In "Pearls are a Nuisance," William Bendix, and later Ray Milland, star in a satirical Suspense play adapted from a short story by crime fiction novelist Raymond Chandler. "Pearls are a Nuisance" was first published in Dime Detective in April, 1939, and it is available online. Suspense's adaptation is more humorous than the original story, which involves two guys trying to find a lost necklace while guzzling tremendous amounts of whisky.
As the episode opens, Walter Gage is in his office when he receives a telephone call on his private line. The call is from Miss Ellen Macintosh, his lady-love and private nurse to Mrs. Penruddock. She wants Walter to find Mrs. Penruddock's stolen string of pink pearls. The trouble is that the pearls are copies. Mrs. Penruddock sold the real pearls, and she doesn't want anyone to know. So, Ellen wants Walter to find the stolen strand. She believes that the former chauffeur, Henry Eichelberger, took them.
Walter travels to a seedy hotel to find Henry, a guy who looks like "a taxi going down the street with both doors open." However, Walter quickly comes to the conclusion that he isn't the culprit. Instead, he asks Henry to help him find the thief. Henry agrees, and the two of them set off to recover the pearls.
"Pearls Are A Nuisance" was written by Raymond Chandler and adapted for radio by prominent screenwriter Ranald MacDougall. William Spier produced and directed. William Bendix and Allan Joslyn starred. Also appearing were Lurene Tuttle, Wally Maher, and Hans Conried. This episode aired on April 19, 1945.
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Suspense presented this story a second time on April 20, 1950, with good results. Ray Milland starred as Walter Gage, and Hal March played Henry Eichelberger. Also appearing were Edwin Max and Howard McNear. Norman MacDonnell produced and directed.
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(Image of Ray Milland from Wikipedia)
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