Category: Golden Age Article

Golden Age Article

Religious Dramas on Radio, Part Two

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In part one, we took at radio shows that were (for the most part) broadcast over major networks and began broadcasting in the 1940s. But a new age was dawning in American entertainment.

In the late 1940s headed into the 1950s, commercial radio drama was on the way out. Television was capturing the hearts of Americans, curious about the new box and the ability to see their favorite shows for the first time and watch movies from their living rooms.

For Religious Groups interested in radio, the decline was good news. Radio production costs fell exponentially. There also was an audience that would always gravitate towards the theater of the mind. As the Golden Age of Radio came to close, many of the most successful radio dramas that followed were created by religious broadcasters

There have been many shows that simply been forgotten by  time. I”ve tried to cover as many as possible. If you’re aware of others, please share in the comments.

Moody Radio (1950s)

In the 1950s, Moody Radio in Chicago began making Juvenile Adventure stories, most prominent among them, Sailor Sam and Ranger Bill.  Sailor Sam was a 15-minute adventure serial, set mostly at sea. So, it followed much the same model as previous sea serials such as Cruise of the Poll Parrot and Magic Island while Ranger Bill was landlocked and ran for half an hour.  Both shows provided kids the same level of action packed adventures as was found in radio’s prime, while mixing in moral and religious lessons. The shows mixed educational content, adventure, and softly told religious lessons.

Complets sets of both shows are available at MoodyAudio.com. In addition, one episode per week is available for listening at HisKids.net and episodes of Sailor Sam can be heard every day Monday-Friday on Harbour Light Radio at 4:15 p.m. Eastern Time.

In more recent years, Moody has produced Fables of Faith, a program for younger listeners with animals as the featured characters.

Pacific Garden Missions  (1950-Present)

Pacific Garden Missions launched Unshackled in 1950 to tell real life stories of people whose lives were changed when they were “unshackled” by coming to Christ.  The show has remained popular for 61 years now.  It is translated into ten different languages and airs around the world.

Every Saturday, PGM  records the program before a live studio audience at Pacific Garden Missions, which provides a rare chance to see radio drama in action. The show provides a powerful promotional tool for the work Pacific Garden Missions does with the homeless from its home base in Chicago.

While scripts are at times preachy, the show’s retelling of real life stories has made it the the longest running radio drama ever with more than 61 years in the books.  If the show lasts 11 more seasons, it will surpass Guiding Light as the longest running dramatic series of any sort.

The latest episodes of Unshackled are available in podcast at One Place. Pacific Garden Missions also offers an archive going back eight years on its website.

Salvation Army (1956-85):

The Salvation Army made its contribution to radio with nearly 30 years broadcasting, “Heartbeat Theater.” Unlike Unshackled, the radio production was not aimed at evangelizing for the Salvation Army, but rather at highlighting the Army’s work in communities as well as Its history. From Heartbeat Theater, listeners learned that the Salvation Army has its own missing persons division and the origin of the Organization’s ubiquitous red kettles.

The show originated from Hollywood and early episodes  featured many actors who had appeared during the golden age of radio. However, rarely did Heartbeat Theater land big stars. Instead, those who had been character actors in the golden age (such as Peter Leeds) or down and out has beens (such as Tom Conway) were likely to find themselves starring in the plays.

In addition to promoting the Salvation Army, Heartbeat Theater took on controversial issues, even in its early years, dealing with Communism and the Mau Mau uprising among others. The show ramped up its portrayal of social issues and edginess in hopes of maintaining relevancy. The Salvation Army spent half of its media budget on the program, but by 1985, it went off the air.

Unfortunately, Salvation Army has done little to guarantee the preservation of Heartbeat Theater, although somewhere between 70 and 100 episodes remain in circulation among collectors and fans. Many are available at Timespast.

The Episcopal Church (late 1950s):

The Witness was a late entrant into radio and the Episcopal Church’s contribution. Unlike other shows mentioned, the Witness was 15 minutes in length rather than half an hour. The episodes were hosted by Robert Young, most famous for his lead role in Father Knows Best.  Issues like child abuse, friendship, loneliness, sorrow, and crime were featured in the series. The opening message read by Young summarized the point of the series:

“In the normal course of most any day everyone of us is witness to matters of life and death. The way we involve ourselves in these vital matters makes our own lives worthwhile . . . or meaningless.”

The Witness featured top notch radio talent that was hard to come by including Virginia Gregg, Janet Walsdo (Meet Corliss Archer), and J. Carroll Naish (Life with Luigi) and Alan Young (The Alan Young Show and later Mister Ed.) According to the Digital Deli, the Witness mas made sometime between 1958 and 1960.

All 16 episodes of the Witness are available for download at the Internet archive.

In addition to this, the Episcopal Church and Young teamed up to produce another series of radio dramas which focused on the importance of church attendance and faith. Two episodes have been discovered by Rand’s Esoteric OTR and are available here and here.

CBH Ministries (1942-Present)

The Children’s Bible Hour began in 1943. The formula for the program was divided into four parts:   Bible Question Time, Chorus Time, Bible Memory Time, and Bible Story Time. The dramas were simple stories that took fifteen minutes and were told by the friendly adults, Uncle Charlie and Aunt Bertha. The episodes were more sermons as stories.  However, the program remained popular throughout its run.

In 1999, the ministry took a different direction, taking a new approach with a new generation. They reorganized as CBH Ministries and introduced a brand new contemporary drama series  in, “Down Gilead Lane” which follows the life of the Morrison family.

The new series was described by Ministry Watch thusly, “One of the differences between ‘Children’s Bible Hour’ and ‘Down Gilead Lane’ is that in the former program the stories occasionally tended to sound like thinly-cloaked occasions for teaching good morals (as in a fable), while in the latter the stories tend to be interesting in their own right. In other words, ‘Children’s Bible Hour’ tended to preach spiritual truths; ‘Down Gilead Lane’ tends to portray such truths.”

The new series is now in its 12th season on radio. Episodes are available as Hiskids.net

Focus on the Family (1987-Present)

Focus on the Family took its first big steps into the world of radio drama with the launch of Adventures in Odyssey (originally Family Portraits and then Odyssey USA.)  The show was intended to provide an alternative to Saturday morning cartoons.

Hal Smith on the Andy Griffith ShowFrom the beginning, the show had a lot going for it. Particularly, in early years, AIO had some golden age magic going for it. The focal point of the show was John Avery Whitaker who ran Whit’s end. Whitaker was portrayed by Hal Smith (best known for playing Otis the Drunk on the Andy Griffith Show), later after Smith died, Alan Young would join the cast.

Alan Young AIO, now up to its 700th episode while focusing on the same town and same characters produced a stunning array of scripts, ranging from straightforward family dramas to suspenseful mysteries, and science fiction-like stories. While the show remained popular, it wasn’t without controversy. There were times when some parents felt the show was dealing with too many heavy topics that they weren’t quite ready to talk to their kids about. Still, the show’s popularity has continued. Odyssey has had numerous spin-offs in books, home video, and video games.

Odyssey has survived two nine month hiatuses tied to the deaths of the first two actors to play Mr. Whitaker. The show had a slightly retooled feel with its 2009 relaunch.

AIO Creator Paul McCusker led Focus to take on more radio projects. They created a series of three mini-series for The Last Chance Detectives. Focus on the Family’s Radio Theater came into being and took on a series of ambitious projects including adaptations of classics (The Christmas Carol, Ben Hur, Les Miserables among others,) Biographies (the Peabody Award winning Bonhoeffer: The Cost of Freedom and the Hiding Place.)

McCusker created  a mystery mini-series called Father Gilbert which followed the career of a Detective Inspector who became an Anglican Priest. Perhaps, the most critically acclaimed  productions were of two C.S. Lewis works, The Chronicles of Narnia (featuring Poirot’s David Suchet as Aslan) and The Screwtape Letters.

