Movies that Love Radio
Submitted by Oedipus on Sat, 12/11/2004 - 13:30
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- The Barnyard Broadcast (1931) Mickey runs radio station ICU from his barn. His friends play various musical numbers. A cat wanders in and starts yowling (which sets Pluto, who was listing from his doghouse, off). Mickey puts it out, but it, and several kittens, keep coming back in, playing with the equipment, running through the musicians (chased by a broom-wielding Mickey, who does a great deal of damage himself), and generally making a mess of things.
- The Big Broadcast (1932) The manager at a local radio station puts on a singer (Bing Crosby) who is immediately a hit with his listeners. The problem is that the young singer doesn't seen to be too serious-minded about his career, which becomes a matter of concern for the station management.
- Blue of the Night (1933) Bing Crosby, famous on the radio but not yet in films, bumps into a girl boarding a honeymoon train; everyone mistakes them for newlyweds. Not knowing who he is, Marian claims her fiancée is Bing Crosby. The situation begins to appeal to Bing.
- The Black Network (1936) The owner of a shoe polish company sponsors a radio show that showcases black performers. Since his wife's father put up the money to be the sponsor, she insists on singing on the show. She goes on after the main star, singer Nina Mae McKinney. The wife sings so badly that the sponsor's customers abandon him. He is forced to shine shoes on street corners, while Nina Mae and her boyfriend win a bet on a daily number and end up on easy street.
- Behind the Headlines (1937) Eddie Haines is a radio reporter with Station KBC. He is always getting the scoop, which infuriates those at the New York Star, which happens to employ his ex-girlfriend Mary Bradley. But when Mary is kidnapped while thinking she is getting a scoop on a big story, Eddie and Mary, (ie. the print media and the radio media), must work together to rescue her.
- Behind the Mike (1937) Complications ensue after a radio producer insults a sponsor. In this The "NEW" Universal presentation, high-tempered New York radio producer George Hayes quarrels with Cyrus Wittles, sponsor of the Crunchie Munchie Hour, and loses his job. He hears that station WBAM in Valley Falls needs a new manager and heads there. Stumbling into the wrong station, WVOX, he meets Jane Arledge, program manager for local town-magnate, Harry Fox. She directs him to WBAM and he finds it is a collection of junk in an abandoned stable. Humiliated, he boasts to Jane that he will put the old station on its feet again. He sends for his announcer friend, Tiny Martin, after convincing station-owner Pete Jones that Martin can give valuable aid in reviving the station. Merchants fear to use WBAM, although they despise Fox and his crony, Mayor Applegate, who is up for re-election.
- Big Town Girl (1937) When a department store songstress becomes a radio star she keeps her identity secret, as the "Masked Countess", because he estranged husband is a crook.
- Blonde Trouble (1937) Fred Stevens, on his way to New York City with hopes of succeeding as a songwriter, meets and falls in love with Edna Baker, an employee in a dentist's office. In New York, Fred meets Paul Sears, a broken-down songwriter, his wife Lucille and her gold-digging sister, Eileen Fletcher. Fred and Paul write a song together and take it to Hart. but when Fred and Paul go to him asking why the song hasn't been published, Hart tells them it isn't any good and he was using Fred to help rid him of Eileen. Fred now realizes he loves Edna. A popular radio singer sees Fred's song in Hart's office and sings it on the air, and it becomes a hit.
- Love Is on the Air (1937) Andy McCaine is the ace crime reporter for a radio station. However, his exposés of corruption in high places gets him in trouble with the sponsor of his show, E.E. Nichols, who is in league with gangster Nicey Ferguson. Nichols pressures Andy's boss to demote him to a children's show, but Andy finds a way to use the kid show to bust open a murder case.
- The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine (1942) Mike Jason (Dennis O'Keefe), idea man for the Bullard Advertising Agency, and Cleo Arden (Gloria Dickson), director of the Jimmy Valentine radio program, based on the exploits of the old-time safe cracker, fear their jobs are in jeopardy when the sponsor decides to switch his show to another agency. Mike suggests that a $10,000 prize be offered to anyone who can locate the real Jimmy Valentine. Mike and Mousey (George E. Stone), a little chiseler who has attached himself to Mike, follow a clue to a small town. Unknown to Mike, Mousey is out for revenge and kills two innocent men before they learn the identity of the real Jimmy Valentine (Roman Bohnen). Mousey tries to kill Valentine but he himself is killed in the scuffle. Mike refuses to identify Valentine, claiming that one of the murdered men was the real Jimmy Valentine.
- Who Done It? (1942) Two dumb soda jerks dream of writing radio mysteries. When they try to pitch an idea at a radio station, they end up in the middle of a real murder when the station owner is killed during a broadcast.
- Aventure malgache (1944) The Moliere players are in their dressing room, getting ready to go on set. One actor mentions to another that his face reminds him of an opportunist turncoat he knew when he was in the Resistance. He then relates the adventure that he had in the Resistance, running an illegal radio station and dodging the Nazis.
- The Next Voice You Hear... (1950) "Joe Smith, American" lives in a Los Angeles suburb and works at an aircraft plant. One night Joe hears a voice cut in on a radio program: "This is God. I'll be with you for the next few days." It turns out, everyone in the world listening to any radio heard the same thing. More messages come; some people react positively, others negatively.
- Amor sobre ruedas (1954) A taxi driver participates in a singing contest of a radio station for non-professionals and enters the final round. Being among the finalists he meets at the radio station a famous singer and falls in love with her.
