Tired of the everyday grind?
Ever dream of a life of … romantic adventure?
Want to get away from it all?
We offer you … ESCAPE!
Escape (1947-1954) aired “The Gladiator” on August 1, 1951 as the show’s 147th episode. Not surprisingly, we have aired many episodes (30+) of this top-shelf program over the past 13 years, the last coming in August of 2021. A spinoff and sister show of the highly popular radio program Suspense (1942-62), Escape produced (according to one source) 251 episodes of which 241 were unique stories, plots, or scripts. Escape concentrated on adventure tales, some with an SF/F theme, though the straight adventure tale set in exotic locales was its meat and potatoes. Escape soon established itself with an even more focused approach to action and exotic adventure, dramatizing literary classics (from such as Rudyard Kipling, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan Poe, Ambrose Bierce, Nelson Bond, Ray Bradbury, Eric Ambler, Jack London and others) while at the same time treating its audience to many brand new tales, a fair number of which have become radio classics. In fact, some of Escape‘s original shows were so well written, acted, and produced they were later reincarnated for episodes of Suspense.
While strangely not consistently supported by its host network CBS, that rarely gave advance notice of upcoming program titles and moved the show to different times and days willy-nilly no fewer than 18 times over its 7-year run, the show found a faithful audience, and continued to produce well-written scripts with many of the finest actors in radio.
“The Gladiator” takes us to London and shows us a world heavyweight boxing champion upholding his title for one last fight and then carrying through with his promise to retire as a champ and, with his loyal friend and manager, flying to Rome as the perfect venue to enjoy their golden years. During this final fight however, the champ spots the most beautiful woman he has ever seen and has the good fortune to run into her after the fight. After praising his career and sweet talking him a bit too much–and being introduced to the older gentleman introduced as her uncle, a lover of the sport of boxing and who wishes to spend time with the champ–the champ is persuaded to let them take him and his manager to Rome via the uncle’s boat. But this apparently kind gentleman has other plans for the champ, plans that involve a detour to an island off the coast of northwest Africa, wherein the champ’s and his manager’s life depend on surviving a strange giant and the schemes of a madman. William Conrad (who normally voices the introduction to episodes of Escape but is replaced for this episode) plays the part of one Joe Scarletti, the retired heavyweight boxing champion of the world, yet still a man nonetheless and who, like many another man, is easily subject to the charms of a beautiful woman, who now finds he must fight one last fight…this time for his life, as he must prove he still retains the heart of “The Gladiator.”
(The linked CD cover above contains “The Gladiator” as one of its 12 fully restored episodes.)
Play Time: 29:46
{This episode of Escape aired on a Wednesday evening in early August of 1951. With summer vacation almost at an end, the next day yet found the neighborhood gang at the nearby newsstand ready and willing to lighten their pockets of a few nickels and dimes in search of more exotic fare to set their imaginations on fire. Adventure (1910-1971) was a sure-fire go-to magazine for page-turning exploits of all kinds and so was an easy first selection. From 1936-51 it was a monthly publication, but became a bi-monthly effort with the June 1951 issue. fantastic Adventures (1939-1953), where the imagination reigned supreme (and the wilder the better) and the setting and nature of the stories never failed to excite, was also a staunch favorite, especially with the cover promising a Theodore Sturgeon tale. It was a monthly in 1951. Planet Stories (1939-1955) was always a treat and one of the triumvirate of cherished pulp magazines (along with Startling Stories and Thrilling Wonder Stories) the gang had come to love. And lo and behold with this issue they were treated to another Theodore Sturgeon cover story, and a few more nickels and dimes found their way across the counter and into the hands of the affable newsstand owner. Planet Stories was a bi-monthly in 1951.}
[Left: Adventure, Sept. 1951 – Center: fantastic Adventures, Aug. 1951 – Right: Planet Stories, Sept. 1951]
To view the entire list of weekly Old Time Radio episodes at Tangent Online, click here.