1947-05-01 Lady in Distress

This episode stars Ava Gardner as a woman who picks up a hitch-hiker and his bag full of storyline coincidences. This story is packed with many “just so happens” details that keep unfolding and unfolding and end up straining our common sense. Yet, it is interesting after a while. A police officer’s wife picks up a hitch-hiker who has just escaped from prison. We soon learn that her husband was the officer who put him there. The criminal wants his revenge and plans to kill him by placing a car-ignition bomb while the vehicle sits idle in its garage. It turns out that she doesn’t really like her husband, and thinks the ignition bomb idea might be workable. All this… and more… in about 24 minutes of drama! There’s much to dislike about the story, but it is Suspense and it is better than most series, and this episode has a prize inside.

The story was by John Michael Hayes. He was at the beginning of his screenwriting career and supporting himself with radio writing. Among the other series that used his work were Sam Spade, Inner Sanctum, My Favorite Husband, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar among others. He would make it big in some of Hitchcock’s successful mid-1950s movies. Those included Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, The Trouble with Harry, and The Man Who Knew Too Much. A dispute over screen credit led to his break-up with Hitchcock. He had a long and successful career that also included the screenplay for the movie Peyton Place (1957).

The east and west broadcasts have survived. The east broadcast includes a tease to stay tuned for The FBI in Peace and War. The west broadcast includes a closing ad for Cresta Blanca wine. The opening of the west broadcast is slightly clipped by about 8 seconds. The west broadcast is the better of the two despite missing the few seconds at the beginning.

But that’s not the backstory of interest...

This was Ava Gardner’s only Suspense appearance, but the episode might be better known for the cameo visit of Orson Welles! It occurs just before the 15:00 mark in the episode. Welles was recently separated from Rita Hayworth and had filed for divorce. She was divorced from Artie Shaw in 1946. Researcher John Scheinfeld had an interview with William Spier that offered perspective on Welles’ unplanned appearance. It was reported differently in the press, and this is how it was reported in Variety 1947-05-02:

Incidentally, that was Orson's dreamy voice you heard as the gas station attendant on Bill Spier’s Suspense airshow yesterday. He took over the one-line part to startle Ava Gardner, who was the guest star on the show. The gag backfired because Spier tipped Ava off and she retorted with “Who do you think you are, Orson Welles?”

The story, as best as can be pieced together from the Scheinfeld interview and other sources is that Gardner came to the KNX complex on time, but had unexpectedly brought a “date,” Orson Welles. William Spier and Welles were very close friends and admired each other greatly. Spier hired Welles for March of Time when he was starting out, and Welles was always grateful. Spier was appreciative of what Welles did to help establish the Suspense franchise. The final time he appeared on Suspense was in the popular and ground-breaking Donovan’s Brain two-part episode.

Spier sent word down that Welles should come up to the studio. Spier decided to write in a few lines for Welles since he would be there all afternoon and for the east and west performances. The lines were for a gas station attendant!

The Variety report and the Spier interview are different. CBS publicity would often try to make things “more interesting” than they actually were. But the possibility of an inside joke with Ava mentioning his name could very well have occurred. Gardner's line might have been ad libbed, but it is unlikely because it was her first appearance on the show. Knowing Spier, he may have given her the line but not told Orson. It was a joke enjoyed in the studio for the east broadcast, when it was a surprise, and repeated for the west broadcast. No one in the listening audience was wise to Welles appearance but regular listeners may have wondered if something was up once they heard a familiar voice.

The cameo clip alone is on the same page as the full program recordings. The clip is drawn from the west recording and lasts 19 seconds.

The American Federation of Radio Artists (AFRA) payroll report lists Welles with the other cast members. “Re-broadcast” refers to the west performance of the program. (Special thank you to the Thousand Oaks Library for their documentation about this episode).

Some newspaper reports suggest that Welles made the cameo appearance because he lost a bet with Spier. The interview with Spier does not report that. The two likely made friendly bets with each other. This was common among friends in the day, and usually involved only small sums of money or dinner.

Ava Gardner had great success in the movies but had many ups and downs in her private life. Many of those were not so private. An overview of her life and career is at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ava_Gardner

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP470501

THE CAST

AVA GARDNER (Evelyn Harris), Howard Duff (Sullivan), Wally Maher (Ralph Harris), Frank Albertson (Diner Man), Ted Reid [Elliott Reid] (Motorcycle cop), Joe Kearns (Signature Voice / Sergeant Thompson), Lurene Tuttle (Operator), Orson Welles (Gas station mechanic)

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1947-04-24 Win, Place and Murder

Richard Conte makes his second and final appearance on Suspense. He plays a detective with a gambling problem. That’s funny: last time he was on Suspense that story involved the consequences of gambling as he played a boxer whose manager had such an itch.

Conte’s character has his office across the hall from a woman detective in her own practice. There’s a bit of Moonlighting (sorry for the TV reference) interplay between them throughout. He calls his bookie and finds out that he’s dead. The bookie’s collection man comes to his office and wants to find the shooter of his boss, another gangster in town. It just so happens that man is across the hall in the her office! Uh-oh. The script is a lot of fun with funny gangster and gambler dialogue, and the talking is at a more rapid pace than most episodes. So pay attention!

The program has similarities in timing and style as The Walls Came Tumbling Down and the recent Three Faces at Midnight. If you enjoyed those, you will enjoy this.

