This broadcast was planned to be another appearance of Frank Sinatra in the lead role, but it was not to be. Instead, Gene Kelly covers for him. Kelly was a close friend of Sinatra and appeared with him in MGM musicals such as Anchors Aweigh and On the Town. Kelly had appeared on Suspense before and delivered good performances. Agnes Moorehead was in the first broadcast of this script, and Ethel Barrymore has that role in this one. Moorehead’s performance was her usual excellence. Barrymore seems unsteady here and there but her voicing implies a more elderly character, which may make that character to be in greater danger to some listeners than Moorehead’s portrayal did.
Details about the Mel Dinelli script and how it became a movie and a stage play are at post of the initial broadcast:
https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/05/1945-01-18-to-find-help.html
https://archive.org/details/450118 which has the audio files for streaming or download.
A network recording and an Armed Forces Radio Service recording (#266) have survived. The network recording is the better of the two. Of the two broadcasts, the first with Sinatra in 1945, and this 1949 one, this Kelly performance is the better of the two in sound quality if you’re just interested in the story.
At the close of the network recording, the microphone picks up someone in the cast with a bad cough.
This was Ethel Barrymore’s sole appearance on Suspense. She was nearly 70 years old for this appearance, and her 60-year career was still in motion. She started in the theater, continued in the movies (four Oscar nominations, an Oscar for None but the Lonely Heart), and television. Her radio appearances were rare, but covered over 25 years. An overview of her life and career is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethel_Barrymore
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP490106
THE CAST
ETHEL BARRYMORE (Mrs. Gillis), GENE KELLY (Howard Wilton), Bill Conrad (Mr. Armstrong / Stevens), Charles Seel (Milkman), Dave Light (Sarah, the dog), Paul Frees (Signature Voice)
COMMERCIAL: Bill Johnstone (Hap), Sylvia Simms (Operator), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer)
