1957-05-12 Tarawa Was Tough

John Lund stars in a story about the US Marines taking the Tarawa atoll of the Gilbert Islands in WW2. The script sounds a bit out of place for Suspense, because it is (much like Report on the X-915 also did). This script was adapted from The Man Behind the Gun broadcast of 1944-02-12. Robson was producer of that series and wrote many scripts for it, including this one. That series won a Peabody Award and was one of wartime patriotic radio’s most important shows.

The Battle of Tarawa was in November 1943. The episode is about the preparations for the attack. Much of it is locker-room like chatter between the Marines followed by a briefing room presentation about the strategy. Some of the language might be considered harsh in its occasional ethnic references to the wartime enemy. The language is of its time.

USA forces invaded the Japanese-held Gilbert Islands as part of an “island hopping” campaign to gain control of Japanese outposts in the Pacific Islands. The effort was intended to encircle Japan with island bases for an eventual attack on the Japanese islands. Details about the Battle of Tarawa are summarized at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tarawa

One element of the story is the recreation of a broadcast of Tokyo Rose. Her broadcasts were part of Japan’s strategy to demoralize US troop morale by playing music and providing news, but Rose would encourage the soldiers to stop fighting because Japan had the superior force. There were actually several women who took that role during the fighting. Many more details are at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Rose

This was not the first time that Robson used a Man Behind the Gun script in the series. In the missing Suspense episode 1951-11-12 The Mission of the Betta, which Robson wrote, he used several pages of dialogue from that earlier series.

Why was this particular script used at this very moment in the schedule? On March 5, 1957, President Eisenhower issued a declaration that the third Saturday of May be declared as Armed Forces Day. The first date under that declaration would be Saturday, May 18. This May 12 broadcast date was the closest one prior to the observance. The declaration can be viewed at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-71/pdf/STATUTE-71-PgC24.pdf

The program was recorded on Thursday, May 9, 1957. Rehearsal began at 12:30pm and ended at 6:00pm. Recording began at that time and concluded at 6:30pm.

The surviving recording is from an Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) transcription. It is complete and in excellent sound. Previously circulating copies of this episode were heavily edited, had narrow range and background noise. It is good to finally have an upgrade in sound quality for this episode after many decades without one.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP570512 

THE CAST

John Lund (Narration), Ellen Morgan (Tokyo Rose), Jack Kruschen (Moish / Marine 4), Dick Crenna (Otie), Joe de Santis (Les), Robert Easton (Shorty), John Dehner (Captain / Marine 1), Larry Thor (Lieutenant / Marine 3), Lou Krugman (Ship’s P.A. voice / Marine 2), George Walsh (Suspense Narrator)

The music for this episode is by Japanese-American composer and conductor Tak Shindo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tak_Shindo Some of his music is available at the Internet Archive at https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22Tak+Shindo%22

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1957-05-05 Celebration

Canadian actress Joy LaFleur stars in the second production of Celebration. In some aspects, it’s actually the first and only production of the original story. When the script was broadcast in 1948, a highly sanitized and improbable ending was written into the story. Pressure from Auto-Lite that caused that. They did not want a depressing story, especially one that has fatal violence inside an automobile. This time, however, Suspense has no sponsor to micromanage or usurp editorial decision-making. Robson presents the tale, based on a real-life news event of murder-suicide, the way it was written. It is a tough story of a wife in psychiatric care and having great difficulties there. Her husband cannot think of a day or hour without her. It leads to a visit where he arranged to take her out for a day to celebrate their wedding anniversary and be together one last happy time.

The production can be best appreciated by reviewing the supporting information about the 1948 broadcast. It details the original news event with names and locations. That information is at

• https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/12/1948-09-23-celebration.html

• https://archive.org/details/TSP480923 is also where the recording can be downloaded or streamed.

There are two surviving recordings, and the Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#629) is the better of the two. The network recording is likely an aircheck, has been edited, and has narrow range and background noise.

