Suspense - "Christmas for Carole" (December 21, 1950) - Part 2

If you got a chance to listen to "Christmas for Carole," the "Suspense" broadcast from December 21, 1950, I'm sure you'll agree that it's a solid holiday episode of the long-running radio show.

The title is just a play on words, as it's not an adaptation of "A Christmas Carol," but naturally one's mind does go there.

As I mentioned last time, there are a few tie-ins with some actual adaptations, however.

Dennis Day on far left with his co-stars from the Jack Benny program.

The star of the show, Dennis Day, provided the voice of Fred in the 1978 Rankin/Bass animated version of "The Stingiest Man in Town." When reviewing that show earlier, I mentioned that it did not make the best use of Dennis Day's many talents. (See here)

This "Suspense" episode gives Dennis a rare dramatic role, in contrast to his usual scatterbrained persona from the Jack Benny show and his own "A Day in the Life of Dennis Day." He does get to sing, though!

Elliot Lewis goes over a "Suspense" script with William Holden!

One of the fun things that "Suspense" would often do is use comedians in dramatic roles, especially when Elliot Lewis was in charge. Dennis's boss Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Fibber McGee & Molly, Red Skelton, all made appearances on the show.

Speaking of Elliot Lewis, the actor/producer/director of "Suspense," he was also was featured in an adaptation of "A Christmas Carol." He also voiced Fred, but this was on Basil Rathbone's famous recording for Columbia Records in 1942.

And, of course, the narrator on that recording was Harlow Wilcox, who's the announcer of this "Suspense" episode!

Harlow Wilcox (right) puts up with another groaner from Fibber McGee!

I know Harlow's voice very well from listening to so many episodes of "Suspense" and Fibber McGee and Molly and I think he was one of the top radio announcers.

It seems in the world of Old-Time Radio, we're never too many degrees of separation from "A Christmas Carol!"

Suspense - "Christmas for Carole" (December 21, 1950) - Part 1

Suspense - "Christmas for Carole" (December 21, 1950)

Director: Elliot Lewis

Star: Dennis Day

All the talk about radio drama and whatnot from "CBS Radio Mystery Theater" and its production of "A Christmas Carol" made me think of the Old-Time Radio show "Suspense" and its 1950 "Christmas for Carole" starring Dennis Day.

It's not really Dickens-inspired, but it does have some tie-ins to other adaptations, which we'll discuss.

Give it a listen:

CBS Radio Mystery Theater: "A Christmas Carol" (December 24, 1975) - Part 4

E.G. Marshall (at far right) sets the mood.

A few words about the CBS Radio Mystery Theater (CBSRMT) broadcast of "A Christmas Carol" and the show in general..

Back when the show aired, I was (and still am!) a big fan of Old-Time Radio, but it was not easy to listen to old shows, so this new one was pretty fun.

One of my favorite old shows is "Suspense" and I was fortunate to have a few episodes on records and cassette tapes. I never would have imagined that there'd be a point in the future when you could listen to virtually any episode by clicking a mouse!

Himan Brown is in charge!

CBSRMT reminded me a bit of "Suspense," but I realize now that it's more like "Inner Sanctum," a show I had heard of, but had not heard back then, which makes sense as the Himan Brown, the guru behind CBSRMT was he creator of "Inner Sanctum," which enjoyed a long radio run.

The CBSRMT opening includes the "Inner Sanctum" trademark creaking door and E.G. Marshall's sardonic introductions are reminiscent of Raymond, the longtime "Inner Sanctum" host.

"Inner Sanctum" the radio show was so popular, it even spawned a movie series from Universal Pictures in the mid-1940s starring Lon Chaney, Jr. (with his little mustache that Larry Talbot sported in "House of Dracula (1945)!)!

I find it hard to believe at times that CBSRMT was at its peak 40-odd years ago, but the shows it hearkened back to were 30-odd years old. It throws my whole perspective off, like how more time has passed since Marty McFly went into the past (35 years) than the amount of time he went back (30 years). You know what I mean?

I tend to lean towards vintage stuff, so these days I like to listen to radio shows from the original golden age (1930s-1950s)  rather than later variations from the 1970s and beyond.

