(96) Escape - Present Tense

Summary

Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio

Episode 96 – Escape: "Present Tense"
Date: August 12, 2026
Starring: Vincent Price
Original Air Date (of radio play): 1940s/1950s

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Episode Overview

This episode of Harold’s Old Time Radio features an episode of the classic radio anthology "Escape," entitled "Present Tense," written by James Poe and starring Vincent Price. The story explores the psychological and existential experience of Roger, a man sentenced to death for the murder of his wife and her lover. Through a gripping blend of first-person narration and inner monologue, the listener is swept into Roger's desperate attempts to evade his fate, which blurs the lines between reality, hallucination, and time itself. The haunting script, combined with Price’s intense performance, immerses the audience in a dark, cyclical story about guilt, innocence, and the elusive possibility of escape—from both the law and oneself.

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Key Discussion Points & Scene Breakdowns

Introduction: The Premise of Escape

• Tired of Routine; Yearning for Escape (00:18–00:45)
  • The episode opens with the iconic promise of “Escape”—transporting listeners from mundane routines into thrilling adventures.
  • “Escape designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half hour of high adventure.” (00:29, Narrator)
• Tonight’s Setup (00:45–01:33):
  • Introduction to Roger, about to be executed for killing his wife, whom he believes has betrayed him.

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The Journey to Prison: Anxiety and Reflection

• Opening Monologue—Roger’s Descent (01:33–02:41)
  • Roger describes the landscape and his feelings of cold isolation as he’s transferred in handcuffs.

"Cold steel below my feet. Cold as the face of the officer at my side. Cold as the cuffs which link my arm to his..." (01:33, Roger/Vincent Price)

• Fantastical Thoughts of Escape (02:19):
  • Roger dwells on 'what if' scenarios—a train crash, a dead detective—reflecting his unraveling psyche.

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The Crash and Simulated Escape

• Actual Train Crash and Roger's Seizure of Opportunity (02:41–03:44)
  • The train crashes, providing Roger the chance to escape. He takes the guard’s key and gun, plants evidence, and flees.
  • Notable moment: Roger switches his identifying ring to the dead detective, preparing to fake his own death (03:30).

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Return to the Scene of the Crime: Twisted Revelations

• Return Home; Discovery of Betrayal (04:17–05:19)
  • Roger sneaks back to his house, only to overhear his supposedly dead wife Mary and her lover gloating over having framed him.
• Shocking Confession (05:17–05:23):
  • "We framed it so good that even he thought he killed you." (Mary, 05:23)
• Roger’s Revenge (05:44–06:53):
  • Overcome by rage and a revelation of innocence, Roger murders both Mary and her lover.

"I was innocent and I thought myself guilty. And now I am truly guilty. Never in my life have I felt so innocent." (06:53, Roger/Vincent Price)

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Cyclical Nightmare: Reality, Memory, or Madness?

• The Nightmare Repeats (07:18–08:03)
  • Roger seemingly yields to a repeating cycle of transit to death row, conversations with the guard, and questions of identity—a nightmarish sense that he cannot escape fate or his own mind.
• "Has this happened to you before?" (Roger, 07:40)

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Life on Death Row: Approaching Execution

• Contemplating Death (08:16–09:46)
  • Roger reflects on the rain, the bleakness outside his cell, and the approach of his execution. He romanticizes the little he can still experience.

"Wet sky, gray sky, cheerless... But it is beautiful. I have 12 hours left of life." (08:46, Roger/Vincent Price)

• Final Desperation: Fakes Illness to Escape (09:46–11:04)
  • Roger fakes a medical emergency, manages to escape in an ambulance, and flees to Mexico—briefly tasting freedom.

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A Brief Reprieve in Mexico

• Life as a Fugitive/Poet (11:28–14:27)
  • Roger attempts to begin anew in Mexico, trying to sell poetry for survival. He gains a publishing deal, adopts a disguise, and returns to LA to retrieve his poems.
• Noteworthy Dialog:
  • "Buy some paper, a pencil. Sit in the park. Write." (12:27, Roger)

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Full Circle: The Trap Resets

• Return to Home; The Past Repeats (15:01–16:38)
  • Disguised, Roger returns, faces Mary and Fred again, and is drawn into the same fatal confrontation.

