Radio and television mirror (Jan-June 1950)

DAYTIME DIARY TTere's your guide to good listening on the daytime drama circuit. These up-tothe-minute reviews will keep you informed of all that's new on your favorite radio dramas. Keep Daytime Diary near your dial — you'll find it indispensable. BACKSTAGE WIFE Maude Marlowe heard oil NBC 4:00 P.M. CAST: Mary Noble, wife of Larry Noble, one of the most popular actors on Broadway; Rupert Barlow, backer of the new play in which Larry is starring; Beatrice Dunmore, beautiful press agent hired by Barlow to publicize the play. BACKGROUND: As rehearsals for Larry's play go on, Mary becomes aware that Barlow seems anxious to spend as much time as he can with her. She finds him a pleasant and considerate companion, and is grateful for his activities on Larry's behalf, but does not suspect that he has fallen so deeply in love with her that he has hired Beatrice Dunmore to attract Larry. RECENTLY: Determined and clever as Barlow is, he does not know much about the solid, enduring kind of love that exists between Mary and Larry. In spite of his efforts they have been drawn even closer together. Mary seems immune to all Barlow's plans to involve her with himself, and Larry remains cold to Beatrice Dunmore's charms. Blaming Beatrice for his failure as well as her own, Barlow dismisses her. But Beatrice herself is not yet ready to admit failure. BIG SISTER Dr. Reed Bannister heard on CBS 1:00 P.M. CAST: Ruth Wayne, wife of Dr. John Wayne; Dr. Reed Bannister, John's associate at the Glen Falls Health Centre; Valerie, Reed's wife; Dr. Kenneth Morgan, former protege of Reed's; Mary Winters, a widow with a farm just outside Glen Falls. BACKGROUND: The friendship between Reed and John, in which there has always been an element of rivalry, is badly strained over John's cultivation of Parker, a powerhungry millionaire distrusted by all the others. But when John angrily resigns from the Centre, Ruth persuades him to reconsider. RECENTLY: Still in conflict with Reed, John resumes work at the Centre. The situation is not improved when Dr. Kenneth Morgan comes to town. This embittered young man, whose work Reed believes brilliant, arouses John's antagonism, and the tension increases when Reed gives Morgan a job at the Centre. It looks too as though Morgan is going to bring trouble to Mary Winters, who has already had more than her share. At Ruth's suggestion the young doctor takes a room at the Winters farm, and Mary finds herself falling in love with him. BRIGHTER DAY J Liz Dennis heard on CBS 2:45 P.M. CAST: Liz Dennis, daughter of Reverend Richard Dennis of Three Oaks, who — though she's only twenty-six — mothers the rest of the family; Althea, now Mrs. Bruce Bigby; Patsy, the sharp-tongued teen-ager; Babby, the baby; Grayling, the only boy. BACKGROUND: Althea's marriage to young Bruce Bigby, student son of the very wealthy Bigby family, seemed like a real success story. So Liz believed when glamorous Althea, evidently prepared to be the perfect wife, went off with Bruce to the college town in the East where he was scheduled to complete his studies. RECENTLY: Now, however, Althea is back in town for a visit — a visit after which none of the Dennises will ever be the same. For it is shockingly apparent now that Althea married Bruce only for his money, and is so determined to get some that she finally provokes Bruce's father into ordering her out of his house. Undaunted, Althea starts using Bruce's love for her as a goad to make him fight for money. Even Liz, who believes ill of nobody, now sees her sister as the callous person she really is. DOROTHY DIX AT HOME Dorothy Dix heard on NBC 10:45 A.M. R M 64 CAST: Dorothy Dix is a name familiar to all of us — the name of a woman who has earned world-wide fame through her sensitive, yet forthright advice on personal relations. This new radio drama tells the story of the woman behind the name, the woman who, in a pleasant, rambling farmhouse near Greenfield, writes her thoughtful replies to the questions of bewildered people, and somehow finds time as well to consider the problems of her neighbors. BACKGROUND: Dorothy's handsome nephew, John, has been offered $10,000 by Roxanne Wallingford's banker to break up an affair between the headstrong young heiress and the gangster, Sherman Lane. Though Roxanne seems interested in John, Lane's influence over her is very strong. Dorothy suspects that the real basis for it lies in Roxanne's hatred for her mother, Lela. RECENTLY: In an honest talk with Dorothy, Lane reveals that Roxanne is almost insanely determined to force her mother to leave their home. It's Dorothy's problem now: should she tell Lela how desperately her own daughter despises her? DAYTIME DIARY—