Thanks
  

Aired 1947 - 1954

"Tired of the everyday grind? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you… Escape!"

One of radio's greatest series of high adventure, the radio show Escape will transport you to the high seas, Caribbean jungles, and beyond.

One of the best radio shows ever created, Escape was aired on CBS Radio for the first time on July 7, 1947. The show, which consisted of both original and adapted episodes, featured a life or death situation from which the characters had to escape, hence its title. The show lasted until September 25, 1954.

Unlike other radio shows, Escape had no regular sponsors. That's why it was a low-budget show that had varying time slots throughout its run. Nevertheless, there were several great radio personalities who were able to appear on the show. These included William Conrad, Hans Conried, John Dehner, Georgia Ellis, Elliot Lewis, Frank Lovejoy, Jack Webb, and many more. Click here to read more about Escape


  • Radio Shows
  • Comments
  • Photos

Please enjoy these 239 old time radio episodes:

Air Date Title Synopsis Rating
 01.14.1948 leiningen vs the ants

+ "Leinengen Vs. The Ants". East coast version. A determined man battles even more determined inse...
 01.17.1948 leiningen vs the ants

+ "Leinengen Vs. The Ants". West coast version. A determined man battles even more determined inse...
 01.21.1948 papa benjamin

+ "Papa Benjamin". East coast version. An excellent radio drama of voodoo in the slums of New Orle...
 01.21.1948 papa benjamin east coast

+ "Papa Benjamin". East coast version. An excellent radio drama of voodoo in the slums of New Orle...
 01.24.1948 papa benjamin

+ "Papa Benjamin". East coast version. An excellent radio drama of voodoo in the slums of New Orle...
 01.28.1948 three good witnesses

+ "Three Good Witnesses". There are lots of spies and intrigue on a Turkish train entering Syria. ...
 01.31.1948 three good witnesses

+ "Three Good Witnesses". West coast version. There are lots of spies and intrigue on a Turkish tr...
 02.01.1948 the vanishing lady 1948 broadcast

+ "The Vanishing Lady". East coast version. The classic suspense story about a young girl in Paris...
 02.07.1948 vanishing lady

+ "The Vanishing Lady". East coast version. The classic suspense story about a young girl in Paris...
 02.08.1948 snake doctor east

+ Program #112. CBS net origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "Snake Doctor". East coast version. A good t...
 02.14.1948 snake doctor

+ "Snake Doctor". West coast version. A good tale of the hills. A weird old man seems a mite too f...
 02.15.1948 ancient sorceries

+ "Ancient Sorceries". East coast version, the program was also broadcast on the West coast on Feb...
 02.21.1948 ancient sorceries

+ "Ancient Sorceries". East coast version, the program was also broadcast on the West coast on Feb...
 02.22.1948 how love came to prof guildea

+ "How Love Came To Professor Guildea". East coast version. An invisible creature...can kiss from ...
 02.28.1948 how love came to professor guildea

+ "How Love Came To Professor Guildea". East coast version. An invisible creature...can kiss from ...
 02.29.1948 grove of ashtaroth

+ "The Grove Of Ashtaroff". West Coast broadcast. A well-written tale of the supernatural. The las...
 03.06.1948 grove of ashtaroff

+ "The Grove Of Ashtaroff". West Coast broadcast. A well-written tale of the supernatural. The las...
 03.07.1948 the god jimmy goggles

+ CBS net origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "Jimmy Goggles...The God". East coast broadcast. An Englis...
 03.14.1948 the log of the evening star

+ "Log Of The Evening Star". East coast broadcast. A good story of murder, madness, and a walking ...
 03.21.1948 misfortunes isle

+ "Misfortune's Isle". East coast broadcast. A swashbuckling tale of adventure, treasure, Dayak he...
 03.28.1948 shipment of mute fate

+ "A Shipment Of Mute Fate". A good story about a deadly snake loose on an ocean liner. The story ...
 04.04.1948 action

+ "Action". A man caught in an impossible situation while climbing a glacier waits to die...when h...
 04.11.1948 the brute

+ CBS net origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "The Brute". An excellent sea story about a sailing ship t...
 04.18.1948 drums of the fore and aft

+ Canadian rebroadcast. "The Drums Of The Fore and Aft". A good story about two drummer boys who sh...
 04.25.1948 the fourth man

+ "The Fourth Man". Three "civilized" men and a "savage" are adrift on a raft with little water. T...

1 2 3 4 5 … 8 9 10

I have this on DVD. It's a good film but I think I like the William Conrad Escape episode better.

Tim

Reply
I do like the radio version more but the film's still great….. Action, Color, Cleavage. I can't complain

John

Reply
One of my favorites! I wish more of the episodes could have been saved.

