Retro Radio Podcast

Today grandpap is to take the witness stand, and it could be the best hope that Lum and Abner has to win their case. Their lawyer feels that Squire certainly has the stronger case of the parties involved to claim ownership of that pearl. When another client phones the lawyer, Abner is a little confused about horses. In the courtroom, grandpap takes the stand. Heated words fly as the courtroom drama builds, but between Abner and grandpap. The questions come, but grandpap volunteers the answers, and more, maybe more answers than is called for. Will their lawyer be able to save the day? Will he even show up?

Lighthearted moments on a phone call with his gal Hellen are interupted when a client needs help from Dick Diamond to investigate a murder. Joyce Wallace is a wealthy woman who convinces Richard to check out the crime scene. He does, but takes the matter to the cops. Things get complicated when Joyce has a close call with a deadly snake. How did it get in there? Who is trying to kill her? How does it fit with the gunshot that was taken at her earlier? A boyfriend, and a husband are located, but does either have any motive to kill her? The goofy case isn’t without twists, and Richard is up for unraveling the mystery. Not only does he solve the attempts at murder, but he plays matchmaker to reconcile Joyce and her husband. Later with Hellen to croon to, Richard sings, If I Knew You WereComing I’d Have Baked a Cake.

After being charged for bribery, Lum is out on bail as he reviews thecourt case with Abner. Will the bribery incident hurt their case? Will Lum’s mishap drag Abner down with him? In a near by lunchroom, they’re joined by doc Withers. Has something bad happened at the store? Why has doc come to the county seat? As doc shows his support for Lum, he also gets Abner confused about a fire. Cedric finally shows up, and is upset over the damage that he caused. Will he still be able to help bail Lum out?

Groucho Marx handles the questions, and the contestants include: * A consession seller at ball parks is teamed with a nightclub girl at Cerro’s. Groucho learns a little about the duties of the hat check girl, and some odd happenings on the job. How does her job compare to the ball park? * A dietician and a warehouse worker are up next. Groucho learns the man’s unique previous occupation, and a little about his married life. Groucho gives a little dating advice to the female dietician as he learns about her work at the hospital. * A pair of identical twins are up to round things out. Groucho has fun in trying to tell the two UCLA students apart. Listen in to see who goes to the final round, and the big bucks. For a fast $100, all the contestants need to do is say the secret word.

Richard shares how a baseball game between the detectives and the police force worked out for the worst, especially after a dirty tritck he planned backfired on him. With the fun over, Richard takes a case that’s only supposed to dig up dirt on the husband of a hot dame. Trouble is built in when his best gal Hellen phones in an learns about Richard’s new client. Not to mention the close quarters Richard shares with Mrs Hyer as he stakes out her husband. Sure enough, a dody materializes. The cops arrive after a gunshot was reported, but Martin Hyre claims the woman was dead when he got there. A suicide note from Sally, the girl who Martin was having an affair with, is found, as was the gun that belonged to Martin, and the cops think they have the case wrapped up. Richard thinks otherwise, and the timeline doesn’t fit exactly. What evidence are the cops missing? In his explanation to clear up the facts, Richard blows a smoke screen with the cops. Leaving them in his dust, Richard speeds off on a trail that leads to a nightclub. Who is Leon Fiske, and what does he have to do with the mysterious letter? With only a bluff, Richard fills in the blanks in his timeline, and gets a bonus. There’s a car chase, a gunfight, then Richard goes over all the details of the case once he returns to his office. What would an episode be if it didn’t have a relaxing moment of romantic comedy as Richard unwindds with his girlfriend Helen? Crooning, cuddling, and watch out kiddies…

Confident over the coaching he gave Cedric, Squire talks with his lawyer to review their case. Grandpap and his lawyer begin to worry that Cedric’s witness might be made to twist facts in Squire’s favor. In the courtroom, Lum shares with Abner that he caught wind of Cedric’s plans to go on tthe witness stand. Will they need to worry about a hostile witness? Or having their words twisted against them? The judge enters. Will Cedric double cross Lum and Abner? Will the coaching pay off, or just muddy the waters and confuse the matter further?

Squire talks with his lawyer about his star witness, Cedric. Will his dimwitted nature be a help, or a hindrance to the case? Questions that Cedric might be asked are reviewed, and answers are coached. Still, his confusion to what Squire tries to direct him to only cause more frustration. Elsewhere, Grandpap talks with his lawyer, and they try to coach Cedric on answers that will help their stake in the decision. Properly groomed, Cedric ought to have some interesting testimony, stay tuned to see what happens in the next installment.

Dinah Shore is on hand to host, and sing, It Had To Be You. She reads greetings an requests from the mailbag. Then Louis Jordan plays and sings, Is Yu Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby. After more word from the guys with the crazy nicknames, the Hoosier hotshots are onboard to sing, Hey Mable. Dinah returns to sing, I Had a Good Man. Dick Haimes plays a tune and sings, It’s Spring Again. Virginia OBrian reads from the mailbag, then shares her musical thought for the week, I Never Knew Our Romance Had ended. The Hoosier Hotshots are bac and Dinah plugs their new movie. After a quic word, the Hotshots play, All the Gravy. Dinah sings, I’m in the Mood for Love. Dinah shares a few words for the troops before signing off the show.

The topic of the day is movies, and screen tests that Red and the cast have been involved in. Ozzie and Harriot sing, I Really Like You. Deadeye drives the stage coach with Wonderful Smith riding shotgun. With a beautiful girl as his passenger, he tries to make a good impression on her. Will a staged hold up work, or will it back fire on Deadeye? Taking his best gal to the movies, Clem Kadiddlehopper and Daisy June step out. A rival for Daisy Junes hand forces Clem to keep up his good impression to win his gal back to him, and he shows off on the high dive. Ozzie Nelson plays some traveling music, Strictly Instrumental. The boss is coming over for dinner, but things may not go well with Junior the mean little kid. Secrets are shared, and impressions are made, but they may not all be good ones. Pranks, name calling, and damage to straw hats are in store. Will Junior good it? He just might get a whipping.