With the tight economy in recent years, most of Focus’ radio efforts outside of Odyssey have been put on hold.  Radio Theater productions and Odyssey Albums are available in most online outlets. Recent episodes of Adventures in Odyssey are available at the Whit’s End website.

Insight for Living (2001-Present)

The genesis of the Paws and Tales series began with a children’s book by pastor and best-selling author Chuck Swindoll called, “Paw Paw Chuck’s Big Ideas In The Bible” which emphasized 12 important lessons from the Bible.

From this story book in 2001 came the series, “Paws and Tales” which featured a group of animal children (bears, a beaver, a weasel, and a moose among others.) Paw Paw Chuck has no grandchildren of his own, so he serves as an elder and dispenser of wisdom to the young cubs.

The episodes feature a musical number or two every episode. It was designed with a younger audience in mind, but the characters have some solid backstories that add depth to many episodes.

Several episodes have been adapted to home video.

The latest episodes are available at hiskids.net.

Others shows that  I have little information on:

Life at the Pond: Another animal show, this one featuring on those that live close to water. This one is much more of a comedy wuth lessons worked in with humor.

Left Behind: In light of the popularity of the Left Behind books, a radio series was commissioned running 144 episodes over the length of the 12 books.

Jonathan Park: A kid’s adventure series, somewhat similar to Johnny Quest but focusing on creation science.

Danger is the Password:  I’ve been advised this series existed and was a Christian mystery/suspense show designed with a juvenile audience in mind. However, I’ve been unable to find any information on it.

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Golden Age Article

Religious Dramas on Radio, Part One

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Over the years, many religious dramas have appeared on the radio from the 19e0s right through the present. It’s probably fair to say that the bulk of long-lasting radio dramas produced since the end of the Golden Age of radio have either been underwritten by Foundation grants or religious organizations. Still, there were plenty of programs with religious themes or put on by religious organizations during the Golden Age, and often with the same type of talent appeared on the religious programs.

Of course, during the Golden Age of Radio, many shows that would hardly be considered religious would often pause around Christmas and refer back to Bethlehem. We won’t really discuss that here. Our focus is on those shows that were religiously produced or focused on religion. And of course, we’re not considered with non-dramatic religious programming such as Aimee McPherson’s sermons. In this first part, we’ll focus on the major golden age religious programs:

The Ava Maria Hour (1939-50s):

The Ava Maria Hour was perhaps the first religious drama to hit the air. It was a Catholic program, sponsored by the Greymoor Friars in Garrison, New York.  Early episodes appear to have focused on telling the stories of the lives of the Saints.

The program’s most ambitious undertaking was in 1951 when it produced an exhaustive mini-series on the Life of Christ that ran for a stunning 43 episodes. The stories were for the most part well done and well-researched, though in a serial that long, they’ll always be a few parts that don’t work.

Recently, the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement have begun to rebroadcast old episodes of the Ava Maria Hour on Blog Talk Radio hosted by Father Bob Warren.

Light of the World (1940s):

This program originated over NBC and had the unique premise of serializing the Bible with fifteen minute daily installments. It was broadcast mostly  during World War II and unfortunately the only known episodes in existence are from major news days when stations recorded full day broadcasts.

Eternal Light (1944-73)

The Eternal Light was a program born out of World War II which brought home to many Americans the dangers of anti-Semitism.  Eternal Light was produced by the Jewish Theological Seminary and aired over NBC. It began over radio but eventually found its way to television.

The topics of the episodes varied. While there were a few episodes that were directly based on Bible stories, more often Jewish-authored books about biblical events would be used as a basis for a drama. In addition, the series focused extensively on the history of the Jewish people, their trials and persecutions, as well as the lives of accomplished Jews throughout history. In some ways, it was similar to the black radio production Destination: Freedom in its overall focus. It remained a mainstay throughout the golden age of radio, though in latter years it moved away from drama and more toward  discussions.

While there’s no handy MP3 download site, OTRCat offers a 700 episode collection for sale as well a free radio sample you can listen to and download.

The Upper Room (1947)

This was somewhat of an odd series by Carleton E. Morse, the famous creator of One Man’s Family and I Love a Mystery.  While Morse’ fictional Barbour family was a cauldron of marital strife and unrest, the hope of The Upper Room was to promote strong families and marital togetherness. Unfortunately, the episodes come off as far too preachy, as a religious version of the industrial film. Only six episodes remain in existence, four of which are available here.

The Family Theater (1947-57)

Where Morse failed, Father Patrick Peyton succeeded.  Peyton also wanted to promote family  togetherness  and family prayer and approached the Mutual Broadcasting System about doing a series called the Family Theater. There was definitely interest in the series.  In the post-war era, concerns about juvenile delinquency, and the overall decline of morals made Family Theater a dose of just what the doctor ordered.

Mutual was clear that the series had to be non-denominational in nature, so most of the episodes have appeal to a wide audience. The show had no sponsor and its only product was family prayer which was encouraged by two motto, “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreamed of” and “The family that prays together stays together.”

What aired between these two scenes were some of the finest radio dramas of the era. The programs originally written for the show  often pulled at the heartstrings as well as  encouraging courage, sacrifice, honesty, mercy, and love of family.  Later scripts dramatized parts of classic books  including Don Quixote, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Robin Hood.

Family Theater was an anthology program with a different cast every week, as well as a host who would talk about the importance of strong families and family prayer. Guets  included a who’s who of Hollywood: Jimmy Stewart, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Fred Allen, Jimmy Durante, Edward G. Robinson, William Gargan, Ronald Reagan, Edmond O’Brien, and many more. In addition, radio comedy power couples Fibber McGee and Molly and Ozzie and Harriet did special episodes of their programs for Family Theater.

Several sites sell DVD discs of the Family Theater, in addition otr.net has more than 300 episode available for online streaming.

Greatest Story Ever Told (1947-56):

The Greatest Story Ever Told focused on the life and time of Jesus. Unlike other programs mentioned,  the show was sponsored throughout its run by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber company.  However, Goodyear was sensitive to the fact that overt commercials would not sit well with many in the audience, and so they were  mentioned at the beginning of the show with a few second tag but without long form commercials.

The program also didn’t include any cast information, so when it comes to voices involved, it could be anyone. The voice of Jesus was given an echo effect which was thought to be similar to giving a picture of Jesus a halo. The writers also decided to use no fictional dialogue for Jesus, but to only have Him make statements that were written in the Gospels.

There were several sorts of episodes: some told stories directly from the life of Christ, some dramatized parables, and others focused on how the hearers of Jesus may have applied his lessons to their own lives in the first century.

Both the parables and the incidents from the Bible were expanded, using imagination, research, and dramatic license to take what may be a few verses out of the Bible and make it into a 30 minute episode. The results were usually pretty good with the incidents, but the Parables were weaker as sometimes in the expanded story, the original point of the parable ended up lost.

The most interesting episodes  follow a first century protagonist as they face a serious problem and find a solution in hearing a teaching of Christ. The applications were usually well-thought out, and rarely came off as preachy, and helped listeners to see well-worn passages in a new light.

The show was also enhanced by an orchestra and a choir, both of which were heard frequently.

76 episodes are available here.

Next week, we’ll turn our attention to the shows began in 1950s through the modern era. If you’re aware of a religious radio dramas from before the 1950s that we’ve not mentioned, please do so in the comments.

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Book Review, Golden Age Article, Nero Wolfe

Book Review: Before Midnight

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How annoying can a client or set of clients get? Nero Wolfe finds out in Before Midnight.

After the death of a hot shot advertising executive, his firm hires Wolfe not to find the killer, but to locate the dead man’s wallet which contained the answers to a verse-guessing contest with $800,000 in prizes at stake.

