Month: November 2017

EP2360: Dragnet: The Big Shirt

Jack Webb

Friday and Smith investigate the murder of a pawnbroker.

Original Air Date: November 30, 1952

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A Look at Our Miss Brooks

Our Miss Brooks is the most popular and beloved of the post-War sitcoms, airing from 1948-57. It was on television from 1952-56 and came to theaters. The television version lacks an official DVD release, so only a few public domain episodes are easily available. We’ll be focusing on the radio version.

The series began in 1948, focusing on Connie Brooks, an underpaid English teacher at Madison High School who was a boarder in the House of Miss Davis. The series covers Brooks’  troubles with an authoritarian principal and trying to win the man she’s in love with, bashful biologist Philip Boynton.

Originally, Shirley Booth was chosen to star and a pilot was recorded featuring her, but she wasn’t a good fit. Eve Arden won the starring role and it’s hard to imagine anyone else in the part. She had a great sense of comedic timing and near perfect delivery, always generating a laugh at the right time. In addition to her relationship frustrations, Miss Brooks was beset by financial problems. And, again, Principal Osgood Conklin’s  constant demands went above and beyond any reasonable interpretation of her job description.

Conklin was played by Gale Gordon and his character makes the series what it is. Conklin is an authoritarian and a bit of an egotist. He strictly enforces all rules, including ones he himself ignores. A character like this could become obnoxious, yet Gordon makes him fun. He has signature lines, such as the most incredulous of, “Oh you do…” to someone whose opinion he thinks is preposterous. He also has a classic delayed reaction where he goes on calmly for several seconds before realizing what someone said and responding.

Conklin was humanized a bit. He often suffered from Miss Brooks’ accident-prone nature. By the end of most episodes, Conklin has got his comeuppance, which makes for good catharsis.

Mr. Boynton was played from 1948-53 by Jeff Chandler and thereafter by the Robert Rockwell, who played the role on television. Boynton is a biology teacher and tone-deaf to romance. He likes Miss Brooks but doesn’t express it even though they date quite a bit. He’s cheap and rarely pays for anything with Miss Brooks. His idea of a hot date is a trip to the zoo. He’s obsessed with his biology animals and will often demur on more exciting opportunities.

Miss Brook’s landlady Mrs. Davis (Jane Morgan) serves as a warm, supportive figure who is hilariously absentminded. Walter Denton (Richard Crenna) is a squeaky-voiced teenager who lavishes Miss Brooks with praise and frequently drives her to school. He’s also a representative of the students and often locks horns with Mr. Conklin.

Harriet Conklin (Gloria McMillan) rounds out the regulars as Conklin’s daughter and Walter’s girlfriend. She was level-headed, intelligent, and kind. Major recurring characters included Miss Enright (Mary Jane Croft), a fellow English teacher who was a rival for Mr, Boynton’s affections. Most of her episodes featured an entertaining verbal catfight between her and Miss Brooks. Stretch Snodgrass (Leonard Smith) was a stereotypical “dumb jock” but a well-realized one, always managing to create laughs through his malapropisms and his inability to keep anything straight. Gerald Mohr played at least two different French Teachers in order to be stereotypically French and romantic.

The stories are standard sitcom fare that relies on the characters and the cast’s chemistry in order to make the plots work. The stories reflect the culture of the times and the expectation of teachers to maintain a high moral standard. Mr. Conklin would sometimes take this to excess and raise concerns about Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton’s “fraternization.” However, they’d been dating for at least five years and still addressed each other as Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton even away from work. They were far above most people’s standards. The series reflects a more innocent time in entertainment.

The show does have its weaknesses. Many episodes require Miss Brooks and company to convince people of an outrageous whopper of a lie. The problem is the lies are so outlandish and the deception has such low consequence for the truth coming out, the show comes off as dumb rather than funny.

In addition, the series doesn’t have the heart of many other productions from the same era. Unlike The Life of Riley or The Great Gildersleeve, characters in Our Miss Brooks, never have any regrets about their actions, nor do they have heartwarming moments. The story remains a comedy all the way through each episode. While comedies should focus mostly on the funny, the lack of any emotional moments or regrets makes the characters more shallow and harder to relate to.

