What happens
Lux Radio Theatre presents The Pied Piper, a 1942 drama starring Frank Morgan as Mr. Howard, an English gentleman who has never cared much for children. Fleeing war-torn France in the summer of 1940, he finds himself responsible for a growing group of children, including Ronnie and Sheila Kavanaugh and little Rose. Anne Baxter plays Nicole, and Roddy McDowell plays Ronnie. The story follows Mr. Howard as he gathers the children and tries to lead them to safety in England, and the episode was broadcast on December 21, 1942.
France and England during the early months of the German invasion in 1940, including a hotel at the foot of the Alps, a train to Paris, and the coast near the English Channel
Characters: Mr. Howard, Ronnie Kavanaugh, Sheila Kavanaugh, Rose, Nicole, Madame Picard, Mrs. Kavanaugh, Mr. Hart
Listen for: Mr. Howard's gradual change of heart as he takes charge of the children, and Nicole's account of her lost fiancé
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.