Escape Episode Guide: Part 20

Welcome back to my episode guide to the fantastic old-time radio series Escape! These episodes include Antony Ellis' final episodes of Escape as Norman Macdonnell assumes his third (and final) tour as producer/director.

• #191: "The Abominable Snowman" (September 13, 1953) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script/Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Himalayan Mountains.
  Plot: Hunters venture into the mountains to learn whether the Abominable Snowman is real.
  Review: Another outstanding venture with Conrad. This could have been a story about a wild goose chase but it delivers on its premise and I admire Ellis for sticking to it. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #192: "The Log" (September 20, 1953) Starring: Larry Dobkin. Story: Francis Rosenwald. Script: Marianne Mosenor. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Scandinavia/Atlantic Ocean.
  Plot: Distraught when his old submarine is to be sold as scrap a retired commander decides to become a pirate.
  Review: A strong drama of a proud man who simply snaps under the weight of the indignities he's suffered. A high seas adventure that's mostly concerned with the psychological toll. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #193: "The Untouchable" (September 27, 1953) Starring: John Dehner. Story/Script: James Henderson. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: India.
  Plot: A businessman is terrified of leprosy and fears he's become afflicted with it.
  Review: A very disturbing drama; Dehner's callous narration and indifferent response to his colleague's obvious mental breakdown works very well; Parley Baer is outstanding as the man who's convinced he's become a leper and goes increasingly off the rails. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #194: "Zero Hour" (October 4, 1953) Starring: Paula Winslowe. Story: Ray Bradbury. Script/Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: USA.
  Plot: Children across the country are playing the game of "invasion." Only it's not merely a game.
  Review: This one was repeated a few times on Suspense, along with scripts for Dimension X and other programs. Bradbury wrote many stories about how terrifying children could be and this certainly depicts children at their worst! The climax is most chilling. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #195: "Elementals" (October 11, 1953) Starring: Tony Barrett. Story: Stephen Vincent Benet. Script: Meyer Dolinsky. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A wealthy man offers to award a couple a fortune if they agree to a sadistic experiment in food deprivation.
  Review: A very good adaptation of Benet's story. It's been adapted to radio many times; this version is elevated by the presence of William Conrad at his most sinister as the horrible man conducting the experiment. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #196: "The Bird of Paradise" (March 11, 1954) Starring: John Dehner. Story: John Russell. Script: John Meston. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Indonesia.
  Plot: Seeking to make a quick fortune a man goes hunting for rare birds but finds a hunter and his lover already have a claim staked where the birds reside.
  Review: A fairly simple high seas story: man finds rare birds; man loses rare birds. And there's a beautiful woman, but although she's the one who influences most of the story's action she's mostly a passive figure of beauty. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #197: "Violent Night" (March 18, 1954) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Caribbean.
  Plot: A plantation owner takes the new governor's daughter as his hostage while fleeing the country.
  Review: This story seems to reflect contemporary anxieties about independence movements in Latin America. Conrad is great as the first-person narrator and there are some fine tense moments, although nothing that elevates this material into something special. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #198: "The Second Shot" (March 25, 1954) Starring: John Dehner. Story: Alexandre Dumas. Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: France.
  Plot: A brash soldier keeps challenging men to duels; when he challenges his superior officer he finally learns a valuable lesson.
  Review: This is Dehner at his best, portraying the cool-headed superior officer. It's an excellent outing, tense and suspenseful with a good moral lesson to share. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #199: "The Return" (2nd version April 1, 1954) 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: Larry Dobkin is good in both of his performances of Hite's story (the first was episode #153). This version has much cleaner audio than the previous production. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #200: "The Scarlet Plague" (April 8, 1954) Starring: Vic Perrin. Story: Jack London. Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A horrific plague quickly spreads among the population and chaos engulfs civilization.
  Review: An updating of the story that works very well, following in the footsteps of "Earth Abides" (#128-129). This is one that OTR fans began to share as a bit of grim commentary on COVID-19 (which was thankfully not like the Scarlet Plague). Where "Earth Abides" was concerned with what happened after civilization fell, this story is involved in what the downfall would look like, anticipating many future works of fiction of this type. This is also the last episode of Escape with performer Sam Edwards. My Rating: 4/5 stars.

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