Review of 1931

Ladies and gentlemen, the Railroad Hour. And here comes the Summer Show Train. The Association of American Railroad, the same railroads that bring you most of the food you eat, the clothes you wear, the fuel you burn, and all the other things you use in your daily life.

Brings you the Railroad Summer Show Train, starring Gordon MacRae and featuring Lucille Norman, with the music of Carmen Dragon and the orchestra, script by Gene Holloway, and the choir under the direction of Norman Luboff.

And now here is our star, Gordon McRae. Thank you, Marvin Miller and good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Well, tonight we're going to ride the summer show train back through time and memory to another year that you lived yesterday.

Tonight's destination, 1931. 1931 America, a year that you lived yesterday. Herbert Hoover was president of the United States and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Governor of New York. The newspaper headlines were full of names like Mahatma Gandhi, Al Capone, Dutch Schulz, Huey Long and Jack Legg's Diamond.

The Depression was two years old and things were serious, both home and abroad, but life went on. People fell in love, went to the movies, went dancing, read books, sang songs, and went to shows when they had the price in their pocket, and favorite the shows that could make them forget their trouble.

It's all right Lucille, and the first musical show ever to win the Pulitzer Prize opened in 1931 at the Music Box Theatre. The stars were Victor Moore, William Gaxton, George Murphy, and Lois Moran. And a great song crossed the footlights and swept the nation.

A song that went like this. I sing, baby, summer autumn, winter, spring, baby, you're my silver lining, you're my sky blue, there's love I shine in just because of you. Of the icing, baby You have got that certain thing, baby Shining star and inspiration Worthy of a mighty nation Of the icing Summer on a wing