"The characters in tonight's Quiet, Please are neither living nor dead. They enjoy neither of
these interesting conditions because they're soley the invention of my own imagination."
- Wyllis Cooper in Clarissa
Quiet, Please aired from June 8th of 1947 through June 20th of 1949. Until September 13th of 1948 it was featured on the Mutual Broadcasting System, and after that it moved to ABC. It is considered by many to be among the most uniquely creative series in history.
The creative
forces behind the series were Wyllis Cooper (creator,
writer, director) and Ernest Chappell (featured actor).
Cooper was not at all new to radio drama when he began work on Quiet,
Please. He teamed with John Housman in writing the scripts
for the final season of Mercury Theatre on the Air (by
then called Campbell Playhouse), and in 1934 created the popular horror series Lights Out. Although
significantly different in style, and although Arch Obler took
over in 1936, Lights Out had a similar goal. Both series seek to chill the listener through a completely
immersing personal experience. The titles and introductory
sequences of each series indicate the desired immersion -- the
listener is expected to shut off distracting outside stimuli,
such as light and sound, in order to fully concentrate on the
unfolding story. 
Lights Out
intro
Quiet, Please introIn both series, the introductions
set a slow, dark, and mysterious mood.
Although Chappell had previously been a newsman and announcer, with no
significant acting credits, he was perfectly suited to his Quiet,
Please roles. The series did not feature him in
action-oriented roles, but rather as a dramatic storyteller. Chappell introduces a story The
credits for most episodes describe Chappell as "the man who
spoke to you." The conversational approach is a major way in
which the series accomplishes the difficult task of thoroughly
immersing the listener into the story. By speaking directly to
the radio audience, Chappell gives the listener a role in the
unfolding plot. Chappell's character
speaks to the radio audience The scripts manage to accomplish the
difficult task of incorporating a character into the story
without using any dialog, leaving each individual listener to
fill in their own lines as they see fit. Although usually the
main plot occurs in flashbacks described by Chappell's character,
the audience is often involved in the crucial moments. Unusual inquest
Quiet,
Please is a creative series, but it's consistently creative
-- there's continuity in the creativity. A regular listener knew
before turning on the radio that the story would have the
distinctive style of both Cooper and Chappell imprinted upon it.
Every week, Chappell's stream of consciousness narrative would
examine a world similar to our own, but not quite
real -- one convincingly like our own, but with a touch of the
supernatural. Calling All Souls The same indescribable sense of emotion would
end each episode, concluding with a few seconds of silence
followed by the slow strands of Cesar Franck's Symphony in D
Minor. Symphony in D Minor Not the least of the reasons for
the consistent quality of the series is that Cooper and Chappell
worked well together, having already been close friends before
the series began. No doubt Chappell's familiarity with Cooper
helped him to better understand the characters he was portraying,
while in turn Cooper was able to write characters with knowledge
of the strengths of the person who would be acting the parts.
One of the
most extraordinary features of the series is the
depth of characterization. Each week Ernest Chappell portrays a
different unique person with a complex background. Extraordinary
research goes into describing every career in detail -- from
railroad men to mountain climbers and oil rig workers and
archeologists and soldiers. Archeologist speaks The detailed specialized information helps
to produce a more thoroughly convincing and immersing world.
Quiet, Please is a unique accomplishment in the art of radio drama. Often an intense surrealistic experience, it challenges the usual formula of entertainment. Now, more than half a century after the series went off the air, the brilliance of Wyllis Cooper and Ernest Chappell continues to entertain and stretch the minds of people around the world via the internet.
See the listen section to sample a random episode. See episodes to read about and/or download each particular episode of the series. If you have any questions, ask them at the forum.