What happens
Sheridan Whiteside, a celebrated critic and radio lecturer, is confined to the Stanley family home in Mercedes, Ohio, after breaking his hip. Imperious and demanding, he takes over the house, bullying the Stanleys and their staff while his secretary Maggie grows close to local newspaperman Bert Jefferson. Whiteside's arrogance fills the household with noise and chaos, from crates of penguins to an eccentric entomologist's cockroaches. The Lux Radio Theatre production stars Clifton Webb as Whiteside and Lucille Ball as Maggie, adapting the play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. This broadcast of March 27, 1950 follows the household as Whiteside's arrival sets off a series of disruptions.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Stanley in Mercedes, Ohio, during the Christmas season
Characters: Sheridan Whiteside, Maggie, Ernest Stanley, Mrs. Stanley, Bert Jefferson, Dr. Bradley, Miss Preen, Miss Cutler
Listen for: Whiteside's sharp, scornful wit as he dictates to the household and clashes with Mr. Stanley over the phone bill
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.