300113 - Hard Clean Through

 

As noted in the episode banner above, this broadcast of Empire Builders was the 41^st to air in the program’s usual Monday evening timeslot. It could be considered the 42^nd broadcast of the series, if we include the broadcast of January 12, 1929, when the new Cascade Tunnel was dedicated and opened to regular use. That first broadcast effectively heralded the new tunnel and introduced the Empire Builders series.

This episode of Empire Builders was titled “Hard Clean Through” and was written by a Seattle author named Ruby Bailey Harlowe. She was a member of the Western League of Writers, and some of her work was published in the Saturday Evening Post. This night’s show served as a commemoration of the first anniversary of the Cascade Tunnel.

In the Seattle Times of Sunday, January 12, 1930, a photograph appeared showing Harlowe with two Great Northern Railway officials who were based in Seattle. The accompanying photo caption explained that Harlowe spent time at the site of the Cascade Tunnel during its construction to gather atmosphere for her story.

L-R, Donald Ashton, Ruby Bailey Harlowe, and L.C. Gilman. Ashton was Western Advertising Manager for the GN, and L.C. Gilman was Western vice-president of the company. It was Gilman's older brother, Daniel, (along with Judge Thomas Burke) for whom Seattle's Burke-Gilman trail was named. Author's collection

A presser issued by the GN said the dramatization would be about “a movie queen whose rise to fame turned her head. She pays a visit to a sister whose husband is an engineer engaged in driving the gigantic tunnel. Snobbery gets a rude jolt out where real work is being done.”

After the broadcast, the Christian Science Monitor (CSM) ran a review of the radio drama in its radio review column called “The Listener Speaks.” The review began with an accounting of the nature of the story:

The "Empire Builders" radiocast through the WJZ chain at 10:30 on Monday was worked out in a novel way. Harking back 12 months to the time of the first program, which celebrated the opening of the Cascade Tunnel by the Great Northern Railway, it presented a picture of these actual ceremonies -- even describing Graham McNamee's activities before the various microphones on and off the first passenger train to pass through the tunnel.

The plan worked out quite well. According to custom there was a romantic little story upon which to hang the descriptive matter. In this case it dealt with a playwright who had been working as an engineer in order to get local color. He had fallen in love with the secretary of one of the leaders of the work. The high point of the affair was the discomfiture of a New York actress who longed for the "big men of the open spaces," but who did not desire to welcome them in return in her own city. Not realizing the young engineer's identity she informed him that she was to play the lead in his next play and was then to become his wife.

The CSM review of the broadcast then provided some commentary about the effectiveness of the performance and the reviewer’s thoughts about a couple of other elements:

As usual, this sketch was presented as a "play within a play." First of all the Old Pioneer, whose pleasant tones are always an attractive feature of these radiocasts, was conversing with some amusing English tourists as the train approached the tunnel. Waxing reminiscent, he told them of the opening ceremonies and offered to recount one of the many romances connected with its construction. Incidentally, he gave a very complete summary of its interesting features -- from the method employed in building it to the type of electric engines now used.

A little music was introduced to separate the different elements of the program and "Bob" MacGimsey did some more of his two-part warbling, which is pretty and birdlike enough but has been heard rather frequently of late. Its connection with the largest tunnel in North America is a little obscure.

While the arrangers of these radiocasts are in [a] reminiscent mood it is to be hoped that they will recall some of the really excellent historical programs which they offered so successfully a year ago and perhaps provide some more of the same type again.

Although Ruby Bailey Harlowe was credited with writing the “Hard Clean Through” story, her material was evidently edited by Edward Hale Bierstadt to adapt it for radio.

The essence of the broadcast, as described in the news clips above, was that the Old Timer was traveling west on the Empire Builder, and he met an English couple and launched into a discussion with them about the new Cascade Tunnel. This morphed into a dramatization of the story the Old Timer was telling. The first lines of dialog deserve comment. Here’s how the broadcast opened after MacGimsey’s whistling ended abruptly (as though a radio was just turned off) and interior train effects came up:

PIONEER:      ‘Scuse me, folks, but I jest had to turn that radio off for a spell. Snakes an’ wildcats!, every time I sit down here in the observation car of the Empire Builder, I got to compete with that there radio, an’ it’s almost more than a body can bear. Can’t hear myself think hardly!

WOMAN:       Were you – were you thinking about anything interesting?

PIONEER:      Was I? Well, I just guess I was! You know, I was thinkin’ that it’s just a year ago tonight that the Great Northern sent the first train through its new Cascade Tunnel, and that any minute now this here train will be at the eastern portal of the tunnel on its way through.

