The Mercury Theatre on the Air (old-time radio): every episode, 1937-1952

Episode list (153)

1. Death House Rescue

   September 26, 1937 · 29 min

   The Shadow, a mysterious crime fighter, becomes involved when Paul Gordon, a jobless man, is convicted of robbery and murder after unknowingly driving getaway men. Gordon's wife Grace receives money from a stranger, and Margot Lane, the Shadow's associate, works to prove his innocence. Gordon is sentenced to death in the electric chair, and the Shadow uses his mental powers to reconstruct the crime and recover the lost evidence. This is an episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on September 26, 1937. The transcript is incomplete, and the cast is not named in it.

   Characters: The Shadow, Margot Lane, Paul Gordon, Grace Gordon, Red, Lefty, Commissioner, Warden

2. Murder By The Dead

   October 17, 1937 · 30 min

   Lamont Cranston, a wealthy man about town, learns that District Attorney Stowe was threatened by a convicted killer, Peter Swift, who was hanged six months earlier. Margo Lane hears of a grave being opened and a body taken away, and she and Cranston begin to investigate. Their inquiry leads them to Dr. Craig, who had collected Swift's body from the prison. The episode is part of The Shadow series, broadcast on The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first aired on October 17, 1937, with Orson Welles as the lead.

   Characters: Lamont Cranston, Margo Lane, District Attorney Stowe, Peter Swift, Judge Klein, Dr. Craig, Taylor, Jenkins

3. The Temple Bells Of Neban

   October 24, 1937 · 32 min

   Lamont Cranston, a wealthy man who is also the Shadow, looks into a narcotics ring operating around town after the Women's Club raises concerns about drug peddling and deaths. At the Club Kalif, he watches the Indian dancer Sadie Belada perform with a cobra and suspects she is connected to the drug trade. Her interest in him and a dangerous warning soon follow. The Mercury Theatre on the Air presented this adaptation of the Shadow stories on October 24, 1937. The transcript ends partway through the story, so the full plot is not covered here.

   Characters: Lamont Cranston, The Shadow, Margot Lane, Sadie Belada, Jerry Gleason, Andrew Gleason, Commissioner Weston, Alexis

4. The Three Ghosts

   October 31, 1937 · 31 min

   Lamont Cranston and his companion Margot Lane visit Carolyn Sneed, who is unwell, at her country house. Her husband, Professor Arthur Sneed, dismisses her fears that the house is haunted by strange sounds, and Cranston senses something sinister about him. Cranston later visits Sneed's office, where a voice warns the professor that someone knows what he is planning. Two men arrive at the office, former convicts who press Sneed about his wife's money and suggest a violent scheme. The story is part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on October 31, 1937, and is adapted from the Shadow character.

   Characters: Lamont Cranston, Margot Lane, Carolyn Sneed, Professor Arthur Sneed, Miss Lane, Spike Collins, Steve Wilson

5. Circle Of Death

   November 28, 1937 · 28 min

   Police Commissioner Weston faces public pressure after a series of bombings has killed fifteen people in the theatre district, and he dismisses a mystery figure known as the Shadow. When a challenge is printed in the papers, the Shadow accepts it and sets a trap at the Central Arcade. A bomber sends a message promising more deaths, and the Shadow proceeds alone to confront the man responsible. The guide stops here, as the transcript covers only the first part of the episode. The Mercury Theatre on the Air presents this adaptation of the Shadow story, first broadcast on November 28, 1937.

   Characters: The Shadow, Commissioner Weston, Margot, Lamont Cranston, Anton, Joe Tenetti

6. Mercury Theatre Remembered

   January 1, 1938 · 40 min

   This is a retrospective documentary about Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre on the Air, a radio series that followed his early network radio career. Narrators and former members of the Mercury Company, including Richard Wilson, Arlene Francis, William Allen and Geraldine Fitzgerald, recall how Welles approached radio as a theatre of imagination. They describe his working relationships with producer John Houseman and composer Bernard Herman, the chaotic rehearsals, the use of sound effects, and the practical jokes he played on colleagues and network staff. The program also looks at the Mercury's stage productions and Welles' move to Hollywood. The transcript given here stops partway through the program, so the account covers only its opening portion.

   Characters: Orson Welles, Leonard Malton, Richard Wilson, Peggy Weber, Arlene Francis, Cliff Thorsen, William Allen, John Houseman

7. The League Of Terror

   January 9, 1938 · 31 min

   Michael Sullivan, a grocer, is sent to prison for perjury after recanting his testimony against a counterfeiting ring that forced him to pass fake bills. His daughter Mary, determined to free him, approaches the gang's operation with a plan of her own. Margot Lane, working with Lamont Cranston, watches over the situation as the ring's threats grow more direct. Mary is taken to the waterfront, where the gang's members debate what she knows and whether to bring her to their leader. The story follows her captors and the tense standoff that follows, all told through the events of the broadcast's opening portion.

   Characters: Michael Sullivan, Mary Sullivan, Margot Lane, Lamont Cranston, Rankin, Trigger, Slick, Commissioner Weston

8. Sabotage

   January 16, 1938 · 31 min

   Naval vessels suffer a series of explosions and damage, and the navy traces every incident to the Sagg Island shipyard. Lamont Cranston, using his power to become invisible and read minds, suspects a man among the yard's workers and sets up a radio post at a nearby hotel. He follows a shady worker named Steve Buckler to a bar, where Buckler's meetings draw him into a dangerous scheme. The Shadow's pursuit of the saboteur continues through the night as the threat to the fleet grows. This episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air aired on 1938-01-16.

   Characters: The Shadow, Lamont Cranston, Margo Lane, Steve Buckler, Regal, Dr. Arnheim, Admiral Tealy

9. The Society Of The Living Dead

   January 23, 1938 · 32 min

   Lamont Cranston, a wealthy man with a secret identity as The Shadow, investigates the apparent suicide of Henry Adams, a businessman whose body was buried in the family vault. Adams's partner Ray Kelvin is courting Adams's daughter Irene, and a crooked associate named Burger is linked to a fake passport racket. Cranston's associate Margo visits Irene to learn what she knows about her father's death. The Shadow follows Burger and Kelvin after they leave the city, tracking them to a cemetery.

   Characters: Lamont Cranston, The Shadow, Margo, Irene Adams, Henry Adams, Ray Kelvin, Burger, David Kastner

10. The Poison Death

    January 30, 1938 · 28 min

    The Shadow, the mysterious crime fighter, is drawn into a poisoning epidemic that has struck hospitals across the city. A letter demanding a million dollars threatens that the whole city will be poisoned unless the demand is met. Margo Lane and Lamont Cranston work to trace the poison and the sender of the ransom note, which is typed on a machine with distinctive faulty letters. Their investigation turns to the city's sanitation department and to the chemist Gerber, whose unusual behavior draws suspicion. The poisoning is a Mercury Theatre on the Air broadcast, first aired January 30, 1938.

    Characters: The Shadow, Lamont Cranston, Margo Lane, Mayor, Commissioner Wynton, Clyde Burke, Gerber, Dan Brinkley

11. The Phantom Voice

    February 6, 1938 · 31 min

    Lamont Cranston, who is also the crime fighter called the Shadow, watches a murder trial in which Senator Durham is accused of taking a $50,000 bribe from the late Mario Renaldi. The prosecution shows a sound film of a meeting between the two men, but Lamont believes the film's soundtrack does not match the senator's lips. Lamont, in the company of Margot Lane, goes to see the lawyer Anthony Vogel, who arranged the filming. Vogel's henchman Travis and the shadow's presence in the room add to the danger as the case against the senator is challenged. This Mercury Theatre on the Air adaptation of The Shadow was first broadcast on February 6, 1938.

    Characters: Lamont Cranston, The Shadow, Margot Lane, Senator Durham, Mario Renaldi, Anthony Vogel, Wilson, Travis

12. The House Of Horror

    February 13, 1938 · 24 min

    Margot Lane and her companion Lamont Cranston, a friend who is secretly the Shadow, look into a strange crime. A gorilla is stolen from a city zoo, and the night watchman and keeper are found shot dead. Lane's acquaintance Big Charlie claims to have learned something about the theft, but she is doubtful of his story. During a visit to a fortune-teller at a lunch spot, Lane is told about a remarkable scientist who offers help with lost things. Her outing soon brings her into the orbit of Professor Fielding and Madame Santo, whose work involves the brain and the gorilla. The story is still unfolding in this part of the episode.

    Characters: Margot Lane, Lamont Cranston, Big Charlie, Professor Fielding, Madame Santo, Mac

13. Hounds In The Hills

    February 20, 1938 · 29 min

    Lamont Cranston, a wealthy playboy, and his companion Margot Lane investigate the disappearances of several boys who vanished on a dangerous cliff trail in the North Carolina hills. Sheriff McLean reports that another child has been lost, and locals blame ghosts, citing howling heard before each disappearance. Cranston follows the clue of the howling dogs toward a dilapidated mansion where an old woman and her hunchbacked son live under the watch of fierce hounds. The episode is part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air series and first aired on February 20, 1938, with the Shadow adventure adapted from the pulp magazine character.

    Characters: Lamont Cranston, Margot Lane, Sheriff McLean, Gary, Robert, Sadie, Jake, Duke

14. The Plot Murder

    February 27, 1938 · 29 min

    Lieutenant John Wilson is convicted by a military court of sabotaging a secret weapon, the flying torpedo, invented by Professor Archenault. Wilson protests his innocence, and General Leveitt is uneasy about the case. Commissioner Weston's men are busy, and the Shadow is drawn into the affair when Martin Prince asks him to look into it. The Mercury Theatre on the Air presents this adaptation of the Shadow, first broadcast on February 27, 1938.

    Characters: Lieutenant John Wilson, General Levitt, Professor Archenault, Martin Prince, The Shadow, George Cranston, Barlow, Commissioner Weston

15. The Bride Of Death

    March 6, 1938 · 31 min

    Lamont Cranston and Margot Lane investigate the deaths of Reverend Colby and ten parishioners in a fishing village church. Cranston, who also goes by the Shadow, learns of a cult worshipping the Ancient One and its self-proclaimed prophet, a stranger who has taken charge of Mrs. Ackley's house on the cliff. Reverend Colby's daughter, Isabel, is held there. The Shadow looks into the mystery of the house while the prophet's influence over Mrs. Ackley grows stronger. This is an episode of The Shadow, a dramatized story from The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on March 6, 1938.

    Characters: Lamont Cranston, Margot Lane, The Shadow, Reverend Colby, Isabel Colby, Mrs. Ackley, The Prophet, Martha

16. The Silent Avenger

    March 13, 1938 · 31 min

    The Shadow, a mysterious crime-fighter, faces Joe Brecker, a condemned man sentenced to death for murder, who vows that one juror will die every day he remains in the death house. The Shadow works to stop the threats, with his companion Margot Lane assisting him. Joe's brother Danny is caught up in the events, and the Shadow hears the threats directed at the court and officials. Mrs. Brecker, the mother, is drawn into the danger. The story is part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air series, first broadcast on March 13, 1938. Orson Welles is the lead performer of this series.

    Characters: The Shadow, Margot Lane, Lamont Cranston, Joe Brecker, Danny Brecker, Judge Wilson, Mrs. Brecker, Mrs. Adams

17. The White Legion

    March 20, 1938 · 28 min

    Commissioner Weston is troubled by the White Legion, a band of masked men terrorizing the city, and the murder of William Devons. Assistant District Attorney Alton Parker is kidnapped in a department store while prosecuting gangster Red Collins. His wife Margot and Lamont Cranston, also known as the Shadow, follow clues to a waterside shack where a White Legion meeting is held. The episode is part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, and it aired on March 20, 1938, with Orson Welles in the role of Lamont Cranston.

    Characters: Lamont Cranston, Margo Lane, Commissioner Weston, Alton Parker, Helen Parker, Hartley Clay, William Devons, Red Collins

18. The Hypnotized Audience

    June 5, 1938 · 27 min

    The Shadow, the crime-fighter who is known to the underworld only by his voice, is at the heart of this episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on June 5, 1938. Crime and a condemned man are central to the story. Dorga Khan, a dancer from an Eastern land, performs at a recital in the city while Joseph Hakeem, a man of the same background, is waiting to die in the electric chair for murder. Dorga Khan's husband is also facing execution, and his wife pleads for time. Police Commissioner Weston approaches the performers, and talk turns to the Governor, who may be leaving the state house that night. The episode sets up a plot involving the Governor's disappearance, which is still unfolding at this point in the broadcast.

    Characters: The Shadow, Margot Lane, Dorga Khan, Joseph Hakeem, Commissioner Weston, Governor Barnes

19. Death From The Deep

    June 12, 1938 · 26 min

    The Shadow, a wealthy crime fighter known to his aide Margot Lane, investigates a series of mysterious sinkings of ships on the high seas that have left many dead. Their inquiry leads to Joseph Hart, a disgraced naval designer, who reveals a secret about a private submarine and its owner, Vincent. The story follows the Shadow's attempts to locate the submarine and stop the attacks on merchant and passenger vessels across the Atlantic. This episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air first aired on June 12, 1938, and the story is told through dramatic radio performance.