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Awaiting the Execution: Yoga and the Ultimate Escape

• Preparation for Death (17:09–21:47)
  • Roger resolves to use yogic techniques to fake his death in the gas chamber, planning the most audacious escape yet.

"I shall use yoga, suspend my breathing and become invulnerable to their gas... And this time, I must succeed." (18:06, Roger/Vincent Price)

• Gas Chamber Scene (19:41–22:34):
  • The methodical preparation, last words, and Roger’s internal mantra as he slows his body’s functions to simulate death.

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Resurrection and "Freedom"

• Waking in the Morgue (23:08–24:19)
  • Roger wakes after being declared dead, switches toe tags, and escapes in a coffin meant for another.
• Sense of Surreal Peace (26:10–28:43):
  • Roger finds his way home, revels in nature's beauty, and is awash in a transcendent, almost heavenly contentment.

"Now I'll have time. Now I'll have lots of time... Pipe the pipe. And relax... Just like heaven." (26:52, 27:31, Roger/Vincent Price)

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Final Twist: The Cycle is Unbroken

• An Unsettling End (28:43–29:35)
  • The story closes with the formal pronouncement of Roger’s death, suggesting perhaps the entire sequence is a dying man’s fugue, a looping purgatory from which there is no true "escape.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Realization of Innocence and Guilt:

  • "I was innocent and I thought myself guilty. And now I am truly guilty. Never in my life have I felt so innocent." (06:53, Roger/Vincent Price)

• On the Beauty of Life Before Execution:

  • "Wet and fresh and alive. Oh, rather would I spend eternity at a wells bottom with but one patch of that to gaze upon, then leave this life, then leave this earth, then leave this sky." (08:46–09:11, Roger)

• The Yoga Escape Plan:

  • "I shall use yoga, suspend my breathing and become invulnerable to their gas... And this time, I must succeed." (18:06, Roger)

• Narrative Time Loop:

  • "Confession, conviction, sentence and transportation. And, oh, again the death cell as before." (16:38, Roger)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:45 – Introduction to Roger, his crime and sentence
• 02:41 – Train crash, escape opportunity
• 05:17–05:23 – Mary reveals the frame-up
• 06:53 – Roger kills Mary and Fred, profound quote on innocence/guilt
• 07:18–08:03 – Narrative time loop begins
• 09:46–11:04 – Roger’s ambulance escape
• 12:14–14:27 – Roger’s life as a poet in exile
• 15:01 – Roger’s return home, confrontation a second time
• 18:06 – Spiritual preparation for death
• 19:41–21:47 – Detailed gas chamber execution sequence
• 23:08–24:19 – Roger resurrects in the morgue, plans escape
• 27:31–28:43 – Roger’s final, surreal peace at home
• 28:43–29:35 – Closing pronouncement and credits

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Tone and Language

• The episode uses poetic, introspective narration, reflecting Roger’s tormented psyche, remorse, longing, and existential dread.
• Vincent Price’s delivery imbues the script with an unsettling intimacy, keeping listeners teetering between sympathy and horror for Roger.
• Tension and ambiguity—about what is real and what is dream or madness—are constant throughout.

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Conclusion

"Present Tense" is a masterfully scripted and performed psychological thriller, characteristic of the "Escape" anthology at its best. It leaves listeners contemplating the futility of running from one’s fate—and the relentless, inescapable cycles of guilt, punishment, and memory.

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Transcript

[Tyler Redick]

Tyler redick here from 2311 racing another checkered flag for the books. Time to celebrate with Chumba. Jump [e-mail] let's Chumba. No purchase necessary BTW Group void where Prohibited by law CTNCS 21/ Sponsored by Chumba Casino Time Now.

[Narrator/Announcer]

6:30.

[Narrator/Host]

Tired of the everyday routine? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all?

[Narrator/Announcer]

We offer you escape. Escape designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half hour of high adventure.

