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Presenting the Transcription Feature 200: JACK BENNY and THE GREAT GILDERSLEEVE

It’s Episode 200 of “Presenting the Transcription Feature” and Christmas in the land of Old Time Radio. On “The Jack Benny Program,” Jack and company are visiting New York in December. This allows him to try shopping in a Manhattan department store, which provides a little variety. Then, on “The Great Gildersleeve,” will the members of the Jolly Boys Club turn a charitable project into an exercise in egos, or will the true spirit of Christmas win out?

Episodes

The Jack Benny Program December 11, 1938 “Christmas Shopping in New York” 3:04

The Great Gildersleeve December 23, 1953 “Selling Trees for Needy Children’s Party” 31:13

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Presenting the Transcription Feature 199: THE LIVES OF HARRY LIME & BOB HOPE

It’s been a long time since we checked in with that loveable con man Harry Lime, in the person of Orson Welles. Not quite the psychopathic murderer he was in the movie “The Third Man,” where he originated the role, radio’s Harry was more of a ne'er-do-well criminal. In this episode, of “The Lives of Harry Lime,” Harry is on the Orient Express, hoping to work a counterfeit scam when someone tries to scam him. Then, on “The Bob Hope Show,” Bob is broadcasting from the campus of USC just before a game against UCLA. Now that the war is over, he’s leaving behind the military-themed jokes, and this episode is just packed with delightful college cliches and slang.

Episodes

The Lives of Harry Lime February 22, 1952 “It’s In The Bag” 1:54

The Bob Hope Show November 27, 1945 “Guests: Peggy Ryan and Red Skelton” 31:18

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Presenting the Transcription Feature 198: INFORMATION PLEASE & PHIL HARRIS-ALICE FAYE

We start off tonight with another episode of that great quiz show, “Information Please.” Are you up on babies and their guardians, military insignia, and devils in literature? Then, since it’s almost time for Easter, here’s the Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble of OTR: Phil Harris and Elliot Lewis. “The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show” starred actual married couple, Phil Harris, who was the band leader on “The Jack Benny Program,” and popular film star Alice Faye. Tonight, Phil and his band’s guitarist, Elliot, attempt to use a drugstore chemistry set to color Easter eggs. What could possibly go wrong?

Episodes

Information Please March 13, 1944 “Guest: Quentin Reynolds” 2:11

The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show April 5, 1953 "Coloring Easter Eggs Phil's Way” 32:46

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Presenting the Transcription Feature 197: BOB HOPE & INFORMATION PLEASE

We start off tonight with an episode of “The Bob Hope Show.” It’s December of 1945, and the war is over. Hope had spent much of it broadcasting from military bases, but now he is back at the NBC studios in Hollywood. His guest, Jimmy Durante, promises to take Bob to a swanky party, but is Bob ready for Society, and vice-versa? Then, time for that excellent quiz show, “Information Please.” It’s an Armed Forces recording, which means the original was transcribed and then all the ads were taken out. Are you up on literary in-laws, animal gestation periods, and places to climb?

Episodes

The Bob Hope Show December 4, 1945 “Guest: Jimmy Durante” 3:48

Information Please April 24, 1944 “Guests: Deems Taylor and Irene Dunne” 35:02

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Presenting the Transcription Feature 196: THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR

For our New Year’s treat, here’s “The Lux Radio Theater” adaptation of the classic 1947 film “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.” The film is an unconventional romance of sorts starring Rex Harrison and Gene Tierney as the title characters. She’s a vibrant young widow, and he’s the ghost of a rollicking sea captain. The captain isn’t French, so I’m not sure why they cast Charles Boyer in the role, except that he does have sonorous voice. Madeleine Carroll takes on Tierney’s role.

Episode

The Lux Radio Theater December 1, 1947 “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir” 2:30

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Presenting the Transcription Feature 195: AUTHOR'S PLAYHOUSE & JACK BENNY

More Christmas here on “Presenting the Transcription Feature.” “Author’s Playhouse” was an anthology radio drama that ran from 1941 to 1945 on various networks. It featured adaptations of popular short stories by authors like James Thurber, W.W. Jacobs, and, in this case, O. Henry. The story you are about to hear first appeared in his 1907 collection “Heart of the West,” a collection of western tales. Here, the setting is a mining town during the gold rush, and I love the incredibly ornate way the miners speak. Reminds me of “Guys and Dolls.” Then we finish off with “The Jack Benny Special Christmas Show,” a 40-minute-long special that Jack did in the mid-1950s. It’s got all the usual holiday high jinks plus some special guest stars.

