OTR Halloween Day 19: Mystery in the Air

Mystery in the Air was one of the absolute best mystery/horror anthology series in all of old-time radio - but it was very short-lived! Sponsored by Camel Cigarettes as a summer replaacement for Abbott and Costello, it aired July-September, 1947... and never again. There were only 13 episodes of Mystery in the Air and we have 8 of them still in existence.

What makes me think Mystery in the Air stands out? Simple: Peter Lorre. Lorre was the star of the show and appeared as the lead performer each week in a great mystery/horror story. Lorre always brought 110% more intensity to his roles than any other actor and the highlight of each episode is the moment(moments) in which Lorre breaks out his loudest, most deranged outburst!

The episode I'd like to feature is titled "the Mask of Medusa" from September 4, 1947. It's based on a short story from 1945 by writer Nelson S. Bond. An escaped criminal hides in a waxworks and discovers the curator possesses Medusa's head. And those figures aren't wax...

Bond's original story is covered in the first half of the radio drama. The rest of the drama was written to fill the half hour but it's a pretty great expansion of what Bond set up in his tale. You can hear "The Mask of Medusa" at the Internet Archive.