APRIL 10, 2015
Known for breaking new ground in radio and entertainment, Dragnet was truly a pioneering program in many ways. This was most evident in the actual stories told in each episode, some sentimental, some brutal, all as realistic as show star and creator Jack Webb could make them. Strong stories and great characterizations make up every show featured in Dragnet, Volume 10.
The story featured in each episode is, as noted in the famous opening narration, “…true.” Although many shows focused on lesser crimes, Dragnet did not shy away from violence or topics thought forbidden. This program was in every sense a true police procedural and dealt with crimes of all sorts. Dragnet was one of the first radio shows to deal with crimes involving sexual motivations, true psychological issues, drug use among juveniles, and even the murder of children. Never gratuitous in its portrayal,Dragnet dealt with all crimes the same way that Jack Webb delivered Joe Friday’s lines - honestly and starkly.
Dragnet portrayed each procedure followed by policemen accurately, but took this accuracy even further. If a policeman read a description from a report, then listeners heard a page flip as descriptions were beyond the first page in an actual report. Steps from one office to the other or up the front steps of the police station numbered exactly the same as they did in real life.
The realistic interplay of characters on Dragnet captures a listener’s attention, giving fans that almost fly on the wall feeling as they listen to Friday and his partner investigate and interrogate. Enjoy episodes featuring honest, realistic stories and great performances on Dragnet, Volume 10.
6 hours - $8.99 Download / $17.98 Audio CDs
Special 50% discount Offer
featuring a set from the Detectives category
"Half a dozen bullets smashed through the window. I just held my breath and said a few appropriate words to any archangels who might be listening. I felt something bite into my neck. I thought, 'So long, Mike...it's been fun...'"
From the beginning, director William P. Rousseau envisioned Michael Shayne as a tough, two-fisted he-man, willing to take on any assignment so long as it paid him reasonably well. Previous Shayne adventures had placed him in numerous locales - in the books he was in Miami, while on-screen, he was based in New York - but Rousseau chose to place the character in New Orleans, presumably to take advantage of its unique and often mystical culture. To play the part, Rousseau and Sharpe hired Jeff Chandler, an up-and-coming radio actor who had distinguished himself by being equally adept at comedy as well as drama. Chandler, born Ira Grossel and raised in New York City, was in no way Irish and made no attempt to emulate that aspect of the character - but then this Michael Shayne had next to nothing to do with any earlier Michael Shaynes anyway. Clearly the idea was to make Shayne the New Orleans equivalent of Los Angeles’ Philip Marlowe - an underpaid, overworked gumshoe with a regular need for cash and an unfortunate tendency to attract bullets and beatings.
If all of this sounds a little over the top, with bullets and fists flying left and right, well...it is, but delightfully so. Walking a fine line between serious drama and send-up, The New Adventures of Michael Shayne works as well as it does primarily due to Chandler’s always believable performance, the support of radio regulars like William Conrad, Paul Frees, Frank Lovejoy, and Jack Webb, scripts by experienced radio scribes like Robert Ryf and Larry Marcus, and evocative music composed and conducted by John Duffy. Though it was produced for syndication, the series is so well produced and the performances so strong that it is virtually indistinguishable from similar network detective series of the time. Basically, if you enjoy Gerald Mohr in the classic Adventures of Philip Marlowe, you’ll happily find The New Adventures of Michael Shayne to be more of the same - hard-hitting, action-packed, often downbeat, but always engrossing.
The fourteen sequential broadcasts heard in this collection have been transferred directly from a series of 16” transcriptions released by the Broadcasters Guild, originally intended for syndication to Canadian radio stations. All have been fully restored for outstanding audio fidelity - truly the finest and best sounding versions of these programs ever made available.
Specially priced until April 23. 7 hours - $5.24 Download / $10.49 Audio CDs
Special 50% discount Offer
featuring a set from the Western category
The late forties and early fifties saw an increasing demand for syndicated radio drama. With the Federal Communications Commission having imposed a freeze on the issuance of new television licenses, radio remained the major source of entertainment across small-town America well into the early 1950s, and local stations displayed an insatiable appetite for programming to make up for revenues lost by cuts in network compensation to affiliates. Producers of recorded programming therefore found it difficult to keep up with the demand for new series.