    Characters: The Shadow, Margot Lane, Captain Jones, Mr. McLennan, Joseph Hart, Vincent, Charlie, Phil

20. Firebug

    June 19, 1938 · 29 min

    Lamont Cranston, a wealthy man who fights crime as the Shadow, investigates a series of deadly tenement fires that have killed dozens of people in the city. The fires all began in hallways with oil-soaked baby carriages, and the police have failed to find the pyromaniac responsible. Cranston notices that a dealer shop on the ground floor of each burned building has been connected to the blazes. His investigation leads him to the shop run by a man named Hegman, where Cranston confronts the suspects. Margot Lane, his friend and aide, waits nearby as the case unfolds. The episode is part of the Mercury Theatre on the Air series, first broadcast on June 19, 1938.

    Characters: Lamont Cranston, Margot Lane, Commissioner Weston, Hegman, Varelli, Ellen, Mr. Kent

21. The Blind Beggar Dies

    June 26, 1938 · 23 min

    The Shadow, Lamont Cranston, learns that a blind beggar named Singing Jim has been beaten to death in an alley after refusing to pay protection money to a pair of street racketeers. Cranston and his companion Margot Lane visit the hospital, where Jim, in his delirium, pleads with his attackers and tells them he cannot pay. Apple Mary, a fellow street vendor, gathers the beggars together to discuss how they are being squeezed for money by the racketeers, and the Shadow appears to offer help. The story follows the beggars' plan to stand against the men who are extorting them and the trap the racketeers set in return.

    Characters: The Shadow, Lamont Cranston, Margot Lane, Singing Jim, Apple Mary, Lame Bill, Spike, Marty

22. Power Of The Mind

    July 3, 1938 · 29 min

    Lamont Cranston, a wealthy amateur criminologist who secretly works as The Shadow, investigates the disappearance of Dr. Waldeck, a psychiatrist, after Waldeck seems to send him a telepathic call for help. Cranston traces the call to the freighter Star of Zealand, where Waldeck is being pressed by Countess Sara and her associate Victor to extract a secret explosive formula from the captive inventor Professor Hardy. Margot Lane waits in the car on the dock as Cranston boards the ship alone. The Shadow's enemies have trapped him inside the vessel. The episode is from the Mercury Theatre on the Air series, first broadcast on 1938-07-03, and features Orson Welles in the lead.

    Characters: The Shadow, Lamont Cranston, Margot Lane, Dr. Waldeck, Countess Sara, Victor, Ivan, Professor Hardy

23. White God

    July 10, 1938 · 29 min

    Cranston, the wealthy man known as the Shadow, is called to a Navy meeting about the Graveyard of the Pacific, a region where more than fifteen ships have vanished. Accompanied by Margo Lane, he travels aboard a Navy cruiser to the South Pacific, unseen by the others. Ashore, the Shadow and Margo come upon a strange volcanic island where a figure claiming magical powers holds captives. The Shadow works to uncover what is happening on the island and how the vanished ships are connected to it. This episode is a 1938 broadcast of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first aired on July 10, 1938.

    Characters: Cranston, Margo Lane, Rudolph Hoyt, Lloyd Collin, Miss Hoyt

24. Dracula

    July 11, 1938 · 56 min

    Jonathan Harker, a young English lawyer, travels to Transylvania to handle a property purchase for a client, Count Dracula, and finds himself a prisoner in the Count's crumbling castle. Back in England, Dr. Arthur Seward, his friend Dr. Van Helsing and others face a mysterious illness afflicting Lucy Westenra, a young woman engaged to Seward. The Mercury Theatre on the Air presents this adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel, with Orson Welles as the Count. The episode, first broadcast on July 11, 1938, is narrated by Seward, who presents Harker's private journal and newspaper clippings as evidence.

    Characters: Jonathan Harker, Count Dracula, Dr. Arthur Seward, Dr. Van Helsing, Lucy Westenra, Mina Harker

25. Aboard The Steamship

    July 17, 1938 · 28 min

    Lamont Cranston, a wealthy man who secretly fights crime as the Shadow, travels aboard the steamship Amazon. Among the passengers, a young man named Randy becomes frightened after receiving a radiogram, and his stepmother, Margot, and others around him grow uneasy. Tensions rise as a secret cargo of munitions is discussed for an overseas revolution. The series is The Shadow, and this episode is part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on July 17, 1938.

    Characters: Lamont Cranston, Margot, Randy, Captain McKeon, Dr. Sillard

26. Treasure Island

    July 18, 1938 · 64 min

    Long John Silver, a one-legged sea cook, joins a voyage to Treasure Island aboard the Hispaniola, led by Squire Trelawney and Doctor Livesey. The story is told by Jim Hawkins, a young innkeeper's son, who recalls how the mysterious old sailor known as the Captain came to live under his family's roof at the Admiral Benbow Inn. After the Captain's death, Jim and his mother find a map that other men are seeking. The Mercury Theatre on the Air, a summer series, presented this adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel on July 18, 1938, with Orson Welles in the roles of Long John Silver and Jim Hawkins.

    Characters: Jim Hawkins, Long John Silver, Captain (Billy Bones), Doctor Livesey, Squire Trelawney, Captain Smollett, Black Dog, Blind Pew

27. Murders In Wax

    July 24, 1938 · 23 min

    Cranston, known to criminals as the Shadow, and his friend Margot Lane look into a series of murders connected to a wax museum. A body is discovered inside a waxwork tableau depicting the capture of gangster George Keegan, and the Shadow suspects the killings are not finished. Commissioner Weston and the police try to trace the killer through the museum and the prison where Keegan is held. Keegan is a notorious gang chief, and the tableau also includes District Attorney Armstrong and Commissioner Weston. The Mercury Theatre on the Air presents this episode, which first aired on July 24, 1938.

    Characters: Cranston, Margot Lane, The Shadow, Commissioner Weston, George Keegan, Edna Kelly, District Attorney Armstrong, Mrs. Armstrong

28. A Tale Of Two Cities

    July 25, 1938 · 60 min

    Dr. Alexander Manette, a physician, has been imprisoned in the Bastille for many years, and his story is told in this broadcast of A Tale of Two Cities, from the Mercury Theatre on the Air series, first aired on July 25, 1938, with Orson Welles as Dr. Manette. Manette is called to treat a dying young peasant and his sister's family after a nobleman's abuse, and he later becomes the subject of a wrongful account that he cannot fully remember. Jarvis Lorry, a banker, escorts Manette's daughter Lucy to Paris, where her father is found and brought to London. Lorry is also a witness at a treason trial in London where Charles Darnay stands accused, and a dissolute lawyer named Sidney Carton takes an interest in him. The broadcast follows these figures across the years leading into the French Revolution.

    Characters: Dr. Alexander Manette, Jarvis Lorry, Lucy Manette, Charles Darnay, Sidney Carton, Ernest Defarge, Madame Defarge

29. Message From The Hills

    July 31, 1938 · 25 min

    Lamar Cranston and his companion Margo Lane are guests at a diamond mining camp on Mount Raleigh, an isolated mountain on a remote Pacific island. Their host, Ned Fenton, and the mine's chief Major Whiteside have little patience for the rumors of a native servant, Tenga, who insists he has spoken to his dying son by telepathy. Soon Cranston and Lane find that Tenga has a warning for them about a threat to the mine, and an armed gang is circling the camp. The Shadow arrives to confront the strangers. The Mercury Theatre on the Air broadcast this story on July 31, 1938.

    Characters: Lamar Cranston, Margo Lane, Ned Fenton, Major Whiteside, Tenga, Jordan, Jake, Lenny

30. The Thirty Nine Steps

    August 1, 1938 · 63 min

    Richard Hannay, a mining engineer newly returned to London, finds a dying man named Scudder in his flat and is drawn into a secret plot involving a stolen naval secret. Hannay is accused of a murder he did not commit and must flee across Scotland, pursued by police and by unknown men who want him silenced. Orson Welles plays Hannay in this Mercury Theatre on the Air adaptation of John Buchan's novel, broadcast in 1938 on the Columbia network. Hannay uses his wits and his knowledge of the countryside to evade capture while trying to uncover who is behind the conspiracy, and he meets a stranger who may or may not be an ally.

    Characters: Richard Hannay, Scudder, Marmaduke Jopley, Sullivan, Charlie

31. The Creeper

    August 7, 1938 · 28 min

    The Shadow, the wealthy crime fighter Lamont Cranston, investigates the disappearance of Eden Day, the daughter of a wealthy family, from her locked house in the Mesa district of the city. Margot Lane, his aide, works with him as several other people have vanished from the same neighborhood without a trace. Searching old city records, the pair finds an abandoned water conduit lying beneath the district, and they begin to suspect a hidden passage is being used. The series is The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on August 7, 1938. The lead actors are not named in the transcript, so they are not mentioned here.

    Characters: The Shadow, Lamont Cranston, Margot Lane, Commissioner Weston, Mr. Day, Mrs. Day, Eden Day, Callahan

32. Three Short Stories Im A Fool The Open Window And My Littl

    August 8, 1938 · 58 min

    Three short stories are dramatized on the Mercury Theater on the Air, the fifth broadcast of the series, presented by Orson Welles. The first, Sherwood Anderson's I'm a Fool, follows a young man at a trotting race in Sandusky, Ohio, who tries to impress a girl named Lucy Woodbury with a string of lies about his family and his wealth. The second, Saki's The Open Window, introduces Framton Nuttel, a nervous visitor who arrives at Mrs. Sappleton's country house. The third, Carl Ewald's My Little Boy, is narrated by a father describing his young son's first encounters with the world and with money. The series is broadcast on CBS.

    Characters: Walter Mathers, Bert French, Lucy Woodbury, Wilbur Weston, Framton Nuttel, Mrs. Sappleton, Vera, My Little Boy's father

33. Tenor With A Broken Voice

    August 14, 1938 · 29 min

    Margot Lane listens with Cranston to a live performance of the opera Pagliacci, where the tenor Hagen Radkoff lost his voice the previous week. Cranston senses that the tragedy is not over and begins an investigation. He confronts Commissioner Weston, who doubts him, and later warns the opera board that the killings are deliberate. Cranston proposes staging Pagliacci again while guarding every singer, and the company's directors must decide whether the season will continue. The story builds toward the opera house on the night of the next performance.

    Characters: Cranston, Margot Lane, Commissioner Weston, Hagen Radkoff, Mike

34. Abraham Lincoln

    August 15, 1938 · 60 min

    Orson Welles, as Abraham Lincoln, presents the Mercury Theater's dramatization of John Drinkwater's play about the president's life and public career. The story moves through Lincoln's early years and his visit with his family, the political tensions following his election, and his talks with Secretary of State Seward and cabinet members over Fort Sumter. It then turns to the debate over slavery and emancipation during the Civil War, including the cabinet's response to the Antietam victory. The series is The Mercury Theatre on the Air, and this episode first aired on August 15, 1938.

    Characters: Abraham Lincoln, Mary Lincoln, Samuel, Timothy, Mr. Seward, Mr. Jennings, Mr. Chase, Mr. Blair

35. Murder On Approval

    August 21, 1938 · 28 min

    Lamont Cranston, known to the underworld as The Shadow, and his companion Margo Lane look into a strange epidemic at a United States army base. The outbreak begins after Dr. Nicholas Harris and Dr. Kalanza, a visitor from abroad, arrive at the base, and the soldiers fall sick with an unknown disease. Cranston is refused entry when he tries to examine the post under quarantine, so he works to uncover what is behind the sickness. Dr. Harris is pulled into the affair as a plan involving a deadly germ comes to light. The Mercury Theatre on the Air broadcast this adaptation of The Shadow on August 21, 1938.

    Characters: Lamont Cranston, Margo Lane, Dr. Nicholas Harris, Dr. Kalanza, Colonel Lane, General Lauder

36. The Affairs Of Anatole

    August 22, 1938 · 60 min

    Anatol, a Viennese man-about-town, spends the winter pursuing love affairs in the city at the turn of the century, told through the recollections of his friend Max. On Christmas Eve he meets a stranger on a snowy street and helps her carry her parcels, and he begins to wonder what a modest suburban woman might want from a present. Later, at a restaurant, Anatol confides in Max that he is ready to end a long romance, and the two friends discuss how best to do it. The episode is based on Arthur Schnitzler's play The Affairs of Anatol, adapted for The Mercury Theatre on the Air, with Orson Welles in the title role. It aired on 1938-08-22.

    Characters: Anatol, Max, Mimi, Anna

37. The Tomb Of Terror

    August 28, 1938 · 28 min

    The Shadow, a wealthy man who fights crime in secret, investigates the mysterious deaths of Dr. Romney Hale and two of his assistants after they viewed the mummy of the Egyptian pharaoh King Kuprateep in a newly reassembled tomb at the City Museum. Newspapers blame a curse, but the blood of the victims shows a strange absence of white corpuscles. Margo, his companion, assists him as he looks into the museum staff and their backgrounds, with the museum's director and other staff members, including Mr. Raffarty, appearing as the investigation proceeds. Their inquiries lead them toward the men who worked on the expedition and the tomb itself.

    Characters: The Shadow, Lamont Cranston, Margo, Dr. Romney Hale, Harry Avery, Jack Johnson, Mr. Raffarty, Stevenson

38. The Count Of Monte Cristo

    August 29, 1938 · 59 min

    Edmond Dantes, a young sailor newly promoted to captain, returns to Marseille expecting a happy future with his fiancée Mercedes. Soon after, a jealous rival named Fernand Mondego and a hostile official turn his good fortune into a false accusation. Dantes is arrested and imprisoned in the Chateau d'If, where he endures years of confinement. The episode is a Mercury Theatre on the Air broadcast, presented by Orson Welles, adapting Alexandre Dumas' novel The Count of Monte Cristo. It aired on August 29, 1938.

