Episodes
Saturday Jun 10, 2017
Front Page Drama - Pgm 194
Saturday Jun 10, 2017
Saturday Jun 10, 2017
Our last post this week is another entry in the series “Front Page Drama”, syndicated by Hearst Newspapers to promote their “American Weekly” newspaper supplement and produced by Langlois & Wentworth, New York.
Program 195 in the series was originally heard January 16, 1937. “The Field of Honor” tells the story of what happens to a young man after a father doesn’t allow him to marry the man’s daughter.
“Front Page Drama” was usually distributed with another Hearst program, “Jungle Jim”. We’ll have the flip-side of this disc with that show next week.
Our mp3 was transferred from an original sixteen inch Victrolac transcription pressed by RCA, matrix number MS 03673.
Tuesday Jul 10, 2012
Front Page Drama - Pgm 174
Tuesday Jul 10, 2012
Tuesday Jul 10, 2012
Here's another episode of one of my favorite series, "Front Page Drama", sponsored by the Hearst Newspapers to promote their Sunday supplement.
Program 174 of the series was heard August 22, 1936 and is titled "Fallen Stars". The story concerns a "famous star of the past" and looks at happens when the footlights fade. Any guess who it might be? The show was transferred from an original Langlois & Wentworth, NYC/Hearst Newspapers Victrolac transcription pressed by RCA, matrix number MS 104245-1.Saturday Oct 30, 2010
Front Page Drama - Pgm 307
Saturday Oct 30, 2010
Saturday Oct 30, 2010
Well, Halloween is upon us and it's the time for ghosts and spooks. But ghosts can be serious business.
Program 307 of the series "Front Page Drama", originally heard the week of March 11, 1939, is titled "The Spirit is Willing". The program is based on the article "When Crime Poses as Spiritualism", written by a woman who was an investigator for Harry Houdini and appearing in the Hearst Newspaper magazine supplement, "The American Weekly". You might compare this show with episode 70 from July 1934, posted some time ago in the blog, that dealt with a businessman being duped by a fake medium. Transferred from an original International Radio Productions, NYC/Hearst Newspapers Victrolac transcription pressed by RCA, matrix number MS 033845-1.Thursday Sep 09, 2010
Front Page Drama - Pgm 168
Thursday Sep 09, 2010
Thursday Sep 09, 2010
Note: This program contains racial stereotyping themes that may be offensive to some listeners. I have a certain fondness for "Front Page Drama", the long-running quarter hour program syndicated by Hearst Newspapers from the 30s well into the 1950s. The shows can be wonderfully sensationalistic and odd, but is short enough to not wear out its welcome. I recently obtained a cache of "Front Page Drama" discs from the 1930s, probably the best period in the show's history, and will drop in a few now and again.
Program 168, distributed for broadcast the week of July 11, 1936, is "Mrs. Dodd's Defense", adapted from an "American Weekly" article titled "Wives Mustn't Shoot Their Husbands". It's a little piece that paints defense lawyers as pretty shady characters and has a passionate murder to give the story some tabloid appeal. The show was transferred from an original Langlois & Wentworth, NYC/Hearst Newspapers Victrolac transcription pressed by RCA, matrix number MS 102185-1.Monday Jun 22, 2009
Front Page Drama - Pgm 149
Monday Jun 22, 2009
Monday Jun 22, 2009
Here's the last program I have in the series, "Front Page Drama", syndicated by Hearst Newspapers and featuring true stories adapted from their "American Weekly" magazine newspaper supplement.
So, here's program 149 in the series, "The Removal Man", originally broadcast the week of February 29, 1936. The story concerns an inventive assassin who figures out an unusual way to kill his victims. The show was transferred from original RCA Victrolac transcription, matrix MS99605. On the flip side is an episode of "Jungle Jim", previously heard on the blog.
Monday Apr 20, 2009
Front Page Drama, Pgm 147
Monday Apr 20, 2009
Monday Apr 20, 2009
Here's another episode in the long-running series "Front Page Drama", a weekly quarter hour dramatic show based on stories in the "American Weekly" distributed with Hearst Newspapers.
Our little play in this episode is "The Devil's Crib", a mysterious story about old lighthouses, star-crossed lovers and ghosts from the depths of the tumultuous sea. This was syndicated as program 147 in the series and was intended for broadcast February 15, 1936. Transferred from original RCA Victrolac transcription, matrix MS98935.
Wednesday Aug 13, 2008
Front Page Drama - Pgm 144
Wednesday Aug 13, 2008
Wednesday Aug 13, 2008
Here's another episode of the long-running weekly dramatic series, "Front Page Drama", sponsored by Hearst Newspapers and featuring adaptations of stories appearing in the "American Weekly" magazine. This episode, number 144 in the series, was broadcast January 25, 1936 and is titled "Repayment". The story concerns international intrigue about a small European country and a US treaty.
The show was transferred from an original RCA Victrolac pressing, matrix 98715. The disc, by the way, came from an antiques dealer with the original railroad shipping container and special needle originally used to play the disc at the station. Amazing that the whole package survived over 70 years in this state.Friday Jun 20, 2008
Front Page Drama - Pgm 143, January 18, 1936
Friday Jun 20, 2008
Friday Jun 20, 2008
Here's another episode of a long-running fifteen minute dramatic series, "Front Page Drama", syndicated by Hearst Newspapers and featuring dramatizations of stories appearing in the "American Weekly" newspaper supplement. In this episode, "Conqueror's Son", the setting is Vienna in 1832 and the story deals with mixed identities and intrigue in a royal court. The program, number 143, was syndicated for broadcast on January 18, 1936.
The program was dubbed directly from an RCA Victrolac pressing, matrix number MS98586. This is one of four discs in this series, also containing episodes of "Jungle Jim", that I picked up from an antiques dealer; the discs included the original shipping containers where they were sent to a radio station in Prescott, Arizona in 1936. One also included an original steel "Shadowgraphed" needle used to play the disc - the needle, used during a transition period to early vinyl discs, was "pre-worn" to fit the groove properly.Sunday Apr 20, 2008
Front Page Drama - Pgm 70 - The Night of Nights
Sunday Apr 20, 2008
Sunday Apr 20, 2008
Another episode of "Front Page Drama", dating from circa July 1934. Program 70, called "The Night of Nights", looks at a businessman who is being duped by a fake medium who is exposed by the businessman's partner and a professor. The play is a fictionalized story based on an article in that week's "American Weekly" magazine that dealt with new scientific techniques being used by fake mediums. Note that the sound and overall volume of the show improves as it progresses.
Saturday Apr 12, 2008
Front Page Drama - A Perfect Pair
Saturday Apr 12, 2008
Saturday Apr 12, 2008
"Front Page Drama" was a program syndicated to local stations for many years during the OTR era by Hearst newspapers. Each 15 minute show was based on a story in an upcoming edition of "The American Weekly", a magazine distributed with Hearst newspapers. This episode, number 69, dates from circa June or July 1934 and is based on a "true story" about a small town newspaper reporter who complains that there's no interesting news in the town. Transferred from an original shellac Brunswick pressing of the program; note that the sound improves as the episode progresses.