Our pic of the day revisits another of Timothy’s uncredited but distinctive small roles (he hated the term “bit part”). This one is from Russell Rouse‘s House of Numbers (1957), starring Jack Palance in a dual role as a prisoner and his brother who is helping him escape. Frenchy is the prisoner brother’s cellmate, who chats amiably about prison food and magazines he’s already read.

Strangely enough, two of Tim’s prisoner characters have this contraption in their ear – here and in Convicts 4 (1962). Not exactly sure if it’s a hearing aid or a transistor radio; I suspect the former. Also not exactly sure why it only turns up in his prisoner roles. Nevertheless, it’s an interesting character trait.