Thursday, December 13, 2018

25 More Days of Old Time Radio Christmas - Day 11: Bread On The Waters from The Columbia Workshop (1938)

Returning to New York on the Adventure of the Seas - Arriving at Cape Liberty (Bayonne, New Jersey) - August 3rd, 2018
New York City - August 3rd, 2018 - Can you be alone among all these people?

Here is a program I definitely have not featured before - still racing to catch up.  Found this great program from the Pantheon of the Golden Age of Radio - The Columbia Workshop. But it is a nice reminder to count your blessings carefully.  If you have Sirius/XM, you can listen to Greg Bell's Old time radio channel (#148).  He does a great job of showcasing great holiday themed episodes, especially as we get close to Christmas.

The Columbia Workshop was a staple of the CBS Network from 1936 through 1942 and from 1946 through 1947. According the Rob Lackmann's Encylcopedia of American Radio, the Columbia Workshop was designed "to develop new writing talent for radio and to experiment with innovative techniques for presenting drama on the medium." One of the most creative voices from the Columbia Workshop was Norman Corwin, who served as the director and producer for this great episode.

For the episode on December 22, 1938, The Columbia Workshop presented a touching story for the holidays.  The story was written by Arch Oboler, one of the greatest of the radio authors and was broadcast over the CBS Radio Network.  "Bread On The Waters" tells the story of two brothers, Red and Buck, who are wandering around on Christmas Eve.  They year before, they were able to make money clearing snow, but this year, they did not have a shovel.  Life is hard for them on the Waterfront in New York City, but they are not alone.  Its cold, they are broke and their fingers are blue from the frigid air.  During their evening, they run into people who show them the gifts that they have.  And they give them an opportunity to be generous with others, which is so important at Christmastime.

Red and his younger brother Buck are played by Charles Powers and James Donnelly respectfully,  Among the visitors who they meet that night are Father Rogan (John McGovern), a cop (Frank Lovejoy), a drunk (Santos Ortega) who pays them to sing, and two rich brothers (Charles Bellen, and Dick Clayton).  Maybe the biggest visitor that night was a young woman who was desperate to leave the city, but was one dollar short of the bus fare needed to leave for good.  Ann Shephard played this character who helped Red see the Christmas spirit.

Bread on the Waters - Columbia Workshop (December 22, 1938)
25 More Days of Old Time Radio Christmas (from 2018) & Other Links
Another 25 Days of Old Time Radio Christmas (from 2017) 
25 Days of Old Time Radio Christmas (from 2016) 

25 Days of Old Time Radio Christmas (from 2015) & Other Links

25 Days of Old Time Radio Christmas (from 2014)
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