A thrilling collection of episodes from the classic radio show "Suspense"

Conceived as a potential radio vehicle for Alfred Hitchcock to direct, "Suspense" was a radio series of epic proportion. It aired on CBS from 1942 to 1962 and is considered by many to be the best mystery series of the golden age. Often referred to as Radio s Outstanding Theater of Thrills, the show focused on suspenseful thrillers starring the biggest names in Hollywood. Early in the run, the episodes were hosted by the Man in Black who, from an omniscient perch, narrated stories of people thrown into dangerous or bizarre situations with plots that, at the very end, usually had an unseen twist or two. Hollywood s finest actors jumped at the chance to appear on "Suspense," including Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Alan Ladd, Henry Fonda, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, and Orson Welles. Scripts were by John Dickson Carr, Lucille Fletcher, James Poe, Ray Bradbury, and many others.

Episodes include: The Cave of Ali Baba, The Hitchhiker, The Kettler Method, A Passage to Benares, One Hundred in the Dark, The Lord of the Witch Doctors, Will You Make a Bet with Death?, Menace in Wax, The Body Snatchers, The Doctor Prescribed Death, In Fear and Trembling, and Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble.

Raymond Chandler s celebrated hard-boiled 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 brought the character to the air in his own weekly series starring Van Heflin, "The New Adventures of Philip Marlowe." A summer replacement for "The Bob Hope Show," the series was short-lived, ending September 9, 1947. CBS revived it in 1948 with "The Adventures of Philip Marlowe," starring Gerald Mohr. With producer/director Norman MacDonnell at the helm, the series captured the largest audience in radio by 1949. Scripts were by Gene Levitt, Robert Mitchell, Mel Dinelli, and Kathleen Hite. While Chandler s distinctive similes were largely lacking, the strong, dry, sarcastic narration was there, and the way Mohr delivered his lines made you forget they weren t written by Chandler. Supporting Mohr were radio s best, including Howard McNear, Parley Baer, Lawrence Dobkin, Virginia Gregg, and Lou Krugman. One of the best detective shows on the air at the time, it lasted until 1951.

Created by author Jack Boyle, Boston Blackie was a master safecracker and hardened criminal who served time in a California prison. Rehabilitated, he decided to use his knowledge of the underworld to fight crime as an amateur detective. Known as an enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend, Boston Blackie s exploits were adapted to film, radio, and television. Chester Morris, who had played Boston Blackie in a series of B movies for Columbia, originated the character on radio in 1944. By 1945 Richard Kollmar had taken over the title role in a radio series syndicated by Frederic W. Ziv. Over two hundred radio episodes were produced between 1944 and 1950. While investigating the cases, Blackie would invariably encounter harebrained Police Inspector Faraday (Maurice Tarplin) and always solve the crime before Faraday could. The initial friction between Blackie and Faraday gave way as the series continued and Faraday came to recognize Blackie s talents, occasionally even requesting his assistance. Blackie dated Mary Wesley (Jan Miner), and for the first half of the series, his best pal Shorty (Tony Barrett) was on hand. "Boston Blackie" transitioned to television in 1951.

"Our Miss Brooks" was a highly popular radio sitcom that was eventually adapted for both television and film. It starred Hollywood film and New York stage veteran Eve Arden, who specialized in playing the wisecracking friend. She often did it better than anyone else, receiving an Oscar nomination for the 1945 film "Mildred Pierce." Since her skill with the wicked one-liner was beginning to lead to typecasting, Arden signed on for the lead in radio s "Our Miss Brooks "to find a new image.

The series centers on Connie Brooks, a sharp-witted, lovable English teacher at fictional Madison High School. Between gentle wisecracks, Miss Brooks dotes on nerdish student Walter Denton, played by Richard Crenna, and frequently locks horns with crusty, cranky Principal Osgood Conklin, played by Gale Gordon. Many plot lines revolve around Miss Brooks longing for Philip Boynton, the school s bashful biology teacher.

The radio series lasted until 1957, having already made a successful jump to television in 1952 where Arden won a Primetime Emmy for Best Female Star in a Regular Series."

Created by Blake Edwards, "Richard Diamond, Private Detective" came to NBC Radio in 1949, starring film actor and crooner Dick Powell. Powell had recently played Philip Marlowe in the popular RKO film "Murder, My Sweet" and jumped at the chance to play a suave detective on the radio. Diamond was a lighthearted, New York based private eye who enjoyed ribbing the cops and singing songs to his millionaire girlfriend, Helen Asher. Its theme, Leave it to Love, was whistled by Powell at the beginning of each episode.

Powell s production company, Four Star Television, produced a version of "Richard Diamond, Private Detective" for CBS in 1957. The lead role went to David Janssen, who would later gain fame as Dr. Richard Kimble on "The Fugitive." Sam, Diamond s beautiful secretary, was only ever shown from the waist down. Those beautiful legs belonged to Mary Tyler Moore, as well as other actresses."

Dashiell Hammett created the character Sam Spade for his crime story "The Maltese Falcon." Spade was a hard-boiled detective with cold detachment, a keen eye for detail, and an unflinching determination to exact his own justice. For most people, Spade is most closely associated with actor Humphrey Bogart, who played him in the third and most famous film version of "The Maltese Falcon." In 1946 one of radio s top producers, William Spier, brought Sam Spade to the airwaves in a radio show starring newcomer Howard Duff, who took a considerably more tongue-in-cheek approach to the character. Duff remained Spade until 1951.

Dashiell Hammett lent his name to the new series, and Lurene Tuttle (and occasionally Sandra Gould) played Spade s secretary, Effie Perrine. In 1947 the program won scriptwriters Jason James and Bob Tallman an Edgar Award for Best Radio Drama from the Mystery Writers of America."

Created by Blake Edwards, "Richard Diamond, Private Detective" came to NBC Radio in 1949, starring film actor and crooner Dick Powell. Powell had recently played Philip Marlowe in the popular RKO film "Murder, My Sweet" and jumped at the chance to play a suave detective on the radio. Diamond was a lighthearted, New York based private eye who enjoyed ribbing the cops and singing songs to his millionaire girlfriend, Helen Asher. Its theme, Leave it to Love, was whistled by Powell at the beginning of each episode.

Powell s production company, Four Star Television, produced a version of "Richard Diamond, Private Detective" for CBS in 1957. The lead role went to David Janssen, who would later gain fame as Dr. Richard Kimble on "The Fugitive." Sam, Diamond s beautiful secretary, was only ever shown from the waist down. Those beautiful legs belonged to Mary Tyler Moore, as well as other actresses."

The Mercury Theatre was an independent repertory company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and producer John Houseman, who is best known for his Oscar-winning performance as Professor Charles Kingsfield in the "The Paper Chase." After a series of acclaimed stage productions, Welles and his Mercury Theatre were offered their own weekly hour-long radio program over the CBS radio network. Here Welles along with Agnes Moorehead, Ray Collins, Joseph Cotten, Alice Frost, Martin Gabel, and others presented powerful adaptations of literary classics with Bernard Herrman as composer and conductor.

Considered by many critics as the finest dramatic hour on radio, "The Mercury Theatre on the Air" was without a sponsor until a single broadcast changed all that: "The War of the Worlds.""

This collection contains twelve of the greatest comedy shows ever broadcast during the golden age of radio. You ll hear Ozzie and Harriet Nelson in "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll as "Amos n Andy," Robert Young in "Father Knows Best," Jim and Marian Jordan as "Fibber McGee and Molly," William Bendix as Chester A. Riley in "The Life of Riley," Lucille Ball in "My Favorite Husband," Eve Arden as English teacher Connie Brooks in "Our Miss Brooks," plus many others, including "The Fred Allen Show," "The Aldrich Family," "The Great Gildersleeve," "Life with Luigi," and "Lum and Abner."

Relive twelve of the best classic radio comedy shows from yesterday and hear the legendary stars who made them great in this incredible collection."