Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 31 of 31: "The Corpse Nobody Loved"

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

To conclude my month-long look at hightlights from the series Inner Sanctum, I'm featuring "The Corpse Nobody Loved," an episode originally broadcast on September 21th, 1952. This was among the earliest episodes of the series I heard and it has a strange dream-like quality to it. A young woman catches a taxi, then finds herself seated next to a corpse!

"The Corpse Nobody Loved" was hosted by Paul McGrath.

You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Thank you for joining me during this month's theme! I hope you enjoyed it!

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 30 of 31: "The Meek Die Slowly"

Today I'm looking at the Inner Sanctum episode "The Meek Die Slowly," which was originally broadcast on September 7th, 1952. Many episodes of Inner Sanctum attempt to conceal the show's murderer -- this is not such an episode. Our anti-hero is a gardener who finds himself tortured by what seem to be the ghost of a young woman he murdered.

"The Meek Die Slowly" was hosted by Paul McGrath and starred Arnold Moss. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Tomorrow I wrap up this year's Halloween theme!

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 29 of 31: "Strange Passenger"

Earlier I looked at the Inner Sanctum episode "The Hitch-Hiking Corpse" and disputed it having any connection to Lucille Fletcher's "The Hitchhiker." Today I'm looking at "Strange Passenger" which was first broadcast on August 31, 1952, and it has much more in common with Fletcher's play than the former program! This episode features another lonely driver on the highway at night; he keeps seeing a woman hitchhiker at the side of the road... and his radio doesn't seem to stop playing "Star Dust."

"Strange Passenger" was hosted by Paul McGrath and featured Joan Lorring and Leon Janney. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 28 of 31: "Murder Off the Record"

Today I'm looking at the Inner Sanctum episode "Murder Off the Record," which was originally broadcast on August 3rd, 1952. At this point, Inner Sanctum had been on the air for 11 years but, as this episode demonstrates, their quality remained consistent. This was one of the first episode I heard of the series. It opens with a man entering a record store and beginning to record a confession of the strange events which had recently transpired in his life. It seems a weighing machine predicted fortune for him -- and very quickly the prediction came through!

"Murder Off the Record" was hosted by Paul McGrath and featured Ken Lynch, Lawson Zerbe, Lesley Woods and Santos Ortega. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 27 of 31: "Death Pays the Freight"

There are so, so many stories in old-time radio wherein a character meets a random stranger who is their exact double. Such a story is "Death Pays the Freight," an Inner Sanctum episode which was originally broadcast on July 6th, 1952. This story concerns a hobo on a boxcar who kills a man in self-defense. Realizing the dead man is practically his twin he decides to adopt the dead man's identity, then finds out the dead man was a hitman!

"Death Pays the Freight" was hosted by Paul McGrath and featured Everett Sloane, Leon Janney and Ralph Bell. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 26 of 31: "Terror by Night"

Compared to the likes of Suspense, Inner Sanctum seldom had many big-name talents starring in their programs, but "Terror by Night" is one of the happy exceptions. This episode, first broadcast on June 29th, 1952, stars one of Suspense's top stars, Agnes Moorehead! Like yesterday's episode, we have a plot in which a lone driver travelling at night runs into a dangerous situation. In this instance, Moorehead ends up meeting a man who has a body in the trunk of his car. It has a great pay-off at the climax!

"Terror by Night" was hosted by Paul McGrath and starred Agnes Moorehead. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 25 of 31: "The Hitch-Hiking Corpse"

"The Hitch-Hiking Corpse" is an episode of Inner Sanctum which was originally broadcast on January 23, 1950. Strangely, the RadioGold Index refers to this as an 'adaptation' of Lucille Fletcher's play "The Hitchhiker" (best known as an episode of Suspense). The Index even lists Lucille Fletcher as the author but it's a pretty dubious connection: the two plays have nothing in common other than the presence of a hitchhiker.

In the Fletcher play, a man driving across country keeps seeing the same ghostly hitchhiker everywhere he goes. In this, "The Hitch-Hiking Corpse," a trucker picks up a hitch-hiking woman who claims to have supernatural powers and might be a murderer.

