Theater of the Mind

Quiet, Please

90 episodes · 1947–1949 · ABC, Mutual · Thriller

Illustration: a transcription disc label made for Radio Days, not an original disc

Wyllis Cooper, who created Lights Out, wrote and directed Quiet, Please from June 8, 1947, on Mutual to June 25, 1949, on ABC: 106 episodes. Ernest Chappell was "the man who spoke to you," telling each story in the first person, with long pauses and little else. It was nearly forgotten until more than 80 episodes turned up in the late 1980s. "The Thing on the Fourble Board" is often called one of the best horror programs ever broadcast.

Sources: Quiet, Please, Wikipedia

Episodes

Tap a year to see its episodes, then a title to play it on Radio Days.

194721 episodes

Nothing Behind the Door June 8, 1947 · Mutual · 29 min
The first show: there is something strange about a house near the Mount Wilson observatory, and when they say nothing is behind the door, they mean it.
I Have Been Looking for You June 15, 1947 · Mutual · 30 min
A sad love story of a couple who finally found each other and died smiling. Announced as the second show of the series.
We Were Here First June 22, 1947 · Mutual · 29 min
A story of giants, and of the men who kill them.
The Ticket Taker June 29, 1947 · Mutual · 29 min
A gang of Chicago mobsters meets the Ticket Taker, and you need a ticket for where they're going.
Cornelia July 20, 1947 · 30 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
I Remember Tomorrow July 27, 1947 · Mutual · 29 min
A gang hires a physicist who drinks to build them a time machine. He does, and doesn't much like what the future holds.
Inquest August 3, 1947 · Mutual · 29 min
Mr. Ross tells an unsympathetic jury about his sister Eileen.
Bring Me to Life August 10, 1947 · Mutual · 29 min
A writer for Quiet, Please has a typewriter that types by itself, and whatever it types comes true.
How Are You, Pal? September 10, 1947 · Mutual · 31 min
A man has just come back from prison, not as a convict but as a worker.
Not Enough Time October 6, 1947 · 28 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
Camera Obscura October 13, 1947 · Mutual · 24 min
A killer sees his victim come back again and again in a camera obscura.
Pavanne, the Girl with the Flaxen Hair October 20, 1947 · 23 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
Dont Tell Me About Halloween October 27, 1947 · 25 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
Take Me out to the Graveyard November 3, 1947 · 24 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
Three November 10, 1947 · 24 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
Kill Me Again November 17, 1947 · 24 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
In Memory of Bernadine November 24, 1947 · 24 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
Come In, Eddie December 1, 1947 · 24 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
Some People Dont Die December 8, 1947 · 25 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
Little Fellow December 15, 1947 · 24 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
Rain on New Years Eve December 29, 1947 · 25 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.

