A New Blog!

This is for my new classic film blog on Tumblr. Hope to see you there!

RADIO REVIEW: Lights Out, "The Dark"

Lights Out. The first and last name in horror in its time. Today, the first and last word... in campy horror. Many of its episodes badly outdated and overtly "moralized", Lights Out is definitely not the horror show it once was. What, then, keeps us coming back for more of this blood-and-guts o'rama?

Maybe its episodes like "The Dark" that keep us coming back for more. "The Dark", which originally aired December 29, 1937, concerned the final exploit of two men who come to a supposedly deserted house. When inside, they encounter a strange woman who has a laugh like the evil witch from the Looney Tunes cartoons. As the pair scan the room for others, the policeman casts his light on the floor, where he sees...

Well, maybe you should listen to it:
http://www.archive.org/download/lightsouteverybody/Lights_Out-1937-12-29_The_Dark.mp3

The audio quality is good, and the acting of the two men as policeman and doctor are well done. The direction is also good, thanks to then freshman director and writer Arch Oobler. However, that being said, I cannot get away from the fact that "The Dark" is simply a bad story. You might be frightened by the story the first time, but after that, no emotion can register. Its just that forgettable.

FINAL RATING: There are other Lights Out episodes that I love to hear (like the fantastic "Man In The Middle", the peace-loving "Day The Sun Exploded", and the tense and exciting "Bathysphere"), but The Dark simply cannot bring itself out of a 2.5/10 rating.

You disagree? Let me know by commenting!

FUN FACT: The sound of bodies being turned inside-out on the Lights Out episode "The Dark" was achieved by turning a wet rubber glove inside-out while simultaneously crushing a berry basket in front of the microphone.
-from John Dunning's "On The Air: An Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio"

OTR Website Review: The Flashing Dial

The hobby of Old Time Radio and the practice of collecting it takes up many a dreary day for me. The thrill of the hunt, and the satisfied feeling I get after finding that elusive Norman Corwin or Wyllis Cooper-era Lights Out episode is inescapable.

However, that being said, there is an element of loneliness involved when you feel that you are the only collector on the face of the earth, as is the case here in my neck of the woods. There is no one (in my knowledge) within 40 miles of me that is as involved in the hobby of OTR as I am. And I don't like loneliness at all.
Thats why I discovered that there is a vibrant community online for all things OTR and OTR-related.

The Flashing Dial is a forum community for all things OTR and OTR-related. The setup is simple and the first requirement is easy: after your account is created, simply post at least two posts in the forum (one in the "Introduce Yourself" area and another wherever you want). After that, you can immerse yourself in the massive forum areas and browse the collections that other users post. Users come from all over the world to share and discuss on all things Old Time Radio, and the forum is refreshed daily with new posts and media.

FINAL RATING: 10 out of 10. Check out The Flashing Dial today but be warned: it, like OTR itself, can be VERY addictive!

http://theflashingdial.forumwise.com/

Listen to the Campbell Playhouse version of Bram Stoker's "Dracula"

TO DOWNLOAD: Simply right-click the link below and choose "Save Target As"
(Mac users: Control-click the link and choose "Download Linked File"

Download and enjoy this classic 1938 Orson Welles version of the classic Bram Stoker vampire tale.

http://www.archive.org/download/Dracula_322/1938-07-11-Dracula_64kb.mp3

COMING SOON: A complete review of the original 1931 Tod Browning classic "Dracula". Don't miss it!

Listen to "Sorry, Wrong Number" by clicking on the link below

Enjoy!

http://www.archive.org/download/SUSPENSE/43-05-25_Sorry_Wrong_Number_East_Coast.mp3

Classic Film Review: Abbott and Costello's "Who Done It?" (1942)

I love a good mystery. At the same time, I love a good comedy. It might seem odd for a 20 year-old to love the classics, but I feel drawn to their goodness, their nostalgia, their cleanliness, and a mysterious element that I haven't figured out yet. So, it only makes sense that I should love a classic-mystery-comedy. But where to find one?

After going through a good number of their classic films (over 12 so far), I happened to find an old VHS copy of the Abbott and Costello film "Who Done It?" at my local library. I wanted to see it for two reasons: one, it has A&C. How could you beat that? Two, it centers around a radio studio and the events therein. For an OTR buff and a classic film buff, how could I resist? Easy; I couldn't.

