Escape's "Classified Secret" begins with two spies on a park bench in North Hollywood, California. They can't agree on a price for their information exchange, so they go their separate ways. One of them, a man named Charlie Raider, then gets on a bus traveling east across the country. He strikes up an acquaintance with the young woman sitting next to him, Julie Spalding, who is on her way to New York.
The bus is filled with the usual sorts of passengers on their way across the country. Things are going well for Charlie but he soon finds out that his business associates have followed him onto the bus. From that point on, Charlie has to figure out how to kill them before they kill him. When they stop for breakfast at a diner in New Mexico, he asks Julie for help. The problem is, she doesn't believe him.
This is an intriguing episode that takes place primarily on the bus and the stops along its route. The sound effects for this episode are particularly realistic, especially those of the noisy five year old kid on the bus.
"Classified Secret" was written and directed by Antony Ellis. Parley Baer starred as Charlie. Also featured were Charlotte Lawrence, Peter Leeds, Miriam Kruschen, Tim Graham, Leroy Lennart, and Georgia Ellis.
This episode aired on April 12, 1953.
. Download Escape_1953.04.12_Classified_Secret.mp3
Two years later, the same radioplay was performed on Suspense. Parley Baer again appeared as Charlie. Suspense's version was also directed by Antony Ellis. This episode aired on November 22, 1955.
. Download Suspense_1955.11.22_ClassifiedSecret.mp3
(Image of Route 66 in Arizona from Wikimedia Commons)
Revised 9/20/07
really subtle, and really good!!!!
parley bear is awesome!
Posted by: john | August 31, 2013 at 05:56 PM
I agree with John: Parley Baer is awesome. Don't tell J. Edgar Hoover, but Parley was so good that I was actually rooting for his character.
Posted by: atoz | May 09, 2018 at 05:33 PM