Monday, December 25, 2017

The Christmas Story


Luke 2 :1-39King James Version (KJV)

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.
(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
22 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;
23 (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)
24 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.
25 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.
34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;
37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
39 And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.

Sunday, December 10, 2017

Little Town of Bethlehem - A Classic Christmas Radio Drama



The First Nighter Program. December 22, 1945. CBS Radio Network. "Little Town Of Bethlehem" written by Anthony Wayne. Sponsored by: Campana Cosmetics.

Cast: Barbara Luddy (Mary), Olan Soule (Joseph), Herb Butterfield, Hugh Studebaker, Phillips H. Lord, and Willard Waterman.

For many over the past 40 - 60 years on television, Christmas would not be Christmas unless Rudolph returns to the island of misfit toys, Linus tells Charlie Brown what Christmas is all about, George Bailey wants to live again, and there is at least one (or 12) Hallmark presentations.

Before television, there was radio. In that great period known as the "Golden Age of Radio" (c. 1922 - 1960) Christmas wasn't Christmas without Amos telling his daughter Arbadella the meaning of the Lord's Prayer, or Lionel Barrymore's annual performance as Ebeneezer Scrooge....and the annual presentation of "Little Town of Bethlehem" by The First Nighter Program. The First Nighter (1930 - 1953) was "radio's little theater off of Time Square" and each week the listener - via sound effects, music and acting - was given the illusion of visiting a Broadway theater for a new performance.

 In 1933 Anthony Wayne's* script for "Little Town of Bethlehem" was first performed and was glowingly received. The play became the programs' most anticipated story and would be repeated each Christmas. This 1945 broadcast was the 9th annual presentation and notes that it is the first "peace Christmas" since 1940. The play is very good, but makes the common Biblical/dramatic error of having all the events of Christ's birth happen in one evening (the shepherds, Wise Men, Joseph's dream), but this may have been done for time. The play has an interesting element of having Herod stay in the inn that holy night, therefore the innkeeper placed Mary and Joseph in a stable because he was expecting a king to honor his household, and had no room for a Nazarene carpenter and his expecting wife! Out of reverence, the Campana sales company has only one advertisement, a Merry Christmas greeting.


Buffalo Courier-Express, Saturday, December 22, 1945. Radio news article about this broadcast with a picture of actress Barbara Luddy who plays Mary.
.
Mary and Joseph were played by various actors over the program's run, perhaps most famously by actress Barbara Luddy and actors Les Tremayne and Olan Soule. Only the 1945 & 1952 performances still exist. In the 1945 version that I have posted, Luddy is heard as Mary and Olan Soule is Joseph. Both were among the best radio and voice over artists to grow out of Radio's Golden Age. Luddy was "Lady" in Disney's Lady And The Tramp (1955), Soule was later the voice of Batman in 1960s & 1970s cartoons, and the voice of Bishop Clement Clark Moore in a 1968 Christmas special.

I first heard this broadcast in an old-time radio cassette collection nearly 15 years ago and have listened to it every Christmas since. It gives me great pleasure to share this great tradition with you.
Wishing you dear reader a Very Merry Christmas and please enjoy the 9th annual presentation of "Little Town of Bethlehem".

*"Anthony Wayne" was a psuedonym for I. Willard Crull (1906 - 1999), treasurer for the Campana Cosmetics Company when he wrote this script. He was later president of the company from 1942 - 1974. - update added October 2, 2020. 

Thursday, December 7, 2017

"Hymnalogues" For Christmas & Fall/Winter 2017 Updates

Hymnalogues

3-minute color films with classic Christian hymns enhanced with miniatures, produced in Hollywood.



As an older millennial, it is hard to imagine a time when Power-points or some sort of screen images weren't used in musical worship. It turns out that the church has used devotional film aids a lot longer than we might think.

The Hymnalogue films were short visualizations of church hymns created by Neil McGuire Productions and the (ADA) Audio-visual Devotional Aids of North Hollywood. Four were released in the fall of 1945* for Christmas: O Little Town Of Bethlehem, Silent Night, Jingle Bells, and O Come All Ye Faithful. Three of these shorts seem to be in the public domain and appear in various Christmas video collections. If anyone has seen the "Silent Night" film, please contact me.

The earliest mention I could find of these films was in the August 1944 issue of Home Movies Magazine, in which they were credited to "Song Book of the Screen of North Hollywood". It is likely that they became ADA a year later since they were also distributed by Post Pictures.



Each short features singing by a quartet called the ADA Crusaders while the words go across the screen. Clever miniatures and limited motion graphics enhance the meaning of the song. This technique was called "action-minature" and is credited to Neil McGuire (1893 - 1972), a film director and producer. McGuire and ADA produced at least 29 of these shorts for church use all distributed by Post Pictures Corporation of New York. According to the 1949 Educational Film Guide some titles were: Onward Christian Soldiers, God Be With You Till We Meet Again, and In The Garden. Only the the 3 Christmas shorts seem to be available today.

Please check your church basement! Also it would be fun to try McGuire's technique of filming Hymns with miniatures, even in this age of Adobe products.

* On IMDB these Christmas shorts are dated 1950, but this is incorrect according to film bulletins and magazines.

- Most of this information is from the September 1945 issue of Film World News, pg. 267

UPDATES FOR FALL/WINTER 2017

There are a lot of great new additions to the FBSM blog. 4 new pages have been added to the blog site for the history of Bible based storytelling, to make your Christmas merrier and for the teaching and study of the Bible.

FBSM Theater
I am excited to announce a theater page were I am showing prints of rare and incredible films made by Christian filmmakers across the 20th century. These films come from the Gospel Film Archives,  and I am extremely grateful to film historians Bob Campbell and Ron Hall for sharing a digitized print of the landmark Christian drama The Great Commandment (1939) for the debut of this page.

Christmas Library 2017 
In 1994, an interesting news article revealed an all too obvious truth about media during the Christmas season. That scarcely any of the many Christmas specials on television acknowledge the birth of Christ as central to the meaning of Christmas. So with that in mind I have tried to create a log of family programming to help parents be aware of Christmas specials that focus on the birth of Christ on television, radio, home video and even free downloads from the Golden Age of Radio.

During the Christmas season there will be new blog entries on films, children's books, crafts and more to teach and inspire during this most wonderful time of year.

Apologetics & Education 
While the main focus of FBSM is creative Bible storytelling, because of the urgency of our times I've created a page specially for the study of Apologetics, Christian History and Education. This page features the best radio ministries that broadcast weekly or daily in the United States and around the world.

Bible Study
I've also created a Bible Study page with links to some of the best online resource of edification in the Word of God.

Facebook! - Family Bible Storytelling Media
This is a bold new venture for me, so the page will gradually look better.

YouTube too! - FBSM YouTube Channel