Escape Episode Guide: Part 12

Welcome back to my episode guide for the great radio dramatic series Escape! We're still in the (brief) era where the show was sponsored by Richfield Oil. Antony Ellis also begins supplying scripts to Escape during this period; he'd later become the producer/director of the series. And if you wondered why I was numbering appearances by snakes up until now, well, these 10 episode should give you an idea...

• #111: "Mars Is Heaven" (June 2, 1950) Starring: Jeff Corey. Story: Ray Bradbury. Script: Morton Fine/David Friedkin. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Mars.
  Plot: The first men on Mars are shocked to be greeted by a colony of humans already living there.
  Review: This is among my favourite Bradbury stories but this isn't my favourite version of it. I admire that Robson treated the story seriously here but it feels too reverant (heck, we pause to hear from St. Paul's basilica!) and too slow to get to the action. Even though the Dimension X version is less faithful to Bradbury's text I like it more; the concluding scene with the Martians' conversation feels especially odd. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #112: "Serenade for a Cobra" (June 16, 1950) Starring: Charles McGraw. Story/Script: Joel Murcott. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: India.
  Plot: A cargo pilot takes up smuggling to make some extra money, offending his Indian radio operator who keeps a cobra as a pet.
  Review: Meet Escape Snake #3: the cobra! This is vintage Escape and much like the classic "A Shipment of Mute Fate" it's all leading up to a man in a confined space facing a dangerous snake. Of course, in this case the always-welcome McGraw isn't a hero and there's a cruel twist ending! My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #113: "Sundown" (June 23, 1950) Starring: Barton Yarborough. Story/Script: Joel Murcott. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA.
  Plot: After an outlaw kills his pony a boy dedicates his life to vengeance.
  Review: We still haven't reached the western story credited with inspiring the series Gunsmoke, but here is what I easily dub Escape's best western story (it probably doesn't get much credit because writer Murcott wasn't part of Gunsmoke, he went on to Tales of the Texas Rangers). This is a sad, somber story about one man's casual cruelty resulting in a life spent on vengeance. It's beautifully told and the type of story only Escape was telling at the time. My Rating: 5/5 stars.
• #114: "Bloodbath" (June 30, 1950) Starring: Vincent Price. Story/Script: James Poe. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Peru. Plot: Five men head into the jungle and find a fortune in uranium; greed quickly turns them against each other which is a bad choice in the midst of the dangerous wild.
  Review: You say you want another man vs. nature story? How about bats? Electric eels? Escape Snake #4: the python? Of all the stories in which men are destroyed by their greed this may be the topper as greed and nature conspire together to destroy them; this is my favourite of Price's performances on Escape as he portrays the one honest man. His closing narration is especially powerful: "I know where there's enough uranium to blow it all to hell. Want it? Just go up the river, it's for the taking. Ask Dumont and Obie and Weems and Hess. A trillion bucks worth, enough to give the whole world a bloodbath... yourself included." My Rating: 5/5 stars.
• #115: "A Shipment of Mute Fate" (4th version July 7, 1950) Starring: David Ellis. Story: Martin Storm. Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Venezuela.
  Plot: A man transports a bushmaster aboard a ship; the worst-case scenario happens when the snake gets loose.
  Review: Featuring Escape Snake#1! One final effort at adapting this tale of snakes on the high seas, truly the epitome of Escape (previously heard as episodes #10, 34 and 60). David Ellis does all right in the lead role, albeit not as well as previous performers. The production quality remains very high, it's a perfectly-told thriller, although the Ritchfield commercials eat up some time. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #116: "Shark Bait" (July 14, 1950) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: Antony Ellis. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Nicaragua
  Plot: A boat owner hires out to some men who claim to be interested in fishing on the high seas but they turn out to be gun runners.
  Review: An excellent thriller with a terrific swerve ending; all of the performers are right on point. I realize I've written this many times, but William Conrad is invaluable as a protagonist, he elevates every episode he appears in. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #117: "Yellow Wake" (July 21, 1950) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: Bud Nelson. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Panama.
  Plot: A sailor commandeers a whaling ship for an old-fashioned high seas treasure hunt.
  Review: This one starts out strong and ends strong but the middle - where Conrad's anti-hero protagonist seizes control of the ship - isn't quite as gripping. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #118: "Poison" (July 28, 1950) Starring: Jack Webb. Story: Roald Dahl. Script: James Poe. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: India.
  Plot: An angry bigot discovers a snake asleep on his chest and only an Indian doctor can save his life.
  Review: Jack Webb claims the lead role but William Conrad easily steals the show with his performance as the bigot. Conrad's transformation from fearful to abusive in the climax is especially striking. The story is basically carried by the performances, they elevate Dahl's story and Poe's script. And we owe it all to Escape Snake #5: the krait! My Rating: 5/5 stars.
• #119: "Two Came Back" (August 4, 1950) Starring: Stacy Harris. Story: Jules Archer. Script/Director: William N. Robson. Setting: New Guinea.
  Plot: An old army buddy invites his friend into the jungle to find a fortune - but the buddy's unfaithful wife is a major problem.
  Review: This one I find entertaining because it skips and dodges around expectations. It features a femme fatale (with one heck of an audio intro) and her husband is the typical "big dumb ox" type. But it plays out contrary to the tropes and that renders it memorable. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #120: "The Red Forest" (1st version August 11, 1950) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: Antony Ellis. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A man on the run finds his way blocked by a forest fire as he's forced to help fight the blaze.
  Review: An excellent tale as the adventure of battling a forest fire is combined with the tension of a man on the run - and even throws in some romance. This is among Ellis' best work for the series. Escape Snake #6: the rattlesnake makes a quick appearance! My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.

You can listen to episodes of Escape at the Internet Archive! I'll be back with more next week!