Escape and Suspense!

Escape - The Red Forest

"The Red Forest" is one of Escape's better tales of epic adventure.The story begins on a mountain road in the Idaho wilderness where Wally Pindell is driving towards Montana. Along the way he picks up a female hitch-hiker named Jan. They notice an ominous glow in the distance, but they don't know what it is until they reach a road block. A ranger explains to them that a forest fire is burning out of control and it isn't possible to go any farther. Wally and Jan are then pressed into service to help fight the fire. Somehow, they have to escape the deadly forest and make their way to safety.

"The Red Forest" was written by Antony Ellis and produced/directed by William N. Robson. This story was presented twice with William Conrad in the role of Wally and Georgia Ellis as Jan. The casting of the support roles in the two versions includes many of Escape's regular performers. The story aired the first time on August 11, 1950, with Paul Frees, Ben Wright, Jay Novello, and Will Geer.

.  Download Escape.1950.08.11_Red_Forest.mp3

Escape presented this story again with Parley Baer, John Dehner, Jay Novello and Tom Tully on August 2, 1953.

.  Download Escape.1953.08.02_The_Red_Forest.mp3

(Image from Wikimedia Commons)

Suspense - Motive for Murder

The mysterious murder of a vacuum cleaner salesman is a dilemna for Alan Ladd in Suspense's "Motive for Murder." He plays a detective named "Irish" whose wife, Mary, has just been found passed out alongside a dead salesman. All of the evidence points to Mary, but Irish believes she was framed. He intends to go through the facts one by one to prove her innocence. These are things he knows for sure:

Fact! -- Strangers usually don't kill each other.

The people involved in this scenario had to have known each other. He sets out to find their connection.

Fact! -- The vacuum cleaner salesman had come to do a demonstration, but there was no vacuum cleaner at the murder scene; therefore, someone had killed to get that vacuum cleaner.

If he can figure out who wanted it, he can find the murderer.

Appearing with Alan Ladd were Joseph Kearns as the lieutenant, Howard McNear, John Dehner, Ed Max, Jeannette Nolan, and Lurene Tuttle.  "Motive for Murder" was based on the 1948 short story by John and Ward Hawkins and was adapted for radio by  E. Jack Neuman.  This show aired on March 16, 1950.

Download suspense_1950.03.16_Motive for Murder.mp3

The same story had been presented the previous year by Radio City Playhouse. Bernard Grant played David Murphy and Mitzi Gould played Mary. The credits aren't given on the recording but the radio adaptation was probably written by Harry W. Junkin. It aired on June 20, 1949.

Download rcph.1949.06.20_Motive_for_Murder.mp3

(Image of Alan Ladd from classicsavers.com.)

Suspense - A Little Piece of Rope

"A Little Piece of Rope" stars Lucille Ball in the fourth of her six appearances on Suspense. It is a peculiar tale about a baby-faced actress in Hollywood named Isabelle who turns to a life of crime. Her youthful appearance and acting skills worked against her as a professional actress, but as a thief they serve her well. Isabelle's criminal inspiration came from an article she had once read in a Victorian-era Police Gazette. It had described "vicious females" who dressed as schoolgirls in order to "entice and trap unwary gentlemen."

Isabelle modernizes the scam and carves out a profitable niche for herself by passing herself off as a schoolgirl. She frequents the areas around high schools, where older men trolling for young girls are to be found, and when one offers her a ride, she accepts. Later, she clubs him with her blackjack and takes off with his cash.

Things are going well but one day she gets into a car with a dangerous man. Isabelle soon discovers that he is the strangler that the police are looking for but how can she prove it to them without exposing her own criminal activity?

"A Little Piece of Rope" was written by Virginia Cross. Anton M. Leader produced and directed. Lucille Ball played Isabelle and Berry Kroeger played the strangler. At the time she appeared on this episode of Suspense, Lucille Ball was promoting her own CBS radio show, My Favorite Husband as well as the movie Sorrowful Jones.  This episode aired October 14, 1948.

