STUDIO ONE--SENTENCE OF DEATH (1953) with James Dean

This is a "live" episode from the long running anthology series, "WESTINGHOUSE: STUDIO ONE". This series ran for 467 episodes between 1948-58.

Betsy Palmer is an uptown society dame who stops by a drug store for cigs, a sandwich and to make a phone call. She has just started her call when a man (Barnett Biro) walks in, shoots the owner, rifles the cash from the till and dashes out.

The owner's wife (Virginia Vincent) looks at her dead husband (Fred Scollay) and starts screaming. The police detectives arrive and start questioning the witnesses for a description. Gene Lyons and Ralph Dunn play the detectives. Besides Vincent and Palmer, there is an older couple (Henry Sharpe and Eda Heineman) who saw the crime.

From the description, the Police round up the usual suspects and anyone they find out that night. At the lineup, Vincent points to a man (James Dean) then cries out, "That's the man! That's the killer!" Sharpe and Heineman join in and the cops slap on the cuffs. Palmer is not sure Dean is the shooter and says so. Dean of course denies he had anything to do with the shooting.

Within 6 weeks, Dean has his trial and gets sentenced to the chair.

Detective Lyons thinks they might have moved a bit too fast here and tells his partner. He pays a visit to death row to see Dean. He looks Dean in the eye and asks if he is guilty. "No" is the answer.

Lyons now decides to question all the witnesses again. Vincent starts weeping when asked if Dean is the right man. She gives him the evil eye and throws him out of the drug store. Lyons then questions the old couple. They simply repeat the same details as Vincent did. Were they just parroting Vincent at the trial?

As all this is happening, Palmer, while taking in a late drink at a bar, gets a fright. It is the man "she" saw that night at the drugstore (Biro). He has one drink, then leaves. Palmer calls the detectives and the D.A. to inform them. The D.A. and detective Dunn blow it off as Palmer having one too many drinks. Detective Lyons is not so sure.

With only two weeks before Dean gets the big voltage, Lyons and Palmer decide to stake out the club.

Several days later, the man strolls in for a cold one. Lyons and Palmer trail the man back to a nearby apartment block. Lyons tells Palmer to stay back in the shadows while he knocks on the door. Biro answers. Lyons flashes his badge and tells Biro he is asking about a string of burglaries in the neighborhoods.

Biro responds that he knows nothing about it. Lyons bulls his way in and whom does he find in the apartment? None other than Vincent, the darling widow of the murdered man! Biro tries for the door but several jabs and a right cross put an end to that idea.

It seems that Biro and Vincent were having an affair and decided the husband needed to go. Vincent had fingered Dean at the lineup because they needed a patsy for the crime.

Dean is set free and the two lovers locked up.





The episode is a pretty intense example of live television.

Matt Harlib was the director of the show. The screenplay was by Adrian Spies. Spies wrote for series as varied as Hawaii 5-O, T.J. Hooker, Dr Kildare, The Walter Winchell File, Felony Squad, Wagon Train and The Untouchables.