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Post by Richard Kimble on Nov 29, 2017 3:02:09 GMT
Escape (1948-53) was the sister show of Suspense. While Suspense was essentially the radio equivalent of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Escape was bit more unconventional, running the gamut from exotic foreign adventure to supernatural horror.
I posted this on the CFB, so I might as well put it here. From John Collier's classic short story:
And yes, this story was later, er, reworked by a prominent screenwriter.
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Post by mattgarth on Nov 29, 2017 18:00:12 GMT
My favorite ESCAPE episode -- "Poison' with Jack Webb and William Conrad, from a Roald Dahl short story.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Nov 29, 2017 19:37:29 GMT
My favorite ESCAPE episode -- "Poison' with Jack Webb and William Conrad, from a Roald Dahl short story. Also done on Alfred Hitchcock Presents w/ Wendell Corey and James Donald, directed by Hitch himself.  |
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Post by mattgarth on Nov 29, 2017 21:00:17 GMT
Only it was switched around in that version (good guy trapped instead of the bigot) -- and a different conclusion.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Nov 29, 2017 23:38:29 GMT
Only it was switched around in that version (good guy trapped instead of the bigot) -- and a different conclusion. I actually prefer the non-Dahl TV plot. IMHO it's far more suspenseful and emotionally satisfying to have the more sympathetic character in jeopardy. That the radio adaptation went wildly overboard in the anti-racism (just a few lines in Dahl story), enough to make Home Of The Brave seem restrained by comparison, is also a consideration. Apparently there was an earlier TV version for the Suspense TV series in which the snake... is deliberately placed on the guy's stomach by his wife! |
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Post by Primemovermithrax Pejorative on Nov 30, 2017 9:46:04 GMT
Poison reminds me of the Night Gallery episode the Caterpillar.
The irony in that is that the character is after a female and claims he doesn't want to be alone and at the end he regrets that he gets both his wishes!
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Post by telegonus on Dec 6, 2017 6:44:27 GMT
Only it was switched around in that version (good guy trapped instead of the bigot) -- and a different conclusion. I actually prefer the non-Dahl TV plot. IMHO it's far more suspenseful and emotionally satisfying to have the more sympathetic character in jeopardy. That the radio adaptation went wildly overboard in the anti-racism (just a few lines in Dahl story), enough to make Home Of The Brave seem restrained by comparison, is also a consideration. Apparently there was an earlier TV version for the Suspense TV series in which the snake... is deliberately placed on the guy's stomach by his wife! I agree re the radio version of Poison. It surprised me when I first heard it about fifteen years ago, especially considering some of the creative people involved in it. My only gripe with the Hitch is that, having watched it just a few months ago, Wendell Corey's surprisingly poor performance in it. He was usually aces, and it's just not there in this one. |
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Post by Richard Kimble on Dec 6, 2017 8:56:47 GMT
I actually prefer the non-Dahl TV plot. IMHO it's far more suspenseful and emotionally satisfying to have the more sympathetic character in jeopardy. That the radio adaptation went wildly overboard in the anti-racism (just a few lines in Dahl story), enough to make Home Of The Brave seem restrained by comparison, is also a consideration. Apparently there was an earlier TV version for the Suspense TV series in which the snake... is deliberately placed on the guy's stomach by his wife! I agree re the radio version of Poison. It surprised me when I first heard it about fifteen years ago, especially considering some of the creative people involved in it. My only gripe with the Hitch is that, having watched it just a few months ago, Wendell Corey's surprisingly poor performance in it. He was usually aces, and it's just not there in this one. I wrote about the TV episode in the AHP thread, if you feel like moseying over to '60s TV |
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Post by telegonus on Dec 6, 2017 15:32:43 GMT
Thanks, Richard. I have to wonder if there was something up between Hitchcock and Corey, by which I mean negative. This was the second time he had Corey dealing with a character who literally couldn't stand up (the other being Rear Window); however, while skeptical in that film, and quite droll, he comes across as, indeed is, mean-spirited in the TV episode; and he isn't even stylish in his nastiness, just apathetic and sarcastic. James Donald was an excellent actor. Corey, at his best, has sometimes struck me as an American version of Donald, only not so gifted or sharp.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Feb 4, 2018 8:56:06 GMT
"Finger of Doom"
Based on the story by Cornell Woolrich
March 19, 1949
A Woolrich variation on the old "vanishing lady" plot, previously done on Suspense in 1945. This version stars Harry Bartell (a mainstay of West Coast radio) and future Oscar winner Ed Begley as the cop:
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Post by hardball on Apr 2, 2018 1:00:24 GMT
Escape's version of She is better than the one done by CBSRMT. I also prefer their rendition of the Fall of the House of Usher. However I prefer the CBSRMT version of Casting the Runes.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Apr 3, 2018 1:55:17 GMT
I prefer the CBSRMT version of Casting the Runes Just listened to both of them. Definitely prefer Escape's version. Better paced, better cast w/John Macintyre and Wm Conrad as Karswell, and manages to create some nice period atmosphere: The CBS updates the story and feels padded, with unnecessary conversations. Norman Rose (The announcer on Dimension X 20+ years earlier) is way over the top as the Karswell-villain figure, and the leading lady has a ridiculous Mae Questel Betty Boop voice, which doesn't help. The plot demands the principals be on the same train, and there is a curious section where EG Marshall describes how depressing Grand Central Station is after the commuters have gone home. Is it still that way? The M.R. James story was filmed in 1957 as Night Of The Demon |
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Post by hardball on Apr 3, 2018 2:12:58 GMT
I prefer the CBSRMT version of Casting the Runes Just listened to both of them. Definitely prefer Escape's version. Better paced, better cast w/John Macintyre and Wm Conrad as Karswell, and manages to create some nice period atmosphere: The CBS updates the story and feels padded, with unnecessary conversations. Norman Rose (The announcer on Dimension X 20+ years earlier) is way over the top as the Karswell-villain figure, and the leading lady has a ridiculous Mae Questel Betty Boop voice, which doesn't help. The plot demands the principals be on the same train, and there is a curious section where EG Marshall describes how depressing Grand Central Station is after the commuters have gone home. Is it still that way? The M.R. James story was filmed in 1957 as Night Of The DemonSome of the stories in CBSRMT do suffer from slow pace as each episode is an hour long. Some of their episodes would have benefited if in the 30 minute format. |
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Post by hardball on Apr 3, 2018 2:14:25 GMT
Another thing I notice about CBS is the audio quality in many episodes is low. It's odd considering the clarity of the 1950s Tarzan, X-1 and other OTR shows.
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Post by hardball on Apr 3, 2018 2:53:57 GMT
My picks for Escape are Bloodbath, Leiningen Versus the Ants and 3 Skeleton Key.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Apr 5, 2018 1:41:09 GMT
"Bloodbath"
Written by James Poe
June 30, 1950
A motley group of five adventurers stumble on a mother lode of uranium deep in the South American jungle. But on the long journey back to civilization and riches, they learn man can be just as dangerous and unpredictable as nature...
A few years ago I went on an Escape listening binge, but somehow missed this one. A nail-biting, serial-like thriller offering up one deadly threat after another, including vampire bats, piranhas, and boa constrictors. Vincent Price stars.
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