1961-10-01 No Hiding Place

IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS TITLE WAS USED BEFORE ON SUSPENSE. THIS 1961 PRODUCTION IS A MUCH DIFFERENT STORY. THE 1958-09-21 SCRIPT BY MORRIS LEE GREEN AND WILLIAM WALKER IS ABOUT A STALKING EX-HUSBAND.

Court Benson and Grace Matthews star in a William N. Robson story about a family’s preparations for a feared nuclear war. They build a fallout shelter in their backyard, and the townspeople and local media make quite a hubbub about it. The opening is pure Robson, much like he did in the time he was the show’s producer. Except this time, it is delivered by announcer Stuart Metz.

The script is a product of its time, where 1961 had much international tension, leading up to the building of the Berlin Wall just weeks after this broadcast. There was much saber-rattling, and concerns about nuclear war were growing in the late Spring and early Summer. Premier Kruschev threatened a nuclear attack if NATO troops did not leave Berlin and the rest of what would become East Germany. On July 25, 1961 (coincidentally the very same day that Suspense returned to the air), President Kennedy promised access to fallout shelters in the event of an attack.

It was around this time that Twilight Zone was in production for its third season, and Rod Serling rushed his own script about these times into production. The episode would become The Shelter, and was broadcast just two days before this broadcast. Serling’s script was very dark, warning viewers in his opening monologue “What you are about to watch is a nightmare.” The plotline showed how supposedly friendly and kind neighbors can could against each other in a crisis in a destructive manner. Robson’s script was also influenced by the current events, but his story is quite different, actually more positive, though it starts so ominously. It is so interesting that the creative process of two people can use a current event as a springboard, and head in opposite directions.

Robson assigned “Happy Valley” as the name of the town, so you know that the opposite sentiment might occur. There is great interest in a town’s family, the Endovers, and how they had built a shelter in their yard. Neighbors, the press, the local television station, and the town’s mayor were making a bit of a spectacle out of it. (Pay attention at about 5:45 as you hear some rain and thunder on its way). It is implied in the dialogue some believe the shelter is a frivolous venture. On a dare, Mr. Endover says he will take the family into the shelter for a weekend to prove how good it is. A weekend should be easy because the shelter has two weeks of supplies. The decision is spur-of-the moment and out of selfish pride, without any warning to his family. It is clear that the reporter has a manipulative personality, and ambitions to turn the story into national news. The family is securely in the shelter, and the newscaster is reassigned to a new scene of breaking news. The station manager tells him that the rain may cause a local dam to break. It is clear that the Robson has created the foundation of key plot elements: the shelter, a dare that can create family conflict, and a looming natural disaster.

There is some levity to the story. The family is confused in the shelter: “what will we do without any TV?” The parents explain that there are books, magazines, and activities for everyone. They need the radio, and not the TV, because that is how they will get instructions for their safety if there was a real nuclear attack. They hear a radio report that Happy Valley was declared as a disaster area because of potential flooding and mudslides. Suddenly, they are confronted by a loss of power, and soon realize they can’t get out of the shelter because they can see signs of the seeping mud around the edges of the door, trapping them inside.

The father emphasizes that they will be okay if they cooperate and concentrate on surviving with what they have. The TV reporter, finished with his duties, is told to take some time off. He realizes, however, that the family may be trapped under the mud. This doesn’t seem like “Happy Valley” any more. This might be an unfolding tragedy that warrants news coverage.

At about 16:35 the family, after singing and talking to keep their spirits up, realizes that this time has been put to good use. They have not talked like this in a long time, and it is a time that should be cherished, and continued once they are able to leave. Their daughter starts to feel a bit woozy with a headache, when it is clear that the mud is blocking the air ventilation system. They need to conserve what little good air they have. The situation may become very dire. They were having so much fun that they forgot to listen to the radio for bulletins. When they turn it on, they hear reports that help is on the way, with volunteers digging them out and bulldozers en route to the scene. Messages of support and reassurance to the family are read by the announcer. They soon hear the workers getting near to the shelter. They soon exit, with many happy voices around them, thankful for the rescue and the help. However reckless his stunt was, it led to the family reconnecting in a manner they hadn’t experienced for a long time. “Happy Valley” fits once more.

