Title: The Long Arm of Death
Air date: November 7, 1954
Plot summary: Grace and George Randolph are stuck in a horribly unhappy marriage. Grace, who is rich, has figured out that George married her for her money. George for his part demands $10000 from Grace, telling her that he's got to have it to pay his gambling debts, or else his creditors will kill him. When Grace refuses, George theatrically announces that he'll kill himself.
It just so happens that Grace has a good friend, Lamont Cranston. She calls Lamont and asks him to come over to help her in this time of crisis. Lamont and Margo are driving to Grace's house when a car plunges off of a turn on the hill above them. Grace ID's the charred corpse as her husband, George Randolph.
Grace is wracked with guilt over George killing himself. Enter a Dr. Alexis Low. Dr. Low says that he has mastered certain secrets of the atom, which have allowed him to resurrect the dead. Grace is skeptical, but Dr. Low manages to produce a resurrected George at the cemetery! Grace is thrilled, but Undead George swears that he will haunt her forever.
Did George really come back from the dead? The Shadow will find out.
Note: This episode is lost, as is almost every episode for the last six seasons of The Shadow, 1949-1954. But a script survives, and is the basis for this recap.
Tropes:
- As You Know: Lamont and Margo are looking at the same car, but he feels compelled to tell her that "the whole car is in flames" so they can't rescue whoever is in the wreck.
- Awful Wedded Life: The opening scene demonstrates that the Randolphs hate each other. George romanced lonely and wealthy Grace, but she's figured out that he was only interested in her money.
- Every Car Is a Pinto: George's car plunges over an overhang and bursts into flames. This is of course part of the plan.
- Faking the Dead: George and Dr. Low are in cahoots. They killed someone who was of the same general type as George, and planted some identifying items on him. Then they convinced a gullible Grace that Dr. Low had raised George from the dead.
- For Doom the Bell Tolls: Twice a bell is heard tolling 12 midnight, as Grace and Dr. Low come to the cemetery to resurrect George.
- Gold Digger: George married Grace for her money. When Grace calls him out on this, George regrets being so obvious about it.
- He Knows Too Much: George and Dr. Low kill Jennie after she catches them in cahoots.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: George and Dr. Low kill Jennie and then make it look like she was hit by the car. Because Police Are Useless, they buy it, but The Shadow isn't fooled.
- Narrator: After the act break, the announcer introduces Part II by reminding the audience of what happened in Act I.
- Villain Opening Scene: The episode opens with George and Grace having a nasty argument. George of course is the villain, who hits on a scheme to rip off his dimwitted wife.
- You're Insane!: "You're mad!", says Grace, when Dr. Low claims he can raise the dead. He isn't crazy, he's just a con artist.
