Mercedes McCambridge stars in a Sidney Renthal story about how the wife of a former child and teenage movie star attempts to find the murderer of his agent. The husband is 33 years old, and hasn’t found a worthwhile part or anything steady in about three years. He’s the best suspect for the killing.
The evening before, the agent brought the husband home after thwarting his attack. The agent had told him he was finished, and he didn’t take kindly to it. The agent told the wife that her husband played too many teenage roles, and now as an adult, he has no opportunities unless, as the agent says, “grows up.” He suggests that they leave Hollywood and head back east for different opportunities. The next morning, the husband was gone. She goes to a favorite bar of his to talk to the bartender and she learns that he was at the bar at 2:00am in the morning with a woman.
At the beginning of the story, their two-year-old son was repeating “go see pretty lady.” The wife does not know why he keeps on saying it. Is the husband cheating on her with “the pretty lady”? He had been acting as what they call “house husband” in today’s terms, going to the nearby park and being with local mothers and their little children. The police are stuck on the husband as the killer, and are looking for him. The wife, on the other hand, thinks the “pretty lady” may be key to her husband’s innocence, if not, key to understanding the crime. She starts driving around, looking for the “pretty lady.” The little son sees the lady leaving a small apartment building, and starts saying “pretty lady… pretty lady!” The wife learns that she is a model at a dress shop. But when confronted… she insists she’s not the “pretty lady.” Things take a bad turn from there, but it leads to a surprising connection that reveals the killer. There’s a happy and unexpected “epilogue” to the story.
It is not the best of Suspense stories, but it is entertaining, and is always good to hear the highly regarded Mercedes McCambridge on the show. It was more than 14 years since her last appearance.
This episode was recorded on Monday, July 8, 1957. Rehearsal began at 2:00pm and concluded at 5:00pm. Recording began at that time and editing ended at 7:00pm.
There are two surviving recordings of the episode, and the Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#943) is the better one. The network recording is of low quality sound.
At the time of the broadcast, singer Pat Boone was being promoted as “America’s Boyfriend.”
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP570721
THE CAST
Mercedes McCambridge (Jean Keith), Norma Jean Nilsson (Lumpy), Joan Banks (Alice), Dick Crenna (Dickie Keith), Jack Kruschen (Charlie / Lt. Carlson), Byron Kane (Maurice Bern), Alan Reed (Harry Landon), George Walsh (Narrator)
###
