Podcast Summary: CBS Columbia Workshop – "Miracle in Manhattan"

Podcast: Harold’s Old Time Radio
Episode Date: December 12, 2025
Original Air Date: December 21, 1941
Description: An evocative journey through Christmas Eve in 1940s Manhattan, exploring themes of hope, despair, and unexpected miracles, as imagined by the Columbia Workshop radio drama.

Overview of Episode Theme

This Columbia Workshop episode, "Miracle in Manhattan," embodies the classic Golden Age of Radio tradition—using vivid dialogue, sound effects, and an evocative premise. Structured as a Christmas Eve taxi ride through Manhattan, it spotlights a sharply realist cab driver, his mysterious, philosophical passenger, and the vignettes of urban New Yorkers whose lives intersect in miraculous, heartwarming ways. The format intertwines the grit of city life with transformative moments, culminating in a series of small but profound Christmas miracles.

Key Discussion Points and Story Highlights

1. Establishing the Christmas Eve Mood (00:39 – 03:55)

• The episode opens in a bustling Manhattan cab with a cab driver jaded by holiday chaos (“Christmas Eve is nothing but a first class headache. Slippery streets, screwy people with too many drinks under their belts...” – Cab Driver, 03:56).
• His passenger, mysterious and quietly observant, proposes a meandering tour of the city, setting the night’s adventure.

2. A Visit to Church – Reflecting on Faith and Aims (03:55 – 07:27)

• The passenger persuades the hesitant, lapsed cabbie to accompany him into a church:

  “Christmas Eve is Christmas Eve. ...People can come and think.” (Passenger/Narrator, 06:52)

• The cabbie’s reluctance signals skepticism but also a heart longing for meaning.

3. Miracle on the Corner: Jimmy the Newsboy Walks (09:00 – 13:38)

• In a classic New York vignette, the cab pulls up for a paper from Jimmy, a well-liked but physically disabled newsboy.
• Jimmy expresses his admiration for Joe DiMaggio, calling the Yankees’ pennant win his Christmas (11:57).
• A visitor, seemingly DiMaggio himself, arrives; the passenger orchestrates a handshake but only if Jimmy walks. Miraculously, urged by excitement and encouragement, Jimmy overcomes his disability and walks (“I’m walking. Look, I’m walking.” – Jimmy the Newsboy, 13:38).
• The cabbie is shaken by what he’s witnessed, hinting at disbelief and awe.

4. The Suicide Jumper – Redemption at the Brink (16:08 – 24:38)

• The narrative shifts to a tense crowd gathered beneath a hotel where a desperate former actor, Paul, is threatening to jump.
• The cab driver and passenger finagle their way inside, despite police keeping everyone out (18:13).
• A poignant exchange ensues:
  • Cab Driver vividly describes the reality of a suicide leap:

    “You tip off... your heart pounding in your throat... the night air hits your face... the people run, they yell like crazy... Suddenly it’s over.” (Cab Driver, 19:09)

  • Paul, brokenhearted, confesses how deeply he misses his estranged wife (21:44), waiting in despair for her arrival.
  • At the last possible moment—after tense, drawn-out seconds—the wife appears, and Paul is saved:

    “Thank God. Thank God you’ve come back.” (Paul, 23:44)

5. Another Miracle: The Blind Man (26:01 – 27:35)

• Back in the cab, a sudden accident: the car hits a blind man. The crowd’s panic yields, however, to amazement as the man spontaneously regains his sight (“I got up. I can see... And I can see!” – Blind Man, 27:02).
• The man credits a “cool hand” for his restoration, hinting at the miraculous influence of the mysterious passenger.

6. Reflections, Disbelief, and the Mysterious Stranger’s Departure (28:00 – 30:53)

• Incredulity sweeps through the crowd, some suspecting a scam, others defending the passenger. The cab driver is left to defend what he’s witnessed:

  “First it was Jimmy the Newsboy... then the jumper... now this blind man. All right, now, this ain’t funny, I’m telling you.” (Cab Driver, 28:41)

• The cabbie, now changed by the night’s miracles, searches for his enigmatic fare, but the stranger vanishes quietly into the Manhattan night. The significance of the night's events dawns as the once-jaded cabbie finds new meaning in the familiar Christmas carol—“Silent Night.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Christmas Eve’s Realities

  “To me, Christmas Eve is nothing but a first class headache... a cab driver’s gotta watch your step on a night like this.”
  – Cab Driver (03:56)

• On Hope and Prayer

  “When I was a kid, they used to teach us all kinds of prayers. Our Father… and now I forget the rest. Say, that’s kind of pretty, ain’t it?”
  – Cab Driver (06:10)

• The Miracle Moment

  “I’m walking. Look, I’m walking.”
  – Jimmy the Newsboy (13:38)

• Describing the Leap

  “You tip off... your heart pounding in your throat... the night air hits your face, ice cold... The lights go brighter. Down, down, down. Suddenly it’s over.”
  – Cab Driver (19:09)

• On Regret and Redemption

  “I haven’t been good for anything without her. ... I’ve tried everything—written, prayed… but it isn’t any use.”
  – Paul (21:44)

• Restoration of Sight

  “I got up. I can see. I can see!”
  – Blind Man (27:02)

• Cabbie’s Changed Heart

  “Before, it almost drove me fast... Now all of a sudden, I feel like I’d give anything to hear [‘Silent Night’] again… What a night this is, huh?”
  – Cab Driver (29:26)

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:39 – Introduction by cab driver and setup of the “Miracle in Manhattan” premise
• 03:55 – Cab driver, passenger, and reflections on the meaning of Christmas
• 10:46 – 13:38 – Interaction with Jimmy the Newsboy and the miracle of his walking
• 16:08 – 24:38 – High-rise suicide scene and emotional rescue by wife’s arrival
• 26:01 – 27:35 – Cab accident and blind man’s miraculous recovery of sight
• 28:00 – 30:53 – Aftermath, debates, and the mysterious passenger vanishes

Tone and Style

True to its era, this drama weaves everyday hardship and hope through fast, colloquial banter—a snappy cabbie, a cool, enigmatic passenger, and colorful side characters. The dialogue is sometimes wry, sometimes earnest, shifting from skepticism to wonder as each “miracle” unfolds. The atmosphere oscillates between gritty realism and magical possibility in the tradition of classic holiday radio stories.

Conclusion

“Miracle in Manhattan” is both a quintessential Christmas tale and a tapestry of urban life—showing how small, mysterious acts of kindness can ripple through even the toughest city streets. In just thirty minutes, listeners encounter skepticism, faith, desperation, joy, and ultimately, a reaffirmation that miracles—big or small—can happen, especially on Christmas Eve.