Inside joke? One of the gangsters has a last name of “Ferrago.” The word “farago” is something that is disorganized and messy. The gangsters in the story certainly do seem to be involved in disorganized crime.

Conte may be remembered by movie and Jimmy Stewart fans as the person Stewart newspaper character frees from prison in Call Northside 777. Years later, his role in The Godfather as mob boss Don Barzini won many accolades. He had a long and successful career as noted in an earlier post.

The story is by Emile Tepperman, whose radio career is better known for Inner Sanctum. There’s more to his story. He was a prolific writer for the pulps in the 1930s for titles such as The Spider, Operator #5, Secret Agent “X”, and others. He also wrote under some pulp publisher “house names,” including short stories as “Kenneth Robeson.”

What’s a little more interesting is that the story was adapted by 29-year-old Richard Breen. This is the first of two adaptations by him. He received an Oscar nomination for his screenplay for the 1948 film A Foreign Affair and won a screenplay Oscar for the 1953 Titanic. He must have developed a relationship with Jack Webb because they worked together often. He wrote the screenplay for the 1955 film Pete Kelly’s Blues and on film versions of the Dragnet television series in the 1960s. For more information on Breen’s career, go to Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_L._Breen

The working titles of this episode were “Win, Place, and Death” and “Win, Place, or Murder.” The punctuation of the title is in question, but there is no copy of the script to settle the issue. The KNX Collection list of scripts has “Win, Place & Murder” with an ampersand. We do not have access to that script at this time. There is no copy of the script in the Spier-Havoc papers. Newspapers used “Win, Place and Murder.” The other question is of its punctuation. Over the years, sentiments about commas have changed over the decades. There is good reason to suggest that the correct title should have a comma after “place” rather than what they seemed to select.

Both east and west recordings have survived. The east recording includes the tease to stay tuned for The FBI in Peace and War. The west recording is the better of the two.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP470424

THE CAST

RICHARD CONTE (Chris Draper), Cathy Lewis (Laura Lee), Wally Maher (Mike Farrago), Hans Conried (Pilsen), Sidney Miller (Lieutenant Herbie Knapp), Dick Ryan (Policeman), Joe Kearns (Signature Voice), unknown (Receptionist), unknown (Pilsen’s secretary)

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1947-04-17 Green Eyed Monster

Lloyd Nolan is back on Suspense. It’s another murderous marriage episode. He’s cheating on his wife. His wife’s body is found in the trunk of his stolen and now-wrecked car. She was stabbed, in a pattern following recent “Jack the Ripper” murders in the area. The villain who still eludes the police. He waits for some time to pass and now he can freely marry his girlfriend. She thinks it might be him... and he admits it! She actually acts that his committing murder to marry her all the more enticing. One of the reasons he gets away with the murder was that he had no insurance on her. But now, he has insurance on the second wife. She starts disappearing visiting “girlfriends” and her absence and possible motives drives him crazy. Is she having an affair? He decides to hide in her car’s trunk to find out where she’s been going. Uh-oh… she’s the “Ripper”! Now what? Two murderers are married to each other!

The story was by Elliott Lewis and Robert L. Richards. Nolan performs better here than he did in Murder for Myra.

Two network recordings have survived. The west coast (“WC”) recording has a one second pause to network ID. The east coast recording (“EC”) has a three second pause. The WC recording is the better of the two. Both broadcasts end as they are running short of time and rushing the closing announcements. If there was a planned tease for The FBI in Peace and War in the east broadcast script, it was scratched because of time.

At about the 1:00 minute mark of the east broadcast, Nolan slurs the word “sleep” in the very first words of the performance. That marker may be helpful in identifying the source of an Armed Forces Radio Service recording should one be found.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP470417

THE CAST

LLOYD NOLAN (Michael Dawson), Cathy Lewis (Judy Dawson), Wally Maher (Tommy Castle), Joe Kearns (Signature Voice / Sergeant O’Connor), unknown (Ethel)

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1947-04-10 Community Property

NOTE: At the end of this blogpost is important information about the backstory of the Roma sponsorship and the Peabody Award. The week after this broadcast was a very busy one in Suspense history.

The lesson of this Suspense episode is to get some legal advice before you plan a nefarious and deadly act. You might save yourself a lot of trouble... and avoid having a Death Row mailing address.

Kirk Douglas plays a greedy nephew who wants to inherit his sick uncle’s estate. He decides to give his wife the cold shoulder hoping she’ll leave before the uncle dies and leaves him $50,000 ($700,000 in US$2023). He has no desire to be splitting the fortune with her. His bad behavior and insults intimidate his wife into agreeing to divorce. His greedy plan is starting to work.

At a visit to his uncle, Douglas’ character discovers that half of his uncle’s estate will be going to his alma mater, Weymouth College, but the remainder for him is $500,000 (that’s almost $7 million, ten times what he thought!). The uncle dies before he can get his wife to leave and start the divorce process. (There is a Weymouth College in the UK, but it was wholly fictional in this story because it was not founded until 1985.)

He decides to “bump off” his wife to make certain the inheritance can’t be shared. He decides to poison her. The key to the nefarious act in the story may be easy to miss because they are mentioned quickly and later in the story than usual. In many Suspense episodes (and other crime stories) the eventual means of the crime are established early. These are the approximate times of story elements in case you miss them. This list is a spoiler alert.

• 11:30 The doctor sees Douglas’ character at his uncle’s bedside and gives him the prescription for sedatives to help his wife sleep.