"The Hitch-Hiking Corpse" was hosted by Paul McGrath and featured Ken Lynch, Mercedes McCambridge and Everett Sloane. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 24 of 31: "A Corpse for Halloween"

"A Corpse for Halloween." There's a title to get you in the Halloween spirit! This story concerns a man who once went on a treasure hunt with two other men, then left them to die in the jaws of a tiger. Now, one of the two supposedly dead men has returned, badly disfigured and vowing revenge on his former ally. The marked man must run through streets of costumed Halloween revelers with no idea where the next attempt on his life will be held.

"A Corpse for Halloween" was, appropriately, originally broadcast on October 31st, 1949. This episode was hosted by Paul McGrath and featured Berry Kroeger, Larry Haines and Mercedes McCambridge. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 23 of 31: "The Devil's Workshop"

I have no problem with Inner Sanctum getting a little weird and creepy. This outing, "The Devil's Workshop," is one with a very strong supernatural concept -- a wax dummy seems to have come to life -- and unlike the perceived Inner Sanctum trope, there's no real cop-out ending. There's not much in the way of answers no matter how you look at it and the episode is better for it. I think this is one of the series' best programs.

"The Devil's Workshop" was originally broadcast on October 10th, 1949. It was hosted by Paul McGrath and featured Mason Adams, Joan Banks, Martin Gabel and Lawson Zerbe. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 22 of 31: "Deadly Fare"

Yesterday I looked at a hearse driver in Inner Sanctum's "Only the Dead Die Twice." Today the protagonist is a cab driver in "Deadly Fare," which was originally broadcast on July 18th, 1949. The concept is a strong one -- a taxi driver finds himself at the mercy of his latest fare, a murderer. In the hands of Suspense, it would have been a strong half hour. Come to think of it, it has a little in common with the film Collateral, doesn't it?

"Deadly Fare" was hosted by Paul McGrath and featured Larry Haines, Everett Sloane, Lawson Zerbe and Berry Kroeger. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 21 of 31: "Only the Dead Die Twice"

Today I'm looking back on "Only the Dead Die Twice," an episode of Inner Sanctum which was originally broadcast March 21, 1949. The story concerns a hearse driver who is hired by a woman to collect the body of her dead husband. It's a bad idea, but the driver agrees -- then finds out the dead man isn't even her husband...

"Only the Dead Die Twice" was hosted by Paul McGrath and featured Larry Haines, Alice Reinheart, Everett Sloane and Joseph Julian. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 20 of 31: "Fearful Voyage"

Today I'm featuring the Inner Sanctum episode titled "Fearful Voyage," originally broadcast on January 3rd, 1949. Our story concerns the crew of a ship and it's seemingly-mad captain who insists that he's married to a ghost.

"Fearful Voyage" was hosted by Paul McGrath and featured Arnold Moss, Eslpeth Eric, Santos Ortega and Joseph Julian. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month: day 19 of 31 "Murder by Prophecy"

Here's one of my favourite episodes of Inner Sanctum: "Murder by Prophecy," which was originally broadcast September 27, 1948. Our story concerns an heir who discovers a prophecy which seems to promise him access to immense wealth which has been hidden somewhere. The man attempts to follow the prophecy to the letter, even though it means he must commit several murders!

"Murder by Prophecy" was hosted by Paul McGrath and featured Joseph Julian, Santos Ortega, Alice Reinheart and Alan Devitt. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month: day 18 of 31: "Death Demon"

For today's episode of Inner Sanctum, let's delve into something a little more original than most. Here's a story about a melodramatic young man whose father is dead; his uncle has married his widowed mother. Then the son makes contact with his father's ghost and learns his uncle is the one who killed him--- wait a minute, you're saying this has been done before?

