Premier Collections:
Jump Jump and the Ice Queen
Liner notes written by Harlan Zinck
Click to listen to an audio sample
"I'm a little elf, no feet three.
Very, very tiny, as you see.
I never walk, I never run,
I always jump -- it's much more fun!
My name is Jump Jump, jolly little Jump Jump.
Work is always play.
I'm quick as the wind and my very best friend
Is Mary Holiday!"
It's nearly Christmas and a young boy named Tim is worried. Tim is an orphan and
his friend Billy is concerned that Santa Claus might prefer to concentrate on
"whole families" with mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and may not
visit the orphanage this year. To ease everyone's worries, Tim decides to find
the answer once and for all. Late one night, he sets off to find Santa by
following the North Star through the woods - but after walking for many hours he
gets tired and lies down to take a nap. Imagine his surprise when, awakened by
tapping on his knee, he discovers a little boy elf not more than three inches
high, jumping from one knee to the other and excitedly gabbing in real elf talk!
He soon learns that the elf's name is Jump Jump and that he lives at Holiday
House, a place where every day is a holiday. Mary Holiday lives there, too --
and she's Santa's own personal secretary!
So begins
"Jump Jump and the Ice Queen," a children's radio series first
broadcast in November and December of 1948. Throughout twenty-five imaginative
and fantasy-filled episodes, Tim also meets such unique characters as Achi
Paggli, the clown who changes his hair color to match his mood, a lion named
Sleepy Sam, who is so lazy that he naps far more than he moves, a moody poet who
speaks only in rhyme, and, of course, Santa Claus himself -- who asks Tim and
his new friends for help in saving Christmas after the selfish Ice Queen kidnaps
his reindeer.
"Jump Jump of Holiday House" was first heard as early as 1940, produced for
local station syndication by the New York-based Harry S. Goodman Inc. The series
was created and written by Mary McConnell and Harry Hickox, who also contributed
their performing talents by playing the majority of the characters on the
series. Designed to be aired on a five-a-week basis, with local stations lining
up their own local sponsors, "Jump Jump" offered a simple concept: each day, the
mischievous little elf would be told a fairy tale by his friend Mary Holiday,
complete with specially written songs and appearances by a variety of fun and
unusual characters who visited Holiday House on a regular basis. Special
programs were written to commemorate individual holidays, and a particular
emphasis was placed around Christmas, when local department stores could boost
their toy sales through promotions related to the program. (The high-pitched and
often unintelligible voice of Jump Jump himself was easily created by recording
the voice of an actor at 33 1/3 RPM, then playing it back at 78 RPM; whenever
Jump Jump actually needed to be understood by the listener, the
actor...would...simply...speak...very...slowly...and...deliberately.)
In 1947, entrepreneur Samson R. Diamond came up with the idea of marketing a new
series of "Jump Jump" shows to local retailers on a franchise basis, with
tie-ins to small dolls based on characters from the show. (Diamond's publishing
company, Creative Ideas, had successfully conducted a similar book/merchandise
tie-in in 1944, when he hired a twenty-two-year-old free-lance display artist
named Rosalind Welcher to co-write an illustrated children's picture book titled
"Where is Christmas?") To this end, Diamond made a lease agreement with Harry S.
Goodman by which he would hire the creative team of McConnell and Hickox for
both their writing and performing skills, then allow Goodman's dynamic and
experienced sales force to sell the show in exchange for a reasonable percentage
of the resulting profits. Diamond's newly formed Jump Jump Franchise Corporation
contracted with a designer named Beatrice to create dolls based on the
characters, which were then hand made by the newly incorporated Mattel Toy
Company of Culver City, California. Decorative boxes to house the dolls -
including a bright yellow cardboard replica of Holiday House - were manufactured
by Artwood Products. (Diamond made sure that samples would be available in
plenty of time for Goodman's salesmen to show them off to prospective customers
during their pre-Christmas summertime sales calls -- hence the 1947 date on the
inserts that came with the dolls.)
Once McConnell and Hickox had written the new series - a twenty-five-part
Christmas adventure titled "Jump Jump and the Ice Queen," as well as an
additional batch of fairy tale-related programs - Diamond hired Bob Mitchell,
the station organist at Los Angeles-based NBC affiliate KFI, to Perform the
show's many musical numbers and background selections. Thanks in part to his
creation and nurturing of the famous Mitchell Boy Choir, the multi-talented
Mitchell had considerable experience in both working with children and in
creating music for juvenile programming -- experience which brought great charm
and a warm musical atmosphere to the show.
