Radio Mystery Theater Diary of a Madman 0062

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Original Airdate: March 25, 1974
Episode 0062 "Diary of a Madman"

Original Story by Guy de Maupassant, Adapted by Sam Dann, Directed by Himan Brown
Host: E.G. Marshall

This namesake of the famous Nikolai Gogol story deals with the confession of a magistrate to multiple arbitrary homicides.

The law says thou shalt not kill And that's the law most of us openly acknowledge Yet there are other laws, laws and drives that stir primitive long-forgotten urges instincts laws that raise murder from the worst of sins to the most satisfying of deeds.

Homicide is illegal, immoral, and a mortal sin. We condemn and punish the murderer. And yet from time to time, doesn't an entire nation rise up in righteous anger and slaughter another nation? And so, there are those who, naturally enough, ponder the question. If it's noble to kill for one's country at wholesale, why is it base? to kill for oneself at retail. These are the thoughts that occupy the mind of a tall, well-dressed, dignified gentleman. He's walking down a deserted street very late one night in the early summer, some 25 years ago. As he passes a darkened doorway, he hears a gasp.

Starring: Larry Haines, Evie Juster, William Redfield, Robert Dryden

Chapters:
00:00:00-00:02:05 Opening
00:02:06-00:17:46 Act One
00:17:47-00:31:21 Act Two
00:31:22-00:43:56 Act Three
00:43:57-00:46:51 Closing