Episodes

Author’s Playhouse December 21, 1941 “Christmas By Injunction” 2:04

“The Jack Benny Special Christmas Show” December 2, 1956 32:03

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Presenting the Transcription Feature 194: BURNS AND ALLEN & THE GREAT GILDERSLEEVE

Welcome to December on “Presenting the Transcription Feature.” That means Christmas-themed episodes all month. We’ll start off with George Burns and Gracie Allen in the eponymous “The Burns and Allen Show.” Christmas is fast approaching, and George has no idea what to get his wife. Then “The Great Gildersleeve” himself is in a very good mood as he goes holiday shopping and plans a party for friends and family.

Episodes

The Burns and Allen Show December 18, 1947 “Gracie’s Last Minute Christmas Gift” 2:32

The Great Gildersleeve December 24, 1944 “Twas the Night Before Christmas” 34:05

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Presenting the Transcription Feature 193: THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR & SAM SPADE

“The Couple Next Door” was one of the many 15-minutes-a day, five-days a week programs that used to fill the airwaves. It was, like “Vic and Sade” a show about “nothing.” It lacks the absurdism of “Vic and Sade,” and that may have made it easier for its audience to relate to. The show was the creation of one woman, Peg Lynch, who wrote and co-starred in every episode. Tonight, we present two representative episodes depicting late 1950s suburban American life. Then, who better to spend Thanksgiving with than the hard-boiled cast of “The Adventures of Sam Spade, Detective”? Someone is trying to kill a man -- a man named Tom Turkey.

Episodes

The Couple Next Door

January 27, 1958 “Is The Couple Married”

October 3, 1960 “Living Room Wired For Stereo” 4:10

The Adventures of Sam Spade, Detective November 24, 1950 “The Terrified Turkey Caper” 33:35

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Presenting the Transcription Feature 192: JACK BENNY & SUSPENSE

It’s Halloween, and what says spooky goings-on more than … Jack Benny. Tonight, we have two episodes of very different shows, but both starring Jack Benny. We start off with “The Jack Benny Program.” Everyone is invited to Jack’s house for a Halloween party. There’s crazy costumes, disappointing food and drink, and lots of jokes about the bygone days of vaudeville. Then Jack takes a dramatic turn playing a mild-mannered piano tuner who stumbles into the worlds of theft and murder on “Suspense.”

Episodes

The Jack Benny Program November 3, 1940 “Jack’s Halloween Party” 3:21

Suspense April 5, 1951 “Murder in G Flat” 33:18

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Presenting the Transcription Feature 191: THE HALLS OF IVY & OUR MISS BROOKS

It’s back-to-school time on this episode of “Presenting the Transcription Feature.” And we all need to laugh, so here’s two comedy episodes. First, we’ll visit Ivy College, where the mellifluous British actor Ronald Colman and his real-life wife, the equally mellifluous Benita Hume, star as “The Halls of Ivy.” He is the president of one of those small Midwestern colleges that predominated in movies and radio shows of the era. She, his wife, who has given up her career on the stage to be his helpmeet. This episode, while full of laughs, has a lot of heart too. The show’s dialog is informed and witty – as befits Colman’s always-sophisticated persona, and “The Halls of Ivy” even won a Peabody Award in 1950. Then we drop in on high school to see “Our Miss Brooks.” Here, Eve Arden plans a relaxing pre-return-to-work picnic. But those plans soon go awry. This episode starts off a little silly. There’s the sit-com trope of people pretending to be other people, but, as we approach the end, it really pays off hilariously. Plus, you get Gale Gordon and Frank Nelson in one episode.

Episodes

The Halls of Ivy March 19, 1952 “The Oldest Living Graduate” 2:35

Our Miss Brooks September 11, 1949 “The School Board” aka “Head of the Board” 28:23

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The Hornet's Sting: "Hornet, Save Thyself"

"HORNET, SAVE THYSELF" AIRED: MARCH 3, 1967

Britt is accused of murder after he kills a former employee in a room full of witnesses. Now, he must break ranks with Scanlon and go rogue as the Hornet in order to prove his innocence. John and Jim use this episode as an example of a point they've been making since the very beginning of the podcast, the missed potential in only making these episodes thirty minutes in length. Despite this, one of the two ranks this episode as one of the best in the series, plus Jim does a wicked impression of Roger Corby from Star Trek.

The Green Hornet: A History of Radio, Motion Pictures, Comics and Television by Martin Grams and Terry Salomonson is a reference work we're consulting as we move through the series. Pick up your copy by clicking on the link and getting it today.

Take a listen and then let us know what you think of the episode by writing us here or at [email protected].

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The Batcave Podcast: Episode 74 - "Bubi, Bubi, Who's Got the Ruby?" & "1001 Faces of the Riddler"

"Bubi, Bubi, Who's Got the Ruby?" & "1001 Faces of the Riddler" Aired October 12, 1968

Catwoman and Penguin are at odds over a priceless ruby and the Terrific Trio are caught in the middle in our two-part story review. Next, Riddler is back in town and he's using disguises to throw the Dynamic Duo off his trail even more so than his riddles.

