THE GREEN HORNET COLLECTION Volume 1 OLD TIME RADIO - 12 AUDIO CD - 24 Shows - Volume 1 - Total Playtime: 11:28:19 The character premiered in The Green Hornet, an American radio program that ran on WXYZ (the same local Detroit station which originated The Lone Ranger), the Mutual Broadcasting System and the network known through its succession of various owners as NBC Blue, the Blue Network and the ABC Network from January 31, 1936 to December 5, 1952. The series detailed the adventures of Britt Reid, debonair newspaper publisher by day, crime-fighting masked hero at night: With his faithful valet Kato, Britt Reid, daring young publisher, matches wits with the Underworld, risking his life so that criminal and racketeers within the law may feel its weight by the sting of the Green Hornet! During World War II, this was changed to: ... matches wits with racketeers and saboteurs, risking his life so that criminals and enemy spies will feel the weight of the law by the sting of the Green Hornet! After the revving of the Black Beauty motor, the announcer would then say: Ride with Britt Reid in the thrilling adventure. The Green Hornet strikes again! When the series first began in 1936, this was originally: Ride with Britt Reid as he races toward another thrilling adventure! The Green Hornet strikes again! and after the thrumming of the hornet sound, Britt Reid would then call out: "Hurry, Kato! Here's where we smash a racket!" The opening sequence of the radio show originally began with the announcer proclaiming that the Green Hornet "hunts the biggest of all game ... public enemies that even the G-Men cannot reach," referring to FBI agents. Bureau chief J. Edgar Hoover objected to the line's implication that some crime fighting was beyond the abilities of the FBI, and it was changed to "public enemies who try to destroy our America." The vigilante nature of his operation quickly resulted in his being declared an outlaw himself, and Britt Reid decided to play to it. The Green Hornet became thought of as one of his city's biggest criminals, allowing him to walk into suspected racketeers' offices and ply them for information, or even demand a cut of their profits. He would be accompanied by his similarly masked but unnamed chauffeur/bodyguard/enforcer, who was also Reid's valet, Kato, initially described as Japanese, and eventually as Filipino. A widespread urban legend has been the claim that the show's writers switched from one nationality to the other immediately after the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan, but in fact this happened well before direct U.S. involvement in the war. Specifically, in and up to 1939, in the series' opening narration, Kato was called Britt Reid's "Japanese valet" and from 1940 to '45 he was Reid's "faithful valet" there. However, in June of 1941, in the episode "Walkout for Profit," about 14 minutes into the episode, Reid specifically noted Kato having a Philippine origin and thus he became Reid's "Filipino valet" as of that point. When the characters were used in the first of a pair of movie serials, the politically perceptive producers of 1939 had Kato's nationality given as Korean. SHOWS LIST Disc 1 380505 Citizenship-Insurance Racket 380524 The Crooked Bridge Disc 2 381101 Phony Insurance Advisor 390406 There Was a Crooked Man Disc 3 390509 Not a Drop Worth Drinking 390530 The Ghost Who Talked Too Much Disc 4 390601 Words and Music 390606 Charity Takes It on the Chin Disc 5 390608 Trouble Hits the Trolleys 390613 Not One Cent for Tribute Disc 6 390615 Justice Wears a Blindfold 390620 Money Talks Too Loud Disc 7 390622 Pink Lemonade and Tan Bark 390627 Bait for a Two-Timer Disc 8 390629 Pavement Condemned 390704 Put It on Ice Disc 9 390706 Disaster Rides the Rails 390711 The Devil's Playground Disc 10 390718 War on the Waterfront 390720 House and Home Disc 11 390727 Murder by Accident 390801 Bait for a Burglar Disc 12 390803 A Racket in the Ring 390808 The Lawyer Beats the Law THESE ARE REGULAR AUDIO CD WILL PLAY IN ANY CD PLAYER, DVD PLAYER OR COMPUTERS THIS COLLECTION WILL BE DELIVERED IN A BOX SET WITH ART WORK PUBLIC DOMAIN NOTE This item is the public domain and was created between January 1, 1923 and December 31, 1971 This item is in the public domain due to failure to comply with required formalities After a careful search of the Library of Congress and the United States Trademark and Patent Office, it has been determined that the programs listed for sale here are in the Public Domain. They are being offered with the understanding that no valid or active copyright, trademark, and/or patent exist for them. These recordings are sold for private home listening and use only. No broadcast rights are stated, implied, or given. I assume no responsibility for unauthorized use of these programs. They are listed in accordance with current policies concerning selling Public Domain materials.