ARCH OBOLER COLLECTION

OLD TIME RADIO - 3 CD-ROM - 239 mp3 - Total Playtime: 108:16:45

Arch Oboler (December 7, 1907 – March 19, 1987) was a playwright, screenwriter, novelist, producer and director who was active in radio, films, theater and television. He generated much attention with his radio scripts, and his work in radio remains the outstanding period of his career. Praised as one of broadcasting's top talents, he is regarded today as a key innovator of radio drama.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, to Leon Oboler and Clara Oboler, Jewish immigrants from Riga, Latvia, Arch Oboler briefly attended the University of Chicago prior to dropping out to pursue a full-time writing career.
Radio

Oboler sold his first radio scripts while still in high school during the 1920s and rose to fame when he began scripting the NBC horror anthology Lights Out in 1936. He later found notoriety with his script contribution to the 12 December 1937 edition of The Chase and Sanborn Hour. In Oboler's sketch, host Don Ameche and guest Mae West portrayed a slightly bawdy Adam and Eve, satirizing the Biblical tale of the Garden of Eden. On the surface, the sketch did not feature much more than West's customary suggestive double-entendres, and today it seems quite tame. But in 1937, that sketch and a subsequent routine featuring West trading suggestive quips with Edgar Bergen's dummy Charlie McCarthy helped the broadcast cause a furor that resulted in West being banned from broadcasting and from being mentioned at all on NBC programming for 15 years. The timing may have been a contributing factor, according to radio historian Gerald S. Nachman in Raised on Radio:

The sketch resulted in letters from outraged listeners and decency groups... What upset churchgoing listeners wasn't the Biblical parody so much as the fact that it had the bad luck to air on a Sunday show.

When Oboler took over Lights Out in 1936, the show was already a sensation because of creator Wyllis Cooper's violent, quirky scripts, and Oboler continued in a similar vein, announcing during the opening of each episode:

This is Arch Oboler bringing you another of our series of stories of the unusual, and once again we caution you: These Lights Out stories are definitely not for the timid soul. So we tell you calmly and very sincerely, if you frighten easily, turn off your radio now.

One of Oboler's best remembered scripts for Lights Out was Chicken Heart, first broadcast March 10, 1937:

Dr. Calvin: I tell you that mass of flesh was a chicken heart... the tissue of which for some reason is undergoing constant, rapid, accelerating growth. With every passing hour its growth is doubling. Do you know what that means? If it is now one block in size, within 30 hours that cannibal flesh will have increased in size to one square block to the 30th power. In 30 hours every inch of this whole city will be crushed under that moving flesh. Within 60 hours it will have covered the entire state. Within two weeks the entire United States. You ask for the National Guard. I say call out the entire army. Blast this thing off the earth.

Curiously, in the 1960s, "Chicken Heart" became more associated with comedian Bill Cosby than Oboler. Cosby's retelling of the radio drama with humorous vocalized sound effects became one of his most popular comedy routines, recorded on Cosby's Wonderfulness (1966) and available today on both YouTube and a CD reissue.

In 1939, Oboler introduced another series, Arch Oboler's Plays, on NBC. In addition to horror tales, the dramas on this series often employed more topical material, especially regarding early World War II events, and the cast featured many leading film actors. After a year on NBC, it returned for a short run on Mutual in 1945. The series was syndicated in 1964.
 

