1945-06-28 The Dealings of Mr. Markham
This is another performance of the John Dickson Carr story Mr. Markham, Antique Dealer, but under a different name. The original broadcast was on 1943-05-11 and is a story about an antique dealer who has a lucrative side-hustle in blackmail and makes a strange promise to return from the dead. Background about the story, and the comic book adaptation, are at https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/02/1943-05-11-mr-markham-antique-dealer.html and https://archive.org/details/TSP430511
This is not the same story as The Story of Markham’s Death that was broadcast on 1947-10-02; these broadcasts are often confused. That story is about an unpublished Edgar Allen Poe manuscript.
This date was originally planned for Footfalls with J. Carrol Naish, It is another example of the way Suspense adapted to the change in schedules of its guest stars but pulling a previous script from the file cabinet that was familiar to the production crew and the actors. Footfalls was presented on 1945-07-12.
There are two network recordings of this episode available, and it cannot be determined which is east or west. The two have different times to network ID, 7 seconds and 15 seconds. The file marked “(15s)” is the better of the two recordings.
The “(7s)” recording has what may be a stumble by Daniell with a repeated line at about 2:55, while the “(15s)” version the line is read clean. This may indicate that the clean reading is the west version when there was deeper familiarity with the script. But then again, from some of the stories told by cast members over the years, there could be some adult beverages at Brittingham’s Restaurant between the east and west broadcasts that could imply the clean reading was the first one! Read more at https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/05/what-did-suspense-crew-do-between-east.html The bottom line: we still don’t know until we can see a disc label and hear that specific transcription disc or find a well-documented reel recording and the original tape reel. There is nothing internal to the broadcast to indicate its coast.
This is the final appearance of Lucille Meredith portraying hospitality expert Elsa Maxwell in the Roma Wine commercials. Maxwell would be quoted in future commercials but not portrayed.
Joan Lorring appeared on Suspense multiple times before, and more ahead; this is an opportunity to provide more details about her. She was the lead in the second season (1942) of the comedy series A Date with Judy. She performed there under her real name, Madeline “Dellie” Ellis. She was 16, and also appeared on Suspense in its inaugural 1942 season using her “Joan Lorring” nom de plume. Along with Ted Osborne, Guy Repp, and Roger DeKoven, she is one of four actors to be on Suspense in its first and final seasons. At the time of this broadcast, she was receiving strong reviews for her appearance in the film The Corn is Green, for which she would earn an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress. She was active on radio, stage, movies, and television. Her career overview is at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Lorring
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP450628
THE CAST
HENRY DANIELL (Charles & Robert Markham), JOAN LORRING (Judith Ray), GAVIN GORDON (Ronald Gilbert), Joe Kearns (Signature Voice), Junius Matthews (Cabbie), unknown (Talking Clock voice)
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