Radio Recap: Les Miserables

Victor Hugo's novel Les Miserables was adapted to radio in 1937 in a format similar to how television would later create it's own prestigious mini-series adaptations. It aired on Mutual from July 23-September 3, 1937. Starring as the novel's hero Jean Valjean (and as the book's narrator) was Orson Welles, buttressed by Martin Gabel, Agnes Moorehead, Bill Johnstone, Everett Sloane, Frank Readick, Gwen Davies, Ray Collins and Alice Frost. It was during this time that Welles and most of the performers appearing with him founded the Mercury Theatre, which would make its true radio debut the following year with CBS' Mercury Theatre on the Air.

Listening to Les Miserables, it is very much in the same spirit as the subsequent Mercury Theatre on the Air - in part because Welles seems to have bit off a little more than he could chew. It's well-documented that Welles kicked off the Mercury Theatre on the Air by trying to quickly pare down Bram Stoker's Dracula into a viable hour-long drama and it was a struggle for his staff to assemble it in time. Similarly, it feels as though when he started Les Miserables's first episode he didn't have a final script for the series. The first five episodes go fairly briskly through Hugo's novel, but in the 6th episode the story jumps far ahead to the story of Jean Valjean entering the barricade to rescue Marius - whose entire romance with Cosette happened in-between episodes. Then the 7th episode is mostly a recap of the previous episodes, until finally adding Valjean's death from the novel.

But although the pace of the adaptation is uneven, it's a very well-produced program with terrific performances by Welles' regulars. I first heard this series before I had read the novel or seen any of the film adaptations - I came away feeling I had a decent grasp of what the novel's plot and themes were. I also think the 5th episode with the account of Valjean being buried alive is a piece of excellent radio, a very well-done bit of thriller melodrama.

You can hear all seven episodes of Les Miserables on this YouTube playlist.

Radio Recap: Screen Directors' Playhouse

Screen Directors' Playhouse was a program late in its arrival. NBC produced it from 1949-1951 and they really should have gotten on the bandwagon sooner! CBS had been adapted popular films and plays in the Lux Radio Theatre since 1934 and that series brought in very good ratings; yet NBC stubbornly persisted in investing its time and money into comedy programs. That worked well for them until the post-war years when suddenly dramatic programming started bringing in huge ratings for CBS (also, CBS raided their comedy talent, depriving them of many of their greatest assets). The great thing about adapting popular films to the radio is that the material has already been audience tested and approved! There's little to gamble, especially if you can bring along at least one of the stars of the movie for the radio adaptation.

What made Screen Directors' Playhouse different from Lux Radio Theatre? Or from Ford Theatre, Academy Award Theatre or Screen Guild Theatre? It's in the title: Directors'. Screen Directors' Playhouse attempted to spotlight the directors of the movies. Frequently they appeared at the opening and closing of the drama. Sometimes, however, they dramatized films whose director had passed on. In those cases a guest director would appear to discuss the film. In 121 episodes, the original director appeared 96 times. Usually at least one member of the original cast would appear as well.

The series was usually a half-hour program, which means the stories were much more clipped than the hour-long Lux Radio Theatre. From November 9, 1950 onward it held an hour-long timeslot. Pabst Blue Ribbon sponsored it at first, with RCA Victor, Anacin and Chesterfield chipping in later. In the latter part of the series the number of commercials gets out of control as several different products are advertised in a single broadcast.

I reviewed a few episodes of Screen Directors' Playhouse before when I was covering Alfred Hitchcock adaptations. Here are my reviews of their productions of: Llifeboat, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Shadow of a Doubt and Spellbound.

Outside of their Hitchcock adaptations, I have a few other episodes that I think are good programs. Although I'm not a western fan, I think the first episode's adaptation of Stagecoach is very good; the Gunfighter was a pretty good western drama too. The comedy episodes Ghost Breakers, Miracle on 34th Street and Hired Wife are both quite funny. And the thrillers the Night Has a Thousand Eyes, the Big Clock, Call Northside 777, D.O.A., the Dark Mirror and the File on Thelma Jordan are excellent stories. The Uninvited was a good horror program and the adaptation of the Spiral Staircase had some interesting audio tricks to convey the point-of-view character couldn't actually speak. Obviously like all film adaptation programs, it's hit-or-miss but at its worst, it's just uninteresting - it was never bad radio, even in its final months as it struggled under a reduced budget. For some of the films heard on this series, the Screen Directors' Playhouse adaptation was my introduction to the production and led me to seek out the original film.

The Old-Time Radio Researchers Group has a collection of Screen Directors' Playhouse on the Internet Archive.

Radio Recap: Mandrake the Magician

Mandrake the Magician is remembered as the star of his own King Features comic strip that lasted from 1934-2013. It was created by Lee Falk and originally drawn by Phil Davis. The strip's titular hero, Mandrake, clearly drew some influence from popular stage magicians like Harry Houdini and Blackstone, with the difference that Mandrake practised actual magic - or, rather, he had the power of hypnosis and seemed to make magical things happen by planting ideas in his enemy's minds. He was accompanied by his giant servant Lothar and his lady love Princess Narda. Mandrake inspired a legion of imitators in the comics, the best-known being DC Comics' Zatara the Magician.

But from November 11, 1940 to February 6, 1942, Mandrake the Magician was heard 3 times per week on Mutual as a serialized adventure program! Mandrake, Lothar and Princess Narda were all present for the adventures, along with a plucky kid named Tommy. Starring as Mandrake was Raymond Edward Johnson, who became the original host of Inner Sanctum Mysteries during this show's production.

Like all juvenile adventure serials - especially those on Mutual - the production values weren't that high, with only so much available for music and sound effects. The writing was crude and workmanlike, but Mandrake the Magician had one terrific asset - and that was Raymond Edward Johnson. Johnson's earnest and commanding performance as Mandrake is by far the highlight of this series.

We only have so many episodes of the series. There's the first episode, then the middle and ending chapters of Mandrake and his friends battling the submarine crew of Captain X. That flows into the start and middle of a storyline where Mandrake fights a secret society led by one Dr. Carvass. Following that, there are just a few more fragments of other adventures.

You can hear the remaining fragments of Mandrake the Magician at the Old-Time Radio Researchers' Library.