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(97) Escape - The Outer Limit
00:29:31
(97) Escape - The Outer Limit - Aired 02/07/1950
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- [00:00]
A
The most important back to school essential for your college girl is the one no one's talking about. And right now, as she's Bertie, it's buy two, get one free. The packing lists are full of shower caddies and mattress toppers, but they leave off the one thing built to help her stay safe walking across campus after dark. It's Birdie 3.0. A rechargeable personal safety alarm. Small enough to live on her keychain or backpack and cute enough to carry anywhere. One pull of the top pin activates a 130 decibel siren. That brings all eyes on her now. No aiming, no buttons, no training. Just one instinctive pull. Even with shaking hands, a dedicated on off switch means it's always ready but never going off between classes. Head to she'sbirdie.com and stock up for everyone heading back to school with our limited time. Buy two get one free sale. That's S-H-E-S-B-I-R-I-E.com
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tired of the everyday routine? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Adventure. Want to get away from it all? We offer you escape. Escape designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half hour of high adventure. Tonight we escape with the pilot of an experimental jet rocket aircraft about to be hurled 40 miles out from the Earth's surface into the limitless boundaries of space, where he receives the most terrible warning in the history of man. From which there is no escape. As Graham Dorr tells it in his thrilling and widely discussed story, the Outer Limit. Starring Frank lovej. Zero minus 25. Zero minus. All right, man. Settle down. Settle down, man. Okay, Colonel. Yes, sir. All of you will want to know why we took you. What? Out of whatever warm bed you were in. Got a reason. The RJX1. Yeah. Yeah, that's right. The RJX1. The top, top secret experimental rocket jet aircraft. We've been babying it, nursing it, staying up nights with it for 16 months. Now, this morning, Major Westfall is gonna wean it. Bill is gonna take her out and beat her up to death. I can't impress upon you men how extraordinary this flight is. It's an eight rocket ship. That's what I said. Eight rockets. Eight rockets designed to take man into areas of space that have never been explored before and at a rate of speed to which no pilot has yet been subjected. Some of you men have already flown many times the speed of sound. So I don't have to tell you very much. Yo. Yes, Colonel. You'll lead the F86s. You and the other three Jet Boys will be Bill's chase planes. We want observation at 35,000ft. Yes, sir. Okay, here's how it plays. Pull the curtains on the map, will you, Sergeant? Yes, sir. You see it circled here? Your rendezvous point? We designate it Point X. It's roughly over Boulder Dam. Zero hour is 0900, Joe, you and your jets will take off at 0 minus 15. You got that? Yes, sir. UF86s will make conventional climbs to 30,000ft, rendezvous at point X and call into meet control at 35,000ft. Right, Joe. That cuts it, Colonel. Oh, no, wait a minute. Not quite now. We hear about the weather, Pete. Yes, Colonel. Well, the weather's very pretty out, boys. All clear, ceiling unlimited. Winds aloft at 10,080 miles per hour. 25,140 miles per hour. 40,150 miles per hour. Estimated temperature 45. Below it, 40,000ft. There's some scattered clouds northwest of point X at 15,000ft. Stratus at 30,000ft. 30 miles east of Point X. East. We expect no change for three hours. That's it, sir. Okay, Pete. Joe, you and your boys go unwrap your F86s. Have a nice time. Yes, sir. Come on, boy. Major Westfall. Major Westfall. Stick around. I want to talk to you. Okay, Hank. How you feeling, Bill? Why? You worried, Hank? Don't worry. Look, Bill, you've got only 10 minutes of rocket fuel. Get rid of those jets before you fire the rockets. Fire only one rocket, one rocket at a time. Yeah, that's right. Now, look, I'll be listening in on the public address of control. I won't bother you until you're airborne. It'll be between you and the tower until then. All right. Don't worry, Hank. I'm gonna fly that baby higher and faster than anybody ever did before. Just like you said. I'm gonna take it up and I'm gonna bring it back. And then you and I'll have dinner together. 0 minus 3. 