A Farewell to Arms - Campbell Playhouse

[Wilson]

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this show (which featured Katherine Hepburn as guest star), which I had assumed was lost, still exists on a transcription disc at the Library of Congress. A post on an OTR mailing list I subscribe to made mention of it, and upon looking for myself, there it was. I don't know if this was a recent addition, as I've gone through their holdings before and never seen it, but it's good news in any case.

[tadao]

Great news. Cheers for the info, Jeff. Out of all the missing Mercury/Campbell shows, this is one that I've especially regretted not being able to hear, and never hoped that I'd be able to without somebody recovering radio signals from space (!). Now somebody just needs to track down "Call It A Day" with Beatrice Lillie and I'll be even happier

The LOC doesn't have many Mercury and Campbell shows (3 Mercury shows and 5 Campbells), all of which come from the "Audioscription Disc Collection". I couldn't find any more info on this on the Library of Congress website; and a search for "Audioscription" on the net doesn't return anything related to this collection. Might it have been some kind of independent transcription service? Or possibly a company which had aimed to issue recordings on LP?

The catalogue records for these recordings seem to indicate they were tranferred from disc to 1/4 inch polyester tape in 1968.

"2 sound tape reels : 7.5ips, double-track, mono ; 10-inch, 1/4-inch (polyester). Recording Laboratory 1968. Duration: 006000. Collection/Donor name: Audioscription Disc Collection. "

I guess the "10-inch" segment refers to the diameter of the tape spools, not the original discs? I can't find any indication as to why "Farewell to Arms" hasn't surfaced until now, unless this collection of tape transfers has only recently been obtained/catalogued by the LOC.

The LOC website says it offers copies of its recorded sound collections for $109/hour. I'd be happy to kick in a few bucks if other people want to do the same to get a copy of this show.

[Wilson]

Yeah, but you have to get copyright clearance before they'll copy anything, and that would take time and money. Odds are whoever holds it (if someone does) wouldn't simply let it be copied; they'd want to paid first as well, if they were even willing. Not saying it's hopeless, but legwork needs to be done before any copying could even begin.

[Glenn Anders]

I'm fairly certain that there must be a number of fan and memorial societies devoted to a cult figure, an icon, like Katherine Hepburn. Because if indeed it exists amid the slow play of one of these big six hour tape reels, this program has been heard by virtually no one now alive. Some of these organizations would surely undertake to negotiate the legal and financial barriers.

Who knows where some of these fan clubs and societies are?

[Wilson]

The LoC may also know who needs to be contacted in some cases, albeit not all. The LoC also holds some Office of War Information material featuring Welles, which might be copyright-free, given its government production status. That would have to be looked into as well.

[Wilson]

Actually, looking at the list of Welles material they have not in circulation, I'm not sure how much would be available. Here is the list:

Library of Congress Welles Holdings of Interest:

Title
Shakespeare birthday
Date
Broadcast : 04/23/1938
Source
WHN

Title
Stage relief fund program
Date
Broadcast : 11/22/1937
Source
NBC Blue network
Note: 5:00 in length, OW on Caesar

Title
The Magic key of RCA
Date
Broadcast : 01/02/1938
Source
NBC Blue network

Title
Drama club award
Date
Broadcast : 04/08/1938
Source
WMCA

Title
Campbell playhouse
Part
Farewell to arms
Date
Broadcast : 12/30/1938

Title
Committee for the celebration of the President's birthday program
Date
Broadcast : 01/20/1940
Source
NBC Red network

Title
U.S.O. program
Date
Broadcast : 06/30/1941
Source
WMCA

Title
New York film critics awards
Date
Broadcast : 01/10/1942
Source
NBC Blue network
Performer(s)
Joseph Cotten; Dorothy Comingore; Everett Sloane.
Recording Note
Duplicated from an NBC Blue network radio program broadcast of Jan. 10, 1942; 10:30 p.m.-10:45 p.m.
Summary
Leo Mishkin of the N. Y. Film Critics presents awards to Orson Welles, Joan Fontaine, John Ford, and Gary Cooper. Joan Fontaine speaks from Hollywood and Orson Welles an others perform a scene from Citizen Kane.
Note
RWA 3820 A1 contains part one; LWO 12873 56B2 contains part two in which Orson Welles performs a scene from Citizen Kane.

Title
The American laughter
Date
Broadcast : 01/25/1942
Source
CBS network

Title
Pan American Day
Date
Broadcast : 04/14/1942
Source
NBC Red network

Title
Salute to president Getulio Vargas
Date
Broadcast : 04/18/1942
Source
NBC Blue network

Title
Machines and victory
Date
Broadcast : 09/11/1942
Source
NBC Blue network

Title
United hospital campaign
Date
Broadcast : 10/19/1942
Source
NBC Red network

Title
Labor for victory
Date
Broadcast : 11/01/1942
Source
NBC Red network

Title
Congress of American Soviet Friendship
Date
Broadcast : 11/01/1942
Source
NBC Red network

Title
Ceiling unlimited
Date
Recording : 11/23/1942
Source
CBS

Title
Orson Welles spots
Date
Recording : 06/03/1943
Medium
Radio recording, not necessarily broadcast
Recording Note
An Office of War Information recording labelled June 3, 1943.

Title
Answering Australia
Date
Recording : 08/12/1943
Medium
Radio recording, not necessarily broadcast
Recording Note
An Office of War Information recording labelled Aug. 12, 1943.

Title
How should the movies be used today?
Date
Broadcast : 10/16/1943
Source
CBS network

Title
We, the people
Date
Recording : 11/14/1943
Source
CBS
Performer(s)
Host Milo Boulton with guest, Orson Welles.
Recording Note
An Office of War Information recording labelled Nov. 14, 1943. Label indicates that recording is from the CBS radio network.
Physical Item
LWO 5833 GR7 1B4-2A1. 3 sound reels : 7.5ips, double-track ; 10-inch, 1/4-inch (polyester). Recording Laboratory 1970. Duration: 003000. Collection/Donor name: OWI Radio Collection. Part 1 is broken.

Title
Hollywood to Moscow
Date
Broadcast : 02/12/1944
Source
NBC

Title
The Gracie Fields show
Date
Broadcast : 08/13/1944
Source
NBC

Title
Orson Welles
Date
Broadcast : 10/13/1944
Time
9:55 p.m.
Source
NBC

Title
Democratic Party program
Date
Broadcast : 11/01/1944
Source
NBC

Title
Democratic National Committee program
Date
Broadcast : 11/06/1944
Source
NBC

Title
Orson Welles forum
Date
Recording : 05/20/1945
Recording Note
An Office of War Information recording labelled May 20, 1945.
Summary
"The Fascist idea."

Title
French press program
Date
Recording : 07/17/1945
Recording Note
Duplicated from a program recording of July 17, 1945; time unknown.
Summary
Orson Welles narrates this documentary about the liberation of Paris, taken from French underground recordings.

[Glenn Anders]

This is an interesting list, Jeff. I was unaware of the existence of about half of them. The Office of War Information attribution of some reminds me that the organization of independent directors and producers, of which Welles was a founding member, had a formulating lawyer who became head of the OWI.

It looks as if when someone wanted people to open their ears, they said: Let's get Orson Welles to do it."

Of course, thinking of Welles later work as "a spokesman," over a generation, that can perhaps begin to wear thin.

I might note, too, that the Campbell Playhouse Production of "A Farewell to Arms," which is the subject of our thread, is listed "part." Let's hope they mean only that the commercials have not been included -- often the meaning of such a notation

Glenn