October 15, 2009
Now let’s take another look at “Lest We Forget”, a series syndicated by the Institute for Democratic Education in the late 1940s and early 50s to combat prejudice. Although they might seem a little heavy-handed, the shows are well written and produced and are an interesting snap shot of community service programming of the time.
Program 2 of series B features Mercury Theater regular Everett Sloane in “Blow That Whistle”. The drama is about a mailman who, against his better judgment, is drawn into “American First” group that harasses immigrants in the local community.
The show was transferred from an original vinyl Orthacoustic transcription pressed by NBC/RCA, matrix number ND7-MM-5851.
July 24, 2009
“Lest We Forget” is a new series I’ll be posting on the blog periodically. It actually consists of serveral series syndicated by the Institute for Democratic Education in New York in the late 40s and early 50s to combat prejudice. Each series in the “Lest We Forget” umbrella has it’s own title and center around particular themes.
“Lest We Forget - The American Dream” consists of stories about Americans pursuing education, business or other fields and how they sometimes can be the victims of prejudice. Series B, Program 1 is “Face to Face” and stars Helen Hayes in a story about a school teacher who must decide what to do when her kids at the school pick up disparaging remarks made by one of the parents.
The show starts out with a wonderful bit of period business - one of the kids at school brought mercury from a broken thermometer for “show and tell”. Of course, back then, the hazards of mercury weren’t really known and it wasn’t unusual for kids to handle mercury in science class. I still recall our teacher bringing mercury to class in the mid 1970s. Today, of course, this would result in a lock-down of the school and the arrival of a team from the EPA in hazmat suits.
The show was transferred from an original vinyl Orthacoustic transcription pressed by NBC/RCA, matrix number ND7-MM-5988.
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