What happens
Esther Blodgett, a young farm girl from the Midwest, arrives in Hollywood with a dream of becoming an actress. This Lux Radio Theatre production, broadcast on December 28, 1942, adapts the film A Star Is Born, with Judy Garland as Esther and Walter Pigeon as Norman Maine. Esther struggles to find work, then gets a job at a studio party, where she meets Norman, a established film star whose career is faltering. Norman takes an interest in her talent and helps her win a screen test. The transcript covers the early part of the story, through Esther's rise under a new name.
Hollywood, California, in the early 1940s, including a boarding house, the Central Casting Office, and a film studio.
Characters: Esther Blodgett, Norman Maine, Oliver Niles, Danny Mc Guire, Granny, Libby, Anita
Listen for: Esther's grandmother giving her money to go to Hollywood, and Norman's first meeting with Esther at the studio party.
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.