[NOTE: There is an Escape episode with the same name with different authors and a much different plot. This Suspense episode involves horse racing.]
Hy Averback stars in a Ross Murray about down on his luck bookmaker. He tries to buy into a horse racing syndicate on a hot tip… but that tip was a set-up to frame him for a murder. It’s a good story with a surprising ending.
The original title of this episode was “The Fix.”
The amount of money involved in the story is huge, and only by adjusting for inflation can they be understood. The $250,000 that is bet by Averback’s character is almost $3 million in US$2024. The amounts of money mentioned in scripts like this were selected to rattle the listening audience and keep them listening intently.
A key line in the story that relates to the ending is at about 4:40. Averback’s character brags about how much he knows about people and horses. Listen for it.
When he loses the “hot tip, sure thing” bet for $250,000, he realizes he’s in big trouble. He starts calling around to loan sharks to cover his losses. Things don’t go well after that.
This episode was the first to be pre-recorded in the Macdonnell period. Rehearsal began at 11:30am on Wednesday, November 10, 1954. The show was recorded from 4:30pm to 5:00pm.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP541111
THE CAST
Hy Averback (Phil Brannon), Jerry Hausner (Lefty), Clayton Post (Marty), Julie Bennett (Eileen), Peter Leeds (Lester), Jan Arvan (Second attendant / Man), Lou Krugman (First attendant / Roger), Charlotte Lawrence (Barbara), William Oyler (Voice), Larry Thor (Narrator)
###
