FORD STARTIME: THE WICKED SCHEME OF JEBAL DEEKS (TV)
Summary
One in this series of hour-long variety and dramatic shows presented by the Ford Motor Company. This episode presents "The Wicked Scheme of Jebal Deeks," a drama about a disgruntled bank employee enacting elaborate corporate sabotage against his employers. Jebal Deeks has worked for Valley National Bank for over 27 years, and it has been a thankless position. His co-workers constantly mock him and his salary is low. One day he becomes fed up with his work and decides to steal money from the deposits and walk out with it, but relents at the last minute; his true aim is not to steal money but to see the executives of the bank, whom he despises, suffer. One of the bank vice-presidents, Arthur Byrnes, introduces Jebal to Miss Calhoun, a new hire working for customer relations. At Byrnes's order, Jebal shows Miss Calhoun around the various parts of the bank; over his long years of service to the bank he has worked virtually every position and knows the functions of the bank intimately. After hearing a church sermon about the importance of giving, Jebal gets the inspiration for a scheme to ruin Valley National Bank. He sets his plan into motion, first by placing extra money into the teller's boxes in order to befuddle the records, then by sabotaging the payroll so that paychecks are delivered to the wrong recipients. Soon Jebal's tampering causes chaos on the bank floor, and the various vice-presidents summon Jebal to their meeting. They ask him for suggestions as to how to deal with the crisis, deferring to his expertise. After some argument, they take Jebal's suggestion of bringing in outside auditors despite the expense. The auditors cannot determine the source of the bank's troubles and recommend them to a notorious company of efficiency experts. Jebal tampers with the vault, trapping one of the bank executives within. As the bank employees scramble to get the vault door open, Jebal quietly recommends getting a wrecking crew to destroy the vault door with dynamite. The bank executives reluctantly agree and the vault is blown open. They also decide to call in an efficiency expert named Bricklow, to whom Jebal is assigned. He asks that Miss Calhoun be made his assistant; they have gotten along quite well during her employment at Valley National Bank. Jebal subtly manipulates Bricklow into becoming suspicious of the bank executives, particularly after Jebal provokes an enraged outburst from Byrnes by locking him out of his office. Bricklow calls the executives together, calling their methods "archaic" and recommending hugely expensive changes to the bank's layout and advertising strategies. He also recommends firing Byrnes. As the executives discuss Bricklow's ideas, Jebal speaks up and declares that Bricklow is conning them into making unnecessary expenditures. He proposes that he can act as a "watchdog" and get the bank straightened out in a month. The executives take him up on his offer and promote him to Director of Procedures. Jebal "fixes" the bank's problems by ceasing his sabotage. His apparent competence quickly earns him further promotions, first to 2nd Vice President and then to Vice President. During all this, Jebal keeps receiving tokens of congratulations sent by an anonymous well-wisher, much to his puzzlement. Finally the bank president decides to resign due to health issues and Jebal is promoted to fill the position. Miss Calhoun is promoted to Jebal's old position of office manager. Jebal's enjoyment of his post is short-lived, however, when he discovers that someone else is replicating his sabotage on the bank floor, altering the teller records just as he did. Fearful of being found out as a fraud, Jebal feigns his own health problems and steps down from his post. Jebal solemnly leaves the bank, wondering who could be replicating his scheme. After he leaves, it is revealed that Miss Calhoun is the culprit, with her eye on becoming the bank's first female president. Includes commercials.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: November 10, 1959 9:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:00:00
- COLOR/B&W: B&W
- CATALOG ID: B:02268
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1959-1960
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV – Commercials – Ford automobiles
- TV – Promos – "The Ford Show"
- TV – Promos – "Wagon Train"
CREDITS
- Hubbell Robinson … Executive Producer
- Franklin Schaffner … Producer, Director
- James Merrick … Associate Producer
- John D. Hess … Writer
- Ben Ludlow … Music by
- Alec Guinness … Cast, Jebal Deeks
- Henry Jones … Cast, Byrnes
- Patricia Barry … Cast, Miss Calhoun
- Roland Winters … Cast, Fannington
- William Redfield … Cast, Bricklow
- Clinton Sundberg … Cast, Berry
- Bartlett Robinson … Cast, Elliot
- Peter Turgeon … Cast, Colonel Sykes
- Arthur Hughes … Cast, McComb
- Charles White … Cast, Auditor #1
- Woodrow Parfrey … Cast, Auditor #2
- Albert Linville … Cast, Carpovec
- Conrad Bain … Cast, The Minister
- William Hickley … Cast, The Painter
- Bill McCutcheon … Cast, Teller #1
- Ed Preble … Cast, Teller #2
- Allen Joseph … Cast, Teller #3
- Isabel Price … Cast, Miss Morse
- Barbra Lowe … Cast, Miss Lee
- David Doyle … Cast, The Tailor
- James Reese … Cast, The Doctor