A Bowl of Chicken Soup for the Sick Man

Originally aired December 28, 1936, this episode finds Fibber suddenly “taken ill” just in time to dodge Molly’s post-Christmas errands. Propped up in bed, he demands sympathy while Molly and the neighbors shower him with remedies—chief among them endless bowls of chicken soup. Silly Watson dutifully delivers some from Alabama stock, Mr. McTavish brings “bouillon cube dice,” and a little neighbor girl contributes yet another pot, much to Fibber’s dismay. Meanwhile, the town doctor (with the dubious “help” of Horatio K. Boomer posing as a consulting physician) subjects Fibber to comically unnecessary tests, and Mrs. Wearybottom arrives with her usual cheerful fatalism about impending doom. Throughout, Molly remains skeptical of her husband’s mysterious malady, especially when Fibber perks up at the mention of “bank night” at the movies. Laced with tall tales of skiing, Glow Coat jingles, and plenty of slapstick bedside banter, this episode of Fibber McGee & Molly delivers a hearty ladle of classic radio comedy—proving that in Wistful Vista, chicken soup is the cure for everything, even hypochondria