Mon 24 Oct 2016
HALLOWEEN SPECIAL, PART TWO: HORROR RADIO, by Michael Shonk.
Posted by Steve under Old Time Radio , Reviews[18] Comments
HORROR RADIO
by Michael Shonk
Welcome to part two of a three part series on horror and suspense for Halloween. Part One can be found here.
Horror is at its most terrifying when it exists in our own imagination. This is why the genre works so well in radio. Few radio series did not attempt a scary story or an episode with a horror theme. From BABY SNOOKS to PHILIP MARLOWE, the comedic or the typical whodunit, all took advantage of the success of horror in radio.
A good example is this episode from my favorite radio series ADVENTURES OF SAM SPADE (reviewed here ).
“The Fairly Bright Caper.†(CBS, October 31, 1948) Written by Bob Tallman and Gil Doud. Directed and Produced by William Spier. Cast: Howard Duff as Sam Spade and Lorene Tuttle as Effie.
Sam is hired for a Halloween high society engagement party that is spoiled by murder. What does the Witch really know?
It is radio’s version of Sam Spade, so jokes are as common as clues and the character of the witch gave it a perfect Halloween feel.
The most common form of the horror radio series was the anthology. Many of these series are still fondly remembered today, shows such as INNER SANCTUM, LIGHTS OUTS and SUSPENSE. So of course I will ignore them and turn to some forgotten ones.
MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER aired on Mutual Network between 1943 and 1952. Each week you the listener would board a train only to have the Mysterious Traveler approach you and tell you a story.
The series was created, written, produced and directed by the team of Bob Arthur and David Kogan. Arthur and Kogan won the Edgar award for this series as the best radio drama in 1953.
Mysterious Traveler was also adapted for comic books and a Mysterious Traveler magazine that featured short stories for the radio show as well as stories from such writers as John Dickson Carr, Craig Rice, Dorothy L. Sayers, Brett Halliday, Ray Bradbury, and Lawrence Blochman. The magazine lasted five issues and was edited by Bob Arthur.
“Locomotive Ghost.†(Mutual Network, July 6,1947) Written, directed, and produced by Bob Arthur and David Kogan. Voice of Mysterious Traveler: Maurice Tarplin.
To steal a large payroll carried by train two robbers destroy the train. They get away with the money but can they escape the Judgment Special?
While fictional characters hosted many of the radio anthologies, other anthologies used an announcer or the writer/producer or a famous star to introduce the story. The host star often acted in the episodes.
MYSTERY IN THE AIR featured the talents of Peter Lorre as each week the series would adapt some of literature’s best horror stories such as Edgar Allen Poe’s THE BLACK CAT, Alexander Pushkin’s QUEEN OF SPADES and Fyodor Dostoevsky’s CRIME AND PUNISHMENT. The sadly neglected series was on NBC as a summer replacement (July – September 1947) for ABBOTT AND COSTELLO SHOW.
“The Horla.†(NBC, August 21, 1947) Based on short story by Guy de Maupassant. Cast: Peter Lorre, Peggy Webber and Lorene Tuttle. Announcer: Henry (Harry) Morgan.
Lorre plays a man who slowly becomes convinced an invisible monster is stalking him.
HALL OF FANTASY (KALL, Salt Lake City, 1946-47; WGN 1949; Mutual 1952)
Richard Thorne was the creative force behind HALL OF FANTASY. The series began in 1946 on Salt Lake Utah station KALL and produced by Thorne and Carl Greyson. The series ended in 1947. In 1949 Thorne (with Greyson in some accounts) revived the series for WGN and by 1952 HALL OF FANTASY was airing nation-wide on Mutual Network.
“The Judge’s House.†(April 6, 1947) Based on story by Bram Stoker, adapted by Bob Olson. Directed by Richard Thorne. Produced by Thorne and Carl Greyson.
A young student comes to a small town to find a quiet place to study. Despite the locals warnings he rents a house where an evil judge had lived fifty years ago.
While it is common belief that original dramas for radio died when TV took over, that is not totally true. Shows such as SUSPENSE and YOURS TRULY JOHNNY DOLLAR hung on until 1962.
