In "The Hands of Mr. Ottermole," Claude Rains and Vincent Price star in an episode based on the story by Thomas Burke, first published in his 1931 book, The Pleasantries Old Quong. Burke died in 1945, but in 1949, critics voted "The Hands of Mr. Ottermole" the best mystery of all time. Suspense's adaptation is a faithful one, but they added a dollop of drama for Claude Rains by extending the ending.
As the episode opens, a newspaperman interviews a sergeant from the London metropolitan police force about the strangler who has committed five murders but is still on the loose.
The sergeant tells him how the strangler suddenly went to work in the district. What was the gain? Only the strangler knew. No one could understand the purpose of his crimes. He appeared to step out of the dark and strike at random.
Which leaves them to wonder if the strangler will be caught or will he just disappear into the shadows....
"The Hands of Mr. Ottermole" was adapted for radio by Ken Crossen and produced/directed by Anton M. Leader. Claude Rains and Vincent Price starred. Also appearing were Verna Felton and Raymond E. Lawrence. This episode aired on December 2, 1948.
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(Image of Claude Rains from Wikipedia)
I recall seeing this on the old Alfred Hitchcock Presents TV show. Don't recall who the actors were but it would have been in the late Fifties. Good mystery and very surprising climax.
Posted by: Mike Newton | November 07, 2011 at 04:58 PM
The Hands of Mr. Ottermole was also adapted for the TV version of Suspense (1949) starring the great radio and TV character actor, Ralph Bell. The Alfred Hitchcock TV adaptation (1957) starred Theodore Bikel as Mr. Ottermole with two other fine character actors: Rhys Williams and
Torin Thatcher
Posted by: Gordon Sabaduquia | June 19, 2013 at 03:11 PM
The announcer delivering the chilling Suspense introduction ... "A tale well calculated to keep you in ... suspense" is the wonderful radio, voice and sometime TV actor, Paul Frees.
Posted by: Gordon Sabaduquia | June 19, 2013 at 03:22 PM
The version on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" changed the ending a bit, because the network could not have crime go unpunished on its shows at the time. Still, it was effective and well-done.
Posted by: Jim Hightower | May 01, 2016 at 01:57 PM
I don't understand why everyone thinks this is such a great story. I thought is was one of the worst Alfred Hitchcock episodes ever. It did not take a genius to know who the killer was. I knew by the title of the episode, duh. I thought that there must be a twist to the story, but I was sadly disappointed.
Posted by: Scm3593@gmail.com | April 25, 2017 at 10:22 AM
"The announcer delivering the chilling Suspense introduction ... "A tale well calculated to keep you in ... suspense" is the wonderful radio, voice and sometime TV actor, Paul Frees."
Gordon Sabaduquia, I believe the announcer is not Mr. Paul Frees but the regular announcer for "Suspense!" Mr. Truman Bradley. You can hear him here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBWPa-Pv-tg
giving the intro and closing to TV's "Science Fiction Theatre." He and Mr. Frees do sound very much alike.
Scm3593, isn't odd that this was voted the greatest mystery story? I think so. Clearly the writer's accomplishment was in creating rising suspense, not in keeping us guessing "whodunnit."
Posted by: Philippa | May 17, 2017 at 11:26 AM