Inner Sanctum (1941-52) aired “Corpse for Halloween” on Monday, October 31, 1949 as the 446th of its approximately 527 episodes. Unfortunately, most of the shows are lost, with best guesstimates ranging from 140 to “less than 200” still in circulation. However, among these still existing shows, some are only partial episodes, with the majority of the complete episodes being AFRS (Armed Forces Radio Service) repeats. While the AFRS is to be commended for having preserved these episodes, it should be noted that it deleted the local, syndicated commercials in order not to play favorites with advertised products (and in select episodes added government ads supporting the war effort). It also removed the original openings and closings, running episodes under the Mystery Playhouse title with Peter Lorre as one of the show’s hosts (along with a nameless “Sergeant X” in certain episodes). This is not one of the AFRS Mystery Playhouse episodes (though the Lipton Tea commercials featuring Mary Bennett have been removed), and is otherwise a full, original episode. It features Raymond Johnson (1911-2001) as the host. Paul McGrath (1904-1978, photo top right) would replace Johnson as host after he left the show in May of 1945 to join the armed forces. Lipton Tea would not become a sponsor until the 1945 season, bringing with it the perky co-host and Lipton Tea spokesperson Mary Bennett who became famous for working in Lipton Tea commercials alongside the host’s terrible puns. Bromo Seltzer became the show’s new sponsor in July of 1946 and remained so until 1950, at which time Mars Candy Bars would assume sponsorship of the show until 1952.
This is the 35th Inner Sanctum episode we’ve run since we began featuring Old Time Radio shows back in 2009, and only the 5th since October of 2019, 7 years ago, so we felt it high time for another, especially with Halloween drawing near. First, however, and of interest to genre fans of horror and the fantastic, we would like to note that between 1943 and 1945 Universal Pictures obtained the rights to, and produced six Inner Sanctum Mystery films. They were Calling Dr. Death (1943), Weird Woman (1944), Dead Man’s Eyes (1944), The Frozen Ghost (1945), Strange Confession (1945) and Pillow of Death (1945). All would star legendary horror actor Lon Chaney, Jr. (The complete collection is linked at left.)
“Corpse for Halloween” has a carefully curated selection of spooky elements going for it, including but not limited to witches, a poor soul on the edge of insanity who talks to a skull, and murder most foul. What else is there to say, but that this tense half hour of radio is guaranteed to get you in the mood for this dark holiday, especially with a title like “Corpse for Halloween.”
Play Time: 26:09
{Halloween fell on a Monday in 1949. After the neighborhood gang had made it home from trick or treating, had eaten as much of their candy as their parents would allow, they tried to fall asleep unsuccessfully when this episode of Inner Sanctum came on their radios. Heading to the nearby newsstand after school the next day, they were looking for something to ignite their imaginations much like “Corpse for Christmas” had done. Adventure (1910-1971) was its publisher’s answer to the success Argosy magazine was having, selling around 100,000 copies a month. While Argosy published a wide array of fiction, Adventure narrowed its focus to stories of thrills and danger. Highly successful under this format, it nevertheless altered its course in the late 1950s and even more so in the 1960s to that of a pure Men’s adventure magazine, with fiction and fact aimed solely at the single male in search of single females in various exotic settings. It was a monthly in 1949. Captain Zero (1949-1950) came and went in the blink of an eye, publishing only the issue shown below in 1949 and two more in early 1950 before closing its doors. It was a bimonthly as nearly as could be told and the focus of the magazine can be surmised by what is seen on the cover. Private Detective (1937-1950), as has been related here before, was a somewhat tamed down version of its older sibling magazine Spicy Detective, but with less lurid and suggestive covers. While not noticeable to some, it’s fiction also featured toned down psychopathology in some of its characters and storylines. It managed but 5 issues in 1949, three of them on a bimonthly schedule.}
[Left: Adventure, 10/49 – Center: Captain Zero, 11/49 – Right: Private Detective, 9/49]
To view the entire list of weekly Old Time Radio episodes at Tangent Online, click here.