"General Electric Theater" - December 15, 1957

"The Trail to Christmas" (December 15, 1957) 
"General Electric Theater"
Director: James Stewart
Scrooge: John McIntire

We keep going with Jimmy Stewart for just a bit longer as we come across an episode of the ""General Electric Theater" TV series from 1957 titled "The Trail to Christmas."

Apparently the episode is a reworking of "Britt Ponset's Christmas Carol" episode from "The Six Shooter" radio series!

The show still exists, but it's not available for viewing right now, but we'll see what happens.

James Stewart directed the episode and relates the western version of A" Christmas Carol" as a character named "Bart" (he was Britt now he's Bart, so not exactly like the Maverick brothers!).

The Scrooge role is enacted by John McIntire, the veteran character actor (he had appeared in "Winchester '73") who gained his greatest fame when he replaced the late Ward Bond as wagonmaster on the long-running TV series "Wagon Train" starting in 1961.

The "Jake Marley" character is played by Will Wright, another character actor with a lot of credits, including appearing on "The Six Shooter" radio series. His best-known Christmas-related role is as Ben Weaver, the Scrooge-like store owner in the 1960 Christmas episode of "The Andy Griffith Show." 

We last saw him here, drinking punch with Ozzie Nelson while Ricky sang "Jingle Bells!"

The most intriguing casting, however, would be Sally Fraser as Belle. If that seems familiar, it's because she played Belle opposite Fredric March in the 1954 "Shower of Stars" adaptation. That can't be a coincidence!

Hopefully this show becomes available at some point. The rights may have something to do with the host of "General Electric Theater" shown at the top of the page.

Isn't he the guy who portrayed Grover Cleveland Alexander in 1952's "The Winning Team" with Doris Day? Did we ever find out what happened to him?

Bonus Jimmy Stewart - Winchester '73!

I had mentioned when discussing James Stewart's radio series "The Six Shooter" that the actor had within the past couple of years prior adopted a somewhat grittier persona in a series of westerns beginning with "Winchester '73" in 1950.

"Winchester '73" happens to be one of my favorite movies ever and I like his characterization of Lin McAdam, the protagonist, a lot.

The Britt Ponset character from "The Six Shooter" makes me think that's what Lin McAdam would be like if he rode around having adventures. A pleasant fellow with a strong moral compass who doesn't look for trouble but does what he needs to do.

To his credit as an actor, Jimmy Stewart did not bring that same characterization to every western he made. In fact, he's a little different in each one with multiple levels of shading.

Here's the trailer for a re-release of "Winchester '73":

Makes me want to watch it again!

I notice that Millard Mitchell doesn't get mentioned in the trailer, but I think he steals the movie as Jimmy's saddle pal High-Spade.

Unfortunately, Mitchell had passed away in 1953, which was probably before this reissue.

For more fun, here's the "Lux Radio Theater" adaptation from November 12, 1951:

Good to hear Jimmy Stewart and Stephen McNally reprising their roles from the movie and interesting to hear Julia Adams in the Shelly Winters role. Lots of solid radio actors in support, including William Conrad and Bill Johnstone.

I would say that if you haven't seen the movie yet, do so before you listen to the radio adaptation!

"The Six Shooter" (December 20, 1953) - Part 3

A few words about the cast of "The Six Shooter" episode "Britt Ponset's Christmas Carol" and some other things...

The series ran on NBC for one season of 39 episodes from 1953-1954 and it came along at kind of an interesting time.

Television had been making serious inroads by this point and the biggest effect was that if people were watching TV, they were no longer listening to the radio.

So, one thing that radio tried was having stars such as James Stewart headline shows. He was a big movie star at the time, so it's not like he needed the work.

Another trend was for shows to be transcribed, i.e. recorded in advance, which allowed the stars to work on the shows on their own schedule, as opposed to needing to block out a set time for a live broadcast.

Also, by 1953 Jimmy Stewart had become comfortable in the western movie genre. He was a non-traditional hero in his first western, "Destry Rides Again" (1939), but established a rugged new persona with his next western, "Winchester '73" (1950).

So, add it all up and we have Jimmy Stewart in a transcribed western radio show!

As expected, he does a great job on the show with his unmistakable voice and deceptively folksy demeanor.

