Mollé Mystery Theatre (1943-51) aired “Female of the Species” on June 7, 1946 from its 1943-48 original NBC run before it switched to CBS for its final 3 years, of which only 73 of the 237 episodes from both runs are known to still remain in circulation. It would exist under several name changes for another six years or so, and as noted would switch from its original network, NBC, to CBS (1948-51), and then ABC. Its glory years as a first class mystery show are acknowledged as those comprising its original incarnation at NBC. This episode is the 10th we have offered since the first in 2018, and the first since October of 2024.
This episode is broadcast by the Armed Forces Radio Services (AFRS). The AFRS began in 1942 with one of its features (besides current war news) being to entertain the troops abroad. It received license to rebroadcast selected radio programs from a number of current stateside programs, among them Creeps by Night and Molle Mystery Theatre. The shows were aired in their entirety but were stripped of commercials so as not to play favorites with certain products’ advertising. As a final note, in 1954 the AFRS became the AFRTS (Armed Forces Radio & Television Services) when television had become a staple of news and entertainment, and the AFRS and AFRTS were merged in 1998 to become the Armed Forces Network (AFN) which exists today as a worldwide entity with affiliates in many dozens of countries providing a multitude of services to its millions of listeners.
“Female of the Species” stars Lizabeth Scott (1922-2015, photo top right), she of the sultry demeanor and soft husky voice, one of the most sought after actresses of the 1940s, noted perhaps more than anything else for her unforgettable screen presence in primarily noir films alongside such male mega stars as Van Heflin, Humphrey Bogart, Burt Lancaster, Dick Powell, Victor Mature, Charlton Heston, Robert Mitchum, John Payne, Elvis Presley, Dean Martin, and Michael Caine, and the list doesn’t end there. A few of her many films of note include: The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946 with Van Heflin), Dead Reckoning (1947, with Humphrey Bogart), Variety Girl and I Walk Alone (both from 1947 with Burt Lancaster), Pitfall (1948 with Dick Powell), and Dark City (1950 with Charlton Heston).
“Female of the Species” is one of a relatively few radio appearances by Lizabeth Scott, with one source marking it as “notable.” Scott plays Eva Lester, owner of a beauty salon. Not intending to, she falls in love with a married man whom she pressures to tell his wife of their affair and divorce her. At this point this is a typical wife vs. mistress triangle. It is also at this point that the script throws the adulterer and mistress a giant curveball, changing their lives forever, but making for a most interesting script piled high with unexpected irony and unbelievable choices the situation forces them to make. For you see, the wife comes to Eva’s beauty salon, totally unaware of who she is, and asks her to make her beautiful for her husband who she has learned is having an affair, but not with whom. She has refused him a divorce and instead wishes to try anything to make him fall in love with her again. This arrangement continues for many months, with Eva and the desperate wife becoming friends during the many beauty salon visits (at least on the surface). Can you imagine a scenario like that, dear listener? This is as far as I feel comfortable imparting any more of this highly unusual situation, but rest assured the denouement is certainly not what I expected, and I daresay isn’t what you think it might be either. So prepare yourself for an anxiety-drenched avalanche of emotional turmoil as we try to fathom exactly what defines the “Female of the Species.”
(The CD linked above contains this episode and 19 others, all digitally remastered and restored.)
Play Time: 25:12
{Airing on a Friday night in early June of 1946, this episode whetted the appetites of the neighborhood gang for more dramatic skullduggery from some of their favorite detective and mystery pulps. And with almost a full summer vacation ahead of them it was no surprise they found themselves at the nearby newsstand the next morning searching for such thrills as they had heard the night before. Popular Detective (1934-53) owed much of its longevity to its high level of storytelling, achieved by filling each issue with many of the top shelf detective authors of the time. It began as a monthly but from mid-1938 until its demise in 1953 was a reliable bimonthly. Ten Detective Aces (1928-49) began its life as The Dragnet Magazine, focusing on gangsters and organized crime fare, but public interest had faded for these types of stories due to over saturation in previous markets such as film and other print venues, so by 1933 the magazine’s title had become Ten Detective Aces in order to reflect its more contemporary format and focus on detective adventures. The new title and formula was a success and accounted for its extended run of 16 years following the switch. It was a bimonthly in 1946. Thrilling Detective (1931-53) was one of the most popular of all detective pulps, enjoying an amazing run of 213 issues. It was a monthly almost all the way though 1945 at which time it cut back to a full bimonthly schedule in 1946 and would remain so until its final gasp in 1952-53 when it would produce only 9 issues its final two years.}
[Left: Popular Detective, 6/46 – Center: Ten Detective Aces, 6/46 – Right: Thrilling Detective, 7/46]
To view the entire list of weekly Old Time Radio episodes at Tangent Online, click here.