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.

Humphrey Bogart began his screen career mostly playing gangsters due to his resemblance to John Dillinger. Bogart’s breakthrough from supporting roles to A-list stardom came with his performances in High Sierra and The Maltese Falcon. In between film work, he enjoyed appearing on radio, often with his wife, Lauren Bacall. Here are 14 examples of his radio work spanning 1943 until 1952.

Jack Webb (1920 - 1982) was a popular American actor, television producer, director, and screenwriter. He started out in the entertainment industry in comedy, but achieved his first success playing the title character in the radio show Pat Novak, for Hire. His greater success came from his role as Los Angeles Police Department sergeant Joe Friday in the show Dragnet, which he created based on actual LAPD criminal case files and which ran for many years on both radio and television.

Mysterious doings, deadly secrets...passwords, countersigns, and concealed weapons...you don't know who to trust! The world of espionage comes to life before your very ears in this collection of Great Radio Spies! Marlene Dietrich, Henry Fonda, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Joseph Cotten, Rex Harrison, Stacy Harris, Dana Andrews, Herbert Marshall, and more star in 10 full hours of globe-trotting intrigue and secret agent adventure.

The Golden Age of Radio had incredibly scary mystery shows that kept Americans chilled and thrilled. Families gathered around their living room radios to be entertained by the greatest names in Hollywood each and every day. This is a terrific collection of 12 great radio mystery shows.

Pat Novak, for Hire began in 1946 as a regional radio show produced at KGO in San Francisco and starred Jack Webb in the title role, with scripts by Webb's friend Richard L. Breen. When Webb moved to Los Angeles in 1947, Ben Morris replaced Webb as Novak. In a later network version, Jack Webb resumed the role along with Breen as scriptwriter. Pat Novak, for Hire lasted until 1949, when Jack Webb turned his attention to the series that would make him a star, Dragnet.

Nero Wolfe is a fictional detective, created in 1934 by the American mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe's confidential assistant Archie Goodwin narrates the cases of the overweight detective genius. In total, Stout wrote 33 novels and 39 short stories from 1934 to 1974, with most of them set in New York City. Wolfe's residence, a luxurious brownstone on West 35th Street, features prominently in the series. Many radio, television and film adaptations were made from Stout's stories.

Simon Templar, played here by Vincent Price (with Barry Sullivan substituting in two episodes), was wealthy and refined. He was well dressed, well traveled, and well educated. He was also The Saint, the "Robin Hood of modern crime," who was not afraid to break the law if that's what had to be done to ensure that justice was served. Larry Dobkin co-stars as Louie the Cabbie in these digitally restored and remastered tales that find Templar sailing, skiing, and delving in to the disparate worlds of mining, baseball, prizefighting, mystery writing, and more. The Saint sets all manner of matters straight, all the while maintaining excellent form.

The golden age of radio had incredible detective shows that kept Americans glued to their radio sets. Families gathered around their living room radios to hear their favorite detective find out "who done it?" From 1949 until 1962, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was one of the most popular detective shows on the air. Dollar was an insurance investigator who received a cut of the money he saved his agency for proving an insurance claim was not on the level. His insurance cases usually led to murder and a beautiful woman.

With four new writers and plenty of brand-new gags, radio's favorite comedian entertains home front America, as well as troops at Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine camps. In fact, the whole gang is here! Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Dennis Day, Larry Stevens, and Don Wilson are all on hand—along with plenty of unexpected guests! Here are sixteen laugh-packed episodes from the early 1940s, featuring favorites like Mel Blanc, Frank Nelson, Minerva Pious, John Brown, and Butterfly McQueen.

The Whistler was one of radio's top mystery programs airing from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955. The Whistler was an ominous narrator who opened each episode with, "I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men andwomen who have stepped into the shadows. I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak."

This collection contains 12 of the greatest mystery shows ever broadcast during the golden age of radio, featuring the legendary stars that made them great. You will hear Orson Welles, Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Vincent Price, Basil Rathbone, Joan Fontaine, and other stars in classic radio episodes from such radio shows as Suspense, Escape, The Whistler, Inner Sanctum, The Screen Directors Playhouse, and The Weird Circle, among others.

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.

Broadway Is My Beat was a dark, gritty radio crime drama that ran on CBS from 1949 until 1954. The series was originally broadcast from New York, with Anthony Ross portraying Times Square Police Detective Danny Clover. Produced by Lester Gottlieb, it was directed by John Dietz. But by the 13th episode, the series moved to Hollywood (still set in NYC) with producer Elliott Lewis directing a new cast, with scripts by Morton Fine and David Friedkin (the duo that would later write and develop TV's popular secret-agent series I Spy).

From 1947 to 1954, CBS' Escape was radio's leading high-adventure anthology series. The show's famous opening, delivered by Paul Frees and William Conrad, asked: "Tired of the everyday grind? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... Escape!" This was followed by another announcer adding, " Escape! Designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half hour of high adventure!" Many of the episodes, which included both original stories and adaptations, centered on a protagonist facing a life-or-death situation.