In Escape's "Bloodbath" a business partnership unravels into a deadly competition.
Five Americans travel deep into the Andes mountains of Peru to search for a vein of uranium ore. As they had hoped, they do find a fortune in uranium. Their plan was to divide the claim five ways, but greed swiftly takes over. Soon they are in a race to return to civilization and claim the land, but the tricky part is getting out of the jungle alive.
Mosquitos, pium flies, bloodsucking carapato ticks, snakes, vampire bats, and piranhas are some of the dangers they have to survive. Vincent Price narrates most of the story and listening to him describe the critters of the Peruvian jungle is entertainment in itself.
"Bloodbath" was written by Academy award winning screenwriter James Poe and starred Vincent Price. The combination of the two was an effective one. Suspense's "Rave Notice" and Escape's "Three Skeleton Key" also featured Vincent Price in a James Poe story. Wally Maher, Ted de Corsia, Paul Frees, and Tony Barrett also appeared. This episode was produced and directed by William N. Robson and aired on June 30, 1950.
. Download Escape.1950.06.30_Bloodbath.mp3
(Image of vampire bat and Peruvian mountains from Wikimedia Commons)
Nobody does doom and gloom like Vincent Price. This is a great performance. Not as good as "Three Skeleton Key", but still an outstanding episode of this amazing series.
Posted by: Grigs | March 25, 2008 at 09:59 PM
James Poe was a bit of a phenomenon. Rave Notice is probably his best but Bloodbath is his most exciting. The action is more or less non stop. Right from the outset we are in the midst of some ne'er-do-wells who have arrived at a pre-determined area and found that it is the biggest uranium mine in the whole world!!
They soon realise how rich they are going to be. One of them even says that they will be trillionaires. Surely that word's first appearance ever on American radio.
Almost immediately the gang go mad with greed and the play become like a Treasure of the Sierra Madre on crack.
Everything is chucked at them. Piranhas, boas, vampire bats, quicksand - Price must have wished he had stayed home and bendicted some eggs! The outcome is not important. Here what is important is the journey, which is quite unbelievably exciting. 5 out of 5, well done again, James and Vincent!
Posted by: Alan O'Brien | May 11, 2012 at 12:43 PM
Hi Alan,
Yes, I agree, James Poe was amazing and "Bloodbath" is a great episode. It is still one of my favorites from Escape.--Best, Christine
Posted by: cmillinsf | May 20, 2012 at 08:02 PM