Podcast: Orson Welles' Radio Days

In 1934, Orson Welles came to Broadway in a production of "Romeo and Juliet" and within a year he was putting his mellifluous voice to use by doing a lot of radio work, including as part of the stock company, imitating famous newsmakers, on "The March of Time." While producing and directing shows on Broadway, he was also making a name for himself as the title character on "The Shadow" and, later, scaring America to death with "War of the Worlds." Today we consider Welles's work as a rising star on the radio, leading to an offer from Hollywood.

Sources:

Broadcast Hysteria: Orson Welles's War of the Worlds and the Art of Fake News, by A. Brad Schwartz

Orson Welles on the Air: Packaging Welles, orsonwelles.indiana.edu

"This Ageless Soul," Russell Maloney, The New Yorker, October 1, 1938

Rosebud: The Story of Orson Welles, by David Thomson

The Mercury Theatre on the Air, mercurytheatre.info

Screen Capture Theatre: "The Fast and the Furious," or Race Relations

Blah blah blah blah another edition of Screen Capture Theatre! This time it's the 1954 film ...

Look at that truck crashing and blowing up! It has
nothing to do with the plot!

No, this movie isn't about trucks. It's about
race cars, specifically this sleek white Jaguar driven
by the equally sleek Dorothy Malone.

Dorothy is the fast one, and John Ireland is the furious one.
He's an escaped prisoner who doesn't take to answering
questions, not even if they're asked by Zach Galifianakis.

 

John takes Dorothy and her car hostage and won't even let
her go to the bathroom.

They cleverly elude police roadblocks because their car
is so inconspicuous.

John still doesn't let Dorothy go to the bathroom ...

... until they enter a road race as a way of escaping to Mexico.

 

At the race Dorothy meets an old flame ...

 

... but she's starting to take a liking to John ...

... and when they shack up together overnight they
create a few sparks of their own.

Then it's race day!

John has left Dorothy behind for her own safety...

... and through the miracle of rear projection he crashes
past customs and into Mexico.

But wait! Dorothy's old flame is involved in a
startlingly realistic crash with a twig. 

By stopping to save the old flame, John demonstrates his
decency. And he and Dorothy start smokin' again.

Podcast: Liz and Dick and Lucy and the Ring

In 1969, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were arguably the world's most famous married couple, and they became even more well known when Burton bought his wife a 69-carat diamond ring that cost over a million dollars. At a Hollywood party, their paths crossed with Lucille Ball and an unlikely idea emerged -- within weeks the Burtons were taping an episode of "Here's Lucy" as themselves, with the ring as a special guest star. This is the story of a very large diamond, two very popular movie stars and one of America's favorite comic actresses -- and how they all came together to make TV history.

Sources:

" 'All I Could See Was Elizabeth and That Rock': What Happened When Taylor and Burton Were Filmed for Next Week's Lucy Show," James Bacon, TV Guide, September 5, 1970

"The Taylor Burton Diamond," worthy.com

Loving Lucy: An Illustrated Tribute to Lucille Ball, by Bart Andrews

Elizabeth Taylor: A Private Life for Public Consumption, by Ellis Cashmore

The Richard Burton Diaries, edited by Chris Williams