The 13 Missing Welles/Mercury Radio Programs

[Le Chiffre]

Of the 85 hour-long radio programs produced by the Mercury Theatre for the "Mercury Theatre on the Air" and "Campbell Playhouse" series, 13 are either missing or not in circulation. Here's a brief rundown of each:

MERCURY THEATRE ON THE AIR

Sept. 11th, 1938
Julius Ceasar by William Shakespeare
HV Keltenborn, Orson Welles as Brutus

Adapted from the Mercury’s highly successful stage production. Only the broadcast itself is lost. The rehearsal for the program still survives.

*

Sept. 18th, 1938
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Unknown Guest, Welles as Rochester

Acetate probably ruined by Welles in preparation for the film version of 1943. The first of four radio performances of the Bronte novel that Welles did. The second, Campbell Playhouse version with Madeline Carroll, survives, but in poor sound.

*

Oct. 2nd, 1938
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Welles as Fagin

Script described by Margeritte H. Rippy in her book, “Orson Welles and the Unfinished RKO Projects.” According to Jonathon Rosenbaum’s chronology at the end of “This Is Orson Welles”, Welles narrated and played Oliver as well, which is hard to imagine.

*

Nov, 27h, 1938
Clarence by Booth Tarkington
Welles as Clarence

IN its time, Booth Tarkington's ''Clarence'' was a major Broadway success, the show that transformed Alfred Lunt into a star in 1919. Helen Hayes also starred in it.

''Clarence'' is an eccentric comedy of the kind that years later was honed to a fine edge by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman in ''You Can't Take It With You.'' The farfetched plot deals with a scientist who takes a job as a handyman to a rich suburban family. All the women in the household fall in love with Clarence while all the men, including Clarence, fall in love with the governess, Sabra Jones. The dialogue, too much of it based on malapropisms, is as archaic as the characters.

*

Dec. 4th 1938
The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder

American author Thornton Wilder's second novel, first published in 1927 to worldwide acclaim. It tells the story of several interrelated people who die in the collapse of an Inca rope bridge in Peru, and the events that lead up to their being on the bridge. A friar who has witnessed the tragic accident then goes about inquiring into the lives of the victims, seeking some sort of cosmic answer to the question of why each had to die. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1928.

This story centers on a (fictional) event that happened in Lima, Peru, at noon on Friday, July 20, 1714. A bridge woven by the Incas a century earlier collapsed at that particular moment, while five people were crossing it.

The sound effects used to depict the bridge collapse are described in the book, “The Medium and the Magician”. This was the last broadcast of the Mercury Theatre on the Air.


CAMPBELL PLAYHOUSE

Dec. 16th 1938
Call It a Day by Dodie Smith
Guests Beatrice Lillie and Jane Wyatt

The first day of spring has a profound affect on the Hilton family. The father, an accountant, finds himself unable to work, and when he tries to work, he is wooed by an actress whose taxes he is doing. The mother is mistaken by a friend's brother, who thinks she is the woman he is supposed to marry; when he finds out different, he decides to pursue her anyway. The eldest son mopes because he wants to "motor the Continent" and the father won't permit him to. The eldest daughter miserably laments the end of a romance with a married artist twenty years her elder. And the youngest moons dreamily in her morbid teen way about Dante Gabriel Rossetti. All of this in the space of one day.

Dodie Smith's fourth play, "Call it a Day", was put on by the Theatre Guild on 28 January 1936 and ran for 194 performances. It ran in London for 509 performances, the longest run of any of Smith's plays to date. It was compared favourably to George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber's Dinner at Eight and Edward Knoblock's Grand Hotel by Joseph Wood Krutch.

*

Dec. 30th 1938
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Guest Katherine Hepburn as Katherine, Welles as Frederic

Not entirely lost, since a copy is held by the Library of Congress, but not in circulation. Hepburn reportedly was so pleased with the program she sent flowers to the Mercury after the broadcast.

*
Jan. 20th 1939
The Chicken Wagon Family by Barry Benefield
Burgess Meredith

Set in the early 20th Century. Tired of living in the boonies, itinerant merchant J. P. B. Fiffany (Carrillo) packs his family into his ramshackle wagon and sets out for New York. Alas, Fiffany has a fondness for poker, losing his hard-earned wages as quickly as he gets them. Fortunately, his enterprising daughter Addie is a human cornucopia of money-making schemes, and it is she who saves the day. Chicken Wagon Family was originally purchased by Fox as a Will Rogers vehicle, but was put on the back burner when Rogers died in 1935.
Broadcast during the chaotic rehearsals for the Mercury’s mammoth “Five Kings” production.

