Boxcars711 Old Time Radio

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My Friend Irma - Double Feature (04-11-47) (04-02-51) Jun 15, 2009

Show notes

My Friend Irma, created by writer-director-producer Cy Howard, was a top-rated, long-run radio situation comedy, so popular in the late 1940s that its success escalated to films and television, while Howard scored with another radio comedy hit, Life with Luigi. Dependable and level-headed Jane Stacy (Cathy Lewis) narrated the misadventures of her innocent and bewildered roommate, Irma Peterson (Marie Wilson), a dim-bulb stenographer. Wilson portrayed the character on radio, in two films and a TV series. The successful 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).

TODAY'S DOUBLE FEATURE:

Al Goes To A Psychiatrist - April 2, 1951. CBS network. Sponsored by: Pepsodent, Lifebuoy. Irma decides that Al needs a psychiatrist to make him want to work. The script was subsequently used on "My Friend Irma" on August 2, 1954. Marie Wilson, John Brown, Cathy Lewis, Cy Howard (creator, producer), Parke Levy (writer), Stanley Adams (writer), Rhoda MacLain (writer), Hans Conried, Gloria Gordon, Lud Gluskin (music director), Wendell Niles (announcer). 29:34.

April 21, 1953. CBS network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "Way To A Man's Heart". Irma decides to improve her cooking skills: hold onto your stomach! Cathy Lewis, Hans Conried, John Brown, Leif Erickson, Marie Wilson. 25:48.

Manhunt - 2 Episodes From 1946 Jun 13, 2009

Show notes

Manhunt - CRIME DRAMA 1945-1946 15 Minutes transcribed syndication (ZIV network), with crime stories complete in each episode. CAST: Larry Haines as Drew Stevens. New York players were in support. The shows were well written and, for the time period, quite well performed.

TODAY'S SHOW:

2 Episodes - "Murder Maestro" and "Stairway Slaying" (1946)

Academy Award Theater - Keys Of The Kingdom (08-21-46) Jun 12, 2009

Show notes

Academy Award Theater - Stars and movies with Oscars were the idea - in most cases, the movie stars recreated their academy award roles for the show, or in other cases, fine actors played the parts and gave it a different character. Both ways make for great radio drama and first class Hollywood motion picture star entertainment. The Lux Radio Theater had been doing this kind of radio show in the grandest manner for many years, but sponsor Squibb had the hubris and deep pockets to take on the competition by doing Academy Award Theater right after the Second World War. The year 1946 was pre-television, and so movies were still the major American visual art form, with radio the other popular network entertainment. In this final pre-TV time, Academy Award Theater was thought of as a premier radio production, a wow show, much like CinemaScope was to be in the 1950's when Hollywood felt the box office blow of early TV.

THIS EPISODE:

August 21, 1946. CBS network. "The Keys Of The Kingdom". Sponsored by: Squibb. A story about the deep faith of a missionary to China, and his life of service. The show receives an award from "Motion Picture Magazine." Gregory Peck, Leith Stevens (composer, conductor), Dee Englebach (producer, director), Hugh Brundage (announcer), Erskine Johnson (Motion Picture Magazine). 29:31.

In The Name Of The Law - I Didn't Do Nothing (08-02-36) Jun 11, 2009

Show notes

In the Name of the Law was a True Crime radio show from 1936. It says "In the name of the law, we bring you another of the thrilling stories in this exciting series, taken from actual police case files. "In the name of the Law, we bring you another of the thrilling stories in this exciting series, taken from actual police case files."Two home invaders pick the wrong house and force the home owner (John Snyder) to take them to the targeted neighbors, two elderly brothers who were rumored to have cash and bonds. During the hold up, one of the brothers was shot to death. An angry town insisted on immediate results. The State Police joined the local Sherif and the search was on.