194844 episodes

Little Visitor January 5, 1948 · 25 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
The Room Where Ghosts Live January 12, 1948 · 24 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
Bakers Dozen January 19, 1948 · 24 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
Green Light January 26, 1948 · 24 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
The Pathetic Fallacy February 2, 1948 · Mutual · 29 min
A scientist introduces his lovesick computer to the press.
A Red and White Guidon February 9, 1948 · Mutual · 29 min
The cavalry and the Indian wars of the old West, and no way into Fiddler's Green.
Whence Came You February 16, 1948 · Mutual · 29 min
A strange woman in the lobby of Shepheard's Hotel in Cairo, and a newly found tomb in the Egyptian desert.
Wear the Dead Man's Coat February 23, 1948 · Mutual · 29 min
"Wear the dead man's coat, and nobody takes note." An easy path to invisibility, and Kidneyfoot Cassidy takes it.
Sketch for a Screenplay March 1, 1948 · Mutual · 29 min
A movie about the war, and all too real.
Never Send to Know March 8, 1948 · Mutual · 29 min
A ghost hires a private eye to find out who killed him.
A Night to Forget March 22, 1948 · Mutual · 29 min
A radio performer starts to find out what it's like to be dead.
Please March 29, 1948 · 30 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
I Always Marry Juliet April 5, 1948 · Mutual · 27 min
The memoirs of an eternal Romeo, a Shakespearean actor. A surprise ending.
Twelve to Five April 12, 1948 · Mutual · 30 min
An all-night disc jockey and the strange newscaster on his shift, whose news seems to come from the future.
Clarissa April 19, 1948 · Mutual · 29 min
An old man and his daughter, who is never seen.
Thirteen and Eight April 26, 1948 · Mutual · 28 min
A "lens louse" keeps stepping in front of a news photographer, with surprising results.
How Beautiful Upon the Mountain May 3, 1948 · Mutual · 29 min
An early expedition up Mount Everest, and what it found near the top.
There Are Shadows Here May 10, 1948 · Mutual · 29 min
The only thing worse than a woman who's just a shadow is a man who has no shadow.
Gem of Purest Ray May 17, 1948 · Mutual · 29 min
A man who has killed thirty-two fish-people from Atlantis tries to warn the police of their plans to conquer the world.
In the House Where I Was Born May 24, 1948 · Mutual · 29 min
Memories of times and places long gone.
Not Responsible After Thirty Years June 14, 1948 · Mutual · 30 min
The skeleton of a Roman legionary, buried in Britain in the year 410, is found wearing a wristwatch.
Let the Lillies Consider June 28, 1948 · 24 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
Vahine Tahiti July 5, 1948 · Mutual · 24 min
The mutiny on the Bounty, from a different point of view.
As Long as I Live July 19, 1948 · Mutual · 25 min
Ninety-seven-year-old Uncle Lars has had a stroke, and a spiritualist decides to help bring back his wife.
The Man Who Stole a Planet July 26, 1948 · Mutual · 24 min
An archaeologist finds a strange globe in a Mexican tomb. It's the globe: the real planet.
It Is Later Than You Think August 2, 1948 · Mutual · 24 min
A draftee's strange watch works like a time machine, but it's not much help with Sergeant Kilroy.
The Thing on the Fourble Board August 9, 1948 · Mutual · 30 min
An oil-field worker tells of the creature that climbed up the pipe from deep under the earth. Often called one of the best horror shows ever broadcast.
Presto Change-O, I'm Sure August 16, 1948 · Mutual · 27 min
A young man has a magic wand that really works, and finds it isn't all fun.
Three-Thousand Words August 23, 1948 · Mutual · 22 min
An evil dwarf and his crippled brother, both ventriloquists, run a phony seance racket.
The Third Man's Story September 6, 1948 · Mutual · 22 min
Cain and Abel, from Abel's point of view.
Symphony in D Minor September 13, 1948 · Mutual · 24 min
A blind hypnotist orders his wife's lover to kill her when he hears the Franck symphony.
Anonymous September 19, 1948 · ABC · 31 min
The first show on ABC. A politician is strangely upset when a woman on the phone tells him to drop dead.
Light the Lamp for Me September 26, 1948 · ABC · 29 min
A magic lamp gives a man a chance to travel in time.
Meet John Smith, John October 3, 1948 · ABC · 29 min
A man meets another man with the same name, ten years older.
Beezer's Cellar October 10, 1948 · ABC · 29 min
Three crooks hide out in a most unwelcoming spot.
And Jeannie Dreams of Me October 17, 1948 · ABC · 29 min
A real dream girl takes a young man into another world.
Good Ghost October 24, 1948 · ABC · 29 min
A Chicago gangster's ghost hangs around town after he's rubbed out, to help his old girlfriend.
Calling All Souls October 31, 1948 · ABC · 29 min
A condemned killer gets a unique chance to talk with his victims before he's executed.
Adam and the Darkest Day November 7, 1948 · ABC · 29 min
The last three people alive after the bombs fall.
The Evening and the Morning November 14, 1948 · ABC · 28 min
A walk through a cemetery with a murderer, who tells why he killed.
One for the Book November 21, 1948 · ABC · 30 min
In 1957, an Air Force major hits Mach 12 in an experimental rocket plane and finds himself a sergeant in 1937.
My Son John November 28, 1948 · 28 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
Very Unimportant Person December 5, 1948 · ABC · 30 min
The day the atom bombs start to fall, and a strange passenger on an airplane.
Berlin, 1945 December 26, 1948 · ABC · 30 min
American soldiers celebrate Christmas in conquered Germany.

