Retro Radio Podcast

Unexpected charges pile up against Abner through no fault of his own. Returning to the court room scene in the Jot Em Down store, Squire and Lum are embattled in presenting their respective cases. Might Ira be at fault for allowing his livestock to roam free? Taking a break, Lum and Abner discuss the case in the feed room… er… judges chambers. The heat is on, and Squire is on the ball. Can he make it seem that Robert was prone to violent acts? Can he make it clear that Abner had full control over the robot at all times ? Lum points out that at the time of the killing of the bull, the remote control was broken. There’s no way to say that Abner, or anybody else had control of Robert. Still, Squire has a counter to the claim, and a legal precedent to Bach his case.

Gracie gets sentimental over her Christmas tree, and hopes for a white Christmas. Their friend Nigel Bowlingbroke is planning a pageant, and has roles for George and Gracie. Since George refuses to play Santa, Gracie thinks Charles Lawton might do it. Bill Goodwin pops in for a sponsor message. It’s off to the Lawton residence, and since she promised George not to ask Charles, Gracie talks to his wife instead. Will Gracie get a few lessons on getting control back over her husband? Suspecting that Gracie disobeyed him, George goes to talk to Charles. To hear him talk, his wife, Elsa is the one who is bossed around the house. Jimmy Cash sings, Home. The battle of the sexes finds the gents at the bottom of the heap. Bill is back, but can’t believe the guys are so henpecked. Will his pitch for the sponsor give the guys courage to face up to their wives? The gals are a step ahead, and decide to swap, and handle the other’s husband. The buttering up has them eating from the palms of their hands. Suddenly the gents both want to play Santa.

Gearing up for the Christmas season, the weather, and rain, is the topic. Not to mention Santa in a nudist colony. Jokes on gifts turn to Bob’s relatives who are in jail. Bill Goodwinjoins the jokes on wrapping Christmas gifts, Christmas Seals, and more. The Six Hits and a Miss sing a swinging medley of carols including Santa Claus is Coming, and Jingle Bells. The long running comic strip had recently come to life in the movies with the film, Blondie. The actors who brought the characters t to life are on hand, and in character to bring Dagwood and Blondie to Bob’s show. After introductions, a scene from the Bumbstead home is presented, full of puns, word play, and the kind of comic strip characters found in print and the movie. Skinny Ennis sings, Night and Day. Bob brings his intrepetation of the hit song, Old Man Mose is Dead. Bill joins him in a leaking cabin, full of dogs and cats. Looking for a new house, Bob meets a mosquito salesman, and has a visit to a haunted house. Topics related to spooks, ghosts, graveyard humor, monsters, phantoms, and more. Midnight finds the witching hour bring the show to an end.

Audio is mostly good, but with a weak spot during the first song. Don introduces our toughened master of ceremonies, Jack Benny, but is he fearful of anything at PalmSprings? Is his TP hotel ran by an Indian? Jack sets Don straight on the remote location of his budget hotel. Mary pokes fun at Jack’s frugal living arrangements, and corny cowboy suit. Dennis has his own crazy outlook on the desert resort. Audio gets weak to add to the usual interruptions before Dennis sings, Prefidia. Having tonsils taken out sparks a round of jokes before Phil arrives. He tells about his “dud” ranch where he’s staying. Health, rest, and tans take over as the topic. Jack tells about his rigorous activities hiking, swimming, horseback riding, and more. The gang try to get Jack to upgrade his reservations, then Phil plays, There’ll Be Some Changes Made. The healthy climate inspires a poem from Mary, about Palm Springs. The teasing nearly has Jack ready to upgrade to the Racquet Club. Rochester phones in with car troubles, and his own offer to upgrade his hotel.