"Jump Jump and the Ice Queen" and the other programs in the new series were
relatively simple to produce, as they involved only three performers: Mary
McConnell as Mary Holiday and the Ice Queen, Harry Hickox as all of the male
characters (including Santa Claus), and young Johnny McGovern as Tim and Jump
Jump -- with the elf's songs, giggles, and individual lines prerecorded and
played back at a faster speed. Mitchell provided music on the Hammond organ, as
well as arranging for some well-placed harp glissandos, and all of the episodes
were recorded and the masters pressed into vinyl by the Allied Record
Manufacturing Company by the early part of 1948. When sent out in October of
1948, the discs came complete with cue sheets to assist the engineers who played
the discs and who also coordinated the locally-written commercials and opening
announcements. The majority of stations would have had a staff announcer read
the commercial copy live while the musical portion of the disc was playing in
the background - hence the lengthy musical "fill" which is heard both opening
and closing each episode.
Here are links to scans of the original Harry S. Goodman Productions cue sheets:
Cues for
Episodes #1 and #2
Cues for Episodes #3 and #4
Cues for Episodes #5 and #6
Cues for Episodes #7 and #8
Cues for Episodes #9 and #10
Cues for Episodes #11 and #12
Cues for Episodes #13 and #14
Cues for Episodes #15 and #16
Cues for Episodes #17 and #18
Cues for Episodes #19 and #20
Cues for Episodes #21 and #22
Cues for Episodes #23 and #24
Cues for Episode #25
It is not known just how successful the merchandising campaigns associated with
the series were, though given the relative rarity of Jump Jump dolls today, it's
unlikely to have been as financially lucrative for Diamond as he might have
hoped. The series itself, distributed in the U. S. by Harry S. Goodman and in
Canada by G. N. MacKenzie and All-Canada Ltd., continued to be heard on small local stations well
into the 1960s - though it's apparent that the stand-alone Christmas-oriented
"Ice Queen" series quickly became the sole item of interest as the years went
by. There is also some indication that Jump Jump may have made his way to one or
more early television productions as well, but research has yet to reveal any
positive evidence of this.
Heard today, "Jump Jump and the Ice Queen" may well remind you of the simple but
charming children's records produced in the 1940s and 1950s by such companies as
Capitol and RCA Victor's Little Nipper Records. (Indeed, Jump Jump himself had
appeared with Mary Holiday in "The Ugly Duckling," a 1945 set of commercially
released 78 RPM recordings, produced by Bel-Tone Records in Los Angeles,
California.) Given that it is a Christmas serial, it is inevitable that
comparisons will be made with the better-known "Cinnamon Bear" series, produced
in 1937 -- but the two are very different in both concept and execution. Whereas
"The Cinnamon Bear" was lavishly produced at the height of network radio with a
full orchestra and a large cast, "Jump Jump and the Ice Queen" is a small and
intimate affair, relying on the writing and performing talents of a very small
cast to capture the attention of the listener and send his or her imagination
traveling to many different and exciting places. It's quiet good nature, coupled
with effective characterizations and real heart, make this series a pleasure to
play and enjoy with the entire family.
All of the programs in this Premier Collection were transferred directly from a
set of 16" vinyl transcriptions - the same ones originally used by various radio
stations to air the show. Though in very good condition, the recordings did
display considerable groove wear due to repeated use over the course of fifteen
years; the programs have now been painstakingly restored to return them, as much
as possible, to their original high fidelity luster.
Here is the complete content of this six CD set, containing 25 original and
sequential fifteen-minute episodes - the full run of "Jump Jump and the Ice
Queen". The series was designed to be aired Monday thru Friday, so the broadcast
dates reflect the first possible airing on local stations; airdates would, of
course, have varied from year to year. Also included are links to scans of the
original disc labels.
Tim Meets Jump Jump (#1)
Concerned that Santa Claus may not visit the orphanage where he lives, a
young boy named Tim decides to follow the North Star in order to get to the
North Pole for a personal visit. After walking for a while, he falls asleep --
only to be awakened by a little three-inch-tall elf named Jump Jump, who is so
excitable that he jumps everywhere rather than walk or run. Jump Jump leads Tim
to Holiday House, where he meets the beautiful Mary Holiday and a jolly circus
clown named Achi Paggli.
