Escape Episode Guide Follow-Up

Having recently completed my episode guide to the old-time radio series Escape I think it would be beneficial to look at the series as a whole, having already examined it episode-by-episode.

I rated every episode out of 5 stars; breaking them down by seasons here's how the averages came out:

• 1947-1948 Season: (episodes #2-54) 4.32 average
• 1949 Season: (episodes #55-76) 4.57 average
• 1959-1950 Season: (epsiodes #77-122) 4.08 average
• 1950-1951 Season: (episodes #123-148) 4.42 average
• 1952-1953 Season: (episodes #149-195) 3.76 average
• 1954 Season (episodes #196-219) 3.32 average

It isn't too surprising to see the last season's average is the lowest, but I think 3.32 is still a good ranking for an old-time radio series. There were still some very good episodes in that season. What's a bit more surprising is that the 1949 season (which lasted just half of a regular season) had the best average - probably because in that season there were a number of new versions of the best scripts from the previous season.

I also kept track of where in the world episodes were set. Here's how the settings break down by percentage:

• Asia and the Pacific: 26%
• USA and Canada: 25%
• The "high seas": 22%
• Mexico, South America and the Caribbean: 20%
• England: 12%
• Other European Settings: 11%
• Africa: 7%
• The Middle East: 1%
• Other Planets: 1%

So Asia had a significant impact on this series, being the most common part of the world to appear. Note as well that "the high seas" rank very high. When you think of Escape, I think you do tend to think of William Conrad, a boat and a snake.

Although the USA ranks high, that doesn't diminish the exotic settings of the series; even stories set in the USA could involve nightmarish department stores ("Evening Primrose"), New Orleans at Mardi Gras ("The Man Who Stole the Bible"), historical adventures ("Command") or the end of the world ("Earth Abides"). Escape promised to bring its listeners into a world of high adventure and they did so, even amidst the everyday world.

Throughout its 7 years on the air, Escape demonstrated its versatility, offering tales from the espionage genre, westerns and science fiction. There were stories of pirates and smuggling alongside wartime exploits, comedic misfortunes and surviving the wrath of nature. You never knew exactly where in the world or what kind of adventure each episode of Escape brought but you could always count on the series to deliver a steady script with able performers and sound technicians. There are only a handful of episodes I don't recommend and that's against a multitude of episodes that I believe can be called among radio's greatest ("Leiningen versus the Ants"; "Taboo"; "Bloodbath"; "A Shipment of Mute Fate"; "Red Wine"; "The Fourth Man"; "Three Skeleton Key"; "A Study in Wax"; "Earth Abides"; "S.S. San Pedro"; "Confession"; "The Young Man with the Cream Tarts"; "Present Tense"; and more).

Escape has long been considered a sibling series to Suspense because they shared so many creative talents (including swapping scripts between the shows). Suspense ran 20 years so never managed the consistency of Escape (I'm certain if I created a Suspense episode guide there would be multiple seasons with averages under 3.32). I believe Escape holds up extremely well among old-time radio series and will continue to be enjoyed for as long as there is interest in audio drama.

Escape Episode Guide: Part 22

Welcome to the final entry of my episode guide on the fantastic old-time radio series Escape!

• #211: "Night of the Guns" (July 31, 1954) Starring: Herb Ellis. Story/Script/Director: Morton Fine/David Friedkin. Setting: Haiti.
  Plot: Two businessmen are mistaken for gun runners while in the midst of a revolution.
  Review: Another everyman in hot water story but nothing memorable. It might have been stronger with a single protagonist instead of two. This episode includes actor John Dehner's final performance on Escape. My Rating: 2.5/5 stars.
• #212: "The Price of the Head" (2nd version August 7, 1954) Starring: Hans Conreid. Story: John Russell. Script: John Meston. Director: Morton Fine/David Friedkin. Setting: Solomon Islands.
  Plot: A redheaded brawler kills a man but an indigenous man offers his help - for a price.
  Review: Appropriately, even in this final batch of episodes we have one final repeated script (from episode #150) - and it's by John Russell, whose stories were part of Escape throughout its history. This version has much cleaner audio than the previous one. However, I still don't find this story very exceptional. Note that this is actor Ben Wright's final appearance on Escape. My Rating: 2.5/5 stars.
• #213: "The Coward" (August 14, 1954) Starring: Barney Phillips. Story/Script: E. Jack Neuman. Director: Morton Fine/David Friedkin. Setting: Caribbean.
  Plot: A pilot schemes to retrieve a fortune lost in a plane he himself had wrecked.
  Review: Another high seas treasure hunt story and pretty average for what it is. In many ways it's a less-interesting version of "Gringo" (#149) which Neuman also wrote. My Rating: 2.5/5 stars.
• #214: "Two and Two Make Four" (August 21, 1954) Starring: Shep Menken. Story/Script: Walter Newman. Director: Morton Fine/David Friedkin. Setting: England.
  Plot: A sailor who was mugged in France awakens to find he's in England.
  Review: The nature of the mystery - how the protagonist got from France to England so quickly - is a bit odd and that keeps this episode a bit more engaging than others of this era. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #215: "The King of Owanatu" (August 28, 1954) Starring: Tony Barrett. Story/Script: Robert Tallman. Director: Morton Fine/David Friedkin. Setting: Coral Sea.
  Plot: A self-proclaimed king deliberately wrecks ships on the high seas.
  Review: It's very pleasant to hear Joseph Kearns as a villain one last time. The story itself is somewhat derivative of other stories we've heard over the years (a little bit of #9: "The Most Dangerous Game," a pinch of #125: "The Power of Hammer," heck, a bit of #19: "Wild Oranges" too) but it has romance, adventure and suspense - a good example of the average Escape episode. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #216: "The Boiling Sea" (September 4, 1954) Starring: Ted de Corsia. Story: Vincent McHugh. Script: John Dunkel. Director: Morton Fine/David Friedkin. Setting: Pacific Ocean.
  Plot: A ship's crew find themselves endangered by volcanoes at sea.
  Review: Volcanoes on the high seas! Here we have some tense high adventure that feels like the series at its best (Dunkel had been writing for the show since #12: "Pollack and the Porroh Man"). So many of the stories set on ships have been man vs. man that I find it very welcome to have a man vs. nature story, the likes of which I don't think Escape had hosted since all the way back to "S.S. San Pedro" (#50)! This is also the final episode of Escape with actors Ted de Corsia and Harry Bartell. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #217: "Carnival in Vienna" (September 11, 1954) Starring: Jack Moyles. Story/Script/Director: Morton Fine/David Friedkin. Setting: Austria.
  Plot: A carnival worker schemes to steal a fortune.
  Review: A pretty average crime story; I'm not sure why it wasn't simply produced on Suspense. Unless... this is a bit like the Suspense episode "The Giant of Thermopylae" which aired 4 months earlier, isn't it? Man trapped in funhouse attraction with laughing clown? My Rating: 2.5/5 stars.
• #218: "The Target" (September 18, 1954) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: Tony Barrett. Director: Morton Fine/David Friedkin. Setting: Chile.
  Plot: An insurance investigator pursues a criminal on the run.
  Review: This is the 2nd of 2 episodes written by actor Tony Barrett and the final time Conrad served as protagonist, along with Barrett and Hans Conreid's final appearances on the series. The tale itself is quite average but does at least send us out to the high seas one last time. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #219: "The Heart of Kali" (September 25, 1954) Starring: Paul Richards. Story/Script: Ross Murray. Director: Morton Fine/David Friedkin. Setting: India.
  Plot: A former soldier schemes to steal a ruby he discovered during the war.
  Review: And here we have the final episode of Escape, closing on our old friend William Conrad promoting his western series Gunsmoke instead of a new episode. Escape had been moved around the schedule so many times that I wonder if the audience at the time (or even cast and crew) were certain whether or not this was the series' final bow. The show does at least go out strong with one last treasure hunt tale in a remote locale. This is a good mix of crime, adventure and an ironic punishment, elements we heard many, many times during the program's seven year run. There were better episodes and worse episodes but the quality of this one is decent and although I find the quality of many episodes in the Fine/Friedkin era erratic, it feels as though Escape went out as a strong program that still had life in it. Thankfully, Paul Frees was still present and had been one of Escape's most versatile performers throughout its run. My Rating: 4/5 stars.

