''Escape'' is an American

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the liste ...

. It was radio's leading

anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...

of high-adventure radio dramas, airing on CBS from July 7, 1947 to September 25, 1954.

Overview

Since the program did not have a regular sponsor like '' Suspense'' (a sister program that often used the same actors and scripts), it was subjected to frequent schedule shifts and lower production budgets, although Richfield Oil signed on as a sponsor for five months in 1950. Despite these problems, ''Escape'' enthralled many listeners during its seven-year run. The series' well-remembered opening combined Mussorgsky's '' Night on Bald Mountain'' with this introduction, as intoned by William Conrad and later Paul Frees: :"Tired of the everyday grind? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... ''Escape!''" Following the opening theme, a second announcer (usually Roy Rowan) would add: :"''Escape''! Designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half-hour of high adventure!"

Adaptations

Of the more than 230 ''Escape'' episodes, most have survived in good condition. Many story premises, both originals and adaptations, involved a protagonist in dire life-or-death straits, and the series featured more

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

and

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

tales than ''Suspense''. Some of the memorable adaptations include Daphne du Maurier's " The Birds", Carl Stephenson's " Leiningen Versus the Ants", Algernon Blackwood's "Confession",

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury ( ; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, Horror fiction, horr ...

's oft-reprinted " Mars Is Heaven", George R. Stewart's '' Earth Abides'' (the program's only two-parter), Richard Connell's " The Most Dangerous Game" and F. Scott Fitzgerald's " The Diamond as Big as the Ritz". John Collier's "Evening Primrose", about people who live inside a department store, was later adapted to TV as a

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...

musical starring Anthony Perkins. William Conrad, Harry Bartell and Elliott Reid were heard in the chilling " Three Skeleton Key" (broadcast on 15 November 1949), the tale of three men trapped in an isolated lighthouse by thousands of rats; the half-hour was adapted from an ''

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'' short story by the French writer George Toudouze and later remade for the March 17, 1950 broadcast starring Vincent Price, Harry Bartell and Jeff Corey and again for the August 9, 1953 broadcast starring Paul Frees, Ben Wright and Jay Novello. Other actors on the series included Elvia Allman, Eleanor Audley, Parley Baer, Michael Ann Barrett, Tony Barrett, Harry Bartell, Ted Bliss, Lillian Buyeff, Ken Christy, William Conrad, Ted de Corsia, John Dehner, Don Diamond, Paul Dubov, Sam Edwards, Virginia Gregg, Lou Merrill, Howard McNear, Jess Kirkpatrick, Dee J. Thompson, Shep Menken, Frank Gerstle, George Neise, Jeanette Nolan, Dan O'Herlihy, Barney Phillips, Forrest Lewis, Robert Griffin, Alan Reed, Bill Johnstone, Sandra Gould, Junius Matthews, Carleton G. Young, Marvin Miller, Frank Lovejoy, Berry Kroeger, Vic Perrin, Elliott Lewis, Eleanore Tanin, Herb Vigran, Jack Webb, Peggy Webber, and Will Wright. Music was supplied by Del Castillo, organist Ivan Ditmars, Cy Feuer, Wilbur Hatch and Leith Stevens. The primary announcer was Roy Rowan, while the introductory signature voice (the dramatic "voice of Escape") was played most often by either Paul Frees or William Conrad, with other actors filling in at various times. A television counterpart aired on CBS TV for a few months during 1950. The program's opening announcement—"Tired of the everyday grind?"—was employed as a slogan for the counterculture magazine, ''New Escapologist''.

List of episodes

Listen to

''Escape'' and ''Suspense''OTR Network Library: ''Escape'' (203 episodes)Theater of the Ears: ''Escape''Internet Archive: ''Escape''

References

* ttp://www.otrsite.com/logs/loge1001.htm Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs: ''Escape''

External links