[Narrator/Host]

Tonight we escape into the mind of a man who has been sentenced to die. A man who attempts to refuse the bitter fate society has imposed upon. As James Poe tells it in his seething tale of violent death, present tense, starring Vincent Price.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Through the dim pane, the cold, dark land wheels away. And the hills beyond below. The stars are black and sharp. Dead hills. Dark sky. Cold steel below my feet. Cold as the face of the officer at my side. Cold as the cuffs which link my arm to his which join us on this journey to the prison.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Cold.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Or I die.

[Fred]

Want a cigarette?

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

No.

[Fred]

Go on, take one.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

No, I don't use them. Has this happened to you before?

[Fred]

What?

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Being handcuffed to a murderer. Has it happened to you before?

[Fred]

Sure. Plenty of times.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

To an axe murderer?

[Fred]

Yeah.

[Narrator/Host]

There's nothing special, brother.

[Fred]

Lots of guys axe their wives.

[Narrator/Host]

Lots of them.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

I could have escaped after it happened.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

But I didn't.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

And now it's too late. Late, late. Ever too late. Never too late. Too late. Too late. Escape. Escape. If the train were to be wrecked. If the detective were to be killed. Late, late. The sweet escape. The light.

[Fred]

Escape.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

The crash.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Escape. No.

[Mary]

Oh, no. No, no.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

The darkness. Cars must have gone down the gully. No lights. And with people in pain. This thing fastened to my wrist. Went halfway through the glass of the door. Keep back.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Keep back.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

From his blood. I don't seem to be hurt. No broken bones. Now the key. In his pocket. His bloody pocket. And the cuffs are off. His gun. And the wallet.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

His face.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

His face.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

His own mother wouldn't know him.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

I'm free. Fire, fuel, oil. I must get away. Here. My ring. Onto his finger.

[Fred]

There.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

That completes it.

[Fred]

Number 63 from Bakersfield. Now riding. Please claim your luggage and secure. I see.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Mister? Yes?

[Fred]

Where to?

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Up Beverly Glen, above Sunset. I'll show you where.

[Fred]

Gotcha. Read about the big train wreck?

[Mary]

Yes.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Understand almost a hundred were killed.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Here you are. Keep the change.

[Fred]

Thanks.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

My home. It looks so small. So shabby. No one took care of it during the trial. No one Cared. No one. No one cares now. But that's good. I like that. I'll be alone and I won't let the neighbors see me. And I'll sleep and figure out where I go next. The light. Someone's in there.

[Fred]

The whole thing went so slick.

[Mary]

You'll always be the friends that thought about this, won't you?

[Fred]

Always. If where I will, baby.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

No, it can't be. She's dead.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

I know she's dead.

[Mary]

Want another bottle of beer, honey? Huh?

[Fred]

Yeah, sure. It's cold.

[Mary]

Yeah, that is cold. But I'm not.

[Fred]

You said a mouthful there.

[Mary]

This husband of mine was never able to make these. Here, like this.

[Fred]

Takes a man, baby.

[Mary]

All he could do is sit around and write those poems all the time.

[Fred]

We framed it so good that even he thought he killed you.

[Mary]

What was that?

[Fred]

Mice.

[Mary]

You're funny, you know that? You're real funny.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Open the kitchen door so quietly and walk softly Here on the wall by the stove. The cleaver.

[Mary]

Alex. I hear something.

[Fred]

Are you nervous, baby?

[Mary]

Yes.

[Fred]

Relax just a little.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

See them now. It is she. How did they do it? How did they trick me into imagining the murder? I. I am innocent, sweet mate.

[Fred]

That's what you are, sweet mate.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

The pig in his dirty undershirt. Soft, weak, white neck. Fat on his arms. Pig grip the cleaver and walk like a feather. He shall be versed.

[Mary]

Soft, white necked, honest. I hear something.

[Fred]

What's the matter? Sweetmeats? Welcome, man.

[Mary]

You killed him.

[Fred]

Yes.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

And now you.

