It Happens To You 1953-10-02 The Human Comedy

Summary

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Podcast Summary: “It Happens To You – 1953-10-02 – The Human Comedy”

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Host/Narrator: Harold's Old Time Radio (A), Peter Grant (B, narrator within the episode)
Episode Release: November 15, 2025
Original Radio Broadcast: October 2, 1953
Author: Rod Serling
Theme: A lost episode from radio's Golden Age, exploring tragedy, family, and the human condition through a noir-infused crime drama.

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Episode Overview

This special episode unearthed a long-forgotten broadcast from Rod Serling (of The Twilight Zone fame), titled “It Happens To You.” Originally aired in 1953, the story revolves around Detective Dan Shevlin, a principled New York cop whose compassion for others sets in motion a sequence of personal and professional catastrophe. The drama delves into themes of family, the blurred lines between good and evil, and how swiftly fate can turn the familiar into tragedy.

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Key Discussion Points & Episode Structure

1. Show Introduction and Rod Serling’s Backstory

[00:00–01:23]

• The host (A) provides context on Rod Serling’s career trajectory, describing Serling’s frustrations at WLW in Cincinnati and his tireless efforts to break into New York television.
• Serling used radio and TV scripts (“Craft Playhouse,” “Philco”) to build his reputation, ultimately propelling him to move to New York in 1955.
• The episode to be aired is introduced as a rare, nearly 50-year unheard gem, with Peter Grant as narrator.

“Little did they know that Rod Serling was still in Cincinnati… What he was doing was very smart. He was trying to build enough of a name for himself as a writer that he would finally have the wherewithal to move to New York once his career really took off.” — Host (A), [00:00]

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2. Setup: The Human Comedy and Dan Shevlin’s World

[01:23–04:00]

• Narrator (B) sets the scene: October 1953, Manhattan, introducing Detective Dan Shevlin, whose memories of childhood games (“you’ll be the bad guy”) haunt him.
• The bustling city and everyday sounds blend with echoes of past innocence—cops and robbers as a child’s game.

“This is what we choose to call the human comedy. It takes place in a round theater called the Globe. Continents and oceans are the sets. You and the millions… are the cast.” — Narrator (B), [01:23]

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3. Family Life and Foreshadowing Tragedy

[03:20–07:09]

• Dan prepares for work, sharing banter with his younger brother Jamie, who’s struggling to find purpose and direction.
• Their sibling rivalry is rooted in childhood games; Dan, now a real cop, still tries to “play fair” while Jamie’s cynicism grows.

“Cops are complex characters. Look at yourself… You’re the only kid who never had to quit playing his favorite game. Old Peter Pan Shevlin…” — Jamie (E), [05:48]

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4. Police Station Drudgery and Philosophy

[07:09–13:01]

• At the precinct, Dan interacts with colleagues and books a comically incorrigible small-time crook, Schultz (I).
• Tension arises with Dan’s captain (G), who criticizes Dan’s “soft” approach to policing—favoring reform over punishment.
• Dan’s compassion is blamed for a fatal outcome: a boy he let off lightly, Reardon, is now implicated in murder. Dan is demoted for his leniency.

“You, I get the other extreme. I get sweetness and light and psychology. I get a social work routine. There’s no such thing as a bad boy, Shevlin… If you want a campaign for brotherly love, make it a hobby and keep it away from here.” — Captain (G), [09:03]

“You did the kid a big favor. You kept him out of stir for an old clothes wrap so he could get 99 years for the big one.” — Captain (G), [11:13]

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5. Jamie’s Descent: Temptation and Betrayal

[16:15–19:25]

• Jamie approaches Wiley (J), a criminal, looking for work. Proves his toughness and detachment; distances himself emotionally from his cop brother.
• Wiley is suspicious, but Jamie passes his tests and is drawn into the world of crime.

