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The Screen Director’s Playhouse came to NBC in 1949 and became one of the top drama anthologies featuring Hollywood actors reprising their screen roles a la Lux Radio Theater. The primary focus of the program was the original movie’s director, who not only served as a guest host but also participated in an interview towards the end of the broadcast. Unlike Lux, which featured Cecil B. DeMille as a regular host, The Screen Director’s Playhouse had a different director every week. Alfred Hitchcock, Frank Capra, and Lewis Milestone were among those appearing.

The golden age of radio had incredible drama shows that kept Americans glued to their radio sets. Families gathered around their living room radios to be entertained by the greatest names in Hollywood each and every day. The biggest stars from tinsel-town lent their voices to radio dramas and most of the time the producers and sponsors allowed them to take a curtain call to plug their latest film release.

The Adventures of Philip Marlowe was radio's top detective program. Raymond Chandler's celebrated hardboiled private eye, Philip Marlowe, made his radio debut in 1945 on The Lux Radio Theatre with "Murder My Sweet" starring Dick Powell. Two years later, NBC would bring the character to the air in his own weekly series starring Van Heflin in The New Adventures of Philip Marlowe. Being a summer replacement for The Bob Hope Show, the series was short-lived and ended on September 9th, 1947.

From the pens of the world’s best-known and respected supernatural fiction authors comes The Weird Circle - tales of mystery, suspense, horror, and the macabre! Now, enjoy sixteen of the greatest mysteries of all time! The Weird Circle was an anthology of classic thrillers from the pens of the world’s best-known and respected fiction authors of the 19th century. The focus was horror and suspense stories by Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Mary Shelley (among others), with the occasional drama by Emily Bronte, Charles Dickens, and George Eliot.

When real life husband and wife George Burns and Gracie Allen worked together in vaudeville, George was the comic and his wife Gracie had the straight lines. They switched their roles upon discovering that Gracie’s delivery got a bigger laugh than George’s punch lines. Eventually, they starred in a show as husband and wife, The Burns & Allen Show, which became a huge hit and eventually made a successful transition to television.

Lucille Ball was an accomplished actress, comedian, model, entertainment studio executive and producer. She was the star of the self-produced TV sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life with Lucy, as well as television specials aired under the title The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. This collection contains 10 of her popular radio performances, and we hope you will Love Lucy all over again.

Created by S.S. Van Dine, Philo Vance was quite popular in books, movies, and on radio. He was portrayed as a stylish, very intelligent, and cultured private detective - an Americanized Sherlock Holmes - working out of New York. Not that Vance needed any help solving a crime, he did work closely with his secretary and right-hand woman Ellen Deering and his pal John Markham, New York County District Attorney. First heard for a brief time on NBC radio in 1945-46, it enjoyed success in syndication beginning in 1948 starring Jackson Beck.

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were a comedy duo seen in movies, on TV, and heard on radio. Their comedy routine “Who’s on First?” helped make them a national sensation. The duo started in Vaudeville, and by the fall of 1942, Abbott and Costello had their own weekly radio program and topped the popularity polls of Radio Daily and Radio Guide. The Abbott and Costello Show ran for seven years until the summer of 1949. Enjoy 16 of the best comedy broadcasts of Abbott and Costello.

In 1935, the DuPont Company chose to enhance its image by dramatizing great events in American history to an audience of millions each week on The Cavalcade of America. “Cavalcade” is a term used to describe pioneers who shaped the way America operates today. DuPont’s motto: “Maker of better things for better living through chemistry” was read at the beginning of each program, and the dramas emphasized humanitarian progress, particularly improvements in the lives of women, often through technological innovation.

In 1935, the DuPont Company chose to enhance its image by dramatizing great events in American history to an audience of millions each week on The Cavalcade of America. “Cavalcade” is a term used to describe pioneers who shaped the way America operates today. DuPont’s motto, “maker of better things for better living through chemistry,” was read at the beginning of each program, and the dramas emphasized humanitarian progress, particularly improvements in the lives of women, often through technological innovation.

The Lux Radio Theatre was one of the most prestigious and longest running shows from Radio’s Golden Age. It featured the greatest stars in Hollywood appearing in hour-long radio adaptations of their biggest motion pictures. Cecil B. DeMille was the host (from 1936-1945) for a lavish production of what was to become a veritable checklist of many of Hollywood’s best films from the mid-1930s through the mid-1950s. The stars of the movie usually appeared in their audio counterparts, although sometimes contracts or schedules meant that another actor took the part.

