Tony's Fantastic Radio Bulletins Continued...

[Tony]

As per this month, I've been listening in my car to nothing but OW:

1. "Counsellor at Law" with OW, Gertrude Berg, Aline MacMahon and the regular Mercury gang: Cotten, Sloane, Readick, Barrier, and Alland.

I believe Welles bases his performance on the masterful performance that Barrymore did in the movie; however, Welles manages only to sound whiny, out of control and very young; still, the show works- it's a terrific story, with lots of brilliant sound strategies, and the supporting cast is superb.

2. "Showboat" with OW,Margaret Sullavan, Helen Morgan (two of OW's favourites) and the Merc. gang. Still high pitched and whiny as the captain, Welles also provides a beautiful, elegaic narration in that deep Amberson voice; the show actually works well, despite the fact that Welles uses his Will Varner pseudo-Southerner voice when in character.The show also includes a rare Stephen Foster song that wasn't in the original, and the author doing a supporting role.

3. The Shadow: "The Tenor with the Broken Voice": Just a throwaway show for Welles, however a very young and coquetteish sounding Agnes Moorehead and a solid Ray Collins round out the cast.

3."The Immortal Sherlock Holmes" with OW as Sherlock, Ray Collins perfectly cast as Watson, and Barrier, Wilson, Alland, and others. A very nicely paced show, with a solid story taken from a stage play not by Conan Doyle but by William Gillette. Unfortunately, Welles yet again employs his high whiny voice for Sherlock, again I think a mistake. Still, his performance is good and Collins has Watson nailed.

4. "Mutiny on the Bounty" with OW as Bligh, Cotten as Fletcher Christian (well-cast) and Readick,Barrier,Collins, Wilson, Alland and Moorehead. Very good show, with Welles perfectly cast as the angry, oppressive monster Bligh; one of the best Mercurys, I think. (Of course all the original Mercurys, Campbells and Summer Mercurys feature Herrmann doing the score.) And the sound effects are super: film quality, as are so many of the CBS shows.

I find the shows very interesting and soothing to listen to, especially in rush hour!