Corey's Ramblings

Friday, December 23, 2016

25 More Days of Old Time Radio Christmas - Day 23: Big Little Jesus from Dragnet

I have certainly been trying to mix things up on this series, with mostly new episodes in this third year of running this blog for Christmas Old Time Radio. But last night, my wife asked if I was going to feature this episode - which is my favorite of all time. Going back to 1953 and the show that Jack Webb made famous - or the show that made Jack Webb famous - Dragnet. They have two great Christmas episodes - that were often repeated during the holidays. For the purposes of this blog - I will focus on the more upbeat one - "Big Little Jesus" and share the true story that became this episode.

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) this week as he does a great job of showcasing great holiday themed episodes, especially as we get close to Christmas.

Nativity Scene at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church (Saline, Michigan)

Nativity Scene - Saline, Michigan - 2013

I was not a huge fan of Dragnet from the start - even though it was one of the most famous radio and early television programs out there. But over the past year, I have enjoyed the great series and I have become definitely a fan. They have two stories related to Christmas that among the sweetest and saddest stories I can remember. I would like to focus on the sweet side today!

Visit to Mission San Buenaventura (Ventura, California) - Friday November 1, 2013

First broadcast on December 22, 1953, "Big Little Jesus," shows how a much nicer side of Christmas. Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Frank Smith receive a called about a missing religious statue of the baby Jesus from the Mission church in Los Angeles. While it is not a huge crime, they move forward looking at every lead and pawn shop to find this item before Christmas. Eventually, it turns up in the sweetest way possible. It can be kinda corny, but is one of those radio episodes that really hits home with the true meaning of Christmas. I invite everyone to take 30 minutes, go back in time, and recapture the meaning of the holidays.

Jack Webb is Joe Friday and Ben Alexander plays Frank Smith, his partner. The program also became part of the television series. According to an article in the Atlanta Constitution on December 22, 1955 (p20), the story was based on a true incident that too place in the 1930s in San Francisco. The New York Times published an article in 1933 about this 'theft" (thanks ProQuest Historical Newspapers):

Thief-Hunting Priest Bows to Boy's Faith
Christmas Bargain Explains San Francisco Church's Loss of Christ Child Figure
New York Times December 27, 1933 (page 14)

Special to the New York Times
San Francisco, Dec. 26. - This is a story of Christmas time, of a missing figure of the Christ Child and of a boy and his coaster.

It happened today at the Church of Our Lady of Victory. The Christ Child had been stolen from the manger-crib in the nativity scene in the church. The discovery caused consternation. Priests, sextons and sacristans joined in a frantic search of the premises with no results. The little figure could not be found.

A thief was blamed and the priests were about to call police headquarters, when one of them saw the missing figure in a coaster wagon which a small boy was towing up the hill behind him. For a moment the priest was speechless. He looked down in amazement at Master Georgie Potter, aged 7.

"Why, my son!" the priest exclaimed. "Do you realize that you have the Christ Child there'"

"Yes. Father," said Georgie, quite blandly.

"Did you take the figure from the church?"

"Yes, father." answered Georgie. The lad's face fell as the priest sought further explanation. Yes, he had taken it, but he really had not meant to steal it.

"I-I wanted a wagon for Christmas," he explained.

The priest could not quite understand.

"A wagon for Christmas, my boy-yes-but why did you take the statue of Jesus?"

"You see, Father," was the reply, "I told he Christ Child that if he'd let me have a red wagon for Christmas I'd give him a ride in it twice around the block. He did his part, so now I'm just doing mine."

So as Paul Harvey would say, now you know the rest of the story. I love how the story grew as a Dragnet episode. Maybe that was their trick - develop something small that happened into a whole story. And such a great one this is. I hope you enjoy it.

Big Little Jesus (Deccember 22, 1953)

Script from the Generic Radio Workshop Library

Here are some links to programs relating to Dragnet:

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 22, 2016

25 More Days of Old Time Radio Christmas - Day 22: Richer By One Christmas with Virginia Gregg

Last year, I listened to a great program I had not heard before on my way into work on Greg Bell's Old time radio channel (#148). It was Colgate's Theater of Romance and their presentation of how Handel wrote his most famous work, "The Messiah." It was broadcast on December 25, 1945, the first Christmas in many years that was free of war in the United States. A welcome state indeed. I showcased the episode in last year's series (The Messiah from Theater of Romance) and I head back to that series a few years later. 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) this week as he does a great job of showcasing great holiday themed episodes, especially as we get close to Christmas.