[Mary]

No.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

I was innocent and I thought myself guilty.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

And now I am truly guilty. And never in my life have I felt so innocent.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Like a dream. Like a nightmare. The confession. The conviction. The sentence. And now once more. Dark night. Cold steel. The sound of wheels.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Just as I lived it before. Why, even the cold face of the silent officer at my side. Hard, cold face. So much like that other face.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Want a cigarette?

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

No.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Go on, take one.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

No, I don't use them.

[Fred]

Oh.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Has this happened to you before?

[Fred]

What?

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Being handcuffed to a murderer. Has it happened to you before?

[Fred]

Sure.

[Narrator/Host]

Plenty time.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

To an axe murderer.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Yeah.

[Narrator/Host]

You're nothing special, brother.

[Fred]

Lots of guys axe their wives. Lots of them.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Were you ever cuffed to an axe murderer who killed two people? Two people at once?

[Fred]

What are you talking about?

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

My sin. My crime. What I did. I killed them both.

[Narrator/Host]

Slam. Take it easy, brother.

[Fred]

You only kill your wife. Just her.

[Narrator/Host]

Just one, that's all.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

It had been raining for some days now. And beyond the barred window the leaden sky bleeds sorrow on the Barren land, the lonely land, the land beyond the prison wall. The sky was blue when first I came here. Blue, so blue. And now it is become as the walls of my cell. Of all our cells, dark, cheerless cells, these lifeless cells, these cells of men awake to die.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

That wet sky, gray sky, cheerless sky.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

But it is beautiful. I have 12 hours left of life.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

12 hours left to live. Beautiful sky. Beautiful. Beautiful. Wet and fresh and alive. Oh, rather would I spend eternity at a well's bottom with but one patch of that to gaze upon, Then leave this life, then leave this earth, then leave this sky.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

I believe it. I must. The guard told me no man has ever escaped San Quentin's. Death row. Blocks and bars, guards and guns lie

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

between me and the world beyond. No escape. Not from here.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

But wouldn't it be nobler to gamble my life in bold attempt and lay

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

it down in reckless resignation, eh?

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

So now to get out of this super guarded area.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Oh. Oh. Guard. Guard. Cut it out.

[Fred]

What's wrong?

[Doctor]

What's the matter with you?

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

My gut here, it's killing me. Oh, gut, huh?

[Fred]

I'll call a medic.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Now, as I press, you tell me where it hurts.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Everywhere.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

In the. Oh. All over. Down here.

[Mary]

There.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Oh. Don't touch that place again.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Call the ambulance.

[Fred]

All right.

[Narrator/Announcer]

This man's got appendicitis.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Oh, do something.

[Fred]

Well, what do I do?

[Doctor]

Why didn't they send somebody with you?

[Fred]

The interns are all tied up.

[Narrator/Announcer]

They're giving shots today.

[Doctor]

He's acting kind of crazy.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Let's get him over the hospital block.

[Doctor]

No hurry.

[Fred]

I can't drive any faster. My windshield steamed up.

[Narrator/Announcer]

So wipe it.

[Fred]

You got a rag?

[Doctor]

Yeah. Here.

[Fred]

You could use my hag.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Okay, pal, give him the hag.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Oh, my God.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Keep right on driving through the gate

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

or the top of your head comes off. You won't get away with this.

[Fred]

I will.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

I'm betting my life that I will. How far back is the prison?

[Fred]

About 15 miles.

[Narrator/Announcer]

At least that.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Okay, pull over. I'm taking her from here. And you two, I want your money, your clothes.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

And then you can walk back and explain about me.

[Fred]

Explain about him?

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

They won't find the ambulance for days. Not at the bottom of that canyon. Now, I. I cross the border on foot and into Mexico.

[Narrator/Announcer]

You drink, senor?

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Thank you.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Say, when does the next bus leave for Mexico City?

[Narrator/Announcer]

At 12 o', clock, senor.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

A little card bought in a back room with no questions asked. And I become a tourist. 4 days growth of beard and I become poor. An empty suitcase with a butterfly Net strapped to its outside. And I become a source of amusement. A funny, dumb gringo. And who looks with suspicion on the

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

funny, dumb gringo tourist who is poor.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Mexico City is beautiful, but not when you are hungry. Not when you are an American who is hungry.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Americans aren't supposed to be hungry.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

What can I do?

