Series editor Robert L. Richards’ story requires some close listening to keep track of how two despicable double-crossers work to double cross each other. The timetable for murdering an ex-girlfriend’s rich husband is developed by an ex-POW played by John Lund. He’s so ticked off that she did not wait for him to marry that he plans to assist in the murder but frame her for its commission. The ease at which he tells lies about himself and his social position are almost unbelievable, but most everyone knows of such a person if they live long enough. She wants the money from the inheritance, and wants to frame Lund’s ex-boyfriend character for the crime. Her love interests are easily swayed by the prospect of wealth, however it is acquired or whoever gets in the way.
The murder plot, the framing plots, and the storyline rely on how and when the characters fly private planes in and out of a private runway to commit the crime. Those movements require the creation of alibis, one of which is how convincing the woman is in feigning engine trouble at another airport with personnel there to establish a counter-timeline. This hero-less story can be a bit complicated, so this is not an episode you just let play in the background and follow along as it goes along. Put your plot concentration headphones on and go along for the flight. Place your seat trays in the upright position and store your carry-on under the seat in front of you.
The title wording is and always was “plane.” Many collectors who just gathered recordings and never listened to the program would “correct” the title to be “plain” in their catalogs and reel contents sheets. The opening scene with Lund’s character in a last statement police interview make the title clear. Spelling it as “p-l-a-n-e” is part of that scene’s dialogue!
What came first? The plotline could easily be achieved no matter what form of transportation is used to execute it. Making private planes the hook for it was an interesting idea. Private aircraft were expensive, and most of the general public had never been on a commercial flight because air travel was considered to be only for “the rich.” That fact would make the attraction and fascination with the story more interesting for listeners who were curious about what flight travel was all about.
One network recording has survived. It is not known to which coast it was broadcast. The program has a 14 second pause to the network ID.
John Lund subbed for the previously announced star Mark Stevens, and the substitution is discussed in the closing comments as the next episode is teased.
This was John Lund’s first appearance on Suspense. When his acting career was beginning, he was in stage productions in New York and had parallel activities in various radio productions as an actor and an announcer, mostly uncredited. Before he moved to Hollywood, he played the lead in the radio serial Chaplain Jim on NBC Blue Network in 1942. That was a “Hummert Factory” serial, so it was likely he was on numerous Hummert shows in that period. No recordings of that series in Lund’s tenure are available. As his career turned from New York to Hollywood and that career grew, he appeared on many movie-related series in promotion of his film roles. On radio, is best known for his time on Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar after Edmond O’Brien left the role. Few classic radio fans are aware of Lund’s early radio experience and assume he was a film actor prior to his radio roles. His career overview is available at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lund_(actor)
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP461010
THE CAST
JOHN LUND (Randy Judson), Cathy Lewis (Marian), Hans Conried (Dunn), Jerry Hausner (Scottie), Bill Johnstone (District Attorney / 2nd Doctor), Joe Kearns (Signature Voice / Doctor)
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