Radio DJ Smiley Smith (played by Ralph Edwards) aims to pull off a remote recorded stunt broadcast from a supposedly haunted house set upon a Malibu cliff. Joined by paranormal investigator Dr. Reed (Joseph Kearns), the duo plans to get to the bottom of the “Death Trap” where four prior residents have committed suicide. Will the truth be revealed or will the house claim two more victims?
The tale is adapted from a short story written by famed ghost story author H. Russell Wakefield.
Ralph Edwards is probably best known to baby boomers as the creator and host of This is Your Life and Truth or Consequences but it’s probably through his production company that he made the biggest mark on the television landscape. Since 1950, there has been at least one Ralph Edwards Productions show on television, most notably The People’s Court.
Here’s the show as it originally aired on June 23rd, 1949.
Turn out the lights and give a listen!
Download the show to take on the go right here.
On a quick side note, most visitors to TGG probably don’t know I ran an old time radio website quite a few years back and I have tens of thousands of radio shows in my collection. Each of the programs I’ll share during the Spooktacular have had their audio personally cleaned up by me to remove many of the pops, crackles, and hisses so common with old time radio recordings. These aren’t pristine by any means but keep in mind the original broadcasts you’ll be hearing are anywhere from fifty to eighty years old…
