OLD TIME RADIO

THE REEFER MADNESS ERA Pulp Fiction/Comic books that became radio plays

MOLLE' MYSTERY THEATER
[WANTED]

June 25, 1945 - 30 min "MARIHUANA" (also titled Marijuana) NBC

The story plot for this episode was said to be taken directly from the (now infamous) Dime store Novel by Cornell Woolrich. The museum has not been able to locate a copy.


BELOW SUSPICIAN

BBC Dr. Fell by John Dickson Carr
NOT RECOMMENDED - BRITISH PRODUCTION
"Below Suspicion" 56 min The Story is taken directly from the pulp book of the same name. Inside cover reads: Dr. Fell pointed to the far end of the eerie, marihuana-smelling chapel. Down there, he said, candles burn at the altar. You grovel before Lucifer. Etc ----- She was caught in a frenzied nightmare of murder and profane desire.

However the radio adaptation only makes mentions (the devils drug) once. Althought a good radio play, simply NOT reefer madness.


PHILIP MARLOWE

NOT RECOMMENDED - BRITISH PRODUCTION
BBC Philip Marlowe "The Little Sister" by Raymond Chandler Parts 1, 2, and 3

The story plot seems to have been taken from a pulp fiction book of the same title. "Reefers" and/or "marihuana" are talked about, but only in reference to (say) a dump someone is living in, or with reference to a low class person. This radio play is great if one is interested in gum shoe detective novels, but it's just not reefer madness


MICHAEL SHAYNE
[NOT RECOMMENDED]
"Case Of The Queen Of Narcotics" - Apr 3, 1953 - About Heroin, marihuana is only mentioned a couple of times, but in a pretty negative light.

OF COMIC BOOKS AND OTR'S

As any historian can tell you, children's comic books played a key role in the creation of the reefer madness campaign. But exactly how many of those hysteria stories were actually adapted into OTR programs --- that we do not know. And due to the low survival rate among the many OTR juvenile series, in all likelihood we probable never will. In fact the only known, exact comic story plot that made its way into radio was the "Blue Beatles' "Smashing to Dope Ring'." But how could it be possible for the Green Hornet not to have "Smashed the Marihuana Racket," on radio like he did in the comics? Or how could it have been possible for many cop shows, not to have followed many of the story plots put into comic book print just a few years earlier?

[Note, the museum has an extensive collection of comic books (available to all museum members). We seek any info of OTR comic book tie-ins that anyone out there may have.]