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Run For Your Life
Starring Ben Gazzara
Episode:
Hoodlums on Wheels
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Synopsis: At a lake resort Paul's life is threatened when he is taken prisoner along with a mother and daughter by an outlaw bike gang responsible for a killing. With John Drew Barrymore as Goebels, Marsha Hunt as Mrs. Southworth, Karen Jensen as Elke, Stuart Anderson as Smoky, Leslie Perkins as Velva, Norman Grabowski as Mickey Moose, James Oliver as Oregon, Gregg Palmer as the Victim, Hinton Pope as the State Trooper
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Episode 21
First broadcast on
February 21, 1966
Written by Halsted Welles
Directed by Richard Benedict
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SEE INDIVIDUAL PHOTOS OF ENTIRE CAST AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE

Creative Team
Producer
Jo Swerling Jr.
Associate Producer
Paul Freeman
Music
Pete Rugolo
Director of Photography
John L. Russell A.S.C.
Art Director
Howard E. Johnson
Film Editor
Carl Pingitore
Unit Manager
Willard Sheldon
Assistant Director
Lou Watt
Set Decorators
John McCartey &
Perry Murdoch
Sound
James T. Porter
Color Coordinator
Robert Brower
Color by Pathe
Editorial Dept. Head
David J. O'Connell
Musical Supervisor
Stanley Wilson
Costumes by Burton Miller
Makeup
Bud Westmore
Hair Stylist
Larry Germain
Links to Other Episodes
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Paul meets a mother and daughter at the lake
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The Plot:
In a parking lot an outlaw biker gang covered with Nazi symbols hits up a man for five dollars, and when he won't give them the money, they beat him up, but manage to avoid pursuing police.
On a sentimental journey to the nearby lake where his parents used to own a cottage, Paul encounters Mrs. Southworth and her daughter Elke, closing up the house they rent out over the summer. After a few pleasantries, he continues his walk.
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Daughter and mother are caught trying to escape
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Continuing their own journey, the bikers hear over the radio that the man they assaulted has died from his injuries. They look for a quick place to hide, pull up where the women are just about to depart, and tie and gag them.
Paul passes by and looks around suspiciously. When he spots the car in the garage, the bikers jump him, and though he resists, he too ends up bound and gagged. When allowed to speak again, Paul asks the gang's plans, and they say they'll stay until the food runs out.
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Elke says she always wanted to know about her parents
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But alone together, the gang decide to kill the three, to avoid their later identifying them. When the opportunities present themselves, Paul begins working on Velva, the one girl in the group, on the dangers of capture, why she's in the gang, the crime committed, and any angle that might separate her from the others. But to each he points out how greater their punishment will be if they kill the three.
Also talking among themselves, and realizing they may be facing death, the daughter reveals that she is adopted, and she shares her story with Paul
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The newspaper clipping reveals a family scandal
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To find a change of clothes for their getaway, the gang break down the attic door, then into a trunk. They speak openly now about killing the three, then find an old photo of a couple in front of the house. The gang leader reads from a clipping in the trunk, revealing the lady of the house to have been an invalid who drowned when her wheelchair slid off the edge of the boat landing. It further comes out that her husband is Elke's father, and his wife committed suicide when she found out about his love affair with her nurse, Mrs. Southworth. Though she never saw him again, he left her the house when he died.
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They listen to the troopers movements in the yard
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The uncovering of family history is suddenly halted by the sound of a state trooper arriving in the yard. The gang watches, and as he obviously finds evidence that someone is home, before he can call for reinforcements, the gang leader shoots him with a rifle. This now changes their plans, and they need to move on as quickly as possible. When they go upstairs to shave off their beards, Paul again begins to point out to Velva the trouble she is in. She is obviously upset by the killing, and the fact the hostages will also be murdered.
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Velma finally makes the decision to untie them
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Paul tells her that it's inevitable that they'll be caught and face a death sentence, but he says that he and the two women will vouch for her if she unties their bonds.
Velva is obviously torn between loyalty to the gang and saving her own skin, and wavers in both directions, then takes Paul's instructions to cut their bonds so that he can initiate a plan.
Then Paul calls the leader to come downstairs, proposing to make a deal to save his life.
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Paul has overcome the gang
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Appearing still to be tied up, Paul says that the gang might need money to get away.
The leader looks interested, and in that split second of hesitation, Paul jumps him.
In the ensuing struggle, Paul overcomes the man, and has him on the floor with the shotgun pointed to his head.
When the others race downstairs to see what the commotion is, they too are forced to drop their weapon.“Now, come down and pick up your Fueher,” Paul says.
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 Review: A siege episode was inevitable at some point in the series, but utterly distasteful, it's difficult to praise this Hoodlums on Wheels, a production that is nevertheless done very professionally and realistically.
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John Drew Barrymore
as Goebels
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Marsha Hunt as
Mrs. Southworth
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Karen Jensen
as Elke
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Stuart Anderson
as Smoky
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Leslie Perkins
as Velva
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Norman Grabowski
as Mickey Moose
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James Oliver
as Oregon
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Gregg Palmer
as the Victim
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Hinton Pope as
the State Trooper
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