WHFR Sunday Night Mysteries

  • Sunday 9pm-Monday 12am
Genre: 
Old Time Radio

NEW (OLD) PHILLIP MARLOWE HOLIDAY SHOW

Submitted by bb_dj on Sat, 12/21/2024 - 10:36pm.

This classic 1947 detective episode DIDN'T EXIST before our friends at Project Audion recreated it from the script! Their production came to life just this past week.
That, plus during our first hour, a little heard Suspense episode (from much later in 1961) will be heard...but we're just getting started:
In addition we'll feature the Orson Welles Campbell Playhouse production of "A Christmas Carol" starring Lionel Barrymore (Drew's great uncle) as Scrooge (from his original film role).
We'll also feature "The Plot to Overthrow Christmas" from legendary radio writer Norman Corwin, narrated by Orson Welles. This all happens during our 12/22 Sunday Night Mysteries show...9PM ET until 12 Midnight whfr.fm 89.3 on the FM or stream anywhere whfr.fm

COMING UP ON TONIGHTS SHOW...

Submitted by bb_dj on Sun, 12/01/2024 - 3:38pm.

A selection of themed episodes first originally broadcast during the month of December.
Broadway's My Beat, Gunsmoke Christmas episode, two episodes of Suspense from different years as well shows to satisfy hardcore mystery fans: two episodes never heard on WHFR: Murder Clinic and The Whistler..tonight 9PM - 12 Midnight ET 12/01/2024 whfr.fm 89.3

HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR CONTINUES

Submitted by WHFR_DJ on Sun, 10/27/2024 - 8:56pm.

Tonights Halloween spectacular continues as we bring you Inner Sanctum, Suspense and Lights Out (Everyb0dy). Project Audion's recreation of Arch Oboler's Lights Out script Burial Services -- not heard since 1936 -- is TONIGHT during the 11:00 hour along with other original Lights Out plays. WHFR's Sunday Night Mysteries 9:00 12:00 midnight 89.3 FM Dearborn Detroit or whfr.fm everywhere.

SCARY HALLOWEEN SHOWS ALL THIS MONTH

Submitted by bb_dj on Fri, 10/18/2024 - 4:30pm.

Our Hallowe’en Scare-a-thon continues all month as we hear the cream of the crop of mysteries and spook shows – some for the first time ever – both from the Archive and important people to the world of Radio Drama.

SUSPENSE – Hear many hand picked shows from the legendary series that aired for 20 years on CBS Radio – including a major audio upgrade to Vincent Price and Ida Lupino’s appearance in “Fugue in C Minor. “This is an eerie story of a widowed man who has built a huge pipe organ in his home and his kids think he murdered the mom and hid her in the pipes.

The HERMIT’S CAVE originated on Detroit’s WJR, before moving to the west coast. The Hermit was one of the most evil sounding hosts. He narrates “Hanson’s Ghost” and others from 1944.

We’ll also hear many episodes of INNER SANCTUM, the legendary spook show with a host who makes bad puns. The original host, Raymond Edward Johnson (who passed away many years ago) was a frequent guest at the Friends of Old-Time Radio conventions in NJ (attended every year by your Sunday Night Mysteries host).

LIGHTS OUT (EVERYBODY): We are featuring many episodes of various versions of this legendary series, including the very first episode. No copies exist (except in script form). It has however, just been recreated this year by a group of professional voice actors. They are known as Project Audion. WHFR has been given permission to re-broadcast their production of “Burial Services”, not heard since 1936. When first broadcast, NBC received so many complaints that it was never aired again…until now (Don’t worry, it’s tame by todays standards!). Dim the lights and tune in if you dare.

WHFR’S SUNDAY NGHT MYSTERIES comes your way (surprise!) Sunday nights from 9:00pm - midnight for three solid hours… stream on whfr.fm or listen at 89.3 on your FM dial in the Dearborn-Detroit area.

Halloween series continues with Lights Out, Everybody!

Submitted by bb_dj on Sat, 10/12/2024 - 8:18pm.

