Golden Radio Theater
Home/Adventure/High Adventure
Drama & Anthology · Mutual

High Adventure

March 1, 1947 – June 16, 1993 · 250 broadcasts

Mutual's answer to Escape, and the closest that thin-budgeted network ever came to the romantic-adventure anthologies CBS built its reputation on. High Adventure premiered on 1 March 1947 and ran, on and off, until 1954 -- Saturday nights at 9:30, then Thursday, then Monday, then Wednesday, before NBC took it over for Sunday afternoons -- in January 1949 by the dealer catalogues, a year later by the collectors' log, a discrepancy nobody has settled -- with Old Spice paying the bills. NBC let it go at the end of 1950; Mutual brought it back in January 1953 with George Sanders narrating. What set it apart was that the scripts were original rather than adapted, and that the sound was the point. The man behind it was Bob Monroe, the Mutual executive who produced, directed and wrote much of the run, and who worked around a small budget by inventing his way past it -- among the first in radio to tape rehearsals and cut them into a finished broadcast, and to lay in pre-recorded musical bridges. A deep-sea diving story gets the hiss of the air compressors and the clang of the brass helmet; a baseball story gets the locker room. Monroe later walked away from radio altogether to study out-of-body experience, and founded the Monroe Institute. Note: the surviving collection mixes two different programmes. Alongside the American series sits a South African High Adventure, made for Springbok Radio in Durban, which accounts for most of the recordings here.

Collection status: 50 of 250 held (20% complete)
◆ ◆ ◆

Episode Spine

Grouped by year. Jump to the full list below, or open a season on its own page.

1947

March 1, 1947 (untitled)
March 8, 1947 (untitled)
March 15, 1947 (untitled)
March 22, 1947 Waybill Listen (MP3)
March 29, 1947 (untitled)
April 5, 1947 (untitled)
April 12, 1947 Hot Runaround
April 19, 1947 (untitled)
April 26, 1947 (untitled)
May 3, 1947 (untitled)
May 10, 1947 (untitled)
May 17, 1947 (untitled)
May 24, 1947 (untitled)
May 31, 1947 (untitled)
June 7, 1947 Woman in the Wood
June 14, 1947 (untitled)
June 21, 1947 (untitled)
June 28, 1947 Boasting Almost Leads to Electric Chair
July 5, 1947 (untitled)
July 12, 1947 (untitled)
July 19, 1947 (untitled)
July 26, 1947 Thousand Miles Through Jungle with Diamond Fortune in Pocket
August 2, 1947 Metamorphicide
August 9, 1947 Mine Search
August 16, 1947 (untitled)
August 23, 1947 (untitled)
August 30, 1947 (untitled)
September 6, 1947 (untitled)
September 11, 1947 (untitled)
September 18, 1947 (untitled)
October 9, 1947 (untitled)
October 16, 1947 (untitled)
October 23, 1947 64th Street Safari Listen (MP3)
November 10, 1947 (untitled)
November 17, 1947 Horn on the Play
November 24, 1947 Finder's Weepers
December 1, 1947 Star in the Night
December 8, 1947 Two Steps Forward
December 15, 1947 Renaissance
December 22, 1947 Mister Silver
December 29, 1947 (untitled)

1948

January 5, 1948 Beggar's Riches
January 12, 1948 On a Dead Man's Chest
January 19, 1948 Peter Grant
January 26, 1948 (untitled)
February 4, 1948 (untitled)
February 11, 1948 (untitled)
February 18, 1948 (untitled)
February 25, 1948 Obsolescence
March 3, 1948 (untitled)
March 10, 1948 Misplaced Word
March 17, 1948 (untitled)
March 24, 1948 (untitled)
March 31, 1948 Backtrail
April 7, 1948 Barrier Listen (MP3)
April 14, 1948 (untitled)
April 21, 1948 The Girl on Page 963
April 28, 1948 (untitled)
May 5, 1948 (untitled)
May 12, 1948 (untitled)
May 19, 1948 (untitled)
May 26, 1948 Rawhide
June 2, 1948 The Man Who Swam the Amazon
June 9, 1948 (untitled)
June 16, 1948 Ladies' Man
June 23, 1948 Blind Power
June 30, 1948 (untitled)
July 7, 1948 (untitled)
July 14, 1948 Latitude Five
July 21, 1948 Storm Warning
July 28, 1948 (untitled)
August 4, 1948 (untitled)
August 11, 1948 (untitled)
August 18, 1948 (untitled)
August 25, 1948 (untitled)
September 1, 1948 Shee Ah O Kaane
September 8, 1948 (untitled)
September 15, 1948 Napoleon's Pearls
September 22, 1948 (untitled)
September 29, 1948 (untitled)
October 6, 1948 (untitled)
October 13, 1948 (untitled)
October 20, 1948 (untitled)
October 27, 1948 (untitled)
November 3, 1948 Disenfranchised Doctor Takes Job as Ambulance Driver
November 10, 1948 (untitled)
November 17, 1948 (untitled)
November 24, 1948 (untitled)
December 1, 1948 Flood Tide, Ebb Tide
December 4, 1948 Flood Tide, Ebb Tide Listen (MP3)
December 8, 1948 (untitled)
December 15, 1948 (untitled)
December 29, 1948 (untitled)

