Box 13 | Old Time Radio

Box 13 presents “Blackmail Is Murder,” originally broadcast September 5, 1948. In episode 3, writer-adventurer Dan Holiday—played by Alan Ladd—answers a troubling letter that leads him to the Bradford Hotel.An eccentric guest in room 718 refuses to involve the police in a suspicious death, drawing Holiday into a strange and escalating hotel-room mystery. Sylvia Picker co-stars as Suzy, with Edmund MacDonald as Lieutenant Kling.Box 13 presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.Chapters:00:00 Victor Sterling Introduction00:44 Original...

Box 13 presents “Three to Die,” episode 23 of the classic radio mystery series, originally broadcast January 23, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as troubleshooter Dan Holiday, with Sylvia Picker as Suzy.When contractor Douglas MacIntosh reports deadly accidents and possible sabotage on a tunnel project beneath a major river, Dan goes undercover as a sandhog to investigate the danger facing the crew. Written for radio by Russell Hughes from an original story by Richard Sanville, who also directed, this tense underground mystery keeps the pressure on without revealing who may be responsible.Box 13 presents the original broadcast with a newly prod...

From Box 13: “Actor’s Alibi,” originally broadcast September 12, 1948. Episode 4 of the series stars Alan Ladd as writer-adventurer Dan Holiday, with Sylvia Picker as Suzy.A ticket to a live radio drama leads Holiday to actress Jean Blake, who fears she is in danger. Strange calls, a tense meeting at the Mayfair restaurant, and veteran actor Marvin Masterson draw Dan into a theatrical mystery where appearances may be carefully staged.Box 13 presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.C...

Box 13 presents “A Perfect Crime,” episode 49. The supplied release metadata lists 2012, while surviving broadcast catalogs date the episode to 1948 or, in several later listings, July 24, 1949.Mystery writer Dan Holiday, played by Alan Ladd, receives an unsettling letter from Dr. John H. Dobbs, a respected professor of criminology and abnormal psychology. Invited to witness what Dobbs calls a planned “perfect” murder, Holiday must decide whether the professor’s challenge is deadly serious or the fixation of a troubled academic.Box 13 presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned and master...

Box 13 presents “Insurance Fraud,” originally broadcast August 29, 1948. In episode 2 of the series, Alan Ladd stars as writer-adventurer Dan Holiday.A cryptic message sends Dan to Abner Blake, chief investigator for Northern Insurance, where a long-delayed claim involving missing surgeon Dr. Max Alexander raises troubling questions. Following a thin trail from the Star-Times office toward New Mexico, Dan finds that someone is determined to discourage his inquiries. Written and directed by Ted Hediger, this early Mutual/Mayfair installment also features Sylvia Picker as Suzy.Box 13 presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short clos...

Box 13 presents “Look Pleasant, Please,” episode 16 of the Mutual Broadcasting System mystery series, originally broadcast December 5, 1948. Alan Ladd stars as adventure-seeking mystery writer Dan Holiday.An unsigned request sends Dan to the Mercantile Building for what appears to be an innocent photograph with a young woman. But when the picture turns up beside an engagement announcement in the newspaper, Dan finds himself drawn into a far more dangerous mystery.Box 13 presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned and mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.<br...

Box 13 presents “Actor’s Alibi,” originally broadcast September 12, 1948. This is episode 4 of the series, starring Alan Ladd as writer-adventurer Dan Holiday.A mysterious note sends Dan to a live radio-drama broadcast, where an encounter with aging actor Marvin Masterson leads to the Mayfair restaurant and a worried performer who fears for her life. A threatening phone call draws Dan into a tense theatrical-world investigation where appearances—and alibis—may be deceptive.Box 13 presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience...

Box 13 presents “The Better Man,” episode 20 of the classic mystery-adventure series, originally broadcast January 2, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as mystery writer Dan Holiday, with Sylvia Picker as his secretary, Suzy.When wealthy Charles Winthrop invites Holiday into an unusual $100,000 contest, Dan and Suzy follow a trail of cryptic clues across the city. Written by Russell Hughes and directed by Vern Carstensen, this suspenseful installment turns a promising adventure into a dangerous race.Box 13 presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned and mastered audio for a more consistent list...

Box 13 presents “One of These Four,” episode 38 of the syndicated mystery series, originally broadcast May 8, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as adventure writer Dan Holiday in this episode written by Russell Hughes and directed by Vern Carstensen.An anonymous invitation sends Holiday from Pier 9 to a private yacht, where he joins three equally puzzled strangers. Their host claims that one of the four guests is tied to an old murder, setting off a tense voyage of suspicion, observation, and deduction.Box 13 presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mast...

Box 13 presents “Killer at Large,” episode 44 of the syndicated mystery-adventure series starring Alan Ladd as novelist-adventurer Dan Holiday. Originally broadcast June 19, 1949, this episode is listed in supplied source metadata as a 2012 release.A sealed letter offers Holiday $50,000 to stop a murder—one arranged by the sender himself, who has suddenly changed his mind. With the intended killer unknown and time running short, Holiday follows the scant clues to a darkened house on South Marvin Boulevard. Sylvia Picker appears as Suzy.Box 13 presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently...

