(03) Magic Island - Strange Windstorm

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio

Episode 03: Magic Island - Strange Windstorm

Date: June 6, 2026
Host: Harold's Old Time Radio
Featured Show: Magic Island – “Strange Windstorm”

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Main Theme

This episode showcases an installment of the classic radio serial Magic Island, transporting listeners to the Golden Age of Radio through a mystery-adventure on the high seas. The story follows Mrs. Patricia Gregory and her crew in their ongoing search for her daughter Joan, lost 14 years prior in a shipwreck. Aboard the yacht Joan Gregory, the group encounters a supernatural storm as they draw near the suspected "Magic Island," the supposed home of the missing girl.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Refresher on the Situation

• [00:30-01:09] The episode opens with an update from the narrator: Mrs. Gregory’s yacht searches the South Seas for her daughter Joan, with mysterious daily radio messages fueling hope.
  • “Fourteen years, Mrs. Gregory has searched the world over…” (Narrator, 00:30)
  • Captain Bradford leads the expedition, Jerry Hall serves as the enthusiastic young radio operator.

2. Tension and Hope Among the Crew

• [01:09-02:18]
  • Jerry expresses excitement about the search and relief that Captain Bradford trusts him now.
  • Mrs. Gregory discusses prior attempts to con her with stories about Joan, indicating a history of false hopes due to the reward she offered.
  • The group debates the likelihood of the island existing, with the chart showing no landmass where the old sailor described.
  • “Now, Patricia, don’t get too worked up over this story.” (Captain Bradford, 01:33)
  • Tension mixes with hope as the characters cling to their belief they may actually find Joan.

3. The Old Sailor’s Secrets and the "Magic Island"

• [02:43-03:11]
  • The skipper reports: the old sailor is dead, leaving them with all the information he’ll ever offer regarding the island's mysterious location.
  • The crew realizes they’re on their own from here on out.
  • “Then we know as much as the old sailor will ever be able to tell us about his magic island and the little girl on it.” (Jerry Hall, 03:03)

4. Character Dynamics: The Captain, the Skipper, and Jerry

• [03:36-04:31]
  • Light-hearted exchange as Jerry tries to untangle the title confusion between Captain Bradford and the yacht's skipper, Captain Craig.
  • Mrs. Gregory explains Captain Bradford’s military background and his representative role onboard.
  • Jerry, feeling exposed over the security vetting he’d faced, teases Mrs. Gregory in turn.
  • “That’s easy, Jerry. The skipper, Captain John Craig, is captain of my yacht. Captain Bradford’s title is from the army…” (Mrs. Gregory, 04:31)

5. Jerry's Aspirations and Motives

• [05:50-07:05]
  • Jerry probes into Mrs. Gregory’s past, referencing a childhood photograph and speculates that Joan likely resembles her mother.
  • He tries to confess his hope of Joan growing up as beautiful as her mother, foolishly hinting at teenage romance.
  • “It’s kind of nice for a fellow to know what his girl is going to look like when she gets older.” (Jerry Hall, 06:22)
  • Mrs. Gregory gently chastens him—“You’re way ahead of yourself, I’m afraid... you’re just 16.” (06:40)

6. The Supernatural Storm and Impossibility at Sea

• [07:17-10:19]
  • Captain Bradford returns shaken: they’ve encountered an unnaturally persistent fog bank in the midst of a gale.
  • The yacht’s bow is pressed hard against the fog; despite full engines, it cannot move forward or backward.
  • “The bow of this boat has been right up against what I’d call a heavy bank of fog. And there we stay.” (Captain Bradford, 07:59)
  • Jerry notices the ocean is “as smooth as if it had oil on it... everywhere except right in front of us.” (09:22)
  • Despite trying to reverse, the boat remains immobilized as if held by an invisible force.

