Bonus Orson Welles!

Since we just heard Bill Johnstone as The Shadow/Lamont Cranston and had previously heard Bret Morrison in the role, I feel like we should give Orson Welles equal time!

Orson was the first actor to portray The Shadow when It became a half-hour crime-solving show and he played the part up until shortly before his (in)famous "War of the Worlds" broadcast.

He didn't have a Christmas episode of "The Shadow," but here's "Death House Rescue," from September 26, 1937, Orson's first appearance on the show:

Of note is that the cast includes future star character actors Agnes Moorehead as Margo Lane and Ray Collins as Commissioner Weston!

"The Shadow" is always fun and it's even more fun to hear Orson Welles so early in his career!

Bonus Bret Morrison!

I had mentioned that Bret Morrison, he of "Dickens' The Christmas Carol" for Cricket Records, portrayed The Shadow on that radio series.

Bret Morrison as The Shadow with Grace Matthews as Margo Lane.

He actually played Lamont Cranston/The Shadow longer than any other actor. He's the definitive Shadow to me, as I heard him more when I started listening to old-time radio back in the day based on the episodes that were available to me. 

Our friend Orson Welles had played The Shadow early in his radio career and it's a blast to hear him, but it's hard to separate the Orson Welles-ness when listening with modern ears. Plus, he was soon busy with some other projects I may have mentioned a time or two!

Bret Morrison just is The Shadow!

Naturally a show with such a long run as "The Shadow" enjoyed had some Christmas episodes along the way. 

So, in keeping with our year-round holiday spirit, here's Bret Morrison starring in "A Gift of Murder" originally  broadcast on December 21, 1947:

That's Christmas, The Shadow style!

"A Christmas Carol" All-Star Team - Day 16

Now that we've selected the minor characters for our "A Christmas Carol" All-Star Team, we turn to a more of a concept than a character.

Part of the appeal of the book is the wonderful expository descriptions of the scenes and actions.
A lot of different adaptations use a narrator, so we ant a good one for our team. And who better than Orson Welles?

Welles was a terrific radio actor with a great voice and he does full justice to Dickens's text on the radio broadcasts he did for "The Campbell Playhouse" in the 1930s.

We'll choose the 1939 broadcast which starred Lionel Barrymore as Scrooge. Orson gets plenty of airtime on that version and he doesn't have to worry about doubling as Scrooge, although I'm sure he had a blast when he did that on the 1938 broadcast.

The 1939 broadcast is one of my favorite adaptations, so it's good to have it represented as well!

Now that we have an awesome narrator to set the scene, we'll move on to the major characters!

"The Campbell Playhouse" (December 23, 1938) - Part 3

The 1938 version of "A Christmas Carol" from "The Campbell Playhouse" is similar in some ways to the more famous 1939 version, but it's not just swapping Lionel Barrymore for Orson Welles.

The 1938 broadcast includes Orson Welles reading from scripture as a Christmassy introduction. The interesting thing with that is it's the same passage from Luke (although a bit longer) that Linus uses to illustrate the true meaning of Christmas in "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (1965)! Surely a coincidence, but interesting nonetheless.

Once the story gets going, the beginning scenes in Scrooge's office use practically the same script as in 1939, including the odd bit about "Fothergill" (or something like that) having owed Scrooge "seventeen and six" since Michaelmas.

Everything with Scrooge's nephew Fred, the charity solicitor (played by Ray Collins - Fun!) and Bob Cratchit is the same, so you would think the rest of the show will follow suit. (As with 1939, Fred is never mentioned or heard from again. Joseph Cotten wasn't a star yet!)

Interestingly, though, while the incidents are largely the same in the rest of the show, the presentation and dialogue is a bit different.

This first becomes noticeable when Scrooge sees Marley's face in the fireplace and hears the bells ring, things that were not included in 1939. The dialogue with Marley's Ghost is also different, but the point is the same.

The Ghost of Christmas Past has the jet of light and the extinguisher cap here. He does show Scrooge the same scenes from the past: lonely young Ebenezer, Fezziwig's party, the breakup with Belle and Belle's happy marriage.

Of note, Scrooge does not call Fezziwig by name. He just says "my old master." Orson Welles does refer to him as Fezziwig when he's running over the cast at the end, however.

When Scrooge extinguishes the ghost, we have the station break.

