UNSOLVED MYSTERIES
[RADIO-SERIES]
Broadcast in 1934 from Los Angeles station KHJ, this series was then transcribed and syndicated
in 1936.
[Variety, January 8, 1935] “KHJ has a type of program that looks like a natural to garner station
letters. Yarns running 15 minutes Monday nights are mainly historic mysteries. Some not so
historic, are nevertheless puzzling. End of the program announcement is made that a probable
solution of the mystery can be had for the asking, by writing to the station or by calling at one of
the gas stations of the commercialler, Rocket gasoline.
“Programs called ‘Unsolved Mysteries,’ are well written and handled, with about 50 percent
narration and the higher spots presented in play form. On recent broadcasts programs have been
a maritime nature with outstander a dramatization of the ‘Marie Celeste’ sea puzzle.
“Night yarn was caught, it was of a ghostly nature, telling how an American newspaperman in
England was warned by a ghost not to sail on the Titanic, although he had booked passage on its
tragic voyage.
“Parts and narration well done except for a weakness on the part of the femme players, who
appear to be new at the mike.”
ORIGINATION: KHJ, Los Angeles, California.
DURATION: November 5, 1934-January 21, 1935.
PERSONNEL:
CASTS: Joe France, Frank Nelson, Eris Norman, Ted Osborne, Fred Shields, Don Wilson, et al.
SPONSOR: Rocket Gasoline Company.
EXTANT RECORDINGS: None.
[OG-NOTE: Surviving recordings are from the 1936 transcription series.]
[PROGRAM LOG]
[listed as “Mystery Drama”]
September 3, 1934
September 10, 1934
September 17, 1934
September 24, 1934
October 1, 1934
October 8, 1934
October 15, 1934
[October 22—FDR speech; October 23 (Tue)—Drama]
October 29, 1934
UNSOLVED MYSTERIES (KHJ, LOS ANGELES—DON LEE)
[Monday—7:45-8:00 PM]
November 5, 1934 “The Chinese Rug Mystery” ???
[“…India is the setting of tonight’s play…”]
[Tuesday—7:45-8:00 PM]
November 13, 1934 “The Mystery of the Marie Celeste”
[“…a play telling about the Marie Celeste, a brigantine, found in the
North Atlantic 62 years ago with all sails set but without a living or dead
person on board…”]
[Monday—7:45-8:00 PM]
November 19, 1934 “The Perfect Crime”
[“…One night four years ago, Isadore Fink was shot in his hand laundry.
When the police arrived, they had to break through the transom as the
two doors were bolted on the inside and the window and transom were
nailed in place. There was no gun…”]
November 26, 1934 “The Witch Doctor Mystery”
[“…a story of weird black magic practiced by witch doctors in Africa…”]
December 3, 1934 “The Mystery of the Zombie”
[“…A story of the terrifying voodoo magic of the natives of Haiti…”]
December 10, 1934 “The St. George Club Murder”
December 17, 1934 “The Borden Mystery”
[“…The mystery play will tell about a double murder, that of a Mr. and
Mrs. Borden…”]
December 24, 1934
December 31, 1934 “The Writing on the Wall”
[“…a play in which a newspaper correspondent’s life was saved as the
result of a ghostly warning written on his bedroom wall… The story of the
sinking of the Titanic…”]
JANUARY 1, 1935:
[Broadcasting—“Network Accounts”]
“Rocket Oil Co., Los Angeles, on Nov. 5 renewed ‘Unsolved Mysteries’ on CBS-
Don Lee network, Mondays, 7:45-8:00 p. m., PST. Agency: Beaumont &
Hohman, Los Angeles.”
January 7, 1935 “The Murder in the Rue Morgue”
[“…an unsolved French mystery… The true events unlying Poe’s widely
read story. Rocket Players present their solution to this world-famous
baffler…”]
January 14, 1935 “The Trial of Oscar Slater”
[“…the true story of the international chase, capture and trial of an
innocent victim of circumstances…”]
January 21, 1935 “A Voice from Beyond”
[“…the story of a house in which for over twenty years no one would live
for more than a few days because of the strange ghostly figures which
would appear at night… A phantom betrays a murderer, and a surprise
ending explains the mysterious presence of the ghostly forms…”]
Sources for log information: Hollywood Citizen-News, Fresno Bee.
