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Mr. President "Andrew Jackson" (9-08-53) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Feb 01, 2008

Show notes

Mr. President ran on the ABC Radio Network from June of 1947 until September of 1953 and starred Edward Arnold and Betty Lou Gerson. Each week, Arnold would play the part of a different President of the United States in historical dramas based on real events - some familiar, many little-known and largely untold. The unique aspect of the show was that the identity of the President being portrayed would not be revealed until the end of the program - a guessing game that often challenged the most fervent and knowledgeable students of American history.THIS EPISODE:Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 â June 8, 1845) was the 7th President of the United States (1829â1837). He was also military governor of Florida (1821), commander of the American forces at the Battle of New Orleans (1815), and the eponym of the era of Jacksonian democracy. He was a polarizing figure who dominated American politics in the 1820s and 1830s. His political ambition combined with the masses of people shaped the modern Democratic Party.[1] Nicknamed "Old Hickory" because he was renowned for his toughness, Jackson was the first President primarily associated with the frontier, as he based his career in Tennessee.

Michael Shayne Private Detective "The Case Of Anthony Carrell" (7-15-48) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 31, 2008

Show notes

Michael Shayne was a fictional sleuth created by Brett Halliday (a pen name for author Davis Dresser) who was first initiated into the fraternity for detectives in the 1939 novel "Dividend of Death". Dresser based the character on a âtall and rangyâ brawler who once saved his life during a braw in a Mexican cantina. The Shayne character would go on to appear in 69 novels, plus a long-running mystery magazineâand in 1941, was brought to the silver screen in Paramountâs Michael Shayne, Private Detective, an adaptation of Dividend of Death that starred Lloyd Nolan, and paved the way for six additional B-mysteries to follow. The New Adventures of Michael Shayneâpremiered on July 15, 1948 starring Jeff Chandler.

Inheritance "Flight To Nowhere" (5-16-54) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 31, 2008

Show notes

Inheritance. May 16, 1954. Program #6. NBC net. "Flight To Nowhere". Sustaining. Not auditioned. 4:30 P. M. The program is produced in co-operation with The American Legion. After the drama, the National Vice Commander of The American Legion, North Carolina, Thomas Byrd is the speaker. Albert McCleary (producer, director), John Wald (announcer), Robert Armbruster (composer, conductor), Thomas Byrd, Milt Kahn (writer), Whitfield Connor, John Dehner, Sam Edwards, Joe Cranston, Frank Gerstle, Anne Whitfield, Jack Carroll, Alice Rolf, Howard Culver. 29:51.

You Are There "Columbus Discovers America" (7-28-47) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 30, 2008

Show notes

YOU ARE THEREAired: November 1939 to May 1940, CBS Blue NetworkA Dramatic Historical RecreationImagine if CBS radio news existed when the Bastille was stormed in 1789, or if radio reporters were stationed in Ford Theater as Lincoln was assassinated, or again at the Battle of Gettysburg? Indeed, such was the premise behind the CBS series, You Are There. Audiences witnessed history through the present-tense accounts of newsmen allegedly witnessing historical events transpiring before their eyes. Don Hollenbeck and John Daley (known for his TV game show panelist appearances) played the lead anchors, while real-life newsman provided the remote commentaries as the dramas unfolded. As show opened, an anchor would describe the present situation with "As it stands nowâ" and segue into commentaries, live remote feeds or analysis as the story unfurled.The show was well received, but perhaps was doomed to eventual failure in part due John Daly's emoting. Bernard DeVoto in Harper Magazine lamented: "We have heard his (Daly) voice vibrate with the real emotion, and our memory of the real simply turns the imagined to ham."

A Case For Dr Morelle "Poisoned Air" (1950-Episode10) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 30, 2008

Show notes

'The man you love to hate!', psychoanalyst-detective and male chauvinist pig, whose detection powers were dazzling, but whose treatment of females, especially his fluttery secretary Miss Frayle, verged on the abominable. Written by author Ernest Dudley, Morelle was overbearing, sarcastic, patronising, contemptuous, cruel and unusually vindictive, Morelle was nevertheless doted upon by millions of listeners to his adventures on the radio in the 1940s and 1950s. The first radio Morelle was played by the acerbic and distinctly toffish Dennis Arundell - a Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge, who later starred in many West End productions. A second series featured the even darker tones of Heron Carvic, later to write best-selling mysteries of his own, featuring the interfering spinster-sleuth Miss Seaton. In the 1950s, the part was played to pompous, thin-lipped perfection by Cecil Parker. The first Miss Frayle was played by author Dudley's wife, Jane Grahame, while a later incarnation was Sheila Sim. Through the 1950s Ernest Dudley wrote for both radio and television. His most popular TV series was 'Judge For Yourself', one of the earliest viewer-participation shows, in which, after a half-hour "trial", viewers were invited by Dudley to send in their verdicts, "Guilty" or "Not guilty". His catch-phrase, spoken to camera at the end, was always "Remember - you are the judge".

