1954-01-11 The One Man Crime Wave

Dana Andrews as a police sergeant in what is claimed to be a true story of a city living in terror of one man, a maniacal killer. The first victim is a woman. Next, it’s a waitress, who is able to give the police a clue before she dies. The assumption is that the killer is criminally insane and will strike again. There are no clues, no motives to the killings. A suspect who answers the description of the murder is picked up. There is no evidence against him so the police have to let him go, but they shadow him day and night. Every tavern insists he’s a harmless guy with a drinking problem, just a bit down on his luck. Finally, a break in the case comes when a couple is attacked, and they have a piece of the killer’s overcoat. He may have been down on his luck, but obviously his anger about it, it simmered and over time it started to boil, driving him to kill, randomly. He is finally caught.

The script is by Antony Ellis. The “truth” behind the story could easily be one of the decades-old resources for mystery writers, the killings by Jack the Ripper. He was never found. But in this story, they do, and it’s Joe Kearns. Whoops… missed the spoiler alert warning, again.

Andrews’ role is similar to that he played in 1950-09-21 The Crowd https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2024/04/1950-09-21-crowd.html. Joe Kearns was the killer in that episode, too.

The dramatic portion of the broadcast was recorded on Tuesday, January 5, 1954. The rehearsal began at 1:00pm and the recording began at 5:30pm. The session ended at 6:00pm.

Slight stumble by Wilcox at about 27:32 when he has trouble with the phrase “Auto-Lite-equipped electrical systems.” Some of the Auto-Lite copy is challenging, and Wilcox made so very few errors in his time on Suspense and his other assignments, especially Fibber McGee and Molly.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP540111

THE CAST

DANA ANDREWS (Sergeant Faring), Lee Millar (Driscoll), Paula Winslowe (Mrs. Mead), Charlotte Lawrence (Waitress), Joseph Kearns (Frederick Sorenson), Junius Matthews (Winters), Tom Tully (McDonnaugh / Matson), Larry Thor (Narrator)

COMMERCIAL: Tom Holland (Hap), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)

###

1954-01-04 On a Country Road

Frank Lovejoy and his wife, Joan Banks, star in the second production of the famous script about a couple lost on Long Island south shore roads in a heavy rain, with an escaped homicidal psychiatric patient in the area. The script was by “one-hit-wonder” Walter Bazar who went on to have a successful career as a journalist.

• The previous blogpost for the first broadcast has details about the story, Walter Bazar, the Suspense television production (with the top-down convertible riding in the rain) and other aspects of the story are at https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2024/04/1950-11-16-on-country-road.html

• The network and AFRS recordings related to that broadcast are at https://archive.org/details/TSP501116

Lovejoy and Banks always sought opportunities to perform together. They had a great affection for the art of radio, and enjoyed it even more when they could be in the same productions. After Frank died in October 1962 (age 50), Joan would appear on radio in other productions such as Theatre 5 and CBS Radio Mystery Theater as “Joan Lovejoy.”

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP540104

THE CAST

FRANK LOVEJOY (David), Joan Banks (Dorothy), Jeanette Nolan (Nellie), Joseph Kearns (Cop), William Woodson (News Announcer), Larry Thor (Narrator)

COMMERCIAL: Tom Holland (Hap), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)

###

1953-12-28 The Queen's Ring

James Mason and wife Pamela Kellino appear in a Morton Fine and David Friedkin script about an historical event in British royalty. Mason plays Lord Essex and with Kellino as Queen Elizabeth’s “lady in waiting,” Mary Howard. She is a rival for Lord’s affections with the Queen’s. He is more than 30 years younger than the Queen. It is evident from the outset that the queen eventually may terminate her romance with Essex by having him hanged. She knows that he is filled with ambition and hopes one day to depose her and take the throne. Thinking of the moment when she may lose patience and order him executed, she gives Essex a ring which he is to send back to her only at such a time. Then, she promises, she will recall their happy days together and spare his life. She sends him to Ireland to put down a rebellion against the monarchy. Before he leaves, he tells Mary that when he returns, marries the Queen and becomes king after the she dies, Mary will join him on the throne. Lord Essex does not put down the rebellion, like the Queen wants, but negotiates a truce. She’s not pleased, but she can't bear to see him executed. He is apparently too proud to ask in this way, for his life. He ends up jailed, and on the equivalent of death row. Mary visits him, and he tells her that she is her only love. She begs him for the ring so she can bring it to the Queen, and all of these problems would be behind them. He gives her the ring, and also tells her that he will marry the Queen. He give Mary the ring, but she’s so repulsed by his plans, she tells the Queen that he did not return the ring and ask for forgiveness. Without the return of the ring, he is sent to the gallows.

