Radio
Legends:
Escape, Volume 1
Liner notes written by Ivan G. Shreve, Jr.
”...designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half-hour of
high adventure...”
For nearly twenty years on CBS Radio, "Suspense" - “radio’s outstanding theater
of thrills” — was the jewel in the crown of the Tiffany Network’s dramatic
anthology shows. It featured the biggest stars, the best scripts, and the crème
de la crème of producers and directors; a prestige program that was not only
hugely popular but often critically acclaimed. With a pedigree like that,
clearly no other radio program could come close to matching its quality.
Except that one show did...and with a limited budget, few glamorous stars, and
so much schizophrenic scheduling that, during its seven-year run, it was shifted
around into no less than eighteen different time slots. Radio enthusiasts often
think of it as the sister show to "Suspense" -- but, given the secondary status
it was granted in its own time, it would be more apt to describe it as its
"step-sister."
We offer you..."Escape."
"Escape" never received the lavish attention afforded to "Suspense" but, from
July 7, 1947 to September 25, 1954, it managed to transcend its mostly
network-sustained origins and provide top-quality entertainment. Occasionally a
celebrity would appear in a leading role - Victor Mature, Edmond O’Brien,
Vincent Price - but for the most part "Escape" relied on the tried-and-true
veterans of “Radio Row," outstanding performers like Elliott Lewis, Jeanette
Nolan, Jack Webb, Lillian Buyeff, Hans Conried, Vivi Janiss, Harry Bartell and
Georgia Ellis, to name just a few. Distinguished veterans like William N. Robson
and Norman Macdonnell oversaw the production and direction, and exceptional
scripts were provided by the likes of Les Crutchfield, John Dunkel, Gil Doud, E.
Jack Neumann and Kathleen Hite. Week in and week out, "Escape" demonstrated that
it was truly an outstanding and memorable show...even if it was lacking that
“Hollywood gloss” that attracted big-money sponsorship.
While stories of mystery and crime were the bailiwick of "Suspense," "Escape"
concentrated more on tales of high adventure -- war, westerns, supernatural
horror and science-fiction. Esteemed authors like Rudyard Kipling, F. Scott
Fitzgerald, Arthur Conan Doyle, H.G. Wells, and Joseph Conrad provided much of
the source material for the program, setting "Escape" apart from most of the
other dramatic anthologies on the air at the time.
Many of the shows dramatized on "Escape" have established permanent residence in
the recesses of this author’s memory: “Zero Hour,” Ray Bradbury’s eerie
science-fiction tale about the end of the world; John Collier’s “Evening
Primrose,” in which a misfit removes himself from the rest of society by hiding
out in a department store...and discovers to his horror the strange creatures
that roam there after hours; “Poison,” a sweat-inducing allegory on prejudice
that develops when a man awakens to learn that a deadly snake has joined him in
his bunk. “A Shipment of Mute Fate” was another of Escape’s all-time classics -
an African bushmaster gets loose on a passenger ship, much to the dismay of both
travelers and crew - and ditto “Leinengen vs. the Ants,” in which a stubborn
plantation owner must fight off an army of African ants. Perhaps the best
remembered tale aired on "Escape" is “Three Skeleton Key,” in which a group of
lighthouse keepers find themselves besieged by ravenous rats. (Fans rarely
remember the title to this one and simply refer to it as “the one with the
rats”. Enough said.)
"Escape" featured one of radio’s most memorable openings, with either William
Conrad or Paul Frees intoning: “Tired of the everyday grind? Ever dream of a
life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer
you...ESCAPE!” The orchestra would then strike up Mussorgsky’s "Night on Bald
Mountain" and, within seconds, the listener would be transported to a Caribbean
jungle or to an icy glacier, effectively putting them in the shoes of that
episode’s protagonist.
Of the more than 200 episodes originally broadcast, there are but a mere handful
of "Escape" programs that are missing today -- wonderful news for the novice
listener, as hours and hours of great and rewarding radio drama await. Several
shows are available in both East Coast and West Coast versions; the East Coast
shows are distinguished by the presence of a full orchestra, while the West
Coast broadcasts (repeats usually performed a few days later with the same cast)
have organ music as accompaniment.
Here is the complete content of this 10-CD Radio Legends collection:
The Man Who Would Be King
Monday, July 7, 1947 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
Operation Fleur de Lys
Monday, July 14, 1947 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz
Monday, July 21, 1947 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
Typhoon
Monday, July 28, 1947 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
The Sire de Maletroit's Door
Monday, August 4, 1947 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
The Ring of Thoth
Monday, August 11, 1947 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
The Fourth Man
Monday, August 18, 1947 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
The Most Dangerous Game
Wednesday, October 1, 1947 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
The Fall of the House of Usher
Wednesday, October 22, 1947 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
Pollack and The Parrah Man
Wednesday, October 29, 1947 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
Evening Primrose
Wednesday, November 5, 1947 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
The Young Man with the Cream Tarts
Wednesday, November 12, 1947 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
Casting the Runes
Wednesday, November 19, 1947 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
The Country of the Blind
Wednesday, November 26, 1947 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
Taboo
Wednesday, December 3, 1947 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
Wednesday, December 10, 1947- 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
Wild Oranges
Wednesday, December 17, 1947 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
Back For Christmas
Wednesday, December 24, 1947 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
Confession
Wednesday, December 31, 1947 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
The Second Class Passenger
Wednesday, January 7, 1948 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
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