Title:

Front Page Farrell

Type:

Soap opera

Length:

15 minutes

Broadcast history:

June 23, 1941 - March 13, 1942 Mutual Network on weekdays at 1:30 PM. Sponsored

Anacin.

Sept. 14, 1942 - March 26, 1954 Weekdays on NBC at 5:45 PM through 1951. Then

weekdays at 5:15 PM. Sponsored initially by Anacin,

then the Whitehall Pharmaco Company (Kolynos

Toothpaste, etc.).

Cast:

Richard Widmark as David Farrell, ace reporter (circa 1941 - 1942)

Carleton Young as David Farrell

Staats Cotsworth as David Farrell (through most of the later run)

Florence Williams as Sally Farrell

Virginia Dwyer as Sally Farrell

Frank Chase as George Walker (Farrell's boss)

Robert Donley as Lieutenant Carpenter (New York Police)

Evelyn Varden as Mrs. Howard

Vivian Smolen as Carol Peters

Elspeth Eric as Ella

Betty Garde as Kay Barnett

George Sturgeon as Sammy Warner

Katherine Emmet as Lucy Beggs

William Shelley as Tim O'Donovan

James Monks as Luther Warren

The Front Page was billed as a crime serial but there was no mistaking what it really was - a soap opera. In its early days it was billed as "the unforgettable story of marriage and a newspaper office - the story of a handsome, dashing young star reporter on one of New York's greatest newspapers, and the girl he married on impulse, to save her from throwing herself away on a rich man twice her age." Farrell's job was the basis for all the shows and his wife, Sally, always went along on his stories. It didn't matter what the assignment was, Sally was there and often solved the case. During World War II the themes for the show were often gotten from the Office of War Information and concerned homefront problems. After the war, the topics included blackmail, murder, etc.. Most story lines were completed in about two weeks and often had colorful titles such as The Case of the Fatal Smile, The Lady and the Cheetah, and The Man Who Knew All the Angels.

Source:

On the Air - John Dunning

The Big Broadcast, 1920 - 1930 - Buxton and Owen