The labels on the records in Columbia Records' 1942 presentation of "A Christmas Carol" tout a "Supporting Cast of Prominent Actors" along with Basil Rathbone as Scrooge.
That's a bit of hype, but they're not far off!
Fortunately, the album includes a cast list and as an Old-Time Radio (OTR) buff, I recognize many of the names. I'm not sure if 1942 listeners knew the names, but they sure knew the voices!
Basil Rathbone is, of course, a famous movie actor, but like a lot of stars of the 1940s, he appeared on radio frequently. Most famously, of course, as Sherlock Holmes.
I really enjoy hearing Harlow Wilcox on here. He was the announcer on "Fibber McGee and Molly," where he always steered the conversation over to Johnson's Wax (the show's sponsor). Among other shows, he also was the announcer for "Suspense!" - another great show.
He's listed as narrator here, but his role is more like that of announcer, as he introduces the story, but then we don't hear him again. Scrooge is really the de facto narrator.
Harlow's castmate from "Fibber," Arthur Q. Bryan, has a couple of parts here, the portly charity collector and one of the businessmen talking about Scrooge's death. He uses mostly his regular voice for the first and adds a bit of a British accent for the second.
Audiences in the 1940s were familiar with his roles as Doc Gamble on "Fibber McGee and Molly" and Floyd the barber on its spinoff "The Great Gildersleeve." Everybody still knows his voice if not his name, as he was the voice of Elmer Fudd!
One of Arthur Q. Bryan's castmates from "Gildersleeve" was Walter Tetley, who plays the boy who buys the turkey. He did a fantastic kid voice well into his forties due to a medical condition. He was terrific as Leroy on "The Great Gildersleeve" and Julius on the Phil Harris and Alice Faye show. Modern audiences will still recognize his voice as that of Sherman from "Mr. Peabody's Improbable History." It's fun to hear his stab at a British accent!
To show how connected these radio actors all were, Walter's castmate from the Harris/Faye show, Elliot Lewis, plays Fred here. He was a really versatile actor, playing a wide variety of roles and also a writer, director and producer. At one point, he was the director of "Suspense!" while Harlow Wilcox was the announcer!
Another versatile talent in the cast is Jay Novello, who plays Bob Cratchet(?) here. He continued to play character roles on TV and in movies through the 1970s.
Mrs. Cratchet is played by Paula Winslowe, another busy actress. She was probably most recognizable as Peg Riley on the radio version of "The Life of Riley" opposite William Bendix.
An interesting early credit for her was dubbing the voice for Jean Harlow's character in the 1937 movie "Saratoga" after the actress's sudden death.
Tiny Tim is played by Tommy Cook, who was a busy child actor on radio and screen. Rather intriguingly, a few years after this record, he played Junior on "The Life of Riley" radio show, so Paula Winslowe was his mother once again! He's still around, by the way, at age 89!
It's funny that two of William Bendix's future co-stars would be involved with a Dickens project. Bendix himself would never fit in with his Brooklyn accent!
Perhaps the most unusual bit of casting is Francis X. Bushman as the Ghost of Christmas Past. He was a huge star during the silent movie era, billed as "the handsomest man in the world."
It was always humorous when he'd be namedropped on "The Beverly Hillbillies" TV show, as the Clampetts were so backward, they thought silent movies were new releases and he was still a matinee idol! I wonder if he got a kick out of that.
Mr. Bushman was doing radio work at the time of this recording and he continued his acting career into the mid-60s, when he was in his 80s. His last role was on the "Batman" TV series which is pretty cool!
So, there is indeed a supporting cast of prominent actors at work here!
Next, we look at the adaptation itself...
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