Morbid, karmic episode. The anti-hero and victims are all unsympathetic. Good use of the medium of radio since the audience could hear the ending but still ended on a question mark because we couldn't see it. Possibly the karmic ending was used since most of the characters were unlikeable. A more logical ending would be to note that a widow is not entitled to a mother-in-law's property--just the late husband's--and the late husband had no property since he did not legally inherit. Roxie Roker is best known for portraying the character of Helen Willis on "The Jeffersons." Historical thriller, no supernatural elements.

I would like to thank whom ever makes this possible as I am a bedridden disabled Veteran and love reliving these shows of the past that bring back memories! Thank you! The Johnson Family.

Every character in this CBS-RMT offering was... well, not nice. It involved an arrogant, pompous guy in his late 30s, whose overbearing and abusive mother apparently passed away. She's declared dead in their home by a physician, but somehow (and this part puzzled me) she isn't taken to a mortuary, and instead is interred in their home. She turns out not really dead (but instead a victim of some kind of epilepsy or something) and before she's locked inside her coffin for good comes back to life. Sonny boy, enraged but armed with a death certificate, decides to lock her up on a private room forever and blackmails his servants into taking care of her needs (why he doesn't kill her and bury the body is strange). Then, free at last to chase the local ladies, HE gets tricked into marriage by a local tramp who says he made her with child. It isn't true, but he marries her before he finds out and amazingly is able to keep his hidden mother a secret from her. When he does find out, he has ANOTHER dilemma on his hands. What do with her? Oh, this one's a real hoot. Not my favorite so far, but it's up there...

One of my favorite programs which is interesting throughout. A young man thinks that he's free to live his life without his overbearing mother only to learn that he has to deal with her a bit longer. He then takes an equally difficult wife and attempts to use the same method to manage the problem.

Gothic horror, creepy lead and just desserts make this a winner.

When a man finds out his deceased mother is actually alive, he locks her in the basement so he may inherit her home and her wealth.

A henpecked son whose mother was pronounced dead only to revive from a seizure in the privacy of the house, decides to take advantage of the situation and locks her in the basement in order to secure for himself the estate, and some long-awaited independence. Later, he connects with a girl he dallied with on occasion and she tells him that she is pregnant with his child. After the initial shock, he agrees to marry her, but in time, she proves to be as domineering as his mother, and more devious than himself. He plans to put her in the basement with his mother when a sudden twist sees the roles reversed. Mother and daughter-in-law, it turns out, had plans of their own.

This one is a so--so episode. It starts out with an interesting premise, but just sort of meanders the rest of the way 'til it reaches a rather dull climax. Perhaps if they had a scene with Buford-- awakening in his grave-- that might have elevated the ending more (Something akin to the aforementioned ending of "The Dead House"). One distressing note, the only 2 really decent (and thus sympathetic) characters in the story-- Hannah and her son William-- are hopelessly trapped throughout the tale and end up having to play nursemaid to two completely spoiled and self-centered characters (The two Mrs. Montgomery's) who really did nothing (quite the opposite, actually) to deserve the rewards they received at the end.

I was thinking the same thing. I also enjoyed the Hi Brown spot where he asks for input about the show. Pretty cool and hadn't heard that before.

...but how cool was it to have RUBY DEE and ROXY ROKER (from "The Jeffersons") in this episode?

Although the ladies don't make out the best in the end, they do imply that the son may have had a worse ending (although that would be one of the most incompetent doctors in the world at that point).

Good surprise twist in the end.

Great acting! Horrible characters

My favorite episode of the cbsrmt! Love Roxie Roker and that Southern accent.

I rate this episode ★★★★★ for EXCELLENT. The 8th episode of CBSRMT was Ian Martin’s 1st episode to write and he wrote a great mystery story that had a surprising beginning and a shocking ending. Another way to Title this would be “A Tale of Death & Life.” A Drama-Mystery as terrific as Elspeth Eric’s THE RED FRISBEE (ep. #0417) and Sam Dann’s THE ONLY BLOOD (ep. #0125). And speaking of terrific, our cast: John Baragrey (as Buford Montgomery), Ruby Dee (as Nancy Lee), Bryna Raeburn (as Mrs. Randolph Price Montgomery), Roxy Roker (as Hannah), and Todd Davis (as William). It’s too bad that Roxy Roker & Todd Davis only did 1 episode for the series; they were really talented in this. It’s always a pleasure to hear a CBSRMT regular like Bryna Raeburn, listen to the way she says, “Buford, what is this Slut doing here?” at the 33-minute 55-second mark. Ruby Dee made so many films in her career and having her on this show is a like a special bonus. And John Baragrey played the villain really well. I can imagine Russell Horton or even John Lithgow playing this part, but John Baragrey nailed it! Listen to the way he says, “Huh?” at the 17-minute 35-second mark and “What!?!” at the 25-minute 27-second mark; it’s amusing. The music was suspenseful, deep, and shocking all throughout the story; surprising twists & turns. I enjoyed the sound effects of the doors, footsteps, hammering, crickets, smooth relaxing jazz music playing, whisky glass, sound of hard rain, the sliding of the secret door, and bodies thud. And finally, our Host. In his Prologue, E.G. Marshall used his classic line, “Welcome to the terrifying world of the imagination.” Followed by saying he’s a man filled with milk of human kindness (interesting choice of words). In ACT-1, he talked about ghouls who rob graves and epileptic seizures; which is one of the topics in this story. Later, he matches the villain’s actions by quoting William Shakespeare’s KING LEAR: “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child” (and the villain Buford Montgomery should’ve appreciated what his mother had given him, such as food, clothing, and shelter, but apparently that wasn’t enough for him). In ACT-2, E.G. Marshall states that Buford Montgomery is no match for the ladies. In ACT-3, he states that it’s one thing to get of someone who is supposedly dead, but getting rid of the bride in this tale is another. In the end, where he informs us about Buford Montgomery’s “condition,” plus being buried afterwards, THAT’s a shocker; shocking as the ending in Bob Juhren’s THE SUMMER PEOPLE (ep. #0367). In his Epilogue, our Host apologized for the image of our villain’s “departure,” but the irony is perfect. SPECIAL NOTE: if you have the CBSRMT Episode Guide Book, you’ll notice a typo in the Casting Credits where it reads “Sarah” as Bryna Raeburn’s character. Her role was Mrs. Randolph Price Montgomery and that’s not even written in the pages. Nevertheless, this is a classic to tune into if you’re a fan of Ruby Dee and/or searching for a mystery tale with an ending that's a real eye-opener. Until next time…pleasant dreams. =^D

