- #141: "The Island" (1st version July 11, 1951) Starring: Harry Bartell. Story/Script: Millard Kaufman. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Okinawa.
Plot: A soldier who yearns to live among beautiful people on an island seems to have found his opportunity.
Review: An excellent drama; the conflict takes a while to build but the ultimate revelation of what the island is and who the people are is so good that it justifies the journey getting there. William Conrad is very good as the dreamer whose dream isn't exactly what he expected. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars. - #142: "Macao" (July 18, 1951) Starring: Michael Ann Barrett. Story/Script: Herb Purdum. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Macao.
Plot: A heartless American woman runs the underworld of Macao.
Review: As a crime story this isn't too unusual; it only suits Escape because of the exotic locale. Still, Barrett is very good as the femme fatale. My Rating: 3/5 stars. - #143: "The Earthmen" (July 25, 1951) Starring: Parley Baer. Story: Ray Bradbury. Script: Walter Newman. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Mars.
Plot: Astronauts on Mars try to explain their origins to the Martians; the Martians consider them dangerously insane.
Review: One of Bradbury's Martian Chronicles tales and I think it came off much better than "Mars Is Heaven" (see #111). The concept of how psychological problems would manifest among a community of telepaths is a fascinating one and leads to a shocking climax. Very nicely done! My Rating: 4.5/5 stars. - #144: "The Gladiator" (August 1, 1951) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: Millard Kaufman. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: England/North Africa.
Plot: A boxer wants to retire from the fights but a wealthy maniac forces him aboard a ship on the high seas to fight to the death.
Review: This is a terrific pulp magazine premise and Conrad was perfectly cast but the script doesn't entirely sell the sense of peril. The criminal mastermind is also very disappointing and hammy especially when he rants "basically you have no way of life!" My Rating: 3/5 stars. - #145: "Up Periscope" (August 8, 1951) Starring: Hy Averback. Story: Alec Hudson. Script: William Froug. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: China/China Seas.
Plot: An American is hired by the Chinese to command a submarine against Japanese invaders.
Review: This is a pretty good high seas submarine tale which is for some reason a scenario seldom-heard on radio despite its potential for drama. Unfortunately it's held back again by the awful attempts at "yellowface" voice acting. My Rating: 3/5 stars. - #146: "A Rough Shoot" (August 15, 1951) Starring: Ben Wright. Story: Geoffrey Household. Script: Arthur Ross. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: England.
Plot: A land owner shoots a supposed poacher who proves to be part of a spy plot.
Review: This is a good story and was made into a good movie in 1953. However this adaptation is a bit stiff - the material needed a bit more intensity. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars. - #147: "The Silent Horror" (August 22, 1951) Starring: Harry Bartell. Story: Hugh Cave. Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Borneo.
Plot: A man lives among a primitive tribe who are impressed by the ticking of his pocket watch.
Review: The audio is particularly patchy in this episode, which I would rank higher if a better copy turned up. The premise is sound although it takes a while to arrive at the peril. Ultimately, this is an attempt to retell "Jimmy Goggles the God" (#31). My Rating: 3/5 stars. - #148: "The Man Who Stole the Bible" (2nd version August 30, 1951) Starring: Sam Pearce. Story/Script: Gwen Bagni/John Bagni. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA.
Plot: During Mardi Gras, a salesman steals a Bible from his hotel room then finds he's targeted by a mob.
Review: Another very good rendition of this story (first done as #107). The production values are pretty much the same here as they were when the show was sponsored by Ritchfield Oil. My Rating: 4/5 stars. - #149: "Gringo" (October 12, 1952) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: E. Jack Neuman. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Mexico.
Plot: A sailor goes on a treasure hunt with a wealthy man and his girlfriend.
Review: Definitely not our first treasure hunt on the high seas nor our first story where two men's relationship is tested by the presence of a woman. The woman in this story is a little more interesting than others - even though she winds up leaving the protagonist she's not cruel. This is about average for Escape but that's still a pretty high bar. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars. - #150: "The Price of the Head" (1st version October 19, 1952) Starring: William Conrad. Story: John Russell. Script: John Meston. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Solomon Islands.
Plot: A redheaded brawler kills a man but an indigenous man offers his help - for a price.
Review: Simply awful audio. We've heard a lot of John Russell on Escape - I gather Robson and Macdonnell were both very fond of his works about the high seas. Macdonnell also adapted this story for a pilot version of the Black Book (I wrote about the series here). I fail to see the attraction; the story boils down to a single twist which is suggested in the title and arrives mere seconds before the conclusion. But that's assuming you can even follow the garbled audio in the circulating copy. My Rating: 1.5/5 stars.
You can listen to episodes of Escape at the Internet Archive! I'll be back with more next week!
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