.  Download Suspense_1948.10.14_Little_Piece_of_Rope.mp3

(Image of Lucille Ball from Wikimedia Commons)

Escape - The Sure Thing

John and Gwen Bagni wrote some of Escape's better episodes and if you like their style of dangerous adventure stories, then you will like "The Sure Thing." In this story a ship's doctor from a fancy cruise boat responds to a call for help from a schooner off the coast of Cuba. What he finds onboard is an "accident victim" with a terrible leg injury. The doctor can see that the man was shot but the other people on the boat aren't being honest about what happened. The doctor realizes he is in trouble when he discovers that the schooner is not headed to Havana but to some other location. What does the wounded man have that is so valuable? It doesn't take long for this doctor to figure it out and make the most of it.

"The Sure Thing" was produced and directed by William N. Robson. John Hoyt starred as the doctor. Also featured were William Conrad, Fay Baker, and Ian Wolfe.  This episode aired on October 15, 1949.

.  Download Escape.1949.10.15_Sure_Thing,_The.mp3

This story was performed a second time on January 17, 1950. The second version was also produced and directed by William N. Robson. This version starred Anthony Ross as the doctor. Also featured were Jeff Corey, Fay Baker and Ian Wolfe.

.  Download Escape_1950.01.17_TheSureThing.mp3

(Map of Cuba from Wikimedia Commons )

News from Escape and Suspense!

Thanks to those of you who have left comments and sent e-mails. We appreciate your support and of course, our imaginary Escape and Suspense! Communications Team, (pictured right) is always at your service. This week they have prompted me to put out a bulletin about current events.

First, the companion blog that I have been working on about the television show Suspense will soon be up and rolling. That project was delayed because it required more time than expected. For those interested in the television show, thirty more episodes will soon be available. The second volume of DVDs for Suspense: The Lost Episodes is scheduled to be released at the end of October. (Click on the purple widget to the left for more information.)

October will also bring Halloween and with it the opportunity to post scary episodes. It should be fun, and I hope that you enjoy them.

xoxo,

Christine

Suspense - The Twelfth Rose

In Suspense's cautionary tale "Pretty Girl" we learn what can happen when a girl plays games with the wrong guy. In "The Twelfth Rose" we learn what can happen when a guy makes a fool of the wrong girl.

This is a story about murder, revenge, and floristry in New York City. The episode begins when the police are called to investigate the murder of a young woman. The victim was strangled by floral wire taken from a bouquet of roses. The murderer was probably her date, the man who brought her the flowers, but no one saw him. The police think that the one person who could identify him would be the florist who sold him the roses. Now they have to find that florist before the killer strikes again.

"The Twelfth Rose" was written by Charles B. Smith.  Miss Craig was played by radio and television actress Paula Winslowe. Also featured were Stacy Harris, Virginia Gregg, Don Diamond, Eleanor Tanin, Herbert Ellis, Miriam Wolfe and Jack Carroll. This episode aired June 5, 1956.

.  Download Suspense_1956.06.05_TheTwelfthRose.mp3

(Image from Morguefile.com)

Suspense - The Black Door

With "The Black Door" Suspense puts forward a story that is engrossing yet absurd. This episode is about the discovery of a "dead city" once inhabited by dog-headed creatures from the moon.

"The Black Door" is a suspenseful adventure story but there are a couple of flaws. The most obvious is that man has visited the moon since this story was written and we know that it isn't populated by dog-headed creatures. The other flaw is that the main character never gives us his name.

The story begins with the main character, an archaeologist, describing the events that led his current situation.  From the sound of it, he is in a piano bar. As he tells it, he wanted to become a full professor and marry his sweetheart but before he could do that, he had to make his mark on the academic world. That opportunity came when he recieved a grant to search for the lost City of the Fire God.

After two months searching the jungles of Central America in a helicopter, the archaeologist meets Pedro Ramidez. He claims to know the remote, mountain location of the legendary city because his grandfather had once been there. Pedro and the archaeologist make a deal to split any treasure that they find and soon they are on their way.

