44-03-29 Letter From Bess Suggests Sade Come Visit

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND  DAVID WHITEHOUSE

A letter from Aunt Bess temporarily sidetracks Vic from a game of indoor horseshoes and then, has him accidentally laughing.  However, instead of blowing up, it only slightly aggravates Sade.

SEE THE SCRIPT (part 1) (part 2)

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Sade usually would take out her frustration on Vic or Rush (or in this case, Russell) but instead, she seems to keep it inside.  Russell was the true instigator anyway.

TRIVIA:

* Walter read in the Freeport paper that the Consolidated Kitchenware plant in Dubuque, Iowa had a fire.  I'll bet Gus Fuss was in a rush.  And talk about your warm lemonade...

* Euncie is still learning the same piano piece ("The Great Colorado Train Robbery Scottish") and trying to do it without looking at the sheet music.

* Russell somehow gets under the davenport, looking for a penny.  The davenport  must be huge.  Bluetooth was also under this davenport in 1939.

* Is it a joke when the Paul Rhymer script tells of a man who was college-educated who's purpose was sharpening razors?  Even though we have oceans of articles on Rhymer, I have yet to even be offered a hint why he was seemingly so fascinated with barbers and razors.

* The letter suggests that Sade come for a visit; Bess all but eliminates Vic and Russell from coming in her wording.  It seems that Sade probably didn't take up her sister on her offer - according to the episodes we know to exist shortly after this aired.

40-09-13 Christmas Card Salesmen - the Twins

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

Vic gets a package in the mail from Robert and Slobert Hink.

Surprise!  It's a Christmas card sample book and Sade couldn't be more thrilled (I'm being sarcastic, of course.)

SEE SOME DIALOGUE AND THE SYNOPSIS

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There are no surprises here; the cards are ones fans are already familiar with (after all, almost everyone on the show sells them.)

As a matter of fact, a few of the usual running jokes show up here as well: beef punkles not done because they were delivered late in the morning, free cole slaw at pool hall post card, Mr. Donahue sleeping/boys be quiet, and the Latin lodge nonsense.

Overall, this episode seems run-of-the-mill at best; it's probably better described as a re-hash of prior, somewhat tired, scripts.

Trivia:

+ Mr. Croucher weighs about 250 pounds.  "He's all beef", according to Rush.

+ Sade refers to the Hink twins as "Hobart and Slowbart Fink."

+ Sade lists most of the Christmas card salespeople that are listed here.

42-12-18 Vic and Dr. Keevy

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

Sade tries to sucker Vic to go on a trip to the Bijou (Gloria Golden, ugh!) and also visit Dr. Keevy's office, which has recently been refurnished. In the end though, Vic's well-documented fear of the dentist saves the day.

SEE THE SCRIPT: (part 1) (part 2)

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Until now, we've been under the impression that various Dr. Keevy's office rendezvous with Lolita di Rienzi and Pom Pom Cordova were all Vic's idea.  The script here suggests the original idea for using Keevy's office as a meeting place, belonged to Sade.

+ Gloria Golden and Four-Fisted Frank Fuddleman teamed up on screen for the flick, Kiss Oh Kiss These Lips of Mine, Assistant Trailer-Camp Manager Anderson.

+ Rush mentions the National Safety Council.  It sounds like they may have asked Paul Rhymer to include a PSA... and he double-crossed them:

+ Dr. Keevy's grand furnishings set him back $200. That's about $3000 today!

40-12-26 Gumpox's Traveling Bed

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

There's big-doings at the Bright Kentucky Hotel as Rush, his pals and a
newspaper reporter have been invited by Mr. Gumpox to witness occupied beds traveling down hallways, passing each other!  This is just another of the bizarre things that happen in their crazy world.

SEE THE SCRIPT (part 1) (part 2)

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Yes, it's all true... and Vic and Sade are so enthralled with the story that they allow Rush to be out past 1 a.m.

Sade wants to tell the story to Mis' Donahue, who's bound to laugh out loud.

Trivia:

+ Blue Tooth's real name is William Gazelle Johnson.