When we return, Scrooge meets the Ghost of Christmas Present. As in 1939, they go to Bob Cratchit's house, but not Fred's party. But here in 1938, the spirit flies Scrooge around the city to see people celebrating the holiday. The scene after Bob's house where the spirit shows Scrooge the other celebrations is extended quite a bit.

The most surprising difference in this production is when the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows up and talks to Scrooge! He doesn't really say a lot, and I presume that the next year they figured it was just as well to keep the spirit silent and have Scrooge say some expository dialogue. Oddest thing here is that the spirit points to Scrooge's grave and reads the name rather than having Scrooge read it.

The spirit brings Scrooge to the Cratchit house where we learn that Tiny Tim has died, but instead of including the scene with the other businessmen discussing Scrooge's death, we have the charwoman, identified as Mrs. Dilber, selling the shirt and bed curtains to Old Joe.

When Scrooge wakes up on Christmas morning, he sounds kind of crazy. He sounds like a leprechaun or something!

We don't have Scrooge doing much else on Christmas morning. He doesn't talk to the kid out the window or buy a turkey or meet the charity gentleman. Those things were all included in 1939.

Instead, in this version, we cut right to the next morning where Scrooge beats Bob to the office and raises his salary.

A little more narration and scene!

So, what we have here is a very solid version of the story. Orson Welles was a master of dramatic radio and he's at his peak here.

The whole company is hititing on all cylinders. The music (by Bernard Herrmann), sound effects, etc. - all topnotch.

Orson even does us a solid by running down the names of the cast and the roles they play. That helps us latter day listeners a ton!

I'm sure that radio listeners in 1938 were disappointed not to hear Lionel Barrymore play Scrooge that year, but he did so for many years to come and this gives us the rare chance to hear Orson Welles tackle the role.

The irony is that this is the earliest of the series as sponsored by Campbell's Soup that survives, so chronologically, we actually get to hear Welles before Barrymore!

Let's just be glad for whatever does survive from old time radio!

"The Campbell Playhouse" (December 23, 1938) - Part 2

The adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" from the December 23, 1938 broadcast of "The Campbell Playhouse" offers a different take from the usual production, as Orson Welles does double duty as both the narrator and Scrooge.

This is Orson Welles in his radio prime at the height of his notoriety. It wasn't even two months after his "War of the Worlds" broadcast that set off at least some level of panic among the population.

That notoriety landed Welles a sponsor, in the form of Campbell's Soup, and his former "Mercury Theatre on the Air" became "The Campbell Playhouse." This was actually only the third broadcast under the new arrangement.

Is it telling that in his closing remarks, Orson only refers to "my sponsor" and does not mention Campbell's?

Anyway, whatever the reason was that Lionel Barrymore could not play Scrooge, I'm sure Welles was excited to play Scrooge!

I think he does a better job as narrator, as he had a great voice for that sort of thing. I'm not sure his wacky "Old Man 101" voice for Scrooge is entirely successful.

And I'm also not sure it's different enough from his regular voice to make you forget it's the same person who's narrating.

I also think he was stuck for a voice for young Scrooge. He couldn't use his regular voice and just winds up sounding like old Scrooge.

I like his acting as Scrooge, though, and I'm sure his 1938 fans enjoyed the show. I imagine even he never thought anybody would be listening to it and critiquing his work 80-plus years later!

The rest of the cast is solid, as Orson Welles always seemed to surround himself with good actors.

Some of the same actors appeared on the 1939 "Campbell Playhouse" presentation of "A Christmas Carol," but there's one very notable exception who appears only on the 1938 version.

Playing the part of Scrooge's nephew Fred in 1938 is Joseph Cotten, Orson's good friend from earlier radio jobs.

When Welles took advantage of his radio fame to get a contract to make movies for RKO Pictures, he took along many of his radio actors and cast them in his landmark film "Citizen Kane" (1941).

One of the biggest roles was given to Joseph Cotten and next thing you know, he was a movie star!

It's really fun to hear him this early in his career and I knew his voice right away!

Another interesting bit of casting is former star of "The Shadow" Frank Readick. It's not the actor that's surprising, but the character. He appears as... the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, who actually gets a few lines here!

Frank graduated to the role of Bob Cratchit in 1939. A solid pro.

I hear tell that the "Anna Stafford" whom Orson says plays Belle is actually Virginia Nicolson Welles, his first wife! Hmmm...

