1956-10-23 The Doll

William N. Robson assumes leadership for Suspense with this curious episode about a young girl who lost her mother to a heart attack. Her father remarries, and she is having some adjustment problems as she still grieves for her mother while her father has moved on. Her birthday is forgotten by her father, but her stepmother remembers, and gives her a new doll. It has a wind-up mechanism that replicates a heartbeat (not very well, but that’s the idea). That may not have been the best choice, as the young girl starts thinking that the doll has to always stay wound, fearing she will suffer the same fate as her mother if the doll’s heart fully unwinds. The headline performer was Patty McCormack, star of the hit movie Bad Seed.

Robson’s new assignment was made by William Froug. He had risen to the executive in charge of CBS Radio’s west coast programming. Robson and Froug worked together in the past and also shared a common history in radio writing and production. Suspense was the surviving drama anthology program while others withered away, and Froug likely decided to give the show a “face-lift” of sorts. The Ellis programs used many shows penned by him, both new and reused from his other series, and relied on the ensemble cast (beloved by modern classic radio enthusiasts). While it is an underappreciated period of the series, many of the Ellis productions seemed to fit Escape more than it did Suspense. Ellis produced and wrote Escape in the latter part of that series. Together, Robson and Froug brought more Hollywood movie and television talent for lead roles, though not Tinseltown’s big headliners. Classic radio enthusiast, researcher, and international performer Keith Scott notes in his Suspense log:

With the show now touted as being fully produced on tape, Bill Robson is still able to entice various well-known personalities willing to appear for union scale. Several movie names retained an affection for the diminishing radio medium, and the shows sound different from the preceding two years under Tony Ellis, which relied totally on anonymous radio artists.

Although not as prestigious as the golden era of Bill Spier, this substantial run of shows under Robson brings back a touch of the old big-name star system to Suspense.

One of the reasons for choosing The Doll as the opening broadcast of the Robson era was the availability of the young star of a hit movie of that time, Bad Seed. The underlying story questions the role of heredity in passing evil intentions and acts to offspring. Patty McCormack was the pretty and innocent-looking young girl who manipulates those around her and may have been responsible for multiple murders. Was she destined for those acts by her genetics?

McCormack also performed the role on Broadway. Having her to appear on radio at the same time Robson was taking over the series was a major publicity opportunity. The movie was in theaters, had generally positive reviews. Some of the publicity was about its shocking ending and whether or not children should be allowed to see it. (There was always concern about children listening to Suspense, so this was nothing new for the series).

McCormack doesn’t disappoint, but she does not have a polished radio performance. One should not be expected. Describing it as a confident performance might be a better description. The days of a cast of young people being skilled radio actors, such as on the legendary series Let’s Pretend, were already past.

Her stage and movie experience with the topic and storyline of Bad Seed may have prepared her for this appearance in this script that is definitely depressing. It might be disturbing to young listeners, but that part is at its very end. It is not the traditional Suspense formula of people in trouble not of their making. It is a hard drama without a happy ending.

In a Walter Ames column in the 1956-10-23 Los Angeles Times, McCormack said “Peggy Chantler wrote the story just for me.” We’re not exactly certain what that means. Chantler was at the relative beginning of her career. She would become a very successful television writer, especially comedies, in the 1960s. What does it mean when it is said that “Peggy Chantler wrote the story just for me”? It’s very unclear. Some of it is tied up in Robson’s history of puffery in promoting what he is producing.

Did Chantler write the story independently and share it McCormack and her agent and family? Did the McCormack family hire Chantler or did Robson? There are times when Robson hypes events or attributes for attention. For example, he claims at the beginning of the 1957-11-24 broadcast of The Star of Thessaly that the script was “written for” the star, bandleader Ray Noble. That script was originally used in an episode of Modern Adventures of Casanova, which Robson produced a few years before. He actually meant “appropriate for” as one might hear when buying clothes and something fits so well that someone says “it’s like it was made for you.” Robson was a writer, knew the truth and the nuance and how it would be taken. Be careful of this Robson guy; he knows how to use words to get what he wants. It is hard to tell what happened here with a quote in the Ames column that was likely coached by CBS publicity or someone else. We may never know.

The music for the broadcast is haunting, and is so unfamiliar to Suspense listeners that it is disorienting when you have the expectation of the usual Suspense style. It was composed by Lyn Murray, likely for this very broadcast. The title is “Pavane for an Unremembered Birthday Present.” The title fits the opening scene and its peacefulness is juxtaposed to the anxiety of the plot element of keeping the doll’s heart mechanism wound tight. That’s probably what makes it fit the description of “haunting.” It is the first of only two times that Murray was in charge of the music on the series.

