Category Archives: 1940s

The reporter and “The Signalman”

Posted on February 6, 2017 by

Sorting out a stack of CDs of podcasts I downloaded more than a decade ago, I discovered this reporter-centric episode of “Lights Out,” a suspenseful 1940s series.  http://otrrlibrary.org/OTRRLib/Library%20Files/L%20Series/Lights%20Out/Lights%20Out%2046-08-24%20(008)%20The%20Signal%20Man.mp3 This copy is playable or downloadable from the Old Time Radio Researchers … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, adaptations, Drama, podcast, reporters, suspense | Leave a comment

Radio reporter killed; Hornet on the case

Posted on September 14, 2016 by

A Man of Many Words,” July 7, 1946 https://archive.org/download/TheGreenHornet/Thegreenhornet-460706AManOfManyWords.mp3 This unusual 70-year-old episode of The Green Hornet begins with a heroic  (or foolhardy?) journalist defying death threats — but he’s a radio columnist, not one of the series’ usual newspaper … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, adventure, GreenHornet, radio | Leave a comment

Fighting slavery with a newspaper

Posted on May 9, 2016 by

The long-running Jewish Theological Seminary radio series “The Eternal Light” usually drew from an older text, but it did feature a crusading newspaper in at least one episode, “The Rabbi with Ink-Stained Hands,” which the inspirational-drama program broadcast more than … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 19th century, editors, historical figures, publishers | Leave a comment

Fighting drugs with a radio-comicbook crossover

Posted on March 28, 2016 by

Radio and movie star Frank Lovejoy would have been 104 today. Better known as the leading man reporter on Night Beat,  Lovejoy also took a turn as The Blue Beetle, a radio and comic book superhero who appeared to borrow … Continue reading →

Posted in 1930s, 1940s, adaptations, adventure, comics, detectives, reporters, science fiction | Leave a comment

Clark Kent finds swell story via turtle

Posted on March 26, 2016 by

In 1940, Superman didn’t need a world-threatening super villain or a city-destroying duel with another “hero” to be an entertaining role model. In this early “Adventures of Superman” radio tale, Clark Kent’s reportorial curiosity gets the better of him — … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, adventure, Clark Kent, Jimmy Olsen, Superman | Leave a comment

Merry Christmas from Superman, 1945

Posted on December 22, 2015 by

“Christmas today is very extra-special,” the Man of Steel announced to listeners seventy years ago, at the start of the “Adventures of Superman” episode broadcast on the first Christmas Day after the end of World War II. With Germany and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, adventure, Superman, World War II | Leave a comment

Hate mongers vs. refugees and minorities

Posted on November 19, 2015 by

In the wake of World War II, radio’s fictional journalists were defenders of immigrants and religious and ethnic minorities. A Big Town Christmas episode about a Polish refugee newspaper editor, and Superman and The Daily Planet’s fight against “The Klan … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, Brotherhood, Clark Kent, Jimmy Olsen, Superman, World War II | Leave a comment