Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - The Campbell Playhouse "Dodsworth" (11-26-39)

The Campbell Playhouse was a sponsored continuation of the Mercury Theater on the Air, a direct result of the instant publicity from the War of the Worlds panic. The switch occurred on December 9, 1938. In spite of using the same creative staff, the show had a different flavor under sponsorship, partially attributed to a guest star policy in place, which relegated the rest of the Mercury Players to supporting cast for Orson Welles and the Hollywood guest of the week. There was a growing schism between Welles, still reaping the rewards of his Halloween night notoriety, and his collaborator John Houseman, still in the producer's chair but feeling more like an employee than a partner. The writer, as during the unsponsored run, was Howard Koch.

THIS EPISODE:
Samuel Dodsworth (Walter Huston) is an ambitious automobile designer, who builds his fortunes in Zenith. In addition to his success in the business world, he succeeds in winning the hand of Fran Voelker (Ruth Chatterton), a beautiful socialite. At the age of fifty, he sets out to do what he had always wanted - take a leisurely trip to Europe with his wife. His forty-one year old wife, however, is dissatisfied with married life and wants to live in Europe, not just visit. Passing up advancement in his company, Dodsworth leaves for Europe with Fran. Soon, both Sam and Fran are caught up in vastly different lifestyles. Fran falls in with a crowd of frivolous socialites. Sam meets Edith Cortright (Mary Astor), a woman who is everything his wife is not: self-assured, self-confident, and able to take care of herself. As they follow their own pursuits, their marriage is strained to the breaking point. Both Sam and Fran are forced to choose between marriage and the new lifestyles they have pursued.