    Characters: Edmond Dantes, Captain Leclerc, Monsieur Morrel, Danglars, Mercedes, Fernand Mondego, Caderousse, Father Faria

39. Death Under The Chapel

    September 4, 1938 · 26 min

    Professor Klemm, a chemist at Windward College, is angered after his teaching post is ended by the faculty, and he plans a deadly act during the graduation ceremony in the chapel. His former student Bragg is pulled into the plot, and his friend Margot grows alarmed as Klemm keeps Bragg under his control. Klemm's servant Anton carries out his orders, and Bragg is locked in a room while Klemm proceeds with his scheme. Bragg tries to resist, and the story turns on whether he can escape or stop the professor in time. This is an episode of The Shadow, from The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on September 4, 1938.

    Characters: Professor Klemm, Bragg, Margot, Anton, Dr. Wingwood, President Plink

40. The Man Who Was Thursday

    September 5, 1938 · 57 min

    Gabriel Syme, a young poet, meets Gregory at a Saffron Park gathering and is provoked into claiming he is a true anarchist. Gregory takes him to a hidden steel room beneath a dingy bar and reveals he is a police detective who has infiltrated the anarchist council. Syme agrees to a secret pact, and Gregory has him elected to the council's seat called Thursday. The story is from The Mercury Theatre on the Air, broadcast on September 5, 1938, and adapted from G. K. Chesterton's novel. Syme then finds himself among the council's leaders, including the enormous president known as Sunday, who are planning an attack on a visiting monarch and head of state in Paris.

    Characters: Gabriel Syme, Gregory, Rosamund, Sunday, Dr. Bull, Professor de Worms, Marquis de Saint-Eustache, Gogol

41. Julius Ceasar

    September 11, 1938 · 67 min

    Brutus, Cassius and Mark Antony are the central figures as Julius Caesar, having made himself the most powerful man in Rome, faces growing unease among the citizens and senators. Cassius works to enlist Brutus in a conspiracy against Caesar, arguing that Caesar's ambition threatens the republic. Omens and warnings gather as the conspirators weigh their plan and debate how far it should go. Caesar is depicted in a dramatic production of Shakespeare's play, with Orson Welles playing Brutus and Martin Gabel playing Cassius. The series is The Mercury Theatre on the Air, and this episode first aired on September 11, 1938.

    Characters: Brutus, Cassius, Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Casca, Calpurnia, Portia, Decius Brutus

42. The Caverns Of Death

    September 11, 1938 · 25 min

    Cranston, the wealthy young man about town, and his companion Margot Lane visit a vast underground cavern where students from a class have disappeared into a bottomless pit. After a railing gave way and the young men fell, no bodies have been found. Cranston suspects the pit holds a secret and sets out to examine it closely. The episode is part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on September 11, 1938, and stars Orson Welles and Agnes Moorehead. The investigation draws Cranston and Margot deeper beneath the caverns, where a search for the missing boys leads them along hidden passages and past a guarded lower level.

    Characters: Cranston, Margot Lane, Professor Morley, Lamont, Eddie, Bruns, Amal

43. The Immortal Sherlock Holmes

    September 25, 1938 · 56 min

    Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson take up the case of Professor Moriarty, a criminal mastermind linked to blackmailers at Chetwood's home in St. John's Wood. The Mercury Theatre on the Air presents Orson Welles's radio adaptation of William Gillette's play, based on the stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, broadcast on September 25, 1938. Holmes visits the house, meets Alice Faulkner and confronts the blackmailer James Larabee about letters held by Chetwood. Holmes stages a false fire to recover the letters from a chair, then returns them to Miss Faulkner. Later, Larabee receives a message offering the letters for sale, and Moriarty's plans against Holmes begin to take shape.

    Characters: Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, Professor Moriarty, Alice Faulkner, Chetwood, James Larabee, Johnson, Foreman

44. Hell On Ice

    October 9, 1938 · 59 min

    Captain George W. De Long leads the steamship Jeannette on an Arctic expedition toward the North Pole, with Chief Engineer George Melville among the crew. The ship is trapped in ice north of Siberia and slowly drifts for months, while tensions grow between officers, seamen and the civilian reporter Jerome Collins. Under the Mercury Theatre on the Air series, this adaptation by Orson Welles of Commander Edward Ellsberg's account is broadcast in October 1938. The episode follows the crew's long wait in the ice, their failed attempts to break free, and the growing hardships of their confinement.

    Characters: Captain De Long, George Melville, Chip, Jerome Collins, Dr. Ambler, Nindemann, Newcomb, Erickson

45. Seventeen

    October 16, 1938 · 60 min

    Henry Parcher and his household on April Street deal with the restlessness of their teenage children and their guests during a summer. Willie Baxter, seventeen, is embarrassed when he is sent through town with his family's laundry tubs, and he falls for Lola Pratt, a visitor staying with the Parchers. His younger sister Jane chatters about the adults she overhears, and the neighbourhood talk turns to love and marriage. This is an adaptation of Booth Tarkington's 17, broadcast on The Mercury Theatre on the Air on 16 October 1938, with Orson Welles playing William Sylvanus Baxter.

    Characters: Henry Parcher, Willie Baxter, Lola Pratt, Jane, Genesis, Mrs. Parcher, May Parcher, Joe Bullitt

46. Around the World in 80 Days

    October 23, 1938 · 57 min

    Phileas Fogg, a precise English gentleman, wagers 20,000 pounds with fellow members of the Reform Club that he can travel around the world in 80 days. He hires Jean Passepartout as his servant and sets out the same evening, taking only a carpet bag and a large sum of money. The wager becomes a sensation in London, where newspapers take sides and betting on his chances grows heavy. Meanwhile, a detective named Fix becomes convinced that Fogg resembles a man who recently robbed the Bank of England. This is the Mercury Theatre on the Air's adaptation of Jules Verne's novel, broadcast October 23, 1938, with Orson Welles as Phileas Fogg.

    Characters: Phileas Fogg, Passepartout, Fix, Stuart, Cromarty, Mr. Fogg's club companions, Aouda

47. War Of The Worlds

    October 30, 1938 · 51 min

    Professor Pearson, an astronomer at the Princeton Observatory, is interviewed on a live radio broadcast after strange explosions are reported on Mars. Carl Phillips reports on the situation as a mysterious object falls on a farm near Grover's Mill, New Jersey. Part of the Mercury Theatre on the Air series, this episode was first broadcast on October 30, 1938, and is presented as a series of news bulletins, interviews and on-the-spot reports. Witnesses describe a cylinder half buried in a pit and strange creatures emerging from it, while Professor Pearson and the authorities try to understand what has landed.

    Characters: Professor Pearson, Carl Phillips, Mr. Wilbur, Captain Lansing, Brigadier General Montgomery Smith, Harry McDonald, Dr. Gray, Professor Farrell

48. Heart Of Darkness Life With Father

    November 6, 1938 · 58 min

    Marlow, a sailor, recounts his journey up a river in Africa to find Mr. Kurtz, an ivory agent whose station has fallen silent and whom the company values highly. Marlow travels deep into the jungle, meets a wandering young Russian who speaks warmly of Kurtz, and reaches the inner station as the trip grows tense and dangerous. The story is told aloud to a companion on a ship anchored in the Thames, and the broadcast is part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, with Orson Welles performing the drama, which aired on November 6, 1938, in a version adapted from Joseph Conrad's short novel of the same name.

    Characters: Marlow, Mr. Kurtz, The Manager, The Russian, The Brickmaker, The Accountant

49. A Passenger To Bali

    November 13, 1938 · 60 min

    Captain English commands a freighter carrying cargo up the Yangtze and out of Shanghai, with a mate named Mr. Stagg and a crew of Kanaka boys. A mysterious passenger, the Reverend Dr. Walks, comes aboard at the last moment with two heavy packing cases, and his presence soon unsettles the ship. Walks gains a strange hold over the native crew, the officers grow resentful, and the captain finds himself unable to shake the man from his vessel. The episode presents Ellis St. Joseph's short novel as adapted for Orson Welles's Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on November 13, 1938. Orson Welles plays Dr. Walks in the production.

    Characters: Captain English, Mr. Stagg, Mr. Angle, Dr. Walks, Mr. Tech, Mr. Chisholm

50. Pickwick Papers

    November 20, 1938 · 61 min

    At the start of the Pickwick Club's first expedition, Samuel Pickwick sets out with his companions Nathaniel Winkle, Augustus Snodgrass and Tracy Tupman to study the customs of the landed gentry of southern England. On a coach to Rochester they meet the smooth-talking Alfred Jingle, who tells tales of his romantic conquests. The party arrives at Dingley Dell, the home of the hospitable Mr. Wardle, where Tupman pursues the lady Rachel Wardle. This episode is the 20th broadcast of The Mercury Theater on the Air, adapted from Charles Dickens' The Pickwick Papers, with Orson Welles playing Alfred Jingle. The original air date was November 20, 1938.

    Characters: Samuel Pickwick, Nathaniel Winkle, Augustus Snodgrass, Tracy Tupman, Alfred Jingle, Mr. Wardle, Rachel Wardle, Joe

51. Counselor-At-Law

    January 6, 1939 · 57 min

    Lawyer George Simon defends Mrs. Chapman on a charge of murdering her husband, and his office becomes a crowded network of clients, favours and pressures. The Campbell Playhouse presents this radio adaptation of Elmer Rice's play Counselor-at-Law, staged by Orson Welles on The Mercury Theatre on the Air, which first aired on January 6, 1939. The lead actors named in the broadcast include Gertrude Berg. As the day unfolds, Simon's secretary Miss Gordon, his mother, and his brother Dorothy each press their own claims on him, while his clerk Charlie McFadden is set to watch a former Simon associate. A discovery about an old alibi case, linked to a parole board member, begins to threaten Simon's position at the bar.

    Characters: George Simon, Mrs. Simon, Charlie McFadden, Miss Gordon, Mrs. Chapman, Dorothy, Roxy, Betsy

52. Mutiny On The Bounty

    January 13, 1939 · 59 min

    Captain Bligh commands the Bounty, a small ship carrying breadfruit trees from Tahiti to the West Indies, and his tense relationship with his crew and officers, especially Fletcher Christian, forms the story's core. The episode, part of the Mercury Theatre on the Air series, first aired on January 13, 1939, and Orson Welles leads the cast. A court-martial frames the account, with Captain Bligh describing how mutineers seized his ship and set him adrift in an open boat. The story then returns to the voyage, showing harsh discipline, a dispute over stolen cheese, and the growing resentment among the men. Bligh and Christian clash repeatedly over how the crew should be treated. Life on Tahiti brings a brief respite and a romance for Christian, before tensions rise again aboard the ship.

    Characters: Captain Bligh, Fletcher Christian, Mr. Fryer, Samuel, Thomas Burkett, Mills, Morrison, Hina

53. I Lost My Girlish Laughter

    January 27, 1939 · 57 min

    Hollywood producer Sidney Brand buys the stage play Sinners in Asylum from its author John Tussler and sets out to turn it into a film starring Sawyer Tarn, a European actress he has signed. Brand pushes his writers to make the story more sympathetic and the heroine more daring, while Tussler resists the changes and insists his play stay as written. Brand is distracted by the birth of his child, and his demands on the production grow more frantic. This is a satirical broadcast from Orson Welles's Mercury Theatre on the Air, first aired on January 27, 1939, in which George S. Kaufman makes his acting debut and pokes fun at the movie business.

    Characters: John Tussler, Sidney Brand, Sawyer Tarn, Roy, Palmer, Madge, Leeland, Mr. Anders

54. Arrowsmith

    February 3, 1939 · 59 min

    Martin Arrowsmith, a young medical student, becomes fascinated with bacteriology after meeting the demanding Dr. Gottlieb, who sees promise in him. Martin's path takes him from medical school to a hospital where he meets Leora Tozer, a probationary nurse who becomes his wife. Their early life together is shaped by the tension between Martin's dedication to real science and the practical demands of earning a living. This Campbell Playhouse presentation of Arrowsmith, from the Mercury Theatre on the Air series, first aired on February 3, 1939, with Helen Hayes and Orson Welles in the lead roles, adapting Sinclair Lewis's novel about a doctor's search for scientific integrity.

    Characters: Martin Arrowsmith, Dr. Gottlieb, Leora Tozer, Dr. Swenson

55. The Glass Key

    March 10, 1939 · 59 min

    Ned Beaumont works as an aide to politician Paul Madvig in a mid-1930s city run by machine politics. The Campbell Playhouse adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's novel The Glass Key, starring Orson Welles, follows Ned as Madvig backs Senator Henry's re-election and courts the senator's daughter, Janet. Tensions rise between Madvig and Shadow Rory, a gangster whose gambling houses Madvig begins to close, and a murder is discovered on China Street. Ned's loyalty is tested as the political stakes grow around the killing. The transcript covers the story only up to this point.

