Happy Birthday, Ray Milland

This morning, I jumped into my freezing 8 degree car, in the dark, returning to work after a long time off, and heard Ray Milland on the radio - things kinda feet better after that. XM was playing an old radio broadcast The Uninvited and I just so happened to remember the date...

Robert Montgomery on OTR

I think I've finally found the most comprehensive list of Robert Montgomery appearances on radio, thanks to RadioGoldIndex.com. Count 'em, 71 programs!

Not too long ago I was flipping around XM Radio stations in my car and popped on XM Radio Classics. An episode of Suspense was ending and Bob's voice seemingly came out of nowhere as he added the show's end narration. Odd how you "tune" into things like that.

Let's Talk Hitchcock for a Moment

I must have been living under a rock - just ran into my new favorite site: HitchcockWiki.com.

Tons of details and photo downloads. My favorite find so far . . . Know the movie?

Did I mention photos? Be sure to check out Mr. and Mrs Smith and your other favorites.

Related, I was driving home from work today and flipped to the Radio Classics channel on XM. I caught the tail end of a discussion of Ray Milland starring in a version of Strangers on a Train. From what I've dug up so far, it's dated 51-12-03 from the Lux Radio Theater. If you have a copy on MP3 and would like to share, please drop me a note! If I can get a copy, I'll post it on the blog as well for everyone.

UPDATE: Kelsey found a link to the MP3 of Milland's Strangers on a Train over at Calfkiller OTR. Thanks!

Good News of 1938

I don't believe I've posted this file before, so here it goes. Here is an episode of Good News of 1938, from March 24, 1938. The episode includes a skit with Robert Montgomery and Rita Johnson. The couple is out of work and out of cash. Enter a pair of stilts a chicken costume and, well, I'll let you listen.

14 MB MP3 - 62 Minutes

The Great Replacement

I've given up on the Halloween theme this week: it's all been done before. But before it's completely out of my hands lying on the floor in a heap, here's a stretch of a theme post - a few different "costumes."

Guess the actor. If you read this blog with any regularity, you'll figure it out.

Update: A tip of the hat to the anonymous tipster who guessed the name: Robert Q. Lewis. These pics are from his CBS radio days, specifically February of 1948 . . . a few years before his television debut. Unfortunately, I don't know is whether these shots match any specific characters from his radio show or not. Finding copies of any of Robert Q's radio shows is harder to find than hen's teeth.

Always a Confirmed Badger...

It's Halloween week and I'm trying to "scare" up some non-monster, classic themed items for the blog this week (not a big monster fan - but space aliens...).

Today: Orson Welles, War of the Worlds, and his Wisconsin roots in this article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Magnificent Obsession - Radio Style

Irene Dunne and Robert Taylor were caught here during rehersal of the Lux Radio Theater production of "Magnificent Obsession" discussing the script with Frank Woodruff, supervising director of the dramatic production.

Better yet - here's the radio presentation from April 26, 1937:

One Hour - 13 MB MP3

Photo Friday: RQL Radio

Props to funny radio people, one of which is a new favorite: Robert Q. Lewis. Before his television shows, radio shows, game shows, and movie appearances (shew), Robert Q. was a disc jockey. My favorite tidbit: he played David Rose's song The Stripper (you'd know if if you heard it) for 45 minutes nonstop on his music show. Want to request a song on the show? Not that day - you got The Stripper instead.

A larger, crazier Bob

This late thought just in: Now I know why this stunt resonates with me. A local morning radio show did the same with Roxanne (and Johnny Cash, but I enjoyed that) - over and over and over....

The Seventh Veil - Radio Style

I haven't posted a radio show in a while, so there's no better time than the present.

Today's show comes from Lux Radio Theater, December 13, 1948 - the presentation of The Seventh Veil starring Ingrid Bergman and Robert Montgomery. The show appears to be the same story released as a feature film in 1945 starring James Mason and Ann Todd. I haven't seen the film, so I'm unable to provide any comparisons of the two. However if you have, please let us know what you think.

One hour - 13.5 MB MP3

Since I don't care for witting story summaries, I'll just pull it from the radio show itself: the story of a musician and the man who loves and dominates her. Now get listening!

One More Iteration - Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Ha, I bet you thought I was done posting different radio versions of Mr. and Mrs. Smith! So did I.

Nope, there's one more I've located, from the Hollywood Star Time show, which aired July 20, 1946. Frigidaire brings you Robert Montgomery and Mary Jane Croft in the roles you've come to love (and memorize) by now. I believe this last MP3 covers all of the Bob presentations of the story over the air.

13.8 MB MP3, 30 Minutes

I still believe the main character missing from all of these versions is Anne's mother: "By no means are you to..."

Biography of a Bachelor Girl Trailer

I love how this starts with the 3 women...



Related, there's a good OTR version of this story with Joseph Cotten and Louise Albritton. Joseph is dead-on perfect as Richard Kurt. The file is a bit on the large side for me to host, but visit the Internet Archive page on the Screen Guild Theater and just scroll down until you hit Biography of a Bachelor Girl.

Good News of 1939

Happiness is Bob Young and Bob Montgomery on the same stage. That's what you get with this episode of Good News of 1939, presented March 16 of said year and hosted by Bob Young with Frank Morgan in between segments.