“What are you, kid? The cold blooded killer type?” — Wiley (J), [18:57]
“Try me.” — Jamie (E), [19:00]

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6. The Crime and Suspicion

[19:53–21:02]

• Dan receives a tip pointing to a planned robbery at the Metropolitan Warehouse. He unknowingly discovers Jamie’s involvement via a phone number.

“Well, why would Jamie call that number? Why? I wonder why.” — Dan (F), [20:44]

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7. Climax: Tragedy at Home

[21:54–27:16]

• The heist goes bad; a night watchman is killed. Jamie flees and returns home, where Dan confronts him. The truth surfaces—Jamie was involved and fired the fatal shots.
• A standoff reminiscent of their childhood games—guns drawn, roles reversed: “play cops and robbers, Danny. Like old times, huh? I’ll be the bad guy.”
• The confrontation ends in fatal violence.

“I see too much good in everybody. But listen, Jamie, I got a job. And right now you’re not my brother. You’re just anybody with a gun. You’re just another menace.” — Dan (F), [24:38]

“Come on, Dan, play the game. Don’t chipping on me. Don’t make me ashamed of you.” — Jamie (E), [25:03]

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8. Aftermath and Reflection

[27:16–28:33]

• Police process the scene; Dan is shattered. The narration returns, musing on the “human comedy” and the tragic arc of an ordinary life.

“You sit there, Detective Shevlin, pounding a fist against the desk… those of a man suffering the knife cut of tragedy… For you, a life is ended. The play is finished.” — Narrator (B), [27:50 & 28:31]

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9. Host and Panel Reflection

[29:39–29:54]

• The hosts praise Serling’s developing style—“crisp, terse, staccato dialogue”—already hinting at what will become his TV signature on The Twilight Zone.
• The rarity and depth of the radio drama are celebrated.

“I couldn’t help but think, this is Rod Serling. Early in his career, mind you, but he’s really developing as a writer.” — Host (F), [29:44]

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Memorable Quotes (with Speakers and Timestamps)

• The Human Comedy
  “This is what we choose to call the human comedy… the lives you live are the plays.”—Narrator (B), [01:23]
• On Policing
  “You, I get the other extreme… psychology. I get a social work routine. There’s no such thing as a bad boy, Shevlin.”—Captain (G), [09:03]
• Brotherhood and Fate
  “One day you’re a lightheaded kid who thinks about dates. Next thing I know, you’re a killer, a hood. One of the dirty, cold blooded rats I spent half of my life putting in jails.” — Dan (F), [23:19]
• Childhood Games Become Tragedy
  “Now we can play cops and robbers, Danny. Like old times, huh? I’ll be the bad guy. You’ll be the cop.” — Jamie (E), [24:04]
• Narrator’s Closing Reflection
  “You sit there, Detective Shevlin, pounding a fist against the desk… those of a man suffering the knife cut of tragedy.” — Narrator (B), [27:50]

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Timestamps for Notable Segments

• [00:00] — Host’s introduction & Serling’s career context
• [01:23] — Start of drama/narrator’s introduction
• [03:39] — Family morning exchange (Dan & Jamie)
• [09:03] — Captain lectures Dan on “soft” policing
• [16:38] — Jamie meets criminal Wiley
• [21:54] — Jamie returns home; confrontation builds
• [24:04] — Childhood game becomes tragic reality
• [27:50] — Narrator’s emotional coda
• [29:44] — Hosts reflect on Serling’s writing

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Summary Tone & Language

The episode delivers hard-edged, staccato dialogue imbued with noir philosophy and a bittersweet, fatalistic air—echoes of Serling’s later mastery. The interplay between Shevlin’s empathy and the world’s indifference creates a haunting, tragic melody, ending with the shattering of familial bonds and the cold mechanics of justice.

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Closing Thoughts

This rediscovered episode is both a gripping story and a time capsule, highlighting Rod Serling’s early gift for complex, character-driven storytelling. It’s a precursor to his later works, rich with poignancy and sharp-edged social observation—a true gem of the Golden Age of Radio.

