"The casting had been more difficult. Macdonnell and Meston both wanted William Conrad for the lead, but CBS objected. Conrad was known as a heavy from his movie roles (Body and Soul; Sorry, Wrong Number; The Killers). He was also a busy radio actor (Escape, Suspense, The Adventures of Sam Spade, many others) with a distinctive air presence. As Conrad told Hickman: "I think when they started casting for it, somebody said, 'Good Christ, let's not get Bill Conrad, we're up to you-know-where with Bill Conrad.' So they auditioned everybody, and as a last resort they called me. And I went in and read about two lines ... and the next day they called me and said, 'Okay, you have the job."