In some of the Great Northern Railway’s advertising copy of the day, special attention was brought to the fact that passengers could avail themselves of good radio reception on both the Empire Builder and Western Star trains. This was treated as an advantageous feature. By contrast, the Old Timer’s dialogue to set the stage for this story demonstrates a pronounced disdain for having a radio in the observation car. I’m a bit surprised the railroad officials (Harold Sims, in particular) did not override that piece of dialog and request it be rewritten without such a derogatory treatment of the radio.

The next bit of hushed dialogue served to establish the Brits as a bit bemused by the Old Timer, but willing to let him prattle on about the tunnel.

BRITON:        (Sotto) I say, Muriel, who’s your pal?

WOMAN:       (Sotto) Dear old thing, how do I know? One of these curious pioneer creatures and what-not, I dare say. Great open spaces-strong silent men, and all that sort of thing.

BRITON:        (Sotto) He may be strong, but he’s not silent. Turned off that jolly radio thing just so he could jabber a bit. May be a pioneer; booster I’d call him.

WOMAN:       (Sotto) Booster! Darling, how you do go in for this American slang!

I don’t profess to be adept at writing dialog for radio plays that involves British phrasing and colloquialisms, but the British characters in this presentation seem awkward and unauthentic. Their purpose in the story appears to be to provide the Old Timer an uninformed foil off of which he could find a reason to describe the Cascade Tunnel and segue into a dramatic story. And that’s just what he did.

The Old Timer served as mouthpiece for the railroad’s advertising department and went on to describe all the marvelous statistical data about the tunnel, and all the benefits derived from it on behalf of shippers and the traveling public. As he was summing up his points, he noticed the train was just entering the east portal of the Cascade Tunnel. Pulled by quiet electric locomotives, the train glided through the dark tunnel, and the Old Timer launched into one of his yarns. This one told the story of movie star Letty La Verne, who came to the site of the tunnel to see everything on the day that it was dedicated. After a short bridge of transitional music, the Empire Builders actors played out the dramatization of the Old Timer’s story.

Anne was secretary to the Chief Engineer of the tunnel construction project, and Bob was her beau. If I’ve learned anything about the Empire Builders dramas, any story of romance is bound to suffer from one or the other of the two lovers fatalistically quitting on their relationship in some fashion, only to learn that they were premature or victims of a dreadful misunderstanding (usually of their own making, and utterly without cause). Our first scene in the Old Timer’s story has Bob, a civil engineer working on the Cascade Tunnel, stopping by to see his girl Anne, and to let her know he has to break a date they had for taking a stroll together that afternoon.

BOB:               Anne – I’ve got bad news.

ANNE:            Oh, I’m so sorry! What’s the matter, dear?

BOB:               Why – we can’t have our walk this afternoon, after all. I’ve – I’ve been delegated to take Miss La Verne into the tunnel, and show her the workings.

ANNE:            Oh – so that’s the bad news … Attractive, isn’t she, Bob?

BOB:               Why – yes – I suppose so. Why?

ANNE:            Seeing quite a lot of her, aren’t you?

BOB:               Why – er – yes – in a way.

ANNE:            Well, don’t let’s be too serious about it. I’ve only this to say, Bobby.

BOB:               Fire when you’re ready,Gridley! 

Brace yourself … here it comes . . .

ANNE:            I will. You see, I’m just secretary to the Chief Engineer, and – and Letty La Verne is a moving picture star. There’s a lot of difference. I just want you to know that – if you change your mind – it’s all right – I’ll understand.

BOB:               Why, Anne dear, there’s no question of that! Surely you don’t think …

ANNE:            Perhaps I’m not thinking very much – but I’m feeling quite a good deal … Run along, honey, and keep your date. I’m all right.

BOB:               But Anne – Miss La Verne is only here to get local color for her new picture …

ANNE:            Well, maybe you’re in the picture too. You never can tell.

Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob! Haven’t you learned yet? You can’t live with ‘em, and you can’t live without ‘em. It seems Anne took Bob to be about as shallow as an Arizona mud puddle on a July afternoon – and his devotion just as fleeting. Instead, it turns out that good ol’ Bob was not only faithful to his beloved Anne, he was setting up Letty the Movie Star for a comeuppance. Letty La Verne was presented as being snobbish. She played Bob for a little amusement out West, but she’d have none of him back in New York. That world was far too sophisticated to stoop to the affections of such a rough western outdoorsman. Bob, in the meantime, was stringing her along before divulging his true identity.

Bob took Letty La Verne on an inspection tour into the new tunnel, and described to her some of the features of the remarkable construction project.

BOB:               And now, tonight, we have the big party – the official opening of the tunnel, and the first train to run through. President-elect Hoover is going to speak; Graham McNamee is going to be master of ceremonies, and there’ll be all sorts of goings on. You’ll be there, won’t you?

LETTY:          Of course I’ll be there! You don’t think I’d miss that, do you? Aren’t you going to ask ….

