1962-07-01 Black Death

IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS TITLE WAS USED BEFORE ON SUSPENSE. THIS 1962 PRODUCTION IS A MUCH DIFFERENT STORY. THE 1955-08-02 SCRIPT BY LAWRENCE GOLDMAN IS ABOUT THE SEARCH FOR A CAT INFECTED BY BLACK PLAGUE THAT ESCAPED FROM A RESEARCH LAB.

Christopher Cary stars in a Mercer MacLeod story about a couple traveling the English Moors who are seeking shelter from a storm for the night. Perhaps they should have looked harder.

They find a remote house that might be what they need. They start to think otherwise when they realize what a strange house it is and are concerned about the creepy scientist who lives there. He turns them away at first, but when he finds out that Carey’s character in the story is a doctor and therefore a “scientific man,” he invites them in. He is conducting experiments using a “death ray machine” that makes living things disappear. He demonstrates it to them with a mouse and a dog, which they think is a trick. The scientist becomes very belligerent after his serious work is dismissed. The couple becomes quite dismayed with these surroundings and hope to get into town that night, twenty miles away. The weather has cleared and the strange scientist suggests that they take a nearby train, the only one of the day, that also hauls freight overnight but has one car for passengers. It will get them to where they need to be. They go to the train, and get on board, and soon realize the passengers are all dead! The train crashed and then… they realize they back at the house. It was an apparition, created by the scientist, to prove the validity of his work. There has been no train line for years, but there was a fatal accident with the old train a long time ago. They want to get out, and seem to have the help of the scientist’s strange assistant. But are they really leaving? Or are they now perpetually trapped as the crazed scientist moved from using the ray on animals… to humans? He believes Charles and Nora are not his guests, but his next subjects!

The story is a bit strange but is interesting to the extent that you keep listening to figure out how much stranger it might get. The Zirato-Hendrickson period certainly has its share of mad scientists. At least the episode is better than Doom Machine. But not by much.

The surviving recording is an aircheck from WDNC of Durham, North Carolina. There is some mild reception noise here and there, but is a very good and very listenable recording. It is much better than what was in circulation among collectors for the last decades.

Oh how funny it is that Christopher Cary plays “Charles”, and Mary Jane Higby plays “Nora,” as in “Nick and Nora Charles” of The Thin Man stories. Higby starred in a radio soap opera as a different “Nora,” This is Nora Drake.

At this time, Cary was appearing in the Broadway production of Camelot in the role of “Mordred.” He assumed that role in January 1962. The show opened on Broadway in December 1960 and starred Julie Andrews. By the time Cary joined the cast, Richard Burton (King Arthur) and Roddy McDowall (Mordred) had already left the show. Cary was the third actor to play Mordred. Robert Goulet made his Broadway debut in the production, and played “Lancelot Du Lac.” The show was Cary’s sole Broadway appearance as an actor.

Cary was born Christopher Bay Carysfort and came to the US in the mid-1950s to work in television and stage productions. He was in numerous 1960s and 1970s television series. His only regular role was as “Goniff” in the sole season of the ABC WW2 series, Garrison’s Gorillas. He was always working, it seems, playing some supporting role somewhere.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP620701

THE CAST

Christopher Cary (Charles), Mary Jane Higby (Nora), Leon Janney (Jacob the assistant), James Ducas (The Master), Frank Milano (animals)

###

1962-06-24 With Murder in Mind

Jack Kruschen stars as mind-reader “Anton Tesla” (a/k/a “Tesla the Great”) in an interesting and somewhat complex Irwin Lewis story. Tesla’s ability to read people’s thoughts during his stage act is rather amazing but can cause trouble if he pursues it too far. His wife, Helena, discourages him from doing so, but he feels it is time to display the full extent of his ability. He offends a woman in the audience when he detects that a charm was given to her by someone other than her husband during an affair from many years ago. She protests when it happens, but then wonders to herself how Tesla knew. When Anton and Helena get back to the dressing room, she chastises him for going too far and embarrassing the woman. A police lieutenant who is a fan of their act, visits their room. He expresses his admiration of whatever signal system they are using to perform, saying it is better than other mentalist acts he had seen and studied. Tesla insists he has true abilities and what he does is not an act. Helena, tired from the evening’s performance, decides to head back to their hotel. On leaving, she strangely tells her husband to not let his gift become a curse. She arrives at the night club lobby and she is greeted by a doorman, Saunders, who greatly admires their act. He reminds her to be careful walking in the rain. She is soon in a terrible accident, hit by a car that fled the scene. Anton runs to the street and holds the fallen Helena in his arms. Though she was killed, he seems to be getting messages from her.