• 14:40 The husband suddenly remembers the prescription in his pocket, and drops it off at a pharmacy counter before he uses their pay phone to call his lawyer.

• 15:15 He speaks to his lawyer but cuts him off before the lawyer can provide a key point about community property law that would make murdering his wife wrong (which it is, whether there is a community property law or not) from an estate law perspective (key spoiler alert: inheritance is not part of community property as stated in the story; if this was an episode of The Whistler you can imagine this as the punch line for the “strange ending of tonight’s story”)

• 16:50 He arrives home to start pretending a reconciliation with his wife and to end their path to divorce; this is his ruse to keep his inheritance by making it easier to win her cooperation in his plan and eliminating any suspicions

• 20:05 He explains in monologue that he has gradually hidden narcotics away to poison his wife; he will have her overdose by mixing them into her usual bedtime cup of warm milk that usually helps her sleep. Where did they come from? It’s easy to assume he’s been skimming them from her past prescriptions, but it’s stated directly that he got them from another source. It’s not mentioned from where? He’s such an immoral heel that it could have been from anywhere and likely illegal.

• 22:35 He calls doctor to report her death. The doctor tells him to call the police. What does the know that listeners don't know yet?

• 24:00 The medical examiner at the scene says her pill bottle was empty.

• 24:35 The doctor explains he was worried about her dependence on sleeping aids, and that the prescription filled at the pharmacy was for sugar pills! This means the husband poured out the prescription and left the empty bottle on the nightstand. Not realizing it was a placebo, that act further implicates him in the crime.

He should have Googled community property laws before he acted… oh, that’s right… there was no Google until fifty years later. The moral of the story is “don’t hang up on your lawyer… it could cost your life!”

Do pharmacists dispense placebos today? Not directly. They will suggest a homeopathic product or a vitamin as “helping” a patient’s condition but being benign and ineffective. Placebos are used in clinical trials for new medicines, but rarely any other time. There has also been a great effort to give pharmaceuticals in pill format distinctive shapes and colors. At the time of this broadcast, many medicines looked alike, and it was often important for placebos to do so. The wife would have noticed different pills in the container had she looked at them, today, but back then they may have looked similar. Many of the story’s key details are implausible if not impossible today, but might have been more plausible then. The authors would have figured out some other angle. Greed and evil in stories have a way of making alternative plans, and writers always find them.

Earlier than usual in the broadcast is the “mid-show” Roma commercial. It’s just after the 5:00 mark.

The authors of the script were Arthur Julian and Howard Leeds. It was adapted by Robert L. Richards. Julian and Leeds wrote for the radio series Beulah. Julian’s writing career took off with television, eventually writing for such series as F Troop, Hogan’s Heroes, Carol Burnett, Maude, and many others. He was also a producer and an occasional actor. Leeds was a writer for television in the 1950s for Red Skelton and George Gobel. He was also a writer for My Three Sons, Bewitched, Bachelor Father, and others. His career shifted to the producer side, with writing and production credits for The Brady Bunch and production credits for The Facts of Life, and Silver Spoons.

Both the east and west coast broadcasts have survived. The east coast recording includes the tease that listeners should stay tuned for The FBI in Peace and War. The east broadcast has better sound quality.

This is the first appearance of Kirk Douglas on the series, and his performance was excellent. His first movie appearance was a year earlier in the 1946 The Strange Love of Martha Ivers to rave reviews. He was considered to be one of the bright new Hollywood stars at the time of this broadcast. He was not on radio often, but was on Suspense additional times, as well as movie-related radio series. His long, successful, and influential career is summarized at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirk_Douglas

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP470410

THE CAST

KIRK DOUGLAS (George Mason), Cathy Lewis (Lois Mason / Receptionist), Wally Maher (Dr. Alex Thorpe), Joe Kearns (Signature Voice / Uncle Bert), John McIntire (Bernard), Howard McNear (Officer Farley), Paul Frees (Judson / Druggist), Junius Matthews (John the Medical Examiner)

* * *

A turning point in the series occurs in the week before the next broadcast. Suspense receives a Peabody Award for 1946. The Award was announced on 1947-04-15. The drama award went to Columbia Workshop. Suspense and The Henry Morgan Show were runners up.

The Suspense honorable mention read as follows:

Has the war made Americans blood thirsty for crime and detection? How otherwise can we explain the ever-increasing number of mystery dramas which flood the air? The committee believes that there are too many whodunits for the good of radio; it also believes that in this overworked and melodramatic field there is one program which, for its casting, its music and its suspense, is head and shoulders above the competition. A special citation therefore to Suspense of CBS and to William Spier, its producer and director.

Not everyone was so thrilled. A week later, radio critic Magee Adams, in the 1947-04-24 Cincinnati Enquirer agreed that Suspense had high quality productions and what the Peabody Award judges noted was correct. Adams, however, was concerned about the effect of the program and other crime programs on younger listeners. He believed the judges should have acted to make this very point. He wrote:

Its material usually goes in tor morbid horror and callous brutality, not to mention characters who are psychopathic cases. In these respects it is not the worst on the air. But it receives more than its share of unfavorable attention because of its early hour and the youthful audience. It is unfortunate that this was not taken into consideration by the Peabody Award judges. They had no opportunity to emphasize that, these days, there is something more important than technique in “whodunits.” An award for a more desirable type of mystery show might have served the purpose of constructive criticism.

The Peabody Award and the status of Roma’s sponsorship were intertwined. The 1947-04-16 edition of Variety announced that Roma Wine was cancelling its sponsorship as of 1947-05-22. Because of the lag in time of publishing, it is likely that Variety knew of the Roma situation before the Peabody news was released.

Roma signed up for a summer extension, supposedly 10 minutes before the deadline, in early May. It is possible that the Biow ad agency, which “owned” Suspense, may have had a new sponsor waiting in the wings. Roma was cutting all of its advertising expenditures because of the steep decline in wine industry sales. It is likely some accommodations were made in the renewal. Roma would end its sponsorship in November 1947.

Three Suspense episodes were elements of the Peabody judges decision. Dead Ernest was one of them. There is no research indicating what the other two episodes were at this time.

###

1947-04-03 The Swift Rise of Eddie Albright

Phil Silvers stars in an amusing broadcast as as a hotel elevator operator who has a crush on a manicurist who works there. Eddie does his best to puff himself up as an important person with a big job. She spurns his obvious interest when she learns he is just elevator operator #23. He goes about his day in the elevator when two thugs bring a rolled up carpet into it… and it has feet sticking out of an end.... and he is ordered to go down to the hotel basement. He’s now mixed up in a gangster hit as they tell him to keep quiet! On another trip, an escaped gang leader (played by Frank Lovejoy) is in his elevator. He tries to bribe Eddie for $100 (almost $1400 today!) to look the other way as he goes up to the penthouse where a gangster resides, who turns out to be the man rolled in the carpet. Along the way. there is a touching moment that sets up the conclusion of the story as the gangster offers some romantic advice to Eddie. It seems his troubles started years ago when he tried to impress a girlfriend with his criminal ways. Lovejoy’s character has shootout with the two thugs, killing them, but is shot himself. Eddie falls to the floor until the shooting was over. Eddie checks if it’s safe to get up and picks up a gun. When police arrive Eddie tells the police that he overpowered the gangster. In his last words, Lovejoy’s character tells police that Eddie was brave in the event. Those final words were a redeeming generous act to help Eddie win the heart of the manicurist. She’s impressed now that he has been appointed personal assistant of the hotel owner for acts in thwarting the gangsters. We learn at the end that Eddie fessed up to her about what happened… and now they’re married. (It’s a happy ending… save spoiler alerts for bad stuff).

A running gag in the story is the pronunciation of the word “phony.”

The script was by Roy Grandey and Robert L. Richards.

Elevator operators in office buildings and hotels are mostly gone. At the time of the broadcast, elevators were still complex mechanical equipment and it required some skill to make sure they operated properly and riders were safely able to exit to their correct floor. In big cities, the positions were often under labor union contracts. It was not until 1950 that the first completely automated elevator was introduced.

Dennis Day was the originally planned guest star. The original title of the script was “The Rapid Rise of Eddie Albright.”

This script was also produced on Philip Morris Playhouse under the title “Going Down, Please” and was broadcast on 1949-01-18. It starred Donald O’Connor. No recording of the program has been found.

 East and west broadcasts have survived. The east broadcast includes the tease to stay tuned for The FBI in Peace and War. Both recordings have similar sound; the east coast one is slightly better.

This was Phil Silvers only appearance on Suspense. Silvers was not on radio often, and when he was it was usually in variety shows as himself. He was an early television star with the military comedy Sgt. Bilko (also known as The Phil Silvers Show). His balding head a black rimmed glasses gave him a distinctive look. Combined with his notable fast-talking pattern of speech (but still being likeable), he became one of television’s most recognizable comedians. He also had great success on Broadway in comedies. An overview of his career is at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Silvers Silvers worked regularly from the late 1930s to the early 1980s in stage, screen, and especially television.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP470403

THE CAST

PHIL SILVERS (Eddie Albright), Cathy Lewis (Millie O’Malley / Miss Wainwright), Frank Lovejoy (Frankie Maddox, alias Mason), Wally Maher (Police Lieutenant / Old man), Joe Kearns (Signature Voice / Mr. Garvey), Elliott Reid (Alex Henderson), Jerry Hausner (First hitman), Harry Lang (Second hitman)

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1947-03-13 You Take Ballistics

Howard da Silva stars in a police drama by Cornell Woolrich and adapted by Robert L. Richards. The Woolrich story was published in 1938 and focuses on the dramatic tension between gut-feel detective work and new scientific methods. The ballistics report says one thing, but the lead detective thinks another. The story has a slight Dragnet feel, which makes it strange to hear Jack Webb as the criminal. Dragnet would not initiate its legendary run on radio until 1949.

Truman Bradley returns as Roma spokesman. It is so curious how Ken Niles and Bradley read essentially the same ad copy, but the style of pronunciation, emphasis, and pace can be so very different.

East and west network recordings have survived. The east recording is marked by the tease to continue listening for The FBI in Peace and War. The Armed Forces Radio Service recording is derived from the east broadcast. Times are approximate:

• EC 2:03 and AFRS 1:18 “Uh... Got a match?... Huh? Match? Huh...here”

• WC 2:03 “Hey, look, eh... You got a match?.. Huh? Oh, yeah, sure, here.”

The west coast recording is better than the east, but they are somewhat close in quality. The AFRS recording is in poor sound quality.