To me, the story plodded along. While some of the suspects were interesting, I couldn’t seriously consider most of them as likely suspects for either the murder or taking the wallet. The focus was on the contestants, four of five whom came from out of town. To go to a place you don’t know, commit a homicide, and evade detection by the police is a tough task, and nothing made me believe any of these out of towners would do it.

What held the story together was watching Wolfe’s clients from the advertising firm of LBA who represented some of the most annoying and foolish clients Wolfe ever had the misfortune of taking on. There was a pleasure of seeing these guys in action that wasn’t unlike watching a trainwreck. Wolfe had been about his leisurely pace of crime solving for 20 years, LBA was in a mode of “hurry up and do something,” even setting a deadline for Wolfe.

The book continues on with their battles with each other and Wolfe for most of the book. Towards the end, just when we’re expecting Wolfe to spend a few chapters and several glasses of beer unraveling the mystery, we’re thrown for a loop with a surprise twist that leaves Wolfe reeling, embarrassed, and determined to get a daring soul who committed a murder right in Wolfe’s office.

The twist makes up for the weakness of the book which was a letdown after the pure brilliance of, Murder by the Book. Still with a twist ending and some classically annoying clients, I’ll give it a:

Rating: Satisfactory

You can find all the Nero Wolfe books in Kindle, Audiobook, and book form on our Nero Wolfe page.

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Golden Age Article

The Radio Adventures of Doc Savage

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Doc Savage is an enduring character from the pulp fiction area that continues to boast a legion of fans to this day. However, unlike fellow pulp hero, The Shadow, Doc has not done so well in other media.

Doc Savage came to the big screen in 1975 in a widely panned movie. Doc did have two separate radio series from 1934-35 and in 1943, but neither amounted too much and no transcription from those shows survives in circulation.

However, in 1985, Doc Savage finally got a just treatment when he was brought to life by the Creative Arts Theater in a series of radio dramas that were eventually broadcast nationally over NPR.

The Man of Bronze

Doc Savage was raised to become the height of human perfection.  He had bronze skin and bronze hair. To say Doc was a jack of all trades would be a drastic understatement:

He was a physician, surgeon, scientist, adventurer, inventor, explorer, researcher, and, as revealed in The Polar Treasure, a musician.

In Savage, you can see shadows of other heroes who would become dominant forces in the comic books in years to come.  Such mixing of talents and abilities would be seen a few years later in Batman.

Of course, someone with Doc’s abilities could work mischief, but Savage was defined by an oath:

Let me strive every moment of my life to make myself better and better, to the best of my ability, that all may profit by it. Let me think of the right and lend all my assistance to those who need it, with no regard for anything but justice. Let me take what comes with a smile, without loss of courage. Let me be considerate of my country, of my fellow citizens and my associates in everything I say and do. Let me do right to all, and wrong no man.

With these ideals, Doc was joined by five well-accomplished and worthy assistants: chemist Monk Mayfair, sword-wielding attorney Ham Brooks, engineer Renny Renwick, electrical engineer Long Tom Roberts, and archaeologist Long Tom Roberts.  Doc had as fine a team as any hero had.

There were 13 radio episodes made. Originally, the creators thought of remaking the 1930s radio scripts, but found them unsatisfactory and decided to adapt the books. They chose to adapt Fear Cay and The Thousand Headed Man.

Fear Cay starts off a little slow as two villains plotting to capture Doc Savage discuss his many unique powers which only serves as informational dialog.  But once they have Doc the story takes off.  As Doc fools the kidnappers and finds that they were hired by a company called Fountain of Youth, Incorporated to stop him from meeting with Kel Avery who was due in from a flight to Florida.

Doc and his assistants seek  to unravel the secrets of Fountain of Youth Inc.  in an adventure that included lots of action, a couple explosions, and plenty of mystery.  My only criticism other than the beginning was that parts 4-6 of the 7 part series could have been a little tighter. But that’s a small issue with such an exciting adventure.

In The Thousand Headed Man, Doc is in London and while at the airport, a young British man tosses him a black stick.  This seemingly innocuous event draws Doc and the gang into a dangerous adventure that will take them into the jungles of Indochina and puts the men against a mysterious force that with sound can knock people unconscious.  This startling six part adventure is well-told and a lot of fun.

Overall, the Creative Arts Theater did a fantastic job bringing these characters to the 1930s.  Their goal was to create a faithful adaptation that wasn’t campy and they certainly succeeded.  With some of the most talented voice actors in Los Angeles, each character was brought to life in a unique and memorable way. They were particularly skilled with Doc’s assistants and the main villains of each series.

The set from Radio Archives is up to their usual high standards of audio quality. In addition to the complete 13 episodes of the Doc Savage Series, Radio Archives sweetened the deal with two extras.

First was a making of CD which provides a 40 minute story of how the series was produced and interviews with much of the original cast and crew as they discuss some of the decisions made including the most disappointing part of the series: Doc Savage signature “trill” from the books sounded like a tea kettle.

The only thing I took issue with on the extras is one star’s opinion that they had revived the golden age of radio. The Statement was a little silly as in the late 70s and early 80s, radio drama experienced a resurgence with The CBS Mystery Theater, The Mutual Radio Theater, The Sears Radio Theater, NPR’s Ear Play, and The General Mills Adventure Theater. Still, many of these productions remained lesser known to the extent that anyone starting a similar revival would think they were doing something unique.

The final extra is a sample disk from Radio Archives including two of their high quality masters of radio detective shows with one episode of Philip Marlowe and one episode of Michael Shayne, both of which were fairly enjoyable and added value to the set.

Overall, the Adventures of Doc Savage was a radio treasure and Radio Archives did a fine job with this beautiful set.

Rating: 4.5 Stars out of 5.

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Golden Age Article

The Fictionalized Adventures of Babe Ruth

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Babe Ruth
George Herman “Babe” Ruth was the greatest baseball player of his era and perhaps of any era. He revolutionized the game of baseball, bringing about a new era in American sports. His career was the stuff of legends: 714 Home Runs, .342 career batting average, and by the way he began as a pitcher. He racked up a 94-46 record with a 2.28 ERA. In post-season, he was superb, as a hitter he hit .326 with 15 homers, and as a pitcher he was 3-0 with an 0.80 ERA.  The Babe has held the record for most Home Runs in the American League for 90 years.

The Babe was also a big personality whose place in American folklore remains strong to this day.  What  most people don’ t know is that Babe Ruth’s adventures were also the focus of an Old Time Radio program.

The Adventures of Babe Ruth were released originally in 1934 as a syndicated program sponsored by Quaker Oats. The year after Babe died, the series was rerun with the Navy as the sponsor. This made sense for the Navy as many young men who were of age to join the Navy hadn’t even heard the Babe play and much of the information about him came secondhand.

The Adventures of Babe Ruth episodes that are in circulation are from this Navy syndication. They portray Babe’s good sportsmanship, generosity, and compassion.  The stories are told by Steve Martin, a sports writer who knew the Babe and helped write for him.

The stories are either fictional, or probably fictionalized. The writers were under the apparent impression that for any story to truly be dramatic, it has to be the seventh game of the World Series or the Pennant coming down to the last game of the season and I fact checked a couple of these stories and couldn’t find the Yankees having played under the circumstances described. In the episode, “Dutch Reaver,” the Babe is left to manage the team on the last day of the season with the pennant on the line. A fantastic story by any means as: 1) no manager would take the last day of the season off if the pennant were on the line and 2)  The Yankees refusal to let the Babe manage led to his leaving the Yankees. To believe that the club would place him in charge at this crucial point is fantastic. Of course, the game in question didn”t happen either.

However, the episodes do a great job of portraying the Babe’s willingness to help other guys who had similar rough edges to the ones he had coming up. Whether the stories were strictly true or not, they portrayed the side of Babe that America fell in love with.

