Sears Radio Theatre and Have Gun Will Travel

I’m starting to better appreciate Sears Radio Theater. The Nelson Riddle music used to put me off, but I see now that many veteran radio actors gave truly fine performances in this series. In Tough Guy you can hear the satisfaction in John Dehner as he stretches and swims again in audio. Dehner’s voice inhabits the opportunistic arms merchant and Vic Perrin, maybe the most most versatile radio actor of all, slides into the shallow posturing of paradise-destroyer propagandist. This episode touches on some deep political and sexual themes of survival. Vic Perrin is also in the really good RR499 program, Climb, from Sears Radio Theater. Television could never do justice to these actors. SRT plays are not just adventure dramas, they are psychological studies and commentaries on character. I’d be interested in hearing some of the SRT episodes written by Arch Obler.