2009 bombards people with screens; whether you’re picking up your phone, checking your mail, watching the news, going to a movie, or reading this blog, you likely encounter upwards of three screens everyday. So it’s good to take a break from modern technology, even if that means visiting Internet Archive to do so. Yes, it’s a Web site, but it also holds a plethora of entertainment from bygone years, including a large collection of old time radio shows.
Choose a radio show, hit play, and gently close your laptop or spin away from your desktop. Imagine that you’re pre-television and pre-internet, grab some coffee or tea, and enjoy the lost art of the radio show.
There are plenty to search through, but here are a few standouts:
A Case For Dr. Morelle: 12 episodes of the BBC classic from the 1950s about a criminologist psychologist. CSI fans, listen up.
Red Skelton: A timeless comedian from the 1930s and ’40s, this broadcast includes interesting Rollies Cigarette ads claiming that “medical science offers you proof positive no other cigarette is safer to smoke.”
Charlie Chan: A radio show documenting detective Charlie Chan, a Chinese-American who has the “wisdom of the east, science of the west.”
The Voyage of the Scarlet Queen: Deemed the Star Trek of old time radio, this radio show logs the adventures of the master and first mate of a ship traveling around the South Pacific.
Paul Temple: A 1942 broadcast of the BBC favorite, following the stories of Paul Temple and his wife, Steve, as they solve crimes.
WKBW Halloween Show: A much more contemporary show from 1973. This broadcast is from Halloween night, celebrating the 8th annual radio show broadcasting horror stories. This show kicks off the horror marathon with War of the Worlds.
–Cara Binder
BellonaTimes said
Thanks to archive.org, I’ve become so much of an OTR junkie that I’ve now got 11 GB of it on my computer. I burn it to CDs and listen to it away from my pc. I even started an OTR blog, Theater Mined. Great to be able to have classic entertainment without needing a viewing screen.
My favorite shows include The Halls of Ivy, Jack Benny Program, The Big Show, Suspense, X Minus One, Bright Star, and Lux Theater. There’s a Ford Theater production of Carmen Jones from 1948 that I loved so much I played it twice in one week. There’s the Dinah Shore show that has everybody from Groucho Marx to Lily Pons as guests.
I need to check out Voyage of the Scarlet Queen, sounds cool.
drflavio309 said
I too am hooked on otr… my fav’s are yours truly Johnny dollar and phillip marlowe…. i listen to them every night, I am missing about 7 shows in the johnny dolllar series other than that I have them all, way more than the avg. listener, it has given me hours of great entertainment…..
I blog on word press too but on NASCAR top of the box.. check it out some time..
the dr.
radiofan said
i also love the otr. questions where can i find the really old radio id weaf new york? i want it for my collection
my favorites are
little orphan annie wish more existed.
aldrich family
you bet your life
burns and allen.
any shows from 1920s i want to hear.
so many more shows i keep hearing more i like,
Howard Salat said
Is it possible somehow to find the WBAI radio shows -”Its Your World & You Can Have It”? Also the riotis British routine about lifting some heavy material from the road to the roof by means of pulleys & of course the Faith Healer spoof.
please respond.
Thank you,
Old Listener (Howard Salat).
Nicole said
Hey for all those otr fans (if you haven’t heard of this already) AM 1710 Antioch plays a mix of shows 24/7. I believe the site is radio.macinmind.com for the schedule. It has such a great variety of shows and in between music. I also have several links to sites that you can listen to shows for free or purchase cd’s too.
Tom Mullan said
Do you mean “The Bricklayers Lament” by Gerard Hoffnung. I have it on my PC. But don’t know how to get it to you.
Sara Long said
I hope you’ll take a few minutes to explore some of the and well-used respected websites devoted to OTR and its fans and collectors. Just Google “OTR” and you’ll find them. One of the best ways to find out about shows — about their histories, actors, dates of running, and how many episodes are still available, etc. is in the wonderful book calledc “On the Air” by John Dunning. You may find it in many libraries or order it thru one of the online book stores. And my all time favorite website for information on shows is here: http://www.otrsite.com.
Jerry Haendiges has so much information and is really nice about answering questions about OTR. Keep on collecting AND learn about the genre. It’ll keep you happy for a long time to come!
david dubois said
i’m a truck driver and rely on otr on xm radio to maintain my sanity, (whats left of it). i also download many of my favorites from internet archive. i may have gone overboard though. i have about 12 gig of lights out, innersanctum, cbs mystery theatre, dimension x, and x minus one. i’ve downloaded some shows that are apparently obscure, such as black mass and tales from the morgue.
Doug Bowman said
I have become addicted to these old programs and find them nostalgic and compelling. I particularly like CBS Mystery Radio Theater, Nero Wolfe, Theater Five, and the Henry Morgan show
Frank Mallone said
Not to be pedantic, but Red Skelton would have been sponsered by *Raleigh* Cigarettes, as in Sir Walter Raleigh and Releigh, NC.
Frank Mallone said
Whoops: Raleigh, NC.
P. Powell said
I’m trying to find a show I heard about 15 years ago that was originally broadcast in the 30s or 40s called the “The 48 [or 36, maybe] Hours of Christmas”. Do you know of such a broadcast and how I might get a copy? Thanks!
Sharon Shurley said
I discovered OTR about 4 years ago, and I really love it. I am retired now, and I listen to the old radio programs every afternoon. My absolute favorite is The Jack Benny Program, but I also like Phil Harris and Alice Fay, A Day in the Life of Dennis Day, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, Dragnet and Jeff Regan. I can’t explain it, but I find the old radio programs relaxing and soothing, regardless of the content. We always had TV when I was growing up, so I missed out on all the great radio programs. I grew up thinking radio was just for music. lol!