The “No Hiding Place” title is a regular theme of Robson’s writing. He often had plotlines or subplots that you cannot hide from fate in a “man plans, God laughs” or “life is what happens when you are planning other things” way. There are factors and events in life that cannot be controlled or anticipated no matter how well you plan. In this case, the shelter that was supposed to protect from a man-made disaster, nuclear attack, could not protect from a natural disaster. Unlike the Twilight Zone story, neighbors and volunteers cooperated and came to the rescue. In this story, the family was had to get out of the shelter. In the TZ story, the family had to protect themselves from their neighbors, and could not do so. The aftermath was that they could never trust their neighbors in the way they did before. In this Suspense episode the family grew closer and could appreciate all the help that came their way.

It is possible Robson may have started his position at the US Information Agency and Voice of America by the time this was broadcast. He was hired by Edward R. Murrow, who recommended him to President Kennedy. It is not clear what Robson’s exact starting date was, but it was in 1961.

Recording dates and times are not known because no script cover is available at this time.

There are two recordings of this episode. The network recording, with CBS news reported Robert Trout. It is followed by an opening clip of the sports report that announces the news about New York Yankee Roger Maris’ 61^st home run. That report by Jerry Coleman, former Yankee player turned broadcaster, details that the home run would not surpass Babe Ruth’s record because of the additional games played that year. Ruth hit 60 in 154 games while the 1961 season had 162 games. Maris’ record became known as “the asterisk” because it was always mentioned he played in a 162 game season. Though factual, it was often used to taint Maris’ achievement in 1961 and through the years that followed in his career.

This recording is likely from a network feed and is not a station aircheck. There is a time gap after Suspense that CBS that allowed for local station ID and/or commercial announcement. Because that was silent, that gap has been shortened in this recording. The Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#850) is also in very good sound. The recordings are very close in quality, making it difficult to choose which recording is better. The network recording is preferred because it is the way it was originally heard and it has the novelty of the news broadcast that followed it.

The Twilight Zone episode, The Shelter aired on September 29, 1961, and was the third episode of the third season. There are so many opposites in the comparison with this Suspense production. In TZ, outsiders are trying to get into the shelter. In Suspense, they are trying to get out. In TZ, perceived news events send the family in, and for Suspense, it's a foolish dare that does it. The TZ story is about the breakdown in relationships that pit neighbor against neighbor. The Suspense episode is about neighborly care and concern, and the family becomes closer than it was before. The program can be viewed on many services.

The US Department of Defense made plans for shelter construction available to the general public. This document is a combination of many of those designs and plans and can be accessed at https://dahp.wa.gov/sites/default/files/FamilyShelterDesigns.pdf

Episode stars Court Benson and Grace Matthews were radio veterans and were one of New York radio’s most beloved couples. They were frequent guests at the Friends of Old Time Radio Conventions. Court was in numerous programs, and was a featured actor in the kids serial Tennessee Jed. He would perform the opening for the program for the attendees to a round of enthusiastic applause. Grace was a star of the soap opera Big Sister and was one of the actors who portrayed Margo Lane on The Shadow.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP611001

THE CAST

Court Benson (Sam Endover), Grace Matthews (Mary Lou Endover), Bill Smith (Mr. Richards), Jimsey Somers (Cindy), Ivor Francis (The Announcer), Leon Janney (The Mayor), Larry Robinson (Sandy), Lee Vines (Charlie Lemmon)

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1961-09-24 The Man in the Fog

With a title like “The Man in the Fog” the program might be expected to be in the era of the character of Sherlock Holmes or Bulldog Drummond. It might even imply that it is a spy story of some sort. It is not. It is about a serial killer, but not about the famous Jack the Ripper. The story does involve murders by knife, but it is not a recreation of the Ripper. It is a different killer with a similar modus operandi. The scripter is Joseph Cochran. The stars are Bob Dryden and Ethel Everett. She occasionally was billed as Ethel Remey in her performances.

