BELA LUGOSI
[RADIO APPEARANCES]
Movie masters of menace such as Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Basil Rathbone also had
successful radio careers (and their own series), and all of them used the broadcast medium as a
means of garnishing their fame and broadening their appeal. Bela Lugosi, on the other hand,
never was able to marshall his early appearances on the air into anything like steady work. Was it
the language barrier or his stated antipathy for the medium, or just sheer bad luck?
The Lugosi radio dossier is filled with might-have-beens, announcements and auditions of series
that never made it to the air. To wit:
UP correspondent Alexander Kahn reported in his “Hollywood Roundup” column of March 14,
1939 that “Lugosi is making 37 transcriptions for a radio mystery serial in which he is starred.”
Hollywood reporter Jimmy Fidler announced in his column of October 3, 1940 that “Bela
Lugosi’s been offered the spotlight for a new series of radio chillers.”
[Bridgeport Post, November 19, 1947] “Bela Lugosi and comedienne Ann Thomas are readying
a comedy mystery series.”
[Rhodes reports that Lugosi was hired “to headline the cast of a new play, Three Indelicate Ladies,
in April 1947. A trio of women find themselves in the detective business, with Lugosi playing an
Irishman named Francis O’Rourke… closed within a month of its opening. Hopes of getting to
Broadway died.” Check Variety review.
[Rhodes] “In 1932, Lugosi participated in an international broadcast linking the Americas,
Europe, and Japan as part of a celebration for the Olympic Games; he spoke in Hungarian on the
widely-publicized program.”
1944 was a busy and unsettled year for Bela Lugosi.
[Rhodes] “…there was that successful Arsenic in Saratoga Springs, New York in 1947. Saratoga
Springs, where he also guest-starred on one television program, two radio shows, and was then
driven to Schenectady for yet another radio show.”
[Rhodes] “In 1950, Allen Funt included Lugosi in a stunt to scare a woman on his Candid
Microphone; listeners heard her banter with Lugosi, but it took the press to describe what radio
couldn’t show; the LA Times claimed she ‘clutched her throat protectively’ when it was revealed
who Lugosi was.’ [Walter Ames, “Movie Writer Likes Video, Film War to Weather; Bela Lugosi
Fails ‘Candid’ Stunt,” Los Angeles Times, August 7, 1950, p. 22]
[Rhodes] In April [1954], Wood was trying to cook up a possible Lugosi radio show called The
Terror. He sent Lugosi one script with the promise twelve more would follow. ‘Since it is radio,
the scripts will be read, so you will not have to worry about memorizing them—just be familiar
with them.’”
[CHRONOLOGY]
STARDOM OF BROADWAY (WJZ, NEW YORK)
[Friday—3:30-4:00 PM]
March 30, 1928 “Dracula”
SEEING SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (KHJ, LOS ANGELES)
[Friday—4:45-5:15 PM]
March 27, 1931
[“…Bella [sic] Lugosi, creator of the role of Count Dracula… Lugosi will
tell about human vampires…”]
LOS ANGELES BREAKFAST CLUB (KFWB, HOLLYWOOD)
[Wednesday—8:00-9:30 AM]
September 30, 1931
[“…As the cat begins scratching at the back door, KFWB tunes in the
Breakfast Club frolic… Raymond Hatton, Edmund Breese, Bela Lugosi,
J. Farrell MacDonald, Ian MacClaren—topping it off with Harold