+ There's yet another barber (who works at the Butler House Hotel's barbershop) living at the Bright Kentucky: Cunningham.  His bed is prone to take off too, when the long, heavy trains barrel past the run-down eyesore.

+ Mr. Gumpox says that when they are in bed and he passes Cunningham in the hall, they wave at each other and say, ''Ta ta'' and ''Bon voyage'', respectively.

+ According to Sade, it appears that sometime prior to this episode, a train jumped the tracks and plowed into Gumpox's room.  That'd be a fine how-do-you-do, wouldn't it?

+ Though we have heard and read accounts of beds traveling down the halls of the Bright Kentucky, this is the first account we have in script form.

44-05-05 Rish Fish's Short Career

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND RUSSELL MILLER

Almost the very same story as 39-06-21 Hank's Job Royal Throne Barbershop, except Rishigan Fishigan gets the job instead of Hank Gutstop and Russell Miller is in the episode instead of Rush.

SEE THE SCRIPT  (part 1) (part 2)

40-08-12 Sade's House is Not the Way She Left It

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON 

Sade's come home from a trip to Carberry and notices the house is surprisingly clean but things are not exactly where they were when she left.

She comes to find out that (mostly) Blue Tooth Johnson made a mess and Rush had to clean it up.  He gets a few things mixed up but for the most part, Sade seems surprised and pleased.

SEE THE SCRIPT

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Vic broke an olive and pickle plate but Sade wasn't in the least bit upset. Fifteen months later, Sade would be very upset when Rush would break her antique pickle and olive shoe and still seething, would even write a poem about it 11 months later to convey her feelings.

40-03-08 Rush's Slumber Party Enters by the Window

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON 

Rush's slumber party gets out of hand. There are 12 boys plus Rush.

Rush has tried to do the courteous thing by putting the ladder up to his window, that way it cuts down on the wear and tear of the carpet and prevents the boys from tracking in dirt. What it does though is attract the neighbors, who fear the Gooks might be getting robbed or attacked.

SEE THE SCRIPT

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Thirteen boys can create considerable noise and damage.

Sade is embarrassed the neighbors are calling.

Rush was only trying to do what he thought was the right thing.

40-04-18 Uncle Fletcher is Sending Three Bulldogs

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON 

Sade's Uncle Fletcher sends a letter saying he's sending Rush three bulldogs.

Vic and Sade literally freak out at the notion of having three fierce bulldogs chained up in the basement.

When Rush finds out the dogs are supposed to be his, he pleads (to no avail) with his parents to allow him to have the dogs.

Vic and Sade will have none of it and contact Uncle Fletcher to stop him before it's too late.

SEE THE SCRIPT

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I think this is probably one of the best programs we will never hear - it may be the best.  It looks as though it is one of the most fast-paced episodes that we know about.  It's funny and well-written.

The proposed letter to Fletcher is memorable:

SADE: [Reads] "Dear Uncle Fletcher. Just received your lovely letter. We are all fine an' well. About the bull-dogs I guess maybe you hadn't better send them." That too blunt? 

VIC: It's not blunt enough. Why don't ya start right out, "No bull-dogs." "No bull-dogs, no bull-dogs, no bull-dogs."

As  is the telephone call to Fletcher...

SADE: Yeah, everybody be still. [To phone] Hello? Hello, Uncle Fletcher? Hello? Uncle Fletcher? Hello, Uncle Fletcher this is Sadie, Uncle Fletcher. Yes. Uncle Fletcher, don't send any bull-dogs. I say don't send any bull-dogs. Bull-dogs. [Almost in a panic] Don't send any bull-dogs, Uncle Fletcher.

39-07-13 Vic Explains How a Doorbell Rings

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON 

Mr. Erickson, the Gook landlord, gifts Sade with a brand new doorbell.  Vic is going to install it but wants to school Sade and Rush on how the thing works.

As usual, they aren't really listening and instead want to either tease Vic or Vic simply isn't explaining it the right way.

Either way, he quietly gets infuriated with them, just as Rush was infuriated with Nicer Scott earlier in the day.

SEE THE SCRIPT

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Nicer claims to have no sense of taste. He also claims to have 89 pairs of pants in cold storage (what is with Paul Rhymer and pants in cold storage?)

