Sunday, December 3, 2017

Another 25 Days of Old Time Radio Christmas - Day 3: Kraft Music Hall with a Melancholy Santa (1947)

Celebrating the holidays this year by highlighting a different Christmas episodes from Old Time Radio by showcasing a program a day (well, I will try).  I expect to have some repeats, but also some new shows featured as well.  If you have Sirius XM, you can listen to Greg Bell's Old time radio channel (#148).  Or you can see my previous OTR Christmas entries (or drop to the bottom of this message).

 I want to showcase a number of holiday specials on musical or variety programs this year.  There might be no better way to start than with the Kraft Music Hall's Christmas show on December 25th, 1947.  In all my blog entries, I have never showcased this great long-standing series that aired over NBC from 1933 through 1949 and featured the likes of Bing Crosby, Nelson Eddy, and the one hosting this featured episode - Al Jolson.  But I was not drawn to the episode for Jolson or their primary guest (Boris Karloff), but for the great pianist and wit - Oscar Levant. 
238/365/2429 (February 4, 2015) - Squirrels on a Snowy Winter's Day at the University of Michigan (February 4, 2015)
Squirrels on a Snowy Winter's Day at the University of Michigan (February 4, 2015) - He was drawn to the giant peanut from Planters - a division of Kraft Foods.

 The Kraft Music Hall made its debut on the NBC radio network in 1933 and would be a staple in their entertainment lineup for around 17 years. They used this variety show to sell all the Kraft Food products, especially their cheeses and Velveeta.  From the Wikipedia article, there were very careful in this show to have the announcers make the commercials for the Kraft products, not the stars.  This could be a distinct difference between Kraft Music Hall and others that used the stars to hawk the goods,

 On December 25th, 1947, the Kraft Music Hall was hosted by Al Jolson with his sidekick, the great Oscar Levant.  In the first part of the half hour show, the content was mostly Al singing and Oscar playing the piano - with jokes and ads in between.  Al Jolson starts with "Is it True What They Say About Dixie?" and later sings "Melancholy Baby"  Jolson also complained that while opening Christmas gifts this morning, he did not notice anything from Oscar under the tree!  Oscar quipped that Al no only owns everything he needs - but also all the stores.  Later on, Al would joke that Santa writes to him!

 The special guest on his show was Boris Karloff, who was playing Santa Claus in Al Jolson's dream from Christmas Eve.  Karloff was annoyed that everyone recognizes him only as the sinister characters he plays in the movies.  So he wanted to play Santa Claus so the kids do not run and scream when they see him.  He is trying to be like Santa to change the way he is viewed by others.  And yet, he cannot shake everyone's association with the macabre.  Karloff even gave Oscar a violin for Christmas, because he has heard him play the piano a bit too often.  So maybe he is more macabre than melancholy - but it is fun either way.  This is a fun Christmas episode with three titans of the entertainment industry.  I hope you enjoy this stroll down memory lane.
Another 25 Days of Old Time Radio Christmas (from 2017) & Other Links

25 Days of Old Time Radio Christmas (from 2016) 

25 Days of Old Time Radio Christmas (from 2015) & Other Links

25 Days of Old Time Radio Christmas (from 2014)

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1 comment:

  1. Jeff BakerMarch 18, 2018 at 12:16 AM

    Wow! Thanks! I am a huge Oscar Levant fan, I'll listen to this later! (Yes, I'm way late checking these out---December was busy!)

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