In the "Devil's Saint," a man has to prove his love by spending a night in a mysterious bedroom that kills its guests.
The story opens in Paris in 1927 at a fancy dress ball in the opera house. Lord Edward and Illona are enjoying themselves--until her uncle arrives. It is then that Lord Edward tells her uncle, Count Stefan Kohari, that they want to get married. The problem is that Edward and Illona have only known each other four days. Count Stefan Kohari isn't pleased. So, in order to "cure" Edward of this infatuation, Count Stephan invites Lord Edward to his chateau. The trick is that he has to stay in the "Tapestry Room."
Illona begs him not to do it. Everyone who sleeps in that room dies! Will Lord Edward survive a night in the room, or will he too, die?
In "A Case of Identity," a husband and wife conspire to cash in on an insurance policy.
Harry and Edna have a plan. They will take out a large insurance policy on Harry's life and then create an "accident" that causes his untimely death. Harry won't be the one who dies in the accident, he will find someone else to do that. Instead, Harry will disappear while Edna collects the insurance money. Afterwards, they will start a new life.
All goes according to plan, until Harry discovers that Edna has no intention of sharing the money.
In "Green-Eyed Monster," a man kills his wife to marry his girlfriend, but is she worth the trouble?
As the episode opens, Michael Dawson receives an early morning phone call from the police informing him that his Pontiac was stolen during the night. The car is now at their station, and they want him to come in and claim it.
Mr. Dawson then calls his insurance man, and the two of them go to the police station later that morning. When they arrive, the sergeant shows them what was found in the car's trunk -- the dead body of Mrs. Dawson.
Of course, Mr. Dawson was the one who killed her, but he manages to evade the suspicions of the police. He did it so that he could be with his girlfriend, Judy, but how well does he really know her? Does she know that he can get a little jealous?
In "Death at Live Oak," a man believes that he can solve his problems by switching identities with another man.
As the episode opens, David Sutherland meets a woman in an elevator who mistakes him for her husband. Later, he meets the woman again and she is struck by his resemblance to her husband. The two have dinner and instant love follows. He is everything that her husband is not, except that he is close to bankruptcy.
The two come up with a plan to dispose of her husband and have Sutherland take his place. That way, his debtors will think he is dead, and she won't have to go through the scandal of a divorce. Sutherland will take her husband up in his plane and parachute out before it crashes. Then, he will assume the identity of her husband, and they will live happily ever after.
In "Overdrawn," a bored bank employee steals a briefcase full of money and runs away to San Francisco. Suspense presented a number of episodes about wayward bank employees, but what makes "Overdrawn" interesting is that it was adapted for radio by Blake Edwards.
As the episode opens, Mr. Farley explains that he has been a bank teller for seventeen years because he has patience. Lots of patience. He also has a "perfect crime" scenario worked out in his head, but in order for it to play out, the bank would have to be held up by gunmen. So, he waits.
Finally, one day, while Mr. Farley is training a new employee, the bank is held up by gunmen! During the confusion, Mr. Farley then flings the contents of his bank drawer into his briefcase. No one appears to have noticed, and Mr. Farley leaves for the day with a briefcase full of cash and the exultation of having committed a flawless crime. But, did he?
In "The Thirty-Second of December," a man discovers that his new watch can transport him through time.
As the episode opens, it is the the thirty-first of December, 1958, and Joe and Molly are having breakfast.
He asks her, very casually, to give him her engagement ring so that he can take it to the jeweler and have the loose stone repaired. She aks him if he has been gambling again and if he intends to pawn her ring to pay his debts. Joe laughs off Molly's silliness, -- but of course, that is exactly why he wants it. He needs a thousand dollars by midnight to pay off the mob.
Joe takes the ring to the pawn shop but then becomes spellbound by an odd watch on display there. He decides to buy the watch with the money he got for the ring and find another way to pay off his debt. Not long afterwards, he discovers that his new watch can control time, but can he control the watch?
