1957-06-02 Crossing Paris

Hans Conried stars in the second time William N. Robson produced this story. The first was on Escape 1950-08-25. It is about two men trying to deliver a black-market butchered hog during WW2 and the Nazi occupation of the city. The job is difficult as the hog is split up into four heavy suitcases. The process of getting it to its buyer is complicated when the smugglers hire a stranger to help them. They should have checked him out a little better: he is a belligerent alcoholic, and he keeps asking to be paid more money. The untrustable man may end up revealing the scheme.

The story was written by French novelist and playwright Marcel Ayme. His “Traversée de Paris,” was published in France in 1946, appeared in the July/August 1950 edition of Partisan Review. It was translated into English by Frank and Evalin Frantz. (Frank was a language professor at University of Tennessee – Knoxville for 30 years). The story was adapted for Escape by John Meston.

A version of the story became a movie in 1956. The film can be viewed in its original French at the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/la-traversee-de-paris-1956 It is more comedic than the original story.

The program was recorded on Tuesday, May 28, 1957. Rehearsal began at 2:00pm and concluded at 6:30pm. Recording commenced at 6:30pm, followed by studio editing from 7:00pm to 9:00pm.

The surviving recording is complete, but with narrow range and background noise. Many of the recordings of this episode are edited AFRS versions, or edited network versions. The Escape broadcast survives in slightly better sound.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP570602

THE CAST

Hans Conried (Pierre Martin), John Dehner (Grandgil the painter), Joe de Santis (Jamblier), Ted de Corsia (Barkeep / Proprietor / Butcher), Paul DuBov (Drunk / Policeman), George Walsh (Narrator)

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1957-05-26 The Big Day

Sam Pierce offers a story about a fanatic racing fan who is convinced his restored Stanley Steamer can outrun the fastest cars of the Indianapolis 500. He plans a route in California to drive the 500 miles, starting the very same time that the Indianapolis race begins. It is a very entertaining story, with one unbelievable turn after another. Police, not comprehending what he is doing, work quickly to set up roadblocks. His car is so fast, by the time they set them up, he has already driven through that location and is way past it. When the Steamer has a setback of some sort, there is a weather setback in Indianapolis. These coincidences add to the fun and encourage the devoted Steamer owner even more.

John McIntire stars, and real-life wife Jeanette Nolan plays the sympathetic spouse who really can’t believe that his tinkering will amount to anything. Sam Pierce, scripter, and also an actor, appears in the story as a radio announcer… named Sam Pierce.

The program was recorded on Thursday, May 23, 1957. Rehearsals began at 1:00pm and concluded at 5:30pm. Recording began at that time and ended at 6:00pm. Editing was on the same evening, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm.

The surviving recording is an excellent Armed Forces Radio Service transcription (AFRS#934). The nice sound makes it all the more enjoyable.

The Stanley Steamer did set a land speed record in 1906 in Daytona, Florida at 127.6 mph (miles per hour). In 1907, the same driver tried to break the record and was going 150 miles per hour (some say 197 mile per hour) when the car hit a rut and breaking in two, and seriously injuring him with broken ribs, a lacerated scalp, and an injury to his jaw. He lost an eye, and never raced again. That speed record was not recognized because it ended in a crash. But the driver, Fred Marriott, was the first to drive a car more that three miles per minute, and survive the ride. Sports Illustrated was among many to recognized the fiftieth anniversary of the 1906 record https://vault.si.com/vault/1956/03/26/the-car-that-flew The reason for scheduling this performance at this date was the fiftieth anniversary of the 1907 attempt and the Sunday before the Indianapolis 500. Fred Marriott passed away at age 83 in April, 1956, missing the opportunity to hear this story about a Steamer.

The winner of the 1957 Indianapolis 500, held on Memorial Day, four days after this broadcast, was Sam Hanks. It was his thirteenth try to win the event. His average speed was 135mph. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1957_Indianapolis_500

Another entertaining racing storyline on Suspense was Around the World, broadcast 1953-04-06.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP570526

THE CAST

John McIntire (Sam Corder), Jeanette Nolan (“Mom” Corder), Joe de Santis (Elbert / Sergeant Walsh), William Kenneally (Radio newscaster / Police), Henry Blair (Junior), Sam Pierce (“Sam Pierce” the race announcer), Daws Butler (Patrol announcer / Constable Hanson / Small Town Cop), George Walsh (Narrator)

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1957-05-19 Death and Miss Turner

Agnes Moorehead returns to Suspense after a nearly five-year absence. The last time was the September 1952 performance of Sorry, Wrong Number which, as of this report, remains a missing episode. This is the second broadcast of this William Spier script, claimed to be written expressly for her. She plays a woman in a psychiatric facility for amnesia. They encourage her to follow one of her passions, painting, to recover her memories. It turns out she is a murderer!

The original 1952 broadcast information page has details about the performance and the recordings

• https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2024/08/1952-11-17-death-and-miss-turner.html

• https://archive.org/details/TSP521117 which is where recordings can be downloaded or streamed

The sound quality of the surviving recording of the 1957 broadcast is very deficient. It has narrow range, background noise, station drift, and perhaps crosstalk. Listening to the 1952 production is recommended to best enjoy the script and the performance.

The 1957 recording is a drama-only aircheck. Its origin is not known but is likely from an Armed Forces Network radio station from a 1960s replay of the program. The recording that lacks its proper opening and closing segments. Robson’s opening monologue, however, is available from the original script:

We are truly honored to welcome back to our studio, one of America's finest actresses, and the first lady of suspense, Miss Agnes Moorehead. During the past 15 years, Miss Moorehead has lent her great talent to a score or more stories of suspense. She does so once again in the play specially written for her by William Spier. Listen then. Listen to Agnes Moorehead in “Death and Miss Turner” which begins in exactly one minute.

International entertainer and impressionist, and expert on classic radio history, Keith Scott has added his talent to The Suspense Project. For the Suspense episodes that are missing the introductory monologue by William N. Robson, Keith is supplying readings of those openings from the original scripts in the “voice of William N. Robson.” He has been approved by Warner Brothers, Hanna-Barbera, Walt Disney Company, and Universal Studios, for authorized voicings of many of their most famous cartoon characters. Mr. Scott resides in Australia.

The program was recorded on Thursday, May 16, 1957. Rehearsal began at 12:30pm and ended at 6:00pm, followed by recording. The session ended at 6:30pm.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/tsp570519a 

THE CAST

Agnes Moorehead (Rachel Turner), Irene Tedrow (Miss Briggs), Raymond Lawrence (Mr. Putney), Richard Peel (The Man), John Hoyt (Grice), George Walsh (Narrator)

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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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