Escape Episode Guide: Part 21

Welcome back to my episode guide to the fantastic old-time radio series Escape! These include the final episodes by producer/director Norman Macdonnell, who was present almost since the beginning of Escape, first when he was William N. Robson's assistant. He's probably better-remembered as producer/director of Gunsmoke, however. Macdonnell was replaced by the writer team of Morton Fine and David Friedkin who will guide us through the final episodes of Escape!

• #201: "Affair at Mandrake" (April 15, 1954) Starring: John Dehner. Story/Script: Ben Wright. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: England.
  Plot: At Dunkirk, a British officer recognizes one of his German prisoners as a childhood friend.
  Review: This is actor Ben Wright's only stab at writing for Escape. It's another rather slow-moving tale, it takes half the runtime to establish what the actual problem facing the protagonist is; when it does appear, the rest of the story is fairly predictable. My Rating: 2.5/5 stars.
• #202: "The Adversary" (May 20, 1954) Starring: Larry Dobkin. Story: John Russell. Script/Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Thursday Island.
  Plot: A ship's captain participates in a scheme to sink a ship on the high seas carrying a fortune in pearls
  Review: Once again we turn to a story penned by Russell. It's certainly not the most engaging treasure hunt in the series, more concerned with talk (talk using various lower-class English accents) than action. Like many episodes of this era, it takes half the runtime to identify the actual plot (the scheme to sink the ship). My Rating: 2.5/5 stars.
• #203: "An Ordinary Man" (June 3, 1954) Starring: John Dehner. Story/Script: Kathleen Hite. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Mediterranean Sea.
  Plot: A passenger on the high seas of the Mediterranean poses as a rare gem importer, much to his later regret.
  Review: A very average script by Hite. It's a bit like an Eric Ambler tale with an everyman wandering into a criminal plot but the pace isn't quite snappy enough. Still, Dehner did a very good job with his role. My Rating: 2.5/5 stars.
• #204: "Bencelina and the Fisherman" (June 10, 1954) Starring: Vic Perrin. Story/Script: John Dehner. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Ireland.
  Plot: A fisherman falls in love with a Gypsy woman, making her fiance murderously jealous.
  Review: This is the 3rd of 3 episodes written by actor John Dehner. It's heavy on environment and accents but not very strong on plot or peril, so like many episodes of this era takes some time to get moving. My Rating: 2.5/5 stars.
• #205: "Blood Waters" (June 17, 1954) Starring: Vic Perrin. Story/Script: Tony Barrett. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Argentina.
  Plot: A diver goes looking for a sunken fortune, all too aware that he can't trust the man who hired him.
  Review: This is the first of 2 episodes written by actor Tony Barrett. The pace is slow but the development of the environment is great and the audio effects during the actual diving are very good. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #206: "Judgment Day at Crippled Deer" (June 24, 1954) Starring: Paul Frees. Story/Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Canada.
  Plot: When a man returns to his Yukon cabin alone the other residents assume he's killed his partner.
  Review: We're getting near the end of Escape and you can see from my ratings that I haven't been giving the series as many high marks as I once did, but even at this late time Escape still had greatness within it and great original tales worth telling. This one is basically a wintry version of the Ox-Bow Incident, all the more disconcerting as the victim keeps trying to reason with his accusers to absolutely no avail as Harry Bartell's performance grows more and more desperate. This is also the final episode of Escape to include performers Larry Dobkin and Georgia Ellis. My Rating: 5/5 stars.
• #207: "The Dark Wall" (July 1, 1954) Starring: John Dehner. Story/Script: Kathleen Hite. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Andorra.
  Plot: A man seems very concerned about his wife's mental state but the locals refuse to let him near her.
  Review: A very strong script by Hite; we've had plenty of stories on Escape where tourists find themselves in a seemingly dangerous culture where they can't trust anyone; this story flips the script a bit where the seeming protagonist is the one who's dangerous! My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #208: "The Birds" (July 10, 1954) Starring: Ben Wright. Story: Daphne du Maurier. Script: Robert Ryf. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: England.
  Plot: Without warning, birds begin assaulting humans.
  Review: Even this late in the series we have a few new adaptations of popular stories, getting in on du Maurier's story almost a decade before Alfred Hitchcock would make it world famous. Escape had a long history of stories where animals attack - be they snakes, rats or ants. Here we have a nightmarish assault by birds and the sound effects captured it quite well. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #209: "Eye of Evil" (July 17, 1954) Starring: John Dehner. Story/Script: Kathleen Hite. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Burma.
  Plot: An Englishman goes looking for a friend who has dropped out of contact in a remote Burmese locale.
  Review: Hite's story is heavy on atmosphere but thin on plot. The drama only picks up in the last few minutes when the titular "evil eye" finally enters the story. This is also the final episode with a performance by actor Parley Baer. My Rating: 2.5/5 stars.
• #210: "Flood on the Goodwins" (2nd version July 24, 1954) Starring: Vic Perrin. Story: David Devine. Script: James Poe. Director: Morton Fine/David Friedkin. Setting: English Channel.
  Plot: A one-armed man rescuing survivors from the Channel during the war meets a German spy.
  Review: This version suffers a bit because the circulating version is of lower audio quality than the 1st effort (episode #81). The story is fine for what it is but I don't think it's Escape at its best. This was performer Vic Perrin's last episode of Escape. My Rating: 3/5 stars.

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