"Banquo's Chair" takes place when "sophisticated" crime solving meant inviting a murder suspect to your mansion for a chummy dinner party and then scaring that person into a full confession with a witty prank.
Sir William Brent of Scotland Yard has one unresolved murder case on his illustrious record and he arranges such a dinner to elicit a confession from his prime suspect. The mansion where they will be dining was the scene of the crime and one of the guests invited to this dinner party will be the ghost of the victim.
The title "Banquo's Chair" refers to the character of Banquo from Shakespeare's Macbeth. He is murdered by Macbeth and then comes back to haunt him during a feast. Banquo's ghost takes Macbeth's place at the table, but Macbeth is the only one who can see the apparition.
"Banquo's Chair" was based on the short story and play (1930) by Rupert Croft-Cooke, who also wrote mystery novels under the pseudonym of Leo Bruce. It became the basis for the movie The Fatal Witness (1945) and an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents in 1959.
"Banquo's Chair" was adapted for Suspense by Sigmund Muller and presented three times. Hans Conreid appeared in all three versions but otherwise the cast was changed for each. It first aired on June 1, 1943 with John Loder and Ian Wolfe. It was presented again on August 3, 1944 with Donald Crisp, John Loder, Ian Wolfe and Jane Morgan.
Here is the 1950 version starring James Mason and Hans Conreid. (There are a few minutes of hissing and static in the middle of this recording.)
Download suspense.1950.03.09_Banquo's_Chair.mp3
"Sleep No More" performed "Banquo's Chair" in a fifteen minute reading by Nelson Olmsted on February 6, 1957. It is different from Suspense's version in that it gives more story details.
Download sleepnm.1957.02.06_Banquo's_Chair_The_Coward.mp3
(Image of "Macbeth Seeing the Ghost of Banquo" by Theodore Chasseriau (1819-1856) from Wikipedia )
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