The new, hour-long Suspense series had a bit of chaos in the background and it used its only two-part script in its history (to that point), the groundbreaking Donovan’s Brain. That production of Curt Siodmak’s novel was adapted by Robert L. Richards and had Orson Welles as guest star. He was also deeply involved in the scriptwriting and collaborated in the direction. Details about the broadcasts and their backstory are at:
https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/04/1944-05-18-25-donovans-brain-two-parts.html
https://archive.org/details/44051825 and is where the recordings can be accessed.
This production stars John McIntire, a steady, versatile, and reliable member of the Suspense ensemble, and also includes his equally skilled wife, Jeanette Nolan. The musical score is essentially the same, but the surviving recording of this broadcast is much better. The full impact that the music has on the storytelling can be fully appreciated in richer sound. It’s a very good production. McIntire was in the 1944 production in a supporting role and is excellent in his performance in this one. If you considered Welles persona as a distraction in the prior broadcasts, you can get a sense of how good the underlying story is with actors who had no high celebrity.
Using this script was essentially a “convenient” choice for the hour-long production, lacking for hour-long scripts, but also a well-known series favorite that listeners might want to hear again. It was not necessary to build the story out or add scenes or characters. It is not known if a higher profile guest star was sought; newspaper publicity only mentioned the script and not McIntire. The series potential audience was already being impaired by its weak time slot, especially on the west coast where stations like KNX in Los Angeles. It was from this headquarters of CBS production where Suspense was fed live on Saturdays to the nation but was not heard on the network’s own production station. Instead, it was heard on Sundays, by transcription, at 4:30pm. That time of day was definitely not a prime audience time, especially in an area known for its fine weather when many listeners would be enjoying their weekend. The lower profile time slots likely made it harder to recruit big-name talent, as did the lack of a sponsor.
There’s also managerial chaos behind the scenes. William Spier left Suspense after this episode. It’s never stated why in the news and gossip and business columns with specificity, but it is clear later on that it were swirling creative differences over the future of the format. It is likely he found out that Bill Paley himself was undermining the plan to build the hour-long franchise by negotiating with sponsors for the 30-minute format to return. There was also great confusion about the role of Robert Montgomery as to whether he was a producer or an actor or both. Spier and Montgomery, it has been learned, really had no issues between them, personally. CBS could arrange things as they wanted: CBS owned Suspense. This was unlike Spier’s Sam Spade series, which his production company had an ownership stake (and is why it was able to change networks in its broadcast history). Muddling the situation was that CBS tried to sign Spier to an exclusive contract. He always enjoyed his freedom, and especially wanted to get involved in movie projects and eventually television, so he wasn’t about to do that.
William Robson filled in the next week for Spier, and Anton M. Leader, a CBS staff producer, was moved from his assignment in New York (Radio Readers’ Digest) and was assigned to Suspense. Leader would finish out the 60-minute period and then serve as the producer for the first year of the Auto-Lite sponsored series. Spier was recruited by ABC. He already had a relationship with that network. The Adventures of Sam Spade had its inaugural 13 weeks on ABC in 1946 before the series moved to CBS.
By the beginning of March, the first broadcast of The Clock on ABC as a Hollywood production with Spier at the helm was made. He took Cathy and Elliott Lewis with him as weekly lead players. William Conrad became the narrator. At this time, hard to believe, the Hooper ratings for Suspense and The Clock were about the same. Suspense had fallen greatly without a sponsor and a good time slot in the schedule. Spier’s job at ABC was to build The Clock into a valuable mystery franchise and attract a sponsor. As a swipe at CBS, Spier would be announced on the broadcasts as “the master of the art of suspense.” The program also presented some Suspense scripts, including The House in Cypress Canyon. He still had friends at CBS, however. When The Clock failed in its quest for sponsorship, ABC closed it down after the 13 week contract. Leader was still in charge of Suspense, but Spier was signed to produce Philip Morris Playhouse for CBS. That program was run for that season like another Suspense, with the same performers and sound artists, and even some prior Suspense scripts. Only a few recordings of the Spier The Clock and Philip Morris Playhouse have survived. Leader lasted only one year as the Suspense producer for Auto-Lite. He did not play the executive politics game very well at CBS, and his desire to make a fresh start for the ensemble players did not go over well among the established actors. By the end of that first year, Leader was gone and Philip Morris was unhappy with what they were paying for Playhouse productions. That series was cancelled. Spier returned to Suspense as producer-editor, and Norman Macdonnell became director. Philip Morris found a cheaper alternative for its radio advertising presence, the sponsorship of Casey, Crime Photographer. Spier’s return would last just a year, but would pave the way for Elliott Lewis to become the Suspense producer.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP480207
THE CAST
John McIntire (Patrick Corey / W. H. Donovan), Jeanette Nolan (Janice), Alma Lawton (Nurse), Bill Martel (David Corey), Wally Maher (Dr. Schrott), Bill Johnstone (Man), Joe Kearns (Signature Voice)
###