0 minus. Good morning, Colonel. Mr. Hargro, he'll be here at the control with me. It's all right with you, Colonel? I wouldn't have it any other way. You've checked the communications equipment, Sergeant? Oh, yes, sir. Major Westfold's been assigned a special radio frequency of three. Good, good. You'll take care of it, Sergeant? We don't want it to poop out or anything like that, do we? Yes. No, sir. Sir. Hargrove, I got a thing on my Mind that boy in the plane you geniuses designed. He's my best boy. It's our best plane, Colonel. It better be. Now it's your turn. What do you got on your mind? Everything's in proper order, Colonel. Recording equipment, the television cameras in the cockpit. Everything. Every known scientific device. Even some unknown. They've been very talking about a man, Hargrove. That's all. I really want to get back out of this. What about the man? There may be one difficulty. Tell me about it. I'd like to know the takeoff. With all that load, the jets, the rockets, all at maximum fuel capacity. It's never been tested that way before. Go on, Mr. Hargrove. Well, it's just that Major Westfall has only 6,000ft to get his ship airborne. If he accelerates from zero to 160 miles per hour in 6,000ft, he should be airborne in seven seconds. Seven seconds at MC zero plus G? Yes, Colonel. Beyond zero plus G. Well, beyond that, we. We don't know. We just don't know. Thanks. Thanks for everything, Mr. Hargrove. Sergeant. Yes, sir. Flip your switch on Major Westfall. I hear he's got a swell program. Flip them all, will you, Sergeant? Yes, sir. RJX1 to tower. Any change in weather? Tower to RJX1. Barometer reading 29.7. Set your altimeter accordingly. Roger, win. Fifteen miles from south. Take off, Runway 27. Runway two. Seven. Got it. Zero minus one. Thirty. Zero. RJX1. Control, over. Control. RJX1, go ahead. This is just for you, Hank. Cabin pressure okay? Oxygen pressure okay? All right. All right. Get off the dime, kid. Take a pill, Hank. You'll need it to settle your stomach. Zero minus one. RJX1 to crew chief, over. Crew chief to RJX1. Go ahead. I'm ready to fire. Hold it. Okay. All set to fire. Clear. Clear. Starting right jet. Starting left jet. 0 minus 32. Tower to RJX1. 0 minus 32nd. RJX1 to tower. Go ahead. Western Airlines. Conveyor reported over Ventura. Got it. Eastbound Constellation at 17,000 over Salt Lake. Roger. Western Airlines. DC4 on base. Lake at 1,000 over Burbank. The rest of the air is yours. Thank you so much. 0 minus 10. RJX1 to tower. Ready for takeoff. Tower to RJX1. Clear for takeoff. 5. Good luck, Bill. 4, 3, 2, 1. 0. He's rolling. He's rolling. B, C, D, E, F. Bill. Lift it. Lift it. Lift it, Billy. He made it. Bill made it. Mr. Hargrove. Rjx1 to control. Rjx1 to control. Come in. Control to rjx1. Go ahead. Everything's great, Hank. It's a doll baby. Hey, you must have been kidding with that takeoff, weren't you? It took that long to get off. That makes it a takeoff. How fast are you climbing, kid? 1700aminute. Air speed 550. Retract your landing gear. It'll help. Whoops. Sorry. Call me at 20,000. Heading is 87. Everything is real good. Come in, Hank. How do you feel? I like it here. Pressure okay? Okay. F86 leader to control. F86 to control. Come in. Control to f86 leader. Go ahead, f86. Observing rjx1. He's really tearing, colonel. Over point x at 35,000. On schedule, joe. On schedule. RJ X1 to Control. RJX1 to Control. Come in. Control to RJX1. Go ahead, Bill. 40,000ft, Hank. Still a down baby. Still is. Ready to pressurize. Can you hear me okay, Hank? Coming in fine. Pressurized. Ready to prime rocket system in five seconds. Primed. Dropping right jet. Dropping left jet. All clear. Good luck, Bill. Firing number one. Rocket fired. Oh. Taken back. Firing number two. Rocket fired. Hey, honey. Okay, Bill. What is it, Bill? Bill, are you receiving me? Control to RJX1. Come. Come in, RJX1. Hello, Bill. Come in. Control to F86 leader. Control to F86 leader. Come in. F86 leader to control. Go ahead. What about it, Joe? F86 observing RJX1. RJX1 at approximately 60,000ft. Maintaining a heading of north, no, northwest. I can barely make him, Colonel. Try calling. Okay. F86 leader to RJX1. F86 to RJX1. Come in. Come in, RJX1. Come in, Mr. Hargrove. F86 to RJX1. Share it with me, Mr. Hargrove. Sit here and run your fingers through your hair and wait and think about it and share it with me. F86 to RJ X1. F86 leader to control. F86 leader to control. Come in. Go ahead, F86 leader. We've lost him, Colonel. Stay up there, Joe. For as long as you can. What do we do now, Colonel? I just told you, Mr. Hargrove. We wait. You and me. We wait. We've lost