Deals with the devil

[JohnO]

Hello all. I know I don't post very much, but I am a huge fan of RMT. I was wondering if some of you knowledgeable people could give a short list of shows that centered around contacts with the devil. I have heard a few but I am sure there are many more that could be recommended. Thanks, John (barjo42)

[Prince Bertram]

This is the first one that comes to my mind. It is one of my all-time favorites: "Speak of the Devil." This is an early episode from the series and was written by my favorite Radio Mystery Theater writer Ian Martin.

"Speak of the Devil"
Broadcast Episode #20
Date: 1/25/74; rebroadcast 3/24/74, 1/30/79
Cast: Bryna Raeburn (Jeannie McKay); Jada Rowland (Ellen McKay); Nick Pryor (Michael Tilson); Ian Martin (Dr. Ferguson).
Written by: Ian Martin.

Synopsis: Ellen McKay and her fiancé, Michael Tilson, participate in a séance with her Aunt Jeannie, who has been credited with having the power of "second sight" and being able to communicate with the dead. No one could anticipate the demons that would be unleashed to plague them.

The above details are courtesy of the book by Gordon Payton and Martin Grams, Jr. entitled "The CBS Radio Mystery Theater: An Episode Guide and Handbook". This is a "must have" for all CBSRMT fans:

The CBS Radio Mystery Theater
An Episode Guide and Handbook to Nine Years of Broadcasting, 1974–1982
Gordon Payton and Martin Grams, Jr.
ISBN 0-7864-1890-7
485pp. Softcover 2004 [1999]
Price: $45

The book is available from http://www.mcfarlandpub.com. The direct link to the book is http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/book-2.php?isbn=0-7864-1890-7

[Prince Bertram]

Another good one (once again by Ian Martin) is "The Real Printer's Devil"

"The Real Printer's Devil"
Broadcast Episode #194.
Date: 7/17/74; rebroadcast 1/4/76
Cast: Jada Rowland (Jane Trent); Paul Hecht (Joel Trent); Ian Martin (H.S.M. Appolyon); Bryna Raeburn (Aunt Gertrude).
Written by: Ian Martin

Synopsis: Jane and Joel Trent answer an ad in the paper for an inexpensive apartment that they decide will be just perfect for them and their expected child. Not until after they sign the lease and move in do they realize there is something devilishly eerie about Apartment 13 and its previous tenant, and especially about the cat with supernatural powers that comes with the apartment.

The above details are courtesy of the book by Gordon Payton and Martin Grams, Jr. entitled "The CBS Radio Mystery Theater: An Episode Guide and Handbook." See previous post for more details.

[vinnyv07]

I just listened to one about a deal with the devil.
"Give the Devil His Due"....written by Nancy Moore
Broadcast on 12-23-74
It's about a dancer that has grown old and makes a deal with the devil to regain her youthful body.
Pretty good episode.

[Kurt Wayne]

Interesting...the RMT never (and rightly so, IMO) had anyone try to play God in any episode (though maybe I've missed one), but they had several play Satan.

Here are some other episodes that I recall, with the actor playing Satan (or someone people mistook for him) in parens:

"The crack in the wall" (Robert Dryden)

"The fall of Gentryville" (Ray Owens)

"The man who wanted yesterday" (Ralph Bell)

"The stuff of dreams" (Jack Grimes, with the show having somewhat of a "kinky sex" twist...the RMT could elegantly yet bluntly skirt subjects that TV shows of the time never came close to)

"Markheim: man or monster?" (Ian Martin)

"Transmutation, Inc." (Norman Rose)

In addition,

"Woman from Hell" had a creepy guy who claimed he had "a hotline directly to Hell".

"Possessed by the devil" (may have been one of his demons, but small point) also never had an actor playing the role, but in a very non-humorous episode still featured the devil leaving a dying man's nostrils (I kid you not) to enter the nose of another man who was about to die.

[Kurt Wayne]

One other thing...it was fascinating that the RMT writers never neglected to mention (quite correctly) the connections between witchcraft and Hell, as in:

"The church of Hell" (Contains a very chilling description of a certain rite)

"Witch's Sabbath"

"Out of focus" (one of the most depressing, slow-train-to-Hell RMTs, IMO)