Favoriting Dimestore Radio Theater with Austin Rich: Playlist from September 5, 2022 Favoriting

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Join us for two hours of old time radio dramas, as we present four different pulp fiction stories, every week! Noir Stories with everymen getting wrapped up in dangerous adventures! Sea-faring Tales that are as two-fisted as they are filled with romance! Mysterious Magicians from the Far East, or maybe a Science Fiction yarn from the Atomic Age! Dimestore Radio Theater offers a chance to engage in Theater of The Mind, and enter a world of incredible tales from both yesterday and tomorrow!

Monday 9 - 11pm (EDT) | On WFMU's Sheena's Jungle Room
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Favoriting September 5, 2022: Special Labor Day Double Feature!

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Playlist image Favoriting

Artist Track Album Label Images Approx. start time
Lux Radio Theater  "The Thin Man"   Favoriting 8 June 1936  NBC 
Favoriting
0:00:00 (Pop-up)
Lux Radio Theater  "The Maltese Falcon"   Favoriting 8 February 1943  NBC 
Favoriting
1:07:10 (Pop-up)


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Listener comments!

Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 5:56pm
Austin Rich:

Good Hello
Avatar Swag For Life Member 6:00pm
Scott67:

G'day Austin & Audio Audience!
πŸŒβ˜€οΈπŸ“»πŸŽΆπŸ»πŸ˜ŽπŸ€™πŸŒ»
Avatar Swag For Life Member 6:01pm
Krys O.:

Hello!
  6:02pm
John R.:

Good afternoon Austin and Scott67!😎
Avatar Swag For Life Member 6:02pm
Krys O.:

Excellent!
Avatar Swag For Life Member 6:02pm
Krys O.:

It's a win-win for us and you.
Avatar Swag For Life Member 6:02pm
Scott67:

G'day John!πŸ»πŸ˜ŽπŸ€™πŸ’¨πŸΊ
Avatar Swag For Life Member 6:03pm
Scott67:

G'day Krys!πŸ»πŸ˜ŽπŸ€™πŸ’¨πŸŒ»
  6:03pm
Charles:

That all sounds fun, i'm ready!
  6:04pm
John R.:

Austin: thank you !
Avatar 6:06pm
HyperDose:

Yay Austin!
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:06pm
Austin Rich:

Nice to see ya'll in the chat! Hopefully this fill-in episode will work for ya'll, and we'll get back to our regular stories next week.
  6:06pm
John R.:

Mr Powell and Miss Loy’s chemistry is magic.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:07pm
Austin Rich:

Scott67, Krys O, John R and Charles! I think ya'll know what you're about to get. Enjoy!
Avatar 6:08pm
spacebrother:

Hey Austin!
Avatar 6:09pm
spacebrother:

Sorry I ended late, but carry on!
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:09pm
Austin Rich:

Hey, Spacebrother!
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:09pm
Austin Rich:

I think it will all work out.
Avatar Swag For Life Member 6:11pm
Krys O.:

I just watched The Thin Man the other night. It was on TCM. I've seen it a half dozen times
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:12pm
Austin Rich:

Because Hollywood was always Hollywood, and because this movies was a huge hit, version of this story wound up all over the place, including on the radio.

There were five sequels to the original Thin Man film, and in spite of the fact that the CLIENT, and not the DETECTIVE was the titular not very wide person, all of the sequels used a variant of the "Thin" naming conventions. The series ran for over 10 years, and made stars of Powell and Loy, and their dog, too.
  6:14pm
Charles:

I'm listening to a movie on the radio! Wild times!
Avatar 6:15pm
HyperDose:

The future is now! 🀩
I am excited about this super special programming
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:16pm
Austin Rich:

Of course, a lot of the charm was Hammett's writing, who could do comedy as well as crime VERY well. He wrote the first two "Thin Man" movies, and while the second feels like a bit of a retread of what made the first great, the second film is still pretty good.