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

All I know is writing. The writing of poetry.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

There. There is one place I might sell some poems. Pollen, his magazine prints some English stuff, perhaps.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Well, why not?

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

I have three pesos left. Buy some paper, a pencil.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Sit in the park. Right. And storm the bastion,

[Fred]

Huh? Yeah,

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

there's a school here. Do you like them, Mr. Pollen? Well, I, I. Well, excuse me, Lucida. See, Pollen, I have some poems here.

[Mary]

Oh, let me see. The river doubled dreaming troubled after passion of myself. Ah, muy bueno.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Yeah, yeah, that is just what I saw. You were too kind.

[Mary]

The poet should read his own work.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

That drips sweet droplets. Passions goblets fates thy role. Lucida likes your stuff. A rare woman.

[Mary]

And.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

And I like what Lucida like. She says we do a book of your stuff.

[Fred]

Oh.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

So here's an advance. Too much. Take it. When the book.

[Narrator/Host]

30 days.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Right. Got the poem? I'll get them. Your name is myth no good to dull.

[Narrator/Host]

So true.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

I'll make a new. Please do. And so good day. And I'll be back with the poem. America mild below the bleak brown mountains the desert yellow and red. My own, my native land. My advance money went for new clothing and a round trip plane ticket to Los Angeles. And my new lease on life. In a small file under the eaves of the little house in Beverly Glen, there are poems, more than a thousand of them.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Poems which no one has ever seen.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Poems written in the evenings, after work and Sundays. And now with the beard and the

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

hat and the glasses, no one will recognize me. A cane. I ought to carry a cane, too.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Get the poem. Did someone live there in the house? Has someone bought it? No matter. Get the poems and then get back to Mexico City. Hmm. Someone is living here. I wonder who. The hedge is trimmed and my.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

My hammock. Someone's put on a new canvas cover.

[Mary]

Fred, get the door.

[Fred]

Well, you get it yourself, baby. I'm shaven.

[Mary]

Oh, all right. Yeah.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Oh, no, no, no, it can't be.

[Mary]

Well, what do you want?

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Her face. It's Mary. But I thought I killed her.

[Fred]

Who is it, baby?

[Mary]

Well, what is it, mister? What do you want here?

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Are you the lady of the house?

[Fred]

Huh? Who shut at the door?

[Mary]

Some creep with a beard. Yeah, I'm the lady of the house. But I don't want to buy anything.

[Fred]

Well, what is it? Santa Claus? What do you want?

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Are you the man of the house?

[Fred]

Yeah, I'm the man of the house. Sweet means.

[Mary]

I'll say so.

[Fred]

What of it?

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

I'm. I'm making a survey. I'd like to ask a few questions. May I come in?

[Fred]

Well, I don't know.

[Mary]

I'll let him. What's the difference?

[Doctor]

Thank you.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

First, your name?

[Fred]

Name?

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Yes, please.

[Fred]

Fred Smith.

[Mary]

Mary. Where's he going? Mister, what do you want in my kitchen?

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

The cleaver. Mary. Don't you know me?

[Fred]

Mary? Hey, who are you, mister?

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Up close? Mary,

[Fred]

the cleaver. Put it down.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Know me.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Know the man you tricked into San Quentin?

[Fred]

No.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Don't put down that.

[Mary]

You killed him.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Yes, Mary, yes.

[Mary]

No.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Confession, conviction, sentence and transportation. And, oh, again the death cell as before.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

But when I came here, they promised I could keep the beard. They promised I could keep the beard.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

And it's gone. Gone. I can't remember when. What's that? Who's.

[Fred]

Ready?

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Ready?

[Narrator/Host]

It's time to go, my son.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Time to go.