According to Darryl Shelton, Da Silva replaced Jimmy Stewart, originally scheduled for the lead. Stewart had been teased as an upcoming guest for a few weeks, but would not be on Suspense again until 1949. Stewart’s schedule may have been affected by the performance of It’s a Wonderful Life on Lux Radio Theater a few nights before. No documentation has been found at this time that Stewart was originally planned for this episode.

At the end of the program, the tease for next week’s episode is The Waxwork, featuring Claude Rains. This was the script originally intended for Alfred Hitchcock. That obviously did not work out. If logistics posed a problem or if it was realized that Hitchcock was not able to perform in the desired manner is not known. The network broadcasts with Rains and missing, and no AFRS recording has been found.

The episode after that is still missing, as well. That is Trial by Jury with Nancy Kelly. Both of the missing episodes were performed again in the 1950s.

In 1948, this You Take Ballistics script was altered to feature a Scotland Yard detective as an audition program for a proposed series “The Hunters.” It would become the CBS series Pursuit which ran at various times from 1949 to 1952.

This is Howard da Silva’s only Suspense appearance. Da Silva came to prominence as a Broadway actor and had a successful movie career. He was caught up in the Hollywood Blacklist and its weight resulted in little radio or television work in the 1950s. His career and his difficulties are summarized at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_da_Silva

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP470313

THE CAST

HOWARD DA SILVA (Lt. Ed Harvey), Jack Webb (Clarence Coleman), Will Wright (Captain Leffinger), Jerry Hausner (Detective Cass), Joe Kearns (Signature Voice / Truehoff), Jack Kruschen (Elevator operator)

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1947-03-06 Elwood

Comedian Eddie Bracken is in a cast-against-type role as an envious young man who kills out of vengeance against memories of harsh treatment of a now absent stepfather and the loss of his biological father at a young age. It’s a psychological drama. It must be, because he’s still friends with a psychology teacher at his former high school. He keeps souvenirs of his murders, trinkets kept or worn that he saw the person have out of sentimentality for happy events or relationships. He had none of those, and there was only one way he could get them. The town murders are blamed on a strange old solitary man who lives on the outskirts in town, whom Elwood had befriended. Displeased with that misplaced blame, and knowing that a vigilante group may kill that innocent man, Elwood finally admits to the crimes. This is an uncomfortable drama because you sense what’s coming because you know the killer but you’re not sure when and how others will finally wise up. Bracken delivers an excellent performance. The story is by Robert L. Richards.

 The term “serial killer” was not used until the mid-1970s and possibly the mid-1980s depending on context. This episode would qualify Elwood as such. The story could be considered similar to a plotline one might find on an episode of the recent CBS television series Criminal Minds.

William Spier is away from the studio, ordered to rest because of another heart attack or indications of such. Suspense creator Charles Vanda steps in and is uncredited. That fact eventually grates on their relationship. When Vanda stepped in for Summer Storm he did get credit, likely of his own doing, and it did not go over well. The blogpost for that episode with more details is at https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/06/1945-10-18-summer-storm.html

This is the final appearance of Ken Niles as announcer. Truman Bradley returns in the next episode, and served until the end of the Roma sponsorship. Research shows no specific reason behind Niles entry and exit, as both Bradley and Niles were both busy all of the time on other shows and film narration. It is possible that Niles was brought on to change the voice of the sponsor. (You can catch Niles in an uncredited acting role as a dentist in the 1951 movie The Fat Man; this link goes directly to the scene https://youtu.be/fxw4l3CCbPw?si=RSD04-LivOU7ZMrU&t=825).

The Darryl Shelton Suspense book indicates that Bracken may have substituted for Mickey Rooney. If so, that decision was made well in advance of the episode’s publicity. There are no mentions in newspapers or other publications about Rooney in this part.

There are three network recordings that have survived, east and west, and an aircheck of the west. The east recording has the network ID without the Suspense theme in the background. The west recording has the network ID over the theme.

The west coast recording is the best of the three. The west coast aircheck had a low volume high frequency whistle in the background that has been removed, but the underlying recording is not as good as the other west recording. None of the three recordings are “bad.”

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP470306

THE CAST

EDDIE BRACKEN (Elwood), Cathy Lewis (Miss Wilson), Joe Kearns (Signature Voice / Sheriff), Wally Maher (Old man), John McIntire (Krantz), unknown (Elwood’s Mother), Betty Moran (Winifred Hawkes), Elliott Reid (Dick Wilson), Earl Keen? (Bismark the dog)

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1947-02-27 Three Faces at Midnight

This amusing story about blackmail, a politician, and gangsters stars William Bendix. It is very entertaining. Newspapers had promos about how serious this part would be, but it’s not. It’s more serious than Life of Riley, it has serious moments, but there are many light moments in the dialogue as the story progresses.

The script author is John Eugene Hasty, sometimes credited as “J.E. Hasty” or “John E. Hasty” or “John Hasty.” He wrote short stories in his youth and then became an expert advertising copy writer. His involvement in radio began early in the medium, led into it by his ad agency work. He wrote scripts for programs the agency clients were sponsoring. He became the writer for the syndicated “Eb & Zeb” in the early 1930s and became a writer for comedian Al Pearce. Hasty worked for ad agencies often in his career and submitted short stories to detective magazines in the 1950s. The script was adapted by Robert L. Richards

Newspaper clippings have this show title as “Three Faces At...” and “For” and “To.” Newspaper editors probably figured “for” and “to” were typographical error, but it was actually part of a code or password (or more accurately “passphrase”) for identification in the scheme featured in the story. Even Suspense couldn’t be consistent about it. Kearns announces the title in the beginning with “at.” In the story, the passphrase has “for.”

