Showing results by author "Black Eye Entertainment" in All Categories

Created by Irving Brecher, the popular family sitcom The Life of Riley featured the comic misadventures of Chester A. Riley, an inept blue-collar factory worker and father of two, played by screen actor William Bendix. Riley’s wife, Peg, tried in vain to prevent her hotheaded husband’s interventions, which usually ended in an embarrassing revelation. With a tendency to try and solve nonexistent problems, Riley sought advice from his best friend, Gillis, but this only led to misunderstandings.

Horatio Black was known to friend and foe as Boston Blackie - an ex-jewel thief and safecracker constantly suspected of crimes he did not commit and forced to play the role of detective to clear his name. His girlfriend, Mary Wesley, assisted Blackie from time to time, as did his pal Shorty. Forced to defend himself against the accusations of New York Police Inspector Faraday, Blackie always managed to stay one step ahead of the cops in solving a crime. The wisecracks exchanged between Blackie and Faraday made the program an enjoyable mix of comedy and mystery.

Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll made their radio debut January 12, 1926, as the comedic, blackface characters Sam 'n' Henry. On March 19, 1928 they introduced Amos 'n' Andy, which went on to become one of the most popular and longest-running programs in radio history. During the height of its popularity, almost the entire country listened to the 15-minute, Monday through Friday adventures of Amos 'n' Andy. Department stores open in the evening piped in the broadcasts, so shoppers wouldn't miss an episode.

The golden age of radio had incredible western shows that kept Americans glued to their radio sets. Families gathered around their living room radios to hear western heroes catch the bad-guys and save ladies in distress. This collection includes John Wayne and Mel Ferrer starring in a radio adaptation of the John Ford film “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” on The Lux Radio Theatre; William Conrad as U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke; Joel McCrea in a true-crime story on Tales of the Texas Rangers and Curley Bradley starring in two episodes of Tom Mix.

Have Gun-Will Travel followed the adventures of Paladin, a soldier of fortune-turned-hired gunfighter, played by John Dehner. Paladin preferred to settle problems without violence, yet, when forced to fight, excelled. He lived at the swanky Carlton Hotel in San Francisco, where he dressed in formal wear, ate gourmet food, attended the opera and enjoyed the company of beautiful women. When working as a gun-for-hire, he dressed in all black, used calling cards and wore a holster, decorated by a characteristic chess knight emblem.

This collection contains 12 of the greatest shows ever broadcast during the Golden Age of Radio – including episodes of The Jack Benny Program, Burns & Allen, Gunsmoke, The Amos ‘n' Andy Show, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Suspense, Dimension X, The Whistler, Sherlock Holmes and more. Radio’s finest actors perform before the microphones, including: Jack Benny, Tom Conway, Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Nigel Bruce, Chester Morris, Dick Powell, Howard Duff, George Burns, Gracie Allen, William Conrad, John Dehner and many more.

The golden age of radio had incredible detective shows that kept Americans glued to their sets. Families gathered around their living room radios to hear their favorite Hollywood stars voicing fiction's most famous gumshoes. This collection includes Dick Powell as suave detective Richard Diamond, Vincent Price as the Saint, Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday on Dragnet, Richard Kollmar as "enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend" on Boston Blackie, and much more!

Taking its name from a popular series of mystery novels, Inner Sanctum Mystery debuted over NBC's Blue Network in January 1941. Inner Sanctum Mystery featured one of the most memorable and atmospheric openings in radio history: an organist hit a dissonant chord, a doorknob turned and the famous "creaking door" slowly began to open. Every week, Inner Sanctum Mystery told stories of ghosts, murderers and lunatics. Produced in New York, the cast usually consisted of veteran radio actors.

The golden age of radio had incredible drama shows that kept Americans glued to their radio sets. Families gathered around their living room radios to be entertained by the greatest names in Hollywood each and every day. The biggest stars from tinsel-town lent their voices to radio dramas and most of the time the producers and sponsors allowed them to take a curtain call to plug their latest film release.

America’s Favorite Cowboy, Roy Rogers, stars in 16 rip-roaring Western radio adventures from the early 1950s.