    Characters: Ned Beaumont, Paul Madvig, Janet Henry, Senator Henry, Shadow Rory, Opal Madvig, Taylor Henry, Lieutenant Brett

56. Beau Geste

    March 17, 1939 · 44 min

    Recruits in the French Foreign Legion, among them the English brothers John, Michael and Digby Geste, receive a hard welcome from their brutal sergeant. The narrator, John, recalls his childhood at Brandon Abbas, where the three boys were raised by their aunt, Lady Brandon, and where the family's prized blue water sapphire disappears. Michael, the eldest, is suspected of the theft and vanishes, and John and Isabel are left to face the family's shame. The story then follows John and Beau to a remote outpost where a mutiny is brewing among the men and a fellow legionnaire, Schwartz, is plotting against them. The account is told in the present by John, speaking from a later time, and the broadcast is part of the Campbell Playhouse presentation of Beau Geste on The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first aired March 17, 1939, starring Laurence Olivier and Noah Beery.

    Characters: John Geste, Beau Geste, Digby Geste, Lady Brandon, Isabel, Hank Locker, Schwartz, Sergeant Lejeune

57. Twentieth Century

    March 24, 1939 · 58 min

    Broadway producer Oscar Jaffe, a flamboyant impresario whose recent productions have failed badly, is facing financial ruin and creditors. His former lover, the actress Lily Garland, is returning from Hollywood on the same train he is riding. Jaffe's loyal assistant Owen O'Malley and business manager Oliver Webb help him plan a way back into the theatre. The opening of the episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, based on the Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur play, was broadcast on March 24, 1939. Orson Welles and Alice Landy lead the cast, with Sam Levine as O'Malley.

    Characters: Oscar Jaffe, Lily Garland, Owen O'Malley, Oliver Webb, Max Jacobs, Mildred Plotkin

58. The Patriot

    April 14, 1939 · 55 min

    Wu I-Wan, the youngest son of a wealthy Shanghai banker, becomes a revolutionary in China while studying at university. Secretly meeting with fellow students who hope Chiang Kai-shek will bring a new order, he finds his father's household and his own loyalties increasingly strained. When his father learns that his name is on a government list of revolutionists, I-Wan is sent away to Japan. There he is taken into the household of the Muraki family, where he falls in love with their daughter, Tama. This is an episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, a Campbell Playhouse presentation adapted from Pearl S. Buck's novel, broadcast on April 14, 1939, with Orson Welles as producer.

    Characters: Wu I-Wan, Enlan, Wu, Pieny, Mr. Muraki, Bunji, Tama

59. Private Lives

    April 21, 1939 · 58 min

    Elliot Chase and his new wife Amanda Prynne are on their honeymoon at a hotel on the Riviera, where a bitter quarrel breaks out over Elliot's first wife, Sibyl. Sibyl is now married to Victor Prynne, and the two couples find themselves staying in adjoining rooms and crossing paths in the hotel's casino and balcony. Victor and Sibyl also arrive at the hotel as a honeymoon couple. Their rooms and conversations overlap as each pair struggles with old resentments and new jealousies. This Mercury Theatre on the Air presentation adapts Noel Coward's play Private Lives, with Orson Welles and Lawrence Tibbett as guest-starred leads in a Campbell Playhouse broadcast. The original air date is April 21, 1939.

    Characters: Elliot Chase, Amanda Prynne, Sibyl Chase, Victor Prynne, Dr. Bragg

60. Wickford Point

    May 5, 1939 · 58 min

    Wickford Point, a Mercury Theatre on the Air presentation of the Campbell Playhouse, introduces the Brill family, an old New England household kept alive by pride and tradition. Jim Brill, back at the family estate, has grown restless with his cousins' habits and with his sister Bella, whose unpredictable behavior unsettles the house. Money troubles, old grudges and a visit from Joe Stowe, Bella's former husband, stir the tensions. Jim recalls his great aunt Sarah and his grandfather's warnings about the place, while Bella seeks guidance and affection. The story is set against the Brills' decaying estate and the family's relationships with outsiders like Howard Berg and Pat.

    Characters: Jim Brill, Bella Brill, Joe Stowe, Pat Leighton, Howard Berg, Aunt Sarah, Cousin Cottel, Grandfather

61. Our Town

    May 12, 1939 · 58 min

    Our Town follows the daily life of Grover's Corners, a small New Hampshire town, as narrated by a stage manager who speaks directly to the audience. The story centers on two neighbors, the Gibbs and Webb families, and their children George Gibbs and Emily Webb. Mornings bring breakfast arguments and errands, afternoons bring school talk and chores, and evenings bring a warm, awkward exchange between George and Emily as their friendship grows. The production comes from The Mercury Theatre on the Air and Campbell Playhouse broadcast of May 12, 1939, with Orson Welles as producer and narrator, and John Craven in the role of George.

    Characters: Stage Manager, George Gibbs, Emily Webb, Mrs. Gibbs, Mrs. Webb, Mr. Webb, Mr. Gibbs, Rebecca Gibbs

62. The Bad Man

    May 19, 1939 · 58 min

    Pancho Lopez, a bandit on the Texas border, enters the ranch of Gilbert Fipps and his uncle, Henry Fipps, while Lucia and Morgan Pell are visiting as guests. Morgan Pell, who hopes to buy the ranch before its mortgage expires that evening, has his own quarrel with Lucia's past and with Gilbert. Lopez takes the household prisoner and begins to question them, one by one. This episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, broadcast on Campbell Playhouse, is presented by Orson Welles, who also stars. Ida Lupino plays Lucia. The original air date was May 19, 1939.

    Characters: Pancho Lopez, Lucia Pell, Morgan Pell, Gilbert Fipps, Henry Fipps

63. Things We Have

    May 26, 1939 · 57 min

    A Scottish-born emigrant, Simon Lang, arrives in New York and is taken in by James and Mary Scott, who are adopting him as their child. Over dinners and visits, the Scotts tell him about the American idea of freedom, a word that has meant different things to the many immigrants who came before. Their stories move from Puritan settlers and a German professor persecuted for his speech to Irish famine emigrants and the American Revolution. Simon, a boy, asks questions about the country he has joined, and the family works through what it means to live in a free nation. The broadcast is presented as part of the Campbell Playhouse series, with Orson Welles as producer and Cornelia Otis Skinner starring. The original air date is May 26, 1939.

    Characters: Simon Lang, James Scott, Mary Scott, Officer

64. Victoria Regina

    June 2, 1939 · 55 min

    Queen Victoria accedes to the throne on the death of King William, and the transcript follows her early reign. Lord Melbourne, her trusted adviser, counsels her as she weighs the question of marriage. Her cousin Prince Albert arrives from Saxe-Coburg, and the two young people come to know each other. The episode is from the Campbell Playhouse, which presented the Mercury Theatre on the Air series, and was broadcast on June 2, 1939. Helen Hayes plays the queen and Orson Welles appears alongside her. The broadcast draws on Victoria's own diary as well as the stage play.

    Characters: Queen Victoria, Lord Melbourne, Prince Albert, Duchess of Kent, Anne, Baron Stockmar

65. Peter Ibbetson

    September 10, 1939 · 43 min

    Peter Ibbetson, a young man raised in Paris and then sent to England by his uncle, Colonel Ibbetson, meets the Duchess of Towers and discovers that they share a childhood memory of a garden. Through a shared dream, Peter and the Duchess revisit the garden where they played as children, and their connection deepens. The episode is part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on 1939-09-10, presented here as the Campbell Playhouse production starring Helen Hayes and Orson Welles.

    Characters: Peter Ibbetson, Mary, Duchess of Towers, Colonel Ibbetson, Mrs. Dean, Mimsie

66. Ah Wilderness

    September 17, 1939 · 44 min

    Richard Miller, a young man from a small New England town, is caught by his father with love letters Muriel has written to him, and the father is angered by what he reads. Richard's father, played by Ray Collins, confronts him about his relationship with Muriel, and Richard admits he is engaged to her. Muriel then sends a cold letter ending their relationship, and Richard, hurt and restless, goes looking for trouble on the Fourth of July. This episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, starring Orson Welles, was broadcast on September 17, 1939, as a presentation of Eugene O'Neill's Pulitzer Prize play Ah, Wilderness!

    Characters: Richard Miller, Muriel, Dave Miller, Lily, Sid, Tommy, Nora, Essie

67. What Every Woman Knows

    September 24, 1939 · 52 min

    Maggie Wiley, played by Helen Hayes, is a sharp-tongued young woman in her father's house, and her brother David is her closest companion. When a sleepy Chinese student named John Chan is caught studying in the library, their father proposes a bargain: Chan will receive three hundred pounds to study, in exchange for marrying Maggie. The episode is a Mercury Theatre on the Air presentation from September 24, 1939, adapted for the Campbell Playhouse, with Orson Welles as producer and narrator. It follows the couple's arrangement as Chan's fortunes change, and the story is told through the household's attitudes toward marriage, ambition and affection.

    Characters: Maggie Wiley, David Wiley, John Chan, Mr. Wiley, Lady Sybil

68. The Count Of Monte Cristo

    October 1, 1939 · 58 min

    Edmond Dantes, a young sailor, is arrested in Marseille in 1814 after a letter he carried is found to implicate him in a political plot. The king's prosecutor, who seems to be hiding a personal motive, promises him release but then has him held in prison. Dantes endures years of solitary confinement until a fellow prisoner, an elderly priest, tunnels to his cell and begins to teach him. The priest reveals the existence of a hidden treasure on the island of Monte Cristo. This episode is an adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's novel The Count of Monte Cristo, presented on The Mercury Theatre on the Air series, first broadcast on October 1, 1939, with Orson Welles in the lead.

    Characters: Edmond Dantes, Caderousse, Abbe Faria, Monsieur de Villefort, Mercedes, Danglars, Fernand Mondego

69. Algiers

    October 8, 1939 · 52 min

    Namo Mamoulian, a woman traveling with her fiancé Richard Bair, lands at Algiers and is drawn into the Casbah, the city's native quarter. There she meets Pépé le Moko, a fugitive from France who has evaded the local police for two years. Inspector Slimane, who is hunting him, watches her movements closely. The Campbell Playhouse adaptation of Algiers, from the Walter Wanger production, was broadcast on The Mercury Theatre on the Air, with Orson Welles as host and Pollard Goddard as the guest star.

    Characters: Namo Mamoulian, Richard Bair, Pépé le Moko, Inspector Slimane, Commissioner, Gaby, Inspector Tremaine, Regis

70. Liliom

    October 22, 1939 · 56 min

    Mrs. Muscat, the owner of Muscat's Mighty Shows, looks back on the carnival's strange past and the pitchman Lilliom, a charming but reckless man who takes what he wants. Lilliom quarrels with Mrs. Muscat, is dismissed, and drifts into a romance with a young woman named Julie, while Marie, Julie's friend, is pulled into a separate scene of their own. Mrs. Muscat speaks of the carnival's history and of Lilliom's way with people. The Mercury Theatre on the Air presents this adaptation of Ferenc Molnar's play, with Orson Welles as producer and Helen Hayes as guest star, first broadcast on October 22, 1939 as part of The Campbell Playhouse.

    Characters: Mrs. Muscat, Lilliom, Julie, Marie, Victor, William, The Sheriff

71. Magnificent Ambersons

    October 29, 1939 · 56 min

    George Amberson Minafer, the spoiled only grandson of the proud Amberson family, lives in a Midland town once dominated by the Ambersons. This adaptation of Booth Tarkington's novel The Magnificent Ambersons is presented on The Mercury Theatre on the Air, the Campbell Playhouse series, broadcast on October 29, 1939, with Orson Welles producing and Walter Huston in the cast. The story opens with the family's rise in the 1870s, when Major Amberson builds his fortune on new streets and mansions. It then follows Isabel's marriage to Wilbur Minafer and the arrogant behavior of their son George as he grows up and returns from college. Eugene Morgan, the automobile-minded widower who once loved Isabel, reappears in his life, and George's pride is tested as the town changes around him.

    Characters: George Amberson Minafer, Major Amberson, Isabel Amberson Minafer, Wilbur Minafer, Eugene Morgan, Fred Amberson, Lucy, Jack Amberson

72. The Magnificent Ambersons

    October 29, 1939 · 56 min

    Young George Amberson Minafer, spoiled only son of Isabel Amberson and Wilbur Minafer, is raised in a Midland town that once revolved around his proud family. In the years after the Amberson fortunes begin to fade, George grows arrogant and rude, dismissing the people around him. His mother Isabel is devoted to him, while Eugene Morgan, the man Isabel once rejected, watches the family's decline. Within the family household, tensions build over George's treatment of others and his refusal to take up a serious career. The episode presents these events from The Magnificent Ambersons, a Booth Tarkington novel adapted for The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on October 29, 1939, with Walter Huston and Orson Welles in the leading roles.

    Characters: George Amberson Minafer, Isabel Amberson Minafer, Eugene Morgan, Major Amberson, Fred Amberson, Wilbur Minafer, Lucy Morgan, Jack Richard

73. The Hurricane

    November 5, 1939 · 45 min

    Captain Nagel sails a ship to the South Sea island of Mauna Quora, carrying supplies and a new governor, Eugene Delage, who is sent to enforce the law there. Delage meets the island's people, including the young couple Tarangi and Marama, whose wedding he witnesses. Soon Tarangi is sentenced to prison for striking a white man who molested him, and he escapes. The Campbell Playhouse presentation of The Hurricane is an episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on November 5, 1939, starring Orson Welles, who narrates the story and plays Delage.

