Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Your Radio Theater - Tom, Dick and Harry

It has been brought to my attention that the radio version, starring Miss Ginger Rogers of Tom, Dick and Harry, listed with the Lux Radio Theater items isn't actually a Lux Radio Theater show.  I've listened to the show a few times and it escaped my notice.  That shows you the value of an ear witness, I guess.  The show SOUNDS just like a Lux show.  The introduction is the same style, the music is the same and good old Cecil B. Demille is the director/host BUT this particular version is actually a Your Radio Theater production.  A big give away that this is a different show is Harry James playing the trumpet, with his Music Makers, and Helen Forrest singing where the Lux soap ads would have been.  A bigger hint is the announcer actually saying, "From Hollywood, Your Radio Theater" followed by "for all of you men and women in the armed forces of the United Nations."  It was produced by the "Special Service" from Hollywood, California. 

It is possible that the show originated as a Lux episode and, with just a few changes to the beginning, middle and ending, was rebroadcast for the troops overseas as part of a request series with a different title.  I've looked through some Old Time Radio (OTR) logs and haven't found any listings for other Your Radio Theater shows made during World War II (there is an NBC series of the same name in the 1950's but it doesn't appear to be the same one).  If I find anything else out, I'll add it here.

In the meantime, here is a photo from the making of the movie Tom, Dick and Harry, starring Ginger Rogers, George Murphy and some other fellas, from Motion Picture magazine:

Motion Picture magazine    July 1941


If you are searching on archive.org, the radio show is listed with the Lux Radio Theater shows from 1941 and you can find it here:

http://archive.org/details/Lux06

or listen online here:

http://ia700307.us.archive.org/32/items/Lux06/Lux_41-09-08_Tom_Dick_and_Harry.mp3

For a list of Lux Radio Theater shows featuring Ginger Rogers, that can be found on archive.org, checkout this blog page:
http://thegingerrogersresouce.blogspot.com/2012/09/lux-radio-theater.html

For an alphabetical list of radio shows featuring Ginger Rogers, that can be found on archive.org, checkout this blog page:
http://thegingerrogersresouce.blogspot.com/2012/10/radio-shows-from-z.html


The Motion Picture magazine image above can be found here:
http://archive.org/stream/motionpicture61fawc#page/64/mode/2up

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Top Hat - RKO Radio Preview

Photoplay Magazine    September 1935
This item just appeared on archive.org
It is a recording of a radio preview of songs from Top Hat, the movie, starring Miss Ginger Rogers and Mr. Fred Astaire.  It is a "sparkling romance set brilliantly to music."  What with the great Rogers-Astaire magic on the dance floor and the wonderful score by Irving Berlin, you'd just be crazy not to be crazy for it and I'm sure it will be a hit!  The record only runs for 13 minutes and 27 seconds but in that amount of time you get:

Fred Astaire singing "No Strings"
Fred Astaire singing "Isn't it a Lovely Day (to Be Caught in the Rain)"
Ginger Rogers singing "The Piccolino"
Fred Astaire singing "Cheek to Cheek"
and
Fred Astaire singing "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails"


Check it out at:

http://archive.org/details/FredAstaireAndGingerRogersRadioPromosForTopHatRoberta1935

I couldn't get the MP3 to play but the Ogg file (what a name) does work if you go to:
http://ia700602.us.archive.org/22/items/FredAstaireAndGingerRogersRadioPromosForTopHatRoberta1935/TopHat1935RadioPromo.ogg

The songs are those from the movie but only "No Strings" includes the sound of tapping feet after the song is done.

The "Hollywood (Is) on the Air" radio preview for Roberta is also on the page for your listening pleasure.  Other "Hollywood (Is) on the Air" items are listed here:
http://thegingerrogersresouce.blogspot.com/2012/09/hollywood-on-air.html

In case you missed it, here is the review of Top Hat from Photoplay Magazine, November 1935:

You can find the review from Photoplay Magazine here:
http://www.archive.org/stream/photoplayvolume448chic#page/n543/mode/2up

You can find the photo, from Photoplay Magazine seen at the top of this page, of Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire and Irving Berlin here:
http://www.archive.org/stream/photoplayvolume448chic#page/n305/mode/2up