The Sealed Book, 621 Classic Old Time Radio Shows Horror Thriller OTR DVD

Don't be fooled by other collections that claim to contain more episodes.  Many of these shows were aired on multiple dates in reruns, so you have plenty of sellers out there padding their collections with reruns!  We feature all known episodes in existence and do not add "fluff" to our collections to increase our claimed episode count like many others. 

NOTICE: This collection is all in MP3 format supplied on DVD.  You play this in your computer and then can copy all the MP3 files to your MP3 player of choice.  This DVD will NOT play in a regular CD player in your car, or your TV's DVD player, it is intended for your computer only which will allow you to transfer the MP3 files to any device that can play MP3's.  This collection remains the largest most original collection on ebay.

The Sealed Book:

The Sealed Book was a radio series of mystery and terror tales, produced and directed by Jock MacGregor for the Mutual network. Between March 18 and September 9, 1945, the melodramatic anthology series was broadcast on Sundays from 10:30pm to 11:00pm.

Each week, after "the sound of the great gong," host Philip Clarke observed that the mysteriously silent "keeper of the book has opened the ponderous door to the secret vault wherein is kept the great sealed book, in which is recorded all the secrets and mysteries of mankind through the ages, Here are tales of every kind, tales of murder, of madness, of dark deeds strange and terrible beyond all belief." After this introduction, the dramas began, occasionally interrupted by extended organ solos. Although this anthology series did not have recurring characters (other than the Narrator and the Keeper of the Book), the writers often used the same names for different characters from week to week, including "Hester", "Drake", and most especially "Roger".

At the end of an episode, Clarke told listeners to tune in the following week when "the sound of the great gong heralds another strange and exciting tale from... the sealed book." Scripts were by Robert Arthur, Jr. and David Kogan, who also were responsible for The Mysterious Traveler, and recycled many of the more popular stories from that parent program. "The Hands of Death" was the first of the 26 episodes which concluded with "Death Laughs Last".

Command Performance:

Command Performance was a radio program which originally aired between 1942 and 1949. The program was broadcast on the Armed Forces Radio Network (AFRS) with a direct shortwave transmission to the troops overseas. It was not broadcast over domestic U.S. radio stations.

The program was produced before an audience in the Vine Street Playhouse in Hollywood, California, and recorded via electrical transcription. The weekly listening audience of military personnel was estimated at 95.5 million.

Troops sent in requests for a particular performer or program to appear, and they also suggested unusual ideas for music and sketches on the program, such as: "Ann Miller tap dancing in military boots"; "a sigh from Carole Landis"; "foghorns on San Francisco Bay"; "Errol Flynn taking a shower"; "a slot machine delivering the jackpot" and "Bing Crosby mixing a bourbon and soda for Bob Hope". Top performers of the day appeared, including Bing Crosby, Jack Benny, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Fred Allen, Ginger Rogers, Judy Garland and The Andrews Sisters.

The first Command Performance was broadcast on March 1, 1942, almost exactly three months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It was under the aegis of the Office of War Information and its success paved the way for the creation of the Armed Forces Radio Service in May 1942. Time magazine described Command Performance as being, "the best wartime program in America". However very few listeners in the United States ever heard it and it would appear that the Christmas Command Performance of 1942 was the only programme of the series to be broadcast to a general audience. Variety magazine commented on this saying: "The War Department on Christmas Eve gave domestic listeners their first taste of a series that had been going out to the Armed Forces on short-wave for 43 consecutive weeks. The purpose of the special occasion as Elmer Davis, Office of War Information chief, expressed it in a foreword to the show, was to forge a link between the servicemen abroad and the folks on the Home Front. A recorded version of the show was short-waved, all over the world, the next day... Hope emceed, tossed off a monologue and cross-fired with Crosby. A special treat in the vocal department was the version of "Basin Street Blues" that came out of the tonsil partnership of Bing Crosby and The Charioteers."

At the outset, the AFRS was shortwaving the shows but the reception was often distorted or spoiled by fading and static. Also many servicemen had no access to a shortwave receiver. These problems were resolved when the Armed Forces Radio Service sought permission from the four major radio networks to record favorite programmes on 16" transcription discs. As many as seventy of these programmes were recorded and produced each week, especially for the armed forces, together with Command Performance, Mail Call, G.I. Journal and various other series. At the peak of the war, around 21,000 transcriptions were being shipped to troops in Europe, Asia and the South Pacific and over 800 radio stations, operated by servicemen and for servicemen, were set up to cover all theatres of war, in order to provide music and laughter from home.

An article in a 1943 issue of Tune In magazine estimated the value of the talent appearing on Command Performance as follows: "Presented by a commercial sponsor, Command Performance would have a weekly talent cost of $50,000. For Uncle Sam, there are no charges."

The final episode of Command Performance—the 415th in the series—was produced in December 1949. The program was one of nine AFRS shows that were ended as a result of a budget cut by the Secretary of Defense.

And more Bonus Radio Shows:

As a sampler of our old time radio library, we are including these classic old time radio shows on this DVD-ROM at no extra charge: