Opening Night

Gerson Hapsmith and his wife Laurie live in New York. Gerson has become famous as the man in a string bow tie in a cologne advertisement, and his face is displayed on buses and subway cars across the city. Laurie, riding the subway on New Year's Eve, finds strangers admiring the poster and taking an interest in her husband, which leaves her uneasy. The couple decide to go out for a night on the town, and the evening takes an unexpected turn. This is an episode of the radio anthology On Stage, first broadcast on January 1, 1953, with Kathy and Elliot Lewis as the lead players.

With Gerson Hapsmith, Laurie Hapsmith, Derry, Mr. Honeywell, Janice, Billy Bailey, Carolyn, Thomas.

Listen for: Laurie's wry reactions to seeing her husband's face in the subway advertisement, and the escalating exchange with the stranger at the nightclub.

First aired on January 1, 1953.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

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In the summer of 1915, Kitty Vane waits in an English country village for two childhood friends, Alan Trent and Gerald Shannon, who are home on leave from the First World War. Kitty loves Alan, but she is unsure of his feelings, while Gerald, who has long been fond of her, hopes to win her. Their brief reunion brings joy and urgency, as the young lovers try to make the most of the few days they have together. This is a Lux Radio Theatre presentation from Hollywood, first broadcast on June 22, 1936, starring Merle Oberon and Herbert Marshall.

With Kitty Vane, Alan Trent, Gerald Shannon, Granny, Aunt Sheila, Father Charles.

Listen for: Kitty's uncertainty about Alan's love, and the sudden hope and urgency when the friends return home on leave.

First aired on June 22, 1936.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every day: Lux Radio Theatre on Stupid Potato, live around the clock.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Ports of Call travels to New Zealand, touring the harbor at Auckland and the wild country of the Maori. The episode retells Maui's legend of fishing up the North Island and the story of the Maori warrior Tae-Kouti, a prisoner sent to Chatham Island after being suspected of spying on the British. Later segments cover the dolphin Polaris Jack at French Pass, the Scottish gold discovery in Otago, and a whaling station at Kaikoura. Broadcast on April 15, 1936.

With Maui, Major John Biggs, Tae-Kouti, Captain Kane, David, Meg, Reverend McAllister.

Listen for: The Maui fishing legend, Tae-Kouti's confrontation with Major Biggs, and the account of Polaris Jack the dolphin

First aired on April 15, 1936.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: Ports of Call on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

The Ports of Call travelogue takes listeners to Stockholm, Sweden, describing the sea approach, the old city, and the modern streets crossed on the way to a hotel. Much of the program then recounts Swedish history through dramatized episodes. Queen Kristina, daughter of Gustavus Adolphus, is a six-year-old child when a regent brings news of her father's death, and she later grows into a queen who abdicates in favor of her cousin Carl Gustavo. Later scenes show Empress Catherine the Great of Russia pressing a marriage between her granddaughter Alexander and King Gustavus, who refuses to change his religion. The narrative then moves through Sweden's naval confrontations and Napoleon's role in placing Bernadotte on the throne. The transcript ends before the story reaches the twentieth century.

With Queen Kristina, Axel Oxenstierna, Cardinal Richelieu, Carl Gustavo, Catherine the Great, Alexander, Gustavus Adolphus, Lord Nelson.

Listen for: The dramatized scenes of Queen Kristina's childhood and her decision to abdicate, and the exchange between Catherine the Great and the English ambassador

First aired on April 8, 1936.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: Ports of Call on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Ports of Call takes listeners on a travelogue to Persia, beginning at the harbor of Kormusa on the Persian Gulf, where oil tankers stand beside Arabian sailing vessels. The episode moves through the country's history, from the teachings of Zarathustra and the conquests of Cyrus, through the tale of Sheherazade and the poet Omar Khayyam, to the twentieth-century dispute over Anglo-Persian oil leases between King Riza Shah Pahlavi and Sir John Cadman, president of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. Along the way the narration describes the bazaar at Tabriz, its many traders and goods, and the modernization of Tehran under the king. The program is presented as one of the Ports of Call travel broadcasts of 1935, first aired on 30 September 1935.

With Cyrus, Astyages, Sheherazade, Shahriar, Omar Khayyam, Sharin, Imam Muwaffak, Riza Shah Pahlavi.

