Voice of the Whistler (1945), the fourth entry in Columbia’s popular B-movie series based on the CBS West Coast radio show, marked the return of future schlock director William Castle to the franchise; Castle directed the first two Whistler films before handing over the reins to Lew Landers for The Power of the Whistler (1945), […]

The omnipresent narrator (Otto Forrest) known as The Whistler introduces us to a “strange man” (Richard Dix) identified as “William Everest” as the third film in Columbia’s Whistler series unspools.  Everest, an individual seemingly on a mission, narrowly misses being hit by an automobile and, stumbling back to the curb for safety, hits his head […]

It would be no small exaggeration to suggest that more old-time radio fans listen to The Whistler today than did audiences during the series’ original CBS network radio run from May 16, 1942 to September 22, 1955.  It wasn’t because the mystery drama lacked for popularity—it’s just that with just one or two exceptions, the program […]

My introduction to old-time radio came about in the 1970s, when the “nostalgia boom” was well underway.  WOUB, Ohio University’s FM radio station, had a feature that aired every Monday night entitled, appropriately enough, “Monday Night at the Radio”—and it was through that program that I was initiated into “the theater of the mind” with shows […]

The recurring character of Caroline Appleby, rival/nemesis of housewife Lucy Ricardo on the classic television sitcom I Love Lucy, was first introduced in the episode “The Club Election”—though the character’s first name was “Lillian” in that inaugural installment.  Actress Doris Singleton, who would play Caroline in nine additional Lucy episodes, was told by the show’s […]

One of the joys that results from an immersion into the world of old-time radio involves discovering little-known or forgotten series that might have completely disappeared from the historical record had not a handful of broadcasts survived.  The upside is finding a show that’s better than its reputation (and in many case, superior to its […]