Oh, well. Please enjoy "Death Demon," originally broadcast July 5, 1948. This episode was hosted by Paul McGrath and starred Everett Sloane. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month: day 17 of 31: "Elixir Number Four"

Aw, yeah! Richard Widmark! This episode of Inner Sanctum is sometimes called "Elixir Number Four" and sometimes called "The Man Who Couldn't Die," depending on whom you ask. I first heard the story introduced as "Elixir Number Four," so that's the title I'm sticking with. Whatever you call it, it was originally broadcast February 12, 1946.

Richard Widmark -- who could always be counted on for a playing a great smarmy character (as in The Colorblind Formula) -- portrays a young man who learns his girlfriend's father has invented a formula which grants eternal life to the one who uses it. But really, the formula is merely a MacGuffin to get the plot rolling -- really the story is about Widmark's growing interest in the formula, plot to murder the professor and then how his scheme comes undone.

This episode was hosted by Paul McGrath and starred Richard Widmark. This marks the last episode of Inner Sanctum Mystery I'll be featuring in this series which includes Lipton commercials with Mary Bennett. "Good riddance," say most listeners. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month: day 16 of 31: "Skeleton Bay"

Today's episode of Inner Sanctum is "Skeleton Bay", which was originally broadcast February 5, 1946 and produced again on January 30, 1950. The story features a mystery writer on vacation who witnesses a murder. She then extends a helping hand to the killer to help him conceal the crime. Having been the author of crime stories, she thrills to the idea of becoming involvved in an actual crime -- but perhaps a murderer isn't the best person you could have for a friend.

"Skeleton Bay" was hosted by Paul McGrath and starred Mercedes McCambridge. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here. The 1950 version is available here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 15 of 31: "The Creeping Wall"

There are a lot of rip-offs in old-time radio scripts, especially when you examine a series such as Inner Sanctum, it being a program which wasn't under a tremendous amount of scrutiny when it first appeared. If Suspense stole someone's idea, that might be news -- but if Inner Sanctum did it, possibly no one would notice. Which brings me to today's episode of Inner Sanctum: "The Creeping Wall", first broadcast January 8, 1946.

The story concerns a wife who is under mental strain. She seems to suffer from hallucinations and is particularly haunted by the wallpaper in her house. If this sounds a little like "The Yellow Wallpaper," well, that's not an accident. This story is an unapologetic rip-off of the famous 1892 short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. You can read the original story on Project Gutenberg. It doesn't take that long to read. That story received an official adaptation on the July 29, 1948 episode of Suspense, starring Agnes Moorehead; you can listen to that here.

"The Yellow Wallpaper" is still studied at many universities today because it serves as an example of feminist literature. The ways in which the husband in the original story belittles his wife's condition are not too dissimilar to the one in "The Creeping Wall." However, while "The Yellow Wallpaper" climaxes on a moment of intense horror, "The Creeping Wall" ends on a rather upbeat ending with the wife described as 'beautiful'. If you're studying "The Yellow Wallpaper", perhaps comparing it to "The Creeping Wall" would make a strong essay?

"The Creeping Wall" was hosted by Paul McGrath and starred Irene Wicker. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 14 of 31: "The Undead"

As I once indicated in my list Various Venerable Vampires of Various Value in Vintage Radio, vampires were somewhat scarce in old-time radio. Although Inner Sanctum's host loved to crack jokes about vampires, they seldom flashed a fang in the program itself. A rare and welcome exception is "The Undead," which was originally broadcast December 18, 1945. In this story, a woman begins to wonder about her husband, an actor who only seems to work by night; then she finds an old obituary in his name -- and she begins to worry that he plans to make her one of the living dead.

I blogged about Ernie Colon's comic book version of this story here.

"The Undead" was hosted by Paul McGrath and starred Anne Seymour. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 13 of 31: "The Dark Chamber"

When it comes to horror on Inner Sanctum Mysteries, it's hard to get more basic than the episode "The Dark Chamber." It was first broadcast December 11, 1945 and concerns an army veteran who finds himself trapped in a room by a mad scientist who is intent on studying fear by inflicting terror upon his prisoners. In other words, the mad scientist is doing the same thing as the program's writers -- trying to scare his audience. It's a pretty far-fetched episode but man, the actors are committed in their performances!

