Boxcars711 Old Time Radio

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Archie Andrews - The New TV Set (05-21-49) Apr 20, 2009

Show notes

Archie Andrews, created in 1941 by Bob Montana, is a fictional character in an American comic book series published by Archie Comics, a long-run radio series, a syndicated comic strip and animation -- The Archie Show, a Saturday morning cartoon television series by Filmation, plus Archie's Weird Mysteries. Archie Andrews began on the Blue Network on May 31, 1943, switched to Mutual in 1944, and then continued on NBC from 1945 until September 5 1953. Archie was first played by Charles Mullen, Jack Grimes and Burt Boyar, with Bob Hastings as the title character during the NBC years.The sponsor was Swift Products. The Cast: Harlan Stone, Alice Yourman, Arthur Kohl, Gloria Mann, Rosemary Rice.

THIS EPISODE:

May 21, 1949. NBC network. Sustaining. Mr. Andrews has purchased a new television. When the family tries to watch a program, complications result. The concept of watching a television in your is treated as a novelty. Bob Hastings, Harlan Stone, Alice Yourman, Smith Hall (?), Gloria Mann, Rosemary Rice, John McGovern, Kenneth MacGregor (producer, director), Dick Dudley (announcer), Carl Jampel (writer). 30:03.

Blondie & Dagwood - Storm In A Teacup (1948) Apr 19, 2009

Show notes

Blondie was a radio situation comedy adapted from the long-run Blondie comic strip by Chic Young. The radio program had a long run on several networks from 1939 to 1950. After Penny Singleton was cast in the title role of the feature film Blondie (1938), co-starring with Arthur Lake as Dagwood, she and Lake repeated their roles December 20, 1938, on The Bob Hope Show. The appearance with Hope led to their own show, beginning July 3, 1939, on CBS as a summer replacement for The Eddie Cantor Show. However, Cantor did not return in the fall, so the sponsor, Camel Cigarettes chose to keep Blondie on the air Mondays at 7:30pm. Camel remained the sponsor through the early WWII years until June 26, 1944. In 1944, Blondie was on the Blue Network, sponsored by Super Suds, airing Fridays at 7pm from July 21 to September 1. The final three weeks of that run overlapped with Blondie's return to CBS on Sundays at 8pm from August 13, 1944, to September 26, 1948, still sponsored by Super Suds. Beginning in mid-1945, the 30-minute program was heard Mondays at 7:30pm. Super Suds continued as the sponsor when the show moved to NBC on Wednesdays at 8pm from October 6, 1948, to June 29, 1949. Ann Rutherford took over the radio role of Blondie in 1949, and at times, Patricia Van Cleve and Alice White were also heard as Blondie. In its final season, the series was on ABC from October 6, 1949, to July 6, 1950, first airing Thursdays at 8pm and then (from May) 8:30pm. The radio show ended the same year as the Blondie film series (1938-50)

THIS EPISODE:

Blondie is arrested for littering. Penny Singleton, Anne Rutherford, Alice White, Patricia Van Cleve,Arthur Lake, Leone Ledoux, Tommy Cook, Larry Sims, Bobby Ellis, Jeffrey Silver, Leone Ledoux, Marlene Aames, Norma Jean Nilsson, Joan Rae. Announcers: Harlow Wilcox.

The Abbott & Costello Show - New Press Agent (03-08-45) Apr 17, 2009

Show notes

The Abbott & Costello Show - Abbott and Costello William (Bud) Abbott and Lou Costello (born Louis Francis Cristillo) were an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film and television made them one of the most popular teams in the history of comedy. Thanks to the endurance of their most popular and influential routine, "Who's on First?"---whose rapid-fire word play and comprehension confusion set the preponderant framework for most of their best-known routines---the team are also the only comedians known to have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Bud Abbott was born in Asbury Park, NJ, October 2, 1897 and died April 24, 1974 in Woodland Hills, California. Lou Costello was born in Paterson, NJ, March 6, 1906 and died March 3, 1959 in East Los Angeles, California. After working as Allen's summer replacement, Abbott and Costello joined Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy on The Chase and Sanborn Hour in 1941, while two of their films (Buck Privates and Hold That Ghost) were adapted for Lux Radio Theater. They launched their own weekly show October 8, 1942, sponsored by Camel cigarettes. The Abbott and Costello Show mixed comedy with musical interludes (usually, by singers such as Connie Haines, Marilyn Maxwell, the Delta Rhythm Boys, Skinnay Ennis, and the Les Baxter Singers). Regulars and semi-regulars on the show included Artie Auerbrook, Elvia Allman, Iris Adrian, Mel Blanc, Wally Brown, Sharon Douglas, Verna Felton, Sidney Fields, Frank Nelson, Martha Wentworth, and Benay Venuta. Ken Niles was the show's longtime announcer, doubling as an exasperated foil to Abbott & Costello's mishaps (and often fuming in character as Costello insulted his on-air wife routinely); he was succeeded by Michael Roy, with annoncing chores also handled over the years by Frank Bingman and Jim Doyle.

