What happens
Virgil Smith, an American salesman travelling in old Vienna, is mistaken for a threat when he arrives at Emperor Franz Joseph's palace carrying a box that seems to contain a bomb. The box is actually a phonograph he hopes to sell to the Emperor. Meanwhile the General's daughter, the Countess, is arranging a marriage between her French poodle Sheherazade and the Emperor's dog Louis. Smith is escorted from the palace, and a dog fight with Louis leads to a series of confrontations between the Countess and Smith. The Lux Radio Theatre production stars Bing Crosby and Anne Blyth, adapted from the film The Emperor Waltz.
Vienna, Austria, some forty years ago
Characters: Virgil Smith, Countess Johanna, General von Stolzenberg, Emperor Franz Joseph, Sheherazade, Buttons, Dr. Schweibach
Listen for: The phonograph's song, and the Countess and Virgil Smith's encounters over the dogs
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.