The east and west broadcasts have an interesting difference that make it clear why they are important to the history of the series and to the acting craft. In this case, a problem at the sound effects tables show the versatility and emergency wisdom of Hans Conried. CBS issued a release about sound effects mishaps and specifically used this episode as an example (and, they used the “for” in the title, but that’s a different issue). Two different effect guns did not fire; this tells us that the effects artists had a backup and sometimes a backup of a backup! What should actors do when there are problems? Some might freeze up. But Conried saw what was happening. No one listening at home could suspect that there was panic at the studio and that Conried’s cool head was prevailing.

In the east coast version the gun misfires at about 16:45 when Wally Maher’s character shoots Conried’s character. The gun "click" without firing is not audible to us but it’s clear that Conried plays for time and draws out his begging and pleading. He starts to trail off a bit just before the gun finally fires. It’s only a few seconds, but now that we know what was happening it must have seemed a lot longer that that for those involved. In the west coast broadcast at about 16:50, the gun fires on cue. Conried's pleading builds to a quick crescendo, as scripted, and the shot is fired.

You can hear the difference in the two scenes without listening to the entire programs. A brief recording of the east and west two segments can be downloaded with the program files. It starts with the east excerpt, then Kearns “Suspense!” has been added to make the separation of the broadcasts clear, then when the west excerpt begins. It is easy to understand why Conried was a favorite among producers and directors and was held in very high regard by his peers.

Both east and west network recordings have survived. The east recording includes the tease to stay tuned for The FBI in Peace and War and the west does not. The west coast recording is the better of the two.

Inflation is in the news, and it’s mentioned very early in the Bendix dialogue. It was running at 20% for about a year at this point. Thankfully it did not last.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP470227

THE CAST

WILLIAM BENDIX (Sylvester “Muscles” Walters), Sandra Gould (Helen), Wally Maher (Tim O’Mara, alias Whiting), Hans Conried (Pete the contact man), Joe Kearns (Signature Voice / Jerry the cop), Ken Christy (Mac the first detective), Jack Webb (Harry the second detective / Newsboy), Jerry Hausner (Landlord / Sam)

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1947-02-20 Always Room at the Top

This episode is entertaining for its nasty self-absorbed characters who are pitted against each other in an implausible plot. The impossible starts early: Baxter’s character insists on soliciting the job of someone who just committed suicide an hour (or whatever) before. This is a signal to listeners to just let things go and get ready for more unlikely things to be coming their way. It’s still a fun listen, but just accept what happens and move on.

We learn the details of an attempted insurance fraud, for that we must suspend some common sense (that’s not the kind of “suspense” we’re looking for). The perpetrators found an innocent ex-employee woman to murder by pushing her out the window. She’s dressed as the boss’ girlfriend and with the identification and personal items that the ruse needed to cover up an embezzlement and various other malfeasances. Someone wouldn’t have noticed these things along the line? Surely some evidence counter to their cover story would come together. Part of the fun of the story is to learn how they tried to make it convincing. It’s an interesting story if you let the finer details go.

This is one of the odder Suspense broadcasts:

• Blogger Christine Miller called it a “bizarre episode.” https://www.escape-suspense.com/2007/06/always_room_at_.html

• Oldtimeradioreview.com said “even though the episode is utterly absurd, it is also immensely entertaining.” http://www.oldtimeradioreview.com/suspense---a2.html

Eleanor Beeson is the scripter; she also wrote the 1945-07-05 The Last Detail. That, too, needed a little leeway to get the most enjoyment out of the story. The performances are better than the script. Robert Richards adapted the script (or tried to make it better).

Both east and west network recordings have survived. They are practically equivalent in sound quality. The east broadcast teases the latest issue of Suspense Magazine and then urges listeners to stay tuned for The FBI in Peace and War. The west coast only teases Suspense Magazine.

This episode became a photoplay feature in the September 1947 edition of Radio Mirror. A PDF of that article can be downloaded with the audio files. Please note the comments about that feature below, after the episode’s cast information.

This is Anne Baxter’s first appearance on Suspense. She had a fifty year career in stage, screen, television, and radio. Baxter won an Oscar for her supporting role in the 1946 The Razor’s Edge. Her long career is summarized at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Baxter Her radio appearances were mainly on movie-related series such as Lux Radio Theatre.

During the closing Roma promo, Baxter gets the basket of Roma Wine and asks which one is best with baked beans. That is a reminder of the kinds of meals that were had during the scarcity and rationing of foods during wartime. Bean casserole was a common Great Depression and wartime meal. Roma sales were not going well, and the return to pre-War availability of foods was one of the reasons why wine sales were down. Family budgets may have been the same, but there were more foods to spread it around and they had to be careful with their spending. From March 1946 to March 1947, the US inflation rate was a whopping 20%. From February 1946 to August 1948, food prices increased 55.2%. https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2014/article/one-hundred-years-of-price-change-the-consumer-price-index-and-the-american-inflation-experience.htm It is pretty clear how, in just that short period of time, market dynamics could shift wine from a beverage that made the meager meals of scarcity better or more tolerable to being become a luxury as meats and other foodstuffs began to re-appear in family meals.

