Confession - "The Esther Phillips Case" (08-02-53)

The Esther Phillips Case (Aired August 2, 1953)

NBC 30 minutes Sunday at 9:30PM.Cast Paul Frees, James Edwards, Jester Hairston, Jay Loughlin, Jonathan Hole, Mady Norman, Don Brinkley (writer), Michael Samoge (? music), Warren Lewis (script supervisor), Homer Canfield (director), John Wald (announcer). Had a texture and sound not unlike Dragnet, indeed the influence was realized throughout the show. These were true stories of Crime and Punishment, the obvious difference that Dragnet began with the crime while Confession unfolded in reverse order, from the end. Confession was less noisy, it's theme was played on a single piano, but there was still the deadpan dialogue, the thief or killer giving his confession with an air of resignation and defeat. The criminal thus became a stream-of-consciousness narrator, with the action frequently cutting away into drama. "Names were changed to protect the legal rights of the subject"

 

THIS EPISODE:

 
August 2, 1953. NBC network. "The Esther Phillips Case". Sustaining. 9:30 P. M. Transcribed statements of actual crimes. Esther Phillips confesses to a string of robberies. The program opening and system cue are slightly upcut. The telephone-type recording beep heard throughout the show is very unneccessary. Paul Frees, Joel Davis, Les Tremayne, Alice Reinheart, George Pirrone, Charlotte Lawrence, Vivi Janis, Lou Rusoff (writer), Michael Samoge (music), Warren Lewis (script supervisor), Homer Canfield (director), John Wald (announcer). 29:26. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.