Secret Agent K7 Returns

In 1939, listeners could tune in each week to hear a 15-minute show about espionage on Secret Agent K7 Returns. It didn’t feature flashy stars or wild special effects. It simply told the story of solving a mystery.

Agent K7 narrates the story and provides a calm, cool and collected voice that matches the description of a spy. The stories that are featured in Secret Agent K7 reflect those of the times.

Many of the stories are about government involvement in foreign affairs. There are also stories about aliens, illegal immigrants, and suicide bombers. In the 1930s, these stories reflected the fears and the concerns of the American people and at that time, there was a clear enemy portrayed on the show. 

Walter Pidgeon played agent Z, in some episodes but other than his fine acting, most of the actors on the show are unknown to modern listeners. However, the themes of the show are still interesting and reflect life near the World War II era. 

While it was a low budget show, the sound quality and acting are still good quality. There’s the familiar sound of the organ being played to provide a soundtrack. There are also some good sound effects – though they aren’t very high-tech by today’s standards.

It wasn’t a flashy show, but it was enjoyable to listen to and at a brief 12 ½ minutes of actual show (the other 2 ½ minutes were filled by advertising), the stories got to the point. There wasn’t a lot of melodrama.

This show fit in well with the spy genre that was so popular on old time radio. Shows like Cloak and Dagger, Top Secret, andSpycatcher were similar, though they had a larger following. The genre is still popular today, though the medium has changed. You can turn on the television and find an abundance of spy dramas and the film industry has capitalized on spy drama ever since it began.

If you’re interested in listening to the beginning of spy drama in entertainment, you need only play a few episodes of Secret Agent K7. You’ll hear the top concerns of the day expressed in the short plays and you might even find that the issues of 1939 aren’t so different from the fears and concerns of people in the modern world.

We have 68 episodes of Secret Agent K7 Returns, some are already live on RUSC and I will begin adding the others on a daily basis from today.

Happy listening my friends,