This is Judy Garland’s only performance on Suspense. The episode was strongly promoted and received much listener attention. Her celebrity and fan affection made it one of the most popular Suspense episodes for decades among classic radio program collectors, Garland memorabilia collectors, and other nostalgia aficionados.
The story about a young kidnapped waitress by a homicidal maniac was first performed with Nancy Kelly on 1945-01-11. The script was by Muriel Roy Bolton and adapted by Mel Dinelli. Details of the story and the first performance are at https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/05/1945-01-11-drive-in.html and https://archive.org/details/TSP450111
Garland did not perform on radio often, especially in this kind drama. Her appearance was in gratitude to Kay Thompson who was godparent to Judy’s newborn daughter, Liza. (Ira Gershwin was the other godparent). Garland was 24 at the time of this broadcast. Thompson would be a lifelong friend and was a mentor to Liza Minelli throughout her career.
A rehearsal recording was made of the drama portion of the episode. It is likely that Garland was somewhat uncomfortable with a live radio appearance for a drama like this since she was used to working on movie sets which allowed for re-takes. Therefore, a rehearsal recording was made. This likely made her more comfortable with her upcoming performance and allow for some revisions to the script and adjustments to the portrayal to be made. It sounds like it may have been recorded on some dictation equipment, but it could be the result of a poorly stored disc.
The recording was downloaded from a Judy Garland fan site, “The Judy Room,” which is highly recommended. https://www.thejudyroom.com/media/judy-sings-on-the-radio/ The rehearsal recording has been processed for clarity but is still low quality. The result is “less bad.” There are some changes in dialogue compared to the broadcast. (Hat tip: performer, researcher, and classic radio fan Patte Rosebank).
Only one network recording has survived. It is not known to which coast it was broadcast. The broadcast goes directly to network ID (“dirID”).
For an unknown reason, Elliott Lewis appears as “Raymond E. Lewis.” This may have been done to ensure that Garland had the publicity spotlight to herself.
In the closing announcements, Alfred Hitchcock is mentioned as upcoming guest; he never appears. Olivia de Havilland is also mentioned as an upcoming guest, but she did not appear. Her 1944 appearance was her sole Suspense performance.
There is an overview of Garland’s career and the struggles of her complex life at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judy_Garland
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP461121
THE CAST
JUDY GARLAND (Mildred), Cathy Lewis (Ruth), Elliott Lewis (The Man, alias Dr. Morgan), Bill Johnstone (Highway Patrol cop), Joe Kearns (Signature Voice / Rene), Peggy Rea? (Rene’s assistant)
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