Macdonald Carey makes his sole appearance on the series in a script about a “cold case” about a missing violinist. The story is by Richard-George Pedicini. The story is good and Carey’s portrayal as a magazine reporter could fall into police-style interrogation of the people he meets, but does not. It might not be as satisfying a story as listeners may want because of its open-ended “conclusion.”
Carey plays a magazine reporter assigned to investigate the four-year old disappearance of a concert violinist who also was a composer. On the night of a concert, he arrived a few minutes early to play with the symphony orchestra as scheduled, but when the conductor raises his baton, the violinist is missing. Everyone had seen him, but no one saw him leave. Police were called, and ran an investigation for a week. They gathered a great deal of information over that time, but none of it led to finding the man. Four years later, the reporter’s editor assigns him the story believing it would make for an interesting article. The reporter starts from scratch with the police file, and plans his approach. He meets the acquaintances and the wife, but learns nothing that clarifies the situation. The is, however, an unfinished composition, named “Hildy” that the wife plays on the piano for the reporter. Who is Hildy? The mystery deepens with this new question. He eventually finds the answer… the husband was having a quiet affair… but even after he finds Hildy, she does not know where he may have gone.
Some listeners are dissatisfied with this story because it does not seem to end. The violinist is never found. This kind of open-end story frustrates many people, I know, but the set-up was right in the beginning of the story when the editor tells the reporter why missing persons stories can be so interesting. Some people just stay missing. Many times it’s because they want to. Even though the reporter gains some insights into the circumstances of the disappearance, the motive remains a mystery.
The opening claims it is “a story based on fact.” No real-life incident could be found for this plotline. It may be the case that the “fact” is the many missing persons stay missing and searching for them is frustrating. Sometimes this “actual events” approach is just vapor pretending to be substance.
There is a disc skip (that does not affect the story) at 22:17. The dialogue that seems to be missing is likely to be (in italics):
Dexter:
Is your name “Hildy”?
[SKIP
BEGINS]
Hildy:
Yes…
Dexter:
My name is [SKIP
ENDS] Dexter, Phil Dexter.
Flight of the Bumble-Bee was originally scheduled for this date. That script was very complex and may have needed an extra week to work out the details of the effects. Or, it could be as simple as Fred MacMurray’s schedule changed.
The opening and pace of this episode and Herb Vigran’s presence in the cast (as Nicky) reminds this classic radio enthusiast of the feel of the 5-part Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar. The mid-show cliffhanger and music leading into the break feel similar to that series. But YTJD in that format would not occur for another three years! Sometimes it is easy to forget the chronological sequence of episodes or actors or programs. As enthusiasts 70 years after these broadcasts, we have the benefit of “seeing everything all at once” while the actors, directors, producers, and writers lived it day by day and made incremental decisions about their careers, their opportunities, and their assignments. Herb’s voice is so marvelous and unmistakable in these kinds of stories. Richard-George Pedicini never wrote for YTJD but this could have been a great storyline for it. And we know Johnny would have found the violinist, because he was that good.
This was Macdonald Carey’s only appearance on the series. He had an incredibly long career in movies and television. For all of the notable work he did, he is most popularly remembered for being on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives from 1965 to 1994, for more than 3000 episodes. Wikipedia has a larger overview of his career https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macdonald_Carey
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP520512
THE CAST
MACDONALD CAREY (Phil), Jim Nusser (Looby), Paula Winslowe (Martha / Landlady), Herb Vigran (Nicky), Jay Novello (Maestro), Joe Kearns (Derwin / Eric), Irene Tedrow (Hildy), Larry Thor (Narrator)
COMMERCIAL: Tom Holland (Hap), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)
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