For you film noir fans out there, plan to spend your Fridays nights in June watching Turner Classic Movies. Eddie Muller of the Film Noir Foundation will host the "Friday Night Spotlight" and present 16 films over 4 nights. The movies selected emphasize the work of noir writers.
If you are like me, you grew up listening to Dr. Demento on the radio...and some of those songs are probably still stuck in your head. For me, it was the "Cowpasture Polka".
Thanks to Dr. Demento, I've had this song stuck in my head for three decades.
Nevertheless, I encourage you to support the Kickstarter campaign for a feature-length documentary about radio legend, Dr. Demento. The deadline for funding the project is May 4th, so do it soon! There are many levels of pledges available and some interesting and unique thank-you gifts.
The film is titled "Under the Smogberry Trees: The True Story of Dr. Demento". You can read more about this project and pledge your support on their Kickstarter page.
Your donation will help preserve radio history and spread the joy of Dr. Demento to film audiences everywhere. What could be better?
All in all, we made it to 16 films: Gun Crazy, Curse of the Demon, Helldrivers, Try and Get Me!, Repeat Performance, A House Divided, The Kiss Before the Mirror, The Sniper, Experiment in Terror, The Other Woman, The Come On, Man in the Dark, Inferno, Street of Chance, The Chase and The Window.
The most valuable day of the festival, for me, was the Cornell Woolrich marathon. As someone who writes about Suspense and the Woolrich stories they adapted for radio, this was a rare opportunity to see three film adaptations of his stories at one time.
Yes, that's a lot of spiraling darkness and tension for one afternoon, but it was worth it to watch three beautiful 35 mm prints in a row. More about that later.
The surprise of the festival, for us, was the 3-D stereoscopic film Inferno. Due to the title, I just assumed this film had something to do with a big fire. But, no! Most of this film revolves around Robert Ryan trying to survive in the desert after being left for dead by his wife and her lover. The 3-D effect in this film is very understated. Watching the story play out against the scenery, the interior locations...and everything else in sterophonic sound and technicolor 3-D was completely absorbing...fascinating.
The 3-D film that preceded this one on Saturday night was, Man in the Dark. All in all, this was an entertaining film, but it caught my interest because radio actor Ted deCorsia had a supporting role as a bad guy. The last time I saw him in a film at Noir City, he was harpooned by Rhonda Fleming in Slightly Scarlet. This time, he falls to his death from the top of a seaside roller-coaster.
I don't think Ted has as many violent death scenes in a noir as Raymond Burr, but I'll start keeping a tally on that.
The Cornell Woolrich marathon was on the second to last day of the festival, Saturday, Feb.2. In the introduction before the film, the host noted that Steven King is probably the only one who has surpassed Cornell Woolrich in the number of stories adapted for film. Altogether, 31 films have been adapted from Woolrich's stories.
The first film of the day was a new, seen for the first time, 35 mm print of the 1942 film Street of Chance, which was adapted from the novel The Black Curtain. Having listened to Suspense's radio adaptation numerous times, I associate Cary Grant with the lead role in this story. But, in the film version, Burgess Meredith plays the lead role very effectively.
Following that was another restoration, the 1946 film, The Chase, which is based on the novel The Black Path of Fear. It has been quite a while since I read the book, so I couldn't remember exactly what was supposed to happen. In this film, that's OK. The Noir City brochure described The Chase as on "one of the strangest films of the 1940's."
The lead character was played by Robert Cummings, who may seem too upbeat for a Woolrich story, but he genuinely fit the role. However, the crowd favorite, was Peter Lorre who played henchman to Steve Cochran's character.
The last of the three was the 1949 film, The Window, which was also a new Film Noir Foundation 35 mm preservation print. It is based on Woolrich's 1947 short story "The Boy Who Cried Murder," which I have not read, so I had no expectations. However, if you know Aesop's fable of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" then you know the basic premise of the story.
The screenplay was adapted by Mel Dinelli, who was also the writer behind some of Suspense's best radio plays. The Noir City brochure describes this movie "the best adaptation ever of a Woolrich story, and one of the greatest suspense films of all times!"