The announcer on "The Six Shooter" was Hal Gibney, and if his name wasn't familiar, a lot of people knew his voice as the announcer for the radio and TV versions of "Dragnet." You know, "...Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent..."

For this particular episode, announcer Gibney tells us that Scrooge was played by Howard McNear. He was a busy radio actor, appearing as Doc on "Gunsmoke" at this time, but was later best-known for his role as Floyd, the nosy Mayberry barber on "The Andy Griffith Show" TV series.

No one else is credited, but the voice of the Johnny character is easily recognizable as that of Dick Beals, who was 26 years old at the time, but did a great kid voice for a really long time, not unlike Walter Tetley. 

When I hear that voice, I immediately think of Davey from "Davey and Goliath," whose voice Dick provided up through 1965's "Christmas Lost and Found." He also had a long run voicing "Speedy Alka Seltzer" for TV commercials.

Dick Beals also popped up in 1953 as the window boy in Lionel Barrymore's 1953 broadcast of "A Christmas Carol" on the "Hallmark Hall of Fame." Have we listened to that yet?

We're fortunate that every episode of "The Six Shooter" survives and it's still great entertainment!

"The Six Shooter" (December 20, 1953) - Part 2

If you got the chance to listen to the "Britt Ponset's Christmas Carol" episode of "The Six Shooter" radio series, I'm sure you'll agree that it's actually fairly straightforward adaptation!

If you haven't heard it yet but would like to, you should go back and listen, as there are some SPOILERS regarding the framing story. 

The set-up of Jimmy Stewart's Britt Ponset character telling the story to a young boy named Johnny allows the story to follow the typical plot points with a western twist rather than having a "real" Scrooge-like character within the show's universe undergo a similar conversion. I think that approach works really well.

Johnny's aunt is actually a bit Scroogey until she has a change of heart, even though she's not the one that hears the story!

In any event, Britt's version of the story is pretty faithful to the book, just transplanting it to the western United States.

The Scrooge character is generally just referred to as "Eben," but we do learn that his full name is "Ebenezer Scrooge" when he sees it on his tombstone. He's a wealthy rancher here.

The Bob Cratchit stand-in is named "Bob" with a son named "Tim" and the Jacob Marley character is "Jake," but we don't hear their last names. And Belle is still Belle, but she's the schoolmarm!

I don't think any of the other characters are named.

The biggest change plot-wise is that Bob, Eben's ranch foreman, lives with his family in a shack on one of the ranches and Eben demands that he tear it down, on Christmas Day, which would leave the family homeless. 

This establishes the Scrooge character as really mean and heartless as opposed to just a miserly businessman.

This does allow for a nice moment at the end when Eben goes out to the shack on the morning after Christmas, feigning anger at Bob for not having torn down the shack, but surprising him by telling him the reason the shack needs to go is so Eben can build a house for Bob and his family!

There's one other change that might be unique to this version, which occurs in the future sequence. Among the people reflecting on Eben's death are Belle and her husband! 

I don't recall otherwise ever hearing (or seeing) their scene in the future.

A fun bit concerns the Christmas party at the house of Eben's nephew. The game the guests play is pin the tail on the donkey, with said donkey having Eben's face. The best part is that when Eben goes to the party on Christmas in "real" time, he insists that they use that they still use that donkey for their game!

The whole thing's a lot of fun and it hits the right emotional notes as well!

"The Six Shooter" (December 20, 1953) - Part 1

"The Six Shooter" (December 20, 1953)

Director: Jack Johnstone

Scrooge: Howard McNear

It seems like a good time for an old-time radio adaptation of "A Christmas" (although it's always a good time)!

Here's one with a western twist from the NBC show "The Six Shooter," as broadcast on December 20, 1953.

The episode is called "Britt Ponset's Christmas Carol."

Give it a listen:

Pretty cool!

Or Was It This Brand?

Controversy over which brand C. Dickens preferred:

Or did he like them all?

Bransby Williams Returns!

Way back when (here) I had been wondering if the recording on this Bransby Williams LP from Decca Records were new recordings or reissues of his old 78s:

I think I have the solution, which is based on this 1949 LP on London Records:

I'm presuming the London album is a U.S. issue of the British Decca album, which presumably had originally been released in 1949 or earlier.

