The Mysterious Traveler

The Mysterious Traveler was a drama anthology series which ran on the Mutual Broadcasting System network for nine years, from December 1943 to September 1952. Created by Robert A. Arthur and David Kogan, it ran for nearly 400 episodes, of which only about 70 survive today. The show won the Edgar Award for best radio drama in 1953. Each week listeners were invited to ride a train with  a mysterious stranger (Maurice Tarplin) who always had a dark, mysterious tale to tell. These are the surviving fantasy, SF and supernatural episodes.
Episode 21: Operation Tomorrow
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​A scientist researching time travel sends his assistant one hundred years into the future, to the year 2050, where he discovers that the world has been at war for ninety-five years.

​First broadcast: 11 April 1950.
Original Story by Robert A. Arthur & David Kogan.
​Cast: Leon Janney, Charlotte Holland, Maurice Tarplin, Robert Donnelly, Ralph Bell.
Episode 22: S.O.S

​A trio of crooks attempt to steal a shipment of uncut diamonds from a passenger liner. (This story has an excellent twist ending!)

First broadcast: 2 May 1950.
Original Story by Robert A. Arthur & David Kogan.
​Cast: Ralph Bell, Luis Van Rooten, Roger De Koven, Maurice Tarplin.
Episode 23: The Planet Zevius

The first interplanetary spaceship lands on the planet Zevius.

First broadcast: 1 May 1951.
Original Story by George Bamber (adapted by Robert A. Arthur & David Kogan).
​Cast: Maurice Tarplin, Ralph Bell, Lawson Zerbe, Larry Haines.
Episode 24: Fire In The Sky

A radioactive comet is on a collision course with Earth.
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​First broadcast: 28 August 1951.
Original Story by Robert A. Arthur & David Kogan.
​Cast: Maurice Tarplin, Bret Morrison, Leon Janney, Joyce Gordon.
Episode 25: The Man Who Knew Everything

A crook ruthlessly unseats his underworld boss after discovering the secret of mind reading.

​First broadcast: 9 October 1951.
Original Story by Robert A. Arthur & David Kogan.
​Cast: Maurice Tarplin, Chuck Webster, Santos Ortega, Brett Morrison.
Episode 26: Behind The Locked Door

​An archaeological expedition is attacked by unknown creatures in an isolated cave system.

​First broadcast: 6 November 1951.
Original Story by Robert A. Arthur & David Kogan.
​Cast: Maurice Tarplin, Lyle Sudrow, Anne Shepherd, Robert Donnelly.
Episode 27: The Most Famous Man In The World

A pair of time travellers arrive in the 20th Century in an attempt to prevent the rise of a world dictator.

​First broadcast: 20 November 1951.
Original Story by Robert A. Arthur & David Kogan.
​Cast: Maurice Tarplin, Lawson Zerbe, Bryna Raeburn, Cliff Carpenter, Lesley Woods.
Episode 28: It's Only Money

A crook meets a man who has invented the perfect counterfeiting machine.

​First broadcast: 8 January 1952.
Original Story by Robert A. Arthur & David Kogan.
​Cast: William Zuckert, Maurice Tarplin, Charles Webster, Albert Ottenheimer.
Episode 29: Stranger In The House

​A malevolent ghost comes between a young couple when they buy a haunted house.

​First broadcast: 29 January 1952.
Original Story by Robert A. Arthur & David Kogan.
​Cast: Bryna Raeburn, Lyle Sudrow, Maurice Tarplin.
Episode 30: Strange New World
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​The crew of a crashed military plane are stranded on an island inhabited by giant, monster crabs.

​First broadcast: 19 February 1952.
Original Story by Robert A. Arthur & David Kogan.
​Cast: Maurice Tarplin, Clifford Carpenter, Lawson Zerbe.
Episode 31: Murder In 2952

​A corrupt police officer attempts to frame his love rival for murder in the year 2952.

​First broadcast: 29 April 1952.
Original Story by Robert A. Arthur & David Kogan.
​Cast: Maurice Tarplin, Clifford Carpenter, Chuck Webster, Jean Carson, Sydney Paul, Robert Donnelly.
Episode 32: The Haunted Trailer

A motorist towing a caravan trailer picks up an unwanted guest when he stops for the night next to a haunted railroad station.

First broadcast: 2 June 1952.
Original Story by Robert A. Arthur & David Kogan.
​Cast: Maurice Tarplin, Larry Haines, James Stevens, Bill Zuckert, Shirley Blanc.
Episode 33: The Green Plague

​A scientist discovers a chemical formula that can accelerate plant growth.

​First broadcast: 17 June 1952.
Original Story by Robert A. Arthur & David Kogan.
​Cast: Maurice Tarplin, Clifford Carpenter.