Like the Indiana Jones movies, this is an archeology story wherein priceless artifacts are destroyed and ancient buildings end up in ruins. That's not entirely the fault of Pedro and the archaeologist. It is the result of the earthquake and volcano that they accidentally set off.

"The Black Door" starred Robert Readick and Ralph Camargo. The radioplay was written by Robert Arthur but it was originally presented on the radio program The Mysterious Traveler. Unfortunately, that episode of Mysterious Traveler is one of the many that are now lost.

This episode aired on November 19, 1961.

.  Download Suspense_1961.11.19_TheBlackDoor.mp3

(Image of Alexander the Great fighting dog-headed men from Wikimedia Commons)

Escape - Two Came Back

"Two Came Back" is one of Escape's better jungle adventure stories because of the dinstictive dialogue and well-crafted radioplay. This is a story about two army veterans and a "treacherous woman" who must trek through a jungle in New Guinea to retrieve a fortune in gold.

The story begins with a man named John Walker explaining how he came to be involved with his two traveling companions, Gabe and Lily. John had saved Gabe's life when they were fighting the Japanese in New Guinea during WWII. Now, years later, Gabe has contacted John, asking him to return to New Guinea and split the profit of a gold mine. John has no reason not to trust Gabe, but there is a problem with Gabe's wife, Lily. She appears to have scant interest in her husband but a significant interest in John. She makes this known to him with a lot of moaning and "bad girl" talk. John realizes that he is in a tricky situation and against his better judgment, he accepts Gabe's offer. The three of them travel to the Sepik River region of New Guinea and follow the river into the mountains. Only two return.

"Two Came Back" was written by political writer Jules Archer and adapted for radio by Savage Dollar. This episode was produced and directed by William N. Robson. Paul Frees played Gabe, the versatile Joan Banks played Lily, and Stacy Harris played John.

This episode aired on August 4, 1950.

.  Download Escape.1950.08.04_Two_Came_Back.mp3

*As was pointed out in the comment section, Suspense also presented an adaptation of this story on June 5, 1960. The radioplay was written for Suspense by Joseph Cochran and Ronald Dawson.

Robert Readick, Connie Lempke, and Richard Donley starred.

.  Download Suspense_1960.06.05_TwoCameBack.mp3

(Image of head tray from Papua New Guinea from Wikimedia Commons)

Revised 9/19/07

Suspense - The Voice of Company A

When William N. Robson was the producer and director of Suspense, he would begin the show by giving the audience a brief introduction to the story that was about to be performed. His monologues were always intriguing but his introduction for the episode "The Voice of Company A" speaks volumes. He described the episode this way: "During its long and distinguished career on the air Suspense has never taken an editorial stand, until now. Now we state unequivically that this program is against murder. Oh, we play around with the more titallating and entertaining aspects of murder from time to time, but fundamentally we are against it as a personal, national or international policy. Only those in favor of murder will find anything objectionable or controversial in the next half hour. The story you are about to hear is but a tiny word of protest, perhaps it is too little, but please God, let it not be too late."

This is a story about "celestial propaganda" that begins in a lab at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The world is on the verge of war and at midnight the United States is planning to launch a screamer satellite that will jam all of the radio and television transmissions on Earth. Dr. George Grieg has been put in charge of the satellite's message but he is haunted by his own experiences as a lieutenant in WWII. Not long before the satellite's launch, he is visited by the ghost of one of the soldiers who served with him. The ghost explains to George that he and all of the other soldiers who died in WWII would like him to put that screamer satellite to a better purpose.

"The Voice of Company A" was written by Michael Frost and starred Everett Sloane. Also appearing were Lillian Buyeff, John Dehner, Jack Kruschen, Barney Phillips, Sam Pierce. This episode aired on August 3, 1958.

.  Download Suspense_1958.08.03_TheVoiceofCompanyA.mp3

(Image from Wikimedia Commons)

Suspense - Plan X

Suspense's "Plan X" is set on the planet Mars in the year 2053. The story opens on the day before the first rocket ship from Earth is expected to land. The citizens of Mars aren't thrilled about the arrival of the Earthlings, but they knew it would happen sooner or later.