The slasher killer is loose in London, and a housewife suspects that it is her husband. The seemingly random murders of women has police baffled, however. The killings typically occur on weekends, leading to speculation that the murderer might be a working man, free only on those days. She is obsessed with the news coverage of the killings, and especially the pattern and location of the crimes. She marks a city map and realizes that the locations approximate a square. When she draws diagonal lines inside the square, they lines intersect near her own block. She suspects the killer lives nearby. After she sends information about her theory to the police, they read it, but are somewhat skeptical. Her husband works in a factory and some evenings he has not been at home, especially on foggy nights. After another murder occurs outside their home block, and not on a weekend, the interest of the police is piqued and they step up their investigation. She learns from a fellow factory worker that her husband missed work on those nights. He insisted to her that he was at work those times. She confronts him, and tells him that she can be an alibi. She decides, instead, to go to the police. By now, the officers are much more interested in what she has to say. They tell her that they need to have him confess to the crimes, because a wife’s testimony against her husband is inadmissible. They contrive a way in the interrogation of the husband to win his confidence, and he soon makes incriminating statements. His motives for the killings indicate significant delusions about what he was doing.

The law in Britain is actually that a wife can voluntarily testify against a husband, and vice versa, but such testimony cannot be compelled. Cochran used this mild misrepresentation of the law in the plot, anyway. He likely realized that the story was better if the husband admitted the crimes himself, and needed a way to set that up.

The title ends up having two meanings. The first indicates the places and times of the killings, at night, in the fog. The second is that the killer is a man who definitely has psychological issues, mentally in a fog and unable to reason properly.

The program was recorded on Thursday, September 21. No session time is noted on the available script cover sheet.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP610924

THE CAST

Robert Dryden (Ben Kast), Ethel Everett (Mamie), Lawson Zerbe (Howley), Mercer McLeod (Britt), Guy Repp (Timekeeper / Officer)

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1961-09-17 The Green Idol

Parker Fennelly and Abby Lewis star as an older couple from Maine on a vacation tour of Saudi Arabia. They are enjoying the sights and sounds of their exotic excursion which included a series of events recounted in this broadcast. They had an encounter with a fortune teller, found a sacred object, and received an ominous prediction of death. The story is by Jack Johnstone under the name “Jack Bundy,” which, along with “Jonathan Bundy,” were used for his Suspense scripts. “Bundy” was the maiden name of his wife.

Seeking a souvenir of their Arabian trip, they visit a curio shop in the holy city of Mecca. The wife sees a small green idol that is very unique; she wants to bring home. The husband, who believes that he is an expert bazaar price negotiator, attempts to purchase it. The shop owner keeps refusing the escalating offers and desperately tries to stop them. He warns them of a terrible curse related to the idol, “the fingers of death.” The husband belligerently buys the idol anyway, dismissing all talk of curses as emanating from ignorant beliefs in magic and superstition. The warnings they receive provide an ominous sense of foreboding that permeates the rest of the story’s events. The couple learns their lesson, too late.

Some geographic and cultural context can help in the appreciation of the story. An important site, Kaaba, is generally accurate as described. According to Britannica, it is “near the center of the Great Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and considered by Muslims everywhere to be the most sacred spot on Earth.”

A curio shop in Mecca run by a Hindu, as noted in the story, was unlikely at this time, just from a demographic perspective. According to Wikipedia, there are over 700,000 Hindus in Saudi Arabia, but Mecca is considered a Muslim-only city. Hindus in Saudi Arabia are mainly from India and Nepal, and are on generally on work permits. Their population in Saudi Arabia has been growing significantly in recent decades, but at the time of this story, it was probably very small, and was definitely below 1%.

A green “Ramkar” idol in the story is considered a symbol of hope, purity, and devotion for Hindus, and might be jade or emerald. The particular green color is sometimes referred to as "Rama Green," similar to sea green or light teal. Lord Rama is considered the seventh avatar (incarnation) of the god Vishnu in Hindu mythology.

There are some cultural references and word pronunciation that were of their time and might be considered offensive or ignorant to modern ears.

The program was recorded on Tuesday, September 5, 1961. The session began at 11:00am and concluded at 2:30pm.