Historical background about Lord Essex, and the ring, are at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Devereux%2C_2nd_Earl_of_Essex

The dialogue is v'ry much liketh a Shakespearean tragedy, and annoys in yond regard. This is not a particularly memorable episode, which may be why it was “hidden” between the Christmas and New Year’s holidays when listenership would be lower than usual.

The drama portion was recorded on Sunday, December 20, 1953. Rehearsal began at 11:00am, and recording commenced at 3:30pm, concluding at 4:00pm.

The Suspense TV series presented this story on 1953-06-21 with a different script. No kinescope of the episode has been found.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/tsp531228R

THE CAST

JAMES MASON (Robert Devereaux of Essex), Pamela Kellino (Mary Howard), Joseph Kearns (Roger), Ben Wright (Sean / Jailer), Jeanette Nolan (Queen Elizabeth), Larry Thor (Narrator)

COMMERCIAL: Tom Holland (Hap), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)

###

1953-12-21 Twas the Night Before Christmas

Greer Garson returns to the series in a repeat performance of a Morton Fine and David Friedkin. That premiere 1951-12-24 performance remains a missing Suspense broadcast. The performance is more appropriate for the holiday season than the previously announced performance of On a Country Road. But before the famous script of a couple lost on back roads, there was a different Christmas story announced with Frank Lovejoy. But the actual broadcast was Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Garson plays a governess and is caring for a young girl whose parents are away. They are flying home from Paris… but their flight crashes… and they eventually await news of their status at the airport. While the governess fears the worst, but withholds news about the crash from the daughter until they receive definitive news. A newspaper reporter has gotten wind of the possible tragedy, and keeps annoying the governess, and she does her best to keep him at bay. She believes the child is suspicious about the situation. At about the 10:30 mark, it’s clear that she has figured out that there might terrible news ahead and she might not see her parents again. That’s the cliffhanger going into the mid-show commercial. The child runs sneaks out of the apartment and the governess searches for her, and the police are called. Hours later, there’s a knock at the door and a police officer asks her to come with him. They located her in a church where a choir is singing carols. They head back home. She reads the famous Clement Moore poem to help the child fall asleep; the governess has a tough time getting through the poem as a choir provides the melody of O Holy Night. Suddenly, the doorbell rings and the parents are at the door for an emotional reunion. The plane had not crashed; it made an emergency landing in Newfoundland but communications were down. The governess picks up reading of the poem, now to the entire family, in an obviously more joyous mood.

The program was pre-recorded, in full, on Friday, December 18. Rehearsal started at 11:00am and ended at 2:00pm. The orchestra (and presumable the singers) arrived at 2:00pm and rehearsed from 2:00pm to 5:00pm. The cast joined them at 3:30pm. The recording commenced at 5:30pm and was completed at 6:00pm.

There are very small disc skips around the 15:00 mark and a tiny one thereafter that do not affect the drama; many circulating copies of this episode have more pronounced skips and repeats in this section of the recordings.

The 1951 program is not available, but there are copies of the 1953 recording mislabeled as 1951. The key to the identification is the mention of the movie Knights of the Round Table which was released the next day in Hollywood (to qualify for Oscar consideration) with full US release in mid-January 1954.

This program has circulated in sub-par sound for decades with background noise and minor skips. Some copies have had narrow range, and many were overmodulated. Some of the commercially released copies had these flaws, too. This is a much better and more enjoyable recording, but still has minor remnants of prior flaws. It is possible that this recording was an aircheck based on some of the issues involved and that the closing choral music after the network ID is clipped.

The Unproduced Christmas Episode with Frank Lovejoy

The supposed scheduling of On a Country Road was in conflict with a promise in the show publicity that before Christmas there would be “a drama without any major mayhem,” according to some newspapers. Everyone got home okay in Twas the Night Before Christmas, mayhem avoided.

