The Captain Is In Quicksand: Tarzan (September 22, 1932)

Tarzan, old-time radio on Stupid Potato

“The Captain Is In Quicksand” is an episode of Tarzan, the old-time radio show, first broadcast September 22, 1932. Listen free on Stupid Potato: no sign-up, no app.

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What happens

Tarzan is trapped in deep quicksand and struggles to free himself after a long fight against death. Freed at last, he climbs a tree, cuts a creeping vine, and uses it to pull Tracy from the sand as apes close in on the scene. Aboard a steamer, the crew and passengers face a sinking vessel: the hull is flooding, a bolt is being loosened, and one man holds a gun on the others. The episode is part of the Tarzan radio series, and its original air date was September 22, 1932.

A quicksand pit and the surrounding jungle, then the deck and hold of a steamer taking on water.

Characters: Tarzan, Tracy, Clayton, Snipes, John, Professor Finger, Miss Porter, Mr. Philander

Listen for: Tarzan's struggle in the quicksand and the sounds of the apes calling from the trees, followed by the hammering and rising water aboard the steamer.

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.