Murder at Midnight (radio series)

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Murder at Midnight is an old-time radio show featuring macabre tales of suspense, often with a supernatural twist. It was produced in New York and was syndicated beginning in 1946. The show's writers included Robert Newman, [1] Joseph Ruscoll, Max Ehrlich, and William Morwood, [2] and it was directed by Anton M. Leader. [2] The producer was Louis G. Cowan. [3] The host was Raymond Morgan, who delivered the lines of introduction over Charles Paul's organ theme: "Midnight, the witching hour when the night is darkest, our fears the strongest, and our strength at its lowest ebb. Midnight, when the graves gape open and death strikes."

Contents

A total of 50 episodes were produced. [4] Ten shows were syndicated and rerun on Mutual in 1950.

Episodes
EpTitleProduction DateOriginal AirdateWritten by
1"The Dead Hand"April 30, 1946September 16, 1946Robert Newman
A concert pianist loses his left hand in an accident. He meets a pickpocket with very nimble hands and once the pickpocket is dead, he won't need them anymore.
2"The Man Who Was Death"April 30, 1946September 23, 1946Robert Newman
A sculpture tries to perfect his sculpture of Death by putting himself in Death's shoes.
3"Secret of XR3"May 9, 1946September 30, 1946Max Ehrlich
A man, tired of being 3 feet tall, takes a dose of XR3 to make himself grow. How much taller will he get? What will happen to those who laugh at him now?
4"Wherever I Go"May 12, 1946October 7, 1946William Morwood
Gordon grows tired of his rich wife Ellen but knows she will never divorce him. He gets her to buy some rat poison, gives the cook the night off and has his wife write a suicide note for a character in his book. After she dies he believes he is finally free until a suspicious stranger starts following him.
5"Trigger Man"May 12, 1946October 28, 1946Max Ehrlich
"Chicken" Charlie Nix is a hold up thug who has never been able to fire his gun. The mob boss takes him to a doctor who tells him he only has 6 months to live.
6"Death's Goblet"May 23, 1946October 21, 1946Sigmund Miller
Harvey's friend Arthur brings back a mysterious goblet from his travels with a legend that all who drink from it will commit murder. Harvey is not only interested in the goblet but he thinks his rich business partner Gerald and Gerald's lovely wife Susan might be interested as well.
7"The Heavy Death"May 23, 1946November 4, 1946Robert Newman
A mad scientist makes himself “heavy” (as in heavy water, or uranium.) His might crushes men’s skulls! He also has a death ray! But the ghost of a man with a crushed skull comes for revenge!
8"Nightmare"May 28, 1946November 11, 1946Joseph Roscoll
A woman’s murderous nightmare is explained away by her husband’s dream analysis, from hamburgers to their anniversary. But once she falls asleep, the phone rings…
9"The Dead Come Back"May 28, 1946November 18, 1946William Morwood
10"Terror Out Of Space"June 4, 1946February 24, 1947Robert Newman
11"The Creeper"June 11, 1946November 25, 1946Joseph Roscoll
12"The Man Who Died Yesterday"June 11, 1946June 30, 1947William Morwood
13"Till Death Do Us Part"June 11, 1946December 9, 1946Joseph Roscoll
14"Murder is a Lonely Business"June 16, 1946December 16, 1946William Morwood
15"The House Where Death Lives"June 16, 1946December 23, 1946Robert Newman
16"The Kabala"July 28, 1946December 31, 1946Robert Newman
17"Ace of Death"July 28, 1946January 6, 1947Max Ehrlich
Based on Robert Louis Stevenson's The Suicide Club

John Evans: ill, broke and without family and friends decides to jump off a bridge to put an end to it all. A man, Fredrick Whitney, pulls him off and tells him that jumping off a bridge is rather dull and invites him to join the Hereafter club where a card game determines who will be killed and who will be the killer.

18"The House Time Forgot"August 7, 1946January 13, 1947Sigmund Miller
19"Death Tolls a Requiem"August 7, 1946March 17, 1947Max Ehrlich
20"The Thirteenth Floor"August 16, 1946January 27, 1947Winifred Wolfe
21"The Mark of Cain"August 24, 1946September 6, 1946A. S. Ginnes
22"Red Wheels"August 28, 1946September 13, 1946Jack Gordon
23"The Line Is Dead"September 8, 1946April 7, 1947Bafe Blau
24"Death Across the Board"September 18, 1946Robert Newman
25"Murder Out Of Mind"November 6, 1946Sigmund Miller
26"Death Worshipper"September 25, 1946March 10, 1947Jay Williams
27"We Who Are About To Die"October 11, 1946April 21, 1947A. S. Ginnes
28"The Black Curtain"October 11, 1946February 10, 1947Max Ehrlich
29"The Ape Song"October 11, 1946April 13, 1947Peter Martin
30"The Man With The Black Beard"October 11, 1946February 3, 1947Sigmund Miller
31"Death Ship"October 18, 1946April 14, 1947William Morwood
32"Outcast"October 18, 1946February 17, 1947Max Ehrlich
33"Fatal Interruption"October 18, 1946July 14, 1947Bafe Blau
34"The Dispossessed"October 24, 1946July 21, 1947Jack Gordon
35"The Black Swan"October 31, 1946August 18, 1947Leon Meadow
36"Island Of The Dead"November 6, 1946May 5, 1947Robert Newman
37"The Dark Chamber"November 6, 1946May 26, 1947Robert Newman
38"Death Is No End"November 13, 1946June 2, 1947A. S. Ginnes
39"The Dark Cellar"November 13, 1946June 9, 1947Max Ehrlich
40"Murder Is Not Enough"November 13, 1946June 16, 1947Bafe Blau
41"The Face Of The Dragon"November 20, 1946July 7, 1947Jack Bordun
42"The Man Who Died Again"November 20, 1946Robert Newman
43"City Morgue"November 27, 1946May 19, 1947Winifred Wolfe
44"Terror"November 27, 1946February 24, 1947Joseph Ruscoll
45"The Corridor Of Doom"December 4, 1946May 12, 1947Robert Newman
46"Appointment"December 4, 1946July 28, 1947Winifred Wolfe
47"Glory Train"December 11, 1946August 4, 1947Robert Newman
48"A Week Ago Wednesday"December 11, 1946Winifred Wolfe
49"The Living Dead"December 20, 1946April 28, 1947Robert Newman
50"The Face"December 20, 1946August 11, 1947Paul Monash

Critical response

A review in the trade publication Variety called Murder at Midnight "just another routine chiller series", comparing its writing to horror films from 10 years earlier. [3] It described the acting as "fairly good" and found the direction to be "mechanical rather than imaginative". [3]

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References

  1. ↑ "Born in New York City, Robert Newman (1909–1988) was among the pioneers of early radio and was chief writer for the Inner Sanctum Mysteries and Murder at Midnight – forerunners of The Twilight Zone that remain cult favorites to this day."
    "Robert Newman". Open Library, citing Open Road Media publishers. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
    Robert Howard Newman became a successful author of fiction books including The Baker Street Irregulars (Atheneum, 1978) and other children's mysteries.
    "Newman, Robert, 1909–1988". Library of Congress Authorities. LCCN.loc.gov. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  2. 1 2 Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 470. ISBN   978-0-19-507678-3 . Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  3. 1 2 3 "Murder at Midnight". Variety. May 3, 1950. p. 26. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  4. ↑ Copyright Office, Library of Congress (1946). Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 1. [C] Group 3. Dramatic Composition and Motion Pictures. New Series. p. 137.


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