Grayson and his Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra in latest song hits…”]
GEORGE TAYLOR’S BRIDGE HOUR (KJBS, SAN FRANCISCO)
[Thursday—3:30-4:00 PM]
April 21, 1932
INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC SPECIAL (KHJ, LOS ANGELES)
[Sunday—12:30-1:30 PM]
May 22, 1932
[“…Will Rogers, Dolores del Rio, Marlene Dietrich, Claudette Colbert,
Tom Mix, Elissa Landi, Maureen O’Sullivan, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy,
Jean Hersholt, Bela Lugosi and other movie stars... Radio history will
be made at 12:30 o’clock this afternoon when a special Olympic
broadcast from Los Angeles will go over the entire Columbia coast to
coast network and on short waves for Europe and South America. A host
of movie stars will extend invitations to their respective countries to
attend the Olympic games in Los Angeles this summer…”]
THE FLEISCHMANN HOUR (WEAF, NEW YORK)
[Thursday—8:00-9:00 PM]
October 12, 1933
[“…Scene from ‘Murder at the Vanities’, with Bela Lugosi and Minnie
Dupree…”]
THE THEATRE PRESENTS (WEAF, NEW YORK)
[Friday—12:15-1:00 AM]
November 17, 1933 “Murder at the Vanities”
[“…presents the ensemble from ‘Murder at the Vanities,’ and members of
its cast including James Rennie, Minnie Dupree, Naomi Ray, Olga
Baclanova and Bela Lugosi…”]
THE SHELL SHOW (KHJ, LOS ANGELES)
[Monday—8:00-9:00 PM]
April 30, 1934
[“…Bela Lugosi, Hungarian actor, is scheduled to be the guest star in a
dramatic sketch…”]
MOVIE CLUB (WHN, NEW YORK)
[Friday—8:00-9:00 PM
July 5, 1935
[“…Bela Lugosi, Guest…”]
WOMEN’S MAGAZINE OF THE AIR (KFI, LOS ANGELES)
[Tuesday—3:00-4:00 PM]
March 30, 1937
[“…Janet Baird interviews Bella [sic] (Bad Mans) Lugosi…”]
SEEIN’ STARS IN HOLLYWOOD (KECA, LOS ANGELES)
[Sunday—4:30-5:00 PM]
March 13, 1938
[“…Oz Nelson presents Feg Murray who in turn presents Boris Karloff
and Bela Lugosi, who in turn scare the wits out of Harriet Hilliard…”]
GEORGE JESSEL AND HIS CELEBRITIES (KHJ, LOS ANGELES)
[Friday—9:30-10:00 PM]
October 13, 1939
[“…Bela Lugosi, the movie horror man, makes an appropriate guest on
George Jessel’s ‘Celebrity Program’…”]
TUESDAY NIGHT PARTY (KNX, HOLLYWOOD)
[Tuesday—9:00-9:30 PM]
October 17, 1939
[“…Bela Lugosi, completing his extended run on the Little Theater
screen [?] in ‘The Old Dark House,’ joins strong man Charles Atlas and
Mary Martin on Walter O’Keefe’ Tuesday Night Party… A horror sketch
to end all horror sketches is promised when Lugosi, the super-
Frankenstein of the movies, and Atlas, will be prominent in the O’Keefe
version of a blood-curdler…”]
TEXACO STAR THEATRE (KNX, HOLLYWOOD)
[Wednesday—6:00-7:00 PM
November 15, 1939 “Dracula of Sunnybrook Farm”
KAY KYSER’S COLLEGE OF MUSICAL KNOWLEDGE (KHJ, LOS ANGELES)
[Wednesday—6:00-7:00 PM]
September 25, 1940
[“…Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Peter Lorre, three of the most famous
of the screen’s bogey men, will be guests of Kay Kyser on his college of
musical knowledge program…for which they will serve as judges…”]
PLAY BROADCAST (WGN, CHICAGO)
[Friday—8:30-9:00 PM]
May 2, 1941
[“…with Quiz-master Bill Anson and his impersonations; Dorothy
Roberts and Marvin Mueller, character actors; June Baker, home
economist; Announcer Guy Savage, and the W-G-N Dance orchestra,
directed by Harold Stokes… Bela Lugosi, professional boogie man of
