What happens
In 1848, Jonathan Trumbull leads a wagon train westward toward California, guiding a group of settlers that includes the gambler Lily Bishop and a fellow traveler named Fabian. Tensions rise between the travelers over water, politics and their own rivalries. When the party splits after news of gold, Jonathan and Lily find themselves drawn into the wild boomtown of Pharaoh City, where Captain Coffin holds sway. This is the Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of the 1947 Paramount film California, broadcast on January 30, 1950, with Ray Milland and Elizabeth Scott in the lead roles.
The western trail to California in 1848, and later the gold-rush boomtown of Pharaoh City
Characters: Jonathan Trumbull, Lily Bishop, Fabian, Captain Coffin, Pike, Grandpa, Neil Skinner, Mrs. Everett
Listen for: The gold-rush wagon train and the shift from honest hardship to the greed and violence of Pharaoh City
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.