7. Total Power Failure and Growing Mystery

• [10:26-12:07]
  • Suddenly all machines stop: engines, generators, and even the batteries are dead.
  • The fog stands like “a gray cement wall.”
  • The group realizes they have reached the exact position the old sailor had indicated for the Magic Island.
  • “Everything has stopped. Why, there is, miss. That fog is standing perfectly still and straight like a gray cement wall.” (Captain Bradford, 11:00-11:04)
  • Jerry concludes, “This is the Magic Island.” (12:18)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Then we know as much as the old sailor will ever be able to tell us about his magic island and the little girl on it.”
  — Jerry Hall (03:03)

• “Son, if it doesn’t make sense to you, then we’re in the same boat.”
  — Captain Bradford (07:50)

• “Did you ever see a bank of fog stand perfectly still in that kind of wind?”
  — Captain Bradford (08:12)

• “The ocean is as smooth as if it had oil on it. Everywhere except right in front of us. And the sky is clear. There is something funny about this.”
  — Jerry Hall (09:22)

• “That fog is standing perfectly still and straight like a gray cement wall.”
  — Captain Bradford (11:04)

• “This is the Magic Island.”
  — Jerry Hall (12:18)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [00:30] – Background/setup by the narrator
• [01:15] – Discussion of mysterious radio messages and rationale for skepticism
• [02:53] – Skipper announces the old sailor’s death
• [04:31] – Distinction between the Captain and Skipper
• [06:03] – Jerry discusses Mrs. Gregory’s photo, hinting at his hopes
• [07:25] – Storm begins behaving unnaturally
• [09:22] – Jerry describes the eerie calm around the boat
• [10:26] – All equipment fails, raising the stakes
• [12:07] – Realization: they’ve reached the Magic Island

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Language and Tone

The episode is rendered in classic radio drama style—earnest, suspenseful, and brimming with period-appropriate diction and earnestness. Jerry’s youthful optimism and Mrs. Gregory’s vulnerable hope are balanced with Captain Bradford’s measured pragmatism.

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Conclusion

This recording plunges listeners directly into the crew’s mysterious and perilous adventure, expertly blending heartfelt dialogue, nautical action, and the supernatural. The sudden paralysis of the yacht, the dead calm of the sea, and the unyielding wall of fog set the stage for the next thrilling chapter as all signs now point to their arrival at the fabled Magic Island—and to the possibility that Joan may be closer than ever.

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Transcript

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[Narrator]

Fourteen years ago, Mrs. Patricia Gregory's yacht was wrecked in the South Seas. Fourteen years, Mrs. Gregory has searched the world over in hopes she might find her little daughter Joan, alive and well. Though the world has always believed the child was lost in the shipwreck. Now the Gregory yacht, the Joan Gregory, is on the high seas once more searching for little Joan. Captain Bradford is in charge of the cruise for Mrs. Gregory, and Jerry Hall, a young amateur radio operator from California, is with them. The yacht is five days out of Los Angeles running through the South SEAS. We find Mrs. Gregory, Captain Pex Bradford and Jerry hall in the chart room on the Joan Gregory.

[Jerry Hall]

Gee, but it's great to be really in the South SEAS with you, Mrs. Gregory. Now that Captain Bradford has quit being

[Mrs. Patricia Gregory]

suspicious of me, you could hardly blame him, Jerry. We didn't know there was another radio in the country that would receive on that wavelength, much less transmit on it.

[Captain Bradford]

Oh, forget it, son. I guess you'll do.

[Jerry Hall (continued or another male character, possibly Tex)]

I only hope we won't be disappointed if we do locate this island. And if the little girl on it is. Oh, if she only could be my little Joan.

[Captain Bradford]

Now, Patricia, don't get too worked up over this story.

[Jerry Hall]

But this is the real thing. I know it is. Nobody would make up a story like that about your little girl. And look at the way those mysterious radio messages have kept coming in every day we've been at sea.

[Jerry Hall (continued or another male character, possibly Tex)]

I know, Jerry, but people have made

[Mrs. Patricia Gregory]

up some wild tales to try and get some of my money. You know, I've offered a big reward

[Jerry Hall (continued or another male character, possibly Tex)]

for news of Joan.

[Jerry Hall]

It's swell you named this yacht after.

[Jerry Hall (continued or another male character, possibly Tex)]

I've thought and prayed of nothing but Joan for 14 years. Now I may be near her at last.

[Captain Bradford]

Well, if there's any truth in this story, we'll soon know it. We're about 4,000 miles from Los Angeles.

[Jerry Hall]

Are we getting close to the island?

[Captain Bradford]

We're getting close to the spot on the chart where the old sailor said the island was. If that means anything, we've just got

[Jerry Hall (continued or another male character, possibly Tex)]

to find an island where he said it was.

[Jerry Hall]

But the chart shows there isn't an island anybody could live on within 100 miles of the position the old man gave.

[Captain Bradford]

Right, Jerry. And the chart is probably correct. We'll keep looking around. A lot of ocean in this vicinity. And if there is such an island.