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Transcript

[A]

About 1951 was the time that Rod Serling more or less felt about as fed up as he could possibly get with many of the very mundane things that he had to turn off as a staff writer at wlw. So he turned in his notice but continued to remain with the station on a freelance basis. And that is when he wrote this particular show, it happens to you. Now, all during this time, Rod Serling was continuing to write for television, turning in various television dramas as scripts to the various people in New York who were running things like, oh, Craft Play House and Philco, things like that. Great story about Rod. He was turning in so many of these shows and so many of them were being produced that when he was called in for a production meeting, he had to say, well, I'm not going to be able to make it for another 24 hours. And one of the directors there said, well, why? Why can't you be here today? And he finally said, well, because I have to fly in. They all thought he was a New York writer. Little did they know that Rod Serling was still in Cincinnati. But what he was doing was very smart. He was trying to build enough of a name for himself as a writer that he would finally have the wherewithal to move to New York once his career really took off. And that's what he did around 1955 or so. But we're going to go back about two years earlier, from October 2nd of 1953 for this broadcast, something that hasn't been heard for nearly 50 years. It happens to you. Your narrator, Peter Grant.

[B]

The time, October 1953. The place, New York City, USA. Your name is Dan Shevlin. This is your story. It happens to you. This is what we choose to call the human comedy. It takes place in a round theater called the Globe. Continents and oceans are the sets. You and the millions who share your existence of the cast, the lives you live are the plays. And tonight, you're a detective named Shevlin. Your Achilles heel is a memory with you. It's a memory of a childhood game that became a reality. A game called you'll be the bad guy. This is New York City, Manhattan island, purchased from the Indians in the 1600s. Molded, girded, riveted into a giant steel and concrete city with 8 million people. You're one of them, Detective Dan Shevlin. And standing there in front of the mirror, shaving, you listen to the sounds of the city outside, waking up, stretching, coming to life to a discordant early morning symphony of garbage cans, milk bottles, Traffic. And the familiar voices of the kids in the hall playing cops and robbers. The ban your dead age when death takes turns and tragedy is play acting. That glorious time of being a kid. What you used to be an eon ago when your badge came out of a cereal box and your gun was a pointed finger. An eon ago. Dan Shevlin, remember?

[C]

Come on, Skeets. You're supposed to be the bad guy. Was a bad guy last time. I'm a cop and you're the crook. I'll break you down the first floor. The last guy has to be the crook.

[D]

All right, we'll start.

[E]

Hey, Jamie, you up?

[F]

Coffee's done.

[E]

Yeah, I'm up.

[F]

The kids.

[E]

You'll be the bad guy. No, you'll be the good guy. No, I'll be the good guy. Oh, what a beautiful morning.

[D]

It.

[G]

Hey, come on.

[A]

Up and at him.

[D]

Get your coffee.

[F]

So, you know, wasn't so long ago that we were playing cops and robbers too.

[E]

You know something? Looks like you're still playing it. Ah, the shoulder holster, Detective.

[F]

Tools of my trade, kid brother.

[E]

You can have it.

[F]

A little peaked this. Am a little mad on, maybe. What's the matter? Tough night last night?

[E]

The usual. Ever work in a hardware store?

[F]

There's worse jobs, Jamie.

[D]

Sure.

[E]

Dog catcher, cleaning out hen houses. Wearing a tin badge for 30 years so you can retire 30 bucks a month.

[F]

Well, that tin badge hasn't done too bad filling your till the past few years. I suggested you get on the force.

[E]

Me on a force? You got rocks, Daniel. I'm low on luck, but I'm not that low.

[F]

You're 24 years old, Jamie. One of these days you're gonna have to stop singing the blues and find yourself six jobs in six months. What are you trying to do, set a record? What's this?

[D]

What's what?

[F]

Ms. Doe on the dresser. You got paid off last night, didn't you? Make that seven jobs in six months. Now what happened this time? Get your thumb caught in the cash register?

