This is the second performance of a Mel Dinelli script about a misunderstanding that leads to a mistaken coverup of what was believed to be a murder… by hiding the body in plain sight on a beach! (Is this Suspense having a brush with the future 1980s movie Weekend at Bernie’s?)
The script was originally presented on 1944-11-16 with the slightly different title “The Dead of the Night.” That production starred Robert Cummings. Details about the background and writer Mel Dinelli can be found at that blogpost at
https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/05/1944-11-16-dead-of-night.html
The recordings are at https://archive.org/details/TSP441116
Elliott Reid was always scheduled to appear on Suspense on this date, but script selection changed. The story originally scheduled for this date was Smiley, but that was delayed to 1947-08-14 with guest star Donald O’Connor. Reid’s performance in this episode is considered better than the initial broadcast with Cummings.
The logistics of the New York trip for the series (noted in the prior post) necessitated the change in script and streamlining this broadcast. William Spier and musical director Lud Gluskin were on their way or had already arrived in New York. Using an earlier script had advantages. The Hollywood ensemble cast was already familiar with the script. The musical bridges were already written and documented from that prior broadcast, so the orchestra had some familiarity with the pieces.
Charles Vanda took over the production for this broadcast. There is an inside joke with Wally Maher playing a cop named “Slugger Vanda.” That character appears after the 15:30 mark. In the original broadcast the character was named “Red Davis.” Maher played the part at that time..
Both network recordings have survived. The east broadcast includes the tease for The FBI in Peace and War. The west broadcast is the better of the two, but both recordings have enjoyable sound quality.
(NOTE: Escape has an audition program recorded three months earlier with the title Dead of Night. That is a much different story. It is about a deranged ventriloquist. The Escape audition was likely never broadcast).
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP470619
THE CAST
ELLIOTT REID (Jimmy Barden), Cathy Lewis (Helen), Wally Maher (Slugger Vanda), Anne Stone (Mrs. Gordon), Colleen Collins (Tough kid), Henry Blair (First boy), Joe Kearns (Signature Voice), Berne Surrey, Carl Schaele (Ad-Libs)
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