But there were announcements and descriptions of a different Morton Fine and David Friedkin story. The title was “Christmas Grace.” Announcements appeared in newspapers and in Radio Life magazine. This is the description as it appeared in the 1953-12-20 Shreveport LA Times:

Suspense without murder—that's the special Christmas week offering in the "theater of thrills" tomorrow night, with Frank Lovejoy starring as an errant father who comes home to claim his son after a six-year absence. Titled Christmas Grace, the unusual drama will be broadcast at 7 o'clock over CBS Radio and KWKH. Lovejoy, as "Joey," chooses the day before Christmas to return to the boy he had deserted after the tragic death of his wife in a boating accident. Numb with grief, and blaming himself for the accident. he had become an apparently hopeless alcoholic and had disappeared for six years, leaving his son to live with a sister and her husband. His sister's husband at first refuses even to let him in the door, and his son's words are a blunt, “Where have you been?” Joey's desperate efforts to regain his son's respect and love provide a dramatic and heart-warming Christmas story. Elliott Lewis produces and directs, and Lud Gluskin conducts an original score by Lucien Moraweek.

As best as can be determined, the Fine and Friedkin “Christmas Grace” script was likely unproduced on Suspense, and likely never produced on any radio program. Any leads for further information would be greatly appreciated.

This was not the first time that Suspense had a problem with a Christmas offering. In December 1948, producer Anton M. Leader repeated Back for Christmas with the innocuous name “Holiday Story.” That is definitely not a happy Christmas story that would live up to the joyous atmosphere. A story “Rich Man, Poor Man” was announced to the press weeks before. It would star Ronald Colman, which was later re-cast with Herbert Marshall. The script, by Myles Connelley, was never broadcast. Details about it are at the Holiday Story blogpost.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP531221

THE CAST

GREER GARSON (Miss Buff), Ann Whitfield (Kathy Harper), Irene Tedrow (Mrs. Cleveland), Mary Lansing (Mrs. Harper), Harry Bartell (Mr. Harper), Herb Butterfield (Uncle John / Patrolman Reid), Sidney Miller (Reporter), Howard McNear (Choir Leader’s Voice / Mr. Anderson), Joseph Kearns (Mr. Ruxton the druggist), Charles Calvert (Santa Claus), Johnny McGovern (Johnny), John Ramsay Hill (Paul), The Roger Wagner Chorale (Chorus singers), Larry Thor (Narrator)

COMMERCIAL: Harlow Wilcox (Announcer)

* * *

The Roger Wagner Chorale was well-known in the Los Angeles area, and in 1949 signed a contract with Capitol Records. Background is at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Wagner_Chorale

The organization is still active in Los Angeles with educational programs and concerts https://wagnerensemble.org/

###

1953-12-14 The Mystery of Marie Roget

Cornel Wilde stars in the dramatization by E. Jack Neuman of this famous Edgar Allan Poe story published in 1842. It might be considered an early “true crime” story. Poe’s inspiration was a news story about a young woman, Cecilia Rogers, who was murdered and her body thrown into New York City’s East River. Poe was fascinated with the story, but was far from the scene and constructed his story and perspective about the crime from sketchy newspaper accounts. His selected Paris as his story’s locale and had a detective character, Dupin, working on the case. The story was published while the actual case had not been solved. Subsequent confessions connected to the Rogers murder confirmed Poe’s general conclusions about the murder. He had already written such details into his story… but the real-life details, including the identity of the murderer, affirmed his line of thinking… through the Dupin character.

Wikipedia has a page with background about this story and its history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mystery_of_Marie_Rog%C3%AAt

The drama portion of this episode was recorded on Sunday, December 6, 1953. Rehearsal began at 11:00am. Recording began at 3:30pm and concluded at 4:00pm.

The opening comedic commercial plays on the sound-alike words “engine” and “Injun,” which may be considered offensive to modern day ears. These recordings are of their time, and words and sentiments have context that have to be understood in context then but not necessarily agreed with now.

At 14:45 there is a very slight skip in the mid-show commercial. All recordings have this same skip indicating they all have the same source disc transfer.

