THE HAUNTED VIOLIN
[STAGE-PLAY]
[Pittsburgh Press, January 26, 1932—“Wilbur Hopes Radio Will Present Drama” by S. H.
Steinhauser] “Crane Wilbur, playwright, author and dramatist who dies at 9:30 in ‘Mourning
Becomes Electra’ and calls it a day, hopes the day will come when radio will be able to pay for real
dramatizations of plays. Wilbur was the creator of the famous ‘Haunted Violin,’ which vanished
from the air, just as mysteriously as it was first heard.
“Wilbur discloses that he penned the ‘Haunted Violin’ episodes at the behest of John F. Royal,
program director of NBC and for years a noted theater man. Wilbur also portrayed the lead role in
the cast. Radio fans thrilled at the presentation, because of its perfection, but it seems sponsors do
not care to pay for such presentations and ‘The Haunted Violin’ left the air.”
THE HAUNTING HOUR
“No! No! Stay where you are! Do not break the stillness of this moment! For this is a time of mystery, a
time when the imagination is free and moves swiftly. This is the Haunting Hour!”
A series which used horror trappings but had very little of genuine horror about it. “In ‘Haunting
Hour’,” noted Variety reviewer Tomm., “the net’s recording division has made an attempt to
combine the supernatural and the straight crime program. Result is somewhat detrimental to
each treatment, but the show emerges as better than fair radio.”
ORIGINATION: NBC Recording, New York City, New York (electrical transcriptions).
DURATION: Released in 1945 and 1946.
PERSONNEL: Bafe Blau (scriptwriter), Ben Brady (scriptwriter), Max Ehrlich (scriptwriter), Berry Kroeger
(host), Frank H. Olsen (scriptwriter), Rosa Rio (organist), Betty Ulius (scriptwriter), Edwin Wolfe
(scriptwriter), Bert Wood (producer).
CASTS: Jackson Beck, Carl Eastman, Elspeth Eric, Michael Fitzmaurice, Max Fletcher, Betty Furness, Carl
Gruber, Robert Harris, Conseulo Lamboke, Kay Loring, Frank Lovejoy, Ian Martin, Liz Morgan, Eddie
Nugent, Jed Prouty, Florence Robinson, James Van Dyk, et al.
SPONSORS: Guy C. Fitz & Son (Jewelry Store—Optician; WHIZ, 1946), Jackson Furniture Co. (KPO, 1946),
Imperial Electric Co. (CKRC, 1951), et al.
EXTANT RECORDINGS:
THE HAUNTING HOUR
[1] “Homicide House (audition)?
[“…A stranded couple end up at a
house where an old couple act as
though it’s 100 years ago…”] GP
[2] “The Best Laid Plans”
[“…a man plots a perfect murder,
but never gets a chance to carry it
out…”]
[3] “The Hands of Mr. Smith”
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7] “The Old, Old Men”
[“…the bizarre tale of murder at a
retirement home…”]
[8] “Ptolemy’s Grave”
[“…a famous Egyptologist
purchases a sacred mummy and
finds out too late that it comes with a
deadly curse…”]
Script: Ben Brady
[9] “A Date in the Dark”
[10] “The Thought”
[11] “A Date with Destiny”
[“…Berry Kroeger tells the story of a
man who lived on borrowed time.”]