In any event, the Scrooge cuts are extremely similar to the 78s with some slight differences:

Of course, the LP I have access to is so scratchy that it might as well be from 78s, but I think those are new recordings using the same basic script from his old "My Sketches from Dickens" book.

Whatever the case, I always enjoy hearing Mr. Williams!

First Edition!

For the 100th "Random" post, here's an interesting little video of actor Simon Callow at the Charles Dickens museum with a first edition of "A Christmas Carol":

Pretty cool, but it makes me nervous that he's not wearing gloves!

A Little More Post!

Speaking of "The Saturday Evening Post"  a few days ago, don't these guys on the cover of the December 8, 1923 issue look like they'd be scoffed at by Scrooge at the beginning of the book?

Norman Rockwell always did a great job!

Endorsement!

We just saw the "A Christmas Carol"-themed tin from J & B Scotch and apparently the author of that story was a fan of the product:

I guess that's one celebrity whom you don't have to pay for the endorsement!

A Little More 1930s!

Here's an ad from "The Saturday Evening Post" issue of December 26, 1936:

Of note is that this is the broadcast in which John Barrymore filled in for Lionel due to Lionel's wife passing away the day before. That was a last-minute change, so it wasn't reflected in the ad.

I think it's interesting that the ad copy uses the word "pathetic" to describe Tiny Tim.

Here's what the dictionary says:

pa·thet·ic

Learn to pronounce

adjective

1. 1.

   arousing pity, especially through vulnerability or sadness.

   "she looked so pathetic that I bent down to comfort her"
2. 2.   miserably inadequate; of very low standard.

        "he's a pathetic excuse for a man"

They're going with the first definition, but I think in 2022 the second is more common but we really don't think of Tiny Tim that way!

And here's the 1935 ad for the show:

I've always liked that depiction of Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim!

More Holiday Spirits!

Lots of spirits were no doubt consumed on St. Patrick's Day, but maybe not from this bottle:

Scrooge looks like he might have been dipping into the contents!

What's interesting is that the actual spirits are shown on another side:

But that's clearly Marley's Ghost and not the Ghost of Christmas Past!

So, who was sampling the product?

The "Real" 1931 Broadcast!

Having beaten the "Mystery Broadcast" of "A Christmas Carol" into the ground, I thought it appropriate to talk about what we know of the real BBC broadcast of December 24, 1931.

Here's the listing from the December 188, 1931 issue of "Radio Times":

So, what we know is that there was a "Christmas Eve" show that ran for about an hour and part of said show was an adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" titled "Scrooge" with Malcolm Keen in the Scrooge part.

This is exactly how I want my early 1930s British actors to look!

Things get extremely intriguing with Malcolm Keen, as he was apparently featured in two early TV adaptations of "A Christmas Carol" as well!

The first was an episode of "Fireside Theatre" from December 25, 1951 in which Mr. Keen portrayed Marley's Ghost opposite Ralph Richardson as Scrooge!

The next year on December 24, 1952 Keen played the part of Scrooge himself on an episode of the "Kraft Theatre" series!

I don't know if either of those TV versions are still out there, but I'd love to see them!

Back to the 1931 broadcast, it's interesting that the adaptation itself is called "Scrooge," which seem so British, as the 1935 Sir Seymour Hicks, the 1951 Alastair Sim and the 1970 Albert Finney movies were all named "Scrooge."

Of further note, the narrator on the Mystery Broadcast does not refer to that adaptation as "Scrooge" per se, so that's another strike!

On the other hand, the 1931 broadcast and the Mystery Broadcast both have a character named Alice. Hmmm...

I think we need that time machine to ever have a chance to hear the 1931 broadcast!

Mystery Broadcast - Part 3!

We now return to the Mystery Broadcast...

So, what is the deal with this recording of "A Christmas Carol" anyway?

Well, most sources say it's a BBC broadcast from 1931.

There was such a broadcast, but I'm inclined to think this is not it.

For one thing, the cast isn't overly British sounding. The kid voices in particular sound American to me, but why would a British production want American voices in a story that takes place in England?

