The Big Blackout: Season 1 Episode 12

Originally aired: 12/6/60
Starring: Jack Carson, Charles McGraw, Nan Leslie.
Written by Oscar Millard, based on the novel by Don Tracy.
Directed by Maurice Geraghty.

Recovered alcoholic Burt Lewis (Carson) becomes enmeshed in a nightmarish web of mistaken identity and bad television writing. When several thugs come to town looking for mystery man Bill Logan, Burt Lewis seems to be the man to go to for information. Because he spent two full years in an alcoholic stupor, Burt isn’t exactly sure he knows the full story. Could Bert really be Bill or vice versa? Suddenly the bodies start piling up as the bad guys cut a wedge through town looking for Logan. As the sheriff (McGraw) tells Burt: “everybody you look for seems to get dead.” When the thugs kidnap his wife, Midge (Leslie) and their cute daughter Budgie, Burt knows he better do something fast.

PE: At the 17:00 mark, Midge breaks down and cries. I knew just what she was feeling. There were still 28 minutes left in this snoozer. I thought at times the drama was going for a “Travis McGee” feel but McGee was never this hollow.

JS: I kept hoping that Burt was going to open up a can of whup-ass on his old pals, A History of Violence style. But as you suggested, he must have grabbed the snooze-ass by mistake.

PE: I love the scene where the cops, who suspect Burt of murder, hand him the weapon and ask if it’s his. Obviously, forensics was out fishing and Andy and Barney were running the evidence locker. Burt turns the gun over and over in his hands and gets a kind-of scrunched-up grimace on his face. You get that a lot in this episode. Try to imagine Claude Akins portraying Lon Chaney, Jr. (and there's a bottle of whiskey not too far away to complete that thought!).

JS: They try to get him to fess up to owning it by saying, "We can trace it, you know..." Maybe we're not giving them enough credit. They managed to get their primary suspect's fingerprints on the murder weapon. The LAPD would be proud.

PE: Another nice touch is that Midge, obviously concerned about her husband’s sobriety, keeps a bottle of liquor out on a tray and begs him not to drink from it.

JS: How about when she decides to hide it in a cupboard, while he watches.

PE: I’ve saved the best for last. The final ten minutes of “The Big Blackout” contains the clumsiest expository I’ve ever been witness to. An amazing amount of important events happen off screen but, don’t worry, we have Burt to tell us what has just transpired.

JS: Amazing amount? How about all. For once I can honestly confirm that you're not exaggerating. It's like when you're watching a movie in which the characters are watching a movie. And the one they're watching is better than the one you're watching.

PE: If I didn’t know better, I’d say that’s The Bates Motel opening our drama. Director Geraghty is best known for writing and directing westerns on TV and the silver screen. Watch for a very young Ron Harper (Alan Virdon on the Planet of the Apes TV show! -JS) as the youngest of the knee breakers.

JS: I almost didn't catch that - one of the many reasons why you always want to pay attention to the credits of these shows! Of course it's easy to miss him, as he's almost always sharing the screen with Humphrey Bogart.

OUR RATING:

If you're still reading this, and you're thinking (which we do not endorse, recommend, or approve of), "Hold it there, chief - didn't we just read their insightful comments on Episode 10 yesterday?" You would be correct. We skipped right past Episode 11 - "The Fatal Impulse" - hoping you might not notice, but for a good reason. Peter felt that this particular episode deserved something more, something special, something... live. Think of it as an audio Daily Double, coming very soon to A Thriller A Day... Stay tuned!