You can listen to episodes of Escape at the Internet Archive!

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!

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!

Escape Episode Guide: Part 19

Welcome back to my episode guide to the fantastic old-time radio series Escape!

• #181: "A Source of Irritation" (July 5, 1953) Starring: Ben Wright. Story: Stacy Aumonier. Script: Meyer Dolinsky. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Germany.
  Plot: A British turnip farmer is kidnapped by a Nazi pilot because he happens to resemble an important Frenchman.
  Review: A very silly story, quite atypical for Escape, so much so that it's practically the series satirizing itself. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #182: "The Outstation" (July 12, 1953) Starring: Ben Wright. Story: W. Somerset Maugham. Script/Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Borneo.
  Plot: Two British officers clash with each other during their assignment.
  Review: I think I've mentioned before that I don't have a lot of patience for "British manners" stories, stories where all the drama comes from British class-isms. Here, there's a stiff-upper lip Englishman and a working-class boor. The story doesn't like either of them. Well, fine, I don't like them, the story, or the high horse they rode in on. My Rating: 2.5/5 stars.
• #183: "The Open Boat" (July 19, 1953) Starring: Edgar Barrier. Story: Stephen Crane. Script: E. Jack Neuman. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Atlantic Ocean/USA.
  Plot: The survivors of a sunken ship try to reach land but it's not easily accomplished.
  Review: I studied this story in college; it's Crane's 2nd best-known work (after "The Red Badge of Courage") and I'm delighted that Escape brought it to life. The high seas setting obviously plays to audience expectations but the drama - the men trying repeatedly to save themselves against an indifferent audience, dry land so close yet unattainable - it's a different kind of 'man vs. nature' peril than other episodes and very well performed. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #184: "The Notebook" (July 26, 1953) Starring: John Dehner. Story/Script: William J. Radcliff. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: USA.
  Plot: Two men who just found a valuable piece of property are stalked by thieves who want to beat their claim.
  Review: An intense and ultimately bleak western story. The last third of the story is especially well-told as the surviving characters are forced to rely on each other to survive against a pack of wolves, yet it's too little, too late. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #185: "The Red Forest" (2nd version August 2, 1953) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script/Director: Antony Ellis. 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: Another good production of this script (from #120); this time Ellis got to direct it himself. Conrad reprised his role from before, as did Georgia Ellis. Escape Snake #6: the rattlesnake makes a quick appearance! My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #186: "Three Skeleton Key" (3rd version August 9, 1953) Starring: Ben Wright. Story: George Toudouze. Script: James Poe. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: French Guiana.
  Plot: Three men are trapped in their lighthouse as rats swarm around them.
  Review: One last time, Escape tackles the story (previously as episodes #83 and 100). This time there's no Vincent Price but I think Wright is fine in the role of Jean (though his thick English accent is in no way French!); Paul Frees is fine as Louis although William Conrad did it best in the 1st version; unfortunately, Jay Novello is not that great as Auguste, a role that Harry Bartell played to perfection in the two earlier versions. Further, the circulating copy has some patchy audio in places. However, this is the best man vs. nature story in the entirety of Escape and these minor defects only appear when you compare versions. Even as the least-impressive adaptation of the tale, it's still a phenomenal production. My Rating: 5/5 stars.
• #187: "The Thirteenth Truck" (August 16, 1953) Starring: Hy Averback. Story: Douglas Smith/Cecil Carnes. Script: Gus Bayz. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Libya.
  Plot: British soldiers scheme to infiltrate a convoy of Nazi trucks in order to access and destroy an airfield.
  Review: A very pulpy adventure tale. It's all right but far-fetched and Averback's performance is too stiff for Bayz's light-hearted script. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #188: "The Man from Tomorrow" (August 23, 1953) Starring: Larry Dobkin. Story/Script: Irving Reis. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A former pilot is recruited for scientific experiments to heighten his sensory powers to their greatest possible degree.
  Review: This episode is not well-liked by other Escape fans but I'm into it; I enjoy how the protagonist's abilities gradually increase and the audio tricks used to enhance his sensory experience for the listeners. Dobkin's protagonist realizing he has to get out of the experiment is also well-handled. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #189: "The Game" (August 30, 1953) Starring: Sam Edwards. Story/Script/Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: USA.
  Plot: Two teenagers play a game of Russian roulette.
  Review: Utterly unlike anything else on Escape - this is a Suspense story that wound up on the wrong desk. But who cares? It has a tiny cast and a tough premise that manages to maintain tension for the entire half-hour. My Rating: 5/5 stars.
• #190: "Train from Oebisfelde" (September 6, 1953) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: Ross Murray. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Germany.
  Plot: An American agent escorting a nuclear scientist who has just defected learns the train they're aboard has a bomb hidden somewhere.
  Review: I think this one is very underrated by Escape fans; the train setting is good and the problem of how to locate the bomb in time is intense, while Conrad is always game as the staunch protagonist. Really good stuff. 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!

Escape Episode Guide: Part 18

Welcome back to my episode guide to the fantastic old-time radio series Escape!