Note: Maybe not a Christmas tale in the traditional sense. But one of how peace was restored to a community out west, as only the Lone Ranger could manage. There’s going to be trouble in the Red River Valley. Banker, Dan Parsons and Marcie are more than a businessman and his wife, but, rival Ranchers Carstairs and Grady don’t understand that. Pay is promised once Parsons returns after taking their skimpy cattle to market. Is Parsons up to something? Lone Ranger doubts the cattle sold for as much as he promised to paid the ranchers. Intentions to help the ranchers through the hard time of drought may have ruined the banker. Lone Ranger and Tonto have eavesdropd to hear his courage to stay, and develop a plan. In town, the ranchers want their money, but think Parsons may be getting ready to run out on them. . A staged bank robbery diverts their attention, and Lone Ranger rides away into the mid show break. Have the ranchers realized how much Parsons has done for them? Will they work together to round up a posse? Meanwhile, at the Red River Lone Ranger finds something that may take the future of the valley in a new direction. Lone Ranger returns to explain himself to Parsons. Why do they need blasting powder as they ride to the mountains? The alerted posse ride to the hills to learn the truth of their loyal banker friend, and a newly formed reservoir to provide water for all theyr herds. And… just who was that masked man?

Having car trouble, Gildersleeve hijavcks Ben when he comes over to date Marjorie. She is not happy about it, but when the family admire the new car in the Bullard’s drive, Gildy begins to get ideas on buying a new car of his own. If his wiser, practical side has prevailed thus far, a visit from the ever fickle Leila Ransom soon sets him in motion to visiting the new car dealer. Leroy joins him to admire the new, sleek, black convertible in the showroom. Just the right blend of racy, yet still conservative. Can the water commissioner afford the price tag?

Do I really need to write show notes on this one? Maybe I should just let listeners of the podcast, and readers of the blog fill in the comments with favorite Wizard of Oz moments. Typically, Lux Radio Theater tried to use the original cast, to enact a script based on their hit film. When the cast wasn’t available, stock actors filled in. In today’s feature, Judy Garland is the only one to receive credit, but the Cowardly Lion is veteran actor, Ed Macks. Songs from the film sprinkle the action, as Dorothy Gale is whisked out of Kansas, and into a fantasy world full of Munchkins, Wicked Witches, and a journey to Oz, with her new found friends, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion.

The trial begins, in the case of who is responsible in the killing of Ira Hodgkin’s prize bull. Can the trial be called off? Abner is worried over his chances of winning the case. All he has to do is conVince Lum, as Justice of the Peace, that he’s innocent. Not even a bribe will sway Lum from his duties. Despite the case Squire has against Abner, Lum is confident of the outcome. The trial is called to order with Lum acting both as Justice of the Peace, and Abner’s legal advisor How will the opening arguments go? Squire is convincing in presenting the damages. Will Lum have a slip of the tongue that could ruin Abner’s case? Time to call for a delay to tend to battle damages.

Robbery Detail. A pair of convicts are armed and dangerous, and refuse to be taken alive. Its up to Joe Friday to stop them. Miss Thompson is throwing a party for her roommate when she is visited by Joe Friday. She’s the girlfriend of one of the convicts, but will she be helpful in finding Andy? She confirms he and a friend were there for clothes and money. Joe arranges a stake out on her apartment in case the robbers return, and the investigation continues. Reports of more robberies are shared, and more possible connections are considered in locating Andy. In voiceover Joe tells about more victims, interviews, and police procedure. A theater manager tells of the Wild West style hold up by his former employee. The leads keep rolling in, but the criminals are still just out of the grasp of Joe and Ed.

This 30 minute episode gets started right after a musical number, Fred is introduced and his skit about shopping at the Mammoth Department Store begins. Dealing with a marketing consultant who tries to improve efficiency, after a song, Fred checks in with his floorwalker to see how the new measures are working out. Customer situations prove to be a challenge, but Fred helps with picking out the perfect Christmas gifts for Portland’s relatives. After another musical interlude, Fred checks to see how things are going in the Honeymoon department of the store, and interviews a couple who are planning a marriage. Quite the busy store manager, Fred then moves on to hold a meeting with his employees, and a motivational speaker who has some trouble delivering his speech. Will the trouble in the store never end? Santa has a breakdown and is afraid of kids. With one final musical number, and final commercial, Fred closes the show. Note: Roy Atwell, popular comedian of the day, is the bumbling motivational speaker. He was a regular on the show in these early years. PS: I originally posted this as a Retro Original. You can check it out with the following link if you want to check it out with a few bonus tracks included. Fred Allen – The Mammoth Department Store. 321225. (retro234).