It’s clear that Roma is struggling with its marketing message. The company is flailing about with messages about how wine is less expensive than believed and how wine can raise stature and enjoyability of basic meals. Wine is a step toward the comforts of better living but was easy on the budget. In wartime, the message was more straightforward. This means that executives are having trouble figuring out how to clearly express the benefits of their product in a manner that fits with the changing consumption patterns of consumers and the economic pressures that are changing their purchase preferences. It’s understandable that they would rather find a way to flail about for less money than Suspense.

Remember, Roma was purchased in 1943 and the new ownership were likely coming to the realization that they overpaid for the company and could not achieve the revenue levels needed to have their acquisition reach their forecasted and desired profitability. Suspense and Hollywood was going to be their means to do grow the business to pay for the financing of their acquisition, and it was not working out. Years later, Suspense would lose the Auto-Lite sponsorship when that company had to cope with the effects of economic recession and changing distribution strategies of their industry.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP470220

THE CAST

ANNE BAXTER (Helen Brandt), Cathy Lewis (Marie Harris), Wally Maher (Bill Farrell), Mary Jane Croft (Jean Thornton), Joe Kearns (Signature Voice / Charlie), Jack Webb (Policeman / Reporter), Paul Frees (2nd Policeman), unknown (Receptionist)

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This episode became a photoplay feature of the September 1947 issue of Radio Mirror. The introductory paragraph states the cast as follows:

SUSPENSE has a large and avid number of listeners would not under any circumstances miss a single program, for it creates in those who listen exactly the sensation which the title implies. It stands far above the average mystery program in story, in direction, in acting. The actors who play the parts in Suspense each week are top Hollywood radio stars who form the Suspense stock company. Here, as on the air, Helen Brandt is played by Cathy Lewis; Jean Thornton is Dolores Crane; Lurene Tuttle is the secretary, Marie Harris; Elliot Lewis (he's Cathy's husband) is Bill Farrel and the two reporters are Wallace Maher and Joe Kearns.

This information is incorrect, obviously. The September publication date means that the issue was on newsstands in late August. That means that the photos for the story were probably taken in April or May, based on typical print publication editorial and production processes in those years. The original cast would have been difficult to re-assemble for a photo shoot, and likely expensive to do so. It was cheaper and easier to assemble members of the regular ensemble cast than call Anne Baxter and others back. This was the original cast of characters and players.

• Helen Brandt: Anne Baxter

• Jean Thornton: Mary Jane Croft

• Marie Harris: Cathy Lewis

• Charlie, elevator man: Joe Kearns

• Bill Farrel: Wally Maher

• Policeman: Jack Webb (double)

• Reporter #1: Jack Webb (double)

• Reporter #2: Paul Frees

The actors in the Radio Mirror photostory were different. They eliminated the police officers and just had reporters. Perhaps they did not have access to police costume uniforms for the shoot! They changed the actors to the usual and available ensemble players at CBS.

• Helen Brandt: Cathy Lewis

• Jean Thornton: Dolores Crane

• Marie Harris: Lurene Tuttle

• Charlie, elevator man: No such character

• Bill Farrel: Elliott Lewis

• Policeman: No such character

• Reporter #1: Wally Maher

• Reporter #2: Joe Kearns

Note the inclusion of Dolores Crane. She had not made a documented appearance on Suspense yet, though she would, months later. Wally Maher was “demoted” to being a reporter, while Elliott Lewis is “promoted” to a key role in the story, though he was not in the broadcast.

Was Radio Mirror “lying” to its readers? The magazines usually worked with the information the publicity departments gave them and nothing more. This was not an investigative journalism piece, but a fluff promo piece for a series they knew their listeners loved. They did not ask questions. Adding the actual cast facts to the story might have been considered confusing for such a light piece.

The readers did not have access to the program recording, but we do. We can enjoy the recording again and again and discern the differences between that and this photoplay. Readers could not. For those who heard the program and read about it months later in the magazine, the actual cast would have been a faint memory.

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1947-02-13 The Thirteenth Sound

This is definitely not one of Suspense’s better broadcasts, but it is special for Suspense history. A radio critic of the day documented what a Suspense broadcast was like. He offers us, more than 75 years later, a wonderful glimpse into what went into this very broadcast featuring one of its favorite guest stars. He describes William Spier’s interaction with the cast and the staff, as well as the scene. It may be worth reading his account prior to listening to the broadcast.

Cathy & Elliott Lewis offer this script about a sound that stirs the guilt of a murderess into admitting to killing her husband. A similar plot device of sound driving one to madness was 1945’s Fury and Sound. In that episode, the sound of a heartbeat was amplified to drive an annoying radio producer crazy. In this instance, the sounds of nails against a blackboard grates against the guilty mind of the evil woman like nails against a bla… oh… you know what I mean. To skip ahead, the avaricious woman is preoccupied about her social status. Her plot against her husband was to stop him from what might be called his desire for “status downsizing.” She won’t have any of that, and arranges an accident where he will fall from a suitable height after hanging outside a home from a window. That way, she gets all his assets. After all, one can live more extravagantly than two.

That grating of his fingernails haunts her. She remembers it so vividly. What is “The Thirteenth Sound”? It is the name of an avant garde music piece that has a section that sounds like “nails against a bla…” You get the idea. The police investigate the husband’s death and reconstruct the incident with her including the sound of “nails against a bla…” Okay, we get it. She hears the noise again and confesses. No spoiler alert. We could all see this coming. There was nothing to spoil. This is what we expect from Haunting Hour or Murder at Midnight and not Suspense. It’s surprising that the script was actually presented again.