In "The Clock and the Rope," a man makes a date, gets in a fight with his date's ex, and winds up being convicted of murder.
As the episode opens, Henry Gilford describes how his problems began, why it is that he doesn't like to be indoors, why he hates clocks...
It had all started when he made a date with a girl who frequented the gas station where he worked. They had agreed to meet late the following evening, but she drove off before Henry could get her name.
When Henry arrived to meet his date the next night, her angry ex was there also, and a fight was already in progress. Henry had to knock the man out to protect himself and Henry's date told him to leave before her ex woke up. He did, and two hours later, the cops picked him up on suspicion of murder. Unfortunately for Henry, the girl disappeared, and the police didn't believe his story.
Now Henry has been convicted of murder, and the only thing that can save him is the girl. Will she reappear, or will he hang?
In "A Murder of Necessity," a man kills his blackmailer but then realizes that there is a witness to his crime.
Herbie Sachs is a private investigator and a blackmailer. As the episode opens, Mark is on his way to Herbie's office to murder him. Mark walks in, chit-chats a little, and then shoots him.
Afterwards, he realizes that Herbie had been in the middle of a phone call. The phone was off the hook, and somewhere out there, a stranger heard what he did.
Mark decides to try to find out who was on the other end of that call by going through the list of people that Herbie was in contact with that day. As he does, Mark realizes that he may have done them all a favor by killing Herbie.
In "Murder Aboard the Alphabet," the crew of a deep sea tugboat fears that their captain is a madman.
As the episode opens, the chief officer of the Alphabet, Mr. Marchland, explains what happened during their voyage from Liverpool to Boston.
The ship was under the command of Captain Walker for the first time, and it soon became apparent that their new captain had intense peculiarities and a maniacal need to organize everything alphabetically. At first he seemed harmless, but when members of the crew began to mysteriously disappear in alphabetical order, they realized that their captain was more dangerous than odd.
"Murder Aboard the Alphabet" was written by Charles Turrell and produced and directed by William Spier. John Lund starred as Mr. Marchland and Joseph Kearns played the captain. Also appearing were Wiliam Johnstone and Ben Wright. This episode aired on August 21, 1947.
In "Very Much Like a Nightmare," an employee falls asleep at his desk and wakes later in the night to discover a robbery in progress.
Mr. McLean works on the seventh floor of the The Nugent Building. He has been out for a few days with the flu, but now, with the help of some pills from the pharmacy, he is back at work.
Toward the end of the day, he decides to take one of his little pills to help him wake up, but instead, he nods off to sleep at his desk. When he wakes, he is in the pitch black silence of an empty office...and he isn't the only one working late.
In "The Wages of Sin," Barbara Stanwyck plays a tough-talking beauty who makes a risky deal.
As the episode opens, the police are inspecting the apartment of Ruby Miller, a somewhat notorious tabloid darling. A man was murdered in her living room, and though Ruby was not at home, the police are certain that a deal was made in advance to use her apartment as the scene of the crime.
When Ruby does return to her apartment, she insists that she knows nothing about the dead man lying on her rug. The police don't believe her, but they can't prove her story wrong or her alibi false.
Of course, Ruby does know more, and now that the police have let her go, she intends to profit even further from the deal she made.
Prominent screenwriter John Michael Hayes passed away on November 19, 2008, in New Hampshire at the age of 89. He was best known for his collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock on the films Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, The Trouble with Harry, and The Man Who Knew Too Much, but his other screen credits include Peyton Place, Butterfield 8, and many others.
In 1955, Hayes received an Academy Award nomination for Rear Window, which he had adapted from the short story by Cornell Woolrich. He was nominated a second time in 1958 for his adaptation of the novel Peyton Place by Grace Metalious.
John MIchael Hayes, like many other screenwriters, began his career as a scriptwriter in radio. His work was presented on a number of popular programs including Suspense, Inner Sanctum, My Favorite Husband, and others.
