Thank God these classic radio theater productions have been preserved for people to enjoy forever! I listen to them for hours. People should check out the Museum of Radio and Television in NYC. I have been there many times and enjoy it immensely. There may be a museum in LA as well. Good luck and enjoy the show!
I highly recommend the novel to those who enjoyed this radio play and/or the movie and who've never read it. James M. Cain was a fine American fiction writer and "Double Indemnity" was one of his best.
The hardboiled dialogue was never delivered more stylishly and magnetically. It's that polished cynicism that only certain actors of that era could carry off with such conviction. What a great accompaniment to the Wilder 'picture'. Thank you for this rare treat.
Nick Loquellano my internet is soo slow. It's really my neighbor's intetnet. She is so cheap and inconsiderate. For a few bucks a month more she could get the high speed.
@@nick6158 In the UK, people of my generation used to say "the pictures are better on radio". :-) (Mind you, I can visualise the movie scenes almost perfectly).
Nothing like this classic. Radio is the theater of the mind.I have both versions of the movie...the '44 verson and the '73 version with Richard Crenna in a boxed set.
Loved this! - Every minute of it, including the chat with Barbara and Fred at the end, and her little "ooh!" when they announced Olivier and Leigh the following week. And Fred McMurray accidentally calling Lola "Mrs Dietrichson...oh, sorry Miss Dietrichson", and then sniggering. Bet that wasn't in the script! :-) Mind you, one thing I found slightly unconvincing was Walter's walking from his apartment to the Dietrichson residence - I thought nobody walked in California! Not even in those days! :-) Always loved this movie - I have it on DVD - Love it even more now.
"There is a speed limit in this state"...."45, you were going around 90!"!! Love it...thanks bunches. I think Bette Davis took alot of roles that Stanwyck would have been as good, or better in. Just my preference and observation. Tanks...again!
I find it an interesting exercise to work out which movies could be transferred to radio and which couldn't (and why). The best is working out how to make the transfer on movies that should be difficult.
William Conrad played Keys. He was Matt Dillon on radio GUNSMOKE. Some other familiar radio actors. Bill Johnstone of MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY and Howard McNear, who was Doc on radio GUNSMOKE and later Floyd, the barber on TVs ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW.
Nope, Edward G. Robinson was Keyes. I was surprised because the first time I ever saw him in a movie was the Ten Commandments. www.imdb.com/title/tt0036775/ As I write this, I'm listening to Double Calamity with Carol Burnett and Steve Lawrence.
Interesting that her blonde hair in the film wasn't natural. I loved her as a blond. Well, she was still blonde in the radio version, as far as I am concerned! :-)
Wow, an ad asking people to attend church. It stabilizes the family and helps relieve burdens. I'll bet that would be cut for sedition, these days. Shh, don't tell anyone.
BTW, for anyone who likes the movie (and who likes this as an adjunct), you should read the James M Cain book. The [Billy Wilder] ending of the movie is heavy, but the ending of the book is HEAV-EY!!
With all the great reviews ,I'm going to try to give this a chance. I have never been a fan of Barbara. I think the western serial she starred in when I was a kid ruined her for me. We'll see... Well I liked the story. It's great they advertise for church.
Yeah! I've been listening to a lot of old time radio lately and have found that Howard McNear was a very busy voice actor. He also did a lot of TV. In one of The Andy Griffith Show tributes I saw, one of his fellow cast members said he was a lot like Floyd in real life. Yet in these radio performances, he shows some pretty good range and skill. He had a wonderful and unique voice - instantly recognizable. Sadly, he died not long after he left The Andy Griffith Show (1969). It's fun to spot these familiar voices in OTR shows.
Sorry. Just can't buy into Fred MacMurray being "bad". I might need to look at other movies and such with him in. Would Christopher Plummer call Fred MacMurray the male version of a Valentine's card? I loved this one. One of Lux's better shows.
Everything, mostly, was just so much better. The nation, life, especially the people. No millennial generations then, just that alone would make life 100 percent better but can you imagine the millennial generations back in 1941? There would be no greatest generations today, more like the greatest cowardly generations. They would even surpass all the Vietnam war draft Dodgers, hippies, flower child, love child where they claimed all those Nobel, morally superior reasons for burning their draft cards, running to Canada etc.. marching around in big demonstrations so quick to point to everyone's faults, condemning them as evil people etc...Even bashing America, living in hippy communes saying all anyone needs is love... Then as soon as the danger of the draft was over magically no more demonstrations, you never heard of "those poor abused Vietnamese communists" etc. No no more of that as those of those generations proceeded to do a complete 180 and went on to become the most materialistic, the most greedy generations America had ever seen, even coming close to destroying the economy of the entire world in the process of stealing billions from their own clients, even secretly purchasing the firm standard and poors to use as a tool to guide people to their fixed stocks. Millennials are far worse than that. I just wish I could have been of these wonderful times when this was recorded and before.
I don't mind the book but the last name of Barbara Stanwyk's character in the book wasn't pleasant or barely memorable *Deidrickson* has more of a ring to it.
