Internet Archive-OTR

[EG Marshall]

This is one of my favorite sites for OTR

http://www.archive.org/details/oldtimeradio

Anybody else discovered it??? Lotsa listening and downloading that can be done.

Please comment on what you think.


Enjoy!

[Charlie]

Yep, very good but hard to get reliable downloads. :(

Charlie

[EG Marshall]

Yep, very good but hard to get reliable downloads. :(

Charlie



Some days I have had slow downloads, but that isn't always the case..... but I have got probably 60 gigs of programming with very little trouble along the way!

[Charlie]

My download manager has been trying for "Supense" for a couple of weeks now. Not having much luck.

Charlie

[Vergergc]

Charlie - what do you use for a download manager?

Kent

[Charlie]

Orbit.

Charlie

[rmtfan]

Charlie did you ever get the suspense collection?

[Charlie]

No, I tried to download from the archive but never could get much. The files are still in my download manager and I try occasionally.

Charlie

[wadenjulie]

Hmmm. I wonder why the site would give you so much trouble. I have downloaded thousands of OTR shows, including the entire Suspense Collection, from the archive site and never had any problems at all. This was probably 9 or 10 months ago.

Wade

[Charlie]

I think that Theater 5 was the first thing that I ever successfully downloaded from there. My "batting average" is usually zero.

Charlie

[Executive]

I download stuff from Archive.Org all the time, so I don't know why you guys are having so much trouble. :)

MediaMax seems to having more problems though, since I'm suddenly unable to view my File Manager section as well as my MAIL inbox. Too bad for you, Charlie, because in one of my accounts I may still have several SUSPENSE episodes. I finished listening to that series last year though, so I didn't save that many. But since I temporarily don't have Internet access at home, maybe MediaMax is OK and it's just the computer I'm using as of this typing that's the problem.

I'm sure someone can help you.

[rmtfan]

No, I tried to download from the archive but never could get much. The files are still in my download manager and I try occasionally.

Charlie

If you want to pm me your address I'd be happy to send you a copy of the dvd, which I believe is in the public domain. It's the entire collection.

[Executive]

I finally decided to start collecting some of those old radio shows that I enjoyed when I got into this hobby last year. Not all the episodes, but just my favorites and only those that are in very good to excellent condition.

Now on my hard drive are 77 episodes of The Jack Benny Program (starting from 1939), 55 episodes of SUSPENSE spanning most of the 20 years, 29 episodes of The Red Skelton Show, a dozen episodes each of The Phil Harris and Alice Faye Show and The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show. I'll be gradually adding more episodes to several of those series over time.

Old Man Brown will be glad to know that I have no plans of collecting CBS Radio Mystery Theater. After I hear the remaining 80 or so currently left on my computer, they're gone. :)

[Charlie]

You seem to have it in for Himan Brown and I'm not sure why.

Charlie

[Executive]

You seem to have it in for Himan Brown and I'm not sure why.
Not exactly. :) There were a number of Mystery Theater episodes I enjoyed in the past year, but there were also WAY too many set in distant time periods. It's kind of hard to get into stories set in anicent Rome and Greece, in the the Middle Ages, 19th century Victorian England, etc. The Sherlock Holmes tales were completely avoidable as were the 5 parters about Alexander the Great and Queen Nefrititi. I believe this series has been widely ignored over the years because modern audiences can't relate to those kinds of stories. (Although the final 5 part arc Les Miserables wasn't bad.)

As for the performers, my favorites included Fred Gwynne, Teri Keane, Norman Rose, Mandel Kramer, and late 1950s SUSPENSE actor Ralph Bell.

Evie Juster and Tammy Grimes are two of the worst actresses I've ever heard. It made little sense for Brown to often use Evie in as many as 3 roles in the same stories. And Tammy, meanwhile, was a terrible replacement for the late, great E.G. Marshall.

[Charlie]

You're not making any sense.

This forum exists because of CBSRMT and the people that are here are fans of that program.

Every time you speak of Himan Brown is is generally with disdain. Referring to him as "the old man", etc., is disrespectful and contrary to what we are all about here.

Whether you agree with him on any subject or not is of little concern to him.

The man is responsible for producing radio theater that those of us congregated here enjoy.

Whether or not he makes it available in any form, or how he manages his catalog of programs are none of our business.

We like the programs, and thankfully we can still listen to them.

Your positions are baffling to me.

Charlie

[Executive]

Charlie, it doesn't matter what positive or negative things I say about CBSRMT as long as they're accurate and I feel what I said has been for the most part. My opinions have been civil even when they are disagreeable. No series that lasted as long as this one did and in its early seasons was churning out 5 stories a week is going to be all roses. There were plenty of "stinkers" along the way. There's nothing baffling about that! :) Forums are designed to allow people to offer more than 2 sides to every coin (the edge is the third side).


Eventually I hope to get a chance to hear some of the in between episodes I missed (just a few dozen of them in my case) that were too poor the first time around, but I don't expect those to be remastered by the gentleman who publicly offered to do them any time soon.

Anyway, in recent weeks I've enjoyed reading your THEATER FIVE synopses. What happened to them?