14 MB - 1 Hour MP3

In this particular episode, Baby Snooks visits the World's Fair, Bob Young talks about his new ranch in the San Fernando Valley, and Bob Montgomery plays a part in Fate is Not Always a Lady. Not one of my favorites, but it does have its moments.

Many thanks to Bantaskin for digging up this recording.

My Favorite Wife - Radio Style

Today's radio feature is the Gulf Screen Guild Theater's version of My Favorite Wife, presented March 23, 1941. Instead of Cary Grant, we get Bob Montgomery as Nick Arden (I'm fine with the substitution...), Irene Dunne as Ellen Arden, and Franklin Pangborn as the hilarious hotel clerk. Interesting how the clerk gets more microphone time than Stephen Burkett's character.

The audio is a bit slow and makes the voices sound odd, but you still get the story with no problems.

30 Min. - 6.9 MB MP3

And make sure you stick around to the end. Nick Arden gets out his Santa suit...

We Were Dancing - Radio Style

Today's radio show is a presentation of Noel Coward's We Were Dancing from the Gulf Screen Theater, October 29, 1939. The show's players include Robert Montgomery, Binnie Barnes, Hedda Hopper, and Adolphe Menjou.

1/2 hour MP3 - 6.7 MB

IMHO, We Were Dancing doesn't take well to radio - it comes across as thin, probably as a product of radio. A good comparison may be watching the 1942 film version of the story with Norma Shearer and Melvyn Douglas, which I've just added to my list.

It's a good thing that the rest of the show is entertaining: Binnie & Bob sing a duet, Adolphe's stamp collecting adventures, and the Gulf Question Box. If you're in the question box, and answer a question incorrectly, you get the "opportunity" to do something off-the-wall. Spoiler alert. Binnie bangs on the drums with the band, Adolphe roars like the MGM lion, and Bob reads Shakespeare in a Jimmy Cagney accent.

With that, I'll leave you with my favorite line from the story . . . "who's that kissing your wife?"

Ride The Pink Horse - Radio Style

Hop aboard the rickety merry go round with this Lux Radio Theater presentation of Ride The Pink Horse from Dec. 8, 1947. The film is one of my favorites and this radio version is just as good. Carrying over from the film version is Robert Montgomery as Lucky Gagin, Wanda Hendrix as Pila, and Thomas Gomez as Pancho.

27 MB MP3 - 1 hour

And if you think you hear a touch of Fred Flintstone in Frank Hugo's voice, you're not far off. Hugo is played by Alan Reed, voice of the lovable Fred.

Can We Forget

Today's radio show is a presentation of The Gulf Screen Guild Theater from January 22, 1939. Can We Forget stars Robert Montgomery, Bette Davis, Basil Rathbone, Louise Beavers, George Murphy as MC, and is directed by Frank Capra. It's the story of loss and a voice from the past. I'll leave the rest of the story to you.

30 Min - MP3 6.8 MB

Bette is excellent in this story - and it takes a lot for me to say that since I've never been a big fan of hers.

My Client Curley

Good news for you OTR fans out there. I've been able to dig up more Robert Montgomery radio shows, which I'll be listing here in the next few weeks.

Today's selection is My Client Curley from The Screen Guild Theater, presented February 2, 1946. Bob is a promoter who's client is a dancing caterpillar. I'm not kidding. It's a cute story with a nice change of pace.

MP3 - 30 minutes (6.7 MB)

The storyline is also the premise of Cary Grant's Once Upon a Time.

Multiple Personalities - David & Ann Smith

You've all watched Hitchcock's Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and listened to the radio presentation I posted here a bit back. I recently found three more presentations of the story:

Gulf Screen Guild Theater - February 8, 1942 (10 MB - MP3)
Errol Flynn and Lana Turner

The Lady Astor Screen Guild Theater - December 14, 1942 (14 MB - MP3)
Robert Young, Joan Bennett, and Ralph Bellamy

The Lady Astor Screen Guild Theater - January 2, 1945 (13.5 MB - MP3)
Preston Foster and Louise Allbritton


All three offer the same version of the Screen Guild Theater script, just with different players. Two of the three presentations offer a celebrity voice, which I will not mention here, but is fall-off-the-chair funny when you hear him.

I'm partial to the Robert Young version, for obvious reasons, plus Ralph Bellamy as Jeff Custer is a perfect match. Errol Flynn as David...nope, doesn't cut it.

You may not want to listen to all three in one sitting - you'll end up with odd dreams of David (or Ann).

In Name Only - Radio Style

Today's radio feature is In Name Only from the Lux Radio Theater, presented December 11, 1939. The radio version includes the cast from the RKO film: Carole Lombard, Kay Francis, and Cary Grant. I always love the ending...

One Hour - 13 MB

This is War - Radio Style

This is War was a 13 episode series of radio programs that ran in 1942 on 4 networks simultaneously. Each week a new Hollywood personality narrated the half hour show. Such names included Tyrone Power, Fredric March, James Stewart, James Cagney, and more.

This particular episode is the first of the series, from February 14. The narrator for the evening is Lt. Robert Montgomery.

5 MB MP3 - 30 Minutes

Powerful writing with a powerful message.

A tip of the hat to Bantaskin for digging this one up.