IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS TITLE WAS USED BEFORE ON SUSPENSE. THIS 1961 PRODUCTION IS A MUCH DIFFERENT STORY. THE 1958-09-21 SCRIPT BY MORRIS LEE GREEN AND WILLIAM WALKER IS ABOUT A STALKING EX-HUSBAND.
Court Benson and Grace Matthews star in a William N. Robson story about a family’s preparations for a feared nuclear war. They build a fallout shelter in their backyard, and the townspeople and local media make quite a hubbub about it. The opening is pure Robson, much like he did in the time he was the show’s producer. Except this time, it is delivered by announcer Stuart Metz.
The script is a product of its time, where 1961 had much international tension, leading up to the building of the Berlin Wall just weeks after this broadcast. There was much saber-rattling, and concerns about nuclear war were growing in the late Spring and early Summer. Premier Kruschev threatened a nuclear attack if NATO troops did not leave Berlin and the rest of what would become East Germany. On July 25, 1961 (coincidentally the very same day that Suspense returned to the air), President Kennedy promised access to fallout shelters in the event of an attack.
It was around this time that Twilight Zone was in production for its third season, and Rod Serling rushed his own script about these times into production. The episode would become The Shelter, and was broadcast just two days before this broadcast. Serling’s script was very dark, warning viewers in his opening monologue “What you are about to watch is a nightmare.” The plotline showed how supposedly friendly and kind neighbors can could against each other in a crisis in a destructive manner. Robson’s script was also influenced by the current events, but his story is quite different, actually more positive, though it starts so ominously. It is so interesting that the creative process of two people can use a current event as a springboard, and head in opposite directions.
Robson assigned “Happy Valley” as the name of the town, so you know that the opposite sentiment might occur. There is great interest in a town’s family, the Endovers, and how they had built a shelter in their yard. Neighbors, the press, the local television station, and the town’s mayor were making a bit of a spectacle out of it. (Pay attention at about 5:45 as you hear some rain and thunder on its way). It is implied in the dialogue some believe the shelter is a frivolous venture. On a dare, Mr. Endover says he will take the family into the shelter for a weekend to prove how good it is. A weekend should be easy because the shelter has two weeks of supplies. The decision is spur-of-the moment and out of selfish pride, without any warning to his family. It is clear that the reporter has a manipulative personality, and ambitions to turn the story into national news. The family is securely in the shelter, and the newscaster is reassigned to a new scene of breaking news. The station manager tells him that the rain may cause a local dam to break. It is clear that the Robson has created the foundation of key plot elements: the shelter, a dare that can create family conflict, and a looming natural disaster.
There is some levity to the story. The family is confused in the shelter: “what will we do without any TV?” The parents explain that there are books, magazines, and activities for everyone. They need the radio, and not the TV, because that is how they will get instructions for their safety if there was a real nuclear attack. They hear a radio report that Happy Valley was declared as a disaster area because of potential flooding and mudslides. Suddenly, they are confronted by a loss of power, and soon realize they can’t get out of the shelter because they can see signs of the seeping mud around the edges of the door, trapping them inside.
The father emphasizes that they will be okay if they cooperate and concentrate on surviving with what they have. The TV reporter, finished with his duties, is told to take some time off. He realizes, however, that the family may be trapped under the mud. This doesn’t seem like “Happy Valley” any more. This might be an unfolding tragedy that warrants news coverage.
At about 16:35 the family, after singing and talking to keep their spirits up, realizes that this time has been put to good use. They have not talked like this in a long time, and it is a time that should be cherished, and continued once they are able to leave. Their daughter starts to feel a bit woozy with a headache, when it is clear that the mud is blocking the air ventilation system. They need to conserve what little good air they have. The situation may become very dire. They were having so much fun that they forgot to listen to the radio for bulletins. When they turn it on, they hear reports that help is on the way, with volunteers digging them out and bulldozers en route to the scene. Messages of support and reassurance to the family are read by the announcer. They soon hear the workers getting near to the shelter. They soon exit, with many happy voices around them, thankful for the rescue and the help. However reckless his stunt was, it led to the family reconnecting in a manner they hadn’t experienced for a long time. “Happy Valley” fits once more.
The “No Hiding Place” title is a regular theme of Robson’s writing. He often had plotlines or subplots that you cannot hide from fate in a “man plans, God laughs” or “life is what happens when you are planning other things” way. There are factors and events in life that cannot be controlled or anticipated no matter how well you plan. In this case, the shelter that was supposed to protect from a man-made disaster, nuclear attack, could not protect from a natural disaster. Unlike the Twilight Zone story, neighbors and volunteers cooperated and came to the rescue. In this story, the family was had to get out of the shelter. In the TZ story, the family had to protect themselves from their neighbors, and could not do so. The aftermath was that they could never trust their neighbors in the way they did before. In this Suspense episode the family grew closer and could appreciate all the help that came their way.
It is possible Robson may have started his position at the US Information Agency and Voice of America by the time this was broadcast. He was hired by Edward R. Murrow, who recommended him to President Kennedy. It is not clear what Robson’s exact starting date was, but it was in 1961.
Recording dates and times are not known because no script cover is available at this time.
There are two recordings of this episode. The network recording, with CBS news reported Robert Trout. It is followed by an opening clip of the sports report that announces the news about New York Yankee Roger Maris’ 61st home run. That report by Jerry Coleman, former Yankee player turned broadcaster, details that the home run would not surpass Babe Ruth’s record because of the additional games played that year. Ruth hit 60 in 154 games while the 1961 season had 162 games. Maris’ record became known as “the asterisk” because it was always mentioned he played in a 162 game season. Though factual, it was often used to taint Maris’ achievement in 1961 and through the years that followed in his career.
This recording is likely from a network feed and is not a station aircheck. There is a time gap after Suspense that CBS that allowed for local station ID and/or commercial announcement. Because that was silent, that gap has been shortened in this recording. The Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#850) is also in very good sound. The recordings are very close in quality, making it difficult to choose which recording is better. The network recording is preferred because it is the way it was originally heard and it has the novelty of the news broadcast that followed it.
The Twilight Zone episode, The Shelter aired on September 29, 1961, and was the third episode of the third season. There are so many opposites in the comparison with this Suspense production. In TZ, outsiders are trying to get into the shelter. In Suspense, they are trying to get out. In TZ, perceived news events send the family in, and for Suspense, it's a foolish dare that does it. The TZ story is about the breakdown in relationships that pit neighbor against neighbor. The Suspense episode is about neighborly care and concern, and the family becomes closer than it was before. The program can be viewed on many services.
The US Department of Defense made plans for shelter construction available to the general public. This document is a combination of many of those designs and plans and can be accessed at https://dahp.wa.gov/sites/default/files/FamilyShelterDesigns.pdf
Episode stars Court Benson and Grace Matthews were radio veterans and were one of New York radio’s most beloved couples. They were frequent guests at the Friends of Old Time Radio Conventions. Court was in numerous programs, and was a featured actor in the kids serial Tennessee Jed. He would perform the opening for the program for the attendees to a round of enthusiastic applause. Grace was a star of the soap opera Big Sister and was one of the actors who portrayed Margo Lane on The Shadow.
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https://archive.org/details/TSP611001
THE CAST
Court Benson (Sam Endover), Grace Matthews (Mary Lou Endover), Bill Smith (Mr. Richards), Jimsey Somers (Cindy), Ivor Francis (The Announcer), Leon Janney (The Mayor), Larry Robinson (Sandy), Lee Vines (Charlie Lemmon)
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