What happens
Fred Allen opens his show with his usual banter with Harry von Zell, then spoofs the flood of public opinion polls about double-feature movie programs. A series of comic interviews follows: a harried man pestered by polls, a manicurist who loves happy endings, and a theater owner, Mandrake Gutenberg, who runs his single-screen Tally Hall alone. Later, the impressionist Al Bernie performs celebrity imitations for Allen, and the program moves toward a mock forum with a Swiss chocolate importer and a would-be actress from Florida. The transcript ends before the forum concludes.
A radio variety show broadcast from a New York studio, with comic sketches and interviews.
Characters: Fred Allen, Harry von Zell, Portland Hoffa, Al Bernie, Mandrake Gutenberg, Columbine Stroud, Arthur Feigal, Mr. X
Listen for: The series' running jokes about polls and double features, and Al Bernie's celebrity impressions.
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.