Listen for: The dramatized scenes of Cyrus's victory over the Medes, the Sheherazade story, and the confrontation between Riza Shah and Sir John Cadman over the oil leases

First aired on September 30, 1935.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: Ports of Call on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Susan, the owner of the Hillsdale Morning Star, and her reporter George Harvey are struggling as the paper's circulation falls. Susan spends her time with the children of the local children's home, and when George proposes an Arabian Nights promotion, he hopes the whole town will take part and play mother and father to the orphans. The campaign draws George closer to the children, especially Rodney and Jocelyn, while a gunpowder experiment and a misprinted story add complications. The episode is part of the Bright Star comedy series starring Irene Dunn as Susan and Fred MacMurray as George, and the guide is drawn from a partial transcript of the broadcast.

With Susan, George Harvey, Sammy, Rodney, Jocelyn, Laura, Fire Chief Hagadorn.

Listen for: George's plan for an Arabian Nights promotion, the gunpowder experiment, and the mix-up over the mayor's quotation

First aired in 1950.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: Bright Star on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Reporter George Harvey and editor Susan Armstrong of the Hillsdale Morning Star clash over Connor Gaston, a promoter selling shares in a new oil development in town. George has been investigating the company and vows to print his suspicions, and a menacing visitor warns him to print only praise. Susan dismisses his claims, and the two are soon sparring over dinner invitations and rival appointments. Bright Star is an old-time radio comedy, and Irene Dunn and Fred MacMurray star as Susan and George. The transcript ends before the scheme's full course is revealed.

With George Harvey, Susan Armstrong, Sammy, Connor Gaston, Patience, Cecily Burnett.

Listen for: The exchange in the alley where George is warned off his oil story, and Susan's dinner with George

First aired in 1950.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: Bright Star on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Skid Brown and Bonnie Smith are a burlesque team in a small Midwestern town, and their stage life is strained by Skid's restlessness and his flirtation with a rival performer, Marco. Skid is offered a chance on Broadway, and Bonnie's loyalty and ambitions are tested as the two drift apart. This is the Lux Radio Theatre's 1936 broadcast of Burlesque, a dramatization starring Al Jolson and Ruby Keeler, and it aired on June 15, 1936. The episode follows the pair through a backstage quarrel, a surprise telegram and Skid's departure for New York.

With Skid Brown, Bonnie Smith, Lefty, Marco, Maisie, Barney, Max Levy, Harvey Howell.

Listen for: Skid's telegram from Manhattan and Bonnie's quarrel with him over his future.

First aired on June 15, 1936.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every day: Lux Radio Theatre on Stupid Potato, live around the clock.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Doris Harcourt, a New York artist model engaged to Norman Van Dyke, is surprised in her apartment at midnight by a stranger who has climbed in through the window. The man, Jim Trent, claims to be an accountant who was pressured into the intrusion. Doris is confused and distressed as the situation draws the attention of Norman and his father. The story follows the tangled relationships between Doris, Jim, and Norman, as well as the pressures behind the events of that night. This episode is from the Love Story Magazine series and aired on April 9, 1937. The lead actress is credited in the transcript only as the Love Story Girl.

With Doris Harcourt, Jim Trent, Norman Van Dyke, Henry Van Dyke, Miles Gaffey, Katie.

Listen for: The midnight intrusion in Doris's apartment and how Jim Trent comes to work for Miles Gaffey

First aired on April 9, 1937.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: Love Story Magazine on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Catherine Conyers, a famous society beauty, sits in a nightclub wearing her family's valuable diamond bracelets while her friend Bunny warns her that wearing them openly is reckless. Catherine, bored with her perfect life and her engagement to Roger Hastings, leaves the club alone in the rain. The Conyers family car is not waiting for her; instead the driver, Winters, takes her somewhere she does not expect. Catherine finds herself in the hands of a polite but determined man who wants the bracelets and has an unusual plan for the night. The story is part of the Love Story Magazine series, and this episode aired on April 2, 1937.

With Catherine Conyers, Bunny, Roger Hastings, Winters.

Listen for: Catherine's conversation with the man who has taken her to the guest house.

First aired on April 2, 1937.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: Love Story Magazine on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.