This 1947-07-17 broadcast seems to be a sudden shift in scheduling as newspapers and the CBS release had Photo of the Dead as this week's episode. It was delayed to the next week.
The question is why, of course. This particular script does not include Captain Logan. Was Bernard Lenrow unexpectedly not available this week? Was that the reason this was selected? Logan is in the next broadcast, Photo of the Dead. There are no mentions of Lenrow in Billboard, Variety, or other news sources for this week.
The second broadcast of this script in 1944 must have been a favorite or easy script because when it was repeated it was less than four months after its initial broadcast. Now, in 1947, it was pulled out of the files on short notice. There are no continuity notes for any of the repeats, just notation referring back to the original broadcast. It is likely that Bleyer wrote new musical bridges for this broadcast.
The quick repeat on July 8, 1944 may be attributed to the change in time of the series broadcast that started on that date. It is a little hard to believe, but for Casey's early months it was broadcast at 11:30pm Eastern time. On this date, it shifted to 5:00pm, guaranteeing a much different audience that was unlikely to hear the initial broadcast. Perhaps this script, because of its storyline involving teenagers, was selected to appeal to the younger people who were new listeners as A-H sponsorship raised the show's profile.
ADC continuity notes for 1944-03-18...
A teen-aged kid stages a holdup so that he can be a hero to his girl, but the hoax is discovered. H tries to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff, but he picks a spot where a gang is killing one of its members. He becomes a real hero by outwitting the thugs and saving the lives of Ann Williams and Casey who have followed him to prevent the suicide.
Jack Grimes received on-air credit for playing Wellington Cliffside, the young man at the center of the story. Grimes was a true radio veteran, appearing in the medium as a child actor in programs such as Let's Pretend. He was based in New York for most of his radio career, but he was in Hollywood for a while in movies and in voices for animated media. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Grimes_(actor)
The character name is a little over the top... there is an outside chance it refers to two New Jersey towns Wallington and Cliffside Park that had a long high school sports rivalry. His real name is "Jack."
9:37 Casey offers Jack a cigarette!
10:40 Jack is trying to impress Myrna to overlook his problems with his bad back and his need to wear a "steel corset." Cole plants a key element of the story's conclusion here.
11:35 He says that Ann won't understand his problems because "Miss Williams is not a girl"
11:43 Jack says that Casey should talk to Myrna because "she respects old guys" which gets a laugh out of the audience. Jack says Casey is over 30. Casey does not provide him with a real age.
12:40 Myrna says Jack is "a drip." The word is not used much anymore, and means dull or boring. In the conversation, it seems Myrna has a crush on Casey.
16:13 Ethelbert asks Walter to answer the phone. But we don't hear a phone ringing!
16:30 We hear Walter tell Casey that the call is for him, from Mr. Cliffside. He's angry at Casey for stealing Myrna's affections. It's a preposterous idea, but it's sending Jack to suicide.
24:49 Jack gets shot; after a delay, Jack shoots twice and kills the thug. The shot that hit Jack took was deflected by his steel corset. Back then, "steel corset" could refer to a lot of similar devices but they could range from products to improve the shapeliness of bodies, as a back support brace, and as an early version of what is referred to today as a "bulletproof vest." Finally, Jack is a hero, after all.
Overall, this is a very disappointing entry in the series, pulled from the files of three years earlier before the Casey series became THE Casey series. It's not up to the new higher standard the series developed for itself under the A-H sponsorship.
Casey 47-07-17 194 Casey and the Self-Made Hero (2nd Repeat of # 36) UPGRADE.mp3
Degoo https://cloud.degoo.com/e/drive-5llpbmlwqgea
HubiC http://ovh.to/45DKEg
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According to Cox & Siegel (p80), CBS would pay $200 for a freelance script for Casey, just to give Cole a week off now and then. In today's dollars (2020), that's the equivalent of $2400.