As much as I wanted to, I wasn't able to go for the last day of the festival. So, that was the close of Noir City 11 for me.
This year, everything we saw was great except The Kiss Before the Mirror, a stylish 1933 pre-code film about wife-killing that ended up being more offensive than entertaining. As a woman, I have a right to say that one sucked.
January is our month for noir here at Escape and Suspense!, and that brought my attention to an interesting new audio drama on the scene. The series isHothouse Bruiser, and it labels itself as a "Sci-Fi, Neo-Noir Journey through a world of sound. Like the Golden Age of Radio--but with modern sound effects and music."
The series is available as an app through Google Play or iTunes. You can listen to the first episode for free, and if you want to hear the rest, it will cost you $3.99. (The series is also available on CD for $15.99.)
The production quality is smooth, the dialogue is snappy, and the story is engaging from the get-go. Give it a try!
For more information about the series, visit the website at Hothouse Bruiser.
Tonight! January 17, 2013. Eddie Muller of the Film Noir Foundation brings "A Night in Noir City" to Turner Classic Movies. If you can't make it to San Francisco for the festival this time, you can enjoy this four movie marathon in your own home.
The lineup includes Cry Danger, 99 River Street, Tomorrow is Another Day, and The Breaking Point. You can read more about Noir City Night and find the the schedule at Turner Classic Movies. Times appear to be eastern, so for those of us on the West Coast, the show starts at five.
If you are looking for old time radio actors within these noirs, you can find William Conrad, Joan Banks, and Hy Averback in Cry Danger. 99 River Street has Peter Leeds and Ian Wolfe in small roles, but it also has Vivi Janiss and Helen Kleeb in uncredited bit parts. Lurene Tuttle has a role in Tomorrow is Another Day and The Breaking Point has Norman Field--who appears in an uncredited role as a dock attendant. Spot him if you can!
(FYI--You can also catch Eddie Muller's commentaries as a feature on many classic noir dvds.)
So, get your popcorn, grab your bourbon and enjoy!
A couple of weeks ago, I spoke with Jesse and Tamahome of SFFaudio.com about all things related to Escape and Suspense.
If you head on over to SFFaudio.com you can hear our discussion about two of my favorite episodes, Escape's "Treasure Inc." and Suspense's "Always Room at the Top".
We also discussed the work that I do here, how it all got started with no planning whatsoever, and what a task it can be to find the original books and short stories that were adapted for these radio plays...
If you have been visiting Escape and Suspense for a while, you know that I do enjoy student remakes of "Sorry, Wrong Number" and "Three Skeleton Key" that can be found on YouTube.
Below you will find a creative retelling of "Three Skeleton Key'" from director Emmanual Mata. The only information given is that it was made for a sixth period advanced English class.
In this visual interpretation of Toudouze's classic tale, there are numerous, inexplicable references to Pizza Hut, the horde of rats is portrayed by an adorable white dog, and the two actresses who play lighthouse-keepers kind of steal the show.
OK, it may have seemed as if we fell off a cliff sometime during the middle of summer...but no! Here we are again!
Where have we been? Let me explain. When I started this website back in January of 2007, I was guided only by the idea that each and every episode of Escape and Suspense was unique...and that I would reseach and review all of these episodes one by one...
That simple plan worked fine for about five years, but then we started running into problems.
Remember, here at Escape and Suspense most of the staff is imaginary...and they don't really do their jobs, either.
So, production slowed to a halt in June in order to catch-up on some of my projects, improvements, updates, etc. The biggest problem, however, had nothing to do with the website.
Escape and Suspense has a virtual library collection on LibraryThing.com that everyone can visit, but the physical collection here at our headquarters turned into a mountainous collection of books, vintage periodicals, ephemora, vintage advertisements, and dvds piled up in various boxes and bookshelves.
There are over seven-hundred episodes posted on Escape and Suspense, and as you know, a good number of those episodes were based on books or short stories. I've always tried to get a copy of the original work when researching an episode, and for the most part, that has been possible. However, there are a still a few books and periodicals that are too expensive to purchase, and there are still short stories that I haven't been able to get a copy of...yet.
But what I do have, now constitutes six boxes of material that I have had to organize and store away. Do these titles look familiar?
And oh, the fond memories!
Here is Something for Nothing, which was the basis for the Escape episode of the same name. I remember reading this back in the early days of Escape and Suspense.Still love that sassy cover art!
Here is my battered copy of the Martin Grams, Jr. book Suspense: Twenty Years of Thrills and Chills. I've been using this particular copy since 2007, and hardly any of the pages are still stuck to the spine. That is a nuisance when it inevitably drops on the floor, but I'm sentimental. Although I purchased a second copy of the book, I still use this one because I have notes scribbled on practically every page.
Anyhow, after bobbing along for five years, I only had a vague idea of how many episodes were left post. But now, I have that all worked out a spreadsheet, and I believe there are about 274 episodes remaining. So, there is still a ways to go.
Clean-up work and improvements to the website will be continuing throughout the rest of the year, but for now, let's get back to posting regular updates.
Last Sunday, I went to see Gotterdammerung, the fourth opera in Richard Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung series. I can only afford to see two of the four operas of the Ring tetralogy this time around, so that's it for me. With Siegfried clocking in at about five hours and Gotterdammerung at five and half...at least now I can say I've experience Wagnerian opera. I'll catch the other two next time. Still, I enjoyed the San Francisco Opera's interesting and environmentally conscious presentation.
Gotterdammerung begins with the three Norns weaving the fates of mankind and the gods. I wasn't sure if the performers were supposed to be blind cable repair women hopelessly toiling away at untangling cords or what, but no--they are supposed to represent the collected knowledge of all of the internet. That was the only part that confused me, the rest was pretty straightforward.
All in all, I highly recommend the San Francisco Opera's Ring experience.
Here is the three minute preview of Gotterdammerung:
I didn't post any updates last weekend. Why was that? I went to the opera, and then I caught another bad cold. So, this weekend, I'm going to try and get back on track by explaining how going to the opera consumed most of my weekend.
The San Francisco Opera is currently presenting Richard Wagner's epic The Ring of the Nibelung, and last Sunday, The Ring Summer 2011 festival opened with a stand alone performance of Siegfried, the third of the four operas that comprise the tetralogy.
Neither my mother nor I had ever before attended a Wagnerian opera, which was why we decided to get tickets this time around. We spent five hours on Saturday listening to an audio summary of The Ring and then another five hours on Sunday at the performance of Siegfried.
The S.F. Opera's presentation of The Ring cycle begins in Gold Rush era California with Das Rheingold, and by the time it gets to Siegfried, the story takes place in a trailer park in the modern era. The scenery is reminiscent of a Mad Max movie, except during set changes, when images of garbage, toxic fumes, power plants and such float across the stage.
Of course, one of the best parts of the opera is the scene where Siegfried battles the dragon. I, naively, was expecting to see a dragon, but instead, this Transformer thing came out.
All in all, it was an interesting experience that I highly recommend. Did I mention that we found a beer garden on the outdoor balcony? Well, we discovered that too late, but we look forward to checking it out when we return this week to see Gotterdammerung, the fourth opera of the cycle.
The next day was a holiday, Memorial Day, but by that time I had another bad cold, and I couldn't post updates. Some nasty springtime colds are going around, and they all seem to be finding me.
Now, I'm trying to catch up.
So, that's what happened when I went to see Siegfried last weekend...
All the best,
Christine
Here is the 3 minute version of Siegfried.
For more info about the San Francisco Opera's presentation of The Ring of Nibelung visit their website, SFOpera.com/Ring
As you know, we love to hear from our readers, and we are always ready to help them find the title to a Suspense episode.
That is, if we can identify it. If not, we like to ask for help from our readers!
We all know what it is like to remember the plot of an old time radio episode, but not know the title.
Here is an e-mail we received this week from Deb, who agreed to let us open her question to our audience.
"I am looking for the synopsis and title of a certain Suspense episode. I heard most of it on a satellite radio station, but missed the end. I’m sure Hans Conried was in it. Ok, so I think that Hans was a criminal and came upon a doctor who had some kind of serum or pill – something that can prolong life. The criminal thought he could get away with crime since he took this pill or serum. Well, he became very, very sensitive to little sounds. A clock ticking, for example, was deafening. I remember an upsetting scene in which the doctor shows the criminal (Conried?) his dog that the doctor keeps in a basement. The dog is whimpering – and that sound is deafening, too. The dog was given this serum and because of the sounds in his own environment, he is “…slowly going insane…"
Does this sound at all familiar to you? If so, do you know the title? Do you happen to know how it ends? It’s driving me crazy and I no longer get satellite radio!"
So, does anyone recognize the plot of this episode? If so, let us know!
Here at Escape and Suspense!, we always enjoy hearing from you. When you ask us a question, we try to find an answer. If we don't know the answer, we try refering you to someone who does.
This week, I received a nice e-mail from Gary, who is interested in finding a particular Suspense episode, but he doesn't know the title. As fans of OTR, we have all had this happen to us. An episode makes an impression, but then, for whatever reason, we can't find it again.
The episode that Gary is seeking isn't familar to me. At least, I don't think I have posted it here, but maybe I am wrong.
Do you recognize this plot?
Here is Gary's description:
"A group of men are planning to rob a ship. On they voyage out they figure out the crew's routines. The ship is nuclear powered, so they have to be able to take control of the engine room. The ship will also be bringing a gold shipment back, and that is the thieves' main goal. They also have to take over the radio room so the crew can not call for help. On the return trip they make their move, but somehow the captain of the ship outsmarts the thieves. Only at the very end of the program, when the captain sets them adrift in a lifeboat, is it revealed that the ship is not an ocean liners but a spaceship and tho voyage was to another planet. Can you identify the episode from this?"
Any help identifying this episode would be appreciated!
Best regards,
Christine
*Solved!! Many thanks to Dan Dreibelbis, who correctly identified this as an episode of The Mysterious Traveler called "S.O.S."
I know we have some fans of Escape's adaptation of "Evening Primrose" around here, so it is worth mentioning that Steven Sondheim's musical adaptation of John Collier's short story is now available for the first time on DVD. The 1966 television broadcast has been remastered and restored from the original kinescope of the ABC Stage 67 production. Anthony Perkins and Charmian Carr starred.
Normally, I post an Escape episode on Sunday evening, but I'm afraid I've come down with a bad cold. The Escape episode that I had planned for tonight will be posted next Sunday.
As I was looking for something Escape-related to entertain you in the meantime, I noticed that there are several new student-made "trailers" for an imagined movie of "Three Skeleton Key" on YouTube.
My favorite is below. It is a comedic trailer for "Three Skeleton Key" made by students who read the story in their English class. For more info about them click here.
Over Christmas, FinalRune Productions put out a new version of Escape's "Three Skeleton Key" with actors from the Mad Horse Theatre Company. Their version was recorded on location at Goat Island Lighthouse in Maine, which gives it a unique twist. "Three Skeleton Key" is a formidable story to take on in a studio, so recording it on location must have been a challenge.
For more information about this particular episode and to see the photos, you can visit their website at FinalRune.com.
It is nice to know that Escape is inspiring a new generation of storytellers and actors.
Here is a message that Superman gave about Christmas in 1945. I don't know what he has said about Christmas recently, but this post-war holiday message about peace and goodwill is still a good one.
Elsa Maxwell (1883-1963) was a multi-talented, stout little woman from Keokuk, Iowa, who left school at age fourteen and eventually became world-renowned for her incredible skills as a hostess. Fans of Suspense know Elsa because she usually appeared in the first commercial break of episodes from the 1940's, when the show was sponsored by Roma wines.
