Escape and Suspense!

Lights Out - Murder Castle

In the Lights Out episode "Murder Castle," Joseph Kearns stars as a prosperous gentleman, who makes a practice of placing employment ads for young woman.

This episode is based on the true story of serial killer H. H. Holmes and his "murder castle" located in Chicago in the 1890's. How many people he killed in his bizarre home is unknown. You can read more about Holmes and his pattern of swindling and murdering women for money in the December 1943 issue of Harper's Magazine.  It is also reported that Holmes' spirit, and those of his victims, still haunt the location of the castle, though the building is gone.

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As the episode opens, the police have picked up a young woman muttering one word over and over again...revenge, revenge, revenge...

What could have driven her out of her mind?

Another young woman, named Ella Malone, knocks on the door of the home of Henry Stewart. She is there in response to his advertisement for a new secretary. Her experience appears satisfactory, and he hires her for the job. She gives him the money to be used for a surety bond, and he gives her a receipt.

Then, he shows her the rest of his very unusual, self-designed house....

"Murder Castle" was written/produced by Arch Oboler. Joseph Kearns starred as Henry Stewart. Also appearing were Mercedes McCambridge and Gladys Holland. The names of the other performers are not given.

Download Lights Out - 1938-02-16_Murder Castle

This episode was performed a second time on August 3, 1943. All  recordings of this show are the same; therrefore, I  don't know if the episode starring Joseph Kearns is from  1938 or 1943. If you know, please leave a comment.  Thanks!

(Image of the real "Murder Castle" in Chicago, Illinois)

Suspense - Mate Bram

Suspense's "Mate Bram" was loosely adapted from the true story of Thomas M. Bram chronicled by librarian/writer Edmund Pearson in his 1924 groundbreaking study of American crime, Studies in Murder. Instead of staying true to this Victorian horror tale of murder on the high seas, Suspense turned it into something similar to a 1940's noir.

Edmund Pearson's account of the true story of Mate Bram details the the events of a triple murder onboard the barkentine Herbert Fuller in 1896. The ship's captain, his wife, and the second mate were ax murdered by an unknown assailant in the middle of the night. The crew sailed the ship to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and ultimately, Mate Bram was accused of the crime. The case was transferred to Boston where, he was tried for murder not once, but twice, and found guilty by a jury both times. Bram served fifteen years, was paroled, and then granted a presidential pardon. 

You can read more about the case of Mate Bram, and other interesting true stories, on the website of the Center on Wrongful Convictions, Northwestern University School of Law. 

Suspense's version skips over all that, and portrays Bram as an alcoholic who lusts after the captain's younger wife. She lures him into her cabin with wine, and while he is lost in an alcholic blackout, three people are murdered. Since he can't remember what happened that night, he is blamed for the crime. All of this has nothing to do with the true story, but their version provides some memorably tawdry lines of dialogue like these:

Mate Bram: "...I stayed on because she was compelling, with a bold look...and because a man is always a hunter."

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Mate Bram: "Why does a young woman marry with a man like that and go sailing off on a ship with him...and eleven other men. No lady would do that, would she?"

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Mate Bram: "You are a married woman, Mrs. Nash."

Captain's wife: "I think that makes more difference to you than it does to me. Why are you so good?" 

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Captain's wife: "Whether I'm married or not, I'm a woman. Am I not?

Mate Bram: Yes, yes you are.

Captain's wife: And, I...deserve to have the company that I like. I...brought a bottle of wine.

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"Mate Bram" was adapted for radio by Gil Doud and produced/directed by Elliott Lewis. Richard Widmark starred. Also appearing were Joan Banks, Joseph Kearns, Roy Glenn, Lou Merrill, Robert North, Steve Roberts, and Ben Wright. This episode aired on April 14, 1952.

. Download Suspense_1952-04-14_MateBram

 

Suspense - The Diary of Dr. Pritchard

In "The Diary of Dr. Pritchard," Suspense presents a story about the "most infamous poisoner who ever lived."