Visit to Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site (Long Beach, California) - October 23, 2015

Antique Doll - at Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site
(Long Beach, California) - October 23, 2015

The Theater of Romance is a bit of a misnomer. The way that today's episode opened was with this description: "Romance. Transcribed stories of love and adventure, of comedy and crisis, of conflict and human emotion." In looking at that opening statement, you could be prepared for, well, anything! And that is why this series will be fun to explore. The series was known as a filler - the kind of series that you would just slot into the schedule when an opening appeared. But from the Digital Deli article on this series (see the link below), they argued that this was definitely NOT a filler on the CBS Network:

Theatre of Romance and Romance spanned twenty-two years and over 490 installments during those twenty-two years.
Throughout those twenty-two years, Romance found at least four major, repeat sponsors--for contiguous runs of as many as 120 weekly episodes.
During most of its CBS runs, Romance commanded the greatest Film, Stage and Radio talent available during the era for leading--as well as supporting--roles in its dramas.
Even as a sustaining production, CBS' Romance continued to provide the highest production values, writing talent and West Coast Radio voice talent for its radioplays--right to the very end.

What I found in this series is the above and more. The production quality is great and these programs are very enjoyable. I am going to go through these more over the next few years. I even found one episode to use when I reboot my baseball Old Time Radio series.

On Christmas Eve, 1955, the Theater of Romance (or just Romance) aired a great program called Richer By One Christmas. The original story was written by Sylvia Richards and directed by Norman Macdonnell (who was best known as the co-creator of CBS's Gunsmoke). The star of the episode is Virginia Gregg, one of my favorite radio actresses. In this episode, she played a harried wife named Evelyn who is trying to get everything ready for the holidays. Her husband shares news that her mother, who lives far away in Iowa, can no longer live on her own and that she should come to California and live with them. With the prospect of where she would sleep in the house and how they would afford it with all the business of the holidays, she felt there was no way her mother could come.

Then she started thinking of her childhood in Iowa during the Great Depression. It was just after her father died and her mother was doing everything she could to keep the family fed. Evelyn took a job selling Christmas Cards. She did well enough to head into town to buy her mother a gift. That gift was a Dresden Doll with a pin cushion. She had just enough to buy it for her mom. It was a gift she cherished forever. That image allowed Evelyn to rethink having her mother come to California. This is a sweet story that really tells a wonderful story of Christmas. I hope you enjoy this!

Richer By One Christmas (Romance - December 24, 1955)

Here are some links to programs relating to Theater of Romance:

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)

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

25 More Days of Old Time Radio Christmas - Day 21: The Only Wise Man from Radio Reader's Digest

The Radio Reader's Digest is a great anthology series that I discovered when pulling together episodes for my Christmas on Old Time Radio blog. I used two episodes from this series last year: Frank Sinatra in Room for a Stranger (Radio Reader's Digest) & The Gift of the Magi (Radio Reader's Digest). This year, I return to this series with a story that was broadcast on Christmas evening in 1947. 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.

191/365/3113 (December 19, 2016) - Squirrels in Snowy Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan (December 19, 2016)

Squirrel at the University of Michigan - December 19, 2016

(OK this has nothing to do with the story,..just enjoy this great pic)!

The Radio Reader's Digest is a great series on radio. It started in 1942 as a CBS series with Ernest Chappell as the announcer. Ernest Chappell was well known as the lead actor and announcer for Quiet Please. The stories for the Radio Reader's Digest came from the pages of Reader's Digest, which was a huge publication during the 30s and 40s for sure. It still is most certainly around (see http://www.rd.com/). The radio program that came from their publication was first sponsored by the Campbell Soup Company, it shifted to Hallmark in 1946. Our episode from today was produced during the Hallmark era. Later, the series would be changed to the Hallmark Playhouse and feature dramatic versions of classics of world literature.