THIS EPISODE:

August 01, 1936 - Program #13. Syndicated. "I Didn't Do Nothing". Commercials added locally. Two robbers take the life savings from two old farmers. One of them is killed, the other is beaten unmercifully. 26:29.

Amos & Andy - Double Feature (01-21-47) and (12-30-51) Jun 10, 2009

Show notes

Amos 'n' Andy was a situation comedy popular in the United States from the 1920s through the 1950s. The show began as one of the first radio comedy serials, written and voiced by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll and originating from station WMAQ in Chicago, Illinois. After the series was first broadcast in 1928, it grew in popularity and became a huge influence on the radio serials that followed. Amos 'n' Andy creators Gosden and Correll were white actors familiar with minstrel traditions.

TODAY'S SHOW:

Sapphire's Sister Floresca - December 17, 1943. NBC network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. (Replacing Great Gildersleeve AFRS #25). When The Kingfish and Andy secretly go into the laundry business, Sapphire decides to leave him. See cat. #57314 for a network version of this broadcast, but with the commercials deleted. Robert Benchley (guest), Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Ernestine Wade, Harlow Wilcox (announcer). 29:49.

Porch Wreckers - December 30, 1951. CBS network. Sponsored by: Rexall. Sapphire has told the Kingfish, "get a job...or else!" The Kingfish and Andy are hired to demolish a porch, and proceed to do so...on the wrong house! Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Joe Connelly (writer), Bob Mosher (writer), Ernestine Wade, Johnny Lee, Amanda Randolph, Fred Clark, Leo Cleary, Reese Williams, Jeff Alexander (music), Harlow Wilcox (announcer), Griff Barnett (commercial spokesman). 29:39.

Bold Venture - Death By A Fighting Bird (1951) Jun 09, 2009

Show notes

Bold Venture - The Hollywood husband and wife team of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall set sail for adventure in the Bold Venture radio series in early 1951. There were well over 400 stations that aired the program. Since thiswas syndicated * the starting date varied from station to station but Mar 26, 1951 was the official date of the first show. Humphrey Bogart portrayed Slate Shannon, owner of a rundown Havana hotel, Shannon's Place. The action took place on land as well aboard Slate's boat, The Bold Venture, thus the title of the series. Lauren Bacall was his ward Sailor Duval, a stubborn and flirtatious young woman whose late father had willed her to Slate for her protection. Together the duo found adventure, intrigue, mystery and romance in the sultry settings of tropical Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean.

Crime Classics - Madeline Smith Maid Or Murderess (01-20-54) Jun 07, 2009

Show notes

Crime Classics was a U. S. radio docudrama which aired over CBS from June 15, 1953 to June 30, 1954. Created, produced, and directed by radio actor/director Elliott Lewis, the program was basically a historical true crime series, examining crimes, and especially murders, from the past. It grew out of Lewis's personal interest in famous murder cases, and took a documentary-like approach to the subject, carefully recreating the facts, personages, and feel of the time period. Comparatively little dramatic license was taken with the facts and events, but the tragedy was leavened with humor, expressed largely through the narration.

THIS EPISODE:

January 20, 1954. CBS network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "Madeline Smith, Maid Or Murderess...Which?". A lovely lady is also a liberal user of arsenic. Lou Merrill (host), Betty Harford, William Johnstone, John Dehner, Bernard Herrmann (composer), Wilbur Hatch (conductor), Florence Wolcott, Morton Fine (writer), David Friedkin (writer), Elliott Lewis (producer, director), Gil Warren (announcer). 1/2 hour.