Box 13 presents “Round Robin,” originally broadcast August 14, 1949. Identified as episode 52 and the series finale, this syndicated Mayfair Productions mystery stars Alan Ladd as adventure-seeking writer Dan Holiday, with Sylvia Picker as Suzy.Asked to register at the Morris Hotel under the name John Johnson and await a $500 payment, Holiday instead finds himself drawn into a dangerous blackmail affair involving gambling debts and a valuable diamond necklace. Written by Arthur Boland and directed by Richard Sanville, the episode builds its suspense amid hotel lobbies, anonymous messages, and room 502.Box 13 presents the original broadcast with a newly produced cont...

Box 13 presents “Speed to Burn,” episode 45 of the syndicated Mayfair Productions series, originally broadcast June 26, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as mystery writer and adventurer Dan Holiday.An unsigned letter challenges Holiday to a precisely timed drive along Route 36, where a speeding 1938 automobile leads him toward a dangerous stolen-vehicle operation. Directed by Vern Carstensen and produced by Richard Sanville, this late-series adventure sends Holiday undercover when a young woman seeks help for her brother.Box 13 presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned and mastered audio for a more cons...

Box 13 presents “One One Three Point Five,” episode 31 of the classic mystery-adventure series, originally broadcast March 20, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as novelist-adventurer Dan Holiday, whose unusual cases arrive through his newspaper box number.Dorothy Simmons asks Holiday to find her missing brother, Dave, setting him on the trail of a wealthy recluse, a missing folio, and a dangerous urban mystery.Box 13 presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.Chapters:00:00 Victor Sterling Introduction00:41 Original Broadcast27:14 Clos...

Box 13 presents “Tempest in a Casserole,” episode 33 of the classic mystery series, originally broadcast April 3, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as freelance writer and investigator Dan Holiday, with Sylvia Picker as Suzi.When Nick Nerakio, owner of Nick’s Place on Tenth Street, finds his restaurant plagued by suspicious disruptions and unwanted customers, he turns to Dan Holiday for help. What seems like a baffling business problem soon points toward a more troubling effort to force Nick out.Box 13 presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned and mastered audio...

Box 13 presents “The Dowager and Dan Holiday,” episode 22 of the classic mystery-adventure series, originally broadcast January 16, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as Dan Holiday, the former newspaperman whose Box 13 advertisement brings unexpected assignments.A letter leads Holiday to wealthy recluse Mathilda Courtland, who asks him to pose as her fiancé amid a complicated high-society family marriage plan. Directed by Vern Carstensen and produced by Richard Sanville, this 27-minute mystery finds Holiday searching for the truth behind an unusual deception.Box 13 presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned and maste...

Box 13 presents “The Professor and the Puzzle,” episode 21 of the classic mystery series, originally broadcast January 9, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as novelist-adventurer Dan Holiday in this Mutual Broadcasting System production from Mayfair Productions.Dan answers a plea from an old college friend after a professor’s apparent suicide throws a broken engagement and a campus romance into doubt. At Dell College, troubling clues lead Holiday toward Professor Martin A. Gardner’s laboratory and a dangerous academic circle. Written by Russell Hughes and directed by Vern Carstensen.Box 13 presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short...

Box 13 presents “Damsel in Distress,” episode 13 of the classic mystery-adventure series, originally broadcast November 14, 1948. Alan Ladd stars as mystery writer and former newspaperman Dan Holiday.When finishing-school student Constance McLain receives anonymous letters and telephone threats demanding $1,000, she turns to Dan through his Box 13 newspaper advertisement. With kidnappers’ warnings growing more alarming, Holiday takes on a tense case of extortion and menace. The episode was written by Russell Hughes and features Sylvia Picker as Suzy.Box 13 presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more...

Box 13 presents “Death Is a Doll,” episode 30 of the classic mystery series, originally broadcast on March 13, 1949. Alan Ladd stars as mystery writer and adventurer Dan Holiday.When Bart LeFay, a healthy young man in the remote Louisiana community of Ballou, takes to his deathbed convinced a curse is killing him, Holiday heads into bayou country to investigate. Written by Russell Hughes and directed by Vern Carstensen, this suspenseful mystery follows Holiday as he searches for a tangible answer to an apparently supernatural threat.Box 13 presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short clos...

From Box 13, “Flash of Light” is episode 27, originally broadcast February 20, 1949. The mystery serial stars Alan Ladd as writer-adventurer Dan Holiday, with Sylvia Picker as Suzy.Jerry Fuller arrives from a small town unable to explain two missing days in the city. He remembers the upscale Red Swan, a startling flash of light, and waking in a shabby rooming house without his money or return ticket. Hoping to avoid embarrassment at home, he asks Dan Holiday to find out what happened. Written by Russell Hughes and directed by Vern Carstensen.Box 13 presents the original broadcast with a newl...

Box 13 presents “One of These Four,” originally broadcast May 8, 1949. In episode 38 of Alan Ladd’s mystery-adventure series, Ladd stars as adventure writer Dan Holiday. The episode was written by Russell Hughes and directed by Vern Carstensen.An anonymous invitation promises Holiday a first-class voyage, but Pier 9 leads him to a private yacht and three equally puzzled strangers. When their host declares that one of the four guests is a murderer, the voyage becomes a dangerous contest of suspicion and deduction.Box 13 presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently...