''Mandrake the Magician'' was an American radio show, broadcast on the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...

from November 11, 1940 until February 6, 1942. It was based on the popular comic strip ''

Mandrake the Magician ''Mandrake the Magician'' is a syndicated newspaper comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloon ...

'' by

Lee Falk Lee Falk (), born Leon Harrison Gross (; April 28, 1911 – March 13, 1999), was an American cartoonist, writer, theater director, and producer, best known as the creator of the comic strips ''Mandrake the Magician'' and ''The Phantom''. At the ...

and Phil Davis.

History

"Mandrake the Magician" was originally a three-day-a-week radio serial broadcast on the New York City radio station

WOR (AM) WOR (710 AM) is a 50,000-watt class A clear-channel AM radio station owned by iHeartMedia and licensed to New York, New York. The station airs a mix of local and syndicated talk radio shows, primarily from co-owned Premiere Networks, includi ...

. Each episode was 15 minutes long. It expanded to five days a week in 1941. The serial was recorded at the radio studio in New York. 195 episodes were recorded. The direction was in hands of Carlo De Angelo, while Henry Souvaine acted as producer. The serial aimed at a young audience. Just like the comic strip it invoked mystery,

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

and

suspense Suspense is a state of mental uncertainty, anxiety, being undecided, or being doubtful. In a dramatic work, suspense is the anticipation of the outcome of a plot or of the solution to an uncertainty, puzzle, or mystery, particularly as it aff ...

. Every episode opened with Mandrake invoking his chant "Invoco legem magicarum" ("I invoke the laws of magic").

Cast

* Mandrake the Magician:

Raymond Edward Johnson Raymond Edward Johnson (July 24, 1911 – August 15, 2001) was an American radio and stage actor best remembered for his work on ''Inner Sanctum Mysteries''. Early years Born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Johnson started out as a bank teller, and late ...

* Lothar:

Juano Hernandez Juano G. "Juano" Hernández (July 19, 1896 – July 17, 1970) was a Puerto Rican stage and film actor who was a pioneer in the African American film industry. He made his silent picture debut in ''The Life of General Villa'', and talking pi ...

* Princess Narda:

Jessica Tandy Jessie Alice Tandy (7 June 1909 – 11 September 1994) was a British-American actress. Tandy appeared in over 100 stage productions and had more than 60 roles in film and TV, receiving an Academy Award, four Tony Awards, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe ...

, Francesca Lenni

Sources

{{Reflist American radio dramas American children's radio programs 1940 radio programme debuts 1942 radio programme endings Radio programs based on comic strips Mutual Broadcasting System programs