*

February 17th, 1939
Burlesque by Arthur Hopkins
Sam Levene, Alice Frost

Skid and Bonnie, his wife, are the comedian and leading lady of a burlesque show. Her love for him is very great, despite his irresponsibility and her frequent indulgence in sarcastic remarks as to his mental capacity. Skid gets a job in a big Broadway musical comedy and his interest in Bonnie begins to wane until finally she is seeking a divorce from him to marry a wealthy rancher. But her love for him is as strong as ever.

*

February 24th, 1939
State Fair by Phillip Duffield Stong

Interview with Amos ‘n’ Andy
First published in the spring of 1932, Phil Stong's whimsical and wise State Fair was an immediate success. Hollywood released a film that fall starring Will Rogers as Abel Frake and a champion hog from an Iowa farm as the famous Blue Boy, "the finest Hampshire stud boar in the world." On the surface State Fair simply recounts the adventures of the close-knit Frake family at the Iowa State Fair in the late 1920s, but Stong's universal morality tale has much to reveal to anyone willing to read between the lines. The book shocked some readers in 1932, but most were captivated by the Frakes' good-natured integrity and applauded their spirit. Readers today will find the same joy, liveliness, and insight in this new edition of State Fair.

*

March 2nd, 1939
Royal Regiment by Gilbert Frankau
Guest Mary Astor

Revolves around the romance between a junior officer and the young wife of his superior, the clash between tradition, duty, loyalty -- and love. Through the love story is woven the pattern of England between the years 1936 -- 1938, with the royal romance as the crux of the matter, with rumblings of coming troubles in Spain, in Africa, in Palestine, on the Continent. Published in 1938. Frankau is best known for the 1932 novel “Christopher Strong”.

*

April 7th, 1939
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Walter Huston as Jean Valjean, Welles as Inspector Javert

Mentioned at the end of the later Magnificent Ambersons broadcast. “I chased you all around Paris last year”, Welles says.

*

April 28th, 1939
Black Daniel by Honore Morrow, based on The Devil and Daniel Webster by Stephen Vincent Benet
Joan Bennet as Caroline Le Roy, Welles as Daniel Webster

Review of the novel: BLACK DANIEL: "A historical novel of that great orator, Daniel Webster, begins with the death of his brother, Ezekiel, and traces Webster's love story with Miss Caroline Le Roy through the fire and storm of misunderstanding and the old conflict between love and duty. But the story is always interesting. Webster dominates every situation in which he happens to appear, while his keen wit and unmistakable sense of humor pervade the history with a most human aspect, which brings Daniel to the very flesh and blood of story characterization. How Mrs. Morrow reveals his dominant personality, his underlying thoughts, his great love for his intimates, is nothing short of marvelous.

Joan Bennet, future star of "Dark Shadows", was also the daughter of Richard Bennet, who played Major Amberson in Welles's "The Magnificent Ambersons"

******************

[Briggs]

Walter Husten as Jean Valjean? I do have a copy of Les Miserables, all the parts, but OW plays Valjean. Is this just wrong typing or does there exist another version?

Briggster

[Le Chiffre]

Briggs, you're no doubt thinking of the 7-part series of Les Mis that Welles did in 1937, which fortunately still survives in excellent sound quality. The missing show referred to above is from the Campbell Playhouse series of 1939. Since Welles had 3 1/2 hours to work with for the earlier series, it would be interesting to see how he managed to squeeze the whole epic story into one one-hour program for Campbell.

[Le Chiffre]

I’m very happy to report that one of these shows can be scratched off the above list. BURLESQUE is available from Jerry Haendeges radio site
http://www.otrsite.com/
for $16 on CD plus $7 shipping and handling, and after listening to my CD this morning, I can report that it’s a delightful show, and the sound quality is beautiful! On my 1-10 scale, I would give it a 9. So it’s bit pricey, but considering how rare the show is, and what a hardcore Welles completist I am, it was worth it.

[Wich2]

Jerry's one of the Gold-Standard folks in the field.

-Craig

[Le Chiffre]

Yes, his OTR website seems to be the best one I've come across online. I had a nice chat with him when I ordered Burlesque, and I mentioned A FAREWELL TO ARMS and THE CHICKEN WAGON FAMILYph oping that he might have some thoughts on how to liberate each of them from archive limbo for the centennial. He knew of both of them, but was not optimistic for either program. Such is the mess of copyright ownership.

