Suspense's "August Heat" was based on the 1910 short story by British author W.F. Harvey (1885-1937). The original text is available in Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery, and Horror, which is available online through Google Books.
As the episode opens, James Clarence Withencroft, a professional artist, is writing down the events of his remarkable day.
The strange occurences began that morning, an oppressively hot morning, when he was overcome by a desire to sketch. His hands went to work, and Withencroft became absorbed in drawing a picture of an enormously fat man...on trial. He didn't know why he sketched the picture. He just did. The only difficulty was rendering the weapon the man in the picture held in his hand. That detail wasn't clear to him.
In the late afternoon, Withencroft rose from the unfinished sketch and went for a walk. He wandered for some time and then, to escape the heat, he stopped in the yard of a monument mason. There, he discovered the same fat man he had just sketched, sweltering in the heat while inscribing a marble tombstone...
"August Heat" was adapted for radio by Mel Dinelli and produced/directed by William Spier. Ronald Colman starred. Also appearing was Dennis Hoey. This episode aired on May 31, 1945.
. Download Suspense_1945-05-31_August Heat
Suspense presented this story a second time on March 20, 1948, on a double bill with "Wet Saturday." This version stars Berry Kroeger and Dennis Hoey, and it is an excellent rendition of the story. "August Heat" is the second half of an hour long episode.
. Download Suspense_1948-03-20_WetSaturday&August Heat
Sleep No More also did a version of "August Heat" on November 28, 1956, on a double bill with "Mr. Mergenthwirkers Lobblies." Nelson Olmsted reads aloud an abridged version of the story.
. Download Sleep_no_more_1956-11-28_04_august_heat
(Image of Ronald Colman)
Thank you for sponsoring the download for the audio for August Heat.
Incidentally, I also wanted to bring to your attention that I'm doing a "short film" adaptation of August Heat. If you get a chance, I would be humbled if you can check out the website and maybe pass it along to anyone you know who may be interested. Thanks!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/12564489711/august-heat?ref=live
Posted by: Jeremy | April 16, 2012 at 08:51 PM
Hi Jeremy,
Thanks for dropping by and leaving us your info.
I know there are some readers of mine who like "August Heat", so I pledged some money to your project. Good luck! -- Christine
Posted by: cmillinsf | April 17, 2012 at 11:21 AM