[Narrator/Host]

You've refused my help up to now, but perhaps you'd like to walk with me.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Rather beside you, Padre, than beside one of these mercenaries. My legs. The muscles quiver. Not with fear, no, but with a desire to feel themselves moving, straining, acting.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Well. Yet there is time. I'm not afraid.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

But this body.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

I hate the thought of its being killed by these men. My beautiful body. Soon it will be dead. Cold, rotting dead. It will rot. No. They must not do this to me.

[Narrator/Host]

You must be brave, my son.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

My body. Years I spent with the great corporeal master, the Yogi, learning my bodily purpose, my bodily care. The use of willpower to control my body. The Yoki. My teacher.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Yes. I shall use yoga, suspend my breathing and become invulnerable to their gas. Suspend my body functions to the point of death. And fool their doctor, of course. Oh, yes. The greatest escape of them all. And this time, I must succeed.

[Tyler Redick]

Tyler redick here from 2311 Racing. Another checkered flag for the books. Time to celebrate with Chamba. Jump [e-mail]. let's Chumba. No purchase necessary BTW group void where prohibited by law CTNCs21+ Sponsored by Chumba

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[Fred]

All right.

[Doctor]

Here we are.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

The room is so small. Somehow I had imagined it would be larger. And here is the chair. Yes. Straps.

[Doctor]

Hood. All right, now just sit down.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

And over there, the glass.

[Doctor]

Take it easy.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Small pane with the dark faces seen dimly through the witnesses.

[Doctor]

Lay your arms along these.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

The whole room is like some strange sort of time machine. Machine? For launching a man into another dimension. So true. I'd best begin to prepare myself.

[Doctor]

Relax.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Relax. Must relax. It won't be easy.

[Narrator/Host]

Have you any last words, my son?

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Yes. One request. Do not allow my poor body to be dissected or embalmed. But on the third day after my death, cremate it.

[Fred]

That will be arranged.

[Narrator/Host]

As you desire.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Thank you.

[Narrator/Host]

God be with you, my son. Remember what Christ said to the two criminals. In this day shalt thou be with me in heaven.

[Doctor]

Now move your head forward a little. All right. Put the hood down now. Now, when you hear the pellets drop into the acid, don't try any tricks. Just breathe deeply. See? Fumes don't hurt. See, they just cooperate with us. Make it easy on yourself, pal. You know what I mean?

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Dark. Here. Under the hood. Now the last breath. Has the yogi taught me?

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

And the lungs.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Hold it. Body limp.

[Mary]

Oh.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Muscles, tendons, joints, relax all.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Slow the bloodstream.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Lock the breath.

[Mary]

Hold.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Hold.

[Narrator/Host]

Slow.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Slow.

[Fred]

Hold.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Suspend all bodily functions. Hold. Fix the eye in suspended.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Animal. Gently fix the mind on time. Ease the beating of my heart. Time as a picture on the screen of my mind.

[Fred]

Slower. Slower.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

My perception is slower. The time seems to spin by now.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Go slow. My perception heart. The ventilators go on clearing the air of the poisonous fumes.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Now the doctor will come with his stethoscope.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

I will. My limbs to stiffness. My flesh to coldness.

[Fred]

All right, it's clear, Doctor. You can go on in.

[Doctor]

Well, let's see now.

[Fred]

Desperation ceased.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Heart stopped.

[Narrator/Announcer]

By the authority vested in me by the state of California, I pronounce this man dead.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

I will myself to consciousness in six hours time. Dark here. And cold. So cold. I must get up and see.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Oh, the prison morgue.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

It worked. But I'm cold. So cool. What's this on my toe tag? Too dark to read it, but I know what it says. It has my name, prison number, time of execution.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Yes.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Now to look around, because the next step must be played just right. And this should be it. A coffin crate ready for shipping. Some cadaver being returned to a sentimental family. Well, that ought to be just right. With him on my slab, my tag on his toe, and the most perfect escape of all time underway.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Here we go.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

I will my body to return from its state of suspended animation and to come immediately out of trance. When next this coffin shall be opened, it. Hello, old man.