Monday, November 22, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26632.jpg
Sleepy Slim and the Wishing Star (#2)
Waking up the next morning at Holiday House, Tim carves a tiny scooter for
Jump Jump while Mary anxiously awaits a telephone call from Santa Claus.
Meantime, Tim meets Sleepy Slim, the lazy lion, who arrives with Achi Paggli in
the Wishing Star - a magical plane that runs on wishes.
Tuesday, November 23, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26633.jpg
Traveling to the North Pole (#3)
When Mary Holiday tries to call Santa Claus on the telephone, she is
surprised and worried to find that there is no answer. So, with Achi Paggli,
Sleepy Slim, Tim, and Jump Jump in tow, she decides to take a trip to Santa's
house in the Wishing Star -- but first, she has to save tiny Jump Jump, who is
trapped in the window shade!
Wednesday, November 24, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26634.jpg
The Poet (#4)
On the way to the North Pole, Tim meets the Poet -- an eccentric man who is
always looking for rhymes -- and also saves Jump Jump's life when the
mischievous elf climbs too far out on one of the points of the Wishing Star.
Meantime, we learn that Santa Claus has promised Mary Holiday that he will make
doll versions of both herself and each of her friends from Holiday House.
Thursday, November 25, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26635.jpg
Arriving at the North Pole (#5)
Our intrepid band of travelers arrive at the North Pole, but are worried
when they can't find Santa's house. Luckily, a friendly polar bear redirects
them -- but, soon, a knock at Santa's door leads to a surprise.
Friday, November 26, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26636.jpg
Santa's Reindeer Kidnapped (#6)
An exhausted Santa, who hasn't slept in days, tells our friends that the
selfish Ice Queen, ruler of the frozen country, has kidnapped his reindeer and
that she won't return them until after Christmas. Could this mean that there
will be no Christmas this year?
Monday, November 29, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26637.jpg
A Tour of Santa's Workshop (#7)
Mary Holiday offers to take the Wishing Star to the Ice Queen's palace in
order to find and return Santa's reindeer to him, but Santa is concerned that it
won't make it through the circle of blue fire surrounding her palace -- fire
which has the power to turn everyone who touches it to ice! Meantime, Santa
gives everyone an exciting tour of his workshop and shows off the new dolls he
has made that look exactly like Mary, Sleepy Slim, Achi Paggli, and Jump Jump
himself.
Tuesday, November 30, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26638.jpg
A Doll for Jump Jump (#8)
Everyone is thrilled with the dolls that Santa has made, but little Jump
Jump is sad. It seems that, even though Santa has made many, many Jump Jump
dolls, the elf wants a doll he can play with, too. So Tim whittles him a tiny
wooden doll, the same size as Jump Jump, which Mary Holiday dresses in - what
else? - a tiny jumper!
Wednesday, December 1, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26639.jpg
Rescuing the Rescuer (#9)
Jump Jump loves his new doll -- so much, in fact, he's decided that it's his
new sister and names her Jennifer. Excited, he tells Tim that he's going to go
and rescue the reindeer himself and, leaping out of Santa's window, heads for
the Ice Queen's palace. Everyone goes out after him -- except for Sleepy Slim,
who decides to travel in the Wishing Star instead.
Thursday, December 2, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26640.jpg
Jump Jump's Magical Powers (#10)
The selfish Ice Queen, having already kidnapped Santa's reindeer, has now
stolen the Wishing Star as well. Our friends are stranded in the snow, far from
Santa's house, without wood or matches to light a fire -- but Achi Paggli has an
idea, using Jump Jump's magical powers, Tim's whittling, and Sleepy Slim's bed!
Friday, December 3, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26641.jpg
Journey to the Ice Queen's Palace (#11)
The Spirit of Christmas, in the form of the Christmas Fairy, has appeared to
let our travelers know that she will protect them on their journey. To speed
their way, Tim decides to whittle a tiny helicopter so that Jump Jump can fly
overhead and help scout for trouble.
Monday, December 6, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26642.jpg
Adrift on an Ice Floe (#12)
Jump Jump is playing with the children in an Eskimo village when he
accidentally finds himself cast away on an ice floe.
