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RKO Radio Pictures, the smallest of the “Big Five” major studios, was a latecomer to Hollywood, and it developed a reputation for releasing second-rate pictures.

Despite that reputation, in the 1930s RKO introduced some of the biggest film stars of the time, including Fred Astaire and Katharine Hepburn, and produced two of the most famous movies of the time: King Kong and Citizen Kane.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Prelude to Act I of Lohengrin
Composed in 1848 by Richard Wagner. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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The American film industry of the Thirties and Forties, governed by the “studio system,” was a world leader in film production and influence.

Today we begin the first in a series of episodes discussing the US film studios and their notable productions of the period.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“The Yellow Rose of Texas.”
Traditional. Public domain.

Closing War Theme

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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The Japanese occupation of Burma put India on the front lines, and the nationalist movement in that country had to adapt to the new situation.

The influx of refugees from Burma plus foreign soldiers stationed in eastern India were among the factors that led to the Great Bengal Famine of 1943.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Field recording of street musicians in Rishikesh, India.
Recorded by Samuel Corwin and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license. Source.

Closing War Theme

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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When Britain went to war, the BBC went to war along with it. The Corporation struggled to find its proper role in wartime.

The singer Vera Lynn became the most prominent entertainer in Britain and the most familiar voice on the radio, after Winston Churchill’s.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“Stardust.”
Performed by the U.S. Army Blues. Public domain. Source.

Closing War Theme

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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Stalingrad fell on February 2, 1943. Hitler promoted Sixth Army commander Friedrich Paulus to field marshal, a veiled directive to commit suicide, which Paulus refused to follow.

With Hitler increasingly distracted and stressed by the war, Joseph Goebbels began his own initiative to strengthen the German war effort.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“Selig Sind die Toten” from Ein deutsches Requiem.
Composed in 1868 by Johannes Brahms.
Performed by the University of Chicago orchestra and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license. Source.

Closing War Theme

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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Following the successful invasion of North Africa, the Western Allies found themselves once again in disagreement over the next step.

Roosevelt and Churchill held another conference to discuss this and other strategy questions, and chose the recently liberated city of Casablanca as the site of the meeting.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“Wisdom of the Mountains”
Composed by Serge Quadrado.
Performed by the composer and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC 4.0 license. Source.

Closing War Theme

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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The Imperial Navy had their doubts, but the Imperial Army insisted on doubling down on the effort to take control of the airfield on Guadalcanal.

But the US Marines had thoroughly entrenched their positions, while the Japanese suffered from shortages of supplies, even food. US planes flying from the airfield on Guadalcanal attacked any Japanese ship that approached the island.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Edo Lullaby
Traditional. Public domain.
Performed by Akaniji and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license. Source.

Closing War Theme

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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Hitler ordered the Sixth Army, trapped in Stalingrad, to stand fast as Field Marshal Erich von Manstein commanded the force fighting to break the siege.

But the Soviets had anticipated this. General Zhukov had already prepared a second offensive, this time one that would break through Italian Army lines and attack Manstein’s flank.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“Mars, the Bringer of War” from The Planets
Composed in 1916 by Gustav Holst. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Air Force Heritage of America Band. Public domain recording. Source.

“The Masochism Tango”
Composed in 1959 by Tom Lehrer. Public domain.
Performed by Tom Lehrer. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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The tenacious Red Army defense of Stalingrad was meant not merely to defend a city, but to draw the German Army into a trap.

On November 18, 1942, the trap was sprung. Powerful Soviet formations, gathered in secret, broke through Romanian Army lines on both flanks of the German Sixth Army, fighting in Stalingrad.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Funeral March from Siegfried
Composed in 1871 by Richard Wagner. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Marine Band. Public domain recording. Source.

“State Anthem of the USSR”
Composed in 1938 by Alexander Alexandrov. Public domain.
Performed by the Orchestra of the Ministry of Defense of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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British and American forces landed in French North Africa in November 1942. Their goal was not so much to seize the territory as it was to persuade the French authorities there to break from the French government and rejoin the war against Germany and Italy.

American military operations were disorganized and error prone, prompting British Army officers to quip, “How green is my ally!”

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“The United States Field Artillery March”
Composed in 1917 by John Philip Sousa. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Marine Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.