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Crime Classics

50 episodes · 1953–1954 · CBS, Armed Forces Radio Service · Thriller

Play Crime Classics on Radio Days

Every week Thomas Hyland, "connoisseur of crime, student of violence, and teller of murders," told the true story of a famous killing from history, with a dark sense of humor. Lou Merrill played Hyland. Elliott Lewis produced and directed, Morton Fine and David Friedkin wrote every script, and Bernard Herrmann wrote the music for all but one. It ran on CBS from June 15, 1953, to June 30, 1954, with no sponsor.

Sources: Crime Classics, Wikipedia

Episodes

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1953

• The Crime of Bathsheba Spooner June 15, 1953 · CBS · 30 min
  The first show: the case of the first woman tried and executed in the United States.
• Shockingly Peaceful Passing of Thomas Edwin Bartlett, Green Grocer (AFRTS) June 22, 1953 · 30 min
  Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
• The Checkered Life and Sudden Death of Colonel James Fisk, Jr June 29, 1953 · CBS · 30 min
  New York, 1872: two rich rivals and the beautiful widow both of them love.
• The Shrapnelled Body of Charles Drew, Sr July 6, 1953 · CBS · 30 min
  England, 1739: a son kills his father before he can change his will.
• The Terrible Deed of John White Webster July 13, 1953 · CBS · 30 min
  When does a doctor need a friend? When the janitor suspects him of murder.
• The Death of a Picture Hanger July 20, 1953 · CBS · 30 min
  The Ford brothers take the job of killing Jesse James, and do it.
• The Final Day of General Ketchum and How He Died July 27, 1953 · CBS · 29 min
  How did the general die? Even the narrator isn't sure.
• Mr. Thrower's Hammer August 3, 1953 · CBS · 30 min
  England, 1804: a father and daughter are beaten to death, and eleven years later doubts arise.
• The Axe and the Droot Family: How They Fared August 10, 1953 · CBS · 30 min
  Pennsylvania, 1795: the shortest way to an inheritance is two crushed skulls.
• The Incredible Trial of Laura D. Fair August 17, 1953 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 30 min
  The much-married Laura Fair uses her four-shooter on a San Francisco ferry, for interesting reasons.
• The Alsop Family: How It Diminished and Grew Again August 24, 1953 · CBS · 30 min
  The 1670s: a family of highwaymen is none too pleased with one member's new bride.
• Your Loving Son, Nero August 31, 1953 · CBS · 29 min
  The emperor Nero decides to kill his mother, Agrippina. William Conrad sings, more or less.
• The Torment of Henrietta Robinson and Why She Killed September 7, 1953 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 30 min
  Troy, New York, 1845: a woman, her doll Cecily, and madness turned to murder.
• Bloody, Bloody Banks of Fall River September 30, 1953 · 30 min
  Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
• The Hangman and William Palmer: Who Won? October 7, 1953 · CBS · 30 min
  Dr. William Palmer enjoys horse racing and poisoning.
• The Seven Layered Cake of Madame LaFarge October 14, 1953 · CBS · 30 min
  Madame Lafarge: a murderous wife, or a scheming mother?
• Billy Bonney, Bloodletter, Also Known as The Kid October 21, 1953 · CBS · 30 min
  The short, violent life of Billy the Kid. William Conrad's Pat Garrett gets through the whole first scene on six grunts.
• John Hayes...His Head...and How They Were Parted October 28, 1953 · CBS · 30 min
  A man comes home from war to find his wife enjoying two lodgers, and soon his head turns up beside the Thames.
• Raschi Among the Crocodiles, and the Prank He Played (AFRTS) November 4, 1953 · 30 min
  Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
• Blackbeard's Fourteenth: Why She Was No Good for Him November 11, 1953 · CBS · 30 min
  A famous pirate gets his due.
• The Triangle on the Round Table November 18, 1953 · CBS · 30 min
  A crime story from the days of King Arthur.
• The Killing Story of William Corder and the Farmer's Daughter November 25, 1953 · CBS · 28 min
  A knife grinder plans to marry, his sweetheart is killed, and he marries someone else.
• If a Body Need a Body, Just Call Burke and Hare December 2, 1953 · CBS · 29 min
  Two men of old Scotland supply bodies on demand to the medical profession, and business is good.
• The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln December 9, 1953 · CBS · 30 min
  Lincoln dreams of his own death, and then the dream comes true.
• John and Judith, Their Crime, and Why They Didn't Get to Enjoy It December 16, 1953 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 30 min
  Arsenic poisoning in old England.
• Coyle and Richardson: Why They Hung in a Spanking Breeze December 30, 1953 · CBS · 30 min
  A big, powerful Scotsman and his small companion take up a life of crime at sea.

