Screen Guild Theater: Old-Time Radio Drama Anthology

George Burns and Gracie Allen host a review-style episode of the Screen Guild Theater, a program presenting Hollywood stars in varied types of shows for the benefit of the Motion Picture Relief Fund. Shirley Ross, Melvin Douglas, Ruth Davis and Oscar Bradley join them for song, comedy and sketches. Gracie mistakes people for film stars and keeps confusing the men named George. Burns and Gracie act out a parody of the film The Shining Hour, in which Henry Linden marries Olivia Riley and the newlyweds move into a house that arrives in boxes. The episode was broadcast on February 26, 1939.

With George Burns, Gracie Allen, Shirley Ross, Melvin Douglas, Ruth Davis, Oscar Bradley, George Murphy.

Listen for: Gracie Allen's confused exchanges with George Burns and Melvin Douglas, and the parody sketch in which the house is assembled from boxes.

First aired on February 26, 1939.

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Princess Clotilde of Spagesia, reduced to near poverty in Paris, places an advertisement offering her companionship to gentlemen, and her uncle Count Kio goes along to help arrange it. Meanwhile Prince Lothar, who performs as the bandleader Johnny Prince, is preparing to take his band to New York. Their paths cross at a Paris cafe, where a misunderstanding and a series of unlikely schemes begin to tangle their lives together. The Screen Guild Theater broadcast of 19 February 1939 presents this musical comedy, written by Ralph Blum and directed by Robert Z. Leonard, with Jeanette MacDonald, Robert Taylor and Charles Winninger in the leading roles.

With Princess Clotilde, Count Kio, Prince Lothar, Johnny Prince, Jan, Rudolph, Frank.

Listen for: Clotilde's first scene with Count Kio and the advertisement, and the cafe scene where Johnny's band performs for the Paris audience

First aired on February 19, 1939.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. Two new episodes a week: Screen Guild Theater on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 62 free 24/7 channels and 191 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Screen Guild Theater presents Three Days March, a 1939 drama broadcast on February 12, 1939. In a crowded, wartime town near Djibouti, Janet Taylor, a newspaper writer, is hired by a shadowy figure to find a river ford and send back its location. She sets out across the desert with Joe Ransom, a newsreel cameraman, and her guide Ahmed. The starring cast includes Olivia de Havilland and Spencer Tracy, with Akim Tamiroff, William Bakewell and Clarence Derwent in supporting roles. The journey through the desert brings danger and difficult choices for both travelers.

With Janet Taylor, Joe Ransom, Ahmed, Jenkins, Markham.

Listen for: Janet Taylor's first meeting with the mysterious employer and her desert journey with Joe Ransom

First aired on February 12, 1939.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. Two new episodes a week: Screen Guild Theater on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 62 free 24/7 channels and 191 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Bing Crosby, Hugh Herbert, Jane Withers, George Murphy and the Yacht Club Boys trade jokes and songs in this variety review from the Screen Guild Theater, hosted in the show's own Hollywood-stars format. Crosby sings, Herbert and Murphy banter about changing names, and the Yacht Club Boys perform a comic jury number. Jane Withers joins the fun, and the program includes a sponsor segment for Gulf gasoline. The episode first aired on February 5, 1939, on the Screen Guild Theater series. The show proceeds through the sketches and musical numbers in its variety format.

With Bing Crosby, Hugh Herbert, Jane Withers, George Murphy, Oscar Bradley, Yacht Club Boys.

Listen for: Crosby's song "This Can't Be Love" and the Yacht Club Boys' jury number.

First aired on February 5, 1939.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. Two new episodes a week: Screen Guild Theater on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 62 free 24/7 channels and 191 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Basil Rathbone plays both Murdoch Glowery, a ghost bound to haunt Glowery Castle until he is forgiven, and his living descendant Donald Glowery. Peggy Martin, an American visitor, arrives to look at the castle her father wants to buy, and she is drawn to the young laird. Donald is struggling with debts, and his household servants fear the ghost that walks the halls at midnight. The guide's first portion ends with the castle being prepared for sale and a plan to move it across the Atlantic. The series is Screen Guild Theater, first broadcast on 21 August 1944, and the cast is Basil Rathbone, Marcia Hunt, Eugene Palette and Charles Irwin.

