Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio – AFRS Command Performance Thanksgiving Special 1944-11-23

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode: AFRS Command Performance Thanksgiving Special 1944-11-23
Date Published: November 6, 2025
Main Theme:
A heartwarming and humorous entertainment broadcast from Thanksgiving Day, 1944, featuring musical performances, lighthearted sketches with notable radio stars, reflections on American traditions, and a message of gratitude to the Armed Forces overseas. The episode celebrates the communal spirit of Thanksgiving during wartime, blending music, comedy, and patriotic sentiment.

Episode Overview

This special Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) Command Performance episode is set on Thanksgiving Day, 1944, and serves as both variety entertainment and a morale booster for U.S. troops fighting overseas. Hosted by Lionel Barrymore, the show features musical numbers by Percy Faith and his orchestra, comedic sketches with stars such as Dinah Shore, Wally Brown, Harry Von Zell, Fanny Brice (as Baby Snooks), Hanley Stafford, and Frank Morgan, and closes with a moving reflection on gratitude and hope for peace.

Key Discussion Points & Segments

1. Thanksgiving Greetings & Musical Medley

[00:36 – 05:45]

• Lionel Barrymore opens the show, addressing American soldiers overseas as "your old collection of hash marks," and welcomes listeners to a Thanksgiving "table" of entertainment.
• Percy Faith and the orchestra deliver a medley of American tunes, simulating the feeling of coming together for a national holiday, no matter how far away from home.

Quote:
"Music from America North, East, South. We like to have all the folks around the table for Thanksgiving, and we are mighty pleased this particular member timed a trip abroad so she'd be back with us today. Dinah Shaw."
— Lionel Barrymore [01:20]

2. Dinah Shore Sings "How Sweet You Are"

[05:45 – 06:36]

• Dinah Shore takes the spotlight, performing a warm and sentimental rendition of “How Sweet You Are,” evoking nostalgia and emotional connection for listeners far from home.

3. Thanksgiving Dinner Sketch: Comedy & Wordplay

[06:36 – 12:06]

• Wally Brown hosts a fictional Thanksgiving dinner with Dinah Shore and Harry Von Zell. Their comedic banter covers everything from household quirks and rationing challenges (wartime realities) to Thanksgiving traditions.
• Dinah and Wally exchange witty lines about moths in the closet celebrating Thanksgiving, mock complaints about hunger, and a deliberately muddled recounting of the first Thanksgiving.

Quote:
"After all, it's Thanksgiving for moths too."
— Dinah Shore [08:40]

"He was raised strictly on Congress. And around here he had plenty to eat, too."
— Wally Brown, referring to the turkey [09:11]

4. The First Thanksgiving – A Farcical Retelling

[10:32 – 12:06]

• Wally tells a freewheeling, humorous "history" of the first Thanksgiving, packed with anachronisms and puns (Pilgrims arriving in "one Plymouth," Indians with a "reservation").

Quote:
"There was a boatload of pilgrims... How could they all fit into one Plymouth?"
— Wally Brown [11:10]

"Everybody came. Even the Indians came. They had a reservation."
— Wally Brown [11:54]

5. John Charles Thomas Sings "We Gather Together"

[12:26 – 14:48]

• A stirring, traditional hymn reinforces the gratitude theme, invoking togetherness and blessing.

6. Baby Snooks Thanksgiving Fantasy

[15:12 – 23:49]

• Fanny Brice (Baby Snooks), Hanley Stafford, and Frank Morgan star in a delightful post-feast sketch set in the Higgins home.
• Snooks and her father Lancelot engage in classic “child logic” banter—full, tired, hungry again, and sleepy—after Thanksgiving dinner.
• It turns bizarre as they both dream they've turned into turkeys and meet Frank Morgan as a bombastic rooster, worrying about being served as dinner rather than eating it.
• Filled with gags about kitchen roles, holiday food, and a pun-filled barnyard chase.

Quote:
"You just said you had too much to eat. Now you're hungry."
— Hanley Stafford (as Daddy) [16:04]

"Do I talk like a turkey? ... Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble."
— Fanny Brice (Baby Snooks) [16:57-17:00]

7. “Thanks” and “Plenty To Be Thankful For” – Patriotic Spirit

[23:58 – 26:54]

• Dinah Shore & chorus perform an Irving Berlin song and “Plenty to Be Thankful For,” highlighting gratitude not only for material blessings but for the Allied countries and military branches fighting for freedom.

Quote:
"Thanks for the Yanks and for China and the Dutch and for all who’ve done so much for freedom... For Canada, for England, Australia and New Zealand..."
— Dinah Shore & Chorus [24:19]

"Still I've got plenty to be thankful for..."
— Dinah Shore (singing) [24:54]

8. Closing Reflections – Hope & Gratitude

[27:51 – 28:25]

• Lionel Barrymore closes the show with a sober but uplifting message to those serving abroad, recognizing the pain of separation on Thanksgiving but emphasizing gratitude for America’s freedoms, resources, and international friendships.

Quote:
"It’s pretty tough for any soldier or sailor to get excited about Thanksgiving Day when he’s a few thousand miles away from home and the cranberry sauce. But let’s all be thankful anyway that we've got a country to come home to..."
— Lionel Barrymore [27:51]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Wartime Humor:
  "Tell us a Thanksgiving story, Wally." "Oh, but that's done it. An after dinner story. Tell you probably will do card tricks, too."
  — Dinah Shore & Wally Brown [10:35]

• Uplifting Music:
  "We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing..."
  — John Charles Thomas & Chorus [12:44–14:48]

• Touching Realization:
  "I just realized we have a lot to be thankful for..."
  — Hanley Stafford (Daddy) [23:25]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Thanksgiving Introduction & Welcome: [00:36]
• Percy Faith Orchestra Medley: [01:20 – 05:45]
• Dinah Shore “How Sweet You Are”: [05:45 – 06:36]
• Thanksgiving Dinner Comedy Sketch: [06:36 – 12:06]
• John Charles Thomas “We Gather Together”: [12:26 – 14:48]
• Baby Snooks and Barnyard Fantasy: [15:12 – 23:49]
• Dinah Shore & Chorus “Thanks” and “Plenty to Be Thankful For”: [23:58 – 26:54]
• Closing Message from Lionel Barrymore: [27:51 – 28:25]

Tone and Style

The tone throughout is a lively blend of warmth, nostalgia, and zany humor—with heartfelt patriotism and gentle encouragement during a difficult wartime Thanksgiving. Playful wordplay, musical nostalgia, and a recurring undercurrent of hope and gratitude anchor the episode, making it both entertaining and emotionally resonant for its original audience of homesick GIs, as well as today’s listeners seeking a window into the Golden Age of Radio.