0 comment Monday, April 28, 2014 | admin
I like mad doctors. Even more than that, I enjoy the mad-scientist-with-evil-ape-assistant subgenre more than a kid enjoys sugary cereals, staging fights with his action figures, and the seductive charms of Bea Arthur. Yeah, that much. I get a kick out of watching films, whether they be old Tarzan movies or Three Stooges shorts, that have an actor in that fuzzy, rubbery, I-can-see-the-zipper gorilla costume. There's just something about the way that they go aping (oh ho ho) their way around a haunted house or a stage sound jungle that makes me burst out in a fit of deep, manly laughter. So can you imagine the demented grin that stole over my lips when I heard that there was an episode from "Dark Fantasy," a radio show broadcasted in the 40's, that involved said monkey shenanigans?
But then it got even better.
Michael Brock and his wife Adelaide, a famous opera soprano, are on board a private airplane headed for the star's latest concert. Adelaide is plagued by a premonition of evil during their trip. She thinks back to a fellow opera singer, Stephan Wilder, who had mysteriously disappeared five years previously. After a short layaway at Sentilla, Adelaide begins to fear something is amiss when she notices they are over water, as opposed to their close landing. Getting up to question the pilot, Michael notices something else is not quite right. Why, the pilot isn't a pilot. It's a gorilla flying the plane! And faster than anyone can say "Charles Darwin," the ape demonstrates its power to speak coherent English.
The couple is then taken to the laboratory of one Dr. Luther, a cuckoo for Coco Puffs scientist who has some nefarious plans in the mix. Boasting his primate assistant, Luther shows Michael and Adelaide that his chimp can not only speak, but he can SING as well! It soon becomes apparent that Luther has surgically implanted the vocal chords of Stephan Wilder into the buff body of the ape! What is Luther's demented scheme, you ask? Well what else than to take his monkey on tour so that they may astound the world with his robust, operatic tones! Now with Adelaide in his clutches, Luther is determined to graft her pretty little voice into another specimen and it all ends in a climax that needs to be heard to be believed...
This is undoubtedly one of the funnest radio shows it's been my pleasure to listen to. In spite of the nearly ridiculous plot (a SINGING ape!), all the actors in the episode play the matter incredibly straight. The only bit of hamminess we get is from Dr. Luther, who sounds like he could've been voiced by that British actor of villainous infamy Tod Slaughter. The images that play out in one's mind while listening to this episode are guaranteed to inspire a time of good ol' fun and hilarity. The sound quality is in crystal clear shape so you can hear every last minute of it in its ludicrous entirety. Don't miss this one for the world. If you don't have a side-splitting great time with this delirious drama, then I'll be a monkey's uncle.
Tune into Kong's serenade HERE.
Labels: 1940S, Gorilla, Horror On The Airwaves, Mad Scientist, Old Time Radio