Radio Recap: Murder by Experts

Recently I listened to all of what remains of the radio program Murder by Experts. Considering that it ran on Mutual for more than 2 years and over a hundred episodes, it's astonishing that only Fifteen episodes are circulating today.

It's a bit of an odd duck - not quite what it claims to be. Initially the show was hosted by mystery author John Dickson Carr, later by author Bret Halliday. Each week they claimed that another famous author (such as Cornell Woolrich) had chosen the story which they were dramatising.

That claim is... practically unbelieveable. Many of the surviving episodes of Murder by Experts are recycled scripts from Molle Mystery Theater. Indeed, comparing the two series radio logs, I see 31 episode titles on Murder by Experts which originated on Molle Mystery Theater. I just can't believe that none of these famous authors chose stories written by their peers but instead asked Murder by Experts to redo a Molle Mystery Theater script or present a new story by the creators of The Mysterious Traveler. It feels as though the titular "Experts" lent nothing more than their names; maybe Mutual paid them with a basket of cheeses.

As I alluded above, the series was produced by the same people as The Mysterious Traveler, so it feels very much the same - many familiar script beats and familiar actors. However, Murder by Experts lacked the supernatural and sci-fi tales which the Mysterious Traveler frequently indulged in.

I bring all of this up because in 1951, Murder by Experts won the Edgar Award for best radio program. I just can't believe a bunch of dusty Molle scripts by the Mysterious Traveler guys were the best mystery programs on radio, not when Suspense, the Whistler and Dragnet were on the air (in fact, the Whistler never won an Edgar, unlike Suspense and Dragnet). I wonder if that Edgar was merely a political award - handed out because the show plugged a famous mystery author every week and probably name-checked the majority of people who were voting on the ballot.

All this makes it sound like I dislike Murder by Experts; I don't. I think it's inferior to Suspense, but most shows were inferior to Suspense (compare the Murder by Epxerts production of "Return Trip" to the Suspense version - it's no contest, Suspense dramatized the same script much more ably). From those few remaining episodes there are some quite good programs; the first episode, "Summer Heat," was later adapted on the Alfred Hitchcock Hour. "Three's a Crowd" is also a great crime story. There's some good in there - but almost every other surviving episode is a new version of an earlier production which still exists.

RIP: George Olshevsky

George Olshevsky has passed away.

Olshevsky first made waves in the 1970s with his small press Marvel Comics indexes. In the 1980s, Marvel thesmelves hired him to write new indexes for them; and that's where I first learned of Olshevsky, from the 'Officlal Marvel Comics Index' series featuring indexes of Marvel Team-Up, Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers and X-Men. To this day, however, I've never seen those 1970s indexes in physical form - I don't think they saw much distribution in western Canada.

I suppose I was drawn to those indexes not only because I had an avid interest in Marvel lore (the indexes were an obvious partner to the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe) but because Olshevsky's plot synopses seemed to me the only way I would ever possibly read the plots of every adventure of the Avengers or X-Men (little did I know).

In time, I became an indexer following in Olshevsky's footsteps when we launched our own Official Index to the Marvel Universe in 2009. Just as I was honoured to follow in Mark Gruenwald's path via the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, so too was I honoured to be performing the same work as George Olshevsky had.

Rest in peace, Mr. Olshevsky.

Hitchcock vs. Radio Part 15: The Birds

The Birds

• Lux Radio Theater (July 20, 1953): starring Herbert Marshall.
• Escape (July 10, 1954): starring Ben Wright.

As of I Confess we would seem to be at the end of era where Hitchcock's films were adapted to radio; some, like Saboteur, were never adapted (probably because Universal didn't like competing against their own film adaptations). As radio drama's money was diverted into television, we were denied adaptations of Dial M for Murder, Rear Window and more.

But then there's The Birds by Daphne du Maurier. You can tell that Hollywood sensed this story would somehow make a fine film (even though there had never been an 'animal attack' film like it before). The fact that it was adapted to Lux Radio Theater (which normally adapted films or at least plays). Du Maurier's short story was newly-published at the time and the Lux Radio Theater adaptation is pretty faithful, keeping the original location and narrative. However, it does add a strange framing sequence as two men read the story. It's a bit too on-the-beak-- er, nose.