[Jerry Hall (continued or another male character, possibly Tex)]

Tex, you do think there's a chance, don't you?

[Captain Bradford]

Now, don't get your hopes up. There's always a chance of anything happening in the ocean. Come in.

[Skipper (Captain John Craig)]

Come on in, skipper. What's on your mind?

[Narrator]

Radio. What about the radio message? What about, sailor?

[Jerry Hall (continued or another male character, possibly Tex)]

Let's have it quickly, Skipper. More news about the island?

[Skipper (Captain John Craig)]

No.

[Captain Bradford]

Come on, skipper, out with it.

[Skipper (Captain John Craig)]

What about the old sailor?

[Captain Bradford]

Dead.

[Jerry Hall (continued or another male character, possibly Tex)]

Dead?

[Jerry Hall]

Dead.

[Captain Bradford]

No more news, eh?

[Narrator]

Nope.

[Captain Bradford]

That all there was to it?

[Skipper (Captain John Craig)]

Yep.

[Jerry Hall (continued or another male character, possibly Tex)]

Then we know as much as the old sailor will ever be able to tell us about his magic island and the little girl on it.

[Jerry Hall]

I'm afraid so, Mrs. Gregory. But if the old man told the truth about the position of the island, we can find it easy enough.

[Captain Bradford]

That all, skipper?

[Skipper (Captain John Craig)]

Nope. Got something on your mind?

[Narrator]

Yep.

[Captain Bradford]

Let's have it.

[Narrator]

Come.

[Captain Bradford]

Me?

[Narrator]

You.

[Captain Bradford]

I'll be with you in a minute, Skipper.

[Skipper (Captain John Craig)]

We've got a little work to do on this chart.

[Narrator]

Now?

[Captain Bradford]

Now. Important? Very.

[Skipper (Captain John Craig)]

Okay, you and Jerry work on that chart. Pat, I've got to go up on

[Captain Bradford]

the bridge with the skipper.

[Jerry Hall]

Gee, Captain Bradford's sure a dandy fella, isn't he?

[Mrs. Patricia Gregory]

I think so, Jerry.

[Jerry Hall]

Uh huh. I can see you do.

[Jerry Hall (continued or another male character, possibly Tex)]

Why, Jerry.

[Jerry Hall]

Oh, I don't mind. It's all right with me.

[Mrs. Patricia Gregory]

Well, thank you, Jerry.

[Jerry Hall]

Well, that's all right. Say, there's something I don't quite understand about this boat of yours. Oh, yes, that funny old guy that was just in here and won't say more than the words of the time. He's the skipper, isn't he?

[Mrs. Patricia Gregory]

Yes. And though he does have a peculiar way of speaking, he's the best yacht captain I've ever seen.

[Jerry Hall]

Oh, sure, sure. Anybody can see he knows his business on the water. But what I mean is. Well, you call him skipper and Captain Bradford captain. Now, all the boats I ever heard of, there was only one skipper, and he was the captain, or only one captain, and he was the skipper or only. Oh, now I'm all mixed up.

[Mrs. Patricia Gregory]

That's easy, Jerry. The skipper, Captain John Craig, is captain of my yacht. Captain Bradford's title is from the army and he acts as master and owner's representative when we're aboard the Joan Gregory. Anything else you'd like to know about me?

[Jerry Hall]

Well, gee, I don't mean to be rude, Mrs. Gregory, but you made me tell you all about myself. And you even had my dad come down to the dock and asked him a lot of questions.

[Mrs. Patricia Gregory]

So we did, Jerry, you must remember that you came to my house at midnight a stranger. Surely you understand that in a case like this, we couldn't take any chances with you.

[Jerry Hall]

Well, I'm taking chances with you.

[Mrs. Patricia Gregory]

I never thought of it just that way. But perhaps you are, Jerry. Very well. Cross examine.

[Jerry Hall]

Swell your house. Your house was a funny place with a front door that took flashlight pictures of a fellow when he opened it.

[Mrs. Patricia Gregory]

I have a great many valuable things in my home.

[Jerry Hall]

Well, that part's all right. But how about the shortwave radio in your automobile? You know it's against the law to have a shortwave set in your car unless you're working for the government. Say, are you a G man? No, no, I mean a G lady.

[Mrs. Patricia Gregory]

I'm afraid I can't answer that, Jerry. At least not until we know you a little better. In the meantime, you can safely look to Captain Bradford for all your orders.

[Jerry Hall]

I'm glad to get that much of it straightened out anyhow.

