What happens
Fred Allen marks his fifth anniversary on the air, but his bandleader Peter Van Steeden is left waiting for a tribute, and the program moves through a run of comic segments. A news report on New York loan sharks is followed by Fred's interview with a witness who describes a client's car being stripped piece by piece, and a toy-factory worker who got a loan from a shark. Later, a man who borrowed twenty dollars from a company called Jiffam finds the fees take nearly all of it. The show then turns to Stanley Foulter, a young designer of clothes for dogs, and to a few sponsor pitches.
A live radio variety broadcast in New York, with studio guests, a band and recurring comic bits.
Characters: Fred Allen, Harry, Peter Van Steeden, Portland Hoffa, Miss Yimtah Duval, Stanley Foulter, Mr. Mahar, Miss Lydia O'Leary
Listen for: Fred Allen's quick topical jokes and his exchanges with Peter Van Steeden and Portland Hoffa.
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.