[E]

The owner was always jawing at me. I decided I'd switch jobs. This one didn't appeal to me.

[F]

You better switch stories. That one doesn't appeal to me.

[D]

Now what do you do?

[E]

Look around. I got time.

[G]

Hand me those cigarettes, will you?

[E]

Thanks. I might try writing a book. The Mentality of a Cop. Personal Observations of My Big Brother Dan.

[F]

That'd make dull stuff.

[E]

Don't kid yourself. Cops are complex characters. Look at yourself.

[G]

Remember the cops and robbers we used to play?

[E]

He always made me be the bad guy and Instead of shooting me, you'd talk me into changing. You got a deal. You know, dad, you're the only kid who never had to quit playing his favorite game. Old Peter Pan Shevlin in his Never Never Land of badges and beats. Where's that coffee?

[D]

Here.

[F]

You got a nasty mouth at times, you know.

[E]

What is that, a misdemeanor, Officer?

[D]

You bum.

[E]

Hey, look on my head. Come on, now.

[F]

Hey, I gotta go. It's getting late.

[E]

See you tonight, huh? Sure, Lieutenant. Don't take any wooden crooks. I love the way you straighten that badge. Leave me your extra one. I'll polish it up for you now.

[F]

You're too kind. Hey, we'll lead out tonight, have a little talk about your plans.

[D]

See you later. Sure, big brother.

[E]

Lecture me some more.

[F]

Morning, Pete.

[H]

Morning, Dan.

[I]

Hey, hate L. Kenan.

[E]

Remember me? No, don't tell me.

[F]

It's Mr. Schultz. What are you doing these days?

[H]

Getting booked on pickpocket charges? All right, Back to work, Mr. Schultz. I want to get this done. Your last place of regular employment, Schultz. Your last place of employment.

[I]

Lieutenant Shevlin, you're looking at the greatest miscarriage of justice in Sacco and Manzetti. I'm a babe, Lieutenant, Like a lamb. I'm innocent. Somebody give me a promo, Lieutenant. Talk about circumstantial evidence. I am minding my own business. I'm standing in line waiting to get into a lecture. This. This person rounds me in. Now, I ask you, where is the justice in this?

[F]

That's the whole story.

[H]

All but one minor detail. He had his hand in some guy's hip pocket, transferring his wallet.

[I]

Oh, I am nearsighted. I thought I was reaching in my own pocket. This is justice? A citizen stands in line waiting to get into a lecture, and he gets nabbed.

[F]

What was the name of the lecture?

[H]

Get ready to flip. The little man was going to hear all about Keith.

[I]

Oh, don't laugh, you.

[G]

You ignoramus.

[I]

You don't even know what a kid says. Don't ask me no more questions.

[E]

I know my rights. I want a lawyer.

[F]

You know, you don't need a lawyer, Schultz. With your talents, what you need is an agent.

[G]

Dan, when you're free.

[D]

Shut it.

[G]

Who's your friend, Schultz?

[F]

I used to pick him up regularly. When I had a beat, I thought.

[D]

He was your father. Such affection, Shevlin.

[G]

Or maybe it's just nostalgia for the good old days when you wore brass buttons and took home half a salary.

[D]

You get my point, I take it.

[F]

Something'S not sitting well on You?

[G]

That's a conservative observation, considering. If I had a celluloid collar on now, it'd be up in smoke. Shevlin, you worry me. Usually when I get a good cop and promote him to plain clothes. I have to sit on him so he doesn't use his hands on prisoners. You, I get the other extreme. I get sweetness and light and psychology. I get a social work routine. Consider their home life. Take in account their new environment. There's no such thing as a bad boy shoveling. You enforce the law, you make the arrests. You forget the causes and stick to the effects. The guy's off his rocker. A good alienist will figure it out. Those things are not your concern. You got a nice 14 hour a day job picking up hoods and tracing clues. You want a campaign for brotherly love? Make it a hobby and keep it away from here.

