Corey's Ramblings

Monday, December 5, 2016

25 More Days of Old Time Radio Christmas - Day 5: A Christmas Story from Quiet, Please

The other day, I highlighted a Wyllis Cooper script that focused on soldiers at the end of World War I in Paris who embark on a journey similar to that of the Three Kings (Three Men from NBC's Radio City Playhouse). With this entry, we head to end of the Second World War in another Wyllis Cooper penned script in his brilliant Quiet, Please series. (I will get some comedies soon - promise!)

Here is a link to all the previous OTR Christmas entries. 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.

Wintry Mix at the Ross School of Business (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)
February 20, 2014

Quiet, Please was the brain child of Wyllis Cooper, one of the most creative and leading artists on the air. Cooper and Arch Obler both worked on the great series Lights Out. Quiet, Please is one of the most creative and unique shows out there. It ran on the Mutual Network from 1947 to 1948, and then one year on the new ABC Network (the successor to the NBC Blue Network). Each episode starts with star Ernest Chappell saying "Quiet, Please." After a few seconds, he repeats that phrase. Then, a piano plays the second movement of Cesar Franck's Symphony in D Minor - the haunting music that serves as the theme of the show. Star Ernest Chappell then provides the introduction to the story, and seamlessly opens the story as the main character. There is a point when Chappell moves from monologue to dialogue - and with that, the lights turn on and the story begins. It is really one of the most unique shows on the air. In so many radio series, we can anticipate where the character is going to go based on what we know of him or her. Be it The Saint, Boston Blackie, or Gunsmoke's Marshall Dillon, or any other regular character, we have a sense of what they are like and what they might do. But when Ernest Chappell starts an episode of Quiet, Please, we have no idea where he is going to take us.

There was a little different script used on December 26, 1948 when Quiet, Please presented a reprise of the previous year's Christmas story, Berlin, 1945. The setting is painted in very few words at the start of the program:

Announcer: This is Christmas Day two years ago. Christmas Day, 1945, in a ruined house in Berlin, in Germany.

Five soldiers around a table, beginning their Christmas dinner.

Staff Sergeant John Plattner was carving.

This is pretty much all you need to know. Five soldiers enjoying a Christmas Dinner in peace, after many years of war. They all tell stories about Christmas past, what they have gone through, and what the holidays were like back home - like in Peoria. The stories and food on this Christmas Day were interrupted when a displaced person, or DP, arrived. Among the first things he said, was this: "Nothing, sir. I was just looking around. At the... destruction. It's terrible." The stranger or displaced person, in a twist, was played by Ernest Chappell, who normally opened the show. As the soldiers welcomed the stranger into their lives, they began to realize something special about this person. This episode showcases Wyllis Cooper at the height of his art and should definitely shared with friends and strangers to spread the true meaning of the season. Joining Ernest Chappel was Frank Thomas, James Goss, James Monks, Melville Ruick, Warren Stevens, and Ed Latimer as the other voice actors. Wyllis Cooper served as the host, writer and director.

Berlin, 1945 (Quiet, Please - December 26, 1948)

Berlin, 1945 Script (from Quietly Yours site)

Here are some links to programs relating to Quiet, Please:

Another 25 Days of Old Time Radio Christmas (from 2016) & Other Links

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

25 Days of Old Time Radio Christmas (from 2014)

Sunday, December 4, 2016

25 More Days of Old Time Radio Christmas - Day 4: Johnny Dollar's Missing Mouse Matter (1956)

This is my fourth entry for this year's Old Time Radio Christmas. I thought it would be good to head back to one of my all-time favorite series, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar. I have twice featured this series during the last two years with the Nick Shurn Matter (one of my favorite five-part series) and his stint as a Department Store Santa. So, I thought I should go back to see what Johnny Dollar is up to. And with this colder weather settling in over much of the country, we might be seeing more mice around the house. If there were a way to pull these two needs together???? There is! Thank you Johnny Dollar.

Here is a link to all the previous OTR Christmas entries. 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.

193/365 (December 21, 2008) - The Best Christmas Tree Ornament

Cosmo the Cat in the Christmas Tree (and CMO - Chief Mouser Officer) - December 2008

Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar started out in 1949 as a basic 30 minute detective series. Dick Powell did the audition show for Johnny Dollar, but he opted to do the great series Richard Diamond (with many scripts written by a young Blake Edwards). With Dick Powell turning down the role, CBS went with Charles Russell who played Dollar for the first year. Many people took the role, but most fans like the episodes voiced by Bob Bailey. He took over the role at a time when the format changed from a once weekly 30 minute episode to daily 15 minute series. Most were five day series and allowed the writers and producers to create more in-depth stories. After this experiment lasted around a year, they went back to the 30 minute format, still with Bob Bailey. He would star in the series until the moved the production to New York City in November 1960.

