British actor Torin Thatcher stars in a Charles B. Smith script about a miner, Roger Fabian, known as “the Digger.” Fabian has a reputation for selfishly stranding his co-workers when there is trouble. Now he wants to provide some measure of sweat restitution as he returns to the very same mine where he ruined his reputation. The African mine had a bad reputation itself because of the accident. Local workers refuse to assist in the reopening because they do not want to disturb the bodies of their deceased co-workers buried there. There’s also an overwhelming number of rats in that area. The Digger, whose reputation has not improved by his drinking habits, returns to help open the mine. One of the mining engineers greets him by saying “I learned you'd been down there where it happened. You didn't lead them out because you were too busy saving yourself. That was the day I swore to kill you. I intend to do so while you're here. Now come along and have some supper.” That threat hangs over the story when yet another accident occurs. Will the Digger act differently and save his fellow workers? The rats may have something to do with it. It’s a good story, sometimes tedious, but worth the listen and the almost surprising conclusion.
There are two surviving recordings of the episode, and the network recording is the much better of the two. The Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) recording has narrow range and other defects. Its closing music has been cut.
The episode was pre-recorded on Wednesday, September 20, 1956.
This is the only appearance of Torin Thatcher on the series. His movie career was long, and often portrayed villains. He also had success on the stage and television in a career that spanned more than 40 years. His life and career are summarized at https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10925-torin-thatcher?language=en-US
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP561009
THE CAST
Torin Thatcher (Roger Fabian aka The Digger), Parley Baer (Sandy McGregor), Herb Butterfield (Narrator), Ramsay Hill (Carton), Stan Jones (Henry Clark), Charlie Lung (Winky / N’Gobi), Lillian Buyeff (Tisha), George Walsh (Suspense Narrator)
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