Boris Karloff Blogathon: hilarity ensues

Perhaps one of the most appealing things about Boris Karloff, evident throughout clips of his interviews, commercials, and television guest appearances, was his willingness to poke fun at his on-screen persona. He never appeared to take his public image too seriously.

This sense of humour was also present in many of his radio appearances. Because in addition to horror, Karloff was a frequent guest on radio comedy and variety programs. Where the attention naturally focused on his "monstrous" reputation.



I must confess that comedy and variety shows are among my least favourite old time radio programs. Much of the humour is dated at best and cringe-inducingly sexist at worst. But I'm always willing to make an exception. Especially when Boris Karloff is the guest and is, as usual, having fun at the expense of his "horrific" image.

As in this episode of the Fred Allen Show from 1945, in which Fred urgently needs to rent a room and Boris Karloff conveniently has a room for rent.



(via Internet Archive)

Boris Karloff Blogathon: your host, Boris Karloff

Given his frequent appearances in radio horror during the late 1930's and early 1940's, Boris Karloff must have seemed the obvious choice to host a new radio horror program, Creeps By Night. And what a program it promised to be. Boris Karloff would not only host, but would appear regularly in leading roles. Along with Bela Lugosi. Peter Lorre. Basil Rathbone. In chilling tales written by masters of the genre.

It sounded like a dream come true. How could such a program not succeed? But succeed it did not. And various reasons have been put forth. A newly-independent network's first attempt at a supernatural thriller. A poor time slot. Rampant disorganization in the network.




From the beginning, Creeps By Night seemed unsure of its identity, with descriptions ranging from a program so frightening that listeners with heart problems were "urged NOT to listen to Boris Karloff in Creeps By Night," to the much less terrifying "mysteries of the mind".

And although the program could boast of famous horror film actors and mystery writers, this inexplicably remained a well-kept secret from the public. The show's writers were uncredited and neither the actors nor their upcoming episodes were promoted to listeners. Not surprisingly, Boris Karloff left after only twelve episodes, to be replaced by the generic "Doctor X".

One of the few episodes of his that remain in existence is "Final Reckoning".



(via Internet Archive)

(Source)

Boris Karloff Blogathon: the inner sanctum

Considering the extent of Boris Karloff's presence on radio, beginning in 1938 in Hollywood On The Air and running another twenty five years and including over 800 appearances, it's surprising that this aspect of his career has not been given more attention. He could be heard regularly throughout the 1940's and 1950's in programs ranging from variety to comedy to suspense to horror. Especially horror.

And the radio horror program in which Boris Karloff could be heard most frequently was Inner Sanctum.




While Lights Out took its horror seriously enough to issue audience warnings, Inner Sanctum epitomized the campiness of radio horror. An odd combination of melodrama, horror and comedy, the show opened and closed to the sound of a creaking door: the door to the inner sanctum. The story goes that the program's director, Himan Brown, got the idea from a door in the studio's basement that "squeaked like Hell." Listeners were then greeted by the narrator, called Raymond in the show's early years, whose ghoulish humour, bad puns, and occasional banter with the show's sponsor lightened the mood regardless of the seriousness or creepiness of the episode. And many episodes were indeed creepy, despite Raymond's presence.



But apparently not creepy enough for Boris Karloff. Karloff appeared often in Inner Sanctum. During the first season, he was practically a regular, appearing in 15 episodes. When the network expressed concern about the level of horror and gore heard in the program, Karloff objected. He wanted more gore. He felt that his ". . . public expected it."


He didn't find any gore in the "The Wailing Wall", however. Instead, Karloff portrays Gabriel Hornell, a man who remains strangely attached to his old house. . .



(via Internet Archive)

(Source)

Boris Karloff Blogathon: lights out everybody

A couple of years ago, when I began to search for something apart from music to listen to on my new Mp3 player, the world of old time radio opened up before me. And I've been happily addicted ever since.

I was surprised at first to discover how many well-known film actors appeared in radio programs. Given the prominence of radio in the years before television, I'm not quite sure why this came as a surprise. But it did. I suppose I imagined radio and movies as two distinct worlds, never colliding. However, collide they did. And often. Jimmy Stewart starred in a radio western. Peter Lorre in a suspense drama. And I soon discovered that another familiar voice, Boris Karloff's, could be heard frequently. Perhaps less surprising was the genre of radio program in which Karloff usually appeared.

There were several horror programs on the air in the 1930's and 1940's, ranging from campy to creepy. One of the best, Lights Out!, was promoted to radio audiences as "the ultimate in horror". Never before had such graphic sounds been heard on the radio. Heads rolled, bones were crushed, people fell from great heights and splattered on pavement. There was strangling, cannibalism, heads split by cleavers, people turned inside out by supernatural forces. Each program was preceded by a sincere quiet warning to the audience to simply turn off their radios if they didn't feel capable of controlling their fear.



