1949-9-11 The Secret of the Hidden Room

Broadcast September 11th 1949 on Mutual at 5:00 p.m. EST sponsored by D.L. & W. Coal Company "Blue Coal" and Grove Laboratories (Fitch Dandruff Remover Shampoo)

This is a lost episode and no recreation of it has yet been made. If you have a copy of the script please let me know.

Written by: Sidney Slon

Announcer: Andre Baruch

Cast: Bret Morrison (Lamont Cranston/The Shadow) Gertrude Warner (Margot Lane)

Music: Elsie Thompson

Synopsis:

Lamont and Margot spend the night at Ann Bennett’s gloomy mansion, rumored to contain at least a dozen murderous spirits. Ann’s father was found hanging from a beam and she is the sole beneficiary. Her Aunt Katherine and Uncle Marschall are preparing to leave their task as executors of the estate. Late that night, Uncle Marschall is found dead in a locked room and a servant named Mateo is found dead in the attic. Lamont dismisses the idea of murderous spirits when he learns that Ann’s mother was mentally ill and confined in a hidden room in the center of the house for fifteen years. Ann inherited the mental strain and attempts to lock Margot in the same room. The Shadow tricks Ann into thinking she is hearing voices and saves Margot from a long torture in solitary confinement. Lamont later explains that Uncle Marschall died from the fumes coming from the candles in the study. Imbedded in the wax of the tapers was the crystallized juice of the Haitian “Fleur de Mal” (Flower of Evil) plant.As the candles burn, the crystals give off a poisonous vapor. Almost falling for the same scheme, Lamont foils Ann’s plot and reveals to Margot that Mateo hanged himself out of guilt as he played the role of a spirit at Ann’s request whenever she had visitors at the mansion.

Note:

This episode was a rewrite of a former Shadow broadcast titled “The House Where Madness Dwelt” broadcast on March 5th 1944.