Noir Dame Blog

Retro-inspired culture and media – audio drama, classic TV and film

Revised: Due to Norman Corwin’s express request, the inaugural event in Burbank, CA was cancelled; Corwin, however, will still be the first recipient of the award, but would like to focus more attention on the many worthy non-profit arts organizations and creators, some of whom are having difficulty with funding in the present climate. I have kept the rest of the post intact in order to maintain continuity, but also so that those readers who do not know Corwin may get up to speed with his amazing body of work.

Do you know who Norman Corwin is? If you consider yourself a fan of audio drama, old time radio, classic film, 20th century history – or just plain good writing, Norman Corwin is one person you’ll enjoy learning more about.

Corwin has been called “the Poet Laureate of Radio,” and today is the right time for us to help codify this title for our children and grandchildren. If you’ve been following the news about CBS and Jack Benny, you know that even when a beloved artist has brought great prestige and a wide audience to a network, future generations may not have the chance to know about their talent, unless we keep the flame alive.

And what a flame…!

A former journalist, Corwin began writing for the CBS Radio Network in the late 1930s. The Corwin name on a piece quickly came to signify quality, thoughtfulness and passion, raising radio drama and the spoken word to new heights.

In particular, his pieces “We Hold These Truths”, (written to honor the U.S. Bill of Rights, and airing days after the Pearl Harbor attack) and “On a Note of Triumph” (a piece created in the wake of victory in the European theatre), provided hope to an American audience that suffered, like the rest of the world, through long years of war, deprivation and sorrow. These pieces radiated a deeply felt patriotism that neither took victory for granted, nor underestimated its costs, and were widely heard and loved by the public. For these works alone, Norman Corwin would be ranked as an American treasure.

But that, of course, was not it. In wartime, Corwin didn’t neglect our nearest and dearest ally, either, developing “An American in England,” making sure we understood what the British were enduring. And after the war ended, Corwin continued flexing his pen, and stretching the limits of his talents. “The Undecided Molecule,” for instance, dared to ask about the future, in a world that now had the atomic bomb – with darting humor. Or how about “Hollywood Fights Back,” (created with the help of many illustrious stars who were nonetheless risking their careers), which pushed back against an overzealous HUAC, an organization not only searching for genuine “fifth column” communists, but apparently willing to destroy the lives and careers of people who merely seemed “subversive”.

Corwin wrote over 100 audio dramas, books, and feature films… so many for us to treasure today. And not just “back then,” but also in recent times, with NPR commissioning new plays.

Corwin gave gravitas … class… to audio drama and the spoken, broadcast word.

So I’m happy to say that, with his 100th birthday coming up, as he continues as a visiting professor at the University of Southern California, there are plans to give something back to Norman Corwin, and you can help.

The National Audio Theatre Festival will be giving Norman Corwin an inaugural award that will henceforth wear his name – the Norman Corwin Award for Excellence in Audio Theatre – on April 30th, at 7 pm, in the Falcon Theatre in Burbank, California. And NATF, a not for profit 501 (c)(3) organization, needs our help in getting a matching grant of $10,000 for this event. (See above notice).

So, too, do dedicated fans, audio dramatists and filmmakers need your help, in convincing the government to honor Corwin with the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Find out how you can help here. (See above notice).

New to radio drama? Want to know more about Norman Corwin?

• Check out this NPR documentary from 1995, hosted by the late Charles Kuralt, and also featuring “On a Note of Triumph” as a full broadcast.
• Read R. LeRoy Bannerman’s “Norman Corwin and Radio: The Golden Years” online.
• And check out the many videos here, on the “Corwin Channel”.

On the anniversary of Nikola Tesla’s passing, it is our pleasure to present the world premiere “Tesla vs. the United States”, a new piece by Charles Moster, based on the life story of this fascinating and mysterious inventor. What do time travel, a death ray, the invention of radio and the FBI all have in common? Listen and find out!

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All audio content copyright 2010 by Charles Moster and Deus Ex Machina. Video produced by NoirDame.com. Visual of Supreme Court courtesy of

Media: please find a release and detailed background information at our Media Kit site.

Now, Jack Benny always made fun of “The Horn Blows at Midnight,” but this fantasy actually has some delightful moments (oh, and does it ever make me want a really good cup of decaffeinated coffee). With its timeline winding down to the end of the world, and lasting about 58 minutes, it’s an awful fun piece for New Year’s Eve. Enjoy The Horn Blows At Midnight (1949 adaptation for radio\'s Ford Theatre). Please download and save for your collection!

Just finished listening to KUNM’s “Happy ChallaDAY,” a fun parody of the classic film, “White Christmas”.

If you remember, in the original film, Vera-Ellen and Rosemary Clooney join Bing Crosby and the ever-delightful Danny Kaye, trying to save the Vermont inn run by Crosby and Kaye’s old major general.

Well, seeing as sunset brings the beginning of Hannukah, the eight-day Jewish holiday, KUNM offered an original musical audio drama, “Happy ChallaDAY!” If the pun isn’t clear, challa or challah is a delicious egg bread that is braided and served on the Jewish Sabbath and on special holidays.

Creator Charles Moster, who has produced three other audio drama musicals, was tickled by the fact that Irving Berlin, who was Jewish, had written “White Christmas,” and other standards commemorating Christian holidays (such as “Easter Parade”).

Some casual listeners are surprised to find out that Irving Berlin was Jewish, but then so was Jack Benny, whose Christmas radio specials were beloved by millions. And there was something else about Irving Berlin – beyond being a superlative songwriter, who could easily empathize with all walks of life through song…

When the song was first written for the film “Holiday Inn,” Berlin had been in an interfaith marriage for over fifteen years, marrying writer Ellin MacKay in 1926. MacKay was more than a decade younger and Roman Catholic. They were widely ostracized by society, as well as by kin – MacKay was disinherited by her father. As far as I understand, they still practiced their individual faiths … and they stayed happily married for another 62 years, until her death in 1988.

So, even if you don’t celebrate Hannukah, I suggest you take a leaf from Berlin’s book, and download the podcast of “Happy ChallaDAY” from the KUNM website. With some excellent singing and songs, and a story that parodies the 1954 film (the General here is named Waverlystein, and he’s opened a B&B on the Red Sea) it’s a light, fun, way to pass a chilly evening.

Out in the small California city of Lancaster, Honda made a road groovy – literally. If you drive over the tracks at 55 MPH, in a Honda, you’ll hear the William Tell Overture (best known to us as the “Lone Ranger Theme”).

It does tend to be off-key if you’re not running a Honda or going at a constant speed (this is the time for cruise control). Unfortunately, after complaints from residents, the road is being repaved, despite Honda’s attempt to keep it far away from bothering people.

In Southern California, in many spots, I learned from personal experience, if you want to live near the beach, it means also living near train tracks. It’s jarring to hear trains pass through – ours passed through at 1 AM – but then, you simply stop hearing it. Likewise, the townspeople involved are missing out on a potential silver lining – since the unique track, like the singing beach of Manchester-by-the-sea, Massachusetts, would no doubt invite new tourist dollars into the town. And after a few more weeks, perhaps they’d get used to it.