This Suspense offering is a three-year anniversary of the first series broadcast of this script on June 17, 1942, the premiere of the series… though it is not mentioned as such. The Burning Court was presented at that time with typically comedic actor Charlie Ruggles, marking the unique Suspense broadcast strategy of casting against type as in its very origins. This time it is presented in the bigger-budget and lusher production Roma Wines era. Here it is with a more serious actor, Clifton Webb. The original adaptation of the John Dickson Carr story was adapted by Harold Medford and has been adjusted for the format and any other changes Medford and Spier believed necessary.
Details about the story can be found at the original blogpost at https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/01/1942-06-17-burning-court.html or https://archive.org/details/TSP420617
The surviving network version is from the east coast broadcast. The disc for this recording was sold on eBay in 2010 and the label stated as such. There is an Armed Forces Radio Service disc recording that is known to exist (#107) but it is not available at this time, and therefore it cannot be determined if the east or west broadcast was used to derive the AFRS recording.
Another network disc set appeared on eBay in 2021 but the discs appeared to be unplayable because the coating had come off the disc (“de-laminated”). The picture of the disc label indicated it was the west broadcast.
This is Clifton Webb’s sole Suspense appearance, though he was announced for others. His birth name was Webb Parmelee Hollenbeck. He had a long career as in theater and movies as an actor, singer, and dancer, especially in Noel Coward plays. He was nominated for three Oscars. This broadcast was weeks after his supporting actor award for Laura. Clifton Webb’s radio appearances were generally limited to variety programs and series that were related to movies, such as Lux Radio Theatre. Details of his career are at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifton_Webb
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP450614
THE CAST
CLIFTON WEBB (Gaudan Croix), Jack Edwards, Jr. (Ted Covington), Cathy Lewis (Maria), Wally Maher (Captain Brennan), Joe Kearns (Signature Voice / Freddie), unknown (Mrs. Henderson)
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