Free Daily Podcast Summary
Crime Classics | Old Time Radio: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Old Time Retro Radio
Crime Classics | Old Time Radio brings infamous crimes, notorious criminals, and remarkable true-crime cases from history to life through the distinctive storytelling of classic radio. Each episode combines dark humor, suspense, historical detail, and dramatic recreations of crimes that once captured public attention. Each episode is an Old Time Retro Radio production, presenting the original broadcast with gently cleaned and mastered audio, a newly produced introduction and closing, and custom episode artwork. Created by Elliott Lewis, Crime Classics became one of radio’s most distinctive true-crime anthology series, dramatizing unusual murders and criminal cases from centuries of history. Rediscover classic old time radio true crime, historical crime, murder mysteries, suspense, crime drama, and vintage radio.
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- 5 days ago28 min
Crime Classics - "Killing Story of William Corder and the Farmers Daughter" (Old Time Radio, 1953)
Crime Classics presents “Killing Story of William Corder and the Farmers Daughter,” episode 22, originally broadcast on CBS on November 25, 1953.Thomas Hyland recounts a true-crime story from England in 1827, drawn from contemporary court reports and newspaper accounts. Centered on William Corder and Maria Marten, the drama revisits the historical Red Barn case associated with Polstead, Suffolk. The episode was written by Morton Fine and David Friedkin and produced and directed by Elliott Lewis, with Lou Merrill as Hyland and a cast including Betty Harford, Richard Peel, Joseph Kearns, and Jeanette Nolan.Old Time Retro Radio presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.Chapters:00:00 Victor Sterling Introduction00:44 Original Broadcast28:37 ClosingSupport Old Time Retro Radio at https://www.patreon.com/oldtimeretroradio
- 1 weeks ago30 min
Crime Classics - "Bloody Banks of Fall River" (Old Time Radio, 1953)
Crime Classics presents “Bloody Banks of Fall River,” originally broadcast September 30, 1953. Episode 14 of the CBS series, this archival drama was written by Morton Fine and David Friedkin and produced and directed by Elliott Lewis.Host Thomas Hyland revisits the notorious 1892 Fall River, Massachusetts, killings of Andrew and Abby Borden and the suspicion surrounding Andrew’s younger daughter, Lizzie. Set against the investigation and subsequent courtroom proceedings, the program treats the Lizzie Borden case as one of America’s enduring unresolved crimes. The cast includes Jeanette Nolan, Paul Frees, Irene Tedrow, and William Johnstone.Old Time Retro Radio presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned and mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.Chapters:00:00 Victor Sterling Introduction00:45 Original Broadcast29:55 ClosingSupport Old Time Retro Radio at https://www.patreon.com/oldtimeretroradio
- 2 weeks ago28 min
Crime Classics - "Jean Baptiste Troppmann Killer of Many" (Old Time Radio, 1954)
Crime Classics presents “Jean Baptiste Troppmann Killer of Many,” originally broadcast on CBS Radio on February 17, 1954. Episode 33 of the series, this archival drama was written by Morton Fine and David Friedkin and produced and directed by Elliott Lewis.Narrator Thomas Hyland, played by Lou Merrill, recounts a notorious 1869 French criminal case involving young Alsatian mechanic Jean-Baptiste Troppmann and the disappearance of the Kinck family. As investigators focus on disturbed ground near Pantin, outside Paris, a troubling Second Empire mystery begins to unfold.Old Time Retro Radio presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.Chapters:00:00 Victor Sterling Introduction00:44 Original Broadcast28:40 ClosingSupport Old Time Retro Radio at https://www.patreon.com/oldtimeretroradio
- 3 weeks ago31 min
Crime Classics - "The Boorn Brothers and the Hangman a Study in Nip and Tuck" (Old Time Radio, 1954)
Crime Classics presents “The Boorn Brothers and the Hangman: A Study in Nip and Tuck,” originally broadcast on CBS on January 27, 1954. Episode 30 is a historical crime drama written by Morton Fine and David Friedkin, produced and directed by Elliott Lewis, with Lou Merrill as host and narrator.Based on Vermont’s real Boorn-Colvin case, the story follows brothers Jesse and Stephen Boorn after the disappearance of their brother-in-law, Russell Colvin, draws suspicion, accusations, and growing public pressure. Set against the perilous justice system of early-19th-century New England, it is a tense account of suspicion and a capital case closing in. The cast includes Virginia Gregg, Lamont Johnson, Bill Conrad, and Jack Kruschen.Old Time Retro Radio presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.Chapters:00:00 Victor Sterling Introduction00:48 Original Broadcast30:52 ClosingSupport Old Time Retro Radio at https://www.patreon.com/oldtimeretroradio