[F]

Okay, so I'm on the block, Cap.

[G]

But I don't know why.

[E]

I'll tell you.

[G]

Week and a half ago, you picked.

[D]

Up a kid named Reardon. Yeah.

[F]

Stole some clothes.

[G]

That's the boy. Did you bring him in?

[D]

Write it up?

[F]

Get a conviction?

[G]

No, you didn't. That was too easy. Two hands, no psychiatry. The good lieutenant wants to play nurse. So you persuade the storekeeper not to prefer charges. It's the kid's second offense and all he gets is elect.

[F]

He was 15 years old. His old man lived out of a body.

[G]

I don't care if his old man was the US Senator from North Dakota and tried to bring back Prohibition. The kid was caught cold with a hundred bucks worth of stolen property.

[F]

All right, I may have been a little too lenient.

[G]

Not little and not lenient. That was the stupidest empty headed bit I've ever seen. I just took a chewing from the da Captain Vansky, he says, what's wrong with your department? He says, you know why he said that? Because your little altar boy figured a police force is a big Sunday school full of flabby headed jerks who wouldn't use a set of knucks on Hitler. So he tried his luck a little further. You know what it was this time?

[D]

Homicide. Shetman.

[G]

First degree murder. Murder spelled with a big bloody M.

[E]

You did the kid a big favor.

[G]

You kept him out of stir for an old clothes wrap so he could get 99 years for the big one. And I'm on the phone 1 hour and 35 minutes trying to explain to the DA why one of my detectives is a lotus eater and let the kid get away so he could kill.

[D]

Sorry, Dan.

[G]

We're gonna have to change the color of your badge.

[D]

Wipe off the lieutenant. He's playing detective now. Demotion, huh?

[G]

What did you expect, a medal? The DA Was all for putting you back in uniform. I stuck my neck out this far because usually you're a good cop.

[D]

That's all.

[G]

And tell Pete to slip it to that old man. What's his name?

[E]

Schultz.

[G]

I want a big conviction on the basis of previous arrests. And I want this department to get up on its haunches and roar for a change. And one other thing. Get a line on Frank Wiley.

[F]

You making book again?

[G]

We got a tip his face is dirtier than that. Get a line on him. See what else he's mixed up in.

[D]

Right.

[G]

And Dan.

[D]

Yeah?

[G]

Don't bother putting this guy on a couch for a psychoanalysis to give you trouble.

[D]

Get tough.

[F]

What would you suggest, a whip?

[G]

Danny Boy? I'd get rid of the chip if I were you. When I say tough, I don't mean brutal. I don't go in for the rubber hose treatment, you know that. But wise up. Find a happy medium. And if it means handcuffs, use them.

[D]

Yeah, sure.

[E]

Yes.

[I]

All of you guys, I'm telling you, I'm curing you. None of you will have a job because I got friends in high places.

[E]

Very high places.

[H]

Grandpa, the highest place you ever was was a top rung of a bar stool.

[E]

Yeah, well.

[D]

Oh, heaven.

[E]

Here.

[I]

You guys here is the only decent guy in the whole department.

[E]

Shut up.

[F]

Lasers, man.

[H]

You could break a man's back that way.

[I]

Easy, Lieutenant. They said like you.

[F]

It isn't a lieutenant.

[D]

Pop.

[G]

Check your program.

[F]

This is the last act. Pete, Captain Van would like you to slip it to the old gentleman here. That's SOP from here on in. Jonesy Shevelin. I got the file out on Frank. WY W Y L, I, E? Yeah, Shoot it up to me.

[E]

Right.

[F]

Mr. Schultz, you want to register a complaint?

[E]

I know.

[F]

Then I's front, if you don't mind.

[H]

You're all taken care of, Grandpa.

[E]

Let's go.

[H]

Port convenes at 10. Just remember, this is going to hurt you more than it is me.