This was Joy LaFleur’s only appearance on Suspense. Sadly, she would pass away six months after this broadcast at age 43. Tests revealed her death was caused by barbiturates and alcohol poisoning. The highly regarded actress would sometimes be billed in the US as “Victoria Ward.” Her last two US television appearances were on The Millionaire and on Playhouse 90. That latter broadcast had the ominous title “So Soon to Die.” The true story of Celebration, this Playhouse 90 title, and her demise make for a strange confluence of facts.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP570505

THE CAST

Joy LaFleur (Emily Ward), Irene Tedrow (Mrs. Bertha Halleck), Shepard Menken (Tod Ward), Joe de Santis (Man / Waiter / Doctor), Jack Moyles (Parking attendant / Police Sergeant), George Walsh (Narrator)

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Many thanks to classic radio enthusiast and researcher John Barker who first brought the dissimilarities of the two broadcasts to our attention.

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1957-04-28 Escape to Death

This episode is the second of two scripts by San Quentin inmate Edgar Scott Flohr. It is the better story of the two. A Hungarian doctor agrees to follow a woman and her daughter to the USA and New York City on behalf of their Communist government. His orders are to kill the woman, a freedom fighter in the spirit of the failed Hungarian Uprising, before she is able to give secret information to the United Nations. The story is good, and it looks like it is about to conclude, but there is a surprise ending that goes into a different direction.

Again, William N. Robson casts the program with some performers with ties to Eastern Europe and WW2 in some way.

The program was recorded on Wednesday April 17, 1957. Rehearsal started at 1:00pm and ended at 6:30pm. Recording began at that time and concluded at 7:00pm.

There are three surviving recordings of this episode and the Armed Forces Radio Service one (AFRS#932) is the best of them. The network recording is an aircheck from WGDI of Scranton, Pennsylvania. It has been edited and has very narrow range and other defects. There is an Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) aircheck that is likely from the Armed Forces Network – Far East Network, but that cannot be verified. This recording has encoding defects and also instances of tape squeal.

The lead role is played by Francis Lederer, and is his sole Suspense appearance. He was born in what is now the Czech Republic in 1899. He was trained as an actor as a teenager. After serving in WW1, he was in touring theater companies in Europe. In the 1930s, he performed on stage in London and then on Broadway. During WW2, he stayed in the US and worked on stage on Broadway and in motion pictures. In addition to a very busy acting career, he became a very successful real estate investor in the Los Angeles area, active in civic affairs and philanthropy. His final film was in 1959, and final TV appearance in 1971. A summary of his career can be found at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Lederer

Norma Jean Nilsson made a few appearances on the program. Her first was Freedom, This Way, and this is her second. At the time of this broadcast, she was just 19. But she was a radio veteran. In 1947, she was reported to be the highest-paid child actress in radio, and was reported to be the first child actor to make more than 500 radio appearances. Details about her movie and radio career can be found at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norma_Jean_Nilsson

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP570428

THE CAST

Francis Lederer (Goellner), Norma Jean Nilsson (Girl / Daughter), Margie Liszt (Zanova), Charles Hradilak (Kogos), Jack Kruschen (Chekov / Soviet / Austrian), Dick Beals (Boy), Fritz Feld (Interrogator / Guard), Paul Dubov (Soldier), Ted de Corsia (Molnar), George Walsh (Narrator)

There were cast changes as the script was reviewed and rehearsed in the days before broadcast. The story is a bit involved, so they may have had problems getting the drama to fit into the time slot. The parts of “Soldier” and “Commie” (yes, that was the exact name for the role on the script) were originally assigned to Paul Dubov. The “Commie” role was dropped. The “Interrogator” role was assigned to Fritz Feld; the role of “Guard” was added as a double for him.

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1957-04-21 Chicken Feed

This is the third broadcast of this script, and stars Lloyd Bridges. He was already a Hollywood star, but that star would rise even more a year later, on television, with the successful syndicated series Sea Hunt. This Lawrence Goldman script was produced three times by three series producers (Spier, Lewis, and now Robson). It was first offered with Ray Milland. The second starred Harry Bartell.

A lawyer husband leaves home after an argument and starts driving to get his mind straight. He stops for a cup of coffee to cool that anger, and realizes he left his wallet at home. The chain of events after will cause him to vow never to forget his wallet again. He ends up arrested for vagrancy. The thugs in the police station jail cell think he’s a messenger for the local crime boss. The story has its surprises, and it is easy to understand why three different producers found reason to use the script.