The episode is based on the true story of Edward William Pritchard, a Glasgow doctor who poisoned his wife and mother-in-law in 1865. He was also thought to be responsible for the earlier death of a servant girl who died in a fire under suspect circumstances.

Pritchard was known to be a liar, a womanizer, and something of a quack. As a result, it didn't take long for his crimes to be suspected and for him to charged with murder. (He was already suspected of being involved with his fifteen year old servant girl.) When the bodies of his wife and mother-in-law were exhumed, both were found to have died of antimony poisoning. Pritchard was convicted and hanged that same year. He was the last person to be publicly executed in Glasgow, and it is said that over 100,000 people attended the execution.

"The Diary of Dr. Pritchard" was written by Antony Ellis and produced/directed by Elliott Lewis. Sir Cedric Hardwicke played Dr. Pritchard. Also appearing were Georgia Ellis, William Johnstone, Joseph Kearns, Alma Lawton, Norma Varden, Paula Winslowe, and Ben Wright. This episode aired on October 6, 1952.

.  Download Suspense_1952.10.06_Diary of Dr Pritchard

(Image of Dr. Pritchard from ilab.org )

Suspense - The Mystery of Marie Roget

Suspense's "The Mystery of Marie Roget" was adapted from a 1842 story by Edgar Allan Poe that first appeared in Snowden's Ladies Companion in three installments. It is considered the first murder mystery based on the events of a real crime. 

The story attempts to solve the mystery of the disappearance and murder of a young woman named Mary Rogers in New York City in 1841, a case that was a sensation in the media at the time. Poe took the events of the crime in New York but fictionalized them into a story that occurs in Paris. "The Mystery of Marie Roget" is available online at Wikisource.

"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" (1841) was the first work of detective fiction, and the character of C. Auguste Dupin was the first of many gentleman detectives who would follow. His second appearance was in "The Mystery of Marie Roget" and that is why the story is often subtitled a sequel. He makes his final appearance in "The Purloined Letter.'

In the introduction to this episode, Suspense claims that a confession proved that Poe was correct in his identification of the killer, but in truth, the case of Mary Rogers remains an unsolved murder to this day.

As the episode opens, C. Auguste Dupin extends an invitation to the listener to remember the true events that occurred in the case of Mary Rogers, but then to displace them to Paris, and imagine the tale as if it had happened there.

"The Mystery of Marie Roget" was adapted for radio by E. Jack Neuman and produced/directed Elliott Lewis. Cornel Wilde starred as C August Dupin. Also appearing were John Dehner, Edgar Barrier, William Johnstone, Lou Merrill, Jeanette Nolan, and Paula Winslowe. This episode aired on December 14, 1953.

. Download Suspense_1953.12.14_Mystery Of The Marie Roget

Suspense presented this story again on February 7, 1960. Paul Roberts produced and directed. Jackson Beck played Dupin. Also appearing were Guy Repp, Robert Dryden, Jim Boles, Ethel Everett, Abby Lewis, Guy Repp, and Ronald Dawson.

. Download Suspense_1960.02.07_Mystery Of The Marie Roget

(Illustration from "The Mystery of Marie Roget"from Wikipedia.)

Suspense - The Mystery of the Mary Celeste

In "The Mystery of the Mary Celeste," Suspense recreates one of the great mysteries of the seas, and gives us one explanation as to what might have happened onboard.

On December 9, 1872, the brigantine Mary Celeste  was found derelict and abandoned off the coast of North Africa. The ship, which had started its voyage a month earlier, was in good repair and had supplies for six months. Its cargo was in good condition.

Many theories have been advanced to explain the disappearance of the crew. Their valuables and personal possessions were still in place at the time the ship was discovered and there were no signs of violence. Yet, they were never seen or heard from again.

