Rosalind Russell stars in a Richard Vodra script that is so very predictable until it’s not. It reminds one of plot elements used in Experiment 6-R and Murder of Aunt Delia and many other episodes. This is one of Vodra’s better scripts.
Her character is taken aback in a breakfast conversation with her chemist husband. He tells her that he has “borrowed” $10,000 secretly from company funds. Because of his embezzlement, and an impending audit, he needs to use their savings undo his deed before the auditors arrive. She confesses that she gambled away all their savings, $22,000 worth, betting on horses.
He tells her not to worry. He has a meeting with their insurance agent, and suddenly triples their policy values. She is very suspicious about this, and is concerned about his motives. She worries that he’s spending a lot of time in his laboratory and she discovers that he is experimenting with a method of causing death but is undetectable. In this way, the policy exclusions for murder and suicide can be circumvented, and the debts can be paid. She finds a report about their dog he killed as an experiment. He sent the carcass for testing, claiming to the lab that he suspected a “neighbor” was responsible for killing the animal. The lab result was that the dog died naturally. This affirmed that his concoction worked successfully. Now she’s certain he’ll be using it on her to collect on the policy.
The amounts of the embezzlement and gambling losses seem trivial to someone listening today. Almost 75 years after broadcast the shock value of the dollar amounts mentioned in the story is lost, taken away by inflation and other factors. The figures mentioned in the story would have certainly gotten audience attention, and were so staggering and may have created an undercurrent of class envy to even think about of those amounts of money.
In 1950, the average US household income was $3,300, equivalent to $43,560 in US$2024 dollars. That means:
the husband’s $10,000 embezzlement was 3x household income, or $132,000 in US$2024
the wife’s gambling losses of $22,000 was 7x household income, or $290,400 in US$2024
the insurance policy of $30,000 was 9x household income, or $396,000 in US$2024
When you consider the average US home price was a little less than $7,400, these amount would jar the sensibilities typical listeners of how casually the figures could be bandied about over breakfast. “I stole $132,000, go get cash out of the safe deposit box for me” or “I lost $290,000 at the races and you didn’t even notice because you were so engrossed in your lab experiments” is how it would sound to listeners.
The plotline includes concern that dry ice can be used to asphyxiate a person. It is not an exaggerated claim. It can be very dangerous in enclosed places with limited ventilation. This article in LiveScience explains an incident and how it can happen. https://www.livescience.com/63241-dry-ice-death.html
The original planned title of this story was “In Consideration.”
There are two surviving recordings. The network recording is the better of the two. The surviving Armed Forces Radio Service recording is noisy, has limited range, and is noted as “LQ” for its low quality.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP500202
THE CAST
ROSALIND RUSSELL (Ellen Forrester), John McIntire (Charles Forrester), Larry Dobkin (Bill), Joe Kearns (Dr. Hansen / Tom / Signature Voice), Vivi Janiss (Information Operator), Elliott Reid (Locksmith / Dry Ice Man), Joan Banks (Zell)
COMMERCIAL: Gil Stratton, Jr. (Cab Driver), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)
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