Devine Farm: Jack Benny (October 31, 1937)

“Devine Farm” is an episode of Jack Benny, the old-time radio show, first broadcast October 31, 1937. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

Listen to The Jack Benny Program free, live around the clock: every episode, in the order it first aired. No sign-up.

What happens

Jack Benny grumbles on the air that his sponsor, Jell-O, has never given him a dinner, and his friends on the show tease him about it. A phone call from the boss, Mr. Campbell of General Foods, leaves Benny flustered. Kenny Baker sings a number, and a telegram about a full dress suit adds to the confusion. Benny, Mary Livingstone, Kenny Baker and Phil Harris are soon invited to a Halloween party at the Andy farm, where the guests are in for a noisy and lively evening. The story is played as a comedy of mishaps and wisecracks among the regular cast.

A radio studio in Hollywood, then a barn at the Devine farm on Halloween night

Characters: Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone, Kenny Baker, Phil Harris, Don Wilson, Mr. Campbell, Andy, Mr. Devine

Listen for: Benny's complaints about the dinner, the Halloween party in the barn, and the cast's running jokes about Benny's car

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.