At Christmastime, Johnny has to find a beautiful woman, who is the only one who knows the truth behind the murder of a New York club owner, before the killer does.
Original Radio Broadcast Dates: December 19-23, 1956
Originating from Hollywood
Starring: Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar; Virginia Gregg; Peggy Webber; Don Diamond; Ben Wright; Jack Kruschen; Barney Phillips; Sam Edwards; Ken Christy
At Christmastime, Joe Friday and Ben Romero try to find a missing daughter from Utah.
Original Radio Broadcast Date: July 28, 1949
Originating from Hollywood
Starring: Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday; Barton Yarborough as Sergeant Ben Romero; Raymond Burr as Sergeant Ed Backstrand, Chief of Detectives; Herb Butterfield
Johnny is called in around Christmas to find a “singing mouse” that disappeared from a wealthy man’s house ahead of a performance at a children’s hospital.
Original Radio Broadcast Date: December 23, 1956
Originating from Hollywood
Starring: Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar; Mary Jane Croft; Howard McNear; Parley Baer; G. Stanley Jones; Bill James; Lawrence Dobkin; Richard Beals
While Charles Dickens is beloved for his novel A Christmas Carol, that’s far from his only Christmas work. He wrote several Christmas stories. This is the fifth one that Colonial Radio Theater has adapted.
“The Holly Tree Inn” is a short story about a man caught in a snowstorm on Christmas Eve and taking refuge at the Holly Tree Inn where he wiles away time talking with the people at the Inn. As soon as the storm lifts, he’s continuing on his efforts to leave the country as he believes his sweetheart has jilted him for his best friend..
The Holly Tree Inn is a dialogue-heavy story. There’s little movement which can be a challenge with an audio drama. However, this is helped by the fact that the dialogue is by Charles Dickens which means there are some fun turns of phrases, stories told within the story, etc. In addition, Colonial does a superb job adapting it with its typical professionalism and a nice score.
The Holly Tree Inn is a sweet little story. It’s not much more than people sitting around during a snowstorm talking but it has a moral that is well-taken, if not earth-shattering. If you’d enjoy a relaxing story while wrapping presents or de-stressing from the Holidays, this is a bit of comfort listening.
Television has its Christmas traditions. A Charlie Brown Christmas, It’s a Wonderful Life, andHow the Grinch Stole Christmas survive through the wonder of reruns and videos.
The Golden Age of Radio also had its Christmas traditions, some things that for years were part of what Christmas was in America. Thankfully, through the power of MP3, we can step back in time and rediscover some of the best:
1) Christmas in Pine Ridge
The recurring Lum and Abner Christmas special in the 1930s was somewhat of an odd show. There wasn’t any comedy to speak of. The plot centers around Lum, Abner, and Grandpappy Spears helping out a young couple that’s gotten stranded in Pine Ridge, where the mother is giving birth. The family is clearly met to parallel the Holy family travelling to Bethlehem.
The episode’s theme shows Pine Ridge at its best and in its fifteen minutes, it’s poignant, thoughtful, and even philisophical as Lum reflects as well on the old year ending and the New Year coming.
While most people living in the 21st century have no idea who Lionel Barrymore is. Mention, “Mr. Potter from It’s a Wonderful Life” and people will have no problem remembering the distinctive voice of the wheelchair bound adversary of Jimmy Stewart’s George Bailey.
One key contributor in Barrymore playing Potter was that Barrymore had a lot of experience in the role of miser. From 1934-53, he played the Role of Ebenezer Scrooge for 18 of 20 Christmases. He relinquished the role once to his brother John in 1935 and in 1938, Orson Welles took the part. However, in 1939, while Welles was still the boss at the Campbell Playhouse, Barrymore was Scrooge once again. This time in an hour long adaptation that showed off the amazing talent that was Lionel Barrymore with Welles’ narration making the show a must-hear. Listen and you’ll find out why, for an entire generation, Barrymore was definitive Scrooge.
If you say, Bing Crosby and Christmas, the first song that will undoubtedly come to mind is, White Christmas. However, this was not the song most common to Crosby Christmas Special. It was Adeste Fideles, which is commonly known as Oh Come All Ye Faithful.
Whether Bing Crosby was hosting the Kraft Music Hall, Philco Radio Time, or the General Electric show, Adeste Fidelis would lead off. Crosby would first sing the song in Latin, and then everyone on stage and at home was invited to sing the song in English.
While less people understand the Latin version now than in Crosby’s day, the performance is quite powerful and was simply a great way to begin another great Crosby Christmas.
