Escape and Suspense!

Suspense - Backseat Driver

"Backseat Driver" is a Suspense story that borrows from the urban legend, "The Killer in the Backseat." Radio comedians Fibber McGee & Molly appeared twice in this drama about a suburban couple held hostage by a killer.

According to the Encyclopedia of Urban Legends by Jan Harold Brunvand "The Killer in the Backseat" is a classic automobile horror legend in the United States. It is also a cautionary anecdote that has appeared in many articles on crime prevention. In it, the victim usually is a woman driving alone at night. Unbeknownst to her, a killer has slipped into the back seat of her car and is hiding there. The story ends with either a passing car on the road noticing the man in the backseat and following her, or with a gas station attendant noticing the man and asking the woman to step out of the car. Either way, the point of the story is to always check the backseat of your car before driving.

In Suspense's version, the intended victims are a husband and wife on their way home from a night out in Hollywood. As they are driving, they turn on the radio and hear a story about a murderer from New Hampshire who has been spotted in Los Angeles. Soon they discover that the murderer is in their backseat! The killer threatens that if they don't do as he says, he will kill the wife. As the three of them drive towards the San Fernando Valley, the husband tries to find a way to communicate their need for help to others on the road.

"Backseat Driver" was written for Suspense by Sally Thorson. Radio Hall-of-Famers Jim Jordan (a.k.a Fibber McGee) and Marion Jordan (a.k.a Molly) starred. Anton M. Leader produced/directed. This episode first aired on February 3, 1949 and it is probably the best version of the three.

. Download suspense_1949.02.03_ BackSeatDriver.mp3

Jim and Marion Jordan appeared in this story again on February 22, 1951. Elliott Lewis produced/directed.

. Download Suspense_1951.02.22_BackSeatDriverAFRS.mp3

Suspense presented this story for the last time on July 19, 1955. Parley Baer and Vivi Janiss starred. Antony Ellis produced/directed.

.  Download suspense_1955.07.19_ Backseat Driver.MP3

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The Legend of Sonny Tufts

"The Legend of Sonny Tufts" is an urban legend about a radio broadcast. Who was Sonny Tufts? How did his name become a joke? What supposedly happened on a Suspense episode hosted by Joseph Cotten? Snopes.com delved into this famous legend and came up with some possible answers. To find out, visit their Sonny Tufts urban legend page for the story and the audio clips.

The two radio broadcasts mentioned in the Snopes.com article,"Sneak Preview" and "Cat & Mouse," are posted below. Neither ranks among the best Suspense offered, but they aren't among the worst either. Any radio performance by Joseph Cotten is worth listening to once, even if the radio-play isn't exceptional. The radio-play for "Cat & Mouse" isn't that bad, but Tufts' colorless performance does nothing to help it.

"Sneak Preview" was written by Robert L. Richards and starred Joseph Cotten, Hans Conried, Dennis Hoey, Cathy Lewis, and John McIntire. When he appeared on this episode, Cotten was promoting his upcoming movie Since You Went Away. This show aired on March 23, 1944.

.   Download Suspense_1944.03.23_Sneak_Preview.mp3

"Cat & Mouse" is a WWII era story that takes place in Boston and in a ski resort in Vermont. It was written for Suspense by Hugh Pentecost and starred Sonny Tufts as John Guthrie. Also featured were Wendell Holmes, John McIntire, Lurene Tuttle, and Will Wright. At the time he appeared on Suspense, Tufts was promoting the movie, I Love a Soldier. This episode aired on March 30, 1944.

.   Download Suspense_1944.03.30_Cat_and_Mouse.mp3

Escape - The Game

Escape's "The Game" involves two young men, a bottle of whisky and a game of Russian roulette. It appears to be a cautionary tale based on some unnamed true story or urban legend. We don't find out what or who inspired this episode but that doesn't diminish the impact. Escape presented this episode in 1953, but apparently the lure of the game continues.

In "The Game" one of the young men reads about Russian roulette and taunts the other into playing it. Today, there is a contemporary urban legend about the movie The Deer Hunter that warns that the movie is responsible for inspiring a number of "unplanned suicides" from Russian roulette. But that urban legend is based on fact. One step beyond that is the true story of the guy who didn't realize that Russian roulette has to be played with a revolver and not with a semi-automatic pistol.

"The Game" was an unusual choice for Escape. This story, written by Antony Ellis, was better suited for Suspense. It lacks the high adventure and exotic locations that Escape was supposed to deliver to its audience. Instead, it is set in Anytown, U.S.A. and the story drives home a message about guns and alcohol. The entire episode is a tense dialogue between the two young men, and listening to this story will probably make you wince and remember all of the dumb things you did when you were young.