[wadenjulie]

Jeff,

The issue is not what you say about RMT but the manner in which you address Mr. Brown. This forum exists to preserve his legacy and to help others enjoy what we consider to be one of the finest radio dramas of all time, presented by a man whom we consider to be one of the greatest producers. People might interpret what you say about him to be derogatory or disrespectful. We don't want to insult him in any way, but rather show respect and honour for the countless hours of enjoyment he has provided for so many. He is, in the minds of many, a legend.

Yes, there were some stinkers, but not everyone agrees as to which ones were stinkers and which ones were good. Some that were ranked poorly I rather enjoyed while other higher ranked shows were not as enjoyable to me. Hopefully there is 'something for everybody' in the series.

I too would like to have better encodes for some of the poorer shows and these are coming about slowly but it takes time and takes people coming forward with good quality recordings to be encoded to a format for easier distribution. It is happening, but it is slow. Cleaning up older encodes is certainly better than doing nothing, but can never compete with new high quality encodes of high quality recordings, such as those by Darkshadows222.

Wade

[vinnyv07]

Jeff,

This forum exists to preserve his legacy and to help others enjoy what we consider to be one of the finest radio dramas of all time, presented by a man whom we consider to be one of the greatest producers.

Wade

Couldn't have said this better myself. I have always felt that CBSRMT was and continues to be the greatest radio dramas of all time. I know that it is difficult to judge which was and is the best because I grew up when RMT was on the air. But from listening to different radio dramas, there isn't anything that brings me more enjoyment then Brown's RMT. He is a legend.

[rmtfan]

Interesting discussion. Fairly civil so far. I don't agree with Executive completely but respect his right to an opinion. I think Mr. Brown's status as a radio legend is indisputable. RMT for me personally is certainy a significant source of enjoymeny throughout my life from childhood when i first heard it to the present. It also stimulated my interest in other otr. A door which led me to a treasure chest of excellent programming. On the other hand that interview is embarassing. With all due respect to the man (and he is due plenty) his treatment of the poor interviewer at times was painful to hear. His absurd notion that only entertainment that he approves of is decent and everything that he doesn't like is trash is insulting to anyone who happens to disagree with him. I do not like stern either for example but certainly recognize that everyone who does has simply chosen a style of entertainment that does not appeal to me. He seems to have become the epitome of the bitter old man. That is certainly what he exhibits in that interview anyway. I'd certainly entertain the thought that he may have had a bad day and doesn't usually behave that way. The bottom line is that if there were a market for radio drama, radio would still be producing and selling advertising for them. This is simply not the case. It is a VERY rare person who would sit in their living room and listen to a radio drama as opposed to watch television. I am one of those rare individuals. I do not always do it by any means. However I enjoy radio dramas and will do it from time to time, as I know others here on the forum have. Most of my radio drama listening is done in the car though. My long commute gives me the opportunity to listen to a great deal of radio dramas. The entertainment industry for the most part has moved on. Mr. Brown, instead of moving along with it seems to have become consumed with bitterness, and developed a hatred for the very industry that made him famous in the first place. What a shame. Does he have the right to be angry at the pirates selling his programming? Of course he does. He could combat the internet pirates a great deal more effectively by simply selling legitimate high quality copies of this show than by holding them back in some temper tantrum like behavior. I would certainly buy the higher quality version that he would release as I am sure would most of the members of this forum. His refusal to do so simply spurs a person like myself who just wants to listen to the show to go buy them from someone who WILL sell them to me. Collecting this show has been a big pain in the butt. So far I have not purchased a collection from anyone. I'm several years into this and have maybe half of the collection. I know this wont be popular among some but I understand why people HAVE purchased this show from pirates. It's the only place to get a complete collection. I respect Mr. Brown for what he has achieved in life. I also think his attitude and behavior in this particular interview were shameful. Surely it is not necessary to condone such behavior to be considered a fan of the show?

[vinnyv07]

I would certainly buy the higher quality version that he would release as I am sure would most of the members of this forum. His refusal to do so simply spurs a person like myself who just wants to listen to the show to go buy them from someone who WILL sell them to me. Collecting this show has been a big pain in the butt. So far I have not purchased a collection from anyone. I'm several years into this and have maybe half of the collection. I know this wont be popular among some but I understand why people HAVE purchased this show from pirates. It's the only place to get a complete collection. I respect Mr. Brown for what he has achieved in life. I also think his attitude and behavior in this particular interview were shameful. Surely it is not necessary to condone such behavior to be considered a fan of the show?

He is bitter. You make some very good points. I am also disappointed that he has not released high quality versions for the fans to purchase. He could do it at any time but refuses to. That really left me no choice but to get the shows through trading and buying from people who had the collection. I didn't want to sit at my computer and collect the shows for the rest of my life. I just wanted to listen to them. I would without a doubt purchase high quality shows from him if they were to be made available. But I'm not going to hold my breath. Kind of sad in a way.
By the way ....thanks to EG up at the top of this discussion for pointing out such a great site. I have downloaded many great old shows and have enjoyed listening to them. Thank You