While Johnny Dollar is a basic detective program, the gimmick was that it revolved around his expense report. Johnny Dollar provided the exposition around the expenses incurred during the case. At first, I could not believe that they had a show featuring an insurance investigator with an expense report. But it quickly became one of my favorite series.

On December 23, 1956, CBS aired the "The Missing Mouse Matter." Johnny Dollar is getting ready for the holidays when he received a call. There is a problem reported by a Rhode Island eccentric millionaire Mr. Gillis who had previously purchased an unusual policy for something small, precious, valuable and irreplaceable. It was not a diamond...but a mouse. In fact, it was an "unusually talented" mouse. Its name was Gulliver and he could sing. Normally, the insurance company would not cover it, but they had so much business with Mr. Gillis that they could not say no. But when the mouse goes missing....they needed to call in the best investigator they knew - Johnny Dollar.

So move over Willie the Whale - these men have found a singing mouse - who sings at a level where humans can hear. While Mr. Gillis was sure that a former entertainment agent was the guilty party, it might have been simpler to figure out when a cat shows up, with a prize between its paws. Turns out that the ending is much sweeter for everyone, including the cat! Joining Bob Bailey in this fun Christmas episode are Gunsmoke's Howard McNear and Parley Baer. Charles Smith wrote the script and it was directed by Jack Johnstone. On the same evening, CBS featured McNear and Bear in a Gunsmoke episode called "Beeker's Barn", that I featured last year as well.

Missing Mouse Matter (Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar) - December 23, 1956

Here are some links to programs relating to Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar:

Another 25 Days of Old Time Radio Christmas (from 2016) & Other Links

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

25 Days of Old Time Radio Christmas (from 2014)

Saturday, December 3, 2016

25 More Days of Old Time Radio Christmas - Day 3: Three Men from NBC's Radio City Playhouse

This is my third entry for this year's Old Time Radio Christmas. So I wanted to find something that made sense....maybe something that comes in a set of three...what around the holidays comes in sets of three....? Got it! Wise men!

Thanks to Radio great Wyllis Cooper, we have a great retelling of the story of the three kings. Here is a link to all the previous OTR Christmas entries. 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.

Nativity at St. Paul United Church of Christ (Saline, Michigan) - December 2011

Some of my favorite series on Old Time Radio offered up a unique story with each episode. Rather than starting with a set of characters that you are familiar with, these episodes start from scratch. Some of my favorites include The Whistler, Suspense, The Columbia Workshop just to name a few. Radio City Playhouse is a program that I had not come across with my interest in the Golden Age of Radio - but it looks like one that I will have to visit again. NBC produced this great anthology series for just two years (1948 to 1949), but it allowed Wyllis Cooper to share one of the great Christmas stories ever heard over the airwaves.

During my first year of featuring Old Time Radio shows about Christmas, I showcased a 1937 story from Arch Oboler's Lights Out called Uninhabited (from December 22, 1937). I did not know if it was from Arch Oboler or Wyllis Cooper, the two visionaries behind the great series, Lights Out. Eleven years later, Wyllis Cooper presented this script on the Radio City Playhouse (which helped me figure out who wrote it). The story is really fantastic and provides a retelling of the three kings at the birth of Jesus. It was Christmas Eve 1918 and the fighting in Europe during World War I had stopped. We find three Allied officers heading on a train for a long needed rest. The three solders were very different, one from France, one from Australia and one from America. These three officers dozed off, and simultaneously dreamed about being the three Magi, looking for the baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem nearly two thousand years earlier. I love the story because it is a beautiful telling of the three Magi. It also has a nice message about race relations from the perspective of the 1930s.

On the Radio City Playhouse, Wyllis Cooper brought this great story back to life. Reusing scripts was a common occurrence during this time and it allowed people to catch programs they might have otherwise missed. The show features Bill Lipton, Grant Richards, Ian Martin, and John McQuade, Thanks to the Internet Archive, you can listed to this 1948 version and compare it with the 1937 original. Either way, a beautiful story for the Christmas season. Be sure to check out Wyllis Cooper's Script for Three Men (as originally performed on Lights Out in 1937).

