In thinking about how Labor Day commemorates all of the struggles for justice and fairness in the workplace as well as how the workplace remains the fundamental battleground for our civil rights, I find myself thinking about Norman Corwin.
A common criticism of Corwin's work is that his conviction as a social critic often eclipsed his skill as a dramatist, his radio plays often populated with concepts instead of characters but this is a willful misreading of what Corwin was out to achieve with his writing. It's like ignoring the majestic visuals of HOW THE WEST WAS WON [or perhaps the virtuoso acting in INHERIT THE WIND] just to take the filmmakers to task for not creating more realistic characters onto which the audience could project themselves. It's fitting that a man obsessed with democracy would create art on a scale determined entirely by each audience member; some can hear only voices in Corwin's plays, while others see the entirety of America.
Norman Corwin is alive and hopefully well, having celebrated his centennial last May 3rd. I've not seen this documentary yet, but the trailer does a fine job of selling the man's greatness:
MP3s of Corwin's radio work:
Columbia Workshop -- "Movie Primer" "Cromer" "Tel Aviv" "440530 Untitled" "Home for the Forth [sic]" "El Captain and the Corporal" "Unity Fair" "Daybreak"
Between Americans, as rebroadcast on the December 7, 1941 episode of THE GULF SCREEN GUILD THEATER. Orson Welles narrates with a wonderful mixture of his Important radio voice and just a little of his hometown Kenosha twang.
The Plot To Overthrow Christmas -- we all can only wish we could write something this clever and slyly subversive. Corwin does at least as much with words and sound as Dr. Seuss does with words and pictures.
One World Flight, Corwin's epic travelogue of his journey around the post-WWII world.
The Moat Farm Murder from THE MERCURY SUMMER THEATRE, a murderer's confession showcasing a gripping solo perfomance from Welles.
The Odyssey of Runyon Jones a charming social fantasy about a boy and his dog.
"On a Note of Triumph," Corwin's often stunning take on the end of WWII in Europe, broadcast May 8, 1945.
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Not a Corwin production, but an important turning point in his career involved his adaptation of Edgar Lee Masters' SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY, a poetic book of self-eulogies given by the deceased residents of an entire village. The radio legend goes that not only was Corwin's adaptation so brilliant it catapulted him from a small New York radio station into the upper echelons of CBS' coast-to-coast programming, it also moved Masters to tears. This is a Librivox recording of the book.
And, because we can't have enough of this guy, here's a recent, far-ranging hour-plus chat:
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