The Millionaire (Aired October 11, 1955)
The shows tried to sound neutral, then there was hope that the show could be sold to Great Britain and the United States. The show was bought by the ABC network in the States, although the ABC on the CD label (below) stands for the Australian Broadcast Company. The settings were usually generic and the actors tried to speak without a perceptible accent and for that reason the program sounded sort of "American". They occasionally slipped up on a few words, using 'boot' instead of 'trunk' when referring to a car. At the end of the fifteen month series run it continued for another 13 weeks but now with an All-American cast with new scripts and the entire crew including the cast, directors, musicians, etc., Americans. THIS EPISODE: October 11, 1955. Grace Gibson/Michelson syndication, WRVR-FM, New York City aircheck. "The Millionaire" aka: All The Money In The World. Participating sponsors. A story about a man with all the money in the world. WRVR rebroadcast date: August 17, 1973. Lawrence Klee (writer), Harp McGuire (as "The Clock"), Joe McCormick, Ken Wayne, Frank Waters, Georgie Stirling, Pat Martin, Grant Taylor, John Saul (director), Grace Gibson (producer). 24:17. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

The Devil In The Deep Freeze (Aired November 10, 1949)
Candy Matson was the private eye star of Candy Matson, YUkon 2-8208, an NBC West Coast show which first aired in March 1949 and was created by Monty Masters. He cast his wife, Natalie Parks, in the title role of this sassy, sexy PI. Her understated love interest, Lt. Ray Mallard, was played by Henry Leff while her assistant and best pal, aptly named Rembrandt Watson, was the voice of Jack Thomas. Every show opened with a ringing telephone and our lady PI answering it with "Candy Matson, YU 2-8209" and then the organ swung into the theme song, "Candy". Each job took Candy from her apartment on Telegraph Hill into some actual location in San Francisco. The writers, overseen by Monty, worked plenty of real Bay Area locations into every plot. Candy was bright, tough, and fearless. THIS EPISODE: November 10, 1949. NBC network, San Francisco origination. "The Devil In The Deep Freeze". Sustaining. A restaurant owner asks Candy to get rid of a body in his meat refrigerator, and he's dressed like the devil! Guest Dorothy Warenskjold (famous opera singer) helps Candy to solve this operatic murder. The title is subject to correction. Dorothy Warenskjold, Dudley Manlove (announcer), Harry Bechtel, Henry Leff, Jack Thomas, Jerry Walter, Monte Masters (writer, producer), Natalie Masters. 29:25. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Debt Of Honor (Aired May 27, 1948)
The Hallmark Radio Reader's Digest is an enjoyable compilation of classics of literature and romance made for radio broadcast in the 1940's. The shows were sponsored by makers of Hallmark Greeting Cards. These were independent short stories made for radio. Many of the stories were international love stories - with characters from other countries who were in love with the vibrancy of America. THIS EPISODE: May 27, 1948. CBS network, KMBC, Kansas City, Missouri aircheck. "Debt Of Honor". Sponsored by: Hallmark Cards. The show also is also called "The Hallmark Program." An Italian who runs a small bank goes bankrupt after a robbery. He swears to pay back every depositor every penny. Roger Pryor, Jay Jackson (host), Agnes Young. 29:16. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

The Fence aka: Perfect Detective (1950) *The Exact Date Is Unknown.
The first 'sanctioned' broadcasts of Secrets of Scotland Yard were heard over Canada's CBC Radio station CJOB, from approximately May 24, 1950 through approximately November 30, 1953. The Canadian broadcasts appear to have been a somewhat smaller subset of the original set of transcriptions, comprising a run of some 106 episodes, versus the theoretical entire run of 110. The first American broadcasts of Secrets of Scotland Yard were heard over The Mutual Broadcasting System (MBS) and its loose confederation of independent affiliates throughout the United States. THIS EPISODE: 1950. Towers Of London syndication. ""The Fence"". Commercials added locally. The story Jonathan Wild, an extraordinary "The Perfect Detective" and all-around criminal. He also excelled at arresting criminals! To be a perfect detective, you have to be a perfect crook! The series was syndicated outside the U.S. starting at the end of 1948 on LM Radio (Radio Lourenco) in Mozambique for South African listeners, then on at least one CBC station (WJOB, Winnipeg) beginning May 24, 1951 and on the Mutual net beginning on March 7, 1957 (for only 66 episodes). Because syndicated program were heard on different stations on different dates and in different sequences, the dates above are only approximations of the the first broadcast date in Africa (with the exception of program #78, known to have been aired on May 29, 1950). Clive Brook (host), Percy Hoskins (writer, performer), Harry Alan Towers (producer). 22:38. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

