Escape - Red Wine

In Escape's "Red Wine," a detective travels to a rubber plantation on the coast of Borneo to find a killer. This episode is based on the 1930 short story by Lawrence G. Blochman, but Escape threw in a seductive island girl and, of course, a deadly snake to fill some time. Otherwise, they kept the main elements of the story intact.

Detective Paul Vernier has traveled from San Francisco to Borneo to extradite Jerome Steeks, a man wanted for the murder of his wealthy wife. Vernier arrives in the jungle outpost of Tamjong Samor on a tip that Steeks is hiding there, but he soon realizes that arresting him won't be easy. There are 3 Americans working on the local rubber plantation, but none of them fit the description of the man he is looking for.

Vernier knows that one of them is the killer. So, he leads the three men into a trap to reveal which one is really Jerome Steeks, a man of sophisticated taste and culture.

"Red Wine" was adapted for radio by Morton Lewis and Les Crutchfield. Norman MacDonnell  produced/directed. Jeff Chandler played Vernier and Berry Kroeger played Herr Koert. Also appearing were David Ellis, Lou Krugman, Jack Kruschen, and Lorette Filbrandt. This episode aired on February 26, 1949.

. Download Escape.1949.02.26_Redwine.mp3

"Red Wine" was presented again on August 11, 1949. Richard Sanville directed. Willard Waterman played Paul Vernier. Also appearing were Robert Boon, Marian Richman, Lawrence Dobkin, Vic Perrin, Wilms Herbert, and Clarke Gordon.

.  Download Escape.1949.08.11_Red_Wine.mp3

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Comments

[M.B.]

I just finished listening to "Red Wine," the Jeff Chandler version. I heard the Willard Waterman version last year, and was pleasantly surprised to hear how well W.W. performed. Both Mr. Waterman and Mr. Chandler starred in OTR comedies, but did well in this drama.
How the plot developed was very interesting. I recommend this episode.