As a wine company spokesperson, she delivered a "plain talk" sermon on gracious hospitality and how to make guests feel welcome by serving Roma wines.
So, it is enlightening to read her book How to Do It: or The Lively Art of Entertaining. In it,Elsa discusses how she really felt about alcohol consumption at parties.
First, Elsa Maxwell stated that: "except for an occasional glass of wine or beer, I do not drink."
Elsa became famous for introducing the scavenger hunt and the treasure hunt as adult party games. She did this at the height of the anything-goes 1920's because she wanted guests to be able to break out of their adult routines and enjoy themselves as freely as children. She also knew that playing games reduced the amount of drinking at her parties.
She pointed out that people should know their limit, but that parties can often be so stimulating that people don't realize when they have gone past theirs. To avoid that, Elsa recommended that people drink less at parties than they would at home.
Elsa also shared her tips on what to do when guests drink too much and get unruly. She suggested that the host/hostess shouldn't let this happen, but if it did, they should immediately get tough with the excessive drinker because being polite and gentle doesn't work. If necessary, kick them out, but make sure they get home safely.
If Elsa noticed a party guest drinking beyond his limit, she would take him aside and tell him to "lay off" because he was ruining the party for everyone else. She would then say, "You can have as much drink as you can hold, so long as you can hold it. But no more." That experience alone was enough to sober a guest.
If the excessive drinker was a woman, her method was "more direct and more painful." She would come up behind the woman "and give her pearls a twist." She claimed that this method worked most of the time, but if it didn't, she would follow it up with a talking-to.
So, if anyone gets drunk and unruly at one of your holiday parties, take 'em down, Elsa-style. She didn't get to the top of her game by putting up with guests who ruined the ambiance of her gracious hospitality!
And there you have it from the authority herself!
Image of Elsa Maxwell with William Rhinelander Stuart (left) and Cole Porter (right) in 1934 from Wikimedia Commons.
Thanks to loyal reader Tom D., who reminded me that September 27th is the birth date of William Conrad (1920-1994.)
Here at Escape and Suspense!, we've never really taken a moment to stop and pay our respects to Conrad, an actor who appeared in 55 episodes of Suspense, and I don't know how many episodes of Escape. Conrad claims to have appeared in 7500 radio roles during his career and that is easily possible. He played the lead role on Gunsmoke and also appeared on a number of other radio programs. William Conrad was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame posthumously in 1997.
We've already posted many of the great Escape episodes that featured William Conrad, including his impressive performance in their adaptation of Roald Dahl's "Poison." Many of the Suspense episodes in which he was a primary character have already been posted here as well. We've also covered some of the films in which appeared. (The Killers, The Naked Jungle, Cry of the Hunted, etc..)
That didn't leave me much to work with for a birthday tribute, but one aspect of his career that we haven't focused on is television. Conrad was known for the series Cannon, Nero Wolfe, and Jake and the Fatman.
On the other side of the camera, he was a director and producer with a list of credits in film and television. Conrad was also the narrator for a number television programs, including what appears to have been a short-lived television version of Escape in 1950.
So, for some birthday fun, let's take a look at some of his more light-hearted television work:
In the 1960's, Conrad provided the voice for Quake cereal, which was in competition with Quisp cereal. Dawes Butler provides the voice of Quisp and Paul Frees is the announcer.
Escape and Suspense! will be taking a summer holiday between July 26 and August 7. Our blog won't be updated during that time, but my copyeditor (mom) and I will still be Twittering as we travel to Minnesota, the land of our Viking ancestors.
The imaginary staff, pictured above, will be staying in San Francisco to keep an eye on things.
During our summer break, I will also be doing some long overdue site maintenance and planning.
Don't worry, we'll be back in time for the start of the new school year, when scores of young students will suddenly search the internet for help with their "Three Skeleton Key" reading assignments. When they do, they will find themselves helplessly drawn towards the easier option of listening to Escape's version... and when they fall into that trap, Escape and Suspense! will be there there to guide them toward one of the best stories ever told on radio.