• #171: "Classified Secret" (April 12, 1953) Starring: Parley Baer. Story/Script/Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A hired spy decides not to complete his assignment; the enemy agents refuse to let him escape.
  Review: I criticized Ellis' earlier attempts at penning espionage drama but this time he really came through - this is one of the best spy stories Escape ever told and Baer is terrific as the likeable yet cold-blooded spy. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #172: "El Guitarrero" (April 19, 1953) Starring: Eddie Firestone. Story/Script: E. Jack Neuman. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Mexico.
  Plot: A poet needs the help of a guitarist to rescue his wife.
  Review: This episode wasn't helped by the abrupt news break that interrupts the beginning of the drama; since Escape was transcribed I guess it's possible a non-broadcast copy might turn up with the full drama. As it is, the story is very underwhelming - it takes half the runtime to reach the premise (wife kidnapped; the two leads don't like each other) and it's just too thin to hold my interest. Nice guitar playing, though. My Rating: 2.5/5 stars.
• #173: "The Derelict" (April 26, 1953) Starring: Charlotte Lawrence. Story: Victor Schwartz. Script: Larry Roman. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Indian Ocean.
  Plot: A crew stranded in the ocean with a fortune begin in-fighting to possess the wealth and the one woman present.
  Review: A different kind of high seas adventure; Lawrence portrays a woman who could have been a typical femme fatale but to a great extent, I came away thinking the problems were really the fault of the men's inability to cooperate and solve their mutual problem. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #174: "Lily and the Colonel" (May 3, 1953) Starring: Ben Wright. Story/Script: John Dehner. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Kenya.
  Plot: In the midst of the Mau Mau uprising a British officer's bored wife takes note of the newly-arrived officer.
  Review: The 2nd of 3 episodes written by actor John Dehner; it's very much in the style of W. Somerset Maugham. I have to say, it does nothing for me. I think Dehner wanted to make some kind of critique about British colonialism but since it climaxes on the Mau Mau murdering a defenseless woman it lacks a perspective I can actually sympathize with. My Rating: 2/5 stars.
• #175: "The Vessel of Wrath" (May 10, 1953) Starring: Parley Baer. Story: W. Somerset Maugham. Script/Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Indonesia.
  Plot: A missionary is terrified of an infamous high seas drunkard - then becomes fascinated with him.
  Review: A decent enough adaptation of a rather comical story, albeit one that's presented in dramatic fashion. It all feels very outdated by the standards of the 1950s. My Rating: 2.5/5 stars.
• #176: "North of Polaris" (May 17, 1953) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: Charles Smith. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: USA.
  Plot: Astronauts on another world find the planet is nearly deserted.
  Review: There are plenty of radio science fiction plays which tell more-or-less the same tale (see "The Planet Zevius" on the Mysterious Traveler), but Escape handles this pretty well just thanks to its great stable of performers, led by Conrad. The climax didn't surprise me but I thought it was entertaining getting there. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #177: "A Good Thing" (May 31, 1953) Starring: Tony Barrett. Story/Script: Kathleen Hite. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Philippines.
  Plot: An unstable drunkard goes exploring for headhunters with his brother.
  Review: Another episode that's slow to get moving and only really speeds up in the last third. It's okay, but with a snappier pace it might have been great. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #178: "The Voyages of Sinbad" (June 7, 1953) Starring: Ben Wright. Story/Script/Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Arabia.
  Plot: Sinbad the sailor narrates about his adventures on the high seas, including the time he was buried alive and beset by the Old Man of the Sea.
  Review: Another oddity; we heard another script by Ellis - "Robert of Huntingdon" (#151) that seemed like a pilot for a juvenile adventure series - perhaps this one is another. But as a departure for Escape it's a welcome one; the music by Rimsky-Korsakov does an excellent job of setting the stage and similarly marking this episode as something quite different. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
• #179: "Clear for Action" (June 14, 1953) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script/Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Caribbean.
  Plot: An American Naval officer leads his crew against British and French warships.
  Review: Another high seas adventure in a historical vein. The only real colour in this tale is when Conrad's captain orders one of his men to masquerade as a woman in order to deceive the British ship. Although Conrad helped prove in "Pressure" (#168) that submarine drama worked well on radio, I'm less convinced that traditional naval combat makes for interesting radio. There's only so many times you can stand to hear Conrad bellow out instructions for the sail. It would be stronger radio drama if Conrad had been a first-person narrator. My Rating: 2.5/5 stars.
• #180: "The Far Away Island" (June 21, 1953) Starring: Ted de Corsia. Story/Script: Charles Smith. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Polynesia.
  Plot: A man on the run from the law finds his own son is one of the men pursuing him.
  Review: Ted de Corsia had a great rough voice, but I don't find this high seas tale engaging. The twist that the pursuer is his son doesn't come up until the halfway point and it's about as close as the story gets to being interesting. My Rating: 2.5/5 stars.

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

Escape Episode Guide: Part 17

Welcome back to my episode guide to the fantastic old-time radio series Escape!

• #161: "A Study in Wax" (February 1, 1953) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: Antony Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Canada.
  Plot: Two men in a remote wintry shack try and fail to maintain their sanity through a lengthy isolation.
  Review: A haunting, terrifying and deeply tragic story about two men simply getting on each other's nerves. It may be the saddest, most somber episode of Escape and it definitely sticks with you. My Rating: 5/5 stars.
• #162: "Jetsam" (February 8, 1953) Starring: Ben Wright. Story: John Russell. Script/Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Australia.
  Plot: A drunken Englishman struggles to find a source of income.
  Review: And we're back again to author Russell. This story is very much like "Letter from Jason" (#85) but with less of an arc. Whereas "Letter from Jason" presented itself as a crime story that turned into a man's redemption arc, this has character and plot but a very perfunctory arc. He was a drunk; now he's not. My Rating: 2.5/5 stars.
• #163: "Wild Jack Rhett" (2nd version February 15, 1953) Starring: John Dehner. Story: Ernest Haycox. Script: John Meston. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A western town hires an infamous town tamer to clean up crime.
  Review: The first production of this story (#134) predated Macdonnell's Gunsmoke series and served like a pilot for that program; this version was produced during Gunsmoke's first year and added a few of that program's stars to the cast (notably Georgia Ellis and Howard McNear). Otherwise it's much the same as the first version and still an exceptional western drama. It's a bit strange to have Larry Dobkin recast from the US marshal to the villain, though. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #164: "I Saw Myself Running" (February 22, 1953) Starring: Georgia Ellis. Story/Script/Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A woman has terrifying dreams and fears she may lose her identity.
  Review: A phenomenal story, evidently designed by Antony to highlight the abilities of his wife Georgia; easily Georgia's best radio outing. There are plenty of surreal radio dream scripts going back to the experimental days of Columbia Workshop but Antony's script adds a little more terror than others and it definitely has an unsettling climax. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #165: "The Tramp" (March 1, 1953) Starring: Ben Wright. Story/Script/Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: England.
  Plot: Three Englishmen commandeer a tramp steamer.
  Review: And we're back on the high seas. A somewhat dull story - it takes a while for the story to develop any stakes and the nigh-comical accents used by every single actor verge on annoying. My Rating: 2.5/5 stars.
• #166: "The Island" (2nd version March 7, 1953) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: Millard Kaufman. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Okinawa.
  Plot: A soldier who yearns to live among beautiful people on an island seems to have found his opportunity.
  Review: Stacy Harris replaced the role previously played by Harry Bartell in episode #141 while Conrad reprised his character. It strikes me as being just as good as the previous version and with Harris present reminds one of another episode where the two got on each other's nerves - "A Study in Wax!" My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #167: "The Man with the Steel Teeth" (March 15, 1953) Starring: Harry Bartell. Story/Script: John Dehner. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: USSR.
  Plot: The Russians arrest a journalist to interrogate and torture him; then his torturer seems to want him to escape.
  Review: Starting here, Escape begins to occasionally feature scripts written by their performers, this time featuring John Dehner (he wrote 3 in total). This isn't bad at all - the uncertainty of what the interrogator is truly after is a compelling mystery and its ultimate revelation isn't what I foresaw. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
• #168: "Pressure" (March 22, 1953) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: Richard Chandlee. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Pacific Ocean.
  Plot: A World War II submarine crew battle a Japanese destroyer.
  Review: Back to the high seas and the always-welcome Conrad, this time featuring a superior submarine drama than "Up Periscope" (#145) with plenty of tension and a strong conclusion. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
• #169: "The Invader" (March 29, 1953) Starring: Howard McNear. Story/Script: Michael Gray. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A schoolteacher makes contact with extraterrestrials and invites them to land on Earth.
  Review: A decent science fiction story with an agreeable twist ending. It would all be pretty rote by the standards of X Minus One but for an Escape science fiction tale it's memorable, thanks mostly to McNear's great lead performance; the approach is similar to that Rod Serling would later use on the Twilight Zone. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #170: "A Sleeping Draught" (2nd version April 5, 1953) Starring: Ben Wright. Story: Westin Martyr. Script/Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Atlantic Ocean/Australia.
  Plot: A ship ferrying convicts to Australia breaks into violence, first against the prisoners, then directed at the crew.
  Review: Another production of this high seas tale of betrayal (first done as #123) with Wright reprising the lead role but the supporting performances by the convicts are even more irritating to me here than last time. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.

