LUX RADIO THEATRE: JOHNNY EAGER (RADIO)
Summary
One in this dramatic anthology series which presents radio adaptations of motion pictures featuring Hollywood stars, often in roles they originated on screen. In this program, Robert Taylor and Van Heflin make their first public appearances since returning from service in World War II. The two reprise their roles in this tale of gangsters and love, for which Heflin won a supporting-actor Academy Award. As the drama opens, Johnny Eager drives his taxicab up to the Algonquin Park Dog Track. An ex-con, Eager pretends to earn his living as a cab driver but in reality spends most of his time in the underworld. He and his associates discuss the impending opening of the track, which he owns, assessing the relative political power of city boss Halligan, who is in Johnny's pocket, and new city prosecutor John Benson Farrell, an avowed enemy of Eager. Later that day, at a meeting with his parole officer, Johnny makes the acquaintance of the lovely Lisbeth Bard. He is intrigued enough to mention the incident when he sees his friend Jeff, an educated, cynical drunkard who calls himself Eager's Boswell. That evening, Johnny meets Lisbeth again at a nightclub, and the two give in to their mutual attraction. When he takes her home, he discovers that his nemesis Farrell is actually the young woman's stepfather and guardian. Farrell orders him to stay away from Lisbeth. "I'd frame you or kill you if it would protect my daughter," fumes the prosecutor. Nevertheless, Johnny continues to see Lisbeth, attracted to her and convinced that she can give him a hold on Farrell. One evening at the track, he stages a scene that leads her to think that she has killed his associate, Julio, in an attempt to save Johnny's life. He warns her to go home and stay quiet, adding that they could both end up in jail because of her "crime." Later that evening, he solidifies his connection to city boss Halligan by bumping off a rival gangster. He then confronts Farrell with the news that Lisbeth has committed a murder, blackmailing the prosecutor into turning a blind eye so that the dog track may finally be opened. On opening night, Lisbeth's friend Mark Courtney visits Johnny and tells him that the young woman is completely distraught. He offers the criminal all his money to leave town with Lisbeth. Johnny tells Mark that he will consider the offer and discusses it with the ever present Jeff. "What's his angle?" asks the puzzled Johnny. Jeff replies that he understands Mark's motive but doesn't think that Johnny could. "It's unselfish," he explains. Angrily, Johnny hits his friend but later apologizes and vows to visit Lisbeth. When he sees her, he is appalled at her condition: she doesn't eat and doesn't sleep, constantly fretting about the murder she believes she has committed. Amazed, the gangster confesses that he has fallen in love for the first time -- and reveals that the murder was just a blackmail plot. "That guy's no more dead than we are," he explains. Lisbeth refuses to believe him, however, and he decides to confront her with the live Julio. This task -- along with much of Johnny's life -- is rendered more difficult when Julio decamps to work for Halligan, taking Johnny's guilty secrets with him. Halligan immediately demands a large share of the profits from the dog track. Johnny and Jeff stage a final, fateful confrontation with Halligan and Julio, but Johnny's feelings for Lisbeth get in the way. At the drama's finish, Jeff ponders the mysteries of "the way of a man with a maid." Includes commercials, promos, and public service announcements. Commercials include Laverne Stiffler and Roberta Jonay for Lux soap.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: January 21, 1946 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:58:10
- COLOR/B&W: N/A
- CATALOG ID: R:22511
- GENRE: Radio - Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Crime and criminals - Drama; Drama; Motion pictures
- SERIES RUN: CBS - Radio series, 1936-1955
- COMMERCIALS:
- Radio - Commercials - "Aventure" (feature film)
- Radio - Commercials - Lux toilet soap
- Radio - PSA - March of Dimes 1946 fund-raising campaign
- Radio - PSA - Save Kitchen Fats
- Radio - Promos - "Lux Radio Theater: The Clock"
CREDITS
- William Keighley … Producer, Host
- Louis Silvers … Music (Misc. Credits), Music Director
- John Milton Kennedy … Announcer
- Robert Taylor … Cast, Johnny Eager
- Susan Peters … Cast, Lisbeth Bard
- Van Heflin … Cast, Jeff Hartnett
- Stiffler, Laverne (audio i.d. only) … Talent, Lux soap commercial
- Roberta Jonay … Talent, Lux soap commercial