Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio

Episode: Roy Rogers 45-05-08 Porter Hall Villain

Release Date: August 21, 2025
Featured Guest: Porter Hall

Overview

This episode is a delightful rebroadcast from the golden era of radio, featuring the Roy Rogers Show as presented by Goodyear and the Armed Forces Radio Service during WWII. With a humorous and nostalgic tone, host Roy Rogers and a cast including Bob Nolan, The Sons of the Pioneers, Pat Friday, The Farr Brothers, and guest star Porter Hall guide the audience through an hour of western music, comedic banter, and tall tales. The highlight is a comedic sketch starring Porter Hall, famed for playing villains, recast here as a misunderstood "hero". The group also spins a yarn about Pecos Bill, the legendary cowboy of folklore.

Key Discussion Points & Segments

1. Warm Welcome & Introductions

[03:21 - 04:45]

• Roy Rogers and the cast greet the audience and introduce special guest Porter Hall, joking about his villainous reputation in films.
  • Notable Quote:
    • Porter Hall: "Well, I'm so misunderstood, Roy. To everyone who's ever seen my pictures, I'm a no good low down unprincipled crook. Now, honest, Roy, you know I'm not that way at all… much." [03:57]
    • Roy Rogers: "When Porter Hall is playing the part as a villain, it isn't the actor they're hissing, you can believe me." [04:28]

2. Porter Hall the Villain as the Hero

[04:35 - 05:04]

• In a twist, Roy offers Porter Hall the lead and heroic role in the evening's "amazing legendary story", stepping back from the spotlight himself.
  • Porter Hall: "That's what I call really being a hero. Giving a whole story to a screen bad man." [04:45]

3. Western Music & Comic Relief

Throughout - e.g. [02:00-03:21] [05:08-06:10]

• Several live performances, including “Locket in My Pocket,” “Ragtime Porter Hall” (dedicated to Porter), “Close as Pages in a Book” (Pat Friday), a burro song, and “Skies Are Bluer in Oklahoma.”
• Music is interwoven with lighthearted jokes and audience banter, capturing the era’s communal spirit.

4. Salutes and Wartime Messages

[06:10 - 07:06]

• A “toast” is given to Goodyear’s workers and those overseas, acknowledging the WWII context (Victory in Europe).
  • Notable Quote:
    • “A toast to the 24,783 of its men and women in the armed forces. Well done. To those in Europe, it's good luck. To those in the Pacific… and to the hundred thousand Goodyear employees at home who with their war work have contributed and are continuing to contribute to final victory.” [06:24 - 06:47]

5. Playful Villainy—The Deed Sketch

[09:33 - 10:25]

• A classic melodrama spoof: Porter “schemes” to obtain Pat’s ranch deed, only to be comically foiled when the paper is revealed to be a song.
  • Memorable Exchange:
    • Porter Hall: “Now I have you in my power.” [10:09]
    • Roy Rogers: “Doggone you, Porter Hall. Unhand that girl and give her back that deed.” [10:13]
    • Pat Friday: "Aw, shucks, Roy. That isn’t the deed to my ranch. It's just a song I'm going to sing tonight." [10:17]
    • Porter Hall: "Curses. Foiled again." [10:21]

6. The Legend of Pecos Bill

[17:32 - 28:36]

• Segment Begins: [17:32]
• Roy spins a tall tale about Pecos Bill, claimed ("not exaggerating?") to be the greatest cowboy ever known—a parody of American folklore:
  • Pecos Bill, raised by coyotes, brands cattle barehanded, and invents the six-gun.
  • Absurd adventures: wrestling bears, conversations with talking horses and snakes, riding a cyclone, creating Death Valley by falling from the sky.
  • Side characters (including Porter Hall) play up the comedy and playfulness of the legend.
  • Highlight Quotes:
    • Roy Rogers: "The six gun was definitely invented by Pecos Bill." [17:56]
    • Pecos Bill (Porter Hall): "I ain't no human being. I'm a regular natural born coyote. Don't I live with them varmints? Don't I talk to them? Don't I howl like them? Ain't I got fleas?" [19:50]
    • Stranger: "Now looky here, button. That ain't no proof you're a varmint. Why, sakes alive, ain't a human being in these parts that don't howl and ain't got fleas." [20:02]
    • Roy Rogers: "Where Bill landed, he weighed so much and fell so far that he knocked the Earth 150ft below sea level. Folks called the place where he landed Death Valley, 'cause they figured he'd never survive such a bump." [28:03]

7. Western Tall Tales—Breaking the Myth

[25:49 - 26:55]

• Pat questions the logic of animals talking to Pecos Bill.
  • Roy delivers the classic radio humor, referencing Bill’s coyote upbringing and using folksy lingo to smooth any narrative contradictions.
    • Roy: "He had more trouble talking straight Texan than he did chewing the rag with them varmints." [25:55]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Porter Hall on Being Misunderstood:
  "To everyone who's ever seen my pictures, I'm a no good low down on Principal Crook. Now, honest, Roy, you know I'm not that way at all… much." [03:57]

• Roy Hands the Hero Role to Porter:
  "And just to prove that you're the star and the hero, I'm not even going to play in it." [04:35]

• Classic Melodrama Reversal:
  Pat Friday: "It's just a song I'm going to sing tonight."
  Porter Hall: "Curses. Foiled again." [10:17-10:21]

• On Tall Tales & Texas Exaggeration:
  Roy Rogers: "As a matter of fact, he's the man who taught broncos to buck, who invented the six-shooter and considered the lariat one of his unimportant inventions." [17:32]

• Pecos Bill's Origin:
  Roy Rogers: "They say he was born in Texas. And he was quite a baby. Weighed 73 pounds and stood more than 4 feet tall... So Bill wound up living and playing with the coyotes." [18:10]

Important Timestamps

• Introduction & Guest Welcome: [03:21 - 04:45]
• "Ragtime Porter Hall" Song Dedication: [05:04 - 06:10]
• Goodyear Employees Toast (Wartime Salute): [06:10 - 07:06]
• Pat, Porter, and Roy’s Deed Sketch: [09:33 - 10:25]
• "Close as Pages in a Book" (Pat Friday): [10:25 - 12:12]
• Song about the Burro: [12:44 - 15:36]
• "Don’t Blame It All On Me" (Roy Rogers Solo): [15:36 - 16:43]
• Legend of Pecos Bill (tall tale section): [17:32 - 28:36]
• Final Song, "Skies Are Bluer in Oklahoma": [28:36 - 30:20]
• Wrap-Up & Farewell: [30:20 - 30:49]

Tone and Style

• Warm, humorous, and quintessentially American in its blend of music, tall tales, and tongue-in-cheek banter.
• The cast plays up archetypes and folklore, often breaking the fourth wall to wink at the audience.
• Patriotism is interwoven with entertainment, reflecting the WWII context (e.g., nods to Victory in Europe, salutes to workers and soldiers).

For New Listeners

This episode is a time capsule of 1940s radio: a mix of lively music, family-friendly comedy, and Western legend, featuring—at its heart—a self-aware, affectionate ribbing of both the cowboy myth and its favorite movie villain. Newcomers will find it both entertaining and historically illuminating, brimming with classic Western charm, humor, and musical performances.