"The Mystery of the Mary Celeste" was written by Gil Doud and produced/directed by Elliott Lewis. Van Heflin starred. Also appearing were William Conrad, Paul Frees, Hal Gerard, Joseph Kearns, Jeannette Nolan, and Dan O'Herlihy. This episode aired on June 8, 1953.

. Download Suspense_1953.06.08_Mystery Of The Mary Celeste

Suspense presented this story again on December 27, 1955. Antony Ellis produced and directed. John Dehner starred. Also appearing were Victor Perrin, Joseph Kearns, Paul Frees, Ben Wright, Joe Duvall, and Helen Kleeb.

. Download Suspense_1955.12.27_Mystery of Mary the Celeste

(Image of the Mary Celeste from Wikipedia)

Suspense - The Pit and the Pendulum

Edgar Allan Poe's classic story "The Pit and the Pendulum" (1842) was adapted for Suspense by John Dickson Carr. Poe's story wasn't long enough to fill a half-hour show, so it was expanded with the addition of a court scene and a running dialogue that takes place in the mind of the prisoner. The result was an unusual combination of Poe, Carr, and Suspense that was presented four times between 1943 and 1959. John Dickson Carr was considered a master of the "locked room mystery," and he wrote many of Suspense's early episodes. 

Suspense first presented this story with Henry Hull in the role of the prisoner. William Spier produced, John Dietz directed, and Bernard Herrmann composed/conducted the music. This episode aired on January 12, 1943.

.  Download Suspense_1943.01.12_The Pit And The Pendulum.mp3

Suspense presented this story a second time on November 28, 1947. Jose Ferrer starred. William Spier produced and directed.

.  Download Suspense_1947.11.27_The Pit and the Pendulum.mp3

The third production starred Vincent Price in the role of the prisoner. William N. Robson produced and directed. This episode aired on November 10, 1957.

.  Download Suspense_1957.11.10_The Pit & The Pendulum.MP3

The fourth presentation starred Raymond Burr in the role of the prisoner. William N. Robson produced and directed. This episode aired on June 7, 1959.

.  Download Suspense_1959.06.07_The Pit And The Pendulum.mp3

(Image of Penguin Books 1995 edition The Pit and the Pendulum and Other Stories)

Escape - The Fall of the House of Usher

Escape's "The Fall of the House of Usher" was closely adapted from the classic tale of horror by Edgar Allan Poe. If you want to read Poe's story, which was first published in 1839, it is available online at Wikisource.

As the episode opens, the narrator receives a letter from his childhood friend, Roderick Usher, that requests he come for a visit. Roderick is the last male descendant of the ancient House of Usher, and he is in ill health. Roderick asks his old friend to come immediately to the Usher family estate.

When the narrator arrives at the gloomy home, he finds an oppressive scene. Roderick is tormented by his nervous ailment and his twin sister, Madeline, is dying from the same mysterious affliction. As events unfold, the narrator soon witnesses the terrifying end of the House of Usher.

"The Fall of the House of Usher" was adapted for Escape by Les Crutchfield and produced/directed by William N. Robson.  Paul Frees played the narrator and Ramsay Hill played Roderick Usher. This episode aired on October 22, 1947.

.  Download escape_1947.10.22_Fall of House of Usher.mp3

(Image from Stock.xchng)

Suspense - The Fall River Tragedy/Goodbye, Miss Lizzie Borden

"The Fall River Tragedy" stars Agnes Moorehead as the infamous Lizzie Borden in an episode that reenacts the juicier bits of the Borden trial of 1893.

As the episode opens, Lizzie Borden invites a reporter into her home to discuss her life, her notoriety, and the events of her famous trial. We only hear Lizzie tell her side of the story, the reporter is not heard. Scenes from the trial unfold as Lizzie recounts her experiences to her silent visitor.