CBS tried to bring back radio with CBS RADIO MYSTERY THEATER (1974-82). While many talented artists from radio’s glory days contributed to the series, the writing was never able to recapture the magic of old type radio. Perhaps the focus was misplaced in trying to recreate the magic of the past instead of bring radio up to the present.
Radio drama continues today at the BBC. Canada has shown success with radio series such as JOHNNY CHASE: SECRET AGENT (1978-81), THE MYSTERY PROJECT (1992-2004), and the anthology series NIGHTFALL (1980-1983).
Created by Bill Howell the series NIGHTFALL remains best known for its scary episodes such as “Porch Light†(not on Youtube), but tried nearly every genre in fiction, even adapting a folk song by Stan Rogers for an episode.
NIGHTFALL (CBC, 1980-1983)
“Fatal Eggs.†(April 17, 1981) Written by Arthur Samuels. Based on a novel by Mikhail Bulgakov. Produced by Bill Howell. Cast: Douglas Campbell, Neil Dainard and David Calderisi.
Russian scientists develop a red ray that can grow animals in size. But things go bad when the communist bureaucrats take over the project.
NEXT: PART THREE – TELEVISION.
SOURCES:
ON THE AIR: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio by John Dunning (Oxford University Press, 1998)
Wikipedia
The Digital Deli http://www.digitaldeliftp.com
Old-Time Radio catalog http://www.otrcat.com
Radio Horror Hosts http://www.radiohorrorhosts.com
OTR Plot Spot http://www.otrplotspot.com/mainMenu.html
THE NIGHTFALL PROJECT http://www.thenightfallproject.org
October 24th, 2016 at 12:04 pm
This is a post that could have gone on for almost forever. My own favorites come from SUSPENSE, ESCAPE or INNER SANCTUM and are the ones that always get mentioned first in a column such as this.
But the one that scared me the most was one I listened to as a kid. I don’t know the name of the program, but this particular episode, one I’ve remembered to this day, featured a group of people hunkered down in an isolated cabin listening to chorus of wolf howls all night long.
It could have been werewolves. It doesn’t matter. Either way, it scared the pants off me. I even remember the room of our house I was in at the time.
October 24th, 2016 at 2:23 pm
I see you’re doing television next. I would recommend a couple. One, I don’t remember the name of this British drama, it by was written by Brian Clemens and starred Judy Carne, the ‘sock it to me” girl from Laugh In. She and a room mate have rented an apartment, and it appears someone is inside the walls watching them. And, the recent episode of the new Doctor Who series “Blink” by Steve Moffat, is one of the best and scariest pieces of television drama ever.
Many people recommend the episode of Thriller that adapts Robert E. Howard’s classic horror short story “Pigeons From Hell”. But I found it poorly done. Bad lighting, and no real attempt adapting the outstanding dream and narrative points of view elements of the story. Just a crazy woman in an old house. But.I haven’t seen it for a while. so I hope you check it out first before including it. Will be listening to the radio pieces.
October 24th, 2016 at 6:55 pm
Steve, that is where radio is so powerful, because you are supplying the images it can reach you on a more personal level.
October 24th, 2016 at 7:03 pm
An intriguing but “lost” OTR horror series is STAY TUNED FOR TERROR, from 1945. It was a 15-minute show entirely written by Robert Bloch, with many of the episodes being adaptations of stories Bloch wrote for “Weird Tales.” The series was recorded for syndication to various radio stations (including Canadian ones), so there’s a chance that some of its 39 episodes still exist to be discovered. I know I’d be eager to hear them.
October 24th, 2016 at 7:07 pm
I remember the WKBW War of the Worlds broadcast in the 1970’s
How many people remember the chaos that caused even though they told everyone it was a drama.
October 24th, 2016 at 7:12 pm
THRILLER and DR WHO are too famous to make my cut but they are good choices. YouTube does have the Clemens THRILLER episode with Judy Carne. “someone At The Top Of The Stairs” (1/28/75)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbWvlh9y8N0
October 24th, 2016 at 7:57 pm
Gary R. you are not alone. It appears STAY TUNED FOR TERROR is still missing. The series did an episode on YOURS TRULY, JACK THE RIPPER, a Bloch story that was adapted for TV THRILLER (its on YouTube) and MOLLE’S MYSTERY THEATRE did its own version – a half hour radio episode of the Bloch’s story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kflxmHOeJ0
There are, as I suspect you know, websites and books that have discussed the series. Two websites are Radio Horror Hosts, and Digitaldeli. The Radio Horror Hosts site quotes Bloch’s comments about the series from the book ROBERT BLOCH: A BIO-BIBLIOGRAPHY (July 1979).