And "John," the husband of Scrooge's former fiancée, mentions Santa. That doesn't seem British at all!

Also, the quality seems a little too good for a 1931 broadcast. I'm inclined to think this is from a transcription disc rather than a recording of a live broadcast.

There are no credits at all, so no help there. 

If we knew who was portraying Scrooge we'd have something to go on, but it's probably not the actor's real voice, but rather someone using his stock gruff voice.

So, I'm thinking an American transcription from later in the 1930s.

But it's a mystery!

Paging Sherlock Holmes, Nick Carter and Richard Diamond!

Mystery Broadcast - Part 2!

If you got the chance to listen to the "Mystery Broadcast" of "A Christmas Carol," I'm sure you'll agree it's a good adaptation!

Right now is as good a time as any to run down the elements from the book that were included and anything that might have been added.

It runs about 40 minutes, so there's plenty of time to include most of what needs to be included.

We start off with some carolers singing "Silent Night" before a jaunty narrator sets the scene with some dialogue right from the book mixed with some new material. 

The opening scene in Scrooge's office contains just about everything we would expect, with the coal business, Fred's visit and (in this case just one) charity solicitor.

Curiously, Scrooge does not make his "surplus population" remark even through the charity guy puts it right over the plate for him to swing at!

After reluctantly giving Bob the day off, the scene changes to Scrooge already in bed when Marley's ghost arrives.

Marley's Ghost gives Scrooge the usual warning and tells him the other three spirits will all come that same night, but only giving the start time (one o'clock) for the first.

The Ghost of Christmas Past shows up on cue and we get a few scenes.

The transition to each scene is accompanied by a kind of siren sound, which is pretty effective.

First is young Ebenezer at school. Fan comes in and interestingly, Ebenezer said he was waiting for her and asks if they're going home. I always got the impression from the book that he was surprised that Fan showed up to take him home.

The schoolmaster gets a couple of lines here for a change!

Next up is Fezziwig's Christmas party, at which the spirit gets in a good dig at how Fezziwig was a kinder master than "the surviving partner of Scrooge and Marley!"

The breakup scene is next and, most intriguing of all, his former fiancée's name is Alice, just like in the 1951 Alastair Sim movie version! Must be a coincidence, right? 

Unlike that Alice, we do see this one married and her husband is named John here. Alice says she's very happy and says, "To think what I might have been," in an unusually direct reference to her prior betrothal.

Next up is the Ghost of Christmas Present and Scrooge actually asks the spirit to show him some happiness and goodness and love, showing that he's on the way to reformation.

Naturally they stop off at Bob Cratchit's house and Scrooge seems excited to see him. The Cratchits do about everything you'd expect.

They also visit Fred's party where Scrooge and the spirit watch Fred and the guests play the yes or no game, then toast Scrooge.

Before the spirit leaves, he brings Scrooge down an alley to show him Ignorance and Want. It's very unusual for them not to be hiding in the spirit's robe (when they're included at all).

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come then appears and he does talk in this adaptation.

The spirit shows Scrooge the businessmen as expected, but things take an interesting turn when they actually see two women (presumably the charwoman and laundress) helping themselves to Scrooge's possessions rather than having them selling them to Old Joe.

They then go back to the Cratchit house where we learn that Tiny Tim has died. The spirit then shows Scrooge his own grave and Scrooge pleads for mercy.

Since this spirit talks, he confirms that if Scrooge departs from his course, the ends will change. Good to know!

As with many adaptations, things take a wacky turn on Christmas morning!

Scrooge is aware it's Christmas morning, as the spirits all came on Christmas Eve, so he didn't have to ask anyone. 

It's kind of confusing, but apparently a boy who works for the poulterer knocks on Scrooge's door, mistakenly thinking that Scrooge had ordered a turkey. He hadn't, but he does have the boy bring this turkey back, then deliver the prize turkey to the Cratchits. I don't know why they did it this way. 

What's also odd is that the boy says he brought Scrooge the biggest turkey they had, yet he's not talking about the prize turkey!

Next Fred shows up to ask Scrooge one more time if he'll come to dinner. Scrooge agrees to come, then sends Fred to find the charity solicitor after he tells Fred that he plans to surprise Bob at the office the next morning.

