A well-known actor turns to murder to save his sister from her unhappy marriage. Sure, that’s the excuse for the story, a satire about the stage and movies and those who engage in such enterprises. If you are expecting regular Suspense fare, you will be disappointed. If you are expecting a play overflowing with Welles and lines often drenched with innuendo, you may find this an unexpected pleasure. It may have confused listeners in a manner that Fury and Sound would with its insider undertones 14 months later.
The original story was a 1933 Broadway play by George S. Kaufman and Alexander Woollcott. It was adapted for Suspense by Peter Barry. Woollcott had died about 15 months before this broadcast at age 56. He was a writer and playwright, and was part of the Algonquin Round Table of authors who regularly met at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City. Woollcott was also a drama critic and wrote for The New Yorker. This play is about actors and the theater, something which Woollcott and Kaufman knew much about.
In the 1934 movie adaptation of the play, The Man with Two Faces, Edward G. Robinson plays the same character as Welles does. It is funny that the character is named Damon Wells! In this production, the character is named “Damon Wellington.”
Welles deliberately overacts in this play as it is somewhat of a satire about theater and actors, and he makes it about himself. It is amusing how so many of the lines could apply to Welles public persona, even though the play was introduced in 1933 when he was just starting in the profession.
At about the 4:30 mark of the broadcast, the character comments about being asked to stop drinking. He says he told her “Would you have me subsist entirely on food? And reach the gargantuan proportions of an Orson Welles?” Collector (and actor) Craig Wichman notes that there are comments that are veiled references to the Barrymores as a family of actors and John’s reputation for various series of relationships. These may have been in the original play, but such references seem magnified by Welles over-the-top performance. Craig notes that Welles is doing a John Barrymore imitative style throughout, and also notes that they were friends.
Welles’ character also mentions in passing that he might replace one of the characters in the play with Agnes Moorehead (at about 18:30). Moorehead was in Welles’ Mercury Theater on stage and radio and played Margot Lane when Welles was in The Shadow. Her star was rising in radio and movies at this time, as we know.
At about 8:15 Welles’ character mentions he would be willing to appear on stage in crutches, referring to his broken ankle while directing Citizen Kane. The dialogue that follows refers to Welles’ character as “being a ham” several times, and they take great delight in delivering these lines to Welles. How they contained their laughter during the broadcast and especially this segment is a mystery.
There are three recordings of the episode. The east coast network broadcast has survived, the west broadcast has not. There is an Armed Forces Radio Service recording (#50) and a 1980s AFRTS recording. Both Armed Forces recordings are derived from the east network broadcast. All of the recordings have what might be Hans Conried jumping a cue or an actress delivering an additional line by mistake. It is in the east recording just before the 14:00 mark and is before the 12:30 mark in the AFRS version. The AFRTS recording has the same dialogue.
Martha:
Get out!
Vance: Very well...
Martha: Get out!
Vance:
Very well, if you insist....
The best of the three is the east network recording. The west recording remains lost, but it would not be a surprise to find many different in-jokes or nuances when compared with the east, since the west broadcast would be four days later, leaving plenty of time to concoct even more verbal mischief.
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https://archive.org/details/440504
THE CAST
CAST: ORSON WELLES (Damon Wellington / Max Hartsfeld), John McIntire (Ben), Jeanette Nolan (Jessica), Will Wright (David Torrence / end commercial voice), Gloria Gordon (Martha) Hans Conried (Stanley Vance), Joe Kearns (Man in Black)
This play was originally planned for 1944-03-23 with Joseph Cotten. But this was held for Welles, instead. Cotten starred in Sneak Preview on that date, itself with many digs at the movie and entertainment business.
CBS publicity was playing up how Suspense productions were different from typical radio broadcasts. This was picked up by the 1944-05-03 Waterville ME Morning Sentinel, and likely by many other newspapers:
According to the nation’s leading producers, the Suspense airshow is setting a new pace in radio presentation by applying standard motion picture techniques to the medium of radio. Producer of the show, William Spier, maintains that the illusion is better preserved by hearing dramas than by being “backstage,” so he follows the movie policy of eliminating studio audiences. He places the orchestra behind a screen, out of sight of the cast so that the players may concentrate on the highly dramatic work. Likewise in making a picture, the musical and dramatic elements are usually kept separate, and the musicians and the actors have little contact with each other. The story form of Suspense dramas follows closely with those of film scenarios, with exterior and interior sequences pointed up means of sound effect.
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