Boxcars711 Old Time Radio

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Boxcars711 Sunday Matinee Two - The Jack Parr Show "Disagreement In The Shade" (6-01-47) Nov 04, 2007

Show notes

"THE JACK PAAR SHOW" NBC â Sponsored by Lucky Strike Cigarettes. Sundays 7:00 - 7:30 pm Summer Replacement for the Jack Benny Show STARS: Jack Paar (The Tonight Show) ANNOUNCER: Hy Averback - MUSIC: Jerry Fielding's Orchestra - VOCALS: The Page Cavanaugh Trio, Trudy Erwin.Television and radio pioneer Jack Par has been called the most imitated personality in broadcasting. He virtually created the late-night talk show format as the host of The Tonight Show , one of television's longest continuously running programs. The Washington Post said, "Jack Paar was genuine, and the footprints he left on the loony moonscape of television are enormous; they will be there forever." As the stars of stage and screen were rising around him, Paar was becoming an icon himself, on television sets in the homes of millions of Americans across the country. During the Golden Age of television, Paar was its golden boy, charming guests and viewers alike. From 1957 to 1962, Paar was the king of late-night television as host of The Tonight Show, which NBC eventually renamed The Jack Paar Show. He turned it from a typical variety format into something very different. With a rare combination of intelligence, irreverence and intuition, he invented a new genre of programming that would become ubiquitous to television.Paar helped launch the careers of such performers as Carol Burnett, Woody Allen and Liza Minnelli, but his guests weren't limited to the glitterati. He discussed religion with Billy Graham, visited Albert Schweitzer in Africa, and talked politics with Richard Nixon, all before the transfixed eyes of the American television audience.

Boxcars711 Sunday Matinee One - You Are There "The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson" (6-20-48) Nov 04, 2007

Show notes

November 1939 to May 1940, CBS Blue NetworkDramatic 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."

Boxcars711 Saturday Night Matinee - Academy Award Theater "Lost Horizon" (11-27-46) Nov 04, 2007

Show notes

The list of films and actors on Academy Award Theater is very impressive. Bette Davis begins the series in Jezebel, with Ginger Rogers following in Kitty Foyle, and then Paul Muni in The Life of Louis Pasteur. The Informer had to have Victor Mclaglen, and the Maltese Falcon, Humphrey Bogart, Sidney Greenstreet (this movie was his first major motion picutre role) plus Mary Astor for the hat trick. Suspicion starred Cary Grant with Ann Todd doing the Joan Fontaine role, Ronald Coleman in Lost Horizon, and Joan Fontaine and John Lund were in Portrait of Jenny. How Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio were done is something to hear! Some films are less well known, such as Guest in the House, with Kirk Douglas and Anita Louise, It Happened Tomorrow, with Eddie Bracken and Ann Blythe playing Dick Powell and Linda Darnell's roles, and Cheers for Miss Bishop with Olivia de Havilland. Each adaptation is finely produced and directed by Dee Engelbach, with music composed and conducted by Leith Stevens. Frank Wilson wrote the movie adaptations.

Boxcars711 Saturday Matinee Two - Theater Guild On The Air "Lady In The Dark" (10-19-47) Nov 03, 2007

Show notes

The theatrical society in U.S.A. is termed as Theatre Guild. Founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner (1890-1962) and others, the group proposed to produce high-quality, noncommercial plays. Its board of directors shared responsibility for choice of plays, management, and production. After the premiere of George Bernard Shawâs Heartbreak House in 1920, the Guild became his U.S. agent and staged 15 of his plays. It also produced successful plays by Eugene OâNeill, Maxwell Anderson, and Robert Sherwood and featured actors such as the Lunts and Helen Hayes. It helped develop the American musical by staging Porgy and Bess (1935), Oklahoma! (1943), and Carousel (1945); later also producing the radio series Theatre Guild on the Air (1945-53) and even presented plays on television.

