Columbia Workshop

Columbia Workshop was a radio series that aired on CBS from 1936 to 1943, returning in 1946-47. The series was conceived by radio engineer, writer and director Irving Reis as a platform for experimental radio techniques, both technical and creative. The series included episodes of drama, music and documentaries. Collected here are the SF and fantasy episodes, including those with only a slight inclination towards the genre, such as the supernatural and fairy tale. 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 41: The Pussy Cat And The Expert Plumber Who Was A Man

​A talking cat blackmails his way to city mayor, and that's only the beginning of his political ambition...

​First broadcast: 29 September 1940.
Original Story by Arthur Miller.
​Cast: Eric Roth, Frank Lovejoy, Karl Eastman, John Browne, Jack Hartley, Helaine DuMoise, Sonny Lembke, Howard Smith, Mathew Crowley, Neal O’Malley, Richard Coogan, Vin Ross, Dean Reisner, Sidney Newman.

Episode 42: The Plot To Overthrow Christmas

​A story told in verse, of a plot by the Devil and the denizens of Hell to assassinate Santa Claus in order to prevent goodwill at Christmas. Note: this is a repeat recording from 24 December 1942 and is interrupted by a news report of the assassination of French Admiral Jean Darlan in Algeria.

First broadcast: 22 December 1940.
Original Story by Norman Corwin.
​Cast: Martin Gabel, Ray Collins, Karl Swenson, Luis Van Rooten, Everett Sloane.

Episode 43: Cassidy And The Devil

A canny Irish blacksmith gets one over on the Devil... not once, but three times.

First broadcast: 12 January 1941.
Original Story by Basil Heater.
​Cast: Walter Kinsella, Arthur Vinton, Ted de Corsia, Kenny Delmar, Jeanette Nolan, Whitford Kane, Geoffrey Bryan.

Episode 44: The Reluctant Dragon

A poetry-writing, pacifist dragon has to be persuaded to fight St. George.
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​First broadcast: 20 April 1941.
Original Story by Kenneth Grahame.
​Cast: Unknown.

Episode 45: The Odyssey of Runyon Jones

A boy must find his way to Purgatory in order to be reunited with his beloved pet dog, run over whilst chasing a car.

​First broadcast: 8 June 1941.
Original Story by Norman Corwin.
​Cast: Frank Lovejoy, Larry Robinson, Roy Fant, Hester Sondergaard, Arthur Vinton, Rosalind Ralston, William Watts, Norman Lloyd, Morgan Farley, Florence Robinson.

Episode 46: Descent of The Gods

Venus, Mars and Apollo pay a visit to the U.S.A.

​First broadcast: 3 August 1941.
Original Story by Norman Corwin.
​Cast: Henry Morgan, Eileen Burns, House Jameson, Winfield Honey.

Episode 47: Mary And The Fairy

A young woman enters a competition and wins five wishes from the Good Fairy.

​First broadcast: 31 August 1941.
Original Story by Norman Corwin.
​Cast: Ruth Gordon, Hans Conried, Earle Ross, Thurl Ravenscroft, Elsa Lanchester, Frank Graham.

Episode 48: Miracle In Manhattan

Heartwarming Christmas tale of a New York cabbie and his strange fare.
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​First broadcast: 21 December 1941.
Original Story by Charles Vanda.
​Cast: Unknown.

Episode 49: Who Wants To Be Born These Days?

Babies in 'Beforeland' decide that conditions on Earth are so bad, they would rather not be born.

​First broadcast: 28 December 1941.
Original Story by Gerry Shwartz & Stanley Rubin.
​Cast: Dolores Gillen (rest of cast unknown).

Episode 50: The Man Without A Shadow

A man sells his shadow to the devilish Monsieur X.

​First broadcast: 25 January 1942.
Original Story by Werner Mishel.
​Cast: Lurene Tuttle, Ted Osborne, Walter Slezak, Maurice Tarplin, John Gibson, Ivan Triasof, Rolfe Sedan, Harold Dryanforth, Guy Repp, Gayza Corbin, Patsy O'Shea, Robert Lee.

