Thirteen by Corwin [Audio Cassette]

Norman Corwin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 26, 1995

Seven full hours on six cassettes -- Norman Corwin's personal favorites from the extant recordings of his works from the Golden Age of Radio in the 1940s. This is truly one of the great classic collections of OTR (Old-Time Radio)! A galaxy of stars includes Groucho Marx, Frederic March, Elsa Lanchester, Robert Benchley, Vincent Price, Henry Morgan and many more, in pieces that range from satirical comedy through whimsical fantasy, travelogue, and romance, to Corwin's amazingly powerful, inspiring drama. Several programs deal with aspects of the World War II.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Corwin, a writer, producer, and director of some of the most famous radio programs of the 1940s, influenced such media luminaries as Walter Cronkite and the recently deceased Charles Kuralt. In this collection, six of Corwin's radio programs shine: a corporal traveling cross-country falls in love; a fairy grants little Mary's foolish wishes; young Runyon seeks his dead dog in "curgatory"; Curley, a dancing caterpillar, makes money; and stoics in Cromer, England, endure air raids. The other seven pieces?docudramas and poetic fantasies?pale in comparison to recordings of James Thurber's fables, Orson Welles's broadcasts, and Roald Dahl's children's tales. Corwin lured stars and huge audiences with these shows (from 1939 to 1949), and the remastered transcriptions, sans ads, are good for specialized collections and communications classes. General collections, however, can pass on this.?Gordon Blackwell, Eastchester, N.Y.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile

THIRTEEN BY CORWIN shows us the versatility of Corwin's writing genius for writing radio theater. We are treated to comedy, tragedy, drama and documentary. These recordings vary in quality (they were recorded between 1939 and 1949), but the performances by Elsa Lancaster, Groucho Marx, Vincent Price and Frederic March, to name a few, are superb. The scripting, performances and effects remind us how versatile radio performances can be. Those who savor the spoken word will have a feast with these. M.T.F. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Lonestone Catalog (October 26, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576770451
• ISBN-13: 978-1576770450
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,247,133 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bard of Radio, October 17, 2000

By 

Ted Meland (Madison, Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thirteen by Corwin (Audio Cassette)

In his preface to this book, Carl Van Doren refers to Norman Corwin as being to radio what Marlowe was to the Elizabethan stage. Published in 1942, this is a compilation of 13 radio dramas written by Corwin between 1938 and the publishing of the book. He was just beginning his illustrious radio career at that time.

Norman Corwin was without peer in radio writing. And this book shows you why. In stories ranging from fanciful to funny, with serious and moving falling somewhere between, Corwin shows his unique talent for producing plays especially for radio. These are not adaptations from other media.

Corwin's reputation was so respected that whenever he came up with a new script, CBS would just tell him to go ahead and produce it. They put him on the air without commercial interruptions, and he almost always directed his own scripts.

He is the only writer in radio history to have one his plays simultaneously aired on all three radio networks at one time.

Included in this collection is the delightful "Plot to Overthrow Christmas", his first radio production. And it is written in poem format, a very unusual style for radio. Often the rhyme for a line would be spoken by another character, such as this brief exchange between Nero and a courier sent by the devil inviting Nero to a meeting in Hades.

Courier: Oh, you will be sitting in Row A, center, 'Tween Ivan the Terrible, the tormentor, and Circe.

Nero: Mercy! Why, they're both deranged!

Courier: Do you wish me to see if your seat can be changed?

This entire 30-minute drama must be read (or heard) for full appreciation.

Other works in this volume include the fantasy "The Odyssey of Runyon Jones", in which a young boy searches Heaven and Hell for his deceased dog; the satirical "Radio Primer" which pokes fun at the practices of radio stations; and the strongly worded epitaph to the Spanish Republic in which dictator Franco was handed the rule of the land, "They Fly Through the Air With the Greatest of Ease."

Each of the thirteen stories is a delight and readers may have fun by gathering friends together for readings. Everyone will enjoy and perhaps be amazed by the versatility and literary quality.

Corwin will not disappoint. He never did in the 1940's heyday of radio, and his work is just as vibrant as it was back then.