Suspense's "The Furnished Floor" invites us into the boarding house of Mrs. Hawkins. As the story begins, she is on the phone describing the unexpected reappearance of her former tenant, Mr. Jennings. He and his beloved wife, Mabel, had previously rented her upstairs floor, but when Mabel died, he had moved away. Now, Mr. Jennings wants to return and live there again -- with his wife. She had assumed that he meant a new wife, but now, Mrs. Hawkins isn't sure. She doesn't know who has moved in upstairs with him and she doesn't like it. Has Mr. Jennings brought back his late wife's body, does he see her ghost, or has he just gone mad? Or is it all of these?
Mildred Natwick, in her only appearance on the Suspense radio show, starred as Mrs. Hawkins. Don Defore played Mr. Jennings. The radioplay was written by Lucille Fletcher and it demonstrates her particular talent for writing believable female dialogue. This episode was produced and directed by William Spiers and aired September 13, 1945.
. Download suspense.1945.09.13_Furnished Floor.mp3
(Image of Mildred Natwick in Alfred Hitchcock's 1955 film The Trouble with Harry from Wikimedia Commons)
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