Theater of the Mind

The Molle Mystery Theatre

69 episodes · 1943–1948 · NBC, Armed Forces Radio Service · Thriller

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

Play The Molle Mystery Theatre on Radio Days

NBC's mystery anthology for Molle shaving cream, hosted by Bernard Lenrow as Geoffrey Barnes and drawing on stories by Cornell Woolrich and other mystery writers. Many surviving copies are Armed Forces rebroadcasts titled Mystery Playhouse.

Sources: RadioGOLDINdex

Episodes

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

19431 episode

Homicide for Hannah December 28, 1943 · NBC · 29 min
A body turns up in a man's apartment. How did it get there?

194410 episodes

Criminal at Large April 11, 1944 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 30 min
A mad strangler is loose, adapted from a 1931 play.
Death Talks Out of Turn June 20, 1944 · NBC · 30 min
An Army lieutenant and his headstrong wife uncover a Nazi spy ring in wartime Washington.
Fifty Candles July 25, 1944 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 31 min
A ruthless businessman is stabbed, leaving five obvious suspects.
The Comic Strip Murder October 24, 1944 · NBC · 29 min
The wife of a comic-strip artist is sure he plans to murder her.
The Dilemma November 21, 1944 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 28 min
A rotten young man lacks the nerve to kill his grandfather and waits for him to die, then gets a very strange inheritance.
Nightmare November 28, 1944 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 30 min
A dream of murder, a button and a key. Or was it a dream?
A Crime to Fit the Punishment December 5, 1944 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 30 min
An antique dealer and amateur sleuth solves a case of blackmail and murder.
The Bottle Imp AFRS Myst Phs December 12, 1944 · 23 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
The Man in the Velvet Hat December 19, 1944 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 29 min
A homicidal maniac kills at random, with a surprise ending. Peter Lorre stars.
The Letter December 26, 1944 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 25 min
Why is a scrap of paper worth $10,000?

194517 episodes

Deadline at Dawn AFRS Myst Phs January 30, 1945 · 23 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper February 27, 1945 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 30 min
Jack the Ripper returns to kill again in modern Chicago.
The Man Who Murdered in Public March 6, 1945 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 30 min
A brutish little man drowns an old friend, likes the idea, and drowns his wives too.
The Eleventh Juror April 3, 1945 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 30 min
A courtroom drama about one holdout in the jury room, with several twists.
The Cask of Amontillado April 24, 1945 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 29 min
Poe's tale of a man walled up in the wine cellar.
Lady in the Morgue May 15, 1945 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 25 min
A beautiful corpse disappears from the morgue, and the attendant is on the slab in her place.
The Level Crossing May 22, 1945 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 25 min
A man can't bring himself to kill his blackmailer, but the blackmailer is murdered anyway.
The Beckoning Fair One June 5, 1945 · NBC · 29 min
A man rents a haunted house and finds himself humming a hundred-year-old tune.
Breakdown June 12, 1945 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 27 min
An Englishman plans to murder his mistress, or his wife, or both.
The Giaconda Smile June 19, 1945 · NBC · 29 min
A sickly wife is poisoned, and her unfaithful husband is accused.
Marijuana June 26, 1945 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 25 min
A man sick with grief after his wife leaves stabs a girl at a party and shoots a policeman.
Angel Face (1945) October 5, 1945 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 25 min
A sweet-faced killer gets a shock when the man she buried alive comes back.
A Death Is Caused October 12, 1945 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 25 min
A woman plans to scare her husband to death with his terror of snakes.
Leg Man October 19, 1945 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 25 min
Police have an open-and-shut case in a bartender's shooting, but a reporter smells a rat.
The Ghost with the Gun October 26, 1945 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 26 min
A Halloween story: a 'ghost' at the door says trick or treat, and the trick is a gunshot.
Who Took Away the Corpse? November 2, 1945 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 25 min
A magician makes a two-hundred-pound corpse disappear.
Not Quite Perfect November 9, 1945 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 24 min
A man plans the perfect murder of his wife, but things don't go to plan.

