Times Past Podcast

A Damsel in Distress is a 1937 English-themed Hollywood musical comedy film starring Fred Astaire, Joan Fontaine, George Burns, and Gracie Allen. With a screenplay by P. G. Wodehouse, loosely based on his novel of the same name.

Lady Alyce Marshmorton must marry soon, and the staff of Tottney Castle have laid bets on who she'll choose, with young Albert wagering on "Mr. X."

Astaire's co-star Joan Fontaine was not a dancer and he was reluctant to dance on screen alone. He also felt the script needed more comic relief to enhance the overall appeal of the film. Burns and Allen had each worked in vaudeville as dancers (aka "hoofers") before forming their act and when word of the project reached them, they called Astaire and he asked them to audition.

Burns contacted an act he had once seen that performed a dance using brooms. For the next several weeks, he and Allen worked at home to learn the complicated routine for their audition. When they presented the "Whisk Broom Dance" to Astaire, he was so taken by it, that he had them teach it to him and it was added to the film. Their talents were further highlighted as they matched Astaire step by step in the demanding "Funhouse Dance". Throughout the picture Burns and Allen amazed audiences and critics as they "effortlessly" kept pace with the most famous dancer in the films, as many did not know either of them could dance.

A Damsel in Distress (1937).mp4

To impress his girlfriend's parents, Gracie pretends to be Jerry's mother, but she has difficulty finding someone to commit to masquerading as his father.

George Burns and Gracie Allen Show s08e18 Too Many Fathers.mp4

Are Husbands Necessary? is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Ray Milland and Betty Field. It follows the misadventures of a wacky wife and her sometimes exasperated, but loving, banker husband. The film's screenplay was adapted by the husband-and-wife writing team of Tess Slesinger and Frank Davis, from the novel Mr. and Mrs. Cugat, the Record of a Happy Marriage by Isabel Scott Rorick. This novel would later be a source for the related 1948 radio series My Favorite Husband starring Lucille Ball, which itself would evolve into the television series I Love Lucy.

A one-hour Lux Radio Theater adaptation of the film, featuring George Burns and Gracie Allen, aired February 15, 1943 on CBS Radio.

Lux Radio Theater 43-02-15 (383) Are Husbands Necessary (128kbps).mp3

Burns and Allen, an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns and

his wife, Gracie Allen, worked together as a comedy team in vaudeville,

films, radio and television and achieved great success over four

decades.

The Burns and Allen Show 48-01-08 George and Jack as Gypsies with Jack Benny (128kbps)

Burns and Allen, an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen, worked together as a comedy team in vaudeville, films, radio and television and achieved great success over four decades.

The Burns and Allen Show 50-01-25 Guest Ronald Reagan (128kbps)

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Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie "Gracie" Allen (July 26, 1895 – August 27, 1964), was an American comedienne who became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns. From vaudeville to radio to film and television, Gracie Allen was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6672 Hollywood Boulevard. The team of Burns and Allen was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1988.

Gracie Allen.mp4

Horror legend Vincent Price spins a yarn of two emasculated husbands, and their plot to escape domestication.

Price of Fear 73-09-01 (101) Remains to Be Seen.mp3

House on Haunted Hill is a 1959 American horror film. It was directed by William Castle, written by Robb White and stars Vincent Price as eccentric millionaire Frederick Loren. He and his fourth wife, Annabelle, have invited five people to the house for a "haunted house" party. Whoever stays in the house for one night will earn $10,000. As the night progresses, all the guests are trapped inside the house with ghosts, murderers, and other terrors.

House on Haunted Hill (1959).mp4

Suspense. November 11, 1956.

CBS. "Three Skeleton Key". The story of a

lighthouse island over-run by large rats. Vincent Price.

Suspense 56-11-11 (673) Three Skeleton Key (128kbps).mp3

The Saint. November 13, 1949.

Mutual net. "The Case Of The Blonde Who Lost Her Head". A beautiful woman in San Francisco has amnesia, but does

she have a real loss of memory or a real murder? Vincent Price

The Saint 49-11-13 (094) The Case of the Blonde Who Lost Her Head (128kbps).mp3