1949

January 5, 1949 (untitled)
January 12, 1949 (untitled)
January 22, 1949 Wake Me Gently

1950

January 29, 1950 Flight to Renyar Listen (MP3)
February 5, 1950 Export Item
February 12, 1950 Brother Murders Brother
February 19, 1950 (untitled)
February 26, 1950 Sentinel on 73rd Listen (MP3)
A boaster is undone by the very trap he laid.
March 5, 1950 The Snow Men Listen (MP3)
March 12, 1950 (untitled)
March 19, 1950 (untitled)
March 26, 1950 Movie Director in Congo Shows Up Rival
April 2, 1950 (untitled)
April 9, 1950 Inside Story Listen (MP3)
A killing in the city room, and the paper's toughest reporter is set up to take the fall for it.
April 16, 1950 Circle Road
April 23, 1950 (untitled)
April 30, 1950 (untitled)
May 7, 1950 Wild Pitch Listen (MP3)
Baseball, and the single moment a player's whole life turns on.
May 14, 1950 Wool Over His Eyes Listen (FLAC)
May 21, 1950 (untitled)
May 28, 1950 Race Car Driver Risks Life to Prove Moral Courage
June 4, 1950 Deep Water Listen (MP3)
Under water and running out of air, a diver has to break the grip on his air line or drown.
June 11, 1950 Ex-Soldier Marries Foreign Girl, Sends Her to Us with Loot
June 18, 1950 Sideshow Listen (MP3)
June 25, 1950 Hungry Peacock Listen (MP3)
July 2, 1950 Return Ticket Listen (MP3)
July 9, 1950 Father and Son Meet in State Prison
July 16, 1950 Young Woman Poses as Wife of Murder Victim, Wins Love of His Best Friend
July 23, 1950 (untitled)
July 30, 1950 The Hill Listen (MP3)
A blow to the head, a room that will not hold still, and a man who cannot make his mouth work.
August 6, 1950 Love and Baseball
August 13, 1950 Coincidence
August 20, 1950 The Fifth Door
August 27, 1950 (untitled)
September 3, 1950 Woman in the Woods
September 10, 1950 (untitled)
September 17, 1950 (untitled)
September 24, 1950 East Side Beat Listen (MP3)
On an empty night beat, a cop realises the man he has chased for twenty years is the one now following him.
October 1, 1950 Metamorphicide
October 8, 1950 Metamorphisite Listen (MP3)

1953

January 6, 1953 (untitled)
January 13, 1953 War Hero Jeff Logan Seeks Peace as Lighthouse Keeper
January 20, 1953 Backlash Listen (MP3)
January 27, 1953 (untitled)
February 3, 1953 (untitled)
February 10, 1953 The Nemesis with Nine Lives
February 17, 1953 Uncle Silas Listen (MP3)
February 24, 1953 (untitled)
March 3, 1953 The Man with the Sunday Punch
March 10, 1953 Greed & Jealousy Take a Hand to Dissipate a Fortune in Jewels
March 17, 1953 Movie Company Meets Murder and Sabotage in Belgian Congo
March 24, 1953 Cutter of Canyon Creek
March 31, 1953 Kitchen Knife Salesman Labeled as a Killer
April 7, 1953 South American Rare Orchid
April 14, 1953 (untitled)
April 21, 1953 Deserted Island
April 28, 1953 (untitled)
May 5, 1953 Danger in Wilds of South America
May 12, 1953 Scheming Wife Decides to Get Rid of Her Husband in Kalapurna
May 19, 1953 Adventure in Lori Mundo
May 26, 1953 (untitled)
June 2, 1953 A Meteorite Falls on So Amer Jungles
June 9, 1953 Fatal Accident
June 16, 1953 Frontier Day Celebration
June 23, 1953 Storm Warning
June 30, 1953 Sinister Forces Seek to Ruin Baseball Rookie's Career
July 7, 1953 Tall, Dark & Handsome; Marries for Money
July 14, 1953 (untitled)
July 21, 1953 (untitled)
July 28, 1953 The Return Voyager
August 4, 1953 Cash Preferred
August 11, 1953 Trans-Arctic Route from London to America
August 18, 1953 Sideshow
August 25, 1953 The Same Guns
September 1, 1953 Flying Saucers or Arson
September 8, 1953 Man Who Crawls Into Box for Disappearing Trick...really Disappears
September 15, 1953 (untitled)
September 22, 1953 (untitled)
September 29, 1953 Six Young People Stand Before Judge -- Their Only Crime, Anti-Communism
October 6, 1953 Barrier
October 13, 1953 Horn on the Play
October 20, 1953 The Sentinel on Seventy-Third
October 27, 1953 The Hungry Peacock
November 3, 1953 The Fires of Nepal
November 10, 1953 Special Delivery
November 17, 1953 Renaissance
November 24, 1953 Dark Passage
December 1, 1953 Photo Finish
December 8, 1953 Lost Train
December 15, 1953 The Last Bullet
December 22, 1953 Glory's End
December 29, 1953 A Line on a Party

