This is the surviving recording of the second half of this episode. The script was used again, but was extensively re-written. This original production was written by Henry Denker and Ralph Berkey.
An innocent driver keeps getting hotel reservations and is soon involved with a criminal gang.
The broadcast stars Ralph Bellamy. He was heading toward starring role in a Broadway play Tomorrow the World which would open in April (it had 500 performances but he would eventually be replaced by Conrad Nagel). His co-star was Shirley Booth, and the cast included (“Little”) Skippy Homeier and Joyce Van Patten. Bellamy had a boost to his late-life career by appearing in Trading Places with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd in 1982.
This 1943 performance of Death Went Along for the Ride is somewhat different than the 1944 one that has been in circulation for decades.
The Cobalt Club is an online forum where classic radio fans share recordings but also collaborate in projects that research media history and individual series and programs. When this recording was analyzed, Cobalt Club member “chasedad” noted some important characteristics of this part 2 of the broadcast when compared to the new performance of 1944-04-27. He states:
One of the most obvious differences is the narration from the "Man in Black" throughout this 1943 version, which is largely unnecessary anyway and easily removed via some changes to the dialogue. But the 1944 version was a major rewrite in other ways, including an entire scene set at a carnival in the 1943 broadcast but was edited out of the 1944 one. This could be because of the addition of Roma Wines commercials made it necessary to trim the script's length. It’s also possible it was removed because it was not critical to the story. The one-armed man who menaces Gavery in the 1943 story makes it all the way to the end of the program. In the 1944 production, the scene in the first half of the where Javery runs the one-armed man's car off the road and kills him was added and the plotline changed accordingly. There were changes to the dialogue throughout, including the addition of a new closing line in the 1944 version. In the 1943 version the villain is killed exclusively through his own stupidity. In the 1944 version, however, Gavery lends a hand in that by throwing open a window curtain at a crucial moment.
His comments led us to find the script for the 1944 broadcast since the 1943 one is not available. The 1943 script was written by Henry Denker and Ralph Berkley, as mentioned above and announced at the close of this recording. The 1944 script adds Robert Richards to the credits. He was William Spier’s right hand when it came to editing and re-writing, and his addition to the 1944 script credits makes it clear that is what happened.
“Chasedad” continues:
The 1943 version doesn't sound well-rehearsed. At the 8:00 mark Bellamy and his scene partner start in delivering their dialogue in a new scene, only to have Ted Osborne come in with his narration on top of them. The two actors stop (or the technicians killed their mikes) while Osborne finishes the narration, after which the actors go back and start their scene again.
This part 2 recording begins, as one would expect, about halfway into the script.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP430126
THE CAST
RALPH BELLAMY (George Gavery), Ted Osborne, others
No production records are available to provide detailed cast information.
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