Dawn

Reply
ESCAPE opened with the gripping voice of William Conrad booming out over the airwaves: "Tired of the everyday grind? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you - ESCAPE!". Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain", the show's theme, assisted Conrad in creating the right opening atmosphere. (The actual series of questions used in the opening varied from week to week, frequently to match the goings-on of the times.) The show featured spine-tingling tales from such masters as Joseph Conrad, Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Allen Poe. It was produced by William N. Robson, and featured many seasoned radio actors. ESCAPE was heard on CBS from July 1947 to September 1954. There were two pilot shows before it's first run. The first pilot was OUT OF THIS WORLD: "Dead of Night" on February 28, 1947. This show was repeated as ESCAPE: "Dead of Night" on March 21. ESCAPE, as a series, started as a summer replacement for half of the hour normally occupied by THE LUX RADIO THEATER. It then aired for the 1947-1948 season, on Sundays. During the early half of 1948, broadcast day was different on east and west coast. Although the same scripts were used for both east and west coast shows, the opening was different. The west coast versions used organ music in place of the full orchestra of the east coast versions. The series again went to different days for east and west coasts in 1950, but in this case, the show was the same for both broadcasts. Unlike the other CBS adventure series, SUSPENSE, which ran from June 1942 to September 1962 almost without interruption, ESCAPE seemed to have a rough life. It was frequently moved to different days throughout it's run. There were even a couple of long gaps where ESCAPE left the air, for example, from August 30, 1951 to October 12, 1952. Still, thanks to solid scripts, excellent acting and high production values, ESCAPE is remembered as one of the best radio action adventure series.

ESCAPE

Reply

Leave a comment

I have a related image to this show
Only JPG, GIF and PNG file types are allowed

Jack Webb A Shipment of Mute Fate
CAPTAIN STARR OF SPACE QUEEN
I LOVE ADVENTURE
DICKENS RADIO PLAYS
ARMAGEDDON
ARMAGEDDON
ARMAGEDDON
From Billboard magazine of March 20 1948 announcing Lever Bros' interest in sponsoring Escape.
Billboard magazine article of July 1 1950 lamenting the absence of commercially sponsored properties on Friday evenings.
Billboard magazine of August 12 1950 announcing Richfield Oil dropping Escape in favor of sponsoring a news program
CBS sold a package of targeted prime time spots to Ford for the roll-out of their 1950 line.
CBS sold a package of targeted prime time spots to Ford for the roll-out of their 1950 line.
Ford Motor Company sponsored Escape on January 17th 1950 for the roll-out of its 1950 line of automobiles.
Billboard magazine November 26 1949 announcement teasing the possibility of a Television version of Escape with Wyllis Cooper as both Writer and Executive Producer
Anahist sponsored Escape in targeted spots during the 1950 - 1952 broadcasts of Escape!
Plymouth sponsored Escape to help roll out their 1954 line.
The Billboard of April 23rd 1949 announces the cancellation of Escape
Jackson Beck and Paul Luther confer with William N. Robson during Man Behind the Gun (1943)
Robson, seen here behind Frank Lovejoy, directing the Peabody Award winning series, Man Behind The Gun, for CBS, ca 1943
Paul Frees with one of thousands of alter egos, Ludwig Von Drake, ca. 1953
Paul Frees as Etienne in The Adventures of Jim Bowie (1957)
Paul Frees, ca. 1975
Bust of Paul Frees ''The Man of A Thousand Voices'' circa 1978
Paul Frees in The Shaggy Dog (1978)
William Conrad, ca. 1943
William Conrad in Killers (1947)
William Conrad as Matt Dillon, ca. 1953 (Courtesy of Harry Bartell)
William Conrad, for ABC, ca. 1957
Georgia Ellis
Jack Webb in the Escape classic
Alice Backes Support
The bird
Ellis Georgia
JOHN ARCHER AS LAMOBNT CRANSTON
Parley Baer Support
Escape
Escape
Joyce Walsh
Peggy Webber in
Gradiator
East of Borneo
The Fall of the House of Usher
Night of the living dead
Jack Webb in the Escape classic
The Birds
Beau Geste
Actor Nestor Paiva.
John Russell
In
Norman Macdonnell
She
Tippi Hedren in 'The Birds' (1963)
Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell in 'Macao' directed by Josef Von Sternberg, 1952
Barney Phillips
Ben Wright
Berry Kroeger
Bill Bouchey
Ed Begley
Eleanor Audley
Elliott Lewis
Gloria Blondell
Hans Conried
Harry Bartell
Herb Butterfield
Jack Moyles
Jack Webb
Jeanette Nolan
Jeanne Bates
Joan Banks
John Dehner
Lawrence Dopkin
Parley Bear
Paul Frees
Paula Winslow
Peggy Webber
Peter Leeds
Sam Edwards
Sarah Selby
Vic Perrin
Virginia Gregg
William Conrad
Snake Doctor East
The Fall Of The House Of Usher
Escape
Second Class Passenger
Escape Essentials.
THE TIME MACHINE
Escape
I have a related image to this show
Add your comment about the show

Other "Thriller" Shows you may enjoy:

Join Our Free Mailing List...
Buy Old Time Radio OTRCAT.com Order your favorite old time radio shows from the golden age of radio. Free sample downloads!