Welcome to CBS Radio Mystery Theater
Enjoy our episode guide of all 1,399 CBS Radio Mystery Theater old time radio shows for free! You can stream or download old radio shows in MP3 format or copy radio shows to CD. We're big fans of Radio Mystery Theater and by offering shows from the golden age of radio for free, we keep the spirit of the Radio Mystery Theater alive!
CBSRMT Episode Information Next Episode
Title |
The Old Ones Are Hard to Kill |
Plot |
An old lady rents a room to a sick boarder. She runs into problems with his strange deathbed confession. |
Episode |
0001 |
Air Dates |
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Actors |
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Listen |
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Rating |
1569
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129 Responses to Episode 0001
It's fine that you list the actors in the dramas, but could you please also show the characters they play?
Brian Geurin
I listened to these in 1980 or so when I was 15 or 16 on KNX1070 Los Angles in Mission Viejo, Califonia 30 plus years ago...
Brian
The First Lady of Suspense. I wish she had lived, because she would have surely participated in at least a couple hundred episodes of CBSRMT over the course of its run.
MCLowe
I grew up listening to this mainly while camping in our camper with the family and everyone would shsss one another until commercial time! Those easy times! Now I share these with my wife and she being from a different country has never heard these! What fun again! Thank you for your making these shows available to anyone! God Bless and goodnight 🌙!! The radio station we listen to was KGVO out of Missoula, Montana USA 🇺🇸!
Craig Luzviminda Johnson
CBS-RMT's premiere episode starred Agnes Moorehead as a 77-year-old woman whose border, while dying of pneumonia, confesses to her that he killed a man rather than another one who was found guilty and imprisoned. She doesn't want to hear what he's saying and doesn't call the police because she doesn't want to get involved, but of course she tries to be a detective herself and gets wound up with all sorts of nefarious characters. Moorehead's character might be as annoying as the one she portrayed in "Sorry, Wrong Number," but I give her credit. She was only a month or so from dying herself when she did the role. An added bonus was a WDAF (Kansas City) newscast before the show in which there was some Watergate stuff and a sports report about the upcoming Super Bowl between the Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings. And man, was it cold in KC that night - below zero!
Tony
I listened to WCCO in Minneapolis Mn. Back in the Seventies. It aired between 9 pm and 10 pm. I enjoyed listening to it.
Jerry
Same here, WCCO, usually aired on Sunday nights. Especially loved the cold snowy winter nights listening to the radio.
burgess farhat
My parents would listen to it on WCCO as well. It was always a treat for my brothers and me to be able to listen to the episodes after we were in bed and happened to wake up to it or when coming home late from visiting relatives in St. Paul. My father built a radio from a kit when he was very young that was in their bedroom next to mine. They always left their bedroom door cracked open so they could hear us if we were up and around during the night. I was a little night owl that just had to listen in!
Kirsten
I too heard RMT on WCCO. Often when riding home with the family after visiting my grandparents, when I was about 8-10.
My dad would be listening to the news and I payed no attention- until I heard that creaking door! Then I got excited, and asked my dad to turn it up.
I would also sometimes listen to the show on a small transistor radio hanging from my bedpost. Some of the shows scared the heck out of me!
morning star
Probably not one of my favorite episodes. Agree that the coughing, while central to the story, was kind of hard to get through. The WDAF stuff was a nice bonus, as was the Himan Brown spot identifying this as the CBSRMT debut. I discovered these shows near the end of the run, so it's great to hear the early ones.
Jim
The coughing didn't bother me. I thought it was central to the storyline to show how sick her border was.
Marie
Just a good episode, but that is because I listened to so many of them before I heard the maiden episode "The Old Ones are Hard to Kill." This was a solidly acted story. It amazes me that this was the first of 1,399 episodes.
Davy Joe
I agree with Davy Joe - well-put. This was a great debut episode and Agnes Moorehead was her usual superb self!
Bentley
My favorite Agnes Moorehead was still the Twilight Zone she did in '61. It was called "the invaders" and she played an older, "farm wife" type that had a little problem with aliens on the roof. To pull off an entire half hour without any dialog and still keep people GLUED to the screen is one hell of an accomplishment.
