Title: Hypnotic Death (this episode is also known as "A Design for Murder")
Air date: February 12, 1939
Plot summary: A hoodlum named Charlie brings his fiancee Martha to see a psychiatrist, Dr. Dharma. Unfortunately for Martha, it's part of an evil plot. Dr. Dharma and Charlie are both part of a gang that is murdering people for insurance money. Martha has signed a life insurance policy benefiting Charlie, so now it's Dr. Dharma's part of the scheme. He hypnotizes poor Martha, and by use of his hypnotic will, forces her to step off a curb and right into the path of an oncoming car.
The bad guys, however, did not count on Lamont Cranston being at the scene and a witness to the tragedy. Lamont tells the police that Martha deliberately (or so it seemed, anyway) stepped in front of the car. This is unwelcome for Dr. Dharma as it could jeopardize the insurance payment. Dr. Dharma then says to Lamont, "We will meet again."
Soon after, Lamont and Margo are out to dinner when he lapses into incoherence. He then falls into a catatonic trance. It seems as if something is snuffing out his life force. Margo, who knows a little thing or two about stuff like hypnosis and psychic powers, comes to believe that some malevolent mind has taken over Lamont. In desperation, she begs for help from an authority on hypnosis, the author of a textbook in fact—Dr. Dharma.
Tropes:
- Disney Villain Death: Margo takes advantage of Dr. Dharma's fear of heights by luring him out onto the balcony of Lamont's hospital suite. At the climax, Dharma lunges at The Shadow, misses, and plummets 26 stories to his death.
- Dramatic Irony: After Margo calls Dr. Dharma in to examine Lamont, Dharma promises that Lamont will be "well taken care of." Dr. Dharma is only there to screw with Lamont, and temporarily lifts the block on Lamont's vocal cords to taunt him before shutting Lamont down again.
- Girl Friday: A moment to shine for Margo, who usually was just Lamont's second banana. In this episode she's the one who figures out he's under hypnotic control, she's the one who deduces from Lamont's tortured pointing at the pictures that Dr. Dharma is the bad guy, and she's the one who devises the plan to lure Dharma out onto the balcony so that they can take advantage of his fear of heights.
- Hypno Fool: By the power of hypnosis, Dr. Dharma compels Martha to step in front of a car and be killed.
- Hypnotic Eyes: Dr. Dharma tells Martha "Look into my eyes," and in a moment she is under his spell.
- Insurance Fraud: Dr. Dharma's racket, arranging for people to die and then cashing in on their insurance.
- Karma Houdini: Charlie, the crook who lured the unfortunate Martha into Dr. Dharma's clutches, seems to get away with it. They can't even trace him from the insurance policy, as he got it under a fake name.
- Special Guest: Sometimes the show had a guest at the end to pad out the run time. In this episode the announcer interviews Loren Barclay from the Boy Scouts of America.
- Telepathy: Dr. Dharma has crossed this with hypnosis to invent "telepathic hypnosis." Having put Martha under his spell, he can telepathically send his commands and cause her to step in front of a car. Later, he is able to send Lamont into a coma remotely, after having met him just once.
- Villain Opening Scene: Starts out with Charlie bringing his unlucky fiancee to Dr. Dharma, who hypnotizes her and sends her to her death.