[12]
[13]
[14] “Out of the Night”
[“…Michael Fitzmaurice plays the
stranger who materializes out of a
nightmare…”] Script: Frank Oleson
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
[19] “The Way of the
Transgressor”
[20] “Ecclesiastes First
Chapter, Second Verse”
[21] “Murder Wears a Strange
Mask”
[22]
[23] “The Uptown Express”
[“…story of a business girl who gets
on the subway, closes her eyes for a
moment, and wakes up five years
later to find herself married to a
murderer against whom her brother,
as district attorney candidate, is
trying to prove a case…”]
[24] “Unidentified Body”
[25] “Second Chance”
[26] “Revenge”
[“…The macabre tale of an old woman
who plans revenge…”]
[27] “The People in the House”
[“…The decadence of an old New
York family will be described…”]
[28] “Occupation: Murder”
[29] “No Escape”
[30]
[31]
[32]
[33] “The Mystery of the
Southern Star”
[34] “Murder Is My Business”
[35] “The Cat Man”
[36] “The Devil’s Deep”
[37] “A Tale of Darkness”
[“…A man, blinded in the war, falls
in love with the 500-year-old ghost
of a blind girl…”] GP
[38] “Tapping on the Window”
[39] “Assignment: Death”
[40] “Pale Hands That Kill”
[41] “Destination Unknown”
[42] “The Two Mr. Brandts”
[43]
[44]
[45]
[46]
[47]
[48]
[49]
[50]
[51] “Till Murder Do Us Part”
[52] “The Dark Tower”
Numbers unknown:
“The Bird of Death”
“Breakdown”
[WASHINGTON POST: “…story of a housekeeper’s attempts to drive a wealthy
woman insane…”] April 4, 1952, WTOP
“The Briefcase”
“The Case of the Lonesome
Corpse”
“A Corpse There Was”
(Research Fresno Bee, KFRE;
ran on October 13, 1945)
[“…a woman learns of her
forthcoming murder after she
discovers her own tombstone…”]
“The Dead Strike Back”
“Death by Request”
“Double Threat”
“Dressed To Kill”
“Homicide House”
“If the Shoe Fits”
[“…A clever cobbler ingeniously
solves a case of blackmail and
murder from the muddy imprint of a
foot…”]
“Key to Murder”
[“…the story of a shopkeeper’s tragic
adventure…”]
“The Labyrinth”
[“…A British army veteran thinks he
wed an American nurse during the
war. He comes to the states and finds
that she’s old enough to be his
mother…”] GP
[“…a story of a major who never
doubted his identity in spite of what
the papers said…”]
“A Likely Murder Story”
(research KPO, Oakland—ran it
on October 26, 1946) SCRIPT: Alvin Voretz???
“No Hiding Place”
[“…To collect an inheritance, an
amnesiac girl is made to think that
she is another girl (who died)…”]GP
“Nocturne”
[“…a story of the influence exerted by
a piece of music…”]
“Out of Sight”
“The Perfect Crime”
“Reprieve to Death”
SCRIPT: Alvin Boretz.
“The Sinister Estate”
[“…a girl is caught up in a series
of strange events at her sinister
estate…”]
“The Sixth Button”
[“…A victim’s will states that his
coat buttons must be accessible for
his relatives to collect, which forces
them to try to fish bis body out of the
river…”] GP
SCRIPT: Edward Adamson.
[WASHINGTON POST: “…story of a young couple who murder a sea captain and
get a disagreeable surprise…”]
“The Skyscraper Mystery”
“Stand-in for Death”
[“…Similar to ‘No Hiding Place’…
a girl is drugged and made to think
she is another girl (who died)…”]GP
(53)
??? “A story of a writer and a dead
man’s revenge”
??? “A writer attempts to
reconstruct the perfect crime—
with disastrous results.”
HISTOIRES ETRANGES
Something done in Switzerland; cited in Radio Mysteres; nothing further is known.
ORIGINATION: Radio-Sottens, Lausanne.
DURATION: May 13-June 17, 1950.
PERSONNEL: Geo H. Blanc (scriptwriter, director), Jean Rochereau (scriptwriter), Anne
Serdeau (scriptwriter).
EXTANT RECORDINGS: None.
HISTOIRES ETRANGES
[?????day—8:10-8:40 PM]
May 13, 1950 “Le Confessionnal”
May 20, 1950 “Offre d’emploi”
June 3, 1950 “La Navire de la mort”
June 17, 1950 “Indecision”
HISTOIRES FANTASTIQUES
“Sur Radio Luxembourg, a la fin 1952, fut diffuse le Mercredi soir a une heure propice a ce type de
recits, une serie intitulee ‘Histoires fantastiques’ a propos de laquelle nous ne disposons que de
peu d’informations, en dehors de quelques resumes d’episodes (parus dans ‘Mon programme’).”
ORIGINATION: Radio Luxembourg.
DURATION: September 17-December 3, 1952.
