OLD TIME RADIO - 12 AUDIO CD - 24 Shows - Volume 1 - Total Playtime: 11:28:19
The character premiered in The Green
Hornet, an American radio program that ran on WXYZ (the same local Detroit
station which originated The Lone Ranger), the Mutual Broadcasting System
and the network known through its succession of various owners as NBC Blue,
the Blue Network and the ABC Network from January 31, 1936 to December 5,
1952.
The series detailed the adventures of Britt Reid, debonair newspaper
publisher by day, crime-fighting masked hero at night:
With his faithful valet Kato, Britt Reid, daring young publisher, matches
wits with the Underworld, risking his life so that criminal and racketeers
within the law may feel its weight by the sting of the Green Hornet!
During World War II, this was changed to:
... matches wits with racketeers and saboteurs, risking his life so that
criminals and enemy spies will feel the weight of the law by the sting of
the Green Hornet!
After the revving of the Black Beauty motor, the announcer would then say:
Ride with Britt Reid in the thrilling adventure. The Green Hornet strikes
again!
When the series first began in 1936, this was originally:
Ride with Britt Reid as he races toward another thrilling adventure! The
Green Hornet strikes again!
and after the thrumming of the hornet sound, Britt Reid would then call out:
"Hurry, Kato! Here's where we smash a racket!"
The opening sequence of the radio show originally began with the announcer
proclaiming that the Green Hornet "hunts the biggest of all game ... public
enemies that even the G-Men cannot reach," referring to FBI agents. Bureau
chief J. Edgar Hoover objected to the line's implication that some crime
fighting was beyond the abilities of the FBI, and it was changed to "public
enemies who try to destroy our America."
The vigilante nature of his operation quickly resulted in his being declared
an outlaw himself, and Britt Reid decided to play to it. The Green Hornet
became thought of as one of his city's biggest criminals, allowing him to
walk into suspected racketeers' offices and ply them for information, or
even demand a cut of their profits.
He would be accompanied by his similarly masked but unnamed
chauffeur/bodyguard/enforcer, who was also Reid's valet, Kato, initially
described as Japanese, and eventually as Filipino. A widespread urban legend
has been the claim that the show's writers switched from one nationality to
the other immediately after the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor by the
Empire of Japan, but in fact this happened well before direct U.S.
involvement in the war.
Specifically, in and up to 1939, in the series' opening narration, Kato was
called Britt Reid's "Japanese valet" and from 1940 to '45 he was Reid's
"faithful valet" there. However, in June of 1941, in the episode "Walkout
for Profit," about 14 minutes into the episode, Reid specifically noted Kato
having a Philippine origin and thus he became Reid's "Filipino valet" as of
that point. When the characters were used in the first of a pair of movie
serials, the politically perceptive producers of 1939 had Kato's nationality
given as Korean.
SHOWS LIST
Disc 1 380505 Citizenship-Insurance
Racket
380524 The Crooked Bridge
Disc 2 381101 Phony Insurance Advisor
390406 There Was a Crooked Man
Disc 3 390509 Not a Drop Worth Drinking
390530 The Ghost Who Talked Too Much
Disc 4 390601 Words and Music
390606 Charity Takes It on the Chin
Disc 5 390608 Trouble Hits the Trolleys
390613 Not One Cent for Tribute
Disc 6 390615 Justice Wears a Blindfold
390620 Money Talks Too Loud
Disc 7 390622 Pink Lemonade and Tan Bark
390627 Bait for a Two-Timer
Disc 8 390629 Pavement Condemned
390704 Put It on Ice
Disc 9 390706 Disaster Rides the Rails
390711 The Devil's Playground
Disc 10 390718 War on the Waterfront
390720 House and Home
Disc 11 390727 Murder by Accident
390801 Bait for a Burglar
Disc 12 390803 A Racket in the Ring
390808 The Lawyer Beats the Law
THESE ARE REGULAR AUDIO CD
WILL PLAY IN ANY CD PLAYER, DVD PLAYER OR COMPUTERS
THIS COLLECTION WILL BE DELIVERED IN A BOX SET WITH ART WORK
PUBLIC DOMAIN NOTE
This item is the public domain and was created between January 1, 1923 and
December 31, 1971
This item is in the public domain due to failure to comply with required
formalities
After a careful search of the Library of Congress and the United States
Trademark and Patent Office, it has been determined that the programs listed
for sale here are in the Public Domain. They are being offered with the
understanding that no valid or active copyright, trademark, and/or patent
exist for them. These recordings are sold for private home listening and use
only. No broadcast rights are stated, implied, or given. I assume no
responsibility for unauthorized use of these programs. They are listed in
accordance with current policies concerning selling Public Domain
materials.