The first time Suspense was cancelled after the Summer 1942 series, One Hundred in the Dark was run as the final episode on 1942-09-30. The original story was by Owen Johnson and the script was adapted by Jacques Anson Finke. Why is it running now as the final episode of the Roma Wines series? Perhaps someone believed it was a “lucky” script and that lightning, that is, a reprieve from cancellation, could happen again.
For details about the original broadcast and background about the story, go to:
https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/01/1942-09-30-one-hundred-in-dark.html
https://archive.org/details/TSP420930 where the broadcast recording can be accessed.
Almost all of the Suspense regulars are in this production, and the entire cast was read by Truman Bradley. This was his final Suspense episode.
For an unknown reason beyond an inside joke, June Havoc was billed as “Theresa Marshall.” In the prior episode, she was billed as “Armina Fargay.” The “Marshall” part of the name is from Armina Marshall, a director of the Theater Guild in New York City and founder of the Westport Country Playhouse where Havoc appeared in Summer 1947. The “Theresa” part of the name is likely from Theresa Helburn, a cofounder, stage manager, playwright, producer for the Theatre Guild. See the cast information below for an image from the AFRA report for the production. (Hat tip: Karl Schadow).
This was also the final time that Suspense would have separate east and west broadcasts. The east broadcast (“EC”) has a four second pause (“4s”) before network ID; the west broadcast has a ten second pause (“10s”). The west coast recording (WC) is better than the east. The east has some slight distortion in spots, but it is still a good recording.
Suspense was definitely cancelled but the CBS schedule had a hole in it, and a single, sustaining broadcast on Fridays would finish out the year. CBS wanted to find another sponsor to keep the series going, but they could not. The series was definitely ending by the end of 1947… at least for a couple of weeks as executives pondered their next moves.
The idea of such a highly regarded radio property disappearing from the air was not accepted well within CBS. Some executives had the idea that Suspense could find a new sponsor and build on the model of Lux Radio Theatre. That hour-long program was almost always at the top of the ratings, was extraordinarily successful and lucrative for CBS and its sponsor. Others believed they could hold on to the half hour format and a new sponsor could be found in a few months.
By the middle of the month, plans started to come together for an hour-long Suspense that would be broadcast on Saturdays. It would be a sustaining series. It would not be long before such an enterprise would gain a sponsor and move to a better time slot during the week. In the meantime, they would work in the new format as a means to demonstrate the value of the new concept. Robert Montgomery and William Spier worked on some big plans for the series, varying it with movie adaptations, collaboration with studios, productions of classic mysteries, and the latest and best mystery novels. The hour long Suspense looked great “on paper.” It turned out to be one of the most turbulent periods in the history of the series.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP471120
THE CAST
HOWARD DUFF (Mr. Peters / Mr. Harris), Theresa Marshall [aka June Havoc] (Rita Kildare), Joe Kearns (Signature Voice / Quinney), Wally Maher (Flanders), John McIntire (Rankin), Dick Ryan (Irish club member / Stanley Cheever), Frank Albertson (Steingard), Mary Jane Croft (Mrs. Cheever), Horace Willard (John the club waiter), Jerry Hausner (Enos-Jackson), Jeanette Nolan (Mrs. Jackson), Grace Gillern (Maude Lyle)
Below is an image from the AFRA report with all the signatures of the performers. June Havoc’s signature is missing; union rep Skip Ellis signed for her at #2. (Thanks to the Thousand Oaks Library and the KNX collection for this information from my visit in June 2019 with Keith Scott).
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