With Murdoch Glowery, Donald Glowery, Peggy Martin, Joe Martin, Mrs. Martin, Mr. Glowery, MacNiff, Ed Biglow.

Listen for: Murdoch's ghostly voice calling from limbo, and the midnight arrival of Peggy Martin at the castle

First aired on August 21, 1944.

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Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 62 free 24/7 channels and 191 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Frank Morgan and George Murphy, along with Mary Boland, Marlene Dietrich and Cliff Edwards, present a variety program on the Screen Guild Theater, first broadcast on January 29, 1939. Morgan and Murphy quarrel over who belongs on the show, and Murphy introduces a song sung by Morgan. Boland arrives and presents Professor Nizaro, who explains double talk. Dietrich then sings in a cafe scene. The program closes with a comic spy skit in which Morgan's agent is sent to arrest a spy at a hotel.

With Frank Morgan, George Murphy, Mary Boland, Professor Nizaro, Marlene Dietrich, Oscar Bradley, George Perkins.

Listen for: Frank Morgan and George Murphy trading jokes over who belongs on the show, and the explanation of double talk by Professor Nizaro.

First aired on January 29, 1939.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. Two new episodes a week: Screen Guild Theater on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 62 free 24/7 channels and 191 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

At a Park Avenue party, socialite Hilda Rutherford meets Alan Baker, a brash young architect who has crashed her coming-out celebration. Their attraction grows despite her initial resistance, and the pair marry and start a family. Her longtime friend Paul Ferguson remains close to her during the years that follow. This Screen Guild Theater broadcast presents the drama Can We Forget, starring Betty Davis, Robert Montgomery, Basil Rathbone and Louise Beavers. The transcript covers the first part of the play, which follows Hilda's growing bond with Alan and the early years of their marriage.

With Hilda Rutherford, Alan Baker, Paul Ferguson, Camille, Carol.

Listen for: Alan's bold, teasing first conversation with Hilda at her party, and the lines about her being unable to forget him.

First aired on January 22, 1939.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. Two new episodes a week: Screen Guild Theater on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 62 free 24/7 channels and 191 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Alice Brown, engaged to the English manor-house owner Richard Devon, reveals in a late-night talk that she once fell for a bandleader named Jerry Gale, the so-called rhythm Romeo. Alice's fiancé, Dick, is unsettled by the news, and the two men eventually meet in New York. Jerry, a broadcaster and orchestra leader, has an overbearing manager named Lester who manages his public image. This is a musical comedy from the Screen Guild Theater, first broadcast on January 15, 1939, with Loretta Young, Herbert Marshall, and Fred Astaire featured in the cast. The opening act sets up the romantic tangle between the three characters.

With Alice Brown, Richard Devon, Jerry Gale, Lester.

Listen for: Jerry Gale's harmonica and the song 'This Can't Be Love' sung in the Skyroom

First aired on January 15, 1939.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. Two new episodes a week: Screen Guild Theater on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 62 free 24/7 channels and 191 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Master of ceremonies George Murphy opens the first Gulf Screen Guild Theater show, aired January 8, 1939, with Judy Garland, Reginald Gardiner, Oscar Bradley and Jack Benny among the performers. Garland sings and then asks Murphy to introduce her to Joan Crawford, who has not yet arrived. Gardiner, his arm in a sling, tells a rambling story about frightened locomotives. Benny arrives under police escort and meets Crawford, and the two trade jokes and banter about Hollywood careers and romance. Murphy, the company president and a Gulf executive introduce the segments and the sponsorship, and the program's proceeds for the Motion Picture Relief Fund are mentioned.

With George Murphy, Judy Garland, Reginald Gardiner, Joan Crawford, Jack Benny, Oscar Bradley, Ralph Morgan, Colonel Jay Frank Drake.

Listen for: Judy Garland's operatic performance and her sudden shift to jitterbug-style singing, and the exchange between Jack Benny and Joan Crawford about sex appeal and the screen.

First aired on January 8, 1939.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. Two new episodes a week: Screen Guild Theater on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 62 free 24/7 channels and 191 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.