Inner Sanctum Mysteries was a popular old-time radio
program that aired from January 7, 1941 to October 5, 1952. Created
by Himan Brown, the anthology series featured stories of mystery,
terror and suspense. The tongue-in-cheek introductions were in sharp
contrast to shows like Suspense and The Whistler.
The early 1940s programs opened with Raymond Edward Johnson introducing
himself as, "Your host, Raymond," in a mocking sardonic voice. A
spooky melodramatic organ score punctuated Raymond's many morbid
jokes and playful puns. Raymond's closing was an elongated "Pleasant
dreaaaaammmmssss!" His tongue-in-cheek style and ghoulish relish
of his own tales became the standard for many such horror narrators
to follow, from fellow radio hosts like Ernest Chappell (on Cooper's
later series, Quiet, Please) and Maurice Tarplin.
When Johnson left the series in 1945, he was replaced by Paul McGrath,
who did not keep the "Raymond" name and was known only as "your
host" or "Mr. Host." Beginning in 1945, Lipton Tea sponsored the
series, pairing first Raymond and then McGrath with its cheery commercial
spokeswoman, Mary Bennett, whose pitches for Lipton contrasted sharply
with the subject matter of the stories, and who would primly chide
the host for his dark humor and creepy manner.
This collection of Inner Sanctum Greats includes 171
different shows and appearances for a total of 75+ hours of listening
enjoyment.
This product is a DVD collection of Old Time Radio mp3s. It is
designed to be played on your computer DVD drive with standard mp3
software - like Windows media player or its equivalent on Macintosh
computers. The mp3 files on the DVDs can be copied onto CDs for
play in your car stereo, home entertainment center, etc so you can
take your favorite shows with you anywhere you go.
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