The script to this episode was recycled on Murder at Midnight on May 26, 1947. This episode was hosted by Paul McGrath and featured Ken Lynch. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here. Dare to compare! You can hear the Murder at Midnight version here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 12 of 31: "Portrait of Death"

In the Inner Sanctum story "Portrait of Death" (originally broadcast June 12, 1945), a painting seems to predict death in the home of its owner. A woman who hints at the painting's power keeps trying to acquire it... could she be the killer?

This episode was hosted by Paul McGrath and the cast included Lesley Woods, Santos Ortega and Berry Kroeger. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 11 of 31: "Death Across the Board"

For many years, Inner Sanctum Mysteries had been hosted by Raymond Edward Johnson; this episode features another famous 'Raymond' -- Raymond Massey! In "Death Across the Board", which was first broadcast June 5, 1945, Massey plays a fan of chess who discovers a criminal mastermind has decided to play a real-life game of chess using live human beings as the pieces -- and now Massey has been put into the game!

The script to this episode was recycled on Murder at Midnight on November 16, 1946; it was one of a handful of Inner Sanctum scripts which were recycled on Murder at Midnight. This episode was hosted by Paul McGrath and starred Raymond Massey. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here. Dare to compare! You can hear the Murder at Midnight version here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 10 of 31: "Musical Score"

One of the strengths of Inner Sanctum Mysteries was how they would frequently make music part of their story. In "Musical Score", originally broadcast May 29, 1945, a man on a life raft can't stand the song a man is humming to his wife. The man sends both of them to a watery grave. Some time later he begins to kill off the other people who were on the raft so he can conceal his guilt, but the tune he heard on the raft still haunts his mind.

With this episode, Paul McGrath became the host of Inner Sanctum Mystery. Fans used to confuse him with Raymond Edward Johnson; although he essentially played the same character, he's only ever referred to as "Mr. Host". The cast includes Berry Kroeger, Santos Ortega and Arnold Moss. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 9 of 31: "The Black Art"

Inner Sanctum Mysteries loved to hint at the supernatural but seldom followed through. All the same, the supernatural menace in many of their stories is a great source of tension and suspense. Such a program is "The Black Art", which was first broadcast May 15, 1945. In this tale, a convict is visited by a woman who claims to have supernatural powers and offers to rescue him from death!

This was the final episode of Inner Sanctum Mysteries to be hosted by Raymond Edward Johnson. Simone Simon stars. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month day 8 of 31: "The Girl and the Gallows"

Today's I'm looking back at the Inner Sanctum episode "The Girl and the Gallows", which was originally broadcast May 1, 1945. This episode has strong supernatural overtones as a woman's stepmother foretells the woman's death upon the gallows. Everything she predicts seems to come true...

This episode was hosted by Raymond Edward Johnson and starred Wendy Barrie. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 7 of 31: "Song of the Slasher"

Today's episode of Inner Sanctum Mysteries is "Song of the Slasher", which was originally broadcast April 24, 1945. This episode concerns a knife-wielding maniac who seems to whistle a tune as he commits his crime. Somehow the police are able to get near enough to hear the whistle yet not catch the man. This story is definitely a bit hard to swallow, but it has a great atmosphere (especially the whistling) and a neat twist in the climax.

This episode was hosted by Raymond Edward Johnson and starred Arnold Moss, Jackson Beck, Lesley Woods and Lawson Zerbe. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 6 of 31: "The Judas Clock"

Today the Inner Sanctum episode I'd like to revisit is one I've blogged about before: "The Judas Clock", first broadcast April 17, 1945. This is my absolute favourite episode of Inner Sanctum Mysteries, so I'd be cuckoo not to bring it up.

This is the prime episode I turn to when I want to show OTR fans just how good Inner Sanctum can be. The story involves a clock which depicts the Biblical Judas Iscariot. It's not a very happy subject for a work of art and indeed, this clock can kill! The episode is a bit more gruesome than the usual fare on Inner Sanctum -- when I was a teenager I heard it while riding in the car with my family and my mother was disgusted by the violence in this tale. Just remember, it's all in your mind...

