Lux Radio 37-02-15 ep120 Brewster's Millions (Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone)

3 months ago
15

Plot
Jack Brewster, a pauper living in London and the heir to a fortune from his wealthy father, falls in love with Cynthia, a boarder in his boarding house "home." When Jack inherits his fortune, which includes £500,000 and the house, he falls prey to chorus girl Rosalie. His uncle then dies, leaving Jack six million pounds, on the condition that he become penniless in the next six months.

At his housewarming for his first inheritance, Jack learns of the second bequest, which require him not only to lose all his money, but to have no female entanglements and tell no one of its conditions. Jack goes on a wild spending spree, which includes producing a musical stage show starring Rosalie.
He then takes the entire cast of the show on a yacht to Monte Carlo, in the hope of losing his money through gambling. Jack has nothing but good luck, however, as the show is a hit, and he even wins at the gambling tables. Jack goes so far as to buy some seemingly worthless stock, which only turns out to be worth another fortune. Jack undergoes various indignities, such as being chased by kidnappers through a fiesta, which ends with him winding up as the rear end of a paper mache dragon.
Throughout his spending spree, Cynthia becomes more detached and Rosalie more attached. As his "zero hour" approaches, Jack trades away his entire fortune, leaving him with nothing more than the suit he wears, despite the well-meaning attempts of friends to give him money. Finally meeting all the conditions of his uncle's will, Jack attains the £6,000,000, as well as the love of Cynthia.

The series begins with episode 52 Dulcy. None before this appear to exist.
Lux Radio Theatre was indisputably the biggest, most important, most expensive drama anthology program on radio. It ran from October 14, 1934, until June 7, 1955, then continued on television as Lux Video Theatre until 1957. In all, some 926 episodes were broadcast, providing a record of the most important entertainment events in American theatre and, later, film.

The show was first broadcast on the NBC Blue Network on Sundays at 2:30 PM. The show featured adaptations of successful Broadway plays when it was produced out of New York, such as Seventh Heaven, the first production starring Miriam Hopkins, Smilin' Through, Berkeley Square, Daddy Long Legs, Peg O' My Heart and Way Down East. On July 29, 1935, the show moved to Monday night at 9:00 PM on CBS, where it would stay until June 29, 1954.

The show moved to Hollywood on May 25, 1936 with the production of The Legionnaire and the Lady, based on the film Morocco, starring Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable. The audience for this production was estimated as high as 40 million. The show featured many of the most important films of the period, adapted to fit the 60 minute time slot.

Some of the titles for 1939 should indicate the caliber and range of shows: Stage Door, Ceiling Zero, So Big, It Happened One Night, The Lives of a Bengal Lancer, Lady for a Day, The Life of Emile Zola, Tovarich, Only Angels Have Wings, The Prisoner of Zenda, The Awful Truth, Wuthering Heights, You Can't Take It With You, The Old Maid and Goodbye, Mr. Chips. For its last season, (1954-1955), the show moved to Tuesday nights at 9 on NBC.

Lux Radio Theatre was always broadcast live, with a studio audience and a full orchestra accompanying the performance and providing musical transitions between scenes. As many film actors were used to numerous takes and not live performance, they sometimes suffered acute stage fright before the show.

However, since most received $5,000 for their performance -- in addition to free publicity for upcoming pictures -- actors appeared in their original screen roles if they were available. Indeed, production would halt, if necessary, on a film if performers were called to appear on Lux. When the actors were not available, others stepped in.

The plays were assembled and rehearsed for a week, in sharp contrast to many other shows, which required a minimal of an actor's time. Regular players for the series included Jim and Marian Jordan, otherwise known as Fibber McGee and Molly. Hosts included Cecil B. DeMille (1936-1945), William Keighley (1945-1952) and Irving Cummings (1952-1955). Directors included Tony Stanford, Frank Woodruff, Fred MacKaye and Earl Ebi.

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