In all, Hayes is credited as a writer on ten episodes of Suspense and most fans of the show have probably heard an episode written or co-written by him. Those episodes include: "Very Much Like a Nightmare," True Report," "Lady in Distress," "The Wages of Sin," Vamp Till Dead," The Well-Dressed Corpse," "The Windy City Six," The Gift of Jumbo Brannigan," "Early to Death," and "Death on my Hands."
Hayes also co-wrote the script of the Escape episode "Two if By Sea," which was adapted from the novel Came the Dawn.
For more information about the life of John Michael Hayes, and his association with Hitchcock, click here to read his obituary in the San Francisco Chronicle (11/28/08).
In "The Walls Came Tumbling Down," a society columnist becomes involved in a mystery involving two missing Bibles.
As the episode opens, Mr. Darcy, a columnist of "cafe society chatter," is in his office. His secretary enters and announces that he has a visitor, a priest. At first, Darcy is amused, but then it turns out that his visitor is Father Walsh, one of his teachers from grade school.
Father Walsh has come to tell Darcy about the peculiar man who came to see him three days earlier. This stranger had demanded that Father Walsh give him the Bibles marked "EB." The stranger also told him that he had just three days to help him find the "Walls of Jericho." Father Walsh doesn't have the Bibles, and he doesn't know where to find the "Walls of Jericho." Can Darcy help Father Walsh sove the mystery?
There was big news in Suspensedom over the weekend. A copy of the long lost episode "The Rescue," starring Jimmy Stewart, has been found! You can listen to it via the player below, or you can head on over to Rand's Esoteric OTR to learn more about it. "The Rescue" originally aired on April 19, 1951. Thanks to Randy Riddle, it is available again.
In "The Companion," two hysterical women convince themselves that their home companion is trying to kill them
Mrs. Lois Hughes is unhappy that her husband is frequently away on business. It makes her nervous to be home at night with only her invalid mother for company. In order to ease her fears, she hires Miss Lord, sight unseen, to live with them as their home companion.
As soon as Miss Lord moves in, Mrs. Hughes becomes concerned that there is something wrong. Strange things seem to be happening in their house. With a terrible storm outside, and no one to help them, Mrs. Hughes and her mother frantically try to escape the home companion that they believe is a psychopath.
"The Companion" was written by Walter Black and produced/directed by Paul Roberts. Elizabeth Lawrence played Lois, Rita Lloyd played Mrs. Lord, and Virginia Payne played Lois' mother. This episode aired on November 15, 1959.
In "The Strange Death of Gordon Fitzroy," an ex-con is consumed with a desire for revenge.
Johnny Malone was sent to prison for attempted robbery, but soon, he will be released. He and his associate, Gordon Fitzroy, had planned the robbery together, but Johnny was the one who went to jail. It was Fitzroy's own jewelry store that they had tried to rob in order to collect on the insurance, but their plan failed. The explosives they used to crack the safe were too powerful. When the police arrived on the scene, Fitzroy double-crossed Johnny and told them he had caught the burglar in the act.
Johnny's face was horribly disfigured as a result of the blast, so badly that he can't even look at himself. When Johnny gets out of prison, he has only one objective -- to find Gordon Fitzroy.
In "Dime a Dance," Lucille Ball plays a taxi dancer who becomes involved in the search for a murderer.
Cornell Woolrich's classic noir short story, "Dime a Dance" (Black Mask, February, 1938), is also known under its reprint title, "The Dancing Detective." The story was adapted for Suspense in 1944, not long after Suspense had presented Woolrich's similar tale, "The White Rose Murders." Woolrich wrote a number of stories with taxi dancer and dance hall themes, but the most famous of these is "Dime a Dance."
Ginger Allen is a taxi dancer at the Joyland Palace in New York City. As the episode opens, she arrives at work expecting to see her friend, Julie, but she isn't there. No one knows where Julie is or why she isn't at work. Later, Ginger is told that Julie has been murdered and the police want her help.