The Case Of The Vanishing Varmint (Aired July 11, 1944)
The success of Falcon films led to a radio series that premiered on the American Blue Network in April 1943, and aired for the next ten years on various networks. It was here that his transition into a private eye was finalized, with The Falcon, now called MICHAEL WARING working as a hardboiled insurance investigator, with an office and a secretary, Nancy. Barry Kroeger was the first radio voice of the Falcon, followed by James Meighan, Les Tremayne, George Petrie, and Les Damon. Nearly all the shows were broadcast from New York. Each show usually started out with a telephone call to The Falcon from a beautiful woman. Answering in his slightly British accent, he would reply to her and another adventure would follow. Waring was snappy and sarcastic with the incompetent police who were inevitably unable to solve the mysteries without his help. Like the films, the radio plots mixed danger, romance and comedy in equal parts. THIS EPISODE: July 11, 1944 - NBC network. "The Case Of The Vanishing Varmint". Sponsored by: Kraft Miracle Whip, Kraft Malted Milk. "Dead bodies, like bad pennies, always turn up!" Les Damon, Ed Herlihy (announcer), Drexel Drake (creator), Bernard L. Schubert (producer), Richard Lewis (director), Eugene Wang (writer), Arlo (music), Charles Webster. 29:54. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Vincent & The Painter (Aired June 19, 1950)
Broadcast on NBC, Nightbeat ran from 1949 to 1952 and starred Frank Lovejoy as Randy Stone, a tough and streetwise reporter who worked the nightbeat for the Chicago Star looking for human interest stories. He met an assortment of people, most of them with a problem, many of them scared, and sometimes he was able to help them, sometimes he wasn’t. It is generally regarded as a ‘quality’ show and it stands up extremely well. Frank Lovejoy (1914-1962) isn’t remembered today, but he was a powerful and believable actor with a strong delivery, and his portrayal of Randy Stone as tough guy with humanity was perfect. The scripts were excellent, given that they had to pack in a lot in a short time, and there was a good supporting cast, orchestra, and sound effects. THIS EPISODE: June 19, 1950. "Vincent And The Painter" - NBC network. Sponsored by: Wheaties. Alfred Wyman is a strange artist who wants to kill the wealthy Miss Gleason because she killed Vincent. Frank Lovejoy, Frank Martin (announcer), Warren Lewis (producer, director), Wilms Herbert, Martha Wentworth, Frank Worth (music), Russell Hughes (writer), Ben Wright, Jeanette Nolan, Lawrence Dobkin. 29:31. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Blanche's Expensive Injury (Aired July 17, 1951)
The Bickersons were barely ready for prime time radio (they lasted only two full seasons) as it was, but a 1951 CBS television version didn't last half as long. Lew Parker (later familiar as That Girl's harried, slightly overbearing father Lew Marie) took the role of John Bickerson, as he also did on radio a season earlier. But it did not work as well as the original skits. Parker and Langford weren't seen to have the seamless anti-chemistry of Ameche and Langford. Premiering as a summer season replacement, the television version of The Bickersons lasted only 13 episodes. \Ameche and Langford's work together didn't end with The Bickersons, either. They co-hosted a variety series, The Frances Langford-Don Ameche Show, in 1951–1952. THIS EPISODE: July 17, 1951. "Blanche's Expensive Injury" - CBS network. Sponsored by: Philip Morris. This is the program as broadcast. Frances starts the program by singing, "Somebody Loves Me." Blanche has a sprained ankle, so she buys a television set from Dr. Hersey! One of the Philip Morris commercials features a man from Memphis taking the, "Philip Morris Nose Test." Frances Langford, Lew Parker, Tony Romano and His Orchestra, Phil Rapp (creator), Jay Jackson (commercial spokesman), John Holbrook (announcer), Johnny Roventini (commercial spokesman). 29:31. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

