There are many fine comedies from the Golden Age of Radio, but unfortunately, many don't hold up after 70+ years. This one, for the most part, is an exception. It does, though, contain outdated cultural depictions of alcohol abuse and at least a reenactment of one obsolete entertainment form that may be offensive to some. 

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This radio sitcom stars Phil Harris, the former "band leader" from the Jack Benny Program. He wasn't the real bandleader after the first few years in the 1930s; the real band leader was Mahlon Merrick. The fictitious band, led by Phil, was a group of motley musicians, including one left-handed guitar player, Frank Remley, who in this series was played brilliantly by Elliot Lewis. His character was lazy, not particularly bright, an alcoholic, and he also consistently tried to get Phil into trouble. Phil Harris, meanwhile, was egotistical, sarcastic, loud, brash, a gambler, and financially dependent on his wealthy, famous movie-star wife. Plus, like Remley, Phil wasn't too bright either. 

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Frank and Phil were portrayed as hard-drinking goofballs who got themselves into trouble with the show's sponsor or Phil's wife, Alice. Phil and Frank got into predicaments similar to those that Lucy and Ethyl encounter later in "I Love Lucy." Since it was on the radio, some were outrageous and depended greatly on the listener's imagination. 

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Phil's real-life wife was 20th Century Fox musical star Alice Faye. Phil and Alice had two children, both girls, named after each star: Alice Jr. and Phyllis. Alice's brother, the bookkeeper of their fictitious show's production, a wimpy character named William "Willie" Faye, was played by Robert North.

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Like the original "Jack Benny Program," this was a show within a show. The married couple were the stars of a musical variety radio show sponsored by the real show's sponsors, including Rexall Drug Company and later RCA Victor. Gale Gordon played both sponsors and became a regular character in the show. 

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Another standout was the neighbor boy, Julius Abbruzio, played by Walter Tetley, who also voiced Sherman in the Jay Ward cartoons "Peabody and Sherman." Phil and Frank try to con the young Julius, but Julius outsmarts the duo every time. 

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Phil Harris was still a part of the "Jack Benny Program" during the production of his show. During the first half of the Benny program, he would join the cast at the CBS studios on Vine Street in Hollywood, exit the show, get into a waiting limo that would take him a couple of blocks to the NBC studio for his show with his wife.

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One dated element in this series was the musical numbers performed by Alice Faye, a popular actress, dancer, and recording artist, and the novelty songs performed by Phil Harris, another popular recording artist. As you listen to the musical numbers, remember that those performances, although now often corny, were popular with audiences at the time.

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Another aspect of these classic radio recordings is that they were performed live but recorded on audio tape for broadcast in the Western time zones. Because they were live, they often ran long. That's when the NBC announcer cuts in and says, "This is NBC, the National Broadcasting Company," while the show is seemingly still underway.