SHOWS LIST

DISC 1

Arch Oboler Biography
Arch Obolers Plays 39-04-15 (04) The Ways of Men
Arch Obolers Plays 39-04-29 (06) The Cliff
Arch Obolers Plays 39-05-06 (07) Engulfed Cathedral
Arch Obolers Plays 39-05-13 (08) Baby
Arch Obolers Plays 39-05-20 (09) Crazy Town
Arch Obolers Plays 39-06-03 (11) Steelworke
Arch Obolers Plays 39-06-10 (12) Nero's Wife
Arch Obolers Plays 39-07-08 (16) The Ivory Tower
Arch Obolers Plays 39-07-29 (19) Another World
Arch Obolers Plays 39-09-16 (26) Suffer Little Children - Finale
Arch Obolers Plays 39-11-18 (35) Bathysphere
Arch Obolers Plays 39-11-25 (36) Mirage-Miss American
Arch Obolers Plays 39-12-16 (39) Nobody Died
Arch Obolers Plays 39-12-30 (41) This Precious Freedom
Arch Obolers Plays 40-01-13 (43) The Truth
Arch Obolers Plays 40-01-27 (45) Three Stories - With Tongue-In-Cheek
Arch Obolers Plays 40-02-24 (49) The Women Stayed at Home
Arch Obolers Plays 40-03-09 (51) Johnny Got His Gun
Arch Obolers Plays 42-06-21 (xx) Adolph and Mrs. Runyon
Arch Obolers Plays 44-06-17 (xx)Four For The Fifth Surrender
Arch Obolers Plays 45-04-05 (01) Strange Morning
Arch Obolers Plays 45-04-26 (03) The House I Live In
Arch Obolers Plays 45-05-03 (04) Love, Love, Love
Arch Obolers Plays 45-05-10 (05) Holiday 194X
Arch Obolers Plays 45-05-17 (06) Mr Ten Percent
Arch Obolers Plays 45-05-24 (07) An Exercise in Horror (A Peculiar Comedy)
Arch Obolers Plays 45-05-31 (08) Double Feature
Arch Obolers Plays 45-06-07 (09) Night
Arch Obolers Plays 45-06-14 (10) Mr Pyle
Arch Obolers Plays 45-06-21 (11) The Naked Mountain
Arch Obolers Plays 45-06-28 (12) The Truth
Arch Obolers Plays 45-07-05 (13) Dr Bluff
Arch Obolers Plays 45-07-12 (14) A Gallery of Big Shots - Feminine
Arch Obolers Plays 45-07-19 (15) Special to Hollywood
Arch Obolers Plays 45-07-26 (16) My Chicago
Arch Obolers Plays 45-08-02 (17) Parade
Arch Obolers Plays 45-08-09 (18) History of a Mug
Arch Obolers Plays 45-08-16 (19) Lust for Life
Arch Obolers Plays 45-09-06 (21) Mirage
Arch Obolers Plays 45-09-13 (22) A Gallery of Big Shots - Masculine
Arch Obolers Plays 45-09-20 (23) Rocket from Manhattan
Arch Obolers Plays 45-09-27 (24) The Family Nagachi
Arch Obolers Plays 45-10-04 (25) Mr Miller
Arch Obolers Plays 45-10-11 (26) This Living Book (I Declare War)
Arch Obolers Plays 48-03-09 (51) Johnny Got His Gun(1)
Arch Obolers Plays 64-10-03 (01)The Word
Arch Obolers Plays 64-10-10 (02)The Visitor From Hades
Arch Obolers Plays 64-10-17 (03) Special to Hollywood
Arch Obolers Plays 64-10-24 (04) The Day Sinatra Got Fat
Arch Obolers Plays 64-10-31 (05) Come to the Bank
Arch Obolers Plays 64-11-07 (06) Immortal Gentleman
Arch Obolers Plays 64-11-14 (07) Big Ben
Arch Obolers Plays 64-11-21 (08) Rocket from Manhattan
Arch Obolers Plays 64-11-28 (09) African Story
Arch Obolers Plays 64-12-05 (10) Revolt of the Worms
Arch Obolers Plays 64-12-12 (11) Bathysphere
Arch Obolers Plays 64-12-19 (12) Mirage
Arch Obolers Plays 64-12-26 (13) Him or Me
Arch Obolers Plays xx-xx-xx The Dark Stereo
Arch Obolers Plays xx-xx-xx The Day The Sun Expl
Biography in Sound 56-05-15 (49) Recolections at 30
Biography in Sound 56-12-04 (69) Ticket to the Moon
Cavalcade of America 420119 262 An American Is Born
Columbia Workshop 381222 (122) Bread on the Waters
Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy 371212 Mae West
Plays For Americans 42-02-01 (01) Johnny Quinn
Plays For Americans 42-03-15 (07) A Letter At Midnight
Plays For Americans 42-06-21 (20) Adolf & Mrs Runyon
Rudy Vallee - Royal Gelatin Hour 38-05-05 Guest - Boris Karloff
Rudy Vallee - Royal Gelatin Hour 38-06-16 Guest - Raymond Johnson, Irving Caesar
Rudy Vallee - Royal Gelatin Hour 38-09-15 Guest - Brian Aherne