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

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!

Escape Episode Guide: Part 15

Welcome back to my episode guide to the fantastic old-time radio series Escape!

• #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!

Escape Episode Guide: Part 14

Welcome back to my episode guide to the fantastic old-time radio series Escape!

• #131: "Funeral Fires" (November 26, 1950) Starring: Ben Wright. Story/Script: Charles Israel. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Pakistan.
  Plot: A doctor arrives to help fight an outbreak of plague but the corrupt and apathetic officials block his efforts.
  Review: A good drama as the new doctor is pit against seemingly every other white person in town and isn't sure who to trust. It's a little reminiscent of "Red Wine" (see #57). My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #132: "This Side of Nowhere" (December 3, 1950) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: Antony Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Mexico.
  Plot: A woman with $250,000 hires a pilot to get her to Mexico but the plane crashes by a village where the money is a constant problem and never a solution.
  Review: There are few adversaries so irritating as those who remain eternally cheerful, happy and seemingly-helpful, as is the case here. Watch out for a surprise appearance by Escape Snake #9! My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #133: "A Passenger to Bali" (December 10, 1950) Starring: John Dehner. Story: Ellis St. Joseph. Script/Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Indonesia/China Seas.
  Plot: A British ship picks up a man who claims to be a missionary; he proves to be a horrific nuisance but no port will accept him.
  Review: Speaking of irritating yet friendly personalities, here we have a man who is so, so lucky that he booked passage on the high seas under a stiff-upper lip Englishman who didn't simply throw him overboard. It's a good problem to create tension but the kind of problem that can only exist in a "British manners" scenario. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #134: "Wild Jack Rhett" (1st version December 17, 1950) Starring: John Dehner. Story: Ernest Haycox. Script: John Meston. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A western town hires an infamous town tamer to clean up crime.
  Review: We've finally reached the story that served as something of a pilot for Gunsmoke (along with "Pagosa" which Macdonnell produced for Romance the following year). As I've previously mentioned, it wasn't the first "adult western" to appear on Escape - see "The Pistol" (#90) and "Sundown" (#113). The difference is that Macdonnell would be the one to create Gunsmoke and writer Meston would be among his writing staff (to say nothing of actors like Dehner, Parley Baer, Sam Edwards and Larry Dobkin). And, of course, the other major players of Gunsmoke would be culled from Escape's recurring performers not heard here (William Conrad, Georgia Ellis, Howard McNear). But this isn't merely of historical interest, it's a very good western tale about a man who's basically the old west's Sam Spade (he's not above pretending to be corrupt). My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #135: "The Cave" (December 24, 1950) Starring: John Dehner. Story/Script: Antony Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: England.
  Plot: A man recalls a childhood Christmas where he ventured into a cave and found pirates waiting.
  Review: A story so gentle it just might... put you to sleep. I do appreciate, however, that although this story is really for children it doesn't talk down to them in the way a children's show like Let's Pretend, so kudos to Ellis on that front. My Rating: 2.5/5 stars.
• #136: "The Man Who Could Work Miracles" (2nd version December 31, 1950) Starring: Ben Wright. Story: H. G. Wells. Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: England.
  Plot: A man suddenly discovers he can perform any deed he happens to think of.
  Review: Another funny performance of this script (first done as #54) with Wright reprising his role as the protagonist Mr. Fotheringay. I do prefer this to the 1st version because of one great audio joke - the sequence in which Fotheringay creates a live pheasant by mistake (pheasant noises are heard) then commands it to become a roast pheasant, abruptly followed by the pheasant's dying squawk. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #137: "Conquest" (January 7, 1951) Starring: William Conrad. Story: Leonard Lee. Script: David Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Himalayan mountains.
  Plot: A mountain climber is determined to be the first man to reach the top of Mount Everest.
  Review: A very good drama, carried by Conrad at his best as the climber who proves himself, yet ultimately chooses to be gracious and humble. A great melding of high adventure with a morality fable. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #138: "A Bullet for Mr. Smith" (January 14, 1951) Starring: John Dehner. Story/Script: Antony Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Switzerland.
  Plot: A spy is warned of a killer named "Mr. Smith" - who might be anyone, potentially more than one person!
  Review: A very average sort of espionage story; they namedrop Eric Ambler but this is nothing like his style (we previously witnessed in #124: "Roulette" that Ellis had difficulty writing about espionage). It wants to be a grim story but doesn't get out of first gear. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #139: "The Killer Mine" (February 11, 1951) Starring: John Dehner. Story: Hammond Innes. Script: Antony Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: England.
  Plot: A miner desperate for work enters into a criminal operation.
  Review: This feels just very average for Escape - it takes a while to pick up speed, which seems to be a recurring issue I'm having with Ellis' scripting. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #140: "The Follower" (February 18, 1951) Starring: William Conrad. Story: Patrick Quentin. Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Mexico.
  Plot: An engineer finds a dead body in his home; he sets out in pursuit of his wife, afraid she's the killer.
  Review: Conrad is again quite good although the dialogue is a bit stiff and wordy. My Rating: 3/5 stars.