The film begins in the office of Colonel JR Andrews, head of the "General Broadcasting Network". In these first scenes, we see the main love interests (between a very good Patric Knowles and Louise Allbritton) come together (then separate!) in the office. After that, Knowles goes down to the studio café, where we are introduced to Mervyn Milgrim and Chick Larkin (guess who is who!), two budding radio writers stuck behind a soda fountain. They are invited to the radio broadcast that night of the program "Murder At Midnight" (not to be confused with the 1946-7 radio show of the same name), and it is there at the studio that we meet the first of two actors that would make a bigger splash on radio than on film. Walter Tetly, who most famously portrayed "Leeeeeeeeroy" on The Great Gildersleeve and Julius Abrusio on The Phil Harris/Alice Faye show, here plays a wise-cracking "studio bellboy", not unlike his role as Julius on PH/AF.

Mervyn and Chick sneak their way into the studio, only to be there at the moment Colonel Andrews suddenly dies! The doctor in the studio believes that it was his "weak heart", but Knowles thinks otherwise, saying "It wasn't his heart. This is murder!!!" The film then careens into the boy's usual madcap routines, some new, some classic (such as the classic "phone-booth"routine). I will not bore the reader with details of the rest of the plot, only because I would reveal some spoilers! However, it must be said that the second of the afore-mentioned two real radio actors was cast in a role befitting his life. William Gargan is paired up with the hilarious William Bendix (of The Life of Riley fame) in the role of a homicide detective. Gargan himself was a "private-eye" in California (before feeling the call of showbiz), and, after bit parts in several films (most notable film he ever played in: 1945's The Bells of St Mary's), he finally landed a starring role in the radio series "Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator". In the film (a full 9 years before Barrie Craig), Gargan is the serious counterpoint to Bendix's comedic acting.

All in all, the film is a "lost gem" of Abbott and Costello's magnificent career, and is a film that should NOT be missed. I just ordered the recently-released DVD set, and plan on enjoying it very soon.

FINAL RATING FOR "WHO DONE IT?"- 10/10. A pure classic, through and through.

Old Time Radio is dead. Long live Old Time Radio.

"Radio" as we OTR fanatics know it, is dead. Of course, I believe that Rush Limbaugh will go down in history, but that is in the talk-news-radio format. REAL dramatic radio died in 1962 when the last episodes of Johnny Dollar and Suspense aired. After that, attempts to bring back the glory days of radio were made. Shows like CBC's Nightfall and CBS's nice-but-not-all-there Radio Mystery Theatre aired, but never really "made it", as they say in the profession. People like Joseph Kearns, Bill Forman, and Gerald Mohr all were "molded" into the radio profession. Radio, to them, was more than a job; it was an art form and a window into humanity. Today's radio is more concerned, well, with "just the facts, ma'am". Talk radio dominates the former airwaves of Terry and The Pirates, Jack Benny, and Inner Sanctum. FM Radio now is all "the top rock/pop/country/grunge/BEST MUSIC ON THE AIR!!!!!" stations. And public radio? Try Car Talk and "independent" music. Nothin really there. Thats why I love my iPod and the internet. On the internet I get all the Old Time Radio I want, then put it on my iPod for something all companies have been striving for these days: instant gratification. Thats my rant on radio today. LONG LIVE OLD TIME RADIO!

REVIEW: Sorry, Wrong Number (Suspense)

The first line is a classic: "Number, please?"

The final line is a shocker.

One of the most recognized radio plays of all time, is, ironically, one of the first episodes of Old Time Radio I have ever listened to. The classic Lucille Fletcher script was said to have star Agnes Moorehead fainted dead away the first time she read it. Now, while I was something of a reality-grounded 9 year-old when I first heard "Sorry", the play had me (almost) wetting my pants. I had never heard of anything so terrifying or so suspenseful. Me at the time, a 9-year old brought up on cartoons and Sesame Street, listening to a bed-ridden woman frantically trying to call her husband and prevent a murder, was a definite first for me. A window into an almost adult world of entertainment. Almost like taking your kids to see Halloween 45 in 3D. An interesting premise, but wrong.

Today, 11 years later, I still find the play inescapably good, and nothing to be missed. Agnes Moorehead delivers smash-bang great performances every time she performed it (6 episodes, with two different recordings for the East Coast/West Coast affiliates each time).

I have developed a scale of 1-10, one being "crap", and ten being "BRAVO!!!!". On this basis, I give "Sorry, Wrong Number" a 10. A superb episode from an equally superb show. Excellent acting coupled with great direction. A total winner!

Welcome!

Hello There! In this blog, I will be reviewing Old Time Radio shows and Classic movies. Check back often for reviews and links to those thrilling shows of yesteryear!