Posted on 10/11/2015 1:07:31 PM PDT by Vision
Friends, it's Sunday night again and time to relax. Warm up the tubes for another 4 hours of classic radio Americana.
Info *tonight's show will be available at the "Info" link starting tomorrow.
Official OTR blog of "The Big Broadcast" thread:
There's quite an assortment of shows tonight...no comment for FNB...Mayor of the Town is a new show...Texas Rangers and Broadway is my Beat are enjoyable B shows although usually one dimensional...and we end strong with Inner Sanctum and love the title, Lady with a Plan...
How's it going?
Thanks for the reminder every Sunday!
Looks as though Radio Spirits has released a new collection of the “Phil Harris and Alice Faye” show, which covers their earlier, pre-Rexall broadcasts from 1947, when it was dubbed the “Fitch Bandwagon.” I don’t think too many of those have circulated before, making it a must-buy. Just coincidentally watched Alice Faye the other night in “Wake Up and Live” (1937), a musical-comedy with a radio-station backdrop.
Three weeks ago was the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, which I drove the long trek from Texas to Maryland for. Got to chat with Tommy Cook, the child actor who was a regular in several radio series, playing for several seasons as Junior in “Life of Riley,” Alexander in “Blondie,” and as Little Beaver in “Red Ryder,” opposite Reed Hadley. Not too many performers left from radio’s old days, which makes first-hand reminiscings all the more appreciated.
You got it.
Second, what a drive! How was that? BTW, I imagine you took the Baltimore beltway to 83N up to Hunt Valley to the convention (just looked it up), and in doing so drove right past my house.
Yes, I think. I drove up through Virginia, up to WV/MD, and then veered eastward from Hagerstown towards Baltimore. I wanted to get far enough north to avoid the DC metro area and its traffic. Went around a loop, and frankly, never saw much of Baltimore at all (plus, it was dark both when I arrived and when I left). Since I didn’t know Baltimore and had never been there, and didn’t want to accidentally wind up in the middle of some riot, I was doing my best to avoid the actual city.
The maddening thing is that I expected to find some reasonably cheap motel in some small town, north of Hunt Valley, that night I arrived. I kept driving and driving, finding nothing, and wound up all the way to York, PA, where I finally stopped at a Motel-6. I was on a tight budget. I took a bag of sardines, deviled ham, vienna sausages and bread with me, to save on dining expenses. Four days on the road, two at the show, and I only spent $35 for food.
The show itself was good fun. I did purchase a fistful of 1920s silent b-western cowboy “arcade cards” from a dealer. Hoot Gibson, Buck Jones, Jack Hoxie and such. There were some good panels/symposiums, which were interesting. Ran into a number of old acquaintances.
The Johnny Dollar episode has an Edgar Allen Poe's "Cask of Amontillado" theme. If you've never read that story, I recommend it. It's a very dark, sinister story, a Poe classic. Oughta be a good Johnny Dollar.
These brief synopses are used with permission from the RadioGOLDINdex © 2015 J. David Goldin.
7:00 PM Eastern War Time Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar. May 24, 1959. CBS net. "The Cask Of Death Matter". Commercials deleted. A good story about a mad wine collector reliving the horror story of Edgar Allen Poe. Bob Bailey, Harry Bartell, Parley Baer, Jack Johnstone (writer, producer, director), Forrest Lewis, Bartlett Robinson, Dan Cubberly (announcer), Marvin Miller. 20:11. Audio condition: Very good to excellent. Otherwise complete.
7:30 Dragnet. February 23, 1954. Program #236. NBC net origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "The Big Pipe". Mrs. Ada Fitzgerald has been found murdered. She was bludgeoned to death with a lead pipe! See cat. #93709 for a network, sponsored recording of this broadcast. Jack Webb, Ben Alexander, Jack Donohough (technical advisor), Marty Winn (technical advisor), Vance Frazer (technical advisor), Virginia Gregg, Herb Ellis, Hal Gibney (announcer), John Robinson (writer), Walter Schumann (music). 25:48. Audio condition: Very good to excellent. Complete.
