Island of Lost Christmas Specials: The Magic Christmas Window [Partially Lost Radio Series]

A snippet of a 1946 NBC Radio Press article on "The Magic Christmas Window"

The Magic Christmas Window [Partially Lost - Radio Series]

Syndicated series (25 episodes) 1944-1945, NBC Radio Recording Division.  

Cast: Susan Douglas, Julian Noa, Kim Spaulding, Jackson Beck, Henry Boyd, Jeanne Elkins, Ronny Liss, Bob Sherry (announcer)

Writers: Steve Carlin, Jack Barefield, Max Ehrlick, Jean Hytone, Arthur Scott.

Producer: Drexell Hines

The Magic Christmas Window was a syndicated fantasy radio series about two children who approach the window and are transported to a magical land of storybook characters and toys. At the end of the 15-minute episode, the children exit the window, and there is an invite to hear another episode.

Today this series is not as well known as "The Cinnamon Bear" or "Jump Jump of  Holiday House", possibly because it has not been heard in its entirety in decades. Also, the series may not have caught on as much since it does not sound like a fantasy adventure serial like those titles. 

The series was first promoted in the Fall of 1944 as having 12 episodes. In 1945, a review for Variety promoted the series as "strickly for kids" with 25 episodes for syndication. 

The lead writer of the series was producer Steve Carlin (1919-2003) later famous for creating and producing "The Rootie Kazootie Show" and the game show "The $64,000 Question". 1945 was a busy time for Carlin when he was writing the "Happy The Humbug" radio and comic strip series. He was later head of children's albums at RCA in 1950.

"The Island of Lost Christmas Specials" a mythical place where
lost shows, specials, and movies can be found.

Survival Status

Up to 12 episodes exist according to the Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs; episodes 01, 02, and 12 - 20. According to WorldCat, one audio cassette collection may have been released years ago with 4 episodes. At least two LPs exist in the Library of Congress. Four episodes are accounted for in the RadioGOLDINdex: "The Poor Prince", "Twas The Night Before Christmas", "Sleeping Beauty" and "The Brave Tin Soldier". 

From all of these sources episodes, 3 - 10 and 21 - 25 are still missing. Hopefully, the complete whimsical journeys into the Magic Christmas Window will resurface one day. 

For Further Reading:

"Magic Christmas Window". Variety. November 21, 1945. https://archive.org/details/variety160-1945-11/page/n157/mode/1up 

Steve Carlin, 84; Produced TV’s '$64,000 Question’ Quiz Show, 84. Los Angeles Times - https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-mar-07-me-carlin7-story.html

Island of Lost Christmas Specials: A Christmas Carol With the Rufus Rose Marionettes 1948

"The Island of Lost Christmas Specials" where missing treasures like "A Christmas Carol" (1948) may be found one day. 

Dickens "A Christmas Carol" 

Broadcast: December 24, 1948, 8:00pm EST ABC-TV affiliates

Puppeteers: Rufus and Margo Rose. Producer: Leonard Steinman.

The Hook: An early version of Dicken's most famous story with no "human" performers. Pre-dates "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol by 14 years as the first "animated" version....in one sense of the word".

It is well documented that the famous puppeteers Rufus and Margo Rose did a one-hour all puppet telecast of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" in 1948. Rufus Rose was at the time the puppeteer behind TV's first kids sensation "Howdy Doody". A review from Variety described this special as a "treat for both adult and child alike". The broadcast was a highlight of the Roses' career. If only it could be seen today. Hopefully, a kinescope will turn up in an archive or a private collector's hands.  

Island of Lost Christmas Specials: "A Bit O' Heaven" (1917)

A 1917 Motion Picture News full page ad for "The Birds Christmas Carol"
before it was retitled "A Bit O' Heaven". 

"A Bit O' Heaven" (1917)

Based on "The Bird's Christmas Carol" by Kate Douglas Wiggins, from the Frieder Film Corporation.

