X Minus One - "Marionettes, Inc" (Old Time Radio, 1955)

X Minus One | Old Time Radio · Sep 28, 2026 · 29m · transcript

X Minus One presents “Marionettes, Inc.,” originally broadcast on December 21, 1955, as episode 30. This NBC science-fiction drama adapts Ray Bradbury’s unsettling short story, with radio adaptation by George Lefferts.

Set in the imagined year 1990, the story follows Henry Smith after he discovers that his friend Walter Braling has acquired an extraordinarily lifelike humanoid double from the discreet Marionettes, Inc. As Henry considers what such technology might offer, Bradbury’s darkly comic premise explores the temptation to outsource life’s personal responsibilities. The cast includes…