him, Colonel. You haven't lost me. I can hear you, Joe. Stay up there, Joe. For as long as you can. Hello? Hello? Hello? I'll try another frequency, Joe. RJ X1 to F86. Can you make me RJ X1 to F86. Come in. Come in. No good, huh? I'll switch back to channel Charlie. I still can't get you, Joe. I'll keep sending. Firing number eight. Rocket fired. Oh, brother. Oh, brother. RJX1 to all you ships at sea, to all you people, anywhere. This is bill Westfall. Approaching 210,000ft. That's 40 miles straight up in the air. All you people. And that's where I am. You never saw anything like it. No clouds, a color no one ever named before, and Silence. Eight rockets roaring at my tail and I can't hear them. Their sound will never reach me. At 1800 miles an hour. Silence so complete that the ticking of the clock on my instrument panel is a hammer in my brain. Silence. Otherwise, nothing. Nothing except nothing at all. Wait a minute. Yes, there is something, all right. At 2:00 clock high. Oh, that's really something, brother. Maybe a flying disk. And this is a big one, spinning like a top. And it's coming toward me. Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Listen. Something has just happened. Something. A missile shot, maybe through the canopy. My pressure is going down. Something is happening to me. This disk thing, it's like a magnet. I'm being pilled toward it. I've lost control of my ship. I've no control. I'm going through decompression. I'm on the verge of unconsciousness. I'm blocking out some fleck in your hand.
- [15:33]
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The most important back to school essential for your college girl is the one no one's talking about. And right now, as she's Bertie, it's buy two get one free. The packing lists are full of shower caddies and mattress toppers, but they leave off the one thing built to help her stay safe walking across campus after dark. It's Birdie 3.0, a rechargeable personal safety alarm small enough to live on her keychain or backpack and cute enough to carry anywhere. One pull of the top pin activates a 130 decibel siren that brings all eyes on her. No aiming, no buttons, no training. Just one instinctive pull. Even with shaking hands, a dedicated on off switch means it's always ready but never going off between classes. Head to she'sbirdie.com and stock up for everyone heading back to school with our limited time. Buy two get one free sale. That's S-H-E-S-B-I-R-I-E.com this episode sponsored by She's. Lock the hotel room door, then check it again and maybe one more time. Because even the nicest room can feel unfamiliar at night. That's why She's Birdie created Birdie Box. With She's Birdie, you can bring peace of mind with you. Birdie Box is a portable travel door alarm for hotels, dorms, Airbnbs, and anywhere you stay away from home. Just attach it to the door frame, switch it on, and if someone opens the door, Birdie Box blasts a loud siren and flashing alarm to alert you and everyone nearby. Because the best part of travel isn't worrying, it's sleeping soundly. Birdie Box from She's Birdie, locking in peace of mind wherever you stay. For safer, more confident travel visit she'sbirdie.com that's s h e s b I r d I e dot com.
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You are listening to the Outer Limits, starring Frank Lovejoy in another thrilling adventure on escape. He had only 10 minutes fuel. He's three hours overdue. Well, that's that, Colonel. But wait some more, Mr. Hargrove. There's no point to it. May I make a suggestion, Colonel? What? Give it up. Make your report to Washington. What about you, Mr. Hargrove? To be frank with you, Colonel, in another 16 months, there'll be another plane, the RJX2. And the army will give us another man to fly it. Not till we're certain about this man, and we're not certain. What do you propose to do? The things that are in the manual. We'll organize search parties and put spotter planes up in the air. Maybe Bill came down on the ocean. We'll call a navy in. Colonel, if the RJX one came down on the ocean, it would sink in three minutes. You know it had no life preserver equipment on it. The added weight of the sea. We'll call a navy in. Whatever you say, Colonel. My guess is. What's your guess, Mr. Hargrove? My guess is that sometime, somewhere on some beach or in some field, someone will pick up a piece of torn metal. That someone will be holding what's left of the RJX1. You're aboard that?
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Yes, we are.