8:00 Gunsmoke. December 9, 1956. CBS net. "Braggart's Boy". Sponsored by: L & M. Tom Cleveland comes to Dodge from back East, and turns into a gunfighter...or does he? William Conrad, Parley Baer, Howard McNear, Georgia Ellis, Lawrence Dobkin, Sam Edwards, John Dehner, Les Crutchfield (writer), George Walsh (announcer). 25:02. Audio condition: Excellent. Complete.
8:30 Father Knows Best. 06/29/50 #44 New Arrangements (Maxwell House) (NBC) (29:16). Synopsis is missing from the Index.
9:00 The Mayor Of The Town. September 13, 1942. NBC net. Sponsored by: Swan Soap, Rinso. The Mayor's grand-daughter has a crush on John Andrews, who's planning to marry her mother! Lionel Barrymore, Harlow Wilcox (announcer), Agnes Moorehead, Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra, Bea Benaderet, Priscilla Lyon, Jean Holloway (creator, writer). 29:23. Audio condition: Very good to excellent. Complete.
9:30 Tales Of The Texas Rangers. September 30, 1951. NBC net. "Death Shaft". Sustaining. The story is based on events of November 18, 1941. A skeleton is found in a deserted mine, with the skull bashed in. The program features a tribute to M.T. "Lone Wolf" Gonzales, who is retiring after 31 years with the Texas Rangers. The program may be dated September 25, 1951. Ken Christy, William Johnstone, Lamont Johnson, Brad Browne, Joel McCrea, M. T. Lone Wolf Gonzaullas (technical advisor), Hal Gibney (announcer), Stacy Keach (producer, director), Robert Ryf (writer), Tony Barrett, Betty Lou Gerson, Monty Fraser (sound effects). 29:19. Audio condition: Very good to excellent. Complete.
10:00 Broadway Is My Beat. July 24, 1950. CBS net origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. Celia Jordan has disappeared. She later calls Danny and dies of poison right in front of him. This is a network, sponsored version of cat. #79426. Larry Thor, Charles Calvert, Elliott Lewis (producer, director), Alexander Courage (composer, conductor), Jack Kruschen, Irene Tedrow, Joyce McCluskey, Earle Ross, Jack Edwards, Tom Holland, Bob Stevenson (announcer). 30:10. Audio condition: Very good to excellent. Complete.
10:30 Inner Sanctum. April 9, 1946. CBS net origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "Lady With A Plan". The wife of the warden uses one of the inmates to kill her husband. She then double-crosses the convict who is machine-gunned in a graphic scene. The system cue has been deleted. Jackson Beck, Elspeth Eric, Santos Ortega, Luis Van Rooten, Michael Sklar (writer), Richard Manoff (writer), Paul McGrath (host). 29:13. Audio condition: Very good to excellent. Complete as above.
Oh, as for the Phil Harris collection, I already have it, but I just haven’t listened to it yet. Should be interesting to veer backwards in time to these earlier shows, and see how the series first started gelling. The initial Rexall season in the fall of 1948 was already brilliantly funny.
Hey Gina!
They’re not running the right schedule and from a search it’s the show from 5/24. Hope all is well with Ed.
7:00 PM Eastern War Time Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar. February 2, 1958. CBS net origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. “The Price Of Fame Matter.” Vincent Price, who plays himself, has been the victim of a $100,000 theft. The trail leads to Paris, a seedy cafe (with the theme from “The Third Man” playing in the background) and a Peter Lorre clone named “The Gray Cat.” Bob Bailey, Vincent Price, Virginia Gregg, Howard McNear, Junius Matthews, Dan Cubberly (announcer), Forrest Lewis, Jack Johnstone (writer, producer, director), Tony Barrett. 25:50. Audio condition: Very good to excellent. Complete.
7:30 Dragnet. October 6, 1953. Program #216. NBC net. “The Big Little Mother.” Sponsored by: Chesterfield, Fatima. “The Little Mother” has been forging charge slips in department stores for the last six years. The Chesterfield commercials make health claims for the product. Ben Alexander, George Fenneman (announcer), Hal Gibney (host), Jack Webb, John Robinson (writer), Joyce McCluskey, Victor Rodman, Walter Schumann (conductor), Bud Tollefson (sound effects), Wayne Kenworthy (sound effects), William H. Parker (police consultant), Jack Donahoe (technical advisor), Marty Wynn (technical advisor), Van Spracer (technical advisor), Harry Bartell. 29:33. Audio condition: Very good to excellent. Complete.