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

Escape Episode Guide: Part 13

Welcome back to my episode guide to the wonderful radio series Escape! The final two episodes sponsored by Richfield Oil open up this batch of episodes! Series creator William N. Robson has also departed the program, this time for good (he'd later resurface as producer/director of Suspense). For now, Norman Macdonnell once again takes command of Escape!

• #121: "The Footprint" (August 18, 1950) Starring: William Conrad. Story: Gouverneur Morris. Script: Richard Chandlee. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Mexico.
  Plot: A band of hired men venture to a Chinese pagoda in the Mexican desert where they observe strange religious rites - and a hidden fortune!
  Review: This episode is a bit nuts, like a desert version of "Bloodbath" but with a secret cult who practice ritual sacrifice for good measure. I think it all comes together well - the story is tense, especially as the thieves flee across the desert and perceive the green silk costumes of their pursuers. Also, meet Escape Snake #7: the gray snake! My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #122: "Crossing Paris" (August 25, 1950) Starring: Jay Novello. Story: Marcel Ayme. Script: John Meston. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: France.
  Plot: A black market smuggler tries to meekly carry his wares through the darkened streets but his somewhat unwelcome ally insists on drawing people's attention to him.
  Review: This is all over the place, isn't it? William Conrad is outstanding as the drunkard who keeps endangering the protagonist but I'm not as sold on Novello's restrained performance in the lead or the violent climax. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
• #123: "A Sleeping Draught" (1st version October 1, 1950) Starring: Ben Wright. Story: Weston Martyr. Script: Antony Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Atlantic Ocean/Australia.
  Plot: A ship ferrying convicts to Australia breaks into violence, first against the prisoners, then directed at the crew.
  Review: We're back on the high seas for a decent production about the difficulty men have trusting each other (a recurring Escape trope) but I find the prisoners' voice so irritating that I don't really enjoy going back to this episode. Still, Ben Wright is very good and I want to highlight him because I am sometimes critical of him in other episodes. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #124: "Roulette" (October 8, 1950) Starring: Terry Kilburn. Story/Script: Antony Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: France.
  Plot: A naive young man agrees to help a woman who claims her life is in danger.
  Review: This doesn't quite work; it's trying to be an Eric Ambler drama with a protagonist who doesn't comprehend the world of espionage. Unfortunately, the protagonist is so simple-minded, the spy is so obvious and the plot has no particular twists or humorous moments to make up for it. It's rare for me to say I don't recommend an episode of Escape, but this is another instance. My Rating: 2/5 stars.
• #125: "The Power of Hammer" (October 15, 1950) Starring: Harry Bartell. Story: Antony Ellis. Script: Gil Doud. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Belgian Congo.
  Plot: The Belgians want to arrest a madman who has set up his own private fortress in the jungle; the guide they hire has a history with the would-be king.
  Review: Bartell is good in the lead role but I find the villain way, way too over-played and over-hyped (no one dares shoot the villain because his loyal natives will bring down his killer - or so goes the theory). Overall, it's good high adventure. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
• #126: "The Time Machine" (2nd version October 22, 1950) Starring: John Dehner. Story: H. G. Wells. Script: Irving Ravetch. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: England.
  Plot: Two men test their time machine by journeying into the future where they find humans have evolved along two very different paths.
  Review: This production is just slightly better than the previous attempt (episode #40), I think, simply because John Dehner had such a great presence. I still find the dialogue between the two leads a bit stilted but it remains a great adventure tale. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #127: "Seven Hours to Freedom" (October 29, 1950) Starring: Stan Waxman. Story/Script: Bud A. Nelson. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Pacific Ocean.
  Plot: A fisherman's boat is commandeered by escaping criminals en route to Mexico.
  Review: Back on the high seas and the situation is a good, tense one, but the execution is disappointing - merely a Key Largo wannabe. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
• #128: "Earth Abides" Part 1. (November 5, 1950) Starring: John Dehner. Story: George R. Stewart. Script: David Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: USA.
  Plot: After most of mankind is wiped out a survivor seeks his path amidst the debris.
  Review: I owe Escape for making me aware of this story - one of the godfathers of the "post-apocalypse" fictions that have since become their own cottage industry. Author Stewart put a lot of thought into what would become of the Earth with a greatly reduced human population and those points - narrated by Larry Dobkin - are effectively rendered while Dehner is a great protagonist, who owes his life to Escape Snake #8: another rattlesnake! My Rating: 5/5 stars.
• #129: "Earth Abides" Part 2. (November 12, 1950) Starring: John Dehner. Story: George R. Stewart. Script: David Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: USA.
  Plot: The remains of human society continue to struggle and are put to the test when a murderer appears.
  Review: I feel the second half of this story fumbles it a bit; it tries to swerve away from the bittersweet ending of the novel into something more optimistic that doesn't really fit the rest of the series. But the main drama of the story, involving William Conrad as a brutish intruder, is very well dramatized. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #130: "Journey into Fear" (November 19, 1950) Starring: Wilms Herbert. Story: Eric Ambler. Script: Antony Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Turkey.
  Plot: An engineer in Turkey is targeted for assassination and flees on the high seas.
  Review: Speaking of Eric Ambler, here's his best-known work! The novel is a bit much to fit into a half-hour and I don't think it's helped by Herbert's performance - here, Terry Kilburn would have had hit the right note (or Harry Bartell - see #22, "Second Class Passenger" or Morgan Farley - see #25, "Three Good Witnesses"). Escape has done better jobs with this kind of story, the average man who is thrust into danger. Herbert just sounds a little too capable for the role. My Rating: 4/5 stars.

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

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!

Escape Episode Guide: Part 11

Welcome back to my episode guide for the great raido series Escape! We've now reached the (brief) era where Escape had a sponsor, the Richfield Oil company. This means some episodes are a bit truncated to make room for commercial advertisements, but at least the sponsor helped keep the series thriving.