Of course, like the William Bendix movie, The Babe Ruth Story, The Adventures of Babe Ruth did ignore many of the Babe’s flaws. However, this may be preferable to the approach of John Goodman’s 1992 film which seemed to gloss over Babe’s good points to focus on his flaws.

The truth is that Babe’s strengths outlasted his wild days early in his career. He continued to work with and reach out to kids and be a great good will ambassador for baseball.

The Adventures of Babe Ruth while by no means a perfect picture of the Bambino provides a great profile of the characteristics that made Babe more than a sports legend, but a personality Americans truly admired.

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Book Review, Golden Age Article

Father Brown’s Not Buying It: A Review of the Incredulity of Father Brown

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Twelve years after his second Father Brown book, G.K. Chesterton brought readers a new collection in 1926 entitled, The Incredulity of Father Brown.

While the previous titles, The Innocence of Father Brown and The Wisdom of Father Brown had very little with the theme of the stories, Incredulity is a key theme of each story in this collection.

In each story, an event happens to which a miraculous supernatural explanation is offered. Father Brown by and by doesn’t buy into the supernatural solution, but finds a natural, but often amazing solution to the case. Of course, in each case, the people expect Father Brown to go along with a supernatural solution as he’s a priest and all. However, the book makes the point that being religious and being  superstitious are not the same thing.

In “The Curse of the Golden Cross,” Brown explains his belief in “common sense as he understands it:

It really is more natural to believe a preternatural story, that deals with things we don’t understand, than a natural story that contradicts things we do understand. Tell me that the great Mr Gladstone, in his last hours, was haunted by the ghost of Parnell, and I will be agnostic about it. But tell me that Mr Gladstone, when first presented to Queen Victoria, wore his hat in her drawing–room and slapped her on the back and offered her a cigar, and I am not agnostic at all. That is not impossible; it’s only incredible. But I’m much more certain it didn’t happen than that Parnell’s ghost didn’t appear; because it violates the laws of the world I do understand.

Father Brown applies such incisive common sense to eight problems, with all but one of them involving murder. One thing that makes these stories different is that the goal of the story is not catching the murderer. In the vast majority of cases, the suspect is not caught. The story is about the puzzle and how Father Brown solves it. In one case, “The Oracle of the Dog,” Brown stays one hundred miles away from the scene of the crime and solves it secondhand.

The best story in the book is, “The Arrow of Heaven” which involves the seemingly impossible murder of a millionaire in a high tower with an arrow when it was impossible for anyone to be able to shoot it that distance.

“The Miracle of the Moon Crescent” is a fascinating story that has three religious skeptics contemptuously dismiss Father Brown but they begin to think a supernatural cause may be involved in the seemingly impossible murder of a millionaire when the police fail to turn up any satisfactory solution.

“The Doom of the Darnaways”  may be one of the most profound stories in the collection. Father Brown encounters a young man whose family is said to be subject to a curse that leads inevitably to murder and suicide. An expert on genetics declares the curse is nonsense, but that heredity indicates the same type of fate. Here Chesterton illustrated that it’s possible for both superstition and science to develop a fatalism about human life and destiny that excludes free and leads people to helplessness and despair. The story has a well-told murder mystery, though I don’t know why Father Brown put off the solution.

There’s not really a story I didn’t like in the collection, although I do think, “Oracle of the Dog” may have a little too much literary criticism and not enough story. Also, some of Chesterton’s rough edges and lack of racial sensitivity are present in this collection. However, if you can get past that, The Incredulity of Father Brown is a truly wonderful collection of stories about the original clerical detective.

You can find all the Father Brown books in Kindle, Audiobook, and book form on our Father Brown page.

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Golden Age Article

The Biggest Show on Radio

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In 1950, NBC produced won of radio’s greatest spectacles of talent, a 90 minute variety show.

The late 40s had been bad for NBC as rival CBS had raided their stable of talent, luring Jack Benny, Burns and Allen, Harold Peary (Star of The Great Gildersleeve) over to their network with higher wages.

NBC had not come up with an answer for how to challenge Jack Benny’s Sunday Night supremacy and from this was born, The Big Show. It was planned as a 90 minute variety show, which was extraordinary.  There had been other variety programs that had been an hour in length such as The Shell Chateau, The Good News programs of the late 30s and early 40s, The Kraft Music Hall,  and Fred Allen’s Texaco Show of the early 40s. However, 90 minutes was unpreceded for a radio variety show outside of a few specials.

The Big Show alternated between Hollywood and New York, allowing it to access most of America’s major talent wherever they happened to live. With a budget of $30,000 an episode, they managed to land solid talent, producing a fine mix of comedy, music, and drama. The Big Show had many great ingredients:

Tallulah Bankhead

Tallulah Bankhead“The glamorous unpredictable Tallulah Bankhead” was the show’s host. Her voice was one of the most recognizable in radio. It was deep and distinct. She called her guests “darling.” Bankhead was best known as a stage actress on Broadway and in London. The highlight of her film career had been Alfred Hitchcock’s Lifeboat. Finding other movie roles that suited Bankhead’s unique personality was a challenge.

Bankhead was a rare talent. Her range of duties included comedic banter with the guests who, in the tradition of old time radio variety shows poked fun at her age, her low voice, her offkey attempts at singing, and her rivalry with Betty Davis. Bankhead also would get a chance to showcase her dramatic talent, performing several pieces including several one woman scenes. She also did her fair share of comedic performances.  Bankhead also mixed in occassional sincere moments such as when she paid tribute to the nation’s troops overseas or a great performer. She would signal the station identification on each half hour by saying she was ringing her chimes, which would signal the famous NBC Chimes.

The Comedians

The Big Show played host to some of the greatest and best loved comedians America ever produced.

The Big Show’s most frequent guests were Fred Allen and his wifeFred Allen Portland Hoffa. Allen had had his own show for many years, but a combination of declining ratings, declining health, and the rise of television led to the end of his program.

Allen was known for his biting satirical wit which stood as Allen’s unique genius in this era. Allen got off the show’s most memorable line when he declared the reason television was called a medium was because nothing was well done.

Jimmy Durante as host of the Colgate Comedy HourJimmy Durante was also a frequent guest on the program. His mangling of the English language, self-depreciating manner, and jolly singing made him a delightful addition to the show.

Other comedians making multiple appearances included Groucho Marx, Bob Hope, Eddie Cantor, Ed Wynn, Joan Davis, and Martin and Lewis. These programs led to some interesting combinations. In one episode, Groucho groused about having to play straight man to Jerry Lewis at this point in his career. Dean Martin would have a similar thought a few years later.

Every comedian I’ve listed so far had their own radio shows, so The Big Show is a great way for OTR fans to find new comedy favorites. In addition, two men who would have great careers in television (Danny Thomas of Make Room for Daddy and Phil “Sergeant Bilko” Silvers) made an appearance each.

Music and Meredith Wilson

The musical portion of the show included top shelf talent with appearances by Ethel Merman, the Andrews Sisters, Jack Carson, Mindy Carson, Judy Garland, Ethel Waters, and Railroad Hour host Gordon McRae among others. Perhaps the biggest novelty of the show is the three appearances by then-first Daughter Margaret Truman.

Meredith WilsonHowever, the musical  delight of the show remained Meredith Wilson, the music director who was charged with a 40-piece orchestra. Wilson not only came up with great arrangements, the first season of the Big Show was punctuated with several original Wilson songs. Wilson’s creativity was not limited to music. In the only full Season 2 episode in existence, the cast performs scenes from Wilson’s novel, “Who Did What to Fedalia?”

Perhaps Wilson’s greatest hit was the show’s closing anthem, “May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You.” Bing Crosby called it a song of faith and good will. On the Big Show, the song was sung at the end by the week’s entire cast, including those who weren’t regular singers. Each would distinctly whether it was Groucho Marx or Fred Allen or one of the dramatic stars. Those who couldn’t sing would speak their parts including Tallulah. This gave the show a memorable and classy ending.

