This episode is famously cited by historians as a stylistic dry run for one of the most significant events in broadcasting history.

Episode Overview

• Title: "The Death Triangle"
• First Aired: December 12, 1937
• Network: Mutual Broadcasting System
• Sponsor: Blue Coal

Cast & Voice Actors

• The Shadow / Lamont Cranston: Orson Welles
• Margot Lane: Agnes Moorehead
• Announcer: Ken Roberts
• Dr. James Evans: Supporting cast member
• Organist: Elsie Thompson

Episode Summary

The story begins with a harrowing scene from the past: the brutal lashing of a prisoner named Pierre Martin on the notorious Devil's Island. Martin vows to find and destroy the devil who betrayed him.

Years later, the "Death Triangle" comes to life. The episode takes a dramatic and confusing turn when a simulated news bulletin interrupts the program. The announcer reports that a wounded man claiming to be The Shadow has forced his way into the clinic of Dr. James Evans, a world-famous surgeon, at gunpoint. Dr. Evans is coerced into removing a bullet, and the stranger reveals he is the legendary crime-fighter before vanishing. As the police and public scramble to identify the vigilante, Lamont Cranston must navigate a web of betrayal involving former inmates of Devil's Island and protect a man whose past has finally caught up with him.

Trivia & Fun Facts

• The "War of the Worlds" Blueprint: This episode is a landmark in radio technique. It used the fake news flash device to blur the lines between fiction and reality. Orson Welles would later refine this exact technique for his 1938 War of the Worlds broadcast, which famously caused a national panic.

• The Vulnerable Shadow: This is one of the rare instances where the Shadow is portrayed as physically vulnerable—specifically, being shot and requiring medical attention. This added a layer of realism to a character usually seen as an untouchable phantom.

• Devil's Island Influence: The French penal colony of Devil's Island was a popular trope in 1930s pulp and film (notably inspiring Papillon decades later). This episode tapped into the public's fascination with the island's reputation for cruelty and impossible escapes.

• The Confusing Script: Old Time Radio historians often describe the plot of "The Death Triangle" as particularly dense or confusing, even by the standards of the genre, due to its rapid transitions and the nested story of the Devil's Island escapees.

Credits

• Host and Producer Gizelle Erickson
• Executive Producer Jon Hagadorn
• Music: Thanks to Sound Gallery By Dmitry Taras "Scary Horror Music"
• The Shadow sourced by AcousticMonster on Internet Archive

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