Friday, December 7, 2018

25 More Days of Old Time Radio Christmas - Day 6: Juggler of Notre Dame with Nelson Eddy and Ronald Colman (1940)


93/365/2284 (September 12, 2014) - Squirrels at the University of Michigan (September 12, 2014)

Juggling Squirrel at the University of Michigan - September 12, 2014

Going to try to catch up with a repeat from my first year.  But it features Nelson Eddy - so I hope I get a pass on that.  And Ronald Colman is there also - so that is even better.  I have wanted to share this again - so no better time like the present.  The Screen Guild Theater is quite interesting.  It is best summed up by the start of the article in the Digital Deli:

"The Screen Guild programs were some of Radio's longest running charity programs. Why charity? From the outset, the various Screen Guild programs were conceived, produced and broadcast for the express purpose of raising money for the Motion Picture Relief Fund. Over the years, the Motion Picture Relief Fund appeal extended to raising funds for a Country Home and Hospital for retired, ill, indigent, or destitute Motion Picture Industry artists."

This wonderful series was broadcast at CBS Radio and supported by Gulf Oil.  This episode was first performed on December 22, 1940 (and repeated the following two years as The Juggler of Our Lady), this dramatization Anatole France's 1892 miracle story, Le Jongleur de Notre Dame. Brought into the performance were narrator Ronald Colman and singer Nelson Eddy.  The Juggler of Notre Dame tells the story of Barnaby, a poor traveling juggler who traveled the countryside performing for children and townspeople for coins that kept him going.  Barnaby did not speak in this story, but his activity was told through the narration by Ronald Colman and the songs of Nelson Eddy, playing the monk who befriended the juggler.

The monk came across Barnaby on an awful stormy evening and took him to the monastery.  So taken by the warmth of the monastery, Barnaby begged to stay there and work, forsaking his the juggling that had been his vocation for all these years.  As the days grew closer to Christmas, each of the monks were carefully creating a gift to celebrate the birth of the Lord.  What Barnaby did was simply beautiful.

While it is a wonderful story, the piece is wonderful to listen to because of the beautiful singing Nelson Eddy provides.  My wife's uncle loved Nelson Eddy, so his songs are always welcome in my home.  I hope that he can bring the Christmas spirit to your home.  Here is the episode:

Here are some links to programs relating to Screen Guild Theater:
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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