George Is Kidnapped (Aired September 30, 1940)
During a typical 23-minute episode of the Burns and Allen show, the vast majority of the dialogue and speaking parts were written for Allen, who was credited with having the genius to deliver her lengthy diatribes in a fashion that made it look as though she was making her arguments up on the spot. (One running gag on the TV show was the existence of a closet full of hats belonging to various visitors to the Burns household, where the guests would slip out the door unnoticed, leaving their hats behind, rather than face another round with Gracie.) A continuing joke on the show was that George would say, "Say good night, Gracie," and Gracie would say, "Good night Gracie!" THIS EPISODE: September 30, 1940. " George Is Kidnapped" - NBC network. Sponsored by: Spam. George is still on the lam from gangster Huey Sallas. He disguises himself as "Aunt Clara," which seems like a good idea until gangster Huey proposes to him! George Burns, Gracie Allen, Artie Shaw and His Orchestra, The Smoothies, Bud Hiestand (announcer). 28:28. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "The Six Shooter" - Johnny Springer (Aired April 22, 1954)
Though The Six Shooter wasn't the first popular adult western to air over Radio, a case can be made that it was the first to thoroughly legitimize the genre over the medium. Not only were The Six Shooter scripts--and casts--the equal of any of the first wave of adult westerns to air over Radio, but the series carried the considerable weight of James Stewart in the starring role as Britt Ponset, the reluctant, yet highly efficient, western gunslinger. For the era, James Stewart was a natural choice to popularize the genre over Radio. His ground-breaking--for Stewart--depiction of the angst and inner turmoil of his protagonist, Lin McAdam in Winchester '73 (1950), launched a series of James Stewart appearances in other taut Anthony Mann and Alfred Hitchcock psychological thrillers over the following ten years. More importantly, the timing was perfect to cast Stewart in a psychological western thriller for Radio. Show Notes From The Digital Deli. THIS EPISODE: April 22, 1954. NBC network. Sustaining. Clerk Sid Tucker has been shot. He identifies "Johnny Springer" as the killer. The trail leads to the cabin of a beautiful senorita. Jimmy Stewart, Basil Adlam (music), Jack Johnstone (director), Frank Burt (writer, creator), Virginia Gregg, Harry Bartell, Barney Phillips, Parley Baer, John Wald (announcer), Joel Cranston. 30:45. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

The Picture Of Dorian Gray (1957) *The Exact Date Is Unknown.
ABC Mystery Time was hosted by Don Dowd and starred Sir Laurence Olivier. Great special effects will grab your attention, accented by creepy organ rips. Stories are offered such as death gathered round a card table at a local chapter of The Suicide Club, or a man who desperately tries to hire a 24 hour bodyguard all the while trying to make himself the victim of a murder, and other baffling peculiar tales of yore. Also known as Mystery Time and Mystery Time Classics, this one is sure to excite and mystify. Unfortunately this is an old time radio show with few surviving episodes in existence. THIS EPISODE: 1957. ABC network. "The Picture Of Dorian Gray". The classic story of the portrait that grows old in place of its owner. The program is also referred to as, "Mystery Time Classics." Laurence Olivier, Oscar Wilde (author). 23:53. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Room For Improvement (Aired November 16, 1955)
The FBI in Peace and War was a radio crime drama inspired by Frederick Lewis Collins' book, The FBI in Peace and War. The idea for the show came from Louis Pelletier who wrote many of the scripts. Among the show's other writers were Jack Finke, Ed Adamson and Collins. It aired on CBS from November 25, 1944 to September 28, 1958, it had a variety of sponsors (including Lava Soap, Wildroot Cream-Oil, Lucky Strike, Nescafe and Wrigley's) over the years. In 1955 it was the eighth most popular show on radio, as noted in Time magazine. THIS EPISODE: November 16, 1955. CBS network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "Room For Improvement". An F. H. A. kickback racket is broken by the Feds when Eddie Norris falls for the daughter of a gangster. Martin Blaine, Don Briggs, Frederick L. Collins (creator), Betty Mandeville (producer, director). 23:50. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Double Death (Aired October 17, 1949)
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 (with Olan Soule stepping into the role in 1954). 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. "The few earliest episodes were more sitcom than private eye shows, with a studio audience providing scattered laughter at the not-so-funny scripts. Soon the audience was banished, and George went from stumbling comedic hero to tough guy private eye, while the music became suspenseful. Valentine's secretary was Claire Brooks, aka Brooksie (Frances Robinson, Virginia Gregg, Lillian Buyeff). THIS EPISODE: October 17, 1949. Mutual-Don Lee network. "Double Death". Sponsored by: Standard Oil, Chevron. George Valentine is hired by Mr. Groves to find his wife, but George thinks Groves killed her. The problem is that there are too many clues! Bob Bailey, Frances Robinson, Wally Maher, Ted de Corsia, Dick Ryan, Joe Forte, Jeanne Bates, Jackson Gillis (writer), David Victor (writer), Don Clark (director), Bud Hiestand (announcer), Eddie Dunstedter (composer, conductor). 29:52. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Next Stop Niagara Falls (Aired December 15, 1949)
Maisie, the first in 1939, was from the book "Dark Dame" by the writer Wilson Collison,who did decades of scripting for the silver screen along with Broadway plays and magazine fiction. From the first, MGM wanted Ann Sothern to play Maisie. She began in Hollywood as an extra in 1927. "Maisie and I were just together - I just understood her," Sothern, born Harriette Arlene Lake, said after several of the films made her a star. Throughout the 1930s and '40s, Ann Sothern and Lucille Ball, like many performers in Hollywood, had not one but two careers - one in motion pictures and one on radio. MGM Studios had created the series of ten motion pictures based on a brash blonde with a heart "of spun gold." Maisie, the first in 1939, was from the book "Dark Dame" by the writer Wilson Collison, who did decades of scripting for the silver screen along with Broadway plays and magazine fiction. THIS EPISODE: December 15, 1949. "Next Stop Niagara Falls" - Program #4. MGM syndication. Commercials added locally. Eddie Jordan is back in Maisie's life once again. He's promptly fired from his job. The date above is the date of first broadcast on WMGM, New York City. Ann Sothern, Jack McCoy (announcer), Harry Zimmerman (composer, conductor), Arthur Phillips (writer), Joan Banks, Joe Forte, Sidney Miller, Bea Benaderet, Pat McGeehan. 27:46. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Pursuit (Aired July 31, 1945)
Dark Venture was a grim kind of thriller where the listener got inside the twisted head of the murderer and heard his thoughts. It was not supernatural horror, but horror just the same... the kind that evil minds spawn when they are scheming ways to kill someone and get away with it. The writing was sharp and gritty. These killers were hardened sociopaths that didn't give a damn about anyone else. They had no conscience and were diabolical in their plots. Unfortunately for them, the audience also liked to see others suffer, especially if that person was guilty and deserved his comeuppance. So each week millions could tune in to "see" the murderer meet his fate on the radio in their mind's eye. The killing method wasn't especially creative. It was usually the tried and true technique of strangulation, knifing, or shooting. No, what made Dark Venture interesting was the manner in which the killer plotted to get away with it all. Killers would devise sinister mind games to trick their wife into believing she was going insane, or manipulate a business partner into thinking he was being stalked by a phantom lover. Both of these elaborate plots were dreamed up to provide a fall guy for the murder, and both would have worked too-- except for some small detail that would unravel the entire conspiracy. Show Notes From The Old Time Radio Researcher's Group and The Digital Deli.

