EVENING PRIMROSE
[SHORT-STORY]
John Collier’s classic horror story…
The original source story for “Evening Primrose” was first published in 1940. It
can be found in the John Collier collection Fancies and Goodnights [Doubleday
& Co., 1951].
ORIGINATION: Various.
DURATION: Various.
PERSONNEL: Alexander Courage (music conductor—1949, Escape), John
Dunkel (scriptwriter—1949, Escape), Norman Macdonnell (director—1949,
Escape), John Pritchett (host, reader—2007, An Hour of Short Stories)
CAST [8/25/49, Escape]: Harry Bartell, Lois Corbett, Georgia Ellis, Wilms
Herbert, Vivi Janis, Ruth Perrott, Ben Wright.
EXTANT RECORDINGS: “Evening Primrose (Escape, 8/25/49),
MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION (HOME SERVICE, LONDON)
[Thursday—9:30-10:00 PM]
Jan. 3, 1946 “Evening Primrose”
Escape. November 5, 1947. CBS net. "Evening Primrose". Sustaining. A
fascinating adventure with a strange assortment of characters who live inside
New York's department stores. Great radio! The script was subsequently used on
Escape on September 12, 1948 (see cat. #65849) and on August 25, 1949 (see cat.
#24294). Pat Lowery, Elliott Lewis, Paul Frees, John Collier (author), William N.
Robson (producer, director), John Dunkel (adaptor).
Escape. September 12, 1948. CBS net. "Evening Primrose". Sustaining. A
fascinating adventure with a strange assortment of characters who live inside
New York's department stores. Great radio! The script was used previously on
"Escape" on November 5, 1947 (see cat. #65835) and subsequently on August 25,
1949 (see cat. #24296). Norman Macdonnell (producer, director), Ivan Ditmars
(special music), William Conrad, Constance Cavendish, Jeff Corey, John Collier
(author), John Dunkel (adaptor), Roy Rowan (announcer), Harry Bartell, Lillian
Buyeff, Kay Miller, Irene Tedrow.
ESCAPE (KNX, HOLLYWOOD)
[Thursday—
July 28, 1949 “Evening Primrose”
[“…This is the eerie yarn of a poet
who decides to live in a department
store and finds a whole community
already in occupation. His plans to
escape the weird community are
thwarted by the Dark Men, nocturnal
policemen who live in undertaking
parlors…”]
Escape. August 25, 1949. CBS net. "Evening Primrose". Sustaining. A
fascinating adventure with a strange assortment of characters who
live inside New York's department stores! Great radio! The script was
used on the program previously on November 5, 1947 (see cat.
#65835) and on September 12, 1948 (see cat. #65849). Ben Wright,
Bob Lemond (announcer), Georgia Ellis, Harry Bartell, John Collier
(author), John Dunkel (adaptor), Lois Corbett, Norman Macdonnell
(producer, director), Ruth Perrott, Alexander Courage (music
conductor), Vivi Janis, Wilms Herbert.
THE BLACK MASS (KPFA, BERKELEY)
[Saturday—
??? ??, 196? “Evening Primrose”
AN HOUR OF SHORT STORIES (NORTH TEXAS RADIO FOR THE
BLIND, DALLAS)
[Sunday—1:00-2:00 PM]
Dec. 9, 2007 “Evening Primrose” / “The
American’s Tale”
(BBC RADIO 7)
[Friday—6:30-7:00 PM]
Oct. 10, 2008 “Evening Primrose”
A darkly surreal story by John Collier about a bizarre community of
people who have opted out of society .
[NOTE: “Evening Primrose” was originally announced to be performed by Peter
Lorre on his Mystery in the Air program on July 31, 1947, but was replaced by “