An abrupt cut with no siren-type sound effect finds Scrooge and Bob at the office where Scrooge raises Bob's salary and quotes Tiny Tim's famous line.

The carolers start singing "O Come All Ye Faithful" and we're done!

So, a pretty straightforward adaptation with a few little wrinkles to keep it interesting.

As the narrator said, it's a special radio treat!

Mystery Broadcast - Part 1!

We have an interesting adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" to listen to...

It's a radio broadcast that's something of a mystery. It's perhaps the BBC program from December 24, 1931, but perhaps not. Probably not.

But give it a listen:

Next: Let's discuss!

One More Stop!

One more stop in the time machine for another Federal Theatre production!

It's back to Ohio for this 1937 show in Cleveland:

The artwork is striking, but I don't get it!

Next Stop!

 From Cincinnati in 1938, I'd go back to San Antonio in 1936:

I wonder what San Antonio was like in 1936 - that was the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Alamo!

Bonus 78s - Sailing Along!

If you've been paying attention, you'll know it's time to hear some recordings of the songs from 1938's "Sailing Along" starring Jessie Matthews! 

Jessie cut the four main songs from the movie for British Decca backed by Peter Yorke and his Orchestra.

Here's the coupling of "Souvenir of Love" and "Trusting My Love":

And here's "Your Heart Skips a Beat" backed with "My River":

Sounds good!

Decca also had Sidney Lipton and his Grosvenor House Orchestra record "Souvenir of Love" and "Trusting My Luck" with the great Al Bowlly on vocals:

Al Bowlly was just a great singer. He's best-known for his many recordings with Ray Noble both in England and the U.S.

RCA had British bandleader Roy Fox record the same two songs (flipping them as the A and B sides) which they released in America on the Bluebird label:

To top it all off, RCA also had the musical director of "Sailing Along," Lou Levy, record all four songs on two sides on their British His Master's Voice label featuring vocalists Gerry Fitz Gerald and Eve Becke:

Lou Levy worked on a ton of British films including the Alfred Hitchcock classics "The 39 Steps" and "The Lady Vanishes."

Lots of good recordings of the "Sailing Along" songs!

Barry MacKay 101 - Lesson 6!

After having enjoyed "Gangway" with Jessie Matthews and Barry MacKay, I thought it appropriate to watch their third and final screen pairing - "Sailing Along" from 1938!

It's also Barry's last movie in England before going Hollywood for MGM's "A Christmas Carol" later in 1938.

"Sailing Along" is another fun movie with Jessie and Barry still displaying good chemistry, but it's a bit different from "Evergreen" and "Gangway" in a few ways.

A big difference is that their characters already know each other when the movie starts, so they don't "meet cute" as is often the case.

They argue a lot and profess not to like each other, but if you've ever seen a movie before, you know that couples who argue that much must really love each other. In the movies at least!

Another difference is that Jessie is given a polished song and dance man to perform with, as opposed to having Barry sing a little and dance a little.

The singer/dancer in question is American Jack Whiting, who was mainly a stage performer, making only a handful of movie appearances. His only other movie of the period is Paramount's "Give Me a Sailor," also from 1938, a Martha Raye/Bob Hope vehicle in which Jack is cast as Hope's brother!

Funny that Jack Whiting has those two movies from 1938, but one's American and one's British, yet they both have "sail" in the title!

Whatever the case, he's quite good here in "Sailing Along," which gives him a better chance to showcase his musical skills than "Give Me a Sailor" does.

Jack's character is also a romantic rival for the affections of Miss Matthews, an idea not present in the first two movies.

Also different is the setting, as a lot of the action takes place on a barge, Barry's character being the son of a barge owner, with Jessie the foster daughter of the same owner.

Said barge owner, the Skipper, is played by Frank Pettingell, whom we remember from his 1959 recording of "A Christmas Carol."

Second (but much smaller than Jessie Matthews) billed is Roland Young, whom I've always enjoyed in the many movies in which I've seen him.

He has a British stiff-upper-lip mumbly delivery that enhances the one-liners he gets to toss off.

Roland Young's main Dickens connection is his terrific performance as Uriah Heep in MGM's 1935 adaptation of David Copperfield," in which he cast against type but delivers the goods.

