Radio Recap: Tales of Fatima

Tales of Fatima was a semi-notorious old time radio series starring Basil Rathbone that appeared on CBS radio in 1949 and was sponsored by Fatima cigarettes (who later sponsored Dragnet). It’s notorious because this was the show Rathbone starred in after leaving the role of Sherlock Holmes once and for all but it certainly did not attain the prestige of what remained Rathbone’s best-known role.

The series was lazy enough that actor Basil Rathbone portrayed the character of Basil Rathbone, actor. Each week Rathbone would find himself dragged into a mystery for some reason and the solution to the problem would be shared with him by the phantom voice of Fatima herself (Cathy Lewis) who would repeat a cryptic phrase at the start and climax of the drama to enable Rathbone’s success. Rathbone even had a friendly rivalry with a police detective, as so many famous actors do.

Tales of Fatima is trash, is what I’m trying to say. The production values were high with good music, foley effects and supporting actors. But to cast Rathbone as himself gives the series the poisonous air of a vanity project and to place the product promotion within the drama itself cheapens the drama. Yes, Jack Webb shilled Fatima cigarettes on Dragnet, but not as his character Joe Friday. Also, the writing just wasn’t up to par; in 1949 there were dozens of detective shows on the air and most had better writing. It’s especially glaring compared to the decent work Anthony Boucher had given Rathbone to perform on the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

We have only two circulating episodes at present: “A Much Expected Murder” (May 21, 1949) and “Time to Kill” (May 28, 1949). The latter episode is the better one in my opinion- it concerns an actor who had been impersonating Rathbone turning up dead.

There were apparently 39 episodes in total; to their credit, someone figured out that the show didn’t work as it was and it seems the last 2 months had a completely different format, more of an anthology program hosted by Rathbone and featuring familiar stories such as “The Most Dangerous Game.” Appropriately, when CBS cancelled the show in the fall of 1949 they replaced it in the schedule with Escape!

Check out the pilot to Lackadaisy!

I've blogged before about Tracy Butler's delightful webcomic Lackadaisy so I think it's well worthwhile spotlighting this amazing animated cartoon she's been toiling on with her team for years now. This not your typical slapdash internet cartoon with limited action. They went all-out to deliver a lulshly-animated and beautifully characterized cartoon for nothing more than seemingly the sheer pleasure of creating. Kudos!

Lubango vlog- Junk Food Testing Is Back!

My junk food videos were the most popular entries of my vlog during my last visit; they're certainly fun to make! Here's my new video featuring 5 kinds of junk food I haven't tried before!

2023 Inkwell Awards Are Live!

I've been a member of the Inkwell Awards nomination committee since the award's 2nd year and I'm very pleased to note that the 2023 ballot is currently live at the Inkwell Awards website! I believe strongly in supporting the art of inking in comics and the Inkwell Awards are the greatest body of inkers concerned with honouring their colleagues. If you have any kind of opinion on inked art in comics, you owe it to yourself to vote!

Lubango vlog - Yes, It’s Back!

I'm back in Lubango and back to vlogging! here on YouTube you'll find the first of my new vlog series about living in Lubango, Angola!

Escape Episode Guide: Part 8

Welcome back to my episode guide to the fantastic old-time radio series Escape! During this next batch of episodes we have the welcome return of the series' original producer/director William N. Robson, taking one final tour as lead creative force on Escape! You will also note that it's only here - 2 years into the series run - that Escape began to introduce more original plays rather than adapting primarily from other media.