Tuesday, December 7, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26643.jpg
The Christmas Tree Forest (#13)
While traveling via dog sled to the Ice Queen's palace, our intrepid band
comes upon the Christmas Tree Forest - a vast and beautiful place where resides
the spirit of all of the Christmas trees that ever were.
Wednesday, December 8, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26644.jpg
The Frozen Country (#14)
Our friends finally make it to the frozen country, the land of the Ice
Queen, where they speculate on the hazards that may soon await them - including
ice maidens that are twenty feet high! Meantime, Sleepy Slim seems to have
disappeared and no one knows where he's gone.
Thursday, December 9, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26645.jpg
Captured by Ice Dwarfs (#15)
The travelers are captured by the Ice Dwarfs, little men who carry icicles
for swords, who march them to a huge room inside a magical rock. There, they
make an amazing discovery.
Friday, December 10, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26646.jpg
A Crack in the Ice (#16)
No sooner have our friends left the hall of the Ice Dwarfs than they find
themselves confronted with yet another hazard: a vast crack has formed in the
ice before them, creating a deep chasm that seems impossible to cross.
Monday, December 13, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26647.jpg
Confronted by Wild Animals (#17)
Having crossed the chasm, thanks to the timely help of the Christmas Fairy,
our adventurers find themselves confronted by a wild band of panda bears, seals,
and penguins -- and the animals are heading right for them!
Tuesday, December 14, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26648.jpg
An Army of Snowmen (#18)
The mean and selfish Ice Queen has done everything in her power to prevent
Tim, Jump Jump, Mary Holiday, and the rest of our travelers from reaching her
palace, but the determined band have overcome all obstacles and are now within a
mile of her fortress. But the Ice Queen has yet another trick up her sleeve: a
huge army of snowmen have surrounded our friends, blocking all their avenues of
escape!
Wednesday, December 15, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26649.jpg
The Palace of the Ice Queen (#19)
They've done it! Our friends have reached the palace of the Ice Queen - and
a frightening and intimidating place it is, too, with turrets and towers made
completely of cold, hard ice. All around the palace are statues - people who
earlier tried to penetrate the icy blue flames surrounding it and were
themselves turned to solid ice! Even with the help of the Christmas Fairy, how
will our friends ever get through to rescue Santa's reindeer and save Christmas?
Thursday, December 16, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26650.jpg
Tricking the Ice Queen (#20)
The Ice Queen has told our friends that she will never lift the sheet of
blue fire that surrounds her palace until she sees that all of them have been
frozen into ice statues. So, with the help of Santa Claus, the Christmas Fairy,
and a pelican named Pete, they hatch a plan to trick her into thinking that's
just what has happened.
Friday, December 17, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26651.jpg
Rescuing the Reindeer (#21)
Their ruse successful, our friends are able to sneak into the Ice Queen's
palace. They make their way to the dungeon and find the reindeer safe and sound,
but now the question is how to get out of the palace and back to Santa Claus in
time to save Christmas.
Monday, December 20, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26652.jpg
Lost in the Palace (#22)
While trying to lead the reindeer out of the palace, Tim and his friends get
lost in the many passageways and find themselves not outside but, instead, at
the doorway to the turret where the Ice Queen keeps her magic mirror -- and the
evil Ice Queen is approaching in the hallway behind them!
Tuesday, December 21, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26653.jpg
Trapped in the Turret (#23)
Having hidden themselves and the reindeer behind a screen in the turret
room, our friends quietly observe as the Ice Queen gloats about her success in
defeating Santa's rescue plan. Will the Christmas Fairy be able to help them
free the reindeer to return to the North Pole in time?
Wednesday, December 22, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26654.jpg
The Spirit of Christmas (#24)
Even though his reindeer have been safely returned to him, the Ice Queen's
Magic Mirror reveals that Santa is too upset and worried about the capture of
his friends to ready his sleigh with toys. Could it be that there will really be
no Christmas this year?
Thursday, December 23, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26655.jpg
Back Home Again (#25)
Little Tim, found sleeping in the forest by the matron of the orphanage,
returns home and shares the details of his adventures with all of the other boys
-- especially Billy, who is thrilled to hear that Santa will indeed visit them
this year. But...could it all have been a dream? Did all of Tim's adventures
with Jump Jump, Mary Holiday, and everyone else really happen? All of Tim's
questions are soon to be answered...by a timely knock on the orphanage door!
Friday, December 24, 1948 - 15:00 - Syndicated
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/26656.jpg
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