Also on hand in "Sailing Along" is Alastair Sim, playing another wacky side character as he had in "Gangway."

Watching these movies definitely gives me context for Barry MacKay, but it's also enlightening to see Alastair Sim early in his career playing very eccentric characters. You wouldn't think he be giving an acclaimed performance as Scrooge as dozen or so years later!

Here's a clip from the VCI's DVD of "Sailing Along":

All in all a fun flick!

That's "Love Is Not a Joke" in Italian!

Bonus 78s - Gangway!

Since I was just talking about the 1937 movie "Gangway" starring Jessie Matthews and Barry MacKay and since I never pass up the opportunity to listen to some 78rpm records, let's hear some of the songs from the movie!

The film's main four featured songs all had studio recordings by Jessie Matthews on British Decca, backed by Jay Wilbur and his Band. 

Here's the title song:

What's interesting is that although it's the title song, within the context of the movie it's a song that Jessie's character had heard in a stage production and she performs it for a co-worker. So, it's sort of from the movie but sort of not, you know?

The flipside is "Lord and Lady Whoozis" (which was sung as a duet with Barry in the movie):

Interesting to note that the Australian label says the song is from the film "Sparkles." That's the name of the jewel thief whom Jessie is suspected as being. I wonder if that was the original pre-release title.

Another duet in the movie was "Moon or No Moon":

And then there's the snappy "When You Gotta Sing You Gotta Sing":

I always enjoy tap dancing sounds on records and if you're going to namedrop Fred Astaire in the lyrics, why not?

I like the very 1930s sound on those records. Jessie's singing style seems very much of the period as well, kind of in the Deanna Durbin and Snow White (from the Disney film) family.

I don't think that these records of Jessie Matthews were released in America, but Decca did have American releases of the versions of the same four songs recorded by popular British bandleader Ambrose, whom we heard with "Winter Wonderland" not too long ago.

Here's "Gangway" featuring vocalist Evelyn Dall:

For the flipside, this version of "Lord and Lady Whoozis" keeps it as duet, with Sam Browne and future star Vera Lynn:

Then Sam Browne gets a solo vocal on "Moon or No Moon":

And the Manhattan Trio (per the original British label) sings "When You Gotta Sing You Gotta Sing":

I like these Ambrose records a lot, as I'm partial to dance band records anyway, and they offer a nice contrast to Jessie Matthews's versions.

Good 1930s fun!

Barry MacKay 101 - Lesson 5!

While virtually hanging around the 1930s and realizing that it's been over a year since our last Barry MacKay lesson, I thought it was time to watch another of his movies!

So, I tracked down "Gangway" from 1937, his second co-starring film with Jessie Matthews, following 1934's "Evergreen."

This is another British musical from Gaumont Studios and it's a lot of fun!

It has a mistaken identity plot, which is so common in 1930s musicals and I can see this being adapted for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers without too much trouble.

Jessie plays a newspaper movie reviewer who gets mistaken for an international jewel thief by most of the rest of the cast, including Barry as an inspector from Scotland Yard. 

Alastair Sim and Nat Pendleton provide the comedy relief

The movie is something of a spoof of American gangster movies and American actor Nat Pendleton is a riot as the main gangster, spouting gangster-lingo in a way that British filmmakers would think Americans actually talk!

Also on hand is Alastair Sim in an early role as a wacky insurance investigator.  In a movie filled with screwball characters, he's the screwiest!

Mr. Sim looks younger than he did as Scrooge, but he still doesn't look young, despite being only 37 at the time. Some people never looked young!

So, how's Barry MacKay here? He's very good and has great chemistry with Jessie Matthews.

She's a way better singer and dancer than he is, but the numbers are staged in a way that he does what he does and more or less stays out of the way while she is showcased.

Jessie Matthews is definitely the star attraction here and she's billed in huge letters above the title, but Barry's role is also pretty big.

Here's a promo clip from VCI's DVD release:

VCI offers a number of Jessie Matthews movies in nice prints!

Small font or not, at least Robert Young's name is on this lobby card!

In the meantime, I had also seen Jessie Matthews in 1936's "It's Love Again" opposite Robert Young and I'm officially a fan!