 |
Business | Industries | Finance | Tax |
| Index: > A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
|
|||||
| First Prev [ 1 2 ] Next Last |
Though the general thrust of the stories were fantasy, horror and suspense, Cooper's scripts for Quiet Please covered a large thematic range: humor--some of it quite self-deprecating--romance, science fiction and family drama. Regardless of content, most episodes had a dreamlike, surreal quality: Odd or paranormal events are related, but rarely explained.
Some episodes will seem dated to modern ears, but others are still as effective as when they were first broadcast.
Each episode began () with Cooper intoning the show's title twice, with a long pause in between, inspiring collectors and reviewers to remark upon Cooper's use of the dramatic power of silence. The show's theme music, a funereal piano dirge , was an organThe organ is a type of keyboard musical instrument, distinctive because the sound is not produced by a percussion action, as on a piano or celesta, or by means of vibrating strings, as on the harpsichord. Instead, pipe organs produce sound by means of flo and pianoPiano is a common abbreviation for pianoforte a large musical instrument with a keyboard (see keyboard instrument). Its sound is produced by strings stretched on a rigid frame. These vibrate when struck by felt-covered hammers, which are activated by the version of Cesar Franck's 1899Events January events January 1 End of Spanish rule in Cuba. January 1 Queens and Staten Island merge with New York City. January 3 The first known use of the word " automobile", in an editorial in the New York Times''. January 6 Lord Curzon becomes a vic composition Symphony in D Minor.
Compared to other contemporary radio dramas, Quiet Please used fewer sound effects and less dialogueThe term dialogue expresses basically reciprocal conversation between two or more persons. Literature When reported or imitated in writing, "dialogue" labels a form of literature invented by the Greeks for purposes of rhetorical entertainment and instruct, depending instead on first person narration to drive each play. Most episodes featured no more than two or three actors, with the first person voice being taken by Chapel in every episode.
Scripts sometimes flirted with meta-fictional ploys, such as breaking down the fourth wall by speaking directly to the listener. In "The Other Side of the Stars'" (broadcast May 8, 1949), Chappell portrays a man named Esau, who relates--on live radio--the tale of his girlfriend's odd fate after discovering a conquistador's armor while exploring a well in Arizona, but he is repeatedly interrupted by her brother, who arrived uninvited for the broadcast.
Seevral episodes blurred the distiction between performer and fictional character: In a few episodes (such as "Is This Murder"), Ernest Chappell portrays a man named "Ernest"; and in "Where Do You Get Your Ideas?" Cooper portrays himself, while Chappell portrays a drunken barfly, pestering the writer.
For many years, the majority of the show's episodes were feared lost, with only twelve episodes in general circulation among collectors until the late 1980s. At this time over 80 more episodes were discovered, comprising the majority of the series' run. Many of the recordings are of rather poor sound quality, but are treasured by collectors all the same for their rarity.
A few episodes are presumed lost, though scripts survive for most of them.
Probably the most highly regarded episode of Quiet Please is "The Thing on the Fourble Board" ( August 8, 1949), about an oil-field worker who encounters a mysterious subterranean being hiding on the derrick's catwalk. The story's twist ending has led some fans to label the episode one of the best radio horror programs ever broadcast.
| Politics | Business | Finance |
 |
 |
 |
|