Next we'll take a look at the script of the 1938 program and see how it compares to the one from 1939...

"The Campbell Playhouse" (December 23, 1938) - Part 1

We hang around 1938 for a little while longer and move about a week ahead from that "Good News of 1939" broadcast. We land on the night of December 23 to listen to "The Campbell Playhouse" and its annual presentation of "A Christmas Carol."

So, wait, do we have Lionel Barrymopre playing Scrooge about a week after he had served as the narrator on the "Good News" show promting MGM's movie adaptation of "A Christmas Carol?"

No, we do not! Lionel Barrymore is not on the Campbell Playhouse for 1938, although he's referenced by star Orson Welles at the end. He doesn't say why Mr. Barrymore was unavailable, but that they expect him back the next year. (SPOILER: He did play Scrooge in 1939, as we have previously discussed!)

I've heard different theories about why Lionel Barrymore was unavailable, mostly that he was suddenly ill. More plausible perhaps was that he agreed not to play Scrooge on the radio so as not to conflict with the movie version. And he was a good MGM solider, so who knows?

The Shadow knows, but Orson Welles used to play the Shadow and he's not talking!

Actually, Orson Welles does talk a lot, as he narrates the story and stars as Scrooge!

Give it a listen and we'll break it down...

The Campbell Playhouse - "A Christmas Carol" (1939) - Part 3

OK, so we do need a bit of a breakdown of the 1939 "The Campbell Playhouse" presentation of "A Christmas Carol," as it's always interesting to see what's included, omitted or added when dealing with any adaptation.

This is quite a faithful version of the story. It includes quite a bit of narration, as befitting the presence of Orson Welles as narrator. Most of the narration is taken verbatim from the original text, without much being changed.

The actual dialogue is pretty faithful as well, but some of it has been changed, as is usually the case. It all fits the mood.

We get everything expected in the opening scenes at Scrooge's office, including Scrooge's nephew and the charity solicitation (with just one gentleman) and Scrooge yelling at Bob Cratchit for using too much coal.

Bob gets some fun extra stuff as he sings along with the carolers and goes over his Christmas list while working.

Bob also makes a donation to charity, which is a nice touch.

Frank Readick (left) and Orson Welles as The Shadow. Frank did the sinister laugh better!

Frank Readick (who, like Orson Welles, had previously played The Shadow on radio) does a fine job as Bob Cratchit.

I did find it curious that once Scrooge's nephew leaves, we don't hear anything about him again at all. Fan doesn't appear in the Christmas Past sequence, so there's no reference to him there and we don't go to the nephew's party with the Ghost of Christmas Present or at the end when Scrooge is reformed. I don't believe we ever find out that the nephew's name is Fred.

Bernard Herrmann's score really shines in the transition to the next scene. The music is infectiously jaunty as Bob goes home then ominously moody as Scrooge does the same.

The Ghost of Christmas Past doesn't show Fan, but he does include young Ebenezer at school and with Fezziwig in addition to the breakup with Belle and the scene with Belle happily married, which is often omitted.

Although the Christmas Present sequence doesn't include Fred's party, they do see the miners and sailors and other people celebrating and, of course the Cratchit's Christmas dinner. So, an interesting mix.

For Christmas Yet to Come, Scrooge and the spirit visit the Cratchits first to learn that Tiny Tim has died, then they see the other businessmen and finally Scrooge's grave. Quick, but the highlights as needed.

On Christmas morning, Scrooge engages the kid to buy the turkey and meets the charity gentleman.

Next morning, Scrooge beats Bob to the office raises his salary and promises him that Christmas bowl of smoking bishop!

Script, music, acting, sound effects  - we get it all here!

While I'm tossing out the pop culture references, I recognize the opening and closing theme as Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. A couple of years later, this became a huge hit for Freddy Martin and his Orchestra as "Piano Concerto in B Flat." A great record, which you can hear below:

The Campbell Playhouse - "A Christmas Carol" (1939) - Part 2

Did you get a chance to listen to the adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" done for "The Campbell Playhouse" in 1939?

I think it's terrific, but I do love old-time radio (or OTR as they say), so you can't always go by me.

You kind of get a two-for-one deal here, with Lionel Barrymore and Orson Welles. The most renowned (and loved, as Orson points out) radio Scrooge teamed with one of the most creative radio minds ever. How could it not be good?

