The CBS Radio Mystery Theater created some truly excellent episodes of Radio Mystery Theater. After combing through many dozens of them, these ten are some of my favorites.
Theresa
1.) “Daddy’s Girls,” CBS Radio Mystery Theater. Hosted by E.G. Marshall. 1981. An invalid home-bound sister starts doubting the story of her younger sister, Clara, and turns to the police to solve the mysterious death of her sister's editor right after she was fired. Do some people deserve to die when they cross one person after another, and what is more important, loyalty to family, or complete honesty, even to the detriment of all?
2.) “Who Has Seen the Wind?” CBS Radio Mystery Theater. Hosted by E.G. Marshall. 1979. In a freak accident, a claustrophobic woman, a celebrated actress, Mona Clayton is trapped in her NY home. Her friend, or rival tries to help her, or does she try to destroy her instead?
3.) “The Outside Girl,” CBS Radio Mystery Theater. Hosted by E.G. Marshall. 1978. Living off his wealthy mother, a good for nothing alcoholic, Mr. Charles Dryer, becomes unusually attached to his father's portrait which he painted years ago. Upon waking from an alcohol induced stupor, he awakens to find the portrait gone, together with the new cleaning lady.
4.) “Shadow of Love,” CBS Radio Mystery Theater. Hosted by E.G. Marshall. 1978. Haunted by an unseen being that radiates pure love, a college professor disgusted by all human affection seeks the aid of a priest to exorcise the spirit. However, only the man's pet parrot can see and hear the being which unwittingly hinders their plans. Could it be that a lonely boy never stopped wanting to be loved?
5.) “Don’t Die Without Me,” CBS Radio Mystery Theater. 1977. The mysterious case of two suicides in the early 20th century piques the interest of a reporter and prompts him to investigate their deaths. He soon discovers that the one thing that links the incidents together is that the women drew their last breath in the exact same room in a seedy boarding house in Manhattan. This radio drama is loosely based on the O. Henry short story, The Furnished Room.
6.) “Who Made Me?” CBS Radio Mystery Theater. Hosted by E.G. Marshall. 1975. Years into the future, every person is evaluated and given a rank in society according to their abilities and intellectual capacity. A first ranked airman is disturbed when his son desires to lower his station because of frivolous and trivial reasons.
7.) "Party Girl," CBS Radio Mystery Theater. Hosted by E.G. Marshall. 1975. An aggressive young public servant aiming to become the state's next governor must cover up the suicide of a prostitute he was involved with before it ruins his political aspirations, but his friend, a dedicated police detective upsets everything.
8.) “Triptych for a Witch,” CBS Radio Mystery Theater. Hosted by E.G. Marshall. 1975. Masquerading as an elderly and widowed distant relative, a witch, with her strange pets, moves in with a young couple and tries to destroy the wife for a reason so strange, it will seem unbelievable. The husband, a police officer, tries to share the truth with his wife. Starring the renowned Wizard of OZ actress, Margaret Hamilton.
9.) “Terror on the Heath.” CBS Radio Mystery Theater. Hosted by E.G. Marshall. 1974. A man thinks he is the reincarnation of a serial killer from another century, who was hanged for a series of murders in the 1800s. He finds an old photo of the killer in the public museum, and also a man well-versed in the history of the crimes.
10.)“How Long is the Night,” CBS Suspense Radio, 1952. This radio program is a “suspense play” starring actor Richard Widmark. An excellent story about a U. S. soldier left on a Pacific island after an atomic test. But, there's something else alive on the island with him! It is the story of one man left alone on a tiny pacific island, a wasteland of no living thing, an island made up of three square miles of fear.
11.) “MOMENTUM,” CBS Suspense Radio, 1949. This radio program is a “suspense play” starring actor Victor Mature. It provides lessons on basic morality and honesty. A good looking three time loser, Dick Payne, with a wife who supports him deludes himself into imagining an injustice that never happened and sets in motion irrevocable violence that cannot be taken back.
12.) “You’ll Never See Me Again,” CBS Suspense Radio, 1946. A new bride "goes home to mother" after a spat...and disappears! The program has a good surprise ending. The story was previously produced on "Suspense" on September 14, 1944. Ed Bliss and his wife Janet had been married for three months when after an argument she walked out on him to return to her mothers. The last words she said to him were “you’ll never see me again as long as you live!” words that would come back to haunt him. Starring actor renowned actor Joseph Cotton.
Notice: I included two more episodes because they’re just so good!
~Theresa Griffin Kennedy
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