A Knock At The Door (Aired December 15, 1942)
Lights Out was created in Chicago by writer Wyllis Cooper in 1934, and the first series of shows (each 15 minutes long) ran on a local NBC station, WENR. By April 1934, the series was expanded to a half hour in length and moved to midnight Wednesdays. In January 1935, the show was discontinued in order to ease Cooper's workload (he was then writing scripts for the network's prestigious Immortal Dramas program), but was brought back by huge popular demand a few weeks later. After a successful tryout in New York City, the series was picked up by NBC in April 1935 and broadcast nationally, usually late at night and always on Wednesdays. Cooper stayed on the program until June 1936, when another Chicago writer, Arch Oboler, took over. By the time Cooper left, the series had inspired about 600 fan clubs. THIS EPISODE: December 15, 1942. CBS network. "A Knock At The Door". Sponsored by: Energene Cleaning Fluid. All commercials for Ironized Yeast deleted. A woman murders her impossible mother-in-law, but she refuses to stay dead! There's a good good, grisly conclusion. Arch Oboler (host), Frank Martin (announcer). 28:59. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

The High Style Murder Case (Aired August 17, 1951)
By the 1940's, Frank and Ann Hummert controlled four and a half hours of national weekday broadcast schedules. Their features reportedly spawned more that 5 million pieces of correspondence annually from steadfast fans. Simultaneously they brought in more than half of the national radio chain's advertising revenues generated during the daylight hours. The couple broadcast 18 quarter-hour serials five times weekly, a total of 90 original episodes for 52 weeks per year, with none of those ever repeated. Some shows were "Amanda of Honeymoon Hill", "Backstage Wife","Chaplin Jim USA", "David Harum", "Easy Aces", "Front Page Farrell", "John's Other Wife", "Just Plain Bill", "The Life of Mary Sothern","Lora Lawton", "Lorenzo Jones", "Ma Perkins", "Mrs Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch", "Our Gal Sunday", "The Romance of Helen Trent" and "Young Widder Brown". NBC aired a British crime drama in 1951 called Inspector Thorne that starred Karl Weber as the inspector. Danny Ocko played Police Sgt. Muggio. The series was short-lived and also had two stars portraying the lead. The first was Karl Weber and the second was Staats Cotsworth. Fridays 9:00 - 9:30 pm till 9-6-51 and then Thursdays 9:00 - 9:30 pm.

Exhibit A (Aired November 13, 1950)
The Hollywood Star Playhouse , well written and performed, presented many original plays and popular Hollywood stars. Some of those who accepted roles in this great series included Jimmy Stewart, William Conrad, Deborah Kerr, Vincent Price, Harry Bartell and Betty Lou Gerson. Highlights included an episode entitled The Six Shooter and which later became it’s own series staring James Stewart. In 1952, Marilyn Monroe made her radio debut on The Hollywood Star Playhouse. This 30 minute anthology program was heard over three different networks during its three seasons. Many leading Hollywood stars appeared before the microphones for this program's original scripts. Marilyn Monroe made her radio debut on the 08/31/52 broadcast. THIS EPISODE: November 13, 1950. CBS network. "Exhibit A". Sponsored by: Bromo Seltzer. Mel Ferrer, Herbert Rawlinson (host), Norman Brokenshire (commercial spokesman), Jeff Alexander (composer, conductor), Maurice Zim (writer), William Conrad, Rosalind Russell (preview of next week's program), Jack Johnstone (director). 32:14.