UNSOLVED MYSTERIES
[RADIO-SERIES]
A year after its run on KHJ, the series was made into a transcription package. Mentioned in
Broadcasting, April 15, 1936.
ORIGINATION: American Radio Features, Los Angeles, California (transcription disc series).
DURATION: Released in 1936; distributed by Conquest Alliance Co.
[OG-NOTE: The series was re-released in 1949 by Kasper-Gordon Studios in Boston.]
PERSONNEL: Unknown.
SPONSOR: The Texas Co. (Texaco), on stations in the south and southwest.
EXTANT RECORDINGS: “Bela Kiss,” “The Cambridge Mystery,” “The Disappearance of Judge Draper,” “The
Hypnotist,” “Jack the Ripper,” “The Mount Shasta Mystery,” “The Toll Bridge.”
[PROGRAM LOG]
UNSOLVED MYSTERIES (AMERICAN RADIO FEATURES DISC SERIES)
[1] “The Borden Case”
[“…A double murder is followed by Lizzie Borden’s trial…”]
[2] “The Horror of Bene Debele”
[“…An old witch doctor swears revenge and plans to return to his tribe as
a black panther…”]
[3] “The Wireless Mystery”
[“…A radio warning from nowhere saves a ship from collision…”]
[4] “The Bridge Whist Mystery”
[“,,,The New York police solve a baffling murder case…”]
[5]
[6] “The Mystery of the Zombie”
[“…A case of voodoo magic in Haiti. A white woman is raised from the
grave…”]
[7] “The Chinese Rug Mystery”
[“…An Indian fakir requests a strand of an Englishwoman’s hair. He’s
given a piece of a Chinese rug instead…”]
[8] “The Rue Morgue Mystery”
[“…A famous locked room mystery…and why Edgar Allan Poe’s version
was wrong…”]
[9] “The Writing on the Wall”
[“…A ‘modern’ ghost in an old castle warns with flaming words on the
wall, ‘Avoid the Titanic’…”]
[10] “The Mystery of the Marie Celeste”
[11] “The Perfect Crime”
[“…A tailor named Isadore Fink is murdered within a locked room…”]
[12] “The Toll-Bridge Mystery”
[“…An innocent man is about to be hanged; a ‘gentleman of quality’ is
awakened in the middle of the night…”]
[13]
[14]
[15] “The Mount Shasta Mystery”
[“…A visit to the strange man who lives atop Mount Shasta in California.
He’s always been there and can do many things. He knows the secret of
the Lemurians…”]
[16]
[17] “The Trial of Oscar Slater”
[“…Arthur Conan Doyle spent 17 years trying to prove Slater innocent…”]
Episode numbers have not been determined for the following episodes:
“Bela Kiss”
“The Cambridge Mystery”
“The Disappearance of Gerald Neville”
[Britain’s master spy is sent to Russia and is never heard from again…”]
“The Disappearance of Judge Draper”
“The Houdini Escape Mystery”
“The Hypnotist”
“Jack the Ripper”
“The Murder on Yarmouth Sands”
[“…A dead woman has been found on the beach. A photo and necklace
are the circumstantial evidence needed to convict her husband…”]
“The Mystery of the Chinaman’s Cell”
[“…An accused thief is placed in a haunted Hawaiian jail for the
evening…”]
“The Washington Square Mystery”
[“…A woman murdered in the park accuses a man’s mad wife of killing
her…”]
“The Witch Doctor Mystery”
[“…A German ivory trader comes down with malaria in the jungle. The
local witch doctor uses telekinesis to bring him the needed medicine…”]
The following are listed by “Tomkle”:
“The Bandit Priest”
“The Bathurst Disappearance”
“The Coffins of San Cristobal”
“The Desmond Taylor Murder Mystery”
“The Haunted Railroad”
“The Mad Monk”
“The Mystery of the Athletes Club”
“The Mystery of the Black Drakes”
“The Mystery of the Chorded Note”
“The Mystery of Peter the Painter”
“The Mystery of the Sergeant Major Thomas”
“The Mystery of the Treasure Left Behind at Plum Point by
Blackbeard”
“The Raising of the Dahli Lama”
“The St. George Club Mystery”
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