In addition, John and Dan Greenfield, creator and author of the 13th Dimension discuss whether Ted Knight did the voice of Commissioner Gordon and how cool it would be if Funko's Pop Vinyl line did a series based on the Filmation cartoon. Plus, Dan talks about the relationship between Gordon and Bruce Wayne that started all the way at the beginning of the Batman comic in Detective Comics in 1939.

Comment on the episode here or write [email protected]

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Shazam/Isis Podcast: Jack Harris

Episode 44

Jack C. Harris

With the conclusion of our reviews of DC Comics' 1977 run of The Mighty Isis comic series, we're proud to present our interview with The Mighty Isis writer Jack C. Harris. Harris talks with us about how he got the assignment to write the book, the abrupt cancellation, and his plans with the series had it moved forward. Plus, we talk Kamandi and Captain Marvel in this all new episode.

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Presenting the Transcription Feature 190: YOU BET YOUR LIFE & X MINUS ONE

We’ll start off tonight with The One, The Only, Groucho! on “You Bet Your Life.” Tonight, Groucho Marx interviews the usual assortment of unusual high school students, assistant district attorneys, housewives, and are dog trainers that different from piano teachers? Then on Old Time Radio’s premier science fiction anthology program, “X Minus One,” comes an adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s "C-Chute.” It was first published in the October 1951 issue of “Galaxy” magazine. It’s a study in racism, patriotism, and the folly of war.

Episodes

You Bet Your Life February 22, 1950 “The Secret Word is ‘Table’” 2:20

X Minus One February 8, 1956 "C-Chute” 32:42

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Presenting the Transcription Feature 189: FAMILY THEATER & OUR MISS BROOKS

For the Fourth of July, we’re going to present two Independence Day-themed episodes of classic old time radio. First drama then comedy. “Family Theater” was a family-friendly anthology show featuring a mix of original stories and adaptations of literary classics, usually starring big names from Hollywood. This week’s program is a dramatization of a particular moment in history -- the writing of The Declaration of Independence. It’s narrated by Loretta Young and stars Robert Stack as Thomas Jefferson. And, if you are a fan of the musical “1776,” note what’s the same in this adaptation and what’s different. Then on “Our Miss Brooks,” our intrepid heroine plans to meet her boyfriend in the countryside for the 4th of July weekend.

Episodes

Family Theater July 1, 1953 “The Longest Hour” 2:42

Our Miss Brooks July 3, 1949 “July 4th Trip to Eagle Springs” aka “Conklin’s Blood Pressure” 26:03

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Presenting the Transcription Feature 188: ROGERS OF THE GAZETTE & LUM AND ABNER

It’s summer time, and I want to present a couple of summer-themed and summer-adjacent radio shows. We’ll start off with real American politician, writer, and newspaper publisher Will Rogers, Jr playing a fictional Will Rogers, Jr who runs the fictional small-town newspaper, the “Illyria Weekly Gazette.” What else says summer more than a county fair, with lots of people partaking in various competitions? Well, this year, the ladies of Illyria have decided not to participate. Whither the jams, jellies, and pickles? Then, I finally get around to presenting “Lum and Abner.” The show was created by, and stars, Chester Lauck as Lum and Norris Goff as Abner, the owners of the financially disastrous Jot ‘Em Down general store. The show was a 15-minute continuing serial, a comedy soap opera. In both of tonight’s episodes, the boys are planning vacations.

Episodes

Rogers of the Gazette October 22, 1953 “Eula Horner and the County Fair” 2:27

Lum and Abner September 8, 1942 “Back to Nature” aka “Vacation” 34:10

July 19, 1945 “Store Closed for Vacation” 46:17

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Presenting the Transcription Feature 187: RAFFLES

The character of A.J. Raffles was created by E.W. Hornung in 1898. Hornung was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s brother-in-law, and he was inspired to write about a sort of anti-Sherlock Holmes. His Raffles is thief, to be sure, but one who was charming. Raffles an “an amateur cracksman,” who lives the life of a gentleman. But if you don’t actually have an independent income, you have to be able to finance your lifestyle somehow. “Screen Directors’ Playhouse” adapted popular films to radio, often with the movie’s same stars and directors. There had been several silent film adaptations of Hornung’s tales, as well as a 1930 film starring Ronald Colman and a 1939 film starring David Niven. This broadcast adapts the 1939 film and features the equally suave-voiced Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

Episode

Screen Directors’ Playhouse September 14, 1951 “Raffles” 3:30

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