CBS Mystery Theater

CBS Mystery Theater was a general radio drama series which ran for nearly 1400 episodes from 1974-1982 on the CBS network. It specialised, unsurprisingly, in the mystery genre, but did include a fair bit of fantasy, SF and the supernatural. The show was created by Hilman Brown and hosted by E. G. Marshall. Collected here are some of the SF and fantasy episodes, including those with only a slight inclination towards the genre, such as the supernatural. Some episodes are omitted due to poor audio quality.

​Please note that the episode numbers given below are merely the order in which the episodes are thought to have been broadcast — they are not the actual episode numbers.
Episode 21: Darling Deadly Dolores

​A scientist working on a top secret super-weapon discovers that the project's computer plans to use the weapon to purge the Earth of humans in favour of metal-based life.

​First broadcast: 6 June 1974.
Original Story by Sam Dann.
​Cast: Nat Polen, Marian Seldes, Earl Hammond, Roger De Koven.
Episode 22: A Bargain In Blood

​A man discovers he can trade personal and physical attributes with other people.

First broadcast: 10 June 1974.
Original Story by Henry Slesar.
​Cast: Tony Roberts, Mandel Kramer, Evie Juster, Gilbert Mack, Robert Dryden, Jack Grimes.
Episode 23: Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde

Dr. Jekyll battles with his alter-ego in the classic tale of good versus evil.

First broadcast: 18 June 1974.
Original Story by Robert Louis Stevenson.
​Cast: Kevin McCarthy, Marian Seldes, Ian Martin, Court Benson.
Episode 24: Yesterday's Murder

A woman is given the chance to go back in time, to right a wrong which has been playing on her conscience for twenty one years.
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​First broadcast: 27 June 1974.
Original Story by Sam Dann.
​Cast: Mercedes McCambridge, Leon Janney, Patricia Weil, Robert Maxwell.
Episode 25: Adam's Astral Self

An actor uses his psychic powers to try to stop his wife from leaving him for another man.

​First broadcast: 23 July 1974.
Original Story by Elspeth Eric.
​Cast: Michael Wager, Jennifer Harmon, Jacqueline Brooks, William Redfield.
Episode 26: The Frontier of Fear

A down at heel gambler acquires a typewriter possessed by an alien entity, which can create or predict future events.

​First broadcast: 13 August 1974.
Original Story by Milt Wisoff.
​Cast: Jerry Stiller, Paul Tripp, Bryna Raeburn, Bob Kaliban.
Episode 27: The Imp In The Bottle

Unlimited wealth comes to the owner of an imp in a bottle, but the imp must be sold for less than was paid for it before the owner dies, or the owner's soul is forfeit.

​First broadcast: 3 September 1974.
Original Story by Robert Louis Stevenson (adapted by Ian Martin).
​Cast: William Redfield, Joan Lorring, Santos Ortega, Leon Janney.
Episode 28: A Cage For Augie Carroll

An escaped convict eludes the authorities by taking a powder, which puts him into suspended animation for 800 years.
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​First broadcast: 24 October 1974.
Original Story by Sam Dann.
​Cast: Leon Janney, Evie Juster, Robert Maxwell, Earl Hammond.
Episode 29: How Eberhard Won His Wings

Rewarded with a pair of angel wings for being such a virtuous man, Eberhard Edwards soon learns that living with wings is quite awkward. But there is only one way to get rid of them — Eberhard must try to be bad…

​First broadcast: 7 November 1974.
Original Story by Arnold Moss.
​Cast: Arnold Moss, Bryna Raeburn, Hans Conried, Jackson Beck, Marianne Haley, Martha Greenhouse.
Episode 30: The Sighting

Following a UFO sighting, a woman gets a visit from aliens.

​First broadcast: 25 November 1974.
Original Story by Fielden Farrington.
​Cast: Kim Hunter, Nat Polen, Ralph Bell, Joe Silver, Robert Dryden.
Episode 31: The Fatal Connection

A young couple inherit a house containing an old telephone, which has the power to send them back in time.

​First broadcast: 9 December 1974.
Original Story by Fielden Farrington.
​Cast: Jennifer Harmon, Nick Pryor, Robert Maxwell, Joan Shea.
Episode 32: The Damned Thing

An inquest hears four conflicting accounts of the death of Hugh Morgan, but one of them seems too incredible to believe. Could the deceased have been killed by an invisible creature — the ‘Damned Thing’?

​First broadcast: 10 December 1974.
Original Story by Ambrose Bierce (adapted by Arnold Moss).
​Cast: Arnold Moss, Robert Dryden, Joan Tompkins, Bob Kaliban, Evie Juster.
Episode 33: The Golem

An old Jewish man and his grand-daughter, on the run from the Nazis, are saved by a Golem — a creature made of clay.

​First broadcast: 30 December 1974.
Original Story by Sam Dann (adapted from an old Jewish legend).
​Cast: Robert Lansing, Mildred Clinton, Patricia Elliot, Ralph Bell, Robert Dryden.
Episode 34: The Altar of Blood

An archaeologist and his daughter are thrown back in time 400 years, to the time of the Aztecs, whilst on a visit to Mexico.

​First broadcast: 9 April 1975.
Original Story by Ian Martin.
​Cast: Ian Martin, Fred Gwynne, Jennifer Harmon, Mason Adams.
Episode 35: Through The Looking Glass

A young couple's strange new neighbours offer them a world-changing solar power machine for free. Why would they give away such a lucrative invention?

​First broadcast: 17 April 1975.
Original Story by Fielden Farrington.
​Cast: Ann Shephard, Jack Grimes, Evie Juster, Russell Horton, Ken Harvey.
Episode 36: The Voices of Death

A company executive hears voices on an old crystal radio set, warning of the end of the world.

​First broadcast: 9 May 1975.
Original Story by Sam Dann.
​Cast: Norman Rose, Mary Jane Higby, Earl Hammond, Ian Martin.
Episode 37: Where Angels Fear To Tread

A parapsychology researcher's astral projection gets out of control.

​First broadcast: 13 May 1975.
Original Story by George Lowther.
​Cast: Michael Tolan, Bryna Raeburn, Court Benson, Robert Dryden.
Episode 38: The Rise And Fall of The Fourth Reich

In Mexico City, scientists attempt to rejuvenate an ageing Adolf Hitler, who has secretly escaped from his Berlin bunker at the end of World War 2.

​First broadcast: 16 May 1975.
Original Story by Henry Slesar.
​Cast: Robert Dryden, Paul Hecht, Joe Silver, Ken Harvey.
Episode 39: The Triangle

The sole survivor of a plane, which disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle, tells of her experience in a strange Utopian city.

​First broadcast: 8 July 1975.
Original Story by Sam Dann.
​Cast: Mercedes McCambridge, Paul Hecht, Bryna Raeburn, Robert Dryden.
Episode 40: The Widow's Auxiliary

An up and coming young businessman finds that the prestigious Executive Club, which he has been invited to join, is a front for an alien takeover of Earth.

​First broadcast: 11 July 1975.
Original Story by Fielden Farrington.
​Cast: Arnold Moss, Carol Teitel, Court Benson, Gordon Gould, Lenka Peterson.