Podcast Summary: The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show – “Christmas 1940”

Episode Date: December 10, 2025 (original broadcast December 23, 1940)
Podcast Host: Harold's Old Time Radio
Featured Cast: George Burns, Gracie Allen, Artie Shaw, Bud Heaston, The Smoothies
Theme: A classic, fast-paced holiday episode blending music, zany comedy, and Christmas shenanigans.

Episode Overview

This episode of The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show is a delightful comedic romp set around the holidays. As the cast prepares for a special Christmas radio play, the main plot centers on Gracie’s frantic and increasingly nonsensical search for the missing scripts—lost amidst Christmas shopping, oddball errands, and escapades at the post office. True to form, the ensemble mixes classic vaudeville banter, witty one-liners, musical performances, and lighthearted chaos, all sprinkled with Christmas cheer and the recurring theme of Spam—the sponsor’s product.

Key Discussion Points and Segments

1. Opening Antics and Banter

Timestamp: 02:41 – 06:00

• Introduction of the Cast: George and Gracie are welcomed as the “Spam stars,” launching into a series of quips and jokes about movies and their own showbiz history.
• Hollywood Gags: Gracie recounts seeing “Second Chorus” with Artie Shaw and Fred Astaire, blending actual observations with her signature confusion and comic misunderstandings.
  • Classic Gracie Malaprop:
    • Gracie: “Every time he opened his mouth, he stuck his clarinet in it.” (03:28)
    • George: “You know how Fred Astaire jumps up in the air and clicks his heels three times? Well, I can jump up in the air and click my heels four times... Okay, watch.” (04:25–04:31)
    • Gracie: “Swell. You can come down now.” (04:40)

2. The Saga of the Missing Scripts

Timestamp: 06:26 – 13:46

• Gracie’s Misadventures:
  Gracie can’t remember where she left the radio scripts, launching into a long-winded, tangential story about her day, involving music in a drugstore, weighing herself, feeding pigeons, and confusing encounters with sales clerks.

  • Quotes:
    • Gracie: “I put a nickel in the phonograph and played Beat Me Daddy six to the bar.” (07:32)
    • George: “Six to the bar?”
      Gracie: “Yeah, it was a cut rate drugstore.” (07:45)
  • The rest of the cast alternately tries to focus Gracie and reacts to her rambling story.

• Christmas Shopping Confusion:
  Gracie reveals she took all her Christmas presents—including the scripts—to the post office and accidentally addressed everything to the May Company exchange department.

  • George: “You addressed all your gifts to the exchange department?”
    Gracie: “Yeah. That’ll save my friends a lot of trouble after Christmas.” (13:41)

3. Post Office Pandemonium

Timestamp: 15:41 – 24:40

• At the Post Office:
  The group navigates huge lines, encounters a colorful clerk, and Gracie causes further chaos by talking her way behind the counter, reading children’s letters to Santa aloud, and making increasingly nonsensical jokes.

  • Example Gag:
    • Gracie: “Listen to this one. Dear Santa Claus, please send us a man for Christmas. And if you can't find one, please come yourself. Signed, Brenda and Kabina.” (18:28)
    • Gracie: “Dear Santa Claus, we've been waiting for you for a long, long time, but you never come to visit us. If you don't come this year, what will I tell the children? Signed, Mrs. Santa Claus.” (18:57)

• Stamp Window Routine:
  Gracie, pretending to be a postal clerk, tries to upsell stamps, confuses actors for presidents (Henry Fonda as Lincoln), and riffles with George about their vaudeville days.

  • Gracie: “If I were you, I’d take one of our six cent stamps. They last longer and they're washable.” (21:27)
  • Man: “I’d like a one cent stamp with Lincoln’s picture.”
    Gracie: “Which Lincoln do you mean? Henry Fonda or Walt Houston?” (21:45)

• Resolution:
  The superintendent finally appears with Gracie’s missing package—but only after a string of perfectly-timed, madcap identification questions.

  • Superintendent: “Now, miss, can you identify yourself?”
    Gracie: “Oh, where’d I look? In the mirror. Yeah, that’s me.” (24:22)

4. “Gracie’s Dynamic Play”: The Show Within a Show

Timestamp: 24:53 – 25:29

• The special play resumes—George, Bud, and Artie are awaiting execution, and Gracie returns from her errand with “terrible news.”
  • George: “You mean we’re going to the gas chamber?”
    Gracie: “Worse than that.”
    George: “We’re going to be hanged?”
    Gracie: “Worse than that.”
    George: “Electrocuted?”
    Gracie: “Worse!”
    George: “Well, what could be worse?”
    Gracie: “I left the scripts in the taxi.” (25:17–25:29)

5. Musical Finale: Christmas Cheer with “Jingle Bells”

Timestamp: 25:39 – 28:37

• The Smoothies (the vocal group) and the cast launch into an extended, joyous rendition of “Jingle Bells,” with jokes and even lines in Spanish.

  • George wryly ad libs: “How I love this time of year / When I can always bring a cheer / I know I really love to sing / Some people say I sound like Bing, so now I’m really going to swing.” (27:13)

• Gracie’s Holiday Message:

  • “I wish you all good Christmas cheer, a bright and happy coming year...” (28:20)

6. Classic Ending and Final Gag

Timestamp: 29:26–29:37

• Gracie: “What did the Governor of North Carolina say to the Governor of South Carolina?”
  George: “What did he say?”
  Gracie: “Merry Christmas!” (29:31–29:37)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Gracie’s logic-defying charm:

  • “You can come down now.” (04:40, after George claims his dance prowess)
  • “I addressed all my gifts to the exchange department. That'll save my friends a lot of trouble after Christmas.” (13:41)

• Mailroom Mayhem:

  • Gracie reading Santa letters on-air, including “Dear Santa Claus, please send us a man for Christmas...” (18:28)
  • The exchange about the “washable” stamps (21:27)

• Meta-Commentary:

  • George: “Everything happens to me.” (14:00)
  • Artie: “What a madhouse this post office is. I sat down at that long table over there and before I knew it, I was weighed, stamped, and airmailed special to Pomona.” (23:30)

• Holiday Spirit:

  • The multi-language, group “Jingle Bells” with each main cast member featured (25:45–28:37)
  • Gracie’s closing Christmas wishes (28:20)

Format and Tone

• Pacing: Rapid-fire wit and punchlines, with a focus on wordplay, miscommunications, and topsy-turvy logic, especially from Gracie.
• Atmosphere: Warm, bustling, happy, and in perfect tune with the festive holiday spirit and family-centered listening of 1940s radio.

Key Takeaways

• The episode is a masterclass in slapstick radio comedy and festive spirit, driven by Gracie Allen’s endearing illogicality and zany adventures.
• It offers a window onto Golden Age radio—showcasing big band music, playful sponsor integration, and ensemble chemistry.
• The holiday is a framing device for both an escalating plot (mislaid scripts) and a heartwarming finale (musical caroling and Christmas wishes).

Timestamps: Important Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |------------------------------- |------------| | Opening Banter | 02:41–06:00 | | Gracie’s Search for Scripts | 06:26–13:46 | | Post Office Chaos | 15:41–24:40 | | The “Dynamic Play” Resumes | 24:53–25:29 | | “Jingle Bells” Musical Finale | 25:39–28:37 | | Final Gag and Goodnight | 29:26–29:37 |

For listeners seeking witty comedy and holiday nostalgia, this “Christmas 1940” episode is a classic: the perfect showcase of George Burns and Gracie Allen’s on-air magic.