- American Graffiti (1973) Features the coming of age of four teenagers on their last summer night before college. Rediscover drag racing, Insipiration Point and drive-ins all over again in this nostalgic looks at the 60's. The incredible soundtrack brings you the most memorable rock 'n' roll hits of the era. Wolfman Jack is XERB radio Disc Jockey
- ABBA: The Movie (1977) Movie detailing ABBA's mega-successful tour of Australia during mid-1977. While it mostly contains back-stage footage and as well as ABBA's famous songs such as "Dancing Queen", "Tiger", "Name Of The Game" and "Eagle" among others sung filmed during their concerts in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide, it has the sub-plot of young country and western radio disc-jockey, Ashley, whose boss orders him to have a deep interview with ABBA and the problems he has trying to reach them as he forgets his press pass and ABBA's main bodyguard, (Tom Oliver) is determined to stop him...
- Anurodh (1977) Mr. Choudhary does not approve of his son, Arun, indulging in singing songs and music. He wants him to be a businessman like himself. Out of fear of his father finding out about his continued indulgence, Arun changes his name to Sanjay Kumar. He soon becomes a popular singer, and is even hired by the local radio station to sing songs. With his increasing popularity, the risk of his dad finding out the truth has also increased, and Arun must try and keep his family life and his singing career a secret, but the question is how long will he continue to do this.
- American Hot Wax (1978) This is the true story of Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed, who introduced rock'n'roll to teenage American radio audiences in the 1950's. Freed was a source of great controversy: criticized by conservatives for corrupting youth with the "devil's music"; hated by racists for promoting African American music for white consumption; persecuted by law enforcement officials and finally brought down by the "payola" scandals.
- Achter glas (1981) Behind Glass: A radio-reporter watches a window-washer and they become lovers. Their relationship starts fine but after a while it turns into a power struggle between the two guys of very different background and interests.
- Radio Days (1987) A nostalgic look at radio's golden age focusing on one ordinary family and the various performers in the medium. Woody Allen's sentimental reminiscence about the golden age of radio. A series of vignettes involving radio personalities is intertwined with the life of a working class family in Rockaway Beach, NY circa 1942.
- Big Swinger (1989) Jimmy is an ex-showband drummer who runs a pirate radio station in a small midlands town. He is assisted by Sid, his young side-kick, who is an aspiring musician. The peace and quiet of the town is disrupted when Jimmy's radio programme interferes with passing aeroplanes. The authorities send two heavies to close the station but Jimmy isn't going to give in without a fight.
- Bad Channels (1992) An alien lands in a small town and promptly takes over the local radio station. The disk jockey, Dan O' Dare, well known for his publicity stunts, becomes a hostage. The alien uses the radio station and Dan's amused audience to target and subsequently shrink women for his collection.
- Airheads (1994) Chazz, Rex, and Pip are a band known as The Lone Rangers, and all they're looking for is some attention. But when they take over a radio station with fake guns in order to get their song played over the airwaves, they get a little more than they bargained for.
- 99.9 (1997) Lara, the host of a radio call-in show dealing in psychic phenomena, discovers that her estranged lover has been found dead in a small Spanish village. She learns that he was conducting secret experiments searching for tortured souls trapped behind the energy of the living world. This leads her to an old abandoned house where the experiments took place, and where screaming faces seem to form within the stones of the walls...
- The Apostle (1997) Eulis 'Sonny' Dewey is a preacher from Texas living a happy life with his beautiful wife Jessie. Suddenly his stable world crumbles: Jessie is having an affair with young minister Horace. Sonny gets enraged and hits Horace with a softball bat, putting him into a coma. After that he leaves town, takes a new name, 'Apostle E.F.' and goes to Louisiana. There he starts to work as a mechanic for local radio station owner Elmo, and Elmo lets him preach on the radio. E.F. starts to preach everywhere: on the radio, on the streets, and with his new friend, Reverend Blackwell he starts a campaign to renovate an old church.
- 4 Second Delay (1998) A radio station invites one of the original reporters from the Watergate scandal to a call-in show. During the program a listener phones in and threatens to kill his hostages if the real identity of Deep throat isn´t revealed.
- Bare Deception (2000) The ratings of a radio sex-talk show are dropping. But after a listener is murdered, the sexy host finds her popularity is rising again. Is she behind the killings, or is it her producer--or someone else?
- American Nightmare (2002) On Halloween, seven friends call the American Nightmare pirate radio show to confess their fears. Unbeknownst to them, a serial killer is listening. Before the night is over, they will discover that their confessions have ignited a psychological game of cat-and-mouse with a killer intent on delivering their fears upon them.
- Airplay (2003) "Gabbin' Gary" is a mild mannered guy whose job is a talk radio disc jockey. When Death calls into his show to have a haunting debate about mortality, Gary quickly becomes caught up in a game of cat and mouse. In the end, Gary realizes that somebody must die to be the winner.
Author Comments:
This list includes:
1. Movies with characters that are involved in the Radio business or aspiring to it, including biopics.
2. Movies that take place in or around radio stations.
3. Movies where radios play an important part in the film, an example of this is The Next Voice You Hear... (1950).
This list does not include.
1. documentaries
Cloned From:
No Radio Days?
Thanks, I added it.
American Hot Wax, but no American Graffiti?
Reservoir Dogs may not have radio as a central plot device, but it shows the love...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Hows about Frequency ?