Big Dave
Agnes Moorehead was a true gem of a person I hear. My husband and I are going back and watching all the Bewitched episodes on DVD. We are on the 4th season. I have never seen them all in order. I remember as a kid watching them as reruns on TV and thought how nasty Endora was. Now as an adult watching them, I have totally fallen in love with her. She was an amazing actress and I see her personality shine in these episodes. Wished she would have lived longer so we could have had more great stuff from her.
Karen
This takes me back to staying up late listening to the radio to fall asleep. Now if I could find those old dr. Demento shows from California.
Omnipresent
The Dr. Demento shows are out there too. J also missed Dr. D on 94.7, little bit a heaven, KMET, twittle D.... The good ole days.
Scott
Well acted although the solution to the mystery can be seen coming pretty early on. All in all a solid episode.
John Curran
Mrs. Camby has a tenant that admits to murder on his deathbed.
Another tenant rents out the room and mysteriously dies of the same ailment. Not exactly the story line but can't give away the story.
Charlie
And so we come to the very first episode of the series. The tale is rather simple -- an old woman who lives by herself discovers a secret from a man who lived in her house before he died in his bed. At a loss of what to do, she keeps the secret she holds to herself -- until she discovers a new tenant in her house isn't what he seems.
___
The pilot program for the series starts out with a resounding bang. Very suspenseful even thou it had an obvious twist to it.
Evan
Agnes Moorehead is the lead in this, the inaugural play of the CBS Radio Mystery Theater. An old woman rents a room to a man who confesses to murder on his deathbed. She does some minor detective work and talks about her ideas to her next tenant. The man, Stewart Windfield, may not be completely innocent and doesn't seem to have the woman's best interest in mind.
Chris
Charming as a first episode, but with the sinister quality that denotes the series. So-so recording.
Geronimo
This was a great episode to kick off the series! (Unfortunately the news of the day in the ABC broadcast included a plane crash in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.) CBSRMT "feels" like a Sunday evening show so it was appropriate that the series would start on a Sunday night. This episode was easy to listen to, very believable and has you wondering how you would react if you found yourself witness to a strange deathbed confession. No moral to the story, other than in E.G.'s epilog that mentions "there is no wisdom and strength like old wisdom and strength." Great acting by Agnes Moorehead.
Rocco
Elderly Aida Canby gets more than she bargained for when she decides to take on a boader! Shortly after coming to stay, the boarder comes down with a serious illness and in the last moments of life, confesses to a murder. Aida cannot leave well enough alone and decides to investigate the murder further, unaware that she is putting herself in grave danger.
The episode boasts a wonderful performance by Agnes Moorehead which lifts this story out of the ordinary.
Genre: Suspense
Zoren
An old woman takes on a border who is ill. As he dies, he makes a strange deathbed confession that gets her into trouble.
Bridgette Jonesboro
I'm not going to offer a critique of the episode here, but I just wanted to express my appreciation to the folks who run this site. This was my introduction to Radio Theater and I have enjoyed not only the CBSRMT but other features from the Golden Age for the last 35 years. I listened to these stories almost every night with my father from about 1977 to his death in 1980. He was a disabled WWII vet and when he found these on KCBS @9:00 p.m. nightly it brought great joy to him to relive the 'good 'ol days' and to pass on the 'theater of the mind' to his son. I encourage everyone who visits this site to appreciate what went into the daily production of an hour-long radio episode for 1399 times and for just basic pay for the actors. I can't think of any television program that can top that! Oh, don't forget to donate to the site. Making these episodes available to us to listen to and to download for the future for free is a real labor of love and should be rewarded. Happy Holidays!
Milt Fisher
An old woman takes on a border who is ill. As he dies, he makes a strange deathbed confession that gets her into trouble.
It was the first show, and they were tinkering with EG's role in the show, but all the elements are there.
Jermane Vasquez
Well, if I'm going to get into this, might as well start at the beginning.
First episode seeme to me to typify all those that came after it. It could just have well as been written and broadcast long after the show had guaranteed its place in radio history.
