Category Archives: 1940s

Not a Christmas Musical — Media Madness

Posted on December 20, 2018 by

https://archive.org/download/OTRR_Lux_Radio_Theater_Singles/Lux_Radio_Theatre_45-01-29_468_Lady_in_the_Dark.mp3 “America’s most modern fashion magazine,” complete with background clicking typewriters, is the scene of the story “Lady in the Dark.” (I stumbled on it earlier this week while researching the much different drama “Lady in the Lake.”) Long before … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, adaptations, magazines, marriages, women | Leave a comment

Pre-Christmas Noir

Posted on December 19, 2018 by

https://archive.org/download/OTRR_Lux_Radio_Theater_Singles/Lux_Radio_Theatre_48-02-09_602_Lady_in_the_Lake.mp3 I was so happy when I hit the point in Lux Radio Theatre’s February 1948 production of “The Lady in the Lake” when detective Philip Marlowe needs some information, picks up the phone, calls a friend at the newspaper, … Continue reading →

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Detective as fact-checker versus libel case

Posted on December 12, 2018 by

Detective Philip Marlowe meets a whole Hollywood trade paper crew in “The Green Flame” from March 1949 … https://archive.org/download/OTRR_Philip_Marlowe_Singles/Philip_Marlowe_49-03-26_ep026_The_Green_Flame.mp3 It’s a colorful tale. We get matches that burn with a green flame, a note in blue wax pencil, and various … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, columnists, detectives, editors, newspapers, publishers | Leave a comment

A case of mistaken identity

Posted on November 19, 2018 by

https://archive.org/download/OTRR_Philip_Marlowe_Singles/Philip_Marlowe_50-09-29_ep103_The_Big_Book.mp3 In Raymond Chandler’s novels or the 1947-51 radio series they inspired, Philip Marlowe wasn’t the kind of detective who plays for the headlines. “What’s the news in that?” he asks at the end of this 1950 adventure titled “The … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, 1950s, detectives, reporters | Leave a comment

A cemetery scoop

Posted on October 4, 2018 by

It’s October, and as Halloween approaches, I am reminded that I have not posted many stories from radio’s always popular macabre or thriller series… Might as well start early. “Scoop,” the December 8, 1942, episode of the scare-filled late-night radio … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, adventure, Drama, publishers, reporters, suspense | Leave a comment

Fatherly editor faces romantic son, Persian poetry

Posted on August 24, 2018 by

When Ah, Wilderness, Eugene O’Neill’s comedy-drama about coming of age, was adapted for radio, Walter Huston starred as the newspaper-owner father whose poetry-besotted son is tempted by what passed for the wild side of life in 1906 Connecticut. https://archive.org/download/TheaterGuildontheAir/Tgoa_45-10-07_ep005-Ah_Wilderness.mp3 Theatre … Continue reading →

Posted in 1930s, 1940s, adaptations, comedy, Drama, editors, ethics, romance | Leave a comment

Reporter finds Lost Angel, maybe more

Posted on July 7, 2018 by

A national public radio profile today of actress Marsha Hunt at 100 years of age sent me browsing through her career, and I happily stumbled on the movie “Lost Angel.” She played the singer-girlfriend of newspaper reporter Mike Regan, whose … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, adaptations, reporters | Leave a comment