FOUR STAR PLAYHOUSE - Search in the Night -1953
This is an episode from "Four Star Playhouse". This anthology series ran for 130 episodes between 1952 and 1956. The series was produced by, Dick Powell, David Niven, Ida Lupino and Charles Boyer. It was a popular series that drew many well-known Hollywood types as guest stars.
This particular episode stars Frank Lovejoy as newsman, Randy Stone. Lovejoy at the time headlined a popular radio program called NIGHT BEAT where he played the same role. This was a try at seeing if the radio program could be made into a television series.
Frank Lovejoy is out for a late night stroll when he comes up on a gathering crowd by a waterfront pier. There is a diver going down and the crowd seems to think there is a body involved. Lovejoy recognizes the cop managing the crowd and asks what is up. The cop shrugs and lets Lovejoy through the line to have a boo himself.
A rather frightened looking woman, Frances Rafferty, is standing at the edge looking over. A diver is just exiting the water and is being helped onto the dock. Lovejoy listens in to the exchange between Rafferty and the diver, James Millican. "It was not there. It might have shifted in the current. I'll go down on the other side of the pier and have a look." Millican says to Rafferty.
Millican's helper, Frank Gerstle, helps Millican replace his helmet and lower him into the river. Lovejoy moves over beside Rafferty and tries a few questions. "What is happening? Someone go over?" Lovejoy gets no response from the woman.
The diver, Millican now returns to the surface and is pulled out. Helper Gerstle removes Millican's helmet so he can talk. Millican holds up a small woman's purse. Rafferty grabs the purse just as Millican looks inside. Rafferty takes a quick look as well, then, bolts off the pier into the night.
Lovejoy waits for Millican to get out of his diving suit. He then asks Millican a few questions. Millican looks at Lovejoy for a minute, then, asks for a cigarette. He lights up and says, "The woman called me up and said she lost her handbag over the edge. I'm not going to say no to 50 bucks for a dive." Millican takes another drag and adds, "Good thing the handbag was heavy or the current would have taken it." "A gun has that effect on things, you know, weighs them down. The big wad of cash inside helped as well".
Millican then casually mentions that there is a body of a man stuck in the pier pilings. Lovejoy has a word with the cop and Millican is soon sent back into the river. The body has no identification.
Newsman Lovejoy can smell a story in this and offers to buy Millican a drink. They grab a seat at a nearby bar. Millican pours himself a shot and just looks at it. "Been a year since I had a drink, and that was after pulling out a body as well." Lovejoy quizzes the diver about the woman who hired him. He gets her name and address from the check she had given Millican for the dive. Lovejoy runs down the address and is soon knocking on the door. Rafferty answers and Lovejoy more or less invites himself in.
He asks what gives with the gun and wad of cash in the purse. He then mentions the dead man pulled from the water. Rafferty turns white as a ghost and damn near faints. Lovejoy moves her to a sofa. He soon has Rafferty talking about being blackmailed. Now they are joined by Rafferty's husband, Vic Perrin.
It seems that the dead man had been Rafferty's husband as well. The man had been a thug and a woman beater. He had been at sea during the war and had been recorded as KIA. Rafferty had then married Perrin and the two were a happy couple. That ended when the not so dead first husband returned to the scene. He had been blackmailing them for every dime.
Tonight, Rafferty was taking the swine a five large payment. Rafferty met the blackmailing ex on the pier. She had taken the gun along just in case. She had however slipped and lost her purse off the pier. She had left the ex standing there while she went for a phone to call a diver. She returned and the ex was gone.
Lovejoy figures that Rafferty or Perrin most likely gave the blackmailer a less than friendly push. He is going to take a last look at the pier and then write his story for the morning edition.
At the pier, Lovejoy runs into a watchman, Rhys Williams, from one of the riverfront warehouses. It seems that Williams had seen it all. After the woman, Rafferty, had left the pier to call Millican, the man still there had decided to dive into the water. Williams says that the fool most likely drowned.
Lovejoy thanks Williams and heads for the office. There he writes a story about a man, Millican, who has grown tired of pulling bodies out of the water. He does not mention Rafferty or Perrin.
The episode was directed by the Oscar nominated (Red River) film editor, Christian Nyby. Nyby switched to directing as editing work dried up. His most famous big screen helming job was the 1951 sci-fi classic, THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD.
The d of p on the episode was film noir favourite, George Diskant. He was the cinematographer on noir classics like, DESPERATE, PORT OF NEW YORK, THEY LIVE BY NIGHT, THE RACKET, ON DANGEROUS GROUND, NARROW MARGIN and KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL.
Look close and you will see Colleen Miller in a small bit as a "working girl" looking for a pick-up.
