CBSRMT Episode Information Next Episode

Title

Night of the Howling Dog

Plot

While on a camping trip on a deserted island with a minister and his daughter, a group of friends are horrified to learn that a werewolf is among them.

Episode

0334

Air Dates

  • First Run - August 28, 1975
  • Repeat - January 24, 1976

Actors

Writer

Listen

Rating

106
80     26


11 Responses to Episode 0334

This is not necessarily my type of program but some people will love it. It's without a doubt cut right down the middle of what CBSRMT is all about. It's actually a classic story and the acting is very good. In fact, so good, that I felt I was there when listening. We are told at the beginning of the program that this is a story about a werewolf. This somewhat complex tale is told from the perspective of something that happened long in the past and is told by Ernie Simpson, who was in the employ of "famed psychologist of the occult, Dwayne Carter". In July 1912, Carter and Simpson part company in London as Simpson is to accompany a Reverend Manning and his wife, their daughter Joan, the Reverend's understudy - a young Canadian named Peter Sangree, and a small party, to a small Baltic Sea Island for what is described as a vacation. They are all going to live in primitive conditions on the island. Events that occur soon after their arrival cause Simpson to summon Dwayne Carter to join them as soon as possible. Carter will have to try to keep them all alive, and to determine what is happening around them.

Houston Delovino

A minister, his daughter, his student, and his friend, go camping on a desterted island. Turns out, one of them is a werewolf.

Jack Linares

This is supposed to be based on a story by Algernon Blackwood. I haven't read much of his work and I'm guessing it might be one of the John Silence stories... There's one titled "The Camp and the Dog". Dwayne Carter the, psychiatrist, is described as having an "uncanny sixth sense" so maybe the name has been changed... I have got to get a copy of the Dover collection of John Silence stories. A camping expedition to a small, wooded island in the Baltic is threatened by a werewolf among them. The whole business is not scary but it is interesting... A different take on werewolves.

Lamont Damontres

Norman Rose and a werewolf; you can't ask for more in an RMT episode. Rose is my favorite RMT actor and this is one of his best roles. I like Rose as the take charge guy who knows what to do and why. It would have been entertaining to have heard Dr. Carter, psychic detective, involved in other episodes of RTM. I would have liked to heard Dr. Carter take on vampires or ghosts. I cannot blame the father for wanting to shoot the werewolf. If a werewolf was approaching your daughter, what would you do? I am only aware of one other RMT that dealt with a werewolf; in the other episode, a man marries a woman who turns out to be a werewolf. Is anyone aware of any other RMT werewolf plots?

Matt

I haven't heard "The White Wolf" (also featuring Norman Rose) or any other CBSRMT werewolf story, but this is a tale of both lycanthropy and of astral projection—à la "Adam's Astral Self."

Karen

An interesting story that was enjoyable to listen to. Like others said, it's a different take on the werewolf story.

Alec

Night of the Howling Dog is my favorite.

David

I rate this episode ★★★★☆ for GOOD. There are 4 great things that I enjoyed in this CBSRMT episode. NUMBER ONE: the cast: Mason Adams (as Ernest Simpson), Norman Rose (as Duane Carter (as Duane Carter), Marian Seldes (as Joan Manning), Guy Sorel (as Reverend Timothy Manning), and Kristoffer Tabori (as Peter Sangree). Each of them played sincere and compelling roles, especially Norman Rose who acted like Dr. Van Helsing. Marian Seldes is always wonderful to hear. And kudos to Kristoffer Tabori for playing 2 roles; one as a student for the ministry and the other…well, you will know what his 2nd role is (wink, wink). NUMBER TWO: the Host. In E.G. Marshall’s Prologue, he mentions that you’ll recognize a werewolf just by shaking his hands. But more importantly, understand the subconscious that takes over our minds & actions when we’re under great stress. In ACT-1, he informs us that the pages of fiction are filled with surrogates. Later, he explains that Occultists believe that events have souls. In ACT-2, he does make a valid point that nature itself has a savage side and it can bring out whatever primitive savage lurks within us. Later, he explains that men have done foolish things for love, like what one English Monarch did who gave up his throne for love (I’m guessing he was talking about EDWARD VIII in the 1930’s). In ACT-3, he points out that more people have seen UFOs more than people who have seen ghosts (they’ve seen the extraterrestrial more than the supernatural). In the end, he concludes our story about the werewolf’s condition. In his Epilogue, he explains that magicians know that people love illusions because they want to be fooled; we love illusions because we believe that someday something magical will happen to all of us. Our Host was both informative & entertaining. NUMBER THREE: the sound effects. The sounds of the train whistle at London’s Waterloo Station on July 1912, rowing canoe oars, seagulls, rain pouring, birds chirping, rifle cartridges, tent shaking from inside, firing the pistol, the howling winds, and of course the sounds of the werewolf who howled, snarled, winced, and growled were stupendous. NUMBER FOUR: the music. Tunes that expressed horror, suspense, tension, paranoia, and sheer terror in every act. This was the fear…you can hear! Now here’s why I didn’t rate this 5 stars for EXCELLENT: the script. Murray Burnett wrote an enjoyable tale that was based on a story by Algernon Blackwood, however, there are some puzzling questions. There were 6 characters in this story that included the mother (the Reverend’s spouse who both raised Joan Manning). The mother was mentioned in ACT-1 and she was there with the group on the island, but no dialogue for her? At all? Where was she? Or what was she doing when the characters were dealing with the werewolf? There was also that scene where the Reverend carried his rifle and his bible. At the 27-minute 30-second mark, the Ernest Simpson character said, “One is useless in this situation and the other is dangerous.” Now ask yourself, was Murray Burnett trying to write something discreetly for the CBSRMT fans on which of those objects were really dangerous and useless? A mysterious question within a mysterious series. Also, why does the Title have the word "dog" in it when we already know it's a wolf? Other than that, this was an amusing episode; it’s as good as #0591-THE WHITE WOLF. Check out the other CBSRMT episodes based on Algernon Blackwood’s work, such as #0696-IN THE FOG and #1224-TOY DEATH. Until next time…pleasant dreams. =0)

Russell

I loved this episode it wa just very good I think! The cast the acting the sound effects! Excellent! I also caught that line about the useless and dangerous... interesting.

Chris

Quintessential Mystery Theater! My sister and I went to bed listening to it and taping it! Having to turn the tape over after act two because they only came with thirty minutes per side! Thank you for the new feature of listing other ideas below the current story description.

Kim

I liked the flow of the tale but found the end confusing. I need to listen again to see if I can make sense of the end; ultimately, a second listen for me usually means a thumbs up.

Christine


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