• #101: "Danger at Matecumbe" (March 24, 1950) Starring: Frank Lovejoy. Story/Script: Gwen Bagni/John Bagni. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A drifter is hired to impersonate a famous author only to become a fall guy in a murder frame-up.
  Review: A pretty good thriller, the type of story the Bagnis did very well with; frankly, my favourite parts are the comical scenes of the sheriff escorting Lovejoy out of town. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #102: "Green Splotches" (March 31, 1950) Starring: William Conrad. Story: T. S. Stribling. Script/Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Andes mountains.
  Plot: A scientific party in the mountains encounters a plant-like man.
  Review: I'm given to understand the original story wasn't a science fiction tale, suggesting it was changed quite a bit. It's intriguing and very much in the mould of "Conqueror's Isle," but the audio quality is poor. I might rate it higher if a cleaner version emerges. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
• #103: "The Ambassador of Poker" (April 7, 1950) Starring: Elliott Reid. Story: Achmed Abdullah. Script: John Dunkel. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: China.
  Plot: A gentleman from Virginia ventures into China, relying on his skill with poker to see him through.
  Review: This might be my favourite Escape story set in China; it succeeds thanks to Elliott Reid's performance as the somewhat comical poker player. I mean, this is a story where a man's unbeatable skill at cards is how he solves every problem; that's fun, and helps mitigate the usual bad "yellowface" voice acting. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #104: "The Golden Snake" (April 14, 1950) Starring: Tony Barrett. Story: Paul Pierce. Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Mexico.
  Plot: Treasure hunters go exploring for a lost Mayan fortune but it seems the Mayans are still active and don't want it found.
  Review: An interesting story that oozes with menace, even supernatural overtones, but it's very restrained. This is a very good treasure hunt story, focused more on an anti-plunder message than on greed, which is the norm in Escape. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
• #105: "The Shanghai Document" (April 21, 1950) Starring: John Dehner. Story/Script: Gwen Bagni/John Bagni. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: China.
  Plot: An American reporter traveling by boat to Shanghai is caught up in espionage.
  Review: Yet another story from the Bagnis, set in a boat (but not at sea). It's very much in the tradition of Eric Ambler but I find it only just okay; it takes half the runtime just to get to the problem and I'm a little incredulous that John Dehner's character is named "Dehner!" Ben Wright's foppish missionary is fun though. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #106: "Something for Nothing" (April 28, 1950) Starring: William Conrad. Story: H. Vernor Dickson. Script: Sylvia Richards. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A struggling actor happens across a murder scene; he decides to blackmail the dead man's wife and impersonate her husband.
  Review: This feels like the premise for a Suspense tale (or heck, the Whistler) but with a star like Conrad leading it comes off very nicely. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #107: "The Man Who Stole the Bible" (1st version May 5, 1950) Starring: Rick Vallin. 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 good premise from the Bagnis; using Mardi Gras as cover for a criminal gang is a good choice and I do enjoy that the protagonist's problems all come about because he genuinely wants to take a Gideon Bible! My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #108: "The Rim of Terror" (May 12, 1950) Starring: Nancy Kelly. Story: Hildegarde Terihet. Script/Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A woman travelling by car picks up a German hitchhiker and learns he's a double agent.
  Review: This story doesn't entirely work for me. I think the premise is great (maybe a better premise for a Suspense episode though) but I just can't buy Hans Conreid as the romantic lead. I think the first time I listened I kept expecting him to be revealed as a villain and was shocked when there was no double-cross. I think another actor (Paul Frees?) could have done a better job of selling the character as a love interest; Conreid is just a bit too stiff. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
• #109: "Pass to Berlin" (May 19, 1950) Starring: Stacy Harris. Story/Script: Morton Fine/David Friedkin. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Germany.
  Plot: A killer fears that a mind-reading blind woman might possess actual psychic powers and know what he's done.
  Review: This script originated on William Spier's Philip Morris Playhouse (as "Leona's Room"). That version had the benefit of Vincent Price's performance but the story is still strong enough without him. The killer's unease as he wonders just how much the blind woman really knows is palpable and as it turns out, she does know just enough to catch him. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #110: "Command" (2nd version May 26, 1950) Starring: Harry Bartell. Story: James Warner Bellah. Script/Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A junior officer in the Calvary disagrees with his superior's judgement.
  Review: Another good rendition of this production (first done as #96), although lacking Bill Johnstone's great performance from the previous version. 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!

Escape Episode Guide: Part 10

Welcome back to my episode guide to the fantastic old-time radio series Escape!

• #91: "The Vanishing Lady" (2nd version January 10, 1950) Starring: Joan Banks. Story: Alexander Woollcott. Script/Director: William N. Robson. Setting: France.
  Plot: A woman goes to fetch a doctor for her sick mother then finds herself tangled in a conspiracy to deny her mother's existence.
  Review: Another good adaptation of the story, virtually identical to the 1st version (#26). If I have any criticism it's that Ben Wright is too stiff as the male lead. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #92: "The Sure Thing" (2nd version January 17, 1950) Starring: Anthony Ross. Story/Script: Gwen Bagni/John Bagni. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Caribbean/Cuba.
  Plot: A doctor tending to a wounded man aboard a boat realizes he's fallen in among criminals.
  Review: I give this outing a slight advantage over the previous version (#79) as I think Ross' performance is a little more interesting than the previous one by John Hoyt. An excellent high seas crime thriller. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #93: "Treasure, Incorporated" (January 24, 1950) Starring: Frank Lovejoy. Story/Script: Gwen Bagni/John Bagni. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Caribbean.
  Plot: A man trying to build a tourist destination in an island paradise underestimates a beachcomber.
  Review: A different kind of treasure hunt story, where the "treasure" begins as a trick to impress tourists, then later becomes the real thing! A decent parable about the futility of imposing your way of living on a different locale; Lovejoy is perfect as the increasingly-haggard protagonist. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #94: "Present Tense" (January 31, 1950) Starring: Vincent Price. Story/Script: James Poe. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA/Mexico.
  Plot: A prisoner condemned to death escapes his bonds - but somehow he is never able to escape his destiny.
  Review: This script is something special, something unusual; Price carries the half-hour with his intense performance as his character basically lives out "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (see #18) multiple times. A bit more psychological and a lot more abstract than most Escape stories but an absolutely perfect drama. My Rating: 5/5 stars.
• #95: "The Outer Limit" (February 7, 1950) Starring: Frank Lovejoy. Story: Graham Doar. Script: Morton Fine/David Friedkin. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A test pilot who vanished mid-flight returns to Earth with an account of his meeting with extraterrestrial life.
  Review: I believe this was the most-frequently adapted science fiction story on radio. But this production might be the best one, primarily due to Lovejoy's intense performance as the pilot. We don't seem to dread nuclear destruction today to same degree people of the 1950s did but overall it remains a relatable human fear. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #96: "Two If by Sea" (February 14, 1950) Starring: John Dehner. Story: Roger Bax. Script: John Michael Hayes/E. Jack Neuman. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USSR.
  Plot: The husband of a Russian ballerina turns to espionage in an effort to liberate her from the Russians.
  Review: Escape didn't do too much with the Iron Curtain - contemporary South American politics showed up in the series from time to time but unlike Suspense, very little of the European situation. This is a decent espionage story, although the only scene I really like is the one where Dehner identifies the code a journalist is using to speak to him over the radio. This is the only episode of Escape with a script by Hayes, who usually wrote for Suspense; Hayes later gave up radio writing after getting noticed by Alfred Hitchcock and hired to write the script for Rear Window. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
• #97: "The Red Mark" (February 21, 1950) Starring: William Conrad. Story: John Russell. Script: James Poe/Les Crutchfield. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: New Caledonia.
  Plot: Convicts in a penal colony scheme of making their escape from the brutal executioner of the camp.
  Review: And we're back to John Russell, one of Escape's favourite authors. Apparently the script is very different from Russell's original story. The story has a strong twist ending but I don't find the journey there as gripping as it ought to be. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #98: "The Man Who Won the War" (February 28, 1950) Starring: Barton Yarborough. Story: Robert Buckner. Script/Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Belgium.
  Plot: A British Navy officer's family attempt to clear his name by proving how he won World War I on land.
  Review: I kind of like this story - but the framing feels all wrong. The story is framed as this great repudiation of the blemish placed upon a deceased man. But the actual story isn't anywhere near so heavy, it's a fairly light-hearted high seas adventure tale where a crate of kilts change the outcome of a battle! My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
• #99: "Port Royal" (March 10, 1950) Starring: Charles McGraw. Story: Harry Rieseberg. Script: Gil Doud. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Jamaica.
  Plot: A sailor joins a hunt for sunken treasure but the crew's alliance is quickly put to the test.
  Review: I always enjoy an appearance by McGraw - his rough voice is perfect for roles such as this one, where he's a high seas treasure raider. He comes over as a good protagonist in part because although ignoble, he's not as ignoble as the other sailors (such as William Conrad's character) and tries to do right by John Dehner's captain, if only to save his own life. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #100: "Three Skeleton Key" (2nd version March 17, 1950) Starring: Vincent Price. Story: George Toudouze. Script: James Poe. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: French Guiana.
  Plot: Three men are trapped in their lighthouse as rats swarm around them.
  Review: Here's the version of this story that most Escape fans highlight as the best, due primarily to Price's performance as Jean (you'll recall I only just covered the 1st version last week as #83, demonstrating how quickly this became a popular story). This is definitely one of Price's best radio performances, but I felt Elliott Reid disappeared into the role more easily in the previous performance. Likewise, Reid was supported by William Conrad as Louis whereas Price has Jeff Corey, who is nowhere near as good as Conrad (Bartell remains perfect in his reprise as Auguste). All that said, this is what Escape sounds like when firing on all cylinders. My Rating: 5/5 stars.

