Lana Turner makes her second appearance on Suspense and plays a newly married ex-detective. Her former boss finds her and confronts her with his suspicion that the husband killed his first wife. The coroner’s verdict at the time was “suicide.” Her ex-boss believes that was wrong, and he’s hiring someone to investigate… but she decides to do the detective work herself to make sure it’s done right! She starts her work, looks into the lives of other women he knew. The husband begins to suspect something is up when he detects the odor of her ex-boss’ pipe tobacco on her clothes. Who’s trying to fool whom? It’s a good, surprise ending.
Turner’s character has the nickname “Shadow” in the story for her skills at tailing and tracking suspects. He ex-boss has the nickname “Dutch.” At 20:10 she says to him “You won’t say uncle, will you Dutch?” That’s likely a scripter’s inside joke on the phrase “Dutch uncle,” referring to someone who offers frank comments or constructive criticism to someone, like an informal mentor. Dutch is like that kind of person to Shadow.
The story was by Lois Eby and John C. Fleming, cousins, who wrote novels, short stories, radio plays, screenplays, and other projects. It was adapted for Suspense by E. Jack Neuman.
This was the second transcribed Suspense production, likely to accommodate Turner’s film schedule and that of June Havoc. It was recorded on Sunday, 1949-11-27. Rehearsals started at 4:00pm rather than the usual 12noon. They broke for dinner between 7:00pm and 8:00pm. The recording session was probably started around 9:45pm or shortly thereafter. Like the transcribed broadcast of The Ten Years with Joan Crawford back in June, the music for The Flame Blue Glove was performed live on broadcast day. Crawford’s recording session was because of her “mic fright.” Turner’s recording was most likely for her schedule, which would become a more common practice under producer Elliott Lewis. Hollywood stars were starting to have television obligations in addition to their movie set shooting schedules. The flexibility of pre-recording allowed Suspense more certainty in it casting and production planning, and ensured that publicity and newspaper listings would be less subject to change.
Another factor, according to the 1949-12-14 Variety is that Spier was traveling overseas with June as she was appearing in shows for military audiences in Germany for the holidays.
Bill Johnstone portrays the husband. His generally softer voice is in contrast to what he might have done, making the prospect of his possible evil act more menacing. It is a little odd to hear him double as the police officer at the end (25:40). It is possible that he had to double because of the Sunday recording time. The character is not listed on the script cover page. It may have been added during rehearsal. His voice is too close to that he used for the husband, so that might be confusing to some listeners.
LISTEN
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https://archive.org/details/TSP491215
THE CAST
LANA TURNER (Sarah “Shadow” Conway), Lou Merrill (Dutch), Bill Johnstone (Jimmy Conway), Joan Banks (Kathy Dane), Olive Deering (Millicent), Virginia Gregg (Saleswoman / Judy Fleetwood), Paul Frees (Signature Voice)
COMMERCIAL: Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)
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