The Strand Theater

The Strand Theater in Wichita Falls: I went to the Strand a few times. I remember seeing BLACKBOARD JUNGLE at the Strand, and I think THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD in the early 1950s.

100 Postcards of The 1950s

100 Postcards of the 1950s: The Art of classic comics – the Golden Age. Great comic book covers of the 1950s. I just picked up this card set. I actually enjoyed comic books back then. What ever happened to the good ones?

The Invisible Monster

The Invisible Monster, a 12-chapter serial from Republic in 1950, starring Richard Webb (may be better known as TV’s Captain Midnight) as Lane, the insurance investigator for Apex Insurance, and Aline Towne, as Carol, a criminal scientific investigator assigned to assist him. The Phantom Ruler, well played by Stanley Price, has a robe and hood soaked in chemicals that under certain light make him invisible. Strangely, the mysterious Phantom Ruler reveals his identity from the very start, so there’s no real mystery about who he is. The Phantom Ruler has brought highly intelligent illegal immigrants to America to do his bidding, or he’ll notify immigrations and have them returned to their home country where they may be wanted. The plan is to build an army of invisible soldiers to take over America. It has the usual great cliffhangers that only Republic can do. In fact, I’ve seen them all before, but they’re so much fun. Tom Steele is great in the fight stunts, as always, and there are plenty of these. Spent about three hours over Saturday afternoon watching this great old serial.

Fill 'er Up?

Nah, just a dollar’s worth and check the air, please. Where’s the local drag? Ah the cars of the 1950s. And service station attendants actually checked the air pressure. Just ask someone to check your oil today – ha! When I was 16, one of my running pals had an older sister with a 1955 or ’56 Chevy that looked a lot like this one. She would take us riding an listening to Snuff Garrett’s Rock ‘N’ Roll show on the radio, and I remember her making the car dance on the street as she drove it. I try to do that today with our car, but Ginger bops me over the head making me stop (sigh).

Radio Days - The Theater of The Mind

Radio Days – The Theater of The Mind

Growing up in Wichita Falls my parents usually had an old tabletop wooden box radio, or sometimes a floor model that I would sit next to, my ear right up to the speaker. Radio was the home entertainment of the 1940s. In fact, we didn’t have a television set until 1956, and by then I was listening to Rock ‘N’ Roll on radio – remember Snuff Garrett? – as television had not caught my interest yet.

But back to 1940s and early 1950’s radio drama. My mother listened to several of the soap operas, like Hill Top House, Our Gal Sunday, Ma Perkins, et al. On Saturday mornings I listened to Let’s Pretend. Sunday evenings I listened to The Shadow. My family liked Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, Gunsmoke, Gangbusters, and Lineup. X Minus One was my favorite science fiction program. But I also listened to The Green Hornet, The Lone Ranger, Tarzan and Superman. I’m sure everyone had his or her favorites.

Today, the Theater of The Mind has been replaced by the visual media we call television, and we are the sadder for it. There is nothing left to the imagination. With radio the visual was in our mind, and we were alive. Fortunately, people still collect the old radio drama on tape, CD, and reel-to-reel, so many of the programs still exist. There are Internet websites when old fans can listen and download the programs. I have a closet full of CDs, record albums, and cassettes with my favorite shows. Locally, you can choose from a number of daily scheduled programs, running 24-hours, seven days a week, here http://www.theiotrs.com I am a constant listener.  Don Leary, who started it while living in Seymour, Texas, maintains the Site.