stage and screen, who is appearing at the Oriental theater, will take part
in the program…”]
THREE RING TIME (KECA, LOS ANGELES)
[Friday—9:00-9:30 PM; broadcast to East Coast 5:30-6:00 PM]
March 6, 1942
[“…with Milton Berle, Shirley Ross, and Bob Crosby’s orchestra. Guests:
Bela Lugosi and Peter Lorre…”]
TEXACO STAR THEATRE (
[
??? ??, 1943 Fred Allen show
SUSPENSE (KNX, HOLLYWOOD)
[Tuesday—6:30-7:00]
February 2, 1943 “The Doctor Prescribed Death”
[Originally announced under the title “The Boomerang”]
WILLIAM S. GAILMORE
[Sunday—
Apr. 23, 1944
THE KATE SMITH HOUR (WABC, NEW YORK)
[Friday—
May 5, 1944
[“…Kate Smith observes her 13th anniversary on the air, and on CBS,
with a special broadcast… Ted Collins has signed Bela Lugosi as
program guest, and Kate sings 4 songs which she did on her first
broadcast in 1931. Lugosi, famed ‘Dracula’ of the movies, is heard in an
original dramatic sketch…”]
MUSICAL AUTOGRAPHS (WJZ, NEW YORK)
[Saturday—10:00-10:30 PM]
May 20, 1944
[“…The heartfelt relief of moviegoers will greet the announcement by Guy
Lombardo that the ‘musical autograph,’ or favorite tune, of Bela Lugosi,
specialist in macabre film roles, is ‘I’ll Walk Alone.’ Guy and His Royal
Canadians will play it for Bela during the WJZ broadcast…”]
MYSTERY HOUSE (NBC TRANSCRIPTION SERVICE, HOLLYWOOD)
Circa July 1944 “The Thirsty Death”
COUNTY FAIR (KECA, LOS ANGELES)
[Tuesday—7:30-8:00 PM]
July 31, 1945
[“…Woman’n Half by Bela Lugosi on Radio Fair…”]
THE RUDY VALLEE SHOW (
[Tuesday—
October 22, 1946 “The Pre-fabricated Woman”
COMMAND PERFORMANCE (AFRS)
November 10, 1946 “Superman”
With Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, Bela Lugosi
[RADIO GOLDINDEX: “Bela Lugosi appears as the mad scientist
Bikini with Sterling Holloway as his assistant Atoll…”]
ELLERY QUEEN (
[Wednesday—7:30-8:00 PM]
March 19, 1947 “The Specialist in Cops”
[“…Bela Lugosi is guest detective…”]
QUICK AS A FLASH (WOR, NEW YORK)
[Sunday—
May 18, 1947
[“…Bela Lugosi, famous vampire and bogey-man of the ‘arts’ cooks up a
whodunit for the contestants on ‘Quick as a Flash,’ emceed by Ken
Roberts…”]
THE ABBOTT AND COSTELLO SHOW (KECA, LOS ANGELES)
[Wednesday—8:00-8:30 PM]
May 5, 1948
[RADIOGOLDINDEX: “Lou becomes mayor of Encino and has to
investigate the spooky house owned by guest Bela Lugosi (who has
some trouble reading his lines)…”]
THE MARTHA DEANE PROGRAM (WOR, NEW YORK)
[Monday—10:15-11:00 AM]
August 9, 1948
[“…Guests—Everett R. Smith and Bela Lugosi…”]
VARIETY (WCBS, NEW YORK)
[Monday—6:30-6:45 PM]
November 22, 1948
[“…Herb Schriner; Raymond Scott Quintet; Guest—Bela Lugosi…”]
TALES OF FATIMA (KNX, HOLLYWOOD)
[Saturday—6:30-7:00 PM]
September 10, 1949 “The Man in the Shadows”
CRIME DOES NOT PAY (MGM DISC SERIES ON WMGM, NEW YORK]
[Monday—7:30-8:00 PM]
December 12, 1949 “Gasoline Cocktail”
CANDID MICROPHONE (KNX, HOLLYWOOD)
[Tuesday—6:30-7:00 PM]
June 27, 1950
[“…Bela Lugosi, Guest…”]
(RECORDING MADE AT WCAX, BURLINGTON)
Circa July 1950 “The Cask of Amontillado”
THE BUDDY ROGERS SHOW (WOR, NEW YORK)
[Wednesday—3:00-3:30 PM]
January 3, 1951
[“…Bela Lugosi, Guest…”]
THE BETTY CROCKER MAGAZINE OF THE AIR (KECA, LOS ANGELES)
[Monday—10:55-11:15 PM]
January 29, 1951
[“…Bela Lugosi discarded a Dracula outfit for a kitchen apron… Mr.
