Old Time Radio Downloads > Adventure > Ellery Queen

Ellery Queen, which was introduced on CBS Radio as The Adventures of Ellery Queen, was a detective series that featured Hugh Marlowe as the title character. The show was originally a replacement for the Screen Guild Theater, which was a popular anthology series. It was broadcast on three radio stations,  starting on CBS Radio from June 18, 1939 to September 22, 1940, then on NBC Radio from 1942 to 1944, back to CBS radio from 1945 to 1947, and finally on ABC Radio on 1947-1948. The basic format of the show was that, a mystery would be presented, then the guest celebrities would try to solve it.

 

Much to the CBS executives' surprise, the show was such a huge hit among many listeners. In fact, on October 8, 1939, at the show's "The Mother Goose Murders" episode, the station suddenly went off air, and got back with only 9 minutes left for the show, causing a lot of listeners to call and complain. Knowing that the show was really popular, Ellery Queen remained on air for 8 seasons. 

Ellery-Queen

Please enjoy these old time radio shows:

Air Date Title Synopsis
 1941-09-07  
 1943-01-07  The Singing Rat
 1943-03-25  The Adventure Of The Circus Train
 1943-09-30  Adventure Of World Series
 1943-11-04  The Adventure Of The Vanishing Magician
 1944-01-13  The Mischif Maker
 1944-01-20  The Scarcrow & The Snoqman
 1944-04-13  Dead Mans Cavern
 1944-07-13  Foul Tip
 1945-08-01  Nick The Knife

+ ABC net. "The Slicer". Sustaining. An unknown madman has murdered nineteen women by attacking them at night while they are alone. The identity of "The Slicer" is quite a surprise, you'll never guess whodunit. The "Guest Armchair Detective" is Gene Handsaker (Hollywood columnist). The script was used previously on "Ellery Queen" on August 1, 1945 (as "Knick The Knife"), see cat. #8629. Paul Masterson (announcer), Gene Handsaker, Anthony Boucher (writer), Manfred B. Lee (writer), Rex Koury (organist), Dick Woollen (producer, director), Lawrence Dobkin, Kaye Brinker, Herb Butterfield, Alan Reed. 
 1945-11-07  The Message In Red
 1946-03-27  Armchair Detective
 1947-03-05  Nikki Porter, Killer
 1947-09-07  Number Thirty One

+ NBC net. "Number Thirty-One". Sponsored by: Freezone, Anacin, Kolynos Toothpaste. George Arkaris is suspected of smuggling diamonds into the country. A Negro butler is found dead in the river, shortly after playing "the numbers"...a certain number! The "Guest Armchair Detective" is Sonya Stein (Radio Editor of The Washington Post), who correctly guesses the identity of the killer. This is the east coast broadcast. The west coast broadcast (heard the same day) featured Kent Smith. This is a network, sponsored version of cat. #40175. Don Hancock (announcer), Sonya Stein, Lawrence Dobkin, Chet Kingsbury (organist), Charlotte Keane, Bill Smith, Ed Latimer, Tom Everitt (writer), Manfred B. Lee (writer), Tom Victor (producer, director). 
 1948-04-29  Three Frogs
 1948-05-06  One Diamond

Other Adventure Shows you may enjoy:

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ABOUT OLD TIME RADIO

The buzz-term for Old Time Radio is "OTR". OTR usually means radio broadcasting from the golden age of radio, mostly before 1964. These shows from the pre-television age include adventure, comedies, mystery shows, western dramas and shows from World War II. These programs feature the best talent of the day and were broadcast nearly as widely as cable programs today. And just like TV today, families would gather around their crystal radio sets to enjoy the entertainment together.


WHO TODAY LISTENS TO THESE OLD TIME RADIO PROGRAMS?

Recently OTR was sold and traded, on records and cassettes, by people who had grown up during the 1930's, 1940's, and 1950's who had grown up listening to these shows. With the internet and mp3s, new generations of listeners are discovering these delightful old time radio shows and to their surprise, enjoying them immensely. Some of the references and nuances are out of date, but it turns out that a well told story is a delight to young and old alike.


WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT OTR?

If you have any questions about old time radio feel free to drop us a line. We will try to have the answer or know where to turn to find it. But to make them really happy, please send a request for particular old time radio programs and we should be able to find them for you.


WHO TODAY LISTENS TO THESE OLD TIME RADIO PROGRAMS?

Recently OTR was sold and traded, on records and cassettes, by people who had grown up during the 1930's, 1940's, and 1950's who had grown up listening to these shows. With the internet and mp3s, a new generation of listeners are discovering these delightful old time radio shows and enjoying them immensely. Some of the references and nuances are out of date, but it turns out that a well told story is a delight to all ages of old time radio fans.


WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT OTR?

If you have any questions about old time radio, send us an email. We will try to have the answer or know where to turn to find it!


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