Episode 51: Jenny, The Bus Nobody Loved

A worn out old bus gets a new lease of life when a magic button is discovered on the dashboard.

​First broadcast: 1 February 1942.
Original Story by Maurice Dolbier.
​Cast: Tom Tully, Jim Backus, Henriette Kaye, Tom Lewis, Howard Smith, Eddie Mayehoff, Winfield Honey, Sandy Strauss, Roy Fant.

Episode 52: Someone Else

A small, porcelain figurine exerts a strange influence upon its purchaser.

​First broadcast: 20 July 1942.
Original Story by Lucille Fletcher.
​Cast: Martin Gabel, Helen Claire, Margot Stevenson, Stefan Staubel, Julian Noah, Paul Emery.

Episode 53: Florrie And The Country Green

A strange little girl and her harmonica come to stay at a country boarding house.

​First broadcast: 28 September 1942.
Original Story by Abraham Polansky.
​Cast: Celina Royal, Parker Finlay, Henriette Kaye, Karl Eastman, Betty Filson, Grace Coffin.

Episode 54: Remodelled Brownstone

A woman begins to hear strange noises shortly after moving into a New York townhouse.

​First broadcast: 19 October 1942.
Original Story by Lucille Fletcher.
​Cast: Martin Gabel, Ann Alsner (?).

Episode 55: The Undecided Molecule

A humorous tale, told in verse, of the trial of a molecule, who refuses to take his assigned place in nature. Part of the 'Columbia Presents Corwin' series, broadcast whilst The Columbia Workshop was on hiatus.

​First broadcast: 17 July 1945.
Original Story by Norman Corwin.
​Cast: Robert Benchley, Norman Lloyd, Groucho Marx, Vincent Price, Sylvia Sidney, Keenan Wynn.

Episode 56: The Fisherman And The Genie

A fisherman is granted two wishes, when he releases a Genie from captivity. A tale from The Arabian Nights.

​First broadcast: 26 May 1946.
Original Story by Unknown.
​Cast: Raymond Van Sickle, Gregory Morten, Patricia Ryan, Joan Alexander, Earl Hammond, Joel Falcens (?), Somar Alberg, Ed Kaylish (?), Maurice Ellis.

Episode 57: The Pied Piper of Hamelin

A town council employ a piper to solve their rat problem, but quibble over the bill, to the detriment of the town's children. This was the Columbia Workshop's tenth anniversary program.

​First broadcast: 21 July 1946.
Original Story by Unknown (Script by Artie Shaw).
​Cast: Donald Ogden Stewart, Artie Shaw (rest of cast unknown).

Episode 58: Wilbur, The Psychoneurotic Automobile

Delightful fantasy about a group of farmyard animals and a depressed, broken down old jalopy.

​First broadcast: 11 August 1946.
Original Story by J. B. Melik (?).
​Cast: Arnold Stang, Art Carney, Ethel Everett, Earl Hammond, Enid Markey, Sam Wanamaker.

Episode 59: The Man Who Could Bring Pictures To Life

Things quickly get out of hand, when a struggling artist discovers he can bring pictures to life. Note: the last 7 or 8 minutes of the episode is a poetic exploration of 'The Sounds of Peace'.

​First broadcast: 16 November 1946.
Original Story by George Fass.
​Cast: Billy Lynn, John Gibson.

Episode 60: It Shouldn't Happen To A Man

A talking dog finds life as a man to be more difficult than he imagined.

​First broadcast: 30 November 1946.
Original Story by Madelyn Pugh.
​Cast: Jay Novello, Cathy Lewis, Elliott Lewis, Sarah Selby, Gale Bonny, Jack Kruschen, Pinto Colvig.

Episode 61: Rain, Rain Go Away

Heatherby Weatherby (with a mind of her own) and a very special violin, tries to stop the rain so she can go out to play...

​First broadcast: 28 December 1946.
Original Story by Walter Newman.
​Cast: Arthur Q. Bryan, Edwin Max, Elliott Lewis, Jack Kruschen, Jerry Hausner, Lurene Tuttle, Norma Jean Nilsson, Sarah Selby.