The auto industry had a big promotional event in New York City in April 1953, and Auto-Lite was one of the event’s biggest bankrollers. The “Easter Parade of Stars” featured the latest cars, some experimental models, events, and many celebrities, and one of the drivers from the 1908 race, Montague Roberts. The biggest highlight may have been the live broadcast in the Waldorf-Astoria ballroom, of this very episode, promoted in newspapers as “See Van Johnson, in person!”. It was followed a night later, by an Auto-Lite sponsored television event that took the place of the usual Suspense television broadcast.
The very entertaining radio script was written by Morton Fine and David Friedkin, and focused on the “real” event of the 1908 race around the world. It started in New York and concluded in Paris. One of the companies, Thomas, used the publicity opportunity to promote its Thomas Flyer. It was a car model that anyone could buy from a dealer but was durable and resilient enough to be used for this wild journey with only minor alteration. The car sold for $3,000, which is almost $100,000 in US$2024. The script took some liberties in the telling of the 152 day trip to squeeze it into about 24 minutes of broadcast time.
Van Johnson was recruited as guest star for the broadcast. He likely came "all the way from Hollywood" just for the event. Event publicity made a big deal about his appearance. A cast of New York actors were in the supporting roles. Because he did not make the trip, taped commercials and announcements by Harlow Wilcox were played. The event was free to the public. As best as can be determined, this may be the only Suspense episode ever broadcast in front of a live audience.
The New York Times offered $50,000 first prize award for race winner. That was in 1908 dollars; that is about $1.7 million in US$2024 dollars.
The phrase “stock car” is used in the story, and that phrase does not mean the exact same thing as it does today. It literally meant a car that any everyday consumer could buy out of regular dealer inventory, meaning that the dealer had it “in stock.”
Why is one of the first stops of the race in Buffalo, New York? That is where the Thomas Flyer was manufactured. The mention was a nod to that company and the historical role it played in the story. The company’s car production ended in 1919. A Wikipedia entry has background about the company https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Motor_Company
At about 17:45 Johnson stumbles over “Vladivostok” and you can “hear” him “smirk” as he corrects it.
At about 19:40 the Americans find themselves without gas since the French team purchased it all. They need to improvise to get money for it and get access to it. A high stakes card game with some Russian military personnel turns out to be their best opportunity to acquire some. “Spit in the ocean” is a variant of poker where the dealer designates a card to be wild for that particular game. Because of the wild card, the games tend to be faster than regular hands of poker in traditional rules. This is how enough money, or gas supply, could be won, and quickly.
There seems to be a very quick tape or disc flaw at 19:58. In some surviving recordings it is more pronounced. At about 22:20 there is a very brief odd scratchy sound in the background that might be disc damage.
At around 22:11, Johnson flubs the number of miles the team traveled per day. He says “We arrived a hundred and two” and he drags out that “two” and corrects himself “We averaged a hundred and fifty-two miles a day…”
Thomas ran an ad in the 1908-08-02 Buffalo NY Courier that highlights some of the events of the race, including the gas problem they had in Vladivostok:
The Thomas Flyer entered Paris Thursday, July 30th, winning the New York to Paris race, the greatest endurance contest in history, by TWENTY-SIX DAYS, and being the ONLY car of all those entered TO GO THE OFFICIAL ROUTE. The Thomas traveled 2,385 miles on land under its own power MORE than its nearest competitor, and this over the worst, the most racking portions of the route, and under the worst conditions. In addition to this the Thomas traveled 3,246 farther by water – a total of 5,031 miles farther than its nearest competitor, which shipped by rail from Pocatello, Idaho, to Seattle, avoiding the most severe portion of the road across the American continent. That the Thomas should arrive in Paris only four days behind the German car, which traveled 5,031 miles less, is sufficiently remarkable to cause world-wide comment.