What happenes when you cross Robert Columbo and Angela Landsbury? You get this episode's main character. A elderly little thing who is a little naive, a little stubborn, and very persistent.
Mix in an unfortunate bird-loving lodger who makes a deathbed confession to his landlady. He is replaced by a gentleman with less honorable intentions, sent to 'keep the old lady quiet'.
A fun little twist at the end explains the mystery illness.
Joshua
I'm so glad that I found this site. I have vague, but precious memories of listening to RMT in my childhood. On family road trips we often tuned in. What a great flash back. It's nice to dim the lights, listen to the programme and conjure up my own images of the story line.
Royce
For me, Agnes Morehead was first famous for playing Margot Lane, girlfriend of Lamont Cranston, "wealthy man about town". Anyone my age or older will know who Lamont Cranston was famous for being.....
Larry Howell
I used to have a lot of these old radio shows on records, cassettes, and C.D.s, and some of them were episodes of "The Shadow" with Agnes Moorehead. I also used to have a tape of her in the classic story "Sorry, Wrong Number."
I noticed the date of this episode was early 1974, which was a few months before Miss Moorehead passed away. This was a about a year after she did the voice of the stuttering female goose in the animated movie "Charlotte's Web," an adaptation of E.B. White's famous children's book of the same name, which also featured the late Debbie Reynolds as the voice of the title character, Charlotte the spider, Henry Gibson as her friend, Wilbur the pig (whom Charlotte saves from being slaughtered for bacon and ham), and comic Paul Lynde as Templeton the selfish rat.
Michael Palmieri
One of my favorite episodes. Big fan of Agnes Morehead. Trivia question: How many episodes of CBS Radio Mystery Theater did Miss Morehead perform in?
Kimberly
Only 2 episodes. Ep.0001-The Old Ones Are Hard To Kill & Ep.0021-The Ring Of Truth
Now if you were talking about Suspense, that would be a different kettle of fish. The Suspense radio play that she is well known for is, "Sorry, Wrong Number."
Russell
Listening to this episode and Stewart's reaction to Mrs. Camby's cooking, I'm curious about her chicken and dumpling recipe.
Kimberly
Enjoyed this episode. Agnes Moorehead one of my favorites also. I like the way it was done at the end you didnt know if Stewart or Mrs Camby went down the stairs.
Agnes Moorehead did a superb job and its an amusing mystery story. However, Leon Janney's character; Stuart Winfield; coughed too much in ACT 3. Other than that, it was a splendid Pilot episode for CBSRMT. Check this episode out, everyone!
Very Suspenseful.
Larry
I've heard other people complain about the coughing, but I marveled over the fact that he (Janney)could actually make himself sound so sick.
Kimberly
What a great way to premiere a mystery show on CBS Radio, with the First Lady of "Suspense" herself. And she did a great job.
Dixon
Enjoyed this episode for the mystery! I must say I will be on the lookout for those symptoms around birds
Russell
Stuart sounded like the father from the Patty Duke show. (William Schallert) There were a few actors that had his sound. I do remember the excessive coughing too.. I really enjoyed it though.
Chris
One of my Favs! I suppose it is to some degree because it was number 1. Can you imagine hearing this the first time it aired? I would have been hooked right then! :) I rate this episode 4 out of 5 Birds! Thanks for choosing this one and everyone should listen!
Chris
Thanks for doing this! This was a big thing i looked forward to when I was growing up in the mid to late seventies!
Ronald
This is a fine episode and with such a great actress as Agnes Morehead. The CBS Radio Mystery Theater was terrific and thank you for putting them on this site. The old time radio shows are great and make you use your imagination.