Hollywood was quick to take note of this thriving market, and an increasing number of name stars realized that there was fast, easy money to be made in syndicated radio. This led to a barrage of new series built around marketable celebrities - series such as that spotlighted in this ten hour collection, Frontier Town.
Recorded in Hollywood in 1952-53 and distributed by Broadcast Producers Syndicate, Frontier Town features up-and-coming action star Jeff Chandler in a role far removed from his best-known radio role as Mr. Boynton, the goofy biology teacher boyfriend of Eve Arden on Our Miss Brooks. Credited as "Tex" rather than "Jeff," Chandler is heard here as Chad Remington, a tough-but-dedicated lawyer in the rough and tumble frontier town of Dos Rios. Chandler filled the lead role for twenty-three episodes before being replaced for the remainder of the series by veteran movie tough guy Reed Hadley. Remington fights for justice with the aid of his windbag snake-oil selling sidekick Cherokee O'Bannon, portrayed in a voice redolent of W. C. Fields by character comedian Wade Crosby. The series was written and directed by Paul Franklin, taking a break from his usual role as a top radio comedy writer, and features original organ music by Ivan Ditmars and Bob Mitchell, with Bill Forman announcing.
Hollywood was quick to take note of this thriving market, and an increasing number of name stars realized that there was fast, easy money to be made in syndicated radio. This led to a barrage of new series built around marketable celebrities - series such as that spotlighted in this ten hour collection, Frontier Town.
Recorded in Hollywood in 1952-53 and distributed by Broadcast Producers Syndicate, Frontier Town features up-and-coming action star Jeff Chandler in a role far removed from his best-known radio role as Mr. Boynton, the goofy biology teacher boyfriend of Eve Arden on Our Miss Brooks. Credited as "Tex" rather than "Jeff," Chandler is heard here as Chad Remington, a tough-but-dedicated lawyer in the rough and tumble frontier town of Dos Rios. Chandler filled the lead role for twenty-three episodes before being replaced for the remainder of the series by veteran movie tough guy Reed Hadley. Remington fights for justice with the aid of his windbag snake-oil selling sidekick Cherokee O'Bannon, portrayed in a voice redolent of W. C. Fields by character comedian Wade Crosby. The series was written and directed by Paul Franklin, taking a break from his usual role as a top radio comedy writer, and features original organ music by Ivan Ditmars and Bob Mitchell, with Bill Forman announcing.
Specially priced until April 23. 10 hours - $7.49 Download / $14.99 Audio CDs
16" Transcription Discs
Radio Archives has a large selection of transcription discs for sale. Browse through hundreds of unique and interesting 16" transcription discs that are not part of the auctions. Add them to the shopping cart and they will be mailed today. Sold by Radio Archives.
The unsold discs from the February 15th Broadway Records Auction have been added. These discs will be sold on a first come basis for the minimum bid. Browse through hundreds of UNSOLD transcription discs from recent Broadway Records disc auctions. Sold by Broadway Records.
We are happy to announce that we have decided to standardize the pricing of all our Spider audiobooks at $9.99 for the Downloads and $19.98 for the Audio CDs. This is a savings of $2 to $4 for the downloads and $4 to $8 for the Audio CDs effective immediately for all the previously released Spider audiobooks. With a new Spider audiobook being released every month, this is the perfect time to collect all the audiobooks you may have missed.
Will Murray's Pulp Classics #77
Read by Nick Santa Maria. Liner Notes by Will Murray
Never before or since has there been a hero like the Spider. Driven, hunted, and violently committed to exterminating criminals of all calibers. A self-appointed savior of humanity, tortured manic-depressive, and undiagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, The Spider was known as the Master of Men.
Garbed in a black silk cloak, slouch hat and wearing an assortment of masks and strange disguises to make him look as fierce as his namesake, the Spider ran roughshod over a vicious legion of thugs and hoodlums, leaving behind him a trail of cold corpses branded by his calling card, a scarlet spider burned into their foreheads.
