1955-12-06 When the Bough Breaks

This is the second broadcast of a Sheldon Leonard script about a newlywed couple and their strange honeymoon. The bride and groom are each in mortal fear of the other, in a very odd circumstance. The story opens with the husband carrying his wife over the doorstep of their honeymoon cottage. Their wedding was just one day after the bride was acquitted of the murder of her grandfather, from whom she inherited a large amount of money. The dark storyline features Virginia Gregg and Stacy Harris. The script was adapted by Antony Ellis.

The first broadcast was on 1951-05-03 and starred Rosalind Russell and Sheldon Leonard. Details about the story’s development, plotline and recordings can be found at

• https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2024/06/1951-05-03-when-bough-breaks.html

• https://archive.org/details/TSP510503 is where the broadcast can be downloaded or streamed.

There are two surviving recordings, both in fine sound. There is a preference for the network recording because it was the initial broadcast. The Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#562) is newly discovered and new to circulation.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP551206

THE CAST

Virginia Gregg (Evelyn Stryker), Stacy Harris (Harry Stryker), Dick Beals (Delivery Boy), Joe Kearns (Corcoran / Doctor), Barney Phillips (Kahn the Cop), Larry Thor (Narrator)

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1955-11-29 This Will Kill You

This is the second broadcast of a script written by the famous agent of Jack Benny, Irving Fein. He was a writer early in his career, and the pseudonym used for the first broadcast in 1945-08-23 was “I. A. Finley.” This time it’s “Peter Ashley.” That first broadcast had continuity issues, unintended, of course, as when it was written, it used certain wartime situations in the story, and was broadcast during one of the most fast-moving news periods of WW2 when the Pacific front was in the process of resolution.

For this broadcast, the timeline context was updated and it all flows better since it occurs without the event competition of rapidly unfolding WW2 events. The site of the story was changed from a wartime equipment factory to an aviation factory. The basic story remains intact. A worker is jealous of his boss’ love relationship with a woman who works in the plant. His delusional obsession for her leads him to develop an intricate plot to frame the boss for her murder. The story is not perfect, for sure, but it is a worthwhile listen. Sam Edwards plays the envious worker.

For information about the first broadcast that starred Dane Clark, go to:

• https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/06/1945-08-23-this-will-kill-you.html

• https://archive.org/details/TSP450823 is where the broadcast can be downloaded or streamed.

There are two surviving recordings, and both are in fine sound. The network recording may be slightly better and preferred by many collectors. The Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#561) is newly discovered and new to circulation.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TPS551129

THE CAST

Sam Edwards (Joe Jordan), Vic Perrin (Charley Harris), Charles Seel (1st Voice / Priest), Leonard Weinrib (2nd Voice), Lillian Buyeff (Harriet Slate), Barney Phillips (Lt. Sullivan / Judge), Jim Nusser (Guard)

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1955-11-22 Classified Secret

This Antony Ellis script about two ordinary-looking people, actually Cold War spies, who meet in a park and go on a bus ride was originally used on Escape and broadcast 1953-04-12. It’s a good story and having nice-neighbor-next-door Parley Baer as a spy named Charlie Rader is quite entertaining. The two spies could not agree on a price for the information he had, so they parted ways. He gets on a bus east and meets Julie Spaulding who is heading to New York. She is played by Charlotte Lawrence in the very same role she had in the Escape production, also opposite Baer.

Howard McNear plays a spy named Hutchinson, and strikes up a conversation with Rader. He’s one of a few spies on the bus, including the woman Rader met in the park. They are clearly checking up on him, and are very concerned about him and the information and blueprints he has about a new jet motor, and they want to be sure they get it from him. Rader realizes (just in time for the mid-show break cliffhanger) that they’ll kill him if he doesn’t kill them first. The bus stops in New Mexico and Rader and Julie have breakfast at the counter while the spies watching him are sitting in a booth. He tries to tell her that there are spies watching him, and she doesn’t believe him. He tells her to just play along with him, and despite her skepticism, agrees. In a casual conversation supposedly about fishing, Hutchinson tangentially offers him $10,000 (worth about $120,000 in US$2025) for the information. At another bus stop there is a final confrontation where there are final negotiations and Rader had enough, shooting Hutchinson and his companion, and sends their bodies over the cliff. Spaulding is appalled and frightened, but he explains he had no choice. They return to the bus, the driver waits for the two missing passengers, and then rides on. At the next stop, there are FBI agents waiting for him. Then there are some surprises at the ending...

