RESCUE 8 was a series that lasted for 2 seasons (1958-1960), an interesting predecessor to the more popular 70s drama EMERGENCY! in that Jim Davis and Lang Jeffries are the duo conducting rescue missions in the Los Angeles area. Episode 20 from Feb 3 1959, "Flash Flood" presents an unusual dilemma, as desolate Ivy Canyon must be evacuated before a dam bursts, and one man refuses to leave, Craig Burke (John Carradine), convinced that his home is more than capable of withstanding any flooding, refusing to be duped out of his hidden fortune. A former silent film star specializing in big game animal footage, the now eccentric recluse sets traps all over his property, just as dangerous to unsuspecting humans as to the jungle cats they were intended for. Wilde's daughter Millie (Virginia Christine) explains how her father began to lose his reason following the death of her mother Wilma, whose portrait still adorns their wall, surrounded by trophies of past kills, referring to potential enemies as 'hyenas' or 'vultures' (Jim Davis as Wes Cameron figures Burke to be a 'retired executioner'). Legendary scene stealer John Carradine is in definite oddball mode, carefully orchestrating each move made by his potential rescuers, later reunited with Virginia Christine in 1965's infamous "Billy the Kid Versus Dracula" (Lew Landers had previously directed Carradine's 1944 Columbia vehicle "The Black Parachute"). In 1974, Carradine would appear on EMERGENCY! ("Daisy's Pick Blind Date") as a retired navy captain who accidentally glues his hands to the bottom of a model of his favorite WW2 vessel, the Northern Star.
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