The program begins with the reading of the various definitions of "suspense." The opening was used again at the beginning of the ill-fated hour-long Suspense series in January 1948.
This story is about a reconsideration of an old suicide case because it may have been a murder. It has a stereotypical “dark and stormy night” opening scene. The setting of the “summer house” in Tarrytown, New York, is no longer a summer location, but a suburban commuter community in Westchester County, New York, with convenient train access to Manhattan. It is near Sleepy Hollow, known from Washington Irving’s Legend of Sleepy Hollow and also a sprawling residence of the Rockefeller family. The Tappan Zee Bridge, which connected the Tarrytown side of the Hudson River to the other, was not built until the early 1950s.
It was originally a BBC "Detection Club" hour-long presentation featuring John Dickson Carr's character Dr. Fell and was broadcast on 1940-10-15. It was broadcast again on 1946-08-21 on BBC “Mystery Playhouse.” It was adapted to a short story that appeared in a 1946 edition of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP421103
THE CAST
Martin Gabel (Joe Parker), Ted Osborne (Signature Voice), Arthur Vinton, Alice Frost, Lesley Woods?, and others
At 15:20 in the recording, there is dialog that incorrectly calls “Parker” with the name “Barker.” It sounds like it’s in the script and not a flub because it happens twice and is handled smoothly. Could it be an inside joke reference to actor and animal imitator Brad Barker?
Despite Suspense being in the CBS Fall schedule, there was very little news coverage of the series. The program was listed in radio timetables, but the titles and plotlines of the upcoming broadcasts were not. It would not be until Suspense would make its move to Hollywood and implement its “Hollywood star” policy, including greater priority by the CBS publicity department, that newspaper coverage would improve. That coverage would take another step higher when the show would finally have a sponsor, but that would not be for 13 months after this broadcast.
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