[Fred]

Ah,

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

funeral parlor. Poor fellow must have a bad heart. Let's see. No, it's going well. Let's hope he's out for a while. This must be the workroom. Light hanging over the work table. And there, a locker with a suit. Fine. And here in the. In the desk.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Might there not be some sort of. Yes, here.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

A petty cash box. It's quite full. The old boy apparently doesn't believe in banks. And now. And now that Lazarus has returned from the dead, this newspaper, Dateline. I was executed four days ago. Now I find myself resurrected in Indianapolis, Indiana.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Los Angeles, California. This is Los Angeles. You can claim your baggage in the

[Fred]

station or on the platform.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

I returned to my home. Beautiful time to return home. My old hammock is there. And my flowers. My yard. The house is empty. The lawyer said he had it cleaned up. Oh, my books. My pictures.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Here's my old pipe. I haven't smoked it in years.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Mary didn't like it, but now she's gone, I don't hate her anymore. Tobacco's still fairly fresh. Fill the pipe. There's that detective story I never got to finish. Now I'll have time. Now I'll have lots of time.

[Roger's Inner Voice/Thoughts]

Time to smoke and read and write and rest.

[Roger (Vincent Price)]

Sun's almost done. Twilight. Wonderful. Time to get outside. Cool, sweet air. Wonder what kind of birds those are. My hammocks. Oh, it's so nice. Pipe the pipe. And relax. Wish I could remember what page I was on. But no matter. I can begin again. I've got all the time in the world. The rest of my life. Bird. The sun is slipping out of the sight. Death of the first. How read the sky. How soft those clouds. So lovely, so loveless. What's that? Birds playing in the fish pond. Look at them. Happy birds. Listen. The neighbor is turning on his lawn sprinkling system. Lie here and smell the cool air. Evening coming on. Sky grows darker. Lie in the gathering twilight. Death of the day. Birth of the night. Sweet softness of the summer Night coming soon the stars. Oh, it's lovely. Heavenly. Just like heaven. Lie, wink, rock and rock, to and fro. Heavenly. Heavenly.

[Narrator/Announcer]

By the authority vested in me by the state of California, I pronounce this man dead. Escape is produced and directed by William N. Robeson. Tonight we have presented Present Tense by James Poe, starring Vincent Price as Roger. Featured in the cast were Charles McGraw as Fred, Sean Sneed, Joan Banks as Mary, Harry Bartel as the Doctor and Ben Wright as Pollen. Also heard were Tom Tully, William Lally, Jeff Corey and Paul Freeze. Special music was arranged and conducted by Del Castillo. Next week

[Narrator/Host]

you are alone at the controls of an experimental rocket aircraft about to be hurled 40 miles out from the Earth's surface into the limitless boundaries of space. Into a nothingness from which there may be no escape.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Next week we escape with Graham Doerr's imaginative and widely discussed story of a rocket pilot who receives the strangest and most terrible warning in the history of man. The Outer Limit. Goodbye. Then until this same time next week, when once again we offer you escape. When Bob Hope visits Bing Crosby. On Bing's CBS show tomorrow night, they'll be singing a duet called have I Told you'd Lately. That's a good theme for Bing and Bob for you know and I know that when the two lads get together, the gags about each other's shortcomings fly thick and fast. Tomorrow night, with National Sauerkraut Week as the springboard, Bing and Bob promise one of their most hilarious meetings. So don't miss the CBS Bing Crosby show, which is heard on most of these same stations. Now stay tuned for Pursuit, which follows immediately on most of these same CBS stations. This is cbs, where Wednesday night is Bing Crosby Night. The Columbia Broadcasting System.

[She's Birdie Advertiser (Alternate)]

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[Fred]

Spreading love everywhere we go.

[Mary]

All of my everyday people with a proof.

[Tyler Redick]

All right, now your turn. Create your own version of Gotta Be Us and post it using BeThePleOpenCall for a chance to win a trip to record it in a professional studio, plus have it played for a panel of music execs. Come on, you've got this. No Purchase necessary. Open June 18th July 12, 2026 to legal residents of the U.S. 16 minors require parental consent. See Be the People opencall.com for details. Sponsored by Bigger Picture US.