Because both Lux Radio Theater and Escape were both CBS programs it shouldn't be surprising that the same performers would be in each, but it is interesting that Ben Wright, the star of the Escape adaptation, appeared in a small role as a reporter in the Lux Radio Theater version.

And that is the end of Hitchcock vs. Radio! I hope you enjoyed these posts and thinking about how Hitchcock and his crew adapted their stories.

Hitchcock vs. Radio Part 14: I Confess

I Confess

• Lux Radio Theater (September 21, 1953): starring Cary Grant and Phyllis Thaxter.

I Confess is that Hitchcock film that people don't get; Hitchcock was normally the great crowd pleaser, but here he made a film which many say you "have to be Catholic to understand." It's a little odd that Montgomery Clift didn't perform in the adaptation and very odd that Cary Grant acted in his stead, but Grant is actually pretty good in this role. It's a flawed story but a good radio drama.

Hitchcock vs. Radio Part 13: Strangers on a Train

Strangers on a Train

• Lux Radio Theater (December 3, 1951): starring Frank Lovejoy, Ray Milland, Ruth Roman (reprised her film role) and Patricia Hitchcock (reprised her film role).

Strangers on a Train is among Hitchcock's best and this adaptation is pretty good, although neither of the film's leads reprised their roles. Still, Frank Lovejoy could play a great psychopath, as he did here. It's a little disappointing that the murder scene wasn't dramatized - it would have made very good with radio with the sounds of the fairground.

Hitchcock vs. Radio Part 12: Rope

Rope

• Best Plays (November 30, 1950): starring Victor Jory.

I'm a little unlike most Hitchcock fans in that I rate Rope very high - I think it's one of his best films. The camera movements and editing in this picture are just fun and I think the tension of the situation is maintained throughout.

But this radio drama is not an adaptation of the film, it's an adaptation of the original play by Patrick Hamilton. Unfortunately, I don't think it works well at all - everything about the story is too obvious as it seems like the only subject people want to discuss at the party is the chest and what might be inside it - it lacks the subtle touch in Hitchcock's film. As well, I find Victor Jory is just too intense in his role - there's nothing wry or clever about him, he simply seems to suspect the murderers from the moment he enters the play.

Hitchcock vs. Radio Part 11: The Paradine Case

The Paradine Case

• Lux Radio Theater (May 9, 1949): starring Joseph Cotten and Valli (reprised her film role).

The Paradine Case is no one's favourite Hitchcock film. I'm baffled as to why David O. Selznick thought this was going to be a huge film; at least with a spectacle like Duel in the Sun you can see how commercial it is. But this? It's a courtroom drama and it's not good courtroom drama. It's inert and turgid. The story only becomes interesting in the climax when the murderer is revealed. But for all that, this adaptation is still good radio and at half the length of the film, less tiresome.

New Vlog: Junk Food Part IV

Once again I've created a new video about junk food in Lubango that I've tried. Enjoy!

Valentine's Day Special: [Redacted] Is Horror!

Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro' the rye,
Gin a body kiss a body —
Need a body cry. -Robbie Burns

It's Valentine's Day so let's take a brief pause in my "Hitchcock vs. Radio" series for something a little appropo.

Some years ago I celebrated Valentine's Day on this blog with a series titled "[Redacted] Is Love," wherein I examined a number of pre-code Harvey romance comics which had been republished under the Comics Code Authority and saw how they had been altered.

This year I'm doing the same thing, but with a rather different kind of comic book; a horror story which was edited into a romance story!

The original story was titled "If a Body Kill a Body" and was published in Farrell Comics' Fantastic Fears #9 (September-October, 1954). The creators are not credited but it was probably drawn by someone in Jerry Iger's sweatshop. The reprint, titled "The Mightiest Force in the World!" was published in Midnight #5 (February, 1958).

Let's see how they were altered...

Off the bat, they open as different as day from night; the original begins with the couple embracing as a caption promises "a tale of two betrayed lovers turned to demons by hate and lust for revenge!" In contrast, the reprint shows new art of the hero riding up to a castle.