I do appreciate that CBSRMT helped keep the tradition alive, however, and I know it has its devotees.

I remember hearing the broadcast of "A Christmas Carol" way back when, although I'm not sure exactly when, as it was rerun every year that the show was on.

I like this production well enough, but it would never be a go-to version for me.

I think E.G. Marshall does a good job, but as had mentioned earlier, I think he's way better than the supporting cast.

I don't care for the Bob Cratchit characterization here. The delivery is very odd and the character just seems weird. The same for Mr. Grimes, the poulterer. Maybe it's the same actor?

I'm not a huge fan of Marley's Ghost here, either.

I think Fred is OK, but his wife sounds old. Just odd.

I think the Ghost of Christmas Past is really good and the Ghost of Christmas Present does have a certain... presence!

It's a bit of a different take, but I'm glad CBSRMT gave it a whirl!

CBS Radio Mystery Theater: "A Christmas Carol" (December 24, 1975) - Part 3

Ian Martin's script for the CBS Radio Mystery Theater broadcast of "A Christmas Carol" starring E.G. Marshall is an interesting adaptation, as it is fairly faithful, but adds a few off-the-wall touches.

Changing things around was certainly nothing new in 1974, as we saw that the earliest stage adaptations took their liberties. These changes are ever-fascinating to me, even if they make you scratch your head at times!

Within the hour-ish timeslot, there's about 40 minutes of story, which is pretty generous for this sort of audio adaptation.

Scriptwriter Martin keeps the dialogue pretty faithful to the book, as is usually the case, with a few things changed here and there. Some minor changes might even be small flubs by the actors, such as when Fred says that Scrooge doesn't keep Christmas. Scrooge is supposed to reply, "Let me leave it alone, then," but here he says, "Leave me alone, then," which doesn't seem to be a change made for aesthetic reasons!

But some of the dialogue is changed a bit here and there, modernized or Americanized, I guess.

The main plot points ae all pretty much here too, but some of the details are wacky indeed!

The biggest one is hard to get one's head around. In the opening scenes when Fred comes to see Scrooge, he refers to Scrooge as his Uncle and Scrooge refers to Fred as his nephew. OK, fine, nothing unusual here.

But...  but... in the Christmas Past sequence, Fred says to the spirit that he was an orphan raised by his aunt, who had a son, who is Fred.

Wait a minute, it's odd enough that Scrooge is an orphan and not at school and there's no Fan and all that, but wouldn't that make Scrooge and Fred cousins? Your aunt's son is your cousin, not your nephew! What is going on here?

Whatever the case, Fred also figures into another odd change. This version retains the scene from the future where a poor couple is relieved/happy that Scrooge died, as they will have more time to pay off their debt.

That should be Caroline and her husband, right? No, it's Fred and his wife! What's that all about? Scrooge is squeezing his nephew or cousin or whatever? Did he hate his aunt?

And Fred's wife sounds kind of old, by the way, but we don't know how old Fred is compared to Scrooge.

Getting back to the Ghost of Christmas Past, she is apparently Belle or at least the image of her, although Scrooge does not pick up on the resemblance right away, unlike Fredric March back in 1954, who was quicker on the uptake. It's an interesting touch.

The final wacky change starts in the Christmas Yet to Come segment where Scrooge overhears two businessmen talking about his death. They're identified as Grimes and Goodfellow. They don't usually have names, but OK.

The Mr. Grimes character reappears in the "present" on Christmas morning, as it is he to whom Scrooge calls out the window, not a passing boy.

And Mr. Grimes happens to be the poulterer, so Scrooge cuts out the middle man and buys the prize turkey directly from him! In retrospect, it would seem strange that the poulterer was hanging around the Exchange making small talk!

Another thing that struck me as odd was not a change to a plot point, but the way the Cratchit family Christmas dinner was presented.

We don't hear any of the kids at all, only Bob and Mrs. Cratchit. This includes Tiny Tim. So, Bob says "God bless us, everyone," but Scrooge says Tiny Tim said it. Not sure why they didn't just have someone to play Tiny Tim, but there you go!

So, some very wacky changes, but I like a few curveballs to keep things interesting!