Vic says in this episode:

VIC: I know electric bells like I know the palm of my hand. 

This in reference to the doorbell gift Sade received from Mr. Erickson.  Recall there was the time that he could not fix the Donahue doorbell.  And many clocks have alarms, even electric ones.  And we know the problems Vic has with clocks.

39-03-01 Rooster's Block of Theater Seats

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON 

Rooster Davis is about to "rock the foundation of civilization" again with a stunt that's never happened before in the history of the United States: he's going to rope off a big section of the Bijou, come in wearing a big long coat with a fur collar and be the biggest bigshot ever.

Vic and Sade, at first, deduce a scheme to get out of studying, but slowly they are sucked into the drama that Rush is able to create - and by the end of the script Vic and Sade have made plans to go to Bijou to watch the proceedings.

SEE THE SCRIPT

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Paul Rhymer wrote many scripts 1937-1940 where Rush takes the lead role and tells a tantalizing story about one of his friends.  Those stories are some of the best; this one being no exception.

Rooster has a bit of his big brother Rotten inside of him!

38-12-16 Rooster Davis' New Spectacles

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON 

While the Gooks wait for the noontime meat to get done,  Rush says that Rooster Davis came to school this day, wearing glasses.  That's not a big deal.

What is a big deal is how the glasses were attached to him.  Not by hooks around his ears, but by a very long black ribbon (more than 6 feet long) that was attached to a brooch with fake diamonds!

SEE THE SCRIPT

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The script begins with an unusual letter from Bess; this one goes into a bit of detail about Walter's kneecap and Bess even makes a joke, saying his kneecap has "gone off the reservation" - that is, his kneecap is on the "warpath."

For Bess, who doesn't make jokes (despite her literary "ha ha's")  that was a fairly special joke.

Horse!

RUSH: I could eat a fried horse, harness an' all.

and then later...

RUSH: I'll be delighted to make it plain as a horse. 

and then later... 

RUSH: I'll be delighted to make it plain as a horse why Rooster's glasses threw a bomb-shell that hit civilization. 

40-06-12 Fred's Tire Troubles

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

Somehow, Fred Stembottom has all four of his tires blowout at once.  He's made history.

Meanwhile, Blue Tooth Johnson has taught Rush some new stuff to say, including: "Cross my heart and hope to die, eat a banana and holler hi!  Your Uncle George is full of prunes, the rest of your relations are crazy as loons!"

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The transcription disc for this episode survived but was either sold to Radio Spirits in the 1970's or was donated to the Library of Congress. (That might mean that we may never hear this episode.)

44-05-10 Sade and Mis' Harris Fight - Ladystuff

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN, DAVID WHITEHOUSE AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

• Mis' Harris wants Sade's Christmas card business and Sade doesn't want to commit.  Tension is brewing...
• Mis' Harris is annoyed that her new roomer Pelter Unbleet was recommended by Uncle Fletcher. So far, Unbleet hasn't paid any rent, and Sade thinks this reflects on her.  More tension between the two...
• Mis' Harris wants to plant pansies in a patch of the Gook's yard because her yard is taken up with cabbage (she then turns the cabbage into sauerkraut and sells it.) The pansies are for the Park End Church pulpit.  Sade refuses this request.  The tension is boiling!
• Sade defines to the men what a lady fight is: "Where the madder a person gets the sweeter they smile and the more polite and lah-de-dah they act." - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

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Despite the fact that in an earlier episode we were told Blue Tooth's name was "Edwin" - in this episode, Russell says his real name is "Albert."

It's hard to believe but this is actually an episode about Christmas cards again.

Reference is made in this episode about Pelter Unbleet not paying his rent.  Recall that Mis' Harris eventually takes him to court over this.  (Unbleet seems like a 'natural' to live at the Bright Kentucky Hotel, where he eventually moves.  Since he works there as a janitor, it seems living there would make his life easier.)