• #71: "Action" (2nd version July 21, 1949) Starring: Joseph Kearns. Story: Charles Montague. Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Switzerland.
  Plot: A man whose health is in decline seeks to end his life mountain climbing by going beyond his margin of safety.
  Review: This performance is virtually identical to the first production (#35), although the audio is much cleaner. Joseph Kearns certainly gave one of the best performances in his life as the protagonist. As ever, a tense, gripping story, extremely well-told. My Rating: 5/5 stars.
• #72: "The Second Class Passenger" (2nd version July 28, 1949) Starring: Parley Baer. Story: Percival Gibbon. Script: William N. Robson. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Mozambique.
  Plot: A tourist who steps in out of the rain finds himself among hardened criminals then in an adventurous flight across the city.
  Review: Another very good production of this story (first was #22), although I find Baer isn't quite as good as the protagonist as Harry Bartell was in the original. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #73: "Leiningen versus the Ants" (3rd version August 4, 1949) Starring: Tudor Owen. Story: Carl Stephenson. Script: Robert Ryf. Director: Richard Sanville. Setting: Brazil.
  Plot: The owner of a plantation refuses to flee from ravenous ants - not while he can still fight them!
  Review: The 3rd and final production of this great story (first done in #23 and 42) - unfortunately, William Conrad sat it out and Tudor Owen can't fill that void; it's still a very strong script with great production values but lacks the extra intensity actors such as Conrad grant Escape at the best of times. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #74: "Red Wine" (2nd version August 11, 1949) Starring: Willard Waterman. Story: Lawrence Blochman. Script: Mort Lewis/Les Crutchfield. Director: Richard Sanville. Setting: Borneo.
  Plot: A lawman goes looking for a killer known for his urbane habits; unfortunately he had 3 suspects and none of them are cooperative.
  Review: An interesting retake of this script (from #57) with Waterman in the lead. Waterman is best-remembered for being the 2nd Throckmorton Gildersleeve on the Great Gildersleeve but he had made a decent career in drama prior to assuming the role in 1950. I think he's great here, but I understand if you find it hard to take him seriously. My Rating: 5/5 stars.
• #75: "Snake Doctor" (2nd version August 18, 1949) Starring: William Conrad. Story: Irvin S. Cobb. Script: Fred Howard. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A man who hates snakes - and hates the "snake doctor" who tends them - schemes to commit a murder.
  Review: Our Escape Snake #2: the cottonmouth strikes again! Another great adaptation of this story (first was #27), this time narrated by Jeff Chandler, who does quite well. William Conrad is again excellent as the small-minded white trash farmer. Paul Frees also reprises his role as the mule-headed son and is, if anything, even more comical than in his previous performance. My Rating: 5/5 stars.
• #76: "Evening Primrose" (3rd version August 25, 1949) Starring: Harry Bartell. Story: John Collier. Script: John Dunkel. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A poet conceals himself in a department store to escape the world but finds a terrifying civilization already sharing his living space.
  Review: The last version of this story (first were #13 and 53). This time instead of Lewis (#13) or Conrad (#53) we have Harry Bartell in the lead. He was a fine radio actor although not at the same level as the other two. I find his performance a little too light-hearted at times but then this story does walk a very fine line between humour and horror. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #77: "The Fortune of Vargas" (September 21, 1949) Starring: Victor Mature. Story: Geoffrey Household. Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: Gordon T. Hughes. Setting: Mexico.
  Plot: A mining engineer who wants easy money goes on a treasure hunt.
  Review: Yet another treasure hunt story but with a Mexican setting (not the last time Escape will go treasure hunting in Mexico). This one is decent, carried primarily by the interplay between the protagonist and the Mexican woman he reluctantly takes on as a partner. Tragically, he fails to trust her in one crucial matter. The tragic ending leaves this story a bit too bitter for my liking. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
• #78: "Wild Oranges" (2nd version September 28, 1949) Starring: Van Heflin. Story: Joseph Hergesheimer. Script: John Dunkel. Director: Gordon T. Hughes. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A sailor meets a beautiful woman on a remote estate who is menaced by her hired hand.
  Review: Another pass at this melodrama (first was #19), only this time with a less-interesting cast. I already find this story lacks both an engaging script and a fascinating plot. Take away Paul Frees and what do you have? A pretty dull half hour. My Rating: 2.5/5 stars.
• #79: "The Sure Thing" (1st version October 15, 1949) Starring: John Hoyt. Story/Script: Gwen Bagni/John Bagni. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Caribbean/Cuba.
  Plot: A doctor tending to a wounded man aboard a boat realizes he's fallen in among criminals.
  Review: This is the first episode of Escape by the Bagnis, who would write quite a few stories (and were already writing for Suspense). This is an excellent outing with a tense high seas situation and a good everyman protagonist - who turns out to be as corruptible as the criminals themselves. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #80: "Night in Havana" (October 22, 1949) Starring: Tony Barrett. Story: Burnham Carter. Script: Walter Newman. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Cuba.
  Plot: A Cuban man resolves to clean up his life and get out of crime - but his last job lands him in with gun runners and jewel smugglers.
  Review: Not a bad outing, this is a good crime thriller that only stands apart from others to the setting - plenty of accents and a bit of Caribbean music; it's interesting to note Jack Webb appears here in just a minor role, even though he'd already headlined not only several Escape episodes and series of his own (he was a few months into Dragnet at the time); the man was clearly a good team player to accept such a small part. My Rating: 3/5 stars.

You can listen to episodes of Escape at the Internet Archive! I'll be back with more next week!

Escape Episode Guide: Part 7

Welcome back to my episode guide to the fantastic old-time radio series Escape!

