Old Time Radio Shows Crime Does Not Pay

Old Time Radio like Crime Does Not Pay are good examples of how the radio was used to replicate the successes of the silver screen. This radio show was based on the film series Crime Does Not Pay produced by Metro Goldwyn Mayer. The films began in 1935 and weren’t mirrored by the radio show for another 14 years.

A comic book adaptation of the show was released, and was quite successful with readers also. In the late 1940s-50s crime dramas continued to grow in popularity, in the similar way that today’s dramas are popular.

Gangbusters was another Old Time Radio show which Crime Does Not Pay was very similar to. They both featured criminals who were apprehended. An interesting point of note is that every episode of the show ended with a message of why it is immoral to break the law.

Around 1950, WMGM broadcast the show in New York. It aired one more year on the Mutual network in 1952. Every Monday, listeners would tune in to enjoy the crime drama.

Originally airing on Monday evenings, the show switched to Wednesday nights about halfway through its run. And many of the episodes aired in repeats. In fact, the last year of the show consisted entirely of repeated shows recorded earlier.

Indeed, the show was transcribed and included stored sound effects, but many die-hard fans of the show did not enjoy that aspect. All in all, the show had some success, albeit very brief.

Most of the stars of the radio show were B-movie stars that had appeared in films produced by MGM. From time to time a major star would drop by and play a guest role for the series. Some of the actors playing in the series included Ed Begley, Lionel Stander, and Bella Lugosi.

One of the things that sets Crime Does Not Pay apart from some other series is that it specifically sought to teach a message. Various crimes such as murder were obviously focused on, but the show did ensure that doing such activities is wrong and won’t go unnoticed.

Often the crimes reflected real stories ripped from the headlines. For example the episode “Body of the Crime” reflected the murder of the Lindbergh baby. This mirroring of major news stories made the series even more intriguing.

The main difference with this show of course is that the bad guy always ended up locked up. After all, crime does not pay!