This is an episode from "Four Star Playhouse". This anthology series ran for 130 episodes between 1952 and 1956. The series was produced by, Dick Powell, David Niven, Ida Lupino and Charles Boyer. It was a popular series that drew many well-known Hollywood types as guest stars.
This particular episode stars Frank Lovejoy as newsman, Randy Stone. Lovejoy at the time headlined a popular radio program called NIGHT BEAT where he played the same role. This was a try at seeing if the radio program could be made into a television series.
Frank Lovejoy is out for a late night stroll when he comes up on a gathering crowd by a waterfront pier. There is a diver going down and the crowd seems to think there is a body involved. Lovejoy recognizes the cop managing the crowd and asks what is up. The cop shrugs and lets Lovejoy through the line to have a boo himself.
A rather frightened looking woman, Frances Rafferty, is standing at the edge looking over. A diver is just exiting the water and is being helped onto the dock. Lovejoy listens in to the exchange between Rafferty and the diver, James Millican. "It was not there. It might have shifted in the current. I'll go down on the other side of the pier and have a look." Millican says to Rafferty.
Millican's helper, Frank Gerstle, helps Millican replace his helmet and lower him into the river. Lovejoy moves over beside Rafferty and tries a few questions. "What is happening? Someone go over?" Lovejoy gets no response from the woman.
The diver, Millican now returns to the surface and is pulled out. Helper Gerstle removes Millican's helmet so he can talk. Millican holds up a small woman's purse. Rafferty grabs the purse just as Millican looks inside. Rafferty takes a quick look as well, then, bolts off the pier into the night.
Lovejoy waits for Millican to get out of his diving suit. He then asks Millican a few questions. Millican looks at Lovejoy for a minute, then, asks for a cigarette. He lights up and says, "The woman called me up and said she lost her handbag over the edge. I'm not going to say no to 50 bucks for a dive." Millican takes another drag and adds, "Good thing the handbag was heavy or the current would have taken it." "A gun has that effect on things, you know, weighs them down. The big wad of cash inside helped as well".
Millican then casually mentions that there is a body of a man stuck in the pier pilings. Lovejoy has a word with the cop and Millican is soon sent back into the river. The body has no identification.
Newsman Lovejoy can smell a story in this and offers to buy Millican a drink. They grab a seat at a nearby bar. Millican pours himself a shot and just looks at it. "Been a year since I had a drink, and that was after pulling out a body as well." Lovejoy quizzes the diver about the woman who hired him. He gets her name and address from the check she had given Millican for the dive. Lovejoy runs down the address and is soon knocking on the door. Rafferty answers and Lovejoy more or less invites himself in.
He asks what gives with the gun and wad of cash in the purse. He then mentions the dead man pulled from the water. Rafferty turns white as a ghost and damn near faints. Lovejoy moves her to a sofa. He soon has Rafferty talking about being blackmailed. Now they are joined by Rafferty's husband, Vic Perrin.
It seems that the dead man had been Rafferty's husband as well. The man had been a thug and a woman beater. He had been at sea during the war and had been recorded as KIA. Rafferty had then married Perrin and the two were a happy couple. That ended when the not so dead first husband returned to the scene. He had been blackmailing them for every dime.
Tonight, Rafferty was taking the swine a five large payment. Rafferty met the blackmailing ex on the pier. She had taken the gun along just in case. She had however slipped and lost her purse off the pier. She had left the ex standing there while she went for a phone to call a diver. She returned and the ex was gone.
Lovejoy figures that Rafferty or Perrin most likely gave the blackmailer a less than friendly push. He is going to take a last look at the pier and then write his story for the morning edition.
At the pier, Lovejoy runs into a watchman, Rhys Williams, from one of the riverfront warehouses. It seems that Williams had seen it all. After the woman, Rafferty, had left the pier to call Millican, the man still there had decided to dive into the water. Williams says that the fool most likely drowned.
Lovejoy thanks Williams and heads for the office. There he writes a story about a man, Millican, who has grown tired of pulling bodies out of the water. He does not mention Rafferty or Perrin.
The episode was directed by the Oscar nominated (Red River) film editor, Christian Nyby. Nyby switched to directing as editing work dried up. His most famous big screen helming job was the 1951 sci-fi classic, THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD.
The d of p on the episode was film noir favourite, George Diskant. He was the cinematographer on noir classics like, DESPERATE, PORT OF NEW YORK, THEY LIVE BY NIGHT, THE RACKET, ON DANGEROUS GROUND, NARROW MARGIN and KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL.
Look close and you will see Colleen Miller in a small bit as a "working girl" looking for a pick-up.