Charlie Chan - The Romantic Engineer (1946) Jun 06, 2009

Show notes

Charlie Chan was the Chinese detective created by Earl Derr Biggers. Over 40 Charlie Chan movies were done from the early 1930's through 1949, all of which starred non-Chinese actors as Charlie. Supposedly working as a Honolulu police detective, Charlie was almost always somewhere else, like Paris, Rio, LA, even Treasure Island…but he did have a wonderful home life, too, with a reported 14 children, including his famous #1, #2 etc. sons, ever intent on helping "pop" solve the case. Still, it's fun to hear ABC radio's daytime serial version of the Hawaiian family man who gave us all a little exotic wit and wisdom while uncovering dishonorable culprit. The other shows are more of "the incomparable" at work. Unfortunately, Chan on radio is very rare, the very opposite of the ubiquitous Charlie Chan movie reruns on TV. This is a mysterious absence even the great Charlie Chan might be needed to solve! Many mystery lovers sniff at Chan. But here's one more from Charlie that might apply…"Mind, like parachute, only function when open."

The Avengers -The Fantasy Game (Two Parts COMPLETE) 1 Hour 45 Minutes Jun 05, 2009

Show notes

The Avengers was a British television series featuring secret agents in 1960s Britain. The programmes were made by TV company Associated British Corporation, and created by its Head of Drama Sydney Newman. It was an early example of the spy-fi genre, combining secret agent storylines with science fiction elements. Running from 1961 to 1969, it is the longest running espionage series produced for English-language television, though the American series Mission: Impossible had more episodes. The Avengers was a successor (but not, as sometimes stated, a direct sequel) to Hendry's earlier series Police Surgeon, in which he played Police Surgeon Geoffrey Brent. While Police Surgeon did not last long, viewer letters had praised Hendry's work in it. Hendry was considered the star of the new series, receiving top billing over Macnee, and Steed did not even appear in two of the episodes. Because of the practice in the British television industry (followed until the 1970s) of junking and deleting episodes of old programmes deemed no longer of commercial value, most episodes of the first series are considered lost, save for two complete episodes recently located and the first 15 minutes or so of the premiere episode. In the first series broadcast in 1961, Steed began as a secondary character, the protagonist being Keel; as the series progressed, Steed began to be established as a co-star, carrying the final episode solo. While the two stars used wry wit while discussing the crimes and dangers, the series benefited from the interplay — and, often, the tension — between Keel's idealism and Steed's hard professionalism. As seen in the surviving episode The Frighteners, Steed also had a group of helpers scattered among the general population who provided information, not unlike the "Baker Street Irregulars" of Sherlock Holmes.

The Martin & Lewis Show - Guest Jane Russell (12-14-51) Jun 04, 2009

Show notes

The Martin and Lewis Show - On July 25, 1946, Jerry began a show business partnership with Dean Martin, an association that would soon skyrocket both to fame. It started when Jerry was performing at the 500 Club in Atlantic City and one of the other entertainers quit suddenly. Lewis, who had worked with Martin at the Glass Hat in New York City, suggested Dean as a replacement. At first they worked separately, but then ad-libbed together, improvising insults and jokes, squirting seltzer water, hurling bunches of celery and exuding general zaniness. In less than eighteen weeks their salaries soared from $250.00 a week to $5,000.00. For ten years Martin and Lewis sandwiched sixteen money making films between nightclub engagements, personal appearances, recording sessions, radio shows, and television bookings. Their last film together was "Hollywood or Bust" (1956). On July 25th of that year the two made their last nightclub appearance together at the Copacabana, exactly ten years to the day since they became a team.

THIS EPISODE:

August 30, 1949. NBC network. Sustaining. Dean's first tune is, "Your Lips Tell Me No, No, But There's Yes, Yes, In Your Eyes." After Florence quits, Dean and Jerry hire Guest Jane Russell to be their new secretary. Don't miss the line where Jerry says "I'd know Jane Russell if I were within a hundred yards of her...blindfolded!" At this point, the audience cracks up! Jane Russell, Dick Stabile and His Orchestra, Flo McMichaels, Ben Alexander (announcer), Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Robert L. Redd (producer, director), Dick McKnight (writer), Ray Allen (writer), Mort Lachman (writer), Sy Rose (writer), Sheldon Leonard. 29:37.

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