The Ninth Volume (Aired December 30, 1977)
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT) was an ambitious and sustained attempt to revive the great drama of old-time radio in the 1970s. Created by Himan Brown (who had by then become a radio legend due to his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries and other shows dating back to the 1930s), and aired on affiliate stations across the CBS Radio network, the series began its long run on January 6, 1974. The final episode ran on December 31, 1982. The show was broadcast nightly and ran for one hour, including commercials. Typically, a week consisted of three to four new episodes, with the remainder of the week filled out with reruns. Despite the show's title, Brown expanded its scope beyond mysteries to include horror, science fiction, historical drama, and even comedy. In addition to original stories, there were adaptations of classic tales by such writers as Edgar Allan Poe (no fewer than seven Poe stories were adapted in 1975 alone), O. Henry, Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, Charles Dickens and others. THIS EPISODE: December 30, 1977. Program #1455. CBS network. "The Ninth Volume". Commercials deleted. The program was rebroadcast on June 3, 1978. This was a rebroadcast of the program of August 19, 1977. E. G. Marshall (host), Percy Grainger (writer), Michael Wager, Court Benson, Robert Dryden, Himan Brown (producer, director). 44:04. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Nightmare (Aired June 10, 1951)
Dimension X was a very effective demonstration of what could be done with science fiction on the air. It came so late that nobody cared, but some of the stories stand as classics of the medium. Bradbury's "Mars Is Heaven" is as gripping today as when first heard. His "Martian Chronicles" was one of the series' most impressive offerings. Dimension X played heavily on an "adventures in time and space, told in future tense" theme. Actors who worked regularly on the show included Joe Di Santis, Wendell Holmes, Santos Ortega, Joseph Julian, Jan Miner, Roger De Koven, John Gibson, Ralph Bell, John Larkin, Les Damon, and Mason Adams. It was directed by Fred Weihe and Edward King. The deep-voiced narrator was Norman Rose. Show Notes From The Old Time Radio Researcher's Group. THIS EPISODE: June 10, 1951. NBC network. "Nightmare". Sustaining. Based on the poem "Revolt Of The Machines," by Stephen Vincent Benet. The script was subsequently used on "X Minus One" on July 21, 1955. The "X Minus One" program was rebroadcast as part of "Monitor" during December, 1974. Joseph Julian, Bob Warren (announcer), Don Pardo (announcer), Edwin Jerome, Joe DeSantis, Gregory Morton, John McGovern, William Welch (producer), Albert Buhrman (music), Bill Chambers (engineer), Edward King (director), John Gibson, Norman Rose (host), Rita Lynn, Stephen Vincent Benet (author), George Lefferts (adaptor). 24:50. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

The Double Diamond (Aired August 5, 1946)
The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Gale Gordon in the title role, took over where Sherlock Holmes had left off. Sponsored by Petri wine, it used the same "weekly visit" format and the same team of Anthony Boucher and Dennis Green that had written The New Adventured of Sherlock Holmes. Gregory Hood was modelled after true-life San Francisco importer Richard Gump, and many of the stories revolve around a mystery surrounding some particular imported treasure. Hood's sidekick Sanderson "Sandy" Taylor was played by Bill Johnstone. The show aired from June, 1946 through August, 1950. There were an additional couple of shows aired in October 1951. Hood and Sanderson were played in later episodes by Elliott Lewis and Howard McNear, respectively. THIS EPISODE: August 5, 1946. Mutual network. "The Double Diamond". Sponsored by: Petri Wines. A robbery has taken place aboard an airliner. A diamond's been stolen out of a diamond pendant...make that two diamonds! One of the passengers on the plane is a phoney southern colonel, who is called (with a straight face) "Mr. Keister." Gale Gordon, Harry Bartell (announcer), Dean Fosler (composer, conductor), Denis Green (writer), Anthony Boucher (writer), Howard McNear. 31:03. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.