I'm in Seattle for the weekend, so I won't be able to post my usual updates today. Escape and Suspense! will be back on its regular schedule next week.
We are having some technical problems, and it iooks like we won't be able to post this week's new material as planned.
Yesterday, we most of the evening setting up our new computer, and today we aren't quite finished with all of the technical bits yet.
So, be patient with us this weekend, and we will be back in action early next week. In the meantime, you can browse our previously posted episodes, or take a moment to pre-order Suspense: The Lost Episodes Collection 3, which is due out this week.
This week, Spade & Archer, the prequel to Dashiell Hammett's 1930 classic The Maltese Falcon landed in bookstores. Joe Gores, a former private eye and author of sixteen novels, was given permission from Hammett's daughter to pick up the story of detective Sam Spade ten years before The Maltese Falcon begins.
Spade & Archer explains how Sam Spade set up his office in San Francisco in 1921, how Effie Perrine became his secretary, how Spade and Iva Archer came to be involved, and how he and Miles Archer became partners in 1928. Aside from that, we follow Spade on investigations that take him all around the San Francisco Bay. If you are a fan of The Maltese Falcon, you will probably enjoy reading the prequel. The historical details were well researched, and the style of the book is respectful to the original work.
So, let's look back at some of the radio versions of The Maltese Falcon that were done after the release of John Huston's 1941 film adaptation starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor. The radio versions are condensed, and we don't experience all of the cigarrette rolling and Bacardi drinking of the book, but they are still fun to listen to. All three of these productions were performed in front of live audiences.
(On May 18th, 1950, The Screen Guild Theater presented "The Maltese Falcon" again with Humphrey Bogart and his wife, Lauren Bacall, in the lead roles.)
Academy Award Theater (CBS Radio) presented a 30 minute radio adaptation on July 3, 1946. Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, and Sydney Greenstreet starred.
For a while there, it seemed that Infinity Entertainment Group and Falcon Picture Group would not release the third collection of Suspense:The Lost Episodes. We have had to wait over a year, but soon, the third and final collection will be available.
So, mark you calendars! The release date for the new collection is March 17, 2009.
For more information, you can head over to TvShowsonDVD.com and check out the details. For descriptions of the individual episodes included in this collection, go over to Classicflix.com.
I know that some of you are happy about this because I have been getting e-mails about it lately.
Our sister blog, Suspense Television is up and running again after an unexpected break (to my foot) back in July. We look forward to the new episodes that are on the way!
When I created Escape and Suspense! two years ago, I was influenced by two things: a small book titled Horrifically Bad Album Covers and, more specifically, by a local television personality from the 1970's named Bob Wilkins.
Mr. Wilkins was the host of a late night tv horror show in northern California called Creature Features, but he was also the host of a local children's afternoon show in the late 1970's called The Captain Cosmic Show. Now, I was just around the target age for The Captain Cosmic Show when it debuted, so I spent a fair amount of time watching it. Captain Cosmic's true identity was supposed to be a big secret, but of course, all the kids knew it was Bob Wilkins from Creature Features.
Sure, we weren't supposed to be up late watching Bob Wilkins and the dreadful b-movie horror flicks on Creature Features, but we all did. Often, the best part of the show was just Bob himself. Bespectacled, cigar-puffing, and always slightly amused, Bob Wilkins would sit in his yellow rocking chair and warn us, with droll wit, about the movies he had lined up for the evening.
After eight years as the host of Creature Features on KTVU Channel 2, Bob Wilkins left the show in 1979 and went back to his career as an ad man. Many years later, it was announced that he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. On Wednesday, January 7, 2009, he died at the age of 76 from complications of Alzheimer's.
Below are a couple of Youtube videos that demonstate Bob Wilkins' style of humor. The first clip is taken from his early days as a tv horror host in Sacramento. The second clip was the intro to The Captain Cosmic Show.
Above is a poster of Mr. Wilkins that I used to have hanging over my desk at work...until my employer made me take it down.
