Escape's "A Rough Shoot" was adapted from the 1951 suspense novel of the same name by Geoffrey Household, but it is quite different. Household's novel should have a made a perfect Escape episode, but the adaptation is a disappointment. Escape went way off the mark with this one. If you get the chance, read the book.
The episode begins as Roger Taine returns home after an evening of shooting on his leased game preserve. He confesses to his wife, Cecily, that he has accidentally killed a man and buried the body. There were two other men there, but they turned and ran away. What Roger can't understand is why they would leave. Obviously, they had a greater fear of their activities being discovered than concern for their companion. Were they poachers? Or, something more sinister.
When Roger returns to the scene of the crime, he finds even more trouble...
"A Rough Shoot" was adapted for radio by screenwriter Arthur Ross and directed by Norman MacDonnell. Ben Wright starred. Also appearing were John Dehner, Sam Waxman, Mary Lansing, Howard McNear, Lawrence Dobkin, and Lou Krugman. This episode aired on August 15, 1951.
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