Escape - The Follower

Escape's "The Follower" is an abridged version of a novel by Patrick Quentin that was first published in 1950.  Patrick Quentin is actually a pen name for four people who collaborated on works of detective fiction: Hugh Callingham Wheeler, Richard Wilson Webb, Martha Mott Kelly, and Mary Louise White Aswell. Their other pen names include Q Patrick, Jonathan Stagge, and Quentin Patrick. The Follower, like most of the work published under the Patrick Quentin name, was written by Wheeler and Webb.

The novel revolves around a man named Mark Liddon who goes to extremes to find his "missing" wife. Is she worth it? As he follows her trail from New York to Mexico City, we are given warning signs that his young wife, Ellie, is more than just a rich girl who likes to have fun. In the end, Mark finds her, but their reunion is not a happy one.

For radio, quite a bit had to be cut for time, and we are only given the basics of the story. The result is that Oscar, the hotel desk clerk in Mexico City, is only given a small role. This is unfortunate because Oscar, who wheedles money out of everyone, is the most entertaining character in the book.

"The Follower" was adapted for radio Les Crutchfield and directed by Norman MacDonnell. William Conrad starred as Mark Liddon. Also appearing were Georgia Ellis, Harry Bartell, Virginia Gregg, Lou Krugman, Sydney Miller, and Don Diamond. This episode aired on February 18, 1951.

.  Download Escape_1951.02.08_The Follower

Comments

[Grigs]

I think that the Liddons would be great contestants on "Rate Your Mate", the game show that is advertised at the end of this episode.

[atoz]

Liddon: "You'd sell out your own mother for ten pesos."

Oscar: "You are what they call a very cynic man, senor. I would NEVER do such a thing...not for ten pesos."

Small role or not, Oscar stills the show.

First off, I'd just like to say that is very cool that you take the time to read the source material of so many of these episodes. I've added several things to my (endless) reading list, thanks to you.

I'm a fan of film noir so I really liked this episode. I had to give it a second listen after Ellie dropped that chuck of dialog at the end laying out just what in the heck was going on. The ability to listen to some of these episodes multiple times is a huge advantage; I don't think I could have followed some of the episodes like this had such intricate plots.