As I have mentioned before, Escape's "Three Skeleton Key" is far and away the most popular episode on this website. Why? Well, because there are lots and lots of students out there who are given this story as a reading assignment by their English teachers.
Below is an entertaining two-part epic about "Three Skeleton Key" that was done by three students who were assigned the story in school. The opening credits are a bit long, but stick with it and get to second part. Part two is not to be missed!
Part Two
Here also is a video for a proposed reality show called Three Skeleton Key: Teen vs. Teen. The person who made this video mentions in the comments section that the idea came after reading "Three Skeleton Key" in school. Now, I've watched this about three times and I still can't entirely explain it, but I love it!
We've been having lots of holiday fun here at Escape and Suspense!, and the imaginary staff has been working hard to make things merry. Well, they wanted the weekend off to do their holiday shopping, and frankly, after a few cups of hot buttered rum at our Christmas party, I couldn't say no.
Since they aren't here to stop me, I thought I would post some of the pictures I have taken of our holiday frolics.
Here is Mr. Johnson, our accounts payable manager decorating our office Christmas tree. That's the spirit, Bob! Of course, it takes him hours and hours to painstakingly decorate the tree from the top down, but in the end, it really looks great.
Hey, what do you know! It's Santa! (Well, actually, it's Mr. Hernandez, head of our marketing department.) Here he is spreading holiday cheer at our office Christmas party--after a few too many!
Well, look, it's Mrs. Selkirk and the ladies of the research department representing Escape and Suspense! on our float in the holiday parade. It was our first time in the parade, and boy were we proud! Don't they look great!
Speaking of the research department, they have been doing a lot of work to get ready for the coming year. There is much more to come in 2009! In the meantime, we will be posting on our normal schedule over the Christmas and New Year's holiday, so be sure to drop by.
Prominent screenwriter John Michael Hayes passed away on November 19, 2008, in New Hampshire at the age of 89. He was best known for his collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock on the films Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, The Trouble with Harry, and The Man Who Knew Too Much, but his other screen credits include Peyton Place, Butterfield 8, and many others.
In 1955, Hayes received an Academy Award nomination for Rear Window, which he had adapted from the short story by Cornell Woolrich. He was nominated a second time in 1958 for his adaptation of the novel Peyton Place by Grace Metalious.
John MIchael Hayes, like many other screenwriters, began his career as a scriptwriter in radio. His work was presented on a number of popular programs including Suspense, Inner Sanctum, My Favorite Husband, and others.
In all, Hayes is credited as a writer on ten episodes of Suspense and most fans of the show have probably heard an episode written or co-written by him. Those episodes include: "Very Much Like a Nightmare," True Report," "Lady in Distress," "The Wages of Sin," Vamp Till Dead," The Well-Dressed Corpse," "The Windy City Six," The Gift of Jumbo Brannigan," "Early to Death," and "Death on my Hands."
Hayes also co-wrote the script of the Escape episode "Two if By Sea," which was adapted from the novel Came the Dawn.
For more information about the life of John Michael Hayes, and his association with Hitchcock, click here to read his obituary in the San Francisco Chronicle (11/28/08).
There was big news in Suspensedom over the weekend. A copy of the long lost episode "The Rescue," starring Jimmy Stewart, has been found! You can listen to it via the player below, or you can head on over to Rand's Esoteric OTR to learn more about it. "The Rescue" originally aired on April 19, 1951. Thanks to Randy Riddle, it is available again.
The imaginary staff is annoyed because they have never had a vacation....ever.
I snapped this picture of them at last week's imaginary staff meeting and frankly, you can see for yourself that they seem a little crabby and unfocused.
Well, this week, I came down with a bad cold and our proofreader went out of town -- so I just went ahead and gave everyone the weekend off.
Broadway, television, and radio actor Larry Haines died on July 17th at the age of 89. His name may be most familiar to fans of the soap opera Search for Tomorrow, but you may recall him from Suspense.