The surviving recording of the episode has the complete drama, but is missing some other segments. From reviewing scripts that are in the KNX Collection at University of California at Santa Barbara, these segments are available.

At 13:00 the mid-show announcement is missing. The announcement was a PSA. This is from the script:

MUSIC: UP THEME

ANNOUNCER: You don't have to be an efficiency expert to figure out that it’s easier to lend your support to several worthwhile fundraising campaigns all at once than it would be helping one campaign at a time. That kind of efficiency is yours to enjoy through the United Community Campaigns. CBS Radio hopes that when the United Community campaigns are under way in your town that you'll remember how much good you can accomplish with one gesture of support.

MUSIC: SNEAKS… HOLD UNDER

NARRATOR: And now we bring back to our Hollywood sound stage Miss Patty MacCormack starring in tonight's production, “The Doll,” a tale well-calculated to keep you in

MUSIC: CHORD

NARRATOR: SUSPENSE

MUSIC: CHORD FADES

At about 24:30 in the recording there is a brief break in the music. This seems to be an edit similar to the missing mid-show break. It is here that the script has a promotion for Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar. That announcement was:

MUSIC: OUT

ANNOUNCER: A diller, a dollar, hears a real chiller diller for the mystery scholar. Follow Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar every weekday evening on CBS Radio. There’s action packed drama as Johnny Dollar, a suave insurance investigator covers the globe with his expense account to track down frauds and schemers. Every Monday through Friday, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar meets mystery, romance, thrills, and mayhem. So be sure you meet up with Johnny Dollar for high-keyed excitement right here on CBS Radio.

MUSIC: UP TO FILL

The script in the KNX Collection does not appear to be the actual performance script, but it is close to it. It is possible that it is the version that they used to start rehearsal. They made revisions on their rehearsal session copies and then proceeded with the recording using marked-up pages. Robson’s opening monologue had some revisions that are obvious when the script is compared to the recording. In the same folder there are pages and fragments of pages that show earlier markups.

This is a section of an earlier draft that was marked up and integrated into the copy used at rehearsal. The scene starts at about 17:40 in the recording. It was common to have multiple revisions of scripts leading up to the final version.

For some reason, these marked-up pages were preserved for this episode. Most every other Suspense script in the KNX Collection only has final production scripts with comparatively few revisions or production notations. Scripts in the Spier-Havoc papers at the University of Wisconsin, however, have many files without final scripts. Instead, they contain Spier’s marked-up drafts that led to the final documents. These revisions for The Doll were likely made by Robson in the weeks before the recording session. They preserve continuity and also make the dialogue more natural. It seems they gave this production a lot more editorial attention.

The program was recorded on Thursday, October 4, 1956. The rehearsal session began at 3:30pm. The recording commenced at 9:00pm and concluded at 9:30pm.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP561023

THE CAST

PATTY McCORMACK (Valerie), Richard Beals (Chris), Mary Jane Croft (Paula), Shep Menken (George / 1st Policeman), Dick LeGrand (Old fisherman / Doctor), Luis Van Rooten (Popcorn Man / 2nd Policeman), George Walsh (Narrator)

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A major change in the series format starting with this episode was that it now had an opening monologue. Robson did not have a voice for radio, and that made his introductions so distinct and recognizable. It is reported that Froug was the person who encouraged it. Though it was not stated, there was good reason for the change. In the 1930s and 1940s, radio was always on, and in the afternoons and evenings, people gathered around the radio. Listening was not always attentive, as multitasking was common with kitchen work or reading newspapers, or chores. But families and groups were often around to hear it. At the time of Robson’s Suspense assignment, listening was very often a personal and individual experience. Robson could talk to a solitary and attentive listener, deepening their relationship to the series, and luring them in a personal way, into each story.

In his opening monologue, Robson makes a big deal about Suspense moving to tape production. He makes it seem like it just happened. But seven years earlier, Suspense had already started using tape, especially when guest star schedules made it difficult to book them for live broadcasts. This was also a time when there was going to be more recorded sound effects, and soon there would be pre-recorded music. Yes, Suspense would use more production techniques that involved tape. But it wasn’t a sudden change, but that doesn’t stop Robson from claiming it is. Tape made it easier to get headline guests, but also the regular staff. Keith Scott notes that “George Walsh remains the ‘Signature Narrator,’ and is now able to pre-record his opening descriptions in batches of three or more shows, to be edited in later.” Tape had the two benefits of scheduling flexibility and better management of costs. It helped hide some of the budget restraint and tightening that radio drama was facing.

