CBSRMT Episode Information Next Episode

Title

The Locked Room

Plot

The bride's mother plays villain in the life of a newly wed couple. She is convinced the boy has married her not-too-beautiful daughter simply for her wealth and plans a nasty surprise for him.

Episode

0070

Air Dates

  • First Run - April 8, 1974
  • Repeat - June 28, 1974
  • Repeat - March 3, 1979

Actors

Writer

Listen

Rating

226
191     35


30 Responses to Episode 0070

I will point out that his wife's death was due to a medical complication that the husband did not know about. I think the husband was a moron, but I don't think he deserved what he got. Suspense thriller, no supernatural elements.

Andy

Really creepy tale in which you really don't know the true motives of the husband. Wretched arrogance of the controlling mother prevents any hope of happiness. One of the better episodes. Included commercial for Pitching In, had some terrific singing in it for a fun addition to the proceedings.

Nancy

What is behind the locked door, and more importantly the characters’ motives.

Pammy Pam

A newly-wed couple are harrassed by the girl's mother because she is sure that the man is marrying her ugly daughter for her money. The plot twist is fairly predictable.

Mr. Galan

A young rich girl meets a poor boy and takes him to one of the mansions she will inherit. One of the rooms, the girls says, is locked, always has been, and she has always been warned by her parents to stay away from it. Later her mother discovers them together and she disapproves of their relationship and says she will have it annulled. The young girl is distraught and threatens suicide if she interferes. The couple go to extreme lengths to prove the girls love for this man… but mother will not sit by and be disobeyed!

Erick Garmin

Nice old lady....good story...love the Theatre.

carriagedriver

Wow! I have heard some distasteful villains on Mystery Theater, but Mrs. Daniels may win the award for witchiest (which is a more tasteful way of describing her). The listener's ear will fall sullen for the unattractive Bonny. What her mother said to her was so hateful. This is a great episode. The story moves smoothly and fits into the allotted time perfectly. 4 stars. Also, the commercials are included which I personally prefer. Makes me wonder, what kind of computers did they have back in 1974 to help in tax preparation???

DAVY JOE

That was a good one I must say! This is one of the better CBSRMT episodes...such a mean, hateful mother! Side note- Why is your LIVE365 Channel (CBS Radio Mystery Channel) no longer being updated? That was one of my favorite channels. Please do an update...I miss it! And thanks for this site as well. So nice to be able to listen to episodes on demand!

Amanda Carusone

I agree with everyone that half of the characters weren't likable (the mother and husband), while the other half (the daughter and lawyer) weren't written as strong characters, otherwise they would've done things differently. Although it was predictable to an extent, the details may not have been as predictable. Not a very memorable episode.

Alec

From the beginning up to this one she is the 2nd witchiest. Number 1 is Mother Love!

Neel

One of my favourites, a very well constructed plot (unusual for Mystery Theatre) though the characters are somewhat flat. Interesting how classic radio days always come back to haunt Mystery Theatre. The girl is a creature of the 40s, the days of "blondes", dames, ugly ducklings - nothing 1974-ish about her at all.

Bill King

The husband did not deserve what happened at the end. That mean, rich old lady and her attorney will burn in H.

Robert RJMGREEN@AOL.COM

I like the goldylocks 7 up commercial the baby bear is hilarious "call me BB"

Tom d

Great episode which kept me guessing as to the motives of the husband. But I figured there wouldn't be anything good behind that door.

Joe Mama

A good tale of malicious accidents.

Melanie

This particular episode is similar to an Alfred Hitchcock short, in which Gloria Swanson played the mother and James MacArthur played Danny.

Karen

I recently saw this on the Alfred Hitchcock hour it followed it to a tee except for what was behind the door behind the door was an unfinished elevator shaft that he fell into.

David

The story was good and easily kept my attention. Personally, I was disappointed with the ending, as I was expecting a more imaginative conclusion. With all the wealth the family had, locking the door seemed a little lame rather than making a repair.

Sam

I'm a huge fan of any episode that hasn't had the commercials edited out. This one also has the benefit of very clear audio.

EmKay

I liked this one, but did anyone else think it was lame that they never repaired rotted floorboards, ever?

Christina A.

It's dramatic license, meaning that reality is stretched for the plot.

Robert

The mother tried to stop the whole situation without anyone getting physically injured by asking her daughter to leave with her first and secondly, trying to have the marriage annulled. I think the mother was extremely distraught at losing her homely daughter but was insensitive to her daughters feelings. A villain, no. Hateful, yes. The man seemed greedy but actually self obsessed with his poor childhood. A for a naive dimwit who was genuinely in love with the daughter but could only see his way out of poverty and giving his new wife financial security was a pot of gold behind the locked door. He didn't have any clue of the daughters immense wealth at the beginning of the story. He mistakenly thought that the three pills wouldn't harm the girl partially because he was also unaware of the heart condition.

KurtL

Note about the similarity of the plot, including the character's names, on the Alfred Hitchcock Hour "Behind the Locked Door". The writer Henry Slesar authored both of them. This is just a situation where he adapted his story to CBSRMT to earn some more money.

D.C.

Radio plays can have great characters, great stories, both, or neither. THE LOCKED ROOM has fantastic characters engaged in great dialogue but with a story that leaves much to be desired. This is rare for writer Sleser who one of the absolute best Mystery Theater writers and a fantastic weaver of tails (MURDER PREFERRED and PRISONER OF THE MACHINES are top rate radio). Perhaps this story plays better to a TV audience as it was adapted from an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents entitled BEHIND THE LOCKED DOOR. Listeners will not be disappointed by character performances in THE LOCKED ROOM. 3 of 5 stars 

JUROR #4

One of the better episodes. Good mystery. An ending you want to find out.

James

I wonder how sincere the guy is because he is so pushy about getting Bonnie to sign the letter, etc. After he thought he was inheriting a treasure, his voice sounds greedy and he doesn't sound like he is in very much grief about losing Bonnie at all. He just sounds eager about the money and the house he inherited. He may or not have known about her medical condition, but it's still unclear if he really loved her or not, or what his ultimate plan or motive was. I don't blame the mother for being suspicious, but her revenge was vicious. Spoilers ahead: She should have been charged with murder because she admitted that she knew all along that he would fall through the rotten floorboards, so that shows it was premeditated on her part.

Amy

Love the episodes they leave the commercials in, really makes them more enjoyable! Right BB? Are you ready for your scream test? 😵 gotta love E.G. Marshall! As they say all is fair in love and war, and this story dishes it up in style. Ole Davey gets what's coming to him, his age and his dream of riches spells what a self serving person he is. The mother was a miserable wretch most probably being married to Bonnie's father, as he seems to have been quite cruel himself. Just goes to show money does not buy happiness.

Nancy

Trixie and Sparky driving a sleek, white sports car. I wonder if they meant to do that

Kaihogyo

Carmen Matthews did some hitchcock episodes. She's always played that same type of character that wanted to be perceived as a nice carrying person with extreme ulterior motives!

Brian Neal

Another great story! The ending really did scare the bejesus out of me when David screamed after walking into the locked room! It was an awesome twist to find out what happened!

Jim K.


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