In "Easy Money," Jack Carson stars as a husband who wishes to rid himself of his famous wife... one way or another.
Paul is a down-on-his luck piano player who wants to rise above his circumstances. His girlfriend, Ellen, wants to marry him, but he has turned her down numerous times. Finally, Paul admits to her that he is already married. His wife is Martha Leighthrop, an author known for her books about the secrets of world politics. He hasn't seen Martha in 14 years, but she is currently in town, and he plans to ask her for a divorce.
When Paul visits his estranged wife, he finds that she has changed. She is paranoid and suspicious, and she has no interest in giving him a divorce. Paul decides that to be free of Martha, death must part them.
"Easy Money" was written by Sydney Renthal and produced/directed by William Spier. Jack Carson starred. Also appearing were Cathy Lewis, Elliot Lewis, and Paul Frees. The name of the actress who played Martha isn't given. (The sound effects for the pet macaw in this story are almost as bad as those for the kitty cat in "The Lucky Lady.") This episode aired on November 7, 1946.
In the "White Rose Murders," Maureen O'Hara stars as society girl who attempts to catch a killer.
"The White Rose Murders" was adapted from the Cornell Woolrich story "The Death Rose" (Baffling Detective Mysteries March 1943). The story revolves around Ginny Trowbridge, a well-to-do debutante and her boyfriend, Terry, a homicide detective. He has been assigned to the case of the "White Rose Murderer," a case that the New York City police department is desperate to solve. If Terry doesn't solve the case, his job may be on the line. Ginny decides that the best way to help him is to secretly try to lure the murderer into a trap herself.
No writer is credited for Suspense's radio adaptation, but Francis M. Nevins, Jr., in his 1988 biography of Woolrich states that: "If the radio play was not written by Woolrich--and, as with "Last Night" no other writer is credited--then its author's ability to capture the Woolrich mood and feel is nothing short of miraculous. Not only is "The White Rose Murders" better constructed than the magazine tale, but with its noir implication that the world is full of lonely and twisted men who are ready, willing and able to kill women, it's much more disturbing."*
"The White Rose Murders" was produced by William Spier and directed by Ted Bliss. This episode aired on July 6, 1943.
"Sorry, Wrong Number" was the Suspense radio play that not only gave the series its biggest success, but it also became "radio's most famous play." This story was presented eight times between 1943 and 1960, and it created a phenomenon of its own by provoking tremendous listener response. The radio play was written by Lucille Fletcher and, aside from "The Hitchhiker," it is her best known work. "Sorry, Wrong Number" was the only Suspense story to be made into a film.
In the sixty or so years since "Sorry, Wrong Number" was first presented on radio, it has made the transition to film, television, novel, and play. In recent years, it has made its way on to the internet via old time radio websites and YouTube videos.
However, to fully appreciate Fletcher's unique style of conjuring up suspense, one must listen to the story as it was presented on radio.
All eight versions of "Sorry, Wrong Number" starred Agnes Moorehead in the lead role of Mrs. Elbert Stevenson.
The first time this story was presented was on May 25, 1943. In the East Coast version, there was a flubbed line at the end that made the end of the story confusing. The performance done for the West Coast has the correct ending. William Spier directed.
The sixth version of this episode was presented on September 15, 1952, but there is no known recording of that episode at this time.
In 1957, William N. Robson brought "Sorry, Wrong Number" back to Suspense. As he states in his introduction, he felt that great radio plays, like great stage plays, should be revived from time to time.
In the 1948 film Sorry, Wrong Number, the role of Mrs. Stevenson was played by Barbra Stanwyck, for which she later received an Academy Award nomination. Stanwyck performed the role of Mrs. Stevenson once on radio, along with her costar Burt Lancaster, in an hour long adaptation of the film for Lux Radio Theater. This episode aired on January 9, 1950.