Director: Lule Warrenton. Stars: Mary Louise (Carol Bird), Harold Skinner (Uncle Jack), Ella Gilbert (Mrs. Bird), Donald Watson (Mr. Bird), Madeline Eastin (Elfrida - the Nurse), Carl Miller (Brother Donald), Mary [Mae] Talbot (Mrs. Ruggles), Gertrude Short, Roy Clark, Gertrude Messinger, John Sterling, Marvel Spencer, Irma Sorter (Raggedy Ruggles Children)

The Hook: This was the film adaptation of the works of writer Kate Douglas Wiggin (Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm), and it stars a child actress who only did one film.

This one sounds like a touching Christmas melodrama, even though it was released in the summertime. Young Carol Bird is an invalid girl who wishes to grant Christmas cheer to the poor Ruggles family children who befriend her. Perhaps the new title "A Bit O'Heaven" was thought to be more markedly than "The Bird's Christmas Carol". 

Among the Ruggles children were Gertrude Messinger, who was active in Hollywood throughout her childhood and into the early talkies era. Her brother Buddy Messinger was also a well-known child star. 

The lead role of Carol Bird was played by a "Mary Louise" who is not listed in another known film role. Press articles of the time suggest that she was four years old during production and did appear in other films.

The film was directed by Lule Warrenton, early pioneering female filmmaker who was said to have directed a number of films for children. This film was shot at "Lankershim" California and was distributed by the Frieder Film Corporation. 

Here is one positive review from the Motion Picture News, July 7, 1917

"A Bit O' Heaven"

(Frieder Film Co. — Five Parts) Reviewed By William J. McGrath

A FEAST awaits the picturegoing public, man, woman and child, in this production by the Frieder Film Corporation adapted from Kate Douglas Wiggin's perennially popular Christmas tale, " The Bird's Christmas Carol." Renamed in its film version, but one even more suitable and applicable than the original popular title, its picturization reveals something above the ordinary, a refreshing human story brought to life and bound to become as much of a classic of the screen as the printed story has become in literature.

Well accomplished, after long and tedious effort by the producers, it becomes on the screen a story that is all that Kate Douglas Wiggins designed it to be, a simple, plain little tale of two stratas of life that vigorously twangs the extremes of human emotions — pathos and humor. A juvenile cast, the like of it never gathered together before, interpret the high lights, leaving nothing to be desired ; the strength of the direction back of it all is manifested by the result of the whole and not one iota of detail, so necessary in a picture of its sort, has been overlooked.

Of plot there is hardly any. It merely mirrors the joy, pride, humor and reward that comes from the charity and unselfishness of a crippled little child of wealthy parents. She is Carol Bird, a part surprisingly well taken by Mary Louise, a charming little six-year-old lass who takes her place in the rank of child stars as the result of this picture. The " eight raggedy Ruggleses," a tattered, mischievous, romping brood who thrive in the alley back of Carol's home, are her problem. Cared for by a poor, distracted but withal proud widowed mother, the big event of their lives comes with the invitation to Christmas dinner and presents at the Bird's mansion.

Here is where the artistry of the picture asserts itself, where detail looms up as big as a mountain. The greater portion of the picture shows the preparation for the big event in the lowly, back-alley home of the Ruggleses ; the poor overwhelmed but proud mother making ready an obstreperous animal spirited bunch of boys and girls.

Then there is a score and more details and delineations from life that there is not space enough to enumerate, but all of them are bound to be caught and appreciated by those to whom they are akin.

"A Bit o' Heaven " is something new and refreshing, a new defense of motion pictures and, as a booking proposition, worth fighting for."

The Island of Lost Christmas Specials, where films like this could be found some day.

Island of Lost Christmas Specials: "Surprise From Santa" (1948)

Surprise From Santa

Friday, December 24, 1948. 7:00pm EST,  WCBS-TV, New York (CBS Network, obviously)

The Hook: A lavish TV Christmas spectacular, undocumented in many sources, with one of the last TV appearance of a tap-dancing legend, and possibly the first TV Christmas special with original songs.

