Opening Night

Nadine Grace, a young woman new to New York and lonely there, is approached in a Broadway restaurant by Norman Warren, a publicity agent. He asks her to take the place of a beauty contest winner who has come down with mumps and cannot sail to Bermuda that night. Nadine accepts the offer of five hundred dollars and boards the ship, where she is dressed in borrowed clothes and quickly becomes the center of attention at the dances. Norman's new client, the actress Gloria Gay, is also aboard and is less than pleased with the arrangement. This is the first part of a romantic drama from Love Story Magazine, first broadcast on March 26, 1937.

With Nadine Grace, Norman Warren, Gloria Gay, Harvey Brooks.

Listen for: Norman's offer to Nadine in the restaurant, and Gloria Gay's reaction to Nadine on the ship

First aired on March 26, 1937.

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

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Ben Potts, who runs the feed store and sings bass in the local singing group, learns that Eli Jenkins has claimed he pitches horseshoes better than Ben. Offended, Ben challenges Eli to a match to defend his title as champion horseshoe pitcher down their way. Word spreads quickly through the town's party lines, and the two men's friends and wives react to the rivalry. At the group's rehearsal at Eli's parlor, the singers try to keep the peace, play a game of pretend house, and reflect on how the people they love most can hurt them the most.

With Ben Potts, Eli Jenkins, Jenny Jenkins, Bessie Haskins, Cliff, Alice, Chris.

Listen for: Ben's phone call to Eli and the news spreading through the party line, the group's rehearsal, the pretend house game, and the closing reflection on friendship.

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: Down Our Way 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.

Eli and Jenny Jenkins, with Cliff and Alice, gather for a weekly singing practice in a small town, but Jenny and Alice are secretly planning something for Ben. Overheard phone calls and whispered talks make Eli suspicious that a surprise is being prepared. The group keeps up its singing and its cheerful banter while the plans move forward. Cliff, who runs a gas station, shares his doubts about whether his singing is good enough to pursue more training, and Alice encourages him. The evening builds toward a birthday celebration whose purpose the characters have kept from the one it is meant for.

With Eli Jenkins, Jenny Jenkins, Cliff, Alice, Ben, Patience.

Listen for: The whispered phone conversations and the mock military planning in the kitchen, followed by the surprise birthday party for Ben.

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: Down Our Way 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.

Alice, a schoolteacher, comes to Eli and Jenny Jenkins' parlor early one evening for their advice. She must decide whether to stay in the town or leave on the late train to join a man she feels obligated to because he paid her mother's hospital bills. Eli and Jenny gather with their friends for a singing rehearsal, where the townsfolk gossip about Alice, Cliff and Ben. Ben and Cliff both seem attentive to her, and the group practices songs for an upcoming sociable and a wedding. The episode is the first in the Down Our Way series.

With Alice, Eli Jenkins, Jenny Jenkins, Patience, Ben, Cliff.

Listen for: Alice's dilemma about the train and the money she owes, and the townsfolk's reactions during the singing rehearsal.

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: Down Our Way 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.

Louis Pasteur, a chemist in nineteenth-century France, fights to convince doctors and officials that invisible microbes cause disease. Nations are struck by anthrax among their cattle, and Pasteur develops a vaccine that protects animals. He is challenged by the Academy of Medicine to a public test with sheep, and his vaccinated animals survive. Later, Pasteur and his colleagues confront skepticism about rabies, and he treats a boy bitten by a rabid dog. Presented as part of the Academy Award Theater series, this 1946 radio dramatization stars Paul Muni, and the program was first broadcast on April 13, 1946. The story is recounted through Pasteur's scientific work and his struggles against established medical opinion.

With Louis Pasteur, Marie, Dr. Charbonnet, Dr. Rossignol, Dr. Lister, Emperor.

Listen for: Pasteur's challenge to the Academy of Medicine with the sheep test, and his decision to treat the boy bitten by a rabid dog.

First aired on April 13, 1946.