Even after the Big Show ended, Wilson’s creation endured. “May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You” has been performed by artists as diverse as Tammy Wynette, Bing Crosby,  Jim Reeves,  and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It’s an enduring classic and the biggest thing to come out of the Big Show.

Drama

The Big Show took a few episodes to live up to the show’s promise of providing drama in addition to the comedy and music, however when it did, it it did the dramas well.  Movie actors would come and perform scenes from new film releases or when the Big Show was in New York, radio audiences could get a taste of the latest Broadway play, including many who would never make it to New York to watch the performance. Actors who made dramatic appearances on the show included Peter Lorre, Edward G. Robinson, Rex Harrison, and George Sanders.

The Big Show would often follow up a serious well-done drama with uproarious comedy.  Tallulah and male guest star could perform a deadly serious piece and then a comedian like Jimmy Durante would ask permission to perform his version of the scene. After the heavy scene that came just before, the humorous takeoff was made even more funny.

The Demise of the Big Show

Sadly, the Big Show didn’t last but two seasons. It couldn’t have done much better. Television was coming on strong and advertising dollars would not support the Big Show’s big budget. Indeed, one of the advertisers for The Big Show was RCA which promoted it’s new television console. The day of big radio were clearly numbered.

The entire First Season of The Big Show survives to this day but only 1 and 2/3 episodes of 31 survive from Season 2. Still, what remains is a fantastic program put on by some of the finest talent radio produced. Truly the Big Show was worthy of its big name.

Further reading:

The Digital Deli’s Definitive log of The Big Show.

“May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You” as performed on the Big Show.

All 27 circulating episodes of “The Big Show”

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Golden Age Article, Nero Wolfe

Book Review: Murder by the Book

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As I wrote last week in my review of The Rubber Band, you never know quite what to expert when you read a Nero Wolfe Mystery.  This is certainly true of Murder by the Book which provides a solid mystery, but also a brilliantly executed and effective element of drama.

The story begins with a particularly desperate Inspector Cramer consulting Wolfe to interpret the only clue in the murder of Leonard Dykes, a man who lived alone with no local living relatives.  It’s only a list of names and all Wolfe can offer is that the murdered man was inventing a pseudonym for either himself or a friend.

Fast forward six weeks and a man from Peoria, Illinois wants to hire Wolfe to find who killed his daughter, Joan Wellman. The police insist it was a hit run, but the father thinks it was murder because his daughter wrote to him that day and told him that she had a dinner date with a man named Baird Archer, who had submitted a manuscript she’d rejected and wanted to hire her to help him make it publication-ready.

Wolfe recognizes  Baird Archer as one of the names Inspector Cramer showed him. Wolfe meets with Cramer and agrees to full cooperation as the existence of Baird Archer indicates a tie in with the previous murder.

Wolfe acts on the assumption that the first murder was the author of the book under the pen name Baird Archer, and the second was the editor who reviewed it. Clearly finding out what was in the manuscript is key to solving the case. Wolfe sets Archie, Saul, Fred, and Orrie about the task of locating the typist. Unfortunately, Archie finds Rachel Adams just three minutes after she was pushed out a window. The only net result of his search is a receipt which confirms the existence of the manuscript, but nothing about what was in it.

The death of the typist leaves Wolfe in a precarious position. He has to generate a lead. To do that, Archie has got to shake up the staff of a law firm who harbor dark secrets and dark suspicions, but are keeping everything quiet in order to protect the firm.

Murder by the Book is that rare detective novel that transcends its status to provide compelling human drama. While Wolfe’s clients range from neurotic women to men who’ve cheated on their wives and don’t want it come out in a murder investigation, in Murder by the Book we’re given a singularly sympathetic client in John Wellman.  Wellman exudes a quiet decency and strength of character that makes the novel work. He has come to hire Wolfe against his wife and his pastor who fear he’s sinfully seeking revenge, though Wellman is really concerned about justice.

Unlike millionaires who throw $100,000 at Nero Wolfe like someone else might hire Philip Marlowe for $25 a day,  Wellman is a man of moderate means, well off but not super-wealthy. Wolfe, at one point becomes concerned that the fee is becoming too much for Wellman and the odds of success are becoming narrower. Wellman stands firm: Wolfe can quit the case when Wellman runs out of money.

The only time Wellman considered backing out was when he misunderstood what Wolfe met when he urged Archie to become intimate with the office staff. The way Wolfe meant intimate was in the sense of “characterized by a close or warm personal relationship.” However Wellman took an entirely different meaning and was ready to pull out until Archie stepped in and explained not only to save the client, but also his reputation as private eye and ladies man.

Archie does shine in Murder by the Book. Coming off, In the Best Families where Archie held center stage for most of the book, he does so again in Murder by the Book.

Archie’s first challenge is to open up the mouths of an office staff that has been dumb to both Wolfe’s men and the police.  He gives Orchids to each woman in the firm and invites him to the party at his house. Wolfe leaves the house to avoid business, which in this case involved ten women calling for a party. The liquor flows freely, and then he coaxes the women to ask him about being a detective. He offers to share with them about the case he’s working on now.  He talks about the triple murder and then introduces Mr. Wellman and Rachel Adams’ mother. They talk about their loss and grief at length. Usually detective novels that focus on puzzles and geniuses stay away from the real human pain that comes from crime, but Murder by the Book doesn’t and puts on an emotional tour de force, that helps you sympathize and connect with these strangers in a way you rarely do in Nero Wolfe stories.

On the audiobook version, Michael Pritchard shows the depth of his talent during the scene as he brings both Mrs. Adams and Mr. Wellman to life, as well as the few hecklers in the room.

Archie succeeded in getting the office staff to (for the most part) begin to act like human beings, rather than defenders of a law firm’s reputation. Archie managed to force back to the surface, the ugliness that led to the string of murders. This is one case where without Archie, Wolfe couldn’t have solved it.

Murder by the Book takes other fun turns. Most notable is Archie’s trip to California to bait a trap where he meets the book’s exceptional woman, the housewife sister of Leonard Dykes, a character who in her simple common sense outshines the New York professional women Archie spends most of the book with.

In terms of criticisms, there’s hardly anything. Though, there did seem to be a lapse of continuity. Coming on the heels of, In The Best Families a year before, Wolfe justifies Archie’s trip to California by asking, “Have we ever been pushed such extremes?” This made me chuckle.  “Other than that time, you had to flee the house for five months and assume a false identity, no.”

Some have criticized the book for not telling us how the killer’s alibi was busted by one of Wolfe’s men after Wolfe revealed the murderer. He was about to do this when Cramer interrupted and told him not to. It really isn’t believable for a police inspector who believes a murderer has been exposed to let a private investigator share all the evidence for the upcoming trial. And it was a detail that readers just didn’t need.

Overall, Murder by the Book is a solid Wolfe story through and through, with rare well-done touches of human drama that show off the depth of Stout’s talent.

Rating: Very Satisfactory

You can find all the Nero Wolfe books in Kindle, Audiobook, and book form on our Nero Wolfe page.

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Golden Age Article

Radio That Teaches American History

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A recent study shows that Americans don’t know their history. According to the NAEP report card, 22% of American students are proficient at grade level in American History, dropping to 13% for High School graduates.

Of course, it hasn’t always been like the case. During the golden age of radio,  the radio not just the theater of the mind, it told the story of America’s heritage, passing it on like an ancient storyteller around a campfire.

And those who told these stories of America were some of the best at it. Thankfully, many of these great shows are preserved so that we can find those unique and exciting stories that are part of American history.

We cannot hope to cover every single series that was about some portion of American History. The field of radio programs is far too vast. Rather, in this piece we’ll highlight four shows that represent a good jumping off point. Nor does this list included the almost never-ending list of programs that because of their age, give us an insight into history.