But although the dialogue has been altered, the two leads have the same names: Angus and Mary. The lad and lass belong to feuding families and their romance is a secret one. However, in the original they want to resolve the feud so they can be married; in the reprint, they were secretly married and want to break the news to their folks. It is interesting to note that in the original Mary is willing to run away "to the ends of the Earth" with Angus, but in the reprint she emphasizes "we must honor them, Angus, they're our parents!" Good ol' fashioned Scottish family values, that's what the readers want!

Just then Mary's father rides up. In the the original, he prepares to murder Angus, but in the reprint he announces he won't fight before a woman, "But we'll meet again!" The image of Angus, dead at the hands of Mary's father was removed, instead Mary rides away with her father. Then, weirdly, a panel of Angus' father reacting to his son's death is repurposed to serve as a panel of Mary's father vowing to drive Angus away.

And here's the panels which alerted me to the fact that the story in Midnight #5 was a Code-neutered reprint of an earlier story: The original two-panel sequence shows an archer murder Mary in revenge for Angus' death. In the reprint, the archer is Angus himself and he's sending Mary a note on the arrow. But the manner in which Mary clutched the note to her chest immediately made me think that originally there was an arrow sticking out of her chest - and so there was! (also notice the more modest clothing Mary wears)

In the original, thus, Angus rises from the dead as a vengeful walking corpse. vowing revenge on Mary's family for killing him and his own family for killing Mary. He goes to the crypt where Mary is entombed and releases her. The reprint had to act very creatively to disguise the tomb in the art - Mary certainly looks awkward without a coffin beneath her. Of course, the original colours the walking corpses rather oddly in pale blue, but otherwise they don't look any different than when they were alive. Good thing, that saved the reprint team some labour in hiding exposed bones or rotten flesh - they simply had to restore the figures to full colour.

The original doesn't explain why the two lovers came back to life - restless dead, I guess. Anyway, they plot the murders of their famllies. "We were young and in love and they killed all that! They must suffer also!" says Mary. In the reprint though, they hatch a secret plot to resolve the family feud - so secret they dare not share it with the readers. In the original, Mary puts poison in the goblet of Angus' father (somehow he doesn't see her; it's as though she's a ghost but again, the story is slight on these details). Angus then throws Mary's mother over the keep wall; but in the reprint he visits his own mother and begs her to make peace with Mary's family.

There's a scene where an archer fires an arrow at Angus and it goes right through him - again, I thought he was a corpse, not a ghost? But in the reprint he simply talks his way out of a fight. Similarly, a scene of Angus stabbing a man in the stomach becomes Angus punching a man in the stomach. Anyway, in the original Mary and Angus' actions are supposed to rile up their families against each other for vengeance so that they'll start a war and kill each other on the battlefield. Angus and Mary then rejoice at their families' deaths. But in the reprint the two families reconcile and play a game of off-panel chess (seriously).

Thoughts: Even the original story was not particularly good but boy, the reprint is a mess. It just barely holds itself together by editing out the violence. Still, it is amusing to see the contortions taken to try and turn a story of bloody vengeance in a love story, of all things!

all images taken from The Digital Comic Museum

Hitchcock vs. Radio Part 10: Notorious

Notorious

• Lux Radio Theater (January 26, 1948): Ingrid Bergman (reprised her film role), Joseph Cotten
• Screen Guild Theater (January 6, 1949): Ingrid Bergman (reprised her film role), John Hodiak

Cary Grant is such a major part of why Notorious succeeds that it's a shame he didn't reprise that part on radio. Cotten and Hodiak were legitimate Hitchcock leading men, but they weren't a romantic icon like Grant, which is part of what gave Grant such as edge in the film. But these are good adaptations, especially Ingrid Bergman reprising her role.

Hitchcock vs. Radio Part 9: Spellbound

Spellbound

• Lux Radio Theater (March 8, 1948): starring Joseph Cotten, Valli.
• Screen Director's Playhouse (January 25, 1951): starring Joseph Cotten, Mercedes McCambridge; hosted by Alfred Hitchcock.

Spellbound actually works pretty well as a radio drama, the emphasis on the mystery of the story seems a little stronger here than in the film (where the psychology is a bit overwhelming). The casting of Valli in the Lux Radio Theater version feels a little odd - like she was hired just because, like Ingrid Bergman, she spoke with an accent. Still, she played off Cotten better than Mercedes McCambridge.