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1956-10-16 The Prophecy of Bertha Abbott

This episode is the final production of the series under Antony Ellis. Why Ellis was removed is not fully known or understood, but William N. Robson took over the series on the following broadcast week. Ellis’ work actually ended on September 21, 1956 with the recording of this final episode.

The script is by Ann Doud, her second and final series script. Sam Edwards and Richard Crenna play Ernie and Whitey, two rotten young men, and they play them well.

Bertha Abbott is an old woman who sounds a lot like the stereotypical Halloween witch. Two young boys, not of good intention, were on the run after a failed robbery attempt. They are on Bertha’s property. She catches these hungry and tired young boys stealing fruit from her trees. She is not very pleased, and grabs one of them, Ernie. She screams at him, making a very dismal prophecy about his future. It’s actually more of a curse. Ernie (played by Dick Beals in this scene) is really scared.

Her prophecy is at 5:45: “You know where the likes of you end up… do ya?… the gas chamber! That little room, all locked up tight! And there’s all poison gas there. And you die! Like a rat! You die there! And that’s what’s going to happen to you!” Ernie gets away, scared, but you know he’ll get over it and believe his only mistake was getting caught. Years pass and it’s like the two of them never learned a lesson.

They rob a restaurant, there’s a shooting, and they have to get away. They head for a rail yard, but police are already looking for them. They’re dreamers, with Whitey saying they should head to South America and discover uranium and become rich. There’s always a dream of a big car, so they steal one. To get out of the country, they head to the docks near San Diego. Whitey is convinced they can easily hide on a ship and make their way south. Things do not play out well for Whitey. And in the final scene, we hear a new voice, a dockworker. We learn the strange way the prophecy worked out.

The music is quite different in this episode, jazzy and more “hip,” likely to underscore the wild behavior of the two youthful characters, and that they always improvise their next move.

The episode was pre-recorded on Thursday, September 21, 1956.

The working title prior to broadcast was “The Strange Prophecy of Bertha Abbott.” That title was announced at the end of The Digger, indicating the title change was made a few days before broadcast. Since The Digger was recorded the day before this episode, it could actually have been overnight. Because the programs were recorded on tape, it could have been almost any time.

The recording has the “slate,” recorded by George Walsh, at the beginning of the tape. It was used to identify the recording in the studio once it was cued on their equipment.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP561016

THE CAST

Sam Edwards (Ernie), Richard Crenna (Whitie), Stacy Harris (Narrator), Paula Winslowe (Bertha Abbott), Jack Kruschen (Joe Beshke the Seaman), Richard Beals (Ernie as child), Peggy Webber (Whitey as child), George Walsh (Suspense Narrator / Ad Libs 1), Bill James (Ad Libs 2)

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1956-10-09 The Digger

British actor Torin Thatcher stars in a Charles B. Smith script about a miner, Roger Fabian, known as “the Digger.” Fabian has a reputation for selfishly stranding his co-workers when there is trouble. Now he wants to provide some measure of sweat restitution as he returns to the very same mine where he ruined his reputation. The African mine had a bad reputation itself because of the accident. Local workers refuse to assist in the reopening because they do not want to disturb the bodies of their deceased co-workers buried there. There’s also an overwhelming number of rats in that area. The Digger, whose reputation has not improved by his drinking habits, returns to help open the mine. One of the mining engineers greets him by saying “I learned you'd been down there where it happened. You didn't lead them out because you were too busy saving yourself. That was the day I swore to kill you. I intend to do so while you're here. Now come along and have some supper.” That threat hangs over the story when yet another accident occurs. Will the Digger act differently and save his fellow workers? The rats may have something to do with it. It’s a good story, sometimes tedious, but worth the listen and the almost surprising conclusion.

There are two surviving recordings of the episode, and the network recording is the much better of the two. The Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) recording has narrow range and other defects. Its closing music has been cut.

The episode was pre-recorded on Wednesday, September 20, 1956.

This is the only appearance of Torin Thatcher on the series. His movie career was long, and often portrayed villains. He also had success on the stage and television in a career that spanned more than 40 years. His life and career are summarized at https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10925-torin-thatcher?language=en-US

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP561009

THE CAST

Torin Thatcher (Roger Fabian aka The Digger), Parley Baer (Sandy McGregor), Herb Butterfield (Narrator), Ramsay Hill (Carton), Stan Jones (Henry Clark), Charlie Lung (Winky / N’Gobi), Lillian Buyeff (Tisha), George Walsh (Suspense Narrator)

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1956-10-02 Waiting

This is the second production of the Antony Ellis script. It stars three of 1950s radio’s best actresses: Vivi Janiss and Charlotte Lawrence, and now Paula Winslowe (replacing Helen Kleeb). A man awaits execution and maybe a call from the governor to save him. The three women are alone, waiting for that word, or the execution. The three women are the man’s wife, Aline (Lawrence), her mother, Mrs. Martinson (Winslowe) and his sister, Harriet (Janiss). Together, they review what led everyone to this terrible situation. The emotional discussion between them reveals many aspects of their relationships to him and each other, good and bad. The story is packed with lies between each other and the man, some of the lies are things they don’t say and some of them are said. It’s a good script, with good dialogue, and requires close attention to get the most out of it and not miss a subtle point.