[Mrs. Patricia Gregory]

And now that you're satisfied as to my offices, we'd better study this chart as Text told us to.

[Jerry Hall]

Oh, may I ask you just one more thing about your little girl?

[Mrs. Patricia Gregory]

Of course.

[Jerry Hall]

Well, nobody knows exactly what she looks like now, but I've been thinking about that picture you showed me of yourself. You know, taken when you were about the same age Joan is now. Don't you think she would most likely look like that?

[Jerry Hall (continued or another male character, possibly Tex)]

Why, I suppose she might. Why do you ask?

[Jerry Hall]

Well, to tell you the truth, Mrs. Gregory, I. I've been hoping she would look exactly like that picture. Then if she'll only grow up to be as pretty as you are now. Well, it's kind of nice for a fellow to know what his girl is going to look like when she gets older.

[Jerry Hall (continued or another male character, possibly Tex)]

Jerry.

[Mrs. Patricia Gregory]

Jerry, you're way ahead of yourself, I'm afraid. Why, you're just 16.

[Jerry Hall (continued or another male character, possibly Tex)]

Known Joan would be barely 15.

[Jerry Hall]

Well, 16 is pretty old. I guess I know what I want. And when we find Joan. Well, you see, I'll show you.

[Mrs. Patricia Gregory]

Jerry, you do help me a lot.

[Jerry Hall (continued or another male character, possibly Tex)]

I've been rather hopeless and doubtful about it all.

[Mrs. Patricia Gregory]

You seem to be just taking it for granted that we're really going to find my little girl.

[Jerry Hall]

I've got a hunch. And when I get a hunch, everything's gonna come out slick.

[Jerry Hall (continued or another male character, possibly Tex)]

Oh, Tex.

[Mrs. Patricia Gregory]

What did the skipper say? What's wrong? The storm getting worse?

[Jerry Hall]

Sounded like it when you opened that door. But the boat isn't rolling any more than it was.

[Jerry Hall (continued or another male character, possibly Tex)]

Well, Tex, what is it? You look so.

[Mrs. Patricia Gregory]

Has something happened?

[Captain Bradford]

I don't think so yet. But if it hasn't happened, something is going to happen.

[Mrs. Patricia Gregory]

What?

[Captain Bradford]

The skipper took me up forward and showed me. Well, things I'd never seen before.

[Jerry Hall]

Is the storm going to be a bad one?

[Jerry Hall (continued or another male character, possibly Tex)]

Well, that wouldn't make Tex act like this. Jerry, he's been through a lot of storms.

[Captain Bradford]

But this is different. This is one storm we can't go through.

[Jerry Hall]

What? What do you mean, sir?

[Captain Bradford]

Just what I said. Son, if it doesn't make sense to you, then we're in the same boat.

[Jerry Hall (continued or another male character, possibly Tex)]

Tell us what it is, Tex. Jerry and I aren't afraid. What's going on?

[Captain Bradford]

I've been standing up there on the bridge with a skipper for 10 minutes. The bow of this boat has been right up against what I'd call a heavy bank of fog. And there we stay.

[Jerry Hall]

Is the wind so high we can't make any headway?

[Captain Bradford]

Did you ever see a bank of fog stand Stand perfectly still in that kind of a wind?

[Jerry Hall (continued or another male character, possibly Tex)]

Tex, what are you getting at? A fog bank standing still in a gale. And the boat doesn't make any way?

[Captain Bradford]

No. You might as well come on deck, both of you. And you won't think it's just me that's crazy. Come on. Now.

[Skipper (Captain John Craig)]

Come up forward and see it for yourselves.

[Jerry Hall (continued)]

Golly, whiskers, that's some squall.

[Jerry Hall]

Right.

[Jerry Hall (continued)]

And we're running right smack into the center of it.

[Crew Member]

I've seen lots of these. Let the skipper make everything fast, and

[Jerry Hall (continued or another male character, possibly Tex)]

we'll go below and ride it out.

[Skipper (Captain John Craig)]

You've never seen one of these. We've been right here with the prow of this craft hard against that fog bank for the last half an hour.

[Captain Bradford]

And the engines are full speed ahead.

[Jerry Hall (continued)]

You mean that fog is holding us here? Just like a brick wall.

[Crew Member]

Bud, that's impossible.

[Jerry Hall (continued)]

I guess if the storm was hard enough, we'd almost stand still.

