William
Powell returns to the series in a topic that likely sent shudders
down the spines
of every parent and pet owner in its day: the threat of rabies
infection. It is hard to imagine such a time because rabies are
rarely known today. But in the 1950s, vaccination
requirements for pets were
only beginning to be implemented.
Rabies was a very
serious disease. In 1950, for
example, there were 4,979
cases of rabies reported among dogs, and 18 reported among human
populations. Over the years,
the vaccination campaigns worked. There were fewer
than two human cases
per year in the 1960s and 1970s and fewer than one case per year
during the 1980s. By the time this show aired, rabies cases were
already way down, but the newsworthiness about the infection and the
need for vaccination did not calm
down until years and decades
later.
In
1954, this plotline was plausible and very concerning. Morton Fine
and David Friedkin had no
problem making the story “real” just
by reading the newspaper. At
the opening of the program, Larry Thor promised “a story based on
fact,” and that’s what
listeners got. Fine and
Friedkin selected the news
items they could
build a compelling plot
around, and it developed
into a reasonably good
episode.
The story opens with the
discovery of a burglary in the laboratory of the county health
officer. Thieves have stolen some valuable microscopes and, oddly
enough, a dog which had been inoculated with rabies virus. If the
disease takes effect in the dog, anyone bitten by the animal, and not
receiving prompt treatment, will surely die. As the police comb the
city for the missing dog that
has a purple streak painted
down its back, a boy is hiding
the dog in his garage, afraid
to tell his mother for fear she'll make him give it up.
The working title of
this episode was “The
Deadly Rabbit” which likely means that the original animal with
rabies in the story may have been a rabbit rather than a dog. There
was a news story
in September 1953 about a
Council Bluffs, Iowa boy who had been bitten by a rabbit. The rabbit
escaped after chewing through a leash. The audience has a much
greater affinity for dogs as so many more households own them...
which makes the story hit closer to home much
more than a rabbit could.
There is no indication that Fine and Friedkin knew about or used that
Council Bluffs news item.
It’s also practical:
rabbits don’t make noise. Dogs do. Dogs
work better in radio shows.
There were plenty of rabies
stories that they could have
seen in the news in
California. The public debate
about the efficacy and ethics of the Pasteur treatment could have
inspired development of their storyline as
well.
There is another factor for how
this story could rattle listeners. The
temptation for sensationalizing rabies stories was significant for
reporters. Most cases of rabies were in children because of their
innocent outdoor play and contact with dogs and other wild animals
such as squirrels and rabbits. The combination of childhood innocence
and such a dangerous and mysterious disease could
be used by unscrupulous reporters to stoke fears among
readers.
Another
aspect of the story is stolen
microscopes. There were a few
stories in 1953 such
robberies. Like in the
script, one man posed as a doctor to steal microscopes and moved
across the country stealing them along
his way. Portland, Oregon
police actually returned
a microscope to a Pennsylvania college. A different pilfering of
microscopes from Texas Christian University did end up being pawned,
and police were notified. Microscope thefts were occurring around the
country from physician offices, labs, and colleges. They were usually
returned. The microscopes were targets for theft because they were
worth more than $5500
in approximate US$2024
value.
Night Beat had a very
effective story involving rabies on 1951-06-08. In Search
for Fred it is claimed that a
man has been bitten by a rabid dog but doesn't know it and there is a
city-wide search to find him. It is a very good story by Larry Marcus
and is highly recommended. It also reflects the great concern about
human contraction of the disease with great drama and a surprise
ending.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP540301
Alternative link to the FLAC file if needed
https://www.mediafire.com/file/glb87m7l4zcdft3/Suspense_1954-03-01_The_Barking_Death.flac/file
THE CAST
WILLIAM POWELL (Paul the Doctor), Joe Kearns (Joe the Lab Man /
Dr. Kremer), Hy Averback (Paul the Police Operator / Lieutenant
Stevens), Junius Matthews (Cliff Loomis), Jack Kruschen (Harry Wood /
Roberts), Paula Winslowe (Mrs. Rokey), Ted Bliss (Collins the
Newspaperman / Phil), Dick Beals (Peter Barrett), Jeane Wood (Mrs.
Stone), Larry Thor (Narrator)
COMMERCIAL: Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), unknown actor (Studebaker
man)
GUEST FOR THE AUTO-LITE CHARITY PROMOTION: William J. Ziegler Jr.,
was President of the American Foundation of the Blind. He was adopted
into a wealthy Iowa family when he was five years old. The family had
a history of generous charity and philanthropy. Ziegler went to
Columbia and Harvard Universities. He served on may boards of
directors. It was his mother, Matilda, who published a magazine for
the blind (financed by the Ziegler family) and worked with the
American Foundation for the Blind. When she died, he took over those
positions. It was Helen Keller who brought the organization great
attention in its early years. Ziegler passed away about four years
after this broadcast, at age 66.
###