Details about the 1955-02-22 broadcast are at:

• https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2024/12/1955-02-22-waiting.html

• https://archive.org/details/TSP550222 which has access to the recordings for download and streaming

The first broadcast had Larry Thor in the cast as the radio announcer; he was replaced by George Walsh in this production.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP561002

THE CAST

Vivi Janiss (Harriet), Paula Winslowe (Mrs. Martinson), Charlotte Lawrence (Aline), Thomas Hanley (Telegram Boy), George Walsh (Radio Voice / Narrator)

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1956-09-25 A Case of Identity

This script about insurance fraud by a husband and wife was written by San Quentin inmate Elmer Parsons. He would expand the story into his first novel, released in 1959 by Fawcett, Self Made Widow. The story was adapted for this broadcast by Charles B. Smith.

A supposedly happy couple decides to fake the husband’s death to collect on his new $100,000 insurance policy (that is about $1.2 million in US$2025). The husband finds a down-on-his-luck man with drinking problems, whom they assume no one would miss or look to find, and he kills him (or beats him unconscious). The husband drives him to a high spot where they can stage an accident with the husband’s car falling down a steep mountainside. He puts his clothes on the man, arranges him in the car, makes sure the husband’s identification is there. He starts a fire, making sure the burning car will fall off the roadside. After the husband’s “death” is staged, the husband has to hide and disguise himself. Then he has to wait for the insurance company to pay the money to his wife. He doesn’t follow the plan, and goes home to see his her. It is there he learns that she has no intention of going away with him or sharing the money. He’s not very pleased by that, and he starts his own plan to undermine his wife’s plan and alibi.

There are plot holes in the story in terms of how quickly the wife is paid, and other aspects of the story. It is still an entertaining listen, with some smirk-worthy moments, and a surprise ending as the husband and wife are trapped by their own plan. Of course, modern DNA testing would not make their scheme possible. Today’s writers would come up with something different; they always do.

Larry Thor appears… again… as a police lieutenant.

There are some similarities in plot set-up with the episodes 1949-03-31 You Can’t Die Twice with Edward G. Robinson and 1949-06-30 The Day I Died with Joseph Cotten. This has a much different ending as the plan unravels.

There are three surviving recordings and the network recording is the best. This complete recording has not been in wide circulation. The other two are the most commonly circulating recording that is likely an edited Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) recording. The closing “Suspense March” music is missing. There are no network announcements. A better recording, but still flawed, is from the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service program AFRTS Adventure Theater. This was a 1970s and 1980s series that AFRTS used for Suspense and other golden age series. There were many locations around the world at that time where US military and families did not have access to television, making a series like this an important source of entertainment. There are about two minutes of filler music at the end.

Author Elmer Parsons was one of the three Suspense writers who served time in San Quentin. While Jules Maitland was able to leave his criminal past behind, Parsons and fellow inmate Edgar Scott Flohr were not. Parsons was arrested in Arizona for burglary and car theft in August 1949. The car was wrecked while he was in a car chase with police. After leaving Arizona, he had another run-in with the law in California that had him in Chino prison for three years for forgery. In 1952, he was arrested for car theft in Riverside, CA, and while facing a narcotics charge in Los Angeles. In 1955 in Pasadena, CA, he was arrested for check fraud. At the arrest, he told police that he needed the money because he was waiting for payment of $30,000 for a movie script he had written about a safe burglar. He entered a guilty plea for the offense. At the sentencing, he claimed hat he had a severe head injury when he was nine years old, and desired to be sent to county jail where he could receive treatment by brain specialists. He said that a radio “crime series program” (it may have been for this episode) had accepted one of his scripts. They sent him to San Quenitin, instead. He kept his writing skills sharp by being the editor of the prison’s newspaper. He was released in the early 1960s and had some scripts produced on television, but was arrested for selling heroin in 1965 in California and Oregon. He was arrested again for transporting a stolen car across state lines in 1969. Parsons died on June 6, 1969 in Los Angeles at age 44.

