The Small House Halfway Up in the Next Block: Paul Rhymer's Vic and Sade

by Paul Rhymer, Mary Frances Rhymer (Editor, Introduction), Ray Bradbury (Foreword)

301 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

Reviews

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

New Expanded Review: This book is a compilation of scripts from what any true Old Time Radio fan knows is the greatest radio comedy ever, VIC & SADE - Rhymer's widow donated thousands of scripts to an archive and chose these to be collected (but think of what other joys there may yet be to read!). The introduction gives you a nice overview of Rhymer (again, by his wife), who sounds like a hard-working, conscientious, private man who wrote more words than Dickens and was most proud of the critical statement that VIC & SADE could best be summed up "that's how it was." Rhymer loved the realistic/naturalistic authors (Ring Lardner, James Gould Cozzens, Frank O'Hara - Appointment in Samarra was a personal favorite, Edith Wharton, Ruth Suckow, Anne Parrish, Charles Jackson & Booth Tarkington all get noted as his favorites) and strove mightily (and successfully) to capture the voice of down-home, Midwest folk and their sensibilities.

Ray Bradbury's foreword makes the argument that enjoyment of V&S is not merely an exercise in nostalgia (to which I'd agree). While I may not be the biggest "Uncle Fletcher" fan in the world (I find him better in small doses, or when the narrative/characters are working against him and not merely tolerating him), I have to say I also found Bradbury's whimsical vision of Fletcher Rush finally pinned down by Death, but managing to slip away through his ubiquitous spiel of sheer nonsense obfuscation, to be quite nice.

Even among OTR fans, appreciation for V&S seems to be muted - many can name JACK BENNY or PHIL HARRIS or OUR MISS BROOKS or LUM & ABNER as their favorite, but I'd argue that it takes a certain kind of sensibility to enjoy VIC & SADE, a show built around 3 (later 4) characters (the cast was even much later expanded further, to its detriment) that combines both Depression Era "common-sense" people (Uncle Fletcher excepted) in a real-world setting and Whimsical Absurdity in equal measure. It is a very gentle, but very (occasionally very VERY) funny comedy that grows on you the longer you come to know the characters. I'd argue, if you wanted a modern reference point you'd have to take the "jes' plain folks" character comedy of KING OF THE HILL and cross it with SEINFELD - yes, SEINFELD - it *might* come close. Not so much in the "show about nothing" sense (although many V&S episodes have next to nothing happen in them - see the script herein from 1940 "Sade's House Is Not The Way She Left It" which consists wholly of Sade Gook attempting to find out from her husband and son why so many odd little things have been changed about the house in her week's absence) - but more in the way that SEINFELD charted a very particular time in which the rules of social engagement and expectation were changing rapidly and coming under pressure. But, instead of the 90s, think the 1930s (where cinemas, pulp fiction, cars and telephones were just beginning to become widely available). Take that, and add Rhymer's great skill at understated humor and building a concept from reasonableness to sheer absurdity (at times, when dealing with Uncle Fletcher, bordering on the surreal!) and delivered by likeable, fallible characters who are fully inhabited by their voice actors (you WILL hear Art Van Harvey, Bernadine Flynn, William Idelson & Clarence L. Hartzell in your mind, as you read these words - providing you've listened to the show long enough)

And I promise you that the sole piece of VIC & SADE short fiction featured here before the scripts proper (entitled "The Family") that Rhymer wrote seemingly to acclimate himself to the introduction of Rush into the cast (and explain how the childless Victor & Sade Gook could suddenly have a child) - is absolutely marvelous - I think the last line will forever bring tears to my eyes.

As for the scripts themselves (most from missing episodes) - what a masterclass in dry, minor absurdist/character humor comedy writing! Rhymer had an amazing control over his dialogue, and it really shows on the page. Enjoy the low-impact drama as:

Rush suffers bad dreams from a stomach ache and demands to crawl into Vic & Sade's bed ("Mr. Dempsey And Mr. Tunney Meet In A Cigar Store")
Sade gets her hair bobbed and Vic makes a big mistake by not realizing it ("Sade Keeps A Secret Under Her Hat")
Vic & Sade debate the touchy subject of sending Rush to the hospital for elective surgery - a nice, middle-American version of "The Gift Of The Magi" ("Rush's Tonsils, Squeaky Shoes And Mixed Numbers")
The essential good-naturedness / non-conflict desires of Sade are tested by a thoughtless neighbor ("Mr. Powers' Bicycle And The Shed")
Rush agrees to take on a job of well-intentioned forgery and attempts to involve his parents (I love the fact that Sade, while she can't quite put her finger on it, shies away from any possibility of underhandedness, and Vic's inscription 'Sincerely hope the lilies-of-the-valley I sent you arrived in good condition' [signed] Strangler Lewis!) ("Mildred Tisdel's Memory Book")
Vic is all chuffed up about a not-so-great invitation (I love that Sade can't even begin to understand Vic's high-handed metaphors) ("Casting The Pageant 'Shining Waters Flow To The Sea")
Rush maps out his plan for his entire future, ending with his career in politics and his death in 2012! ("Rush Charts His Future To The Year 2000")
Sade demands that Vic help her with a phone call to Ruthie Stembottom, who has insulted her (another great showcase of Sade's essential well-meaning goodness, even when she's been wronged) ("Sade And Her Best Friend Are On The Outs")
Sade tries to mend a fight between Vic and Ed Stembottom by explaining just why Ruthie is her best friend (again - Sade is the best and her explanation is truly touching!) ("Vic & Sade Discuss A Close Friendship")
Sade quashes Vic's plan to accept an invite to a hoity-toity Fourth Of July Picnic (the show's sense of class differences, usually voiced by Sade, are always fascinating) ("Fourth Of July Picnic With Old Friends Or Stylish Ones")
Rush is not happy with Sade's arrangement of his sleeping partner - a comedy gem, this script! ("Rush To Have A Stranger For A Bed-Mate")
A masterful illustration of how Victor Gook's mind works differently than Sade & Rush's ("Vic Explains How A Door-bell Rings")
The parents attempt to avert an oncoming disastrous present while Rush suffers - the last few lines of this are so well-written I can HEAR them! ("Uncle Fletcher Is Sending Three Bull-dogs")
Sade attempts to piece together (not that she's angry, though) just how so many little things went oddly askew while she was gone... ("Sade's House Is Not The Way She Left It")

and on and on!

Now, don't just stand there with your teeth in your mouth! Go track this down and, while the beef punkles are getting done, enjoy a read until who laid the chunk!

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

The radio program Vic & Sade was a 15 minute slice-of-life daily (M-F) interlude into the lives of Vic and Sade Gook and their son Rush (and in later years, Uncle Fletcher) that ran from 1932 - the mid 1940's. All episodes were written by the brilliant Paul Rhymer and were hilarious in a low-key, subtle, irreverent way. Sadly, thousands of recordings of the program were destroyed by the sponsor. Three hundred and forty six episodes are known to survive and can be found and listened to on line. Two volumes of scripts were released (Vic & Sade: The Best Radio Plays of Paul Rhymer being the other) and both are worth seeking out to fans of the show, of humor or of Americana.

[Harron68 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who would I be to give the book anything less than 5 stars after all others did?! In truth, the book is for fans of Old Time Radio. "Vic and Sade" was a very quirky world, gentle people with weird names, behavior that sometimes bordered on the absurd. If one makes the effort to delve into the world, the humor and creativity in the long running series of short shows is worth it. Ray Bradbury was a fan as a young man and gives reasons why this series and these scripts should be heard and read. The internet has more on the early episodes,why son Rush was adopted, the importance of Rush to the couple's marriage and the interplay between the three and Uncle Fletcher. Anyone who loves comedy should search out this book and the shows free on the internet. Perhaps strangest of all, Rush, played by Bill Idelson, became a fighter pilot in WWII and then returned to the series as their son, high school student and all. Where other shows about teens had them as main characters, this ensemble style cast shared the humor and love during hard Depression times and the frightening World War.

[Mike]

Great collection of scripts, a lot from the missing epsisodes. If you're a fan like me, you can "hear" the characters as you read these.

[Chb4usc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read even if you are not an OTR (Old Time Radio) fan. Paul Rhymer's humor is outstanding.
The ordinary daily lives of Vic, Sade & son Rush turn into high comedy. The family and their friends become believable...and you feel you are sharing their experiences in a better, gentler time. Nostalgia at its peak. Wonderful experience.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

So GOOD! So thankful we can listen to the shows online.