Category: Old-Time Radio

Another OTR Christmas

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We figure most folks will find themselves in one of two camps over the next few days.

The first group will be those who got a bit of a jump on their seasonal activities. They’ve purchased and wrapped all their gifts, mailed their cards, gotten the grocery shopping completed for any holiday meals they’re to prepare, so now they spend the next few days relaxing and savoring the festive mood that surrounds us.

The second group, bless their hearts, have accomplished few to none of the above-cited tasks, and will be frantic and out of breath for the next 72 hours or so as they fight the crowds to squeeze in some last-minute shopping; sign, stamp, and lick, and mail their cards, and drive all over town from grocery store to understocked grocery store looking for all the ingredients required for the holiday meal they’re expected to whip up.

To the second group, we say, “Good luck and Godspeed—we don’t envy you.” Because, the rigors of a little holiday travel aside, we’ve completed our own seasonal tasks and intend to relax and enjoy ourselves through the weekend.

One way we in the first camp might pass the time is with some Christmas-themed old-time radio programs from the good folks at OTRcat.com. They traffic in reasonably priced collections of classic radio shows from the Cladrite Era, but for the next few days, you can listen to a full dozen holiday programs for free.

A number of genres are featured: mystery-horror, variety shows, dramas, cop shows, private eye programs, and comedies, among others.

We’re sharing below an episode of the “Lights Out” program entitled “Uninhabited” that originally aired on December 22, 1937, in which, as the folks at OTRcat describe it, “a French, Australian, and African-American soldier find themselves traveling on a train on Christmas Eve 1918.” But if the likes of “The Jack Benny Show,” “The Great Gildersleeve,” or “Dragnet” are more to your liking, you’ll find those streaming at OTRcat.com.

Lights Out: “Uninhabited” (30:04)

We think you’ll find the offerings at OTRcat well worth your consideration, and at these prices—free!—they certainly can’t be beat. So put your feet up and relax—you’ve earned it!—as you enjoy some Christmas entertainment from the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s—when you’re not listening to Cladrite Radio, that is.

(P.S. We have absolutely no connection to OTRcat.com. We just like old-time radio, and we appreciate any outfit that’s willing to share samples of their wares gratis.)

Thrills and chills, at no cost to you

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Halloween is upon us, a time when we’re reminded that sometimes less is more, that suggestion can sometimes be more effective than graphic representation.

Which is why we appreciate that the good folks over at OTRcat.com are again offering free streams and downloads of a handful of old-time radio programs, each with a Halloween theme. No graphic violence or gore for us, please. We prefer to shudder in our seat due to a sense of creeping dread rather than leap out of it in reaction to some shocking bit of cinematic violence.

Here are horror and mystery programs—Inner Sanctum, Quiet Please, and Suspense, among others—and even an episode of the popular comedy show The Great Gildersleeve.

And if you find listening to these few frightening offerings whets your appetite for more, now’s the time to take the leap, as the folks at OTRcat are offering their collections of scary programs at 20% off. We’re not certain just how long the savings will last, so hurry over.

We’ll share with you one of our favorites among the programs available at the site, an episode of The Whistler, a series that ran from 1942 until 1955 and was adapted into a movie series starring Richard Dix.

The Whistler: “Death Comes at Midnight” (October 18, 1942)

As we’ve said before, we have nothing whatsoever to do with OTRcat.com; we certainly don’t make a dime from promoting the site and its wares. We just like their product and the fact that they’re willing to occasionally give away some of what they’re selling. Anyone who introduces more people to old-time radio is okay in our book.

You can't spell "Mother" without OTR

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It’s been a bit quiet around here of late—we even missed posting a Pitch Perfect on Monday for the first time since that recurring feature debuted—as we’ve been under the weather (we’re also job-hunting, which, by necessity, claims much of our time), but we did want to share the following:

Mother’s Day, as ads and emails remind all of us relentlessly, is just around the corner, and the good folks at OTRcat.com, purveyors of collections of old-time radio programming, are offering a number of programs free for the streaming.

All the shows have a “Mother” theme, natch, but a number of genres are covered: dramas, cop shows, private eye programs, westerns, and, as you can see below, comedies.

We’re sharing a Burns and Allen program entitled “Gracie’s Mother Visits” that originally aired on May 20, 1948, in which George has an encounter with his mother-in-law that finds him having to repair all the plumbing and electrical wiring in his home.

Burn and Allen: “Gracie’s Mother Visits” (25:09)

We think you’ll find the offerings at OTRcat well worth your consideration, and at these prices—free—they certainly can’t be beat.

P.S. If you’re still in the market for a Mother’s Day present, you could do a lot worse than buying your dear mom a VIP Live365 membership. She’ll be able to listen to Cladrite Radio and hundreds of other Live365 stations commercial-free, and you’ll be showing your support for the music here at Cladrite Radio (we get a cut of membership fees). Just follow the VIP membership link to the left for more info.