This is not one of Agnes Moorehead’s most memorable performances, even if she was excellent in it. She likely performs better than other radio actors would, but the nature of the script does not allow for a higher level memorable broadcast.

One amusing moment that could have been “challenging” was her audible gasp of feigned surprise and whispered gratitude when she accepts the gift of a basket of Roma Wines from Ken Niles. Do we really think that the wealthiest of Hollywood Suspense guest stars were serving Roma Wines at their most important meals? It is funny to hear it as she has a “is this forrr… meeeee….?” moment. The west coast moment may be a bit more dramatic.

This is a good time to underscore the fact that the classic radio recordings we hear as collectors and fans are much better than when they were heard over AM radio at the time of their airing. Listeners at home or in cars were subject to station drift, background noise, electrical interference, narrow audio range, and other factors. They may not have heard Moorehead’s feigned gasp like we can hear it today. (I wonder if they were holding back laughs in the studio when she did it).

Allen Rich, radio critic of the North Hollywood Valley Times was in the studio for the rehearsal and the broadcast. He reported the goings-on in his column five days later. An image of the column is available on the audio download page. These are some highlights of his observations:

Bill Spier, the show’s bearded producer, presided at the head of a long table at which were seated the members of the cast. At his immediate right was Miss Moorehead. next to her was Spier’s secretary. Peggy Ray [sic, Rae], busily writing down such changes in the script as were deemed necessary following the dress rehearsal which had just concluded upon our arrival.

Spier spoke rapidly in crisp tones, occasionally gestured with his hands to bring home a point in the drama’s action. Now and again he chuckled, once he found it necessary to warn studio attaches to be quiet.

Ordinarily, we were told, the producer in order to relieve the prebroadcast tension, will even go so far as to burlesque the roles--— but such was not the case Thursday. Levity was conspicuous by its absence.

This was due to the fact that the script had run quite a bit long during the dress rehearsal and also that as the title, “The Thirteenth Sound” would indicate much of the success of the show would depend on sound effects—one i n particular, and this is ticklish business.

Miss Moorehead, we observed, looked more like an efficient secretary in some conservative office, than like a radio star.

Rich continues to note how she was dressed, and that “she was chewing gum.” He continues...

She appeared very calm, almost disinterested at this point.

But now it is almost time for the actual broadcast and the star seats herself at a green table over which is a hanging mike that will soon carry her voice to millions of people.

She wets her lips, exercises her mouth. She turns the pages of her script to be sure that each page is in proper order, follows in proper sequence. She does this twice we note.

He further describes the scene in the studio. Then, the broadcast begins.

Before our very eyes she seems to actually become the hunted creature she portrays in the action. Miraculously her small body takes on every physical appearance of a murderess at bay.

There is no studio audience permitted at Suspense, and consequently no one can see her playing the part, but nonetheless her face and hands reflect each passage of the script as she reads her lines.

Rich continues to note how she acts out the scenes:

For instance: “Let me out,” she cries. She half rises from her chair while delivering the words.

And again: “I found myself tightly holding the wooden table.” She clutches the table at which she is seated.

It is not often that we can find such reports of what happened in studios, especially in rehearsals. It is interesting that Moorehead preferred working at a table than standing, which was most often the posture that actors chose. It is not clear if she did this only when she had the lead role, or exactly when she started doing it. (Sorry, Wrong Number of 1943 is an obvious speculation).

Rich did similar detailed reporting a few times that we can find in newspaper searches. They give us great insights into these productions specifically and radio drama in general. It is recommended to read the entire column for more background information before listening to the episode. It is sad that listeners of that time could not listen to the program again to match Rich’s column with the broadcast. Happily, we can do that today.

The original title of the story was “Dying is Safer” but that seems more like a temporary placeholder with no intent for broadcast use until they thought of a good title. They did. The number thirteen is supposedly unlucky, matching it with the word “sound,” then using that as the name of the musical piece ties it all together.

Jimmy Stewart is mentioned as a guest in upcoming weeks, but he is not mentioned again in following weeks. He does not appear on Suspense again until 1949 when Auto-Lite sponsors the series.

East and west coast network recordings have survived. The east broadcast includes the mention to stay tuned for The FBI in Peace and War. The east broadcast is slightly better than the west, but they are very close in sound quality. Bill Johnstone stumbles on credits in west coast version. He says “Tonight’s Suspe- Suspense play was written by Cathy and Elliott Lewis.” He has a clean read in the east broadcast.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP470213

THE CAST

AGNES MOOREHEAD (Sally Skinner), William Johnstone (Signature Voice / Jonathan Brown), John McIntire (Mr. Gregg / Gardener), unknown (Mrs. Gregg), Wally Maher (Judge / Old Sam), Elliott Reid (Musicale host / Sheriff)

Could “Mrs. Gregg” be played by actress Virginia Gregg, or is it just an in-joke reference to her, or is it no connection at all?

Performer and classic radio researcher Patte Rosebank noted at the Old Time Radio Researchers Facebook page that “Agnes' character has Misophonia, a neurological condition in which certain sounds trigger a fight-or-flight response. Misophonia is the evil twin of ASMR, the neurological condition in which certain sounds trigger bliss and calmness.”

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