Survival Status: Most likely was never recorded, but it should have been. Behind the scenes, photos and production materials hopefully exist in private hands or archives. 

Starring: Anne Jeffreys, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Jules Munshin, Kathryn Lee, Whitford Kane (Santa Claus), Toni Halloran & Clifford Tatum (the children), Bil and Cora Baird and the Baird Puppets.

Script: Sam Taylor; Music and Lyrics: Arthur Swartz, Howard Dietz, 

Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (1878 - 1949) is still one of the most celebrated dancers of the 20th century. Before he passed away at the age of 71 in 1949 Robinson had made a few appearances on the growing medium of television. Like Fanny Brice, Al Jolson, and other Broadway & Vaudeville performances veterans who died around the mid-20th century, his TV appearances are either lost, or were never recorded to begin with. 

Robinson was one of just several performers on a 90 minute Christmas Spectacular called "Surprise For Santa" that aired Christmas Eve 1948. Reviews of the show by Variety suggest that it was an excellent production that demonstrated the best TV had to offer with professional talent.  Two new songs by the Schwartz-Dietz team were to be introduced, one called "Sleigh Bells". This program was believed to have been the first live TV program with new original songs. Arthur Swartz and Howard Dietz were seasoned award winning song writers and a TV program put on by them was a big deal in this era.

Actress Anne Jeffreys (1923 - 2017) performed songs with a rear screen projection effects, said to be the first for a CBS production. Jules Mushin did the "Cowardly Lion" number from the "Wizard of Oz", an early performance of the film's music on television. The Bil and Cora Baird Marionettes did a dance to the tune of "Jingle Bells" as sung by and LP record of Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters. 

Chevrolet sponsored the series for $30,000, a huge sum for a television special at that time. Their ads ran every 15 minutes. 

Documentation

TIME Magazine, Radio & TV: Program Preview, Dec. 27, 1948 - http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,886494,00.html  

"Arthur Swartz Doing Christmas Eve Video Show Costing $30,000" Variety, December 15, 1948. https://archive.org/details/variety172-1948-12/page/n112/mode/1up?q=surprise+from+santa

Many newspaper listings for CBS affiliates feature this special in the 7:00pm EST time slot. 

From The Archives: "The Runaway Toys" (1964) by Evelyn Hart

One of the most unique finds in my search for vintage children's media was this ribbon bound booklet called "The Runaway Toys" by Evelyn Hart with illustrations by Hilary Knight. Knight is still famous as the illustrator for the "Eloise" books. This booklet was distributed in the December 1964 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine in time for Christmas and is quite rare today.  

Island of Lost Christmas Specials - The Detective's Santa Claus (1913)

 

Advertisement from the January 4, 1913 edition of Moving Picture News

The Detective's Santa Claus (1913)

Released January 14, 1913 by Eclair American Studios

Lillian Lorraine ..... Miss Steele

Will E. Sheerer ..... Tom Steele

Clara Horton ..... Molly Steele

Willie Gibbons ..... Frank Steele

Mimi Yvonne ..... Fanny Steele

George Larkin ..... Bill Tempest

For the second year in a row, this blog will feature the theme of "The Island of Lost Christmas Specials." For this new post, I will go back to the silent film era. There were many, many Christmas short films and features with child actors and famous actors that have been lost for nearly a century. The 1913 Eclair American Studios short "The Detective's Santa Claus" sounds like a charming film. In my research, not one still could be found in film magazines and catalogs that are now available from various digital collections. Among the cast are child actors Clara Horton (1904 - 1979) "The Eclair Kid" and Mimi Yvonne who starred in the 1914 version of "The Littlest Rebel" over 20 years before Shirley Temple.

The synopsis comes from the January 4, 1913 issue of Motion Picture World. 

