From Wikipedia.
Long ago, in a reality far, far away, the legendary Orson Welles put on a radio play, and, lo, it wasn’t all that bad. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1939), was broadcast as part of the Campbell Playhouse series of radio plays, from a novel by Agatha Christie.
As is often the case, Christie is chronicling the not unusual burden that wealth can impose on individuals, whether one that controls it, Roger Ackroyd in this case, or lusts after it, as do several characters in this clever little play.
But not, of course, Mr. Hercule Poirot, now in retirement in the tidy little village of King’s Abbot. Upon the discovery of the rich Mr. Ackroyd’s death, he leaps into the breach, more than willing to plug it with his, ah, little gray cells. Kind of annoying, that.
Needless to say, but nonetheless mentioned, nothing is really what it seems. Misdirects are everywhere, and crabby characters around every corner, even in the control booth of the play, one might suspect.
Naturally, the play comes complete with commercials. Sometimes such cultural ephemera can be fun, even fascinating. These were not; indeed, they made my Arts Editor shake her head in some disgust.
So much for Campbell’s Chicken Soup.
But they are mercifully short. The audio itself is in excellent shape, with very little distortion. While I don’t think it’s to everyone’s taste, it’s only an hour long, so if you want a peek into how people spent their entertainment time 90 years ago, this is not an atypical activity. We fount it on Amazon Prime. Enjoy!
