Suspense (1949): "The Parcel" starring Lee Marvin; 4 March 1950 (Season 2, Episode 28)

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• published: 13 Mar 2013
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Suspense (1949): "The Parcel"; 4 March 1950 (Season 2, Episode 28). From IMDb: "Tommy, an errand boy, hangs around a hot dog stand when he's not in transit. The stand, a front for criminal enterprises, proves dangerous when he's hired by a shady character to deliver a package at exactly 5pm that evening. With time to kill, he goes to a baseball game. Tommy doesn't realize that the package contains 20 grand from a payroll heist and that a pair of criminals know it's in his possession.". " 2 out of 2 people found the following review useful: Top flight early TV noir, 20 February 2011 8/10 *** This review may contain spoilers *** In this episode we have Conrad Janis as a messenger boy working at a Brooklyn hotel. It is a hot, sweltering summer day and Janis is talking to Ann Thomas, the waitress at the local hot dog stand. Janis is complaining about the 25 cent tip he got for delivering a letter to Staten Island. Hanging around the stand are the local pickpockets, Ray Walston and Royal Dano. Janis heads back to the hotel to see if there are any new deliveries to make. He is sent upstairs to a room to see Peter Capell. Capell wants Janis to deliver a small package back to him a few blocks away. But he does not want it delivered till 6 o'clock. Janis starts to b###h about the 5 hours he will be carting the package around. Capell tells him to shut up and hands him a ten spot. "There will be another ten in it when you deliver the package back to me" Twenty bucks! Janis agrees and heads back to the hot dog stand. What to do with the rest of the afternoon? Just after Janis leaves Capell's room there is a knock on his door. Before he can answer, in burst a couple of nasty looking types, Harold J Stone and Lee Marvin. "Hand over the dough!" says Stone. It seems that Capell, Stone and Marvin had knocked over a bank and gotten away with 20 grand. Capell had then ditched the other two and went into hiding with the loot. Of course Stone and Marvin are less than happy with having to hunt down Capell. Marvin starts with a beating as Stone looks on with a big grin. Not finding the cash, or getting any info from Capell, Marvin pulls a knife and finishes off Capell. Janis is now back at the hot dog stand telling Thomas about the big tip he just got. Pickpockets Walston and Dano have just relieved a passing pedestrian of his wallet and are rifling through same. All they find is three tickets to that afternoon's Dodgers game. Overhearing Janis complain about having to lug around the package all afternoon, they invite him along. As the trio leave, who should show but Stone and Marvin. The two are not in the best of moods as they discuss their next move. Waitress Thomas tells the pair about her day and mentions the parcel pick-up Janis just made at the hotel. Light-bulbs go off! The cash must be in the parcel! The pair head off to the ball park in pursuit. They catch up to Janis just as he about to hit the stands. They make a grab for the parcel but are scared off by a passing cop. Janis takes his seat with Walston and Dano. He tells them about the bozo's that tried to grab his package. Walston and Dano suggest they have a boo at the contents. A small tear and a quick look exposes the 20 large. Walston and Dano now decide the package is theirs, but not for long. Stone and Marvin join them with guns handy and explain the error of their ways. A bullet in the back is all they are going to get. This is really turning into a less than stellar day for Janis. All seems lost till the stolen wallet's owner shows up with some cops. Stone and Marvin bolt for the exit with two boys in blue in hot pursuit. Janis hands over the cash to other Police and sighs. The ten dollar tip is at least his. They sure crammed a lot of story into the half hour runtime of this episode. This was the second billed part for Marvin. The screenplay was by Alvin Sapinsley who worked on TV series as varied as, MAN FROM UNCLE, HAWAII 5-0 and NIGHT GALLERY. The director was vet television man Robert Stevens who also supplied the story."