The greatest OTR episodes of all time

[Vornholt]

I'll second The House on Cypress Canyon, and add the episode titled "The Little Wishbone" from "The Adventures of Philip Marlowe", which seems to adhere to and simultaneously violate every hard-boiled PI cliche out there.

 

[Bustercat]

What is on your short list of indispensable favorites, your "desert island OTR?"
What episodes of your favorite serials would you play to a skeptic neophyte, not just to get them interested, but to get them hooked? Let's hear em!

 

[Widebrim]

Good thread! There are quite a few, but I'll take a stab at some "mystery/horror" episodes...

The House on Cypress Canyon, from Suspense!, and starring Robert Taylor- About a couple who rent a house with a mind of its own.

Sorry, Wrong Number, from Suspense!, and starring Agnes Moorehead- Concerns an invalid woman who believes that someone is in her house, preparing to kill her.

Three Skeleton Key, also from Suspense!, starring Vincent Price- About a lighthouse which is attacked by rats!

Two from Lights Out: Chicken Heart, and The Dark (the second one has great sound effects, and is scarrrryy!).

 

[Shangas]

Bill Cosby mentions the 'Chicken Heart' episode of Lights Out in one of his comedy routines.

 

[BinkieBaumont]

"So many shows, so little time"

"Lucille Ball"Sparkles" in "The man who came to dinner" an episode of "Lux Radio Theatre

 

[The Wolf]

I, too, add "The House on Cypress Canyon" to my list. I sat in my car park until the episode was over after I got home.
I actually like Cosby's version of the "Chicken Heart" over "Lights Out".
The airshow episode of "Fibber McGee and Molly" is a winner.
There was "Burns and Allen" episode where George is jealous of a man Gracie used to go with that is hilarious.
I'm sure there's more but I can't think of one off-hand.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[Amy Jeanne]

The Burns & Allen episode from 1942 where Rita Hayworth is a guest where she moves in down the street and Bill Goodwin tries to seduce her (because she says she can't get a date!) LOL. Never laughed so hard in my life.

 

[bunnyb.gal]

I had a literal desert island OTR, well, a tropical island OTR. When I did my yoga teacher training in the Bahamas (yeah, I know - sounds glamorous but believe me it wasn't!), I had an episode of Saturday Night Swing Club with Bunny Berigan, which I listened to every night to get the constant chanting that we had to do out of my head! It seriously saved my sanity!

Other than that I'm a big fan of the Witch's Tale and Hermit's Cave. I can never remember the names of the episodes, as I have so many shows in my collection. Love the horror genre in general.

 

[LizzieMaine]

If I had to pick one program that really hits the spot for me, it'd have to be the Fleischmann's Yeast Hour of December 13, 1934, hosted by Rudy Vallee. On this one program, you hear -- the great Harlem comedy team of Buck and Bubbles, the outre British stage diva Beatrice Lillie, a young actor by the name of Henry Fonda in a dramatic sketch, a poetry reading by silent screen legend William S. Hart, and a tour-de-force performance by Cole Porter himself of "You're The Top." If ever everything that was great about the Golden Age of Radio could be compressed into a single hour, it'd be this one.