OTR – A Christmas Carol (1944)

From 1934 to 1953, Lionel Barrymore played the part of Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol on radio a total of 18 different times. Sadly, only 5 of those performances still exist today and only 3 are widely available. The most memorable was in 1939 when Barrymore worked with Orson Welles on the Campbell Playhouse adaptation. It’s my personal favorite and has been an annual listen for me since I first discovered playing it on a local radio station in Paris, Texas on Christmas Eve 1989.

This year, I’d like to introduce you to his 1944 version. It aired originally as part of Barrymore’s own program, Mayor of the Town, and was later rebroadcast as part of The Globe Theater for Armed Forces Radio. It aired on December 23 and sadly has been rarely heard since that presentation. While it may not be as entertaining as the 1939 version, it’s still a wonderful showcase for the very best radio Scrooge.

As a special treat, take a listen to the original 1947 MGM records version featuring Barrymore. It’s a fun adaptation and a great time capsule for how Barrymore was playing Scrooge about midway through his long tenure.

Don’t forget to check out all of the Christmas programs on my YouTube channel for more great old time radio! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Monster Movie Kid!

Classic Horrors Club – A Christopher Lee Christmas

Join Jeff & I in the crypt as we discuss three classic Eurohorror films starring Christopher Lee in episode 64 of the Classic Horrors Club Podcast! First, we’ll take a look at Crypt of the Vampire (1964) and Castle of the Living Dead (1964). Then, Steve Turek from the DieCast Movie Podcast joins us for The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism (1967). Finally, we all share some thoughts on the other films and extras in The Eurocrypt of Christopher Lee boxset, released earlier this year from Severin, including Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace (1962), Challenge the Devil (1963) and the Polish television series, Theatre Macabre (1971).

Check out the video companion on our YouTube channel. It contains exclusive content not available in this month’s podcast that you don’t want to miss!

Call us at (616) 649-2582 (CLUB), email at classichorrorsclub@gmail.com or join us in our clubhouse at https://www.facebook.com/groups/classichorrors.club/!

We’d also appreciate if you’d give us an honest rating on Apple Podcasts or SoundCloud. Thank you!

You can find Jeff at:

• Classic Horrors Club
• DC Comics Guy
• The Reaction Shot

Over the holidays, you’ll want to get an early start as we prepare to celebrate our fifth anniversary in January with three films all containing the word “five” in them: Five (1951), Dimension 5 (1966) and Devil Times Five (1974)!

MKR – These Are the Damned (1962)

As Derek M. Koch over at Monster Kid Radio is still settling in to his new home, he put up the Hammer signal and the monster kids answered the call. So, this week on episode 550 of the Monster Kid Radio podcast, Steve Turek (DieCast Movie Podcast) and I sat down for a little conversation about These Are the Damned (1962).

This Hammer classic features Oliver Reed (who isn’t even featured in the cast on the above movie poster) as a gang leader in pursuit of his sister, who ran off with a vacationing American. And yes, there may be some strange happenings at a government base where the children there may not be as innocent as they appear.

Tune in and be sure let ’em know that the Monster Movie Kid sent ya!

DieCast Movie Podcast – Frankenstein (1931)

My good friend Steve Turek at the DieCast Movie Podcast has just posted part 4 of his ongoing James Whale retrospective. In this episode, Jeff Owens and I represent the Classic Horrors Club Podcast as we sit down for a conversation about one of the all-time greatest monster movies…Frankenstein (1931). James Whale did a lot more than just monster flicks but when he did venture into the macabre, the results were stunning.

Tune into episode 72 of the DieCast Movie Podcast and be sure to tell Steve that Monster Movie Kid sent ya!