Mickey Rooney delivers an excellent performance in a Cornell Woolrich story. He plays an irresponsible college student who frames himself for a murder in a misguided attempt to make up for his past shortcomings.
The story is Alibi of the Lying Son and appeared in Detective Fiction Weekly 1937-10-09. It has been republished over the years with that name and also the title of this production, The Lie. The story was adapted by Herb Meadow.
Rooney’s character is on his way home from being thrown out of college for the third time. He’s a party animal, with each dismissal for drinking. He knows his father will be disappointed but will cover for him. His stepmother, on the other hand, won’t be so forgiving. When he arrives home, it’s very quiet, and he finds a very strange situation: his stepmother is dead in the bedroom. His parents were not getting along so he assumes that his father committed the murder. In gratitude for his father’s good nature for his past drunken offenses, he decides to confess to the crime. He does not want to have his father accused of the murder. “I've just murdered my stepmother,” he tells the police. Dumb move. He’s framed himself for a crime he didn’t commit, and it seems like he can’t get out of it. It’s a good thing that the investigating officer thinks there’s something fishy going on and he keeps pressing for the truth of what really happened.
The ending seems a bit unlikely as you're expecting more of a reaction from the father. Aside from that, it's a better than average story, and Rooney surprises with a fine performance.
This is the first of two Suspense appearances for Mickey Rooney. He had a long career and a turbulent personal life. His star rose in Hollywood because of his superb performances in movies with Judy Garland, with Spencer Tracy in Boys Town, and a series of Andy Hardy movies. He was a multitalented performer from the time he was a child actor through his older years. More information is at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Rooney
LISTEN
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https://archive.org/details/TSP490428
THE CAST
MICKEY ROONEY (Martin Delevan), Joe Kearns (Train Passenger / Prison Guard), Ed Begley (D. A.), Wally Maher (Endicott / Simmons), Bill Johnstone (Police Lieutenant Steele), Margaret Brayton (Gladys / Miss Jayne), Robert Strange (Mr. Delevan / Conductor), Paul Frees (Signature Voice)
COMMERCIAL: Bill Johnstone (Hap), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)
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