What happens
Dan Emmett, a Mississippi town man, loses his in-laws-to-be's respect when a fire destroys the Mason house and his pipe is blamed. Mr. Mason refuses to let him marry his daughter Jean until he has a thousand dollars, so Emmett heads south by riverboat. Aboard, he plays cards with a flamboyant gentleman who calls himself Mr. Bones, and their game leads to accusations of cheating. In New Orleans, Emmett and Bones end up at a boarding house run by the Cook family, where Millie Cook takes an interest in the struggling performers. Lux Radio Theatre presents this 1943 adaptation with Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour and Barry Sullivan. The episode aired on December 20, 1943.
A Mississippi town, a riverboat heading south, and New Orleans in the period before the Civil War.
Characters: Dan Emmett, Jean Mason, Mr. Mason, Mr. Bones, Millie Cook, Mr. Cook, Mr. Bowles
Listen for: The gradual rise of the minstrel show and the song Dixie as Dan Emmett's career takes shape.
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.