I really enjoyed this episode. It had interesting characters and an eerie, intriguing plot. The acting and production values were top-notch. Also, I noticed that the music was especially good. There seemed to be some new music written for this one, in addition to the usual incidental themes, which really enhanced the dark sense of foreboding.

It is also an excellent dramatization. Guy de Maupassant's original story is engaging, but extremely short---barely 8 pages long. Presented as a brief unsettling anecdote, the tale is told by the magistrate to a group of ladies at a party in Paris. In the original story there is no insane wife and no betrayal by the magistrate with regard to sending the letter to America---in fact, his friendship with Sir Rowell is not nearly as close. Their acquaintance is only casual. Also, the hand is already there chained to the wall. The next thing our narrator hears, Rowell is dead, and he must go to investigate the grisly murder.

The original story is effective because it is so short, giving very little foreshadowing, so the final outcome with the hand is a shocking, mysterious revelation. Ian Martin has done a skillful job of adapting the story into a play by adding just enough plot elements and foreshadowing to increase the dramatic conflict, as well as the suspense. In doing so, he successfully sustains the story for 40-odd minutes and, despite major plot additions, makes the play feel the same as the original short story.

There is only one really important thing omitted from Martin's adaptation. In the original, De Maupassant cleverly gives us the option of a rational explanation for the murder. This, I think, is a master stroke. By casting doubt into the reader's mind at the end, he leaves us feeling, somehow, even more unsettled. Too bad it was left out of the radio play. Read the story and see what you think.