[D]

Let's go.

[F]

Hello, kid. Hello. What's the matter?

[E]

Somebody get away?

[F]

Yeah, a lieutenancy took off like a big bird.

[D]

Streamlined.

[E]

You look it.

[F]

12 years in the 4th. Year and a half. Lieutenant. Suddenly I'm not tough enough for him.

[D]

What happened?

[F]

I let a kid off a week or so ago. He crosses me and commits murder. That's supposed to show something?

[E]

It shows you're a Lousy judge of character, that's what it shows. You know something, big brother?

[A]

What?

[E]

I'm not surprised.

[F]

Meaning what?

[G]

Meaning you've always been too mushy to.

[E]

Be a good cop. You got where you are because you're smart and you plugged. But sooner or later they were going to find you out.

[F]

They had to.

[E]

It's like when you and I were kids and played cops and robbers. You never went bang bang. You tried to lecture, made a dumb game. I never liked it.

[F]

I'm so sorry. Look, I got a couple of calls.

[G]

I have to make.

[F]

Open some cans, will ya? I haven't time to eat out. I'll be back in about an hour or so.

[E]

Can't, Dan. Got an appointment myself. Better grab a bite while you're out.

[D]

What's this appointment?

[F]

Blonde or brunette?

[E]

This happens to be legitimate. About a job.

[F]

It's been a full day.

[D]

Then I'll see you later. Jim.

[A]

Information.

[E]

The residence of Frank Wylie.

[A]

That's right.

[E]

Frank Wiley. Wait a minute. I want to write that down.

[A]

Here.

[E]

What was it, Fletcher? 74578. Yeah, I got it.

[A]

Thanks.

[B]

While you're working your beats, Dan Shevlin, your brother Jamie is walking down the center aisle of a local arena where two stalwart young gentlemen with flat noses and truck garden ears are demonstrating the manly art. Jamie's eyes, however, are not on the brilliantly lit ring. They're resting on a squat pig eyed man sitting in a second row seat.

[E]

Hi, you Frank?

[J]

Wy that defense? Who wants to know?

[E]

I'm Shevelin. I phoned you about a job.

[D]

Yeah, Sit down, buddy.

[E]

A room.

[J]

At prize fights nowadays, television, you know, kid in black, fast boy telegraphs his.

[E]

Punch, See him drop his lips.

[J]

Expert, huh? So you want to work for me? You any relation to Dan Shevlin?

[E]

Brother. Brother?

[J]

Aren't you begging?

[A]

Trouble?

[J]

I don't sell frozen custards.

[E]

You know.

[J]

I'm in the hijacking business.

[E]

Deal me in.

[J]

Nobody said you were playing yet. Come on, get up on your feet, you big palooka. This guy is the only fighter who has to be carried both in and.

[E]

Out of the ring.

[J]

You see, kid, I gotta be choosy about my employees. How do I know you ain't gun shy? That'd be like a soda jerk. Allergic to whipped cream.

[A]

Get it?

[E]

Gun shy.

[J]

Allergic to first lesson, kid. I said something funny?

[F]

You lack. That's part of the arrangement.

[E]

I don't get it.

[J]

Then maybe you'll get this.

[D]

Handy, huh?

[E]

You haul out the slap. Catch your hand. Now you Got a knife in your throat? I think fast, Mr. Wy. I'm always prepared.

[J]

Turn around, kid.

[E]

Oh, I get it. You spot a bodyguard behind you.

[D]

Check.

[J]

And that thing poking through the slats.

[D]

In your chair is a gun. I'm always prepared, too.

[J]

But you aren't bad. Where'd you learn to use that shiv? You handle it nice.

[E]

My brother, he's a big theory man. He knows how to do anything with a knife, wire, set of nuts. But it's all theory.

[J]

He don't put it to use, huh?

[E]

He's got a soul, Mr. Wiley. Very sensitive. When he got it, he used up the family quota.

