John Dunkel was known mainly for his western scripts for Gunsmoke and Have Gun – Will Travel. This is one of his two original Suspense scripts, and likely his best. A man accidentally overhears a terminal diagnosis of a patient, and he believes that report was meant for him. That bad news drives him to near suicide as the doctor and his wife desperately try to find him and prevent him from taking his life.
At the time of this broadcast, the ability to detect terminal diseases early enough for effective treatment was in its infancy. Most people with terminal diseases would learn too late to have any life-saving treatments, if there were any available. This story may sound strange to modern ears, but many listeners were likely to have had experiences of such fear-inducing situations in their extended families, workplaces, and their social relationships. This was also a time when there was often a family decision with physician consent to not tell terminal patients how sick they actually were. It was an unnerving charade, saying that they were going to be fine, with patients innately knowing their situation, yet be afraid to admit to family members that they actually knew how sick they really were. Terminal illnesses could bankrupt families who did not have medical insurance, leaving survivors penniless if the sick person did not have life insurance. Therefore, many listeners would have understood the actions described in the story. Just a few decades later, numerous medical breakthroughs were made. There were significant developments in early detection methods via chemical analysis and imaging technologies. They would provide hope to a wide range of patients who would have been considered terminal in 1955.
The CBS publicity for the plotline was “The story of a man who thought the only way to escape death was to search for it.” It is the kind of description that can only be understood after listening, and even then, it’s not particularly good or effective.
The plot device of a negative diagnosis intended for someone else was not a new idea. Classic radio enthusiast and researcher, and performer, Patte Rosebank notes:
The same plot device was used on the November 23, 1947 episode of The Phil Harris - Alice Faye Show. Phil overhears Alice taking to the vet on the phone about their sick dog, and presumes she's talking to the doctor about him. Though her lines are very obviously about the dog (and she's not at all as upset as anyone would really be, who's just been told their pet is dying), Phil is convinced his death is imminent, and (even worse) Alice doesn't care at all.
Researcher Karl Schadow notes “There is also a similar plot in the inaugural episode of Night Beat (January 6, 1950). The script was written by Russell Hughes. Jeanne Bates and Larry Dobkin were cast members of that episode.
A famous comedic treatment about mistaking a negative diagnosis intended for someone else was used on the television series The Honeymooners in the fifth episode of “the classic 39.” Ralph mistakenly believes a veterinarian’s report about a dog is actually about him. The story is A Matter of Life and Death and aired on October 29, 1955. That story was first performed on December 13, 1952 on The Jackie Gleason Show, and was expanded to be one of the “classic 39” series. Could that production, or others, have been the springboard idea that inspired Dunkel to create this much more serious story and write this script?
Dunkel used the plot element of a man with a false terminal diagnosis on the television version of Gunsmoke in the episode Trip West that aired on May 2, 1964.
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https://archive.org/details/TSP550210
THE CAST
Jeanne Bates (Martha Davis), Lawrence Dobkin (Dr. Jim Kirk), Jerry Hausner (Nicol the Broker), Barney Phillips (Sergeant), Charles Lung (Druggist / Simon), Truda Marson (Anne / Police Radio), Richard Beals (Everett [the boy]), Helen Kleeb (Mother), Larry Thor (Narrator)
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