"The Diamond as Big as the Ritz" is a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald that was first published in The Smart Set magazine (June, 1922) and later in Fitzgerald's short story collection Tales of the Jazz Age (1922). The text of "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz" is available online at Wikisource and it may help to read it first in order to appreciate Escape's adaptation of this unusual story.
John Unger, a young man from Hades, Mississippi, is a student at St. Midas School, an exclusive and wealthy boarding school near Boston. He often spends his school vacations at his friend's homes, so when his school-mate, Percy Washington, invited him to his family's home "out west" for the summer, John agreed. On the train to Montana, Percy tells him that his father is "by far the richest man in the world" and that he owns "a diamond bigger than the Ritz-Carlton Hotel."
John assumes Percy is exaggerating, but when he arrives at the remote mountain home of the Washington family, he realizes that it is all true. He also discovers that the family will do anything necessary, no matter how ruthless, to keep their home and the diamond secret.
Escape presented this story three different times.
"A Diamond as Big as the Ritz" was adapted for radio by Les Crutchfield and produced/directed by William N. Robson. Jack Edwards, Jr., Denny Merrill, and Linda Mason appeared. This episode aired on July 21, 1947.
. Download Escape.1947.07.21_Diamond_as_Big_as_the_Ritz
This story was presented again on August 29, 1948. Sam Edwards, Peggy Webber, Dan Merrill, John Dehner, and Don Diamond appeared.
. Download Escape_1948.08.29_ Diamond Big As The Ritz
This story was presented a third time on March 27, 1949. Sam Edwards starred. Also appearing were Nina Clowden, Hugh Thomas, John Dehner, and Jack Kruschen.
. Download Escape_1949.03.27_ Diamond Big as the Ritz
(Image of "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz" and Other Stories, Dover Thrift Editions, 1998)
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