By now you may have noticed that there aren't as many adaptations before. Although post-war there were more radio programs adapting movies than ever before, it also made the studios a little more provincial - more apt to give one series the rights to their catalog, and more apt to be always looking at recent releases than the back catalog.

Hitchcock vs. Radio Part 8: Lifeboat

Lifeboat

• Screen Director's Playhouse (November 16, 1950): starring Tallulah Bankhead (reprised her film role), Jeff Chandler, Sheldon Leonard; hosted by Alfred Hitchcock.

This adaptation was broadcast the week after Screen Director's Playhouse had adapted Shadow of a Doubt. It's a fairly good adaptation, although I'm not quite sure about Sheldon Leonard in William Bendix's role. Leonard's voice is so distinctive and familiar from comedy programs that I find him distracting. It's interesting that this wartime film was adapted to radio more successfully than a similar film, Foreign Correspondent.

Hitchcock vs. Radio Part 7: Shadow of a Doubt

Shadow of a Doubt

• Screen Guild Theater (May 24, 1943): starring Deanna Durbin and Joseph Cotten (reprised his film role).
• Lux Radio Theater (January 3, 1944): starring William Powell and Teresa Wright (reprised her film role).
• Academy Award (September 11, 1946): starring Joseph Cotten (reprised his film role), June Vincent and Jeff Chandler.
• Screen Guild Theater (June 21, 1948): starring Joseph Cotten (reprised his film role) and Vanessa Brown.
• Ford Theater (February 18, 1949): starring Ann Blythe and Ray Milland.
• Screen Director's Playhouse (November 9, 1950): starring Cary Grant and Betsy Drake (Grant's wife).

Shadow of a Doubt is one of Alfred Hitchcock's finest films. Although it plays to many familiar themes in other pictures (such people idly speculating about murder), the unique emphasis on a small town environment makes it one of his freshest films as well. I'm very fond of it; the many radio adaptations are interesting to visit.

Given that Joseph Cotten was very busy on the radio it's surprising that he wasn't in all of these adaptations. Notably, the only one where Teresa Wright repeated her role (Lux Radio Theater) had William Powell instead of Cotten. Powell's okay in the part, but very different from Cotten.

But while they're mostly very good, I have to call out the Screen Director's Playhouse for being a rubbish adaptation on several fronts: there's all sorts of additions to the story, like a recurring nursery rhyme instead of the 'Merry Widow waltz'; Cary Grant plays Cotten's part far too obviously - he had no subtlety in his performance and was far too menacing in his dialogue; Betsy Drake was wrong in Teresa Wright's role, although 5 years younger than Wright, Drake's voice is too harsh; finally, the climax is very different, occurring in the home instead of on a train. Notably, Alfred Hitchcock did not host this episode, as he normally did (he even hosted for Mr. and Mrs. Smith!). It's a very disappointing piece of radio.

Hitchcock vs. Radio Part 6: Suspicion

Suspicion

• Lux Radio Theater (May 4, 1942): starring Joan Fontaine (reprised her film role), Brian Aherne and Nigel Bruce (reprised his film role).
• Screen Guild Theater (January 4, 1943): starring Joan Fontaine (reprised her film role), Nigel Bruce (reprised his film role) and Basil Rathbone (substituted for Brian Aherne).
• Lux Radio Theater (September 18, 1944): starring William Powell and Olivia de Haviland.
• Theater of Romance (July 17, 1945): starring Judith Evelyn and Anthony Quinn.
• Screen Guild Theater (January 21, 1946): starring Cary Grant (reprised his film role), Loretta Young and Nigel Bruce (reprised his film role).
• Academy Award (October 30, 1946): starring Cary Grant (reprised his film role) and Ann Todd.

Hitchcock's film adaptation of the novel Before the Fact is kind of interesting in how it gaslights the protagonist; in the novel, the husband is planning his wife's death, but in the film her suspicions are incorrect. It's not an extremely satisfying film, but then again, as the novel's protagonist has little agency or ability to control her fate that it's a bit more satisfying to have her and her husband sort things out at the end.

The various radio adaptations are strictly from the film, not the novel. The adaptation on Theater of Romance comes closest to the novel as the protagonist is about to accept her fate, but then it swerves into Hitchcock's film as the husband tries to kill himself and she stops him, then reconciles.

