On the Air: Radio as portrayed in Golden Age cinema
A list of films portraying radio singers and radio broadcasts in the 1930s and 1940s.
The "live broadcast" scenario was often used to good effect in slapstick comedies and, of course, musical films. Never having experienced the Golden Age of Radio firsthand, I love getting a glimpse of what it was like in classic films.
This is not a list of radio programs, but rather films which are, at least in part, about radio - announcers, singers, sponsors, contests etc.. By no means complete - any suggestions welcome!
The "live broadcast" scenario was often used to good effect in slapstick comedies and, of course, musical films. Never having experienced the Golden Age of Radio firsthand, I love getting a glimpse of what it was like in classic films.
This is not a list of radio programs, but rather films which are, at least in part, about radio - announcers, singers, sponsors, contests etc.. By no means complete - any suggestions welcome!
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- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJoel McCreaLaraine DayHerbert MarshallOn the eve of World War II, a young American reporter tries to expose enemy agents in London.Joel McCrea's rousing speech at the end..
- DirectorNick GrindeStarsRonald ReaganJune TravisEddie AcuffAndy McCaine is the ace crime reporter for a radio station. However, his exposés of corruption in high places gets him in trouble with the sponsor of his show, E.E. Nichols, who is in league with gangster Nicey Ferguson. Nichols pressures Andy's boss to demote him to a children's show, but Andy finds a way to use the kid show to bust open a murder case.
- DirectorRay EnrightStarsDick PowellPat O'BrienGinger RogersUnscrupulous agent Rush makes singing waiter Clayton a big radio star while Peggy, who has lost her own radio show, helps Clayton.
- DirectorJoseph SantleyStarsRay WalkerJulie BishopCharley GrapewinA young man from a small town heads to New York, determined to become a radio star. He achieves his goal but in the process alienates those around him.
- DirectorClifford SanforthStarsFrank LutherDorothy DareLona AndreAn opera singer whose career is on the wane finds newfound fame doing popular songs on the radio.
- DirectorPhil RosenStarsJohn BolesMona BarrieBilly LeeJeff Carter, a struggling singer, pursues radio acting to support his son Danny. Aided by his son and agent Charley Grady, Jeff finds success in radio and achieves his professional goals through this medium.
- DirectorRalph StaubStarsRobert PaigeCarol HughesWarren HymerA heartthrob singer, Tony Paige, also known as "America's Boyfriend" decides to wed a Swedish actress.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsGeorge RaftAlice FayeFrances LangfordAfter being fired from their jobs, three friends decide to enter an amateur contest at a radio station.
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsRudy ValleeAnn DvorakNed SparksCollege band-leader "Skip" Houston keeps his band together after graduation, they turn professional, and they are a big hit on the radio and in nightclubs. He falls in love with Bonnie Haydon, a dancer who hates him because he is constantly taunting her about her act and offering suggestions for improvements. She slowly learns that any engagements or work she has is because of Houston.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsGinger RogersNorman FosterZasu PittsA vice-free radio singer wants to experience the dark side of life, so a press agent convinces her sponsor to choose a "professional sweetheart" from her fans.
- DirectorFrank TuttleStarsStuart ErwinBing CrosbyLeila HyamsA radio-singer, Bing Crosby, is none-too-concerned about his job, and an affair with Mona leads to his dismissal. When it appears Hornsby is getting and paying a lot of attention to his fiancée, Anita Rogers, station manager Leslie McWhinney buys the station, gives Hornsby his job back, and goes on a honeymoon with Anita.
- DirectorJoseph SantleyStarsJudy CanovaFrancis LedererRaymond WalburnHarold l. Montgomery, the scatterbrain vice-president of the United Broadcasing System, is dismayed when he learns that one-foot of the ground on which the station's imposing new structure has been built is part of the adjoining lot belonging to Judy Goober, a hillbilly girl, who could sue them for millions. Mortally afraid of his domineering, ill-tempered sister, Matilda. who is the president of the company, Montgomery decides to say nothing to her regarding the problem and, instead, takes his equally-scatterbrained son, Junior, with him to the Ozarks to talk Judy into selling the property before she learns the truth. But Judy turns out to be a hard-sell and Montgomery enlists the services of handsome Prince Karl, a frayed-at-the-cuffs but glib-of-tongue Russian who faces jail for back-alimony payments, and needs any job he can get.