BOB:               I’m so sorry, but I can’t. I mean I’ve …

LETTY:          Oh, that’s all right. I know how busy you’ll be … Hadn’t we better be starting back – Bob?

BOB:               Yes, we had. It’s later than I thought.

LETTY:          It’s all so marvelous! Oh, Bob, I do like men who do things!

BOB:               Well, there were certainly a lot of that kind of men working on this Cascade Tunnel!

Later that evening, Bob escorted his sweetheart Anne to the east portal of the tunnel to take in the dedication ceremonies.

BOB:               Listen to the crowd, and that band! By George, this is going to be a show!

ANNE:            The Great Northern is broadcasting the tunnel opening over a National net-work, isn’t it?

BOB:               You bet it is! The whole country will know about this tonight.

ANNE:            There’s the special train! And look at the people!

Just after this dialog, the following text in the continuity provides instruction to the studio production and sound effects crews to reenact some of the action broadcast one year earlier:

AT THIS POINT, PIECE IN THE TUNNEL OPENING MATERIAL TAKEN FROM THE PHONOGRAPH RECORDS. IT WILL PROBABLY BE NECESSARY TO WRITE IN A FEW SPEECHES TO TIE THIS TOGETHER. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE REPRODUCTION OF THE ACTUAL MATERIAL BE AS AUTHENTIC AS POSSIBLE. GET THE CROWD EFFECT AND THE START OF THE TRAIN THROUGH THE TUNNEL.

The phonograph records referred to above are the 17-disc set of 78 RPM Victor records made to capture the entire one-hour broadcast of January 12, 1929 – the dedication and opening of the Cascade Tunnel. A number of copies of this set were produced, and some of the sets were no doubt presented to various railroad officials, construction company executives, and selected dignitaries. One of these complete sets has survived and is in the collection of the Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul. As I’ve written about before, recorded sound was not permitted on the radio by NBC in those days, so it was not an option to simply play selected parts of the records. The instructions quoted above suggest the records were consulted for content details, and then portions were reenacted during the performance of “Hard Clean Through.”

A grouping of three of the seventeen 78RPM records that captured the entire inaugural broadcast of the Cascade Tunnel dedication and the introduction of the Empire Builders series. Minnesota Historical Society collection

Just after the first passenger train entered the new Cascade Tunnel, Letty La Verne approached Bob and Anne. Bob mentioned that he understood Letty was heading back to New York the next day, and then informed her that he too would be going there in a couple of weeks. He suggested that she make time to see him when he was there. La Verne began to backpedal.

LETTY:          Why – yes – of course. But you know – New York is different. You wonderful out-door men need your background – don’t you? And then too – I’ll be busy.

BOB:               Yes, I know. You’re rehearsing a new play aren’t you?

LETTY:          Yes, and – oh, it’s magnificent! Such a part! And, Bob, I haven’t told anyone this yet, but I’ve decided that I’m going to marry the author!

BOB:               I wonder – whether you will be glad to see me – after all!

LETTY:          I’m going to marry the man who wrote that play if it’s the last thing I ever do!

Here we go again. Now it’s Letty La Verne who’s making dramatic matrimonial commitments – regarding a man she doesn’t even know. But Bob is working up a little enlightenment for her.

BOB:               Let’s see, what’s his name?

LETTY:          Robert Carlton Young.

BOB:               Letty, do you remember my name?

LETTY:          Why – Robert Carlton! Bob! You’re not -- ?!!

BOB:               I’m afraid I am. Yes, it’s my play. You see – I’ve been out here getting local color too.

LETTY:          Well! I hope you’ve got it – Mr. Young!

BOB:               Yes, and some that wasn’t so local. Wait a minute, I want you to meet my fiancé. (Calls) Anne! Anne!

ANNE:            Yes, Bob! Coming!

LETTY:          I’m sorry. I can’t wait. (fades out)

ANNE:            Why, Bob, what did you do with Miss La Verne?

BOB:               Well, dear, on the stage they’d say that Miss La Verne took a quick curtain!

Another musical bridge transitioned back to the Old Timer and the British couple.

PIONEER:      (Chuckles) I reckon that time that the biter was bit, good and hard too!

WOMAN:       I saw that play with Letty La Verne. Rotten actress!

BRITON:        And here’s the topping old tunnel still doing business at the old stand – what?

PIONEER:      Here it is, and here it will be for many a year to come. We’re through it now, and you can’t realize, as I do, the miles of twisting and turning and climbings that you’ve been saved just because it is there … Well, folks, I got to go to the baggage car, and see if my old hound dog January is bedded down for the night. See you later, I hope!

It turns out, of course, the Old Timer was right about the tunnel being around awhile. It’s been in pretty much constant daily use for over 85 years now. There’s no telling just how much longer the tunnel will continue to serve its purpose, but it’s a safe bet it will be a long time.