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Escape Radio Shows - The Fourth Man

February 15, 2026·30 min·2 clips

Escape to a South Pacific penal colony where cutthroats and sadists face a living death.

This episode of Escape dramatizes John Russell's story "The Fourth Man," set in the South Pacific penal colony of Noumea. The CBS radio program Escape, produced by William N. Robeson, presents this tale as its final summer series installment. The narrative follows four escaped convicts adrift on a makeshift raft in the open sea. The convicts are introduced as Du Boz, a doctor and murderer; Fenneru, a forger described as a weakling and coward; and two others whose identities are not fully detailed in this transcript excerpt. Their raft is constructed from reeds, bamboo, and logs, featuring a sail made of pandanus leaves and a wooden paddle for steering. The men are depicted as huddled together, their bodies blackened with dried blood and wearing only tattered blue convict uniforms. They bear the physical marks of their imprisonment, with dark, wrinkled stains from manacles on their wrists and ankles. The setting is established as the infamous French penal colony, a place synonymous with a living death for society's outcasts. The story's opening emphasizes the desperate nature of their flight from Noumea. The phrase "The raft stood to open sea" is repeated for dramatic effect, highlighting their isolation. The specific crimes of the characters—murder and forgery—immediately establish their morally complex backgrounds. The description of their matted hair and bloodied bodies viscerally conveys the brutality of their prior existence. The raft's primitive construction from natural materials underscores their resourcefulness and dire circumstances. The term "living death" used for the penal colony powerfully frames their escape as a bid for life itself. The inclusion of a "triple rose of bladders" as part of the raft's description adds a precise, nautical detail to the scene. The tone is highly atmospheric and suspenseful, plunging the listener directly into a tense, survivalist scenario. The style is classic radio drama, relying on vivid, descriptive narration and character archetypes to build a grim, adventurous mood. Listeners who enjoy tightly plotted, atmospheric tales of survival and moral ambiguity from the golden age of radio would love this episode. Those preferring modern, dialogue-driven narratives or lighter subject matter might skip this grim period piece.

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