Here also, is the movie trailer for Sorry, Wrong Number. It mentions Suspense and how the craze over the radio version brought the story to the big screen.
Ever wonder what a modern remake of Sorry, Wrong Number might look like? Well, below is a trailer/drama project from Dark Ocean Films that gives us an idea.
"Consideration" is a love story about a wife who believes her husband wants to kill her in order to collect the insurance money.
As the episode opens, Charles admits to his wife, Ellen, that he has been borrowing money to keep up their lifestyle. To pay off those loans, he had to steal funds from his company. Now, Charles wants to use the savings in their safe deposit box to replace the money he stole from work, and he asks Ellen to go get it.
Ellen tells him that she would do just that, but she has already gambled away all of that money. She has been betting on the horses but never winning, so there isn't any money left.
Charles appears forgiving, but when he takes out a new life insurance policy on her, Ellen becomes conviced that he is planning to kill her.
"The Man in the Room" stars John Lund as a writer who becomes curious about the peculiar disappearance of his typist.
Burt Freeland is a writer in need of someone who can type up his work at a reasonable rate. After seeing an ad in the paper, he goes to the office of Miss Markheim, a new typist in town.
Miss Markheim's work is always perfect and finished on time, but she never seems to be in her office when Mr. Freeland comes to pick up his typing. The elevator operator makes excuses for her, but he isn't convincing.
Mr. Freeland writes a mystery story based on the situation, but he soon realizes that his story may be too close to the truth.
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.
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.
"Nineteen Deacon Street" is a light-hearted ghost story/mystery in which a tie salesman is haunted by the ghost of a beautiful actress.
Maury Schwartz is a wholesale tie salesman who has come to Chicago to find a place to live and to find a place to set up his new business. On a tip, he is told about a rooming house for actors that might be able to accomodate him.
When he gets there, the landlady offers a room but only on a temporary basis. The room belongs to an actress named Laverne who is away. When Mr. Schwartz asks when Laverne will return, the landlady doesn't know. When he asks how long Laverne has been gone, the landlady tells him that it has been about...ten years since she went away.
"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.
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?
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.)
"Never Steal a Butcher's Wife" is a tale of lust and danger in a Los Angeles supermarket.
Harry Carr is new in town, and he has just started a job in the liquor department of a supermarket. In the afternoon, he chances to lock eyes with Mary, one of the check-out clerks. Harry is intrigued, but Nick, the head of the vegetable department, warns Harry to stay away from Mary. Not only is she married, but she is married to the burly, knife-weilding butcher.
Harry tries to follow Nick's advice, but he soon loses control of the situation.
"Never Steal A Butcher's Wife" (or "The Butcher's Wife") was written by screenwriter James Poe, produced by William Spier, and directed by Norman MacDonnell. Kirk Douglas,in one of his three appearances on Suspense, starred as Harry. This episode aired on February 9, 1950.
In "The Night Man," a woman is convinced that an elevator operator is out to get her.
As the episode opens, Miss Rhodes arrives at a prison warden's office. She is there to inquire about a prisoner named Tom Nixon. Miss Rhodes testified against him at his trial, and afterwards, Nixon swore revenge. For the last ten years, Miss Rhodes has lived in fear of his threat.
MIss Rhodes now believes that Tom Nixon is working as an elevator operator in her building. He should still be in prison, but she is certain that he isn't!
So, is the man in the elevator really Tom Nixon, or is Miss Rhodes just paranoid?
In "Heads You Lose," two private detectives are hired to find a missing Wall Street millionaire. This episode has some similarities to "Donovan's Brain," but the story plays out in a different way.
Steve Kimberly and Rollo Collins are private detectives. They aren't quite as reputable as the other detectives in town, so people usually come to them only in desperation. As the episodes opens, an attorney named Harrison Ward arrives at their office.
Mr. Ward asks them to find Joshua Franklin, the famous Wall Street financier who disappeared about six years ago with $100,000 in cash. Joshua Franklin only had six months to live at the time he disappeared, so it was assumed that he must have died some time ago. At least, that is what Mr. Ward thought until he suddenly received a phone call from Joshua Franklin! How could he still be alive?