Three Men (from Radio City Playhouse - December 20, 1948)

Here are some links to programs relating to Old Time Radio and Radio City Playhouse:

Another 25 Days of Old Time Radio Christmas (from 2016) & Other Links

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

25 Days of Old Time Radio Christmas (from 2014)

Friday, December 2, 2016

25 More Days of Old Time Radio Christmas - Day 2: The Story of Christmas Seals from Cavalcade of America

For over 100 years, Christmas Seals have not only added an attractive picture to letters and packages at the holidays, but also generated much needed donations to support those with tuberculosis, Later, the American Lung Association would use these monies to help combat lung cancer and asthma. The story of Christmas Seals was featured in an early episode of the Cavalcade of America - and a great entry for the second entry in my 25 More Days of Old Time Radio Christmas.

I will once again try to get these out every day (though I will probably miss some here and there and repeat some of my favorites). Here is a link to all the previous OTR Christmas entries. 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.

114/365 (October 3, 2008) - Wonderful Day at the Pittsburgh Zoo (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

Sleepy seal at Pittsburgh Zoo - October 3, 2008 (see what I did there...)

The Cavalcade of America is a great series sponsored by DuPont. The purpose of the program has been one of great study and I am definitely glad that I have a few episodes to talk about it. The long-running show ran from 1935 to 1953 and then had a second life on television. Starting first on the CBS Network, it moved to NBC in 1939. This 30 minute program provided a great platform to showcase some of the lesser known incidents and people who made the country great. Not only was this series a great source of historical dramas, there were numerous fictional stories brought in as well. From the Internet Archive page (see link below), "The company's motto, 'Maker of better things for better living through chemistry,' was read at the beginning of each program, and the dramas emphasized humanitarian progress, particularly improvements in the lives of women, often through technological innovation."

On December 9, 1936, the Cavalcade showcased the history of Christmas Seals and how they were introduced into the United States. While they were first used in Denmark, they came to the United States thanks to the work of Emily Bissell. She was an officer for the American Red Cross in Wilmington, Delaware, a writer and fundraiser who made a name for herself supporting the fight against tuberculosis. Bissell sought a way to raise money to help a Delaware sanatorium raise money to ensure that they can serve the numerous children with tuberculosis. In 1907, she designed these seals and sold them at the post office for a penny each. With a very modest goal of $300, she ended up selling over $3000 work of seals that year. The popularity of this program grew so great that they could credit Christmas Seals with raising $83 million dollars over the first 29 years. The Christmas Seals were synonymous with fundraising by the American Lung Association and its predecessor organization - National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis.

The episode provides a dramatized recounting of Emily Bissell's work to bring Christmas Seals to the United States and and end to tuberculosis. Two things of note. First, Emily Bissell was in the studio audience and gave a brief statement at the end of the program. Second, Emily Bissell is also closely associated with the anti-suffragist movement in the late 19th Century. I am personally very glad that she was more successful at the former than the latter! Hope you enjoy this episode from The Cavalcade of America.

The Story of Christmas Seals (Cavalcade of America - December 9, 1936)

Here are some links to programs relating to Old Time Radio and Cavalcade of America:

Another 25 Days of Old Time Radio Christmas (from 2016) & Other Links

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

25 Days of Old Time Radio Christmas (from 2014)

Thursday, December 1, 2016

25 More Days of Old Time Radio Christmas - Day 1: The Shadow's Christmas Carol

This is the third year I have showcased different Old Time Radio programs for Christmas. I will once again try to get these out every day (though I will probably miss some here and there and repeat some of my favorites). Here is a link to all the previous OTR Christmas entries. 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.

Christmas Tree Decorating - November 2016

A dog for Christmas - A great idea for sure!

There are so many iconic voices and names from Old Time Radio. But maybe few have as much recognition as the Mutual Network's The Shadow.

"Who knows what evil lurks in the minds of men....the Shadow knows!"

The Shadow tells the story of Lamont Cranston, a 'man about town' who learned the powers of clouding men's minds while in Asia. Lamont turns into The Shadow when he needs to solve a crime and correct wrongs done by others in the name of greed and evil. The only one who knows that Lamont is also The Shadow is his companion, Margo Lane. The Shadow was the creation of writer Walter B. Gibson in 1931 and was serialized in magazines and pulp novels in the 1930s. It was adapted to radio early in the Golden Age of Radio and counted among those who voiced the lead character were Orson Welles, Bill Johnstone, Bret Morrison, John Archer, and Steve Courtleigh. It seems that the characters and plot lines from both pulp and radio helped change both formats as The Shadow remained a prominent element of popular culture into the 1950s.

