Monday, December 17, 2018

25 More Days of Old Time Radio Christmas - Day 16: Family Theater's Lullaby Of Christmas (1950)


2012 Annual Cathy Heifetz Memorial Concerts - University of Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Combined Chiors (Sunday May 27, 2012)

2012 Annual Cathy Heifetz Memorial Concerts - University of Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Combined Chiors (Sunday May 27, 2012)
For the next two entries, I am going to a series that I first featured last year.  These are wonderful stories for the holidays that (hopefully) remind us what is important about Christmas.  Both of these programs come from Mutual's Family Theater.  Last year, I featured Other Wise Man on Mutual's Family Theater (1949) and this year, we hear great stories from 1950 (today) and 1953 (tomorrow).  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 Mutual Family Theater is an anthology series that aired (as one might imagine) over the Mutual Network from 1947 through 1956.  The program was the idea of Father Patrick Peyton, a Roman Catholic Priest, who wanted to provide wholesome stories that the entire family could enjoy.  I came across an interesting scholarly article on the series (Phalen, Patricia F. "Profound sound: Family theater radio, 1947-1970." Journal of Radio Studies 11, no. 1 (2004): 116-130) that talked about how Father Peyton gathered up the talent to make this program.  He insisted that the stars donate their services to make the program, which kept costs down.  As they would cite during the start of the production:

The purpose of this series is to remind ourselves that there is a kind and merciful God who is always ready to help us; that we should declare our faith in him; acknowledge our obligations to Him, to our neighbors, and ourselves; tell Him our need, and ask His aid, through prayer.... The scripts will deal
with human problems in human terms. They will be simple, not ponderous; entertaining, not preachy; natural, not pretentious. (Family Theater Productions, 1947)

On December 13, 1950, the Family Theater presented an adaptation of Charles Tazewell's Lullaby of Christmas.  This is the second time this year I featured Charles Tazewell story on this series, remember A Stable In Bethlehem...Pennsylvania (1944). This story on Family Theater was as old as time itself (as the narrator said often).  He told the story of a young boy in Bethlehem many years ago. Around 2018 years ago to be exact.  The boy had a special gift, though he did not know it at the time.  He could not speak.  And while he knew his name was Ezekiel, everyone called him "Hey Boy." He lived at an inn in the stable, but made by with hand me downs, scraps and items discarded by others.  And while he tried to speak, it always came out as a horrible sound no one would ever want to hear.  He would dream of the words he could say if he was given the gift of speech.  If only he could speak, then he would only say beautiful and loving things. .  But more than anything - he would be able to sing.  Everyone in Bethlehem would listen. One evening, he noticed a difference in the air and in the sky.  A beautiful star that stood out among all the other stars that he had seen.  He returned to the inn to discover a mother and father with a newborn baby.  And with their arrival, Ezekiel was able to bestow onto them a gift that only he could give.

The beautiful program was directed by hosted by Ruth Hussey, announced by Tony La Frano, directed by Joseph F. Mansfield, with music by Harry Zimmerman based on the Charles Tazewell story.   Featured in the cast were Michael Edwards, Ted de Corsia, Irene Tedrow, and William Johnstone.  Most of all, the narrator for this wonderful story was 22 year old Roddy McDowall, who would later have a tremendous movie and entertainment career.  I hope you enjoy this wonderful production.

Lullaby of Christmas (Family Theater) - December 13, 1950



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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