Joseph Cotten plays a “dead man,” anxious leave his troubles and collect on his insurance. His “widowed” wife is not really sold on the idea of sharing the proceeds in the way he wants. The script is by Ken Pettus and Lou Scofield. In the pre-genetic forensics era, this kind of insurance fraud story was plausible enough to be believed possible. Today’s writers would need to find a different gimmick as the story’s premise.
Cotten’s character is and embezzling lawyer who contemplates suicide as a means to escape his self-caused troubles. He goes to a hideaway cabin to commit suicide, but his business partner comes to visit. They scuffle, knock over a kerosene lamp, and the cabin starts to burn. For someone so ready to kill themselves, he realizes that he has an opportunity to be rid of his problems and shoots his partner. The investigators mistake the identity of the body, and his wife puts through the insurance claim. He hides at his own home… and will sneak out once she gets paid. You just know it’s not going to end in the way he hopes.
The working title of this script was “Revenge.” The website oldtimeradioreview.com has a marvelous comment about the title, “...I became a little tired of the constant repetition of variations on the title, ‘the day I died,’ which suggested that the writers were overly impressed with their own idea of a story about a man who apparently dies, but doesn't; okay, we get it already!”
This scheme is similar to the one featured in You Can’t Die Twice of 1949-03-31 with Edward G. Robinson.
It is likely this story was originally planned for Jimmy Stewart. His appearance was used for a repeat performance of Consequence. Joseph Cotten can muster a more naturally sinister performance than Stewart can. Cotten is very good in this role.
Writer Ken Pettus had an interesting and rocky career that was highlighted in the post about Three Blind Mice https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/09/1947-01-30-three-blind-mice.html Lou Scofield wrote for radio and television.
This was producer Anton M. Leader’s final Suspense broadcast. A discussion of this tenure and departure is below.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP490630
THE CAST
JOSEPH COTTEN (Wells Gallaway), Ed Begley (Red Tuttle / Policeman), Tony Barrett (Driver / Counterman / Norman Vale), Betty Lou Gerson (Lesley), Paul Frees (Signature Voice)
COMMERCIAL: Bill Johnstone (Hap), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)
* * *
In 1973, college student John Scheinfeld (now a famous film and television documentarian) had correspondence with Tony Leader about his Suspense experience. These are some highlights of the letter he received, with minor editing by me for readability and some comments, more than 50 years later:
Scheinfeld asked what Leader did as producer:
I was responsible for choosing the plays, whether original or based upon published works, engaging the writers, casting the actors, rehearsing and staging the shows. The sponsor, through their agency, had veto power over the stars and script, but in my memory never completely turned down a script or star after consultation.
That’s curious! This letter is just 14 years after The Hand was rejected, and 15 years after the strange editing of the ending of Celebration. In my experience, this is not new. So many of the performers and practitioners of radio had setbacks but they always focused on the next task or job ahead. Failures or bad situations were not worth dwelling on. When you bring them up, they honestly do not recall the specific details of them if they remember them at all. Problems were something that they always navigated and usually did not become deterred by them. It seems like an honest response. Elliott Lewis, on the other hand was asked by Scheinfeld if the Blacklist affected his casting. It was a cassette tape and Lewis said “no.” In that case, “no” meant “I’m not talking about that” from the way he said it. But Leader’s letter has an open and honest tone to it.
Leader’s response continued, now about his responsibilities as producer:
Casting the rest of the players, excluding the star, was my sole responsibility at the beginning. Since I was new to Hollywood, I instituted this system of auditions in order to familiarize myself with the available talent. At these auditions, the actors would come in and perform their own audition programs, up to five minutes in length. This served to demonstrate their ability and versatility. The latter was important since there was no limitation on doubling permitted by performers, so that an actor could play an important role and also do a voice or two as needed.
When Leader came in, his desire for these auditions rubbed many of the Suspense veterans the wrong way. Most of them still appeared on the show, some seemed curiously absent, but there was a lot of new talent brought into the series.
The topic turned to the scripts:
I was particularly fortunate to have first Kendall Foster Crossen and then John Dunkel as my script editors. They found and furnished me with stories and scripts and served as intermediaries between myself and writers. Until the point when I was preparing the broadcast, I would deal with the writer directly.
The relationship that William Spier had with his editor, Robert Richards, seems quite different. The Leader scripts often had others in charge of revisions. You can see a lot of different names on the scripts for adaptations and revisions. Richards did a lot of story adaptation himself, but you also get the sense of his editorial hand in the consistency of the script quality under Spier. Richards had more experience and worked with Spier for years. He also wrote full original scripts. While the Leader season was exceptional in so many regards, there is an inconsistency to it. That inconsistency may have come from the multiple people involved, each with different takes on what would work. He continues:
Yellow Wallpaper was a piece that sticks in my mind. It was a horror story, a classic found for me by Crossen.
Crossen was a pulp writer for much of his career. It would not be a surprise that he was also the one who brought many pulp stories to the show, especially Ghost Hunt and likely picked a few of the Woolrich stories he liked.