The Green Idol was originally planned for broadcast on September 10, but was rescheduled for September 17. CBS Sports was following the home run totals of Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle as “Battle of the Batters,” a half hour program that was broadcast in place of Suspense on September 10. The network broadcast a similar program on August 13, which also pre-empted Suspense. Both players were chasing the record of Babe Ruth to hit 60 home runs in the 1927 season. There was a difference in this particular year. The American League added two teams for the 1961 season, and extended the number of games from 154 to 162 to accommodate the extra teams. Ford Frick, American League Commissioner ruled that for someone to break Ruth’s true record, those eight additional games would not count toward the record; a player had to do it no later than the 154^th game. At the end of the season, Mantle was hospitalized with a hip infection, but that problem was only developing at the time of this broadcast. Mantle’s other leg injuries slowed his home run pace down. Maris could not break the record by that game, but hit his 61^st home run in game 162. Mantle finished with 54 home runs.

This was Parker Fennelly’s only appearance on Suspense. He was 70 at the time, a professional performer for more than 50 years. It began in 1915, but he became best known on radio as “Titus Moody,” a regular character in “Allen’s Alley” of the Fred Allen Show. You can see him in one of his later “roles,” as a spokesperson for Pepperidge Farms bread products at this YouTube clip https://youtu.be/vH3pR94gMo8?si=AvKhQyjVVeRRjH-f He passed away at in 1988 at age 96.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP610917

THE CAST

Parker Fennelly (Herbert), Luis Van Rooten (Al Hamid), Guy Repp (Fakir), Abby Lewis (Ethel), Mercer McLeod (Dr. Etherington), Ronald Liss (Elevator Boy)

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1961-09-03 The Juvenile Rebellion

Jimsey Somers stars as a junior high student in a social commentary science fiction story about a plot to overthrow the governments of the world through a non-violent revolution. The script is by radio veteran Robert Cenedella. The revolution, however, will be led by children. Well, they’re not really children. They are mutants disguised as children, and are in an international organization of mutants hiding behind the mask of adolescence. The conspiracy is stumbled upon by an English teacher at the local junior high school. He learns of the imminence of the revolution and details of their plot. He tries to warn others, but encounter complete frustration when he tries to tell other grown-ups of his discovery. He begs the mutant leader for more time, and he’s told there’s been enough time… and the revolution starts next week.

Juvenile delinquency was a very big topic at this time in the US, with regular newspaper coverage and Congressional hearings. The title of this episode may have been confusing to listeners when they realized it was a sci-fi story, and a story theme that was common in television dramas such as Dragnet or in movies that were still in memory, such as Blackboard Jungle and Rebel Without a Cause.

Juvenile Rebellion is somewhat stilted and childish sci-fi to modern ears. Suspense had a similar story before, Ray Bradbury’s Zero Hour. There is an innocence and enthusiasm to the kids in that story which makes it more nerve-rattling than this one. Zero Hour seems hold up better over time. There is an anger and arrogance to Juvenile Rebellion. There’s no hook to the story, since they're not kids, they're aliens pretending to be kids, and that’s quite a jump for listeners. There are no aliens, so it is easy to dismiss, unlike the Bradbury premise. Juvenile Rebellion does have “preachy stuff” that makes the closing diatribe of the legendary “worst movie of all time” Plan 9 from Outer Space so hokey. (The movie is on YouTube and this link is cued to start at that scene https://youtu.be/qsb74pW7goU?si=JfJ9zvhm_iyIWiDz&t=3906) It doesn't work all that well, and really it doesn't fit Suspense. Bradbury's Zero Hour is more subtle, while this one tries to be a sledgehammer. The other moralistic Suspense sci-fi stories such as The Voice of Company A, The Outer Limit and Report from a Dead Planet, were somewhat flawed but entertaining and thoughtful. They explored the trends and dilemmas of the times in which they were written, each in a different way.

