The Ghost Of Murdock Swamp (Aired February 9, 1947)
The series was written by Ralph Wilkinson and produced by Wally Ramsey. The show had a formula with the crime usually being committed in the first third of the program, the good doctor solving it in the second third, and then pedantically explaining the solution to someone (usually his "pretty, young" secretary, Rusty) in the conclusion. Dr. Daniel Danfield was an obnoxious unlicensed private investigator/criminal psychologist with an ego complex. Why Rusty would put up with this guy is beyond understanding. In this case, love is not only blind, but also deaf and dumb. But then, Rusty was no prize package either. In fact, the most complex person on the show is Dr. Dan Danfield's pretty young secretary, Miss Rusty Fairfax. Show Notes From The Old Time Radio Researcher's Group. THIS EPISODE: February 9, 1947. Program #26. ABC network origination, Teleways Radio Productions syndication. Commercials added locally. "The Ghost Of Murdock Swamp". The program is listed as #26 on the label, #5 on the transcription matrix. Missing pearls, mysterious lights in a swamp, and murder! Michael Dunn, Joanne Johnson. 26:38. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Special Guest Harpo Marx (Aired May 9, 1946)
Burns and Allen were an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen.Burns wrote most of the material, and played the straight man. Allen played a silly, addleheaded woman. Both attributed their success to the other, to the ends of their lives. Early on, the team had played the opposite roles until they noticed that the audience was laughing at Gracie's straight lines, so they made the change. Burns and Allen developed their popular routine over more than three decades of stage, radio, film, and television. Historians of popular culture have often stated that Allen was a brilliant comedian, whose entire career consisted of engaging in dialogues of "illogical logic" that left her verbal opponents dazed and confused, and her audiences in stitches. 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. Show Notes From The Old Time Radio Researcher's Group and The Digital Deli. THIS EPISODE: May 9, 1946. NBC network. Sponsored by: Maxwell House Coffee, Jell-O Pudding. Gracie's planning to write a newspaper column about national affairs. "Special Guest Harpo Marx" is going to be her assistant (he's heard whistling and honking, not talking of course). Harp also plays, "Stardust." George Burns, Gracie Allen, Bill Goodwin, Meredith Willson and His Orchestra, Mel Blanc, Harpo Marx. 30:14. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

The Traveling Man (Aired June 10, 1953)
The FBI in Peace and War was a radio crime drama inspired by Frederick Lewsis 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. Airing 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. Martin Blaine and Donald Briggs headed the cast. THIS EPISODE: June 10, 1953. CBS network. "The Traveling Man". Sponsored by: Brylcreme, Lava Soap, Nescafe. A young man double-crosses the stolen car ring he's been working for and heads west with his new bride. Martin Blaine, Don Briggs, Frederick L. Collins (creator), Betty Mandeville (producer, director). 29:40. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

The Saga Of Middleton Grimes (Aired October 21, 1940)
The LaRosa Hollywood Star Theater was an exceptionally popular show that aired daily from 1948 to 1951. The bill called it the most popular daytime radio series and yet it aired after the work day, 6PM to 7PM. C.P McGregor was the host and many of Hollywood’s great stars contributed to the program's success. La Rosa's macaroni and noodles sponsored through its run. Information on C.P. MacGregor still remains somewhat sketchy, but he's one of the more fascinating and prolific producers of Radio oProgramming of the era of The Golden Age of Radio. In 1924, MacGregor was a Brunswick Records manager for the San Francisco territory. He later founded his own studios--C.P. MacGregor Studios--at 729 S. Western Avenue, Hollywood, CA. He was referred to as "the DeMille of the discs." This first of his companies--MacGregor and Ingram Company--was incorporated around 1929. Some of their electrical transcriptions of the era bear the call letters of KFRC, 610 AM, San Francisco--one of the 31 stations comprising the West Coast Don Lee-Mutual Network. Given the close association between Don Lee and C.P. MacGregor it's highly likely that MacGregor often used Don Lee's KFRC Studios in San Francisco before later establishing himself in the Melrose District of Los Angeles.

Mexican Hat Trick (Aired November 2, 1951)
The Third Man (The Lives of Harry Lime) was a old-time radio adventure series that ran in 1951 and 1952. It was based on the 1949 film of the same name. Orson Welles stars as Harry Lime, a perpetually broke confidence man, smuggler, and general scoundrel. He will participate in virtually any criminal activity to make a fast buck, but uses his wits rather than a gun. He draws the line short of murder, blackmail, or drugs. Even so, Harry is an endearing character and listeners love to hear of his one-step-ahead-of-the-law misadventures as he hops around the globe looking for his next pigeon. The zither music of Anton Karas adds a wonderful Viennese ambience to each episode and really makes this show special. THIS EPISODE: November 2, 1951. Program #14. Lang-Worth syndication. "Mexican Hat Trick". Commercials added locally. Harry's in Mexico City down to his last borrowed cigarette when a friendly pickpocket puts him on the trail of an innocent, but convicted murderer. Orson Welles, Anton Karas (zither), Harry Alan Towers (producer), Tig Roe (director). 28:47. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