On Christmas Eve 1939, the Mutual Network broadcast "The Stockings Were Hung" as the holiday episode in the spirit of Dickens' Christmas Carol. Bill Johnstone stars as Lamont Cranston and Marjorie Anderson as Margo Lane in this episode. It starts when Lamont and Margo head off to see their favorite newsboy Spike Grover to buy a paper and give him a Christmas gift. When they realize he is not there, they find out that his father is missing and that Spike and his sister are all alone. Spike's dad was accused of ruining and stealing from the family business and a partner is on the verge of taking it over. While the evidence might suggest that Spike's dad was guilty, only the Shadow can tell what is really going on. The race is on to ensure that the Grovers have the Christmas they deserve - and a puppy to boot! Also featured in this Peter Wright script are: Keenan Wynn, Kingsley Colton, Joan Tetzel, John McIntire, Kenny Delmar, Paul Huber, and Alan Kent.

The Stockings Were Hung (The Shadow - December 24, 1939)

The Shadow (Old Time Radio Links)

Another 25 Days of Old Time Radio Christmas (from 2016) & Other Links

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

25 Days of Old Time Radio Christmas (from 2014)

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Recipes and Radio: Cooking with Don Ameche & Elgin Watch (Thanksgiving Old Time Radio)

My sixth entry of Recipes and Radio in honor of Thanksgiving. This has been fun to work on, I hope you have enjoyed it. First, the recipe for a side I have not made in a number of years - Holiday Red Cabbage and Chestnuts.

Holiday Red Cabbage and Chestnuts (follow for recipe)

Red cabbage and chestnuts is a recipe I got from my mom. This is really an old family recipe that we have had forever. I did not like it so much as a kid, but I loved it the last time I made it - but it is not a dish that everyone loved. Please note that this recipe makes a ton - freeze part of it since you will never eat it all. Click here for the recipe.

And now the radio show! This is one of my all-time favorites. Because it is a two hour program, it is never on Greg Bell's Old time radio channel on Sirius/XM Radio (#148). But this is simply one of the best recording we have from the Golden Age of Radio.

One of the really cool shows I discovered a few years ago are the Elgin Seasonal Specials for Thanksgiving and Christmas in the 1940s. The shows were sponsored by the Elgin Watch Company of Elgin, Illinois. Starting in 1942 for the soldiers overseas, the Elgin Holiday Specials were two hour programs that featured the brightest stars in radio and the movies. Heard on these programs is Bing Crosby, Mario Landa, Jimmy Durante, Bob Hope and were all hosted by Don Ameche. These shows are a combination of songs, skits and other performances that capture the best of radio. The Internet Archives has five total shows (see the link below). Also, given that the program runs 2 hours, Greg Bell does not schedule them on Radio Classics. So that means if we are going to listen to these great programs, we need to be a bit more proactive!

Here is a link right to the two Elgin Thanksgiving Holiday Shows on the Internet Archive:

Elgin's 6th Annual Thanksgiving Show (November 27, 1947)

Elgin Thanksgiving Day Greeting To America. November 27, 1947. CBS net, KQW, San Jose aircheck. Sponsored by: Elgin Watches. "The Sixth Annual Elgin Thanksgiving Day Greeting To America." The first tune is, "It's A Grand Night For Singing." Jimmy Durante and Garry Moore perform together for the first time "since getting shows of their own." "News Scoops From Hollywood," Candy Candido appears as "Mr. Ripple." Fifteen-year-old Mary Jane Smith sings. Sir Lancelot sings a calypso watch commercial! Larry Storch does impersonations. Margaret Whiting and Vera Vague join Jimmy Durante singing a clever original parody about a possible woman president (to the tune of "Feudin', Fightin' and Fussin'"). The Page Cavanaugh Trio sings a delightful Elgin commercial to the tune of, "The Lady From Twentynine Palms." Bob Sweeney and Hal March drive to the studio (don't ask them what an "Oh, For Goodness Sakes" sandwich is). The winners of the SPEBQSA competition sing barbershop harmonies. Yehudi Menuhin plays "Habanera" by Sarasate (accompanied by his sister on the violin). He then plays a duet with another violinist...Jack Benny! Artie Auerbach does an Elgin commercial as, "Mr. Kitzel. Cathy and Elliott Lewis are featured in a well-written story about a housewife's last day. Good radio! "A Child's Thanksgiving" features Red Skelton as, "Junior, The Mean Widdle Kid." After he says grace, Clem Kaddiddlehopper finds himself in one of the Elgin watch commercials! Allan Jones, Louis Silvers and His Orchestra, Jimmy Durante, Garry Moore, Candy Candido, Mary Jane Smith, Sir Lancelot, Larry Storch, Margaret Whiting, Barbara Jo Allen, The Page Cavanaugh Trio, Al Viola, Bob Sweeney, Don Ameche (host), Ken Carpenter (announcer), Hal March, The Doctors Of Harmony, Yehudi Menuhin, Jack Benny, Artie Auerbach, Betty Wright (writer), Cathy Lewis, Elliott Lewis, Red Skelton, Verna Felton, Lurene Tuttle, Pat McGeehan. 1:59:31. Audio condition: Excellent. Complete. (Line-up from the Radio GOLDINdex)