"Detective Steele is considered a most conscientious and efficient worker on the police force. He is the father of quite a family and as the Christmas holiday approaches finds himself rather hard pressed, financially. He tells his children how Santa Claus comes down the chimney on Christmas Eve and fills the stockings of all well-behaved little boys and girls with toys and candies and goodies of all kinds. The tale has made a deep impression on the minds of the children. After hanging up their stockings they hit on a plan of trapping Santa Claus, and from the attic they drag forth an old bear trap which they set and put in the fireplace. It so happens that on this very night Detective Steele with two other officers, are in pursuit of a well-known criminal for whose capture a reward of one thousand dollars has been offered. The hunted man eludes them in a chase over the roofs of the houses near the detective's own home. Believing they have lost him, Mr. Steele runs into his house for a moment to see his family, and is very much startled by a most unusual commotion in the parlor. He rushes in and discovers that the criminal he had been after, had been caught in the bear-trap the youngsters had set for Santa. The detective, of course, procures the reward, and the children have the best Christmas ever."

How Kids Can Learn from World War II Radio Programs.

The following is an updated post I wrote years ago for an experimental blog on instructional technology and the idea to connect yesterday's media for today's kids.

When you were in school, many of the courses that you had to take may have seen miles away from your everyday life and interest.  When the lesson did seem to connect to you, suddenly the information had more meaning. Ask yourself this; when your teachers or professors tried to explain the many great wars of history, did you remember the statistics, or did you memorize the posters, music, and images of those events.

History can be exciting with movies, audio recordings, movie posters, book covers, reenactments of forgotten history facts, and exhibit items from and about different time periods. Visuals, audios, and dramatizations can give you a better understanding of the beliefs, attitudes, fears, hope, and dreams of a past generation.  

In this post, I will present random ideas about how to use digital and traditional media to enhance a history lesson for learners of all ages.  

It's Adventure Time with Little Orphan Annie

Every holiday season millions of people love to watch "A Christmas Story" (1983) a movie based on the works of Jean Shepherd. Taking place in a mixture of the 1930s & 1940s culture a viewer can pick up on the popular entertainment of the times. Little Ralphie's favorite juvenile radio programs like Red Ryder, The Lone Ranger, and Little Orphan Annie are mentioned and we get a feel for how exciting and a huge part of life they were for him. A child today can get this feeling if they heard one of these programs in context (before television, first electric broadcast media in the home, decoder rings, etc.)

Young Americans - Do Your Part For The War Effort

Even before the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, wartime propaganda ideas spread to every medium:  comic books, box-office blockbusters, songs, and radio "the theater of the imagination".  

Image from Comic Vine http://www.comicvine.com/little-orphan-annies-junior-commandos/49-36002/ 

Almost every popular hero of the time faced off against the Axis powers. Radio and comic strip heroine Little Orphan Annie led the fictional Junior Commandos. This concept of young people making a difference on the home front was so popular that many local Junior Commando units were initiated throughout the country. The Associated Negro Press praised Annie's creator, cartoonist Harold Grey, for including an African American in the comic version. The projects that young Americans contributed to included metal scrap drives and paper collections to add to resources overseas.  An idea like the Junior Commandos can lead to a project in which young learners compare volunteering of the past to the present and create a new community service project. 

Episodes of the Annie radio series are scarce, and none broadcast after Pearl Harbor are available. However, episodes of other radio programs geared toward young audiences like The Green Hornet, and Don Winslow of the Navy, are available. Some of these broadcasts include announcements for public service to help the American war effort. Listening to surviving episodes of these programs can transport a listener back to the Golden Age of Radio and a child's world of World War II.  

HERE ARE SOME DISCUSSION TOPICS.

• Media always shapes how we feel about the past, present, and future.  How does the media from the past make you feel about that time period?
• Is the media portrayal accurate and if not why any exaggeration?
• Are there any similarities between the media of this time period and the media you are experiencing now?
• Is there anything you would like to see re-emerge in our society? Not re-emerge?
• What do you think about the technology of the time?

TO USE WITH OTHER TIME PERIODS.

