The Man Behind the Badge (TV Series) The Case of the Dying Past (1955) User Reviews

Murder in Vermont

[Paularoc · 6/10 · 27 September 2012]

This episode focuses on a State attorney's investigation of claims by an anonymous letter writer that Clyde Warren is loaning money at usurious rates. The attorney, whose territory is a Vermont county with a population of 62,000, interviews the old man who rattles on about how weak people are today and how much he regrets the changes that have been happening (unspecified changes but since he repairs wagon wheels and saddles we can speculate). As the narrator says "He clings to the traditions of a world long past." That's okay but he also charges 20% interest on money he loans. That's not okay and he is soon found beaten to death. The obvious suspect is from those who Warren lent money to, and the attorney does a nice bit of detective work to uncover the culprit. A highlight of this episode is Harry Shannon's portrayal of Clyde Warren - I immediately recognized his face but had to look up his name; I must have seen him in a hundred or more Westerns and television shows. Jan Merlin was a well known face and name as well.