PERSONNEL: Rene Barjavel (scriptwriter), Roger Bourgeon (scriptwriter), Georges-Michel
Bovay (scriptwriter, director), Maurice Cazeneuve (director), Pierre Chambon (scriptwriter),
Pierre Henry (scriptwriter), Jacques Lafond (director), Jean Maurel (scriptwriter, director),
Andre Sallee (director),
CASTS: Francoise Adam, Lucien Blondeau, Bugette, Jacques Dynam, Huguette Faget, Gabriel
Gobin, Claire Guibert, Daniel Ivernel, Pierre Larquey, Jacques Mauclair, Nathalie Nerval, Cecile
Paroldi, Maurice Regamey, Jacques Serviere, Arlette Thomas, Andre Valmy.
EXTANT RECORDINGS: None.
HISTOIRES FANTASTIQUES
[Wednesday—9:40-10:00 PM]
Sep. 17, 1952 “L’Horloge a remonter le
temps”
Sep. 24, 1952 “L’Homme en noir”
Oct. 1, 1952 “L’Etrange requite”
Oct. 8, 1952 “Le Manteau”
Oct. 15, 1952 “La Mouette noire”
Oct. 22, 1952 “Le Train fantome”
Oct. 29, 1952 “La Mort d’une (cid:0)idwest(cid:0)ly”
Nov. 5, 1952 “Le Regard vole”
Nov. 12, 1952 “La Mine de la montagne
noire”
Nov. 19, 1952 “Descente en ville”
Nov. 26, 1952 “Une jolie petite gueule de
chat”
Dec. 3, 1952 “Monsieur Charton”
HISTORIAS DE MEDIANOCHE
“…una especie de cuentos de terror, una vez a la semana.”
ORIGINATION: EAJ-7, Madrid (Cadena SER).
DURATION: Circa 1950s.
PERSONNEL: Antonio Calderon (director).
EXTANT RECORDINGS: None.
THE HITCH-HIKER
Lucille Fletcher got her inspiration for this most famous of radio ghost stories…
ORIGINATION:
DURATION:
PERSONNEL: John Dietz (director—1942, Suspense), Lucille Fletcher (scriptwriter), Orson
Welles (director—1941, 1946).
CAST [1941]: Ray Collins, Joseph Cotton, Agnes Moorehead (Mrs. Adams), Orson Welles (Ronald
Adams).
CAST [1942, Suspense]: Orson Welles (Ronald Adams), et al.
CAST [1942, Phillip Morris]: Orson Welles (Ronald Adams), et al.
CAST [1946]: Orson Welles (Ronald Adams), et al.
EXTANT RECORDINGS: All excerpt the Phillip Morris show.
LADY ESTHER PRESENTS ORSON WELLES (KNX)
Nov. ??, 1941 “The Hitch-hiker”
SUSPENSE (WABC)
??? ??, 1942 “The Hitch-hiker”
THE PHILLIP MORRIS PLAYHOUSE
??? ??, 1942 “The Hitch-hiker”
THE MERCURY SUMMER THEATRE
HORROR, INC.
Eva Le Gallienne, living legend of the New York theater, starred as dramatic reader on this short-
lived series on the Blue. She was at that time riding a career high, appearing in the Broadway hit
Uncle Harry in the role of the pathologically domineering sister that Geraldine Fitzgerald would
assume in the 1945 movie version. Apparently the sinister nature of the play was capitalized upon
in deciding the appropriateness of her debut as a doyenne of literary horror. On March 9 her co-
star from Uncle Harry, Joseph Schildkraut, took her place.
ORIGINATION: WJZ, New York City, New York (BLUE).
DURATION: January 17-March 16, 1943.
PERSONNEL: Donald Bain (animal imitator), Eva Le Gallienne (script preparation, dramatic reader), Mort
Lewis (scriptwriter), Rosa Rio (organist), Joseph Schildkraut (dramatic reader on the March 9 broadcast).
EXTANT RECORDINGS: None.
HORROR, INC. (WJZ, NEW YORK—BLUE)
[Sunday—5:15-5:30 PM]
January 17, 1943 “A Terribly Strange Bed”
AUTHOR: Wilkie Collins.
January 24, 1943 “The Torture of Hope”
AUTHOR: Villiers de l’Isle-Adam.
January 31, 1943 “The Haunted and the Haunters”
AUTHOR: Bulwer-Lytton.
February 7, 1943 “The Valley of the Dead”
AUTHOR: Ralph Adams Cram.
