A tale of violence and terror played against the supposedly quiet background of an English public school stars Herbert Marshall in a return performance to the series. The story is about honor, envy, betrayal, truth, and a mainstay of Suspense, a tragic murder. It all swirls together with implications of unsavory behavior that are not plainly stated because the subjects may have been considered as offensive in prime time radio. But they’re undeniably part of the story, inserted by writers Gil Doud and Antony Ellis with great skill. Had they not, the censors or Auto-Lite might have rejected the story. Savvy and cynical adult minds would know what was going on, but others might not and think it’s a simple murder mystery.
It’s a very worthwhile listen, with more attention than usual recommended to appreciate the important details of the story and the many characters. The complex story and its psychological undertones may require multiple listenings to be fully appreciated. It is a blessing to be interested in classic radio today because we can listen to recordings multiple times; the broadcast listeners had only the original 30 minute time window to catch all of the details. There are so many layers to the story and the production that it is likely better appreciated today than was possible then.
Important to the story is the Victoria Cross. It is the highest decoration of the British honors system, awarded for valor in the “presence of the enemy.” More details are at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Cross That Victoria Cross, awarded for courage and bravery, has a command presence in the storyline. It is a source of internal conflict for Marshall’s character as his behavior and impulses are contrary to the virtues and standards recognized by the award.
The working title of the script was “Housemaster,” the position of Marshall’s character in the story. Changing the title to the name of the highly respected award for one’s courage in dangerous situations adds to the drama of the story. It is a source of tension and stress for the main character, accentuated by the music of the episode. Both the Cross and the music might as well be considered to be leading characters in the story because of their importance to the plotline. The original script was altered to fit the Lewis format of a brief opening scene to tease the story. Edits were made to the balance of the original script to ensure that context was evident and continuity was maintained. It was complicated, but the revisions made the telling of the story much better.
This is a different production for Suspense in its setting and its contrast of themes. Some of those themes are disturbing, likely more so in 1950. The school years are expected to take childhood innocence mold students, over the years, to have strong moral character. Yet, there is the dark side of a student blackmailer who knows secrets that are dangerous to Marshall’s housemaster character, and there is a murder. An undercurrent of possible past sexual abuse of students lurks in the background. It’s never stated explicitly, but can be inferred as a possibility by the behavior of the students. Marshall’s character has great fear of exposure of his aberrant, or unacceptable behavior in that his career and reputation will be ruined.
The housemaster that Marshall portrays is kept in a state of terror by his past and the threat of blackmail. He is suffering from pretender syndrome and what is currently referred to as PTSD. The blackmailing student, an obnoxious bully, demands special favors and cheats on exams with impunity. He stumbled onto some unfavorable and embarrassing information about the housemaster and is willing to use it to his advantage. Student cheating incidents come to light with the administration and makes the situation even more complex for Marshall’s character.
When he refuses to recommend the student for a Cambridge scholarship, the bullying boy escalates the tension and threatens expose the terrible truth. The housemaster becomes desperate to get out of the situation. A murder confuses the situation yet more, even with the police investigation.
The music composed for the episode reflects the inner turmoil of Marshall’s character. The character received the Victoria Cross for military service, but feels he did not deserve it and cannot live up to it. Perhaps the circumstance of his reward did not occur as was reported and even that was not truthful. Each time his internal conflict begins to boil over, the music becomes louder and more intense, almost overwhelming. There is a drum beat, that is first a call to attention that reminds Marshall’s character of the discipline of the military that becomes a reminder he needs to get in line with expectations, especially those expectations for a Cross awardee. The loudness then borders on excessive, just like his regrets and fears. That increasing volume indicates growing fear that his secrets will be revealed. The pretender syndrome and PTSD are not the only things torturing him. He’s been medicating himself with illegal narcotics, and solicits the paid companionship of a prostitute (who is also a waitress at the Dagger and Drum pub). The drugs and the liaison are the main drivers of the blackmail attempt.
Though the storyline is different, the episode has a similar mood as Patrick McGoohan’s 1974 appearance in NBC’s Columbo episode By Dawn’s Early Light, which takes place at a military preparation school.
At approximately 21:00 the sportsmaster Samuel Jennings says that one of the boys had “… great style at the wicket. Reminded me of Jack Hobbs.” That was a reference to an English professional cricketer who played from 1905 to 1934. His reputation in cricket was among the highest. He was knighted in 1953, the first professional cricketer to be honored in that manner.
In the end, Marshall’s character does the right thing, his brokenness now obvious to all, as his pretenses and false front are shattered.
Researcher and performer Keith Scott notes that Marshall’s pained delivery of his dialogue, typical of his acting style, fits this role well. Marshall sounds cultured and tortured at the same time. He comments that:
A day or so after he enlisted in WW1, Marshall received gunfire injuries bad enough to necessitate the amputation of one of his legs. Although he learned to hide it quite effectively on-screen with his prosthetic limb, it is noted in a biography of Marshall that the prosthetics of that era sometimes caused him some discomfort. He was often seen wincing in pain on a movie set at the end of a long day, basically for his entire post-war life. After studying his voice for many years, I am quite convinced a part of his vocal sound reflected that lifelong intermittent discomfort.
Keith also notes that the cast of this episode includes many of the Hollywood British radio contingent who did many of the Lewis-produced Pursuit shows.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP501102
THE CAST
HERBERT MARSHALL (Vail), Joe Kearns (Signature Voice / Inspector Forbes), Charles Davis (Giles Bateman), Terry Kilburn (Francis Orde), Eileen Erskine (Maggie Splane / Nurse), Herb Butterfield (Headmaster Walkerly / Man), Alec Harford (Man 2), Philip Friend (Samuel Jennings / Man 3)
COMMERCIAL: Ken Christy, Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)
* * *
In the Variety edition of this date, it was announced that movie executive Daniel O’Shea was joining CBS as a vice president. His duties were not identified with specifics at the time, but it was described as being involved in talent negotiations for the television side of the business. Not long after he joined, his mission became the enforcement of loyalty test rules that the network based on Red Channels and the network’s own investigations. His actions affected the casting of Suspense and other programs, determined which scriptwriters and support staff would be used, and pushed William N. Robson out of the network. Lewis would eventually have a cynical name for O’Shea and others in the initiative as “the vice president of treason.” He found a way to work around their directives as best he could. Eventually, O’Shea would be pushed out of the network, but his actions and obfuscations negatively affected the lives and fortunes of many talented radio artists. O’Shea returned to the movie business like nothing happened, a “Teflon executive” before Teflon was even available.
###