1) Cavalcade of America: 1935-53:

The term “Cavalcade” is one that was used often during the golden age of radio and television but not commonly today. A Cavalcade is a procession, a noteworthy series. The theme of Cavalcade of America’s early years was that as Americans we were part of a cavalcade that kept moving on.  Early episodes would take a look at a theme. In the first episode, “No Turning Back,” the program began with the pilgrims electing to stay through the hard winter at Plymouth Rock and then turned to farmers who had been hit by the dust bowl who found the courage to keep on. Both, according to the program’s creators were part of  that same procession. Future episodes focused on virtues of self-reliance, industry, and the will to rebuild. Each took vignettes from American history and tied them together through this Cavalcade theme.

And the stories that were told were magnificient. There were, of course, the ones you’d expect such as the Wright Brothers flight. However, there were many marvelous little known gems from American history.  Examples include:

  • A steamboat race from St. Louis to New Orleans that captured the imagination of the world.
  • The settlement of Oklahoma and why the state was called the Sooner State.
  • The man who struggled to make a business of exporting ice from the United States and selling it overseas in tropical climates in the 19th Century.

The program did evolve and the Cavalcade theme became less prominent, particularly during the War years. If you listened to other radio programs during the war you’d hear about the work done by the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines, but the Cavalcade of America took pains to portray  the Merchant Marines, ambulance drivers in Africa, and those who brought supplies to the front.

Cavalcade of America featured some of the finest talent in radio. Among those who appeared were: Orson Welles, Humphrey Bogart, Gregory Peck, Jimmy Stewart, Dick Powell, Bob Bailey, and a host of others.

Cavalcade continued to tell remarkable true stories, along with a few fictionalized plays that were popular in the era. While occassional bias in the selection of material or the portrayal of controversial figures was on occassion, apparent, the series remains a marvel.

The show was sponsored by the Dupont Corporation and here Dupont deserves some plaudits. Unlike other sponsors who threw old transcription discs out like old rubbish, Dupont has held on to most of these discs, and they deserve some credit for the series being so well-catalogued and with more than 700 episodes in circulation. Dupont’s ads themselves are great history as they describe how the company is working for “better living through Chemistry” and some of Dupont’s latest advances, many of which we take for granted in the 21st Century.

The Old Time Radio Researchers set of this series remains one of the best collections, providing a good look at the breadth of this series.  Click here to sample some of the single episodes.

2) Inheritance: 1954-55

This program, filled the void of Cavalcade of America. It was sponsored by the American Legion and aired over NBC. It featured stories from American History, both well-known figures such as Davy Crocket and George Washington Carver, as well as lesser known figures such as the first female American physician, Elizabeth Blackwell.

49 of 57 episodes of “Inheritance” are available for download at the Internet Archive.

3) You Are There: 1947-50

It was Orson Welles with his, “War of the Worlds” broadcast that first highlighted the dramatic storytelling power of a fictional newscast. In 1947, CBS News used the power of radio to teach history in its radio programs (and later television version), You Are There.

CBS is There/You Are There showed how historical events would have been covered by a modern news organization. In this Case, CBS, brought to life such events as the passage of the Declaration of Independence, the Battle of Gettysburg, and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.  It should be noted that not every episode of You Are There focused on American History, with CBS covering global events such as the last days of Pompeii and deaths of Joan of Arc and Socrates.  CBS offered a great product and episodes are available at the Internet Archive. The Digital Deli has put together a wonderful log that arranges the episodes of You Are There in historical order.

4) Mr. President: 1947-53

Each episode of Mr. President tell a real story from the life of the President of United States.  Often the stories are exciting or little known chapters in the lives of the men who have filled the office. Mr. President in all of his persons is played by Edward Arnold.

The series was noted for not telling listeners what President was being profiled until the end with listeners guessing who it was. Sadly, many OTR collectors have ruined that aspect of the series by labeling the shows with the name of the President.

However, there’s still much to enjoy. You can download 126 episodes of Mr. President at the Internet Archive.

5) Other shows:

As stated at the start of this article, we’re only scratching the surface of historical old time radio.There were plenty of other shows that profiled American History. The OTRR, a few years back assembled a collection of radio shows on American History with excerpts from programs such as American Trail,  Destination: Freedom, and Frontier Fighters.

You can listen to these miscellaneous  programs at the Internet Archive which also contains many other great radio treasures that provide an insight into America’s great history.

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Golden Age Article

The Family Doctor: A Wholesome Radio Prescription

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If you’re looking for a wholesome Old Time Radio  for the whole family, Family Doctor could be just what the doctor ordered.

Over the years, many television series, books, and movies  have taken a longing look at the past in programs such as Little House on the Prairie and The Waltons which served as  a reminder of old fashioned values and a time when a sense of community was a reality. The quest for this sort of world continues in the 21st Century with the rise of Amish fiction stories.

Family Doctor is not taking a look back, but is set in the then-present which is widely believed to be 1932 when the shows were produced.  Like the other syndicated 15 minute shows we examined the last two weeks, Family Doctor’s 39 episodes were syndicated to various radio stations and sold as a package. Unlike the other shows, Family Doctor had regular character and story archs.

The show follows the adventures of Grant Adams, the longtime physician of the small town of Cedarton. Cedarton is a three-dimensional town brimming with wonderful characters who Doc Adams tries to help and encourage including Pete who runs the drugstore and Griff, the workaholic boat renter who works too hard and always promises that he’ll find a younger man to do his hard work.  Then there are two teenage girls who compete for the hear of a clerk at the drug store and then when he leaves, they fight for the next clerk hired.

The 39 episodes of Family Doctor range from the humorous to the exciting  , the heartbreaking and the inspirational:

“Pete May, the Ambulance Driver”

With Dr. Adams’ car is in the shop so he asks Pete to drive him out on a house call)

“The Fire Alarm”

After talking about how nothing happens in Cedarton, Doc and the other volunteer firemen go to the scene of a fire where Doc risks his life to save a child.

“Enjoyment”

The town drunk is injured saving the life of a little girl and Doctor Adams works feverishly to save him.

Episodes 37-39

The 3-part series finale which requires Doc to make a difficult choice about his future and that of the town.

Doc Adams calls to mind generations of country doctors who were revered for their selfless giving of their lives for their patients.  Yes, this doctor does make house calls. He dispensed more common sense, wisdom, and kindness than any other prescription in the series.

Cedarton feels like a real place with real flaws: the program portrays Cedarton having incidents surrounding gossip, foolish competitions, suspicion of strangers, and even uncivil politics. At the same time,  Cedarton is also a  community where people are watching out for others. When Chic, who works at the drug store wants to rent a boat for a date, Griff makes it clear that he doesn’t rent boats to unmarried young couples without parental consent. Family Doctor presents small town life at its best and its worse. The exact location of the fictional town is never disclosed, but based on clues from the show, it was probably in upstate New York or New England.

The show remains a little known treasure:. It captures a time and place in American history with well-written and well-performed stories. The actors remain anonymous, although some take guesses. David Goldin suggests Jane Morgan and John Gibson (“Ethelbert”) appeared in the show, and I think I heard Agnes Moorhead, but identifying voice without credits s is always iffy.

The program pre-dates the similarly themed Dr. Christian radio series by five years and stands up well after nearly eighty years despite the lack of a named cast.

Click here to download episodes of the Family Doctor from the Internet Archive.

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Book Review, Golden Age Article

A Review of the Columbo Collection

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[This was originally slated to be posted on July 9th but was moved to today due to the passing of the great Peter Falk. You may also enjoy our look at the top 10 1970s Columbo episodes in parts one, two, and three ]

It’s been nearly eight and a half years since the last Columbo movie and with star Peter Falk’s health issues assured there would be no sequel. Now Falk’s death may have some folks wanting a little bit more Columbo.