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

Escape Episode Guide: Part 9

Welcome back to my episode guide to the fantastic old-time radio series Escape!

• #81: "Flood on the Goodwins" (1st version November 1, 1949) Starring: Jack Edwards. Story: David Devine. Script: James Poe. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: English Channel.
  Plot: A one-armed man rescuing survivors from the Channel during the war meets a German spy.
  Review: Not a bad thriller situation. I feel the story would have been stronger if the protagonist had been permitted to tell the story first-person as in many other Escape plots. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
• #82: "Plunder of the Sun" (November 8, 1949) Starring: Paul Frees. Story: David Dodge. Script: John Dunkel. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Peru.
  Plot: A man joins a hunt for the lost treasure of the Incas but isn't sure which rival plunderer he should ally with.
  Review: A great adventure novel (and in 1953 a decent film starring Glenn Ford), this story suffers a bit from being truncated to fit a half-hour but it snaps along very breezily, thanks to the always-wonderful Paul Frees guiding us through as protagonist. This is my favourite of the many treasure hunt tales Escape told. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #83: "Three Skeleton Key" (1st version November 15, 1949) Starring: Elliott Reid. Story: George Toudouze. Script: James Poe. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: French Guiana.
  Plot: Three men are trapped in their lighthouse as rats swarm around them.
  Review: This tale is often singled out as the greatest episode of Escape, and who am I to argue? Yet I'm a little different from other fans, who tend to prefer the versions Vincent Price led as Jean; I actually like the original version the most precisely because Reid's voice is not as distinctive as Price's; I feel Reid disappears into the role of Jean and thereby centers the drama on the situation, not on the performers/performances. That said, I don't think William Conrad gets nearly enough credit for his performance as Louis - his transformation from stolid leader to panicked and helpless is one of Conrad's best performances; likewise, Harry Bartell is splendid as Auguste. Of all the man vs. nature tales on Escape this is surely the most memorable and terrifying! Having read the original story, I have to say the changes Escape made to the climax render the story even more frightening! My Rating: 5/5 stars.
• #84: "Maracas" (November 22, 1949) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: Gwen Bagni/John Bagni. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Mexico.
  Plot: A sailor aboard a tramp steamer realizes the ship is running guns. He decides to get in on the crime.
  Review: We open again on the high seas for this smuggling tale. It isn't an exceptional tale but with William Conrad as our protagonist (plus great performances by Paul Frees and Ted de Corsia in supporting roles) I think it holds your attention. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #85: "Letter from Jason" (November 29, 1949) Starring: Frank Lovejoy. Story: George F. Worts. Script: William N. Robson/Seelig Lester/Merwin Gerard. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA/South Seas.
  Plot: A man struggling with alcoholism is hired by his father-in-law to murder a man.
  Review: This is a bit of a departure for Escape - it seems at first blush to be a high adventure story but ultimately it proves to be a psychological character study. It's good, but atypical. The episode ends with a quick comedic skit where Gracie Allen meets Paul Frees and asks if George Burns can sing on Escape. It's a little bizarre but at least it proves CBS believed they had a popular show in Escape. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
• #86: "Command" (1st version December 6, 1949) Starring: Elliott Reid. Story: James Warner Bellah. Script/Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A junior officer in the Calvary disagrees with his superior's judgement.
  Review: A very strong drama with a naive protagonist whose perspective the audience is skillfully meant to concur with but is gradually revealed to be in error. Bill Johnstone is terrific as the commanding officer and Paul Frees is strangely compelling as a comedic side character who meets a very non-comedic end. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #87: "Border Town" (December 13, 1949) Starring: Jack Webb. Story/Script: Gwen Bagni/John Bagni. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA/Mexico.
  Plot: After discovering a fortune in money that was apparently held by a counterfeiter, a struggling actor thinks he might have his big break.
  Review: This one is a real winner because Webb is terrific as the protagonist. Webb's clumsy efforts at getting into crime are really unusual for the program - his attempts at bluffing his way through the underworld are entertaining because he's not very good at it. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #88: "Figure a Dame" (December 20, 1949) Starring: Frank Lovejoy. Story: Richard Sale. Script: Morton Fine/David Friedkin. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: India.
  Plot: A detective protecting a woman's valuable emerald can't resist the impulse to steal it.
  Review: Another great story set on a train! Lovejoy is great as the despicable protagonist; rather like the previous episode, he bites off more than he can chew, especially when he tries to incriminate another passenger in murder. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #89: "Seeds of Greed" (December 27, 1949) Starring: Gary Merrill. Story/Script: Floyd A. Nelson. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Borneo.
  Plot: A sailor joins a treasure hunt for a sunken ship but his partner is openly plotting against him.
  Review: Back on the high seas and off on another treasure hunt; the South Pacific setting brings to mind the many John Russell stories Escape adapted throughout its run. There's a strong psychological aspect to the story that you don't often get in Escape, although the emphasis is on the adventurous aspects; more so than any other treasure hunt story, this is really about how greed destroys men. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
• #90: "The Pistol" (January 3, 1950) Starring: Gerald Mohr. Story/Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A man journeys to California to join his brother's gold strike but finds murder has already struck.
  Review: We don't often have western adventures on Escape; the later episode "Wild Jack Rhett" is frequently called a pilot for Gunsmoke but this episode never comes up in discussions of westerns for adult audiences. Gerald Mohr is just okay as the protagonist, while Charles McGraw's scratchy voice is perfect as the antagonist; Betty Lou Gerson is a bit frustrating as the sketchy dance hall girl whose characterization seems to change in every single scene. The premise is sound and it's well-produced but this never entirely comes together. My Rating: 3/5 stars.