“The shows were recorded in Chicago, at the Wrigley Building studios, one night a week, three shows per session. I attended and made suggestions at the rehearsals. I never rewrote a script – but I should have, as they were dreadful by today’s standards.”
Another interesting quote referred to John Neblett, a sportscaster and Bloch’s friend who produced the radio series.
“A second series of thirty nine was about to be ordered when John Neblett died in the crash of his private plane which he was piloting either to or from a football game down South. The series died with him.”
October 24th, 2016 at 10:18 pm
“Three Skeleton Key” with Vincent Price remains my favorite radio horror episode. Though “Linengen vs the Ants” runs a close second, and “Passage to Benares” has the most chilling ending.
October 25th, 2016 at 12:33 am
YouTube has them for you David.
ESCAPE “Three Skeleton Keysâ€
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdUx3chIElc
ESCAPE “Linengon vs the Antsâ€
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkC13LpHunQ
SUSPENSE “Passage To Benaresâ€
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0706lFQ5JE
SUSPENSE was able to become a success on TV with 260 episodes, but ESCAPE lasting only 13 episodes failed to find the same magic.
The radio version of SUSPENSE outlasted the TV version by eight years.
October 26th, 2016 at 3:49 am
When we were pirating in LA, we did our own homemade Halloween plays. I remember we had one guy in a hospital who died. We needed a sound effect for an angry doc hitting the respirator. Amazing how an un-lubed VM automatic turntable arm sounds. You could visualize the respirator.
And in case you’re wondering … yes … the dead man came back to life as a zombie soon thereafter. Amazing how eating carrots sounds like eating bones.
October 27th, 2016 at 12:45 am
Bro Duke, you just can’t create that kind of magic on TV.
June 15th, 2018 at 12:50 pm
It is noteworthy that one of OTR’s more fascinating “lost” series is recognized in this blog. However, there have been many misconceptions regarding the history of Stay Tuned for Terror. One myth is that the series ended when Johnnie Neblett died in that 1946 plane crash. The truth is that in October of 1945, he sold out his share of the enterprise to James Doolittle (Craig Dennis) and was no longer involved with it. This revelation and other myth-busting facts are detailed in the article on this venture which was published in the Winter/Spring 2016 issue of Blood ‘N’ Thunder by yours truly.
June 16th, 2018 at 1:23 am
Karl, thanks for the update and correction. As someone who spends time writing about forgotten entertainment it is a source of frustration on how much is thought true is really false but repeated without question today. It is good to know the real story.
October 15th, 2019 at 7:44 pm
Trove of toothsome info on this page, for sure. Is it appropriate to leave comments here? I could list a string of horror titles which some might enjoy. I don’t see ’em listed yet, the ones I might have in mind…
September 4th, 2020 at 1:31 pm
Great news for fans of Robert Bloch and radio horror programs. Audio of Stay Tuned for Terror is now out on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoB93v_bRNA
I will be publishing a piece on these episodes soon.
Michael,
May I send you (and any others) a pdf of my previous (2016) article? Perhaps the info would come in handy as we all look forward to your review of these newly released episodes. Feel free to email me bluecar91 at hotmail.com
September 4th, 2020 at 4:21 pm
My apologies to all, as I had missed the posting from last month informing us that Michael had passed away.
September 4th, 2020 at 5:30 pm
Sadly, yes, Karl. I saw your earlier comment and meant to tell you, but didn’t get a chance before you discovered the bad news on your own. He would have loved your good news about STAY TUNED FOR TERROR. Always rumored to exist but no one ever knew for sure.
December 21st, 2020 at 8:09 pm
[…] As heralded several weeks ago on this blog, audio of the previous “lost” series, Stay Tuned for Terror is now making its way […]