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Am I getting through to you? Can you understand me? But there is no manifestation that we're in communication with him, sir. Try again on a different secret. Yes, sir. I am Zeglon. You're aboard the space patrol ship S2J3. Am I in communication with you? Can you understand me? Are we in contact? Can you understand now what I am saying to you? Yes, yes, yes, I can understand you, Earthman. Your brain is in turmoil, is it not? It has great difficulty in accepting what you see. Yeah. Yes, that's right. Accepted what you see here exists. All this. This exists. It exists, Earthman. The spaceship you're on exists. Those jet dynamos you see before you exist. Jet dynamos driven by the harness power of a thousand suns. Listen, Earthman. Listen to them. Do you know what happened as you listened, Earthman? We have flung ourselves 10,000 miles into space. What do you say to that, Earthman? Why, I don't know what to say. It's beyond the conception of your Earth brain. Then conceive this. Try to move, Earth man. You're not bound in any way. Try to move. Don't strain. It's impossible for you to move. There's a screen of force aimed at you. Now it's turned off. You may move about, Earthman. Proceed, Zeglon. Yes, Commander. Earthman, I perceive that your intellect now accepts the fact you are aboard space patrol ship S2J3. I am Captain Zeglon of the Galactic Guard. Galactic. Galactic Guard. The Guardian of the Galaxy. The Guardian of the Universes. The instrument the Brotherhood of Worlds has set up in defense against such a civilization as yours. What puzzles you, Earth man? Well, I. Well, I can't see you. I can feel that you're here, but I can't see you. There is no necessity for you to see us. It is sufficient that we communicate with each other. Yes, but talking to you is. Well, it's not like talking, it's. Well, it's as if it were all happening inside my brain. It is. That is how I'm reaching you, by telepathy. Do you remember what happened to you before you blacked out? Yes, I think so. There was a sharp sound, like a bullet hitting the canopy. It was not a bullet. It was a ray. It was necessary to stop your flight. We have so much to tell you. First, tell me about my ship. Is it lost? No. It is such a crude little ship. Crude? Easy for us to repair. It will be returned to you, and you will return to Earth because you are the Earth's only hope of survival. Hope of survival? What do you mean? I will show you. What you see on this screen before you is a panorama of your own universe, far greater in scope than an Earthman has ever seen before. Observe. Observe where the line is pointing. Planet 3, Star 5, Galaxy C, Sector K. Is. Is that the Earth? No. That dot, that speck you see revolving in the vastness is your sun, a star whose surface is 12,000 times that of your Earth. Your Earth is not even visible here. What? How did you know we even existed? That was our problem. We first became aware of your planet when we found atomic dust in the upper atmosphere. We traced it to your Earth. It was that important to you? Quite. We determined that you were setting off atomic bombs. That's why the Galactic Council has quarantined you. Quarantined? I don't understand. How. How are we quarantined? We have sealed off your planet from the rest of space, but we have surrounded it with a force screen. When that screen has accumulated enough particles of atomic dust, your Earth will explode. Your civilization, you, all life, will disappear forever. Listen to me, Earthman. Listen. We've had our own wars, wars that almost destroyed our civilization. But we have finally outlawed war throughout space, including Earth. Now listen carefully, Earthman. If you continue to make atom bombs and hydrogen bombs, each many times more powerful than the last, and if you start making war with them, exploding them, it would upset the balance of the entire universe. Throw all space into chaos. This, of course, we cannot allow. And the force screen with which we have surrounded the Earth will prevent it by exploding the Earth itself. Remember? Then, Earthman, if you start an atomic war, the Earth will at once be completely destroyed. Warn them, Earthman. Release him. Zegdong. Yes, Commander. Earthman, you will rise from your seat and open that door. Descend those stairs, Earthman. You will now enter the chamber to your left. There's your ship. Get into it, Earthman. Are you ready? Yes, I'm ready. While we were communicating, the patrol ship has returned to where we picked you up. And now you will be propelled toward Earth. Close your canopy. Open aperture. Warn them, Earthman. Warn them. Fire. RJX1 to 10 tower. RJX1 to tower. Come in. RJ X1 to tower. Come in, Tower. Tower. The funny man. You loaded, kid? How did you get in on this frequency? Listen. This is RJX1, RJX1, coming in for landing. Give me landing instructions. Tower to Funny man. Impossible that you're RJX1. He's 10 hours overdue. Get away from the area. Area cleared for bomber practice. Approaches. This is Major Westfallen, RJX1. Come on, kid. Give me landing instructions. I have no fuel. I'm gliding. What? Hey, hey. Yeah, I see you now, Major. Wait a minute. I'll restrict the area. Okay, RJX1, go ahead. Approximately six miles north of field. Clear area for 10 miles. Being cleared. What's your altitude? 