But there is a curious backstory to this episode that may be more interesting that the production. Research into the career of Robert Cenedella was always confounded by an artist of the same name. They’re related. Robert Cenedella, Sr. was the radio writer. Robert Cenedella, Jr. was his stepson. It was Senior who raised Junior after he was 12. Senior refused a loyalty oath in the 1950s blacklist period because he insisted it was unpatriotic to demand to sign one, a decision which he paid for with erratic employment and income for many years. His stepson remembered growing up in those years and they made quite an impression. They were formative in his art career. Junior became an activist through his art, giving its content a political polarization that often made his work more fascinating whether people agreed with him or not. The breadth of his work was actually wider, however. His work is far ranging, from comical, to cynical, to fanciful, to political, and more. He worked for some notable brands when he was employed by advertising agencies. He sometimes created paintings that were personal and biographical. One was of an imagined boxing match between his biological father and his stepfather. A 1977 painting, Give to Cenedella, was about Senior's plight in the lean years (it can be seen at https://robertcenedella.com/collections/all-artwork/products/give-to-cenedella). This painting shows Senior on a platform in a crowded street scene, standing on a platform, in his undies, asking for money. By the time Juvenile Rebellion is aired, Junior is 21 years old and in art studies. This Suspense broadcast was in 1961, and Senior was still reeling from blacklist years. The news is filled at this time with the Cold War, social tensions, and worries of nuclear annihilation. Senior and Junior likely had lots of kitchen table discussions of what was going on in the world, nation, and the local politics of New York City, where Junior lived with him. The city gave him access to art schools and museums and an immersion in media, as well as the social interactions of opinions and lifestyles that made the city so different from others. The trends and countertrends and cultures and countercultures all coalesced in his art and its many different directions. Those discussions between Senior and Junior are likely reflected in the dialogue of this episode.

The origins of Juvenile Rebellion are interesting when you realize this personal backstory of it. Juvenile Rebellion must have been held in better regard in its time than it is now, more than 60 years later. It was selected to be the first offering of the second week of Theatre 5 on ABC Radio on 1964-08-10. Producer Ed Byron and director Warren Somerville wanted to start that series with their strongest scripts, and this was one of them. The title for that broadcast was changed to Rebellion Next Week.

Junior is still around (as of 2025), now 84, living in Maine, and still working, and letting you know what's on his mind via his paintings. There was a movie made about him and his times. It was released in 2016, and was a winner of many awards at film festivals.

If you’re wondering about teenage mutants and a possible relation to the comic book creation of the X-Men led by Professor X, developed by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, there is none. That series did not start until its first issue was published in September 1963.

Writer Robert Cenedella lived in Milford, Massachusetts before moving to New York City. Tewksbury, and its junior high school mentioned in the story, are not that far away from Milford since I-495 was created.

This program was recorded on Thursday, August 31, 1961. The session began at 11:00am and concluded at 2:30pm.

Jimsey Somers was child and teenage actor on Broadway and early television, appearing in experimental broadcasts in the late 1940s. She was 24 at the time of this broadcast. She appeared on many radio broadcasts in the 1950s. Her IMDb listings end in 1968, indicating she may have left the business.

A 2017 interview of Junior where he talks about his father can be found at the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/cunytv_BUNY12018 

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP610903

THE CAST

Jimsey Somers (Mary Newhall), Court Benson (Ethan Miller), Joseph Boland (Chief Hobbs), Ronald Liss (Frank), Pat Hosley (Helen)

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1961-08-27 Sold to Satan

Kermit Murdock stars as fashion business owner “Frank Wineglass” in a Jules Archer story with an interesting backdrop for the scenes, that evil intent takes hold of the main character. The plotline is driven by blackmail, and a homicide is planned to be its cure. Frank’s evil side narrates the story that shows how his business partner, Harry, has had a dalliance with one of their company’s very attractive advertising models. She demands $200 a week blackmail for the next 10 years to keep quiet and not tell Harry’s wife. Then Frank learns that his son, Douglas, is planning to marry the blackmailing model. It’s not just money between the model and Harry anymore, but now if Harry (or even Frank) warn Douglas about what she’s doing, she will send incriminating photos to Harry’s wife. She has the blackmail noose wrapped tightly around the necks of both Harry and Frank. Harry believes he can buy her off rather than resort to murder. Harry has no money to spare, but Frank will lend it to him. She demands a substantial sum based on the value of the business. She feels entitled because her modeling is one of the reasons why their product line has done well. Harry declines, and Frank’s suggestion of a more permanent solution suddenly seems like a good idea. Alibis are arranged, Frank makes a payoff that is mostly fake money, she objects, and Frank kills her. Frank’s plan is to frame Harry for the murder. He figures that having Harry and the model out of the way so she could not marry Frank’s son is a big advantage to him and the future of the business. Frank’s alibi planning did not go as planned. Harry’s alibi falters, and so does the son’s. What will “Evil Frank” and Frank do now?