Sunday Night Mysteries 10/13/2024
This weekend, Sunday Night Mysteries continues our series of spooky stories, beginning with a pair of Suspense shows, “The Customer’s LIKE Murder” and “Last Night,” both from 1943.
Second, we debut a feature from our new friends at Project Audion. There are many shows that do not exist in recorded form – only the scripts. Project Audion has corralled some of the finest voice actors in the country to recreate those shows. WHFR has received special permission to re-broadcast two of their Lights Out productions working from original scipts dating back to the 1930s. The first, called The Dark debuts this weekend on WHFR. The writer, Arch Oboler, actually recreated a 15 minute version in his 1960s album, “Drop Dead.” We will hear the full play, recreated in stunning digital quality that hasn’t been heard anywhere in nearly 90 years. As we get closer to Halloween, we’ll feature more from Project Audion.
Following that also on Sunday night, we’ll present some of Oboler’s short 1960s “Drop Dead” cuts.
What are some shows that have the word WEIRD in their title? We’ll answer that by listening to The Strange Dr. Weird, played by the same actor who played the Mysterious Traveler on NBC. We follow that with The Weird Circle, a fantasy-horror show with “The Thing in the Tunnel.”
That and much much more for this weekends WHFR Sunday Night Mysteries 9:00-12:00 midnight, the witching hour, at 89.3 or whfr.fm on the stream.

MORE DETECTIVES & JUDY GARLAND ON SUSPENSE

Submitted by bb_dj on Fri, 03/08/2024 - 12:30am.

More Detectives and Judy Garland on Suspense in continuing our "females on radio" series.
One of the very few radio detectives, Candy Matson, actually gets married on the last show they produced! We'll hear that episode along with a pair of adventures with Mr. & Mrs. North, Mr. Chameleon and the famous actress, Judy Garland in a tense Suspense episode called Drive-In. That and perhaps even less on WHFR'S Sunday Night Mysteries starting at 9PM ET to Midnight... Stream at whfr.fm or tune in on 89.3 FM.

CHAMELEON, DRAGNET & INNER SANCTUM

Submitted by bb_dj on Sun, 02/18/2024 - 4:45pm.

Tonight on WHFR SUNDAY NIGHT MYSTERIES: MR CHAMELEON was the not-so-witty police detective who used disguises to help solve mysteries. Millionaires and mayhem are at the root of these adventures as Karl Swenson portrays a hard hitting and often terse detective who brings criminals to justice (and punishes the guility). Frank and Anne Hummert were responsible for this series as well as shows like Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons and some 40 other radio shows.
Also tonight, hard boiled and dead serious is Jack Webb as he portrays Joe Friday on another DRAGNET program especially prepared for tonight's show.
Finally, a newly circulated episode of INNER SANCTUM, with all the horrible puns you'd expect of the host along with a mystery. WHFR SUNDAY NIGHT MYSTERIES (02-18-2024) 9PM-MIDNIGHT ET Stream: whfr.fm, 89.3 FM in the Detroit area.

FULL MYSTERY MENU TONIGHT

Submitted by bb_dj on Sun, 01/28/2024 - 6:47pm.

Tonight's mystery menu includes a full line-up of whodunnits including...
Broadway's My Beat The Celia Jordan mystery from 1950
Jeff Regan Investigator with Jack Webb probes the Little Man's Lament
Raymond Chandler's Phillip Marlow gets in the act as well with The Easy Mark starring Gerald Mohr
More with Jack Webb as Sgt Joe Friday in Dragnet in The Big Lay-Out which aired in 1953.
Let George Do It...George Valentine solves the Knock on Wood adventure
Finally, Gloria Swansorn stars in the Suspense broadcast, Murder By the Book from 1947
3 solid hours of Sunday Night Mysteries tonight starting at 9PM ET whfr.fm 89.3

GUNSMOKE, DRAGNET and more

Submitted by bb_dj on Sun, 06/25/2023 - 4:04pm.

Tonights show includes a twin spin as we take a listen to Jack Webb in two more consecutive DRAGNET broadcasts. We also have the MOLLE MYSTERY THEATER which was originally sponsored by a shave cream. If you missed our William Conrad show, we have much more of his work in tonights show: A twin spin of GUNSMOKE, featuring Conrad, and a host of professional CBS actors, GUNSMOKE was the most famous (and beloved) adult western. It was actually more like a dramatic series with extensively developed characters. They produced hundreds of episodes long after television was commanding the public's attention. No one could compare to Conrad's interpretation of the lead character even after GUNSMOKE made it successfully to TV (without the radio cast).
Finally, the SUSPENSE show in which Conrad played ALL the roles: An eerie tale called The Waxwork broadcast in 1956 on CBS. Tonight, tune in 1 hour early while HISTORY NOTES is still on vacation as we present the lighter side of radio in The Best of Radio Vault from our Tuesday shows. Tonight 9:00-12:00 Midnight EDT 89.3 FM in the Detroit area, whfr.fm on the stream. See you on the radio.

