The latest installment of the Mysterious Old-Radio Listening Society discusses an episode of Favorite Story that I recommended to them. The podcast hosts were kind enough to mention my book Radio by the Book several times. So I'm providing a link to this podcast because it's only fair to give them a plug in return for plugging my book.
The podcast is an excellent one and I recommend any episode of it highly to any OTR fan.
Showing posts with label Favorite Story. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Favorite Story. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Friday, May 10, 2019
Friday's Favorite OTR
Favorite Story: "Tom Sawyer" 6/19/48
A fun adaptation of the Injun Joe portion of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Click HERE to listen or download.
A fun adaptation of the Injun Joe portion of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Click HERE to listen or download.
Friday, October 30, 2015
Friday's Favorite OTR
Favorite Story: "Cyreno de Bergerac" 10/18/47
Ronald Coleman gives a heartfelt performance in this effective adaptation of the tale of the man with a huge nose and no luck at all in love.
Click HERE to listen or download.
Click HERE to listen or download.
Friday, April 4, 2014
Friday's Favorite OTR
Favorite Story: "The Bet" 3/5/49
A superb and very emotional adapation of Anton Chekhov's short story.
Click HERE to listen or download.
A superb and very emotional adapation of Anton Chekhov's short story.
Click HERE to listen or download.
Friday, March 7, 2014
Friday's Favorite OTR
Favorite Story: "The Lady of the Lamp" 7/31/48
The story of Florence Nightingale, who pretty much inventing modern nursing. It's an effective episode that manages to hit all the right emotional notes.
Click HERE to listen or download.
The story of Florence Nightingale, who pretty much inventing modern nursing. It's an effective episode that manages to hit all the right emotional notes.
Click HERE to listen or download.
Friday, June 21, 2013
Friday's Favorite OTR
Favorite Story: “Cyrano
De Bergerac” 10/18/47
Ronald Coleman is spot-on in his performance as the
love-struck swashbuckler with an enormous nose. This is a solid, entertaining
adaptation of Edmond Rostand’s play.
Click HERE to listen or download.
Click HERE to listen or download.
Friday, May 3, 2013
Friday's Favorite OTR
Favorite Story: “The Three Musketeers” 6/5/48
Favorite Story always does a surprisingly good job of distilling novels (even long ones) down to an entertaining short story. This version of the Three Musketeers has Milady de Winter kidnapping Constance, with a rescue attempt made several months later during the siege of La Rochelle Constance is kidnapped, but it still manages to generate a properly swashbuckling atmosphere. When they are portrayed properly, it’s pretty much always fun to hang out with Athos, Porthos and Aramis.
Click HERE to listen or download.
Click HERE to listen or download.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Friday's Favorite OTR
Favorite Story: “The Phantom Rickshaw” 2/28/48
William Conrad is excellent in the lead role of this effective adaptation of Kipling’s classic ghost story.
Click HERE to listen or download.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Friday's Favorite OTR
Favorite Story: “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” 5/29/48
Solid acting and production values are combined with a straightforward script to give us an entertaining and faithful adaptation of Washington Irving’s classic ghost story.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Friday's Favorite OTR
Favorite Story: "Joan of Arc" 12/6/47
A good script and a strong lead performance give us a sincerely emotional version of Joan's short, tragic life.
Click HERE to listen or download.
A good script and a strong lead performance give us a sincerely emotional version of Joan's short, tragic life.
Click HERE to listen or download.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Friday's Favorite OTR
Favorite Story: "Mr. Shakespeare" 4/10/48
A woman with magical powers is hired by a movie studio to raise Shakespeare from the dead. But the Bard of Avon turns out to dislike working as a studio writer.
Vincent Price sounds like he's having a ball playing Shakespeare. The story is mostly a parody on making movies that would appeal to the general public. There's any number of great lines ("What"s wrong with Abbot and Costello?" asks Shakespeare at one point. "I would have loved having them at the Globe.") and the supporting cast is top notch.
Click HERE to listen or download.
A woman with magical powers is hired by a movie studio to raise Shakespeare from the dead. But the Bard of Avon turns out to dislike working as a studio writer.
Vincent Price sounds like he's having a ball playing Shakespeare. The story is mostly a parody on making movies that would appeal to the general public. There's any number of great lines ("What"s wrong with Abbot and Costello?" asks Shakespeare at one point. "I would have loved having them at the Globe.") and the supporting cast is top notch.
Click HERE to listen or download.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Friday's Favorite OTR
Favorite Story: “Casey at the Bat” 4/17/48
“Casey at the Bat” is a great poem, but it’s not really that long. So how do you turn it into a half-hour radio show?
You give Casey a back-story, of course. It turns out the star of the Mudville team has a wife. He loves her, but she’s unhappy living in an unsophisticated small town. She’s equally displeased that their son keeps skipping school to see his dad play ball.
All things considered, she’d rather live in a big city, so she arranges for a scout from the Philadelphia Athletics to come see Casey. But Casey doesn’t want to move to Philly, especially after his “helpful” manager explains that in the big city you always have to wear a tie and can only talk in whispers while out in public.