There was a curious topic about the Suspense sponsor using the show for promotion. They’re bankrolling the program, after all, so they could do it.
Auto-Lite wanted very much to win the National Safety Award, since it would fit neatly into their promotional activities. I proceeded to have a number of sessions with Walter Newman. During which we tailored a story deliberately aimed at driving accidents. Newman wrote an excellent script which attracted James Cagney to star, and we won the award. Even now, as I recall it, it seems an extraordinary accomplishment.
No Escape was not the best script as we listen to it today. Perhaps we have heard or seen too many stories like it on radio or on television. Perhaps it was somewhat innovative for its time.
As far as guest stars were concerned...
Suspense had such a high reputation among actors that we literally had our pick of stars. I remember meeting Al Jolson at a party one night when he proceeded to berate me (most good-naturedly) because he was on NBC opposite us. He thought that was bad enough, but worst was the fact that he couldn't play in Suspense.
Yes, Al Jolson on Suspense. That seems too very strange. But the point is made: actors who were on other networks wanted to have the opportunity to be on Suspense but there were contractual and scheduling factors that did not allow them to do so. But Jolie?
He describes working on the classic Suspense play:
I repeated with Agnes Moorehead her great success, Sorry, Wrong Number. It was a pleasure doing that., even though I had initially shied away from it. What advantage would there be to me to repeat another director’s success?! But the requests piled up and I finally agreed, working again with Aggie. We'd known each other and worked together in New York. It was such a joy and the mounting tensions of the writing were so real that I gave myself up for what was, for me, a first time experience, and I never regretted it.
He described the Suspense production process:
We had a first read through on the Monday or Tuesday. At this point, we were able to detect any weak or undeveloped points in the script and we'd have until Thursday to improve it. Then on Thursday, beginning at 10:00am, we work all day, until a dress rehearsal at about 4:00pm. At 6:00pm the show was broadcast directly to the east, and their transcription was played at 9:00pm locally.
He discusses his departure from the series:
I left because finally I had become fed up with the CBS production executive Guy della Cioppa. He was a man of little talent and big connections. In discussing the renewal of my contract at a substantial rise in salary, I insisted that della Cioppa be replaced as my network liaison. He was more deeply entrenched than I realized. Looking back on it, with considerably more experience, I know that I could have handled the problem more politely and successfully. But that's water under the bridge.
One of the lines in the letter made his impact on the series very clear:
The ratings for the 1949 season until I left were the highest in the series history.
Anton M. Leader delivered Suspense from the beating that CBS had inflicted on the franchise. They lost their sponsor, Roma Wines. Then it was cancelled. Then it wasn’t. Then they had format-envy with Lux Radio Theatre and approved a long format. Then they led William Spier and Robert Montgomery down the garden path that they were serious about expanding Suspense and deepening its content. A duplicitous Paley undercut their week-old efforts by courting Auto-Lite for a 30 minute show while he was telling everyone he loved the 60 minute show. Spier was so angered he left. They pulled Leader in from New York. The scripts were horrid. After the Auto-Lite agreements were all certain but not yet signed, and the 60-minute format was ending, Leader produced some of the best episodes of that format. Spier was at ABC. Auto-Lite signs on the dotted line. Leader started his season while Spier was running a new format Philip Morris Playhouse with many of the same production people and actors Leader was using. The Suspense return was grand and good, and the ratings showed it. His impolitic ways in CBS cost him his position. When all that happened, Philip Morris may have already said they were pulling out of PMP and CBS wanted Spier to come back, making their negotiations for Leader’s return to be more charade than it was serious.
There were problem episodes:
Celebration – Really? We’re supposed to believe that ending?
Holiday Story – The production of the new Myles Connelly script Rich Man, Poor Man with Ronald Colman and then with Herbert Marshall could not come together. They rolled out Back for Christmas and hoped no one would notice.
The Hand – What was supposed to be a big splash new script for a Hollywood star’s rare radio appearance turns out to be a logistical nightmare complicated by rogue publicity efforts by that star. You have to admit, thought, that it did come together in the end.
Death has a Shadow – Sometimes that match of star and script just doesn’t work out. Hope may have intimidated the production process. The script editing did not adjust to Hope’s lack of dramatic skills.
The Light Switch – The lack of a good editorial hand really shows in this episode.
But there are some great ones, like Crisis, Song of the Heart, Death Sentence, Give Me Liberty, Too Perfect Alibi, Back Seat Driver, Three O’Clock, Noose of Coincidence, Copper Tea Strainer, The Lie, Ghost Hunt, The Trap, The Day I Died. Almost three-quarters of the episodes were top-notch productions. In some cases, like the Betty Grable and Ralph Edwards appearances, the casting seemed doomed but excellent episodes resulted. While editing in the season may have been less than optimal, story selection was very, very good. The wins of the Leader season made tolerating some of the misses worth their annoyance.
Suspense is off for the summer, and Spier returns as producer with Norman Macdonnell as director for the 1949-1950 season. Spier has his eyes on being a movie producer. Macdonnell has risen quickly through the ranks, the Spier’s mentoring prepared him for successes to come.
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