It's also interesting to note that the two Screen Guild Theater versions both featured Nigel Bruce in his film role and also have virtually identical outros read by Nigel Bruce where they joke about the next week's show. Recycling scripts is one thing, it's something else to hear the banter performed anew!

Hitchcock vs. Radio Part 5: Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Mr. and Mrs. Smith

• Lux Radio Theater (June 9, 1941): starring Bob Hope and Carole Lombard (reprised her film role).
• Screen Guild Theater (February 8, 1942): starring Errol Flynn and Lana Turner.
• Screen Guild Theater (December 14, 1942): starring Joan Bennett, Robert Young and Ralph Bellamy.
• Matinee Theater (November 26, 1944): starring Victor Jory and Betty Winkler.
• Screen Guild Theater (January 1, 1945): starring Preston Foster, Louise Allbritton and Arthur Q. Bryan.
• Hollywood Star Time (July 20, 1946): starring Robert Montgomery (reprised his film role) and Mary Jane Croft.
• Screen Director's Playhouse (January 30, 1949): starring Robert Montgomery (reprised his film role) and Mary Jane Croft; hosted by Alfred Hitchcock.

This is one of the most-frequently adapted Alfred Hitchcock films heard on the radio. Of course, it's not what people think of as a Hitchcock film - it's simply a screwball comedy (starring Carole Lombard, the very queen of the genre). But heck, the movie was a good piece of screwball regardless.

These seven adaptations are all over the place. The most faithful to the original film is the Lux Radio Theater version, although it added a lot of 'zingers' suited to Bob Hope's style. The Screen Guild Theater adaptations made a few changes to the plot and added many new jokes, but mostly followed the original. It is interesting that in the second version (with Robert Young), Warner Bros' Arthur Q. Bryan and Mel Blanc both appeared!

I complained about Matinee Theater before in my entry on Rebecca and I have to single them out again. Their adaptation is extremely unfaithful as the conclusion nullifies the story's premise - that is, the couple are revealed to have been married all along. It stinks.

The most interesting one is the Screen Director's Playhouse version because - even though Hitchcock didn't consider this to be 'truly' one of his films - he appeared as the host. There's even some fun banter after the program where they talk about Hitchcock's many cameos in his films, which was apparently a subject of conversation as early as '49 (Hitchcock makes a joke about the lack of cameo in Mr. and Mrs. Smith). Hitchcock fans ought to listen to that adaptation at the very least.

Hitchcock vs. Radio Part 4: Foreign Correspondent

Foreign Correspondent

• Academy Award (July 24, 1946): starring Joseph Cotten (who substituted for Joel McCrea).

Foreign Correspondent is not usually counted among the 'greatest' of Hitchcock's films. It isn't exactly disliked, but it seems to be a little neglected compared to others. It's a fairly decent movie but very much tied to World War II - it doesn't fit the post-war environment very well. Perhaps that's why this adaptation doesn't quite work. Academy Award Theater tried to cover too much too briskly. The script really needed to be pared down - as is, the protagonist just seems to lurch from one locale to the next. The ending is also disappointing - instead of the protagonist urging his fellow Americans to action, it ends with the couple being split up in a bittersweet ending. This adaptation simply fails to capture what made the movie such good fun.

Hitchcock vs. Radio Part 3: Rebecca

Rebecca

• Campbell Playhouse (December 9, 1938): starring Orson Welles, Margaret Sullvan and Agnes Moorehead.
• Lux Radio Theater (February 3, 1941): starring Ronald Colman, Ida Lupino and Judith Anderson (reprised her film role).
• Screen Guild Theater (May 31, 1943): starring Joan Fontaine (reprised her film role), Brian Aherne and Agnes Moorehead.
• Matinee Theater (January 21, 1945): starring Martin Gabel and Gertrude Warner.
• Hollywood Players (October 1, 1946): starring Joan Fontaine (reprised her film role) and Joseph Cotten.
• Screen Guild Theater (November 18, 1948): starring Loretta Young and John Lund.
• Lux Radio Theater (November 6, 1950): starring Laurence Olivier (reprised his film role) and Vivian Leigh.

