{
  "title": "THE BLACK CASTLE",
  "category": "[RADIO-SERIES]",
  "article": "”Come, follow me, please, for again we visit the wizard who dwells yonder in the great hall.”\nAlthough clearly derivative from the West Coast program The Black Chapel, this WOR series\nnevertheless managed to up-the-ante on its predecessor by serving as a tour-de-force for versatile\nNew York radio actor Don Douglas, who supplied all the voices in each story as well as the cracked\ncacklings of the Wizard of the Castle and his pet raven Diablo.\n[St. Petersburg Times, August 15, 1943—“Around the Dial” by Sylvia Norman] “…a one-man\nshow ghost series, featuring Don Douglas, who takes the part of all of the characters appearing in\nthe stories…”]\n[Roy Sullivan, Miami Daily News] “This is a one-man ghost show, enacted by Don Douglas.\nMaybe this is so frightening that Don can’t find actors to help him out. Maybe he just wants to\ntake all the parts to show he can.”\n[Bob Francis, The Billboard] “This comparative newcomer to the designed-for-thrill lists differs\nfrom competitors in that all spine-icing is soloed by Don Douglas. Douglas makes the\nannouncements, builds the horror pattern as the wizard of Black Castle, and finally switches to\neach part called for in the latter’s ensuing, chiller-diller yarn.\n“One-man dramas obviously offer presentation difficulties not experienced in shows using a cast\nof actors. Speed of Castle is checked here and there by over-lengthy interpolations to explain\nscene changes.This may have been particularly acute in show caught (Sept. 11). The yarn about an\ninvisible murderer, based on an idea much better developed by a fellow named Wells, was as\ntenuous as its menace. Probably a hard nut for the producer-director, W. Keys Perrin, to crack.\n“Except for the fact that he is inclined to ham the wizard, making the role often seem more silly\nthan awesome, Douglas puts on a good 15 minutes. His vocal changes are sharp and clear, and his\ncharacterizations come over effectively. With better material and tempo the stretch can throw as\ngood a punch as any of the current hair-raisers.”\n[The Billboard, Jan. 22, 1944] “In line with Tiny Ruffner’s policy of building WOR’s daytime\nlistening audience, Don Douglas’s Black Castle, one man show chiller which has been airing\nTuesday and Thursday nights, will go on Monday thru Friday at 2:45-3 p.m., starting January 31.\nThe eve shots will continue for at least two weeks and if reaction is favorable, they will be dropped\nin favor of five a week daytime slot. This means that Douglas will do seven shows a week for\nawhile. Reversing the usual trend, if show clicks, daytime will be the reward.”\n[Broadcasting, March 27, 1944] “WOR New York on April 3 starts a weekly quarter-hour\nConsumer Quiz program. Studio audience will be quizzed on various products and when unable to\nanswer, will be given the facts from a bulletin supplied by the U. S. Testing Co., New York, which\ntests fabrics and other products for quality. Consumer Quiz will form part of a ‘WOR Matinee’\nincluding the two next pro shows, The Black Castle and Songs by Sunny Skylar, with the\naudience invited to remain and view the entire performance.”\nFor an early-evening show the series was surprisingly heavy on physical horror, as evidenced by\nelements in the two surviving broadcasts.",
  "origination": "WOR, New York City, New York (MBS).",
  "duration": "August 7-September 18, 1943 (Saturday afternoon series), September 25-\nNovember 13, 1943 (Saturday evening series), November 16, 1943-March 16, 1944 (Tuesday-\nThursday evening series), January 31-June 22, 1944 (Monday through Friday daytime series).",
  "personnel": "Don Douglas (all voices), Arthur Henley (scriptwriter), W. Keys Perrin\n(producer-director), Lillian Schoen (scriptwriter).",
  "extant_recordings": "“Jungle Death” (9/25/43), “Escape to Death” (12/16/43).",
  "chronology": "THE BLACK CASTLE (WOR, NEW YORK—MBS)\n[Saturday—3:00-3:15 PM]\nAugust 7, 1943\nAugust 14, 1943\nAugust 21, 1943\nAugust 28, 1943\nSeptember 4, 1943\nSeptember 11, 1943\n[“…about an invisible murderer…”]\nSeptember 18, 1943\n[Saturday—7:15-7:30 PM]\nSeptember 25, 1943\n“Jungle Death”\nEXTANT RECORDING\nOctober 2, 1943\nOctober 9, 1943\nOctober 16, 1943\nOctober 23, 1943\nOctober 30, 1943\nNovember 6, 1943\nNovember 13, 1943\n[Tuesday & Thursday—8:00-8:15 PM]\nNovember 16, 1943\nNovember 18, 1943\nNovember 25, 1943\n[Saturday—7:15-7:30 PM]\nNovember 27, 1943\n[Tuesday & Thursday—8:00-8:15 PM]\nNovember 30, 1943\nDecember 2, 1943\nDecember 7, 1943\nDecember 9, 1943\nDecember 14, 1943\nDecember 16, 1943\n“Escape to Death”\nEXTANT RECORDING\nDecember 21, 1943\nDecember 23, 1943\nDecember 28, 1943\nDecember 30, 1943\nJanuary 4, 1944\nJanuary 11, 1944\nJanuary 13, 1944\nJanuary 18, 1944\nJanuary 20, 1944\nJanuary 25, 1944\nJanuary 27, 1944\nFebruary 1, 1944\nFebruary 3, 1944\nFebruary 8, 1944\nFebruary 10, 1944\nFebruary 15, 1944\nFebruary 17, 1944\nFebruary 22, 1944\nFebruary 24, 1944\nFebruary 29, 1944\nMarch 2, 1944\nMarch 7, 1944\nMarch 9, 1944\nMarch 14, 1944\nMarch 16, 1944\nTHE BLACK CASTLE (1944 AFTERNOON SERIES)\n[Monday thru Friday—3:00-3:15 PM]\nJanuary 31, 1944\nFebruary 1, 1944\nFebruary 2, 1944\nFebruary 3, 1944\nFebruary 4, 1944\nFebruary 7-11, 1944\nFebruary 14-18, 1944\nFebruary 21-25, 1944\nFebruary 28, 1944\nFebruary 29, 1944\nMarch 1-3, 1944\nMarch 6-10, 1944\nMarch 13-17, 1944\nMarch 20-24, 1944\nMarch 27-31, 1944\nApril 3-7, 1944\nApril 10-14, 1944\nApril 17-21, 1944\nApril 24-28, 1944\nMay 1-5, 1944\nMay 8-12, 1944\nMay 15-19, 1944\nMay 22-26, 1944\nMay 29-31, 1944\nJune 1-2, 1944\nJune 5-9, 1944\nJune 12-16, 1944\nJune 19-22, 1944",
  "sources": "",
  "gallery": "",
  "images": []
}