Lugosi told his air audience of several Hungarian delicacies—also of how
he and Mrs. Lugosi, now celebrating their 18th anniversary, first met…”]
Radio programs about Lugosi:
THE FRIDAY PLAY (RADIO 4, EDINBURGH)
[Friday—9:00-?? PM]
November 9, 2001 “There Are Such Things”
[“…written and performed by Edinburgh Fringe veterans Steven
McNicoll and Mark McDonnell…based on the fluctuating career of the
Hungarian-born actor Bela Lugosi… Focusing on Lugosi and his well-
documented struggle to escape from the role that had typecast him, the
play went on to receive the Hamilton Deane award for best dramatic
presentation from the Dracula Society in 2002…”]
THE BELL WITCH OF TENNESSEE
[LEGEND]
Retelling of an early American legend…
[CHRONOLOGY]
(WSM, NASHVILLE)
[
June 1, 1937 “The Bell Witch of Tennessee”
HIDDEN HISTORY (WJZ, NEW YORK—NBC-BLUE)
[Sunday—
September 14, 1941 “The Legend of the Bell Witch”
[YOUNGSTOWN VINDICATOR: “…concerns the ghost of the Widow Batts,
who was haunting old John Bell because he had cheated her out of her
Tennessee mountain farm… The tale has been taken from American folk
stories collected by the Library of Congress and adapted for radio by
Bernard Victor Dryer…”]
LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI
[NARRATIVE-POEM; MUSICAL-MELODRAM]
Poem by John Keats set to music by Bernard Herrmann…
MERMELSTEIN, DAVID. “More To This Composer Than Meets the Eye.” The New York Times
(February 11, 2001).
On Thursday evening at the Ethical Culture Society, the Eos Orchestra, conducted by Jonathan
Sheffer, will perform ''Melodram: La Belle Dame Sans Merci,'' an experimental work for radio…
But with the Depression in full swing, he, like many another artist, needed money. Radio, still in
its experimental infancy, seemed a good fit. The wisdom of the match became apparent when
Herrmann, at 23, composed music to accompany the broadcast of a Keats poem, ''La Belle Dame
Sans Merci.'' The score initiated Herrmann's career as a commercial composer, even if he himself
didn't realize it.
“Steven C. Smith, the author of ''A Heart at Fire's Center,'' a 1991 biography of Herrmann, says
that the ''Belle Dame Sans Merci'' music has not been performed since the mid-1930's. Mr.
Sheffer, while including it in the concert for its historical significance, also argues for its musical
value. ''It's a precursor to the full flowering of Herrmann's style in film,'' Mr. Sheffer said. ''You
hear the emphasis on atmospheres and extreme chromatic harmonies, unusual seventh chords,
etc. The music is like the underscoring of an imagined dialogue scene.''
[Alex Goldstein, Herrmann Society]
It was followed by Herrmann's Melodram: La Belle Dame Sans Merci, with text by John Keats,
read by actor Michael Wager. Prior to the performance, a recording of the introduction to the
original (1934) radio broadcast was played. (I presume so - the program notes do not mention, or
verify, the source). Much was made by the CBS radio announcer of the experimental nature of the
piece, and the relationship of the microphone, the speaking voice, and the orchestra.
If these relationships were of importance, they were considerably diminished by the mode of
presentation. Mr. Wager's voice was enhanced by the microphone; the orchestra was not. Sound
balance must have been crucial to Herrmann's conception, and I don't think it was successful
here. I was also expecting more of an interplay between music and the spoken word - Walton's
music under Olivier's Shakespearean soliloquies comes to mind as a high achievement in this art -
but Herrmann must have been thinking of an "overall" mood, and in this respect he succeeds.
Herrmann was hired as an assistant to Johnny Green, who conducted, composed, and arranged
music for a CBS radio program titled “Music in the Modern Manner.” His first important
opportunity came when he composed incidental music for the dramatic reading of a Keats poem,
“La Belle Dame Sans Merci.” After that, he was asked to write music for both Green’s show and
for two other programs. He also conducted rehearsals of CBS musicians, including Benny
Goodman and Artie Shaw.
PERSONNEL: Bernard Herrmann (composer, conductor), David Ross (reader).
EXTANT RECORDINGS: “Melodrams” (The Columbia Workshop, 5/14/38).
[CHRONOLOGY]
IN THE MODERN MANNER (WABC, NEW YORK—CBS)
[Friday—9:00-9:30 PM]
September 21, 1934 “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
PERSONNEL: Bernard Herrmann (composer), David Ross (reader).
THE COLUMBIA WORKSHOP (WABC, NEW YORK—CBS)
[
May 14, 1938 “Melodrams”
PERSONNEL: Bernard Herrmann (composer), David Ross (reader).
EXTANT RECORDING
[Links]
[audio] La Belle Dame sans Merci, from “Melodrams” (The Columbia Workshop, 1938).
