Podcast Summary: Leave It To Mike – "Broad As A Barn Door"

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode Date: November 3, 2025 (Original Air Date: April 4, 1946)
Host: Mutual Broadcasting System Presenters

Overview

This episode of Leave It To Mike, a sitcom from the golden age of radio, features the hapless yet earnest Mike McNally, general manager at Berkeley's Sporting Goods Store. The central plot revolves around Mike's comedic misadventures as he aspires to become a great actor to impress his sweetheart Dinny and his boss—only to discover he’s in over his head.

Key Discussion Points & Plot Breakdown

1. Mike’s Ambitions and Dinny’s Challenge

• [01:25] After a movie night, Mike’s girlfriend Dinny teases and challenges him to break out of his dull job and pursue greatness—ideally, as a dramatic actor like Gary Cooper.
  • Dinny: "If only you were exactly like him [Gary Cooper]... If you had a profound personality... I’d be proud to marry you then, Mike.” (02:37)
• Mike recounts his dubious acting pedigree through a series of self-deprecating jokes and puns about bad roles and amateur performances.

2. Meet the Eccentric Armor Swift

• [05:37] Dinny encourages Mike to impress visiting theater luminary Armor Swift ("like Orson Welles... Alfred Hitchcock... a genius of the theater").
• Swift is introduced with absurd affectations—he claims his book contains no words and is used for balancing on actors' heads.
  • Armor Swift: “Who puts words in books? My book teaches people how to act. It weighs seven pounds.” (07:46)
• Mike attempts to showcase his talents with Shakespearean recitations and song snippets, earning only Swift's amused bafflement and an invitation to try out for his radio program.

3. Preparation for Stardom

• [13:35] Dinny and Mr. Berkeley discuss their hopes (and reservations) for Mike’s debut, with Mr. Berkeley inviting important customers to witness the event.
  • Mr. Berkeley: “McNally’s acting genius will make his radio debut the biggest thing since Charlie McCarthy interviewed Mae West.” (13:23)
• Mike seeks acting help from co-worker Jennifer and endures a bawdy retelling of her New Year’s party.

4. Radio Parodies and Practice

• [17:15] In characteristic meta-humor, Mike tunes in to a “backwards” radio soap opera parody, then tries (and fails) to rehearse Romeo and Juliet with stockroom worker Mr. Gribble, who stuffs Juliet’s mouth with marshmallows and derails the scene with wisecracks.

5. Rehearsal and Reality Bites

• [24:46] At the actual rehearsal for Armor Swift’s program, Mike is gradually demoted from a significant part to a silent corpse as Swift revises the script in exasperation:
  • Armor Swift: “Perhaps you’ll get killed on page 18... page 7... When do I get killed?... When the show begins.” (25:53)
• Mike learns that his big radio debut is nothing more than making the “pop” sound of a soda bottle—a realization delivered in a perfectly deadpan exchange with Mr. Berkeley.

6. The Final Gag and Wrap-Up

• [27:34] Mike discloses the disappointing nature of his role to his boss, who’s mortified after hyping Mike’s acting to key customers.
  • Mike: “In that announcement, after they say the stuff about Fizz, they open a soda bottle... I’m gonna bring the bottle open.” (27:38)
• The episode closes with the classic door/window mix-up and a sendoff set to a characteristically silly song title.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Mike, on acting inspiration:
  “Maybe if I was a bit more like Gary Cooper...” (02:11)
• On acting teachers:
  Dinny: “Study Bolaslavski, Ousman... Stanislavski and to Genev. You’re familiar with their work, aren’t you?”
  Mike: “Ms. Backfield Notre Dame ever had.” (04:19)
• Armor Swift on his book:
  “My book teaches people how to act. It weighs seven pounds.” (07:46)
• Mike’s Shakespeare audition:
  Mike: “Beneath the spreading chestnut tree... Good, huh, Mr. Swift?” (10:03)
• Armor Swift’s assessment:
  “You recite trees with all the enthusiasm of a pack of dogs. Now get me gone.” (10:32-10:37)
• Jennifer on New Year's:
  “Uncle Charlie threw a saddle over a bottle of White Horse and started looking for Indians.” (14:19)
• Berkeley’s analysis of Mike as an actor:
  Dinny: “Personally, I think as an actor Mike conveys two emotions.”
  Mr. Berkeley: “Two emotions?”
  Dinny: “Joy and indigestion.” (22:10-22:12)
• Mike’s big chance revealed:
  Mike: “I’m gonna bring the bottle open.” (27:38)

Important Segment Timestamps

• Mike’s Movie-Inspired Ambition: (01:25 – 04:53)
• Meeting Armor Swift & The “Silent” Acting Book: (06:49 – 08:16)
• Mike’s Shakespearean “Audition”: (10:03 – 10:39)
• Preparation (Dinny & Berkeley Scheme): (13:08 – 13:35)
• Radio Parody/Backwards Soap Opera: (17:15 – 18:24)
• Romeo and Juliet Skit: (19:17 – 21:28)
• Rehearsal with Swift – Mike’s ‘Death Scene’: (24:46 – 25:57)
• Reveal of Mike’s Real Role: (27:34 – 27:42)

Summary Tone & Style

This episode playfully satirizes 1940s radio and stage drama, blending affectionate mockery with slapstick and verbal wit. Armor Swift channels theatrical pomposity while Mike good-naturedly bumbles his way through inflated dreams and farcical setbacks. The dialogue sparkles with puns, running gags, and affectionate lampooning of backstage egos and radio’s “golden age” tropes.

Conclusion

By the end, Mike's aspiration has comically crashed into reality—his debut as a “bottle opener” lands far short of the stardom he (and his boss) anticipated. The episode stands out for rapid-fire repartee, theatrical satire, and charmingly low-stakes showbiz silliness, emblematic of old-time radio's blend of innocence and sharp wit.