The original title of the script was “The Biggest Secret in the World,” changed in the few days before it aired on Escape.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP551122

THE CAST

Parley Baer (Charlie Rader), Howard McNear (Hutchinson), Virginia Eiler (Lisa Nyland), Charlotte Lawrence (Julie Spaulding), Richard Beals (Boy), Charles Seel (Bus Driver / Larry), Jim Nusser (The FBI Agent), Larry Thor (Narrator)

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1955-11-15 Once a Murderer

This script was initially broadcast on 1951-11-05 as The Trials of Thomas Shaw. That broadcast that starred Joseph Cotten is still missing, but we are lucky that a second broadcast of the script, with a new title, is available.

This Antony Ellis story is about a laborer, Thomas Shaw, who volunteers confessions to two brutal murders. He thinks he’s outsmarting the justice system. He’s suspected of the first murder, and eventually pleads guilty. Once he’s in court and on the stand, he claims his innocence. He says that the only way to clear his name was to plead guilty and go to court to be found not guilty. It doesn’t work the second time! It’s a curious story, for sure, not a classic, but worthwhile to hear the gimmick play out. It would be interesting to hear how Cotten handles the part since he can play such parts with a sinister undercurrent. Perhaps a recording of that 1951 broadcast will surface one day.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP551115

THE CAST

Ben Wright (Thomas Shaw), Betty Harford (Peg), Paula Winslowe (Harriet), Richard Peel (Shinn / Foreman), Joe Kearns (Inspector), Charlie Lung (Mr. Cottle / Clerk), Ramsay Hill (Sir William File the Judge), John Dodsworth (Beckett), Herb Butterfield (Shakeshaft), Byron Kane (Lyons), Larry Thor (Narrator)

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1955-11-08 Report on the X-915

This William Froug script was used for the audition of a new program, Action 80, in 1952. Froug was a long time CBS employee starting early in the radio era and rising through the ranks to become a top company executive. At the time of the audition he was director of program writing. By the time the script was used on Suspense he was head of west coast programming.

The script was adapted for Suspense to tell the story of an experimental atomic submarine that is a target for sabotage. It seems the sub has been captured and communications with it are no longer possible. What will happen to the nuclear warheads that are on board?

The working title of the script was “X-915” and the words “Report on the” were handwritten on the script cover and throughout. The script certainly does not “feel” like a Suspense script. Why the script was used at this particular time is not known. It may be in response to the news cycle as the first nuclear-powered ship, the USS Nautilus was commissioned on September 30, 1954. The Nautilus started operating in 1955 and visited many east coast ports and bases that summer. It was in the news often for much of the year.

The surviving recording is a home aircheck that is listenable but low quality. The audition recording of Action 80 has much better and richer sound. Both recordings are included on the Internet Archive page. It is hoped that an Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) recording of the Suspense broadcast might be found in the future.

Hollywood Hostages was originally planned for this date. That script would not be broadcast until 1956-02-21.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP551108

THE CAST

Stacy Harris (Commander Richards), Jack Kruschen (Admiral Carruthers), Parley Baer (Lt. Commander Linden), Sam Edwards (Sailor / Voice), Herb Ellis (Red Dog One), Tom Hanley & Bill James (Ad-Libs), Larry Thor (Narrator)

Jim Nusser was originally cast as Admiral Carruthers, replaced by Jack Kruschen.

Kruschen was originally cast as “Red Dog One” and was replaced by Herb Ellis.

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1955-11-01 The Mountain

Parley Baer and Ben Wright star in the second performance of this Antony Ellis script about a dangerous climb up one of the world’s tallest peaks. The story begins with the team of six tired and half-frozen climbers at the 24,000 foot level. The peak is hidden in mist, and towers almost a mile above them. As they climb to the peak, there is a scream and a terrifying tug of the rope as one of the climbers plunges over the edge of a crevasse. That incident is all the more concerning as one climber has lost total trust in the other.