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

Escape Episode Guide: Part 8

Welcome back to my episode guide to the fantastic old-time radio series Escape! During this next batch of episodes we have the welcome return of the series' original producer/director William N. Robson, taking one final tour as lead creative force on Escape! You will also note that it's only here - 2 years into the series run - that Escape began to introduce more original plays rather than adapting primarily from other media.

• #71: "Action" (2nd version July 21, 1949) Starring: Joseph Kearns. Story: Charles Montague. Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Switzerland.
  Plot: A man whose health is in decline seeks to end his life mountain climbing by going beyond his margin of safety.
  Review: This performance is virtually identical to the first production (#35), although the audio is much cleaner. Joseph Kearns certainly gave one of the best performances in his life as the protagonist. As ever, a tense, gripping story, extremely well-told. My Rating: 5/5 stars.
• #72: "The Second Class Passenger" (2nd version July 28, 1949) Starring: Parley Baer. Story: Percival Gibbon. Script: William N. Robson. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Mozambique.
  Plot: A tourist who steps in out of the rain finds himself among hardened criminals then in an adventurous flight across the city.
  Review: Another very good production of this story (first was #22), although I find Baer isn't quite as good as the protagonist as Harry Bartell was in the original. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #73: "Leiningen versus the Ants" (3rd version August 4, 1949) Starring: Tudor Owen. Story: Carl Stephenson. Script: Robert Ryf. Director: Richard Sanville. Setting: Brazil.
  Plot: The owner of a plantation refuses to flee from ravenous ants - not while he can still fight them!
  Review: The 3rd and final production of this great story (first done in #23 and 42) - unfortunately, William Conrad sat it out and Tudor Owen can't fill that void; it's still a very strong script with great production values but lacks the extra intensity actors such as Conrad grant Escape at the best of times. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #74: "Red Wine" (2nd version August 11, 1949) Starring: Willard Waterman. Story: Lawrence Blochman. Script: Mort Lewis/Les Crutchfield. Director: Richard Sanville. Setting: Borneo.
  Plot: A lawman goes looking for a killer known for his urbane habits; unfortunately he had 3 suspects and none of them are cooperative.
  Review: An interesting retake of this script (from #57) with Waterman in the lead. Waterman is best-remembered for being the 2nd Throckmorton Gildersleeve on the Great Gildersleeve but he had made a decent career in drama prior to assuming the role in 1950. I think he's great here, but I understand if you find it hard to take him seriously. My Rating: 5/5 stars.
• #75: "Snake Doctor" (2nd version August 18, 1949) Starring: William Conrad. Story: Irvin S. Cobb. Script: Fred Howard. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A man who hates snakes - and hates the "snake doctor" who tends them - schemes to commit a murder.
  Review: Our Escape Snake #2: the cottonmouth strikes again! Another great adaptation of this story (first was #27), this time narrated by Jeff Chandler, who does quite well. William Conrad is again excellent as the small-minded white trash farmer. Paul Frees also reprises his role as the mule-headed son and is, if anything, even more comical than in his previous performance. My Rating: 5/5 stars.
• #76: "Evening Primrose" (3rd version August 25, 1949) Starring: Harry Bartell. Story: John Collier. Script: John Dunkel. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A poet conceals himself in a department store to escape the world but finds a terrifying civilization already sharing his living space.
  Review: The last version of this story (first were #13 and 53). This time instead of Lewis (#13) or Conrad (#53) we have Harry Bartell in the lead. He was a fine radio actor although not at the same level as the other two. I find his performance a little too light-hearted at times but then this story does walk a very fine line between humour and horror. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #77: "The Fortune of Vargas" (September 21, 1949) Starring: Victor Mature. Story: Geoffrey Household. Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: Gordon T. Hughes. Setting: Mexico.
  Plot: A mining engineer who wants easy money goes on a treasure hunt.
  Review: Yet another treasure hunt story but with a Mexican setting (not the last time Escape will go treasure hunting in Mexico). This one is decent, carried primarily by the interplay between the protagonist and the Mexican woman he reluctantly takes on as a partner. Tragically, he fails to trust her in one crucial matter. The tragic ending leaves this story a bit too bitter for my liking. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
• #78: "Wild Oranges" (2nd version September 28, 1949) Starring: Van Heflin. Story: Joseph Hergesheimer. Script: John Dunkel. Director: Gordon T. Hughes. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A sailor meets a beautiful woman on a remote estate who is menaced by her hired hand.
  Review: Another pass at this melodrama (first was #19), only this time with a less-interesting cast. I already find this story lacks both an engaging script and a fascinating plot. Take away Paul Frees and what do you have? A pretty dull half hour. My Rating: 2.5/5 stars.
• #79: "The Sure Thing" (1st version October 15, 1949) Starring: John Hoyt. Story/Script: Gwen Bagni/John Bagni. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Caribbean/Cuba.
  Plot: A doctor tending to a wounded man aboard a boat realizes he's fallen in among criminals.
  Review: This is the first episode of Escape by the Bagnis, who would write quite a few stories (and were already writing for Suspense). This is an excellent outing with a tense high seas situation and a good everyman protagonist - who turns out to be as corruptible as the criminals themselves. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #80: "Night in Havana" (October 22, 1949) Starring: Tony Barrett. Story: Burnham Carter. Script: Walter Newman. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Cuba.
  Plot: A Cuban man resolves to clean up his life and get out of crime - but his last job lands him in with gun runners and jewel smugglers.
  Review: Not a bad outing, this is a good crime thriller that only stands apart from others to the setting - plenty of accents and a bit of Caribbean music; it's interesting to note Jack Webb appears here in just a minor role, even though he'd already headlined not only several Escape episodes and series of his own (he was a few months into Dragnet at the time); the man was clearly a good team player to accept such a small part. My Rating: 3/5 stars.

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