[Wich2]

One of the best sites for RESEARCH (with the caveat that vintage radio data is dicey, even compared to that for film) is Dave Goldin's:

http://www.radiogoldindex.com/

(He does NOT offer recordings, though.)

Best,
-Craig
(Veteran of much time in such salt mines, researching my study of radio CHRISTMAS CAROLs.)

[Le Chiffre]

Nice site, thanks. I noticed Mr. Goldin rates almost all of the Campbell Playhouse shows as having "Excellent" sound. I don't know where he heard them, but it's obviously not at Archive.org.

Your Christmas Carol book looks real good too. We'll remember it next holiday season.
http://www.amazon.com/Standing-Spirit-Y ... 1593932200

[Wich2]

Goldin's quality ratings are for his own copies; he was one of the early saviours of transcriptions. But he's since parted with most of his material, and does not himself sell or trade.

Thanks for the kind words about my book; it was a labor of love (and I do mean labor; the most stringent research I could muster, including interviews with network radio veterans.)

And response (if not so much financial reward!) has been gratifying.

Best,
-Craig

[Le Chiffre]

Yes, that's pretty much the way we feel about Wellesnet. Too bad Goldin's sold most of his stuff. Let's hope a good dealer like Haendeges gets ahold of it sometime. Who knows, maybe he has already. I'll have to give him another call soon.

I encouraged First Generation (now just "Radio") Archives to do more of these wonderful, historic shows, but I think sales were discouraging. From what I hear on the grapevine, CD sales of radio drama are drying up fast...

I suspect Criterion never put out another Welles radio collection for a similar reason. I'm sure that lack of sales is partly because there's so much free stuff on the Internet. But I know I'll still buy OTR once in awhile if it's outstanding quality, or rare. That's why I don't understand why noone has considered the commercial potential of something like A FAREWELL TO ARMS. I'd buy a good CD of it in a second if it was available.

[Wich2]

>Yes, that's pretty much the way we feel about Wellesnet.<

You certainly have my vote.

>Too bad Goldin's sold most of his stuff.<

I believe much of it went to the National Archives (from whence someone stole, and Ebayed, some of it!), Media Bay/Radio Spirits, and the University of Missouri's Marr Sound Archives.

-Craig

[Jeff Wilson]

I suspect Criterion never put out another Welles radio collection for a similar reason. I'm sure that lack of sales is partly because there's so much free stuff on the Internet. But I know I'll still buy OTR once in awhile if it's outstanding quality, or rare. That's why I don't understand why noone has considered the commercial potential of something like A FAREWELL TO ARMS. I'd buy a good CD of it in a second if it was available.

People (however few there are) are probably reluctant to release anything OTR, especially rare stuff, via legit hard copy because it will immediately get stuck online for pirating.

[Wich2]

Jeff, I know someone who works for one of the bigger concerns - it's just not selling on CD anymore. Webfiles and streaming are taking over in that area, as in most others.

This, beside the point that as veteran radio actor Harry Bartell once posted on the OTR Digest list, many so-called "legit" dealers don't actually have clear title to the old programs themselves.

Best,
-Craig

[Le Chiffre]

That's one of the problems with the Farewell to Arms broadcast. Nobody seems to have clear title to it. I contacted the Library of Congress about getting a copy from their archives, and they said I had to get permission from CBS Radio, who owned the copyright. So I contacted CBS Radio to get permission, and they said that copyright for that program was owned by The Estate of Orson Welles. So we contacted The Estate and they said they have no idea who owns it. Catch 22.

As Jeff indicates, it is probably inevitable that someone would upload and pirate a good or rare OTR CD. But then, doesn't it become an issue of sound quality? This webpage...
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_ ... th_it.html
...claims there is no real sound quality difference for most people between a CD at 1400 kbps and an mp3 at 128 kbps. I guess it's subjective thing, but to my ears, a CD seems to have fuller sound with more depth, but maybe it's just my imagination. I certainly was startled at the sound difference when I put my CD of Burlesque in last week after extensive listening at Archive.org. However, you can't beat the convenience of mp3.

Copyright joke seen on the Net:

I was watching a DVD the other day and it had that bit at the beginning about piracy saying, "You wouldn't steal a car."

I thought, "I fucking would if I could download it."

[Wich2]

Chief, I know that in a similar situation years ago, a letter from Beatrice Welles satisfied the Lilly Library for me.

-Craig