Boxcars711 Saturday Matinee One - Radio City Playhouse "Betrayal" (8-30-48) Nov 03, 2007

Show notes

RADIO CITY PLAYHOUSE premiered over NBC on July 3rd, 1949 as a half-hour dramatic program representing a different drama on each broadcast. The dramas chosen, according to NBC, were because they were considered âgood dramaâ regardless of the name of the author, the fame of the play, etc. In many instances, original radio plays were used on the series. Director of production and author of some of the original radio plays was Harry W. Junkin. The cast varied according to the script needs but New York radio actors and actresses were used, some of them experienced and others chosen from the best in radio acting newcomers. The overall production for the series was under the supervision of Richard McDonagh, NBC Script Manager. Musical bridges were by Roy Shields and his Orchestra. The announcer was Robert Warren.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - This Is Your FBI "Auto Theft-Charles Meade" (6-22-45) Nov 03, 2007

Show notes

This Is Your FBI was a radio crime drama which aired in the United States on ABC from April 6, 1945 to January 30, 1953. FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover gave it his endorsement, calling it "the finest dramatic program on the air." Producer-director Jerry Devine was given access to FBI files by Hoover, and the resulting dramatizations of FBI cases were narrated by Frank Lovejoy (1945), Dean Carleton (1946-47) and William Woodson (1948-53). Stacy Harris had the lead role of Special Agent Jim Taylor. Others in the cast were William Conrad, Bea Benaderet and Jay C. Flippen.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Unexpected "2 Episodes" (5-30-48) (6-06-48) Nov 02, 2007

Show notes

Weird 15 minute stories that have a âtwistâ ending. The listener gets a sudden shock, as this time of program should intend to deliver. Actors included Barry Sullivan, Lurene Tuttle and Virginia Gregg, who played Helen Asher in the Richard Diamond detectve series. Director is Frank Danzig. TWO EPISODES:"The Cripple". . Hamilton Whitney syndication. Music fill for local commercial insert. A woman gets married to escape her hated sister. The date is approximate. Marjorie Riordan, Robert Libbott (writer), Frank Burt (writer), Frank Danzig (director). 15:14. Audio condition: Excellent. Complete as above. "Fool's Silver". Hamilton Whitney syndication.Music fill for local commercial insert. An old prospector thinks his mine is filled with pure silver! The date is approximate. Barry Sullivan, Frank Burt (writer), Frank Danzig (director), Robert Libbott (writer). 14:58. Audio condition: Excellent. Complete as above.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Casebook Of Gregory Hood "The Forgetful Murderer" (7-29-46) Nov 02, 2007

Show notes

The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Gale Gordon in the title role, took over where Sherlock Holmes had left off. Sponsored by Petri wine, it used the same "weekly visit" format and the same team of Anthony Boucher and Dennis Green that had written The New Adventured of Sherlock Holmes. Gregory Hood was modelled after true-life San Francisco importer Richard Gump, and many of the stories revolve around a mystery surrounding some particular imported treasure.Hood's sidekick Sanderson "Sandy" Taylor was played by Bill Johnstone. The show aired from June, 1946 through August, 1950. There were an additional couple of shows aired in October 1951. Hood and Sanderson were played in later episodes by Elliott Lewis and Howard McNear, respectively.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Blue Beetle "Underworld Goes Underground" (8-14-40 Ep39-40) Nov 02, 2007

Show notes

The Blue Beetle had a relatively short career on the radio, between May and September of 1940. Motion picture and radio actor Frank Lovejoy was the Blue Beetle for the first 13 episodes, while for the rest of the shows, the voice was provided by a different, uncredited actor. The Blue Beetle was a young police officer who saw the need for extra-ordinary crime fighting. He took the task on himself by secretly donning a superhero costume to create fear in the criminals who were to learn to fear the Blue Beetle's wrath. The 13-minute segments were usually only two-parters, so the stories were often more simple than other popular programs, such as the many-parted Superman radio show.

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Let George Do It "Jump In The Lake" (2-13-50) Nov 01, 2007

Show notes

Bob Bailey played George Valentine as a detective handy man, who got his jobs from responses to a newspaper ad. Part-time detective and writer Dan Holiday in Box 13 also used the premise. It pays to advertise! The shows follow the usual formats of crime caper shows, with toughs, mysterious rendezvous and people who aren't who they say they are. Francis Robinson first played Brooksie, then Virginia Gregg took the role through its best years. Both ladies played Brooksie smart and sassy. Brooksie took every occasion to make it clear to George that the case he was the most off base on was the "Case of the Missing Engagement Ring."

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