What happens
Phil Harris and Alice Faye, in the Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show on NBC, are tested for a possible television series in this 1949 broadcast. Rexall's directors debate whether the public should see Harris on screen, and the company decides to film a rehearsal to see how he photographs. Harris dresses as a cowboy to audition, and Alice teases him about being the star of the show. The rehearsal then turns to a private eye story, with Harris playing a redheaded detective and Elliott Lewis, as Remley, cast as his bumbling assistant. Mr. Scott, the sponsor's representative, takes a keen interest in how the performances look on camera.
A Rexall-sponsored television test at a rehearsal studio, with the cast and the sponsor's representatives gathered around the cameras.
Characters: Phil Harris, Alice Faye, Elliott Lewis, Mr. Scott, Frankie, Curly, Julius
Listen for: Listen for Harris performing a cowboy routine and the private eye skit, with Alice and Remley playing along.
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.