Phil Silvers stars in an amusing broadcast as as a hotel elevator operator who has a crush on a manicurist who works there. Eddie does his best to puff himself up as an important person with a big job. She spurns his obvious interest when she learns he is just elevator operator #23. He goes about his day in the elevator when two thugs bring a rolled up carpet into it… and it has feet sticking out of an end.... and he is ordered to go down to the hotel basement. He’s now mixed up in a gangster hit as they tell him to keep quiet! On another trip, an escaped gang leader (played by Frank Lovejoy) is in his elevator. He tries to bribe Eddie for $100 (almost $1400 today!) to look the other way as he goes up to the penthouse where a gangster resides, who turns out to be the man rolled in the carpet. Along the way. there is a touching moment that sets up the conclusion of the story as the gangster offers some romantic advice to Eddie. It seems his troubles started years ago when he tried to impress a girlfriend with his criminal ways. Lovejoy’s character has shootout with the two thugs, killing them, but is shot himself. Eddie falls to the floor until the shooting was over. Eddie checks if it’s safe to get up and picks up a gun. When police arrive Eddie tells the police that he overpowered the gangster. In his last words, Lovejoy’s character tells police that Eddie was brave in the event. Those final words were a redeeming generous act to help Eddie win the heart of the manicurist. She’s impressed now that he has been appointed personal assistant of the hotel owner for acts in thwarting the gangsters. We learn at the end that Eddie fessed up to her about what happened… and now they’re married. (It’s a happy ending… save spoiler alerts for bad stuff).
A running gag in the story is the pronunciation of the word “phony.”
The script was by Roy Grandey and Robert L. Richards.
Elevator operators in office buildings and hotels are mostly gone. At the time of the broadcast, elevators were still complex mechanical equipment and it required some skill to make sure they operated properly and riders were safely able to exit to their correct floor. In big cities, the positions were often under labor union contracts. It was not until 1950 that the first completely automated elevator was introduced.
Dennis Day was the originally planned guest star. The original title of the script was “The Rapid Rise of Eddie Albright.”
This script was also produced on Philip Morris Playhouse under the title “Going Down, Please” and was broadcast on 1949-01-18. It starred Donald O’Connor. No recording of the program has been found.
East and west broadcasts have survived. The east broadcast includes the tease to stay tuned for The FBI in Peace and War. Both recordings have similar sound; the east coast one is slightly better.
This was Phil Silvers only appearance on Suspense. Silvers was not on radio often, and when he was it was usually in variety shows as himself. He was an early television star with the military comedy Sgt. Bilko (also known as The Phil Silvers Show). His balding head a black rimmed glasses gave him a distinctive look. Combined with his notable fast-talking pattern of speech (but still being likeable), he became one of television’s most recognizable comedians. He also had great success on Broadway in comedies. An overview of his career is at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Silvers Silvers worked regularly from the late 1930s to the early 1980s in stage, screen, and especially television.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP470403
THE CAST
PHIL SILVERS (Eddie Albright), Cathy Lewis (Millie O’Malley / Miss Wainwright), Frank Lovejoy (Frankie Maddox, alias Mason), Wally Maher (Police Lieutenant / Old man), Joe Kearns (Signature Voice / Mr. Garvey), Elliott Reid (Alex Henderson), Jerry Hausner (First hitman), Harry Lang (Second hitman)
###