The story is adapted by Joseph Cochran. The “Evil Frank” narration gimmick takes a little getting used to, but it is a novel approach to the story that works… if you’re ready for it. Some listeners may have found it confusing at first. There’s a lot of pieces to the story, making careful listening important to catch all the details. It’s worth doing.

Ian Martin is hilarious as the irascible old man Colonel Dover who is an easy target for Frank and Harry’s practical jokes and constant interruptions.

The story first appeared in Dime Mystery Magazine October 1948. The first radio production was on the series Radio City Playhouse broadcast of 1949-07-04. It was re-titled as Murder Is The Easiest Way and adapted by Harry W. Junkin. Archer was not really happy with that adaptation because Junkin changed it to a straightforward mystery story without the “Evil Frank” device. This Suspense broadcast was a new adaptation, and is presumed to be more to Archer’s liking because Joseph Cochran followed the structure of the original short story. Details about the development of original story can be found in Archer’s 1950 book I Sell What I Write which can be accessed at https://archive.org/details/isellwhatiwrite00arch/page/68/mode/2up

The program was recorded on Tuesday, August 22, 1961 in a session that started at 11:00pm and concluded at 2:30pm.

The title may be misleading as in current language it may imply a story involving the occult. The phrase “sold to Satan” and variants of it were more common in conversation at the time of broadcast, and especially decades and decades before when religious observance was more pervasive than today. The phrase means that a person would do anything it takes, even selling their soul, to get what they want, regardless of downside consequences, whether they be temporal or spiritual.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP610827

THE CAST

Kermit Murdock (Frank Wineglass / Satan), Robert Dryden (Harry Feeney), Ian Martin (Colonel Dover), Richard Holland (Douglas Wineglass), Dick Hamilton (Police Officer), Elizabeth Lawrence (Diane Rodell)

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1961-08-20 Murder Is a Matter of Opinion

Phil Meeder stars in a creative and engaging Jules Archer story adapted by Ronald Dawson. Two law students, brothers, are bored with the process of creating a mock trial, a fictional legal case that allows students to learn the processes of preparing and presenting information at a real trial. They, and their deep friendship was well known on campus, and they decide to stage the a fictional but convincing crime that would deepen the interest in the exercise for themselves and other students. Their topic was whether or not a truly innocent person can be accused of a crime, prosecuted, and found guilty. At the time of this story, the risk of execution of a person found guilty was higher than in modern times. Just a brief review of newspapers of that time show that it was often a matter of months before punishment was enforced. Today, it is common for prisoners to be on “death row” for many years for those remaining states that still have capital punishment laws, while others changed laws to allow life imprisonment in its stead. For that reason, this story would had a greater urgency in its topic for listeners. The two stage multiple arguments with each other in crowded scenarios where they would be certain to have many witnesses. When one brother would disappear, it would be clear that there was foul play, until they revealed their ruse. Everything was going along well with their secret plan, until one of the brothers dies, unexpectedly, and the other is arrested. Those witnesses, and the scuttlebutt about their deteriorating relationship, makes it clear that the surviving brother did it.

Spoiler alert: You know the scheme would have a hiccup because it’s Suspense, so there’s no surprise there. A key to the conclusion is a brother’s coughing. It does seem annoying, but once you remember the show was recorded, and if it was an inadvertent cough, you know it would be edited out. It’s part of the story, and that becomes obvious because of its frequency. Despite these issues, it’s still a good story.