Now, from the pages of The Spider magazine comes his most insane challenge yet, The Mad Horde!
Above the panicked cries of terrified humans there rose the eerie howling of dogs gone mad. Scores of them! A hydrophobic army of destruction loosed cold-bloodedly to rend and tear and spread their shrieking madness through town and countryside...And once more the crisis finds the Spider battling single-handed, fighting alone to save a people who have, in their blindness, put a price upon his head.
A sinister mastermind has unleashed roving packs of wild canines upon the unprotected cities––a death’s head branded on their furry foreheads, every one injected with virulent, fast-acting hydrophobia! Thousands of wild dogs, feral cats, wolves, rats and even bats are injected with the plague and set free to infect innocent Americans. As the unchecked horror sweeps the midwest, casualties mount and the nation reels.
Can the Master of Men unlock this rabid riddle and save himself and those he loves in the bargain? Or will the Horde Master rule over all?
Nick Santa Maria reads The Mad Horde with indescribable emotion. Originally published in The Spider magazine, May, 1934.
5 hours - $9.99 Download / $19.98 Audio CDs
Will Murray's Pulp Classics #78
Read by Milton Bagby. Liner Notes by Doug Ellis
The pulp magazine, Adventure, first appeared in 1910 and soon became renowned for its fiction from the top authors of the day, later being dubbed by Time magazine, the “No. 1 Pulp.” With The Best of Adventure series from Radio Archives, listeners are able to listen to these classic stories for the first time.
We kicked things off with “The Curved Sword” by Harold Lamb, one of Adventure’s most popular authors. Our second offering is “A Secret Society.” Talbot Mundy was the one Adventure author whose popularity exceeded even that of Lamb, and his character James Schuyler Grim — better known as Jimgrim – is one of his most enduring heroes. An American who initially is a British Secret Service Agent, Jimgrim and his band of fellow adventurers fought their way across the Middle East, India, Tibet and other foreign climes in 19 thrilling tales published in Adventure between 1921 and 1931.
Talbot Mundy spent half of 1920 in the Middle East, based in Jerusalem but travelling to Damascus and other areas as well. It was there that he obtained the background information that he would use in Jimgrim’s early adventures — which he stated were based on facts – starting with “The Adventure of El-Karak” which appeared inAdventure late in 1921. Indeed, Mundy claimed that Jimgrim was based on a man he knew in the Middle East, who had followed Lawrence of Arabia. “A Secret Society” finds Jimgrim leaving the British Secret Service to pursue a new, even more dangerous line of work. With his usual companions — Jeff Ramsden, Jeremy Ross and the Rajput, Narayan Singh – Jimgrim teams up with millionaire Meldrum Strange to form an organization to take on international criminals. Their adventures kick off here, as they fight a sinister Egyptian secret society whose web of blackmail and murder spans the globe! Read by voice actor Milton Bagby.
4 hours - $7.99 Download / $15.98 Audio CDs
Hi, my name is Bob Weinberg. I’m good friends with Doug Ellis and the two of us are both known as obsessive pulp magazine collectors. When I use the word “obsessive,” I mean exactly that. Doug and I have been collecting pulps most of our lives and we have tremendous collections of them. Recently, our buddy Tom Brown has allowed us to share our love of pulp fiction with his huge audience of Audiobook Lovers. I’ve been editing a line of pulp novels,The Best of Argosy, while Doug has been responsible for The Best of Adventure. But the pulp magazines are not our greatest collecting mania. Doug and I both collect original paintings used to illustrate science fiction, fantasy, and pulp magazines and books. Unfortunately, these originals are one-of-a-kind and are unavailable to the average collector except for those willing to pay astronomical prices.
I began buying and selling original artwork used for the covers of science fiction and fantasy paperbacks back in the 1970’s. At the time, collecting original SF Art was considered an interesting offshoot of actual collecting. Artwork sold for a few hundred dollars a painting, if that. But, as times changed, so did the cost of art. Prices skyrocketed. A piece I originally sold for $100, recently brought $15,000 at auction. Making it impossible to collect many of the finest paintings that were sold in the past fifty years. Until now!
