30 minute drama/suspense episodes
Arch Oboler's Plays was a radio anthology series written, produced and directed by Arch Oboler. Minus a sponsor, it ran for one year, airing Saturday evenings on NBC from March 25, 1939 to March 23, 1940 and revived five years later on Mutual for a sustaining summer run from April 5, 1945 to October 11, 1945. The focus was on horror, but there were a few more contemporary (World War II) storylines.
Leading film actors were heard on this series, including Ingrid Bergman, Gloria Blondell, Eddie Cantor, James Cagney, Ronald Colman, Joan Crawford, Greer Garson, Edmund Gwenn, Van Heflin, Katharine Hepburn, Elsa Lanchester, Peter Lorre, Frank Lovejoy, Raymond Massey, Burgess Meredith, Paul Muni, Alla Nazimova, Edmond O'Brien, Geraldine Page, Gale Sondergaard, Franchot Tone and George Zucco.
Arch Oboler (December 7, 1907–March 19, 1987) was an American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, producer and director who was active in radio, films, theater and television. He generated much attention with his radio scripts, particularly the horror series Lights Out, and his work in radio remains the outstanding period of his career. Praised as one of broadcasting's top talents, he is regarded today as a key innovator of radio drama.
Oboler sold his first radio scripts while still in high school during the 1920s and rose to fame when he began scripting the NBC horror anthology Lights Out in 1936. He later found notoriety with his script contribution to the 12 December 1937 edition of The Chase and Sanborn Hour. In Oboler's sketch, host Don Ameche and guest Mae West portrayed a slightly bawdy Adam and Eve, satirizing the Biblical tale of the Garden of Eden. On the surface, the sketch did not feature much more than West's customary suggestive double-entendres, and today it seems quite tame. But in 1937, that sketch and a subsequent routine featuring West trading suggestive quips with Edgar Bergen's dummy Charlie McCarthy helped the broadcast cause a furor that resulted in West being banned from broadcasting and from being mentioned at all on NBC programming for 15 years.
One of Oboler's best remembered scripts for Lights Out was Chicken Heart, first broadcast March 10, 1937. Curiously, in the 1960s, "Chicken Heart" became more associated with comedian Bill Cosby than Oboler. Cosby's retelling of the radio drama with humorous vocalized sound effects became one of his most popular comedy routines.
While Oboler's greatest fame and contribution to American society came from his work in radio, he continued his work in movies and television.
Text from Wikipedia
You may also like: Lights Out
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Episode List
Arch Oboler's Plays 1939-04-01 (2) Mirage.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1939-04-15 (4) The Ways of Men; Past, Present and Future.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1939-04-29 (6) The Cliff.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1939-05-06 (7) Engulfed Cathedral.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1939-05-13 (8) Baby.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1939-05-20 (9) Crazy Town.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1939-06-03 (11) Dark World - Steel - Humbug (Steel Part Only).mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1939-06-10 (12) Nero's Wife.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1939-06-17 (13) Immortal Gentleman.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1939-07-29 (19) Another World.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1939-11-18 (35) Bathysphere.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1939-11-25 (36) Mirage-Miss American (2nd Part Only).mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1939-12-16 (39) Nobody Died.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1939-12-30 (41) This Precious Freedom.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1940-01-27 (45) Three Stories - With Tongue-In-Cheek.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1940-02-24 (49) The Women Stayed At Home.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1940-03-09 (51) Johnny Got His Gun.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1945-04-05 (1) Strange Morning.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1945-04-26 (3) The House I Live In.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1945-05-03 (4) Love, Love, Love.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1945-05-10 (5) Holiday 194X.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1945-05-17 (6) Mr. Ten Percent.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1945-05-24 (7) An Exercise In Horror (A Peculiar Comedy).mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1945-05-31 (8) Double Feature.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1945-06-07 (9) Night.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1945-06-14 (10) Mr. Pyle.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1945-06-21 (11) The Naked Mountain.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1945-06-28 (12) The Truth.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1945-07-05 (13) Dr. Bluff.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1945-07-12 (14) A Gallery of Big Shots - Feminine.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1945-07-19 (15) Special To Hollywood.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1945-07-26 (16) My Chicago.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1945-08-02 (17) Parade.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1945-08-09 (18) History of a Mug.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1945-08-16 (19) Lust for Life.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1945-09-06 (21) Mirage.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1945-09-13 (22) A Gallery Of Big Shots - Masculine.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1945-09-20 (23) Rocket From Manhattan.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1945-09-27 (24) The Family Nagachi.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1945-10-04 (25) Mr. Miller.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1945-10-11 (26) This Living Book (I Declare War).mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1964-10-03 (1) The Word.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1964-10-10 (2) The Visitor From Hades.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1964-10-17 (3) Special to Hollywood.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1964-10-24 (4) The Day Sinatra Got Fat.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1964-10-31 (5) Come to the Bank.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1964-11-14 (7) Big Ben.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1964-11-21 (8) Rocket from Manhattan.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1964-11-28 (9) African Story.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1964-12-05 (10) Revolt of the Worms.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1964-12-12 (11) Bathysphere.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1964-12-19 (12) Mirage.mp3
Arch Oboler's Plays 1964-12-26 (13) Him or Me.mp3
