Have you ever heard the term Shangri-La used to define paradise? It’s been used in hit songs, movies, and books. It is in fact quite frequently used in everyday life.
Any ideas where this concept originated?
Lost Horizon began as a novel by a James Hilton. The setting of the book is in 1930s Imperial China. Shangri-La is said to be a utopia, and is a prominent location of the story, which was stumbled upon by the survivors of a plane crash in the Himalayas.
Director Frank Capra shot the move remake of the story, and much like other movies of the time, was developed into an eventual old time radio shows classic.
According to the story, Shangri-La was a place of perfect peace and people lived there much like immortals. The story indicates that it more than a chance occurrence that they managed to stumble upon this amazing place. The high lama was over a hundred years old and needed someone of great wisdom to replace him and that person was to be the British diplomat Hugh Conway. However, his young vice-consul Mallinson was keen to leave and take the beautiful Lo-Tsen with him. Conway too wanted to leave and take Lo-Tsen’s hand, with Mallinson he shared a love for, and had the dilemma of deciding to go or staying in paradise.
As the drama unfolds, it is uncovered that each of the four characters has their own reasons for wanting to either stay or leave and this Tibetan paradise is more than what it seems. The story of Lost Horizon is one that seems timeless and has been appreciated by all kinds of audiences.
In old time radio, audio versions of hit films were often created and sometimes even starred the original cast members. Radio theater production companies, ranging from the Theater of Romance and Lux Radio Theater, have always played a part in producing some of the biggest old time radio shows, including Lost Horizon.
In 1973, Lost Horizon crossed over once again as a musical. But, it did not do so well in that area, and by comparison to the older versions of the show, previous successes were much more long-term than this one.
If you’re interested in the story of Lost Horizon and the way that old time radio was able to take a screen success and adapt it for a listening audience, you’ll be happy to know that you can still listen to recordings of Lost Horizon.
Author James Hilton welcomed in the New Year, after the Hallmark Theater created their version of the story in 1948. In 1954 James Hilton passed away from liver cancer, but could be heard for himself from all sorts of commentaries for theater versions of his story.
Once you hear the old time radio version of Lost Horizon, you’ll see that it’s a timeless piece that even in modern times is as fascinating as the day it was written.