Check Room Attendants

Originally aired March 16, 1936, this episode finds Fibber drafted into duty at the Wistful Vista railroad station’s check room—where “check and double-check” chaos promptly ensues. In classic tall-tale fashion, he and Molly juggle a pigskin suitcase, a cut-glass punchbowl (oops), a trombone, an umbrella, a goldfish bowl, and even a chatty parrot named Chauncey. Add a crate of eggs left “just for a minute” (which someone thoughtfully parked on the radiator), a precocious little girl who strips every baggage tag in sight, and a loquacious gentleman pricing every possible way to reach “the City of Angels”—including the next through freight—and you’ve got peak Fibber misdirection and Molly’s exasperated side-eye at its funniest.   From scrambled claim checks to hatched surprises, the misadventures keep rolling, punctuated by Harlow Wilcox’s patter about Johnson’s Glow Coat and a spirited musical interlude. There’s even a kicker about St. Patrick’s Day and a dentist with “Irish extraction.” Complete with Johnson’s Glow Coat ads and remastered for clarity, this sparkling installment of Fibber McGee & Molly delivers brisk, screwball radio farce from the golden age.