• #61: "Finger of Doom" (March 19, 1949) Starring: Harry Bartell. Story: Cornell Woolrich. Script: John Dunkel. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: USA.
  Plot: After his girlfriend vanishes an increasingly-frantic man finds he's a suspect in her disappearance.
  Review: Woolrich was frequently heard on Suspense (in fact Suspense also adapted this story) but Escape did a fine production - I like this version more than the Suspense version and a lot of that is due to Bartell's performance as the confused, frantic boyfriend. It's kind of a twist on "the Vanishing Lady" but much more sinister. My Rating: 5/5 stars.
• #62: "The Country of the Blind" (3rd version March 20, 1949) Starring: Edmond O'Brien. Story: H. G. Wells. Script: John Dunkel. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Ecuador.
  Plot: A lost mountain guide discovers an isolated valley where blind men live. He wrongly assumes his sense of sight will make him their superior.
  Review: Yet one more production of this story (see #16 and 44) but with Paul Frees replaced by O'Brien. Frees is impossible to outdo but I think O'Brien handles the role well, adding a sense of fragility that Frees' performance didn't have. My Rating: 5/5 stars.
• #63: "The Adaptive Ultimate" (March 26, 1949) Starring: Edgar Barrier. Story: Stanley Weinbaum. Script: Chet Spurgeon/Herb Futrand. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A scientist grants a nearly-dead woman great adaptive powers; her powers save her life but seem to rob her of her human conscience.
  Review: A woman's ability to adapt to circumstances around her has men upset - probably because she has no conscience and intentionally abuses her power for personal gain. I think this episode is slightly held back by its perspective - I think if it had been told from the woman's perspective as her morality slipped away it would have been phenomenal. As it is, it's very good. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #64: "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz" (3rd version March 27, 1949) Starring: Sam Edwards. Story: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: USA.
  Plot: An obscenely-wealthy family invite a college man to their home.
  Review: One last production of Fitzgerald's dark comedy (previously in #4 and 51). Once again Sam Edwards is great as the protagonist; the performances seem more relaxed than Macdonnell's previous take on this script. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #65: "Confidential Agent" (April 2, 1949) Starring: Berry Kroeger. Story: Graham Greene. Script: Ken Crossen. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: England.
  Plot: A European agent heads to England to obtain support for his nation but his enemies are present and much more capable than he at espionage.
  Review: Another Greene novel shortened to fit the half-hour format. This works much better than "Orient Express" did (#56), I think it hits all of the highlights of the novel. I think it lacks some of the mundane aspects of the agent's life (part of what makes Greene's espionage fiction atypical is that his spies are such average people) but it hits the right pace for Escape. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #66: "When the Man Comes, Follow Him" (April 9, 1949) Starring: Paul Dubov. Story: Ralph Bates. Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A blind man heads into the desert for a complicated treasure hunt.
  Review: An unusual story as the blind man constantly needs visual things explained to him, which is helpful to listeners at times - although the descriptions are frequently ridiculous because the man's aide is not terribly smart (and unfortunately imagines himself to be cunning). The solution to the treasure hunt is great although it's a bit slow-moving to get there. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #67: "The General Died at Dawn" (April 16, 1949) Starring: William Conrad. Story: Charles Booth. Script: Walter Newman. Director: Walter Newman. Setting: China.
  Plot: An American mercenary pursues lost treasure in China but a Chinese general is also after the goods.
  Review: This story was also the subject of a decent 1936 film; this version is... likewise decent. It was only a handful of episodes ago that we had a story about Conrad hunting treasure in China (#59: "He Who Rides the Tiger"), I'm not sure why this was a popular topic (we'll get back to it in the series, in fact). All of these tales are harmed by the absence of Asian actors as the attempts by white performers to speak English with accents are awful and racist (in that order). This one is solid but not exceptional. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #68: "The Great Impersonation" (April 23, 1949) Starring: Ben Wright. Story: E. Phillips Oppenheim. Script: Walter Newman. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Tanganyika/England.
  Plot: A German officer goes undercover in England, posing as a British gentleman.
  Review: This is a bit odd for Escape - the espionage elements suit the series' usual tropes but the English country manor drama feels more suitable for Suspense. Still, the big reveal at the end is good and Wright is an excellent lead. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #69: "The Fourth Man" (3rd version July 7, 1949) Starring: Joseph Kearns. Story: John Russell. Script: Irving Ravetch. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: New Caledonia.
  Plot: Three men attempt to escape a penal colony on a raft. The raft's indigenous pilot is their best hope of escape.
  Review: Once again, a good effort at adapting this high seas story (previously in #8 and 38). Joseph Kearns - who was the 3rd convict in the original performance - is here the lead convict. He's good in the role, but not the equal of Paul Frees. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #70: "The Drums of the Fore and Aft" (2nd version July 14, 1949) Starring: Ben Wright. Story: Rudyard Kipling. Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Afghanistan.
  Plot: Two young army musicians who believe in the glory of combat try to inspire their comrades.
  Review: Another strong production of this story with a few cast changes from the previous version (#37). Although ostensibly a tale about the glory of war it instead seems to reflect primarily on the senseless waste of young life and that's a recurring motif in war stories. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.

You can listen to episodes of Escape at the Internet Archive! I'll be back with more next week!