Parley Baer stars in the Gil Doud and Antony Ellis story about a lone horseman tracking down his brother's murderer. Rather than revenge, he seeks to bring the killer before a court. In the conclusion, all the accusers realize that the killer was not who they originally believed. Justice is finally delivered.
The original 1950 production starred Alan Ladd. Background and recordings can be found at:
https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2024/05/1950-12-14-killing-in-abilene.html
https://archive.org/details/TSP501214, which is the site from which recordings can be streamed or downloaded.
Parley Baer gives a fine performance, in stark contrast to the simple and compliant Chester, this role is much more authoritative. This was one of the scripts that help form some of the key ideas about adult western drama that would coalesce to become Gunsmoke. Alan Ladd was an excellent radio performer, and many enthusiasts may prefer that original production to this one, and are not slighting Parley Baer by any means if they do so. There are few Ladd radio performances compared to the constant and steadfast presence of the much beloved Baer who made hundreds if not thousands of radio appearances.
Frank Gerstle’s character was named “Bob” in early scripts but it was changed to “Ben” by the time of broadcast. No reason can be found.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP550203
THE CAST
Parley Baer (Jack Mander), Paula Winslowe (Sarah Costen), Jack Kruschen (Needle), Frank Gerstle (Ben Chappie), James Nusser (Sheriff Jake Garvey), Vic Perrin (Lee Burrage), Joe DuVal (Bob / Jim Eakin), Will Wright (Old Timer), Larry Thor (Narrator)
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