Four Star Playhouse 1.19

Shadowed

starring Dick Powell

written by Seeleg Lester, Merwin Gerard, Mary Synon

directed by Robert Florey

Burton Stroude (Dick Powell) learns that Del Martin, a woman with whom he had an affair years before, is on her death bed. He was single at the time but she was not. Del wants to see him one last time. He is hesitant to go. He didn't know that she was married when the affair began.

Rhoda, Burt's wife, already knows about Del Martin, but not because Burt told her. She knows because she opened a letter from Del to Burt, that arrived the day before. Burt and Rhoda talk about it a bit. It hurts her to know that he had such a relationship and never told her about it.

Complicating things is the fact that the power brokers in the state have decided that they want Burt to run for US Senator. He is open to it but mostly because Rhoda wants him to do it. Going to see Del might cost him a shot at winning the election but in the end he decides that he needs to go see her. Rhoda decides to go with him.

Thoughts

There were ten characters in this episode who had speaking parts. That seems like a lot to me given that 95 percent of it takes place within the home of Burt and Rhoda and the show is only 22 minutes long. At it's heart the episode is about Burt and Rhoda. The others are part of the story but the story belongs to the Stroudes.

I enjoyed this episode very much. It's a strong way to end the first season of the show. I thought that the performances were all very good. I also like the complexity of the story.

Notes

This is the fourth of 31 episodes of this show that starred Dick Powell. His output doubles in the next season and doesn't drop below that mark through the last three seasons of the show.

Frances Dee played the part of Rhoda Stroude. This is the only episode of this show in which she appeared. She lived until 2004 but she only has one screen credit after the mid 1950s.

Harry Cheshire played a small part in this episode. It is the second of two appearances he made in this show. The first episode in which he appeared was 1.18 To Whom It May Concern.

Bill Walker played the part of Benton, the Stroudes' butler. This is the first of two episodes of this show in which he appeared. He also appeared in one episode each of The Twilight Zone (1959), The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and Kraft Suspense Theatre. 

Bobby Robinson played the part of Frank, the Stroudes' driver. This is the first of two episodes of this show in which he appeared. He also appeared in one episode each of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and Kraft Suspense Theater. 

Mary Synon wrote the story upon which this episode was based. It is the only episode of this show that she had a hand in writing. She operated a drama school in Chicago for over 40 years. This is the second episode of this show for which Seeleg Lester and Merwin Gerard wrote the screenplay. The first was 1.16 Night Ride.

This is the 17th of 38 episodes of this show that Robert Florey directed. There were only two episodes in the first season that he did not direct.  His output on this show drops dramatically in the next season, down to just two episodes. It picks back up in the third and fourth seasons but not to the same level as in the first one.