WILLIAM CONRAD IS FEATURED

Submitted by bb_dj on Thu, 06/01/2023 - 4:41pm.

You know the voice if you ever watched a Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoon or old enough to remember his role as a TV detective in Cannon or Jake and the Fatman. It's estimated, though, that he played some 7,500 roles in radio! That included narrator of the CBS series Escape and as Marshall Matt Dillon on radio's Gunsmoke...but that's not all! On WHFR's Sunday Night Mysteries, you'll hear Conrad arguing with the Director (in character) on CBS Radio Workship's "A Matter of Logic." You'll hear him introducing Ray Bradbury's "Mars is Heaven" and finally as part of a tense Suspense show, "The Man Who Threw Acid" from 1956. Televison had already won the public over in the 1950s, but CBS Radio was still producing great radio drama. You'll hear it as always on Sunday 6/04/23 starting at 9PM ET on WHFR'S Sunday Night Mysteries. 89.3 in the Detroit area or whfr.fm on your streaming device.

TONIGHTS SUNDAY NIGHT MYSTERIES

Submitted by bb_dj on Sun, 04/30/2023 - 4:17pm.

It's not just nostalgia, it's hard core entertainment -- the proverbial Theater of the Mind...
We join Jack Webb for another real-life Dragnet police adventure to start tonights show (04/30/2023), followed by a triple play of Suspense. This includes a Suspense show that supposedly never aired, but had various titles as it was presented over the years more than once with different actors... A Murderous Revision was recorded on 10/13/1951 with Howard Duff. Duff was best known as radio's Sam Spade, Detective. In this show, he plays a radio writer, tired of being disrespected who produces a real life radio show in which he plans to finish off his director.
Tonights Mysteries ends with another creepy installment of Anton M. Leader's Murder At Midnight which airs on WHFR just before midnight.
It's WHFR'S SUNDAY NIGHT MYSTERIES 10pm-12 Midnight ET WHFR 89.3 or whfr.fm on your digital device.

NEW SERIES ON WHFR'S CLASSIC RADIO AIRWAVES

Submitted by bb_dj on Fri, 04/07/2023 - 9:51pm.

On this weekend's Sunday Night Mysteries, we feature a series never heard on WHFR: The ADVENTURES OF FRANK RACE was heard toward the end of radio's dramatic years. The series was sort of cross between a detective adventure and James Bond, with plenty of action and intrigue. It was syndicated meaning it was distributed to stations on an individual basis. Less than 50 shows were produced between 1949 and 1950.
Also on tonight's show, the next in the series of the MR. CHAMELEON police adventure, along with a JOHNNY DOLLAR and SUSPENSE tale that we have not broadcast on previous shows. Finally we'll (as usual) invite you to dim your lights for a ghost story or two. Will it be INNER SANCTUM? Will it be THE MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER? or will it be HERMIT'S CAVE which originated in Detroit? Tune in Sunday April 9th 9PM-Midnight ET (Advanced) to find out. WHFR 89.3 in Dearborn-Detroit...whfr.fm on your streaming device.

SIX MYSTERIES ON TONIGHTS SHOW...

Submitted by bb_dj on Sun, 04/02/2023 - 12:36pm.

Tonight's WHFR Sunday Night Mystery program will feature SIX different programs of semi-related nature. Here's the rundown:
DRAGNET The Big Deal (1955)
FIRST NIGHTER Mystery of the Chinese Gong (1944)
MR. CHAMELEON The Forbidden Marriage Murder Case (1949)
THE WHISTLER The Hangtree Affair (1949)
HALL OF FANTASY The Twisting Weeds of Death (1954)
INNER SANCTUM No Rest For the Dead (1950)
The show is inspired by Detroit radio personality and former TV host, Warren Pierce, who in the early 1970s, hosted a somewhat similar program on Sunday nights. Pierce in fact, inspired a career.
WHFR Sunday Mysteries show is exclusive and heard nowhere else, originating from the campus of Henry Ford College, Dearborn Michigan... 89.3 FM Dearborn-Detroit, or whfr.fm on your streaming device... 9PM-Midnight.