Larry Haines appeared in 15 episodes of Suspense, usually as a supporting player. The majority of his appearances were between 1959 and 1962, during the last few years of the show. Haines got his start in radio in the 1940's and appeared on Guiding Light, Gangbusters, Inner Sanctum Mysteries, That Hammer Guy, The Shadow, and X-Minus One. Between 1974 and 1982, he appeared in 82 episodes of the CBS Radio Mystery Theater.
Haines was nominated for a Tony Award in 1966 for his supporting role in the play Generation, and again in 1968 for his work in the musical Promises, Promises. He also received Emmy Awards for Best Actor on a Daytime Series in 1976 and 1981. Haines joined the cast of the soap opera Search for Tomorrowshortly after it began in 1951 and played the role of Stu Bergman throughout the show's 35 year run.
To read his obituary on PlayBill News click here and TheLos Angeles Timeshere.
Here is an interview with Larry Haines where he discusses his work on radio.
It is family-holiday funtime! Here we see our office boy Jimmy being criticized by his family for listening to too much vintage radio. He has put on a helmut to muffle out the sound of their complaints. Good for you, Jimmy!
Anyhow, Thanksgiving is over and now the Christmas season is upon us. Here at Escape and Suspense!, that means that I am putting together a line-up of episodes about family, gifts, adventure, and Christmas.
To begin, we present Suspense's portrait of sisterly madness and deception in the episode, "The Sisters." The screaming and yelling in this story may just remind you of home and your own dear sis.
Just a reminder that Suspense: The Lost Episodes Collection 2 was released on October 30th. (Click on the purple widget to the left for more information.)
It's been a busy Halloween here at Escape and Suspense! and I will be posting this weekend's new episodes soon. In the meantime, check out our television blog (www.suspensetelevision.com) which has already been updated. This week, I examined the television version of the Suspense classic "On a Country Road."
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.
If you are a fan of Cornell Woolrich's stories on Suspense, then you may be interested in an upcoming theatrical production of one of his short stories.
Angel Face, presented by the Word for Word Performing Arts Theater Company, is a new stage presentation that will run from August 10th to September 2nd at the Project Artaud Theater in San Francisco.
The Word for Word Theater Company specializes in presenting short stories accurately and in the manner in which the author intended them. Now, we know that with a Woolrich story, that can't possibly mean a dull evening.
Not everyone thought yesterday's sudden blackout was a hoot!
If you tried to access this blog yesterday and had difficulties, it was due to a large blackout that we had in downtown San Francisco. My blog host,TypePad.com, was one of the many companies affected by it.
The office building where I work had to be shut down for a while, too, just when I was expecting the UPS guy to drop off my new DVD set of Suspense: The Lost Episodes. Talk about suspense! Finally, after two hours, the building was re-opened and UPS delivered my package. Yay for UPS!
I have been on a bit of a Suspense binge since they have arrived. So far, "Dr. Violet" has won me over as the most entertaining, but I have many more episodes to watch.
If you are interested in purchasing the new set you can click on the orange widget to the left. If you would like to read a little more about it, here is a link that will take you to an article at iF Magazine with more information.
Escape and Suspense! will take a brief break between July 5th and July 8th for a vacation/research trip to Hollywood. While I am away my imaginery back-up staff (pictured below) will be monitoring my messages. Send us an e-mail! There will be much more to come in July.
Up until now I haven't written much about the television show Suspense, which aired 260 episodes from1949 to 1954. The television show was broadcast live from New York and these episodes have long been considered "lost."
For the first time in over fifty years, some of these lost episodes will soon become available. The first DVD set of the lost television episodes of Suspense will be released on July 24th. Was the television version of Suspense as good as the radio show? We'll see! If you are interested in pre-ordering the Suspense DVD, I've added an orange widget for this item on the left hand side of this page.
I am currently creating a companion blog to Escape and Suspense! that will be devoted entirely to the television show Suspense. Hopefully, it will be up sometime in late July. Of course, I will continue to update Escape and Suspense! three times a week.
Thanks to everyone who has supported this blog in its first six months. For our American readers, have a happy and safe Fourth of July!
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