If there is one thing that the two namesakes of this blog have in common it is "Three Skeleton Key," a classic horror tale about rats narrated by Vincent Price. First made famous by Escape, this radio-play was then broadcast two more times on Suspense after Escape went off the air. Based on a 1937 Esquire magazine short story by the French writer George Toudouze, the story was adapted for Escape in 1949 by James Poe.
"Three Skeleton Key" is set on the coast of French Guiana in South America. This is a coastline that is also famous for its penal colony on Devil's Island.
Quite a bit of information about "Three Skeleton Key" is available on the Internet. You can read more about it at the One Act Virtual Museum. The One Act Players have posted Toudouze's original short story, and there is also a detailed article by B.A. Peterson at horror-wood.com.
Rats, Vincent Price, and a lonely lighthouse...this episode is a classic of vintage radio.
The performance of this radio-play considered to be the best was one that Escape presented on March 17, 1950. They also performed this story on November 15, 1949, and August 9, 1953, but with different casts both times. Suspense brought back this radio-play with Vincent Price in the lead role on November 11, 1956, and October 19, 1958.
Here is Escape's "Three Skeleton Key" from March 17, 1950.
Download three_skeleton_key.mp3
Rev. 7/27/07
This story can also be found in a collection called "LIGHTHOUSE HORRORS" Edited by Charles Waugh, ISBN: 0892723408
Amazon has it used for $.01
Great story and the adaptation is famous for a reason, it's brilliant!
Posted by: Shonokin | October 15, 2007 at 02:29 PM
why did he like the island at the end?
Posted by: the story | October 08, 2008 at 05:41 PM
In the short story, the narrator states several times that he finds his life as a lighthouse-keeper on Three Skeleton Key to be pleasant. So ultimately, his experience with the rats didn't prevent him from finishing out his service there. The radio version doesn't really go into how fond of the place he was. - Christine
Posted by: cmillinsf | October 09, 2008 at 03:04 PM
Word is that this is being adapted for opera. Great potential.
Posted by: Arnold Rothstein | February 23, 2009 at 10:53 AM
Oh my, that would be something. Let me know if you hear more about that. - Christine
Posted by: cmillinsf | February 23, 2009 at 12:15 PM
The sounds are great. The shows so well remembered. I have been collecting since 1947. Very expensive then. Very affordable now. Thanks to people like you, old radio will stay alive for many a year.
Thank you
Bob V.
Posted by: Bob Vito | April 26, 2009 at 06:39 PM
Bob,
Thanks for your comment. We do our best! -Christine
Posted by: Cmillinsf | April 26, 2009 at 10:09 PM
I very much like this story but have heard it on another Old Radio show and it was much grittier and did have the lead character telling how much he enjoyed the place. I can't find it though. I've found a short 15 minute version on Sleep No More but that wasn't it. Anyone know what program this might have been or what they called. Something tells me they used a different title too.
Posted by: Kevin | September 04, 2009 at 08:39 PM
My dad was a scoutmaster when I was a kid, and he used to tell this story around the campfire. Absolutely the best and creepiest radio tale ever.
Thanks.
Posted by: bobdog | December 04, 2009 at 05:27 AM
Three Skeleton Key was done at a time when dramatic radio was at the peak of its technical proficiency. Sound effects, music, et al were excellent and there were plenty of people who knew how to integrate these things seamlessly into whatever program was being done. But the program owes most of its effectiveness to the script and performances, particularly the performance of the peerless Vincent Price as narrator and main character. There was a particular technique involved in doing all your acting with your voice, making it real without overdoing it, drawing your audience into the drama with sound alone. Somehow Price knew how to do all this instinctively, and he was never more effective in his radio performances than on this remarkable program. His work stands up perfectly 60 years later!
Posted by: Tom | December 19, 2009 at 11:41 AM
Tom,
I agree with your comments. "Three Skeleton Key" is Escape's masterpiece, and it is perfection in storytelling. Of the 400 or so episodes that I have posted on this website so far, "Three Skeleton Key" is still the most popular. (Suspense's "The Hitch-hiker" is second.)
Posted by: Cmillinsf | December 19, 2009 at 04:26 PM
Just read about this modern re-dramatization. I haven't listened to this yet, but there was a heads up at SFF Audio.
http://www.finalrune.com/our-christmas-gift-to-you-three-skeleton-key/
Posted by: Thepulpreader.blogspot.com | December 26, 2009 at 11:48 AM
Pulpreader,
Thanks for letting us know! I'm impressed that they recorded it on location at a lighthouse in Maine. - Christine
Posted by: Cmillinsf | December 26, 2009 at 04:03 PM