10,000. Estimate six minutes to land. Tower to RJX1. You are clear to land. Runway nine. Wind east, southeast 15. Roger, coming down. Hi, Hank. Bill. Bill, what happened? Hank, you won't believe it, but you've got to. I know you won't believe it. It'll knock you over. Just take it easy, Bill. Sergeant. Yes, sir. Have the ship gone over by Geiger counters for radioactivity and seal it. What? Oh, yes. Hank, you better mount a 24 hour guard on it. Look, what did you run into? Plenty. Listen to me, Hank. They said the Earth would explode. They said it was the end for us. They said that. Come on, let's go over to my office. You gotta believe me. Read it like an order. Bill, my office. I want Major Donaldson to look at you. The psychiatrist? Hank, you've got to listen to. Not over to the office. Well, that's the story, Major Donaldson. I see. Well, Hank, you believe it, don't you? Well, Major, what do you think? I'm not sure. Bill. These men from Mars. I didn't say they were from Mars. Do you hear me say anything about men from Mars? No, you didn't. All I'm trying to tell you is this. Whoever those people were, they knew all about us. Everything. And they warned me. Our atomic bombs are a danger to the universe. One more and we're going to be the juiciest galactic Fourth of July of all time. Explode, finish. Gone. Like that. How do you like it? All right, Bill, roll up your sleeve. Oh, now, forget it, Major. All I need is a couple of drinks. Sorry, Bill. Sorry. Not right now. Let the Major give you a hypo. Now, look, I got a drink coming. A lot of drinks later. Come on, Bill, let's leave. You heard him, Bill. All right. Yes. All right. If it's an order, go ahead. There. You'll be okay in a few hours. I'm okay now. Sure. We'll leave you here, Bill. It's all right if Bill sleeps in here, isn't it, Colonel? Sure. Yeah. Well, maybe you'll believe me tomorrow. You'd better. Come on, Major. He'll be okay by himself, Major. He's been under a strain, but he'll sleep a long time. You better explain it to his wife somehow. I'll talk to him tomorrow. Tough. I've heard he's one of the best. He's the best. A combination of nerve and loyalty and lightning reflexes that comes once in 10 million times. What about it, Major? How does Bill look to you? I can't tell yet. Maybe a week, six months, six years. I'll need a whole lot of time with him. Before I can tell. I see. Well, we'd better get some sleep, too. Right. And don't worry, Colonel, he's a strong boy. Best nerves I've seen. I'd say things will be all right. Delusions like Bill's latched onto. Well, delusions like this, Major. Yes, Colonel. Major, when you make your charts for Bill, diagnose him and treat him and do all the things you have to. When you do that, Major, consider this. Yes? How did he keep that plane in the air for 10 hours? For 10 hours, Major, when he had fuel to last him only 10 minutes? Escape is produced and directed by William N. Robeson and tonight starred Frank Lovejoy in the Outer Limit by Graham Doerr, adapted for radio by Morton Fine and David Friedkin. Featured in the cast were Charles McGraw as the Colonel, Jeff Corey as Major Donaldson, Stan Waxman as Zeglon and Ian Wolf as Zill. Special music was arranged and conducted by Del Castillo. Actual flight details were authenticated by rocket test pilot Gene May, Sergeant Hartley Caldwell of the Air Force section of the Armed Forces Public Information Office, and by the Douglas Aircraft Corporation. Next week, you are on the Baltic Sea, within sight of the Soviet coast, where your Russian wife is secretly waiting to escape with you to England. And on the cold, dark waters behind you, an armed patrol boat is about to discover your small sailing craft. If it does, you will never escape. Next week, we escape with Roger Backs's thrilling and timely tale of a man and woman who dared to defy an entire government in order to be together. Two if by sea. Goodbye. Then until this same time next week, when once again we offer you Escape. Two all star bouts are promised on CBS this Wednesday night. Bing Crosby faces Fred Allen across the CBS mic to battle it out on who's funnier, singers or comedians. And in the second attraction, Gracie Allen and a smashed Bender team up against not so gorgeous George Burns and a guilty conscience. This Wednesday also brings.