The Adventures of Frank Merriwell

The Adventures of Frank Merriwell is a juvenile adventure radio program that was broadcast on NBC March 26 - June 22, 1934, and again on NBC October 5, 1946 - June 4, 1949.[1] Episodes were adapted from books written by Burt L. Standish (pen name of Gilbert Patten).[2]

1934 version

The Adventures of Frank Merriwell first ran on NBC radio from March 26 to June 22, 1934 as a 15-minute serial airing three times a week at 5:30 pm. Sponsored by Dr. West's Toothpaste, this program starred Donald Briggs as Frank Merriwell. Harlow Wilcox was the announcer.[1] Ed King and Fred Weihe were the directors. Bill Welch and Ruth and Gilbert Brann were the writers.[2] Patten was not involved in the program.[3] Briggs's popularity in the role led to his portraying Merriwell in The Adventures of Frank Merriwell, a 12-part film serial.[4]

1946-1949 version

After a 12-year gap, the series returned October 5, 1946 as a 30-minute NBC Saturday morning show, continuing until June 4, 1949.[citation needed] Lawson Zerbe (1914–1992) starred as Merriwell, Jean Gillespie and Elaine Rostas as Inza Burrage, Harold Studer as Bart Hodge and Patricia Hosley as Elsie Belwood. Announcers were Mel Brandt and Harlow Wilcox, and the Paul Taubman Orchestra supplied the background music.[5] In late October 1948, the program was moved from 10 a.m. Eastern Time on Saturdays to 12:30 p.m. E. T. on Saturdays.[6] Merriwell was a Yale University student at the turn of the 20th century who fought evil. The program's theme was "Boola Boola", the Yale song.[7] Episodes from this version were repeated on some radio stations in syndication in the 1970s.[8]

Jack Gould wrote in The New York Times in September 1948 that the second version of the program did not "bear any reasonable resemblance to the original stories" and said that the title "might mislead parents as to its wholesomeness".[9] Gould noted that one year earlier NBC had limited broadcasting of crime shows to 9:30 p. m. Eastern Time or later because of the effects that they might have on children.[9] Frank Merriwell, however, with its "saga of assault, arson, larceny and horror", was presented at 10 a.m.[9] He supported his comments by including segments of the script of the September 11, 1948, episode.[9]

Television

Frank Merriwell, a pilot for a comedy television series, was broadcast on CBS on July 25, 1966. Leslie Stevens produced and wrote the pilot, and Allen F. Miller directed it.[10] The cast included:

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Dunning, John (May 7, 1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press, USA. pp. 9–10. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Lackmann, Ronald W. (1996). Same Time ... Same Station: An A - Z Guide to Radio from Jack Benny to Howard Stern (PDF). New York, NY: Facts On File. p. 5. ISBN 0816028621. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  3. ^ Anderson, Ryan K. (September 9, 2015). Frank Merriwell and the Fiction of All-American Boyhood: The Progressive Era Creation of the Schoolboy Sports Story. University of Arkansas Press. p. 210. ISBN 978-1-55728-682-6. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  4. ^ Hischak, Thomas S. (January 10, 2014). American Literature on Stage and Screen: 525 Works and Their Adaptations. McFarland. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-7864-9279-4. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
  5. ^ Terrace, Vincent (September 2, 2015). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-4766-0528-9. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
  6. ^ "Radio and Television; George O'Hanlon and Wife to Bow in Comedy Show Over WOR on Nov. 14". The New York Times. October 22, 1948. p. 50. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  7. ^ Terrace, Vincent (June 8, 2015). Radio Program Openings and Closings, 1931-1972. McFarland. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-4766-1223-2. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
  8. ^ Cox, Jim (October 17, 2024). Radio Speakers: Narrators, News Junkies, Sports Jockeys, Tattletales, Tipsters, Toastmasters and Coffee Klatch Couples Who Verbalized the Jargon of the Aural Ether from the 1920s to the 1980s--A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-4766-0739-9. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d Gould, Jack (September 19, 1948). "Murder Will Out: Violation of NBC's Own Crime Ban Seen In Saturday Morning Children's Show". The New York Times. p. X 11. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Terrace, Vincent (October 16, 2024). Experimental Television, Test Films, Pilots and Trial Series, 1925 through 1995: Seven Decades of Small Screen Almosts. McFarland. pp. 191–192. ISBN 978-1-4766-3223-0. Retrieved December 21, 2024.