THIS EPISODE:

New Press Agent - March 8, 1945 - NBC network. Sponsored by: Camels, Prince Albert Pipe Tobacco. Costello gets a new press agent. Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Carl Hoff and His Orchestra, Amy Arnell (vocal), Bert Cordon (sound effects), John Pawlek (engineer), Ken Niles (announcer), Elvia Allman, Sharon Douglas (doubles), Mel Blanc (quadruples), Sidney Fields, Don Prindle (writer), Ed Forman (writer), Don Bernard (producer, director), Andrew Potter (producer, director). 29:46.

Beyond Midnight - Short Circuit (1968) Apr 16, 2009

Show notes

Beyond Midnight - Let us journey "into the land that lies beyond midnight," into a world of ghost hunters, men going mad, and DEATH DEATH DEATH! Written by the masterful Michael McCabe, these well-done South African radio shows will capture your attention and keep you up listening to them well beyond midnight. A replacement series for SF 68, this horror anthology was far more successful than its predecessor, running from 1968 through 1969. Its success may have been due in part to producer Michael McCabe - who also produced SF 68 - honing his talents to a higher degree. Little else is known about it, including the number of shows produced.

The Clock - Retribution (1-12-47) Apr 15, 2009

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; "Sunrise and sunset, promise and fulfilment, birth and death … the whole drama of life is written in the sands of time". This is a great series where the main theme seems to be Retribution. Stories as told by Father Time.

THIS EPISODE:

September 25, 1947. Grace Gibson syndication. "Retribution". Sponsored by: Participting sponsors. Vera convinces her lover to kill her husband, but the hapless murderer soon sees the ghost of his victim. The ABC net series of "The Clock" ran a diferent prouction of the same script on September 25, 1947. Harp McGuire, Lawrence Klee (writer), Nigel Lovell, Margaret Christiansen, John Tate, Don Crosby, Gordon Glenwright, John Saul (director), Grace Gibson (proucer). 20:36.

Barry Craig Confidential Investigator - The Girl On The Doorstep (02-15-53) Apr 14, 2009

Show notes

Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator is one of the few detective radio series that had separate versions of it broadcast from both coasts. Even the spelling changed over the years. It was first "Barry Crane" and then "Barrie Craig". NBC produced it in New York from 1951 to 1954 and then moved it to Hollywood where it aired from 1954 to 1955. It attracted only occasional sponsors so it was usually a sustainer.William Gargan, who also played the better known television (and radio) detective Martin Kane, was the voice of New York eye BARRY CRAIG while Ralph Bell portrayed his associate, Lt. Travis Rogers. Craig's office was on Madison Avenue and his adventures were fairly standard PI fare. He worked alone, solved cases efficiently, and feared no man. As the promos went, he was "your man when you can't go to the cops. Confidentiality a speciality."Like Sam Spade, Craig narrated his stories, in addition to being the leading character in this 30 minute show. Nearly sixty episodes are in trading circulation today.

THIS EPISODE:

February 15, 1953. NBC network. "The Girl On The Doorstep". Sponsored by: Bromo Seltzer. Not auditioned. "I wonder if murderers, like other people, worry about their income taxes. When they make a killing, for example, do they always report it, or do they just their list victims under 'buried assets'?" William Gargan, Louis Vittes (writer), Carl Caruso (announcer). 30:12.

Rin Tin Tin - The Ambassador (11-13-55) Apr 12, 2009

Show notes

The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin is a children's television program which ran on ABC from October 1954 until August 1959. It starred Lee Aaker as young Rusty, a boy orphaned in an Indian raid, who was being raised by the soldiers at a cavalry post. He and his German shepherd dog Rin Tin Tin helped the soldiers to establish order in the Old West. The program was produced by Screen Gems. The character of Rin Tin Tin had appeared in several movies and radio serials since 1922. One of the dogs used in the TV series was the fourth in the bloodline of the original Rin Tin Tin. Reruns of the show ran on daytime television and on Saturdays on CBS from October 1959 until September 1964. A new set of reruns was shown in 1976, and continued well into the mid-1980s. The original black and white prints were tinted light brown. An unrelated -including a German Shepherd - aired in the U.S. as Rin Tin Tin: K-9 Cop. The series was produced in Canada under the name Katts and Dog where the dog was named Rudy. When the series was shown in the U.S., the dog's name was dubbed "Rinty" to fit the U.S. title. The success of The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin caused the cancellation of Gene Autry's The Adventures of Champion on CBS, which was replaced on February 10, 1956, by My Friend Flicka. Flicka, starring Johnny Washbrook as Ken McLaughlin, the story of a boy and his horse on a Wyoming ranch, produced thirty-nine episodes through February 1, 1957, when it was discontinued. Like Rin Tin Tin, Flicka rebroadcasts aired for years on all the networks. Rin Tin Tin guest stars include veteran western film star Roscoe Ates.