[Skipper (Captain John Craig)]

We might, Jerry, but that isn't it. Even if that could be the case, wouldn't this fog move a little?

[Captain Bradford]

Wouldn't the roll of the boat change

[Skipper (Captain John Craig)]

and look around you?

[Captain Bradford]

Wouldn't the storm be going someplace?

[Jerry Hall (continued)]

Golly gee, you're right, Captain. Look, Mrs. Gregory. The ocean is as smooth as if it had oil on it. Everywhere except right in front of us. And the sky is clear. There is something funny about this.

[Crew Member]

What can it mean, Tex?

[Mrs. Patricia Gregory]

I never heard of anything like this before.

[Crew Member]

It's weird, Uncanny. Just the smooth mountain of Fog ahead.

[Mrs. Patricia Gregory]

Dead ahead.

[Crew Member]

We're on the edge of a roaring storm, and yet we can't be. For all's clear around us. The motors are nearly tearing the boat to pieces. Yet we don't move. What is it, Tex? What is it?

[Jerry Hall (continued)]

Now, don't get excited, Mrs. Gregory. I guess nothing can happen that the skipper and Tex and I can't handle.

[Crew Member]

I'm not exactly afraid.

[Jerry Hall]

No, nor I.

[Skipper (Captain John Craig)]

But I'd like it better if we could understand it.

[Jerry Hall (continued)]

Will you let me try something, Captain? I've got an idea.

[Skipper (Captain John Craig)]

That's one more idea than I've got. Go to it, son.

[Jerry Hall (continued)]

Well, signal the engine room for full speed astern and let's see what happens. I never heard of a storm that you couldn't run into or out of or around or away from or something.

[Skipper (Captain John Craig)]

We'll try it, Jerry. Full speed astern it is.

[Mrs. Patricia Gregory]

Now.

[Jerry Hall (continued)]

They're coming. It's pulling hard astern now.

[Crew Member]

But we don't move. The yacht. Act in the that. She was tied up by the bow. We don't move, Ted. We don't move.

[Skipper (Captain John Craig)]

Danny. Pat, don't go to pieces.

[Jerry Hall]

Well, Jerry, that didn't do any good, did it? I give up.

[Crew Member]

There must be something to do. This can't be real.

[Jerry Hall]

Gee, that's funny.

[Jerry Hall (continued or another male character, possibly Tex)]

The storm stopped and the engines have stopped.

[Captain Bradford]

Everything has stopped. Why, there is, miss.

[Jerry Hall]

That fog is standing perfectly still and straight like a gray cement wall. Only a little tiny piece of fog floating off into the still air. This. This is getting kind of spooky, isn't it?

[Captain Bradford]

There's something mighty wrong here. I don't like it, but what can we do?

[Skipper (Captain John Craig)]

Yes, skipper. What is it now?

[Narrator]

Stopped.

[Skipper (Captain John Craig)]

What stopped?

[Narrator]

Everything.

[Jerry Hall]

Generators and everything in the engine room.

[Captain Bradford]

Everything. I'll get on the radio and see what I can raise.

[Narrator]

Stopped?

[Captain Bradford]

Well, we can run it from the batteries. Dead. Batteries dead, eh? And every instrument on board is stopped. You stay here and stand watch, skipper. Hold the crew ready.

[Skipper (Captain John Craig)]

I've got an idea.

[Captain Bradford]

Come back in the charge room, Pat.

[Skipper (Captain John Craig)]

You too, Jerry.

[Mrs. Patricia Gregory]

All right.

[Jerry Hall]

What are you thinking of?

[Captain Bradford]

Captain Bradford, look at this chart.

[Jerry Hall (continued or another male character, possibly Tex)]

Oh, Our position doesn't mean anything if

[Mrs. Patricia Gregory]

the instruments are out of order.

[Captain Bradford]

But the instruments were all right just as we hit this. This thing, whatever it is. We haven't moved since.

[Skipper (Captain John Craig)]

There. Right there is our exact position.

[Captain Bradford]

Look at it.

[Crew Member]

Oh, I see it now.

[Mrs. Patricia Gregory]

Look, Jerry.

[Jerry Hall (continued or another male character, possibly Tex)]

We're there.

[Crew Member]

This is the spot.

[Jerry Hall]

Then our position is right. The old sailor said. Yeah. The ship won't move. That bank of fog.

[Jerry Hall (continued)]

Sure it is.

[Jerry Hall]

It must be.

[Jerry Hall (continued)]

This is the Magic Island.

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