I had thought (via audio) that Park End Church was on 'Ellen' Street when it's actually on 'Allen' Street.

xx-xx-xx Rush Reveals Recent Exploits of Blue Tooth Johnson

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

• Rush tells tales on Blue Tooth Johnson. 
• He took his whole Sunday School class to lunch at the Purple Room inside the Butler House Hotel Restaurant. 
• He was sitting in study hall at 2:15 and went to sleep and fell out of his chair and landed on Leland Richards' foot that stuck out in the aisle - Leland, Mildred Tisdel and Eunice Raypole hollered in fright. 
• He was called on in class by Miss Monroe to answer a question but his upper jaw was glued to his lower jaw by some homemade taffy; he was sent to Mr. Chinbunny's office where his taffy was confiscated.  - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

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Blue Tooth is capable of almost any kind of mayhem.  He flies under-the-radar on the show; we tend of think of him as just a fellow that Rush tags along with to the YMCA to watch the fat men play handball.  But Blue Tooth's exploits run almost the full course of the series and though he's not a hoodlum, he certainly can find trouble of all shapes and sizes.  A look at his character at the character database wouldn't be a waste of time.

The date is unknown although the show aired prior to Rush leaving for the Navy.  The title is not known and the one given here was made up by me, purely for identification purposes.  That being said, I still had detailed notes on the episode but critical data was missing.

44-04-14 Blue Tooth's Offering Scheme

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND DAVID WHITEHOUSE

• Russell asks permission to have Blue Tooth Johnson visit so they can work out his scheme: he hopes to raise eyebrows in church by wrapping the dollar bill he'll receive for his birthday around a wad of green paper so it looks like he's putting a huge offering in the plate.  
• Russell: Strong men will turn pale and women will swoon. 
• Articles in the newspaper mention Mrs. Barlow Froolp and Howard McFalper, Carl D Feetstroop.  Russell refers to Cracky Otto. - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

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Chicago Sun (Feb. 14, 1943)

This trick does seem Russell-like and not Rush-like.  There is a definite difference between the boys, despite the fact that it was about this time in the series when Rhymer tried to confuse his audience into thinking they were the same boy (this 1943 episode is a perfect example of this) despite going on record in various magazine articles and saying Rush was not going to be replaced.

Blue Tooth must be 14 or 15 years old; he gets a dollar for his birthday.  You wonder what a 14 year-old kid would say today if he/she were given only a buck for their birthday present?

44-04-12 Russell, the Reluctant Knight

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND  DAVID WHITEHOUSE

Russell's been invited to a party at a friend of Anabel Hemstreet. He's agreed to escort Annabelle, but feels no need to be a gallant gentleman, since he feels like he is doing her a favor. When Blue Tooth invites him to the YMCA, he thinks he can get Heinie Call to do the escorting for him. Vic and Sade find him callous.

SCRIPT (part 1) (part 2)

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This is a remake of a script very similar to this (date unknown) where Bill Idelson plays the part of Rush.  In this episode, Russell has plans to have Heinie escort Miss Hemstreet; we know very clearly that Heinie is Russell's sworn enemy.  One has to wonder if Bulldog Drummond or Nicer Scott might have been Rush's choice to replace him in the earlier production?

This play seems a wee bit out of character for Rush but certainly seems in line for Russell, who often seems to tiptoe the alley between respectability and anarchy.

Trivia:

+ The Hemstreets lives on Oakland Avenue between Mercer Avenue and Douglas Streets.  This is a high class area of the neighborhood and a dozen or so blocks from the Gook house.

+ Russell referred to Annabelle's friend (the one having the birthday) as "some baboon".

+ Champion bowlers who will appear at the YMCA: Red Donaldson and Curly McFormer.

44-03-27 Fletcher to Pedal Hyena Grease?

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN, DAVID WHITEHOUSE AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

