Guy de Maupassant in Old-Time Radio!

Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) was a prolific author of short stories whose works were frequently adapted to the radio. I've blogged many times about adaptations of his short story "the Horla" (including Ernie Colon's adaptation in Inner Sanctum and Guillaume Sorel's Le Horla). "The Horla" adaptation on radio's Mystery in the Air was my introduction to Maupassant. I wound up reading English translations of all of his short stories based on how much I'd enjoyed "the Horla." Very little of his work could be considered horror; there was a lot of dark comedy in his writing and his works tended to be rather cynical. How faithful, then, could radio adaptations of his works truly be? I recently re-listened to all the old-time radio adaptations that are available of his works.

"The Coward" (1867) A man eager to fight a duel faces his own cowardice.

• Sleep No More (February 6, 1957) with Nelson Olmsted
• The World's Greatest Short Stories (November 12, 1940) with Nelson Olmsted

Nelson Olmsted had one of those voices that could make the telephone book seem dramatic. Both of these dramatic readings are good and faithful to the original story.

"The Hand" (1883) A man keeps a severed hand chained to a wall - for his own good!

• The Weird Circle (October 14, 1943)

The Weird Circle was not very faithful in adapting stories - their adaptation of "the Hand" is pretty faithful to the horror of the original story but lacks the dark humour of Maupassant's original text.

"The Horla" (1887) The story of a man haunted by an invisible presence.

• Columbia Workshop (November 7, 1937) with Alfred Shirley
• Inner Sanctum Mysteries (August 1, 1943)
• Mystery in the Air (August 21, 1947) with Peter Lorre
• The Weird Circle (October 24, 1943)

Peter Lorre's performance on Mystery in the Air remains an utter delight and it's impossible to top a man whose range had no top, but the other adaptations tried their best. The Weird Circle and Inner Sanctum Mysteries both made the mistake of having the Horla speak; it's a heckuva lot more frightening without a voice. The Columbia Workshop has music by Bernard Herrmann that's very similar to the compositions he used in the Mercury Theater on the Air's adaptation of Dracula a year later.

"Little Louise" (1867) A postman finds the remains of a murdered child.

• Theatre Royal (January 16, 1954) with Laurence Olivier

This is a decent adaptation, although it negates the bleak ending of the original text, which is disappointing.

"Mademoiselle Fifi" (1882) A lone Frenchwoman stands up to German invaders.

• Family Theater (September 14, 1949) with Wendell Corey

Although this obviously had nothing to do with World War II when it was written, in 1949 it would have been on everyone's minds. It's an okay adaptation, but the original text is a bit too naughty for Family Theater.

"The Necklace" (1884) A woman borrows her friend's valued necklace and loses it, then ruins her life trying to replace it.

• Family Theater (June 29, 1949) with Edgar Barrier
• Favorite Story (October 7, 1947) with Hans Conreid
• Hollywood's Open House (June 17, 1948) with Martha Scott
• Railroad Hour (July 14, 1952)
• The Unexpected (1948) with Gerald Mohr
• Your Playhouse of Favorites (April 22, 1948)

This is easily the most beloved of Maupassant's stories and the adaptations are very faithful. I have to really highlight that Railroad Hour production as something different - the entire drama is sung as though it were an opera (music by Cesar Franck)!

"A Piece of String" (1883) A man pauses to claim a lost piece of string, setting in motion his downfall in society.

• Favorite Story (September 21, 1948) with Herb Butterfield
• Hollywood's Open House (August 12, 1948)
• Radio Hall of Fame (March 18, 1945) with Claude Rains
• Radio Reader's Digest (October 30, 1947 with Claude Rains

A very good story; the Favorite Story version is a bit padded but Claude Rains' two adaptations are very good as he covers the protagonist's mounting desperation perfectly.

"The Rope of Hair" (1884) A man searching for a diary encounters a ghost.

• The Weird Circle (May 5, 1944)

Some doubt whether Maupassant was the author of this story (as it wasn't published under his name) but it's widely considered to be one of his. This Weird Circle adaptation is okay, but takes such pains to explain everything that the supernatural goings-on are robbed of suspense.

My major take away from these adaptations is that Maupassant was a bit too saucy for the conservative radio shows of the 30s-50s. Still, most of the adaptations of "the Horla," "the Necklace" and "a Piece of String" were very faithful to the original text. I think Maupassant came off well more often than not in his adapted works.