History Radio / CBSRadioMysteryTheater

** A very twisted example occurs in "The Deadly Hour," where Martin Jerome finds his wife cheating on him, resulting in what Marshall calls a "mutilation of the soul." Martin doesn't speak to another soul for 25 years, spending two-week vacations alone in a remote cave by the ocean. Then he comes to the cave to find a young couple already inside. Martin is enraged that the couple has invaded his "refuge" and that they remind him of his unfaithful wife and her man, so he seals them in for more than a week and listens in as they gradually lose their minds. [[spoiler:He only lets them out after one [[ImAHumanitarian is about to eat the other]]. Martin succeeds not only in utterly destroying their relationship, but in putting the young man into the same catatonia he was once in.]]

** A very twisted example occurs in "The Deadly Hour," where Martin Jerome walks in on his wife cheating on him, resulting in what Marshall calls a "mutilation of the soul." Martin doesn't speak to another soul for 25 years, spending two-week vacations alone in a remote cave by the ocean. Then he comes to the cave to find a young couple already inside. Martin is enraged that the couple has invaded his "refuge" and that they remind him of his unfaithful wife and her man, so he seals them in for more than a week and listens in as they gradually lose their minds. [[spoiler:He only lets them out after one [[ImAHumanitarian is about to eat the other]]. Martin succeeds not only in utterly destroying their relationship, but in putting the young man into the same catatonia he was once in.]]

* {{Sadist}}: Martin Jerome in "The Deadly Hour." Let's just say being cuckolded ''royally'' screwed him up. When he discovers that two young lovers are inside the remote cave he occupies during his "vacations," and finds himself repulsed as they express love for each other, he seals them inside with rocks and leaves them to die. After more than a week, he comes back just so he can hear them [[SanitySlippage gradually go mad from hunger and desperation]]. Then he ''taunts'' them by dropping them a box of matches simply reading, "I am here." [[spoiler:He only lets them free when the young man is on the verge [[ImAHumanitarian eating his girlfriend]]. After being released from the hospital, the young man – now [[BrokenBird completely shattered from the ordeal]] – is taken in by Martin and enters what sounds like a bizarre co-dependent relationship with him.]] JEEZUS.

* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: In "The Ghost at the Gate," a ghost tries to carry on the affair he had in life with his wife's best friend. It is established that the ghost needs constant assurances of love from both women to have the ability to visit the world of the living. So when the wife learns from her friend about the affair, the two banish the ghost by refusing to "love" him.

** "Tattooed for Murder" -- Katherine frees her younger sister from the clutches of their abusive father, but [[spoiler:is hinted to have sacrificed her soul/morality by allowing him to die.]]

* HeWhoFightsMonsters: "Tattooed for Murder" ends [[spoiler:with the tattooed lady in a carnival freak show withholding medicine from her AssholeVictim father and allowing him to die. The story ends with a depressing moral that living in an environment of hatred like the father's household can rub off on the victim.]]

* YourCheatingHeart: The eponymous "Ghost at the Gate" had an arrangement in life where he remained married to his wife while carrying on an affair with her best friend. After he dies and starts visiting his widow as a ghost, he suggests that the friend move back in with her to keep her company, when in fact he's trying to carry on the affair. It [[LaserGuidedKarma doesn't end well for him]] when the women figure this out.

However, this didn't prevent there from being nostalgia years later, which led to a brief revival of radio drama in TheSeventies. The longest-lasting series of this revival was the ''CBS Radio Mystery Theater'', which aired from 1974 to 1982. It was created by Himan Brown, radio veteran from shows like ''Inner Sanctum Mystery'' and ''The Adventures of NeroWolfe'', and narrated by E. G. Marshall for most of its run, with Tammy Grimes in the last year. Brown narrated a brief rebroadcast in 1998. Of course there is now nostalgia ''for this series'' as well.

In TheFifties, the old time {{Radio Drama}}s gradually died out, with {{UsefulNotes/Television}} taking over. The era (in the USA) is generally considered to have ended with the last network radio dramas ''Suspense'' and ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' on September 30, 1962.

However, this didn't prevent there from being nostalgia years later...which eventually led to a brief revival of radio drama in TheSeventies. The longest-lasting series of this revival was the ''CBS Radio Mystery Theater'', which aired from 1974 to 1982. It was created by Himan Brown, radio veteran from shows like ''Inner Sanctum Mystery'' and ''The Adventures of NeroWolfe'', and narrated by E. G. Marshall for most of its run, with Tammy Grimes in the last year. Brown narrated a brief rebroadcast in 1998. Of course there is now nostalgia ''for this series'' as well.