- DirectorMonte BriceStarsFrank ParkerTamaraHelen LyndArrested when he gets into a fracas, while escorting the girl he has hitherto loved only from afar, noted ballet dancer Delphine, to her car, Danny O'Day, famous radio tenor, is late for his broadcast and ruled off the air. He meets his friend Jerry Burke at the restaurant of Jack Dempsey where the Manassa Mauler consoles him. Delphine breaks her contract and aided by her friend Dot Frost escapes her manager, Antonio Grezato and sails for Europe on the "Normandie," disguised as a school teacher. Danny and Jerry are also on the boat. Delphine is impersonated by Maizie Marshall who closely resembles her. Maizie does this at the instigation of Nick Harrington, a suave crook who has recognized Delphine and sees a chance for some dishonest doings. Delphine cannot object because Harrington threatens to unmask her if she does. Nick and Maizie steal Delphine's passport and letter-of-credit during a fancy dress ball. When the ship arrives at Le Havre, France, James P. Hargrave, international peace propagandist who wants Danny to sing on a peace broadcast, is arrested on suspicion of being a Communist agitator. Delphine, who has befriended him, is also arrested. Maizie is interviewed by the press, thinking she is Delphine, and is offered an engagement in the ballet Appasionata for 100,000 francs. She receives half in advance, As Danny sings in the peace broadcast from the Eiffel Tower, he learns what has happened to Delphine and Hargrave from Dot.
- DirectorHoward BrethertonStarsFrankie DarroMarjorie ReynoldsMantan MorelandA none-too-popular (nor good) radio singer, Rita Wilson is murdered while singing on the air in a radio studio. Radio page boy, Frankie Ryan, and his janitor pal, Jeff, solve the mystery for the none-too-sharp police.
- DirectorRalph MurphyStarsJoe MorrisonHelen TwelvetreesConrad NagelWhen the romance between radio-singer Eddie Blake and Bessie Dunn goes sour through a series of misunderstanding, Bessie packs to take a week-end trip with the station boss,Stephen Barclay, and Eddie proposes to Hazel, who appears to be open to any kind of proposal. With all of the principals involved and in the office elevator, a cable breaks and the elevator is suspended between floors...and the resolvements begin.
- DirectorEdward F. ClineStarsThe Andrews SistersPatty AndrewsMaxene AndrewsA group of entertainers visit a radio singer's home to try to get her to book them on her show.
- DirectorMarshall NeilanStarsPinky TomlinToby WingBert RoachA toy company owner and his daughter find a singing hillbilly in the Arkansas backwoods and take him back to the big city in hopes of helping their radio show ratings.
- DirectorSidney SalkowStarsWilliam GarganJudith BarrettDon WilsonComplications ensue after a radio producer insults a sponsor.
- DirectorPhil KarlsonStarsJackie MoranWanda McKaySidney MillerTwo young men working as pages at a radio station try to get an audition for a girl they know who wants to be a singer. When the station's star singer is murdered, they decide to solve the crime themselves.
- DirectorArthur DreifussStarsFreddie StewartJune PreisserWarren MillsA high school student is mistaken for a famous radio singer who goes missing. Complications ensue.
- DirectorErle C. KentonStarsBud AbbottLou CostelloPatric KnowlesTwo dumb soda jerks dream of writing radio mysteries. When they try to pitch an idea at a radio station, they end up in the middle of a real murder after the station owner is killed during a broadcast.
- DirectorBusby BerkeleyStarsDolores Del RíoEverett MarshallGuy KibbeeDonna (Del Rio) is a diva of the stage and wants her lover Rico (Alvarado) as her leading man. To keep this from happening, the producers (Churchill, Cavanaugh) grab Roger Kerry (Marshall) off the street and say he has a contract.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsJames StewartPaulette GoddardHorace HeidtJimmy goes to work with his uncle, the owner of a food factory. Before he gets there, he befriends an Irish family who happens to be his uncle's worst enemy because of their love for music and in-house band who constantly practices.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsMary MartinFranchot ToneDick PowellA radio serial writer needs inspiration, so he rents a room from a typical American family and begins using their real-life exploits for plots. He begins to feel guilty when he falls in love with a pretty member of the family.
- DirectorS. Sylvan SimonStarsRed SkeltonAnn RutherfordJean RogersRadio crime show host "The Fox" finds himself on the trail of a serial killer while a suspect himself.