On Christmas Day, 1947, the Radio's Reader's Digest presented the story of Uncle Henry and Christmas in Centervale, Texas. It is called "The Only Wise Man" and it was in Reader's Digest after originally in the December 1934 issue of the Rotarian. You can read the story by Charles W. Ferguson in the pages of The Rotarian via Google Books (go to page 16). In the radio version, Actor Les Tremayne serves as the announcer and Paul Lukas stars in this great Christmas story. Lukas stars as Uncle Henry, a old handyman and in this Texas town. As the town gets very excited about the Christmas pageant, Henry runs into each of the city leaders who get to play the wise men. He also meets the new minister in the small Texas town. The minister sees in Uncle Henry someone he can bring into the Church, even though Henry does not go there on Sundays. Maybe the spirit of Christmas can sway him. But when the minister notices he is not at the pageant, he tries to find him. And when he does, he find the true meaning of Christmas from a truly wise man!

I hope you enjoy this wonderful story from Radio Reader's Digest.

The Only Wise Man (Radio Readers Digest - December 25, 1947)

Here are some links to programs relating to the Radio Reader's Digest:

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)

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

25 More Days of Old Time Radio Christmas - Day 20: Barton Drake Saves Christmas (Mystery Is My Hobby)

One of the tricks in creating this series is finding the online version of some of these recordings. I normally go to the Internet Archive, and for 98% of the time, I find it there. But every so often, I hit a dead end (based on my estimate above - around 1 in 50). Such was the case with the episode that I am showcasing today. Even though it was one of my favorite series, I never found a MP3 version of the Christmas episode from it...until now. I guess finding obscure information and resources is not only my job as a librarian - but also my hobby...! 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.

MSVMA All-State Choir at Michigan Youth Arts Festival
(Kalamazoo, Michigan, May 15, 2010)

One of my favorite Old Time Radio shows is almost never included on the top shows that were broadcast over the air. Mystery Is My Hobby is a radio series that was on the Mutual Network and seems to have been syndicated. This show stars Glen Langan as author Barton Drake. Not only is he a famous author, but mystery is his hobby! He finds himself all over solving crimes that would baffle local police and invariable solves these cases using a sharp intellect that few can match. Along the ride with Barton Drake is his constant companion, police inspector Noah Danton, played by Norman Field. Inspector Danton is not exactly a compelling role model for police inspectors. He rarely figures out any of these crimes and were it not for Barton Drake, I am not sure he would have solved a one. And while the audience might be surprised at some of these ends, NO ONE Is more surprised than Inspector Danton!

On December 25, 1947, the only Christmas episode I have been able to find from this series aired. We find Barton Drake and Inspector Danton once again traveling together. This time, they are in Boston where they are planning to enjoy the Christmas Caroling Festival. While they are soaking in the festivities, a young boy approaches and asks if he is Barton Drake. The boy then pleads that he needs Drake's great mystery solving skills to clear his father of a crime he did not commit. The father lives with this boy and his older sister. Alas, their older brother died in Germany during World War II, and it had a big impact on their dad. Never able to walk about from a mystery, especially when someone might be wrongfully accused of a crime, Barton Drake walks away from the festival and starts his more important work. And while they miss the festival, there is singing at the very end of this episode.

These are not the most sophisticated crime or mystery programs. But it is fun to hear the banter and exchange between Barton Drake and Inspector Danton. This is a fun series and one that I hope you enjoy. I am very glad that I finally solved the mystery of the lost Christmas episode. Actually, it was never missing - I was just looking in the wrong place! Enjoy!

Boston for Christmas (Mystery is My Hobby - December 25, 1947)

Here are some links to programs relating to Mystery is My Hobby:

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)

Monday, December 19, 2016

25 More Days of Old Time Radio Christmas - Day 19: Finding Santa (This is Your FBI)

Well...it seems that the FBI was making all sorts of news this years. So much news in fact that just about everyone raised their fists to them at one point or another during the course of the last 12 months....so lets go back a few years...and see what we think then. Well, there was J. Edgar Hoover....but that is for another time. We have more important things to do - like find Santa Claus for a settlement house! And thanks to This is Your FBI, we will have more than a Merry Christmas for the kids at the house. 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.