Days pass, and Tesla visits the police lieutenant. Tesla is very depressed and not taking care of himself, still angry about the accident and disturbed that the police have made no progress in finding the driver. Tesla believes that the car that hit her was a white convertible and that the right fender was damaged. He “knows” this about the car because of his abilities. His frustration leads him to investigate himself. Tesla presses the doorman for information, and looking into his eyes, gets the message “I must not find out about Joe.” He visits Joe, the parking lot attendant, looking for the white car. Joe claims to have no knowledge of it, but Tesla thinks the car is in the lot, hastily repaired. He confronts Joe. Though no words are spoken, Tesla seems to have gotten a message, that the car belongs to Mr. Hughes, the club owner. He heads to the club, and barges into Hughes’ office. He accuses him of being the hit-and-run murderer. Tesla brings a gun, attempts to shoot him, and a scuffle ensues. Hughes manages to turn the gun away, but it fires and Tesla injures himself. The next scene has Hughes talking to the lieutenant, whom he called after the gun accident. A doctor is at the scene, and reports that Tesla is not likely to survive the trip to the hospital. The lieutenant speaks to the dying man and says that they found a man who admitted to the hit-and-run. It was not Hughes, but he was driving a white convertible that had fender damage, just like Hughes’ car had. Tesla insists it was Hughes in his dying breath. Hughes was not guilty, but he had a few drinks before he drove away and had little recollection of the night after the show ended. Until the lieutenant revealed that someone had confessed, Hughes worried that he might have actually committed the crime! Tesla’s description of the vehicle was correct, but he jumps to a conclusion without additional facts. Coincidence rendered the truth of his prescience to be terribly wrong.

Suspense presented other stories about mentalist stage acts that went wrong, such as A Vision of Death, and The Great Horrell. The episode Lazarus Walks also has similar themes.

The program was recorded on Thursday, June 14. 1962. The session began at 1:30pm and concluded 5:00pm.

The surviving recording is an aircheck from WROW. There is some static from weather interference in the listening area. A weather report precedes the episode and notes that there are storms in the area. The recording is in very good sound, better than what has been in common circulation among classic radio enthusiasts. The recording had a clipped close during the credits. The missing 12-second portion has been patched from a lesser quality recording for completeness. For this reason, the file name includes the word “composite.”

Actor Jack Kruschen is normally considered a Hollywood actor, but at the time of this episode, he was appearing in the Broadway hit play I Can Get it for You Wholesale. He played the character “Maurice Pulvermacher.” Also in the cast were Elliott Gould, Sheree North, and Barbara Streisand, who was making her Broadway debut. It was Kruschen’s only Broadway role.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP620624

THE CAST

Jack Kruschen (Anton Tesla), Bryna Raeburn (Helena), Gilbert Mack, Reni Santoni, Jane Ward (Woman), Jim Boles, Jack Grimes (Joe, the parking lot attendant), William Redfield

Roles not announced in the show credits: Hughes, Lt. Clark, Saunders, Varney, Doctor, Officer, Man [likely parking lot attendant])

Actor Reni Santoni was just starting his career, and would later appear in many Carl Reiner projects. He would become better known as “Poppie” in the popular Seinfeld television series.

###

1962-06-17 The Lunatic Hour

This broadcast stars George Matthews and Rosemary Rice in a John Roeburt script was first used in the Inner Sanctum broadcast of 1951-05-28. It was titled The Unforgiving Corpse. Some character names were changed, but that was not a matter of protecting the innocent. The Inner Sanctum production was its usual spooky with over-the-top organ music that made that series so memorable and such fun. This script fit that series quite well. As a Suspense episode, however, it is mostly awful and de-spook-ified, and tests listener patience. It does have a surprise ending, but by the time it happens, listeners may not care.

It’s been ten years after a train station manager Tom Morley was involved in a fatal train wreck. Even though he was acquitted by a jury, he is still paralyzed by guilt. He is haunted by visions of the deceased engineer, Gully Reeves, and his fiancée, Jenny. He has spectral encounters with them, and including prophecies of another crash. This drives Tom to the brink of madness. History repeats itself at the end of the anniversary of the wreck. Tom gets a ghostly message to look at the condition of the rails, and as a train approaches, he signals an oncoming train to stop. He believes he has prevented an accident. He later learns that the spectral encounters were really orchestrated by criminals to have the train stop to abduct and kill as prisoner being transported on the train. They knew how fragile his psyche was and how easily manipulated he would be. There… Tom is all better now. Listeners may not be.