The next broadcast, 1953-12-21, was announced as On a Country Road, with Frank Lovejoy, but that script was delayed. Really? On a Country Road a few days before Christmas? Nothing says “home for the holidays” like getting lost in dark and unfamiliar roads when a killer might be on the loose. Perhaps Lovejoy wasn’t available for a live broadcast? He was. He actually did record the drama portion on that very day. The next broadcast was changed to a repeated script, Twas the Night Before Christmas, which was more appropriate for the season. That was recorded on Friday, December 18. On a Country Road was held to after the turn of the calendar. There’s no better way to start a New Year with all its hopes and dreams and optimism than getting lost in dark and unfamiliar roads when a killer might be on the loose.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP531214

THE CAST

CORNEL WILDE (Dupin), John Dehner (Police Prefect), Lou Merrill (Beauvais), Jeanette Nolan (Madame Dulac), Paula Winslowe (Marie Roget), Bill Johnstone (Judge / Fisherman), Edgar Barrier (Anatomy Doctor), Junius Matthews (Cabby), Larry Thor (Narrator)

COMMERCIAL: Tom Holland (Hap), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)

###

1953-12-07 Trent's Last Case

Ronald Colman portrays Philip Trent, a famed English criminologist, in a famous British detective novel by E. C. Bentley. Trent is assigned to track down the murderer of an American multi-millionaire industrialist named Sigsbee Manderson. There is no dearth of suspects, as Manderson was a ruthless man who apparently had acquired an enemy almost for each dollar he amassed in his climb to wealth and power. The only possible clue lies in the fact that although Manderson was impeccably dressed, as always, at the time he was shot, his shoes were untied and one was split at the seams. Working from these meager facts, Trent pieces together a fascinating theory, only to see it blow up in his face in an exciting surprise ending. Yes, all of his assertions are wrong. He even falls in love with one of the suspects, obviously frowned upon in detective circles, but it does happen in many movies. The writer Bentley was also a humorist, and believed that some of the mysteries of the time were much too serious. The surprise to the story is that the expert is wrong and the people who “murdered” Manderson (quotation marks can qualify as a spoiler alert) admit to the “crime.”

The story can be fun as Trent convinces himself he has the solution, and since he proves to be incompetent, this will be his last case. As part of the joke, it’s also the first Trent novel, published in 1913. The next novel did not appear until 23 years later, followed by a collection of short stories.

E.C. Bentley’s life and career is summarized at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Clerihew_Bentley

The book that this episode adapted has its own Wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trent%27s_Last_Case_(novel)

Trent’s Last Case is available for reading at the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/trentslastcase00bentuoft/mode/2up

The adaptation of this Bentley story is by “Oliver Gard.” The cover of the script attributes it to Jerry Gollard. “Gard” is the correct writing credit as far as announced on the broadcast, in the script for those credits, and in all of the show publicity. Gollard wrote for Sinatra, Hope, Skelton, and others, as well as The Shadow, Duffy’s Tavern, and other programs. Under the “Gard” name, he had a best-selling mystery novel, The Seventh Chasm, which was released around the time of this broadcast. It received excellent reviews. He also did some writing for 1960s TV series with that name for Checkmate, Hawaiian Eye, 77 Sunset Strip, and others. His obituary can be found at https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/venturacountystar/name/jerome-gollard-obituary?id=13265643

A film version of Trent’s Last Case was released in 1952, and was still in theaters at the time of broadcast. There are a few Suspense connections to that production. Pamela Bower (aka Pamela Wilcox) wrote the script, and also a handful of Suspense scripts. Her ex-husband was Robert Richards, former editor of Suspense and also a regular writer under William Spier. Pamela’s father, Herbert Wilcox, directed the film; he was a very successful film producer in Britain. Orson Welles had a supporting role in the picture. His last appearance was on Suspense for Donovan’s Brain in May 1944, and in a cameo appearance in the 1947 Lady in Distress. The story was popular through the years, with earlier film treatments in 1920 (British silent) and 1929 (American, early “talkie”). The 1952 film may be viewed at the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/trents-last-case-1952

The sound quality of the surviving recording has narrow range. It is fine for listening. The episode has never circulated in high quality sound. Perhaps a richer sounding AFRS recording may surface in the future. This is a much cleaner recording than what has been circulating for decades.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP531207

THE CAST

RONALD COLMAN (Philip Trent), Ellen Morgan (Mrs. Mabel Manderson), Joseph Kearns (Mr. Cupples), Richard Peel (Murch), Gloria Ann Simpson (Telegraph Woman), Bill Johnstone (Sir John Marlowe), Larry Thor (Narrator), Ben Wright (Porter / Marlowe), Dick Beals (Newsboy)

COMMERCIAL: Tom Holland (Hap), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)

NOTE: Ben Wright was originally cast to double as Porter and Marlowe; Porter was reassigned to Richard Peel and Marlowe to Bill Johnstone

###

1953-11-30 The Wreck of the Maid of Athens

Agnes Moorehead stars in an adaptation of a famous autobiographical work by Emily Wooldridge in a play about the blood-chilling ordeal of a woman marked for murder on the high seas. The script is by Gil Doud.