The third film has a "story by" credit for Hammett, but after that, the scripts are all written by lesser writers, and Powell and Loy are often carrying the later films on charm alone. On the whole, the third - sixth films probably could have been re-written as one really good third film... but instead, we have four so-so movies and two pretty good ones.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:18pm
Austin Rich:

.... Oh, couple other things...
Avatar Swag For Life Member 6:21pm
Krys O.:

Wonderful....
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:22pm
Austin Rich:

While the dialog doesn't seem that racy by modern standards (Nick and Nora discussing Nick's possible interest in another woman seems milquetoast by the mores of today), this movie was a pre-code film, and was considered very risquΓ© for the mid-30's. While it is hinted at more than obvious in this presentation, Nick & Nora are shown drinking an astonishing amount in the film, and even more so in the sequels. The concept of rich, drunk socialites solving mysteries for fun around the holidays does seem charming in a 1930s sense, I wonder if you could set something like this "now" without the drinking becoming more of a cautionary tale.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:26pm
Austin Rich:

Compared to a lot of productions that we've heard on this show, the limitations of mid-30's radio are on full display here. The music is minimal; the sfx are practical, and were done live by a foley artist. But even those additions are minor, compared to the production quality of the 1950s shows that we've heard.

Still, the charm of live actors bouncing off of each other works, no matter what era it is.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:28pm
Austin Rich:

We've heard some shows that were pre-recorded, and mixed after the fact, to make the shows sound very polished. You can tell here that the actors are doing this live, and the performances come with some stiffness, some actors better than others, and some actual mistakes, too. All part of doing live radio before we could that much pre-production.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:29pm
Austin Rich:

"Are you asleep?" "Yes."
  6:33pm
Charles:

She's all right.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:33pm
Austin Rich:

926 Episodes of Lux Radio Theater were broadcast, between 1934 and 1955, and rarely missed a week. While the premise of the show was to air radio version of stage plays, a number of movies were also in the mix, some that originated as plays, and some that originated as film (or, in some cases, as radio shows). With a weekly production schedule, and a regular group of performers working with guest stars every week, this show must have been a well-oiled machine, behind the scenes.
Avatar 6:35pm
HyperDose:

Okay I'm back from googling "milquetoast"
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:36pm
Austin Rich:

Most of the episodes were adapted by George Wells, Sanford Barnett. Since they always adapted existing works, it made the adaptations easier to produce. I can't find any information regarding if they worked together, or if they adapted scripts separately (to cover more ground), I suspect that it was a combination of the two, with that many episodes, over that many years.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:40pm
Austin Rich:

In the 21 year stretch that the show was on the air, it was hosted by a number of radio personalities: John Anthony, Albert Hayes, William Keighley, Irving Cummings and Don Wilson. However, the most famous host was certainly Cecil B. DeMille, the famous director and producer, who had his fingers in a number of pies. However, you'll find that, in spite of his notoriety, he is not a very good host.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:41pm
Austin Rich:

A short list of some of the many stars who appeared in at least one episode of Lux Radio Theater:

Abbott and Costello, Lauren Bacall, Wallace Beery, Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Ronald Colman, Joan Crawford, Bing Crosby, Bette Davis, Irene Dunne, Deanna Durbin, Henry Fonda, Ava Gardner, Judy Garland, Betty Grable, Cary Grant, Rita Hayworth, Katharine Hepburn, William Holden, Bob Hope, Betty Hutton, Gene Kelly, Hedy Lamarr, Carole Lombard, Jeanette MacDonald, Fredric March, Robert Mitchum, Dennis Morgan, Paul Muni, Laurence Olivier, Robert Preston, Tyrone Power, Edward G. Robinson, Ginger Rogers, Mickey Rooney, Frank Sinatra, Barbara Stanwyck, James Stewart, Gloria Swanson, Elizabeth Taylor, Robert Taylor, Shirley Temple, Spencer Tracy, Lana Turner, John Wayne, and Orson Welles, among many others
Avatar Swag For Life Member 6:42pm
Krys O.:

Really a treat.
Avatar 6:43pm
HyperDose:

I'm with Krys, loving this!
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:44pm
Austin Rich:

I thought I should keep the vintage commercials in for this presentation, unlike what I normally do.
  6:44pm
Charles:

So they're not using ACME brand soap? Doesn't sound right to me.
Avatar 6:45pm
zivilars:

Hi everyone, hi Austin Rich – thanks for the show!
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:45pm
Austin Rich:

Asta, played by Skippy, was a very famous actor dog, that was in over 20 films, including all of the Thin Man films. Skippy retired from film after shooting the last Thin Man film.

en.wikipedia.org...
  6:45pm
John R.:

Austin: That is an amazing list!
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:47pm
Austin Rich:

Asta has performed with the likes of Carey Grant and Katherine Hepburn, and Irene Dunne. Asta might have been the most famous actor in many of the films they were in.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:48pm
Austin Rich:

Asta was featured in the book, "Dog Stars of Hollywood," by Gertrude Orr. It featured a number of famous dog actors.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:48pm
Austin Rich:

Thanks for joining us, zivilars!
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:49pm
Austin Rich:

And I'm not sure I said hello to HyperDose, officially? Maybe I did... can't remember.
  6:51pm
Charles:

I find it fun when they fumble their lines.
Avatar 6:51pm
HyperDose:

I was not greeted. I snuck in a few mins late ;)
Avatar 6:52pm
HyperDose:

He dismissed that man without a thought haha
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:52pm
Austin Rich:

Other names that Skippy / Asta has performed under:

Ragsy, Rex, Pom Pom, Mr. Smith, George, Habeas, Mr. Skip, and Mr. Atlas. Asta was the only "character" that carried over to other films.

It is suspected that the last two Thin Man films did not feature Skippy, but a look-alike. However, Skippy is credited as "Asta" in those last two films.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:53pm
Austin Rich:

Charles: I'm with you. I love it when I notice someone flubs a line.
  6:53pm
Charles:

Mr. Smith is a great name.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:54pm
Austin Rich:

I want a dog named Mr. Smith, now!
Avatar 6:55pm
zivilars:

Really enjoying old time radio shows much more since I switched to headphones – as a non-native speaker it somehow is much more difficult for me to follow the story from old time radio shows as "hifi" quality english audio, but headphones help me a lot to concentrate on the dialoge. Halloween month with spooky radio shows can't come soon enough!
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:56pm
Austin Rich:

Yeah! I was picking out Halloween shows the other day.

I like to listen to most stuff on Headphones. I think it helps me concentrate more than just through speakers.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 6:56pm
Austin Rich:

While recordings of radio before 1939 are not "uncommon," it was harder to record shows before then, and it was often up to listeners at home or fans to record these shows. Lux Radio Theater has a lot of 30's episodes in existence, offering a rare glimpse of this era of radio.
Avatar Swag For Life Member 6:58pm
Krys O.:

An old friend had named their Chihuahua Asta.

Golly, Cecil sounds more gruff than Eugene Pallette.
Avatar Swag For Life Member 7:05pm
Krys O.:

And the Maltese Falcon was also on TCM recently. No matter how many times I've watched it, I will take the time to see it again.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:07pm
Austin Rich:

It really works as a movie, and everything about it works.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:08pm
Austin Rich:

I think I've seen it six times, and I've never wanted to wander away part way through. It's just a wonderful film.
Avatar Swag For Life Member 7:08pm
Krys O.:

Gail Patrick is wonderful.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:09pm
Austin Rich:

I secretly want to be a detective. But I'm often very bad at putting the clues together until after the fact.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:10pm
Austin Rich:

I used the name "Zero-G Robinson" in a sci-fi comedy piece I wrote with my friend Tom.
  7:12pm
Charles:

When I was a kid I wanted to become like Columbo. Solving mysteries but only in nice places. Didn't want to make my shoes dirty in a back alley or anything like that.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:13pm
Austin Rich:

The original Maltese Falcon was published in 1930.