"The Fall River Tragedy" was written by Gil Doud and produced/directed Elliot Lewis. Joseph Kearns played the prosecuter William H. Moody. Also appearing were Peggy Webber , Herb Butterfield, Rolfe Sedan, Stuffy Singer, and William Wright . This episode aired on January 14, 1952.

. Download suspense_1952.01.14_Fall River Tragedy.mp3

A few years later, Suspense presented another episode based on the Borden murders called, "Goodbye, Miss Lizzie Borden." Instead of a reenactment of the courtroom drama, this episode "imagined" what might occur if the Borden sisters were caught unaware by a reporter. What did the two sisters really know about the murders...and about each other?

"Goodbye, Miss Lizzie Borden" was written by Lillian de la Torre and produced/directed by Antony Ellis. Irene Tedrow, Paula Winslowe, and Virginia Gregg starred. Also appearing were Helen Kleeb, Leonard Weinrib, and Dick Beals . This episode aired on October 4, 1955.

. Download suspense_1955.10.04_Goodbye Miss Lizzie Borden.mp3

A few months later, de la Torre's story was also presented on the television show Alfred Hitchcock Presents under the title, "The Older Sister." Joan Lorring, Carmen Matthews, and Polly Rowles starred.  This episode aired on January 22, 1956

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(Image of the Borden home as it appeared in the late 1800's from Wikipedia. Today, it is a bed & breakfast/museum. For more information, visit their website.)

The Tell-Tale Heart

Suspense never chose to present an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart," but some other notable radio programs did, with good results.

The challenge of presenting "The Tell-Tale Heart" on radio is obvious. The original short story is so brief that there isn't enough material for a half hour show. Still, Inner Sanctum Mysteries, The Weird Circle and The Hall of Fantasy all took a crack at reworking Poes' masterpiece.

All three shows lengthened and changed the story, but retained the essential components of Poe's work. The result was three unique versions of "The Tell-Tale Heart." Each one oddly different from the other.

The original "The Tell-Tale Heart" is available at www.poestories.com and many other places on the Internet. A recording of Poe's story being read aloud, which takes about 18 minutes, is available at http://librivox.org. 

Read "The Tell-Tale Heart' again and then listen to these imaginitive radio adaptations:

Inner Sanctum's version strayed the farthest from the original story, but Boris Karloff's performance made it worthwhile. This episode aired on August 3, 1941. (Their version has the added entertainment, or distraction, of commercials for Carter's Little Liver Pills.)

.  Download isan.1941.08.03_Tell_Tale_Heart,_The.mp3

The Weird Circle's modernized version is tense and strange, but excellent. They presented "The Tell-Tale Heart" on January 30, 1944.

.  Download weir.1944.01.30_Tell_Tale_Heart.mp3

The Hall of Fantasy presented their version, a gripping one, on June 1, 1953. The story was adapted for radio by Richard Thorn.

.  Download hfan.1953.06.01_The_Tell-Tale_Heart.mp3

(Image of Edgar Allan Poe from Wikipedia)

Suspense - Fugue in C Minor

"Fugue in C Minor" is the kind of radio horror that only Lucille Fletcher could write. As the Suspense announcer tells us at the beginning, this is a story of "brooding anxiety and sharpening suspicion, played against the severe and forbidding background of the late Victorian era." In this episode, two small children believe that their father, an organist, has killed their mother and hidden her body within the pipes of the organ in their home.

The story begins in April of 1900 in an east coast town called Pilotsville. Amanda Peabody is introduced by her sister to a handsome widower named Mr. Theodore Evans. He and his two children live in a home that was built around a colossal pipe organ. Amanda and Theodore's mutual love of classical music brings them together, but his strange, little children stand in the way of their happiness.

"Fugue in C Minor" was written by Lucille Fletcher and was produced/directed by William Spier. The title refers to the musical composition for organ by Johann Sebastian Bach. It is interesting to note that Suspense actor and announcer Joseph Kearns, "The Man in Black," really did have a home that was built around a Wurlitzer pipe organ. He unfortunately doesn't appear in this episode.