Dephne du Maurier's Rebecca was a famous novel before it became an Alfred Hitchcock film, so it's not too surprising to discover that it was adapted to radio prior to his movie. Orson Welles' adaptation is interesting in part because du Maurier appeared at the end of the drama (also, Orson makes a joke about the name of the novel's protagonist). One can see from this production that Hollywood was surely trying to bring Rebecca to the screen.

Hitchcock, of course, wasn't especially found of the movie, even though it brought him the highest accolades of his career. It's certainly a much more conventional film than most of his pictures. The adaptations which followed the movie were a mix of film and novel adaptations - the Lux Radio Theater and Screen Guild Theater versions were clearly drawn from the film, while the Matinee Theater version seems mostly a novel adaptation.

The first appearance of the script on Screen Guild Theater came one week after their adaptation of Shadow of a Doubt, so they were surely fond of Hitchcock on that program! The two Screen Guild adaptations share a script with the Hollywood Players script. Notice also that Joseph Cotten was present in the Hollywood Players version; we'll see his name a lot in these blog posts as he was a very busy man on radio, but it's neat that a genuine Hitchcock star appeared in so many of Hitchcock's adaptations.

The fidelity of the various adaptations waxes and wanes, primarily based on how much time they had to tell the story. Lux Radio Theater fits in all the highlights from the film, but screen Guild had to drop a major character (Rebecca's cousin) in order to make it fit (fortunately, Mrs. Danvers is enough of an antagonist on her own). Interestingly, the Screen Guild did not remove the minor character Frank Crawley - mainly because he provided useful exposition.

Interestingly, Laurence Olivier reprised his role on Lux Radio Theater 12 years after the film's release. Notably, Olivier's lover Vivian Leigh took the lead role in that version - he had campaigned for her back in '38 and been very disappointed when the part went to Joan Fontaine.

The Matinee Theater adaptation is pretty lousy. The novel and film are a decent mix of romance and ambiguity but this simplified version has an absurd happy ending where Mrs. Danvers simply leaves and Manderlay is not destroyed!

Hitchcock vs. Radio Part 2: The 39 Steps

The 39 Steps

The 39 Steps was one of the greatest films from Alfred Hitchcock's pre-Hollywood career (the greatest, according to me). Unlike yesterday's look at the The Lodger, here we have a story which was adapted to old-time radio from both the original novel and the Hitchcock film. Interestingly, this time the first adaptation was of the movie!

• Lux Radio Theater (December 13, 1937): starring Robert Montgomery and Ida Lupino.
• Mercury Theater (August 1, 1938): starring Orson Welles.
• Studio One (March 23, 1948): starring Glenn Ford and Mercedes McCambridge.
• Suspense (March 3, 1952): starring Herbert Marshall.

Now, I love John Buchan's novel The Thirty-Nine Steps an awful lot as well, so I'm certainly not bothered by attempts to adapt the book instead of the movie. The Lux Radio Theatre adaptation is the one time Hitchcock's film was adapted to radio. Lux Radio Theater was an extremely well-produced program which would dig up good performers even when the originals weren't available (as is the case here). It's a good production but the dynamic between Robert Montgomery and Ida Lupino is lacking - they essentially argue in every scene they share, yet still declare they're in love with each other at the end. It's really not credible, unlike the Hitchcock film's efforts at convincing us that Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll's characters gradually fell in love.

The other three are adaptations of the novel and they're all pretty good, but I have to give the highest honours to Suspense simply because with only a 30-minute production they were able to condense the novel down to its most essential moments. It's a stellar piece of adaptation. The Mercury Theater version, on the other hand, tries to be a little too artsy and then has trouble fitting the story into an hour! Orson Welles made a comment about the Hitchcock film at the end of his adaptation:

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you missed Madeleine Carroll in our stag version of The Thirty-Nine Steps, the young lady in the movie, in common with almost everything else in that movie, is the child of its director's own unparalleled and unpredictable fancy. If you missed anything you must blame Mr. Alfred Hitchcock. If you were surprised by anything, you must blame us."

Hitchcock vs. Radio Part 1: The Lodger

I love Alfred Hitchcock's works - and I love old-time radio! I've examined how the two are connected before in a previous post which looked at radio adaptations of stories which were dramatized on Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

But Hitchcock was primarily a filmmaker and many of his movies were adapted on the radio. I thought it would be interesting to listen to each old-time radio adaptation of every Alfred Hitchcock film and then see what I discover. Let's begin!