As an OTR fan of long-standing, I remember very well when it was not always easy to be able to listen to shows. With the internet and digital revolution, there are so many old shows available for listening with a simple click, but back in the day you had to get what you could when you could.

The same was true with information about old shows. You pieced together what you could from various sources without being able to Google up information. Looking back, I'm surprised I knew as much as I did about things so far before my time.

But even then, I knew that Lionel Barrymore had acted as Scrooge over the duration of the golden age of radio and I knew him from watching old movies on TV. He had a very distinctive voice that was imitated a lot. The "Simon Bar Sinister" character from the "Underdog" cartoon series is probably the best-known homage to him. Like most kids from back then, when I first saw Lionel Barrymore in an old movie, I was like, "Hey! He sounds like that Underdog bad guy!" And this was before "It's a Wonderful Life" was on 24/7 at Christmastime!

Anyway, back in the day, some small record labels specialized in releasing old radio shows on LPs. My favorite was Radiola, as you always got a full hour on each LP and the shows were unedited. So, imagine my excitement when they announced that they would be releasing an LP of "A Christmas Carol" starring Lionel Barrymore featuring Orson Welles and the Mercury Theater!

So, naturally I ordered that thing and I really thought it was great and still do.

We get Orson Welles obviously having a great time reading ample amounts of the original text with his great pipes, so we get to hear lines from the book we don't hear very often, including the awesome "I am standing in the spirit at your elbow," as great a line for radio as anything ever!

We get a great performance from Lionel Barrymore, a total pro who easily can go from mean to nice with plenty of shading in between.

We get top support from Orson Welles's brilliant group of actors, including Ray Collins, George Coulouris, Everett Sloane and Erskine Sanford who all appeared to great effect in "Citizen Kane," leading to successful Hollywood careers.

We get great music from Bernard Herrmann, who also broke into pictures with "Citizen Kane" and wound up doing countless memorable movie scores, including several for Alfred Hitchcock, with "Psycho" as good an item as anything on anyone's resume. (As noted previously, Mr. Herrmann also provided the memorable score for the 1954 "Shower of Stars" presentation with Fredric March.)

Even announcer Ernest Chappell tastefully plugs Campbell's Soup!

This is radio drama at its best and I'm so thankful to be able to enjoy it today as those lucky listeners did some 80 years ago!

The Campbell Playhouse - "A Christmas Carol" (1939) - Part 1

The Campbell Playhouse - "A Christmas Carol" (1939)
Director: Orson Welles
Scrooge: Lionel Barrymore

Next we have another audio adaptation of "A Christmas Carol," as presented on the radio anthology series "The Campbell Playhouse" on December 24, 1939.

The show was overseen by Orson Welles, who was probably the most noteworthy radio personality at that time. This was only about a year after his (in)famous broadcast of "War of the Worlds" that set off a panic (of some degree) among unsuspecting listeners.

Welles was only 24 years old at the time, but at the peak of his radio powers. And he had recently signed a movie contract with R-K-O Pictures, which would ultimately lead to the release of "Citizen Kane" about a year and a half later. So, an interesting place in a legendary career.

What makes this particular broadcast even more special is that we have Lionel Barrymore playing Scrooge. That's big because Mr. Barrymore, was the radio Scrooge. He played Scrooge on the air for the first time in 1934 and the last in 1953. These things can be hard to follow at times, but I think he played the part 18 times over that 20 years. So, basically for the entire span of the golden age of radio, one thing listeners could look forward to was hearing Lionel Barrymore play Scrooge every Christmas season!

I believe this 1939 broadcast is the fourth time he appeared as Scrooge, having missed 1936 due to his wife's sudden death when his brother John took over the role (that must have been something!) and 1938 due to a conflict with MGM's movie version (Lionel was an MGM star) when Orson Welles assumed the role in what's considered the official run.

All of which brings us to 1939, which seems to be the first surviving broadcast with Lionel Barrymore playing Scrooge. Add in the Orson Welles factor and you've really got something!

There are different versions floating around out there, but as you can imagine, I think one needs to listen to a complete broadcast with the intro and outro and greetings from Campbell's Soup and all to put oneself back in 1939 and enjoy it as audiences did back then.

The link below has one such version. Give it a listen and we'll talk about it later...