1954

January 5, 1954 Cry of the Vulture
January 12, 1954 Second Run
January 19, 1954 Shark Bait
January 26, 1954 The Buccaneer
February 2, 1954 Minguana - Pac
February 9, 1954 Renegade
February 16, 1954 Cold Storage Listen (MP3)
February 23, 1954 Most Dangerous Game
March 2, 1954 Honor Among Thieves
March 9, 1954 Queen Deals
March 16, 1954 The Main Go
March 23, 1954 Ghost Ship
March 30, 1954 Who Walks Like a Man Listen (MP3)
April 6, 1954 Bottom of the Hill Listen (MP3)
April 13, 1954 Focused on Fortune
April 20, 1954 Voice of the Dead
April 27, 1954 Death in the Kremlin
May 4, 1954 Jungle Cargo
May 11, 1954 Venture Into Paradise
May 18, 1954 Past Perfect
May 25, 1954 The Snowman
June 1, 1954 The Holy Man of Kashmir
June 8, 1954 China Affair
June 15, 1954 Seeds of Hate
June 22, 1954 Emerald of Imakhu
June 29, 1954 The Living Dead Man
July 6, 1954 A Nice Family
July 13, 1954 Never Say Goodbye
July 20, 1954 Under the Spell
July 27, 1954 Booby Trap
August 3, 1954 End of the Voyage
August 10, 1954 The Queen Bets
August 17, 1954 The Sixth Sense
August 24, 1954 Sun in the West
August 31, 1954 Paid in Full
September 7, 1954 Boundary Line
September 14, 1954 Summer Storm

1969

June 14, 1969 Critical Point Listen (MP3)
June 21, 1969 The Man Who Couldn't Change Listen (MP3)
June 28, 1969 Tea Kettle Listen (MP3)
July 12, 1969 Fireflies and Gunfire Listen (MP3)
July 19, 1969 Magazine at Delhi Listen (MP3)
July 26, 1969 Keeper of the Tomb Listen (MP3)
August 9, 1969 Arctic Treasure Listen (MP3)
August 23, 1969 River of Evil Listen (MP3)

1970

January 31, 1970 Drums Along the River Listen (MP3)
February 14, 1970 HMS Suicide Listen (MP3)

1973

January 11, 1973 Madness in the Air Listen (MP3)
January 18, 1973 The Man Who Couldn't Change Listen (MP3)
April 14, 1973 On the Roof of the World Listen (MP3)
June 12, 1973 Assignment in Moscow Listen (MP3)
October 29, 1973 Where Do We Find Such Men Listen (MP3)

1977

October 27, 1977 The Snakes Listen (MP3)

1979

December 1, 1979 Abandon Ship Listen (MP3)

1980

March 7, 1980 Desert Marriage Listen (MP3)
March 15, 1980 MacPherson's Dam Listen (MP3)
July 12, 1980 Lucky Break Listen (MP3)
December 20, 1980 Silent Night, Deadly Night Listen (MP3)

1981

April 25, 1981 Flight 603 Listen (MP3)
May 23, 1981 Ordeal Of Terror Listen (MP3)
June 13, 1981 Cloud Curtain Listen (MP3)

1982

January 16, 1982 The Gun Listen (MP3)

1983

August 6, 1983 The Cruel Sky Listen (MP3)

1984

June 23, 1984 Pursuit by Night Listen (MP3)

1993

June 16, 1993 Panic Station Listen (MP3)
The Story

Mutual's answer to Escape, and the closest that thin-budgeted network ever came to the romantic-adventure anthologies CBS built its reputation on. High Adventure premiered on 1 March 1947 and ran, on and off, until 1954 -- Saturday nights at 9:30, then Thursday, then Monday, then Wednesday, before NBC took it over for Sunday afternoons -- in January 1949 by the dealer catalogues, a year later by the collectors' log, a discrepancy nobody has settled -- with Old Spice paying the bills. NBC let it go at the end of 1950; Mutual brought it back in January 1953 with George Sanders narrating. What set it apart was that the scripts were original rather than adapted, and that the sound was the point. The man behind it was Bob Monroe, the Mutual executive who produced, directed and wrote much of the run, and who worked around a small budget by inventing his way past it -- among the first in radio to tape rehearsals and cut them into a finished broadcast, and to lay in pre-recorded musical bridges. A deep-sea diving story gets the hiss of the air compressors and the clang of the brass helmet; a baseball story gets the locker room. Monroe later walked away from radio altogether to study out-of-body experience, and founded the Monroe Institute. Note: the surviving collection mixes two different programmes. Alongside the American series sits a South African High Adventure, made for Springbok Radio in Durban, which accounts for most of the recordings here.

Full story — coming soon while it's being curated.
Gallery
Art pending