However, this didn't prevent there from being nostalgia years later...which eventually led to a brief revival of radio drama in TheSeventies. The longest-lasting series of this revival was the ''CBS Radio Mystery Theater'', which lasted from 1974 through 1982. It was created by Himan "Hi" Brown, radio veteran from shows like ''Inner Sanctum Mystery'' and ''The Adventures of NeroWolfe'', and narrated by E. G. Marshall for most of its run, with Tammy Grimes in the last year. Brown narrated a brief rebroadcast in 1998. Of course there is now nostalgia ''for this series'' as well.

* SpeakingLikeTotallyTeen: Scriptwriter Ian Martin's attempts to emulate [[TheSeventies '70s]] youth slang. ("Don't let her give you no run-around, Dad!" "I think bein' around here's gonna be kicks!" "I dig a man who's far out!")

* SpeakingLikeTotallyTeen: Scriptwriter Ian Martin's attempts to emulate [[TheSeventies|'70s]] youth slang. ("Don't let her give you no run-around, Dad!" "I think bein' around here's gonna be kicks!" "I dig a man who's far out!")
* ValuesDissonance: The program was aimed an older audience which grew up with the classic radio dramas, and the scripts often reflected their values. Sam Dann's scripts in particular made nervous references to "women's lib" which by that time were a decade out of date.

However, this didn't prevent there from being nostalgia years later...which eventually led to a brief revival of radio drama in TheSeventies. The longest-lasting series of this revival was the ''CBS Radio Mystery Theater'', which lasted from 1974 through 1982. It was created by Himan "Hi" Brown, radio veteran from shows like ''Inner Sanctum Mystery'', and narrated by E. G. Marshall for most of its run, with Tammy Grimes in the last year. Brown narrated a brief rebroadcast in 1998. Of course there is now nostalgia ''for this series'' as well.

* AbusiveParents: Otto Kramer in "Tattooed for Murder" is an especially vicious piece of work. He kept his two daughters prisoner in his home all their lives, disowns his eldest daughter as a "freak" when she escapes to join a traveling carnival as a tattooed woman, is hinted to have [[IncestSubtext amorous feelings]] towards said daughter, and beats his emotionally wrecked younger daughter with a walking stick to assert his "authority." Cue KarmicDeath.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: The series exists online in its entirety thanks to fans who recorded airings back in the day, with no MissingEpisodes. Some recordings even include local and national radio ads from TheSeventies.

In the 1950s the old time {{Radio Drama}}s gradually died out, with {{UsefulNotes/Television}} taking over. The era (in the USA) is generally considered to have ended with the last network radio dramas ''Suspense'' and ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' on September 30, 1962.

However, this didn't prevent there from being nostalgia years later... which eventually led to a brief revival of radio drama in TheSeventies. The longest-lasting series of this revival was the ''CBS Radio Mystery Theater'', which lasted from 1974 through 1982. It was created by Himan Brown, radio veteran from shows like ''InnerSanctum'', and narrated by E. G. Marshall for most of its run, with Tammy Grimes in the last year. Himan Brown narrated a brief rebroadcast in 1998. Of course there is now nostalgia ''for'' the series.

Tropes include:
* DoorClosesEnding: Ended with the creaking door slamming shut.
* PublicDomainCharacter (necessary because the show was very low budget)
* TwoDecadesBehind (in this case for TheFifties)

In the 1950s the old time {{Radio Drama}}s gradually died out, with {{Television}} taking over. The era (in the USA) is generally considered to have ended with the last network radio dramas ''Suspense'' and ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' on September 30, 1962.

* DoorClosesEnding

The series was a one hour program, with commercials between three acts. It had a variety of genres, though it leaned towards suspense and horror. A total of 1,399 episodes were produced. The series hasn't been released officially in any form, but it was widely recorded by fans and there are no {{Missing Episode}}s. Needless to say, it remains a popular choice for unofficial distribution in digital format.

However, this didn't prevent there from being nostalgia years later... which eventually led to a brief revival of radio drama in TheSeventies. The longest-lasting series of this revival was the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, which lasted from 1974 through 1982. It was created by Himan Brown, radio veteran from shows like ''InnerSanctum'', and narrated by E. G. Marshall for most of its run, with Tammy Grimes in the last year. Himan Brown narrated a brief rebroadcast in 1998. Of course there is now nostalgia ''for'' the series.

The old time {{Radio}} dramas gradually died out, with {{Television}} taking over. The era (in the USA) is generally considered to have ended with the last network radio dramas ''Suspense'' and ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' on September 30, 1962.

The old time radio dramas gradually died out, with television taking over. The era (in the USA) is generally considered to have ended with the last network radio dramas ''Suspense'' and ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' on September 30, 1962.

* StillTheEighties (for the Fifties instead)