Richard Widmark stars in a story about a feud in post-Civil War Texas. For about four years after the Civil War ended, there were still hostilities in Texas and between families about their support of the North or the South. This particular feud was known as “the Lee-Peacock Feud.”
Widmark portrays a prosperous cattle owner who, goaded beyond endurance bv rustlers, finally takes the law into his own hands to deal with them. A deadly feud is touched off that seems like it will have no end until there is great spilling of blood of both sides. Widmark's character is quite bitter about the everything that brought events and hostilities to this point, and details his decisions and rationale in his first-person narrative.
The original story was written by Charles L. Sonnichsen and adapted by Gil Doud. Sonnichsen was a highly respected writer, screenwriter, and historian, and was a Professor of English at the University of Texas, El Paso. Most of his writings were about Texas and the American Southwest. This particular story was from his critically-acclaimed 1951 book I’ll Die Before I’ll Run. It detailed many of the historical feuds of Texas.
This story, and others that emerged from the “actual events” strategy, are so unlike the foundations of the Suspense franchise, that listeners were likely befuddled by the repositioning. Lewis’ personal curiosity about history, and Auto-Lite’s desire to firmly differentiate Suspense from other programming seem to be working against the Suspense brand of entertainment. This episode almost seems to be an episode of the CBS historical series You Are There… just without the reporters. The productions are well-written with excellent performances by actors, musicians, and effects, but don’t always resonate with the established interests of the audience that Suspense cultivated over its many years.
There is a good summary of the Lee-Peacock Feud at https://www.legendsofamerica.com/tx-leepeacock/
Many circulating recordings of this broadcast have a clipped open, missing the opening words “You are about to hear a story.” This recording, however, is complete. Like many 1951 broadcast recordings, there is mild wow and flutter from a poorly maintained reel tape deck that is more noticeable near the end of the recording.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP511029
THE CAST
RICHARD WIDMARK (Bob Lee), William Conrad (Borden), Cathy Lewis (Corinne / Girl), Lou Krugman (Evans), Junius Matthews (Bier), Harry Bartell (Henry), Byron Kane (Dixon), Joe Kearns (Maddox), Terrea Lea (Vocalist), Larry Thor (Narrator)
COMMERCIAL: Dal McKennon (Johnny Plugcheck), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)
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