The Thomas Flyer which won the New York to Paris race was selected only six days before the race. It already crated and tagged to be shipped to the agent in Boston. It was a stock model pure and simple and no change of any kind was made in any mechanical part, except the replacement of the drop front for one of the straight, such as are ordinarily used on Thomas cars shipped to Western districts. After traveling 13,431 miles over the worst roads ever attempted any any car, the Thomas is reported to be in excellent condition, save for the physical exhaustion of its crew due to the terrific pace they made driving day and night through almost trackless wilderness COULD START FROM PARIS AND COME BACK OVER THE SAME ROUTE.
The route of the racers led over the worst roads of the American continent at the worst time of the year, through the heaviest of the snows of the winter through the enormous snowdrifts, the heavy wind and deep ruts of Russia and Siberia in the rainy season through almost impassible swamps, thousands of miles remote from civilization and repair shops, through unknown countries, over unknown and unbroken roads. A large portion of this traveling done at night, when road obstacles, avoidable in the daytime, assumed the most dangerous proportions. Contrast this performance with the EASY TRAVEL OF A TOUR ON WELL TRAVELED ROADS, ALWAYS AMIDST FRIENDS AND IN SIGHT OF VILLAGES OR FARMHOUSES, and the difference between the Thomas feat and the most trying public performance of American cars will be readily apparent.
That the Thomas should perform this feat in spite of days lost by misdirection – in spite of days lost by the cornering of all the gasoline at Vladivostok by a foreign competitor – these facts and the fact that the Thomas which performed this is a regular stock car, are the reasons why all Europe is admitting today that America produces the best cars in the world, and that no car ever produced in any land can compare with the Thomas, or begin to duplicate its performance.
Every 1907-8 stock Thomas Flyer is a mechanical duplicate of this world champion, and every 1908-9 Thomas Flyer is equal to this car in EVERY way, and superior to it in MANY ways, and ready at any for a trip around the world.
Alan Hewitt is the “signature voice” of this Suspense production since it is in New York and Wilcox did not make the trip. Hewitt had been on Suspense before in the 1942 New York run, and was also on the show in Hollywood in 1945. Ted Osborne is in the cast, and was the original “Man in Black” when the show was produced in New York in 1942. He would he heard in the 1960s New York productions as well. Larry Haines would appear on the show when it moved back to New York, as would Danny Ocko.
The next day, the show was closed to prepare for the television program that Auto-Lite used for the weekly Suspense television episode. Instead, they used it to promote the manufacturers that used their part in their cars. Collector Randy Riddle found that a transfer of the kinescope was available on YouTube. It can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq7iJyGDmp4
Randy’s comments about the video, originally posted on Facebook on the Old Time Radio Researchers group page, noted the awkwardness of many of the participants throughout the broadcast:
This isn’t some ordinary infomercial, this is the story of a big star, Irene Dunne, trapped in a disaster of a live TV show where she has to trade lines and stage business with executives from the auto industry who are completely frightened of live television.
Will Irene Dunne make it through the live broadcast without killing the agent who got her into this mess? Will she be able to hold on through the half hour to make it to the end? Will her career survive?
Spoiler alert: When things go completely off the rails in a cringe-inducing awkward moment where everyone, including Irene Dunne, forgets their lines and don’t know what to do. Suspense TV host and Auto-Lite pitchman Rex Marshall quickly enters to save the day and get Irene Dunne and the auto executives safely out of harm’s way.
The 1908 race was the inspiration for Blake Edwards’ 1965 film The Great Race with Tony Curtis and Jack Lemon. It bears little resemblance to the actual events. But there is a very big pie fight that took multiple days to film, which makes up for any of the movie’s many imperfections.
The actual history of the 1908 race can be reviewed at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1908_New_York_to_Paris_Race
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP530406
THE CAST
VAN JOHNSON (George), Alan Hewitt (Signature voice / Colby), Ted Osborne (French team), Larry Haines (Monty), Steve Roberts (German rep / Czar rep), Danny Ocko (Italian rep / Tatar Chief), Cameron Andrews (Race Starter / Man on Snowshoes)
COMMERCIAL: Harlow Wilcox (Announcer, by tape recording)
[Keith Scott notes that the voices of the New York actors were identified and verified with the generous assistance of collector and noted radio researcher Karl Schadow.]
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