Escape Episode Guide: Part 16

Welcome back to my episode guide to the fantastic old-time radio series Escape! We've reached the episodes where producer/director Norman Macdonnell steps down in lieu of Antony Ellis, who should already be very familiar to Escape fans as he'd written many episodes for the program (he'd later be producer/director of Suspense).

• #151: "Robert of Huntingdon" (October 26, 1952) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: Antony Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: England.
  Plot: The forces of Nottingham send an undercover man to infiltrate Robin Hood's Merry Men.
  Review: An unusual attempt at rather juvenile fare for Escape, but heck, you get William Conrad as Robin Hood in the bargain! It really feels like the pilot for another program but it's good rousing fun, just what you want from a Robin Hood tale! My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #152: "The Running Man" (November 2, 1952) Starring: Vic Perrin. Story/Script: Herb Purdum. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Honduras.
  Plot: A gambler is supernaturally cursed with luck.
  Review: I like the premise, the setting and the problem but the non-ending in the climax is disappointing. The story takes its time to establish the characters but seems in an awful rush to finish. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #153: "The Return" (1st version November 9, 1952) Starring: Larry Dobkin. Story/Script: Kathleen Hite. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: North Africa.
  Plot: A man eager to avoid struggle finds himself invited into the perfect place.
  Review: This is the first episode of Escape by writer Kathleen Hite, who will turn up a few more times; say this for her, none of her scripts are forgettable. This tale is essentially a parable so you may not have the tolerance to sit through it. The lesson is a simple one - that there is something good about struggling - and her script puts it over well. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #154: "The Loup-Garou" (November 16, 1952) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: William Froug. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A resident of the Louisiana bayou is accused of being in league with dark forces by irate locals.
  Review: Definitely not a werewolf story - in fact the locals could have accused the protagonist of being a witch or a leprechaun, it wouldn't have changed the drama; this is really a screed against intolerance and for that it does a good job. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #155: "Incident in Quito" (December 7, 1952) Starring: Larry Thor. Story/Script: Ross Murray. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Ecuador.
  Plot: A researcher interested in shrunken heads realizes he now has a use for his nagging wife.
  Review: The first third plays out like a Tales from the Crypt story and is reasonably strong; strangely the scenario of the husband's guilty conscience and growing mental breakdown is less strong. I've never been that impressed with Thor as a leading man - he does "stolid scientist" well but "unhinged murderer" less convincingly; Escape has done this type of story much better in the past; see "Pollack and the Poorah Man" (#12). My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #156: "Four Went Home" (December 14, 1952) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script/Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Germany.
  Plot: Five soldiers in a German prison camp prepare to make their big escape.
  Review: Here's Ellis' writing at its best; really, this story would have been better suited to Suspense considering its content and that it all builds up to the actual escape attempt and how it unexpectedly goes awry. One of the more bleak scripts heard on Escape. My Rating: 5/5 stars.
• #157: "The Man Who Liked Dickens" (December 21, 1952) Starring: Terry Kilburn. Story: Evelyn Waugh. Script: John Meston. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Brazil.
  Plot: A man stranded in the jungle meets an illiterature man who wants nothing more than someone to read Charles Dickens to him.
  Review: A near-identical script was used years earlier on Suspense but altered the climax to give the poor protagonist a happy ending; this version is more faithful to the original tale. Joseph Kearns is perfectly cast as the helpful yet menacing villain. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #158: "Conqueror's Isle" (2nd version January 11, 1953) Starring: Harry Bartell. Story: Nelson S. Bond. Script: John Meston. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: South China Seas.
  Plot: A wartime airplane crew are found by a society of mutants who offer mankind a peaceful existence in subjugation.
  Review: The audio of this copy is not as clean as the earlier production (episode #58) but the script is identical; it really comes down to the differences in performances. I think Bartell is great as the protagonist but not quite at the level of the previous performer, Von Eltz. My Rating: 5/5 stars.
• #159: "A Matter of Conscience" (January 18, 1953) Starring: Parley Baer. Story/Script: Antony Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Indonesia.
  Plot: After Englishmen desecrate a temple on Bali reprisals are threatened.
  Review: Terrible audio and a muddled script by Ellis, who was really off his game - it's supposed to be a whimsical story but Baer's lead performance as a Dutchman (sounding like no Dutch person I ever met) doesn't suit the humour. A serious misfire. My Rating: 2/5 stars.
• #160: "Diary of a Madman" (January 25, 1953) Starring: Ben Wright. Story/Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Sahara Desert.
  Plot: German soldiers desert across the desert to form their own kingdom by might.
  Review: A very strong drama centered on Wright who is game, as long as you can handle his German accent (some of the other actors barely even attempt an accent). The title promises a character's mental breakdown and the story delivers, which is Wright at his best. 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!