Wyllis Cooper, who initially wrote and produced the program, created this horror by "raiding the larder." Hence, the sound of a butcher knife hacking into a piece of raw pork was, when accompanied by screams, the essence of murder to a listener sitting alone at midnight. Real bones were broken; although they were merely spareribs snapped with a wrench. Bacon sizzling in a frying pan represented a body being electrocuted. When chopped open with a cleaver, cabbages sounded remarkably like human heads , and carrots like fingers being lopped off. The listener saw none of this of course. The listener saw only horror and death.



Cooper left the show in 1936 and Arch Oboler took over, soon making household names out of both himself and his program. Names that became synonymous with horror and gore. The ideal environment for Boris Karloff. Because when radio was at its peak of popularity, Boris Karloff's name was also synonymous with horror. And the producers of radio horror were eager to associate his name with their programs. Arch Oboler reportedly wrote several episodes of Lights Out specifically with Karloff in mind.



And so it was that Boris Karloff travelled to Chicago in 1938 to record four consecutive episodes of Lights Out to mark the fourth anniversary of the series. One of these episodes, entitled "The Dream", tells the story of a man who boasts that he has never dreamed while asleep. Not once. Not ever. And then suddenly, he does. A dream that more than makes up for his dreamless years. Whether he wants it to or not.

Now, lights out . . . everybody. And remember, ". . . if you wish to avoid the excitement and tension of these imaginative plays, we urge you calmly, but sincerely, to turn off your radio... now."

Lights Out - The Dream



(Source)

frankenstein conquers the radio

Lately, I've been devoting time to organizing my collection of old time radio programs. When I'm in an old time radio mood, I wander over to the Internet Archive and download anything that looks appealing. Sometimes it is. Other times, not so much. Once I've listened to a show, I'll pass judgement upon it and decide if it's worthy of a place in my permanent collection. Some are removed because of poor audio quality. Others because of general cheesiness of plot and dialogue. Others because the inclusion of racist and sexist stereotypes makes me want to hurl my MP3 player against a wall. But I digress. There are many radio programs that I truly love.

Often episodes are added to the archive individually or as complete series, but occasionally you discover that someone has taken the time to assemble and upload a collection of radio shows on a particular theme. Like Frankenstein's monster. Frankenstein Conquers the Radio is a small collection of old time radio programs featuring adaptations of, or homage to, the classic story. The quality of these programs varies. They range from episodes of Weird Circle and Favourite Story all the way to some un-named British radio comedy. The monster has been lurching across the airwaves since the invention of radio.

I first stumbled upon this collection last fall. It was interesting to listen to various adaptations of the Frankenstein story. But now I found my finger hovering over the Delete key. Then I hesitated. The centerpiece of this collection, and the one that stopped me from hitting the Delete button just yet, is a 13-part serial from the early 30's. It stars Australian radio actor George Edwards (who doesn't sound at all Australian here) and who, displaying an affinity for classic horror, went on to star in the (much better) radio version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde the following year. Sure the story is a little slow-moving. Yes, Baron Frankenstein's voice takes some getting used to. But it is atmospheric and it's a faithful adaptation of the original story. Reason enough to grant it a reprieve. Especially with Halloween and long dark nights quickly approaching.

halloween 1973

After my introduction to the wonderful nostalgic world of old time radio, I'll admit I became addicted. I spent countless hours searching for sites offering free downloads. Then I discovered the Internet Archive and my addiction intensified. Thousands of episodes still in existence and now in the public domain were available for free download. I became an old time radio junkie. And eventually had to purchase an external hard drive due to a lack of storage space on my desktop. I almost never listened to music on my MP3 player anymore. It was all Dimension X. The Shadow. Casey Crime Photographer. Inner Sanctum. Lights Out.

But as usually happens when I find a new all-consuming hobby, the novelty wore off. I hadn't added to my collection in several months. That needed to change. I realized that I missed it. So I returned to the Internet Archive to check out new additions and see if I had missed anything interesting in my previous searches. I had.

Someone had kindly uploaded a recording from Halloween night, 1973. True, 1973 is not exactly old time radio but much of the program's content is. A collection of spooky old radio programs and documentaries, all performed (and sometimes written) by station staff and compiled for broadcast on WBCW Buffalo on October 31st, 1973. The collection includes music and Halloween-themed commercials from the era. Probably the biggest treat for a child of the 70's.

I wish more radio stations would do this today.

(If the playback is messed up like it is on my computer, you can find the whole program here.)