AGATHA CHRISTIE’S CASEBOOK MYSTERIES

Five dramatizations of Dame Agatha’s short fiction showcase the Golden Age of American Radio. The oldest is from 1939 and the newest from 1949. As Hercule Poirot, a hammy Orson Welles nabs the murderer of Roger Ackroyd, played also by Orson Welles, with Edna May Oliver’s help. Charles Laughton and wife Elsa Lancaster charmingly solve the ABC MURDERS. And James Mason puts in a rare—and outstanding—audio performance as a foiled villain in WHERE THERE’S A WILL. Two bland and mediocre plays, too brief to elicit yawns, complete the set. All transcriptions have been restored to nearly pristine conditions. Y.R. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/ MAY 07]