The long-range plan for the hour-long Suspense was to offer fuller treatment of contemporary movies productions as part of a variety of offerings. That plan was never realized, but this episode was one of the projects created with that plan in mind. The 1947 film, Crossfire, was a highly respected movie about anti-Semitism. Army recruits are suspected of a hate crime when a Jewish veteran is murdered. Who did it?
Details about the movie and the novel (and a major change to its original concept in creating the movie) can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossfire_(film)
Robert Mitchum, Robert Young, Robert Ryan, Gloria Grahame and Sam Levene starred in the movie, and all except Grahame are in this Suspense broadcast. Ryan and Grahame were nominated for Oscars in their supporting roles and the film was nominated for best picture. The movie can be viewed at https://archive.org/details/crossfire-1947
It was curious, then, that Suspense would produce this performance, as, being a movie with big stars. It seemed more appropriate for Lux Radio Theatre. There was some speculation that it was originally a Lux script that got shuffled over to Suspense, but this was intended and created for this series from the outset. Perhaps the topic was too controversial for Lux and why the movie was never adapted for that series.
Setting the practical and strategic issues about the hour-long Suspense series aside, and whether or not this is a good story for the Suspense franchise, this is a fine production. The story is compelling, the screen actors do very well in their radio performance and are convincing, and the production values with the usual nod to the superior Suspense music add much to the emotion of the story and set up the next scene. It is well done, and one of the best productions of the hour-long period.
Why could Suspense have this kind of socially gritty story on the program, and not Lux? Because there was no sponsor to get nervous about it, then pull the rug out from under it.
This Suspense adaptation of Richard Brooks’ novel (published as The Brick Foxhole) was by Robert L. Richards and Henriette Martin. It is likely that Richards and Martin worked with the movie script as they developed the production. Martin worked in various positions over the years at CBS and 20th Century Fox, including sales and script departments. She co-authored a 1950s sci-fi novel, The Naked Eye where a blinded veteran receives the eyes of a convicted and executed murderer. He soon realizes that the eye donor may not have been guilty, and investigates until he learns the truth about the wrongful conviction. (Talk about seeing things through somebody else’s eyes! This story that does it).
It was not often that Suspense would gather actors from a specific movie for their adaptations. The Brighton Strangler was a similar situation, but that movie was still in production and had not been released when the story was presented on Suspense. The critical response to Crossfire was positive. The April 14, 1948 Variety offered this review:
The network gave it a full-blown production, with original cast including Robert Young, Robert Mitchum and Sam Levene. As adapted to radio (although for the most part it hewed closely to the treatment, with the flashback technique, etc.), the hard-hitting paean against hatred and prejudice was peculiarly suited to Suspense. For the melodrama was a cleverly-wrought succession of events, with all the properly balanced elements of tension and excitement.
Without in any way detracting from the dramatic value of the script, Crossfire in its radio version seemed to highlight the message, making it simple and clear. The characters spoke with understanding and feeling, reality of the hatred was brought home, this particular hatred—the hatred of the Jew—and all blind hatred fed by ignorance and fears. Tony Leader's expert directorial hand was in evidence throughout.
The long-range plan for the hour-long Suspense program included an episode with Dick Powell for the August 1948 release of his movie, Pitfall. Spier and Powell had looked for ways to work together since their happy 1945 collaboration for the Fitch Bandwagon summer replacement series Bandwagon Mysteries. That brief series was the introduction of the “Richard Rogue” character that would later be featured in its own series, Rogue’s Gallery. Spier knew that the collaboration with Hollywood stars was key to the success of Suspense and he thought that the hour-long version could deepen and broaden the relationship beyond the stars and into the studio marketing strategy itself. Crossfire was just a hint of what was to come, but it was not to be. Spier and Powell never had the opportunity to develop the kind of big project they mutually desired.
This broadcast was the original planned end of the hour-long Suspense series. CBS realized, however, that they still had some open time in their schedule in upcoming weeks. The program continued for four more productions, beginning after a one week pre-emption for a baseball special on 1948-04-17. That special, Play Ball, celebrated the opening of the new season (baseball started later in those times, with 154 games in a season rather than the current 162, with most Sundays national holidays with “doubleheaders” with two games played on that day). The hour documentary was hosted by broadcaster Red Barber and traced the career of Brooklyn Dodgers shortstop Pee Wee Reese. Interviewees were manager Leo Durocher, Commissioner A. B. Chandler, baseball legends Honus Wagner, Rogers Hornsby, Babe Ruth, and Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey, and others.
Did they chuckle in dress rehearsal? This was not an inside joke, but at about 8:45 there’s a line in the dialogue “Let’s have Montgomery back.” The prior episode was Montgomery’s last in this Suspense period. It must have been amusing when it was first said.
This broadcast was originally planned to include Frank Lovejoy as Floyd Bowers. He was not available and was replaced by Bill Lally.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP480410
THE CAST
ROBERT YOUNG (Captain Finlay), ROBERT RYAN (Monty), ROBERT MITCHUM (Keeley), SAM LEVENE (Joseph Samuels), GEORGE COOPER (Mitchell), WILLIAM PHIPPS (Leroy), Marlo Dwyer (Ginny), Bill Lally ([subbing for Frank Lovejoy] Floyd Bowers), Luis Van Rooten (The Man), Bill Johnstone (Signature Voice / Constable O’Hara), Julie Bennett (Mary Mitchell)
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