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Jack Armstrong |
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Jack Armstrong! Jack Armstrong! Jack Armstrong! Jack
Armstrong! The All-American Boy! Wave
the flag for Hudson high, boys Show
them how we stand Ever
shall our team be champions Known
throughout the land (keep humming) Wheaties,
Breakfast of Champions, bring you the thrilling adventures of Jack Armstrong, The Allllll-American
Boy! ... Jack
Armstrong, the All-American Boy was
a radio adventure series which maintained its popularity from 1933 to 1951. The
storylines centered around the globe-trotting adventures of Jack Armstrong, a
popular athlete at Hudson High School, his friends Billy Fairfield and Billy's sister Betty,
and their "Uncle Jim," James Fairfield, an industrialist. While every show opened with a
vocal quintet singing the school fight song - "Wave the flag for Hudson
High, boys, show them how we stand" - Jack spent relatively little time
behind a desk or even on the gym floor. Frequently, "Uncle Jim"
Fairfield would have to visit an exotic part of the world in connection with
his business, and he would take Jack Armstrong and the Fairfield siblings
along with him. Many of the adventures provided listeners with the equivalent
of a travelogue, providing facts about the lands they were visiting. The
show which was sponsored throughout its long run by Wheaties. offered several
radio premiums that usually related to the adventures in which Jack and his
friends were involved, among them: a Torpedo Flashlight, a
Pedometer, an Explorer Telescope, a Secret Bombsight, a
Dragon's Eye Ring, a Rocket Chute, an Egyptian Whistling
Ring, and Tru-Flite model planes. Now
to the episodes which have survived É. Six
almost complete adventures have been correctly identified and beautifully
restored. The
first adventure (The Luminous DragonÕs Eye Ring) consists of 35 episodes of which 21 have survived
– on the surface, it seems as though there may be too many missing
episodes for a serial but since these ÒgapsÓ are spread out across the 35
episodes, the narrative flow of the adventure is not lost – it can be
enjoyed despite those odd missing episodes. The
second adventure (The Chart & Ring) consisting of 10 episodes, the third adventure (Country of Head
Hunters) consisting of 15 episodes,
the fourth adventure (Adventure of the Sunken Reef) consisting of 10 episodes, and fifth adventure (The
Zamboanga Adventure) consisting of
24 episodes; are all complete and have no missing episodes. The
sixth adventure (The Missing Professor Loring) consists of 12 episodes but two episodes (Nos 1
& 2) have not survived. Also, there are surviving
episodes from other stories after the sixth adventure, but not enough to
constitute an adventure which can be listened to and appreciated with any
continuity. They are a haphazard
ÒsprinklingÓ at best and as such have not been restored nor included here. Want
to check out a few episodes? What
about the first 4 fifteen minute episodes of the first adventure (The
Luminous DragonÕs Eye Ring)? These
can be freely downloaded to your computer - just right button click on any
link below and chose "Download Linked File" (or words to that
effect). The files sizes range from about 10Mb to 12 Mb - download time will
depend on your (broadband) speed JALDER_1940-09-30
Episode No. 1.mp3 JALDER_1940-10-01
Episode No. 2.mp3 JALDER_1940-10-02
Episode No. 3.mp3 JALDER_1940-10-03
Episode No. 4.mp3 In total, contained here on two MP3 CDs is a very nicely restored set of 90 (out of a
possible total of 106) fifteen minute episodes across 6 complete
adventuresÉ A. The Luminous Dragon's
Eye Ring (21 of 35 episodes) B. The
Chart & Ring (all 10 episodes) C. Country
of Head Hunters (all 15 episodes) D. Adventure
of The Sunken Reef (all 10 episodes) E. The
Zamboanga Adventure (all 24 episodes) F. The
Missing Professor Loring (10 of 12 episodes) |