The Columbia Workshop aired Lord Dunsany’s “The Gods of the Mountain” on December 19, 1936 as its 20th episode. Lord Dunsany (Edward J. M. D. Plunkett, 1878-1957) saw “The Gods of the Mountain” as one of the stories in his 1912 collection Selections from the Writings of Lord Dunsany, edited and with an introductory essay by William Butler Yeats.

“The Gods of the Mountain” tells the morality tale of beggars turned thieves who disguise themselves as the gods of a certain town wherein reside seven jade idols representing the local gods, and the consequences of hubris, greed, and the audacity of challenging said gods. Well acted, the dramatization is appreciably enhanced by the musical score and effects provided by Oscar winning composer Bernard Herrmann (1911-1975). Among Herrmann’s many accomplishments in radio, tv, and film, he composed scores for Orson Welles (radio, and film–Citizen Kane and others), Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho, Vertigo, and others), The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Cape Fear, and Taxi Driver, a number of Ray Harryhausen films, and several episodes of The Twilight Zone.

Play Time: 29:48

{Below: Selected Dunsany novels & collections}