• Use Radio broadcasts of historical events to re-create the surprise and wonder of Americans.  For example, you can download the news bulletins of John F. Kennedy's assassination, the moon landing, and Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have A Dream Speech"  for a study of the 1960s. 

HOW TO INTEGRATE WITH MODERN TECHNOLOGY
Many radio programs are in the public domain (although for the best quality it much better to order from a radio drama company).  The Internet Archive http://www.archive.org/ has hundreds of wartime broadcasts including news broadcasts, music, and speeches which can be downloaded and incorporated into a presentation, or a blog.

• Audio clips can be mixed with visuals to create an effective presentation. 
• Projects can be planned to recreate the entertainment style of a time period like recreating war-time news or entertainment broadcasts using Voice Thread or Microsoft PowerPoint. 

LINKS
Internet Archive Old-Time Radio Page
http://www.archive.org/details/oldtimeradio 

Radio Spirits - America's leading seller of high-quality old-time radio broadcasts.
www.radiospirits.com

Old Time Radio Researchers Library - Massive collection of free to download Golden Age radio programs 

http://otrrlibrary.org/

Don't' Touch That Dial:  Radio Programming In American Life:  Wartime Radio 1939 -1945.
This is an impressive history that covers programs that adults would have also enjoyed. 
http://jfredmacdonald.com/wartime.htm 

August - September 2020: This Month In Children's Media

It has been a long time since I did any anniversary recognitions, and I could not let this August-September go by without any. 

70 Years Ago

August 19, 1950 Animal Clinic with Dr. Wesley A. Young and Acrobat Ranch the first original network television shows on a Saturday morning for kids debut. A very small start for the institution of Saturday Morning kids blocks on TV. One episode of Acrobat Ranch still exists and can be seen online. 

September 05, 1950 - The Cisco Kid with Duncan Renaldo and Leo Carrillo began a colorful run on TV that continues in some markets (and apps) to this day. 

September 11, 1950 - The famous comic strip hero "Dick Tracy" enters the TV market. Ralph Byrd continues in the role of the square jaw detective after 13 years in serials and "B" pictures. Also premiering that were The Adventures of Paddy the Pelican considered one of TV's worst cartoons. 

September 18, 1950 - The syndicated "Telecomics" move to NBC as the NBC Comics with the adventures of "Danny March" "Space Barton", "Kid Champion" and "Johnny and Mr. Do-Right". Fortunately, at least one segment of these 4 series can be seen today. Check out an episode of "Space Barton" below.

50 Years Ago 

September 12, 1970. The Hanna Barbera classic "Josie and the Pussycats" debuts on CBS. The series is still notable for being the first Saturday Morning cartoon to have 3 female lead characters (Josie, Melody, and Valerie) and the first to have an African-American female lead character. Also debuting on CBS that same morning "The Harlem Globetrotters" the first all Black character animated series, the educational series "In the Know", and cartoon competition from Filmation with Archie's Funhouse and Sabrina and the Groovy Ghoulies. NBC and ABC shows will have to wait for another post.

"Dear Mr. Man In The Moon", Children's Letter's To Radio's First Kids Host.

Banner from Newark Sunday Call, March 12, 1922. This newspaper devoted a page to the popular radio program "The Man in The Moon".  

Today's kids watch and listen to hundreds of programs on TV and smartphones, but 99 years ago, there was only ONE program for them, and it was on the "radio-phone". Children have written fan letters, and now tweets, to their favorite programs and stars as long as mass media has existed. Thanks to digital collections, it is possible to read kids' letters from the first children's program in all broadcast media, "The Man In The Moon".

"The Man in the Moon" was a fantasy bedtime storytelling program that delighted thousands of American children in the infancy of radio broadcasting. This program was broadcast from WJZ* in Newark, New Jersey beginning in October 1921. At that time WJZ was the radio station of the Newark Sunday Call newspaper. The new storytime program was originally supposed to feature the program's writer, author Josephine Lawrence who had a children's page in the Newark Sunday Call.