In the review from Variety (December 3, 1947), they said:

Twice a year - Thanksgiving and Christmas - CBS, through the good graces of Elgin Watch Co., wraps up a good chuck of the talent market for the brace of two-hour holiday air shows that have been taking on something of an institutional character.

They vary but little in format and showcasing of topflight air talent-even down to the year-in-year out emcee reprise by Don Ameche - but it's becoming as habit-forming as the traditional Turkey Day dinner. And in terms of brightening up the late afternoon holiday kilocycles, it still rates the No. 1 spot for its relaxing payoff as a stuffed-belly antidote.

Elgin's 7th Annual Thanksgiving Show (November 25, 1948)

Elgin Thanksgiving Day Greeting To America. November 25, 1948. NBC net. Sponsored by: Elgin Watches. "The seventh Annual Thanksgiving Day Greeting To America." The first tune is, "Cosi, Cosa." Dean Martin is introduced as a promising "newcomer" and "a star of tomorrow." Don Ameche (host), Mario Lanza, Garry Moore, Jimmy Durante, The Mills Brothers, Barbara Jo Allen (as "Vera Vague"), Andre Previn, Bob Hopkins, Jack Benny, Frances Langford, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Red Skelton, The Elgin Orchestra, Robert Armbruster (conductor), Ken Carpenter (announcer), Earl Levy (producer), John Christ (producer), Ed Helwig (writing supervisor), Frank Nelson, Artie Auerbach, Lurene Tuttle, Verna Felton. 1:58:54. Audio condition: Very good to excellent. Complete. (Line-up from the Radio GOLDINdex)

In the review from Variety (December 1, 1948), they said:

Switching networks after six straight years with CBS, Elgin splurged its annual Thanksgiving Day layout on NBC this year, but otherwise maintained the trappings traditionally associated with this show. Foremost among this show's traditions is its corralling of the best-known and highest-priced talent available to serve up as dessert to the nation's turkey diners. This year is was still a dazzling array by all normal standards.

Back at his regular stand in this event, Don Ameche, as emcee, played traffic cop to the procession of stars with his accoustomed polish and aplomb. Lacking in this setup, however, was a deeper continutiy which would have tied the various items around a central theme instead of having it run off as a straight variety program. But even if there were no grand overall plan, the individual performances were solid enough to carry dialers for the full 120 minutes.

They later pointed out the success and stand-out performance by newcomers Martin and Lewis (yep - Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis).

In June of 1949, Variety reported that Elgin was pulling the plug on their holiday shows (June 15, 1949):

Elgin Watch is pulling out of the annual NBC two-hour holiday shows Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, in the face of poor business conditions and unavailability of top talent.

Shows last year cost Elgin an estimated $100,000 each, of which $26,000 went for network time and $60,000 for talent. First program to get the axe was the Christmas package, which was aimed at coaxing recipents of gift certificates into post-holiday buying of timepieces. Last year's January business, however, was reportedly so far from expectations that the watch company figured it has a white elephant on its hand. J. Walter Thomson agency made a fight to save the plum, with no luck.

NOTE: For the record, the $100,000 in 1948 would be just over $1 million dollars today.

In my house, I do much of the cooking and so I love to have these old programs playing in the kitchen. This year, we are over at the in-laws, but we are making sides at our house. So you can be sure that on Thanksgiving morning, I will be cleaning, cutting, cooking, etc. with Don Ameche and friends providing the entertainment and encouragement!

Here are additional Thanksgiving themed shows available on the Internet Archive:

Recipes and Radio Episodes and Other Links

Other Old Time Radio Series by Corey