This phenomenal episode is hosted by Raymond Edward Johnson and features Berry Kroeger, Santos Ortega, Jackson Beck and Alice Reinheart. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 5 of 31: "The Bog-Oak Necklace"

Today I'm looking back to the Inner Sanctum episode "The Bog-Oak Necklace", which was originally broadcast April 10, 1945. This story is told largely in flashback as learn how a bog-oak necklace was used to commit murder; in the framing sequences, the necklace has resurfaced and the killer's guilty conscience tears them apart. You won't soon forget the protagonist's first name...

This episode is hosted by Raymond Edward Johnson and stars Miriam Hopkins, Santos Ortega, Lesley Woods and Alan Devitt. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 4 of 31: "No Coffin for the Dead"

"No Coffin for the Dead" was first broadcast February 20, 1945. This episode dives straight into the action as two men are assaulted by a knife-wielding maniac. The survivor begins an investigation to locate the real killer, but the man he identifies isn't even able to walk. This episode has a very strong climax!

By the time of this episode the series had a new sponsor: Lipton Tea & Lipton Soup. This brought to the show a new commercial spokesperson, Mary Bennett. Her chipper manner is definitely a contrast to Raymond's horrible puns or the grisly actions in the script. Most fans of the series disdain Mary; she definitely has a few moments where her commercials undermine the tension of the play. On the other hand, her back-and-forth with Raymond is occasionally enjoyable.

This episode features Raymond Edward Johnson as the host; the cast includes Les Tremayne, Santos Ortega, Luis Van Rooten and Alice Frost. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 3 of 31: "The Colorblind Formula"

Today I'm featuring the Inner Sanctum Mystery titled "The Color Blind Formula", which was first broadcast December 6, 1944. This episode involves a scientist who has a created a solution to cure color-blindness. However, it seems the scientist has been murdered and a blackmailer has figured out what's happened. This was a wartime story, which becomes relevant near the end of the episode. This is one of several episodes featuring Richard Widmark, who had a terrific radio voice!

The surviving copy of this episode is version from the Mystery Playhouse hosted by Peter Lorre. The actual program is hosted by Raymond Edward Johnson and the lead role belongs to Richard Widmark. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 2 of 31: "The Black Sea Gull"

Today I'm looking at the Inner Sanctum Mystery episode "The Black Sea Gull", which was first broadcast March 7, 1943. This episode stars Peter Lorre as a man whose wife dies while promising she will return from death itself. A black sea gull seems to confirm her promise. Peter Lorre always gave 110% on the radio and this program is no exception!

This episode features Raymond Edward Johnson as the host; Peter Lorre stars. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.

Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 1 of 31: "The Amazing Death of Mrs. Putnam"

Welcome to my October 2020 Halloween Old-Time Radio theme month! This year I've decided to feature 31 episodes of the series Inner Sanctum Mystery, which was broadcast 1941-1952. It was also the name of a line of mystery books which were promoted on the radio show, and it lent its name (but little else) to a Universal film series. It briefly became a television series in 1954.

Inner Sanctum Mystery is disdained by some fans of old-time radio because among horror fans, it has a reputation for cop-out endings. There are definitely quite a few episodes which hint towards there being some dark supernatural menace which is ultimately revealed as a hallucination, dream or carefully-orchestrated plot by the police to trick the killer into confessing his crimes. But it's not fair to chacterized the series as entirely 'cop-outs'. There are many episodes with no supernatural elements at all and there the show would commit to its content.

We might as well begin with the first episode of Inner Sanctum Mystery: "The Amazing Death of Mrs. Putnam", broadcast January 7, 1941. If you're already familiar with the show you'll find this episode is a little 'off'. The content is mostly a crime-detective story, complete with a bumbling sidekick for the hero. But this modest little program is where it all began!

This episode features Raymond Edward Johnson as the host; the cast includes Alan Devitt, House Jameson and Everett Sloane. The commercial sponsor is Carter's Little Liver Pills. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.