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WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS (RADIO)

Summary

This program, aired on all U.S. networks, celebrates the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights. (This program was recorded from NBC.) Host Lionel Barrymore introduces the show and its all-star cast. Jimmy Stewart conducts a tour of Washington, D.C., landmarks honoring great American leaders. Narration and short sketches, dramatizing the history of the Bill of Rights, with emphasis on the American people's reactions, focus on the Constitutional Convention; the ratification of the Constitution; the demands that Congress extend it to guarantee certain freedoms; and the significance of each amendment for the average person. Program highlights include the following: an eighteenth-century song supporting Thomas Jefferson, performed by Rudy Vallee; a comparison of freedoms in America with those in Nazi-dominated Europe; and comments by average citizens describing why these rights affect their lives today. From the White House, President Franklin D. Roosevelt follows with a short address honoring the Bill of Rights. He attacks Adolf Hitler as the leader of a world movement to suppress human liberties and proclaims America's determination to preserve its liberties. Closes with the national anthem, performed by the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski.

Details

  • NETWORK: NBC
  • DATE: December 15, 1941 10:00 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 1:00:00
  • COLOR/B&W: N/A
  • CATALOG ID: R88:0088
  • GENRE: Radio - Public affairs/Documentaries
  • SUBJECT HEADING: U S - History - Revolution; U S - Officials - Talk/Interviews
  • SERIES RUN: NBC - Radio, 1941
  • COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

  • Norman Corwin … Director, Writer
  • Bernard Herrmann … Composer, Conductor, Original score composed and conducted by
  • NBC Symphony Orchestra … Symphony Orchestra
  • Leopold Stokowski … Conductor
  • Lionel Barrymore … Cast
  • Jimmy Stewart … Cast
  • Edward Arnold … Cast
  • Walter Brennan … Cast
  • Bob Burns … Cast
  • Walter Huston … Cast
  • Marjorie Main … Cast
  • Edward G. Robinson … Cast
  • Rudy Vallee … Cast
  • Orson Welles … Cast
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt … Speaker