Good News of 1938

Last updated
Good News of 1938
Other namesGood News of 1939
Good News of 1940
Maxwell House Coffee Time
Hollywood Good News
GenreVariety
Country of originUnited States
Language(s)English
Syndicates NBC
Hosted by James Stewart
Robert Taylor
Robert Young
Dick Powell
Original releaseNovember 4, 1937 (1937-11-04) – July 25, 1940 (1940-07-25)
Sponsored by Maxwell House coffee

Good News of 1938 is an American old-time radio program. It was broadcast on NBC from November 4, 1937, until July 25, 1940. As the years changed, so did the title, becoming Good News of 1939 and Good News of 1940. In its last few months on the air, it was known as Maxwell House Coffee Time. [1] Some sources also refer to the program as Hollywood Good News. [2] The program was notable for marking "the first time that a national network joined hands with a major film studio to create a show for sale to a commercial sponsor." [3]

Contents

Format

Much like Lux Radio Theatre , which preceded it on radio, Good News of 1938 featured adaptations of films accompanied by interviews with film personalities. Unlike its predecessor, however, Good News was tied to one film company, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which controlled both the financial and programming elements of the show. [2] Also unlike Lux, Good News presented adaptations of upcoming films rather than those that had already been seen in theaters. [4] The program's first episode featured scenes from The Firefly (1937), with Allan Jones and Jeanette MacDonald reprising their roles from the film. [5]

Besides adaptations of films, the show offered "Backstage at the Movies", a feature in which listeners heard MGM executives discussing plans for future films. [3] Good News was presented before a live audience in a 1,500-seat theater. Often more fans waited outside, hoping to get in. [6]

The sponsor, Maxwell House coffee, paid $25,000 per week, and MGM took care of the rest. [2]

Personnel

James Stewart was the program's initial host. Robert Taylor succeeded him in the first half of 1938, and Robert Young followed him the fall of 1938. Beginning in the fall of 1939, a variety of MGM people filled in as hosts, and Dick Powell was the show's final host in 1940. Frank Morgan appeared regularly in a comedy role, as did Fanny Brice and Hanley Stafford in their roles of Baby Snooks and her father. [1] An MGM chorus directed by Max Terrs provided music along with soloists, including Betty Jaynes, Connee Boswell, and Judy Garland. [6]

On May 19, 1938, Joan Crawford opened a new portion of the show titled “MGM Theater of the Air”, performing a dramatic interlude called “Dark World”. [7]

Brice initially appeared on the show's fourth episode on November 25, 1937. [8] Herbert G. Goldman wrote in his book, Fanny Brice: The Original Funny Girl, "Baby Snooks put Good News on the hit list and started Fanny on the radio career she would continue for the rest of her short life." [9] After Good News ended, Morgan and Brice continued to perform on Maxwell House Coffee Time, a 30-minute program in which each had a 15-minute segment. [10]

Ted Pearson and Warren Hull were the program's announcers. Ed Gardner was the director, and Meredith Willson was the musical director. [1] Producers included Bill Bacher. [11]

Critical reaction

A writer for the Detroit Free Press found flaws in Good News of 1938. Edgar A Guest, Jr., writing in the newspaper's February 20, 1938, issue, commented that the program "could be much more entertaining if more care were taken with the production work." [12] He cited noise from the audience that was audible at inappropriate times and "at least half a dozen mistakes" in one episode when stars noticeably missed cues or mangled lines in the script. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Cotten</span> American actor (1905–1994)

Joseph Cheshire Cotten Jr. was an American film, stage, radio and television actor. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original stage productions of The Philadelphia Story and Sabrina Fair. He then gained worldwide fame in three Orson Welles films: Citizen Kane (1941), The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), and Journey into Fear (1943), for which Cotten was also credited with the screenplay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burns and Allen</span> American comedic duo

