Victor Mature plays Detective Mahoney, assigned to watch a gangster’s girl friend on a transcontinental train trip. As part of the surveillance, it was arranged for him to have a seat just across the aisle from the girl, Jenny Johnson. His job is to strike up an acquaintance to find out the whereabouts of gangster Fritzie Hollister and learn whether he intends to meet her. The girl seems so sweet and naive that he simply cannot believe that she is the gangster’s girl. He realizes en route that he is falling in love with her. But just when he is almost convinced that there has been a mistake in identities (spoiler alert: he’s right), Hollister boards the train and takes a seat right next to Jenny. We later learn that Jenny was a friend of the girlfriend… and there’s something about the luggage she brought with her for the trip.
The story is by Thomas Walsh, a police officer turned writer, and it appeared in The Saturday Evening Post 1953-11-07 edition. Walsh also wrote the original story behind the 1948-12-30 episode Break-Up. The script was adapted by E. Jack Neuman.
William Conrad plays “Danes,” a very unlikable law officer. He comes on board like a drunk and tries to sit next to Jenny, and lets Mature’s character act like a hero when he shoos him away. This “breaks the ice” for him to start chatting with her. When Conrad does it, you know he’s a cop, so when he meets with Mahoney elsewhere on the train, you’re not surprised at all.
The end of the story is a product of its time, with a passing glance to a romantic ending. It is an awkward ending because with all of the disruption of the trip and the mistaken identity, it seems like an impossibility. It’s clear that the detective is smitten with Jenny. To modern ears and sensibilities his plan to travel with her, whether she wants him to or not, might even border on stalking or harassment. But, they wanted a sense of “happily ever after,” it seems. If they do go together, he’ll be apologizing for at least half of the trip before they feel comfortable enough to even chat about the weather.
The story was used on the Suspense television series on 1954-07-06. The teleplay was by Raphael Hayes. The cast included Edie Adams, Gene Barry, and Grant Richards. No kinescope is known to survive.
The drama portion of the broadcast was rehearsed and recorded on Sunday, March 7, 1954. Rehearsal began at 11:00am and recording commenced at 3:30pm. The session ended at 4:00pm.
Two recordings of this broadcast have survived. Both the network and an Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS#479). They are each very good recordings. The AFRS recording has not been in circulation before and has a very good crisp sound, lighter than the network one. If you want the full Auto-Lite experience, choose the network recording. The AFRS recording is a bit better.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP540315
(currently in site maintenance; will return soon)
Alternative link to the recordings, available now:
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/fedlhd0yngs5l/Suspense_-_Girl_in_Car_32
and the episode can be streamed at YouTube:
https://youtu.be/3Y2ejJPop7M?si=jvIzOFp68RKji-w8
(available after 9:00am US Eastern Time)
THE CAST
VICTOR MATURE (Bright Eyes Mahoney), Cathy Lewis (Genevieve Johnson), William Conrad (Sergeant Dane), Herb Butterfield (The Sheriff / Newsboy), Joseph Kearns (Fritzie / Caller), Roy E. Glenn (The Porter), John Dehner (Charlie Buker), Larry Thor (Narrator)
COMMERCIAL: Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), unknown actor (Jim, the Packard dealer)
GUEST FOR THE AUTO-LITE CHARITY PROMOTION: E. Roland Harriman, Chairman of The American Red Cross. The Harriman family’s wealth came from railroad investments in the late 1800s. They were prominent family in New York (there is a town named after them) and became active in philanthropy, finance, politics and government. His brother Averell was a much better known figure. Roland joined the American Red Cross in a number of high-level positions in management and fund-raising. He was appointed by President Truman to succeed General George Marshall in 1950, and was reappointed in 1953 by President Eisenhower. He was active in many philanthropic organizations.
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