This nautical tale by Weston Martyr was produced three times by Antony Ellis, twice on Escape (1950-10-01 and 1953-04-05), and this time on Suspense. The story was adapted by Ellis, but for an unknown reason he was credited as “SA Bolt” for the 1953 production. Weston Martyr started at sea when he was a teenager. His travels took him to Africa, China, Taiwan, Japan, and the USA in various positions on land (mining) and in shipping. He started writing in the early 1920s, with this original short story (“A Sleeping Draught” as its proper British English spelling) appearing in a collection in the early 1930s (Not Without Dust and Heat) and published in the November 1937 of the UK edition of The Argosy. Ellis may have been familiar with his stories as a teenager and young man in his native Britain.
“A sleeping draft” is a drink taken before going to bed, intended to help one sleep. You don’t really understand how the title applies until the very last lines of the story when the captain complains that he can’t sleep, and therefore would be looking for such a beverage. The inability to sleep comes from the terrible things that have happened on board, and that he could not be trusted to keep a promise.
You know right from the beginning of the story there is nothing in this situation that can go well. Captain Godfrey (played by Ben Wright) has been hired to transport 400 prisoners from London to Australia. These men are not “choir boys” when it comes to behavior. But they are out at sea, and if they want to see land again, they have to cooperate… but that collaboration is not necessarily with the captain or the crew. Mr. Finch (Hans Conried) warns that Captain that there is not a single prisoner who can be trusted. (That sets up the ending of the story). It is obvious that the prison authorities in London want to send these prisoners halfway around the world so they never have to deal with them again. It’s when they get knives… and refuse to turn them in… and start stealing from each other that things start to get really bad. There is one prisoner, Abbey, who gets the Captain aside, and offers to help in exchange for a favor. The Captain has almost no choice, and pledges to let Abbey go when they get near the Australian coast so he will not be surrendered to authorities. Abbey does what he promises. He works to collect knives and bring some measure of control to the situation. But when they get to the coast, the Captain realizes that he gave Abbey the wrong signal to leave the ship, and that he will be caught in currents will make him drift out to sea. It turns out the Captain is the one who can’t be trusted. His error was not intentional, but it broke the promise to Abbey nonetheless. That broken promise sending Abbey to certain death will haunt him to the end of his days. You can hear him pour a drink, the sleeping draft, that you and he know will not work the way he wants.
The story fits the Escape format more than it does Suspense, but that was often the case during the Ellis period. While it is a good story, it is not a pleasant one, for sure. It is more rewarding if you know in advance what kind of story it will be. This is another episode that should not be the first Suspense episode heard by a new listener. If you are expecting a typical Suspense story, and realize that this is not one of them, will be disappointing. That expectation may not allow for appreciation of its fine performances or how relentless undercurrents of tension and claustrophobia permeate the entire production. The story lasts about 25 minutes or so, but it does effectively impart the constant danger of weeks and weeks at sea in enclosed spaces and its cargo of potential violence brewing in the minds of criminals considered too dangerous to house in their home city and country.
The program was recorded on Monday, June 4, 1956. Rehearsal began at 12:00pm and ended at 5:30pm. Recording commenced at 5:30pm and concluded at 6:00pm.
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https://archive.org/details/TSP560619
THE CAST
Ben Wright (Captain Godfrey), Abraham Sofaer (Jonathan Abbey), Hans Conried (Finch), Eric Snowdon (Darling, the Mate), Charlie Lung (Wilks), Stan Jones (Voice / The Bos’n), Raymond Lawrence (Convict voice 2), George Walsh (Narrator)
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