Jerry
"The Old Ones Are Hard to Kill" was a great inaugural episode! Though her character is a tired old woman, Moorehead is sincere and charming in the role. Her narration through speaking to herself really works well. I disagree with complaints that Janney's coughing is overboard and annoying. It's actually masterful and contributes to the need for the listener to believe how weak the boarder has become, which is important in the last act. The woman's condemnation of a man because "he took the Lord's name in vain" is delightful, and harkens me back to an era of values that has been lost today. Writer Henry Slesar's story fills the hour well and never drags. Slesar's ability to define characters well through dialogue is evident in "Old Ones" and becomes a hallmark of his masterful writing in subsequent stories. You can listen to a great example of this character development in one of my top three favorite episodes of all time, "Murder Preferred" (#1103). Throughout the CBSRMT series, my greatest enjoyment comes when the writing is such that we clearly understand the motives of a character and what makes them tick. Even more masterful is when a writer (and of course the actor) accomplishes this while at the same time making the listener genuinely care about the character. This is one of the keys to great writing, great acting, and a great radio drama. I give the CBSRMT premier 4 stars out of 5. JUROR #4
JUROR #4
I had downloaded all the episodes years ago and listened to most of them on my drive to/from work as it was 30-40 minutes each way for quite a while. I remember listening to some of them when I was young and we were driving somewhere at night and would listen on my clock radio as well when I remembered to listen. Still fun to listen to and this is one that I remember clearly, although not all episodes are memorable. In general a good episode I think.
Alec
While I've been an avid listener over the years if I heard this episode I forgot. It was nice to hear Agnes Moorehead again. I remember her from "The Shadow" with Orson Welles, "Rebecca" as Mrs. Danvers, and "Dark Passage" with Bogart and Bacall. This was a good episode for her and fit her very nicely.
thomas kiefner
Today is the 40th anniversary of this first episode which was January 6, 1974. I listened to CBS RMT on 580 A.M. WIBW radio in Topeka, Kansas. These episodes came on from 10 to 11 most evenings. I was 14 when these episodes started. Ironically, the temperature that night of the first episode was around 0 degrees outside just like tonight will be. What is strange is my son and only child was born 20 years later on January 6, 1994. He is 20 today. I am 54 and still enjoy listening to these episodes.
Don Heiland,Jr
Mr. Heiland....How neat of you to post about today being the 40th Anniv of the CBSRMT, and that you listened on WIBW 580. I remembered today was the 40th Anniv myself, so I checked for something online commemorating it. Way cool about your son's B-day on Jan 6!!
I also listened on 580 WIBW (lived near Emporia, KS), and remembered it starting at about 10:30 p.m., my bedtime. I loved the CBSRMT, the creepy sounds and stories could make a young 11 year old boy squirm sometimes...lol. Sometimes I heard it on other A.M. stations at different times.
My very favorite was Dracula, 1st broadcast on May 2, 1974. I just posted on that episode. That wonderful spring night became quite creepy...lol. Long live the memories of the CBSRMT and congratulations for it being remembered 40 years later. My 70's radio memories are highlighted by the great work of the CBSRMT.
Here's to the next 40 years.......pleasant dreams???
bill
Mr. Heiland's post brought back memories for me as well. I wouldn't have noticed that it was the 40th anniversary if I hadn't seen it. I remember listening to that broadcast, as well. I was 10 years old. I took my dad's radio from the kitchen and stayed up past my 9 o'clock bedtime without my parents' permission just to hear the new radio show that I had heard advertised on the local CBS affiliate in my hometown of Eugene, OR. I eventually used my allowance to buy my own radio and I remained a loyal listener until the local affiliate stopped carrying the show in 1976. I forgot about the show until the Summer 1982 when I happened to come across it while driving home to Eugene from a summer job in Pullman, WA. It sure brought back great memories. I'm so glad that this web site is here. I play episodes in my office at work and it makes the day go much faster. I get to hear replays of some of my old favorites as well as hear some great episodes for the first time. As Bill said, "[H]ere's to the next 40 years....
Susan
Agnes Moorehead always does great terror and suspense. Her characters are such adorable and intelligent old ladies that I can't help feeling distressed when they are threatened such as in 'The Old Ones Are Hard to Kill' or 'Sorry, Wrong Number'. I always wish I could be there to rescue them.
I have been a fan of these shows since childhood and they kept me awake many nights. I would always make sure to be in bed by the time E.G. Marshall came on to introduce the episode.
James Matthews
The very first CBS Radio Mystery Theater drama starred the great Agnes Moorehead,who,of course,was a veteran of the Golden Age of radio,often on "Suspense",and one of the most famous shows,"Sorry,Wrong Number"(Written by Lucille Fletcher). "The Old Ones are Hard to Kill" was written by Henry Slesar.According to the book 'Twentieth Century Crime and Mystery Writers',edited by Lesley Henderson,the original short story was first published in 'Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine' in January,1965.