DISC 2
Drop Dead xx-xx-xx (1) Introduction to Horror
Drop Dead xx-xx-xx (2) I'm Hungry
Drop Dead xx-xx-xx (3) Taking Papa Home
Drop Dead xx-xx-xx (4) The Dark
Drop Dead xx-xx-xx (5) A Day at the Dentist's
Drop Dead xx-xx-xx (6) The Posse
Drop Dead xx-xx-xx (7) Chicken Heart
Drop Dead xx-xx-xx (8) The Laughing Man
Lights Out 360617 002 Cat Wife
Lights Out 360805 009 Money Money Money
Lights Out 360812 010 Across the Gap
Lights Out 360909 014 The Author and the Thing
Lights Out 360916 015 The Sea
Lights Out 361014 019 The Fast One
Lights Out 361209 027 Nobody Dies
Lights Out 361216 028 Poltergeist
Lights Out 370217 037 Cat Wife Repeat
Lights Out 370303 039 Sakhalin
Lights Out 370310 040 Chicken Heart
Lights Out 370317 041 State Executioner
Lights Out 370414 0Lights Out 45 The Little People
Lights Out 370512 049 Organ
Lights Out 370526 051 Until Dead
Lights Out 370616 054 Meteor Man
Lights Out 370623 055 Happy Ending
Lights Out 370714 058 Lord Marley's Ghost
Lights Out 371117 066 Little Old Lady
Lights Out 371222 071 Uninhabited aka Christmas Story
Lights Out 371229 072 The Dark
Lights Out 380126 075 Oxychloride X
Lights Out 380216 078 Murder Castle
Lights Out 380223 079 Chicken Heart 37 03 10 Repeat
Lights Out 380316 082 Superfeature
Lights Out 380323 083 The Dream with Boris Karloff
Lights Out 380330 084 Valse Triste with Boris Karloff
Lights Out 380406 085 Cat Wife with Boris Karloff
Lights Out 380511 090 It Happened
Lights Out 380608 094 Spider
Lights Out 390426 128 The Devil's Due
Lights Out 410217 XXX Special to Hollywood
Lights Out 421006 001 What the Devil
Lights Out 421013 002 Revolt of the Worms
Lights Out 421020 003 Poltergeist
Lights Out 421027 004 Mungahra
Lights Out 421103 005 Accross The Gap
Lights Out 421110 006 Bon Voyage
Lights Out 421117 007 Come To The Bank
Lights Out 421124 008 Chicken Heart 37 03 10 Repeat
Lights Out 421201 009 Mister Maggs
Lights Out 421208 010 Scoop
Lights Out 421215 011 Knock At The Door
Lights Out 421222 012 Meteor Man
Lights Out 421229 013 Valse Trieste
Lights Out 430105 014 The Fast One
Lights Out 430119 016 Alley Cat
Lights Out 430126 017 Protective Mr Drogen
Lights Out 430202 018 Until Dead
Lights Out 430209 019 He Dug It Up
Lights Out 430216 020 Oxychloride X
Lights Out 430223 021 They Met At Dorset
Lights Out 430302 022 The Sea
Lights Out 430309 023 The Ball
Lights Out 430316 024 The Dream
Lights Out 430323 025 The Flame
Lights Out 430330 026 Money Money Money
Lights Out 430406 027 Super Feature - Familiar Sudenly Unfamiliar
Lights Out 430413 028 Archer - Ancestor
Lights Out 430420 029 Kill
Lights Out 430427 030 Execution
Lights Out 430504 031 Heavenly Jeep
Lights Out 430511 032 Murder In The Script Department
Lights Out 430518 033 The Spider
Lights Out 430525 034 Little Old Lady
Lights Out 430601 035 The Ugliest Man In The World
Lights Out 430608 036 The Organ
Lights Out 430615 037 Prelude To Murder
Lights Out 430622 038 Nature Study
Lights Out 430629 039 Bathysphere
Lights Out 430706 040 The Cliff
Lights Out 430713 041 Visitor From Hades
Lights Out 430720 042 Profits Unlimited
Lights Out 430727 043 The Little People
Lights Out 430803 044 Murder Castle
Lights Out 430810 045 Sakhalin
Lights Out 430817 046 State Executioner
Lights Out 430824 047 Sub-Basement
Lights Out 430831 048 Immortal Gentleman
Lights Out 430907 049 Lord Marley's Guest
Lights Out 430914 050 The Word
Lights Out 430921 051 Mirage
Lights Out 430928 052 The Author and The Thing
Lights Out 450721 002 Reunion After Death
Lights Out 450728 003 The Rocket Ship
Lights Out 450825 006 Man In The Middle
Lights Out 450901 007 The day the sun exploded
Lights Out 460713 002 The Coffin In Studio B
Lights Out 460720 003 Haunted Cell
Lights Out 460727 004 Battle Of The Magicians
Lights Out 460803 005 The Revenge Of India
Lights Out 460810 006 Ghost On the Newsreel Negative
Lights Out 460824 008 The Signal Man
Lights Out470716 002 Death Robbery with Boris Karloff
Lights Out470730 004 The Ring - Ending Missing
Lights OutXXXXXX XXX African Story
Lights OutXXXXXX XXX Baby on the way
Lights OutXXXXXX XXX Challenge In Horror
Lights OutXXXXXX XXX Drop Dead
Lights OutXXXXXX XXX You'll Be Dead In 3 Days