    Characters: Captain Nagel, Eugene Delage, Madame Delage, Father Paul, Tarangi, Marama, Mehevi, Marco

74. The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd

    November 12, 1939 · 55 min

    Dr. James Shepherd, the village physician of King's Abbot, is called to Fernly Hall, where he finds the wealthy Roger Ackroyd murdered in his study with a dagger. Earlier that evening, Ackroyd had been told a confession by his neighbor, Mrs. Ferrars, who had recently died of an overdose, and her letter hints at a blackmailer. Shepherd, his sister Caroline, and a retired detective named Hercule Poirot, who has recently settled in the village, begin to examine the household's comings and goings. The Campbell Playhouse presentation of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, broadcast on November 12, 1939, features Orson Welles and guest star Edna May Oliver.

    Characters: Dr. James Shepherd, Caroline Sheppard, Roger Ackroyd, Hercule Poirot, Mrs. Ferrars, Ray Penderel, Parker, Inspector Hammond

75. Inthe Gardenof Allah

    November 19, 1939 · 52 min

    Father Roubier, a priest at Beni Mora on the edge of the Sahara, tells the story of Domini Enfield, an Englishwoman who comes to the desert town seeking peace after her father's death. There she meets Boris Androvsky, a silent, troubled man who has arrived on the same train. Their acquaintance grows through rides in the desert and quiet evenings, and Count Antoine, the owner of a desert garden, watches the friendship develop. The Campbell Playhouse presents this adaptation of the novel The Garden of Allah, with Orson Welles introducing the broadcast and Madeleine Carroll starring. It was broadcast on the Mercury Theatre on the Air series, which this episode is labelled with, on 19 November 1939.

    Characters: Father Roubier, Domini Enfield, Boris Androvsky, Count Antoine, Batouch

76. Dodsworth

    November 26, 1939 · 41 min

    Sam Dodsworth, a recently retired automobile manufacturer, travels to Europe with his wife Fran, who hopes the trip will give them both a fresh start. On the voyage and in London, Fran grows restless and drawn to new company, while Sam tries to keep their marriage steady. Their differing wishes for the trip strain their relationship as they move through hotels and social circles abroad. This is an episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on 1939-11-26, adapted from the Sinclair Lewis novel, with Orson Welles and Frances Farmer in the leading roles. The guide covers only the first part of the story.

    Characters: Sam Dodsworth, Fran Dodsworth, Major Lockert, Mrs. Cartwright, Clyde, Kurt, Arnold Iselin, Madame de Penoble

77. Lost Horizon

    December 3, 1939 · 52 min

    Robert Conway, a British consul, is one of four passengers on a flight that crashes in the Himalayas after being hijacked. Conway's companions are Mallinson, Miss Brinklow and Barnard, and the transcript shows them stranded in the mountains until a group of guides from a hidden valley brings them to the lamasery of Shangri-La. There the lama Chang welcomes them, and the group settles in to hear the story of the community and of the lama who founded it. This adaptation of James Hilton's novel Lost Horizon was broadcast on The Mercury Theatre on the Air, with Orson Welles as producer, on December 3, 1939.

    Characters: Robert Conway, Mallinson, Miss Brinklow, Barnard, Chang, Father Perrault, High Lama

78. Vanessa

    December 10, 1939 · 45 min

    On her grandmother's 100th birthday at the Harrys' Cumberland house, Vanessa Harrys is drawn to her cousin Benji, a restless young man the family distrusts. The two become secretly engaged, a bond tested by a fire at the family estate, and then by Benji's unexpected return and confession. Vanessa turns to her cousin Ellis, whose devotion is steady but strained, and their marriage grows heavy with suspicion and unhappiness. The transcript covers only part of the story, which is presented on The Campbell Playhouse as a dramatization of Vanessa, starring Helen Hayes and Orson Welles, and broadcast on The Mercury Theatre on the Air series.

    Characters: Vanessa, Benji, Ellis, Grandma Harrys, Will Harrys, Alice, Tom

79. Theres Always A Woman

    December 17, 1939 · 57 min

    Detective Bill Reardon and his wife Sally run a struggling agency in New York and are behind on their rent. A client, Mrs. Frazier, hires them to shadow Anne Calhoun, whom she believes is secretly involved with her husband. That night at the Skyline Club, the Reardons end up at a nearby table and overhear tense talk between Jerry Marlow, Anne Calhoun and the Frazier couple. Soon after, Walter Frazier is found shot dead in Marlow's apartment. The broadcast's first part follows the Reardons as the investigation begins to tangle them in the case. The Campbell Playhouse production, presented by Orson Welles, aired on the Mercury Theatre on the Air series on December 17, 1939.

    Characters: Bill Reardon, Sally Reardon, Mrs. Frazier, Walter Frazier, Anne Calhoun, Jerry Marlow, Mr. Shane, Gregson

80. Vanity Fair

    January 7, 1940 · 44 min

    Becky Sharp, a poor and ambitious young woman, leaves Miss Pinkerton's academy and enters the fashionable world with her friend Amelia Sedley. Becky schemes to advance herself through marriage, first pursuing Amelia's wealthy brother Joseph, then attracting the attention of Sir Pitt Crawley at Queen's Crawley, where she becomes governess. Her efforts lead to a scandal involving Pitt's nephew Rawdon Crawley, whose aunt Miss Crawley responds with fury. The story then moves to Brussels on the eve of the battle of Waterloo, where Becky and Amelia are at the Duchess of Richmond's ball. This is an adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's novel Vanity Fair, presented on The Mercury Theatre on the Air series, first broadcast on January 7, 1940, with Orson Welles and Helen Hayes in the leading roles.

    Characters: Becky Sharp, Amelia Sedley, Miss Pinkerton, Joseph Sedley, George Osborne, Sir Pitt Crawley, Miss Crawley, Rawdon Crawley

81. Theodora Goes Wild

    January 14, 1940 · 57 min

    Caroline Adams, a demure small-town schoolteacher, has written a steamy bestseller, and the Linfield literary circle has condemned it. Her publisher, Arthur Stevenson, and his assistant Michael Grant recognize that the author's reputation depends on her keeping her identity secret, which is becoming harder to maintain. In the Campbell Playhouse adaptation of this Columbia Pictures story, Loretta Young plays the lead and Orson Welles is heard in the Mercury Theatre production, first broadcast on January 14, 1940. The story follows Caroline as she meets Michael and Stevenson's circle, and as her private life grows more complicated.

    Characters: Caroline Adams, Michael Grant, Arthur Stevenson, Theodore, Mrs. Johnson, Mr. Waterberry, Aunt, Herman

82. It Happened One Night

    January 28, 1940 · 60 min

    Ellie Andrews, a spoiled heiress, is held aboard her father's yacht after she married aviator King Westley, whom her father considers a fake. She refuses to eat and fights off the crew as the boat prepares to sail. Ellie escapes, and on a bus bound for New York she meets Peter Grant, a newspaperman who has just quit his job. The two travel together, bickering as they go, and are forced to share a cramped auto camp cabin. The Campbell Playhouse presents this adaptation of It Happened One Night, the 1934 film, on the Mercury Theatre on the Air series, first broadcast January 28, 1940, with William Powell and Miriam Hopkins as the leads.

    Characters: Ellie Andrews, Peter Grant, Mr. Andrews, King Westley, Joe Gordon, Shapely

83. Mr.Deeds Goesto Town

    February 11, 1940 · 59 min

    Longfellow Deeds, a small-town postcard poet in Mandrake Falls, learns that a distant uncle has left him a fortune of about twenty million dollars. Summoned to New York by Cedar, Cedar, Budington and Cedar, the lawyers handling the estate, he finds himself pressed to sign over control of his affairs and to fund the struggling opera company his uncle supported. Meanwhile, a newspaper reporter named Mary Dawson begins to follow him. This episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, with Orson Welles and Gertrude Lawrence, adapts Frank Capra's film Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. The original air date was February 11, 1940.

    Characters: Longfellow Deeds, John Cedar, Mary Dawson, Gertrude Lawrence, Orson Welles, Mr. McIntyre, Mabel Dawson, Brenda

84. Dinnerat Eight

    February 18, 1940 · 60 min

    Oliver Jordan, a New York shipping executive, plans a small dinner party for Lord and Lady Ferncliffe, visiting from England, and invites his wife Millicent and their friends. The guest list grows as the invitations are made, and Oliver's business troubles become a quiet worry. Millicent's daughter Paula is preparing for her wedding and keeps her own late nights. Dan Packard, a rough Western businessman, takes an interest in the Jordan shipping line, and Carlotta Vance, a faded stage actress, visits Oliver. The episode is an adaptation of the Kaufman and Ferber play Dinner at Eight, performed on The Mercury Theatre on the Air series, broadcast on February 18, 1940, with Lucille Ball among the guest stars.

    Characters: Oliver Jordan, Millicent Jordan, Paula Packard, Carlotta Vance, Dan Packard, Larry Renault, Dr. Talbot, Ernest

85. Only Angels Have Wings

    February 25, 1940 · 59 min

    Joe Souther and Jeff Carter are professional flyers who carry mail across the mountains of Barranca, a South American republic, for the company run by the Dutchman. When a new pilot, Bonnie Lee, arrives by boat, she is drawn into the men's tense, risk-filled world at the airport cafe. A fog-bound landing tests the crew's nerve and shows the stakes of the job. Heard in the Campbell Playhouse presentation of the Mercury Theatre on the Air, starring Orson Welles and Joan Blondell, the broadcast was first aired on February 25, 1940, and adapts the Columbia picture of the same name. The episode follows the fliers' routine and the growing attraction between Bonnie and Jeff.

    Characters: Joe Souther, Jeff Carter, Bonnie Lee, Les, Russ Peters, Barney, Dutchy, Lance

86. Rabblein Arms

    March 3, 1940 · 58 min

    Captain Peter Merrill and his brother Nathaniel are American soldiers in 1776, serving in Canada during the Revolution. Peter, who has come to deliver a letter from a Frenchwoman to a young woman named Ellen Phipps in St. John's, grows suspicious of his brother's attention to her. The episode is the Campbell Playhouse presentation of Kenneth Roberts's novel Rabble in Arms, broadcast on March 3, 1940, as part of the Mercury Theatre on the Air series, with Orson Welles as producer and Frances Dee as guest star. Peter and Nathaniel's journey through the campaign turns on a bargain for food, a secret message and a growing tangle of loyalties. The story's tensions around Benedict Arnold and the failing American campaign are developed in the broadcast.

    Characters: Captain Peter Merrill, Nathaniel Merrill, Ellen Phipps, Marie de Sabrevois, General Benedict Arnold, Harpe

87. Craigs Wife

    March 10, 1940 · 44 min

    Harriet Craig runs her household with rigid control, and when her husband Walter returns from a trip with her aunt Austen, tensions rise sharply. Her niece Ethel has come to stay and confides her engagement to a professor, which Harriet dismisses with cool suspicion. Austen, feeling excluded and disapproving of Harriet's handling of the house, announces she will leave. Walter learns that a caller has been trying to reach him, and the household's suspicions and grievances begin to surface. This Mercury Theatre on the Air presentation of Craig's Wife, a stage play that won the Pulitzer Prize, is performed with Anne Harding in the role of Mrs. Craig, replacing Faye Bainter, who was ill. The broadcast was originally aired on March 10, 1940.

    Characters: Harriet Craig, Walter Craig, Ethel Eldridge, Austen, Maisie, Mrs. Harold, Mrs. Frazier, Professor Fredericks

88. June Moon

    March 24, 1940 · 59 min

    Fred Stevens, a songwriter from Connecticut, arrives in New York City by train with a letter of introduction to the composer Paul Sears. On the journey he chats with a candy butcher and a fellow passenger, Lucille, who talks about the banquet held in his honour and her own marriage. In the city he phones Sears, who welcomes him to his apartment, where Sears, his wife Lucille and her sister Eileen are at home in the evening. Sears's career and the state of his marriage come up as Stevens shows his lyrics. This is a Mercury Theatre on the Air production, presented as the Campbell Playhouse, broadcast on March 24, 1940, with Jack Benny in the lead role. The story is adapted from the play June Moon by Ring Lardner and George S. Kaufman.

    Characters: Fred Stevens, Paul Sears, Lucille, Eileen, Maxie, Mr. Hart, Mr. Schwartz, Mildred Crowell

89. Jane Eyre

    March 31, 1940 · 59 min

    Jane Eyre, a young governess, arrives at Thornfield Hall to teach Adele, the ward of its master, Mr. Rochester. Her quiet, guarded manner intrigues him, and their conversations grow more personal as the household settles around them. Strange events unsettle the house, including a fire in Mr. Rochester's room that Jane helps to put out. This Campbell Playhouse radio adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's novel stars Madeline Carroll and Orson Welles. The transcript does not give the original air date in its own words, so the broadcast is noted as first aired on March 31, 1940, in the Mercury Theatre on the Air series.

    Characters: Jane Eyre, Mr. Rochester, Adele, Mrs. Fairfax, Blanche Ingram, Mason, John

90. The Hitchhiker

    September 2, 1942 · 30 min

    Ronald Adams drives alone across the United States, leaving his mother behind in Brooklyn. Along the way he keeps seeing the same thin, grey hitchhiker carrying a cheap overnight bag, and the man always appears where Adams least expects him. Adams tries to shake him off, but the sightings grow more frequent and more unsettling as the miles pass. This episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on September 2, 1942, is an adaptation of Lucille Fletcher's story, with Orson Welles in the title role. The guide covers only the opening portion of the story.