He sold Self Made Widow to Fawcett for a $3500 advance (about $38,000 in US$2025) using the pseudonym “Philip Race.” Other novels followed: Killer Take All, Johnny Come Deadly, and Dark of Summer. He wrote a few westerns under “E.M. Parsons” including Easy Gun and Texas Heller. He contributed scripts for many TV series, including Aquanauts, Sea Hunt, Flipper, and some westerns such as Cheyenne, Bonanza, and The Virginian. Though those list of publications and broadcast teleplays are great accomplishments. Despite his paradoxical discipline around a typewriter, it is clear that Parsons led a very reckless life and could not settle into a quieter time, free of his past problems.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP560925

THE CAST

Parley Baer (Harry Burton), Michael Ann Barrett (Edna), Joe Kearns (Wallace the tramp / Sergeant Barton), Charles Seel (Croyd / Hotel clerk), Shep Menken (Gas Station attendant), Larry Thor (Lieutenant Johnson), George Walsh (Radio Announcer / Narrator)

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1956-09-05 The Security Agent

This Cold War-era Antony Ellis script is about two Polish men seeking to escape from behind the Iron Curtain. Their carefully planned escape during a trip to an industrial exhibition in Prague that includes hijacking a flight to Austria. They have been waiting for such an opportunity for a long time. There are many complications, including how to sneak the guns they need onto the flight. They recruit a like-minded Party member who would not be scrutinized before boarding to join them. They soon learn that there will be a security agent on board, but they do not know his identity. They make their flight, and begin their plan… but there is confusion on board, and shots are fired. The story is good, pay attention to the details and the names, and you will be rewarded with a surprise ending and the surprise identity for the agent.

This episode was recorded on Friday, August 17, 1956. Rehearsal began at 10:30am, with a lunch break, and recording commenced at 5:30pm. After that concluded at 6:00pm, editing began and ended at 7:30pm.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP560905

THE CAST

Parley Baer (Frederick Zilanko), Howard McNear (Joseph Ostrowski), John Dehner (Narrator), Herb Butterfield (Korzon), Harry Bartell (Vladimir Jaleski), Larry Thor (Suspense Narrator)

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1956-08-29 Holdup

This episode is Jules Maitland’s second script for the series. A storekeeper, Tim Chase, is a little too quick with his temper and his gun, successful stopping those who intended to rob it. He does it again at the beginning of this episode. The story is very predictable. Enjoy the performances, but you’ll know what’s being set up for its unsurprising ending early in the production.

Chase had been involved in prior gun incidents in protecting his store. He is relentless in firing his gun at those times, inflicting multiple wounds. He’s cold, overconfident, and you know he will be reckless in a “shoot first, ask questions later” manner.

At 6:55 a key line of dialogue is uttered when the police captain (Larry Thor, of course) says “If I’m not mistaken, you’ve got a boy almost that kid’s age, haven’t you?” At this point of the episode, you just know what’s going to happen. Chase will have his comeuppance and it won’t be pleasant.

The robber he killed at the beginning of the episode turns out to have a brother who is looking to avenge his death. For that reason, the police will be watching the store to make sure Chase will be safe. You know they’re also watching to be sure things do not get out of hand.

Maitland had introduced the character of the son of Chase and his wife. They were expecting him to visit, but they were not quite certain when that might be. This particular night, it is raining very hard. A dark figure gets out of an unfamiliar car, comes up to the store entrance. (No spoiler alert needed here because that happened at 6:55). The man wants to open the door of the store, rattling the door handle or knob, saying “open up, open up!” Chase fires; it is not long after that he and his wife realize that man was his son.

Joe Kearns plays the storekeeper, and his performance as the repulsive, cold-hearted man is superb. He played a storekeeper in Remember Me both times that script was used. In those episodes, the storekeeper was the victim of the shooting. It’s the opposite for this script.

The title of the episode is not hyphenated, though that form is common and acceptable. The script has no hyphen. There is a double-meaning in terms of the pronunciation of the title: “holed-up.” Chase is trapped in his way of thinking, and “holed-up” may apply here. The usual meaning of that is to be in one physical place for protection, but its meaning is flexible and can cover this situation.

The episode was recorded on Thursday, August 16, 1956. Rehearsal began at 12:00pm. Recording began at 5:00pm and concluded at 5:30pm.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP560829

THE CAST

Joe Kearns (Tim Chase), Alice Backes (Hazel), Leonard Weinrib (Boy), Shep Menken (Detective / Jerry), Larry Thor (Captain Runyon), Byron Kane (1st Reporter / Voice), Frank Gerstle (2nd reporter), Sam Edwards (Young customer), George Walsh (Narrator)

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