[OG-NOTE: At least one newspaper—the Youngstown Vindicator— announced the
night’s story as Poe’s “The Case of M. Valdemar.”]
FEBRUARY 9, 1943:
[Youngstown Vindicator—“Shift Eva Le Gallienne Program to
Tuesday Spot”]
“‘Horror, Inc.’, which brought the celebrated British-born actress Eva Le
Gallienne to the microphone for her first regular network series, will be switched
to the 7:15 spot on the Blue Network Tuesday nights…
“For tonight’s selection, Miss Le-Gallienne [sic] has chosen ‘The Man and the
Snake’ by Ambrose J. [sic] Bierce. An innovation in the handling of radio mystery
dramas, the series was originally booked on a limited basis. So favorable has been
the response that its extension and transfer to the evening schedule was made.”
[Tuesday—7:15-7:30 PM]
February 9, 1943 “The Man and the Snake”
AUTHOR: Ambrose Bierce.
[OG-NOTE: The Vindicator, likewise, indicated “The Valley of the Dead” for this date.]
February 16, 1943 “The Black Cat”
[LIMA NEWS: “…Edgar Allen [sic] Poe, America’s foremost horror writer,
gets another chance on WJZ’s ‘Horror, Inc.’ program starring Eva Le
Gallienne… The distinguished stage star, who rejected another Poe work
for a previous ‘Horror, Inc.’ appearance because it was ‘too horrible,’ will
present a condensed version of ‘The Black Cat’…”]
AUTHOR: Edgar Allan Poe.
FEBRUARY 20, 1943:
[The Billboard—“Program Reviews—‘Horror, Inc.’” by Marion
Radcliff]
“The Man and the Snake, by Ambrose Bierce, was the bit of psychological
macabre chosen by Eva Le Gallienne for narration on Horror, Inc.’s first
Tuesday night spot after four introductory airings on Sunday afternoons.
Originally booked on a limited basis, extension and switch of time on the show
now leave the way open for Miss Le Gallienne and her collaborator, Mort Lewis,
to continue their gory task of choosing the most hair-raising stories in all
literature and presenting them in narrative form with the help of an organ for
sound effects and a voice here and there to scream or make like a ghost.
“Choice of story for the first weekday show was a fortunate one, for the weird
tale of a snakery in a Southern mansion was enough to hold even the most
restless dial-twister. Miss Le Gallienne started off with rather slow-moving now-
I’ll-tell-a-story delivery, but as she got more involved with the complex workings
of the mind and imagination of a man who was slowly working himself into a fit
from staring into the eyes of an escaped snake, the narration became alive and
vivid. That the snake should prove to be a stuffed one with shoe-button eyes after
the victim scarced [sic] himself into a horrible death was inevitable.
“Miss Le Gallienne’s diction, voice and sense of timing were faultless, and with
the help of expert organ accompaniment by Rosa Rio the atmosphere of horror
and fear was sustained to the very end.
“With the new time for Horror, Inc., mystery lovers should have quite a chilling
time of it on Tuesday nights as four other well-known mystery shows follow on
the Blue, Columbia and Mutual networks.”
February 23, 1943 “The Beast with Five Fingers”
[LIMA NEWS: “…Probably still shuddering from the anguished screams
that attended the removal of an eye from ‘The Black Cat’ last week,
listeners will find small comfort in the eerie tale to be narrated by Eva La
Gallienne… Chosen for airing by the distinguished actress and her
collaborator, Mort Lewis, is W. F. Harvey’s ‘The Beast with Five Fingers,’
one of the most popular of contemporary horror stories…”]
AUTHOR: W.F. Harvey.
March 2, 1943 “The Masque of the Red Death”
AUTHOR: Edgar Allan Poe.
March 9, 1943
PERSONNEL: Joseph Schildkraut (substituting for La Gallienne).
MARCH 11, 1943:
[Cumberland Evening Times—“Today’s Radio Programs” by C. E.
Butterfield]
“Eva Le [sic] Gallienne was forced to drop out of her ‘Horror Inc.’ Readings on
the BLUE this week, Joseph Schildkraut taking her place…”]
March 16, 1943 “The Happy Prince”
AUTHOR: Oscar Wilde.