Ray Milland stars as an old-time cop who has trouble adapting to modern police methods. He was a successful officer, but he knows his time is coming to an end. It was okay to beat up a suspect to elicit a confession as other officers looked the other way… but not any more. This time he went a little too far, and accidentally kills an innocent suspect. He has to cover up his misdeed and pretends to “search” for his “missing” victim while he attempts to continue the real investigation. It’s a good story with a surprise ending worth waiting for.
This William L. Stuart novel was adapted by John Dunkel, who wrote for Gunsmoke and Have Gun Will Travel, Escape, and other series. The novel became the 1950 movie Where the Sidewalk Ends and was produced by Otto Preminger and starred Dana Andrews. The movie can be viewed at https://youtu.be/amgcrTkRzSw or https://archive.org/details/where-the-sidewalk-ends-1950 Stuart wrote extensively for television including the early detective series Martin Kane but also 77 Sunset Strip and The Green Hornet.
In some ways the mood of this story is a little like the Suspense episode You Take Ballistics, a Cornell Woolrich story.
This is the first Suspense with Harlow Wilcox handling the announcing. The Auto-Lite ads became a little more playful when he arrived. He was used to such writing for him as he was on many comedy programs, especially Fibber McGee & Molly.
A network recording and an Armed Forces Radio Service recording (#253) have survived. The network recording is in better sound.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP481007
THE CAST
RAY MILLAND (Lieutenant Mark Deglin), Herman Waldman (Captain Al Knight), John Dehner (Dan Riley), Jack Petruzzi (Carlstrom / Lab technician), Sidney Miller (Patrolman / Gold the cabbie), Stacy Harris (Voice / Paine), Barbara Fuller (Morgan Taylor), Kay Miller (Mrs. Meacham), Paul Frees (Signature Voice)
COMMERCIAL: Bill Johnstone (Hap), Sylvia Simms (Operator), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer)
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