Out of the Night
1946 - 1947?
Above image courtesy of Tune In For Terror © 1992
Host: Unknown.
Out Of The Night was similar to the 1960s television series, One Step Beyond. It would recreate strange stories that were reportedly true, yet they often included supernatural elements. It might be a ghostly woman who swims naked to lure soldiers to their death ("The Red Headed Woman"), or a phantom defender of a village, the so called Lone Defender of Brest ("One Man War"), or the soul of a dead child who replaces the mind of a living girl with her own thoughts and memories ("The Girl with Two Personalities"). Names and dates were provided to support the authentic claims made by the producers. The way the announcer always hit you over the head by emphasizing how unbelievable the stories are may seem corny by today's standards, yet the possibility that the plot might be true succeeds in adding a creepy air to the proceedings.
Regrettably, none of the better known OTR books include any reference to Out of the Night. The shows I've heard have no cast credits, so finding the name of the host has been stymied. He refers to himself as "the whispering voice of the night wind," and considering how elusive info about him or the series has been, that description seems appropriate. Adding to the overall confusion, there are both American and Australian versions of the show listed on the few web sites that mention the series at all. However, it is also possible that the half dozen or so "US versions" listed are actually all Australian. The differences are subtle and the similarities numerous. RadioGoldIndex.com lists two different distributors, Grace Gibson and Charles Michelson, the latter of which is supposed to be the Australian version. Yet OTRR.org lists Grace Gibson as being the Australian version. Only one episode out of the 13 listed lasts over thirty minutes ("Dead End"). All the rest run between twelve and fourteen minutes long. So "facts" about Out Of The Night are currently a moving target.
Until more information surfaces (if ever) about Out of the Night, it can best be described the same way the small group of men exclaim in its closing theme: "mysterious," "strange," and "amazing!"
The Standard Intro:
(Music: Strange plucking of strings, builds up.)
Announcer (Echo SFX): "Out of the Night!"
An Opening Narration:
Host: "Out of the Night comes the whispering voice of the night wind to tell another story of man's battle with fate. The amazing but true story tonight of an error that sent an innocent man to jail for seven years. Unbelievable, but true!"
Man with accent: "I don't know anything about it. I say it! You've got to believe me!"
Host: "This is the voice of the night wind and this is the tale I tell. It began one wintry December afternoon in 1895 in a fashionable London street. Adolph Beck, a well-to-do Norwegian, was taking a quiet stroll before dinner, when he was suddenly accosted by an angry young woman."
Woman: "So, I found you at last, you scoundrel!"
Man with accent: "Eh-- I'm sorry Madam, there must be some mistake."
Woman: "There's no mistake. I'd know your face anywhere..."
A Typical Ending (Spoiler Alert!):
Host: But neither criminologists nor psychologists have ever been able to explain how eleven women could have positively identified him as John Smith, when the two men were so utterly dissimilar in every respect. And that is the story of 'When Justice Was Blind.' Unbelievable, but true!"
A Typical Closing:
(SFX: Stringed instruments build up.)
Announcer: Out of the night comes the whispering voice of the night wind with stories that are..."
Man #1: "Amazing!"
Man #2: "Mysterious!"
Man #3: "Strange!"
Announcer: "But true! "
SFX: Gong sounds.
Hear it now, FREE!
(Courtesy of OTRRlibrary.org)
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When Justice Was Blind: A visitor to London is mistaken as a con man, and sent to jail for a crime he never committed. When released, he is free for one month, and then accused again of the same crime.
The Girl with Two Personalities: A young girl slips into a coma for no apparent reason, and when she awakes, she claims to be a girl who died years before, complete with her confidential memories.
Original USA version:
* 46/xx/xx Amazing Persecution of Doctor Dix
* 47/11/25 Dead End
* xx/xx/xx 2 Masterpiece of Detection
* xx/xx/xx 9 The Case of the Missing Consul
* xx/xx/xx 10 The Red-Headed Woman
* xx/xx/xx 41 World's Greatest Art Hoax
* xx/xx/xx 42 The Indestructible Malloy
* xx/xx/xx One Man War
* xx/xx/xx The Archer Shee Case
* xx/xx/xx When Justice was BlindAustralian Version:
x/xx/xx 1 Miracle on the Gallows
* xx/xx/xx 19 Devoted to Art
* xx/xx/xx 21 Jean de la Cour
* xx/xx/xx 33 The Girl with Two Personalities
* xx/xx/xx 34 Sudden Death
* xx/xx/xx 49 Murder Goes Astray
* xx/xx/xx 50 The Empty Coffin
* xx/xx/xx William James Seedes
