Podcast Summary: Jack Benny 1943-11-21 - "The Awful Turkey Dream"

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Host: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode Date: November 26, 2025
Original Broadcast Date: November 21, 1943

Episode Overview

In this classic episode of The Jack Benny Program, listeners are treated to the comedic chaos leading up to Jack's annual Thanksgiving dinner. The show features Jack Benny and his regular cast as they navigate turkey shopping during wartime rationing, humorous misunderstandings at home, and Jack's surreal nightmare about becoming a turkey himself. The typical blend of slapstick banter, satirical social commentary, and musical interludes makes for a quintessential example of Golden Age radio comedy.

Main Discussion Points & Segments

1. Thanksgiving Dinner Planning and Turkey Shopping

(Starts roughly at 02:45)

• Jack prepares to host Thanksgiving, listing off an ever-growing guest list (me, Mary, Phil, Alice, Dennis, Mr. Billingsley, Mark Hellinger, the Warner Brothers, and his laundry man), which balloons the dinner requirements comically.
• Exchange with the Butcher:
  • Jack tries to buy enough turkey for 15 people, is shocked at the price (55 cents a pound for a 21-pound turkey), balks at leftovers, and inspects various poultry (mistaking a pigeon and a canary for turkeys).
  • Mary Livingston quips:
    • “Didn’t you invite Don Wilson?"
    • Jack, annoyed at Don’s appetite, replies: "Don ate more than he chipped in for." (03:30)
• Mrs. Greenberg’s Entrance:
  • She claims she had an 86-pound turkey last year because her fortune card said so, prompting witty banter. She also jokingly calls Jack a "social climber."
  • Quote – Mrs. Greenberg (on last year's turkey):
    • "86 pounds? Yes. And on the other side of the card, it said you will meet a tall, dark man.” (06:10)

2. Wartime Meat Scarcity and the "Refrigerator Tour"

(Starts around 08:10)

• Jack requests a steak, causing the butcher ("Tommy") to announce a “40 cent tour through the refrigerator” as if steaks are mythical during wartime rationing.
  • Butcher jokes: "It used to be 45, but the OPA put a ceiling on it." (09:05)
• The group partakes in the ‘tour’ where a seven rib roast is treated like a spectacle.
  • Memorable exchange:
    • "Don’t linger with your finger!"
    • "Just wanted to see if it was tender." (10:25)

3. Bringing the Turkey Home & Meeting Mr. Billingsley

(Starts around 13:00)

• Jack and Mary return home with the live turkey, running into Jack’s eccentric boarder, Mr. Billingsley.
  • Mr. Billingsley continues his surreal commentary:
    • “Why, Mr. Benny, I didn’t know you had a little one.”
    • “You may be surprised, but I’m not.” (14:00)
  • He is so odd, Mary suspects he doesn’t know if he’s “coming or going.”

4. Home Antics with Rochester and Mary

(Starts around 16:00)

• Rochester greets Jack and pets the turkey; Jack is sentimental and can't bear the thought of killing it.
• Mary and Rochester tease Jack about previous ‘turkey hunting’:
  • Mary accuses Jack of ‘accidentally’ running over a turkey with his car: “If she hadn’t stopped to lay an egg, she’d have lived to hatch it.”
  • Rochester adds: “That’s the first time I ever had white meat with Firestone written on it.” (18:20)

5. Dennis Day Requests a Raise

(Starts around 20:30)

• Dennis arrives to indirectly ask Jack for a long-promised salary raise—prompted by his mother.
• The conversation is awkward, as Dennis keeps running into closets by accident.
  • Jack: “If you want a raise, kid, just ask me like a man...”
  • Dennis: "But what shall I tell my mother?" (21:10)
• Dennis sings “Say a Prayer for the Boys Over There,” a patriotic wartime song. (22:10 – 23:45)

6. The “Awful Turkey Dream”

(Starts around 25:30)

• Jack falls asleep, leading to an outlandishly surreal dream sequence in which he is the Thanksgiving turkey:
  • He’s sold by weight, ending up in a turkey coop, then savage hallucinations where everyone is after him for dinner, or shouts “You’re a turkey!”
  • Former cast members reappear in dream-logic cameos.
  • Jack (bracing himself): "The next one that tells me I'm a turkey is going to get a punch in the mouth!" (29:00)
  • Don Wilson, unfazed, delivers the cereal ad: "Grape Nuts Flakes are toasty brown! Toasty brown. Sweet as a nut!" (29:10)

7. Wake-up and Comic Aftermath

(Starts around 31:00)

• Rochester shakes Jack awake from his nightmare, surrounded by feathers (from a torn pillow).
• Exchanges about Jack’s odd habits, shoes full of coins, and feather mess tie the scene together with comic rhythm.
• Rochester quips: "What a man. He's got shoes that jingle, jangle, jingle." (32:00)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On wartime rationing:
  “40 cent tour through the refrigerator? Yes, sir. It used to be 45, but the OPA put a ceiling on it.” (09:05)

• Mrs. Greenberg’s fortune turkey:
  “Yes. And on the other side of the card, it said you will meet a tall, dark man.” (06:10)

• Mary on Jack’s ‘turkey hunting’:
  “If she hadn’t stopped to lay an egg, she’d have lived to hatch it.” (18:10)

• Jack’s existential crisis as a turkey:
  “I’m not a turkey...I’ll prove I’m not!...Look at his web feet.” (27:50 onwards, dream sequence)

• Jack’s stand to Don Wilson (in a rage):
  “Now get out! Get out of here. Everybody. Get out. Get out!” (29:45, still in dream)

• Rochester on Jack’s condition after the dream:
  “Boss, your feathers are all over the floor.”
  “My feathers?”
  “You tore your pillow apart.” (31:15)

Additional Wartime Context and Musical Segment

• The program reminds listeners about the importance of the USO (United Service Organizations) and upcoming special broadcasts to support the troops. (Mid-to-late 32:00s)
• Dennis Day performs “Say a Prayer for the Boys Over There,” a poignant patriotic song, reflecting both the comedic and serious mood of radio shows during WWII. (22:10 – 23:45)

Conclusion

This Jack Benny episode is a classic example of 1940s radio, blending topical humor (wartime shortages, Thanksgiving family chaos), sentimental reflection, and absurdist slapstick. Listeners get both the nostalgia of pre-television entertainment and timeless comic routines, especially Jack’s infamous “turkey dream.” The chemistry between cast members like Mary, Rochester, and Dennis, plus walk-ons like Mrs. Greenberg and Mr. Billingsley, keep the laughs coming while providing a gentle reminder of togetherness and tradition.