Old Time Radio Mysteries (Smithsonian Collection) (Smithsonian Institution) [Audio Cassette]

Radio Spirits (Author)

Book Description

Series: Smithsonian Institution | Publication Date: September 1, 1999

The Smithsonian Institution and Radio Spirits have united to bring you the very finest from radio's golden age. Each radio broadcast has been digitally restored and remastered from original recordings for superb sound quality. The 60-page book is filled with rare photographs and insightful commentary about the shows, the performers, the medium and the genre and features a foreword written by David Kogan, writer/creator of The Mysterious Traveler & Murder by Experts. Experience the finest in classic entertainment with this unprecedented series from the Smithsonian Collection of Old Time Radio.

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Radio Spirits (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570191670
• ISBN-13: 978-1570191671
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #440,653 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > Books on Cassette > Radio Shows
  • #31 in Books > Books on Cassette > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery
  • #49 in Books > Books on Cassette > Religion & Spirituality > General

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greats in the crime, supernatural, and suspense genres, August 3, 2001

By 

Neal C. Reynolds (Indianapolis, Indiana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Smithsonian Collection of Old Time Radio Mysteries (Audio CD)

No science fiction unless you count Escape's great adaptation of "Country of the Blind". And only one detective type which classifies as mystery because of the mysterious "Fatima". Still, a great collection. Top of the heap is the "Suspense" classic, "The Hitchhiker" with the great Orson Wells at his greatest. "Escape" is represented as mentioned above with "Country of the Blind", a H. G. Wells story, spotlighting the terrific use of sound effects and music in telling the story. Then, there's not one, but two examples of the great Arch Oboler. First, there's "Cat Wife" on "Everyman's Theater", an admittedly preposterous supernatural story, but made one of the most entertaining entries here because of the Oboler genius of use of the voices. The "Lights Out" episode, also featuring Oboler's talent, was the lesser of the two, but quite interesting because of the dramatic acting by singer Dinah Shore and tough voiced Gloria Blondell. "The Whistler" and "Inner Sanctum" were two of the best loved mystery series, and the theme music of the former, and use of the organ in the latter definitely are masterful. But the episode which I found most interesting and surprising personally was the story, "Killer, Come Back to Me" on Molle Mystery Theater, a gangster story by a fledgling author by the name of Ray Bradbury while he was still writing for the detective pulps, before he found himself in the horror and science fiction genres which made him famous. I am sure that while many Bradbury stories were dramatized on radio, this was undoubtedly the first. The classic "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" from the Weird Circle series was good though I could've wished for a less familiar literary classic. All in all, this is a great collection which shows how sound effects, music, distinctive voices, stories with twist endings, were all used to create the beloved old time radio mystery.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sleuth Stories -- Science Fiction -- Suspense, February 28, 2001

By 

George R Dekle "Bob Dekle" (Lake City, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Smithsonian Collection of Old Time Radio Mysteries (Audio CD)

The realm of mystery and suspense must lie somewhere between the detective story and science fiction. The example shows chosen from "Escape", "Everyman's Theater", "Suspense", "The Mysterious Traveler", and "The Wierd Circle" would have been just as much at home in the Smithsonian science fiction collection, while the stories from "The Molle Mystery Theatre", "Murder by Experts", "Tales of Fatima", and "The Whistler" would have fitted quite nicely into the Smithsonian detectives collection.

Several of the individual episodes were classics: H.G. Wells' "The Country of the Blind" ("Escape"), Stevenson's "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" ("The Wierd Circle"), and Orson Welles' "The Hitchhiker" ("Suspense"). Radio drama just doesn't get any better than these episodes. "Suspense" has to have been the greatest radio drama series of all time, but from what I've seen, "Escape" wasn't far behind in quality.

"Cat Wife" ("Everyman's Theater"), "The Man the Insects Hated" ("The Mysterious Traveler"), "Killer Come Back to Me" ("The Molle Mystery Theatre"), and "The Eager Pigeon" ("The Whistler") were forgettable.

Two of my favorite old time radio detectives were included: Basil Rathbone played himself in "Tales of Fatima", but the persona he adopted was strongly influenced by the many years he spent portraying Sherlock Holmes. Jack Webb played an anti-hero in "The Whistler", but Webb's bad guy was a sort of a tarnished Joe Friday. Webb seems incapable of having played anything other than a jaded tough-guy. The three series characters he played (Jeff Regan, Pat Novak, and Joe Friday) were all had boiled, hard fisted heroes.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enter A Dark Portion of Your Imagination, June 17, 2000

By 

Michael "jtchance" (Coram, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Smithsonian Collection of Old Time Radio Mysteries (Audio CD)

Today we are truly the inheritors of mass media but think back upon a time when all the american public had in their homes was a radio. Movies were the medium you had to go out to see but radio was in your homes. Comedy flourished,Westerns brought excitement but Mysteries dominated the medium as no other had before it. The twelve shows represented in this collection SUSPENSE, ESCAPE, THE WHISTLER, LIGHTS OUT, MURDER BY EXPERTS, MOLLE MYSTERY THEATRE,EVERYMAN'S THEATRE, INNER SANCTUM,THE MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER,THE CLOCK, THE WEIRD CIRCLE & TALES OF FATIMA. With the exception of the final title all of these shows are good examples of a self contained story which if successful would raise the hackles on the back of your neck. TALES OF FATIMA on the other hand seems to belong more in a collection of gentleman dectives. It has the estimable Basil Rathbone playing himself as an actor who sleuths between performances. 3 prime examples of the power of dramatic radio presented here are H.G. Wells' The Country of The Blind presented on ESCAPE starring Edmond O'Brien, The Eager Pigeon on THE WHISTLER starring Jack Webb and the final gem of The Hitchhiker starring Orson Welles presented on the greatest mystery anthology of them all SUSPENSE. All of these shows have been remastered to the point where you would honestly think they were recorded yesterday. So turn your light's down and prepare to enter the mind's eye.