Working together, Tom Brown, Doug Ellis and I are now selling stunning prints of some of the finest paintings in our collections. These are printed full color and will be reproduced directly from the actual art used to first publish these unique covers. They will offer the ultimate decoration for any collector interested in SF or pulp art.
Bob & Doug & Tom
The first three prints from Weinberg - Ellis Art Prints are ready to ship.
The best of timeless Pulp now available as cutting edge eBooks! Will Murray's Pulp Classics brings the greatest heroes, awesome action, and two fisted thrills to your eReader! Presenting Pulp Icons such as the Spider, G-8 and His Battle Aces, Operator #5 as well as wonderfully obscure characters like the Octopus and Captain Satan. Will Murray's Pulp Classics brings you the best of yesterday's Pulp today!
G-8 and His Battle Aces #036 September 1936 Wings of Invisible Doom
Death! — companion of the skyways and champion of the War — has descended upon the Master Spy with all the grim fury of a monster’s hate! What are three men against the forces of hell itself! What price will brave men pay for their honor? The action is fierce, fast and frightening as we hearken to the Wings of Invisible Doom! G-8 and his Battle Aces rode the nostalgia boom ten years after World War I ended. These high-flying exploits were tall tales of a World War that might have been, featuring monster bats, German zombies, wolf-men, harpies, Martians, and even tentacled floating monsters. Most of these monstrosities were the work of Germany’s seemingly endless supply of mad scientists, chief of whom was G-8’s recurring Nemesis, Herr Doktor Krueger. G-8 battled Germany’s Halloween shock troops for over a decade, not ceasing until the magazine folded in the middle of World War II. G-8 and his Battle Aces return in vintage pulp tales, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $2.99.
Death! — companion of the skyways and champion of the War — has descended upon the Master Spy with all the grim fury of a monster’s hate! What are three men against the forces of hell itself! What price will brave men pay for their honor? The action is fierce, fast and frightening as we hearken to the Wings of Invisible Doom! G-8 and his Battle Aces rode the nostalgia boom ten years after World War I ended. These high-flying exploits were tall tales of a World War that might have been, featuring monster bats, German zombies, wolf-men, harpies, Martians, and even tentacled floating monsters. Most of these monstrosities were the work of Germany’s seemingly endless supply of mad scientists, chief of whom was G-8’s recurring Nemesis, Herr Doktor Krueger. G-8 battled Germany’s Halloween shock troops for over a decade, not ceasing until the magazine folded in the middle of World War II. G-8 and his Battle Aces return in vintage pulp tales, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $2.99.
Dare-Devil Aces #62 May 1937 Trouble On Wings
Headline Hartley had a job to do before he filled a traitor’s grave, a job that meant a flight through Hell on the wailing wings of Fury! Dare-Devil Aces was another of the many pulps that rode the wave of popularity of World War I aviation tales in the decade after the conflict. It made its debut in February 1932 and lasted for an astounding 135 issues. It finally closed after World War II ended, with the November 1946 issue. During its run, it presented a wide assortment of high-flying aerial series, including The Red Falcon, The Vanished Legion, The Three Mosquitoes, Molloy and McNamara, The Black Sheep of Belogue, The Mongol Ace, Chinese Brady, Captain Babyface, Smoke Wade and others. Strap on your flying helmet, toss that scarf about your neck and get ready for some soaring action in the skies over France and Germany during the Great War. Dare-Devil Aces return in vintage pulp tales, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $2.99.
Headline Hartley had a job to do before he filled a traitor’s grave, a job that meant a flight through Hell on the wailing wings of Fury! Dare-Devil Aces was another of the many pulps that rode the wave of popularity of World War I aviation tales in the decade after the conflict. It made its debut in February 1932 and lasted for an astounding 135 issues. It finally closed after World War II ended, with the November 1946 issue. During its run, it presented a wide assortment of high-flying aerial series, including The Red Falcon, The Vanished Legion, The Three Mosquitoes, Molloy and McNamara, The Black Sheep of Belogue, The Mongol Ace, Chinese Brady, Captain Babyface, Smoke Wade and others. Strap on your flying helmet, toss that scarf about your neck and get ready for some soaring action in the skies over France and Germany during the Great War. Dare-Devil Aces return in vintage pulp tales, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $2.99.