Robert Kent
I have to comment. My goodness, what an incredible talent Agnes Moorehead was. She does not get enough credit, honestly. I've listened to hundreds of RMTs, and this is my absolute favorite solely because of how vividly Agnes Moorehead brought the character of Mrs. Canby to life. Actually, all of the characters here are just so incredibly alive in this production. If I were to try and turn anyone on to old time radio drama, this would be the thing to have them listen to. The visualizations here are remarkable. The struggle towards the stairs is truly disturbing, as the listener really can't be certain that Mrs. Canby won't be killed. Such a likeable protagonist -- you just can't bear the thought of such a horrible end for her. Bravo to this episode and Agnes Moorehead.
Dan Williams
We used to listen to these programs on the radio while driving home from my grandparents house think on Sunday evenings in Metro Detroit. I don't recall which radio station we heard them on. We always enjoyed the shows though. How great to run across them online so I can listen to them again. I am definitely checking out more episodes.
Ramifam
Ramifam: that would be "WWJ news radio 95". And yes it was on sunday night. Same station I listened to, from up north( dirt bikin) all the way home (Flushing). I just listened to all 1399 episodes again for the 2nd time. Well the ones you can hear. I love this site and will go through all 1399 again, sometime, soon.
Randy McLeod
Excellent episode! I almost didn't listen to it because of the 3-star rating, and so many episodes have mediocre ratings. Who rated these?? Most of the comments, here, say great things about this episode! I'm not paying any attention to the ratings, anymore. Thank goodness I gave this one a try because it starred Agnes Moorehead. Now, I know the star ratings are ridiculous and should be ignored. Going by them gives the impression CBSRMT wasn't a very good show! Any chance of getting rid of them???
Ronald Gary
Use to have a clock radio that was on a stained wood barrel that served as a night stand in my room as a kid. Use to listen to the rock stations around Los Angeles most of the time. Would listen to KNXT in Los Angeles later in the night to listen to CBS RMT. It was some great stuff. Brings back memories. Some buried treasure here. The squeaky door and "This is EG Marshall" and that sound of dread. Great stuff. Feels like tuning into a time machine. For me it's the late 70's(that's when I started listening to RMT) and early 80's again with these commercials.
Anthony
lol The room is $35 a week :)
Loved listening to this under the blankets as a child on an old AM radio. You had to really use your imagination.
tim
Tim
I was in 8th grade in January, 1974. Fairly warm winter, not much snow. Imagine taking on a boarder and this is your first experience. Good accent by Agnes Moorehead. At times you have to listen close to realize it's really her.
Tim Lingenfelter
CBSMT plays best at night as everyone knows and the miles just evaporate. We get a kick out of hearing episodes where actors play multiple characters which Leon Janney marvelously performed in this one. The coughing did not bother us as we realized they were setting up the story. Nice twist on the end as so many of these productions had. Like the Twilight Zone, part of the fun was figuring out the twist and resolution to a story.
A very big part of the success of the CBSMT was the usage of sound effects and musical cues which were just superb, exceptionally masterful.
BullBob709
mark well I remember listing to these stories when I was 7 yrs old on a small am trasirer radio and a ear phone in my ear and my mom getting mad at me about claiming she could hear the radio when the ear I had the earphone in was buried in the pillow and she was waiting up for my dad to get home and 5 days a week at 11 pm at night on a Detroit radio station WWJ 950 am when I was supposed to be sleeping one of my favorite story was a about a man and his trench coat that he was desperate to get back
Mark
This are complete works of art!
Now...turn on todays programing on television.
You may need a bag before attempting this.