The Inner Sanctum episode has survived. That episode’s town of “San Amato” became “San Ventura” for this Suspense episode. “Ben Sears” became “Tom Morley.” “Kirby Willis” became “Gully Reeves.”

This program was recorded on Thursday, June 7, 1962. The times of the session start and end are not available.

Two network aircheck recordings of this episode have survived. The edited network recording has some minor issues, but is the better of the two, and has had its opening commercial (Alpine) edited out. It has a slightly clipped open and a slightly clipped close. The other network aircheck has the same original home recording as the first, but is in lower quality sound with narrow range. It has a slightly clipped open and close, but the commercial is intact. It is hoped that the full recording might be found in the future.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP620617

THE CAST

 George Matthews (Tom Morley), Rosemary Rice (Jenny / Sally), Les Damon (Gully Reeves), Donald Buka (Will), Dick Keith (McKale)

###

1962-06-10 Formula for Death

Ivor Francis and Walter Greaza star in a Jack Johnstone story (as “Jonathan Bundy”), that involves psychic phenomena and the delivery of a complex mathematical formula from a person who was killed in an accident. It is a very strange story, but it holds some attention despite how implausible the premise is. At this time in the 1960s, there was much interest in ESP in general and there was general awareness that the military was investigating ways of understanding and harnessing it. Overall, this is not Suspense at its best.

Colonel Humboldt, played by Greaza, represents a demanding defense department program involved in celestial observations using guided satellites. They need to develop unique and advanced lens-making technology to work. The project has been delayed, and Humboldt is furious about it. The formula was being developed an eccentric and reclusive scientist, Dr. Hoffman. Humboldt is skeptical about Hoffman because he holds beliefs in supernatural and psychic phenomena (so you, as a listener, are tipped off early on that the “surprise” ending will rely on that). Dr. Fernald (played by Francis) explains that the project has to tolerate his quirkiness because he is the only one capable of developing the complex formula correctly. In the meantime, Hoffman successfully completes the formula, a complex string of mathematical equations, and needs to deliver it. There’s a risk, however: he is paranoid about security, and memorizes the formula rather than writing it down or sharing it with a colleague. Hoffman plans to deliver it in person to Humboldt and Fernald. Since Hoffman is paranoid about security, he goes around the security procedures that Humboldt and Fernald have arranged. Instead, he sets up a deception for his travel to make the delivery. Hoffman disguises his gardener to look like him, and sends him in his car in the security detail to act as a decoy. Hoffman and the assistant use the gardener’s car, without security, and they start heading to the meeting, with Hoffman driving. Hoffman did not count on this: the assistant is a spy, betraying his trust, but also affirming that his paranoia was well-founded. The assistant demands the formula at gunpoint, but Hoffman resists. He decides to drive aggressively, deliberately missing a curve in the road, and heading down a cliff. Hoffman is killed, but the assistant, injured, survives. He is found, later, and brought to the meeting.

News of the crash is devastating to Humboldt and Fernald. The decoy gardener arrives at the meeting and explains what happened. The assistant, found shortly thereafter, suffers from head trauma, but is brought to the meeting. Then there is a strange turn in the story: the assistant is acting and sounding like Hoffman! He starts dictating the complex optical formula, exactly as Hoffman would have done it. The formula makes sense… and seems brilliant and accurate. How can this be? Only Hoffman knew the formula! Once the formula is written down, Hoffman’s personality leaves the assistant, and he admits who he is. He insists he does not know the formula, and never knew it. Humboldt and Ferndal realize there must be some other explanation. They wonder about Hoffman’s beliefs in psychic phenomena were true, and that Hoffman’s spirit facilitated a “thought transference” at the moment of his death. The formula was saved by an inexplicable transfer of knowledge from the dying scientist to his unwitting assistant. Instead of being an assassin who stopped the program, the assistant became the unknowing conduit to move the program ahead.

Jack Johnstone submitted this script to Bruno Zirato, Jr. with a cover letter, dated March 12, 1962. He opined:

Is Walter Greaza still around and working? He could make a damn good Humboldt… if held down from any hamming.

Zirato and Hendrickson followed through, casting Greaza as Humboldt. Greaza was a well-known character actor, and was in the television soap opera Edge of Night from the time of its debut until he passed away at age 76 in 1973. He was in one of the most popular radio mystery series of the late 1930s and early 1940s, Crime Doctor. He was in that series as supporting character “Inspector Ross” for eight years, and also played the crusading newspaper editor “Steve Wilson” in the series Big Town for two years. His Broadway career included many supporting roles from 1927 to 1960.