After his stunt during his testimony, Abner is given a talking to from their lawyer about his mistake. Have Lum and Abner pushed the judge’s frustration point to the limits yet? Doc Benjamin Franklin Withers takes the stand for questioning. Will his account of the events in the Meadowlark Restaurant on the day in question shed any light for the judge? In his typical absent minded way, doc somehow escalates the simple matter of who owns the pearl, into a murder case. PS: Though off scene, cedric is claimed to be harrassing the judge by singing a song, Open the Door Richard. It was a popular song of the times, and in some Jack Benny episodes from this era, you can sometimes hear his neighbor Ronald Coleman singing parts of it during comedy routines.

The contraversy of men complaining about women drivers is in full swing at 79 Wistful Vista. Fibber talks about the fashion sense of one of the neighbors. The neighbor gave Molly directions to a dress shop, but the directions are a little unclear. Before Fibber can offer much help, Doc Gamble stops in for his daily dose of battling wits with Fibber. Molly asks about Docs latest love interest Fee Fee Tremain. Fibber stirs up trouble when he tells that Mayor Latrivia sent the gal the same card. Billy Mills plays, Little Jack Frost Got Lost. Down town, Fibber drives and helps Molly find the mysterious address. As they walk down the street, a stranger is even more confused when He thinks he’s in Chicago. Fibber tries to get directions by knocking on the door of a local resident. The chatterbox of a woman hardly lets Fibber get in a word. After the confusing tyrade of family news, the McGee’s continue on their quest, by going to Kraemers Drugstore. Harlow is there to sell some wax, but can he help with the address? Mayor Latrivia blows in and gets and earful about the neighborhood Fibber just came from with no house numbers. Latrivia invites Fibber to air his complaint at the town meeting tonight. Kingsmen sing, Sunflower. Later, Fibbber meets the Old Timer as he heads out to the City Hall meeting. Old Timer tells about going to a square dance. When the City counsel doesn’t show up, Fibber gets the word from the janitor that the meeting has been called off. With all the gripes about house numbers, can you guess why Fibber didn’t get the word about the cancelled meeting? Will Molly ever get to that dress maker’s house? Probably not tonight.

Features Herbert Marshall and Olivia DeHavilland. A story of the French Foreign Legion near an Arab town in the Sahara Desert. A French barmaid who goes by the name ‘Cigarette’ is a sassy type, but begins to fall for one of the Legionaires. The new Corporal gets promoted, and takes on a dangerous assignment. Is there any other kind for the Foreign Legion? If drama, and romance is your thing, you’ll enjoy this swashbuckling tale of romance. Manly men who do dangerous deeds. A tough and sassy woman who manages to find the right man to melt her heart. A love that was meant to last, unless he doesn’t survive the hazards of his assignment. The story takes twists and turns as personality conflicts arise, and secrets about past lives are exposed.

Sometimes Richard is hired to deal with the trouble of others, and then there’s times when trouble doesn’t have any problems in finding him. Two big time gangsters have just broken out of jail, and are heading to town to find the man who put them behind bars. The cops try to warn him, but Richard finds the escapees the hard way. The chase is on, but will Richard be able to find shelter with the cops? Richard can’t hold still for long when his girlfriend Hellen is kidnapped. It has become more personal as Richard chases the bad guys. Who will have the upper hand when the two forces collide? Are the thugs stupid enough to harm Hellen? Are they too ruthless to care about anything but revenge? Rather than going in full bore, with all guns blazing, Richard and his police friends take a delicate stance, to ensure that Hellen is safe. How will this stand off end? What sneaky trick will Richard come up with to force the thugs to show themselves? Will there be gunplay? There’s sure to be an epilogue including some crooning and romantic comedy as the lovers are reunited, and the bad guys face justice.

Court is in session, and so far setbacks have ruled the day. As they wait, Abner talks to Lum about the admirable way Lizabeth can plow a field. Their lawyer, Mr Walford, seems more interested in his racing forms than in defending their case. Not to mention he’s kind of chummy with Squire. Today its Abner’s turn to take the witness stand. How will Abner do against the legal scrutiny? Will their legal questions get himtripped up, or will Abners answers get the court confused? Will things go badly again today? Will Abner’s testimony hurt the case like Lum’s did? Maybe he can undo Lum’s mistake. Or not. PS: In being sworn in, Abner gives his middle name. Has he ever done that before? he claims it’s Finnly.

It’s National Pickle Week, and Jack jokes about pickles with the cast. Mary is back, after bdeing sick last week. Mary slips in some doctor jokes. Phil complains about the future that television might bring for radio actors. Dennis arrives, but the pickle jokes won’t go away. Although he gets to steal a kiss from Mary. Dennis sings, There’s a Chapter in My Life Called Mary. Jack combines two great fight pictures for the dramas. But first, Mary gets the scripts from Rochester. As she talks with Rochester in Jack’s dressing room, he makes an informal poll to see how many people like Jack Benny. Can you guess how this might turn out? The drama begins, and Jack is the boxing champion of the world. Mary is the tough girlfriend of Jack’s rival. Mel Blanc is the punch drunk former boxer and trainer. After some voiceover to tell the story, Jack meets up again with the champ, and his tough girlfriend, only to learn that he is expected to take a dive. Will the up and coming champ go through with it? Only the dramatic face off in the ring will tell. Frank Nelson is the ringside commentator, and there’s plenty of boxing joke to go around.