Gordon Fitzroy escaped prison time in a robbery that sent his collaborator Johnny Malone, played by Chester Morris, to jail. Johnny wants to even the score for Fitzroy’s framing him for the crime. It was an insurance scheme to rob Fitzroy’s own business and file a fraudulent claim. In the process of blowing up the safe, Johnny’s face was permanently scarred by the explosion. That made Fitzroy’s lying an even greater incentive for vengeance. But Johnny doesn’t fully understand the events of that night… and comes to learn that the plastic surgeons made a mistake…
The story was authored by Bruce Cassiday. The 26-year-old was early in a career that would include radio scripts for many series such as Grand Marquee, Grand Central Station, and others. He would become a prolific writer for the more than five decades for pulps, magazines, television, and writing paperback adaptations of TV shows and movies. His novels spanned many genres, including spy thrillers, medical novels, science fiction, and others including ghost writing celebrity biographies! While he was a prolific writer, he was also serving as an editor for book and magazine publishers. The script was adapted by Robert L. Richards. Cassiday’s name is often spelled incorrectly as “Cassidy” in many research resources.
One network recording has survived. It is not known to which coast it was broadcast. The closing of the program goes directly to network ID (“dirID”).
This is one of those stories that promises more in the build-up than it delivers in the end. Morris is not particularly compelling in the performance, and the ending could have been handled more effectively with a better foundation in the story. The realization of what really happened plays out so quickly that it loses some of its impact. It’s a rare weak episode for the Roma period.
This is the only Suspense appearance of Chester Morris. His career started in on Broadway in 1916 and included silent movies. By 1929 he appeared in “talkies” and his Hollywood career grew and expanded into television. He became popularly known as the star of a series of Boston Blackie movies which were in theaters at the time of this radio appearance. His long and successful career is summarized at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_Morris
LISTEN
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https://archive.org/details/TSP461128
THE CAST
CHESTER MORRIS (Johnny Malone), Lurene Tuttle (Fran Thompson), Cathy Lewis (Nurse), Wally Maher (Sam Braggen), Hans Conried (Cab Driver), Bill Johnstone (Fred Zelman / 2nd Doctor), Joe Kearns (Signature Voice / Prison guard / Doctor), Harry Lang (Man in shop), Peggy Rea (Woman)
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