This episode is Jules Maitland’s second script for the series. A storekeeper, Tim Chase, is a little too quick with his temper and his gun, successful stopping those who intended to rob it. He does it again at the beginning of this episode. The story is very predictable. Enjoy the performances, but you’ll know what’s being set up for its unsurprising ending early in the production.
Chase had been involved in prior gun incidents in protecting his store. He is relentless in firing his gun at those times, inflicting multiple wounds. He’s cold, overconfident, and you know he will be reckless in a “shoot first, ask questions later” manner.
At 6:55 a key line of dialogue is uttered when the police captain (Larry Thor, of course) says “If I’m not mistaken, you’ve got a boy almost that kid’s age, haven’t you?” At this point of the episode, you just know what’s going to happen. Chase will have his comeuppance and it won’t be pleasant.
The robber he killed at the beginning of the episode turns out to have a brother who is looking to avenge his death. For that reason, the police will be watching the store to make sure Chase will be safe. You know they’re also watching to be sure things do not get out of hand.
Maitland had introduced the character of the son of Chase and his wife. They were expecting him to visit, but they were not quite certain when that might be. This particular night, it is raining very hard. A dark figure gets out of an unfamiliar car, comes up to the store entrance. (No spoiler alert needed here because that happened at 6:55). The man wants to open the door of the store, rattling the door handle or knob, saying “open up, open up!” Chase fires; it is not long after that he and his wife realize that man was his son.
Joe Kearns plays the storekeeper, and his performance as the repulsive, cold-hearted man is superb. He played a storekeeper in Remember Me both times that script was used. In those episodes, the storekeeper was the victim of the shooting. It’s the opposite for this script.
The title of the episode is not hyphenated, though that form is common and acceptable. The script has no hyphen. There is a double-meaning in terms of the pronunciation of the title: “holed-up.” Chase is trapped in his way of thinking, and “holed-up” may apply here. The usual meaning of that is to be in one physical place for protection, but its meaning is flexible and can cover this situation.
The episode was recorded on Thursday, August 16, 1956. Rehearsal began at 12:00pm. Recording began at 5:00pm and concluded at 5:30pm.
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https://archive.org/details/TSP560829
THE CAST
Joe Kearns (Tim Chase), Alice Backes (Hazel), Leonard Weinrib (Boy), Shep Menken (Detective / Jerry), Larry Thor (Captain Runyon), Byron Kane (1st Reporter / Voice), Frank Gerstle (2nd reporter), Sam Edwards (Young customer), George Walsh (Narrator)
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