CBSRMT Episode Information Next Episode

Title

The Secret of Crow's Nest

Plot

A man takes a return journey back to a mountain dwelling that has a horrible surprise for him.

Episode

0893

Air Dates

  • First Run - September 15, 1978
  • Repeat - March 20, 1979

Actors

Writer

Listen

Rating

115
96     19


7 Responses to Episode 0893

Interesting story with a surprise ending! Well worth a listen!

John

I rate this episode ★★★★☆ for GOOD. Gerald Keane’s mystery story had an interesting plot, however, the ending wasn’t startling. I figured there would be a shocking twist; like a mysterious person was hiding inside the house, or the main character had an alter ego, or the victim died of a freak accident. The title is good and another way to title this, would be “Where Death Took Place.” The music had the right kind of suspenseful tunes in every scene. The sound effects of the howling wind, cabin doors, footsteps, mountain storm, rain, car engine sputtering, jail lock, beeps at the Hospital, drinking glasses clinking, and the gun blast were exceptional. But for a mystery tale that takes place up in a cabin, it needed more effects of nature/animals to make it sound like we’re in the woodland area of Northern California. In his Prologue, E.G. Marshall begins with the description of the house of Crow’s Nest. In ACT-1, established more details on the house, but figure out how & why the victim was killed. In ACT-2, he connects this story to a quote by English Playwright Christopher Marlowe: “To suffer at the hands of fate, to suffer punishment unjustly, oh to live that memory, those spent tears, those unhealed wounds and turn back time to the innocence of a happier day.” Later, he questions on who’s telling the truth, who has the most to lose, and who has the most to gain by lying? In ACT-3, after knowing what happened to our main characters, E.G. Marshall informs the CBSRMT fans that no one really knows the whole story. In his Epilogue, he quoted Christopher Marlowe again: “It lies not in our power to love or hate, for will in us is overruled by fate,” but also quoted William Shakespeare’s line from his JULIUS CAESAR play: “The fault lies not in our stars, but in ourselves.” E.G. Marshall concluded this examination by saying: “Somewhere between ourselves and our fates, probably lies the truth.” (3 interesting quotes to ponder over). And finally, our cast: Mandel Kramer (as James Burns and Sheriff Clark), Carol Teitel (as Ms. Mantel/Martha Burns), and Ian Martin (as Jeff Conroy and Slade Brown). All 3 of them deserve a round of applause for playing double roles. Mandel Kramer’s acting in this was just as good as his performance in #0026-THE MAN WHO ASKED FOR YESTERDAY. If you’re a fan of any of these 3 cast members, tune in to this one. SPECIAL BONUS: This episode has a pause at the 03:10 mark from Chicago’s WBBM News Radio 780AM reporting about Muhammad Ali that he regained his world championship boxing crown. Until next time…pleasant dreams. =0)

Russell

Loved this replay of Mystery Theater. Thank you for these extra special shows which I remember from the nightly 9pm broadcasts on KNX Los Angeles radio.

Jeannette

Enjoyed this show - plenty of suspense!

Jeannette

I normally don’t comment on much more than sound quality (it’s good in this episode), commercials (there are none), and annoying sound effects such as screeching cats , barking dogs, or screaming (none), but I have to say more about this show. We’re asked to believe that people who were married wouldn’t recognize each other? Silly!! I don’t care how much time has passed or how grey their hair is, there’s no way these two wouldn’t know each other. A couple years ago I was in a grocery store and recognized a woman with whom I gone to high school but hadn’t seen in 40 years. My other gripe is that even in this day and age, with all our modern forensic science, the exact hour of a person’s death can not be pinpointed unless an eye witness was present. Yet 40+ years ago listeners were asked to believe that these two were known to die at the exact same time. Again, silly. This one left me shaking my head, but at least there weren’t any bad accents or screeching cats.

Em

I agree with your comments.

Rachel

They're 55 and he has a long white beard and she has gray hair...? I'm 57 and I look a sight better than that, lol.

Susan


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