When A Girl Marries

In celebration of the British Royal Wedding taking place on Friday 29th April 2011 between Prince William, second in line to the throne of England, and Kate Middleton we are featuring the series When A Girl Marries.  It is the story of two young people who, like Prince William and Kate, are destined to know the joys and heartache that love can bring. It is a story for all those who like Joan and Harry have come to know what it means to hope and plan for the future and to dream of that wonderful day to come when a girl marries.

First broadcast on May 29, 1939, When A Girl Marries was a radio soap opera, each episode only 15 minutes long. CBS was the first network to air the show, and in 1941, NBC took over. All three networks had a part in this soap opera when ABC took it over in 1951 and broadcast the show until 1957.

Noel Mills starred as Joan Field, a high society debutante who marries a struggling lawyer, Harry Davis – against her mother’s arguments. Later in the show’s history, Mary Jane Higby played the part of Joan Field Davis.

John Raby was cast in the role of Harry Davis from 1939 until 1942, but joined the army, letting the part go to Robert Haag until Raby returned in 1946. Whitfield Conner and Lyle Sudrow were also cast in the part of Harry Davis in later years.

Marion Barney played the part of Harry’s mother and Jerome and Frances Woodbury played Joan’s parents. When A Girl Marries was written by Elaine Carrington, who also wrote Pepper Young’s Family and Rosemary.

The extremely popular soap opera was based on the old, dramatic story of two people from opposite sides of the track, meeting and falling in love. Harry Davis was the struggling, but ambitious young man who was determined to rise above his upbringing of poverty and prevail in the little mill town of Stanwood.

Writer, Carrington, managed to involve several major conflicts in the story - all based on rich versus poor and the insecurities that could bring into a new marriage. Carrington was able to create an endless amount of stories surrounding this age-old power struggle.

Carrington ruled the soap opera’s future shows with an iron hand and refused to let others gain control of her characters or their destinies. One particular conflict was said to occur when a paper-mâché model of Stanwood was put together to "minimize script errors."

This must have angered Carrington, because a few weeks after the model was built, she "suggested" that Stanwood didn’t suit her anymore and that they should move. The mythical town of Beachwood was the next town in the future for characters of When A Girl Marries.

The characters made new friends in Beachwood, including Irma Cameron, her children and her second husband Steve. Old conflicts involving the Davis’ were bound to creep into the scripts and new insecurities involving Harry occurred – plus a murder, initially blamed on Harry.

The last show of When A Girl Marries was broadcast by ABC on August 30, 1957, no doubt because of the new popularity of television soap operas.

Unfortunately we have only 2 episodes of this series. If you have any more do please let me know at ned@rusc.com

Happy listening my friends,