Title: Murder in the Sun
Air date: August 1, 1954
Plot summary:
Professor Boris Orloff is a professor and operator of his own research lab, the Solar Institute. He is confronted one day by his young assistant, physicist Bob Warner. Orloff has been developing a "solar gun", a device that concentrates the power of the sun in order to fire a beam of energy. Bob has grown concerned with his erratic, obviously unstable boss, and the potential to use the solar gun for evil. Bob calls Orloff out, and after a nasty argument Bob is fired.
Later, Bob calls an acquaintance of his, Lamont Cranston, to get his advice. It so happens that Bob's apartment is across a park from Orloff's lab. As Bob is on the phone with Lamont, voicing his concerns, he is zapped by the solar gun! As Bob hovers on the edge of death at the hospital, Lamont takes the case. Soon The Shadow is going to Orloff's lab to confront him.
Note: This episode is lost, as is almost every episode of the last six seasons of The Shadow, 1949-54. However, a script survives, and is the basis for this recap.
Tropes:
- As You Know: Prof. Orloff makes sure to berate Bob for staying out with "my niece Sonya" so the audience knows the relationship.
- Blackmail Backfire: Reber, the apartment building superintendent, decides to blackmail Orloff with the knowledge that he saw Orloff leaving Bob's apartment building with the files. After Reber stupidly goes over to Orloff's lab, Orloff zaps him with the ray gun.
- Death Ray: Prof. Orloff has invented a deadly "solar gun" that harnesses the sun's energy to kill things by zapping them.
- Have You Told Anyone Else?: Orloff makes sure to ask Reber if he told anyone else that he saw Orloff stealing the files or that he was going over to Orloff's lab. When Reber answers in the negative, Orloff zaps him with the solar gun.
- Idiot Ball: Bob knows that Prof. Orloff can hit his apartment building from Orloff's lab on the other side of the park. He has speculated that Orloff might like to zap him when Bob is out on his balcony. He has also threatened to go to the FBI about Orloff's dodgy research. Then he goes out onto his balcony, and, while on the phone with Lamont, observes Orloff messing with his solar gun. And still he stays on his balcony, and gets zapped.
- Mad Scientist: Professor Boris Orloff, who seeks to harness the energy of the sun to produce a deadly weapon. And as it turns out, Orloff doesn't have much of a plan to do anything with the gun, other than use it to kill his enemies.
- Parental Marriage Veto: Sonya and Bob were waiting to get married until Orloff agreed. It turned out to not be a good idea.
- They Called Me Mad!: Professor Orloff says that once upon a time he was working on more constructive uses of solar energy. (Solar panels?). But his colleagues laughed at him and mocked him, so now he's making a solar gun to kill them with.
- Villain Opening Scene: The first scene is in Orloff's lab, where he and Bob have a nasty confrontation.