It all makes for a witty and pleasant half-hour, with events leading up to the manager (who serves as narrator) reading the original poem once that point in the story is reached.
I noticed one little historical glitch in the episode. Ernest Thayer wrote “Casey at the Bat” in 1888. In the context of the Favorite Story adaptation, it’s mentioned that Thayer wrote the poem after seeing Casey play in Mudville, making the events of that game famous because of his poem.
But when the Philadelphia scout is coming to see Casey play, it’s mentioned that the Athletics are a new team, partly owned by manager Connie Mack. This is true, but (as I’m sure you all know without having to look it up) it sets the story firmly in 1901—13 years after Thayer wrote the poem.
Interestingly, the Disney animated short based on the poem (produced two years before this radio show) also jumped the story forward in time, setting it in 1902.
But what the hey. No matter when the story takes place, there never is any joy in Mudville.
Click HERE to listen or download.
“Casey at the Bat” is a great poem, but it’s not really that long. So how do you turn it into a half-hour radio show?
You give Casey a back-story, of course. It turns out the star of the Mudville team has a wife. He loves her, but she’s unhappy living in an unsophisticated small town. She’s equally displeased that their son keeps skipping school to see his dad play ball.
All things considered, she’d rather live in a big city, so she arranges for a scout from the Philadelphia Athletics to come see Casey. But Casey doesn’t want to move to Philly, especially after his “helpful” manager explains that in the big city you always have to wear a tie and can only talk in whispers while out in public.
It all makes for a witty and pleasant half-hour, with events leading up to the manager (who serves as narrator) reading the original poem once that point in the story is reached.
I noticed one little historical glitch in the episode. Ernest Thayer wrote “Casey at the Bat” in 1888. In the context of the Favorite Story adaptation, it’s mentioned that Thayer wrote the poem after seeing Casey play in Mudville, making the events of that game famous because of his poem.
But when the Philadelphia scout is coming to see Casey play, it’s mentioned that the Athletics are a new team, partly owned by manager Connie Mack. This is true, but (as I’m sure you all know without having to look it up) it sets the story firmly in 1901—13 years after Thayer wrote the poem.
Interestingly, the Disney animated short based on the poem (produced two years before this radio show) also jumped the story forward in time, setting it in 1902.
But what the hey. No matter when the story takes place, there never is any joy in Mudville.
Click HERE to listen or download.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Friday's Favorite OTR
Favorite Story: "The Man Without a Country" 2/4/47
Edward Everett Hale's unrepentantly patriotic tale makes for an effective and emotional half-hour in this episode of Favorite Story. It's a wonderful, sad and ultimately uplifting story about a young army officer who, in 1807, was court-martialed for treason after getting involved with Aaron Burr's shenanigans. When he angrily curses his country during his trial, he is sentenced to spend the rest of his life on sea. No one may ever talk to him about the United States or give him any books, articles or information of any sort about the country. He is transfered from ship to ship so that he will never enter an American port.
The original story, by the way, is available as a free download HERE. It's well worth reading.
The young officer (Philip Nolan) is contemptuous of his sentence at first, but as time goes by, he realizes just how Draconian it is. He realizes he does indeed love the country he can no longer even talk about with anyone.
The Favorite Story adaptation is faithful to the original prose and just as heart-rending--especially in the emotional climax. As Nolan lies in his cabin dying after 56 years at sea, an old friend finally tells him the names of the new states, the president and whatever else he can think of--leaving out any mention of the Civil War. Nolan dies content that his country had continued to grow strong over the years.
John Beal is Nolan and William Conrad is the naval officer who befriends him. Both their acting and the script are top notch.
This episode is available for download HERE.
Edward Everett Hale's unrepentantly patriotic tale makes for an effective and emotional half-hour in this episode of Favorite Story. It's a wonderful, sad and ultimately uplifting story about a young army officer who, in 1807, was court-martialed for treason after getting involved with Aaron Burr's shenanigans. When he angrily curses his country during his trial, he is sentenced to spend the rest of his life on sea. No one may ever talk to him about the United States or give him any books, articles or information of any sort about the country. He is transfered from ship to ship so that he will never enter an American port.
The original story, by the way, is available as a free download HERE. It's well worth reading.
The young officer (Philip Nolan) is contemptuous of his sentence at first, but as time goes by, he realizes just how Draconian it is. He realizes he does indeed love the country he can no longer even talk about with anyone.
The Favorite Story adaptation is faithful to the original prose and just as heart-rending--especially in the emotional climax. As Nolan lies in his cabin dying after 56 years at sea, an old friend finally tells him the names of the new states, the president and whatever else he can think of--leaving out any mention of the Civil War. Nolan dies content that his country had continued to grow strong over the years.
John Beal is Nolan and William Conrad is the naval officer who befriends him. Both their acting and the script are top notch.
This episode is available for download HERE.
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