Don McLaughlin stars in a John Roeburt story that was originally used on Inner Sanctum on 1950-12-18 as Murder By Consent. It is a good script with good performances by some of the most highly regarded performers in New York radio.
McLaughlin plays “Brick,” the foreman of a highway construction crew, and his second-in-command, Artie, assists him. Brick was once interested in Lola, who later married Artie. There’s always been suspicion that Brick still has eyes for Lola and they might have or already are having, an affair. The project has a regular task of using some dynamite to help clear the next area they will build. This creates an interesting situation: there is heightened tension between Brick and Artie, and Artie dares Brick to detonate the charge before Artie gives the “all clear” signal that could kill him. It’s early in the story, so of course, Artie is killed. Or is he? Was it suicide? Was it an accident? Accusations and facts are hurled in all directions, and we gradually learn of a complicated plot by Artie and Lola to collect Artie’s big $30,000 insurance policy (almost $325,000 in US$2025!). The local sheriff investigating this does not have clean hands in the case. If he finds it is suicide, or fraud, the insurance company will pay 20% of the policy to the department because they prevented a false payment. If it is an accident of some sort, they will pay Lola. She has every reason to keep the investigation focused on Brick and that it was jealousy of Artie that had him murdered. Brick, being an honest man, is tormented by it all. There are so many things that don’t make sense to the Sheriff and Brick. A surprise ending, however, with Brick and a suddenly very much still-alive Artie, that explains it all.
Of course, the name of someone in the building industry would be “Brick.”
Since this was an Inner Sanctum script, there are scenes of ghosts and such sounds, made plausible and legitimate for Suspense by use of a tape recorder in the story. No recording of the Inner Sanctum episode has survived, but it likely that those scenes were played up to be much spookier than they are here along with their signature organ music.
The accepted spelling of the title “Mantrap” is as one word, not two.
There are two recordings that have survived, a network aircheck and an Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#857). Both are in very pleasing sound. The network recording has fuller range, and is preferred, while the AFRS recording has a slightly narrower range.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP611126
THE CAST
Don McLaughlin (Brick Delaney), Ralph Bell (Artie Finch), Joseph Julian (Kelleher), Teri Keane (Lola Finch), Ralph Camargo (Pedro), Lawson Zerbe (Pop Wilkes)
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