Doud took liberties with Woolridge’s account of her experiences to make it more interesting to the radio audience. She is the captain’s wife aboard the brigantine, Maid of Athens. When the ship was swept by fire several hundred miles off the coast of South America, crew members acted on the ancient superstition that women bring danger of death on board a ship. Sailors on the vessel plotted to dispose of the captain’s wife to break the curse. The captain couldn’t take the hint, but his wife did. The crew sends one of the members to request that the captain give them navigation lessons. He doesn’t think that the timing is anything special, but that they’re a curious bunch and this is something they should know. He doesn’t suspect that they’re thinking of doing away with him and his wife. They divert his attention and a crew member makes threats to take her on shore and stage an accident that will do her in. This episode is not Suspense at its best.

Blogger Christine Miller has interesting comments about the original story at her blog https://www.escape-suspense.com/2011/04/suspense-the-wreck-of-the-maid-of-athens.html a portion of which are reproduced here:

Suspense’s version is interesting, but it bears little resemblance to events described in Wooldridge's journal. In Suspense’s version, the surviving crew members resent and blame the captain’s wife as the cause of their troubles. Superstition dictates that having a woman on board is bad luck, and they blame her for the fire that destroys their ship.

The true story is more interesting. The Maid of Athens caught on fire and was shipwrecked in 1870 on the Isla de los Estados (Staten Island) in Argentina, off the eastern coast of Tierra del Fuego. In Wooldridge's journal, the crew members are respectful and everyone works cooperatively. The only problem with the sailors she describes is their nipping from the small stash of alcoholic spirits kept aside for medicinal purposes.

The journal chronicles her experiences as a woman shipwrecked in a remote part of the world, and how her husband, the captain, managed the situation and eventually navigated them in a hand-made boat to safety at Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands. Had they stayed at sea any longer, they would have had severe injuries from frostbite.

Wooldridge’s book can be viewed at the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/wreckofmaidofath0000emil It was released by MacMillan in a new edition with high quality illustrations in April 1953. This is likely how the Wooldridge’s journal came to the attention of Elliott Lewis or Doud or both.

At the time of this Moorehead appearance, a 3-D musical, Those Redheads from Seattle, was in theaters. Moorehead had a supporting role. The film has an interesting history from a motion picture technology perspective and can be viewed at the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/youtube-N53VecGnPtM

Moorehead was also preparing for a one-woman show tour, That Fabulous Redhead, from the end of January 23 through April 1, 1954. That usually included a reading from Sorry, Wrong Number.

The recording has very minor defects but has some remnants of wow and flutter from one of the reel decks used to record from the original discs, or to make a copy of the tape transfer. This can be heard more in the music bridges than anywhere else in the recording.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP531130

THE CAST

AGNES MOOREHEAD (Emily Wooldridge), Ben Wright (Lawson), Joseph Kearns (Captain Richard Wooldridge), Larry Thor (Narrator), Richard Peel (Hayward), Jack Kruschen (Oates / Man)

COMMERCIAL: Tom Holland (Hap), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)

###

1953-11-16 & -23 The Moonstone

This is the second of three Wilkie Collins novels adapted by Suspense. The first was 1953-03-09 The Dead Alive which was not a particularly compelling production. The Moonstone, however, is well done and faithful to the original (as much as 46 minutes of drama allows). The adaptation is by Richard Chandlee.

The Moonstone is considered by some to be the first detective mystery, but there is disagreement with that as Poe’s Murders in the Rue Morgue is often cited for that, and sometimes his The Gold Bug is, too. What does it matter? Let the professors fighting for tenure and better office space spar over the details in their academic journals. We can just enjoy the stories.

It is a somewhat complex story. Peter Lawford plays the central character, Franklin Blake, a handsome young Englishman who is required in the terms of an uncle’s will to deliver a fabulous bequest, a tremendous yellow diamond to the deceased's niece, Rachel. No one knew how the diamond had fallen into the hands of Blake’s uncle, but there were stories that had been a sacred Indian jewel, part of a four-handed moon god, and that mere possession of it placed one’s life in danger. Three entertainers from the country seek to bring it back, and they have learned its current location. The diamond disappears, and a whole range of subplots emerge. Even Franklin is accused of stealing the gem!