The program was recorded on Thursday, May 31, 1962. The session began at 1:30pm and concluded at 6:00pm.

The surviving recording is an edited aircheck with some minor defects that is very listenable. It is an improvement over what has been in circulation for decades. The opening of the program has some overmodulation defects, but they pass quickly. The close of the recording is slightly clipped.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP620610

THE CAST

Ivor Francis (Dr. Fernald), Walter Greaza (Colonel Humboldt), Herbert Duncan (Stephan), Luis Van Rooten (Dr. Hoffman), Guy Repp (Gardener), David Kerman (Sergeant), Robert Readick (Man)

###

1962-06-03 Stand In for Murder

Teri Keane and Larry Haines portray an estranged married couple whose husband is too conniving for his own good. He is itching for a divorce and has a mistress, Laura Morgan. He claims he killed Laura, accidentally. He asks his wife to help cover up the crime and pretend to be Laura as part of a ruse that Laura has traveled to Europe. There’s a “problem” that actually becomes part of the husband’s scheme: Laura was a witness to a mob hit. Because the mob knows she saw their killing, they need to eliminate her. Did the husband kill Laura? Or is he demanding his wife imitate Laura, training her to dress and sound like her, in hopes the mob kills his wife? This would let him and Laura live a happily-ever-after life together. The story comes to a rapid close, and the husband’s ruse that seemed so brilliant and possible is suddenly not.

The story is one of the better ones in the final months of the series. It was written by long-time CBS staff writer Gladys F. Gallant. Her work in the 1950s was usually in the background, rarely credited. This was her only Suspense script. Unfortunately, Gallant would pass away in 1965 at age 45.

The program was recorded on Thursday, May 24, 1962. The session began at 1:30pm and concluded at 5:00pm.

The script cover does not hyphenate the title as “Stand-In.”

The surviving recording of this episode is a WROW aircheck, and is in much better sound quality than what has been in circulation among collectors for many years.

This is producer Fred Hendrickson’s first Suspense episode, replacing Bruno Zirato, Jr. Hendrickson was assigned to Suspense and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar until the end of the series on September 30, 1962. It's likely that Zirato had some "command presence" over the first few Hendrickson episodes, giving advice on casting and other matters. The first scripts of the Hendrickson run were likely selected by Zirato before he learned of his reassignment to the game show To Tell the Truth.

Hendrickson is too often discounted as "just" a production engineer. He worked for CBS for 30 years, from the time he was 18. He was an electrical engineer, and was Arthur Godfrey's director or producer or other roles for Godfrey's radio and TV at various times, and other assignments. Fred was well-known at CBS and in his community of Mamaroneck (near White Plains and New Rochelle in the Westchester suburbs). He worked in local charitable events, sometimes arranging for CBS celebrities to appear. Unfortunately, he passed away at age 48 in 1965.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP620603

THE CAST

Teri Keane (Kay), Larry Haines (Jim), Claire Niesen (Laura Morgan), Toni Darnay (Jiffy Cleaning Services Rep / lady on street), Jack Grimes (Lieutenant Kelly), Ivor Francis (Phil, the actor on tape / Brady, the doorman), Joseph Julian (radio announcer on tape / Captain Blaine), Bob Readick (reporter on phone / Killer), Bill Lipton (man on street)

The original script cover had the role “Operator,” such as a phone operator, but that may have been edited out or changed to a different character. Many thanks to classic radio enthusiast and researcher Karl Schadow for identifying the actors and their roles. They were not noted on the script cover, and they were not announced in the closing credits.

###

1962-05-20 Dagger of the Mind

Radio soap opera veteran Claire Niesen stars in a John Roeburt play about a jealous woman who is convinced her husband is having an affair with a young and attractive co-worker.

Vicki Kent is disturbed by her nightmares but a psychiatrist laughs off her fears and attributes them to idleness and “middle age.” She is a jealous sort and imagines situations and motives that are darker than they really are. She believes her husband of twenty years, Walter, and a female associate, Martha, are having an affair. Vicki interprets Walter’s workaholic nature and his last minute changes in plans as indicative of him having a rendezvous with the woman. She interprets her dreams as telling her that Walter has a hidden hatred for her. They are married but she feels very alone. Walter brings Martha home for a business dinner. Martha is an influential figure in the firm, and this dinner might be helpful to Walter’s career. Vicki attributes him having the dinner to flaunt their affair and humiliate her.

