As we continue to record these episodes under lock-down conditions, we also continue to listen to suggestions provided by our Mysterious Listeners! This week, we check out “Border Town,” an episode of Escape recommended to us by Marc. Thanks, Marc! Jack Webb stars in this tale of an aspiring actor who decides to explore the seedy underworld in a small Mexican town. The show does include some racial stereotypes and derogatory terms, albeit not what one might expect. Will he outsmart this den of thieves? Just how dangerous is an unemployed actor? How does one play the game, “Wham-O Toy or Smiths’ Song?” Listen for yourself and find out! Then vote and let us know what you think!
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I’m glad you enjoyed this episode! As always, your discussion was entertaining and informative. I find the trope of the border town interesting, since it’s so often used to portray a world in which two (or more) realities converge, and things are thus often not how they appear. Some of my favorite films (like A Touch of Evil and Lone Star) are set in such border communities. The Asian character named O’Toole reminded me a bit of the Japanese(-American?) character in Fargo (another sort-of-border-town story), who speaks with the same exaggerated rural Minnesota accent as every other character, and who… Read more »
When someone mentioned it had the makings of a movie I thought it sounded like a Coen brothers movie.
When the narrator describes the floor show with “an adagio team … going through its calisthenics,” he’s talking about an acrobatic dance team, which in those days often performed to classical music. That’s why “Swan Lake” is playing in the background with drum rolls and cymbals and a big finish — to accompany their big dance moves. See, for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-g48wL8stY
I came for the insightful commentary on a classic episode of Old Time Radio.
I stayed for the Morrissey references.
Bravo.
That made me laugh as well.