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: Academy Award Theater 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.

Kitty Foyle, a young working woman in Philadelphia, is drawn into a romance with Wyn Strafford, a wealthy man from a prominent family. Kitty dreams of a life beyond her modest background, and her love for Wyn tests her pride and her ideas about class. The Academy Award Theater broadcast of April 6, 1946 adapts the film, starring Ginger Rogers in the role that won her an Academy Award. The part of the transcript supplied here follows Kitty's early years with Wyn, the disappointments that test their relationship, and Kitty's first steps toward independence.

With Kitty Foyle, Mark Eisen, Wyn Strafford, Pop Foyle, Molly, Mrs. Streeter, Giorgio, Veronica Gladwin.

Listen for: Kitty's shifting feelings for Wyn Strafford and Mark Eisen as her relationship with the Strafford family develops

First aired on April 6, 1946.

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: Academy Award Theater 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.

In New Orleans in 1850, Julie Marsden defies the social customs of her time when she wears a red dress to the Olympus Ball instead of white, a choice that angers her fiancé Preston Dillard. The episode follows the strained relationship between Julie and Preston as their quarrels, pride and jealousy push them apart. Julie's aunt, Belle, watches the couple's conflicts with growing concern. The story is presented as part of the Academy Award Theater series, with the broadcast first airing on March 30, 1946, and starring Betty Davis and Anne Revere.

With Julie Marsden, Preston Dillard, Aunt Belle, Buck Cantrell, Amy, General Bogardus.

Listen for: The quarrel over Julie's red dress at the Olympus Ball, and the public confrontation at the ball that follows.

First aired on March 30, 1946.

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: Academy Award Theater 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.

On a business trip to New York, Sam Burridge meets a pale, modestly dressed young woman named Faye at a dinner party and falls in love with her almost at once. They marry quickly, and Faye's family welcomes Sam warmly. Sam later learns that Faye once claimed to be a gifted pianist, though she has never played in front of him. As a society review approaches, pressure mounts on Faye to perform, and the couple's relationship begins to strain under the weight of an unspoken past. The story is from the Hallmark Playhouse, adapted from a Libby Block story and presented by James Hilton, with Joan Banks and Bill Johnstone in the lead roles. The broadcast aired on June 24, 1948.

With Sam Burridge, Faye, Celeste, Mr. Steinhoff.

Listen for: Faye's reluctance to play the piano and what it reveals about her past.

First aired on June 24, 1948.

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: Hallmark Playhouse 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.

At a Park Avenue party, socialite Hilda Rutherford meets Alan Baker, a brash young architect who has crashed her coming-out celebration. Their attraction grows despite her initial resistance, and the pair marry and start a family. Her longtime friend Paul Ferguson remains close to her during the years that follow. This Screen Guild Theater broadcast presents the drama Can We Forget, starring Betty Davis, Robert Montgomery, Basil Rathbone and Louise Beavers. The transcript covers the first part of the play, which follows Hilda's growing bond with Alan and the early years of their marriage.

With Hilda Rutherford, Alan Baker, Paul Ferguson, Camille, Carol.

Listen for: Alan's bold, teasing first conversation with Hilda at her party, and the lines about her being unable to forget him.

First aired on January 22, 1939.

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

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. Two new episodes a week: Screen Guild Theater 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.

In 17th-century Holland, the exiled Charles II of England, fleeing Cromwell's men, takes the name Charles Stewart and works as a hired hand on the farm and inn of Katie, a widow who owes money to her cousin Jan. Charles and Katie grow close during his weeks there, while his loyal advisers press him to return to England and claim the throne. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. stars and Max Opels directs this Screen Director's Playhouse presentation of The Exile, which aired on January 23, 1949.

With Charles II, Katie, Jan, Hyde, Colonel Ingram, General Monk.

Listen for: The conversation between Charles and Katie on the farm, and the arrival of Hyde with news from England

First aired on January 23, 1949.

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: Screen Directors Playhouse 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.