Holland-Fawcett Family Christmas Party (2014)

Santa Paying a Visit - December 2014

This is Your FBI was a long running radio show on the ABC Radio Network (also known as the Blue Network before it spun off from NBC) that spanned from 1945 to 1953. The show was endorsed by the FBI and they shared case files with the show's producers - making the stories all "from the files of the FBI." The stories are really well done and provide scenes showing not only the execution of the crime, but also the way that the FBI solved it. Each story opened the same way -

"The official broadcast from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The incidents used in
tonight’s Equitable Life Assurance Society broadcast are adapted from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. However, all names used are fictitious, and any similarity to names of persons living or dead is accidental."
- From Derral Cheatwood Images of Crime and Justice in Early Commercial Radio—1932 to 1958 Criminal Justice Review March 2010 35: 32-51,

Their first Christmas episode was first broadcast on December 24, 1948 when they first aired the Return of St. Nick. They would reuse this script the next two years on this program before opting for a new story that I featured last year, The Innocent Santa Claus (This is Your FBI). In the Return of St. Nick, Special Agent Jim Taylor finds himself, for the first time in many years, able to head home for Christmas. But as he leaves his field office, he is met by a boy who came to the FBI for help - they lost Santa Claus and need help finding him. Agent Taylor (played by Stacy Harris) discovers that this 10 year old boy lives in the Murray Street Settlement House and they have a older gentlemen there who does odd jobs for his room and board. These jobs include playing Santa. In trying to track down the missing resident, he discovers that he is an avid reader and often visits the library. He also discovers that a visitor to the settlement house scared him away. While not an official case, if Agent Taylor can figure out what the connection is to the visitor, maybe he can find St. Nick in time for Christmas.

In the end, as is often the case with these programs, there is a happy ending. This one comes with an unexpected twist. If you want to learn more about settlement houses, check out this great article from the Encyclopedia of Chicago. I hope you enjoy this episode from This is Your FBI.

The Return of St. Nick (This is Your FBI - December 24, 1948)

Here are some links to programs relating to This is Your FBI:

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 18, 2016

25 More Days of Old Time Radio Christmas - Day 18: Lucille Ball Knits a Sweater from My Favorite Husband

Yesterday, I featured a long overdue addition to my annual Christmas Old Time Radio series when I focused on Norman Corwin's The Plot to Overthrow Christmas. Today I correct another overlooked great when I highlight one of the holiday episodes of My Favorite Husband, featuring the great Lucille Ball. And since this is technically the last weekend shopping day before Christmas, it makes good sense that presents are in the mix! 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.

Exhibits at Philadelphia International Airport (October 19, 2013)

Yarn Artwork by Melissa Maddonni Haims
at Philadelphia International Airport - October 2013

My Favorite Husband is the first staring vehicle for Lucille Ball, the great comedienne who was best know on TV for I Love Lucy. The series was loosely based on Isabel Scott Rorick's humorous books, most notably Mr. and Mrs. Cugat. For the series, the names would be changed to Cooper. Broadcast over the CBS Network, the radio show starred Lucille Ball as Liz Cooper and Richard Denning as her husband George Cooper. They were, as their billing would indicate, "two people who live together and like it." The show was sponsored by Jell-O, though I doubt you would have trouble figuring that out if you listen to the program. Running on the air from 1948 through 1951, the year that I Love Lucy was first broadcast over television. This is a fun show and definitely catches Lucille Ball in fine form as one of the greatest comediennes that the United States have produced!

Its the week before Christmas and Liz is desperately trying to finish up her present for George. She decided that this was the year that she was going to make a sweater for her husband. But then she was thinking. Well, if George spent alot, then a hand-knit sweater was not good enough. But if he bought her something small, then it was not worth the effort! So Liz and Katy (their maid played by Ruth Perrott) desperately tried to figure out what George bought her for Christmas. All the while, she was trying to make sure that the sweater she was knitting had only one neck hole and only two arms. That was surprisingly difficult to pull off! I hope that the presents you buy this year come out better and are appreciated well! But even if they are not, please enjoy this great episode from My Favorite Husband!

George's Christmas Present (My Favorite Husband - December 16, 1949)