Thursday, August 19, 2004
Dragnet
Old time radio continues to amaze me in that these actors holding the script in their hand can make a listener feel like everything in the script is actually happening when in reality none of it is really happening. Sound effects to me were the most vital link to making the shows with stories come across sounding so authenic. A case in point is Dragnet which comes alive on radio. You actually feel like you are with Joe Friday as he and his partner track down criminals. Jack Webb created what to me is the best OTR cop show ever. Last night I listened to a Dragnet show that had a robber shooting Friday's partner and yet Friday went out of his way to help the family of the man convicted of the crime. However, the robber broke out of prison when he was almost time for his parole hearing and his wife helped him escape. So once more Friday brought him into the police station.
Saturday, May 15, 2004
What OTR means to me
Old time radio is Harold Peary's...(the Great Gildersleeve)... interaction with Marjorie, Leroy and Birdie in the family then the great bits with Mr. Peavy and Judge Hooker....OTR is Fibber McGee and Molly having their doorbell ring umpteen times a show with Harlow Wilcox visiting every show to extol the virtues of Johnson's Wax. OTR is Jack Webb as Sgt. Joe Friday investigating crimes on the streets of Los Angeles.
