The World Adventurers' Club
2-CD
Set
Reviewed by Bonga
Imagine yourself seated at the bar of a posh London
club.
To your left, Nayland Smith and Blake of Scotland Yard are
sipping sherry, while chatting with Tal Chatoli and Rex
Bennett. To your right, Clyde Beatty and Cptn. Jim Marsden
are playing mumblety-peg with Crash Corrigan. Pat Ryan,
Lance Reardon, and, lord help us, Ray Mala are playing a
round of darts. At the piano, Ace Drummond is clearing his
throat. At the billiard table, Smilin’ Jack and
Jungle Jim are chalking their cues.
What would these guys talk about if they all got
together?
“The World Adventurers Club” is probably as
close as we’ll come to getting an answer to that
question. This fascinating series, which sounds like it
must have been broadcast in the very early 1930s, takes the
form of the regular meetings of a club of globe-trotting
explorers, scientists, agents provocateur and soldiers of
fortune. When not escaping from headhunters or surviving
arctic blizzards, the adventurers like nothing better than
hearing a good story told by one of their number. Just as
serial heroes would probably relive their adventures with
their peers, these guys spin each other yarns from their
most recent expeditions to the nether parts of the globe.
Following each hackle-raising tale, the gang gathers round
the piano for a rousing sing-along.
In the manner of Irish folk music, this series is quaint
and, at the same time, vigorously red-blooded. The stories
are extremely well-done. Scripting is tight, sound effects
are atmospheric, acting is solid. Although quite short,
each story is fully involving and rich with detail. They
seem longer than they are. The adventurers circle the
uncivilized corners of the world, fighting revolutions,
tracking lost expeditions, battling bandits and hunting
treasure. They’re very good at what they do--this is
the gang you would want around when the chips are
down.
And, they know it. The prevailing world view of the
storytellers is patrician and assuredly
colonial--accordingly, some of these tales are far from
21st Century PC, and the occasional slur or derogatory
slight is the only feature which would make this
time-capsule series less than perfect as an introduction to
radio drama for children.
About the songs: everyone in this club can sing and sing
well: these gents know their harmony, vibrato and
counterpoint. The songs are all the kind of tune that Ace
Drummond would sing (if he knew more than just one song).
They add tremendously to the suave, clubby and somehow
veddy upper-class atmosphere of the series. If the serial
squadron members can sing like this at the Serialfest bar,
we should cut an album.
According to the Grood Doctor’s New Year's post, we
can look forward to another disc of this series. I
don’t know where his crack team of
audio-archaeologists dug this series up, but they’ve
unearthed a real treasure. I shall look forward to another
round of these stories.
Printable Mail-Order Form
CD Volume 1
1. Opening Music/Introduction
2. Song: The Men Who Sail the Main
3. Dr. Roberts’ Story: Papua Escape
4. Song: Jungle Night
5. Jack’s Story: Manchurian Limited
6. Song: Thundering Guns
7. Frank’s Story: Pancho Villa’s Treasure
8. Song: Soldier’s Homecoming
9. Dick Hampton’s Story: The Borneo Diamond
10. Song: Law of the Jungle
11. Captain Hale’s Story: The Frozen North
12. Song: March on for Gold
13. Dr. Rappeliais’s Story: Land of Doomed Souls
14. Song: The Silent Maiden
15. Evans’ Story: The Vale of Death
16. Song: Danse Macabre
17. Closing/End Theme Music
18. Song: Merrily We Go
CD Volume 2
1. Opening Music/Introduction
2. Song: Follow the Flame
3. Kornoloff’s Story: Rasputin, the Evil Genius
4. Song: Volga Boat Song
5. Prof. D’Agostino’s Story: Curse of the Black Hand
6. Song: Beside the Shalimar
7. Fielding’s Story: Mystery Land of India
8. Song: Song of the Sledge
9. Dr. Gilbert’s Story: The Tattooed Rose
10. Song: A Merry Crowd are We
11. Sorenson’s Story: Norway’s Luck
12. Song: On Land or Sea
13. Capt. Norton’s Story: Elephant’s Graveyard
14. Song: Forest Song
15. Clark’s Story: The Living Shroud
16. Closing/End Theme Music