Created by author Jack Boyle, Boston Blackie was a reformed jewel thief and safecracker, constantly suspected of crimes he did not commit and forced to play the role of detective to clear his name. His girlfriend, Mary Wesley, assisted Blackie from time to time, as did his pal Shorty. Forced to defend himself against the accusations of New York Police Inspector Faraday, Blackie always managed to stay one step ahead of the cops in solving a crime.

The Aldrich Family was a popular teenage situation comedy that was heard on radio and seen in films, television and comic books. The creation of playwright Clifford Goldsmith, teenager Henry Aldrich was an endearingly bumbling kid growing awkwardly into adolescence. Episodes revolved around Henry’s misadventures with girls, his family and his friends. Portrayed on radio by 20-something Ezra Stone, The Aldrich Family launched as a summer replacement program for Jack Benny in NBC’s Sunday night lineup, July 2nd, 1939, sponsored by Jell-O.

Created by S. S. Van Dine, Philo Vance was quite popular in books, movies, and on radio. He was portrayed as a stylish, very intelligent, and cultured private detective - an Americanized Sherlock Holmes - working out of New York. Not that Vance needed any help solving a crime, he did work closely with his secretary and right-hand woman Ellen Deering, and his pal John Markham, New York County District Attorney. First heard on NBC radio in 1945, Philo Vance, Detective enjoyed success in syndication beginning in 1948 starring Jackson Beck. This volume includes 16 episodes.

This collection contains 16 of the greatest shows ever broadcast during the golden age of radio - including episodes of The Jack Benny Program, The Abbott & Costello Show, Burns & Allen, Gunsmoke, The Amos 'n' Andy Show, Philip Marlowe, Gang Busters, Suspense, X Minus One, Our Miss Brooks, Sherlock Holmes, and many others. Relive the best radio shows from yesterday and the legendary stars that made them amazing in this incredible collection.

The golden age of radio had incredible western shows that kept Americans glued to their radio sets. Families gathered around their living room radios to hear western heroes catch the bad-guys and save ladies in distress. This collection includes John Wayne and Claire Trevor starring in a radio adaptation of the John Ford film "Stagecoach", James Stewart as slow-talking maverick Britt Ponset on "The Six Shooter", William Conrad as U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon on "Gunsmoke", John Dehner as 'the man called Paladin' on "Have Gun, Will Travel", and more.

The Whistler was one of radio’s top mystery programs airing from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955. Sponsored by the Signal Oil Company, The Whistler (Joseph Kearns, Gale Gordon, and Bill Forman) was an ominous narrator who knew the killer’s every move even before they did. The stories followed an effective formula in which a person's criminal acts were typically undone by their own missteps. The Whistler often commenting directly upon the action in the manner of a Greek chorus, taunting the criminal from an omniscient perspective.

The golden age of radio had incredible comedy shows that kept Americans in stitches for decades. Families gathered around their living room radios to be entertained by the greatest names in Hollywood each and every day. This collection includes Lucille Ball as Liz Cooper on "My Favorite Husband", Jim & Marian Jordan as "Fibber McGee & Molly", Ed "Archie" Gardner on "Duffy's Tavern", William Bendix as Chester A. Riley on "The Life of Riley", Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard in "The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet", and more.

Before Agnes Moorehead portrayed “Endora” on the Bewitched TV series, she was a big part of the golden age of radio. She starred in many of the biggest radio shows of all time, alongside Orson Welles, James Stewart, Humphrey Bogart, Vincent Price, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Jack Benny, and many more. Moorehead starred opposite Orson Welles on The Mercury Theater On the Air and The Shadow. Here are sixteen radio broadcasts that either star Agnes Moorehead or have her in the supporting cast.

The Whistler was one of radio's top mystery programs, airing from May 16, 1942, until September 22, 1955. Airing on CBS radio and sponsored by the Signal Oil Company, the Whistler (played by Joseph Kearns, Gale Gordon, and Bill Forman) was an ominous narrator who knew the killer's every move even before they did. The Whistler often commented directly upon the action in the manner of a Greek chorus, taunting the criminal from an omniscient perspective. One of the show's trademarks was the ironic twist endings that helped serve as a payoff for the listener.