Boxcars711 Old Time Radio

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My Friend Irma "Jane's New Boyfriend" (3-08-48) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 28, 2008

Show notes

This hit radio series with Marie Wilson ran on CBS Radio from April 11, 1947 to August 23, 1954. The TV version, seen on CBS from January 8, 1952 until June 25, 1954, was the first series telecast from the CBS Television City facility in Hollywood. The movie My Friend Irma (1949) starred Marie Wilson and Diana Lynn but is mainly remembered today for introducing Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis to moviegoers, resulting in even more screen time for Martin and Lewis in the sequel, My Friend Irma Goes West (1950).THIS EPISODE:March 8, 1948. CBS net. Sponsored by: Swan Soap ($100,000 fur contest), Spry. "Jane's New Boyfriend". Not auditioned. Irma and Jane have had fights with Al and Richard. Plans are made for an intimate dinner for four. Professor Kropotkin is matched up with Mrs. O'Reilly. Marie Wilson, Cathy Lewis, John Brown, Cy Howard (creator, producer, director, writer), Parke Levy, Hans Conried, Frank Bingman (announcer), Leif Erickson, Gloria Gordon. 30:04

NBC University Theater "At Heavens Gate" (1-22-50) - Boxcars711 Sunday Matinuee Three Jan 28, 2008

Show notes

NBC University Theater is an unusual series that focused on reenacting novels by great authors for college classes. Many accredited American universities such as Washington State College, University of Louisville, and University of Tulsa, used this dramatic series as a supplement to correspondent college courses. The series' creators made study guides to accompany the courses. Students studying great literature by Steinbeck, Faulkner, Hemingway, Huxley, and many others listened to these shows every week. It was an ambitious series that remained popular despite its academic and non-commercial appeal. The shows are high quality and will please many fans of great literature.THIS EPISODE:At Heaven's Gate is the story of Sue Murdock, daughter of the powerful and wealthy Bogan Murdock. Sue struggles to escape her father's control in a southern American city before the Great Depression. She takes up with Jerry (Bull's Eye) Calhoun, a college football star who graduates to work in a bank controlled by her father. She leaves Jerry when he defends Sue's grandfather's honor. Sue takes her own apartment in a seedy part of town and starts associating with Slim Sarrett, a writer and intellectual. Her relationship with Slim falls apart after he is visited by an old lover. Sue falls into the care of a labor organizer named Sweetwater. Sarrett returns, but Sue will not have him.

The CBS Radio Mystery Theater "Secret Chamber" (11-5-76) - Boxcars711 Sunday Matinee Two Jan 27, 2008

Show notes

The CBS Radio Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT) was an ambitious and sustained attempt to revive the great drama of old-time radio in the 1970s. Created by Himan Brown (who had by then become a radio legend due to his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries and other shows dating back to the 1930s), and aired on affiliate stations across the CBS Radio network, the series began its long run on January 6, 1974. The final episode ran on December 31, 1982. The show was broadcast nightly and ran for one hour, including commercials. Typically, a week consisted of three to four new episodes, with the remainder of the week filled out with reruns.THIS EPISODE:November 5, 1976. Program #547. CBS net. "The Secret Chamber". Sponsored by: True Value Hardware, Buick, Certainteed Insulation. Master Lock Burglar Alarms. E. G. Marshall (host), H. G. Wells (author), Arnold Moss (adaptor), Kristoffer Tabori, Earl Hammond, Court Benson, Catherine Byers. 52 minutes.

The Martian Chronicles "Off Season" (1950) - Boxcars711 Sunday Matinee One Jan 27, 2008

Show notes

Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles (1950)The Martian Chronicles is a 1950 science fiction novel by Ray Bradbury that chronicles the colonization of Mars by humans fleeing from a troubled Earth, and the conflict between aboriginal Martians and the new colonists. The book lies somewhere between a short story collection and an episodic novel, containing Bradbury stories originally published in the late 1940s in science fiction magazines. For publication, the stories were loosely woven together with a series of short, interstitial vignettes.THIS EPISODE:The Off Season (1950)Visions of atomic apocalypse were published in some numbers in the years immediately following the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Even though in 1948 the Soviet Union was far from posing any serious nuclear threat, Bradbury's story reflects the fears o f many that humanity had entered an era of unprecedented danger. In which earlier story did Sam Parkhill play a role? Is his behavior here consistent with that in the earlier story? Explain. How does this story compare with t he traditional battle-with-aliens-for-survival story? The description of the death of Earth is even more fantastic than the collapse of an entire city from the impact of a single bullet earlier in the story. Why do you think Bradbury uses such exaggerated language? What would a real nuclear war probably look like from Mars?

Aliens In The Mind "Island Genesis" (1-02-77) - Boxcars711 Saturday Matinee Three Jan 27, 2008

Show notes

Aliens in the Mind started life as an outline for Doctor Who. Although not commissioned for the show Robert Holmes was asked to develop the idea for Radio 4 however work commitments meant that the scripts were ultimately written by Rene Bascilico based on Holmes' original idea. Unlike the Doctor Who 'talking books' and stable-mate 'The Quatermass Memoirs' which are also due for release on July 3rd this is a full blown sci-fi radio drama starring kings of horror Vincent Price and Peter Cushing. Investing the death of a friend Curtis Lark (Price) and John Cornelius (Cushing) discover the presence of a new race of humans on a remote Scottish island. The key to the mystery seems to be a local young girl who Lark and Cornelius resolve to take to London for tests where they discover she may not be the only mutant to have left the island...Split over six episodes and running almost three hours the plot moves a cracking pace - it seemed like no time at all had passed between inserting the first CD and reaching the end of episode two. Relying heavily on the talents of Price and Cushing this is a gripping and atmospheric drama which owes more than a passing nod to the US TV series The Invaders and, despite being almost 30 years old, feels reasonably modern in style and content. Highlighting the original weekly broadcast format each episode starts with a recap of the events of the previous installment and a reprise. Rather sensibly chapter points have been arranged in such a way that these form a self contained track making them easy to skip if listening to more than one episode at a time. The initial three titles in the range seem to have been chosen to appeal to Doctor Who fans and this title in particular should appeal to those who already listen to the many Big Finish ranges.