DISC 3
Everyman's Theater 40-10-11 (02) This Precious Freedom
Everyman's Theatre 40-10-04 (01) The Lonely Heart
Everyman's Theatre 40-10-18 (03) Cat Wife
Everyman's Theatre 40-12-20 (12) The Women Stayed at Home
Everyman's Theatre 41-03-28 (26) Baby
Everything for the Boys 44-01-18-ep01 Petrified Forest
Everything for the Boys 44-02-01-ep03 Lost Horizon
Everything for the Boys 44-02-08-ep04 Berkeley Square
Everything for the Boys 44-02-15-ep05 A Man to Remember
Everything for the Boys 44-02-22-ep06 The Woman Stayed at Home
Everything for the Boys 44-03-07-ep08 Of Human Bondage
Everything for the Boys 44-03-14-ep09 The Ghost Goes West
Everything for the Boys 44-03-21-ep10 A Girl on the Road
Everything for the Boys 44-03-28-ep11 An Ostrich in Bed
Everything for the Boys 44-04-04-ep12 This Living Book
Everything for the Boys 44-04-11-ep13 The Citadel
Everything for the Boys 44-04-18-ep14 The Jarvis Bay Goes Down
Everything for the Boys 44-04-25-ep15 Death Takes a Holiday
Everything for the Boys 44-05-02-ep16 Holy Matrimony
Everything for the Boys 44-05-09-ep17 This Above All
Everything for the Boys 44-05-16-ep18 Blithe Spirit
Everything for the Boys 44-05-23-ep19 Quality Street
First Nighter 44-03-29 (0615) The Chinese Gong
Four for the Fifth xx-xx-xx (3) The Laughter
Four for the Fifth xx-xx-xx (4) E-Day
Good News Of 38-05-19 (029) Guest - Joan Crawford
Good News Of 38-11-17 (047) Guest - Joan Crawford
Good News Of 40-01-04 (105) Guest - Ann Southern
Good News Of 40-02-01 (109) Guest - Alan Marshall
Keep Em Rolling 42-05-03 (26) This Precious Freedom
Radio Hall of Fame 45-04-22 (073) Alter Ego
The Devil & Mr O 71-09-10 Arch Oboler's Demo
The Devil & Mr O 71-09-17 01 Alley Cat
The Devil & Mr O 71-09-24 02 Neanderthal
The Devil & Mr O 71-10-01 03 Revolt Of The Worms
The Devil & Mr O 71-10-08 04 Where Are You
The Devil & Mr O 71-10-15 05 Mr Freak
The Devil & Mr O 71-10-22 06 Gravestone
The Devil & Mr O 71-10-29 07 Ancestor
The Devil & Mr O 71-11-05 08 Nature Study
The Devil & Mr O 71-11-12 09 Big Mr Little
The Devil & Mr O 71-11-19 10 No Escape
The Devil & Mr O 71-11-26 11 Vacation With Death
The Devil & Mr O 71-12-03 12 The Hole
The Devil & Mr O 71-12-10 13 Live Forever
The Devil & Mr O 71-12-17 14 Going Down
The Devil & Mr O 71-12-24 15 Balance Sheet
The Devil & Mr O 71-12-31 16 House Is Haunted
The Devil & Mr O 72-01-07 17 Official Killer
The Devil & Mr O 72-01-14 18 The Hungry One
The Devil & Mr O 72-01-21 19 Three Thousand Dollars
The Devil & Mr O 72-01-28 20 The Chest
The Devil & Mr O 72-02-04 21 Paris Macabre
The Devil & Mr O 72-02-11 22 Rocket From Manhattan
The Devil & Mr O 72-02-18 23 Hollywood Visitor
The Devil & Mr O 72-02-25 24 Cemetary
The Devil & Mr O 72-03-03 25 Speed
The Devil & Mr O 72-03-10 26 Shrinking People
The Devil & Mr O Intro