Escape's "The Footprint" was adapted from a 1908 short story by Gouverneur Morris (1876-1953), a pulp fiction author who was the great grandson of American founding father Gouverneur Morris (1752-1816).
Escape probably chose this particular adventure story for radio because it involves a small, menacing snake, and to them, any story about a snake was a good story. That is true of "Poison,""Serenade for a Cobra" and "A Shipment of Mute Fate," but "The Footprint" falls short. The original work, which is available online at Google Books, contains all of the elements for a great Escape episode--but that didn't happen.
As the episode opens, a group of men set sail from San Francisco to northern Mexico. They have banded together because of a treasure map they hope will direct them to a hidden fortune in rubies. When they arrive at their destination in the Gulf of California, they find another ship is there as well. They watch as a fat Chinese man with a yellow parasol leaves the ship and then begins to walk across the desert.
The men follow his footprints and eventually, catch up to him. The man, Sang-Ti is on his way to the hidden outpost of Chen Chan because it has been prearranged that his life will end there. Sang-Ti warns them to turn back, but the men say they can't. They have come too far. Sang-Ti also warns them not to steal the holy ruby box-- but they do. When the men try to return to their ship, they are pursued across the desert by a strange priest wielding a nasty little snake.
"The Footprint" was adapted for radio by Richard Chandlee and produced/directed by Norman MacDonnell. Featured in the cast were William Conrad, Charles Davis, Lou Krugman, Tom Holland, and Ramsay Hill. This episode aired on August 18, 1950.
. Download Escape.1950.08.18_The_Footprint
(Image of Gouverneur Morris in his study from Google Books)
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