OLD TIME RADIO
R adio dramas were popularized in the 30s, ’40s and ‘50s,
and despite the popularity of smart-phone/tablet games and
social media, radio dramas are making a big comeback.
We’re not talking about audiobooks, which are usually
narrated by one person; here we’re talking about the acted-out
plays with realistic sound effects and music. Remember those?
The beauty of old time radio is that, combined with the
marvel of today’s internet, they are often free and the quality
is very good. One can download stories of choice to their
computer in order to listen later, or click a button to listen
online so as to avoid the computer getting overloaded with
large downloaded files. It’s so convenient! It’s also easy to
download the tracks and put on a disc to give someone as a
gift, or if they don’t have internet.
Here are some of our favourite sites:
Internet Archive – A non-profit library of millions of free
books, movies, software, music, website, and more. Visit the
main website and look for the “Old Town Radio” button, to
link through to over 4,000 free shows you can listen to. Each
show is on average 40 minutes in length in various genres
from comedy, drama, crime, to old-time shows arranged by
episode. Here you can link in to listen to CBS Radio Mystery
Theater, Dragnet, Gunsmoke, My Favourite Husband, and
much more. www.archive.org
“Sometimes it only takes
one good song to bring back
thousands of good ol’ memories. ”
24
Lots more online! www.silvergoldmagazine.ca
Relic Radio – Another free website with thousands of options,
Relic Radio was established in 2007 and provides podcasts
of some of the great old time radio dramas, making them
easy to listen and enjoy. Not our favourite as it seemed more
difficult to find categories or descriptions of each show, but
the selection of shows is quite high. www.relicradio.com
RUSC (R U Sitting Comfortably) – Established in 1999 by
husband and wife team Ned and Joy Norris, avid fans of old
time radio shows, who wanted to build a website with the
best compilation of shows available anywhere. The site does
offer quite a few free downloads, as well as membership to a
large collection of over 30,000 shows with good descriptions
of each show. Membership fees are $7.50/month or $60/year
– they even offer a gift subscription – perfect for Mother’s
Day or Father’s Day! www.rusc.com
Best of the best:
Funniest radio episode: Burns and Allen, “H & R
Blockhead” 02/26/50
Most dramatic episode: Lights Out, “Bathysphere” 1944
Most suspenseful episode: “A Little Piece of Rope”
10/14/48
Most surprising twist ending: The Mysterious
Traveler, “S.O.S.” 05/02/50
Series with the most on-air bloopers: Abbott and
Costello Show
Best thriller/horror series: Lights Out
Scariest episode: Suspense! “Three Skeleton Key”
with Vincent Price