The program was recorded on Tuesday, August 1, 1961, starting at 10:30am and concluding at 2:30pm.

The broadcast was poorly promoted by CBS publicity. They promoted Old Boyfriend which was delayed and would not be broadcast until many weeks later. No newspaper had an announcement for this script’s broadcast.

The original Archer story was very popular. It appeared in the Summer 1948 edition of Mystery Book Magazine but the radio rights had already been sold to Molle Mystery Theater for its 1948-02-20 broadcast. It is not known who adapted it for the series; no recording is available. It was used the following year for Radio City Playhouse for its 1949-05-23 broadcast, adapted by Harry W. Junkin. The Canadian series, Curtain Time, not to be confused with the US series of the same name, aired its own version on 1949-10-05 (no recording is available). It was even used on television’s Cameo Theater on September 27, 1950 and starred Freddy Bartholomew. 

In Archer’s 1950 book about writing for a living, I Sell What I Write, he provides an interesting perspective for new writers as he discusses this very story:

Which brings me to an important footnote on making money out of pulp mystery writing. The pulps will hand back radio rights to you upon request. In the case of Murder Is a Matter of Opinion, the radio rights paid off almost eight times as much as I received for the original story in Mystery Book.

It may have been more lucrative than that. I Sell What I Write was likely already published before the television production of Cameo Theater was aired. That broadcast was not mentioned in the book. Archer’s comments about this story can be accessed at https://archive.org/details/isellwhatiwrite00arch/page/52/mode/2up

Phil Meeder stars in the episode. He was working on some soaps at CBS in the late 1950s, but those were cancelled in November 1960. This is an interesting profile of him many years later, published almost 20 years ago https://www.insideannapolis.com/archive/2006/issue2/pmeeder.html

“Judge Jackson” is played by Bernard Lenrow. He’s fondly remembered by classic radio enthusiasts for playing Captain Logan in the Casey, Crime Photographer series.

Ivor Francis, who plays “Mr. Cheney,” was a Broadway actor and radio veteran. He was the father of Genie Francis who came to television prominence in General Hospital in their famous storyline about “Luke and Laura” in the late 1970s. She is married to Jonathan Frakes, “Commander Riker” in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP610820

THE CAST

Phil Meeder (Frank Jackson), Bill Lipton (Bryan Jackson), Ronny Liss (Tom Penson), Maurice Tarplin (Prosecutor), Lawson Zerbe (Dean / Warden), Bob Dryden (Captain / Bixton), Bernard Lenrow (Judge Jackson), Ivor Francis (Mr. Cheney)

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1961-08-06 Bells

Rosemary Rice and Bill Lipton star in a Jack Johnstone script (written under the pseudonym “Jack Bundy”) about a young couple who are thrilled to find a new place to live. That is, until they try to spend their first night there. They portray Henry and Lucy Fielding, and their “dream house” is in the country, far away from the noisy city. Lucy thinks they had help from her guardian angel that led in the home search success, including its affordable price. Harry doesn’t believe any of that, and agrees to the deal mostly because he is so frustrated with their apartment. There is a concern, however: the real estate agent was a bit elusive when discussing the history of the house and its past owners. Henry and Lucy are so enthused with the idea of this new home for them, that they still decide to proceed. In their first night in the house, there is a very severe storm. The phone starts ringing with call after call. The calls are unnerving. Henry checks with the phone operator, and she says they have no record of calls being put through. He becomes so upset that he rips the phone from the wall. Lucy gets nervous and has a strange and ominous premonition. She persuades the skeptical Henry that the premonition is real and they should leave the house and stay at a nearby hotel. They can return to the house in the morning and start fresh. As they settle into the hotel room, they are shocked when they hear a radio news report. The house was struck by lightning that demolished part of the home. They realize that by leaving the house they had escaped certain death.

The program was recorded on Tuesday, July 25, 1961. The session began at 10:30am and concluded at 2:30pm.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP610806

THE CAST

Rosemary Rice (Lucy), Bill Lipton (Henry), Lawson Zerbe (Strickler), Toni Darnay (Operators 1 & 2), Larry Robinson (Bellboy / Radio)

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