Somebody Help Me

Originally Aired: March 29, 1954 In Suspense #545, "Somebody Help Me," Eddie Franklin is a man barely holding himself together after a volatile confrontation with his ex-wife Shirley. Divorced for three months, Eddie erupts in rage when Shirley refuses his desperate pleas for reconciliation, insisting their marriage is over. Shaken and aimless, Eddie drives through the autumn twilight until he spots Eileen Hall waiting for a bus. He offers her a ride, and what begins as a friendly evening quickly reveals Eddie's unstable nature as minor provocations—a driver wanting his parking space, someone bumping into him at a crowded dance hall—trigger violent outbursts that disturb and frighten Eileen. Based on a true story, this episode chronicles seven hours that Cornell Wilde's character Eddie spends with the unsuspecting Eileen before darkness within him fully emerges. As Eddie oscillates between tender moments and explosive anger, Eileen finds herself trapped in an increasingly dangerous situation with a man whose rage simmers just beneath the surface, ready to erupt at the slightest perceived offense.