[Sources]
MERMELSTEIN, DAVID. “More To This Composer Than Meets the Eye.” The New York Times
(February 11, 2001).
SMITH, STEVEN C. A Heart at Fire’s Center
THE BELLS
[SHORT-STORY; STAGE-PLAY]
“The Bells was first produced at the Royal theater, London, November 25, 1871, and performed at
that theater for 151 consecutive nights.”
[CHRONOLOGY]
THE WGY PLAYERS (WGY, SCHENECTADY)
[Saturday—8:15-10:30 PM]
December 13, 1924 “The Bells”
[“…The acting version of the late Sir Henry Irving will be used in this
production… Act I—Time: December 24, 1833. Place: Interior of a village
inn in Alsace, Christmas eve. (The inn is the residence of Mathias, the
burgomaster.) Selection, ‘The Merry Widow’ (Lehar), orchestra. Act II—
Time: The morning of December 26, 1833. Place: Best room in the
burgomaster’s inn. Selection, ‘Valse Orientale’ (Joyce), orchestra. Act
III—Time: December 26, 1833—night. Place: Bedroom in the inn.
Selection, ‘The Governor’ (Geibel), orchestra…”]
MR. BRANSBY WILLIAMS (2LO, LONDON)
[Friday—10:15-10:45 PM]
August 28, 1925 “The Dream Scene from ‘The Bells’”
THE PACIFIC RADIO PLAYERS (KLX, OAKLAND)
[Friday—8:00-9:45 PM]
September 11, 1925 “The Bells”
[“…Made famous by the late famous actor, Henry Irving, the play
concerns itself with an intensely dramatic episode in the lives of the
several characters. Under the direction of Etta Wilson Coleman the ‘lines’
have been especially adapted to radio presentation. Many rehearsals have
been found necessary to more adequately fit the play to the
microphone…”]
PERSONNEL: Etta Wilson Coleman (director).
CAST: Caryl Coleman (President of the court), Etta Wilson Coleman (Catherine),
Leo Cunningham (Christian), Everett Gordon (Mathias), Elizabeth Hugus
(Sozel), Rudolph Koslich (Hans), Dalton Rixon (Notary of the court), Madeliene
Sulik (Annette), Loran Thornton (Father Walter), Frank Young (Dr. Zimmer).
THE KLX RADIO PLAYERS (KLX, OAKLAND)
[Wednesday—9:00-10:00 PM]
May 25, 1927 “The Bells”
CAST: Everett Gordon (Mathias, burgomaster), James Ingersoll (Dr. Zimmer, a
physician), Ethel Johns (Catherine, the burgomaster’s wife), Rudolph Koslich
(Hans, a forest ranger / Mesmerist), Carlyle Partridge (Christian, French
quartermaster), Harriette Romayne (Sozel, servant at the inn), Harry Uridge
(Clerk of the court / Notary), Rose Wood (Annette, the burgomaster’s daughter),
Wilmot Wood (Father Walter, the village parson / President of the court).
(WAAM, NEWARK)
[Wednesday—9:00-9:30 PM]
June 22, 1927 “The Bells”
HANK SIMMONS’ SHOW BOAT (WABC, NEW YORK)
[Saturday—10:00-11:00 PM]
June 13, 1931 “The Bells, or The Polish Jew”
[“…A three-act murder mystery revived from the old classics… Hank
Simmons, in the role of Mathias, heads a role [sic] of ten players…”]
CAST: Hank Simmons (Mathias), Happy Jack Lewis (Christian), Joe Carroll
(Hans), De Witt Schuyler (Father Walter), F. Miller (The Doctor), George Morris
(The Mesmerist), Ben Franklin (The Judge), Leo Spelvin (The Clerk of the Court),
Lettie Simmons (Catherine), Maybelle (Annette), Jane McGrew (Sozel).
THE RADIO GUILD (WJZ, NEW YORK)
[Friday—4:15-5:15 PM]
July 29, 1932 “The Bells”
(3LO, MELBOURNE)
[Wednesday—9:00- PM]
September 14, 1932 “The Bells”
THE GEORGE EDWARDS PLAYERS (2UE, SYDNEY)
[
January 15, 1933 “The Bells”
THE RADIO GUILD (WJZ, NEW YORK)
[Monday—3:00-4:00 PM]
May 8, 1933 “The Bells”
[“…‘The Bells’ tells the story of the ravages of a guilty conscience
following the murder, on a wintry road, of an innocent man. The bells of
the victim’s sleigh continue to haunt his murderer until they finally drive
him to his death…”]
CAST: Peggy Allenby, Richard Gordon (Mathias), Florence Malone, Charles
Webster.