For details of the history and the story, Wikipedia is a worthwhile reference. It may be worthwhile to view that page or another summary prior to listening. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moonstone

Suspense regular Lud Gluskin leads the orchestra in part one. He was scheduled for part two, but Wilbur Hatch filled in for him. No reason is known for Gluskin’s absence.

There were subtitles for the two parts that were used in newspaper publicity. Part one was called “The Loss of the Diamond.” The subtitle for part two was “Discovery of the Truth.” Those words were also in the last line of the drama of part one.

In part 2 at about the 23:30 mark, Lawford has a slight stumble with the script. He says “had caused” and then quickly corrects it to “was caused.” He just moved on as one should.

Not everyone heard the broadcast of the first part on their regular day. Some California stations pre-empted the broadcast for a Truman speech; Los Angeles station KNX (and the home of the CBS studios) played the episode the next day at 6:30pm PT.

Unlike Othello, this two part production was done live on its two broadcast dates.

The network recording of part one has some flaws. The first half of that episode is noisy, indicating a transcription disc that was damaged or not stored in a proper way. The second half disc was cleaner, has better sound, but still has mild flaws. The part one recording is a composite from two different. The best sounding halves were selected, processed separately, and then joined. Part two is in better sound. There is an Armed Forces Radio Service recording (#464) of part two that is known to exist. It is not available at this time.

This was Peter Lawford’s first and second appearances on the series. His three broadcasts involved Wilkie Collins stories, The Moonstone and A Terribly Strange Bed. The latter would be the final Auto-Lite broadcast, 1954-06-07. His career was wide and varied, but many remember him for having married into the Kennedy family and also being part of the Las Vegas “Rat Pack” with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr. An overview of his life and career is available at Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Lawford

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/tsp53111623

THE CAST

PART ONE

PETER LAWFORD (Franklin Blake), Ellen Morgan (Rachel Verinda), Betty Harford (Rosanna), Bill Johnstone (Dr. Candy / Rhama [Man 1]), Ben Wright (Sergeant Cuff / Nihal [Man 2]), Herb Butterfield (Matthew Bruff), Pat Hitchcock (Penelope), Norma Varden (Lady Julia Verinda), Eric Snowdon (Betteridge), Alastair Duncan (Godfrey Abelwhite), Dick Beals (Boy), Larry Thor (Narrator)

COMMERCIAL: Leone Ledoux (Johnny Plugcheck), Tom Holland (Hap), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer)

PART TWO

PETER LAWFORD (Franklin Blake), Betty Harford (Rosanna), Ellen Morgan (Rachel Verinda), Norma Varden (Lady Julia Verinda), Bill Johnstone (Dr. Candy), Ben Wright (Sergeant Cuff), Herb Butterfield (Matthew Bruff), Eric Snowdon (Betteridge), Alastair Duncan (Godfrey Abelwhite), Larry Thor (Narrator)

COMMERCIAL: Dick Ryan (McSorley), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)

 * * *

Classic radio enthusiast and researcher Dr. Matthew Nunes reminds that “Pat Hitchcock” is Patricia Hitchcock, daughter of Alfred Hitchcock. Martin Grams wrote an article many years back that noted:

 Patricia Hitchcock, daughter of the famed American director, even played roles on radio, which, she confessed, was her favorite medium. She acted in “masses of radio shows, all different kinds,” both in New York and Los Angeles. One of them commonly circulating among collectors is an adaptation of Wilkie Collins’ novel The Moonstone, adapted as a two-part presentation for radio’s Suspense. Patricia played a small supporting role in the first of the two broadcasts, aired over CBS on November 16, 1953.  

That article is at https://www.otrr.org/FILES/Articles/Martin_Grams_Jr_Articles/Good_Evening_Alfred_Hitchcock_on_radio.htm###

1953-11-09 Needle in the Haystack

One of the Korean War’s most dangerous assignments, minesweeping, is explored in a tense documentary based on the sweeping of Wonsan harbor during the height of the fighting there. Holden portrays Commander DeForest, assigned to Mine Squadron Three. They are charged with the responsibility of clearing the harbor of mines so a fleet of 250 ships can land with United Nations troops. Despite the utmost precautions in their nerve-wracking job, six of the sweepers are blown up, with many casualties. They can’t determine how the mines are being triggered off because they can’t determine what kinds of mines are being used until it’s too late. The captain assigns Commander DeForest to take charge of a small group of frogmen who will try to find and neutralize the mines by swimming out ahead of the ships. The frogmen go through the minefield and go on shore. They need to do investigative work and interview people in the villages. Fishermen were used to help place the mines, but they learn that those who helped were killed to be sure that the information could not get out. How do the villagers know they can trust the UN soldiers? Eventually, they find an abandoned storage area that has the clues they need… and lots of hay!