In response, the Martian Grand Council decides to put Plan X into effect. All Martians have been trained in the proper execution of this plan for the last fifty years and know what to do. The Grand Council also needs to appoint someone to head the mission and greet the Earthlings, but on Mars, diplomats have been obsolete for many years. Instead, the person with the necessary character traits for the job is selected by the Grand Council's computer. It chooses Xeno, an assembly line worker from an escalator factory.

"Plan X" is an episode of Suspense with subtle humor and a message about colonialism. Jack Benny stars as Xeno in what was the third of his four appearances on Suspense. William Conrad played the voice of the Grand Council. This episode had an unusually large cast, too. Also appearing were Joseph Kearns, Mary Jane Croft, Norma Varden, John McIntire, Trudi Marsden, Howard McNear, Jack Kruschen, William McNear and Stuffy Singer. "Plan X" was written for Suspense by television writer Richard Powell.

This episode was broadcast on February 2, 1953.

.  Download Suspense.1953.02.02_PlanX.mp3

(Image of Mars through the Hubble Space Telescope from Wikimedia Commons)

Escape - Judgement Day at Cripple Deer

"Judgement Day at Cripple Deer" is one of several stories presented by Escape wherein the characters, for one reason or another, are outside the normal realm of the law. In this story, a small group of people stuck in a trading post in the far north believe that one among them is a murderer. Out of a mixture of mistrust and necessity, they take the law into their own hands.

The story is set in Cripple Deer Crossing, a place somewhere in the wilds of Canada's Yukon Territory. At the trading post, McClair, Indian Joe, Belle, and Higgins are awaiting the arrriving of Blakey and Marco. The two have been working up at their gold mine but they are expected to return before the oncoming blizzard sets in. When only Blakey arrives, the other four are suspicious about the fate of Marco. In their minds, the evidence against Blakey doesn't look good. If he did kill Marco, they want to put him on trial now, rather than wait until the spring thaw brings the local Mountie.

"Judgement Day at Cripple Deer" was written by Les Crutchfield and directed by Norman MacDonnell. It starred Lawrence Dobkin and Harry Bartell. Also appearing were Lou Krugman, Georgia Ellis, and James Clayton Post. This episode aired on June 24, 1954.

.  Download Escape_1954.06.24_Judgement_Day.mp3

(Image from Morgue File)

Suspense - The Furnished Floor

Suspense's "The Furnished Floor" invites us into the boarding house of Mrs. Hawkins. As the story begins, she is on the phone describing the unexpected reappearance of her former tenant,  Mr. Jennings. He and his beloved wife, Mabel, had previously rented her upstairs floor, but when Mabel died, he had moved away. Now, Mr. Jennings wants to return and live there again -- with his wife. She had assumed that he meant a new wife, but now, Mrs. Hawkins isn't sure. She doesn't know who has moved in upstairs with him and she doesn't like it. Has Mr. Jennings brought back his late wife's body, does he see her ghost, or has he just gone mad? Or is it all of these?

Mildred Natwick, in her only appearance on the Suspense radio show, starred as Mrs. Hawkins. Don Defore played Mr. Jennings. The radioplay was written by Lucille Fletcher and it demonstrates her particular talent for writing believable female dialogue. This episode was produced and directed by William Spiers and aired September 13, 1945.

.  Download suspense.1945.09.13_Furnished Floor.mp3

(Image of Mildred Natwick in Alfred Hitchcock's 1955 film The Trouble with Harry from Wikimedia Commons)

Suspense - Pretty Girl

To kick off the new school year, here is an episode of Suspense about a college girl who fools around with her professor. "Pretty Girl" is one of Suspense's better cautionary tales.

At the center of the story is a vixen named Emmy. We learn right away that she is pretty and that she easily exerts power over all men. Her prettiness makes her irresistable to them. Unfortunately, she is too young to understand all of the dangers that go along with physical attractions. Emmy has been dating her economics professor, Ray Hamilton, to get a passing grade, but when she tries to break it off, he doesn't take it well. This episode teaches us that girls who play games with men's feelings can wind up with more trouble than they bargained for.

