The Magnificent Ambersons

[tonyw]

Broadcast October 29th, 1939

Wasn't this also available as an extra on the old laserdisc? If so, was the reproduction better than what is available now?

[Wich2]

Alas no, Tony (as well, I seem to recall that version as being trimmed a bit?)

The story goes that the radio AMBERSON is in such wretched shape because the copies we have come from Welles' own discs, which he beat to death in prepping for the film.

I've heard copies over the years from several sources, and they're all about the same. But the thing is, even these battered discs (there may be a set at the Lilly Library?) could benefit from up-to-date, top-level retransfer and restoration.

But that would cost money...

-Craig

[Le Chiffre]

I don't recall the Ambersons broadcast as being incomplete on the TMA Criterion Laserdisc of 1986. It is, however, divided into two parts so you have to switch from Left channel to Right channel at the midway point to hear the whole thing. I agree the sound quality, even on the laserdisc, is not that good, but it's listenable.

It's striking how variable the sound quality is between surviving Campbell shows. I did a sampling of the 48 shows at Archve.org recently
https://archive.org/details/otr_campbellplayhouse
and did a subjective ranking of the quality of sound (on a scale of 1 to 10) for each show. This list has nothing to do with the quality of each show, just the sound quality of the surviving recordings. As you can see, there aren't that many that survive in "good or better" sound:

Mutiny on the Bounty - Excellent 9
Rebecca - Excellent 9

The Bad Man - Very Good 8
Rabble in Arms - Very Good 8

Peter Ibbetson - Good 7
Ah, Wilderness - Good 7
Vanessa - Good 7
Vanity Fair - Good 7
Broome Stages - Good 7
Craig's Wife - Good 7
Huckleberry Finn - Good 7
June Moon - Good 7

A Christmas Carol (1939) - Pretty Good 6
Jane Eyre - Pretty Good 6
Arrowsmith - Pretty Good 6
The Glass Key - Pretty Good 6
Beau Geste - Pretty Good 6
Twentieth Century - Pretty Good 6
Hurricane - Pretty Good 6
Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Pretty Good 6
Dodsworth - Pretty Good 6
Our Town - Pretty Good 6
It Happened One Night - Pretty Good 6
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town - Pretty Good 6

Dinner at Eight - Fair 5
Victoria Regina - Fair 5
Algiers - Fair 5
Escape - Fair 5
Lilliom - Fair 5
The Magnificent Ambersons - Fair 5
The Garden of Allah - Fair 5
The Green Goddess - Fair 5
I Lost My Girlish laughter - Fair 5
Showboat - Fair 5
The Patriot - Fair 5

There's Always a Woman - Fair 4
Theodora Goes Wild - Fair 4
The Citadel - Fair 4
Wickford Point - Fair 4
What Every Woman Knows - Fair 4
The Count of Monte Cristo - Fair 4
Only Angels Have Wings - Fair 4
The Things We Have - Fair 4

Private Lives - Pretty Bad 3
Lost Horizon - Pretty Bad 3
Counseler at Law - Pretty Bad 3

[tonyw]

Thanks for this list. I did manage to hear COUNSELOR AT LAW before seeing the John Barrymore film and the audio I heard was not too bad.

[Wich2]

Chief, just off the top of my head:

There are copies of the '39 CHRISTMAS CAROL in more of a 7-8 rating; and I seem to recall the First Generation Archives DRACULA being in that ballpark, too.

-Craig

[tonyw]

Radio broadcasts are receiving good coverage on the Facebook site "Silents Please" in the Orson Welles threat - along with wellesnet.com.

[Le Chiffre]

Tony and Craig,
No doubt there are better options available for some of these programs. I have A CHRISTMAS CAROL on an old LP and it would probably merit at least a seven. The other Tony, some years ago ,created a thread on the LOST HORIZON broadcast,
http://wellesnet.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=1218
that he said was available in excellent sound from Crabapple.org. I wish I had ordered when I had a chance, since Crabapple is now defunct. The Archive recording of Lost Horizon scores only a 3 in my book, which makes it pretty difficult to judge the show's merits fairly.

But as it turns out, there is a considerably better one at the "MyOldRadio" website:
http://www.myoldradio.com/old-radio-epi ... -horizon/3

[Wich2]

Thanks - that is indeed much better.

And though your list above is correct that the Campbells' MONTE CRISTO is weak, the earlier '38 production is another 7 - 8:

https://archive.org/details/OrsonWelles ... Recordings

-Craig

[Le Chiffre]

Yes, at least 7 for the earlier Count, which I also have on LP. It's a shame that the '39 Monte Cristo has such mediocre sound, because I like it just as much if not more than the earlier '38 version. It's interesting that both are distinctly different approaches to the story. '38 is First Person Singular, and mainly chronological, while '39 starts much later in the story and has something of a flashback structure. Both approaches work well.

[Wich2]

Orson really was a barnstormer at heart, who loved a ripping meller like COUNT.

-Craig

[Le Chiffre]

There are copies of the '39 CHRISTMAS CAROL in more of a 7-8 rating; and I seem to recall the First Generation Archives DRACULA being in that ballpark, too.

I assume you're talking about this CD set:
http://www.radioarchives.com/The_Mercur ... /ra080.htm

Radio Archives is pleased and proud to introduce this impressive collection: ten immortal broadcasts of "The Mercury Theatre on the Air" as originally heard between July and November of 1938. All of the programs have been transferred directly from the highest quality first generation master recordings and painstakingly restored for the best possible audio quality, making these the finest sounding versions of these broadcasts ever made available to the public.

[Wich2]

Yes, that's the set. It's pretty good.

I did a little essay for it (click "Special Features"):

http://www.radioarchives.com/The_Mercur ... /ra080.htm

-Craig

[Le Chiffre]

Real nice essay, Craig. I'm tempted to get it.

Too bad they can't do one for the Campbell Playhouse too, especially if they could track down better sources for those shows that really need it, like PRIVATE LIVES.

[Wich2]

Thanks, Chief.

Arthur Anderson is really family to my wife and I now - he lives just a few minutes walk from us. And I've been blessed to spend time with, and even act opposite, other ex-Mercurians too, including Bill Herz, Ted (Elliot) Reid, and Kevin O'Morrison. (Ted has left us now, and I believe that the others I've mentioned, along with Norman Lloyd, are all we have left?)

I encouraged First Generation (now just "Radio") Archives to do more of these wonderful, historic shows, but I think sales were discouraging. From what I hear on the grapevine, CD sales of radio drama are drying up fast...

On the plus side: as noted on this board, a little searching can often turn up decent examples online; and readily available restoration software - if used intelligently - can help the poorer ones a bit.

Best,
-Craig

[Le Chiffre]

RG Productions, which did a fascinating performance of the "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast on the Woodstock Opera stage for the OW centennial in 2015, is back with their version of Welles's 1939 Campbell Playhouse program of "The Magnificent Ambersons", this Sunday in Welles's birth city of Kenosha, WI.
https://www.facebook.com/17719934229228 ... =3&theater