1949 - Ray Milland

These links have background about the script and other items of interest:

• https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2024/02/1949-09-08-chicken-feed.html

• https://archive.org/details/TSP490908 is where recordings of that debut broadcast can be found.

1954 - Harry Bartell

These links have information about the second broadcast

• https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2024/11/1954-10-07-chicken-feed.html

• https://archive.org/details/TSP541007 is where recordings can be downloaded or streamed.

The program was recorded on Sunday, April 21, 1957. Rehearsal began at 1:00pm and ended at 6:30pm. Recording commenced at 6:30pm and was completed at 7:00pm.

There are two surviving recordings and the Armed Forces Radio Service one (AFRS#627) is the much better of the two. The network recording has narrow range and background noise, with edits of commercials and the closing theme.

This is the first of four appearances on the series by Lloyd Bridges. He acted on stage and in movies. Bridges was frequently in 1950s live TV drama, notably Tragedy in a Temporary Town, for which he earned an Emmy nomination https://youtu.be/PhgMjozKZNQ . He gained popular notoriety for his starring role in the syndicated TV series Sea Hunt. His WW2 experience in the Coast Guard, likely helped him land that role. Most of his career was quite serious, appearing on stage, in film, and on other television endeavors. Later in life, he took a turn at two memorable comedy roles. The first was in the aviation farce Airplane! and later in Seinfeld as health and exercise nut “Izzy Mandelbaum,” for which he earned his second Emmy nomination. Wikipedia has much more information about his career and personal life https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd_Bridges

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP570421

THE CAST

Lloyd Bridges (Ralph Clark), Amzie Strickland (Waitress / Mary), Betty Groebli (Operator), Ted de Corsia (Officer Brady), Lou Krugman (Pete), Jack Kruschen (Slim), Charlie Lung (Sergeant Ross), Lou Merrill (Phillips), Dick LeGrande (Jerry Diamond), George Walsh (Narrator)

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1957-04-14 Thou Shalt Not Commit

Victor Jory stars in a Richard Weil script about a romantic triangle on a South Pacific island. He plays a doctor (Carl) who relocated to this remote and quiet place were he can provide medical care to the inhabitants, and further his research on tropical diseases. His wife (Lisa) is upset with the isolation and misses the busy and active life they had in New York City. Their disagreements have been growing and she wants to leave. After what seems like a happy truce for a brief time, a schooner captain arrives and he captures her attention. She sees his arrival as an opportunity to leave. She becomes attracted to this visitor, Captain Burke. Their mutual attraction develops into a relationship they keep secret. She plans to leave with him, but Burke has a trip to make that will take two or three weeks. He promises to return. The weeks pass, and he returns to pick her up. Her husband comes to reluctantly believe that the best thing to do is to let her go. Then, there is a surprising turn in the plot that has all three of the triangle confront the real nature of their desires, interests, and commitment. The story feels like a soap opera, but the last third has tension that makes it a more gripping endeavor, and worth waiting for.

Richard Weil was a successful screenwriter, mostly in the 1930s and 1940s.

The title plays out several ways. The Biblical commandment “thou shalt not commit adultery” is the easy one, with the listener filling in the last word because the first four words are so familiar. But those four words without the fifth refer to a marriage commitment. If one “shalt not commit,” then one is free to do as one chooses, because no vows are exchanged or the vows are just words without intent to fulfill, or those vows are rescinded in some way. It’s a good title because the plotline has elements of all of the possible meanings.

The program was recorded on Thursday, April 4, 1957. Rehearsal started at 1:00pm and concluded at 6:30pm. Recording began at 6:30pm and ended at 7:00pm.

There are two surviving recordings, and the better one is a home recorded aircheck from WGBI in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It has been edited to exclude commercials and some other announcements. Despite its narrow range and some background noise, it is quite listenable. There is an Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) recording that is in much lesser sound. The recording has tape squeal from a poorly stored or poorly transferred tape. It is here only to document that there is an AFRS recording somewhere, and perhaps a better copy of it will be found sometime in the future.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP570414

THE CAST

Victor Jory (Dr. Carl Blair), Ellen Morgan (Lisa), Ben Wright (Lueli), Joe de Santis (Captain Terry Burke), Andy Iona (Taiere), George Walsh (Narrator)

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1957-04-07 The Vanishing Lady

Vanessa Brown stars in an Alexander Woollcott story, adapted by William N. Robson. He presented it three times on Escape in the years 1948 and 1950. The story is about a hoax involving a vanishing hotel room, and the whereabouts of the lady who was in it.