Dan the Man
I discovered this program during the 70's while living in Detroit..my husband worked at Ford Motor Company and he and the kids went to bed by 8:30 or so. I finished laundry, cleaning and stuff from the time they went to sleep until about 11:00. (I thought I discovered a gem. I was right!) Every night at 11:07, e.g. marshell would come on and my pulse would quicken..and there I would be..listening in the dark..just sure no one else knew about this treasure. LOL..(I was willing to give up precious sleep time for this program!!) Since I have rediscovered this program online, I will admit that I still turn it on at 11:07..and sure enough..the years fall away..and it's 1977 again. and I fall asleep..happy..(I no longer have the same chores any more, but I am still awake at 11:00!!) Thank you!
Peggy-mom of 9!
i love the radio programs when i was young i use to listen to them when i laid down to bed i would grab my radio and then listen to the great stories
ralph
Not a late night went by without me listening to the Radio Mystery Theater Broadcast with my flashlight and bedcovers to protect me while completing homework. I'm 13 years old all over again, listening to this episode. That's about 41 years ago! The episodes are still spooky!
Still Spooked!
I loved Agnes Moorehead..and the twilight zone episode of her vs. alien was FANTASTIC. Not one word was uttered, but she nailed it. This one "The old ones are hard to kill" is one of my "Top 10" that I go to just when I want company.
Peggy Converse
I was 9 when this episode aired in Dayton Ohio I see most of the rest of the country was listening too. An earlier post said the CBRMT came on at 11:07 it was same time it aired in Dayton also. I love these shows raised my three daughters listening to these when we went camping in Oregon and they are letting their children listen to them also. It was a great time to be a kid. My old AM clock radio has since been replacec with technology but these shows are great no matter what era it is!
Scott
So great to find these again. I used to listen to them every night in 1976. I had to get up for school the next morning so I forced myself to stay awake as not to miss the episode. Another friend at school also listened to them and we would talk about them the next day. Radio is amazing.Unlike TV you have to use your imagination.
anne marie
I was nine years old growing up in the Albany NY area when CBSRMT started and I accidentally found it while tuning my old am radio and locking onto a station in NYC, which only came through late at nights. It wasn't aired locally and the signal would drift in and out during the show but I was completely addicted. Lucky my parents didn't know that I was staying up that late or there would have been trouble.
brian
I was 9 years old and tucked a battery powered AM radio under my pillow and listened to the Mystery Theater for years while living on West Wood St in Decatur, Illinois. What a treasure to find this site 40+years later. I can't wait to listen to every single one of them. What a treasure !
Kim
Hello fellow CBS Mystery Theater listeners! Wow! I thought this was lost forever! Back in '74,I also listened to this radio show with a transistor radio tucked under my pillow at nights so my parents couldn't hear. I was looking for this for years on the net,but I forgot it was E.G.Marshall who narrated the show. I had been looking it up under Orsen Welles name,because I remember hearing his name as a kid. Today I totally found this accidentally by looking up what was popular back in 1974,for nostalgia purposes. The Game of Life,Stratego and this came up! Yeah! Wish Millenials could get turned on to the mystery of storytelling fused with your own imagination.Incredbible!
David Kersul
wow at first I thought this was something I posted.. My Christmas wish every year was 9v batteries lol
Joyce Maillet
I love the shows. Father used to tell me to keep it down. The radio was up and I enjoyed every single episodes
Geary
AWESOME! I remember the mystery theatre from when I was a teenager! I love it so much I just can't express it! I'm so glad you keep this going! Just don't get great acting like this anymore!
Thank you from Logansport, IN.
Jim bowman
Like many of you I can remember crawling into bed on Sunday nights in the mid seventies and listening to CBSRMT before going to sleep. I have to thank my dad for turning me on to such a great show!
I have no clue why a random Google search brought me here...but I'm glad it did.
Mark
As an avid reader of suspense and thriller fiction, I love listening to these stories when my eyes are not up to the task. Thank you CBS!
Frank Reid
The CBS RMT is one of the most treasured memories of my adolescence. Every night at 11:07 on good ole' WGL in Fort Wayne, IN. The greatest Christmas present of all time was an AM/FM/Cassette combo that allowed me to record the episodes without using a radio and microphone set-up.
Tell you kids (or grand kids)about this site and share the joy!
