Customer Reviews

Box 13

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Im only 19, and my father hooked me on old time radio shows when I was very young--and Its a fascination I still hold today. A few years ago, I heard a show called Box 13. It is now one of my favorites. Although it didn't have a long run (such as shows like Dragnet and Sherlock Holmes), episodes of Box 13 were filled with terrific adventure comparable to any show like it. Ladd is outstanding as Dan Holliday. If you enjoy old time radio shows like I do, pick up Box 13 today.

Alan Ladd was a huge star for Paramount when he decided to produce his own radio show. Though he only did it for a couple of years, Box 13 was a very enjoyable show. A perfect blend of mystery and action with a dash of humor thrown in, this is my all-time favorite radio show.

Ladd played Dan Holiday, a writer who decided to place an ad in the Star-Times newspaper to help him come up with ideas for his books. Holiday got a lot more than he bargained for most of the time. The ad read as follows: ADVENTURE WANTED: WILL GO ANYWHERE, DO ANYTHING. Needless to say, Holiday had some great adventures, and ran across more than a little intrigue in his efforts to help someone with a problem, no questions asked.

Sometimes it was Holiday himself who was in trouble, responding to a letter in his box or a small gift left there that rarely turned out to be exactly what it seemed. His daffy but sweet secretary, Susie, was always using the wrong word or destroying a famous saying almost beyond recognition, helping lighten the mood of this excellent and entertaining show from 1948-49.

You get six tapes here with three shows each on them. Tape #5 on this particular collection contains one of the best shows of the series. "Hare and the Hound" begins when someone follows Susie in order to steal a letter sent to Box 13. Holiday attempts to find out why, and in the process gets accused of murder by an eyewitness. When Holiday tracks down the guy who accused him to get out from under the charge, he discovers the whole thing is about espionage. He uses the guy as bait to flush out the real culprit and get to the bottom of things. How he does so will involve switching cabs in an all night ride around the city while Holiday pays them with phony five dollar bills, hoping the cops will catch on and close in before someone else does. It's great stuff!

Ladd's Box 13 was always fun to listen to and there was always a nice closing to each show that would involve Holiday talking to Susie, trying to explain what had transpired and finally giving up, but with a smile. This was Ladd at his finest and a sterling example of old-time radio at its most entertaining. If you're feeling nostalgic and want to sample the best of a sadly forgotten medium in entertainment, this is a highly recommended place to start.

Im only 19, and my father hooked me on old time radio shows when I was very young--and Its a fascination I still hold today. A few years ago, I heard a show called Box 13. It is now one of my favorites. Although it didn't have a long run (such as shows like Dragnet and Sherlock Holmes), episodes of Box 13 were filled with terrific adventure comparable to any show like it. Ladd is outstanding as Dan Holliday. If you enjoy old time radio shows like I do, pick up Box 13 today.