Escape and Suspense!

Suspense - The Track of the Cat

In "The Track of the Cat," Richard Widmark plays Curt, a Nevada rancher who is determined to hunt down the mysterious panther that killed his brother.

The snow is falling on the Nevada mountains, and in the early morning winds, there are sounds of trouble on the ranch. Curt and his brothers think that a mountain lion is upsetting their cattle, and they want to go into the canyon to kill it. Their mother asks them not to go because there is a blizzard coming, and because she believes that the first snow of the year brings out the great black panther. Is the black panther a Native American legend or is it real? When Curt finds his brother Arthur dead from an attack by the ghostly animal, he vows to hunt it down.

Suspense's radio-play was adapted by Sylvia Richards from the 1949 novel by Walter Van Tilburg Clark. This story also became a movie in 1954 that starred Robert Mitchum and Teresa Wright. For a review of the DVD version of Track of the Cat visit DVDBeaver.com.

Appearing with Richard Widmark in "Track of the Cat" were Parley Baer, Harry Bartell, Sharon Douglas, Lee Millar, and Martha Wentworth. Elliott Lewis produced and directed. This episode aired on February 18, 1952.

.  Download Suspense_1952.02.18_TheTrackOfTheCat.mp3

(Image by Steve Mestagh from Wikimedia Commons)

Suspense - Night Must Fall

"Night Must Fall" was one of a number of hour-long episodes that Suspense presented in 1948. Their radio play was adapted from the 1935 play by Emlyn Williams and performed by actors from both the original London stage production and the 1937 film Night Must Fall.

The episode opens in a cottage in rural England, the home of Mrs. Bramson. The disappearance of a local woman has recently brought Scotland Yard investigators into the town and into her home. At the same time, she also receives a visitor named Danny. He and Dora, the maid, are involved and Mrs. Bramson expects him to marry Dora. Mrs. Bramson is a difficult old bitty confined to a wheelchair, but she takes a liking to Danny and offers him a job in her home.

Danny accepts the job and moves in, but Mrs. Bramson's niece, Olivia, has her suspicions about him.

"Night Must Fall" was adapted for Suspense by Robert L. Richards and directed by Anton M. Leader. Robert Montgomery produced, hosted and starred as Danny. Ten years earlier, he had been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in the film Night Must Fall. Dame May Whitty and Matthew Boulton had both appeared in the original London stage play, but Whitty also appeared in the film version and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Also appearing in this broadcast were Heather Angel as Olivia and Richard Ney as Hubert. This episode aired on March 27, 1948.

. Download Suspense_1948.03.27_NightMustFall.mp3

(Image of Robert Montgomery in Night Must Fall from Wikimedia Commons)

Escape-Leiningen Versus the Ants

"Leiningen vs. the Ants", a short story by Carl Stephenson published in Esquire magazine in 1938, was presented by Escape, Suspense, Mystery in the Air, and Lux Radio Theater. The story depicts the battle between the owner of a plantation in the Brazilian jungle and an attacking army of soldier ants.

You may already be familiar with this story from the movie version. In 1954 "Leiningen vs. the Ants" became The Naked Jungle starring Charleton Heston. In the film Leiningen has a love interest, a mail order bride played by the seductive Eleanor Parker. Leiningen spends the first half of the film grumbling because the new bride he ordered isn't a virgin - and he is. Then, in the second half, the ants come marching along to provide tension for the love story. William Conrad, who had previously played Leiningen on Escape, stars as the district commissioner. The movie went in a different direction but the radio versions stayed true to the original work.

The adaptation of this story for radio by Robert Ryf aired three times on Escape and twice on Suspense. For Escape, William Conrad played Leiningen on January 14, 1948 and May 23,1948. Tudor Owen played the role for Escape on August 4, 1949. William Conrad starred as Leiningen for Suspense on August 25, 1957. Luis Van Rooten played the role for Suspense on November 29, 1959.

Of the five different presentations of this same radio play, here are:

Tudor Owen as Leiningen:  Download Escape.1949.08.04_Leiningen_vs_the_Ants.mp3

William Conrad as Leiningen:  Download Suspense.08.25.1957.Leiningen vs the Ants.mp3

"Leiningen vs. the Ants" was also the inspiration for an episode called "Trumbo's World" on the ABC television show MacGyver.

See also: "Three Skeleton Key"

Escape-The Most Dangerous Game

The new movie Zodiac, the dramatization of the hunt for the killer who terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area during the 1970’s, includes references to the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell (1924). It is available at classicshorts.com and many other sites.

"The Most Dangerous Game" was made into a movie in 1932 and many different versions were later done for radio and television. Both Escape and Suspense broadcast episodes based on this story but Escape's version was better because they excelled at exotic jungle tales like this one. Their version stays true to the original short story, the actors are convincing in their roles and they all have the appropriate accents.

Escape broadcast this episode on October 1, 1947.

Download Escape.1947.10.01_Dangerous_Game.mp3

Suspense's version of "The Most Dangerous Game", which takes a few liberties from the short story, stars Orson Welles as General Zaroff. Welles' drawn-out performance pulls a lot of attention away from the story and onto himself and there is also the baffling addition of a loud pet bird named Zhu-Zhu that Welles interacts with - a lot.

Still, it does have Orson Welles.

Download Suspense.1943.09.23_The_Most_Dangerous_Game.mp3

(P.S. In response to the comments posted about episode, it is true that Paul Frees and Orson Welles sound very similar! For clarity, Paul Frees starred as Sanger Rainsford in Escape's version of The Most Dangerous Game along with Hans Conried as Zaroff. Orson Welles starred as General Zaroff in Suspense's version along with Keenan Wynn as Rainsford. )