• After a delicious supper, Fletcher approaches Vic about a letter he received from Roy Dejectedly.  Vic: "Well!  And how is old Roy?  Dancing the fox-trot, the cake-walk, and the Indiana hoe-down as usual, I suppose."
• Roy proposes that Fletcher pedal Hyena Grease.  
• Fletcher: Roy didn't invent Hyena Grease.  "Nobody could invent Hyena Grease.  For a fella to invent Hyena Grease, first he'd hafta invent the hyena."
• Fletcher: "Roy is a foxy scalawag who could talk simpletons into giving him two nickels of change for a dime in half a dozen large cities.  I tell ya the man is foxy.  No, if anybody sharper than Roy Dejectedly comes along, you can just leave me sitting in the barber chair.  Roy owns no patent, copyright, license, or infringement on Hyena Grease.  The big scientific laboratories in Chicago, Milwaukee, Moline, Waukeshaw, or Dubuque would love to duplicate the product.  Roy will tell you it contains turpentine, creosote, lamp-black, and tractor oil, but refuses to divulge the quantities that make Hyena Grease the finest preparation for smearing on your shoes in the entire world.  He didn't invent it, but he doctored it up to a scientific point where it's suitable for smearing on your shoes."
• Fletcher begins to read Roy's letter, but it's not Roy's letter.  It's addressed to "Dearest Ida."  The letter mentions George, Helen and Grace, Dr. Feendish and Nurse Montgomery, Vernon, and Dorothy.  Apparently in error he picked up a letter belonging to Mis' Keller, his landlady.  - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

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Is Roy ever coming?  We've seen the evolution of the visit: it began when Uncle Fletcher told the family about it on December 21, 1943.  Fletcher talked about it again on March 9, 1944 and now it's almost three weeks later.

It seems that pedaling Hyena Grease would be a natural fit for Fletcher.  But the fact that he's conferring with Vic would lead us to believe there may be complications.

43-12-08 Foot-stool For Mr. Ruebush For Christmas

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND DAVID WHITEHOUSE

Vic's co-workers have bought a footstool to give Mr. Ruebush for Christmas.

Vic, who is annually in charge of the present each year for the boss, is very, very unhappy with the purchase made behind his back.  Now Vic must be responsible for the awkward present and he's worried about how Mr. Ruebush is going to react when he gets the present.

SEE THE SCRIPT

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Without the audio, it's hard to tell just how good this episode is but just from reading this script, you'd surmise this was probably one of the better ones.

Christmas cards, Christmas songs, Christmas lists and Christmas gifts - all of these are twisted and strange in the crazy world of Vic and Sade.  You wonder how much these Christmas episodes influenced Jean Shepard, when he penned the short story that became the hit movie, A Christmas Story?  He also wrote the forward to Vic and Sade: The Best Radio Plays of Paul Rhymer and was a known, huge fan of Rhymer and the series.  Surely the warped Christmas' of the Gooks played into his imagination as the family in that film is a bit Gook-ish.  As a matter of fact, the film has a very strong Vic and Sade feel.  Don't you agree?

43-11-25 Fletcher's All Dressed-Up

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN, DAVID WHITEHOUSE AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

Yes!

Both Vic and Russell have just seen Uncle Fletcher on Kelsey Street all dressed up. Uncle Fletcher stops past and they try to find out why... Uncle Fletcher explains he'd been sitting on the cistern lid whittling a shoe-horn when Mis' Keller poked her head out the window and suggested it would be a good time to fix his everyday pants, which he had on. So he changed into his good pants. Figured it would make sense to put on his good shirt, too. And his good coat and shoes and vest and suspenders and sleeve-garters, and socks and hat.

SEE THE SCRIPT (part 1) (part 2)

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When someone asks you what Vic and Sade is really all about - and you tell them that it's not really about anything - and when they give you that puzzled look, you can show them this script.  That's when they shrug their shoulders and leave you as they head for the television.

This episode is simply about Sade's uncle changing clothes.  He figures he'll go ahead and get dressed up, you know, why the heck not?  Vic and Sade and Russell were a bit curious, but really, they really could have cared less!

And THIS is typical of the show.  Even so, it's entertaining as a horse.  For instance, is this not typical of Uncle Fletcher?:

But my favorite is this one:

This episode took place on Thanksgiving day.

41-xx-xx How Neighbor Ladies Greet Each Other When on the Outs

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

Over a "game" of Rummy, Sade chronicles the neighborhood ladies' friendships with each other.

SEE THE SCRIPT

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The friendships go something like this:

click to enlarge

Rush gets upset with Sade because while she's "playing" cards, she's not actually playing any cards.  I'm quite sure it upsets Vic also but since Rush is already making it known that Sade's holding up the game, he bites his lip.