THEATRE GUILD ON THE AIR: THREE MEN ON A HORSE
(RADIO)
Summary
One in this series of radio adaptations of successful
Broadway plays, and occasionally, books or films,
presented by the Theatre Guild. In this presentation,
Stuart Erwin, Sam Levene, and Shirley Booth star in
Arthur Miller's adaptation of John Cecil Holm and George
Abbott's farce "Three Men on a Horse, " a play about
Erwin, a greeting card poet and horseracing handicapper
extraordinaire. In the first act, Patsy opens by
telling the story of a man that could have been a
millionaire from betting on the horses. Patsy recalls a
day he went to the track with Frankie, Charlie, and
Mabel, and found themselves down on their gambling luck
-- and to their final ten bucks. Betting that final ten
dollars on Big Sneeze, they ultimately lose, leading
Patsy and his pals to adjourn to a local bar.
Meanwhile, Erwin argues with his wife Audrey in their
Ozone Heights home, discussing his greeting card career
and whether he's still in love with her. Then, Audrey's
brother Clarence comes over, and his sister tells him
that Erwin is having an affair. She's come to that
conclusion after having found the names of women in a
notebook in his coat pocket. Erwin insists, however,
that they are the names of horses he bets on as a hobby.
Clarence is impressed to learn how good Erwin is at
gambling, but is curious where his brother-in-law has
been "socking away" all his earnings. Erwin insists
that he simply bets "on paper" and has not made any
actual money, though Audrey doesn't believe him.
Angered, Erwin storms out of the house and heads to a
hotel bar to drink away his troubles. At the bar, Erwin
meets Patsy and his friends. After they learn of his
incredible handicapping ability, they decide to trust
his picks on some upcoming horseraces. When those
picks turn into winners, Patsy and friends immediately
befriend Erwin, who after becoming increasingly drunk
decides to head to the office and work on his Mother's
Day greetings. Patsy refuses to let Erwin leave the
bar, wanting to milk him for more racing picks. The
second act opens after Erwin has spent the previous two
hours picking horse winners for Patsy's crew. That
night, Erwin sleeps his hangover off in Patsy's room.
Meanwhile, Clarence and Audrey fret over where Erwin is
and why he hasn't come home for the last twenty-four
hours. At noon, Patsy and crew -- still keeping Erwin
in their apartment -- wake the greeting card writer up
and ask him to make more horse picks. Excited to be
earning the ten percent of the winnings that Patsy is
"awarding" him, Erwin agrees. Discovering Erwin's
greeting card poetry, Patsy comes up with an idea for
how to help his new "buddy" -- by sending his verses on
fancy stationery to bar rooms all over the country and
earning him "big dough." Erwin, however, is aghast at
the idea of the verses not going to his office and
promptly faints. Later, Erwin finds himself alone with
Mabel and she performs a dance for him. Patsy returns
with Erwin's waylaid verses and is angered by what he
perceives as Erwin's betrayal of his trust. When he
eventually learns the truth, Patsy apologizes to Erwin
and urges him to handicap the day's racing form. But
Erwin struggles in making his picks, claiming he can
only be successful if he does it while riding the bus to
Ozone Heights. Frankie and Mabel take Erwin on the bus
and it helps him make the picks. Later, Erwin's boss,
J.G. Carver, arrives at Patsy's lair to charge the crew
with having stolen Erwin's -- and thus his -- verses,
but Patsy quickly scares Carver off. Then, some debate
arises over Erwin's pick in the fourth race of the day
after a discarded piece of paper is found under Erwin's
pillow with an alternate pick. Patsy forces Erwin to
make a bet on the race in question to determine his
loyalty, though Erwin fears that his placing of a bet
may ruin his luck. In the third act, Patsy and crew
nervously sit around with $11,000 riding on Erwin's
fourth race pick. Then, Clarence arrives, angered at
after having bet, and lost, on some picks which he
believed -- mistakenly -- were Erwin's. In the fourth
race, Erwin's horse finishes second. Angered, Patsy
starts to beat up Erwin before learning -- after lengthy
deliberations -- that a disqualification has led to
Erwin's horse being the victor. Afterward, Audrey comes
to the apartment, begging Erwin to come home. She's
followed by Mr. Carver, who pleads with Erwin to resume
working for him, complete with a raise and some perks.
Ultimately, Erwin agrees to go back to his greeting card
job after deciding that, after having placed a bet, it's no
longer fun to handicap the horses. When Erwin is struck
with inspiration, Patsy gets instantly excited, at least
until realizing that Erwin is hard at work on his first
Father's Day verse. Includes commercials.
(Network affiliation varies: An earlier series "Theatre
Guild Dramas" aired on CBS from 1943 to 1944; "The
Theatre Guild on the Air" also aired on NBC from 1949 to
1953.)
The acquisition and cataloging of The Arthur Miller
Collection was made possible by The Laura Pels
Foundation.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: January 6, 1946 Sunday PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:58:48
- COLOR/B&W: N/A
- CATALOG ID: R:19194
- GENRE: Radio - Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Arthur Miller Collection, The; Comedy
- SERIES RUN: ABC - Radio series, 1945-1949
- COMMERCIALS:
- Radio - Commercials - United States Steel Corporation
CREDITS
- Armina Marshall … Executive Producer
- George Kondolf … Producer
- Homer Fickett … Director
- Lawrence Langner … Direction (Misc.), Co-Director of Theatre Guild
- Theresa Helburn … Direction (Misc.), Co-Director of Theatre Guild
- George Abbott … Writer
- John C. Holm … Writer
- Arthur Miller … Adapted by
- Harold Levey … Composer, Conductor
- Norman Brokenshire … Announcer
- Stuart Erwin … Cast, Erwin Trowbridge
- Sam Levene … Cast, Patsy
- Shirley Booth … Cast, Mabel