One other thing I will say about this broadcast is that I don't get a British feel at all, but this is an American broadcast with American sounding actors for American listeners.

Fun back in 1975 and worth a listen today!

CBS Radio Mystery Theater: "A Christmas Carol" (December 24, 1975) - Part 2

If you got the chance to listen to the broadcast of "A Christmas Carol" from the "CBS Radio Mystery Theater" of December 24, 1975, I'm sure you'll agree that it's an interesting adaptation.

In the annals of the show itself, the most noteworthy thing is that host E.G. Marshall appears as a character for the only time, playing the leading role of Ebenezer Scrooge.

Where things get wacky is that he still narrates the story as E.G. Marshall some of the time, but also narrates as Scrooge at other times and also interacts with other characters as Scrooge!

I can't think of another audio adaptation that has quite that dynamic.

Sometimes the star narrates in their usual voice and plays Scrooge with a different voice, such as Orson Wells and Laurence Olivier on radio broadcasts.

We also get the rare Scrooge as narrator, such as with Ronald Colman and Claude Rains on their recordings, but I think Mr. Marshall is the only one to do triple-duty!

E.G. Marshall, of course, had a long and distinguished career in movies and TV, from the mid-1940, through the late-1990s.

E.G. Marshall is on the far right in this scene from "Call Northside 777" (1948) as the new husband of Richard Conte's ex-wife.

He first appeared in small roles in a few movies for 20th Century Fox. I've seen all of them, with his role in "Call Northside 777" (1948) being the most memorable. He's younger than you usually think of him, but still not young. He probably never actually looked young!

E.G. helps his "son" come up with a way to get out of his "Brady Bunch" contact!

Tons of appearances later, he wound up as star of the TV series "The Defenders" (1961-65) with pre-Brady Robert Reed.

He held his own with this crowd!

His portrayal of one of the jurors (#4) in "12 Angry Men" (1957) was a memorable stop along the way.

Still a pro!

Who would've thought that he'd wind up in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" (1995) so many years later!

Mr. Marshall does a solid job as Scrooge and narrator here. I think he totally outclasses his co-stars.

Next: what kind of a script did they get?

CBS Radio Mystery Theater: "A Christmas Carol" (December 24, 1975) - Part 1

CBS Radio Mystery Theater (December 24, 1975)

"A Christmas Carol"

Director: Himan Brown

Scrooge: E.G. Marshall

We jump ahead now to December 24, 1975, where we'll hear the "CBS Radio Mystery Theater's" adaptation of "A Christmas Carol."

This special holiday broadcast features host E.G. Marshall as an actor for the only time in the series.

Give it a listen:

The Works of Charles Dickens Household Edition: Christmas Books (1878)

The Works of Charles Dickens Household Edition: Christmas Books (1878)

London: Chapman and Hall 

Illustrator: Fred Barnard

We're back to some early illustrations of "A Christmas Carol" with this set by Fred Barnard from the 1878 "household Edition" of Christmas Books by Charles Dickens.

There are only a few, but they're good...

I've seen this one reproduced quite often.

Doesn't the Beadle on the left look like Charles Laughton as Inspector Javert?

Always good to see different scenes and different interpretations!

The "Pears" Edition of Charles Dickens' Christmas Books - "A Christmas Carol" (1912)

The "Pears" Edition of Charles Dickens' Christmas Books -"A Christmas Carol" (1912)

A & F Pears Ltd.

Illustrator: Charles Green

Here's a bunch of illustrations by Charles Green (1840-1898 ) from a volume published by Pears in 1912, the centenary year of the birth of Charles Dickens. They must be from some earlier source, however, as Mr. Green had passed away long before 1912.

Whatever the case, there are 27 illustrations and they include some seldom depicted scenes:

A rare depiction of Scrooge's melancholy dinner!

That's Marley's face all right!

We hear about people cooking their dinners at the bakers' but rarely see them!

Martha looks so young here!

Good ol' Topper!

Love seeing this scene illustrated!

This is a cool perspective!

The window boy gets his own pic!

This kid looks terrified!

Curious that there's no depiction of the Ghost of Christmas Past, but there's a lot here!

I like them a lot!