Radioland Murders

I know that many younger readers may find this incredulous but there was a time before television. During those dark ages radio was the primary means used by a family to get the news and be entertained. Now radio has be revived with satellite services but back in the thirties and forties the glowing tubes in that wooden cabinet was all people had to connect them to the outside world. This was a time of imagination. Stories where told using just words, it was up to the listener to paint the mental pictures. Instead of waiting for the afternoon or morning editions of a newspaper people would tune in to the radio to find out about current events. These stations had a lot of power back then. People trusted them, relied upon them as part of their lives.

WBN, part of a large national radio network broadcasting out of Chicago. The owner, General Ned Whalen (Ned Beatty) is seeking to broaden his vistas by adding another station, WGN to his holdings. The film covers the first night on the air for the station, a night that is both star studded and filed with several murders. Under even the most normal circumstances an opening night would be frantic but when the people working for the station start turning up dead the stage is set for a mystery. Roger Henderson (Brian Benben) and his wife Penny (Mary Stuart Masterson) have a line up of stars for the station’s initial night but one by one the staff is being murdered. They call in the police in the person of Lieutenant Cross (Michael Lerner) to try to get a handle on the very distracting mayhem. As Roger tries to track down the killer it is up to poor lamented Penny, who is actually just the secretary of General Whalen, to keep the show going on and the famous guests in the dark about the sinister happenings. The staff of the station is a motley crew of misfits that somehow manage to hold on to jobs. The sound effects man, Zoltan (Christopher Lloyd) is a zany creature who lives in a room filled with every sort of device that can emulate sounds required for radio. As the planed show goes awry he enters a frenzy just trying to keep up. Then there is the announcer Dexter Morris (Corbin Bernsen) who is nothing short of a pompous, self important jerk. He sees himself as the star of the network although than opinion is hardly shared by others. Part of every radio station back then was the live band and WGN was no different. The band leader, Rick Rochester (Michael McKean) is to put it bluntly, insane. Assisting Lieutenant Cross is the emotionless Jasper. He is as deadpan as Sgt. Friday was on his best day. Also on display is a parade of performers who are thinly disguised versions of real radio personalities. For example in place of the Andrew Sisters we get the Miller Sisters. There are also some notable performances by people who were around in the days of radio. The legend George Burns makes his final screen appearance as the stand up comic Milt Lackey. Even the powerhouse singer of that time, Rosemary Clooney, has some screen time.

This film was the brain child of George Lucas who wrote the basic story. He gave the actual screenplay to who penned such Lucas classics as ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’, and ‘American Graffiti’. Of course he is also responsible for the script used to film ‘Howard the Duck’. Actually, it has been stated that the Hendersons are the parents of Richard Dreyfuss and Cindy Williams characters in ‘American Graffiti’. Directing the film is Mel Smith whose credits included one of HBO’s first sit-coms, ‘Dream On’. He would go on to work again with Brian Benben on that series. The film builds nicely for the first act but looses it as soon as the murders start. The story depends too heavily on the slap stick physical comedy so that the plot is pushed into the background. No don’t get me wrong, a good mindless comedy has its place but here the film could have achieved so much more with a bit of focus. The editing is choppy, it appears that scenes are stop in odd places most of the transitions between scenes are too static, ruining the flow of the film. Most of the sets where computer generated by Industrial Lights and Magic, adding a little irony that such modern techniques where employed to create such a simple world of the past. It may have been better to just build the practical sets to help the cast get into the feel of radio.

What this film lacks in production it more than makes up for with the cast. I first saw Brian Benben on ‘Dream On’. He had such a natural sense of comic timing that I found the show had become one of my favorites. I see now that he honed his slap stick skills in this film. Benben plays Roger as a reasonable man thrust into the more ridiculous and unreasonable of circumstances. Benben has the ability to play a man that we all can identify with while undergoing a manic comic frenzy. Even with a lack of a cohesive script he manages to shine here. Mary Stuart Masterson may be better known for more dramatic works like ‘Fried Green Tomatoes’ but here she shows that she can handle comedy. While she is a little out of place with the physically demanding comedy here it works on some level. You don’t expect a pretty young woman like this to be in such outrageous situations. Even in a smaller role like he has here Christopher Lloyd is always a joy to watch. He is the epitome of crazy and does it like no one else. He can get more laughs with a twist of his rubbery face than most can with a well constructed comedy routine. While watching you can almost imagine Michael McKean’s character as the band leader as the father of his Spinal Tap persona he just commands your attention while on screen.

Universal has taken over several films previously released by Image. They have provided a very good transfer here that may not be of reference quality but it gets the job done. The non-anamorphic video is bright with a true color balance and contrast. Too bad they couldn’t remaster to an anamorphic transfer this time out. The Dolby 5.1 audio is a bit flat using mostly the front speakers and pushing the rear speakers to provide some ambience. This is a good flick to watch with some friends over a few beers and a pizza.

Posted 8/26/06