According to a famous behind the scenes story by WJZ announcer Tommy Cowan, Lawrence fainted while trying to climb the 15-foot ladder that led to the WJZ radio station before showtime...the ladder went through a whole in a factory roof. A Newark Morning Call reporter named William F. B. McNeary (1891-1934) was asked to step in. The audience was expecting a storytelling lady, not a man, so a new name was needed. A quick glance at the moon in the night sky and Cowan named McNeary the "Man In the Moon".

From the Newark Sunday Call. February 12, 1922

McNeary would greet the children with a line like "Hello Children Are you listening? It is the Man-in-the-Moon talking. What do you suppose I saw today." Children loved the Man In the Moon, as evidenced by reading several of the letters published in the Sunday Call. The program was popular enough for a full page devoted to these letters, as well as stories and from "The Man In The Moon." Thanks to Google Newspapers it is possible to study these letters. Below in this blog article are 3 samples from two newspaper editions. Keep in mind, that these youngsters, were the very first generation to have an electronic device in the home that could receive any signal from a broadcaster.

From February 12, 1922.

Dear Mr. Man in the Moon,

Every Tuesday and Friday night I listen to your stories. Where do you keep all the animals I heard tonight? I would like to see them. I think the stories are fine. I would like to hear one every night. I always clap my hand, but I don't think you hear me. 

MYRTLE STEWART.
8703 Fort Hamilton Avenue, Brooklyn, New York.

Dear Mr. Man in the Moon, 

My daddy has made a wireless set for me, so I want to let you know how much I like your stories and I hope you name a little star for me, as I am only a little girl. My name is Helen Merz, and would like to hear you mention my name over the wireless some night. Good Night, Mr. Man in the Moon, I am going to bed now. 

HELEN MERZ,
North Thirteenth Street, Newark [NJ]

Use this link to see more from the Newark Sunday Call, February 12, 1922.


From March 12, 1922

Dear Mr. Man in  the Moon, 

We enjoyed listening to the Man in the Moon's story tonight and would greatly appreciate it if you would kindly mention our children who are attentive listeners --- Helen Maybury, aged 5, who is a lover of all children's stories, and her brother, Sherman Maybury, aged 9, who does not like to go to bed nights without hearing a bedtime story, and their cousin, Gordon Slater, 4 years old, who has a large fire engine which he rides and enjoys, and his sister Sally Slater, aged 3, who would be happy at anything you might say to her. 

 Mrs. John G. Slater,
187 Waverly Avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Use this link, for more from the March 12, 1922 edition, of the Newark Sunday Call.

It is not known if McNeary personally answered these letters, and it is hoped that his papers or correspondence still exist in an archive or family collection. 

Photo of William Francis Baxnum McNeary (1891-1934), from Radio Digest, August 1930.

                                         
 
While the "Man In The Moon" did not last throughout the 1920s, McNeary continued to work as a radio editor for WJZ and the Newark Call until his death in 1934 from complications of tonsillitis. Radio's "first bedtime story teller" was only 43 years old and left behind his wife Majorie and the very first generation of children gleaned on broadcast media in the home.

Notes:

*WJZ is now WABC-AM in New York

For More Letters to "The Man In The Moon":

The Newark Sunday Call was digitized, and upload by Google Newspapers in mostly fair condition. Unfortunately, the October to December 1921 editions with the very first stories and fan letters are missing.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=KjnAay3C9J8C

For More Online Research:

Lawrence, Josephine. Man in the Moon Stories Told Over the Radio-phone. 1922. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Man_in_the_Moon_Stories/PVpDAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

Early Radio History. "The Man In The Moon" - https://earlyradiohistory.us/1922mm.htm

Find-A-Grave: William McNeary - https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/99714693/william-mcneary. 

William Francis Baxnum McNeary. New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949. Family Search. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WV6-5QS

Books:

Gross, Ben, 1891-1979. I looked and I listened; informal recollections of radio and TV

If you have more information about William F. B. McNeary or "The Man In the Moon" series, please leave a comment or write to archivebuilder@gmail.com.