Perhaps, just part of Joshua Franklin has been kept alive...
"Summer Night" is based on a story by Ray Bradbury and stars Ida Lupino in a creepy episode about a serial killer.
As the episode opens, Anna is trying to phone her friend Helen, but she can't get through. The operator is having trouble connecting the call because everyone in town is in a panic about two murders that have recently taken place. The "Lipstick Killer" has struck twice, and the town is terrified he will strike again.
Anna wants Helen to come and stay with her because she doesn't feel safe alone in her home. Helen finds the request odd because the two of them haven't spoken for four years, but she eventually agrees to come over. Helen knows that her old friend Anna is a bit strange, but she soon realizes how much stranger Anna has become since she last saw her.
In "Tell You Why I Shouldn't Die, a Coney Island pitchman has to talk fast to save his own life.
Charlie is holding Nat at gunpoint. He wants to kill Nat in return for the many things that his buddy "has done for him."
Before he does, Charlie allows Nat to give him one last pitch. One last chance to explain why he shouldn't die.
Nat explains that he did steal Charlie's girl, Eileen, but that was partly her fault, too. He did take Eileen to Reno to get married and then dump her for someone else, but only because they really weren't right for each other. Yes, he did turn Charlie into the police for murdering Eileen when she returned from Reno, but he only did it because it was in Charlie's best interest...
Suspense's "The Lost Ship" takes its inspiration from the legends of California's Colorado Desert. There are numerous tales of treasure-laden ships lost in the desert north of the Gulf of California, and this episode explores what might happen if one were found. For more information about these lost ships, click here.
Harry Turner and his wife are on the run from the police. Harry stole $50,000 from his employer and now they are driving toward the Mexican border. To avoid the highway patrol, they take a turn onto a desert road, but their car soon breaks down. After walking awhile, they come to a cabin in the mountains that belongs to an old prospector named Pete. He takes them in for the night and tells the Turners the legend of a Spanish galleon filled with treasure that is said to be hidden in the desert sands. At first Harry doesn't believe in the legend, but later, his greed gets the better of him. Harry decides, against Pete's advice, to go after the ship -- alone.
"The Lost Ship" was written by Irwin Lewis and produced/directed by Fred Hendrickson. Matt Cooper, Bill Adams, and Jean Gillespie starred. This episode aired on August 26, 1962.
"Till Death Do Us Part" tells the odd story of a murder plot that never seems to work.
Paul can't forgive his wife for leaving him ten months ago. She left and then returned two months later, as if nothing had happened. Try as he might, Paul can't forgive or forget the pain she caused him. So, he decides to rid himself of her.
Paul steals a prescription pad from his doctor's office and then has numerous prescriptions filled for dangerous drugs. Every night he poisons his wife's wine at dinner, but the poisons never seems to work. Did the pharmacists suspect him and give him harmless substances instead? No matter what he does, his plan always fails. What is going wrong?
In "The Evil of Adelaide Winters," Agnes Moorehead plays a con artist who becomes too greedy.
Adelaide Winters advertises herself as a medium who communicates with the dead, but she is really a con artist who preys upon the families of soldiers lost in the war. She and her assistant, Robert, have developed a successful business, but Adelaide soon discovers an opportunity for greater gain.
One of her new clients, Mr. Edward Porter, has been visiting Adelaide regularly to communicate with his recently deceased son. Mr. Porter's need for contact with his son quickly becomes an obsession, and he asks Adelaide to drop her other clients and work only for him. After that, he asks her to marry him. Adelaide agrees, but only because she wants his money. After Adelaide's greed has gotten the better of her, she realizes her scam has become deadly.