Creator William Link, has returned to working on Columbo sans Peter Falk, writing a play, Columbo Takes the Rap. Last year, Link released The Columbo Collection, the first ever compilation of Columbo short stories, featuring twelve Columbo adventures.

The Columbo Collection is a must for any fan of the series. Usually, writing these sort of volumes falls to people who are not really associated with the series or whose affiliation is loose, and they can’t get the character accurate. Link brings credibility to the stories and gets Columbo pretty close to right.

To truly enjoy the book, your expectations have to be properly set.  Reading the stories is not going to come close to replaciating the fun of watching Columbo on television or the depth of the stories.  Each story is between 15-26 pages long. Some of the preludes to the murder in TV episodes would take longer than that to tell.

Columbo’s unique structure doesn’t lend itself well to these sort of limitations, so it’s no surprise that the book is a mixed bag.

On the positive side, as a master of mystery, Link created several memorable gems, some of which approached the level of being lik e a mini-Columbo episode (imagine Columbo as a half hour TV show):

“The Criminal Criminal Defense Attorney”- A lawyer gets his client acquitted of  rape and then kills him. This story does a good job portraying the mental duel between Columbo and the attorney, and the final clue is classic Columbo. Also, a high powered defense attorney is perhaps the closest any of the stories come to Columbo’s usual battle against an elitest.  The only weak spot of this story is that the motive is hard to believe.

“The Blackest Mail”-The longest story in the book  and well-worth the read. An actress murders a man who is trying to blackmail her by trying to make it look like self-defense. Now she has to evade Columbo. This one did a great job with the cat and mouse chase.

“Trance”-In several stories, Link doesn’t show us the murder, but it’s clear from the beginning who Columbo thinks is “the guy” (to quote Monk.) Such as is the case with “Trance” as we know from the beginning that Columbo’s suspicion lies firmly on a hypnotist that has an airtight alibi. The way that Columbo breaks the alibi is classic. Unfortunately, the way Columbo puts the murderer at the scene of the crime is not credible.

“Murder Allegro”-Another where we don’t see the murder, but are relying on Columbo who is sure that a musician murdered his wife, who was also part of the band. This one is not only a howcatchem but a howdidit. On both points, this story works.

“Photo Finish”-This story was unique in staying in the viewpoint of the murderer from start to finish as she plots the murder of her philandering husband. This character has a very distinct voice as a woman scorned out for revenge at all costs and annoyed by her amateur mistakes in the murder game. Unfortunatley for her, Columbo basically walks into the solution.

Opposite the table of contents, The Columbo Collection also features a very nice sketch of Columbo drawn by Peter Falk.  Link also writes an introduction to his piece that contains much the same information as he’s posted on his website but had a couple interesting added details.

One was about Bert Freed, who was the first actor to play Columbo as the first Columbo telepay was an episode of the Chevy Mystery Show. Link ran into Freed and found out that Freed had forgotten he’d ever played Columbo. Freed had want Link called actor’s amnesia, and it’s easy to forget one role on a forgotten TV show dcades before.  I found it amusing that if Freed had somehow landed on Celebrity Jeopardy, he would missed the question, “The first actor to play Columbo.”

On the negative side,  the story Grief was the weakest of the lot. Everything about the story was tedious. And the story was made worse when Columbo tried to mitigate one elderly man running over another, because the driver thought the pedestrian had committed a hit and run on his dog.

Most of the other stories that aren’t listed above are forgettable, with weak plots, weak conclusions, or weak characters. They don’t possess all of these problems, but they’re seriously handicapped by the short story format and trying to have Columbo have a battle of wits and solve a case in 20 pages.

Also, in many of these stories, Link does a poor job choosing his villains. Part of the appeal of Columbo is the every man again battling the rich, famous, and powerful. Putting Columbo up against other everymen as Link does when he puts Columbo against a Gardener-War Veteran, another cop of about equal rank, a retiree, and a man who lost his girlfriend to a would-be-assassn’s ricochet does just that. Of course, that would be realistic, but Columbo has never been about realism.

The first five stories contain motives buried in psychobabble that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Thankfully, Link proceeds to a pattern of using more traditional motives like jealousy, greed, and revenge which work  far better in short story form.

One hopeful sign is that these stories do appear to be published in the order  in which Link wrote them and the last few attempts are far more refined, with the last three stories all making my list of the gems in the book., which means if he opts to do another Columbo collection, he may be in better form.

Personally, I would probably have much preferred a collection of three or four Columbo novellas which would have provided more time for the format to work.  Still, it was a worthy read, particularly for fans that miss that rumpled rain coat.

Rating:Three Stars out of Five.

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Golden Age Article

The Redbook Dramas: A Review

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Redbook Dramas

Redbook Magazine has evolved over the years. The modern Redbook is a woman’s magazine, commonly sold in the checkout aisle with relationship and household stories featured prominently. In the early 30s, the magazine was a well-known publisher of short stories, and published a large number of female authors in what was a male-dominated field.

In 1932, Redbook’s short stories came to the radio under the title  of The Redbook Dramas. Redbook was an early example of the magazine to radio format. Reader’s Digest and others would eventually follow suit.

While more of a mixed bag than the Diamond Dramas, the Redbook Dramas still offer a decent quarter hour of entertainment. The stories feature range from adventures to romance, and even two fair detective stories make the cut.

Some of the better episodes:

A Pass to Peking:

A kindly school teacher smuggles a rickshaw driver on a train in a coffin, never knowing that he’s a well-educated military officer trying to escape from his enemies.

Under the Midnight Sun:

A whodunit featuring an Eskimo amateur detective.

You Have to Have Something:

A story of a woman in vaudeville who wants to make her partnership more than just a professional arrangement, but is frustrated by her partner’s interest in another woman.

Minister Wanted:

A good comedy-romance about an unlikely couple drawn together by being held by two desperate criminals.

There were lesser entries of course, “The Kid” was a little too unbelievable and the characters were not very relatable and “Lazy Bones” seemed just a little bit silly.  “England Will Stand” was not a favorite either and I felt more sympathy for the character they made out to be a buffoon than for the one who was supposed to be the hero, an advertising genius who stood firmly on the side of sex in advertising.

Beyond that, I should note that the ending of, “Anything You Want is Yours” was surprisingly suggestive for an OTR show, so parental discretion is advised.

Overall, there are far worse things that could be done with 15 minutes than sampling Redbooks Dramas.  19 episodes of the Redbook Dramas were collected by the Old TIme Radio Researchers and are available for download at the Internet Archive.

Photo courtesy of the Old Time Radio Researchers.

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Book Review, Golden Age Article, Nero Wolfe

Book Review: The Rubber Band

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The great thing about reading Nero Wolfe novels is you never quite know what to expect. The Nero Wolfe stories are a blend of hard-boiled stories as well as the genius/gentleman detective stories. The exact composition of the blend varies from book to book.

The Rubber Band is definitely closer to the cozy side of mysteries rather than the hardboiled detective story.  Published in 1936, it was the the third of the Nero Wolfe novels and came on the heels of much darker stories in Fer-de-lance and The League of Frightened Men.

The book begins with a corporate executive trying to engage Wolfe to investigate a theft of $30,000 in Cash. The person who has been fingered for the theft by the company’s vice-president is the beautiful Miss Clara Fox.

However, Miss Fox also wants to engage Wolfe to help her claim money owed to her father and his partner. An English nobleman in America in the Old West faced hanging by vigilantes. A band of men led by a Mr. Rubber Coleman formed “the Rubber Band” which helped the nobleman escape the vigilantes in exchange for 1/2 of his fortune. Clara recognizes the nobleman who is now quite wealth,  and she calls for  all of her father’s partners (except for Mr. Coleman who she can’t find)  and their heirs to claim their share of the fortune from the nobleman who is now staying in New York. She offers Wolfe a cut to help her collect.

