Foreign Assignment

Foreign Assignment is an American old-time radio adventure drama. It was broadcast on the Mutual Broadcasting System from July 24, 1943, to January 8, 1944.^[1]

Foreign Assignment

Jay Jostyn starred as Barry Brian in Foreign Assignment.
Genre	Adventure drama
Running time	30 minutes
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
Syndicates	Mutual
Starring	Jay Jostyn Vicki Vola
Announcer	Joe Julian
Created by	Frank H. Phares
Written by	Frank H. Phares
Directed by	Chuck Vincent
Original release	July 24, 1943 (1943-07-24) – January 8, 1944 (1944-01-08)

Format

With World War II as background, Foreign Assignment related the activities of journalist Barry Brian and his assistant, Carol Manning, who were stationed in France,^[2] working for the American Press (a fictitious entity).^[3] The program's introduction came with the sound of a teletype printer in the background as the announcer intoned, "... that machine is beating out a story written especially for you; a story unfolded against the screen of actual events that are making the news."^[4] Journalism, however, was a cover, for Brian and Manning were really spies who worked against the Gestapo, leading the way for other radio series in which spies posed as reporters. ^[5]

Personnel

Jay Jostyn and Vicki Vola portrayed Barry and Manning, while during the same time span they had the two leading roles in Mr. District Attorney on NBC radio. Guy Repp, Bartlett Robinson, and Maurice Wells were often heard in supporting roles. The announcer was Joe Julian.^[3] Frank H. Phares was the creator^[6] and the writer. Chuck Vincent was the director. Henry Sylvern and his orchestra provided the music.^[3]

References

• Radio portal

1. Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 258. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3.
2. Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4.
3. Cox, Jim (2002). Radio Crime Fighters: Over 300 Programs from the Golden Age. McFarland. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-7864-4324-6.
4. Dunning, John (1976). Tune in yesterday : the ultimate encyclopedia of old-time radio, 1925-1976. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. p. 214. ISBN 0-13-932616-2.
5. Britton, Wesley Alan (2005). Beyond Bond: Spies in Fiction and Film. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 66. ISBN 9780275985561. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
6. Eaman, Ross (2009). Historical Dictionary of Journalism. Scarecrow Press. p. 142. ISBN 9780810862890. Retrieved 4 November 2017.