    Characters: Ronald Adams, Mother, The Hitchhiker, Mrs. Swinney

91. The Most Dangerous Game

    September 23, 1943 · 29 min

    Sanger Rainsford, a hunter, survives a shipwreck and reaches a remote island, where he is taken in by General Zaroff, a wealthy Russian exile and skilled hunter. Over dinner, Zaroff explains that he has grown bored with ordinary game and now hunts men he considers worthy adversaries. Rainsford is horrified by the idea, and Zaroff makes clear that his guest's fate depends on the choice he makes. The episode is an adaptation of Richard Connell's story The Most Dangerous Game, broadcast on The Mercury Theatre on the Air in 1943, with Orson Welles as General Zaroff and Keenan Wynn as Rainsford.

    Characters: Sanger Rainsford, General Zaroff, Ivan, Whitney

92. The Lost Special

    September 30, 1943 · 30 min

    A condemned man, the spy Louis Caratel, is about to die in the electric chair and uses his final request to speak on the radio. He promises to reveal how a special train vanished in 1925 between Liverpool and Manchester, carrying Caratel, his companion Gomez, and railway crew, and he threatens to name powerful men he says are involved unless his pardon is arranged. The narrator presents the story of the railway officials' bewildered search, the mysterious letter from conductor James McPherson, and the sinister golf meeting in which a planned assassination is discussed. The broadcast is part of the Suspense series, originally aired on September 30, 1943, on The Mercury Theatre on the Air, and is presented as a dramatic tale rather than a documented account.

    Characters: Louis Caratel, James Bland, Mr. Hood, Mr. Jones, James McPherson, Gomez, Mrs. McPherson, Mr. D'Odernac

93. Philomel Cottage

    October 7, 1943 · 29 min

    Alex Martin and her husband Gerald have settled into a quiet cottage in the English countryside, Philomel Cottage, after a whirlwind romance. Alex begins to notice unsettling details about Gerald, including an odd entry in his diary and a sudden suspicion that his past holds darker secrets. As an uneasy evening approaches, she searches his belongings and begins to fear for her safety. This episode of Suspense, part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, was broadcast on October 7, 1943, starring Geraldine Fitzgerald and Orson Welles. The story is adapted from a short story by Agatha Christie.

    Characters: Alex Martin, Gerald Martin, Dick, George, Mrs. Lanes, Laboucher

94. Lazarus Walks

    October 19, 1943 · 28 min

    Dr. Robert Graham, a psychiatrist, takes into his home Roger Holcomb, a man who was briefly dead and revived. Holcomb now compulsively reveals the truth whenever someone lies in his presence, and this unsettles the household, including Graham's wife Isabel, a pianist recovering from a mental illness. Graham hopes to study Holcomb's unusual condition, while Isabel and her aunt Jane grow increasingly uneasy about the arrangement. Graham's own quarrels with his wife and her family set the stage for the tensions that follow. This is the Suspense episode Lazarus Walks, from The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on October 19, 1943.

    Characters: Dr. Robert Graham, Isabel Graham, Jane, Roger Holcomb, Leopold Serensky

95. The Marvelous Barastro

    April 13, 1944 · 29 min

    Magician Barastro arrives in William Spier's office claiming he has come to murder a rival, Rico Santoni, a magician he calls the most evil man in the world. Barastro tells his story: years earlier, while traveling with a small carnival in Europe, he met a blind girl named Anna, whose future he read and whose grandfather later asked him to tell her fortune. Barastro married her, and the arrival of the charming Santoni troubles the couple. Orson Welles plays the leading roles in this Suspense episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, broadcast on April 13, 1944, adapted from a story by Ben Hecht.

    Characters: Barastro, Anna, Rico Santoni, William Spier, Anna's grandfather

96. The Dark Tower

    May 4, 1944 · 30 min

    Damon Wellington, a stage actor, and his sister Jessica prepare a new play, The Dark Tower, while Jessica is recovering from a long illness. Her husband Stanley Vance, whom Jessica once credited with controlling her, unexpectedly returns to the house, and tensions rise among the family and friends around them. Damon and his friend Ben talk about a past death connected to Jessica, and a mysterious visitor named Max Hartsfeld arrives asking to buy into the play. The episode is a Suspense drama from The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on May 4, 1944, and it features Orson Welles in the lead role, adapted from the play by George S. Kaufman and Alexander Woollcott.

    Characters: Damon Wellington, Jessica Wellington, Ben, Stanley Vance, Max Hartsfeld, Martha, David

97. Donovans Brain part 1

    May 18, 1944 · 29 min

    Dr. Patrick Corey, a scientist working in his laboratory, keeps the brain of a monkey alive by connecting it to a mechanical pump and an amplifier that lets its faint impulses be heard. His old friend Dr. Schratt and his son David are troubled by his work. After a fatal accident, Corey is called to operate on a wealthy man named Donovan, and he chooses to keep Donovan's brain alive outside the body. Orson Welles stars in this first half of Donovan's Brain, adapted from Curt Siodmak's novel and broadcast on The Mercury Theatre on the Air on May 18, 1944.

    Characters: Dr. Patrick Corey, Dr. Schratt, David, Janice, Donovan

98. Donovans Brain part 2

    May 25, 1944 · 29 min

    Dr. Patrick Torrey keeps a human brain alive in his laboratory after the death of William Donovan, and the brain begins to communicate with him and to influence his thoughts. Torrey's son David and his wife Janice grow alarmed by his behavior and attempt to stop the experiment. Orson Welles plays Dr. Torrey in this second part of Kurt Siodmak's Donovan's Brain, presented on Suspense. The transcript gives no original air date for this episode, so none is stated here.

    Characters: Dr. Patrick Torrey, David Torrey, Janice Torrey, William Donovan

99. Donovans Brain parody from Orson Welles Radio Almanac

    May 31, 1944 · 11 min

    Dr. Ronald Corey, a brain surgeon, acquires the living brain of William H. Donovan, a radio announcer, and keeps it alive in his laboratory with his colleague Dr. Frugelheiser. The brain begins to communicate with Corey and to change his behaviour, and his wife Janice grows increasingly alarmed as her husband's mind seems to shift toward the announcer's manner. Corey is pressed to choose between the brain and his marriage, and Janice urges him to destroy it. Orson Welles plays Dr. Corey and Marjorie Reynolds plays Janice in this Mercury Theatre on the Air broadcast, a parody of Donovan's Brain first heard in May 1944. The episode is played for comedy, with the commercials of the Donovan character repeatedly interrupting the drama.

    Characters: Dr. Ronald Corey, Janice, Dr. Frugelheiser, William H. Donovan

100. The Hitch-hiker

     June 21, 1946 · 26 min

     Ronald Adams is driving alone from Brooklyn to California when he repeatedly sees a thin, grey hitchhiker carrying a cheap overnight bag, always standing where he has just passed. Each sighting unsettles him more, and the stranger appears again at gas stations, roadside stops, and across the desert of New Mexico. Adams becomes frightened and tries to make sense of what he is seeing, reaching out by telephone to his mother. The Mercury Theatre on the Air presented this radio adaptation of the Lucille Fletcher story, broadcast on June 21, 1946, as part of its summer series. The episode is performed by the Mercury company, and this guide covers the first part of the story.

     Characters: Ronald Adams, Mother, Hitchhiker

101. The Search For Henry Le Ferre

     July 12, 1946 · 29 min

     Adolphus Flynn, a composer, finishes a new orchestral piece and then hears it played on the radio note for note, credited to a composer named Henri Lefebvre who wrote it years earlier. Flynn and his housekeeper, Miss Warren, track Lefebvre through his publishers and a letter from Rouen, and Flynn becomes obsessed with confronting the man. The Mercury Theatre on the Air is the series, and this production, a radio play by Lucille Fletcher, aired on July 12, 1946, with Orson Welles as producer.

     Characters: Adolphus Flynn, Miss Warren, Cecile Lefebvre, Henri Lefebvre, Dr. Bacard

102. Too Many Crooks

     August 3, 1951 · 29 min

     Harry Lime receives a telegram from a Budapest banker, Mr. Fakety, asking for his help with a bank robbery. Lime visits Fakety, who offers him twenty thousand pengos to catch the robbers before they strike. Fakety suspects his junior officer, Fodor, of plotting with Lulu, a flower-shop girl, to rob the bank through a tunnel. Lime, who has his own reasons for wanting Lulu to trust him, sets out to learn the details of the scheme and the people involved. The recording breaks off before the robbery is attempted.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Mr. Fakety, Fodor, Lulu, Corelli

103. See Naples and Live

     August 10, 1951 · 29 min

     Harry Lime, a smooth dealer in objets d'art, pursues a valuable emerald locket worn by wealthy American widow Mrs. Donaldson in prewar Naples. Helped by her companion Amy Collins, Lime keeps close to the pair, gaining their trust over a shopping trip and an evening out. Rubio, Lime's former partner, has been confronting him in the hotel and watching his movements. Lime's efforts to win the locket lead the group on a late drive to the ruins of Pompeii, where the night takes a dangerous turn. This episode is part of the Mercury Theatre on the Air series, broadcast on August 10, 1951, with Orson Welles as Harry Lime.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Mrs. Donaldson, Amy Collins, Rubio, Carlos

104. Clay Pigeon

     August 17, 1951 · 29 min

     Harry Lime returns to New York after hearing that an old enemy, Governor James Hadley, is in trouble. Hadley has been targeted by the gangster Kato, who holds compromising photographs and threatens to release them before the election. Hadley hires Lime to recover the negatives for fifteen thousand dollars, and Lime sets out to deal with Kato. The story is part of the Mercury Theatre on the Air series, first broadcast on August 17, 1951, and is a radio adaptation of the character from The Third Man. This guide covers only the first part of the episode.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Governor James Hadley, Nora Payton, Kato, Truba, Lyle

105. Ticket to Tangier

     August 24, 1951 · 28 min

     Harry Lime, a broke drifter in Paris, answers a newspaper ad and receives an airline ticket to Tangier with money enclosed. On the flight he meets Patsy, an airline hostess, who takes him to a hilltop villa that once belonged to a man named Rico Mugetti. Patsy claims Rico left behind a valuable cache of heroin hidden in a rolled carpet, and she asks Harry for help selling it. Their conversation turns tense as Harry probes her background and her role in Rico's death. This episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, a Lives of Harry Lime story adapted from the film The Third Man, features Orson Welles as Harry Lime. The original air date is August 24, 1951.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Patsy Smith, Rico Mugetti

106. Voodoo

     August 31, 1951 · 29 min

     Harry Lime, a smooth and broke American expatriate, is stranded on Haiti after a failed revolution leaves him short of funds. He reunites with Donna, an old flame, and meets Sam Talkin, a talkative tourist from Toledo eager to buy island souvenirs. Lime offers to find Sam a rare relic, the scepter of the revolutionary leader Christophe, and turns to his friends Fancy and Gregri, who hold the scepter as a tribal secret. Their loyalty is tested as the island's voodoo customs and the lure of money pull the characters in different directions.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Donna, Sam Talkin, Georges, Fancy, Gregri, Miss Yari

107. Bohemian Star

     September 7, 1951 · 29 min

     Harry Lime, an American in London in 1938, is asked by his companion Telly to skip a film so she can wait while he takes a job interviewing Senor Senya Alvarez, a South American jeweler. Alvarez is in London to photograph and measure the crown jewels of Bokovia, including the Bohemian Star, a huge diamond, so he can make replicas for a museum. Harry offers to take the interview in his place, and he and Alvarez arrange to visit the vault where the jewels are kept under insurance guard. Alvarez and his associate Manuel then plot to steal the diamond and fly to New York. The story concerns the jewels and the men who want them, and it is told in the Mercury Theatre's radio drama style, with Orson Welles starring.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Telly, Senya Alvarez, Manuel, Charlie, Inspector Marsh, Sergeant Andrews

108. Love Affair

     September 14, 1951 · 29 min

     Harry Lime, a young American adventurer, arrives in the remote city of Beccorata, where oil leases are being fought over by rival agents. Working as a go-between for a shadowy firm, Harry collects payments and pushes a deal with the Alafin, the local ruler. When a rival is shot during a tense confrontation, Harry flees the city with a young American woman named Marion Lauren, and the two begin a hurried journey across Europe under assumed names. The Mercury Theatre on the Air presents this episode of the Harry Lime series, first broadcast on September 14, 1951, with Orson Welles in the title role.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Carl Schwab, Marion Lauren, George Harris, Mordecai Valley, The Alafin, The chief teller

109. Rogue's Holiday

     September 21, 1951 · 29 min

     Harry Lime, a smooth swindler, sails from New York to Southampton on the liner Queen Anne. Aboard he cultivates Lady Barbara Follett, whose mysterious companion, a young woman calling herself Miss Jones, wears a fine string of matched pearls. Harry becomes friendly with both women, gaining their confidence and learning more about the companion. This is the Mercury Theatre on the Air presentation of The Lives of Harry Lime, with Orson Welles as Harry Lime, a character created for the film The Third Man, first broadcast on September 21, 1951.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Lady Barbara Follett, Miss Jones, Stuart

110. Work of Art

     September 28, 1951 · 28 min

     Harry Lime, a young American in postwar Buenos Aires, seeks an easy income by working as a guide for thieves who target wealthy private art collections. He befriends a former acquaintance, Albert Ramsay, and gains access to the home of Melissa Corbey, a collector who owns what is believed to be an original Rubens. Harry is drawn to Melissa, and his plan to take the painting gets complicated by her interest in him. The episode is part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air and originally aired on 1951-09-28, with Orson Welles in the title role.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Albert Ramsay, Melissa Corbey, Pedro, Carlos, Ferrell Desquan

