The three "truly missing" episodes that still need to be recreated

1948-07-08 The Last Chance

The is the first Auto-Lite broadcast after the failed 60-minute broadcast experiment. The CBS publicity effort was strong behind the return of the series and promotion of the first episode. Why the discs of this episode are missing is a surprise. Somebody took them out of the library for some reason and never returned them. But it's the first episode of a new sponsor, and you would think that there would have been reasons for multiple copies made for Auto-Lite and its agency, and other reasons. One thing against it, however, is there was no longer a need to produce the show twice for east and west. It is not clear if the recording was supplied to AFRS.

1948-07-04 Shreveport LA Times

1951-11-12 The Mission of the Betta

This is a WW2 drama about a secret submarine mission. Lewis produced it and Robson wrote it under a pseudonym. He used segments and staging of an episode of Man Behind the Gun. There are challenges to getting this one right from a recreation production perspective.

1951-11-11 Shreveport LA Times

1956-08-01 Massacre at Little Big Horn

This is a psychological drama about the night before the massacre of Custer's forces in late June 1876. Of the three, this might be one of the less compelling topics for a recreation. I suspect it might the last of them to be recreated. One review, however, was positive and mentioned that the experience of producing Fort Laramie was an advantage to making a compelling production. The broadcast was done around the 80th anniversary of the original event.

1956-08-06 Cincinnati OH Enquirer

(images via newspapers.com)

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