I have always felt that old time radio is a window into the past. A glimpse at how the writers and actors of that era reflected the world around them. A chance to see how they interpret life to discover the differences and similarities to today. And I think this episode of “The Adventures of Maisie” is a prime example of that.
First, when you look at any comedy of any time period, it often is a commentary on the troupes of its era. Maisie is a “brassy blonde” which a sharp and cheeky attitude. How this works as commentary is we can have her butt up against troupes but do it with a laugh. With sugar. Point out the negative things through humor so it’s easier to swallow. Even the opening to every episode where she’s walking and a random guy whistles a sexist come-on and she slaps him. That’s funny because she stood up to him, but it’s also showing that doing that makes you a jerk. (and with the modern twist, Madison takes her response a tad further…)
Then in this specific episode there is the commentary of women not being allowed to drive trucks. As the personnel manager says, “Women truck drivers? It just isn’t being done.” And, interestingly to this plot, Maisie gets the truck driving job anyway, to help out a man who is trying to be a good husband and father. Of course she proves to be a very competent driver and meets a “Girl Lumberjack” along the way. Another female defying the norms of employment of the day. Now me, personally, I didn’t care for how they portrayed Helen, the lumberjack. They actually made her extremely timid and mousy. I didn’t think this was the type of woman in 1949 who was going to fight against the stigmas of women working a “traditionally male” job. They even made her faint from fear! (I really hate that female troupe) Perhaps this was the way the writers felt they could get away with the girl lumberjack, perhaps they wanted Maisie to remain the stronger woman – being the lead and her show – or perhaps that’s just how men wrote women back then. But I wrote Helen to be more along the lines of who I researched. Who a “WAC” really was back then. Teaser, I’ll go into the Women’s Auxiliary Corp. in our Madison’s Mad Facts on Patreon.
Another window into the past. Even with Maisie as the lead character, even as she proves she can drive a truck and outwit both the nosy Irish Cop and the big time gangster, the writers still end the story with the male cops swooping in to save the women. You’ll see I went a different direction with that in the Madison episode. I liked finding a unique ending that was more women empowering than 1949 was willing or able to do. I don’t hold 1949 to 2024 standards. I don’t believe in criticizing the past for doing the best it could within the parameters of what they had available to them. Basically, I see your attempts to uplift women with a LOT of restraints on you. And I, in modern day, will take your intentions and give you the ending Maisie deserved.
Truly, the themes they showcased in this one episode far exceed the common beliefs of the day. And, just like modern comedies, they cushion it all in humor so they can make their point in a way that doesn’t feel like a lecture or finger wagging. Perhaps that’s where I come from as a writer. I want Madison to point out the outdated attitudes and norms of the past through humor. Peer through that window to the past to understand how very far we all have come in these relatively few decades. And not do it with a lecture, but with a laugh.
