Genre Dramatic anthology Country United States Syndicates NBC
Mutual | Running time 30 minutes Language(s) English Created by Arch Oboler | |
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Arch Oboler's Plays was a radio anthology series written, produced and directed by Arch Oboler. Minus a sponsor, it ran for one year, airing Saturday evenings on NBC from March 25, 1939 to March 23, 1940 and revived five years later on Mutual for a sustaining summer run from April 5, 1945 to October 11, 1945.
Lewis Titterton, an executive at NBC, originated the program's title. Titterton was described as a man who "thought the future of radio depended on the vision of the writer."
With the launching of Arch Oboler's Plays, Oboler became "the first writer accorded name-in-the-title status." Christopher H. Sterling, in his book Biographical Dictionary of Radio, wrote, "Oboler, writing about 'the terrors and monsters within each of us,' used his stream-of-consciousness technique to shattering effect and made radio a viable new art form."
Oboler used some of the scripts from Arch Oboler's Plays on his later series, Everyman's Theater.
Leading film actors were heard on this series, including Ingrid Bergman, Gloria Blondell, Eddie Cantor, James Cagney, Ronald Colman, Joan Crawford, Greer Garson, Edmund Gwenn, Van Heflin, Katharine Hepburn, Elsa Lanchester, Peter Lorre, Frank Lovejoy, Raymond Massey, Burgess Meredith, Paul Muni, Alla Nazimova, Edmond O'Brien, Geraldine Page, Hester Sondergaard, Franchot Tone and George Zucco.