Burns and Allen were an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen. They worked together as a successful comedy team that entertained vaudeville, film, radio, and television audiences for over forty years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Morgan</span> American actor (1890–1949)

Francis Phillip Wuppermann, known professionally as Frank Morgan, was an American character actor. He was best known for his appearances in films starting in the silent era in 1916, and then numerous sound films throughout the 1930s and 1940s, with a career spanning 35 years mostly as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, with his most celebrated performance playing the title role in The Wizard of Oz (1939). He was also briefly billed early in his career as Frank Wupperman and Francis Morgan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dr. Kildare</span> Fictional character

Dr. James Kildare is a fictional American medical doctor, originally created in the 1930s by the author Frederick Schiller Faust under the pen name Max Brand. Shortly after the character's first appearance in a magazine story, Paramount Pictures used the story and character as the basis for the 1937 film Internes Can't Take Money, starring Joel McCrea as Jimmie Kildare. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) subsequently acquired the rights and featured Kildare as the primary character in a series of American theatrical films in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Several of these films were co-written by Faust, who also continued to write magazine stories and novels about the character until the early 1940s. Kildare was portrayed by Lew Ayres in nine MGM films.(Ayres was drafted in 1942 and served as a non-combatant medic until 1946.) Later films set in the same hospital featured Dr. Gillespie. Ayres returned to voice the Kildare character in an early 1950s radio series. The 1961–1966 Dr. Kildare television series made a star of Richard Chamberlain and gave birth to a comic book and comic strip based on the show. A short-lived reboot of the TV series, Young Doctor Kildare, debuted in 1972 and ran for 24 episodes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jess Oppenheimer</span> American radio and television writer, producer, and director

Jessurun James Oppenheimer was an American radio and television writer, producer, and director. He was the producer and head writer of the CBS sitcom I Love Lucy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fanny Brice</span> American actress, singer, and comedian (1891–1951)

Fania Borach, known professionally as Fanny Brice or Fannie Brice, was an American comedian, illustrated song model, singer, and theater and film actress who made many stage, radio, and film appearances. She is known as the creator and star of the top-rated radio comedy series The Baby Snooks Show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maxwell House</span> American coffee brand

Maxwell House is an American brand of coffee manufactured by a like-named division of Kraft Heinz in North America and JDE Peet's in the rest of the world. Introduced in 1892 by wholesale grocer Joel Owsley Cheek, it was named in honor of the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, which was its first major customer. For nearly 100 years, until the late 1980s, it was the highest-selling coffee brand in the United States. The company's slogan is "Good to the last drop," which is often incorporated into its logo and is printed on its labels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Reed</span> American actor (1907–1977)

Alan Reed was an American actor, best known as the original voice of Fred Flintstone on The Flintstones and various spinoff series. He also appeared in many films, including Days of Glory, The Tarnished Angels, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Viva Zapata!, and Nob Hill, and various television and radio series.

<i>The Baby Snooks Show</i> American radio program

The Baby Snooks Show was an American radio program starring comedian and Ziegfeld Follies alumna Fanny Brice as a mischievous young girl who was 40 years younger than the actress who played her when she first went on the air. The series began on CBS September 17, 1944, airing on Sunday evenings at 6:30 pm as Post Toasties Time. The title soon changed to The Baby Snooks Show, and the series was sometimes called Baby Snooks and Daddy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanley Stafford</span> American actor (1899–1968)

Hanley Stafford, was an actor principally on radio.

<i>Everybody Sing</i> (film) 1938 film by Edwin L. Marin

Everybody Sing is a 1938 American musical comedy film starring Allan Jones, Judy Garland, and Fanny Brice, and featuring Reginald Owen and Billie Burke. The film was a significant step in Garland's career.

<i>The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air</i> 1930s American radio program

The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air was a program broadcast on CBS Radio during the 1930s which attempted to bring the success of Florenz Ziegfeld's stage shows to the new medium of radio.