194925 episodes

The Time of the Big Snow January 2, 1949 · ABC · 28 min
Two youngsters meet the lady who plucks geese.
Portrait of a Character January 9, 1949 · ABC · 29 min
A musician has a big job coming up and needs his horn fixed fast.
Is This Murder? January 16, 1949 · ABC · 29 min
A brain transplant in the tradition of Frankenstein. Is this murder?
Summer Good-Bye January 23, 1949 · ABC · 29 min
A couple running from the police head for "Shangri-La" in the California mountains.
Northern Lights January 30, 1949 · ABC · 30 min
A love story about time travel and talking caterpillars.
Tap the Heat, Bogdan February 6, 1949 · ABC · 28 min
Love and murder in the Chicago steel mills.
Valentine February 13, 1949 · ABC · 29 min
An Illinois romance nearly founders for want of a valentine.
Where Do You Get Your Ideas? February 20, 1949 · ABC · 26 min
Over dry Manhattans, a strange man in a bar tells of a woman he's killed five times and the two-headed people on the moon.
If I Should Wake Before I Die February 27, 1949 · ABC · 29 min
In the future, a patriotic scientist destroys the moon, kills off most of the earth, and has bigger plans.
The Man Who Knew Everything March 6, 1949 · ABC · 28 min
An afternoon with Mr. Anderson, the man who knew everything. He really does.
Dark Rosaleen March 13, 1949 · ABC · 29 min
When the woman he loves dies, a man thinks of suicide, and a stranger in a rowboat takes him to a fair place in Ireland.
The Smell of High Wines March 20, 1949 · ABC · 27 min
A distillery worker finds a body after smelling high wines, and once you've smelled high wines, you never forget.
A Time to Be Born and a Time to Die March 27, 1949 · ABC · 27 min
The rise and fall of an ambitious man, a very far fall.
Dialogue for a Tragedy April 10, 1949 · ABC · 30 min
A pistol at a man's head, the finger slowly tightening on the trigger, and the story behind it.
Shadow of the Wings April 17, 1949 · ABC · 30 min
A little girl faces the Angel of Death unafraid.
The Vale of Glen Coe April 24, 1949 · ABC · 30 min
A wounded veteran and his girl drive into a ditch in California and find themselves in a Scottish clan war of 250 years ago.
Dark Gray Magic May 1, 1949 · ABC · 29 min
Meredith Barleycorn buys a book of magic and summons a little devil named Boj.
Other Side of the Stars May 8, 1949 · ABC · 30 min
A hole in the desert unseen for 400 years, the Well of the Stars, with a creature from Alpha Centauri at the bottom.
The Little Morning May 15, 1949 · ABC · 28 min
A man is on his way to be married, a year after his fiancee burned to death. A surprise ending.
The Oldest Man in the World May 21, 1949 · ABC · 29 min
A visit to the home of a real caveman.
In the House Where I Was Born (1949) May 28, 1949 · ABC · 28 min
"Reminiscences of times and places gone by." The same script as the May 24, 1948 show.
Tanglefoot June 4, 1949 · ABC · 29 min
A pet fly, eight or nine inches long. Watch out when he gets hungry.
The Hat, the Bed and John J. Catherine June 11, 1949 · ABC · 28 min
Every actor knows a hat left on a bed means death.
Pavane June 18, 1949 · ABC · 31 min
When a man plays the piano in the dark, a little girl named Joan comes to visit. Who is she? Better not ask.
Quiet, Please June 25, 1949 · ABC · 30 min
The last show of the series, with the same title as the series itself.