settings who’s actors and actresses spoke without a perceptible Australian accent made the program sounded “American” and therefore was a natural import. It ran on ABC for 15 months airing frist 65 existing programs then continued for another 13 weeks with an All-American cast with new scripts for a total of 78 episodes.
today’s episode is from March the third of 1947, “ Cousin Mary”. It’s the story of Laura, Joe and Cousin Mary. Who comes to stay for “just one night”… or maybe it’s just, “a little while”. They get along just fine. Until the worm turns and turns again.
Segment Two:
Taking its name from a popular series of mystery novels, Inner Sanctum Mysteries debuted over NBC’s Blue Network in January 1941.
Inner Sanctum Mysteries featured one of the most iconic openings in radio history. First an organist hit’s a dissonant chord. Next a doorknob turns, and the “creaking door” slowly began to open. So impressive was this opening that when South Africain radio ran its own version of the show it was called The Creaking Door.
Every week, Inner Sanctum Mysteries told stories of ghosts, murderers and lunatics, with a cast consisting of veteran radio actors. Although Produced in New York, there were occasional guest appearances by Hollywood stars such as Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Claude Rains.
“Raymond”, the host, had a droll sense of humor, and an appetite for ghoulish puns. Raymond’s influence can be seen among horror hosts everywhere, from The Crypt-Keeper to Elvira, and even more so among his contemporaries on radio .”Raymond” was played untill 1945 by Raymond Edward Johnson. Then Paul McGrath took over and played “Raymond” until the show ended production in 1952 .
Producer Hiram Brown was so taken with the creaking door that when he produced and directed The CBS Radio Mystery Theater in the 1970s he would use it again.
Inner Sanctum Mysteries was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1988.
Today’s episode is from February 2nd 1945, “Death in The Depths”.
It’s the story of Steve, A deep sea diver on his first job in a while. He has his misgivings. He has his reasons for his misgivings. You see, it’s like this, there have been one too many murders and balanced against this it may be that he has one too many wives – and, also, he needs the money.
This is one of those, “ Inner Sanctum stories that offers no a “rational” explanation that is so lame the alternative supernatural explanation is more plausible.
Segment Three:
“Vanishing Point” is a science fiction anthology series that ran on CBC Radio from 1984 until 1986. Declared by the shows introduction to be, “The point between reality and fantasy.
The series was produced by Bill Lane in the C.B.C.’s Toronto studios and produced some excellent radio.
Today, from February 15, 1985 we have, “Startex B16“. If there’s anything I hate it’s a machine that does too much. I don’t want a Coke machine that talks to me. I don’t want a computer program that does stuff. Do you know what I mean, it changes your defaults. After all why would you want that home-page? And you know, of course, that this search engine is ever so much better than that one. The one you have used for years I mean.
This is the story about the “StarTex B16“ the most capable and self-deluded coffee maker this side of a Douglas Adams story.
Segment Four:
True Detective Mysteries from August 26 of 1937, “Shipboard Beauty”.
One of the earliest radio series, “True Detective Mysteries” broadcast over CBS every Thursday evening beginning in 1929. It’s stock and trade was producing true stories of real police cases.
Perhaps wanting to cater to a less blood-thirsty crowd than it’s contemporary, “Light’s Out” the show was remarkably non-violent. No-one seems to have been actually murdered in the course of the narration. Mind you, there are plenty of murders, it’s just that the first the listener knows about them is when a body is discovered or reported.
Rather that relying on a canned library sound effects were produced live in the studio So, when a struggle was indicated the actors would struggle; among themselves. When the gongs and sirens were heard there were gongs and sirens present in the studio. I don’t know if this practice of early radio added anything to it’s realism as so many people claim. Maybe it did, maybe not.
True Detective Mysteries was based on the “True Detective Magazine” which first published in 1924 ( and would not cease publication until 1995).
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