Lux Radio Hollywood Presents Walt Disney's Pinocchio (Dec 25, 1939)

Lux Radio Theater was a classic radio anthology series broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company [ABC] in 1943–1945); CBS Radio network (Columbia Broadcasting System) (1935–54), and NBC Radio (1954–55). Initially, the series adapted Broadway plays[1] during its first two seasons before it began adapting films. These hour-long radio programs were performed live before studio audiences. The series became the most popular dramatic anthology series on radio, broadcast for more than 20 years and continued on television as the Lux Video Theatre through most of the 1950s. The primary sponsor of the show was Unilever through its Lux Soap brand. The show reenacted theatrical films as radio plays and was hosted by the legendary film director Cecil B. deMille.

For their Christmas 1939 program, Walt Disney presented Pinocchio with most of the cast from his film. The film had fallen behind schedule and missed its planned Christmas release but would debut six weeks later in February. This was the first time audiences ever met any of the characters or were told their story that's become quite familiar today. A few deleted verses to songs and a deleted reprise of When You Wish Upon a Star by the Blue Fairy can be heard in this special presentation. Pinocchio is the most lavish animated feature ever made and it's a shame it's not counted among the other 1939 Hollywood classics as the greatest year in cinema history.

Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.