The script for this famous broadcast was authored by Robert L. Richards. It was performed only once on Suspense. Its popularity was not contemporary. Its reputation grew among classic radio fans who were able to play it again and again, much like what happened with The Hitch-hiker. Though it is technically a “Christmas story” as mentioned in the script’s dialogue, it is a mainstay of radio fans and nostalgia broadcasters as part of their Halloween playlists.
The story is about a happy young couple who realize their new house has creaks and noises and spooky sounds that make it difficult to live there. The house may even have a werewolf inside! The episode is set up by the discovery of a manuscript with that very story. The story is so strange it can’t be true, it can only be fiction. As the production closes, a couple with the exact names in the manuscript arrive at the real estate office.
Some have characterized the story as similar to what later generations would describe as a Twilight Zone one. It has a bit of everything. It is interesting that William Spier did not want horror stories on Suspense but he did allow Dunwich Horror and this script to be aired. He obviously believed that they were better than usual storytelling and rose above his dismissive guideline.
There’s a detective named “Sam” in the story, played by Howard Duff, and everyone knows who it really is. Spier was producing Adventures of Sam Spade, and that show’s relationship with author Dashiell Hammett required a payment for the use of the Sam Spade character. Ah, but Spier had a joke on Hammett in mind, as the detective’s last name is never mentioned here, and no payment was required. Was Spier reminding Hammett who was in charge? Whether it was a nudge meant for fun or a stern poke it the eye, the Spade character did end up on Suspense just 13 months later in January 1948. That was a previously-aired two-part Spade story, The Kandy Tooth, presented as an hour-long version of Suspense.
Cary Grant was the original planned lead for this performance, but became unavailable. Robert Taylor was cast in time for most of the publicity announcements to reach newspapers and indicate his starring role.
This broadcast was promoted as the third anniversary of the Roma sponsorship. Some of the newspapers mistakenly edited the publicity to suggest the date as the third anniversary of the series, not of the sponsorship. It is possible that the earliest plans for this third Roma anniversary would have been a repeat of The Black Curtain with Grant. This is based on a comment in Radio Life magazine weeks before the broadcast.
The 1945 second anniversary’s performance of The Black Curtain was really unplanned. But perhaps it was considered good luck to schedule it for real, this time. That second anniversary observance was originally designed for a big splash with Frank Sinatra in To Find Help. That ended up delayed, and Curtain was substituted. https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/05/1944-11-30-black-curtain.html
The versatility of Hans Conried is demonstrated again as he voices the creepy sounds (the technical term might be “scary ooh-oohs”) even while assigned the major role of the real estate sales agent.
The original title was “The House in Cypress Gardens.” There was a very well-known tourist attraction in Winter Haven, Florida with the name “Cypress Gardens.” This was the likely reason for the title revision. “Canyon” has a much better sense of creepiness and isolation, and is more fitting for the story. It would not be confusing to listeners for whom the name “Cypress Gardens” was familiar, nor would there be a legal conflict with the family who owned the “Gardens” attraction. That original site is now home to LEGOLand in central Florida. (The switch to "Canyon" was not that big of a stretch or stunning inspiration for writer Robert L. Richards: he lived on Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Los Angeles at the time).
There is one broadcast recording that has survived. It is not known if is the east or west recording. It has a two second delay to network ID (“2s”). There other copies in circulation. One lacks commercials and is likely from an LP record release in the 1970s or 1980s. Other copies are missing 15 seconds of the opening of the episode “Yes, Roma Wines taste better…” and instead skip ahead to “And now, Roma Wines, R-O-M-A…” The latter recordings are therefore incomplete.
The script was later performed during William Spier’s hissy-fit hiatus from Suspense when he took over The Clock for ABC in early 1948. It aired on 1948-03-18 starring Elliott and Cathy Lewis. No recording is known to have survived. A good indication of the scripts that Spier believed were exceptional are the ones he repeated during his production assignments. During his tenure on Suspense, his brief time with The Clock, and his year with Philip Morris Playhouse he repeated many episodes. This blogpost lists those episodes https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/06/william-spier-re-used-suspense-scripts.html
Strangely, The Clock performance of Cypress Canyon on that series may have been a last-minute fill-in. It seems to be another case when Spier reached into his file cabinet of favorites to deal with a production scheduling issue. Newspapers for that date have a much different story for The Clock that night. It’s about a trip to Tibet and a strange relationship with a 30-century old mummy! That episode, Geraldine, was not used on The Clock until late May 1948. And yes, The Clock performance of Cypress Canyon does include “Sam.” There is no indication of who played the part in any documents that are available about the broadcast.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP461205
THE CAST
ROBERT TAYLOR (James Woods), Cathy Lewis (Ellen Woods), Howard Duff (Sam the detective), Hans Conried (Jerry / Eerie sound), Paul Frees (Doctor / First Man), Wally Maher (First cop), Joe Kearns (Signature Voice / 2nd Cop), Jim Backus (Police radio voice / 2nd Man)
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