The Lodger

• Forecast (July 22, 1940): starring Herbert Marshall
• Suspense (December 14, 1944): starring Robert Montgomery
• Hollywood Star Time (May 19, 1946): starring Vincent Price and Cathy Lewis (who substituted for Ida Lupino)
• Mystery in the Air (August 14, 1947): starring Peter Lorre and Agnes Moorehead
• Suspense (February 14, 1948): starring Robert Montgomery

The Lodger was adapted five times; of these, only the Forecast program referenced Alfred Hitchcock's film as it was used as the pilot episode of Suspense. But it was an incomplete adaptation and when Suspense became a series it was without Hitchcock's involvement.

Suspense adapted the original novel by Marie Belloc Lowndes twice, both with Robert Montgomery as the star. The first was a half-hour, the second was one-hour, but, like most hour-long episodes of Suspense it's not really much different than the shorter version - just padded a bit. The Hollywood Star Time is pretty good, although it takes considerable liberties with the novel! Peter Lorre is great in the Mystery in the Air version too, although again, just like Hitchcock's own film, no one used the novel as much more than a launching point.

Radio Recap: The Henry Morgan Show

So far I've used this 'Radio Recap' to visit old-time radio programs which fell into the mystery genre. Obviously, that's not all that I enjoy listening to; recently I decided to listen to what I could find of the ABC comedy program The Henry Morgan Show (1946-1947). I had only heard a couple of episodes in the past and I had mostly enjoyed what I heard, but the last time I tried to listen to whole series I was a little put off by the voices.

Well, voice. I've said many times before that I don't enjoy radio programs with performers who use squeaky or nasally tones for comedic effect. Unfortunately I really didn't take to Henry Morgan's sidekick Arnold Stang, who was in every episode of the ABC show. However, although I didn't find his voice funny, he did have some funny material on Mogan's program and as I listened to the whole series I gained a lot of respect for Stang's performance.

I was really drawn to Henry Morgan because of his wit - his sarcastic remarks, his love of satire and his willingness to mock his sponsor. Many radio comedians of the time made fun of their sponsors to some extent, but listening to all of Henry Morgan it is amazing to hear him constantly put down his sponsor Eversharp-Schick Razors. Usually the middle commercial of the program was read by Morgan himself and that's where he became most acrid towards his sponsor, such as noting the product cost $1.25, then suggesting other things which could be bought for that money, or claiming that using the product helped men save time only to result in a tragic outcome.

It feels like ABC and Eversharp-Schick really wanted a Jack Benny or Bob Hope program (especially ABC as they were a very young network). It's certainly different from where Morgan originated as a radio disc jockey. Instead of simply being Morgan at a microphone, ABC and Eversharp-Schick gave him a band and stooges. But if they'd actually listened to his material from his disc jockey days they might have realized that his brand of sardonic humour was not going to win over Bob Hope-sized audiences. Heck, in one episode Morgan informs his cast that they all have to adopt distinctive characteristics and gives them all traits from Jack Benny & Bob Hope's casts; it only lasts for one sketch.

Indeed, Morgan was malleable - he played a variety of different characters on the show, sometimes adopting accents. He certainly didn't disappear into his characters, but that Morgan wasn't putting himself (or his sponsor's product) forward was definitely against the grain. His trademark opening, "Good evening, anybody, here's Morgan," hints at the contempt he had for his own profession.

Listening to The Henry Morgan Show it's clear that it could never have really taken off, but the type of humour which Morgan performed did find audiences with other comedians in the post-war era - Stan Freberg, Mad magazine, Bob and Ray. It's notable to me that Bob and Ray never really altered their format from their days as disc jockeys - a Bob and Ray program from any point in their careers is mostly like any other program aside from what music is played.

But all that is to say that if you like old-time radio comedy - and especially satirical humour - The Henry Morgan Show is a very good program. My personal favourite show is the New Year's program from January 1, 1947, in which Morgan presents various pieces of dialogue, sound effects and music cues which he wasn't able to use in 1946, then introduces a sketch which assembles them into one ridiculous narrative!