The script was previously used on 1953-03-16 and starred John Hodiak. For details about that broadcast and how Ellis’ script relates to climbs of Mount Everest at that time, go to

• https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2024/09/1953-03-16-mountain.html

• https://archive.org/details/TSP530316 which has recordings that can be downloaded or streamed.

The script was originally planned for broadcast on October 25. 1955. It was held for another week, and was broadcast live.

John Hodiak passed away two weeks before this 1955 broadcast at age 41. It is not known if that played into the decision to schedule this second broadcast at this particular time. 

The surviving recording is of low quality with narrow range. It is hoped that an Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) transcription might be found to replace it sometime in the future.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP551101

THE CAST

Parley Baer (Bob Foster), Ben Wright (John Eldridge), Jim Nusser (Thomas), Herb Ellis (Harry Feldman), Vic Perrin (Perrucci), Bill James (Gaines), Larry Thor (Narrator)

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1955-10-25 To None a Deadly Drug

Writer Hank Searls offers a fine example of a Suspense story of people in danger not of their making and a race against time. The story is of its broadcast era. It had to be unsettling to listeners in 1955 when the premise was more prone to happen than it is today. The story was frighteningly plausible then, thankfully almost implausible 70 years later unless there is severe negligence. Pharmacies are far more regimented today, with vigilant automatic tracking of what is dispensed, and procedures to validate identities and match them with prescriptions and insurance coverage before handing them to the customer. Much of the drama’s duration is spent trying to find someone. This, too, might be unlikely in today’s world of smartphones, text messages, and GPS tracking. It is hard to imagine what life was like without such technologies, and this story gives a glimpse into those times, and the trouble it was to communicate in stressful emergencies.

The story stars Harry Bartell and Charlotte Lawrence as husband and wife who have a family-owned pharmacy, which is far less common today, as well. At the end of a day when the have an urgency to leave, a prescription is filled for a child. A mistake at the counter resulted in the child’s mother picking up the prescription intended for someone else, a heart medicine. It would be very dangerous if given to the child. The plot involves the tremendous effort to gather the resources of police and others to find the mother and child before an accidental and fatal event.

The working title was “To None a Deadly Poison.” The title comes from the Hippocratic Oath, and it can be translated into English as “Neither will I administer a poison to anybody when asked to do so, nor will I suggest such a course.” The change in wording of the title made it better and more ominous. Of course no one would want to administer a deadly poison unless they intended to commit an evil act. But changing it into “drug” made it fit into the storyline, a pharmacy, and that prescription drugs are intended to restore health. So “deadly drug” can evoke some listener curiosity.

The program was pre-recorded on Tuesday, October 18, 1955. The session begat at 11:30am and ended at 5:00pm. The recording commenced at 5:00pm and concluded at 5:30pm.

There are two surviving recordings, and the network recording is the much better of the two. The second recording is a very low quality Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) recording.

Classic radio enthusiast, researcher, and modern day performer Patte Rosebank noted at the Old Time Radio Researchers Facebook group page that the story idea may have come from the Elixir Sulfanilamide Disaster of 1937, which would still be in the public memory at the time of broadcast. The Food and Drug Administration has a magazine article from one of their 1981 publications that describes the events. It can be downloaded at https://www.fda.gov/files/about%20fda/published/The-Sulfanilamide-Disaster.pdf The document details the efforts to track down the shipments of the drug and includes an example of one incident that has some resemblance to this storyline:

Many doctors and pharmacists did everything in their power to recover the elixir. One physician postponed his wedding to help an FDA chemist search for a 3-year-old boy whose family had moved into mountain country after obtaining a prescription.

The story idea may have been sparked by a more recent incident, reported by United Press. This clip is from the 1954-12-24 Waco TX Times-Herald:

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP551025

THE CAST

Harry Bartell (Cal Foster), Charlotte Lawrence (Marion Foster), Eve McVeagh (Mrs. Smith), Virginia Eiler (Operator / Waitress), Sammy Ogg (Tippy Smith), Hy Averback (Al the Disc Jockey), Larry Thor (Narrator), Jack Kruschen (Sheriff Gibbs), John Stephenson (First radio announcer / Dr. Peters)

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