The Clock "The Return Of The Vanished Wife" (1958) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 30, 2008

Show notes

The Clock, Imported from Austrailia, was a dramatic thirty-minute suspense and mystery series. It was written by Lawrence Klee and was first broadcast in November 1946. The story always began the same; âSunrise and sunset, promise and fulfilment, birth and death â the whole drama of life is written in the sands of timeâ. This is a great series where the main theme seems to be Retribution. Stories as told by Father Time.First Broadcast November 3rd 1946 Last Broadcast May 23rd 1948

Black Museum - Double Feature (1951 and 1952) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 30, 2008

Show notes

Orson Welles hosted and narrated the shows. Mr. Welles opened each show slightly differently but followed a standard format. For example, the show, "The Bathtub", open as follows:"This is Orson Welles speaking from London." (Big Ben starts chiming in the background). "The Black Museum, repository of death... Here, in this grim stone structure on the Thames which houses Scotland Yard, is a warehouse of homocide, where everyday objects, a piece of wire, a chemist's flask, a silver shilling, all are touched by murder." (dramatic music) Following the opening, Mr. Welles would introduce the museum's item or items of evidence that was central to the case, leading into the dramatization. He also provided narration during the show and ended each show with his characteristic closing from the days of his Mercury Theater of the Air, remaining "obediently yours".

Encore Theater - Magnificent Obsession (6-04-46) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 29, 2008

Show notes

ENCORE THEATER was a 1946 Summer replacement series, sponsored by Schenley Labs, Inc. All shows had a medical theme, some concerned medical research, some covered personal stories of people in the medical field but all based on true stories. Schenley Labs, Inc. was the sponsor for the series. The shows aired Tuesday evenings from 9:30 to 10:00 PM over CBS affiliated stations. Members of the cast were typically well-known radio or screen actors, such as Lurene Tuttle, Eric Snowden, Gerald Mohr, Ronald Colman, Robert Young or Lionel Barrymore. Producer for series was Bill Lawrence, who also directed the series. The announcer was Frank Graham. Music was by Leith Stevens. Scripts were written and adapted by Jean Holloway, Lloyd C. Douglas, Sidney Kingsley and Milton Geiger. Twelve of the thirteen scripts were adapted by Jean Holloway. The 1946 Summer series ended with the August 27th show, replaced by "Cresta Blanca Hollywood Players" (possibly known as "The Hollywood Players Company". There was a second ENCORE THEATER Summer series in 1949, however there is little information on it. It aired on Sundays. Eight shows are known to be in circulation. Known air dates are April 17, April 24, May 8 and June 5.

Flash Gordon "2 Episodes (7-13-35) and (10-12-35)" - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 29, 2008

Show notes

Today's Show:"The Antidote" (7-13-35) and "Its Finally Over" (10-12-35)FIRST BROADCAST: April 1935 LAST BROADCAST: February 1936 CAST: Gale Gordon, Maurice Franklin, Bruno Wick, James Meighan PRODUCER: Himan Brown This science-fiction adventure originally began as a comic strip. Flash Gordon had saved the world by firing a rocket at the planet Mongo which was on a collision course with earth. He had crashlanded on Mongo which was a planet packed with villains and baddies featuring lots of ray-guns and rockets.

The General Electric Theater "Old Man's Bride" (10-01-53) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 28, 2008

Show notes

The first two seasons of General Electric Theater established the half-hour anthology format of adaptations of popular plays, short stories, novels, magazine fiction and motion pictures. "The Eye of the Beholder," for example, a Hitchcock-like telefilm thriller starring Richard Conte and Martha Vickers, dramatized an artist's relationship with his model from differing, sometimes disturbing psychological perspectives. The addition of Ronald Reagan as program host commencing the third season 26 September 1954 reflected GE's decision to pursue a campaign of continuous, consistent company voice advertising. The Reagan role of program host and occasional guest star brought needed continuity to disparate anthology offerings. The casting of Don Herbert of TV's Watch Mr. Wizard fame in the role of "General Electric Progress Reporter" established a clear-cut company identity for commercials. "Outstanding entertainment" became the watchword of GE's public and employee relations specialists. Reagan, in the employ of BBDO, helped merchandise the concept within the company itself. The first of many promotional tours orchestrated by BBDO and the GE Department of Public Relations Services sent Reagan to twelve GE plant cities in November 1954 to promote the program idea, further his identity as spokesman, and become familiar with company people and products.

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