[J]

You're different, huh?

[E]

What are you, kid?

[J]

The cold blooded killer type.

[E]

Try me. Think of Will.

[D]

I'm shorthanded.

[J]

There's just one other thing. Where you been?

[E]

It took a while. Truck driving, hardware store, that sort of thing. Then I got wise. I don't want to jingle coins, I want to count.

[D]

Bill, I think you'll do okay.

[J]

When can you start?

[E]

I just punched in.

[J]

Good. Take off the knife and make yourself at home, kid. Now, get what I'm saying? This is the set.

[E]

Yeah. Yeah.

[G]

Batsky, where you been?

[F]

I just finished dinner.

[G]

Try to get me three times the fast afr.

[E]

We got a tip.

[G]

Ice job. The party takes the old Metropolitan Warehouse. You talk to Wiley?

[D]

Not yet.

[G]

Good bet he figures in this. Phone him up. We can cut out his first at home alibi anyway because I don't think he'll be there. Here's his phone number. Fletcher, 74578.

[F]

Fletcher, 745.

[G]

What's the matter?

[E]

Did you get it?

[F]

Well, I. I must have written it down before. It's on a paper here for the phone. Fletcher 74578.

[G]

All right, I'm sending two cars down there. One in front, down the block, the other in the alley.

[D]

Watch for him.

[G]

And Danny, deal this one close to the undershirt. I don't want these fish getting away.

[D]

Check. See you later. That's funny. I must have written it down, but.

[F]

I'm sure I didn't. Nobody else could have.

[D]

Well, why would Jamie call that number? Why? I wonder why.

[E]

All right, pipe down, you guys. You all get booked. We don't play no favorites.

[G]

Nice work.

[F]

Thank you, Captain. Whoever stooled sure headed on target. It was the Metropolitan Warehouse. We caught him on the way out.

[D]

No trouble.

[F]

There's a fourth guy. He shot the watchman and then he high tailed it out of there.

[D]

Lieutenant Chaplin went after him.

[G]

Okay, bet him down. We'll write him up.

[D]

In the morning.

[G]

How about a mouthpiece, Vansky? We still got it coming. If I gave you birds what you had coming, he'd be hanging by broken thumbs from a red hot pipe. Now, go ahead, let him phone up. If Shevlin gets back, I want to see him.

[E]

Welcome home, Dan. Where you been? What's the matter?

[F]

I don't know what's the matter.

[E]

You look like the last Rose kid. Like somebody died.

[D]

Somebody did die.

[F]

A night watchman with a bullet in his head.

[E]

That's too bad, but that's your business.

[F]

Well, all of a sudden it becomes personal business. All of a sudden it hits close to home. It's in the family.

[E]

You knew this guy, this. This watchman?

[D]

No.

[F]

No, but I'm closely related to the.

[D]

Person who killed him.

[E]

Lego Dan.

[D]

What's this you had in your belt, Jamie?

[A]

A gun.

[F]

Two bullets gone, the barrel hot.

[E]

I thought it was you behind me. You're a hard guy to shake.

[D]

Why, Jamie?

[A]

Why?

[D]

You dumb, stupid, crazy kid.

[F]

If you need a dough, all you had to do was whistle if you were in a jam. I was there all the time. All of a sudden the bottom falls out. I got a living, walking nightmare.

[D]

I don't get it, kid. Not you, not Jamie. I don't get it. Why, Jamie, Why?

[F]

One day you're a lightheaded kid who thinks about dates. Next thing I know, you're a killer, a hood. One of the dirty, cold blooded rats I spent half of my life putting in jails.

[E]

Dan, Shut up.

[D]

Shut up, Jamie. What do you got?

[E]

I wasn't smart, Dan. Putting a gun on a bed where I could reach it.

[D]

Put it down, Jamie. Can't, Dan. Jamie. Give me that gun. Get back in here. Can't, Dan. Okay.