"The Evil of Adelaide Winters" was written by movie and television writer Arthur Ross, who later earned an Academy Award nomination for the screenplay Brubaker (1980). (He also wrote the 1973 television B-horror movie classic Satan's School for Girls.) Elliott Lewis produced/directed. Agnes Moorehead starred. Also appearing were Herb Butterfield and Joseph Kearns. This episode aired on September 10, 1951.
"The Evil of Adelaide Winters" was also presented on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour with Kim Hunter in the lead role. Arthur Ross wrote the teleplay. This episode aired on February 7, 1964.
Suspense's "Blood is Thicker" tells the story of a man, his rich girlfriend, and her suspicious cousin -- and how they all went on a yacht race together.
Mike Farley intends to marry the beautiful and wealthy Vanessa Evans. For the last two months they have spent their weekends on her yacht, and now she has asked him to be a part of her crew for the Honolulu Race.
Mike agrees, because he doesn't think anyone will notice that his sailing skills aren't what he claims. Unfortunately for Mike, it isn't long before someone does notice. Vanessa's cousin, Hugh Guthrie, knows that Mike isn't the gentleman sailor that he pretends to be.
As William N. Robson will explain in the intro to the episode, the setting for this story is the Transpacific Yacht Race. Started in 1906, this renowned yacht race is still run annually from Los Angeles to Honolulu. The story was written by Sam Pierce, who was an official news correspondent for the Transpac.
In "For Love or Murder," Mickey Rooney stars as a young pianist who helps his older girlfriend kill her husband.
As the episode opens,Tommy Lee is on his way to commit a murder. His girlfriend, Ann, wants to be rid of her husband, and she has staged a burglary during which her husband will be killed.
Tommy agreed with her plan, and he agreed to be the "burglar." Now, Tommy is on his way up to their apartment. He wants to do this for Ann because he is in love, but is her love worth it?
This Labor Day, spend your holiday in the business district of Suspense, where the office can be a dangerous place indeed!
Here are three Suspense stories of employees and the ways in which they dealt with the problems at their jobs. Don't try them at yours!
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Wish that your boss would get hit by a bus? You aren't alone, but are you desperate enough to take matters into your own hands? If your are, think again. Evil bosses have a funny way of never giving in to what you want.
In "Experiment 6R," an assistant manager at a large hotel tries to poison his boss, but the results aren't what he hoped for.
"Experiment 6R" was written by Donald Stubbs and Harold Kahm, produced by William Spier, and directed by Norman MacDonnell. John Lund starred. This episode aired on September 22, 1949.
In "A Good and Faithful Servant," Jack Benny stars as a man who devises his own retirement plan by faking a robbery and hiding the loot in his desk. It just goes to show that even the most "perfect" employees, may not be what they seem.
Suspense's "The Crowd" was loosely based on the 1943 short story by Ray Bradbury. The supernatural element of the original story isn't incorporated into this episode, but Suspense's version is an intriguing and well-performed radio play about a killer on the loose in New York City.
As the episode opens, police lieutenant Johnny Stillano is called to investigate a murder. When he arrives at the scene, he has to fight his way through the crowd that has gathered around the victim's body. The crowd seems to have materialized out of nowhere, and it wants to absorb every morbid detail of the murder.
Later, the lieutenant receives a package and then a phone call from the killer -- who appears to be taunting him. Can the lieutenant learn the killer's identity before he strikes again?
In "Three Times Murder," a woman is blackmailed by the attorney who knows she is a murderess.
Laura Starling Morton, accused of murdering her husband, is taken to trial but not convicted of the crime due to insufficient evidence. The assistant district attorney who tried the case knows that she did it, and he is determined to profit from that knowledge, one way or another. After the trial, Laura moves on with her life in a new city and soon remarries. She thinks that her troubles are behind her, but they aren't.
Four years later, Suspense presented this episode again under the title "Murder Strikes Three Times." Marlene Dietrich, in her only appearance on Suspense, played Laura Starling Morton. Hans Conried again played Elmer Garner. William Spier produced and Norman MacDonnell directed. This episode aired on February 16, 1950.
