HELL ON ICE broadcast on CD

[Le Chiffre]

This might be worth mentioning, seeing as it's the 100th anniversary of Robert Falcon Scott's famous ill-fated expedition the Anarctic, and if this has ever been mentioned here before, I can't find it. It's a CD of Welles and the Mercury's 1938 broadcast of HELL ON ICE, the story of the ill-fated voyage of the Jeanette, which happened some years before Scott's voyage. It was one of the very best of the Mercury Theatre on the Air shows (broadcast just three weeks before War of the Worlds) and was included with the 2003 reissue of Edward Ellsberg's book of the same title. My copy of Hell On Ice is on cassette, so I can't vouch for the quality of the CD, but it and the book can be bought at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Hell-Ice-Jeannett ... 163&sr=8-1

[jay68]

I just listened to this last week for the first time in years and believe it is one of Orson's finest adaptations for radio. I'm pleased to see that the book and cd are available together -- definitely on my "read" list.

[ToddBaesen]

Although I have this radio show, I've never listened to it.

Why is because ORSON WELLES did way more work in his short 70 years on the planet earth in radio, film, theater and TV than anyone, even Simon Callow, could possibly absorb and report on in the detail it demands. Hence the need for WELLESNET!

[Wich2]

(More catching up, here...)

This is one of my favorite of the MTAs.

A really effective use of the audio drama, by one of the groups that was setting the bar for the medium. Script, music, acting, SFX, all meld to support the story. And for me, the piece does not suffer from a complaint that I think many have fairly charged Orson with in these one-hour shows: a slam-bang open, followed by a slow fizzle. This one's pace really flows throughout.

The specifics of the tale are effective on a visceral level, too - my wife is one of those for whom Hell would truly be made of ice, not fire, and she has sworn never to listen to this one again!

Best,
-Craig

P.S. - Has anyone audited the CD cited above, and if so, could they report on its relative quality?