One Man's Family

I just finished listening to One Man's Family. I wasn't sure how much I would like it when I first started. I am not a soap opera person, but I wanted to listen to the show because it was an institution in radio. Plus, I love history, and I saw this show as a window into a time long before I was born. Bottom line, I loved it. I have read Patricia Morse's 6-part story in Movie-Radio Guide from 1942, and Dunning's summary of the family in his Encyclopedia, and while I am glad we have that to help flesh out the early years, it just doesn't compare with the quality of the shows themselves. I found the storylines compelling and believable, the characters interesting and real. They were three dimensional. Sometimes they were sympathetic, sometimes funny, sometimes annoying. Morse's writing (and later Harlen Ware's writing) was crisp and intriguing. I actually cared what happened to each character. And the acting was excellent. In the end it left me wanting more, which I think is a hallmark of a really good show. I want to know if Clifford had twins and did Henry get another grandson to help carry on the family name. Did Pinky ever get his act together? Whatever happened to poor Elwood Giddings? I could go on. Although there are huge gaps in the episodes available, the 1949-1951 period is virtually intact and great listening. If you have been hesitant to listen to this show because it's in the nature of a soap opera, I recommend you give it a chance. This show is not a soap opera. It is a well-developed family drama that can compete with the best of today. I did some searching and couldn't find anything definitive, but does anyone know if Morse (or anyone else) left any of the scripts for this show to any library or collection? I saw that the Library of Congress has a collection but while they list ILAM and ABM scripts, OMF is not mentioned. I recently ordered "One Man's Family Album: An Inside Look at Radio's Longest Running Show", but that is really the only book I have seen on the show. I know in the 1949/1950 time frame Miles Labs was giving away a Barbour Family Album, but I have not come across a copy of that in any of my searching.

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Carlton Morse is a master of the plot, his various programs are fascinating and well worth adding to your collection. I have been searching for years for missing chapters of “I Love a Mystery” - hard to find, but worth the search! “One Man’s Family” is yet another example of the Morse talent for the story. This is a must addition for serious collectors!

I remember when it wasn't "Old Time" but cutting edge. "From high atop the the Phil Tower in Downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma, KVOO presents Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys". Sitting with my Grandmother and her sisters and watching the radio for "Our Gal Sunday", "Just Plain Bill" and later in the day, "One Man's Family". "Good News Tonight" with H. V. Kaltenborn.

Today, I listened to disc #2 and as an earlier listener commented, it is a family drama presented in a soap opera format. A sign of this is that it was on Sundays in early " prime time ". This was one of the longest running shows of Radio's Golden Age. The writing and acting were good and you couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen to the Barbour Family in the next episode.