I picked up a lot of MGM's "Midnite Movies" discs for a pittance over the summer, and I've just started working my way through them. The Raven, Scream and Scream Again, Theater of Blood, the Phibes flicks - along with the Universal and Hammer monster romps, these movies are what Halloween is all about. They're spooky and full of macabre glee, and their goal is to entertain rather than shock or disturb. And even at their most exploitative, they maintain a veneer of class thanks to the participation of Vincent Price. Because Price pretty much defined class.
As to be expected for someone with such a mellifluous voice, Price did a lot of radio during the early days of his career. While I'm rather fond of his long tenure as Leslie Charteris' The Saint, his most memorable role is undoubtedly the lead in "Three Skeleton Key". Based on a story by French author George Toudouze, it's the story of a lonely lighthouse, a ghostly unmanned ship, and rats. Lots and lots of rats.
The story was first featured on Escape in the fall of 1949, with Elliott Reid as Jean, the main character and narrator. "Three Skeleton Key" proved such a hit that it was remade less than six months later, in March of 1950, with Vincent Price stepping into the lead role for the first time. Ben Wright took over for a 1953 airing, and Price would reprise the role for Suspense in 1956 and 1958. However, it's the 1950 broadcast that is considered the definitive rendition of the play, and it's that version that I'm sharing today.
Thanks to strong performances and award-winning sound effects, "Three Skeleton Key" became one of the most popular programs of the Golden Age of Radio. Many of us too young to have heard the original broadcasts are still quite familiar with the story, thanks to the reminiscences and retellings of our parents and grandparents. This inspired a memorable SCTV sketch, in which a boy won't go to sleep unless his dad tells him a really spooky story. After several failed attempts, the father goes all out with a tale of rats attacking an old man in an isolated lighthouse. Unfortunately, Dad does too good of a job, as the shocking image below attests:
Hopefully, you won't have a similar reaction.
You can listen to "Three Skeleton Key" via the embedded player below. Or you can visit the Internet Archive and download the mp3 to play later on your iThingy.
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