Escape's "The Cave" is a Christmas fantasy tale about two young boys on a strange adventure. One of the boys, Dan, has just received a flashlight for Christmas and is eager to try it out. He and his friend, George, decide to test it in the large cave down by the seashore. They know that it is dangerous in the cave and that they could get lost -- but they do it anyway. Once inside, they decide to look for treasure left behind by pirates.
As Dan and George are exploring the tunnels inside the cave, they come across a stream. There is a delicate hankerchief floating along in the stream, and they decide to track where it came from. They follow the stream until the walls of the cave disappear and stars appear overhead. Yet, they know they are still in the cave because of the echo.
Soon they realize that there are other people in the cave as well,... pirates!
"The Cave" was written by Antony Ellis and produced/directed by Norman MacDonnell. John Dehner was the voice of Dan, the narrator of the story. Also featured were: Georgia Ellis, Peggy Webber, Jay Novello, Charlie Lung, Lou Krugman, Wilms Herbert, and Eileen Erskine. This episode aired on December 24, 1950.
. Download Escape.1950.12.24_The_Cave.mp3
Five years later, Antony Ellis produced/directed his radioplay for Suspense with improvements in the music, dialogue, and presentation. Richard Beals and Billy Chapin starred. Also appearing were Hans Conried, Lawrence Dobkin, Ben Wright, Raymond Lawrence, and Ellen Morgan. John Dehner again played Dan as an adult. This episode aired on December 20, 1955.
. Download Suspense_1955.12.20_TheCave.MP3
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Is this a predecessor of The Goonies???
Posted by: Paul F | July 21, 2008 at 07:57 PM
Seems like one. This episode is similar to The Goonies!
Posted by: cmillinsf | July 21, 2008 at 08:53 PM
This is one of my favorite Suspense episodes to listen to especially around Christmas time. Now I have listened to both the Escape and Suspense versions and I have to say I much prefer the Suspense version because the music in that one is excellent and also the cast in that one is great including John Dehner, Ben Wright, Raymond Laurence, Ellen Morgan, Larry Dobkin, and Hans Conried. I love Conried's portrayal of Captain Blackton. I also find it interesting that Conried plays a pirate captain in this radio play and that he also played another more famous pirate, that of Captain Hook on the screen in the animated Disney classic Peter Pan. I like how Suspense managed to do a nice Christmas story with a touch of mystery and childhood fantasy without any murder or cold-blooded villains. Happy Christmas, everybody.
Posted by: Cameron Estep | December 06, 2013 at 08:49 AM
Hi Cameron, Happy Christmas to you, too! - Christine
Posted by: Christine A. Miller | December 07, 2013 at 09:17 AM
"The Cave" Written by Antony Ellis
Was produced FIVE different times on THREE different series. Three of the five productions survive.
12-24-50 - ESCAPE
12-25-52 - ROMANCE (NOT IN CIRCULATION)
12-25-54 - ROMANCE (NOT IN CIRCULATION)
12-20-55 - SUSPENSE
12-22-56 - ROMANCE
Signing off for now,
Stewart Wright
Posted by: D | February 06, 2014 at 02:49 AM
Thanks, Stewart! It is too bad there aren't more episodes of Romance available. Best, Christine
Posted by: Christine A. Miller | February 06, 2014 at 09:26 AM