In "Variations on a Theme," a husband organizes a summer vacation from which his wife will never return.
Mr. Herman Milford and his family are about to leave for a month-long vacation to their cabin at the lake. Mrs. Milford is a demanding, disagreeable woman, and and her husband longs to be rid of her. So, he has carefully devised this vacation in order to do just that.
Mr. Milford sets his murderous plan in motion on the first day of their trip. Initially, he enjoys releasing his pent-up aggression towards his wife, but as one thing after another goes wrong, he becomes concerned. His plan may not be unfolding the way he imagined, but will it still work?
In "The Night Reveals," an insurance investigator suspects that his wife is a dangerous pyromaniac.
Suspense's radio play was based on the 1936 short story by Cornell Woolrich (William Irish), but it doesn't capture the intensity. Suspense changed the ending and gave the married couple at the center of the story a chance for future happiness. In Woolrich's version, the husband and wife do not live happily ever after.
Francis M. Nevins, Jr., in his biography of Cornell Woolrich, First You Dream, Then You Die (1988), states:
""The Night Reveals" (Story, April 1936)is the earliest example of that uniquely Woolrichian type of tale, the oscillation thriller, in which the protagonist is being eaten alive by the possibility, then the mild likelihood, then the probability, then the near certainty, then the total certainty that the person closest in the world to the protagonist--husband, wife, roommate, best friend, lover--has done or is doing or is about to do something unspeakable." (p.148)
In 1943, "The Night Reveals" became the first Woolrich story to be adapted by Suspense. According to Nevins, it was the first time Woolrich's work was presented to a national radio audience.
Suspense presented "The Night Reveals" four times between 1943 and 1949. Unfortunately, a recording of the first presentation, which starred Frederic March on March 2, 1943, is not available.
The fourth, and the best of the surviving versions, starred Frederic March and Jeanette Nolan and aired on May 26, 1949.
(Cover art from Six Times Death, a 1944 collection of six William Irish (Cornell Woolrich) stories which includes "The Night Reveals." This collection was originally pubished under the title After-Dinner Story.)
In "The Amateur," Jackie Cooper plays a man who tries to make a fast buck the wrong way.
One night, just as he is arriving home, Jerry Malloy witnesses a hit and run accident. The victim had been running across the street when a big, black car ran him down and sped away.
After being questioned by the police and the press, Jerry goes home and finds a bloody license plate on his doorstep. He phones his friend Boots, who convinces Jerry that the owner of that license plate would pay a fortune to keep it out of the hands of the police.
The next day, Jerry receives a mysterious call from a man who wants to know if he has found "something." Jerry agrees to discuss an exchange, but does he realize what he is getting into?
Suspense's "Death of Me" tells a story of murder and betrayal in a remote logging camp.
Harry Sawyer is a war veteran troubled by irrational fears. So, he decides to ease his mind by leaving the city and taking a job with a lumber company in a small town. His wife, Sal, isn't pleased about the change, but Harry insists that she come with him. He doesn't want to be alone.
Lovely Sal immediately catches the eye of Harry's new boss, Mr. Bixbee, and Harry quickly suspects trouble. Not long afterwards, a coworker is killed while helping Harry with his work. Harry knows that the "accident" was intended for him, but what should he do about it?
In "Murder by the Book," silent film star Gloria Swanson plays a mystery writer who is asked to investigate a high profile murder in a small town.
Emily Carlisle is the most famous female mystery writer in America. When she is asked to investigate the death of her own doctor, she is hesitant. She feels that she is too closely involved, not only because she was the man's patient, but also because her stepdaughter was one of his employees.
Nevertheless, Emily accepts the assignment. She begins her investigation with Lieutenant Hahn, the local officer assigned to work with her. He tells Emily that one woman has already confessed to the crime, but that he doesn't believe she is the real killer. Emily agrees, and that means that a murderess is still on the loose.
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