All eBooks produced by Radio Archives are available in ePub, Mobi, and PDF formats for the ultimate in compatibility. When you upgrade to a new eReader, you can transfer your eBooks to your new device without the need to purchase anything new.
For the next two weeks The Shadow, Volume 12 can be added to any order for only 99 cents. No minimum order.
The Dark Avenger explores the worlds of magic and mystery in two of Walter Gibson's most intriguing thrillers. The Shadow is buried alive when he battles Hindu thuggees of an ancient cult as he searches for the strange secrets of "The Serpents of Siva". Then, Lamont Cranston visits a magic convention to investigate "The Magigals Mystery" — and encounters a distinctive raconteur in author Walter Gibson's only pulp cameo. This classic collection also features George Rozen's original covers, all the original interior art by illustrators Edd Cartier and Paul Orban, and historical articles on Walter Gibson's magical world by Will Murray and Anthony Tollin. Double Novel Reprint - Specially priced until April 23 - $0.99
by Will Murray and Lester Dent, writing as Kenneth Robeson, cover illustration by Joe DeVito
When William Harper Littlejohn unearths a shadowy figure transfixed in ice, the renowned archeologist understands that he has made the most momentous discovery of his brilliant career. For inscribed over the frozen form is this chilling warning:
“IF I STILL LIVED, MANKIND WOULD TREMBLE!”
Who is this monster? Why does his name strike terror into the hearts of brave men? Can even Doc Savage control him once he breaks free of his icy tomb?
From the Gobi Desert to war-torn Free China, the Man of Bronze and his fighting crew battle a threat so terrifying that it could change the course of human history…. Softcover $24.95
The Knight of Darkness hunts hidden crimelords in two thrilling mysteries by Walter B. Gibson writing as "Maxwell Grant." First, the only clue to the deadly crime wave engulfing Manhattan is a single wireless message typed out in Morse Code: "Q." Then, a brilliant mathematician invents a system to chart future crimes. Can The Shadow use the "Formula for Crime" to solve the mysterious "X" and unmask a criminal mastermind? BONUS: an ultra-rare classic from the Golden Age of Comics! This instant collector's item features both classic color pulp covers by George Rozen and Graves Gladney and the original interior illustrations by Earl Mayan and Paul Orban, with original commentary by popular culture historians Will Murray and Anthony Tollin. Double Novel Reprint $14.95
The greatest superhero of the pulp era returns in two-fisted thrillers by Lawrence Donovan and Lester Dent writing as "Kenneth Robeson." First, Doc Savage is framed by a bronze lookalike as nightmarish reptilian creatures fill the air and Earth is threatened with environmental disaster in "Mad Eyes." Then, Patricia Savage blunders into a death trap after she intercepts a message for Doc, and the only clue to her disappearance suggests "Death is a Round Black Spot." This deluxe pulp reprint leads off with the classic color pulp cover by Robert G. Harris, and also features the original interior illustrations by Paul Orban and historical commentary by Will Murray, author of fifteen Doc Savage novels. Double Novel Reprint $14.95
Doc Savage, Volume 80, James Bama cover
The greatest superhero of the pulp era returns in two-fisted thrillers by Lawrence Donovan and Lester Dent writing as "Kenneth Robeson." First, Doc Savage is framed by a bronze lookalike as nightmarish reptilian creatures fill the air and Earth is threatened with environmental disaster in "Mad Eyes." Then, Patricia Savage blunders into a death trap after she intercepts a message for Doc, and the only clue to her disappearance suggests "Death is a Round Black Spot." This deluxe pulp reprint leads off with a knockout cover painting by legendary illustrator James Bama and also features both color pulp covers, original interior illustrations by Paul Orban and historical commentary by Will Murray, author of fifteen Doc Savage novels. Double Novel Reprint $14.95