Headshrinker
Think of the irony here regarding the incredible Agnes Moorehead. Several people have commented on the classic Twilight Zone story, "The Invaders" in which she was the only actor and had no lines of dialogue, yet here she is in a radio drama in which there is nothing but dialogue! And is absolutely terrific in both. That takes a special kind of talent and she had it. Considering some of the roles she had, she must have considered playing Endorra on "Bewitched" as an absolute lark. I know she and Dick York, the original Darren, struck up a great friendship and she was extremely upset when he had to leave because of his problems with his back.
Lee
My first cbsrmt in the 70s comes with a story. My parents bought an ancient radio that hardly worked, it was more a centerpiece for the living room. I would turn the dial millimeters at a time, hoping to lock in a frequency. Eventually, I did! It was a supernatural mystery reminiscent of programs of a bygone era and I was certain our old radio had pulled up an old mystery show. For a teen with an active imagination, this was straight out of Twilight Zone. Eventually I learned the truth, but I'll never forget the magic of that night, listening rapt to every word and not wanting it to end. Now in my 50s, my wife and I are avid online gamers, occasionally glancing at the TV. Having re-found this show, we both prefer it over network/cable/***flix programming while we play.
Xander
My childhood would not have been the same without Radio Mystery Theater. I'll never forget sitting in my room at mom and dads listening to the episodes all them late nights ago.
Bits
Wow, I'm so happy I found all these and your site. Very good episode. I also listened as a youngster in Los Angeles.... Two episodes that always stood out for me was the "Village of Fools" (#863), and another episode I cannot quite remember the name, but I always remember a lady screaming "It's in my hair" and my cousin and me to this day, some 40 years later still say "It's in my hair" and laugh a bit, albeit we were scared then.....
Scott
Great to see this site. As a kid, I stayed up late every night to listen to RMT on a tiny transistor radio with an earplug. I was fascinated. There was nothing on the radio like this by the 1970s. Of course, older folks told me that radio dramas, mysteries, comedies, etc... were once quite common. This show piqued my interest in Old Time Radio and once the Internet got rolling, I started amassing a huge collection (via Usenet). Of course RMT was my first target and I managed to collect all episodes by the late 90s, one episode at a time (at dial up speeds). Nice to have this site available for it's episode guides. I've also sent my nieces, nephews and other younger folks here to experience some great entertainment that doesn't require looking at a screen of some kind.
John G.
CBS RMT was a monumental benchmark for radio drama - even in the decades of technological change!
As a student in Denver in the 70's I enjoyed the live broadcasts; and today I enjoying them once again!
An epic collection literary artistry!! So glad they're all archived!!!
RJ Crossfield
CBS RMT was a monumental benchmark for radio drama - even in the decades of technological and communications change. As a student in Denver in the 1970's, I enjoyed the broadcasts on WKOA-AM; and today I am enjoying them once again. An epic collection of literary artistry. So glad they are all archived!
RJ Crossfield
Ada Canby has reached her golden years with her sense of independence intact, with a spryness in her limbs, and with very good vision and excellent hearing. But Ada soon learns that there are times when good hearing is not a blessing, proving once and for all that when it comes to murder, there’s no fool like an old fool.
John
I remember the ads announcing that this was going to start, (way back when). I was hooked from the beginning.
David
This show premiered when I was 9 years old, and remember our elementary school teacher recording it on his reel to reel tape recorder at home. He`d bring it to school, and have us listen to some of the episodes in class.
Robert R
sheesh...this agnes moorehead should be thrown in jail for practically murdering this poor hacking fellow...she's a cold-hearted attempted killer herself! Brutally neglectful. Cold-hearted killer pretending to care by making him soup...not to mention the constant interruption about some murder while he's trying to rest and keeping that murder weapon of a parrot. Chilling.
ildulce
I grew up listening to Radio Mystery Theater and remember listening to it under my covers with a transistor radio. I am so happy I found this site.
I listened to all 1,399 episodes and thought I would listen to them all again and give my opinions. For what they are worth.
The first episode is a good one, with Agness Moorehead taking the lead role. It follows the form of the rest of the episodes except E.G. Marshall does not really do an introduction. This is not really a mystery, but rather a story. I liked it. It was engaging both times I listened to it.