Michael Shayne, “the reckless, red-headed Irishman” was a popular hard-boiled detective created by crime novelist Brett Halliday. Mike settled in Miami just after WWII, making crime pay by fighting it with a license and an attitude. Like Mike Hammer and Philip Marlowe, Shayne was a loner. The back-story on Mike is that he was happily married, but suddenly his wife is tragically murdered, which hit him hard. Grief-stricken, Shayne loses himself in his work as a private eye, prowling the dark streets of Miami seeking out his style of revenge on injustice.

This collection contains 12 of the greatest Christmas shows ever broadcast during the Golden Age of Radio! Relive these classic Christmas shows from yesteryear and their legendary stars in this incredible collection.

Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll made their radio debut January 12, 1926, as the comedic, blackface characters Sam 'n' Henry. On March 19, 1928 they introduced Amos 'n' Andy, which went on to become one of the most popular and longest running programs in radio history. During the height of its popularity, almost the entire country listened to the 15-minute, Monday through Friday adventures of Amos 'n' Andy.

The CBS Radio Workshop aired from January 27, 1956, through September 22, 1957, and was a revival of the prestigious Columbia Workshop which aired from 1936 to 1943. Creator William Froug launched the series with the powerhouse two-part adaptation of Brave New World and booked author Aldous Huxley to narrate his famous novel. Enjoy 12 of the greatest episodes from this award-winning drama series.

Versatile actor/comedian Jack Benny had a long career (1911-1974) and was truly a star of stage, screen, and radio. Recognized as a leading 20th-century American entertainer, Benny often portrayed his character as a miser, playing violin poorly, and claiming to be no older than 39, regardless of his actual age. His radio and television programs, popular from 1932 until his death in 1974, were a major contribution to the sitcom genre. We’ve carefully chosen 11 radio episodes starring Jack Benny from our master archives for this collection.

From the pens of the world’s best-known and respected supernatural fiction authors comes The Weird Circle - tales of mystery, suspense, horror, and the macabre! Now, enjoy sixteen of the greatest mysteries of all time! The Weird Circle was an anthology of classic thrillers from the pens of the world’s best-known and respected fiction authors of the 19th century. The focus was horror and suspense stories by Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Mary Shelley (among others), with the occasional drama by Emily Bronte, Charles Dickens, and George Eliot.

This collection contains 12 of the greatest Christmas shows ever broadcast during the Golden Age of Radio! You’ll hear Edmund Gwenn and Natalie Wood reprising their roles from Miracle on 34th Street; Dick Powell as Detective Richard Diamond narrating A Christmas Carol; Eve Arden in a yuletide comedy on Our Miss Brooks; Hal Peary as The Great Gildersleeve; Joel McCrea as lawman Jase Pearson on Tales of the Texas Rangers; Jim & Marian Jordan as Fibber McGee & Molly plus many more!

The Adventures of Philip Marlowe was radio’s top detective program. Raymond Chandler's celebrated hardboiled private eye, Philip Marlowe, made his radio debut in 1945 on The Lux Radio Theatre with “Murder My Sweet” starring Dick Powell. Two years later, NBC would bring the character to the air in his own weekly series starring Van Heflin in The New Adventures of Philip Marlowe. The series was short-lived, ending September 9th, 1947. CBS revived it in 1948 with The Adventures of Philip Marlowe starring Gerald Mohr. This is the second collection.

Our Miss Brooks was a situation comedy show heard on radio and seen on television and films. It starred Hollywood film and New York stage veteran Eve Arden, who had specialized in playing the wisecracking friend to the heroine. She often did it better than anyone else, receiving an Oscar nomination for 1945’s Mildred Pierce. Arden’s skill with the wicked one-liner was beginning to lead to typecasting so, to find a new image, she signed on for the lead in radio’s Our Miss Brooks.

Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve was a popular character appearing regularly on The Fibber McGee & Molly Show. On August 31, 1941, the character landed his own situation comedy show, The Great Gildersleeve, becoming radio’s first spin-off. Harold Peary stars as Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve, Summerfield’s loveable water commissioner and most eligible bachelor, in these 16 fun-filled comedy episodes.