Crime Classics, Vol. 1

Here are twelve episodes from Crime Classics, a true-crime radio docudrama that aired on CBS from 1953 to 1954. Created, produced, and directed by Elliott Lewis, the program examined crimes and murders throughout history. Founded in Lewis' own personal interest in famous murder cases, the program meticulously recreated the facts, atmosphere, and personages of the era in which the crime took place. Very little dramatic license was taken with the facts, but a touch of humor was added to the narration of the story to soften the tragedy.The crimes dramatized spanned from ancient Greece to late nineteenth-century America. Some were famous assassinations, such as Abraham Lincoln and Julius Caesar, and others were more obscure cases, such as Bathsheba Spooner, who became the first woman tried and executed in America after killing her husband in 1778. Actor Lou Merrill played the host, Thomas Hyland, and the series featured radio's finest supporting players.