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Title

Fear

Plot

A loyal employee of a bank is accused of robbing another branch and is presented with a photo of the suspect who looks exactly like him, only taller! He is forced to accept the fact that he has an evil doppelganger; even as the police go over the evidence for more clues.

Episode

0381

Air Dates

  • First Run - November 19, 1975
  • Repeat - May 1, 1976

Actors

Writer

Listen

Rating

98
76     22


9 Responses to Episode 0381

A mousy little man overcome with fear over virtually everything works at a bank in order to hold himself accountable for everything. His professionalism at work is called into question when he seems to appear in a surveillance video holding up another branch during his lunch break. But did I miss the resolution? Was a good episode but the flat ending was very disappointing.

Jeff Glendale

SPOILER ALERT: 5' 1 1/2" Eddie Ellerby (Jack Grimes) robbed the riverside branch of the bank—with 3" lifts in his shoes. The ending just petered out: Mary Lou said Eddie didn't need to be Fred Astaire, and that she was better than Ginger Rogers—she was there. They shared a hearty chuckle. The End. E.G.'s moral of the story? "Stop acting like children. So, with fear in our hearts, let us be courageous."

Karen

Not too bad of a story until the end which wasn't a good resolution. Who really robbed the bank and where is the money? I guess we may never know...

Alec

Really good episode until the last five minutes. What the heck? *SPOILER ALERT* Who was the real culprit? Who was on the video footage? Who (or what) did Hilda see on the film? Way too many unanswered questions. I enjoyed the episode despite the poor ending, but it left a very unsatisfied taste in my mouth all the same.

Pamela

Everyone is right on this one: It falls apart at the end. Too bad, because it's a pretty good premise.

BF

Elspeth Eric's stories tend to involve psychological exploration. This one, about fear, was a drama partially played out inside the protagonist's mind. Notice how both the police and bank president's actions stop short of any consequence or action (no arrest or going to the police station for questioning despite the evidence; Eddie keeps his job despite being filmed robbing another branch). These robbery and hero fantasies are juxtaposed against his real interactions like attention from, and then dinner with, his pretty coworker. Eddie resorts to these daydreams in order to boost his confidence incrementally in response to his fear of inadequacy. As the romantic interest progresses, so do his mental exploits because he thinks he needs to be a "bigger" man than he actually is for fear of the relationship ending. As the story concludes, he realizes that he just needs to have the courage to be himself, a point that is reinforced by his new love interest. A great story if you listen to it in this context.

Gavin

I rate this episode ★★★★☆ for GOOD. Everything was going perfectly well in Elspeth Eric’s doppelganger story and the mystery was building up and up. But suddenly, the ending turned up flat. I was hoping the main character would face his doppelganger for a final showdown, but instead, it flopped. The one-word title is good, another to title this tale would be “You Done Good” or “Currency For The Doppelganger.” In our Host’s Prologue, E.G. Marshall brings up the topic of Fear. In ACT-1, meet our main character and note that being trapped is a fearful sensation. In ACT-2, fate changes to fear. In ACT-3, after the flat Climax with an unknown Resolution, our Host gives us the variety of meanings to Fear. Also, note that the real enemy if the fear of Fear. In his Epilogue, E.G. Marshall edifies the fans of CBSRMT that we must overcome paralysis and deal with fear the best we can. Informative and educative our Host was. The music with its mysterious tunes and suspenseful tracks were very supportive. The sound effects of the paper money, doors, film projector, wine bottle, wine glasses, howling wind, car honks, footsteps on the stairs, boats whistling at the pier, customers murmuring at the bank, traffic noise, splashes, rotary phone, and the light switch were superbly supportive. And the superb part of all, was the cast: Jack Grimes (as Edgar Ellerbe and his Doppelganger), Marian Seldes (as Mary Lou Grant), Jane White (as Hilda Schwartz), and Earl Hammond (as Mr. Topper and Detective Bradshaw). Both Jane White and Earl Hammond were terrific as they played characters who were suspicious of the main character. But both Marian Seldes and Jack Grimes were the delightful duo! Marian Seldes was wonderful as the kindhearted leading lady. Jack Grimes’ performance was memorable as his role in #0053-THE CREATURE FROM THE SWAMP. Everything, except the finale, was outstanding. Anyone who enjoys the talents of Jack Grimes and/or Marian Seldes should check this one out. Until next time…pleasant dreams. =0)

Jack

Ellspeth Eric is a terrible writer. I dislike all her stories as they make no sense. Every time I listen to her CBS RMT stories, at the end I wonder why I listened to them to start with. The stories are so complicated and entangled and quite simply have no good resolutions. Sam Dann, Ian Martin and others had much better stories.

CBS RMT Connoisseur

Elspeth Eric’s stories are always full of continuity problems and dead-end digressions that lead nowhere. This one is typical of her work.

RadioCat


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