Still, despite its issues, the series works due to its funny situations and Arden and Gordon’s unerring timing and delivery. It is one of radio’s true classic sitcoms.

Rating: 4.25 out of 5

180 Episodes of Our Miss Brooks are available here.

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Announcing the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio T-Shirt

T-shirt Sample  The Great Detectives of Old Time radio now has t-shirts on sale through 12/5.You can pick up your T-shirt or Hoodie here in five different colors.

EP2359: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Who’s Who Matter

Bob Bailey

Johnny receives a call from Fort Worth asking him about payment for a job he did there last week, but Johnny wasn’t in Fort Worth and is told he’s an impersonator.

Original Air Date: February 5, 1961

When making your travel plans, remember http://johnnydollarair.com

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EP2358: Boston Blackie: Blackie Jailed for $100,000 Diamond Theft

Richard Kollmar

Blackie is sentenced for stealing $100,000 in jewels.

Original Air Date: December 3, 1946

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EP2357: Richard Diamond: Little Chiva

Dick Powell

A planter asks Diamond to investigate the cause of the loss of his cattle and his wife’s illness before dying in Diamond’s office. Diamond travels to Haiti to investigate.

Original Air Date: March 23, 1951

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EP2356: Rocky Fortune: The Pint-Sized Payroll Bandit

Frank Sinatra

An 8-year-old boy shows up at a diner Rocky’s working with a bag he says contains $50,000.

Original Air Date: November 3, 1953

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EP2355: Night Beat: The Death of Riley

Frank Lovejoy

The owner of the factory is giving it to the workers and wants to be clear he’s not doing so for humanitarian reasons.

Original Air Date: May 15, 1952

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EP2354s: Murder Clinic: Gulfstream Green

An opera singer asks a model to impersonate her so she can have a few moments of peace. The model is murdered and it’s up to Deputy Parr to solve the case.

Original Air Date: October 13, 1942

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EP2354: Dragnet: The Big Guilt

Jack Webb

Friday and Smith investigate a dead man found in a bad part of town.

Original Air Date: November 23, 1952

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Graphic Novel Review: Jazz Age Chronicles, Volume 1

This black and white comic book collection features two stories set in the 1920s. Both feature Private Detective Ace Mifflin, a Boston-based Private Detective. He has many of the same vices as Sam Spade, but isn’t quite as good as Spade. Though he is good enough to get the job done in most cases.

In the first case, “The Case of the Beguiling Baroness,” Mifflin is hired to keep tabs on a baroness. A secret society is interested in her because of her dabbling in the black arts. When she dies, it’s just the start of the case. This one’s an intriguing mystery and a bit of a genre mash-up between a traditional private detective story and the strange tales featured in the Doc Savage and the Shadow pulp magazines. This one works okay, but Mifflin’s role in this is a bit confused. He’s out of his element, and the hero is supposed to be Clifton Jennings, who hired him. This one could have worked better.

The second case is, “Vote Early, Vote Often.” Mifflin gets in trouble, gets his license suspended, and runs into a whole lot of political corruption. All as he tries to help a friend get free of a murder charge. It’s a good noirish story with a neat mystery to unravel. Mifflin works far better in this story and he is in his element. Of the two tales in the book, I preferred this one more.

Overall, this is a decent graphic novel collection and a nice read if you’re a fan of 1920s’ detective and pulp fiction stories.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

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EP2353: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Short Term Matter

Bob Bailey

Despite extreme back pain, Johnny goes to New Jersey to catch a safe cracker that he failed to catch several years back.

Original Air Date: January 29, 1961

When making your travel plans, remember http://johnnydollarair.com

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EP2352: Boston Blackie: The Lennie Powell Murder

Richard Kollmar

A wealthy businessman is killed and $25,000 is stolen from him while waiting for a flight in a private plane. Suspicion falls on the three owners of the company.

Original Air Date: November 26, 1946

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EP2351: Richard Diamond: Monsieur Bouchon

Dick Powell

Diamond is hired to deliver a face cream sample to a beauty products magnate.

Original Air Date: March 16, 1951

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EP2350: Rocky Fortune: The Shipboard Jewel Robbery

Frank Sinatra

Rocky gets a job as a steward on a cruise ship. He finds a passenger dead and becomes the prime suspect.

Original Air Date: October 27, 1953

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