STARS IN THEIR COURSES (NATIONAL PROGRAMME, LONDON)
[Saturday—9:20-9:45 PM]
May 27, 1933 “Sir John Martin Harvey”
PERSONNEL: James Agate (speaker), Sir John Martin Harvey (speaker).
[OG-NOTE: A recording of Sir John Martin Harvey’s 1933 appearance on Stars in Their
Courses exists in the British National Archives; a portion of it was broadcast on The
Archive Hour in 200?.]
THE GEORGE EDWARDS SUNDAY PLAYERS (2GB, SYDNEY)
[
July 2, 1933 “The Bells”
(CFR, PARIS)
[???day—
November 16, 1933 “The Polish Jew”
GREAT PLAYS IN HALF AN HOUR (2UW, SYDNEY)
[
February 21, 1934 “The Bells”
CAST: Mayne Linton, Nancye Stewart, et al.
THE RADIO GUILD (WJZ, NEW YORK)
[Monday—3:00-4:00 PM
December 10, 1934 “The Bells”
[PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: “… ‘The Bells,’ an adaptation by Leopold
Lewis of ‘The Polish Jew,’ by Erckmann-Chatrian, will be the Radio Guild
presentation… The play made memorable in dramatic history by the late
Sir Henry Irving, tells the story of Mathias, a burgomaster, haunted by
the consciousness of an undiscovered murder that he had committed…”]
GREAT MOMENTS IN GREAT PLAYS (WOL, WASHINGTON D.C.)
[Monday—8:30-9:00 PM]
August 19, 1935 “The Bells”
[“…The Willard Players are going on the air with a series of ‘Great
Moments in Great Plays’… Robert Pitkin will be starred. Directing will be
J. Forney Reese. A brief narrative will introduce each ‘moment’ pointing
out how the scene contributed to the success of the play from which it is
taken. ‘The Bells,’ one of the most gripping of ‘horror plays,’ will be used
for the inauguration…”]
THE FLEISCHMANN HOUR (KFI, LOS ANGELES)
[Thursday—5:00-6:00 PM
February 6, 1936 “The Bells”
CAST: Boris Karloff, et al.
EXTANT RECORDING
[OG-NOTE: An archival recording of this broadcast exists in the NBC Radio Collection
at the Library of Congress.]
TERROR BY NIGHT (WABC, NEW YORK)
[Sunday—10:30-11:00 PM]
March 22, 1936 “The Bells”
CAST: Ray Collins, Martha Scott, Orson Welles, et al.
SARA LANGMAN’S PLAYS (KFWB, HOLLYWOOD)
[Friday—9:00-9:30 PM]
November 19, 1937 “The Bells” [PART 1]
November 26, 1937 “The Bells” [PART 2]
[“…The final episode of Sara Langman’s ‘The Bells’ is offered this
evening… This is the gory Sir Henry Irving plaster of a bygone day, with
Norman Fields as the inn-keeper who murders a Jewish peddler and
then suffers the strictures of an active conscience…”]
(GSD, DAVENTRY)
[Monday—7:00-7:30 PM]
April 4, 1938 “Henry Irving: Man and Player”
[“…Even to generations too young to remember the great days of Irving
and Ellen Terry at the Lyceum Theatre in London, there is a glamour
about the actor’s name, and his ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Mathias’ in The Bells, have
passed into theatrical history. The broadcast, which has been devised by
Ernest Short and produced by John Richmond, will include the story of
these two performances, but no attempt will be made to impersonate
Irving in the characters…”]
THE RADIO GUILD (WJZ, NEW YORK)
[Friday—3:00-4:00 PM]
May 13, 1938 “The Bells, or, The Murder of the Polish Jew”
PERSONNEL: Joseph Bell (director), Joseph Hawty (music), Robert Waldrop
(announcer, narrator).
CAST: Vivian Barry (Sozell), George Gaul (The Mesmerist), Richard Gordon (The
Judge of the Court), Percy Helton (The Clerk of the Court), Junius Matthews (The
Doctor), John McGovern (Christian), Beatrice Miller (Catherine), Harry Neville
(Father Walter), Kay Phillips (Annette), William Shelley (Hans), Charles Webster
(Matthias).