[E]

That'S more like I got a gun. Now you got a gun. Even Steven. Now we can play cops and robbers, Danny. Like old times, huh? I'll be the bad guy. He'll be the cop.

[F]

Jamie, come back up off those stairs.

[A]

Uh.

[E]

Can't dance?

[D]

Listen to me, Jamie. Listen. I'm soft. I hate to hurt people.

[F]

It's what's held me down. I see too much good in everybody.

[D]

But listen, Jamie, I got a job. And right now you're not my brother. You're just anybody with a gun. You're just another menace.

[E]

Come on down, Danny. Cops and robbers, you start.

[D]

Jamie, put down that gun.

[E]

No, you put yours down.

[D]

Jamie.

[A]

Jamie.

[D]

Kid.

[E]

Come on, Dan, play the game. Don't chipping on me. Don't make me ashamed of you.

[D]

Jamie. Jamie.

[E]

I can't Come on, Dan. If you don't, I will.

[D]

Nice. Nice, Dan. Nice shot.

[C]

All right here, Officer. Lucky he was out front. That man up at the top of the stairs. He's done and I've seen him.

[E]

All right, everybody. All right, all right. Let.

[H]

Let me through here.

[G]

Let me through now.

[D]

Make way.

[G]

Make way.

[D]

Pipe down, everybody. Oh, hi, Lieutenant.

[F]

This one from the warehouse?

[D]

Yeah.

[F]

Put a blanket around him.

[D]

A blanket?

[F]

That's what I said, a blanket.

[D]

I want him comfortable, Lieutenant. He's comfortable. He's never going to be uncomfortable again. Hi, Dan. Sure.

[F]

Sorry.

[D]

Type a report, will you, Pete? Sure. Sure, dad. Are you ready? Yeah. Yeah, Dan.

[F]

Name is was.

[D]

James Shetland.

[F]

Age 24. Height, 5 foot 11.

[D]

Occupation say clerk. Shot while attempting escape.

[C]

Come on, Jamie. I'll play you.

[D]

Cops and robbers. Victim was suspect in armed robbery, resulting homicide.

[C]

Oh, my. Well, you don't see why all the time. Gotta be the bad guy.

[D]

Victim pronounced dead on arrival. Gunshot wound, abdomen.

[C]

This time you'll be the bad guy. I'll be the cop. Now, I just caught you, see, and you still got a gun. And you see me standing there in what you're doing.

[D]

Sign it. Sign it. Shetland Detective, Third Precinct. Oh, Jamie. Oh, God, Jamie.

[B]

So you sit there, Detective Shevlin pounding a fist against the desk. Brutal, hard smashes, Fruitless, frustrated smashes, those of a man suffering the knife cut of tragedy. You sit there crying the broken, harsh sobs of a man who knows that men can't cry but do. Outside, the night dissolves into dawn. Once again, 8 million players prepare the new act of the human comedy. For you, a life is ended.

[D]

The play is finished.

[B]

And from deep within the sphere of your sorrow, a memory has been born. This is the story. Detective Shevlin. It Happens to you. It Happens to you is written and produced by Rod Serling. Direction Charles Lammers. Next week, another story out of the lives of We Lead. A Girl, A Love Affair, a tragedy. You live it next week when It Happens to you.

[F]

Rod Serling's It Happens to you.

[A]

Exclusively on the big broadcast.

[F]

And Mark, listening to that and knowing the Twilight Zone as well as I.

[B]

Do, I couldn't help but think, but.

[A]

This is Rod Serling. Early in his career, mind you, but he's really developing as a writer. Absolutely. And that's one of the things that Plain Dealer writer Bill Sloat spoke to us about when we played a few of these excerpts for him, was that Serling style, the crisp, terse, staccato dialogue is already in place at this early date. But really, it's a great treat to be able to present for the first time in nearly half a century, this previously lost episode of It Happens to youo, written and produced by Rod Serling. On tonight's big broadcast.