Although different from their usual fare, this episode lived up to Escape's standards for story-telling. Two years later, this radio-play was presented on Suspense with minor differences, but both versions are good.

Escape's version of "The Game" aired on August 30, 1953. The ending of the broadcast is clipped so the names of the two actors and narrator aren't given.

Download Escape.1953.08.30.The_ Game.mp3

Suspense's version of "The Game" stars Gil Stratton and Sam Edwards. John Dehner was the narrator. It aired on March 15, 1955.

Download suspense.1955.03.15. The_ Game.mp3

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Suspense - Cabin B-13

The urban legend of the "The Vanishing Lady" provides the basis for the story of "Cabin B-13." The episode begins with two newlyweds, Ann and Richard Brewster, as they board an oceanliner for their honeymoon. They have $10,000 in cash and plan to travel through Europe for three months. The bride has recently recovered from "brain fever", an archaic term for meningitis, and she is still weak and vulnerable.

Her husband Ricky takes their money to deposit in the purser's safe but then disappears. She tries to enlist help to find her lost husband, but no one believes that he really exists. She claims that they were booked into a cabin numbered B-13 but there is no such cabin. Her only help is from the ship's doctor.

We are told that the story is set in "happier, peace-time days", but we don't know exactly when. The name of the ship is the S.S. Maurevania which is based on Cunard's Mauretania or Mauretania II.

Suspense first presented this story on March 13, 1943 with Ralph Bellamy. Here is the second broadcast which aired on Nov. 9, 1943. It starred Margo, an early pioneer of the one-named performers, and Philip Dorn. William Johnstone played Ricky Brewster and Dennis Hoey played Capt. Wainwright. The radio-play was written by John Dickson Carr.

Download Suspense.1943.11.09.Cabin_B-13.mp3

(Image from Morguefile.com)

(Rev. 11/27/07)

Escape-The Vanishing Lady

"The Vanishing Lady" is an old urban legend about an international conspiracy at a World's Fair. It is also known as "The Vanishing Hotel Room."

The setting is the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris.  In this urban legend, an Englishwoman and her daughter stop in Paris on their way from India to England. The mother becomes ill shortly after they arrive and the hotel doctor sends the daughter out for medicine. When she returns, her mother has vanished!

Escape dramatized this Victorian horror legend with only a few changes. Their version is taken from the story published by author/critic Alexander Woollcott in his book While Rome Burns in 1934. Woollcott was himself a bit of a horror legend for dying onstage during a radio show, but he is best remembered as the inspiration for the character of Sheridan Whiteside from the play and movie The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942).

In the urban legend the daughter goes insane as a result of the conspiracy and ends up in a British mental hospital, but Escape's version has an odd ending that leaves you wondering what happens next.

"The Vanishing Lady" was also done for an episode of the television show Alfred Hitchcock Presents under the title "Into Thin Air". It has also appeared in novels and movies.

This episode stars Joan Banks and Hy Averback in the lead roles. It was broadcast on February 1, 1948, and repeated on January 10, 1950.

Download Escape.1948.02.01_Vanishing_Lady.mp3

Suspense only presented the original legend of "The Vanishing Lady" once. They recycled the same radio-play that Escape had used in 1948 but shortened it considerably. Instead of playing the story out, the announcer talks us through the history of the legend. Alexander Woollcott's thoughts on the subject are also discussed. The radio-play was based on Woolcott's 1934 short story and adapted for Suspense by William N. Robson. On the whole, Escape's was the better presentation.

Suspense's "The Vanishing Lady" starred Edgar Barrier, Diana Bourbon, Vanessa Brown and John Dehner. it aired on April 7, 1957.

Download suspense.1957.04.07.The_ Vanishing_ Lady.mp3

(Rev. 11/27/07)

Escape -Dead of Night

Sixty years ago Escape broadcast its first episode,"Dead of Night," on March 21, 1947.  A month earlier the story had been broadcast on the CBS series Out of this World with the same actors in the lead roles. When listening to Escape's original opening sequence, you will notice a similarity to the opening words of The Twilight Zone which came along about a decade later, also on CBS.

Escape's premier episode was based on one of the stories from the classic British horror film Dead of Night (1945).  The movie is a collection of supernatural tales, including the urban legend of "The Phantom Coachman." Its most famous segment is about a ventriloquist named Maxwell Frere, played by Michael Redgrave, and Hugo, his dummy (pictured left). Dead of Night was also one of the inspirations for the famous Twilight Zone episode "The Dummy" in 1962. Richard Attenborough's 1978 film Magic also borrowed a little from this story.

Escape's "Dead of Night" stars Barry Kroeger as the ventriloquist and Art Carney as the dummy.