EXTANT RECORDING
EVERYMAN’S THEATRE—“IMMORTAL DRAMAS” (CKY, WINNIPEG)
[Wednesday—10:00-10:30 PM]
June 7, 1939 “The Bells”
[“…a new series directed by Sheila Mariyatt of the CBC Western Regional
staff, with a cast headed by Mercer McLeod, popular Winnipeg player.
The opening broadcast will be the Erckmann-Chatrian play, made
famous by Sir Henry Irving. The moving drama of the Irving
interpretation has been retained in the radio version…”]
SCRIPT: Gerald Rowan.
GREAT TALES OF IMAGINATION (CBM, MONTREAL)
[Monday—9:00-9:30 PM]
August 11, 1947 “The Bells”
SCRIPT: Gerald Rowan.
PERSONNEL: Rupert Caplan (producer).
WINNIPEG DRAMA (CBW, WINNIPEG)
[Thursday—10:30-11:00 PM]
December 21, 1950 “The Bells”
[“…It concerns the burgomaster of an Alsace village, who is obsessed by
fear because of a murder he committed five years previously…”]
SCRIPT: Gerald Rowan.
(GREENWICH OVERSEAS SERVICE—BBC)
[Sunday—3:15-3:45 PM]
August 18, 1957 “The Bells”
SCRIPT: H. A. L. Craig.
PERSONNEL: R. D. Smith (producer).
[Wednesday—10:30-11:00 AM]
August 21, 1957 “The Bells”
(HOME SERVICE, LONDON—BBC)
[Friday—8:00-9:00 PM]
August 12, 1966 “The Bells”
SCRIPT: R. D. Smith.
PERSONNEL: R. D. Smith (producer).
BENIGHTED / THE OLD DARK HOUSE
[NOVEL; MOTION-PICTURE]
“…a play adapted from the novel of Mr. J. B. Priestley.”
[Manchester Guardian, Dec. 4, 1937] “…to-night from the Regional… Dafydd Gruffydd, who has
done much good dramatic work in the last few months for the Welsh Regional. The play has a
Welsh setting, the scene being ‘somewhere in the mountains.’ Gruffydd will also be the producer,
and he has a strong cast which includes Norman Shelley and Barbara Powell.”
[Times review of the movie] “A number of persons are accidentally assembled on a stormy night
in an old house in Wales. It is the sort of house, as the style in which it is furnished makes very
clear, in which one expects to find a pyromaniac locked in an upper chamber, an incredibly old
and obviously wicked baronet dying in the best bedroom, and a dumb and drunken butler…”
[William K. Everson] “Priestley’s original novel was rather uneven; he was generally much more
at home with his ‘social’, semi-political books and plays—or with his simple, regional comedies of
manners… Elements of both schools of writing seem to be forced into Benighted, and get in the
way of the melodrama too often. The one major difference between novel and film was that
Priestley killed off his hero, Penderell, whereas indications in the film that this might have been a
last minute decision.”
[Kevin Hagopian] “An allegory in social criticism, Priestley’s book concerned a group of
travelers who must unwillingly spend a night together in a strange Welsh home. There, in too-
close quarters, the classes collide, and the self-confidence of wealth and station wear thin. It was a
notably English story, and for Whale…the confrontation between rich, poor, and in-between was
one which was the essential truth of English society.”
[CHRONOLOGY]
(WESTERN PROGRAMME—BBC)
[Friday—8:20-9:40 PM]
January 1, 1937 “Benighted”
SCRIPT: Dafydd Gruffydd.
PERSONNEL: Dafydd Gruffydd (producer).
(WELSH PROGRAMME—BBC)
[Saturday—8:00-9:10 PM]
December 4, 1937 “Benighted”
SCRIPT: Dafydd Gruffydd.
PERSONNEL: Dafydd Gruffydd (producer).
CAST: Barbara Powell, Norman Shelley, et al.
(WELSH HOME SERVICE—BBC)
[Thursday—9:30-10:40 PM]
December 5, 1946 “Benighted”
LUX RADIO THEATRE (SPRINGBOK, JOHANNESBURG)
[Monday—8:00-9:00 PM]
May 1, 1950 “The Old Dark House”