194624 episodes

Ladies in Retirement January 18, 1946 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 25 min
An English murder story: we know who did it, but will she get away with it?
Burn Witch Burn AFRS Myst Phs 166 January 25, 1946 · 25 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
Mathematics of Murder February 1, 1946 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 25 min
A man needs money, a clock is moved, and an ex-wife is murdered.
Beautiful Science February 15, 1946 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 24 min
A ticking clock and a wartime bomb disposal man who suspects his wife has stopped loving him.
Last Night February 22, 1946 · NBC · 30 min
A couple running a failing summer resort need $2,500 from a guest, who promptly vanishes.
Red Wine March 8, 1946 · NBC · 30 min
A San Francisco private eye follows a killer to a rubber plantation in the Amazon.
Alibi for Murder March 22, 1946 · NBC · 30 min
The perfect crime: be in two places at once.
The Creeper March 29, 1946 · NBC · 30 min
A mad strangler preys on redheads.
Murder in the City Hall April 5, 1946 · NBC · 30 min
A candidate for judge is murdered, and the commissioner keeps one lieutenant off the case.
Night Must Fall April 12, 1946 · NBC · 29 min
An old woman in a wheelchair, her mysterious helper Danny, and a headless corpse.
Follow That Cab April 19, 1946 · NBC · 30 min
Two cab drivers who fancy themselves detectives stumble on a body.
The Doctor and the Lunatic April 26, 1946 · NBC · 30 min
Murder Without Crime May 3, 1946 · NBC · 30 min
A cozy evening for two is interrupted by a phone call from the ex-wife.
The Further Adventures of Kenny Andrews May 10, 1946 · NBC · 30 min
Killer Come Back to Me May 17, 1946 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 29 min
A gun moll turns a young punk into a bank robber.
Witness for the Prosecution AFRS Myst Phs May 31, 1946 · 25 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
Female of the Species June 7, 1946 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 25 min
A scheming beauty-shop owner is slowly poisoning her lover's wife, then decides to hurry things up.
The Adventure of the Fallen Angel June 14, 1946 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 25 min
A gambler deep in debt to his bookie gets a strange card from an unknown lady: the ace of spades.
The Hands of Dr. Ottermole June 21, 1946 · NBC · 30 min
A strangler stalks the streets of London.
St. Louis Lady August 23, 1946 · NBC · 30 min
A sweltering St. Louis summer and a killer who keeps an expense ledger.
Two Men in a Furnished Room (1946) September 27, 1946 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 24 min
A man accused of murder needs an alibi from his friend.
The Rival Dummy November 1, 1946 · NBC · 30 min
A ventriloquist's dummy with a mind of its own.
Radio Patrol November 29, 1946 · NBC · 31 min
A dying man confesses to a patrolman that he killed on a councilman's orders, and the cop won't let an innocent man hang.
Angel Face (1946) December 20, 1946 · NBC · 30 min
A sweet-faced killer gets a shock when the man she buried alive comes back.

194713 episodes

Corpus Delicti AFRS Myst Phs January 17, 1947 · 25 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
The Bride Wore Black February 7, 1947 · NBC · 29 min
A groom is murdered right after the wedding.
Triangle of Death March 28, 1947 · NBC · 29 min
A woman's lover plans to kill her. Or is it her husband?
Kenny 'Angles' Andrews Returns April 18, 1947 · 28 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
Double-Cross May 30, 1947 · NBC · 30 min
A man plans to kill a woman, pass her off as his wife and collect the insurance.
Talk Them to Death June 27, 1947 · NBC · 30 min
Murder at the circus, where the weapon is a few words in the right ear.
Challenge to the Listener July 4, 1947 · Armed Forces Radio Service · 25 min
A two-voice drama: a murderer and a policeman, but which is which?
Goodbye, Darling August 8, 1947 · NBC · 30 min
A wife and her lover plot to kill her husband for the insurance.
Death Wears a Mask September 5, 1947 · NBC · 28 min
An escaped convict takes two aliases to get back to his old girlfriend.
Death Goes Shopping September 12, 1947 · NBC · 31 min
A woman who runs a shopping service wants money and social standing.
Zelma's Boy September 19, 1947 · NBC · 29 min
Is a thirteen-year-old boy following his father into crime?
The Four Fatal Jugglers November 14, 1947 · NBC · 28 min
Four people who hate each other are stranded on an island.
Two Men in a Furnished Room (1947) November 28, 1947 · NBC · 29 min
Did a man's roommate kill his girlfriend?

19484 episodes

The Betrayer April 2, 1948 · NBC · 29 min
A set of dictating-machine records threatens to give away a man's secret. Julie Haydon plays one role in two voices.
Make No Mistake April 30, 1948 · NBC · 30 min
A blackmailer demands $10,000 from a diner owner and his unfaithful wife, with a surprise ending.
Close Shave May 14, 1948 · NBC · 29 min
A girl's no-good boyfriend talks her into stealing the payroll, then botches killing her.
Solo Performance May 21, 1948 · NBC · 30 min
An actor kills a producer and imitates his voice all day for an alibi.