The run
- Network
- Mutual
- Years active
- 1948–1949
- Surviving broadcasts
- 21
- Genre
- theatre
This series ran from 1 October 1948 until 25 February 1949 for a total of 22 episodes. It ran on the Mutual Broadcasting system on Friday's at 8 and was sponsored by the National Council of the Protestant Episcopal Church. The primary purpose of the show was to encourage church attendance regardless of a specific denomination which was conveyed in the post discussion of the each episode. The first episode starred Walter H. Hampden as Cyrano de Bergerac, who then hosted the remaining broadcasts. Other acting support was provided by the Episcopal Actors Guild which included Basil Rathbone, Beatrice…
Source collection
Old Time Radio Researchers Group
Rights
Public domain — no renewed US copyright
Cataloguing
Air dates and notes from the Archive item record
The shape of the run
What survives, year by year
5 dated broadcasts across 2 years on the air. Brightness is transfer quality; empty cells are months lost to time.
Episodes
Start here
Listen to the run in order
Restored broadcasts from 1948, in original transmission order.
- 1. Cyrano De Bergerac · 1 Oct 1948
- 2. The Barretts Of Wimpole Street · 15 Oct 1948
- 3. On Borrowed Time · 29 Oct 1948
Cyrano De Bergerac
1 Oct 1948 · 29 min
Broadcast 1 October 1948. Public-domain transfer from the Old Time Radio Researchers certified set at the Internet Archive.
The Barretts Of Wimpole Street
15 Oct 1948 · 29 min
Broadcast 15 October 1948. Public-domain transfer from the Old Time Radio Researchers certified set at the Internet Archive.
On Borrowed Time
29 Oct 1948 · 25 min
Broadcast 29 October 1948. Public-domain transfer from the Old Time Radio Researchers certified set at the Internet Archive.
Little Women
5 Nov 1948 · 28 min
Broadcast 5 November 1948. Public-domain transfer from the Old Time Radio Researchers certified set at the Internet Archive.
The Enchanted Cottage
19 Nov 1948 · 29 min
Broadcast 19 November 1948. Public-domain transfer from the Old Time Radio Researchers certified set at the Internet Archive.
The Devil And Daniel Webster
3 Dec 1948 · 28 min
Broadcast 3 December 1948. Public-domain transfer from the Old Time Radio Researchers certified set at the Internet Archive.
Young Mr Lincoln
17 Dec 1948 · 28 min
Broadcast 17 December 1948. Public-domain transfer from the Old Time Radio Researchers certified set at the Internet Archive.
Citadel
7 Jan 1949 · 28 min
Broadcast 7 January 1949. Public-domain transfer from the Old Time Radio Researchers certified set at the Internet Archive.
Also on Mutual
Mutual in 1948–1949
Other series the network carried while Great Scenes from Great Plays was on the air.
Same seasons
theatre on the air then
Series in the same genre whose runs overlapped this one.
What it became
Theatre of the mind
Full-cast drama with a live orchestra and a studio full of sound effects. Lux Radio Theater and the CBS Radio Workshop are the direct ancestors of scripted podcast fiction.
Lineage is written by our editors, not inferred from listening data.
Descendants
Working in the tradition of Great Scenes from Great Plays
Modern series carrying this form forward.
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