111. Operation Music Box

     October 5, 1951 · 28 min

     Harry Lime, the rogue from The Third Man, pursues a music box after reading a dead Czech politician's letter that hints at a hidden fortune. He tracks down the three boxes bought from Douglas's antique shop in London, seeking Marna Chappick, the dead man's niece, and the rival collectors who have bought them. Lime questions the antique dealer, a nightclub singer, and a stern General Corcorp, each of whom has links to the boxes. The story is told in the present tense, and its episode is part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air series, which aired on October 5, 1951, with Orson Welles playing Lime.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Marna Chappick, Mr. Dudley, Mr. Antwistle, Moira Corcorp, General Corcorp

112. Golden Fleece

     October 12, 1951 · 28 min

     Harry Lime, a con man posing as a sailor, meets the enigmatic Nadia at a bullfight in the Spanish seaport of Algeciras and wins a job as captain of her yacht. Aboard, he finds his predecessor's secrets, including a hidden cargo and dangerous explosives, and learns that Nadia's aim is to deliver gold to a Chinese general. This episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on 12 October 1951, stars Orson Welles as Harry Lime, with the character drawn from the film The Third Man. Lime's bold deceptions draw him further into a voyage that grows increasingly perilous and strange.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Nadia, Sydney Carton, Matthew, General Wei

113. Blue Bride

     October 19, 1951 · 28 min

     Harry Lime, a counterfeiter who operates from lodgings above a brothel in Bordeaux, is secretly printing fake five-thousand-franc notes and selling them to traders bound for French West Africa. His operation is threatened by a schoolteacher, Professor Sam Pierre, who learns of his activities after mistaking him for a scholar writing a book on the waterfront. The story follows Lime as he tries to keep the police commissar and the professor from closing in on him, while a newlywed woman, Sophie Barra, becomes entangled in his affairs. The series is The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on October 19, 1951, with Orson Welles playing Harry Lime.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Professor Sam Pierre, Sophie Barra, Captain Dominique, Cynthia, Madame Barra, Pauline

114. Every Frame Has a Silver Lining

     October 26, 1951 · 28 min

     Harry Lime, a shady operator, is given fifty thousand dollars' worth of opium by a frightened man being chased by police in Tehran. Lime flees to Paris and befriends Helen Hughes, a young American visiting with her parents, the Hughes family from Youngstown. He charms the family, gives them a silver frame as a gift, and plans to hide the opium inside it so it passes customs unnoticed. The Hughes family leave for America, and Lime sets out to recover the drug.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Helen Hughes, Tom Hughes, Mrs. Hughes, Jack Hughes

115. Mexican Hat Trick

     November 2, 1951 · 29 min

     Harry Lime, a sharp-tongued opportunist down on his luck in Mexico City, receives a confession note from a dying pickpocket named Bono Minoso. The note reveals that an innocent man, Vicente Coelio, was framed for murder seventeen years ago in the small town of Leon, and that evidence proving his innocence was hidden there. Lime approaches Coelio's daughter, Alicia, offering to find the papers in exchange for a large fee. The two travel to Leon, where the search for the affidavit begins, and Lime finds himself pursued by a rival.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Alicia Coelio, Diego, Bono Minoso, Vicente Coelio

116. Art Is Long and Lime Is Fleeting

     November 9, 1951 · 28 min

     Harry Lime, a swindler posing as an art dealer, sells a supposed Renoir to two wealthy Brazilian women, Inez and Aurora, in Paris. Harry takes a hotel suite and shows them the painting, which he claims is worth millions. Before the sale can be finished, his former partner Paul arrives demanding a share of the money, and Harry must manage him while he continues to deal with the women. The episode is part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, broadcast on November 9, 1951, and it stars Orson Welles as Harry Lime.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Inez, Aurora, Paul

117. In Pursuit of a Ghost

     November 16, 1951 · 30 min

     An American newcomer, who has been stranded in a Central American capital during a revolution, meets a cockney-speaking Englishman in a waterfront cafe. The Englishman points him toward El Zorro, a New York gangster financing the revolution, and the American is drawn into a scheme to recover a million dollars that the gangster has taken. Brought before the general's men, the American is ordered to find the fugitive and bring him back to a waiting yacht. Lime is cast as a Mercury Theatre on the Air episode from 1951, adapted from The Third Man, and the story follows the American's efforts to carry out the assignment in a city where he is watched at every turn.

     Characters: Harry Lime, El Zorro, Consuelo, Jose, Captain Ashton, General Valdez

118. Horse Play

     November 23, 1951 · 29 min

     Harry Lime, a swindler, sets up a racetrack betting scam in Paris and enlists two men, Janine and Jack Harris, to help him. Lime plants a billfold in a hotel bar so that his accomplice can return it to a stranger, Harris, and win his trust. The conspirators then lure Harris into a fake betting club, where the rigged races seem to pay out. This episode is part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on November 23, 1951, and it is based on the character from The Third Man. Orson Welles plays Harry Lime.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Janine, Jack Harris, Arnes

119. Farthings for Your Thoughts

     November 30, 1951 · 29 min

     Harry Lime, a self-styled dealer in schemes, becomes entangled with Helen Barrett after her husband Bill is jailed for a bank robbery in which around twenty thousand pounds was taken. Helen had robbed a pub bar of farthing coins, and Harry learns that Bill had hidden the loot using three farthings, which he sent to his wife in a letter with coded hints. Harry sets out to trace the coins, pursuing the housemaid Lily and a rival named Johnny Baxter. The Mercury Theatre on the Air series presents this episode, which first aired on 1951-11-30 with Orson Welles in the title role of the Harry Lime character from The Third Man.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Helen Barrett, Bill Barrett, Lily Johnson, Johnny Baxter, Ellen

120. The Third Woman

     December 7, 1951 · 29 min

     Harry Lime, a corporal, is summoned by his superiors and given a secret assignment. He is sent to Lisbon and then Istanbul to find a rocket factory and to rescue a kidnapped agent. In Lisbon he meets a woman who warns him not to go on to Istanbul. The Mercury Theatre on the Air presents this episode of The Lives of Harry Lime, an adventure based on the character from The Third Man, with Orson Welles in the title role. The episode aired on December 7, 1951.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Captain Smith, Brunel, Julie, Georgia, Gerhard, Corporal Lime

121. An Old Moorish Custom

     December 14, 1951 · 28 min

     Harry Lime, an American in Algiers, courts Valerie Darouche, granddaughter of the wealthy old Amand Darouche, whose estate stands inland near the ruins of the old Barbary pirate Barbarossa. Lime soon finds himself drawn into a dangerous scheme. A police inspector questions him about a man named Mario Muscat, and a gangster leader named El Sikina demands information about a hidden treasure. Lime is caught between the criminals, the police and the Darouche household as the legend of Barbarossa's gold begins to take shape. This episode is from The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on 1951-12-14, with Orson Welles as Harry Lime.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Valerie Darouche, Amand Darouche, Ali, Pierre Duchain, Mario Muscat, El Sikina

122. It's a Knockout

     December 21, 1951 · 28 min

     Harry Lime, a swindler posing as a Wall Street businessman in Cuba, sets out to fleece Stan Pierce, a naive insurance man from Cleveland whom he meets on a flight. Lime's accomplice, Jenny, befriends Pierce in Florida and hints at a secret fight-fixing scheme involving Lime's young boxer, Pancho. Lime has arranged a private bout at his Havana estate, and Pierce is drawn in with the promise of big odds. The episode is part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air series, first broadcast on December 21, 1951, with Orson Welles in the title role.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Stan Pierce, Jenny, Pancho Cadorbus, Burke

123. Two Is Company

     December 28, 1951 · 29 min

     Harry Lime, a gentleman adventurer in Sicily, meets Augustus Schmidt, vice president of Schmidt's Luxury Markets, a grocery heir feuding with the Hickenlooper family. Schmidt is smitten with Emily Hickenlooper, who seems more interested in romance than in him. Lime proposes a scheme involving a supposed bandit kidnapping of Emily, with a ransom to be collected from her father. The episode is part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air series, broadcast on December 28, 1951, and features Orson Welles in the role of Harry Lime from the film The Third Man.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Augustus Schmidt, Emily Hickenlooper, Geraldo Lima, Pazzini, Mr. Hickenlooper, Guido, Alfredo

124. Cherchez La Gem

     January 4, 1952 · 28 min

     Harry Lime travels by ship to Honolulu after meeting Anne Brissy, a woman whose husband Joe has just left prison and is searching for Ed Jamison, an old partner who took off with stolen jewels. Harry begins his own search for Jamison, facing Joe's threats while getting to know Moana Lau, a local woman whose family has connections to the island. The story follows the pursuit of the jewels, the rivalry between the two men, and the uncertainty of who can be trusted. This episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, broadcast January 4, 1952, is based on the character from the film The Third Man, and stars Orson Welles as Harry Lime.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Anne Brissy, Joe Brissy, Ed Jamison, Moana Lau

125. Hand of Glory

     January 11, 1952 · 28 min

     Harry Lime, fleeing trouble in Paris after a theft, takes passage to England and meets Helen, a grey-eyed young woman who invites him to stay at her village home. There he meets her uncles, Gregory and John Carew, retired scientists who spend their nights in a laboratory at the top of the house, pursuing the secret of making gold. Harry grows uneasy after discovering the laboratory's books on witchcraft and the hand of glory. The Mercury Theatre on the Air presents this episode, which first aired on January 11, 1952, and features the Harry Lime character from The Third Man.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Helen, Gregory Carew, John Carew

126. Double Double Cross

     January 18, 1952 · 29 min

     Harry Lime, a charming gambler, meets Louise at a Monte Carlo casino in 1936 and the two quickly fall into a romance. Their evening is interrupted when Louise's husband, Pierre, appears at her door and demands money in compensation. Harry turns the situation to his advantage and agrees to join Pierre and Louise in a scheme to smuggle American dollars into England by parachute. The Mercury Theatre on the Air presents this dramatization of The Third Man character, with Orson Welles as Harry Lime. The episode aired on January 18, 1952.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Louise, Pierre, Robert Brand

127. Pengoes and a Kiss

     January 25, 1952 · 29 min

     Harry Lime, a shady operator in post-war Budapest, arranges illegal exits from Hungary for people who can pay. Helena Barna, an actress desperate to leave the country, approaches him at the Club Breyer and asks for his help. Lime agrees to smuggle her out for a large sum in gold pengos, and the two meet by night to plan the escape. Lime later visits a police lieutenant to arrange a work permit for her. The episode is part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air series, first broadcast on January 25, 1952, and the transcript does not name its lead actors.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Helena Barna, Lieutenant, Inspector

128. Dark Enchantress

     February 1, 1952 · 26 min

     Harry Lime, a worldly American in Algiers, meets a young American tourist named Susan Clement at the Barbary Queen, a nightclub where he is a regular. After she is drugged at a flat, Lime takes her to a convent of the Little Sisters of Charity and then to her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Clement. He collects a blackmail payment, and Mike Nolan, a detective, watches him throughout the evening. The episode is from The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast February 1, 1952, starring Orson Welles as Harry Lime.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Magda, Susan Clement, Mike Nolan, Mr. Clement, Mrs. Clement

129. Earl on Troubled Waters

     February 8, 1952 · 28 min

     Harry Lime, a clever and self-serving schemer, is approached by a shady man named Robinson, who offers him a share of thirty thousand American dollars if he can smuggle the money out of England. Lime agrees and takes on the disguise of an English nobleman, Lord Manchester, to win the confidence of two American tourists, George and Jordan Perkins. Their journey toward the channel crossing becomes tense as Lime, Robinson and the Perkins family move through customs and onto the boat, with a sharp-eyed boy named Ronald watching events closely. The series, The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first aired on 8 February 1952.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Robinson, George Perkins, Jordan Perkins, Mrs. Perkins, Ronald

130. Dead Candidate

     February 15, 1952 · 28 min

     Harry Lime arrives on the Mediterranean island republic of Malinia to pursue a Baso soft drink concession, and finds himself caught up in the government's efforts to look like a democracy. The Malinian leader's wife and foreign minister, along with a presidential election plan, draw Lime and his companion Susie into a web of political maneuvering. The story is presented in the Mercury Theatre on the Air series, first broadcast on February 15, 1952, with Orson Welles in the title role as Harry Lime, the character originally created in The Third Man.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Susie, Aquino, Lolita, Sugar Plum, Akino, Campo, Jones

131. It's in the Bag

     February 22, 1952 · 29 min

     On a train crossing the Balkans from Istanbul to Belgrade, Harry Lime, the Third Man, shares a compartment with a talkative Greek passenger, Mr. Stethakopoulos, who boasts of dealing in counterfeit bank notes. Lime listens closely while the man drinks heavily and describes a large forged-currency deal. Later Lime is stopped and questioned as a counterfeiter, and then he finds himself in a new compartment with a mysterious veiled woman. This episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air originally aired on February 22, 1952, and the lead actor is Orson Welles.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Mr. Stethakopoulos, Olga, Police Chief

132. Hyacinth Patrol

     February 29, 1952 · 29 min

     Harry Lime, in Panama, meets Tiger Dolan, a former boxer and sergeant on the Hyacinth Patrol, who is wary of his rival Lieutenant Nugent. Tiger suspects Nugent of working for the enemy after seeing him visit a strange swamp man called Gibber, and asks Harry to help him investigate. Harry is drawn into the matter alongside a woman named Lola, whose jealousies complicate the situation. The Lives of Harry Lime is an episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on 1952-02-29, with Orson Welles as the Third Man. The story unfolds in the swamps and the canal area as the two men look into the lieutenant's activities.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Tiger Dolan, Lieutenant Nugent, Lola, Rita, Gibber, Joe

133. Turnabout Is Foul Play

     March 7, 1952 · 29 min

     Harry Lime, a swindler staying at a Swiss hotel, overhears the German industrialist Hans Crop planning to bribe a British United Nations official for plans on the industrialization of Western Europe. Crop asks Lime to act as go-between, and Lime's dealings with Crop and his daughter Frida draw the two men into a scheme involving a sum of 30,000 pounds. The Mercury Theatre on the Air presents this episode, based on the character from the motion picture The Third Man, with Orson Welles as Harry Lime, first broadcast on 1952-03-07.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Hans Crop, Kurt Mannheim, Frida Crop, Bill Foster

134. Violets, Sweet Violets

     March 14, 1952 · 27 min

     Harry Lime arrives in Marseille and is approached by a flower seller, who sends him to a dangerous black market boss, Grippo. Lime offers his services to the racketeer and agrees to a meeting at an abandoned warehouse on the waterfront. Through the old woman Annie, Lime sets up a black market distribution scheme using flower sales as cover. Part of this episode is adapted from the 1949 film The Third Man, with Orson Welles in the title role. The episode aired on March 14, 1952, on The Mercury Theatre on the Air.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Grippo, Annie, Colonel Rungut

135. Faith, Lime, and Charity

     March 21, 1952 · 29 min

     Harry Lime, a con man, travels to Agra to find a wealthy target. On the train he meets Mrs. Hayley, a missionary's wife seeking 3,000 pounds for an orphanage, and offers to approach Lady Edith Benham on the mission's behalf. Lime meets Lady Edith at the Taj Mahal by moonlight and their conversation turns romantic. Mrs. Hayley's story, The Third Man series, the Mercury Theatre on the Air broadcast of March 21, 1952, and the actor Orson Welles as Lime are all presented in the episode.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Mrs. Hayley, Lady Edith Benham, Ernest, Mustafa

136. Pleasure Before Business

     March 28, 1952 · 28 min

     Harry Lime enlists Joan Willoughby, an English woman, to help him rob Count de la Robbia, a wealthy Venetian nobleman. Lime has a plan to steal the Count's jewels, which the Count keeps hidden, and Joan is to befriend the Count and his bodyguard Rico to learn where they are kept. The Count is taken with Joan, and Lime arranges to meet him through her. The story is part of the Mercury Theatre on the Air series, first broadcast on March 28, 1952, with Orson Welles as Harry Lime. This guide covers only the first part of the episode.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Joan Willoughby, Count de la Robbia, Rico

137. Fool's Gold

     April 4, 1952 · 29 min

     Harry Lime, an opportunist, plots to hijack a smuggled shipment of gold bound for India. He recruits two rascally associates, Clancy, an Irish pilot, and Sing, a sailor, and plans an elaborate ruse at the airfield in Kuwait to take the gold. Harry is also drawn into a tangle with Flora, a dancer he meets at the town's hotel, whose interest in him complicates his plans. The episode is part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air series, first broadcast on April 4, 1952, with Orson Welles playing Harry Lime.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Clancy, Sing, Flora, Solomon

138. Man of Mystery

     April 11, 1952 · 30 min

     Harry Lime, a dealer in shady schemes, is hired by Gregory Arcadin, a wealthy European industrialist who cannot remember his past. Arcadin asks Lime to investigate his own origins, fearing what he might uncover. Lime traces a tailor in Zurich and learns of a Warsaw criminal gang led by Sophie Wachinsky, with Arcadin's earlier identity connected to it. The story is told in the 1952 broadcast of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first aired on April 11, 1952. Lime, a figure known from the film The Third Man, is the central character, and his investigation pulls in Arcadin's daughter Raena.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Gregory Arcadin, Raena Arcadin, Art Carter, Sophie Wachinsky, Oscar

139. The Painted Smile

     April 18, 1952 · 28 min

     Harry Lime visits the Sicilian town of Taormina on holiday and meets Antonio Vegas, an old friend who is a clown with a travelling circus. Vegas is in love with Nola, a performer in the circus who treats him coldly, and Harry watches the troubled affair unfold. Vegas then reveals to Harry that he has hidden a fortune in smuggled emeralds, and he asks Harry to look after his daughter Teresa if anything should happen to him. The series is The Mercury Theatre on the Air, and this episode was first broadcast on 18 April 1952.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Antonio Vegas, Nola, Lola, Teresa

140. Harry Joins the Circus

     April 25, 1952 · 30 min

     Harry Lime, the Third Man, questions Sir Evan about a photograph of Hans Hessel, a Nazi official wanted by the Allies, and asks whether he is still alive. Sir Evan reveals that the picture was taken in Coburg about eleven months earlier. Harry then joins a traveling circus, where a clown named Gico, who lost his mother and father to Hessel's wagons, is consumed by vengeance. Harry watches Gico closely, and when Gico's hatred turns on him, Harry follows him into a deserted mine.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Sir Evan, Hans Hessel, Gico

141. Suzie's Cue

     May 2, 1952 · 29 min

     Harry Lime, the third man, tells of Susie, a countess with expensive tastes, who teams up with Harry and a suave colonel named Carl Clouser to steal a diamond necklace that once belonged to Marie Antoinette. Baron Dortmonder, who has won a court case against his divorced wife to recover the family heirloom, keeps the necklace in a safe at his villa. The three plan a theft during a dinner the Baron attends, with Susie drawing him out of the house and Carl keeping the manservant busy while Harry climbs in through an upstairs window. The story is told as part of the Mercury Theatre on the Air series, first broadcast on 1952-05-02, with Orson Welles playing Harry Lime.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Susie, Carl Clouser, Baron Dortmonder, Inspector

142. Vive Le Chance

     May 9, 1952 · 28 min

     Harry Lime and his companion Henry Lee run a confidence scheme in Paris, targeting a lonely American tourist named Henry Elton. They befriend him and bring in Lizette, a woman who claims her family once hid a treasure, and the three agree to buy a jewel case said to hold a map to it. The men press Henry to invest a large sum, while Lizette hesitates. Their plan depends on the dealer's price and on the hidden fortune being real, and the case is found to be only the start of their scheme. The Mercury Theatre on the Air presents this episode, first broadcast on May 9, 1952.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Henry Elton, Lizette, Paul, Monsieur La Plage

143. Elusive Vermeer

     May 16, 1952 · 30 min

     Harry Lime and his associate Horace Winderman plan to steal a valuable Vermeer painting from Barnsley Hall, the country seat of Lord Rexton, and sell it to an American buyer, Joseph J. Hoffman. Lime works as the go-between, promising Horace a cut of the sale. After Horace leaves for England, Lime travels to London to pursue the deal, following leads from a junk shop owner and a series of dealers who handled the pieces Horace stole. The painting passes from hand to hand as Lime tracks it down, and he meets Inspector Leib along the way.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Horace Winderman, Joseph J. Hoffman, Angus McFarlane, Inspector Leib, Inspector James, Mrs. Huggett, Mrs. Smithers

144. Murder on the Riviera

     May 23, 1952 · 28 min

     Harry Lime, a cigarette smuggler driving a truck toward Marseille, stops on a French road at dawn to help a red-haired woman named Lily push a stalled limousine. The car holds a bald man in evening dress who is dead, and Harry soon finds himself pulled into the woman's life. Orson Welles plays Harry Lime in this episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on May 23, 1952. The story follows Harry through a tangle of hotels, a woman named Danny, a missing passport and a gun, as the pair try to reach Paris on the night train.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Lily, Danny, Victor Savage, Patrice

145. Pearls of Bohemia

     May 30, 1952 · 28 min

     Harry Lime, a charming and resourceful man, responds to a newspaper advertisement seeking a multilingual publicist for a young woman named Melody Johnson. He meets her at a Genoa dance hall, where she hires him to promote her as a beauty queen, and she secures them both first-class cabins on a ship bound for Naples and Cairo. During the voyage, Harry notices a suspicious man named Minnelli following them, and Melody begins to confide in him about a dangerous secret she has been carrying. The episode is part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, originally broadcast on 1952-05-30.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Melody Johnson, Minnelli, Stuart, Count Paul, Vicente Vittoria

146. A Night in a Harem

     June 6, 1952 · 29 min

     Harry Lime, a con man, sets out to swindle the oil tycoon Sam Corder by posing as a go-between for a rich Arab princess, Laila. Lime's scheme involves an oil concession in the fictional kingdom of Qualabad and a supposed sultan's daughter. The episode is part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, a radio series starring Orson Welles, and is drawn from the Harry Lime stories inspired by the film The Third Man. Lime travels with Laila, becomes entangled with the rival oil dealer Van Blicker, and finds himself in a tense chase through the streets of Qualabad.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Sam Corder, Princess Laila, Van Blicker, Professor Birdlake, Jakob Ben-Ali, Yocka

147. Blackmail Is a Nasty Word

     June 13, 1952 · 29 min

     Harry Lime, a smuggler and opportunist, recounts how a dying man in Marseille gave him the name of Maurice Givrel and asked him to pass it on to someone in Paris. Harry tries the name on his newspaperman friend Julian Morrow, who explains that blackmail is the nasty word for what the name is worth. Orson Welles plays Harry Lime in this episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on 13 June 1952, and the story is told from Harry's point of view. Harry then turns to a politician, Givrel, and a passport request, and the transcript ends before the story is resolved.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Marcel Brocco, Julian Morrow, Maurice Givrel, Mama Reginski, Heidi

148. The Professor Regrets

     June 20, 1952 · 30 min

     Harry Lime meets an old acquaintance, Anna, in a casino on the Riviera and learns she has become close to Dr. Fodor, a wealthy Hungarian, at his villa. Anna tells Harry she suspects Professor Hans Conrich, a physicist about to leave for America on a secret project, is passing information to a communist agent named Paulio. Harry agrees to help her investigate, and the two set out to test her suspicion. The Mercury Theatre on the Air presents this episode, adapting the character of Harry Lime from The Third Man, with Orson Welles in the role. It was broadcast on June 20, 1952.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Anna, Dr. Fodor, Professor Hans Conrich, Paulio, Ambassador

149. The Hard Way

     June 27, 1952 · 30 min

     Harry Lime and his partner Mo, having given up their criminal rackets in postwar Europe, set up a small charter flight company called Safeways Charter Flights Incorporated. Harry first deals with French officials who warn him they are watching his every move. His first customer, a man calling himself Mr. Butterboy, charters the plane and then leaves in a hurry, handing over a large sum of money. During the flight Harry discovers a stowaway, a young girl who makes a series of unlikely claims about herself and her family. The Mercury Theatre on the Air presents this episode, originally broadcast on June 27, 1952.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Mo, Mr. Butterboy, Uncle Warfield, the stowaway girl

150. Paris Is Not the Same

     July 4, 1952 · 30 min

     Harry Lime travels by train from Switzerland into France, where he meets Duvall, a perfume maker whose wife Karen used to be connected to Lime. Lime learns that a black market scheme is selling watered-down perfume to American soldiers, and the business is tied to Duvall's household and his employee Andre. Karen is torn between her husband and her past with Lime. Lime is drawn into the operation, and tensions rise as the police and the criminals close in. The episode is part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air series, and the lives of Harry Lime is adapted from the film The Third Man. The transcript available to this guide ends before the final turns of the story.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Edmond Duvall, Karen Duvall, Andre, Olga, Major Kha

151. Honeymoon

     July 11, 1952 · 29 min

     Harry Lime, a racketeer, and his companion Lucky, a freelance photographer, become involved with a Hungarian countess named Kathy, who is working with a Sicilian bandit named Tomasino. Kathy and Harry are hired to deliver the bandit to the authorities, and Harry poses as a bridegroom to help the scheme succeed. The plan is set in the hills of Sicily. The episode is from The Mercury Theatre on the Air, and its original air date was July 11, 1952. The lead actors are not given in the transcript.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Lucky, Kathy, Tomasino, Colonel Roca

152. The Blue Caribou

     July 18, 1952 · 28 min

     Harry Lime investigates a stolen blue caribou, a valuable piece of antique pottery, after the American Jennifer Chase asks him for help. Lime is in the Italian town of Rimini, near the mountaintop Republic of San Marino, where he has been approached by a fortune teller who predicted the meeting. Lime visits an antique shop on the main piazza, follows the trail of the stolen pottery, and draws the attention of a large, fat man and a shopkeeper named Condone. The episode is from The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on July 18, 1952, and features Orson Welles as Harry Lime.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Jennifer Chase, Shigori, Louis de Giulio, Condone, the large fat man

153. Greek Meets Greek

     July 25, 1952 · 26 min

     Harry Lime, a shrewd dealer in art and dubious goods, is quarantined in a Greek port hotel after a hotel doctor declares him to have measles. A woman named Andrea appears in his room and claims that a man has been killed next door, and she tells him a tangled story about Greek politics, a missing husband, and a secret shipment. Harry becomes entangled in her troubles as a fake public health officer arrives and a tense night unfolds. The episode is part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, originally broadcast on July 25, 1952, and is an adventure from the Harry Lime series based on the film The Third Man.

     Characters: Harry Lime, Andrea, Dr. Papanikolos, Gregor, the Captain

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