Scott
I'm so glad a friend told me about this program! I'm thoroughly enjoying this! I loved this first episode the sweet innocent old lady, full of care and concern. Trying to keep to herself and not get involved but ends up very involved. I wished Ii had heard these originally, what was I doing? Mostly homework and reading! lol Great program!
Nancy
Who else but Agnes Moorehead could star in the kick-off episode number 1 and make it work. No one.
ZipperBook
Having Agnes Moorehead kick-off episode 1 is great. Listening to this episode is timeless.
ZipperBook
I listened to all these episodes on wcau 1210 am in philadelphia. I would run to my bedroom at 9:00. I would have to wait through 7 minutes of news at the top of the hour then it would start at 9:07. I had actually recorded about 200 episodes on cassette tapes back in the day. Unfortunately they did not survive the heat of the attic. I look forward to purchasing all the episodes in the near future.
Dan Gysi
I love these... I like listening to them around Halloween, they have a Halloween feel to them.
Chris
I was 14 listened to these every night in a small town in northern minn. Was great entertainment for my brothers and sisters when we went to bed but had to be quiet so parents would not here. Kids now days have it so easy know all we had was this three channels on tv a simple phone on the wall and played outside every day 100 above or 20 below zero. Do any one who knocks these have now idea what life was like back then.
Danny
This is a great episode ... I love these old shows, I remember listening to these when i was in 7-8th grade on up to senior in High School in the 80s. With the combination of the twilight zone music taken from those old shows, and E'G Marshall, man wow, what a great show!!!
tuppydog
I remember listening to this when we lived between South Prairie and Orting. We didn't have a TV. I was in my teens. I just found this last night and it brought back those memories. I'm going to listen on my walks through the local state park here in SC. So glad someone saved these.
J Gadberry
I'm still disappointed that an episode called the Old Ones Are Hard to Kill has nothing to do with the Cthulhu Mythos. The amazing Agnes Moorehead not withstanding.
Darrel
Agnes recorded that episode in November of 73. She would die of cancer five months later. Some actors I wish they had gotten on RMT were Jim Jordan, Hal Peary, and Jack Webb. I think those three would have been in interesting episodes.
Matt
Hi, this is a very interesting episode, though I wish that they didn't explain who the killer was and let the listener find out themselves.
Mary Harper
I used to listen to CBS Radio every night and they had a different theme nightly. My favorite was with Vincent Price and the mystery shows.
Thanks to the site for hosting these shows. To be a young lad with a transistor radio under the pillow listening when I was supposed to be asleep. Thanks for the memories.
Tommy
I happened upon this show when I was a pre-teen growing up in rural western Ky. I listened on a transistor radio turned way down low, hiding under the covers. I'm so excited to have stumbled upon this online!
Lisa Z
Long before "Bewitched" Agnes Moorehead was known as the "Queen of Suspense' for her many appearances in the radio series of that title, her best story being "Sorry Wrong Number". She was also the first Margot Lane to Orson Welles Lamont Cranston, The Shadow.
Stuart
I listened to these every night, before I went to sleep, on KLIQ in Portland, Oregon. I was 15 in 1974, and would listen in bed, in the dark. Fun times and fond memories
Tarry
I am so excited that I found your site. As many others have said, I used to listen to these at bedtime each night as a youth.
When I was in the Air Force, stationed in Turkey, we used to finish our cleanup an hour before the end of shift so we could, "go to the movies," listening on the AFRTS network.
Mike Mays
i listened each night from 7-8pm while i did homework in the 70s. could get program on 600am WMT out of cedar rapids iowa. gosh the programs sound of door opening, then sounds are great to hear again!
gary
The landlady sounded *old*, like she was 97, not 77. And between the coughing fits and those birds chirping in the background I could barely finish it. *Autism intensifies*
Robert
Today is the 50th Anniversary of CBS Radio Mystery Theater. It was very cold that night and the temperature was around 0 degrees outside on 1-6-74 from Topeka, Kansas.
I listened to WIBW 580 A.M. on the dial (Topeka, Kansas) that night. Was on every night from 10:07 PM to 11:00 PM from 1974 to 1982 in Topeka, Kansas.
Andy