Cloak & Dagger "Black Radio" (8-27-50) - Boxcars711 Saturday Matinee Two Jan 26, 2008

Show notes

Cloak and Dagger first aired over the NBC network on May 7, 1950. It had a short run through the Summer on Sundays, changing to Fridays after its Summer run. The last show aired Oct. 22, 1950. This is the story of the WWII special governmental agency, the OSS, or Office of Strategic Services. Its mission was to develop and maintain spy networks throughout Europe and into Asia, while giving aid to underground partisan groups and developing espionage activities for Allied forces overseas.The show is based on the book of the same name by Lt. Col. Corey Ford and Major Alastair MacBain (who were associated with the OSS from its early days.) The dramas are not Hollywood-style, in that they sometimes end with plans foiled or leading characters dead.THIS EPISODE: August 27, 1950. NBC net. "The Black Radio". Sustaining. 4:00 P. M. An O. S. S. operative parachutes behind the enemy lines to rendezvous with "Lucille" and set up a "black radio." When the Gestapo closes in, the plan is saved by a "Hedy Lamarr." The announcer mispronounces the "three chimes" slogan during the system cue! Raymond Edward Johnson, Jon Gart (music director), Sherman Marks (director, supervisor), Larry Haines, Lily Darvas, Berry Kroeger, Arnold Moss, Stefan Schnabel, Bob Wile, Jerry Jarrett, Winifred Wolfe (writer), Jack Gordon (writer), Chet Hill (sound effect), Dick Gillespie (sound effects), Art Cooper (sound effects), Corey Ford (creator), Alistair MacBain (creator), Louis G. Cowan (producer), Alfred Hollander (producer). 29:30.

Screen Directors Playhouse "Waterloo Bridge" (9-28-51) - Boxcars711 Saturday Martinee One Jan 26, 2008

Show notes

The Screen Director's Playhouse. From 01/09/49 to 09/28/51 this series was greatly enjoyed by the radio listening audience. It opened as NBC Theater and was also known as The Screen Directorâs Guild and The Screen Directorâs Assignment. But most people remember it simply as Screen Directorâs Playhouse. THIS EPISODE:WATERLOO BRIDGE is perhaps best described as one of a number of films "with an English accent" that played to American sympathies for England in the years when England largely stood alone against Nazi Germany. The story itself has a wartime setting: Beautiful ballerina Myra (Vivien Leigh) meets and falls passionately in love with officer Roy Cronin (Robert Taylor), only to be parted from him when he is called to duty during World War I. Alone and increasingly destitute, she learns that he has been killed in action--and so, broken hearted and unconcerned for herself, she drifts into prostitution, plying the world's oldest profession along Waterloo Bridge. Although Robert Taylor is a bit miscast, Leigh carries the film with a truly remarkable performance. In the opening portion of the scene, she is at the height of her youthful beauty, and cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg makes the most of it; later, when experience has hardened her, she turns the graceful charm of her earlier scenes upside down to create the bitter, brassy tart that Myra has become. The cast also features an exceptional performance by Lucile Watson as Lady Margaret and notable turns by Maria Ouspenskaya, C. Aubrey Smith, and a host of others. Although less well known than such tragic romances as Garbo's CAMILLE, WATERLOO BRIDGE is easily the equal of such and considerably better than most. The romantic aura is powerful, the production values are meticulous, the direction, photography, and script are first rate. And at the center of it all we have perhaps the single most beautiful actress of her era, Vivien Leigh, in one of her finest performances. You'll need a box of tissues for this one; don't miss it. Text From: Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

The Great Gildersleeve "Eve's Mother Stays On" (6-18-44) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 26, 2008

Show notes

The Great Gildersleeve 1941-1958 In 1941 Throckmorton P Gildersleeve spun off into his own radio program, becoming the first radio character to do so. He had originally appeared on Fibber McGee and Molly in 1937 and left to become the Water Commissioner of Summerfield and to raise his niece and nephew. The series had the same appeal as todays soaps because each episode was connected. Gildersleeves romances were often at the centre of it all. The best of the romances is the one with Leila Ransom.

Curtain Time "Dishonest Ghost" (7-10-48) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 26, 2008

Show notes

Curtain Time, like First Nighter, presented romantic drama in a theater setting complete with the announcer shouting, âTickets please, thank youâ. The shows announcer was Harry Halcomb who was later known best for his appearances on the 60 minutes television show. Great scripts and superb acting, Curtain Time is truly an Old Time Radio Classic. Mutual Network, local KNX show sustained, heard Fridays 7:30 - 8:00 pm

The Adventures of Philip Marlowe "The Friend From Detroit" (3-5-49) - Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod Jan 25, 2008

Show notes

The first portrayal of Phillip Marlowe on the radio was by Dick Powell, when he played Raymond Chandler's detective on the Lux Radio Theater on June 11, 1945. This was a radio adaptation of the 1944 movie, from RKO, in which Mr. Powell played the lead. Two years later, Van Heflin starred as Marlowe in a summer replacement series for the Bob Hope Show on NBC. This series ran for 13 shows. On September 26, 1948, Gerald Mohr became the third radio Marlowe, this time on CBS. It remained a CBS show through its last show in 1951.

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