Trent’s Last Case

Originally Aired: December 7, 1953 Suspense #529, "Trent's Last Case," brings to life E.C. Bentley's classic detective novel starring Ronald Colman as Philip Trent, a journalist-investigator called to the English countryside to solve a murder. Financial titan Sigsby Manderson, a ruthless manipulator who accumulated enemies with every dollar, has been shot dead on his estate in Bishopsbridge. Trent's investigation becomes complicated when he meets Mr. Cupples, whose niece Mabel is Manderson's widow. Cupples reveals that Manderson had been treating his young wife miserably in recent months, and that he himself publicly threatened the financier after being repeatedly rebuffed when trying to discuss the matter. As Trent explores the grounds where the body was discovered, he encounters Marlowe, Manderson's nervous secretary who claims to have been away on an urgent errand to Southampton at the time of the murder. Marlowe mysteriously warns Trent to leave Mrs. Manderson alone in his investigation. When Trent reaches the house, he finds Inspector Murch of Scotland Yard already on the case, examining a peculiar crime scene where the well-dressed victim wore oddly mismatched shoes. With too many suspects and a missing murder weapon, Trent faces a puzzle worthy of the dead man's formidable reputation.