Vincent Price starred as Theodore Evans and Ida Lupino as Amanda Peabody. Bea Benaderet also appeared. This episode aired on June 1, 1944.

.  Download Suspense.1944.06.01_Fugue_In_C_Minor.mp3

(Image of the Passacaglia from Fugue in C Minor from Wikipedia)

Suspense - The Death of Alexander Jordan

"The Death of Alexander Jordan" is set in the mid-Twentieth century, but it is rooted in the fear of premature burial that was prevalent in Europe and America in the Victorian era. When this story first aired on the radio in 1944 on Creeps by Night, there would have been many listeners old enough to have heard the macabre Victorian tales of premature burial referred to in this story.

This episode begins with a man named Ramsey and his wife Martha. They work on the farm of his uncle, Alexander Jordon. Ramsey is a brute and Martha is long suffering. Uncle Alexander, at age 82, is now on his deathbed and he admits that he is haunted by the stories he heard in his childhood about people being buried alive. He asks that his coffin be equipped inside with an electric buzzer. Should he awake, the buzzer will ring a bell back at the farmhouse. 

Shortly afterwards, Uncle Alex does die and before the first night is over, the bell does go off. Ramsey goes down to the family crypt to see if Uncle Alex has returned from the dead. Not because he loves his uncle, but because he is determined to sell the farm and move back to the city as soon as possible.

The electric buzzer in the coffin is a modern twist on the "safety coffin" of the 19th century.  These special caskets were equipped with gadgets that worked as alarms in case of premature burial. One of the more notable safety coffins from the Victorian era was the Bateson Belfry Coffin. This casket was outfitted with a bell on its top, above the head of the deceased. A cord placed in the hand of the deceased connected to the bell. Caskets with similar safety features are still manufactured.

Although the announcer states that the radioplay for "The Death of Alexander Jordan" was written by Hector Chevigny for Suspense, it first appeared on the short-lived 1944 radio show Creeps by Night under the title "The Strange Death of Alexander Jordan." This episode starred Connie Lempke, William Mason, Paul McGrath and Edgar Stelhi.  It aired on September 2, 1962.

.   Download suspense.1962.09.02_ DeathOfAlexanderJordan.mp3

Here is another show from the 1940's about a safety coffin from the series Murder at Midnight. This story, "The Line is Dead," is about a man who has already been buried alive once, so he puts a telephone in his coffin in case it happens again.

.  Download mamn.1947.04.07_The_Line_Is_Dead.mp3

(Image from coffin bell from Wikimedia Commons. Image of Antoine Wertz's The Premature Burial from Wikimedia Commons)

Suspense - Neil Cream, Doctor of Poison

The true story of Dr. Neil Cream is so ghastly that it is surprising that Suspense tried to dramatize it. Bringing the Victorian horror story of the "Doctor of Poison" to the airwaves required that it be pared down considerably for a general audience. Their version does not mention the nightmarish botched abortions he performed nor the prostitutes he poisoned.

Suspense retained only the basic components that made the story unique and left the rest out. Their version is that of a man who had no remorse about poisoning women, but who is ultimately done in by his own manipulativeness and arrogance. The strength of this episode lies in the performances of the actors and the well written narrative.

Suspense also chose not to mention that Neil Cream is considered by some to have been Jack-the-Ripper. The problem with that theory is that Dr. Cream was serving time for murder in Joliet Prison in Illinois when the Ripper crimes occurred. After his release from Joliet in 1891, Dr. Cream left America for England and quickly took up his old ways. He was finally caught and sentenced to execution in 1892. Just before he was hanged, Dr. Cream is said to have admitted, "I am Jack..." One theory as to how this could be possible proposes that he had a double who committed the Ripper murders.