Lynne Allen starred as Emmy and Vic Perrin as Ray. "Pretty Girl" was written by E. Jack Neuman and aired on December 16, 1954.

Download Suspense.1954.12.16_Pretty_Girl.mp3

(Image from Morgue File )

Suspense - Statement of Employee Henry Wilson

Everyone has a coworker who drives them crazy. Suspense's "Statement of Employee Henry Wilson" spins a tale of what can happen when one employee brings out the worst in another.

Henry Wilson had happily worked for his employer for eight years when Charles Dodd came along. Mr. Dodd was ambitious and in two years he overtook Mr.Wilson within the company ranks. Along the way he had also become condescending. One day Mr. Dodd catches a mistake in Wilson's work and tells him that he is going to bring it up with the boss. Mr. Wilson decides that he is going to put an end to any further interference with his livelihood.

"Statement of Employee Henry Wilson" was written by John Shaw. Suspense presented this story twice with the multi-talented Gene Lockhart in the role of Henry Wilson on both occasions. The first presentation was on November 2, 1943.

.  Download Suspense.1943.11.02_Statement_Of_Employee.mp3

Three years later it was presented again, with some changes to the script on September 26, 1946.

.  Download Suspense.1946.09.26_StatementofEmployeeWilson.mp3 

(Image from author's collection) 

Escape - Bloodbath

In Escape's "Bloodbath" a business partnership unravels into a deadly competition.

Five Americans travel deep into the Andes mountains of Peru to search for a vein of uranium ore. As they had hoped, they do find a fortune in uranium. Their plan was to divide the claim five ways, but greed swiftly takes over. Soon they are in a race to return to civilization and claim the land, but the tricky part is getting out of the jungle alive.

Mosquitos, pium flies, bloodsucking carapato ticks, snakes, vampire bats, and piranhas are some of the dangers they have to survive. Vincent Price narrates most of the story and listening to him describe the critters of the Peruvian jungle is entertainment in itself.

"Bloodbath" was written by Academy award winning screenwriter James Poe and starred Vincent Price. The combination of the two was an effective one. Suspense's "Rave Notice" and Escape's "Three Skeleton Key" also featured Vincent Price in a James Poe story. Wally Maher, Ted de Corsia, Paul Frees, and Tony Barrett also appeared. This episode was produced and directed by William N. Robson and aired on June 30, 1950.

.  Download Escape.1950.06.30_Bloodbath.mp3

(Image of vampire bat and Peruvian mountains from Wikimedia Commons)

Suspense - Lady Killer

"Lady Killer" is about an insurance investigator and her hunches. The story begins as Peg Lincoln boards a plane for Capital City with a ticket she bought from a woman in the airport's lobby. Shortly afterwards, the flight's take-off is delayed, and Peg suddenly needs to be taken to the hospital. She believes that she was poisoned by Grant Benton, the charming man who sat next to her on the plane. He appears to have saved her life by getting her to the hospital so quickly, but was he the one who caused the harm? The police tell her that he is above reproach and that she is imagining danger where there is none.

Her instincts tell her that he is trouble, neverthless she allows him to drive her home from the hospital. Just before they arrive at her home, he runs over a pedestrian! He says it was an accident, but Peg thinks it was murder. Why would he want to hurt Peg or that pedestrian crossing the street?

"Lady Killer" is a tight radio drama with a suspenseful ending. Loretta Young, in her only appearance on Suspense, starred as Peg Lincoln. At the time, she was also appearing in the film Key to the City (1950) and had just received an Academy award nomination for the 1949 film Come to the Stable. Lawrence Dobkin, John McIntire, and Sydney Miller also appear in this episode. The radioplay was written by William Bruckner, who later wrote an episode for the tv series Letter to Loretta starring Loretta Young. "Lady Killer" aired on March 2, 1950.

.   Download Suspense.1950.03.02_LadyKiller.mp3

(Image of Loretta Young on radio from the Loretta Young Paper Dolls & Coloring Book)