This is a repeat episode from 1943-01-26 of which only the second half has survived. This episode is the full version of the story but had some significant re-writing from that first broadcast. It is a better script and a better performance. Details are at https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/02/1943-01-26-death-went-along-for-ride.html and are worth reading before listening to this episode.
Whenever the availability of a planned guest star was disrupted, William Spier went to his file cabinet of selected one of his favorite scripts from an earlier broadcast. The disruption this particular week was to a performance of Orson Welles in The Dark Tower. That script and the Welles appearance was delayed to the next week. Newspapers were alerted in time, and many mentioned that this replaced a broadcast planned for Welles.
The story was by Henry Denker & Ralph Berkey and this broadcast has re-writes to the original by Robert Richards. There are some inside jokes, likely added by Richards and Spier.
At approximately 20:50 of the Thursday east broadcast, inside joke of bell hop announcing "call for Mr. Spier"; in the AFRS recording it is approximately 18:40
The joke is gone in the Monday west broadcast but replaced by a "call for Mr. Carr"; Stan Carr was a CBS studio engineer who frequently worked on Suspense
Both the east and west recordings have survived. The surviving Armed Forces Radio Service recording (#49) is from the east broadcast.
The east version version has flubs at 21:29 "Javery, I can't think you...thank you enough..." and another flub at 23:39 "Javery, I can't thank you enough..."; "think you..."
These flubs are also part of the AFRS recording
The west recording has no flubs
The east recording is the best of the three.
LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/440427
THE CAST
CAST: GENE KELLY (George Javery), Harry Lang (Jones), Joe Kearns (Man in Black / Hotel waiter / Cop at Bridge), Hans Conried (Roadhouse proprietor / Entertainer), Walter Tetley (two bellboys), Jeanette Nolan? (Eileen Harrison), Bill Shaw (Hotel clerk / camera guy), John McIntire (Steve Brown), unknown (Waiter at Harry’s), unknown (Operator)
Welles was missing because of a scheduling conflict on 1944-04-27. He became scheduled for a CBS special program Three of a Kind, a production for the US Treasury Department for another bond drive. Welles was a guest with Bert Lahr and Reginald Gardiner.
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