Random Rarities 15

This collection of Rarities, our fifteenth, is filled with orphaned programs from the Golden Age of Radio. It is hard to say where they all came from, but they are all enjoyable and provide hours of happy listening. Some of the shows include:

American Cancer Society 1948, a pair of dramas that highlight the need for early detection, and an appeal for funding. "Accounting" tells what contributions to the Society are used for, and "Square Moon" shows how important esoteric sounding research can be. Listen to hear the researcher comfort a potential cancer patient with a cigarette!

Babe Didrikson Zaharias Sports Show, a cracker barrel session from the sun porch of the Greatest American woman in sports to benefit the American Cancer Society.

Cancer Crusade Baseball Cracker Barrel, Tallulah Bankhead hosts this contentious discussion of "the most exciting baseball play you've ever seen".

Heart Throbs, Syrupy love songs from 1934, featuring Victor recording artist Maurice Gunsky.

Heritage Radio Theater hosted by Tom Heathwood, Tom celebrates the 75th anniversary of the National Broadcasting Company with various rare clips as a counterpoint to the TV broadcast of the same occasion.

I Am an American, an unapologetic pro-Democracy propaganda program on NBC from the months before Pearl Harbor. The "Nightmare at Noon" episode reflects upon the terror bombing of the Blitzkrieg.

The Man Behind The Masterpiece, A syndicated program from the NBC Education Department which reveals the lives of great artists. Profiles include Michelangelo, Thomas Gainsborough and William Turner.

Nightcap Yarns, Syndicated stories of revenge and adventure. The production uses full sound effects, but there is only one (unidentified) voice who narrates and voices all of the characters. There is a tale of revenge on the racetrack and another of heroic resistance against slave traders.

Foreign Assignment, supposedly based on true stories, the adventures of Allied agents and reporters working behind enemy lines.

Mr. Pickwick's Christmas, Charles Laughton reading from Dickens about Yuletide Warmth.

Stories From The American Scene, An audition program from KFI, Los Angeles, filled with entertaining trivia, featuring Howard Culver, radio's Straight Arrow. As entertaining as these facts may have been in 1948, they are even more so now. Consider the dial telephone; when the show was recorded, half of the phones in the world had their own dials. Today, with speed dialing cell phones, many of us cannot even remember our own numbers!

Two On A Clue, A lot of drama packed into 15 minutes! A wartime mystery series from CBS featuring Jeff and Debbie Spencer along with their son Mickey, whom murder seems to follow.

Victory Parade of Spotlight Bands, everyone in showbiz was more than happy to do whatever they could to help with the War effort, and the staff at the AFRS studios in Hollywood were far from shy about asking! VPOSB recorded some of the hottest band remotes from various Defense Installations around LA.

The World Is Yours, A cooperative effort between the NBC Education Department and the US Department of the Interior, the program highlights the collection of the Smithsonian Institution. In "Masters Behind the Mellon Masterpieces" we learn about the great painters whose works will be part of the Mellon National Art Gallery.

See also Random Rarities 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23.