1954

• The Younger Brothers: Why Some of Them Grew No Older January 6, 1954 · CBS · 29 min
  Missouri in 1866, and the outlaw Younger brothers.
• How Supan Got the Hook Outside Bombay January 13, 1954 · CBS · 30 min
  Brother against brother in old Bombay, with a tiger.
• Madeline Smith, Maid or Murderess...Which? January 20, 1954 · CBS · 30 min
  A lovely young woman with a free hand with arsenic.
• The Bourne Brothers and the Hangman...A Study in Nip and Tuck January 27, 1954 · CBS · 30 min
  Rutland, Vermont, 1817: a man who danced in the moonlight with the little people.
• The Incredible History of John Shepherd February 3, 1954 · CBS · 30 min
  An amazing rogue of old England.
• Twenty Three Knives Against Caesar February 10, 1954 · CBS · 30 min
  The death of Julius Caesar, told as a crime classic.
• Jean Baptiste Troppmann, Killer of Many February 17, 1954 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 30 min
  In France, a young man plans his way to fame and fortune through murder.
• The Good Ship Jane: Why She Became Flotsam February 24, 1954 · CBS · 30 min
  Piracy and murder aboard the ship Jane.
• Roger Nems: How He, Though Dead, Won the Game March 3, 1954 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 30 min
  A murder story from the reign of Charles II, with period music arranged by Bernard Herrmann.
• New Hampshire: the Tiger and Brad Ferguson, What Happened Then March 10, 1954 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 30 min
  A carnival owner who drinks too much, and a tiger.
• Old Sixtoes: How He Stopped Construction on the B.B.C. and I March 17, 1954 · CBS · 30 min
  An old man and his young wife in India, a recipe for murder.
• Robby-Boy Balfour, How He Wrecked the Big Prison's Reputation March 31, 1954 · CBS · 30 min
  A tale of old Scotland and a famous prison's reputation.
• The General's Daughter, the Czar's Lieutenant and the Linen Closet April 7, 1954 · CBS · 30 min
  An old Russian tale of a hidden romance that ends in the frozen Neva.
• James Evans, Fireman: How He Extinguished a Human Torch April 14, 1954 · CBS · 30 min
  True love, starting with a human torch.
• Caesare Borgia...His Most Difficult Murder April 21, 1954 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 29 min
  Rome, 1500: murder, and plots for more.
• Widow Magee and the Three Gypsies...A Vermont Fandango April 28, 1954 · CBS · 29 min
  A beautiful New England widow casts her own spell on three Gypsies.
• Bunny Baumler, His Close Brush with Fame May 5, 1954 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 29 min
  Nuremberg, 1820: a bumbler who can't do anything right except bludgeon four people in a beer hall.
• Mr. Clark's Skeleton in Mr. Aram's Closet: the Noise It Made May 12, 1954 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 30 min
  Yorkshire, 1758: a trial, and is the wrong man headed for the gallows?
• The Lethal Habit of the Marquise de Brinvilliers May 26, 1954 · CBS · 29 min
  A pleasant couple in old France poison everyone who displeases them.
• Mr. Jonathan Jewett: How He Most Peculiarly Cheated the Hangman June 2, 1954 · CBS · 29 min
  A prisoner about to be hanged plans to cheat the noose, with a friend's help.
• The Assassination of Leon Trotsky June 9, 1954 · CBS · 29 min
  The murder of Leon Trotsky in Mexico.
• The Death of a Baltimore Birdie...and Friend June 16, 1954 · CBS · 30 min
  A has-been prizefighter's adventures in love and murder.
• Ali Pasha...A Turkish Delight June 23, 1954 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 30 min
  A strange Ottoman tale of murder, and a mother in the dungeon.
• Good Evening, My Name Is Jack the Ripper June 30, 1954 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 29 min
  Jack the Ripper, seen through the eyes of a young woman.