One of  her father’s partners is killed after leaving the Brownstone to meet someone and the police want to question Clara Fox. Wolfe is determined to protect his client and hides her from the police.

This features the first appearance of Lieutenant Rowcliff, everyone’s least favorite police detective who gets a search warrant to find Ms. Fox, but Wolfe manages to foil him in a classic set up. This book is full of fantastic characters: A British lord, corporate robber-barons, and an old cowboy among others.

Fox is the first woman to successfully charm Wolfe in the series, with Wolfe even reading Hungarian poetry to her. By the standard of future stories, Wolfe’s reaction to her may be a bit bunch, but Stout was still getting a feel for the character when he wrote the Rubber Band.

The somewhat disappointing part of this story was Inspector Cramer. He was almost subserviant to Wolfe, and volunteered the fact that he liked Wolfe.  Clearly, it would take a few more books for Cramer to develop into the hardnosed belligerant cop that we all know and love.

However, for all the early hiccups in the series, The Rubber Band remains an enjoyable and well-paced mystery. In some points, its reminiscent of Agatha Christie stories as well as The Sign of Four. The mystery works out to a clever and satisfying conclusion.

It’s a shame that this one wasn’t made into a film like the first two books were. Both Fer-de-Lance and League of Frightened Men seemed like much more unlikely adaptations with their very convoluted plots. This one would have made a perfect 1930s mystery movie with the right cast.

Rating: Very Satisfactory

You can find all the Nero Wolfe books in Kindle, Audiobook, and book form on our Nero Wolfe page.

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Book Review, Golden Age Article

The Man Who Asked, “Why Me?”

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A good autobiography requires a truly interesting life and a willingness to share it. By both accounts, William Gargan’s, 1969 memoir Why Me is a masterful example of how an autobiography ought to be written.

I knew Gargan for his TV and radio detective work with I Deal in Crime, Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator, and Martin Kane, Private Eye. The Martin Kane series was Gargan’s best known role. Along with Ralph Bellamy’s Man Against Crime, it was one of the first successful TV private eye shows, enjoyed by fans if for nothing else than the novelty of doing a live TV detective series.

However, Gargan’s life was a lot more than TV and radio glitz.  Gargan’s acting career included stage work in the 1920s and movies in the 1930s and 1940s. Gargan’s varied life included  assisting his bookie father when he was a kid, being thrown out of high school, working as a store investigator/collector and a private detective, and being a bootlegger during prohibition.

In Why Me, Gargan shares inside stories in Hollywood: How his best-supporting actor Oscar  nomination for They Knew What They Wanted came out of a frustrating shooting experience with the hammy Charles Laughton. He tells a more fond story of actor hammyness when he and John Barrymore staged an epic battle with Lionel Barrymore to stop Barrymore from stealing a scene. You’ll also run into fun stories about James J. Corbett, Leslie Howard, Bing Crosby,  John F. Kennedy, and others.

Gargan’s life included meeting both famous and infamous people, some thanks to his father’s connections.  Gargan tells the story of a man operating a protection racket in Chicago who was shaking him down for $10 a week. He called his father. One of his dad’s friends contacted him about it. A friend by the name of Al Capone.  Gargan was never bothered after that, but did worry about what had happened to the wildcat shakedown artist.

Gargan knew there was a “dark side” to his father’s life and underworld connections, however in his youth, Gargan was mostly shielded from that side and had mostly fond memories of his father and mother. Gargan was endowed with an incredible love of family and zest for life. One of my favorite stories was about his mother’s funeral. The funeral director told him they planned a slow procession from the church to the cemetary. Gargan rejected the idea of a slow mournful procession, telling the undertaker, “She was a spirited woman. Go like hell.”

Gargan wrote, “Every morning to this day, I say a prayer for my parents. God love them. I love them.”

Gargan’s life included many ups as he made his way to a comfortable living making a lot of “B movies.”  and television. The title, “Why Me?” references the great turning point in his life. At age 55, while playing a dying ex-president in the stage version of The Best Man, he began to have pain in his throat.  He was diagnosed with cancer of the Larynx, which required surgery that would remove his larynx, silence his voice, and put an end to his acting career. When Gargan was brought home from the hospital, their TV repairman was fixing their set, and turned on the TV, and one of Gargan’s old films came on and he slammed his hand down on the table, wanting to scream to have it turned off, as pain and self-pity overwhelmed him for the moment.

Why Me is not a self-pitying book, rather it tells how Gargan came to answer the question.  It’s Gargan’s story of how he learned to talk again through esophagael speech and then began to work with the American Cancer Society: raising funds, making personal appearances, and helping scared patients as they prepared to go through the same process as Gargan did. It was in this that Gargan found an answer to the question, “Why me?” He’d gotten the cancer, so he could help others.

The book revealed the view that Gargan had taken of cancer as he listed one by one, every friend, and every great person who got lost to cancer. Cancer was an enemy and Gargan and the ACS were at war with it. Gargan, a former two pack-a-day smoker for more than thirty ended the book with an appeal for people to stop smoking cigarettes. Perhaps, the most surprising part of the book for twenty-first century Americans is that Gargan didn’t have any thoughts on how Martin Kane promoted tobacco use. Gargan took personal responsibility stating that even as a teenager, they’d referred to cigarettes as “coffin nails.”

Gargan’s faith also plays a part in the book. While he writes about his involvement with the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre and meetings with Pope Pius, the more interesting passages are those that show how his faith grew stronger through tragedy and helps him find new purpose in his 60s.

Mixed with honesty about his falings, and a fascinating life story, Why Me is an inspirational tour de force by Gargan. It is sadly out of print, but I was able to get my copy through an interlibrary loan and used copies are available on Amazon and Half.com.

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Golden Age Article

14 Carat Dramas

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The mid-30s was an era in radio of forgetable and forgotten 15 minute syndicated radio programs. They were produced, put on transcription disks, and sold to a small number of stations with no name stars. Even those who research the shows may have little information as to where they actually originated or who starred in them.

While some shows are easy to forget, there are some good programs from this era that have survived as Diamonds in the Rough. (Pun Intended.)

I first learned of the Diamond Dramas series from the Digital Deli‘s definitive log. It was  a series of twenty-six programs produced between 1926 and 1927 and first aired in 1934 over KDYL in Salt Lake City.

Each installment included a diamond as part of the plot and was based on actual events in the history of great diamonds including the Mogul Diamond. The stories were tightly packed with a mix of romance, intrigue, and drama. Each 15 minute episode contained 4 minutes of Music (meant for local commercial fills) and an eleven minute self-contained story. The majority of the stories involved royalty: Kings, Queens, Empires, and a mix of love, hatred, and the lust for power. The program had a tremendous scope with episodes set in Russia, India, France, Hungary, and England.  Among those historic personages featured are Napoleon, Mary Queen of Scots, Marie Antoinette, the Marquis De Lafayette, a couple of King Louies, and Catherine the Great.

Some of my favorites in this series:

The Mighty Akbar:

The Mighty Akbar rules India and possesses the great mogul diamond.Despite his best efforts, his wife doesn’t love him and would like to leave him. She plans to escape to her father’s people with Akbar’s diamond. The story takes a surprising turn

The Queen’s Diamond Charm:

Mary Queen of Scots is in France where Charles reigns but is a weakling controlled by his mother. Can Mary outsmart Charles’ mother to save the life of a kinsman as well as her own?

The King’s Astrologer:

The cynical astrologer of the superstitious and ruthless King Louie XI tries to get the King to surrender a valuable diamond to him. Louie decides have the astrologer killed instead. Another great twist ending to this one.

The Diamond Necklace:

Napoloeon III offers a young woman diamonds and jewels, and everything but marriage.

25 of the 26 episodes of the Diamond Dramas are available at the Internet Archive.

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