Hour long drama shows
The Campbell Playhouse (1938–40) was a CBS radio drama series directed by and starring Orson Welles. Produced by John Houseman, it was a sponsored continuation of the Mercury Theatre on the Air. The series offered 60-minute adaptations of classic plays and novels, plus some adaptations of popular motion pictures.
As a direct result of the front-page headlines Orson Welles generated with his 1938 Halloween production The War of the Worlds, Campbell's Soup signed on as sponsor. The Mercury Theatre on the Air made its last broadcast December 4, 1938, and The Campbell Playhouse began December 9, 1938.
The series made its debut with Welles' adaptation of Rebecca, with guest stars Margaret Sullivan and Mildred Natwick. Bernard Herrmann composed and conducted the imaginative score, and later used much of it for the film Jane Eyre. The radio drama was the first adaptation of the 1938 novel by Daphne Du Maurier; the author was interviewed live from London at the conclusion of the broadcast.
The same creative staff stayed on, but the show had a different flavor under sponsorship. This was partially due to a guest star policy which relegated the Mercury Players to supporting roles. There was a growing schism between Welles, still reaping the rewards of his Halloween night notoriety, and Houseman, who became more like an employee than a partner. The primary writer, as during the end of the unsponsored run, was Howard Koch.
Productions included The Citadel (with Geraldine Fitzgerald), A Christmas Carol (broadcast once with Lionel Barrymore as Scrooge, and once with Orson Welles himself in the role), a non-musical version of Show Boat (with Margaret Sullivan as Magnolia, Orson Welles as Cap'n Andy, Helen Morgan as Julie, and author Edna Ferber herself as Parthy), A Farewell to Arms (with Katharine Hepburn), Mutiny on the Bounty, Arrowsmith (with Helen Hayes), Les Misérables (with Walter Huston), Our Town, Ah, Wilderness, Dodsworth, Lost Horizon (with Ronald Colman), Dinner at Eight (with Hedda Hopper and Lucille Ball), Liliom (with Orson Welles in the title role and Helen Hayes as Julie), and Huckleberry Finn (with Jackie Cooper).
After signing a film contract with RKO in August 1939, Welles began commuting from Hollywood to New York for the two Sunday broadcasts of The Campbell Playhouse. In November 1939, production of the show moved from New York to Los Angeles.
Text from Wikipedia
Purchase as a download, purchase as CD(s), or listen for free
Purchase as CD $4.50
All of our Old Time Radio Programs are in MP3 format. You can play them on your computer, you can transfer them to MP3 players (like the IPod), but, by and large, you cannot play them on stereos, walkmen, or car radios.
The sound quality of Old Time Radio Programs can vary greatly. Some episodes are excellent, others you have to turn up the volume a little and ignore the static. All of the episodes can be listened to and enjoyed. You can listen to our free samples to get a feel for how the programs sound.
You may also like: Mercury Theater
Episode List
Campbell-Playhouse_38-12-23 Christmas Carol.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_39-01-06 Counselor-at-Law.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_39-01-13 MutinyOnTheBounty.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_39-01-27 ILostMyGirlishLaug.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_39-02-10 TheGreenGoddess.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_39-03-10 TheGlassKey.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_39-03-17 BeauGeste.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_39-03-31 Showboat.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_39-04-21 Private Lives.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_39-05-05 WickfordPoint.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_39-05-26 ThingsWeHave.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_39-06-02 Victoria Regina.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_39-09-17 AhWilderness.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_39-09-24 WhatEveryWomanKnow.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_39-10-01 TheCountOfMonteCri.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_39-10-15 Escape.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_39-10-29 TheMagnificentAmbe.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_39-11-12 TheMurderofRogerAc.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_39-11-26 Dodsworth.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_39-12-10 Vanessa.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_39-12-17 There's Always A W.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_39-12-24 AChristmasCarol.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_40-01-07 VanityFair.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_40-01-14 TheodoraGoesWild.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_40-01-21 TheCitadel.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_40-03-10 Craig'sWife.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_40-03-17 HuckleberryFinn.mp3
Campbell-Playhouse_40-03-24 JuneMoon.mp3