The Adventure Of The Haunted Hams (Aired July 13, 1948)
The Thin Man follows an ex-detective, Nick Charles, and his sophisticated, glamorous, wealthy wife, Nora Charles, on their escapades to unravel mystery where ever it may lie by sleuthing and solving murders; billed the "happiest married couple in radio." Their infectious relationship consisted of charming one-upmanship, affectionate criticism, and inebriated fun chock full of martinis, and came with its own terrier, Asta, which is a trademark of all rich couples. The radio show was actually spun from the very popular detective novel by Dashiell Hammett , writer of The Maltese Falcon and The Glass Key. The subsequent movie, by the same name, was a very low-budget MGM film that was filmed in only 14 days, went on to gross over $2 million while being nominated in four categories for Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay! THIS EPISODE: July 13, 1948. NBC network. "The Adventure Of The Haunted Hams". Sponsored by: Pabst Beer. A country barn burns down, leaving a troup of summer stock actors without a theatre. Claudia Morgan, Les Tremayne, Ed Herlihy (announcer), Parker Fennelly, Dashiell Hammett (creator), Himan Brown (producer, director), Fred Fradkin (music), Milton Lewis (writer). 29:44. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Author Meets His Match (Aired April 18, 1948)
Born John Florence Sullivan on May 31, 1894, Fred Allen began his career in vaudeville before becoming one of radio’s most acerbic and admired wits. Allen and his wife, former chorus girl Portland Hoffa, began their radio career on October 23, 1932, starring on The Linit Bath Club Revue. By 1934, Allen was starring on Town Hall Tonight, a one-hour show which featured Allen examining current events and interviewing unusual guests. It was here that Allen began radio’s longest-running “feud” in 1937, when he made a series of jokes about fellow comedian Jack Benny. Allen's best-remembered feature was “Allen's Alley,” a weekly segment in which he would discuss issues of the day with eccentric creations like the blustery Senator Claghorn, Brooklyn housewife Pansy Nussbaum and stoic New Englander Titus Moody. Allen was known to read up to nine newspapers a day and often spent 12 to 14 hours a day writing and re-writing his scripts. THIS EPISODE: April 18, 1948. NBC network. Sponsored by: Ford. Allen's Alley Question: "What did you like best about this year's circus?" Fred and Postmaster Jim Farley do a parody of "Author Meets The Critics" - Fred Allen, Portland Hoffa, Al Goodman and His Orchestra, The De Marco Sisters, James Farley, Kenny Delmar, Peter Donald, Parker Fennelly, Minerva Pious. 29:46. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

In The Groove (Aired November 4, 1985)
Vanishing Point is the title of a science fiction anthology series that ran on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Radio from 1984 until 1986, although the show would continue under different names and formats. A descriptive intro declared that Vanishing Point. The series was produced by Bill Lane in the CBC's Toronto studios. 1984-1986 There were 69 episodes in the original series. The series continued after that under various names and formats. "The point between reality and fantasy. Where imagination holds the key to new worlds. That point of no return---The Vanishing Point." Favorably compared to Rod Sterling's classic TV series, The Twilight Zone, these finely tuned radio dramas from the CBC provide compelling excursions into the realm of mystery and fantasy.

Mr. & Mrs. North - Pam Solves It (Aired August 9, 1944)
Mystery House was a mystery series, to be sure, but for the most part fairly wholesome compared to other exemplars of the genre during the World War II years. The premise of Mystery House is relatively unique for the era. The main protagonists were a married couple, Dan and Barbara Glenn, owners and publishers of mystery novels via their Mystery House publishing firm purportedly located on Park Avenue in New York City. As a further twist, the firm had a policy of acting out their proposed novels prior to publication. This was an admittedly unrealistic concept--even for the 1940s--given the fast paced, frenetic business of publishing, but with a bit of suspension of disbelief the concept captures the listener's imagination. Show Notes From The Old Time Radio Researcher's Group and The Digital THIS EPISODE: August 9, 1944 - Between 1940 and 1963 the husband and wife team of Frances and Richard Lockridge published more than forty mystery novels featuring the exploits of Pam and Jerry North. The series proved to be enormously successful, spinning off a movie starring George Burns and Gracie Allen, a long-running (162 performances) play on Broadway, a radio drama which lasted for thirteen years, and a popular television show, with Richard Demming and Barbara Britton, which aired for two years. Of the small number of married sleuths in the history of crime fiction, the Norths had the longest sustained series, which ended only with of the death of Frances Lockridge in 1963.

The Three Silver Pesos (Aired June 3, 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: June 3, 1946. Mutual network. "The Three Silver Pesos". Sponsored by: Petri Wine. The first show of the series, a nearly identical format to the Sherlock Holmes broadcasts on Mutual. This is the start of a summer replacement series for Sherlock Holmes. Gregory Hood continued on Mutual for the next three years when the Sherlock Holmes broadcasts switched to ABC. Harrison Tavers dies on the Golden Gate Bridge with a vial of cyanide in his pocket, a heart attack and a fatal stab wound! When Hood picks up a beautiful hitch-hiker, he loses his car and his corpse! The story features an interesting plot with lots of dead bodies...including one dead man who kills his killer! Gale Gordon, Dean Fosler (composer, conductor), William Johnstone, Denis Green (writer), Anthony Boucher (writer), Harry Bartell (announcer). 29:29 Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.