A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

May 1, 1944 

On May 1, 1944, Lucille Ball joined the cast of the Screen Guild Players to perform in the radio broadcast “A Night To Remember” based on the 1942 film of the same name. 

SYNOPSIS:

A mystery writer and his newlywed wife move into a Greenwich Village apartment and find themselves with a corpse and a half dozen red herrings. 

Ball played Nancy Troy, a role originated on film by Loretta Young. Brian Donlevy played Jeffrey Troy, the role originated by Brian Aherne in the film. In 1934, Young and Ball had appeared together in the film “Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back.” 

Truman Bradley was the announcer and the orchestra was led by Wilbur Hatch, who would go on to do the same job on “I Love Lucy.”  

The original film was directed by Richard Wallace, and is based on the novel The Frightened Stiff by Kelley Roos published in 1942. 

Donlevy and Ball were photographed together with the MGM stars in 1943, just a few months prior to this broadcast. At the conclusion of the broadcast the announcer notes that Lucille Ball appeared through the courtesy of MGM pictures, “producers of ‘The White Cliffs of Dover’.”  That film featured Lucy’s friend Van Johnson and “I Love Lucy” character actress Norma Varden. Ball signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the 1940s, but never achieved major stardom there. She would return to them in the 1950s when she and Desi were television stars making films as a couple. 

For radio, the mysterious Greenwich Village address was changed from 13 Gay Street in the film to 39 Gay Street, the same as in the original novel. The reali-life NYC street’s name does not refer to the LGBTQ character of Greenwich Village. Rather, the name comes from a family named Gay who owned land or lived there during colonial times.

There may have been some problem with using a real address (#13 today, above) for the original film – or CBS radio’s legal department may have just erred on the side of caution. There actually is no 39 Gay Street, which would alleviate the problem. The film was made in Hollywood, not in New York City. 

The show was produced by Lady Esther’s Screen Guild Players on CBS Radio. Screen Guild Players, otherwise known as The Screen Guild Theater, was one of the most popular drama anthology series during the Golden Age of Radio. From its first broadcast in 1939, up to its farewell in 1952, it showcased radio adaptations of popular Hollywood films. Many Hollywood names became part of the show, including Bette Davis, Bing Crosby, Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, and many more. The actors’ fees were all donated to the Motion Picture Relief Fund, an organization that provides aid to retired actors. Screen Guild Players was heard on different radio networks, beginning with CBS from 1939 to 1948, NBC from 1948 to 1950, ABC from 1950 to 1951, and back to CBS until its last episode on June 29, 1952. Throughout its run, a total of 527 episodes were produced.

During the Golden Age of Radio, there were similar shows like “Screen Directors’ Playhouse” and the “Lux Radio Theatre.”  Ball appeared on these as well. 

From late 1942 to July 1947 Lady Esther Cosmetics sponsored the show which had been previously sponsored by Gulf Oil. It was first known as the “Lady Esther Presents the Screen Guild Players” and then became the Lady Esther Screen Guild Theater. The radio show brought movies to radio for thirty minutes each Monday evening on CBS. The show aired for 242 programs beginning with “Yankee Doodle Dandy” starring James Cagney and ending with “My Reputation.” In between were all time classics such as “Casablanca” with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, “Sergeant York” with Gary Cooper and “Holiday Inn” with Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, and Dinah Shore.

After the story concludes the announcer promotes next week’s screen to air production, “The Dark Angel” starring Merle Oberon, the 1935 film’s original star. There is also a pitch for War Bonds. 

More Screen Guild Players Radio Productions

Six months later, Lucy returned to the Screen Guild Players to recreate her role in “A Girl, A Guy, and a Gob” with her original 1941 co-star George Murphy. 

In 1942, Lucy took the role originated by Binnie Barnes in a radio recreation of the 1941 film “Tight Shoes.” Her co-star was Red Skelton. 

“A Night To Remember” was again produced two years later on the series. While Donleavy recreated his role as Jeff, but Claire Trevor played opposite him instead of Lucy.  

Also in 1944, Lucy stepped into the shoes of Jean Harlowe to present “China Seas” with its original 1935 star Clark Gable. 

In April 1947, Lucy appeared with Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra in “Too Many Husbands” which had graced the big screen in 1940 starring Jean Arthur, Fred MacMurray, and Melvyn Douglas.  

In late April 1948, Lucille Ball returned to the series once again for “It Had To Be You” with Cornel Wilde. Lucy took the role originally played by her friend Ginger Rogers in the 1947 film starring Wilde. In 1955, Wilde guest starred as himself on “I Love Lucy” as “The Star Upstairs” (ILL S4;E25). 

In February 1951, Eve Arden took Lucille’s role in an adaptation of Ball’s 1949 film “Miss Grant Takes Richmond” with William Holden repeating his film role. Coincidentally, Arden and Holden both appeared on the same episode of “I Love Lucy” in 1955.