"I got a tradewind tan, a tall tale about a tribal treasure, a tropical tramp and a torrid Tahitian tomato. You know me - I fly anything!"
We only have two surviving episodes of I Fly Anything (hardly surprising since it aired on ABC, who seem to be the spottiest network at preserving programs). Haymes was supported on the program by Georgia Ellis as his office manager and George Fenneman as his co-pilot. Fenneman doesn't have much to do in the earliest surviving episode (dated January 30, 1951) but has a lot more banter with Haymes in the later episode (March 27, 1951). The banter and premise is basically very similar to the series Island Venture, which you'll recall was another very similar short-lived program about cargo pilots. It seems as though post-World War II there was a recognition that this was a career that would make for exciting adventure stories and one which a lot of veterans would relate to (see also the post-war comic strip Steve Canyon). Yet none of them really made a deep impression.
I'm not sure why Dick Haymes starred in this program; I guess he wanted to flex his muscles and show he could do more than just sing? He'd been a pretty constant presence on radio throughout the 40s, starring in his own music program from 1944-1948. But I Fly Anything didn't have a sponsor, so it didn't have much of an opportunity to open up a new career path for Haymes.
I Fly Anything is a pretty typical radio adventure program but a charming one. Haymes is pretty fun in the lead role. The March 27, 1951 episode has a bit where Dockery Crane and his friends sing a chorus of "Alouette." Crane quips, "About time somebody broke that up. I never could carry a tune."
You can hear both surviving episodes of I Fly Anything at the Internet Archive.
Thank you for your column. It always edifies and enlightens me. You seem to know more about OTR than just about anyone so I trust your opinions. I love how much you love Angola. I hope to visit someday but there's a Suspense about either Angola or Mozambique which is really good and they actually have a few quotes in Portuguese. Portuguese is such a beautiful language, especially Brazilian Portuguese but I am biased. I loved traveling in Portugal and have been there a couple of times. Good people.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I go to the local Warehouse Beerhaus Cinema, there seem to only be a handful of people there and you have seats that lean back and actually have heaters, not to mention food and alcohol but I usually go to matinees. I sort of miss that thing where you cheer along with the rest of the crowd. Ha. Maybe Americans are actually polite in theaters, compared to our close sibling across the border.
Still hoping you will write about Canadian OTR and 1970's American OTR which to me, is eh, very very good especially when you note how many scripts per week they were putting out. CBSRMT was on 7 days a week with new episodes when it started out!
Hello Jane,
ReplyDeleteYou're thinking of the Escape episode "Second Class Passenger," which is set in Mozambique. And yes, that story does have some very nice Portuguese spoken in the background! There are American productions where characters who are supposed to be Portuguese speak Spanish instead, so I always appreciate programs that take the time to use the correct language!