Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio

Episode: Amos & Andy 49-11-13 Thanksgiving Show

Date: November 15, 2025
Host: Harolds Old Time Radio

Overview

This episode of Harold's Old Time Radio features a classic installment of “Amos & Andy,” originally aired on November 13, 1949. The episode, known as the "Thanksgiving Show," brings to life a humorous misadventure involving the Kingfish, Andy, and a tourist named Lucy Benson. The comedy centers around mistaken identities, a supposed international spy, and a courtroom farce, all wrapped in the show’s beloved blend of wit, wordplay, and musical interludes. The episode also highlights a Thanksgiving theme and familial reunions, with Sapphire (the Kingfish's wife) returning to visit relatives, and the antics that unfold in her absence.

Key Discussion Points & Segments

1. Sapphire Departs for Chicago

[01:47]

• Sapphire prepares to leave on a 10-day trip to visit relatives.
• The Kingfish, characteristically thrifty, tries to send his laundry with her. She refuses, leading to their typical comedic banter:
  • Kingfish: “No, honey, not only ain’t you going to carry it, but I ain’t going to carry it neither. This time we is going to do the thing right. Oh, Red cap...”
    [02:34]

Notable Quote:

Sapphire: "You take that back home and wash it yourself."
[02:20]

2. Kingfish’s New ‘Business’: The Sightseeing Scam

[03:10] – [04:43]

• Kingfish, seeing an opportunity, masquerades as the proprietor of a sightseeing service and signs up Lucy Benson, a naive tourist, for $10/day walking tours of New York.
• He plans to make $70 off seven prepaid days.

Notable Quotes:

Kingfish (to Lucy): “We is the largest sightseeing company in the world.”
[03:57]

Lucy: “Will the bus be very crowded?”
Kingfish: “Bus? You hoof it!”
[04:19 – 04:28]

3. Recruiting Andy: The FBI Ruse

[05:31] – [09:45]

• Kingfish enlists Andy to guide Lucy around town, tricking him by claiming she’s a European spy under investigation by the FBI.
• He stages a fake secret phone call to “Washington” and swears Andy in as a ‘secret agent.’
• Andy is persuaded the job is dangerous but is hooked when told the female spy is beautiful.

Notable Quotes:

Kingfish: "Andy, I just thought here. How would you like to join up with FBI and handle the job?”
Andy: “Sorry, too dangerous.”
Kingfish: “The spy's a beautiful figure and she's a good looking gal.”
Andy: “Shake hands with your new FBI man.”
[08:17 – 08:44]

Kingfish (as oath): "I, Andrew H. Brown, swears to keep my big mouth shut and to walk my feet off from a country. I also swear not to tell anybody that I the FBI agent and to go on looking stupid so nobody will suspect that I suspect him."
[08:55 – 09:11]

4. Gospel Interlude: ‘Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho’

[09:53] – [12:43]

• A musical interlude with the gospel chorus singing "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho," providing typical 1940s radio show variety.

5. Shorty the Barber's Comic Relief

[13:59] – [16:12]

• Shorty the barber adds slapstick humor, claiming to have been a detective and recounting amusing attempts to grow taller.
• Reveals Andy is being paid directly by Lucy, which upsets Kingfish as he’s being cut out of the fee.

Notable Quotes:

Shorty: "I made up my mind right then and there that I would grow taller like other fellow... after working on it for a year, I increased my height by two full inches."
[15:33 – 15:50]

6. The ‘Spy’ Plot Intensifies, with Andy Fooled

[16:21] – [19:17]

• Kingfish tricks Andy into believing he’s committed treason by accepting money from a spy.
• The plot thickens with references to historical traitors, fabricated FBI tactics, and further spy spoofs.

Notable Quotes:

Kingfish: “The FBI stops at nothing.”
[17:20]

Andy: “This gal, Lucy Benson, sound like a dangerous woman. I'm going out with her again. And if she makes one false move, I'm gonna turn her into the police.”
[18:50 – 19:02]

7. The Arrest and Trouble Ensue

[20:25] – [21:26]

• Andy, convinced of Lucy’s suspicious activity, has her arrested while she’s innocently taking pictures of a battleship.
• Lucy calls, furious: “I've just been released from jail and I'm gonna sue you both for $5,000 for false arrest.”
  [21:03]

Notable Quotes:

Lucy: “I’ve never been so mortified my whole life. I've just been released from jail and I'm gonna sue you both for $5,000 for false arrest.”
[21:06]

8. The Courtroom Farce

[23:15] – [27:13]

• In true Amos & Andy fashion, the conflict goes to court.
• Lucy testifies about being scammed and arrested; Kingfish and Andy's lawyer bumbles through a defense.
• The ‘fireworks’ promised by the defense lawyer fall flat after a botched attempt to accuse Lucy of a crime decades before she was born.
• The court suggests settling out of court to resolve the mess.

Notable Quotes:

Stonewall (lawyer): “Is it not true that under the alias of Maggie Bronson, you served an eight-year prison stretch in the Ohio State Penitentiary for armed robbery in 1926?”
Lucy: “I wasn't born till 1928.”
[24:45 – 25:07]

Kingfish: “Couldn't we settle this here thing out of court?”
[27:13 – 27:19]

9. Resolution and Final Gags

[27:21] – [28:34]

• Kingfish and Andy agree to lie low to avoid legal trouble, spreading the rumor that Kingfish fled to South America.
• In the final twist, Sapphire returns home and introduces her long-lost cousin—Lucy Benson—to Kingfish, much to his horror.

Notable Quotes:

Sapphire: “This is my husband, George Stevens. This is Lucy Benson.”
Kingfish: (panicked) “Oh, no, let him.”
[28:28 – 28:34]

10. Sponsor Spots and Announcements

• Several segments pitch “Rinso with Solium,” claiming it gets clothes "whiter than new," and promote a Mercury car contest. These are integral to the show's format, anchoring it in its radio era.

Memorable Moments & Quotes with Timestamps

• Walking Tour Sold as ‘Intimate’:

  • Lucy: “Will the bus be very crowded?”
  • Kingfish: “Bus? ...You hoof it.”
  • [04:19 – 04:28]

• FBI Oath:

  • Kingfish: "I, Andrew H. Brown, swears to keep my big mouth shut and to walk my feet off from a country..."
  • [08:58 – 09:11]

• Shorty’s ‘Growing’ Story:

  • Shorty: “After working on it for a year, I increased my height by two full inches.”
  • [15:50]

• Courtroom Blunder:

  • Lawyer: “Is it not true that under the alias of Maggie Bronson, you served the eight year prison stretch in the Ohio State Penitentiary for armed robbery in 1926?”
  • Lucy: “I wasn't born till 1928."
  • [24:45 – 25:07]

• Family Reunion Disaster:

  • Sapphire: “This is my husband, George Stevens. This is Lucy Benson.”
  • Kingfish: “Oh, no, let him.”
  • [28:28 – 28:34]

Conclusion

This episode encapsulates the charm and style of Golden Age radio comedy, blending farce, mistaken identity, and musical entertainment. Through clever deception, slapstick wit, and a parade of colorful characters, "Amos & Andy" delivers a tightly woven comedic story around the Thanksgiving season. Even for new listeners, the episode serves as a window into the humor and rhythms of 1940s radio, with its lively sponsor spots and satirical take on American life.

Recommended for:
Fans of vintage radio, classic comedy, and those interested in American humor and cultural history of the era.