Radio Recap: Majestic's Master of Mystery

Majestic's Master of Mystery was a 7-episode radio serial titled "The Phantom Spoilers" that was syndicated in 1934. Although all 7 chapters still exist, I had a difficult time finding information about the program. Most of my information comes from Otrcat. The series was sponsored by Majestic Radio and starred Maurice Joachim, whom you'll recall as the titular Omar, the Wizard of Persia.

Like Omar, Majestic's Master of Mystery is set in the Middle East and trades heavily on orientalism. Unlike that series, there's a very limited cast; Joachim performs as all of the characters, mostly narrating as he goes. There's a female character in the cast but she never speaks, sparing Joachim from what would have been an embarrassing performance. Considering the show is from 1934 and has just one cast member it sounds okay - there are sound effects, which wasn't typical at the time.

But what makes Majestic's Master of Mystery stand out is the unusual offer that Joachim (as "Master of Mystery") makes in each program, inviting listeners to request a free sandalwood swastika ("the oldest good-luck emblem known to man") that was supposedly personally brought from India by the Master of Mystery. This was, after all, a year after the Nazi party had taken over Germany and made the swastika a national symbol. The makers of Majestic's Master of Mystery seem to have been trying to release swastikas under the "well, actually" guise of its traditional symbology either because they wanted to subvert the Nazis or subvert anti-Nazis. Either way, it's the most interesting thing about the series.

You can hear Majestic's Master of Mystery at the Old Time Radio Researchers Library.