<i>Funny Girl</i> (film) 1968 film by William Wyler

Funny Girl is a 1968 American biographical musical comedy-drama film directed by William Wyler and written by Isobel Lennart, adapted from her book for the stage musical of the same title. It is loosely based on the life and career of Broadway and film star and comedienne Fanny Brice and her stormy relationship with entrepreneur and gambler Nicky Arnstein.

Famous Jury Trials is a radio court show/dramatic anthology series in the United States. It began on January 5, 1936, and ended June 25, 1949. It is considered one of the first programs that initiated the court show genre, which later was broadcast on television as Famous Jury Trials.

Claudia and David is an American old-time radio drama. One version was broadcast on CBS July 4, 1941 - September 26, 1941 and another was syndicated in 1947.

<i>The Frank Morgan Show</i>

The Frank Morgan Show is an American old-time radio variety program. It was broadcast on NBC from August 31, 1944, to May 31, 1945. It was described in a contemporary trade publication as "one of the highest priced programs on the air."

The Hour of Charm is an American old-time radio music program. It debuted on CBS on May 18, 1934, and had its final broadcast on CBS on May 2, 1948. The program also was broadcast on Armed Forces Radio, and after its network broadcasts ended, a new version was syndicated via transcriptions.

<i>Howie Wing</i>

Howie Wing is an American old-time radio juvenile aviation adventure serial. It was syndicated by the World Broadcasting System and distributed initially to stations in Canada, beginning on January 31, 1938. The Don Lee Network began carrying it in the western United States on February 12, 1938. The program was broadcast weekdays on CBS from October 3, 1938, until June 30, 1939.

.

<i>Kay Kysers Kollege of Musical Knowledge</i> American radio and television program

Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge is an American old-time radio musical quiz program starring Kay Kyser. It was broadcast on Mutual, NBC, and ABC beginning on February 1, 1938, and ending on July 29, 1949.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp.  286-287. ISBN   978-0-19-507678-3.
  2. 1 2 3 Hilmes, Michele (1999). Hollywood and Broadcasting: From Radio to Cable. University of Illinois Press. pp. 73–74. ISBN   9780252068461 . Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  3. 1 2 Dunning, John (1976). Tune in Yesterday: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, 1925-1976 . Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. pp.  240-241. ISBN   0-13-932616-2.
  4. Reinehr, Robert C.; Swartz, Jon D. (2010). The A to Z of Old Time Radio. Scarecrow Press. p. 112. ISBN   9781461672074 . Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  5. Doran, Dorothy (November 4, 1937). "Star-Studded Broadcast Takes Over Show Boat Radio Hour Tonight". The Akron Beacon Journal. Ohio, Akron. p. 26. Retrieved February 9, 2018 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  6. 1 2 Burroughs, Jack (March 27, 1938). "Celluloid to Ether". Oakland Tribune. California, Oakland. p. 71. Retrieved February 10, 2018 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  7. Good News of 1938 - Episode 29 3/6 , retrieved 2023-05-19
  8. Grossman, Barbara W. (1992). Funny Woman. Indiana University Press. p. 222. ISBN   0253207622 . Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  9. Goldman, Herbert G. (1993). Fanny Brice: The Original Funny Girl . Oxford University Press. p.  179. ISBN   9780195085525 . Retrieved 9 February 2018. Good News of 1938.
  10. Cullen, Frank; Hackman, Florence; McNeilly, Donald (2007). Vaudeville old & new: an encyclopedia of variety performances in America. Psychology Press. p. 144. ISBN   9780415938532 . Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  11. "Behind the Mike" (PDF). Broadcasting. July 1, 1938. p. 39. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  12. 1 2 Guest, Edgar A. Jr. (February 20, 1938). "Hollywood Bungling Is an Argument for N.Y. Radio Shows". Detroit Free Press. Michigan, Detroit. p. 44. Retrieved February 11, 2018 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg

Logs

Streaming