The greatest superhero of the pulp era returns in two-fisted thrillers by Lawrence Donovan and Lester Dent writing as "Kenneth Robeson." First, Doc Savage is framed by a bronze lookalike as nightmarish reptilian creatures fill the air and Earth is threatened with environmental disaster in "Mad Eyes." Then, Patricia Savage blunders into a death trap after she intercepts a message for Doc, and the only clue to her disappearance suggests "Death is a Round Black Spot." This deluxe pulp reprint leads off with a knockout cover painting by legendary illustrator James Bama and also features both color pulp covers, original interior illustrations by Paul Orban and historical commentary by Will Murray, author of fifteen Doc Savage novels. Double Novel Reprint $14.95
Sanctum Books completes its reprinting of the original 1936-37 pulp series by DOC SAVAGE’s Lawrence Donovan writing as “Clifford Goodrich” that inspired BATMAN’s first supporting character! First, an ingeniously concealed map holds the answer Police Commissioner James Gordon needs to stop flower-festooned serial slayings in “The Death Roses.” Then, The Whisperer invades China Hill to smash the weird “Murder Brotherhood.” Finally, it’s up to The Whisperer to discover why a philosophical Asian was “Afraid to Die” in a novelette by Alan Hathway from the back pages of THE SHADOW MAGAZINE! BONUS: Norgil the Magician takes the stage in a magical mystery by The Shadow’s Maxwell Grant, plus a classic Whisperer graphic story from the Golden Age of Comics! This instant collector’s item showcases the original color pulp covers by John Newton Howitt and Tom Lovell, the classic interior illustrations by Paul Orban and historical commentary by Will Murray and Anthony Tollin. Double Novel Reprint $14.95
50 more OTR LPs have just been added and 80 OTR LPs have been lowered in price today.
Comments From Our Customers!
Lee J. Rademaker writes:
I wanted to take a moment and THANK YOU for your HONESTY! That is a very rare commodity in today's marketplace. Knowing of your integrity is a strong foundation stone in promoting customer loyalty! Anyway, I deeply appreciate your honest business ethics in a corrupt world! I told a friend of mine in Michigan about your honesty to me, and he is now going to check out your website! They say that word of mouth is the best advertisement!
I wanted to take a moment and THANK YOU for your HONESTY! That is a very rare commodity in today's marketplace. Knowing of your integrity is a strong foundation stone in promoting customer loyalty! Anyway, I deeply appreciate your honest business ethics in a corrupt world! I told a friend of mine in Michigan about your honesty to me, and he is now going to check out your website! They say that word of mouth is the best advertisement!
John Weiser writes:
Aloha from relatively peaceful and somewhat innocent Honolulu. Having spent most of my life in the islands, I was attracted to your CD which had a San Francisco setting, the area of my college education. Moreover, your selection of Michael Gwynne as the sole narrator in particular peaked my interest as I had thoroughly enjoyed his work on your Captain Zero release. The Dr. Sin story presents an enormous challenge to the narrator. Not only are there continuous settings which require timing and emotion, but the sheer volume of characterizations, many of which are presented in violent conflict come to vibrant life when read by Mr. Gwynne. How he is able to play multiple voices and dialects with such ease is most impressive. Singing Mummies is a must listen for anyone who can relate to the colorful setting of San Francisco of 1930-1940. I heartily recommend it.
Aloha from relatively peaceful and somewhat innocent Honolulu. Having spent most of my life in the islands, I was attracted to your CD which had a San Francisco setting, the area of my college education. Moreover, your selection of Michael Gwynne as the sole narrator in particular peaked my interest as I had thoroughly enjoyed his work on your Captain Zero release. The Dr. Sin story presents an enormous challenge to the narrator. Not only are there continuous settings which require timing and emotion, but the sheer volume of characterizations, many of which are presented in violent conflict come to vibrant life when read by Mr. Gwynne. How he is able to play multiple voices and dialects with such ease is most impressive. Singing Mummies is a must listen for anyone who can relate to the colorful setting of San Francisco of 1930-1940. I heartily recommend it.
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