1944-11-26 The Man Who Wished Death

Broadcast November 26th 1944 on Mutual at 5:30 p.m. EST sponsored by D.L. & W. Coal Company "Blue Coal" and syndicated for the summer by Goodrich Tires

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: Max Ehrlich

Announcer: Don Hancock

Cast: John Archer (Lamont Cranston/The Shadow) Marjorie Anderson (Margot Lane)

Music: Elsie Thompson

Synopsis:

In a little town on the tip of Cape Cod, a hunchback named Pepe makes do because generous townspeople give him old clothes and leftover food. Discovering he has the power to kill people at will, merely through wishing it and pointing his finger, he hatches a sinister scheme that will pay heavy dividends in blackmail. Town citizens fear the monstrous man. Tourists Lamont and Margot find a subterranean chamber beneath the house, and piecing the clues together, Lamont acts quickly as The Shadow to save another victim. Puzzled as to why he is unable to take a new victim, Pepe is apprehended by The Shadow. Lamont later explains to Margot that Pepe’s hunchback was man-made — a hollow shell concealing a little death-ray machine, powered by small powerful batteries and radio parts. Since electricity can cause heart failure, the device left no impressions on a victim. Pepe merely had to point it toward his prey and “wish” the victim dead. The Shadow simply smashed the glass and small machinery contained within the hump of his back.

Note:

This episode would later be rewritten as “Death Makes a Wish” broadcast on March 1st 1953.