Fibber McGee & Molly - Double Feature (12-02-41) (12-12-44) Apr 11, 2009

Show notes

Fibber McGee and Molly premiered in 1935. The program struggled in the ratings until 1940, when it became a national sensation. Within three years, it was the top-rated program in America. Few radio shows were more beloved than Fibber McGee and Molly. The program's lovable characters included Mayor LaTrivia, Doc Gamble, Mrs. Uppington, Wallace Wimple, Alice Darling, Gildersleeve, Beulah, Myrt, and the Old Timer. 79 Wistful Vista was one of America's most famous addresses and Molly's warning to Fibber not to open the hall closet door (and his subsequent decision to do it) created one of radio's best remembered running gags that audiences expected each week. Jim Jordan (Fibber) was born on a farm on November 16, 1896, near Peoria, Illinois. Marian Driscoll (Molly), a coal miner's daughter, was born in Peoria on November 15, 1898. After years of hardship and touring in obscurity on the small-time show biz circuit, they arrived in Chicago in 1924, where they eventually performed on thousands of shows and developed 145 different voices and characters. Broadcast to the nation from WMAQ/Chicago, the show entertained America until March 1956, and continued on NBC's Monitor until 1959. Jim Jordan died on April 1, 1988. Marian Jordan died on April 7, 1961. Fibber McGee and Molly was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1989. First Broadcast date April 16, 1935. Last Broadcast date September 6, 1959.

TODAY'S DOUBLE FEATURE

"Fibber Grows A Moustache"(12-02-41) & "Quiz Show Smoke For Folks" (12-12-44)

The Life Of Riley - Football Pool Card (11-01-47) Apr 09, 2009

Show notes

The Life of Riley, with William Bendix in the title role, was a popular radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film and continued as a long-running television series during the 1950s. The show began as a proposed Groucho Marx radio series, The Flotsam Family, but the sponsor balked at what would have been essentially a straight head-of-household role for the comedian. Then producer Irving Brecher saw Bendix as taxicab company owner Tim McGuerin in the movie The McGuerins from Brooklyn (1942). The Flotsam Family was reworked with Bendix cast as blundering Chester A. Riley, riveter at a California aircraft plant, and his frequent exclamation of indignation---"What a revoltin' development this is!"---became one of the most famous catch phrases of the 1940s. The radio series also benefited from the immense popularity of a supporting character, Digby "Digger" O'Dell (John Brown), "the friendly undertaker."Beginning October 4, 1949, the show was adapted for television for the DuMont Television Network, but Bendix's film contracts prevented him from appearing in the role. Instead, Jackie Gleason starred along with Rosemary DeCamp as wife Peg, Gloria Winters as daughter Barbara (Babs), Lanny Rees as son Chester Jr. (Junior), and Sid Tomack as Gillis, Riley's manipulative best buddy and next-door neighbor. John Brown returned as the morbid counseling undertaker Digby (Digger) O'Dell ("Well, I guess I'll be... shoveling off"; "Business is a little dead tonight"). Television's first Life of Riley won television's first Emmy (for "Best Film Made For and Shown on Television").

THIS EPISODE:

The Life Of Riley. November 1, 1947. NBC network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. Junior picks a pretty good football pool, which gets Riley a promotion. The date is subject to correction. William Bendix. 1/2 hour.

The Challenge Of The Yukon - Two Episodes (05-11-44) (05-18-44) Apr 09, 2009

Show notes

Challenge of the Yukon was a long-running radio series that began on Detroit's station WXYZ (as had The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet). The series was first heard on February 3, 1938. Under the title Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, it later transferred to television. The program was an adventure series about Sergeant William Preston of the Northwest Mounted Police and his lead sled dog, Yukon King, as they fought evildoers in the Northern wilderness during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. Preston, according to radio historian Jim Harmon, first joined the Mounties to capture his father's killer, and when he was successful he was promoted to Sergeant. Preston worked under the command of Inspector Conrad, and in the early years was often assisted by a French-Canadian guide named Pierre. Preston's staunchest ally, who was arguably the true star of the show and indeed often did more work than he did, was the brave Alaskan husky, Yukon King. Typical plots involved the pair helping injured trappers, tracking down smugglers, or saving cabin dwellers from wolverines. Sgt. Preston's faithful steed was Rex, used primarily in the summer months, but generally Yukon King and his dog team were the key mode of transportation (as signalled by Preston's cry of "On, King! On, you huskies!."

TODAY'S SHOW: "Outlaw Dog" (05-11-44) And "The Outlaws Nemesis" (05-18-44)

May 11, 1944. Program #328. WXYZ, Detroit origination, The Michigan Radio Network. "Outlaw Dog". Sustaining. Tom McShane loses his poke and his claim playing poker in a Stovepipe City cafe. He even loses his faithful dog, "Marty." Possible recording date: May 4, 1944. Not auditioned. Jay Michael, Jack McCarthy (anouncer), Betty Joyce (writer). 14:17.

May 18, 1944. Program #329. WXYZ, Detroit origination, The Michigan Radio Network. "The Outlaw's Nemesis". Sustaining. Jim Mckenzie was shot while his brother Pete was trying to break him out of jail. Sergeant Preston is assigned to disguise himself, travel to Towanda Lake and arrest Pete. Possible recording date: May 11, 1944. Not auditioned. Jay Michael, Jack McCarthy (announcer), Betty Joyce (writer). 14:17.

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