The Woollcott story first appeared in The New Yorker in two parts in July 1929. The editions can be viewed at the Internet Archive. The links go directly to the page where the story was published.

• Part 1 https://archive.org/details/sim_the-new-yorker_1929-07-06_5_20/page/32/mode/1up?q=alexander

• Part 2 https://archive.org/details/sim_the-new-yorker_1929-07-13_5_21/page/36/mode/1up?q=alexander

What happens to the woman? Authorities did not want the news of her contracting the black plague to discourage visits to a major international exhibition in Paris. They created this ruse to keep her illness quiet. In the meantime, her poor daughter was put through great difficulties as she searched for her mother and no one wanted to help her, and even denied their previous encounters with her. It is a story about frustration, and it can test the patience of listeners. There is a wrap-up of most of the strange details of the story at its conclusion.

This program was recorded on Friday, March 29, 1957. Rehearsal began at 1:00pm and concluded at 6:30pm. Recording began at 6:30pm and finished at 7:00pm.

There are two recordings that have survived. The better recording is the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS#929) one. There is a network recording that has narrow range and background noise. All of the Escape broadcast recordings are in slightly better audio quality than the AFRS Suspense recording and much better that the Suspense network recording.

This was Vanessa Brown’s first of three appearances on Suspense. Brown came to the USA with her parents when she was a child. She was on radio as a young girl. Her 165 IQ earned her a two-year spot on the famous radio program The Quiz Kids. She had a successful movie, film, and television career. In later years, she had an interview program on the Voice of America, and it is possible that William N. Robson played a role in her getting that as he worked there beginning as an appointee by President Kennedy when Edward R. Murrow was head of the United States Information Agency. More information about her interesting career and life can be found at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanessa_Brown

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP570407

THE CAST

Vanessa Brown (Cynthia Winship), Diana Bourbon (Operator / Doctor’s Wife), Virginia Gregg (Mrs. Winship), Ben Wright (Bruce Stanley / Garcon), Ramsay Hill (Doctor), John Dehner (Driver / Cabbie), Edgar Barrier (Hotel clerk / Waiter), Frank Goss (framing voice for story), George Walsh (Suspense Narrator)

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1957-03-31 A Good Neighbor

A diamond thief, played by Jeff Chandler, wants to find a quiet place in a small, remote town where he can hide out and no one will bother him. He leaves New York and gets a house on the shore of Maine. He doesn’t count on the elderly busybody widow who lives next door and wants to be sure he adjusts to his new surroundings. She warns him of all kinds of dangers and problems in living in such an area, but she’s there to help. She might as well be a “helicopter parent,” to use a modern term to describe such behavior. Listeners will become annoyed by her meddling, too, as it changes from happy helpful advice into a constant invasion of privacy. This good neighbor could be the very end of the diamond thief. Her meddling makes prison almost seem appealing! It’s a good story, and Chandler is great at changing his character’s mood and portraying his frustration as the story proceeds to a surprise ending.

The script author was David Riehl, who served in various production roles at CBS Network. He received a number of industry awards for is work. He later worked in CBS’ movie production company, Center Films, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Riehl retired from CBS in 1995, and then worked in public television in Washington, D.C.

The original title of the story is “The Thief,” and is indicated as such on the surviving script.

This program was recorded on Friday, March 22, 1957. Rehearsal began at 11:00am and concluded at 4:30pm. Recording commenced at 4:30pm and finished at 5:00pm.

The circulating copy is an Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#928) that has some sound issues as narrow range and background noise. Unlike many previous copies of this episode that have been in circulation, this one is complete.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP570331

THE CAST

Jeff Chandler (Andrew Burt), Virginia Gregg (Mrs. Poe), George Walsh (Narrator)

Classic radio researcher and international voice actor Keith Scott notes that the surviving script cover indicates that two actors, Ken Christy and John Dehner had parts as “Radcliff” and “Lieutenant,” respectively. Their roles were cut because the timing of the production exceeded the allotted time in rehearsals. It is not known at what point before broadcast those roles were removed.

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