Troubled in the case mean that Justice of the Peace, Lum,, is on the phone to postpone the trial. As defense attorney, Squire Skimp doesn’t want to go along. Is Abner really guilty? Can the gents come up with another game plan that Squire hasn’t already overheard? Lum figures they ought to play up Abner’s good character. Will they be convincing to portray Abner as a saintly lover of animals, and People of the community? What about the list of names Lum found that Abner wanted to get revenge on, them he was power hungry in controlling Robert? When Cedric enters, the conversation takes a turn towards getting the gents to support a cause. But Lum mixes up the lists, and the revenge list is on the way to Squire.

It’s Christmas time on the trail, and Bill visits with friends for a special Christmas Eve. As Tommy goes peaceably off to bed, a disturbance comes at the door. The rude neighbor, Mr Grudge gives a cryptic warning about shining armor. As mom and pop Duncan go to bed, Tommy is up again, and left in the care of Bill and Jingles, and he has a story to tell. Sounds like a good place to stop for grabbing a tasty treat. Don’t just hang ornaments on your tree, decorate with a sprinkling of sugary, tasty pops. Tommy gives orders to Bill and Jingles to visit Shadowland with him, including a prayer to recite. Care to tag along to Shadowland and enjoy a unique kind of Christmas story? The Christmas lady will remain a prisoner until the dark thoughts and feelings are cleansed from the hearts in the world. Tommy takes our heros on a tour of places that need cleaning up. Given good words to live by, Jingles gets broken out of a dungeon, but Sir Tommy still has more challenges to overcome. Battle the Giant of Greed to free the Christmas Lady, and save Christmas. And don’t forget to set out plenty of pops for breakfast, and even a bowl for Santa as well. So, has Tommy vanquished the evil hearts? Will it be a Merry Christmas? What do you think.

The McGee’s are thrilled to be having their new movie premiering in Wistful Vista. A phone call to the theater finds Fibber learning about a broken nose of one of Mirt’s relatives. Abigail Uppington visits with some early Christmas shopping to share. The gifts make the old Davenport look a little shabby. Fibber gets confused over toupee’s. He goes into detail over how men’s fashions are more organized. The Kingsmen sing, Louisiana Hayride. On the way to go furniture shopping, Teeny visits to set Fibber straight on what she wants for Christmas with a short tale. Down town, Gale Gordon is the furniture salesman. Harlowe Wilcox makes an appearance,. But seems down today. Will a sponsor pitch be the pick me up he needs? Continuing their quest through the furniture store, the McGee’s look at new drapes. Horatio K Boomer makes an appearance, after being away for a long time. He gets blamed for shoplifting, but he just knows a good deal when he sewers one. Martha Tilton sings, Champagne. Back home, the furniture and accessories are delivered, and Wallace Wimple pops in. He shares a furniture poem, and the latest on his big old wife, Sweetie Face. Abigail Uppington is back to admire the changes in the decor, but not in the way the McGee’s expect.

Lum burns up the phone lines in his capacity as Justice of the Peace. With Lum running the trial, he assures Abner won’t need no fancy lawyers. Abner has his own ideas, but it borders on tampering with evidence. Maybe Squire Skimp will lend a hand to Abner, and the case of killing Ira’s prize bull. Can Lum prove that Abner had no control over the run away robot? Maybe he could work it so the bull attacked Robert, and the robot had to defend himself. With all the scheming, will Lum be an impartial judge? No matter how much Lum tries to help out, Abner just can’t shake the idea that he’s guilty, After all the listening in to the gents plan Abner’s defense, Squire politely dismisses himself. Just after he exits, a phone call reveals the well thought out case could unravel for them.

Don wants to reenact the events that took place at Jack’s birthday party in his house earlier in the week. We join Mary Livingstone and Mr Billingsley enjoying dinner with Jack. Rochester presents the meal, with only a few food malfunctions. Like pot roast in the chandelier. Jokes about heavy rains, floods, and building an ark don’t prevent Don, Phil, and Dennis from joining the party. Phil Harris plays, Little Brown Jug. The surprise guests have Jack choked up. What kind of gift has Don brought? It doesn’t involve six delicious flavors, but it can pump up a bike tire. However, their party game does involve big red letters on a box. Dennis Day sings, I’ll Take You Home Again Kathlene. The next guest is Andy Divine with two gifts. There’s even a surprise visit from Herbert Marshall. He’s a little worried that Jack might resent him. But his gift more than makes up for it. But isn’t having a pot roast on the chandelier a weird custom? As Jack explains, the show fades to final commercial.