Download escape.1947.03.21_Dead_Of_Night_(Audition).mp3

The radio versions of this story aren't as good as the movie!

To view a video clip of Dead of Night see: Escape - Dead of Night (First Episode)

(Rev. 02/18/08)

Suspense - The Hitchhiker

The Suspense episode "The Hitchhiker" is well known because the radio play was transformed into a television episode, and it has since lived on in reruns.  In this story a supernatural hitchhiker follows the main character on a trip across the country.

Orson Welles, for whom the role was written, first performed the radio play "The Hitchhiker" on the CBS network's Mercury Theater on the Air in 1941 and then again on Suspense in 1942. It was written by Lucille Fletcher, who also wrote Suspense's most famous episode, "Sorry, Wrong Number". In 1960 "The Hitch-Hiker" became an episode of the CBS television show, The Twilight Zone but with Inger Stevens in the lead role.

The radio version has chilling sound effects. Well, chilling or hoky. It depends on your point of view. Listen for the sound effects of the phone call made by Welles. The suspense builds as his call goes from operator to operator across the country but it also shows how many people had to be involved just to make a phone call back then!

This episode was broadcast on September 2, 1942.

Download Suspense.1942.09.02_Hitchhiker.mp3

Many old radio shows have stories that include hitchhikers. They often play on the urban legends of "The Vanishing Hitchhiker" or "The Two Hitchhikers".

Here is an episode from the radio series The Clock (1946-1948) that is also called "The Hitchhiker". It is a spin on the urban legend where one of two hitchhikers is dangerous but appearances turn out to be deceiving.

This episode was broadcast on February 9, 1947.

Download Clock.1947.02.09_The_Hitchhiker.mp3

For more information about urban legends about hitchhikers consult The Encyclopedia of Urban Legends by Jan Harold Brunvand.

For more information about the Twilight Zone episode "The Hitch-Hiker" consult The Twilight Zone Companion by Marc Scott Zicree.

(Photo by Robb Kiser)

Rev. 7/19/07

Legend of the Red Velvet Cake Recipe

You may have noticed that red velvet cake has become popular again. The story of the outrageously expensive recipe for this cake is an old urban legend. In recent decades, this legend was given new life when its subject was switched from cake to chocolate chip cookies and when it began to circulate via e-mail. The basic story involves a restaurant patron who asks for the recipe of a dessert without knowing that a hefty charge for it will be placed on their bill. This person consults with a lawyer and is told that there is no way to avoid paying.

According to Jan Harold Brunvand in The Encyclopedia of Urban Legends, this story is most often associated with a red velvet cake supposedly served at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City in the 1960's. In this version of the legend, the pricey secret to the cake was merely a large measurement of red food coloring added to a white cake mix. The angry purchaser of the recipe then distributes it freely out of revenge.

This legend transferred over to Mrs. Fields Cookies in the 1980's and most recently to Neiman Marcus as the "$250 cookie recipe". In response to the urban legend, Neiman Marcus posted a free cookie recipe on their website.

Unfortunately, neither Escape nor Suspense ever based an episode on this urban legend but the comedy series The Couple Next Door did.  Their humorous version of this story is about a French chocolate cake and has an added twist where their lawyer adds insult to their injury.

"The Cake Recipe" was broadcast on January 13, 1958.

Download CoupleNextDoor.1958.01.13_Cake_Recipe.mp3

Best or Worst?-Evening Primrose

What can one say about "Evening Primrose"?

It is the original story about people who dwell in department stores at night as well as the first story about mannequins actually being real people covered in wax. The author, John Collier (1901-1980) was a prolific writer but "Evening Primrose" is his best known short story. The Twilight Zone episode "After-Hours" is reminiscent of "Evening Primrose".

The basic plot is that a poet named Charles Snell escapes from the harsh reality of the world by going to live in a department store.  On his first night, he finds a society of creatures lives there as well.  The only other human with them is a servant girl named Ella. Charles falls in love with Ella but from there trouble ensues.

So you might think that turning this story into a musical for television would be a bad idea - but you would be wrong. A television musical version of this story was done for ABC Stage 67 in 1966.  Written by Steven Sondheim and James Goldman, it starred Anthony Perkins as Charles. Charmian Carr (Liesl from the Sound of Music) played Ella. Unfortunately, this production is not commercially available at this time. The first professional stage presentation of this musical was performed in 2005.

What can one say about Escape's version of this story? I personally don't feel that Escape excelled at stories about poets. This wasn't the only one they did that came out with chuckle-worthy results. Their version of "Evening Primrose" is interesting only because of the greater success of the short story and of Sondheim's musical.

This episode was broadcast on November 5, 1947.

Download escape.1947.11.05_Evening_Primrose.mp3

(Image from Morguefile.com)