In 1931 the film was adapted as a pre-code crime film, with Ricardo Cortez and Bebe Daniels, under the same name.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:15pm
Austin Rich:

Five years later, the movie was remade as a sort of "comedy," under the name "Satan Met A Lady," staring Bette Davis & Warren William. The 1931 version wasn't exactly a "hit," and this version only did a little better, mostly because of the draw of Bette Davis.
Avatar Swag For Life Member 7:15pm
Krys O.:

I was a Nancy Drew devotee in my youth. My oldest sister gave me a set of first edition books. I devoured those books right down to the musty scent.
Avatar 7:15pm
HyperDose:

Columbo was cool. His dog and car were cooler. :)
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:15pm
Austin Rich:

I just started a job as the shipping manager for a rare book collection in Salem. We have a kids book room, with a very nice OG set of Nancy Drew books.
Avatar Swag For Life Member 7:17pm
Krys O.:

Nice, Austin. Unfortunately, my mother gave away my books. I also had Bobbsey Twins and Hardy Boys first editions.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:19pm
Austin Rich:

Ten years after the first attempt, another version of "The Maltese Falcon" was shot by Hollywood, with Bogart & Astor, and is the version that most folks are familiar with. The most famous line, "The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of," which only appears in the film and nowhere else, is an interesting legacy for this story. Since the Falcon is a "fake," and Bogart comments that the Falcon is, "The stuff dreams are made of," Bogart is making an ironic comment. But the "dream" quote is almost universally taken out of context by folks now.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:21pm
Austin Rich:

Robinson's "laconic" performance of Spade here contrasts a bit with the Bogart performance that is very well known, but I think Robinson's performance still manages to find a tone that fits the character and Robinson's persona. Spade has been interpreted a number of times in a number of ways, but I think it is hard to shake the legacy of Bogart's performance.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:23pm
Austin Rich:

"Joel Cairo" is played by Peter Lorre in the film, and this actor is doing his best "Lorre" impersonation, which almost - but not quite - works.

In the film, Cairo is played more like a gunsel, (which lines up more with the character in the book). But this actor merely plays him as a generic "foreigner," without the queer subtext that Lorre adds.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:25pm
Austin Rich:

Robinson does manage to capture Spade's almost "boredom" he has with the typical "noir" shenanigans that happen to him. Bogart occasionally veers more into "annoyance" in a way that betrays Spade's cool.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:25pm
Austin Rich:

Colombo was cool.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:28pm
Austin Rich:

(I wrote a few papers on this book in college. But I still love it, unlike some of the books I wrote about in college.)
Avatar Swag For Life Member 7:30pm
Krys O.:

My dad was a detective genre fan. We watched the NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie in the 70s which was the starting point for Columbo, McCloud, etc. Dad liked Banacek, but he would scoff when George Peppard would offer up supposed Polish sayings at the end of the show.

Later on, Dad was a fan of Murder She Wrote, Barnaby Jones, and, of course, MATLOCK! (shouted in the voice of Grandpa Simpson)
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:30pm
Austin Rich:

Your dad and I would have loved watching TV together!
  7:31pm
Charles:

ahah, neat Krys O
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:31pm
Austin Rich:

(I do love Abe Simpson. I think the Flying Hellfish episode might be the one I quote the most.)
Avatar Swag For Life Member 7:31pm
Krys O.:

We bonded over TV and films, for sure. Mom really didn't watch TV until cooking shows became popular.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:32pm
Austin Rich:

Sometimes it's hard to bond with both parents in the same way.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:33pm
Austin Rich:

My mom showed my, "Popeye," and, "Heavy Metal." My dad showed my football games.
Avatar Swag For Life Member 7:34pm
Krys O.:

Well, Mom would yell and my brother and me when we watched Star Trek because she said that Spock looked like Satan. She also didn't like the risque humor of Monty Python like Dad did.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:34pm
Austin Rich:

While I have nothing against this actor, he is NO Sydney Greenstreet.
Avatar Swag For Life Member 7:34pm
Krys O.:

Laird Cregar was really good. He was in Blood & Sand.
Avatar Swag For Life Member 7:35pm
Krys O.:

And he was in the 1944 version of The Lodger.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:35pm
Austin Rich:

Again, Greenstreet adds a "queer" overlay to his performance that is both delightful and subtle. Cregar is doing well, and holding his own against Robinson... but I think Greenstreet was just on another level.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:35pm
Austin Rich:

I need to see Blood & Sand. The Lodger does rule...
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:36pm
Austin Rich:

There we go. Robinson goes full Robinson!
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:37pm
Austin Rich:

Wilma really doesn't get much in this production.
Avatar Swag For Life Member 7:38pm
Krys O.:

Elisha Cook was on a different plane.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:38pm
Austin Rich:

Agreed! You can't compete with him.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:39pm
Austin Rich:

I was trying to think of a role where Elisha Cook drops the ball... but I haven't seen one, yet.
Avatar Swag For Life Member 7:40pm
Krys O.:

You could say the same about Dan Duryea. I even saw him on a Jack Benny TV show episode. Such a pro. And it's always been said that he was a very nice person.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:42pm
Austin Rich:

While a lot of essayists make a lot of "hay" about this story that Gutman tells here, and like to connect the Knights of old with the Detectives of "now."

While it is a nice fantasy to add to a crime story, flourishes like this feel like the difference between straight "detective" stories, and the more graphic and street-style "hardboiled" fiction.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:42pm
Austin Rich:

I agree; Dan is another pro!
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:45pm
Austin Rich:

While the connective tissue between the two shows I played today are the scripts by Hammett, the comedy of The Thin Man and the mystery and the action of The Maltese Falcon almost seem like different styles and eras entirely. Certainly, it's harder to keep a consistent voice across different Hollywood productions, I often don't remember that Hammett wrote The Thin Man because it is so funny in a way that is very different from his usual style.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:48pm
Austin Rich:

This episode of Lux Radio Theater aired 7 years after the one we heard last hour, and you can already hear a MASSIVE improvement in the quality of the broadcast.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:52pm
Austin Rich:

A number of "Falcons" were crafted for the 1941 film, for use in different shots and for different parts of the film. Some were made for the film that never saw the screen; it's hard to know exactly which one was used in which shot, as those kinds of records were not kept.

Joe Dante famously retrieved one of the Falcons from this production from a dumpster, where a number of props from the 40s were being tossed out by people who didn't recognize what films they were from. The "dumpster" Falcon that Dante found is now in his office, along with other film props he's collected.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:54pm
Austin Rich:

In this third act, Laird is adding a little more of the "queernees" to the character that Greenstreet really brings home. But I think Laird's performance is just a little more subtle, and needs a second listen.
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:56pm
Austin Rich:

Thanks everyone, for tuning in! We'll be back on track next week!
Avatar Swag For Life Member 7:56pm
Krys O.:

That sounded like one of the Ritz Brothers instead of Lorre. Tee hee.
Avatar Swag For Life Member 7:56pm
Scott67:

Thanks Austin, riveting stuff mate!
πŸŽ™οΈπŸ“»πŸŽΆπŸ»πŸ˜ŽπŸ€™
  7:57pm
Charles:

Thanks Austin! I had a great time. Until next time everyone!
Avatar Swag For Life Member 7:57pm
Krys O.:

Thanks, Austin. This has been a lot of fun. See ya tomorrow!
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:57pm
Austin Rich:

It's my "Back To School" special tomorrow! Everything you need to succeed this year in school!
Avatar 🎸 Swag For Life Member 7:58pm
Austin Rich:

Clearly, Robinson was saving a lot of his mojo for these last scenes.
Avatar 7:59pm
zivilars:

Thanks a lot, Austin!
  8:00pm
Charles:

Goodnight! Goodnight!
Avatar Swag For Life Member 8:00pm
Krys O.:

Ooh, Gracie was the best!
Avatar Swag For Life Member 8:01pm
Krys O.:

Bea! Wow!
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