I loved this episode! I have to confess that the ending twist actually got me this time! I many times predict or see them coming but the one made me jump with joy at the surprise it gave me! Gruesome thoughts and fitting end for the villain! Very well acted and a pleasure to listen to! Check it out and tell us what you think!

I listened to this while cycling yesterday. Nice story to this one.

Awesome!

This is one of the few CBSRMT episodes that I dislike with a passion, lol! The characters are mostly unsympathetic, as mentioned above. The only one who seems like a somewhat decent "normal" person is William's mom, (who is trapped in a situation she can't escape from, and you get the feeling it isn't her fault). But her son is so creepy (despite his mental "challenges") so he's not very sympathetic and it's hard to like him. Nancy Lee is a spoiled, whiny brat, and I get sick of her whining and whimpering. One almost wishes the character could have been murdered so that we don't have to listen to her anymore for the rest of the episode, lol! The mother is a creep, the son is a creep. The whole story is creepy, but not in a good, mystery sort of way. Also, the story really doesn't make any sense. The son was such a bad, awful person, he wouldn't be above murder, so why didn't he just kill his mother when he found out she was still alive and bury her in the basement? Also, why didn't he kill his insufferable wife too? That's why it doesn't make sense that he would just lock his victims in the basement and then assume the servants will cooperate and not tell anybody. It's also stupid that he wouldn't think his mom and wife wouldn't plot something. So why did he let them live? He had no fondness for either one of them, and he was a selfish jerk and he wanted to be completely free from them. The whole plot and the whole premise of the story was totally unbelievable, even for fiction. Also, it is a little icky that William was sorry for the pretty girl, but had absolutely no pity for the mom, but he was an icky character too. Were we supposed to feel sorry for him just because of his mental illness? They didn't make him very likable either, so I didn't really feel sorry for him. He is even less sympathetic than a Frankenstein sort of monster. The ending was a pretty good twist though, but by the time we get to the ending, I can't help but feel that the listener is just glad the story is over.

Spoilers ahead: Also, it's so DUMB near the end when William plots to murder Buford, and he says "Sorry for what I've got to do," in a sinister, knowing sort of way, and the next minute he doesn't understand what he did and he's sorry. He planned to kill him and knew darn well what he was doing, so it doesn't make ANY sense that he would suddenly not understand what he did. No one could be THAT stupid! Even if he's not right in his head, it is totally ridiculous to make the character switch so quickly without having amnesia. Seriously, Ian Martin can do better than this! He must have whipped up this story overnight after having had a few too many drinks, lol!

Sorry for the multiple comments, lol! But I wanted to expand on what I mentioned above. It is really DUMBEST of all that Buford would think that William is capable of keeping his victims in the basement a secret, lol! How would Buford trust William not to blab about it to whoever happened along? It's so STUPID that he would lock his victims in the basement and then leave it to his servants to handle it with discretion, and think for one minute that the the secret wouldn't somehow get out eventually. All the more reason why it was DUMB that Buford wouldn't murder his wife and mom in the story. Buford would have to be the dumbest crook on earth!

This had a good twisted ending...you reap what you sew. Buford definitely was so full of hatred and bitterness that he was twisted in his mind and wanted to exact revenge. As they say revenge is a dish best served cold! And I'm sure it was cold in that coffin!

Cold Shoulder is more of an appropriate title for this episode - especially when everyone is deliberately rejecting and/or being unfriendly to each other (except for William who doesn't know any better). Good episode anyway.

Listening to Hollywood do Southern is about as upsetting as hearing black characters call their employer "master" these days. This story also requires a substantial suspension of reason. At least with plots that include the paranormal or otherworldly characters, one's reason has already been set aside.