Kraft Suspense Theatre 1.05

A Hero in Our Times

starring Lloyd Bridges, John Ireland, Geraldine Brooks, Sandra Church

written by David E. Lewis, Andy Lewis

directed by Ralph Senensky

Mason Etheridge (Lloyd Bridges) is getting ready to leave the apartment of Ruth Evans (Sandra Church), with whom he is having an affair, when he looks out the eindow and sees a woman get murdered. He calls the police, tells them what he saw, but hangs up before giving his name. He is spotted by the killer, whom he saw but not clearly.

Mason returns to his wife Doris (Geraldine Brooks) and their three children. He tries to go on with his life but starts to have second thoughts about not stepping forward to provide testimony after a janitor gets arrested and put on trial for the murder. Mason is certain that the janitor wasn't the man he saw. The height, hair color, and age are all wrong.

Mason gets his friend Scotty (John Ireland) to step forward and claim to have been the one who called the police. Scotty's testimony falls apart under questioning from the prosecutor. Mason finally steps forward and gives testimony. He admits that it was he who was with Ruth Evans in her apartment on the night of the murder and testifies to the fact that the janitor could not have been the murderer. He is hailed as a hero but afraid that he will lose his job and that his wife will want a divorce. 

Thoughts

There's a couple more twists in the tale that I didn't bother to mention in my summary. One of them seemed a little silly. 

Mason knows he did wrong by having an affair and he acts contrite when he meets with first his boss and then his wife at the end of the story. He gets off easy although his boss goes much easier on him than his wife does. 

I enjoyed this story. It isn't perfect but I like the way it was put together. I thought the acting was quite good. My biggest problem with it is that I thought Doris went too easy on his at the end.

Notes

This is the only episode of this show in which Lloyd Bridges appeared. I've seen his in a number of movies including Sahara (1943).

This is the only episode of this show in which John Ireland appeared. I've seen him in a few movies including Raw Deal (1948). He appeared in one episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955).

This is the only episode of this show in which Geraldine Brooks appeared. She appeared in two episodes of The Outer Limits (1963), the first of which was 1.03 The Architects of Fear.

This is the only episode of this show in which Sandra Church appeared. She is still alive but her most recent screen credit is from 1986 and that's her only screen credit since the 1960s.

David Lewis played the part of Mr. Dryden, Mason's boss. This is the first of four episodes of this show in which he appeared. He also appeared in two episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955).

William Bramley played the part of the prosecutor. This is the first of two episodes of this show in which he appeared. He appeared in two episodes of The Phil Silvers Show, the second of which was 4.21 Bilko's Sharpshooter, and one episode of The Invaders, 1.07 Nightmare, plus episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955), The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and The Outer Limits (1963).

Dabbs Greer played the part of the man wrongly accused of murder. This is the only episode of this show in which he appeared. I saw him last week in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955), 1.25 There Was an Old Woman.

Victor French played the part of the murderer. This is the only episode of this show in which he appeared. 

Writer David E. Lewis is not the same person as the actor who played the part of Mr. Dryden in this episode. This is the only episode of this show that he had a hand in writing. David E. and Andy Lewis worked together on a number of shows and a few movies. Andy outlived David by a few decades and had more writing credits than David. I'm not sure if there was a blood relationship. Andy was 10 years younger than David. Andy only had one writing credit after they worked on together on Klute (1971).

This is the first of three episodes of this show that Ralph Senensky directed. He directed seven episodes of Star Trek (1966), the first of which was 1.24 This Side of Paradise.