COP SHOWS & SPINE TINGLERS

Submitted by bb_dj on Sat, 01/14/2023 - 10:59pm.

It's the middle of January already (can you believe it!?), and we're not slowing down. Get ready for a couple of police adventures as we join Mr. Chameleon for another case, along with Joe Friday for that police drama with one of the most famous openings (DRAGNET). For those of who think it's still Halloween, we again give you a chance to turn OFF your lights. We are featuring two more INNER SANCTUM MYSTERIES episodes with Raymond your host (both from 1945). Finally, a full hour of MURDER AY MIDNIGHT directed by Anton M. Leader, who had also worked on SUSPENSE at one time. It's 3 hours of anything mysterious will do -- on WHFR'S SUNDAY NIGHT MYSTERIES, 1/15/2023 -- hosted by The Keeper of the Archives on WHFR 9PM-Midnight ET...89.3 in the Detroit area...whfr.fm on your streaming device.

INNER SANCTUM & SUSPENSE TONIGHT

Submitted by bb_dj on Sun, 01/08/2023 - 6:27pm.

TONIGHTS WHFR Sunday Mysteries, a triple threat of INNER SANCTUM featuring Raymond Edward Johnson, the original creepy host...followed by ESCAPE...3 Skeleton Key with Vincent Price (that story about the rats in the lighthouse).
Finally, a double dose of SUSPENSE A Murderous Revision...the Howard Duff version (much later with Raymond Burr, retitled Murder on Mike). The Duff version supposedly never aired.
Finally, (also from SUSPENSE) Elliott Reid in Return Trip -- the story of a bus caught in an avalanche -- and "Killer Greg" may be one of the passengers.
TONIGHT, 9PM - 12 MIDNIGHT ET. whfr.fm 89.3 on the FM dial in the Detroit area.

TOM CORBETT, DRAGNET & SUSPENSE

Submitted by bb_dj on Sat, 11/19/2022 - 1:11pm.

On this weeks show (November 20), another 3 hours of "anything dramatic or mysterious will do."
BEFORE COVID, we ran ran a superhero series called THE PLANET MAN. On this weeks show, we go back to the early 50s, for a similar show that ran on both radio & TV...TOM CORBETT, SPACE CADET.

In 1993, we re-united the TOM CORBETT cast at the Friends of Old-Time Radio convention for a recreation and meet and greet. Jackson Beck, the original announcer for SUPERMAN also did TOM CORBETT along with other characters. We'll be hearing "The Space Station of Danger" on Sunday.

Along with that another pair of DRAGNET episodes, followed by two more tales to keep you in SUSPENSE. That includes one with Jack Benny (believe it or not) as a martian in PLAN X...
All hosted live from the WHFR studios at Henry Ford College.
WHFR'S SUNDAY NIGHT MYSTERIES 9PM-12:00 MIDNIGHT ET on 89.3 and streamed at whfr.fm

DETECTIVES ON SUNDAY NIGHT MYSTERIES

Submitted by bb_dj on Tue, 11/08/2022 - 11:13pm.

Featured on our November 13 show are six tales of detective adventures.
All are from the CBS Network.

We start with a series that has only become available during the past couple years and had been extremely rare previously. Now we have over 40 episodes. MR. CHAMELEON is the police officer who uses disguises to trap criminals played by Joseph Kearns.

Following that, we feature another show that actually had a cult following. When CBS cancelled YOURS TRULY, JOHNNY DOLLAR, public outcry forced the network to bring it back! Mandel Kramer stars as JOHNNY DOLLAR "the fabulous free-lance investigator" in two episodes from 1961.

Finally, SAM SPADE was the role that Humphrey Bogart made famous on film, but it also became extremely popular on radio. Howard Duff, however, plays Spade and owned role on radio with the versatile actress Lurene Tuttle as his secretary. We'll also feature two shows of that series from 1949.

SUNDAY NIGHT MYSTERIES starts at 9:00 PM and runs until midnight on WHFR.fm 89.3