- Oct 4, 202630 min
Crime Classics - "Your Loving Son Nero" (Old Time Radio, 1953)
Crime Classics presents “Your Loving Son Nero,” originally broadcast on CBS on August 31, 1953. This is episode 12 of the series.In ancient Rome, Emperor Nero struggles against the continuing influence of his formidable mother, Agrippina, as political power and family resentment collide in the imperial court. William Conrad stars as Nero and Betty Lou Gerson as Agrippina in this darkly ironic historical drama, produced and directed by Elliott Lewis.Old Time Retro Radio presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.Chapters:00:00 Victor Sterling Introduction00:54 Original Broadcast29:53 ClosingSupport Old Time Retro Radio at https://www.patreon.com/oldtimeretroradio
- Sep 27, 202630 min
Crime Classics - "Incredible History of John Shepard" (Old Time Radio, 1954)
Crime Classics presents “Incredible History of John Shepard,” originally broadcast on CBS Radio on February 3, 1954. Episode 31 is narrated by Lou Merrill as Thomas Hyland and was written by Morton Fine and David Friedkin, with Elliott Lewis directing and producing.Set in early-Georgian London, this historical true-crime drama follows the young burglar John Sheppard as a nighttime break-in, a turbulent romance with Beth Lyon—known as “Edgeworth Bess”—and mounting attention from the law shape his remarkable reputation. Inspired by the real-life London criminal John “Jack” Sheppard, the story offers a darkly comic portrait of a famously audacious eighteenth-century outlaw.Old Time Retro Radio presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.Chapters:00:00 Victor Sterling Introduction00:41 Original Broadcast30:37 ClosingSupport Old Time Retro Radio at https://www.patreon.com/oldtimeretroradio
- Sep 20, 202630 min
Crime Classics - "Twenty Three Knives Against Caesar" (Old Time Radio, 1954)
Crime Classics presents “Twenty Three Knives Against Caesar,” originally broadcast on February 10, 1954. In episode 32, host Thomas Hyland examines a stylized historical crime from ancient Rome.Set in 44 B.C., the drama follows Julius Caesar’s return to Rome and the unease stirred by his growing stature among citizens and senators alike. Edgar Barrier stars as Caesar, with Harry Bartell as Brutus and Marvin Miller as Cassius; Morton Fine and David Friedkin wrote the episode, produced and directed by Elliott Lewis.Old Time Retro Radio presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.Chapters:00:00 Victor Sterling Introduction00:50 Original Broadcast30:46 ClosingSupport Old Time Retro Radio at https://www.patreon.com/oldtimeretroradio
- Sep 13, 202630 min
Crime Classics - "John Hayes His Head and How They Were Parted" (Old Time Radio, 1953)
Crime Classics presents “John Hayes His Head and How They Were Parted,” originally broadcast on CBS on October 28, 1953. This historical crime drama is episode 18 overall, also listed as R05 of the 1953–54 regular-season run. Written by Morton Fine and David Friedkin and directed by Elliott Lewis, it features Lou Merrill as crime historian Thomas Hyland, with Betty Harford as Catherine Hayes and Alastair Duncan as John Hayes.Based on the 1726 English case of John and Catherine Hayes, the story follows John’s return from military service to an uneasy household shared with two boarders. As suspicions grow and a grim discovery near the Thames draws public attention, the case develops through troubled domestic circumstances and unusual physical evidence.Old Time Retro Radio presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.Chapters:00:00 Victor Sterling Introduction00:46 Original Broadcast30:36 ClosingSupport Old Time Retro Radio at https://www.patreon.com/oldtimeretroradio
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About Crime Classics | Old Time Radio
Crime Classics | Old Time Radio brings infamous crimes, notorious criminals, and remarkable true-crime cases from history to life through the distinctive storytelling of classic radio. Each episode combines dark humor, suspense, historical detail, and dramatic recreations of crimes that once captured public attention. Each episode is an Old Time Retro Radio production, presenting the original broadcast with gently cleaned and mastered audio, a newly produced introduction and closing, and custom episode artwork. Created by Elliott Lewis, Crime Classics became one of radio’s most distinctive true-crime anthology series, dramatizing unusual murders and criminal cases from centuries of history. Rediscover classic old time radio true crime, historical crime, murder mysteries, suspense, crime drama, and vintage radio.
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