Orson Welles on the Air: Old-Time Radio Drama Anthology

Lamont Cranston, a wealthy man with a secret identity as The Shadow, investigates the apparent suicide of Henry Adams, a businessman whose body was buried in the family vault. Adams's partner Ray Kelvin is courting Adams's daughter Irene, and a crooked associate named Burger is linked to a fake passport racket. Cranston's associate Margo visits Irene to learn what she knows about her father's death. The Shadow follows Burger and Kelvin after they leave the city, tracking them to a cemetery.

With Lamont Cranston, The Shadow, Margo, Irene Adams, Henry Adams, Ray Kelvin, Burger, David Kastner.

Listen for: Listen for the Shadow's voice as he pieces together the Adams case and tracks Burger and Kelvin to the cemetery.

First aired on January 23, 1938.

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Naval vessels suffer a series of explosions and damage, and the navy traces every incident to the Sagg Island shipyard. Lamont Cranston, using his power to become invisible and read minds, suspects a man among the yard's workers and sets up a radio post at a nearby hotel. He follows a shady worker named Steve Buckler to a bar, where Buckler's meetings draw him into a dangerous scheme. The Shadow's pursuit of the saboteur continues through the night as the threat to the fleet grows. This episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air aired on 1938-01-16.

With The Shadow, Lamont Cranston, Margo Lane, Steve Buckler, Regal, Dr. Arnheim, Admiral Tealy.

Listen for: Listen for the Shadow reading Buckler's mind in the bar and the tense exchange with Dr. Arnheim.

First aired on January 16, 1938.

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Michael Sullivan, a grocer, is sent to prison for perjury after recanting his testimony against a counterfeiting ring that forced him to pass fake bills. His daughter Mary, determined to free him, approaches the gang's operation with a plan of her own. Margot Lane, working with Lamont Cranston, watches over the situation as the ring's threats grow more direct. Mary is taken to the waterfront, where the gang's members debate what she knows and whether to bring her to their leader. The story follows her captors and the tense standoff that follows, all told through the events of the broadcast's opening portion.

With Michael Sullivan, Mary Sullivan, Margot Lane, Lamont Cranston, Rankin, Trigger, Slick, Commissioner Weston.

Listen for: The tense exchange at the waterfront as the gang questions Mary about what she knows of their counterfeit operation

First aired on January 9, 1938.

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Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 62 free 24/7 channels and 191 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Police Commissioner Weston faces public pressure after a series of bombings has killed fifteen people in the theatre district, and he dismisses a mystery figure known as the Shadow. When a challenge is printed in the papers, the Shadow accepts it and sets a trap at the Central Arcade. A bomber sends a message promising more deaths, and the Shadow proceeds alone to confront the man responsible. The guide stops here, as the transcript covers only the first part of the episode. The Mercury Theatre on the Air presents this adaptation of the Shadow story, first broadcast on November 28, 1937.

With The Shadow, Commissioner Weston, Margot, Lamont Cranston, Anton, Joe Tenetti.

Listen for: The exchange in which the bomber, Anton, is tricked by the Shadow in the subway excavation.

First aired on November 28, 1937.

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Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 62 free 24/7 channels and 191 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Lamont Cranston, who is also the crime fighter called the Shadow, watches a murder trial in which Senator Durham is accused of taking a $50,000 bribe from the late Mario Renaldi. The prosecution shows a sound film of a meeting between the two men, but Lamont believes the film's soundtrack does not match the senator's lips. Lamont, in the company of Margot Lane, goes to see the lawyer Anthony Vogel, who arranged the filming. Vogel's henchman Travis and the shadow's presence in the room add to the danger as the case against the senator is challenged. This Mercury Theatre on the Air adaptation of The Shadow was first broadcast on February 6, 1938.

With Lamont Cranston, The Shadow, Margot Lane, Senator Durham, Mario Renaldi, Anthony Vogel, Wilson, Travis.

Listen for: The soundtrack of the motion picture shown in court and what Lamont says about the senator's lips.

First aired on February 6, 1938.

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Lamont Cranston and his companion Margot Lane visit Carolyn Sneed, who is unwell, at her country house. Her husband, Professor Arthur Sneed, dismisses her fears that the house is haunted by strange sounds, and Cranston senses something sinister about him. Cranston later visits Sneed's office, where a voice warns the professor that someone knows what he is planning. Two men arrive at the office, former convicts who press Sneed about his wife's money and suggest a violent scheme. The story is part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on October 31, 1937, and is adapted from the Shadow character.

With Lamont Cranston, Margot Lane, Carolyn Sneed, Professor Arthur Sneed, Miss Lane, Spike Collins, Steve Wilson.

Listen for: The ghostly sounds in the Sneed house and the tense exchange in the professor's office with the two visitors.

First aired on October 31, 1937.

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Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 62 free 24/7 channels and 191 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Lamont Cranston, a wealthy man who is also the Shadow, looks into a narcotics ring operating around town after the Women's Club raises concerns about drug peddling and deaths. At the Club Kalif, he watches the Indian dancer Sadie Belada perform with a cobra and suspects she is connected to the drug trade. Her interest in him and a dangerous warning soon follow. The Mercury Theatre on the Air presented this adaptation of the Shadow stories on October 24, 1937. The transcript ends partway through the story, so the full plot is not covered here.

With Lamont Cranston, The Shadow, Margot Lane, Sadie Belada, Jerry Gleason, Andrew Gleason, Commissioner Weston, Alexis.

Listen for: Sadie Belada's cobra dance and her exchange with the Shadow in her dressing room, which set up the central confrontation.

First aired on October 24, 1937.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. Two new episodes a week: Orson Welles on the Air on Stupid Potato, live around the clock.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 62 free 24/7 channels and 191 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Lamont Cranston, a wealthy man about town, learns that District Attorney Stowe was threatened by a convicted killer, Peter Swift, who was hanged six months earlier. Margo Lane hears of a grave being opened and a body taken away, and she and Cranston begin to investigate. Their inquiry leads them to Dr. Craig, who had collected Swift's body from the prison. The episode is part of The Shadow series, broadcast on The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first aired on October 17, 1937, with Orson Welles as the lead.

With Lamont Cranston, Margo Lane, District Attorney Stowe, Peter Swift, Judge Klein, Dr. Craig, Taylor, Jenkins.

Listen for: The sinister doctor's claim to have discovered a secret of life over death, and the threats made against the men who sent Peter Swift to the gallows.

First aired on October 17, 1937.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. Two new episodes a week: Orson Welles on the Air on Stupid Potato, live around the clock.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 62 free 24/7 channels and 191 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

The Shadow, a mysterious crime fighter, becomes involved when Paul Gordon, a jobless man, is convicted of robbery and murder after unknowingly driving getaway men. Gordon's wife Grace receives money from a stranger, and Margot Lane, the Shadow's associate, works to prove his innocence. Gordon is sentenced to death in the electric chair, and the Shadow uses his mental powers to reconstruct the crime and recover the lost evidence. This is an episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on September 26, 1937. The transcript is incomplete, and the cast is not named in it.

With The Shadow, Margot Lane, Paul Gordon, Grace Gordon, Red, Lefty, Commissioner, Warden.

Listen for: The Shadow's voice speaking to Gordon from the shadows as he reconstructs the crime in his mind.

First aired on September 26, 1937.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. Two new episodes a week: Orson Welles on the Air on Stupid Potato, live around the clock.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 62 free 24/7 channels and 191 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.