Scott's Old Time Radio

Radio Mystery Theater An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge 0101


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Original Airdate: June 04, 1974

Episode 0101 "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge"

Original Story by Ambrose Bierce, Adapted by Sam Dann, Directed by Himan Brown,

Host: E.G. Marshall

In 1862, during the American Civil War, a Southern civilian is about to be hanged for attempting to sabotage a railway bridge. The execution is about to take place from the bridge, but when the plank is kicked away, instead of breaking his neck, he manages to miraculously escape unscathed or did he?

Join me in a journey over a strange terrain. A terrain filled with terror. and clouded by suspense. And ask, ask yourself, how long is a minute? What is eternity? And learn, perhaps, that one can be as long as the other.

They're going to hang Peyton Forrester, hang him by the neck until he is dead. Hang him high from the top of the Owl Creek Bridge, 50 feet above the rushing torrent, which is now raging in full flood. Peyton Forrester stands on a single fragile plank. The rope is already around his neck. 30 feet of slack neatly coiled beside his boots. But this is not a lynching, nor even an ordinary execution. This is a formal military ceremony. Peyton Forrester is a rebel, literally a southern civilian, and he has been captured by the Union Army in the fall of this year of 1863, as he tried to sabotage the Owl Creek railroad bridge, and now he must pay the price. Actually, the only distress evident in the entire scene seems to be manifested by a young soldier, who with his corporal is stationed some 10 feet from Peyton Forrester where they serve solemnly. as his guards.

Starring: William Prince, Mildred Clinton, Jack Grimes, Leon Janney, William Redfield

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Scott's Old Time RadioBy Scott W. Fields