It will soon be their twentieth anniversary, and she receives a cold, impersonal gift of a monogrammed cigarette case delivered by an office boy. (She does not know that Walter had much different plans for that, revealed at the end of the story). Walter tells her that he must go on a trip, a cruise ship to Paris, to replace a colleague who developed appendicitis. Vicki doesn’t believe that at all, especially when she learns that Martha will be on the same trip. Vicki goes to the dock and boards the ship (this was a time when it was common for passengers and friends and family to go on board for visits and goodbyes, which has not been possible in the last few decades, especially after 9/11 security measures for all transportation). Vicki confronts Martha, who denies an affair or such intentions, and shoots her. The sound of the gun is masked by the loud activities on board. She returns home and is shocked when Walter arrives shortly thereafter. His colleague’s problem passed and he did not have appendicitis. Martha’s murder eventually hits the news, but there are no suspects named in the news. Vicki is frantic about whether or not she left any clues behind; she thinks she left the cigarette case there! Walter is suspicious about Vicki’s behavior, but he’s really more concerned about her mental state than whether or not she killed Martha. They argue, and she shoots him. Walter lies dying on the floor and Vicky taunts him. She tells him to reach out to Martha, and as he is dying, he realizes what Vicki did and how insane she really has been. He reveals that the “monogrammed cigarette case,” was in his coat pocket. He had taken it to have diamonds and rubies set into it, along with an inscription about their anniversary. Vicki murdered two innocent people based on delusion and paranoia. Now she realizes her husband was always telling the truth.

The title refers to the second act of MacBeth and the scene where he hallucinates a dagger that leads him to King Duncan’s chamber to kill him. The title ties to Vicki’s mental instability and desire to kill Martha and her husband Walter, whom she believed were having an affair, but were not.

The program was recorded on Thursday, May 10, 1962. The session start and ending times are not known.

There are two surviving recordings of this episode. The network recording is of low quality with somewhat narrow range and occasional distortion. The Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) recording has much better sound quality. It has some minor sound issues, but is very listenable. It has a slightly clipped ending at the time of the AFRS identification.

This is the first of two Suspense appearances by Claire Niesen. Her radio acting career started when she was 15 years old. Her most important role was as Mary Noble, main character of the series Backstage Wife, which she held for 14 years (1945-1959). She was on many other soaps, as well, and did some theater work early in her career. Niesen was married to Melville Ruick, who also appeared on Suspense. Sadly, she passed away of cancer about 18 months after this performance, at age 43.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP620520

THE CAST

Leon Janney (Walter Kent), Claire Niesen (Vicki Kent), Guy Repp (Office Boy), Ralph Camargo (Dr. Randow), Evelyn Juster (Martha Coles / Operator)

###

1962-05-13 Hide and Seek

Jackson Beck narrates a Bob Corcoran story about a gambler, “Dandy DeAngelis,” played by William Redfield. It’s a generally good production about a man who picks the wrong time to overcome a paralyzing childhood fear.

Dandy is a well-dressed gambler in deep trouble with Bigelow, the mob boss, for his excessive debt from horse racing. He tries to reason with the gangsters, but he’s lied about his intent to make payments on the debts for a while. They decide they’ve had enough and will “take him for a ride” to a “forest preserve.” This can only mean one thing: they will kill him and bury him there. He tries to get away, jumping out of their car, which only makes the mobsters mad. He runs through the streets and an alley behind buildings. He hides among garbage cans, his obsessive interest in clean and impeccable clothing challenged by the filthy cans and garbage in the alley. The mobsters have a sense of where he is, and taunt him that he can’t hide from them. Then there’s a rat he sees, of which he has a great and paralyzing fear since being bitten in childhood. He has to overcome it now if he wants to survive, and kills it with a milk bottle he found in the garbage, a triumph. It’s a hollow one, which only brings his location to the attention of the tough guys. Dandy may have killed the rat. This was an unfortunate time to overcome his fear. One tough guy says to the other, seeing Dandy stand over the rat, “now it’s our turn.” He referred to Dandy as a rat because he didn’t pay off his debt to the mob.

The Chicago intersection where Dandy jumps out of the car at North Sedgwick and West Blackhawk is just south of the Lincoln Park neighborhood. It is about a half mile from the Chicago History Museum.

The program was recorded on Thursday, May 3, 1962. The session began at 4:30pm and concluded at 8:00pm.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP620513

THE CAST

Jackson Beck (Narrator), William Redfield (Dandy DeAngelis), Santos Ortega (Bigelow), Larry Haines (Lloyd), Jack Grimes (Herbie), Joseph Julian (Earl)

###