At first we see the story as if it were a movie, and we see the scenes that the boy is seeing in his mind. Then the view switches, and we’re in the radio studio, where we see the actors reading from their scripts and the sound effects men producing the sounds of horse hooves, cars, doors, fire, gunshots and more. The film keeps switching, showing us the boy in his bedroom, the Western scenes in his head, and the smooth operation of the radio study producing this fantasy.

This film is a great look at how radio dramas were made. I’ve seen other behind-the-scenes looks at old time radio studios in action, but I thought this one was particularly effective, contrasting the drama produced by the imagination of the listener with what’s really happening in the studio.

Back of the Mike was produced by the Jam Handy Organization, a Detroit-based company run by Henry Jamison “Jam” Handy. Jam Handy produced hundreds of short educational and industrial films. This is one of many in the Prelinger Archives available through the Internet Archive site.

Back of the Mike (1938)

• Any Bonds Today? — The 1942 cartoon version, starring Bugs Bunny with Porky Pig and Elmer Fudd. This is the original version, which includes an unfortunate blackface parody of Al Jolson. Because of this possibly-offensive segment, this is one of the so-called Censored 11 cartoons not included in the Cartoon Network’s 2001 June Bugs marathon.
• Any Bonds Today Sheet Music — From Smithsonian’s The Price of Freedom: Americans at War website.
  

  “When the ‘tall man with the high hat’ came knocking, as Berlin referred to Uncle Sam, 8 out of every 13 Americans scraped together a total of $185.7 billion to invest in victory.”