8:00 Gunsmoke. July 29, 1956. CBS net. “Lost Rifle.” Sponsored by: Chesterfield, L & M. A young boy is found at the scene of a murder. It seems obvious that Ben Tipper, who hated the dead man, is the killer. The script was used on the Gunsmoke television series on November 1, 1958. William Conrad, Parley Baer, John Dehner, Vic Perrin, Dick Beals, Jack Kruschen, Bob Haggart (Chesterfield commercial), The Calypso Boys (Chesterfield commercial), John Meston (writer), George Walsh (announcer). 24:16. Audio condition: Excellent. Complete.
8:30 The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show. January 9, 1949. NBC net. Sponsored by: Rexall. Phil has dropped Willie’s engagement ring down the drain. A funny show. Phil Harris, Alice Faye, Elliott Lewis, Walter Tetley, Walter Scharf and His Orchestra, Alan Reed, Bill Forman (announcer), Griff Barnett (Rexall druggist). 29:50. Audio condition: Very good to excellent. Complete.
9:00 Broadway Is My Beat. November 26, 1949. CBS net. Sustaining. Maurie Brandeis, a nice Jewish boy, is going to be executed for murder on Monday. Larry Thor’s voice is out of balance with the music at the start of the show. Larry Thor, Charles Calvert, Elliott Lewis (producer, director), Morton Fine (writer), David Friedkin (writer), Alexander Courage (composer), Wilbur Hatch (conductor), Parley Baer, Lillian Buyeff, David Ellis, Tony Barrett, Jester Hairston, Vivian Baylor. 29:14. Audio condition: Excellent. Complete.
9:30 The Cavalcade Of America. March 26, 1941. Red net. “Down To The Sea.” Commercials deleted. The story of Herman Melville’s adventures in the South Seas, aboard whaling ships and surprisingly ending his days as a New York Customs Inspector. William Johnstone, Agnes Moorehead, William Pringle, Ray Collins, Peggy Riley (doubles), Edwin Jerome, Jeanette Nolan, Karl Swenson, Ted Jewett, Kenny Delmar, Alfred Shirley, John McIntire, Robert Tallman (writer), Homer Fickett (producer, director), Richard Stark (announcer), Bud Collyer (commercial spokesman), Donald Voorhees (composer, conductor). 26:05. Audio condition: Excellent. Otherwise complete.
10:00 The Lux Radio Theatre. March 6, 1939. CBS net. “One Way Passage.” Sponsored by: Lux. The delightfully doomed ocean cruise romance about a convicted killer being returned to the United States to be hanged. He falls in love with a woman with a fatal heart disease. The intermission guest is Carl Allen, Commander of the S. S. President Coolidge. Kay Francis appears in place of Norma Shearer, who could not appear due to illness. Charlie Forsyth (sound effects), George Wells (adaptor), Frank Woodruff (director), Frank Nelson (doubles, program opening announcer), William Gargan, Cecil B. DeMille, Louis Silvers (music director), Marjorie Rambeau, Melville Ruick (announcer), Wilson Mizner (screenwriter), Joseph Jackson (screenwriter), Robert Lord (author), Carl Allen (intermission guest), John Fee, Ross Forrester, Lee Millar (doubles), David Kerman (doubles), Bobby Larson, Myron Gary (doubles), Raymond Lawrence (doubles), Charles Emerson (doubles), Gaughan Burke (doubles), Geraldine Peck (doubles), William Powell, Kay Francis. 59:26. Audio condition: Excellent. Complete.
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AGAIN, with the screwed up website schedule! Who knows what the lineup will be!
Oh, man. I hope he’s okay, too.
Let me know what you think of the set. We're on the same page on Phil Harris.
How you doing?
Vision, we’re fine, still enjoying the nice weather. Keith’s been refinishing some old furniture that belonged to his Mom. He’s stripped down a nice dresser and put some stain on it. He still has a way to go on it, but it’s looking really good.
I’m worried about Ed. I hope he’s going to be okay. Not that it’s even remotely more important than his well-being, but there is no Big Broadcast without him. Another host could not sufficiently take his place.
How about you? Any interesting news?
Terrible audio quality.
Life is good. Decided to indulge and made pork steaks this weekend, love ‘em.
Did Keith finish the radio?
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