OTR Halloween 2023 Day 31: "Don't Tell Me about Halloween"

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

"Uh, I'm going to kill my wife tonight. Or maybe tomorrow night. I mean, I'm gonna kill one of my wives. I better, or something's going to happen to me that won't be good. Well, Halloween's almost here. Halloween's the deadline. And Candace has to be dead before Halloween. Only trouble is, I'm not sure I'll recognize her when she shows up."

What better way to celebrate Halloween in Quiet, Please than with an episode all about Halloween? This time our hapless protagonist is the husband of a witch. It's a pretty sweet gig for him as she provides him with a long life. However, in-between Halloweens he proves to be an unfaithful husband and simply never seems to learn his lesson, no matter how many times his wife magically punishes him.

"Don't Tell Me about Halloween" was originally broadcast October 27, 1947. You can listen to the episode at Quiet, Please.org.

This concludes my month-long look at Quiet, Please. I hope you've enjoyed it and perhaps discovered some new favourite episodes!

OTR Halloween 2023 Day 30: "Very Unimportant Person"

"The Hollow Men. Ever read it? Lot of people were very fond o' quoting from it when T. S. Eliot got the Nobel Prize. Especially that part, 'This is how the world ends; Not with a bang but a whimper.' Well, it wasn't so, Mr. Eliot, you were wrong. Me? How do I know? I was there."

Wyllis Cooper was evidently a very religious man as so many episodes involve his Christian beliefs. Here, he marries theology with nuclear armageddon; our protagonist, a pilot, attempts to out-fly the mushroom clouds consuming all life on Earth, but his fuel supply is limited. And then, God himself takes a hand and offers the protagonist and the other survivors a choice.

"Very Unimportant Person" was originally broadcast December 5, 1948. You can listen to the episode at Quiet, Please.org.

OTR Halloween 2023 Day 29: "One for the Book"

"Once upon a time, when there were more lieutenants than lieutenant colonels in the Air Force and when you could tell a cadet by his blue suit like a mailman's, a thing happened. And if you think the boys from the bright blue yonder got snafued some time in this last war, brother, I'm here to tell you ain't seen nothin' yet. Because this was the largest, the most comprehensive, the doggonedest... Well, I have to tell you. And the thing about it is this snafu isn't over yet. It won't be over for nine years. Listen, I'll tell you."

This time Quiet, Please presents something of a science fiction tale. An Air Force officer is surprised to meet himself - his self from the future! It seems his future self traveled so fast that he landed his aircraft in the past!

"One for the Book" was originally broadcast November 21, 1948. You can listen to the episode at Quiet, Please.org.

OTR Halloween 2023 Day 28: "Good Ghost"

"I never did anything wrong in my life. That's why I was so upset when Schuster murdered me."

In this episode, Ernest Chappell portrays Gus, a real schmoe who - as the opening lines indicate - is dead. Having become a ghost with no direction for his unlife Gus tries to help the man who killed him by assisting him in his romance with Gus' sweetheart. Gus really is a good ghost who intends to perform good deeds, but he has his limits...

"Good Ghost" was originally broadcast October 24, 1948. You can listen to the episode at Quiet, Please.org. The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society podcast also have an episode where they listen to and discuss "Good Ghost"; you'll find the episode on their website.

OTR Halloween 2023 Day 27: "Thirteen and Eight"

"I don't remember when was the first time I seen him, I don't think. Was it the fire at the Havre Hotel last August, wasn't it? When the fella jumped outta the window and lit on the streetcar, got carried three blocks from his nightshirt? Yeah, last August; I guess that was the first time. I seen him a lotta times since then."

Here's an interesting bit of photography lore; news photographers call out "thirteen and eight" when they spot someone trying to photobomb their pictures. That's how this story begins, with our photographer protagonist calling out "thirteen and eight" to get a man out of his way. But none of the other photographers at the scene saw someone trying to interfere with their shoot. And it keeps happening as the photographer keeps seeing a man getting in the way of his lens, resulting in him shooting a dramatic photograph in a split second. Who is this mystery man whom only the photographer can see?

"Thirteen and Eight" was originally broadcast April 26, 1948. You can listen to the episode at Quiet, Please.org.

War of the Worlds Turns 85!

The 1938 broadcast of "The War of the Worlds" on Mercury Theater on the Air has become possibly the most-heard radio drama in the history of radio thanks it's repeated replays over the decades. Certainly it was among the first old-time radio shows I heard as a young listener, thanks to the LP copy owned by my father.

I'm sure it seems passé to other OTR fans to be talking about "War of the Worlds" - or even cliché with Halloween upon us. Still, I'm linking to an article about "War of the Worlds" because it appears at my employer's website, and how often do they post anything about OTR? With quotes from one of my colleagues? That's worth celebrating!

Halloween Broadcast of Notorious War of the Worlds Radio Drama Turns 85

OTR Halloween 2023 Day 26: "Twelve to Five"

"Yes, ma'am, it does get lonesome down here. What? Oh, sure, being able to talk to people on the phone helps. Well, how'd you like to be stuck all the way down in the basement all by yourself from midnight to five AM? With nothing but a microphone, a turntable and some telephones?"

In this program, Ernest Chappell portrays a lonely disc jockey spinning turntables late at night over the radio. The first third of the episode simply sets up the atmosphere - the environment and conditions of the DJ's occupation. The problems arise when a newsman wanders over and starts sharing news stories for events that haven't happened yet. As with other episodes we've examined involving destiny, fate appears in Quiet, Please as a force that cannot be avoided and becomes more fearsome as time passes.

"Twelve to Five" was originally broadcast April 12, 1948. You can listen to the episode at Quiet, Please.org.