The Narrators and hosts of radio mystery anthologies tended to be sinister omniscient men of mystery.

There was the Whistler, a malevolent anti-conscience who drove people to murder, the gruesome host of

inner sanctum who made puns as grisly as the stories he narrated, and the man in black

on suspense who introduced those calculated tales over

ominous music and a tolling bell. At the other end of the spectrum was the

urbane cultured criminologist Jeffrey Barnes. the Molay Mystery Theater, one of the best programs of its kind during the golden age of radio.

The Molay of the title was the show's sponsor, Molay Brushless Shaving Cream.

I can't speak for the products advertised claims to

make shaving faster, easier, and less painful, but I can attest to the

catchiness of their jingle. It's smooth, so smooth, it's select, so slick, it's a smooth, smooth, slick,

shave you get with M-O-L-L-E. Molay.

Announcer Dan Seymour handled the commercials for Molay,

and the first actor to play Jeffrey Barnes was Rock Rogers.

The show launched on NBC in 1943 and it presented not only

adaptations of stories by Masters of Suspense but also original radio thrillers

penned by some of the best mystery writers working in New York radio

The Molle Mystery Theater presented stories by Raymond Chandler Richard Connell Woolrich Edgar Allan Poe and more and Before he established himself as one of the greatest authors of the 20th century,

Bradbury wrote radio scripts, including Killer Come Back to Me,

a 1947 Mole episode that stands as one of the best the series ever produced.

In 1945, a new Jeffrey Barnes came on board when Bernard Lenro stepped into the role.

Lenro was into the role.

Lenro was an accomplished stage actor, but he made relatively few on-camera appearances.

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