Magic Island (radio)
Encyclopedia
Magic Island was a science-fantasy radio serial syndicated in 1935. The series had 130 15-minute episodes, and all episodes have survived.
The storyline followed wealthy Patricia Gregory as she ended her 14-year search in the South Pacific for her long lost daughter Joan. When Joan was one-year-old, the Gregory yacht was shipwrecked near the 30th parallel south
. Lashed to a lifeboat, Joan was presumed lost by all but Patricia. In the opening episode, she receives a tip about a white girl living on a mysterious island populated by scientifically advanced people in the Pacific. After the reunion of mother and daughter, the program dramatized their subsequent adventures on the island which could submerge to escape detection.
Targeted at a juvenile audience, Magic Island featured Sally Creighton as Patricia Gregory, Rosa Barcelo
as Joan Gregory, Tommy Carr as Jerry Hall and Will H. Reynolds as Capt. Tex Bradford.
The producer-writer was Perry Crandall, who was also the program's announcer.
has several plot parallels with Magic Island.
The storyline followed wealthy Patricia Gregory as she ended her 14-year search in the South Pacific for her long lost daughter Joan. When Joan was one-year-old, the Gregory yacht was shipwrecked near the 30th parallel south
30th parallel south
The 30th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 30 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Australasia, the Pacific Ocean and South America....
. Lashed to a lifeboat, Joan was presumed lost by all but Patricia. In the opening episode, she receives a tip about a white girl living on a mysterious island populated by scientifically advanced people in the Pacific. After the reunion of mother and daughter, the program dramatized their subsequent adventures on the island which could submerge to escape detection.
Targeted at a juvenile audience, Magic Island featured Sally Creighton as Patricia Gregory, Rosa Barcelo
Rosa Barcelo
Rosa Barcelo was a radio actress who portrayed Joan Gregory on Magic Island and Queen Melissa on The Cinnamon Bear....
as Joan Gregory, Tommy Carr as Jerry Hall and Will H. Reynolds as Capt. Tex Bradford.
The producer-writer was Perry Crandall, who was also the program's announcer.
Characters
- Mrs. Patricia Gregory (Sally Creighton) - a wealthy widow searching for her shipwrecked daughter, Joan. It is implied in the series that she is a highly-connected U.S. government agent.
- Cleostra/Joan Gregory (Rosa Barcelo) - the 15-year-old daughter of Patricia found alive and well on the island of Euclidia.
- Captain Tex Bradford - Mrs. Gregory's right-hand man in her search for Joan. It is implied in the series that he is a highly-connected U.S. government agent as well as being an inventor.
- Jerry Hall - the boy who overheard a radio message from Euclidia regarding Joan; accompanies the Gregory party to the Magic Island.
- G-47 - the scientist who rules Euclidia.
- "Girl Submarine Commander"/Elaine (voiced by the same actor as Carmen Bandini in Jerry of the CircusJerry of the CircusJerry of the Circus was a 1937 syndicated radio serial broadcast for a juvenile audience. It was presented in 130 15-minute episodes of which 128 are in existence today. The series followed the adventures of Jerry Dougan and his dog Rags with the Randall Brothers Circus from the time of his...
) - the commander of the submarine fleet of Euclidia who becomes a member of the Gregory party during the series.
Influence
The television series LostLost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
has several plot parallels with Magic Island.
See also
- The Cinnamon BearThe Cinnamon BearThe Cinnamon Bear is an old time radio program produced by Transco , based in Hollywood, California. The series was specifically designed to be listened to six days a week between Thanksgiving and Christmas....
- another 1930s-era radio program intended for juvenile audiences - Jerry of the CircusJerry of the CircusJerry of the Circus was a 1937 syndicated radio serial broadcast for a juvenile audience. It was presented in 130 15-minute episodes of which 128 are in existence today. The series followed the adventures of Jerry Dougan and his dog Rags with the Randall Brothers Circus from the time of his...
- 1936 series about an orphan boy's adventures with the circus (not the same Jerry as the one in Magic Island). Its sequel was Jerry at Fair Oaks. - Land of the LostLand of the Lost (radio)Land of the Lost was a 1940s radio fantasy adventure, written and narrated by Isabel Manning Hewson, about the adventures of two children who traveled underwater with the fatherly fish Red Lantern...
- 1943-48 radio fantasy