This story aired once on September 17, 1951, and starred Oscar winner Charles Laughton in one of his ten appearances on Suspense. Charles Davis, Jeannette Nolan, Joseph Kearns, Betty Hartford, Georgia Ellis, Alma Lawton and Herbert Butterfield also appear. The radioplay was written for Suspense by Antony Ellis. "Neil Cream, Doctor of Poison" was produced and directed by Elliott Lewis.

.  Download NeilCreamDoctorofPoison.9.17.1951mp3.mp3

Suspense presented the same radioplay again in 1955 under the title, "A Story of Poison."  This time Joseph Kearns played Dr. Cream and the show was produced and directed by Antony Ellis. This episode aired on September 13, 1955.

.  Download Suspense_1955.09.13_AStoryOfPoison.mp3

(Revised 9/20/07)

Suspense - The Body Snatchers

Suspense's "The Body Snatchers" is a light-hearted drama, but the true history on which it is based is dark and gruesome. The story is set in the early 19th century when the legal supply of human bodies for medical research in Britain was limited only to criminals given the death penalty. This supply was insufficient for the number of medical students who needed cadavers for dissection and the difference was made up by "body-snatching", the illegal disinterment and sale of the dead. Those who dug up bodies after burial and sold them off for a profit were known as "Resurrectionists" or "Resurrection Men."

As a result, families who lost a loved one had to attend to keeping that loved one buried. In response, there sprang up an industry to deal with graveyard crime. Specialty items like lead coffins, locks, vaults, grills, and mortsafes helped to deter robbers. It also led to fancier cemeteries for the middle class like Highgate Cemetery in London (pictured), which was one of the "Magnificent Seven."

When dead bodies weren't available some resurrectionists committed murder for profit. The West Port Murders by William Burke and William Hare in 1827-1828 in Scotland, as well as the crimes of John Bishop and Thomas Williams (the London Burkers), created a public outcry for change. In 1831 Bishop and Williams were sentenced, executed, and then dissected for study.

The Anatomy Act of 1832 altered the laws and increased the number of bodies available, thereby diminishing the need for body-snatching. The new Act stated that destitute people, with no relatives, who died while in the workhouses could be given over to medical schools. As a result however, the greatly feared public workhouses became even more terrifying in that, if you died there, you could end up being dissected in an anatomy clinic.

Today, the illegal sales of corpses and body parts continues to be a lucrative industry in America.

"The Body Snatchers" was for written for Suspense by John Dickson Carr and aired on November 24, 1942.

Download Suspense_1942-11-24_The_Body_Snatchers.mp3

(Photo of Highgate Cemetery from Morguefile.com)

Suspense - (Forecast) The Lodger

How did the radio show Suspense begin?

It first appeared on a CBS program called Forecast, which presented the pilot episodes of new shows. Forecast aired Suspense: "The Lodger" on July 22, 1940. The radio-play was based on the novel by Marie Belloc Lowndes, as well as many other tales of mysterious lodgers who may have been Jack-the-Ripper.

The premier episode was directed by Alfred Hitchcock, who had previously filmed The Lodger in 1927. Edmund Gwenn and Herbert Marshall were working with Hitchcock on the movie Foreign Correspondent when they appeared on this program. "The Lodger" is a unique Suspense episode because it was performed in front of a studio audience.

Although the response was good, it would be another two years until Suspense became a regular series on CBS. Once it was established in 1942, the show went on to run for twenty years! For more information about the first episode of Suspense and the show's association with Alfred Hitchcock, read "Murder and Suspense: Hitchcock's Established Reputation" by Martin Grams.

Herbert Marshall stars as Mr. Sleuth and Edmund Gwenn stars as Mr. Bunting. This episode also features Noreen Gammill, Joseph Kearns and Lurene Tuttle. Alfred Hitchcock makes an appearance at the end of the show.

Download Forecast-The_Lodger-Suspense_audition_40-07-22_CBS_.mp3

To watch a video clip of Hitchock's The Lodger see: Suspense - The Lodger (First Episode)

(Rev. 02/18/08)

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)