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Island Venture

This old time radio show chronicled the adventures of two "Navy Heroes" Naval Aviator Gil Perry and his sidekick Trigger Brett who returned to the Central Pacific to start an air freight company to serve the smaller islands.

Island Venture

10 old time radio show recordings
(total playtime 4 hours, 39 min)
available in the following formats:

1 MP3 CD
or
5 Audio CDs


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Play a sample episode from January 17, 1946:

"Trigger Mendoza Sing Sunshine for Princess of Lapango"



... or click here to save the Mp3 file to your computer
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Text on OTRCAT.com ©2001-2024 OTRCAT INC All Rights Reserved. Reproduction is prohibited.

It seems a little strange to think of Chicago as a Navy Town. Chicago is a place of big business, the City With Big Shoulders, practically the capital of the Midwest. Chicago is a Navy town, not just because it lies on the shores of Lake Michigan. Just to the north of Chicago is the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, where so many Sailors and Officers received the technical training they needed to help win the War.

Wrigley Juicey FruitTo support Chicago's navy heritage, the Wrigley Chewing Gum company sponsored The First Line over WBBM. The First Line was an informational variety program celebrating the efforts of the US Navy in WWII. The War was a difficult time for Wrigley's because of sugar rationing. The program kept chewing gum in the minds of listeners, but when the War ended, a new program was needed.

In November of 1945, Island Venture hit the airwaves. The program chronicled the adventures of two "Navy Heroes" who returned to the Central Pacific to start an air freight company to serve the smaller islands. Naval Aviator Gil Perry and his sidekick Trigger Brett were fairly standard radio heroes, and the regular cast of characters they dealt with would not have been out of place on any number of detective shows or Westerns of the era. The island natives they dealt with sounded a lot more like Tonto than Polynesians.

Two factors made Island Venture stand out. First was that it was about ex-Navy men putting their training to good use and having wholesome adventures every week. This fact was not only part of the plot of each episode but figured prominently in the introduction to each broadcast. The biggest hook for Island Venture was its exotic location, the fictionalized islands of the central Pacific.

Before the War, Pearl Harbor and Hawaii was only a place people read about in National Geographic magazine. James Michener's Pulitzer Prize winning book, Tales of the South Pacific, would not be published for two more years, but tales of the beautiful islands in the South Seas were already beginning to capture the imagination of the folks back home. There was definitely more out there than the horrors and brutality of the War.

Island Venture celebrated a pair of veterans who sought adventure in foreign lands, but these were every inch American boys. They were helpful and fair to the natives, and many of their fights were against nefarious forces who might bring War back to their beloved island paradise.

Island Venture was ahead of its time. When it came on the air, there were still a number of our boys still serving in the South Pacific, awaiting their chance to rotate home. Nostalgia for the tropics would come, as seen in Michener's book, the musical South Pacific which it inspired, the TV show Adventures In Paradise with Capt Adam Troy on the decks of the Tiki III, and on radio's Bold Venture. Although the Bogart and Bacall vehicle was set in the Caribbean rather than the South Pacific, the island vibe was an important part of the mix.

Text on OTRCAT.com ©2001-2024 OTRCAT INC All Rights Reserved. Reproduction is prohibited.

These classic recordings are available in the following formats:

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  • MP3 CDs are delivered by mail. These archival quality MP3 CDs are playable in your computer and many MP3 player devices.



    10 recordings on 1 MP3 CD for just $5.00. Total playtime 4 hours, 39 min
    10 recordings on 1 MP3 CD for just $5.00
    total playtime 4 hours, 39 min
    Add MP3 CD Collection to Cart

    1. 10 shows - total playtime 4 hours 39 minutes
    2. Island Venture 451213 Mr Thompson Visits Gil At Ilopan.mp3
    3. IV 451206 Ranak Reveals Plot Lanus Matan Chief Both Isles.mp3
    4. IV 460110 Joe Standish Work For Interisland Air Service.mp3
    5. IV 460117 Trigger Mendoza Sing Sunshine Princess Lapango.mp3
    6. IV 460124 Delivering Books Dynamite Eros Gil Trigger.mp3
    7. IV 460131 Gil Trigger Pop Mendoza Canoe Containing Native.mp3
    8. IV 460207 Gil Hires George Tyson Meet Girl Nancy Goodwin.mp3
    9. IV 460221 Gil Is Jealous Of Dr Stacy Archeologist.mp3
    10. IV 460425 Gil Trigger Arrive To Do Business With Lecont.mp3
    11. IV 460502 Gil Trigger Pop Mendoza Aid Marty Recovering Log.mp3
  • MP3 downloads are available instantly after purchase!



    10 recordings on 1 MP3 Collection Download for just $5.00. Total playtime 4 hours, 39 min
    10 recordings on 1 MP3 Collection Download for just $5.00
    total playtime 4 hours, 39 min
    Add Instant Download Collection to Cart

    1. 10 shows - total playtime 4 hours 39 minutes
    2. Island Venture 451213 Mr Thompson Visits Gil At Ilopan.mp3
    3. IV 451206 Ranak Reveals Plot Lanus Matan Chief Both Isles.mp3
    4. IV 460110 Joe Standish Work For Interisland Air Service.mp3
    5. IV 460117 Trigger Mendoza Sing Sunshine Princess Lapango.mp3
    6. IV 460124 Delivering Books Dynamite Eros Gil Trigger.mp3
    7. IV 460131 Gil Trigger Pop Mendoza Canoe Containing Native.mp3
    8. IV 460207 Gil Hires George Tyson Meet Girl Nancy Goodwin.mp3
    9. IV 460221 Gil Is Jealous Of Dr Stacy Archeologist.mp3
    10. IV 460425 Gil Trigger Arrive To Do Business With Lecont.mp3
    11. IV 460502 Gil Trigger Pop Mendoza Aid Marty Recovering Log.mp3
  • Standard Audio CDs are delivered by mail on archival quality media with up to 60 minutes on each CD and play in all CD players



    10 recordings on 5 Audio CDs. Total playtime 4 hours, 39 min
    10 recordings on 5 Audio CDs
    total playtime 4 hours, 39 min

    Island Venture Disc A001

    1. IV 451206 Ranak Reveals Plot Lanus Matan Chief Both Isles
    2. Island Venture 451213 Mr Thompson Visits Gil At Ilopan

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Island Venture Disc A002

    1. IV 460110 Joe Standish Work For Interisland Air Service
    2. IV 460117 Trigger Mendoza Sing Sunshine Princess Lapango

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Island Venture Disc A003

    1. IV 460124 Delivering Books Dynamite Eros Gil Trigger
    2. IV 460131 Gil Trigger Pop Mendoza Canoe Containing Native

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Island Venture Disc A004

    1. IV 460207 Gil Hires George Tyson Meet Girl Nancy Goodwin
    2. IV 460221 Gil Is Jealous Of Dr Stacy Archeologist

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Island Venture Disc A005

    1. IV 460425 Gil Trigger Arrive To Do Business With Lecont
    2. IV 460502 Gil Trigger Pop Mendoza Aid Marty Recovering Log

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00

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