rand’s esoteric otr

With Presidential candidate Barack Obama visiting Europe and the Middle East, it seemed like a good time to once again delve into a program that highlights how media in the US depicted foreign countries in the past. “Ports of Call”, syndicated circa 1935-36, was produced by the Philip J. Meany Advertising in Los Angeles and mastered at Radio Recorders in Hollywood. The program is similar in style to the popular CBS radio network show “The March of Time” that dramatized current events in a magazine format.

In this episode, we visit the exotic land of Persia, and are treated to three thousand years of the country’s history in a brisk half-hour. Highlights include the development of early religious philosophy of Zarathustra (and, yes, an announcer intones, “Thus spake Zarathustra!”), Mohammed, the story of Scheherazade and the Thousand and One Nights, and British conflicts over oil exploration as Persia sought to become more Western, but independent from European influence. Of course, Persia became Iran in 1935, so this show likely pre-dates that change.

“Persia” is a previously uncirculated episode of the series. The Old Time Radio Researchers group has episodes at archives.org of the show, certifying it as complete, but I believe other episodes may turn up since the series is rather obscure. (Program 33, “New Zealand”, previously posted on the blog, is another not in the archives.org set.)

This program in the series uses a different theme than two other examples I previously posted in the blog; I suppose the excerpt of the “Nutcracker Suite” sounded more exotic. The show was transferred from an original blue Flexite pressing by Columbia, matrix numbers RR2328 and RR2329; the label doesn’t indicate an episode number.

If you’re interested in exploring more about how the US viewed other countries, check out my friend Sean Martin’s blog, High School Musicals - The Origins, which looks at musicals written especially for performances in schools and local light opera companies.  His current entry, helpfully enough, is The Belle of Baghdad.

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Another entry in the series “Ports of Call” from 1935-36, where we visit the dramatized history and culture of exotic countries in a half-hour. The program was produced by Philip J. Meany Advertising of Los Angeles and mastered at Radio Recorders in Hollywood.

Episode 33 looks at New Zealand where we learn about the origin of the main island of New Zealand, which appeared during a fishing expedition by a local god; colonization of the islands by the British; and a protected whale. I’m not sure what native New Zealander’s will think of Hawaiian music being associated with the country, by the way.

This episode is not in circulation and has been transferred directly from a set of blue Columbia Flexite transcription discs.

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“Ports of Call” is a little-known syndicated series from 1935-36 that visits a different country each week and dramatizes a few hundred years of the country’s history in a half hour. The show was produced by the Philip J. Meany Advertising in Los Angeles and mastered at Radio Recorders in Hollywood.

In program 32 in the series, we pay a visit to Sweden, learning about the origins of its culture of learning, leanings towards neutrality, and child-queens who like to hear canons go “boom”. The show is transferred directly from a set of gorgeous blue Columbia Flexite pressings. This episode of the series is in circulation, but copies I’ve heard suffer from phasing problems caused by a bad tape transfer.

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