The script was adapted by E. Jack Neuman and was based on the book Battle Report: The War in Korea by Walter Karig, Malcolm W. Cagle and Frank A. Mason. The book may be borrowed online at The Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/battlereportwari0000walt/page/n5/mode/2up

The drama portion of this episode was recorded on Sunday, November 1, 1953. Rehearsal began at 11:00am and the recording commenced at 3:30pm, ending at 4:00pm.

This is not a particularly engaging story despite the obvious danger and critical importance of the information that is being sought. Flight of the Bumble Bee, another Korean War story, was a much better story that had peril lurking in the background and at critical moments throughout the production. This story feels more like the hard tasks of detective work being accomplished.

A working title was “Needle in a Haystack.” A Suspense TV adaptation of the story was broadcast the next day and starred starring Lee Marvin and included Ross Martin. A kinescope of the broadcast seems not to have survived. The script was written by Paul Monash and used the “a” and not the “the” in its title.

Each half of the recording has different sound. The second disc must have had some damage and heavy surface noise can be heard in many recorded copies that have been in circulation. These have been reduced. It seems this episode was only transferred once and all recordings have the same source. The overall recording has never circulated in crisp and clear sound; it is hoped that a clean AFRS recording might be found sometime in the future. The halves of the episode network recording posted here are now closer in sound than previously circulating copies.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP531109

THE CAST

WILLIAM HOLDEN (Commander Don DeForest), Joseph Kearns (Captain Spofford), Jack Kruschen (Horla, the Wun San fisherman / Pee Hoo, the Villager), Ben Wright (Lieutenant Shing), Steve Roberts (Sand Hee / Pilot), David Young (Lieutenant), Bert Holland (Seaman), Ted Bliss (Commander), Larry Thor (Narrator)

COMMERCIAL: Tom Holland (Hap), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)

###

1953-11-02 Ordeal in Donner Pass

Edmond O’Brien stars in an Arthur Ross script about one of the most disturbing and regrettable events in American history: the tragedy of the Donner party in the Winter of 1847 to 1848. It was one of the most the terrible ordeals ever endured. Trapped in the High Sierra mountains of California, only 45 or so persons of an expedition that started with almost 90, survived. The drama begins with a vote among the weary pioneers on whether to try to push across the Sierras, despite snowstorms and freezing weather, or to make camp for the winter. They vote for the latter. That begins their vigil which, it becomes increasingly apparent, can end only in death.

It may seem that Edmond O'Brien is “underacting” at the beginning of the production. It may seem confusing to hear it. He's saving up all of his acting range for the terrible horrors at the end.

The number in the party and the number of survivors varies depending how and when the persons are counted. In round numbers, 90 for the expedition party and 45 for the survivors  of the Winter's horrible events is a useful generality. Neither number can show the terror of living through it all.

Wikipedia has a lengthy summary of the sad history of the event , from beginning to the aftermath https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donner_Party

History.com has a 10-point overview of the event https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-should-know-about-the-donner-party

A working title for the broadcast was “Ordeal at Donner Pass.”

Classic radio enthusiast, researcher, and voice entertainer Keith Scott noted that "This was the one Suspense show above all others that really stuck vividly in Elliott Lewis's mind. He was still referencing Donner Pass when he was interviewed for SPERDVAC and by film documentarian John Scheinfeld in the 1970s and early 80s. I think I heard him mention this show on four occasions in all, and he may have brought it up in magazine interviews, too."

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP531102

THE CAST

EDMOND O’BRIEN (Patrick Breen), Paula Winslowe (Mrs. Breen), Mary Lansing (Mrs. Graves / Baby), Charlotte Lawrence (Mrs. Reed), Joseph Kearns (Mr. Graves), John Dehner (Rhoades), Harry Bartell (Mr. Eddy), Parley Baer (Donner), Larry Thor (Narrator)

COMMERCIAL: Ken Christy (Senator), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)

###

1953-10-26 Dutch Schultz

Broderick Crawford stars as “Dutch” Schultz, the notorious 1930 racketeer. Schultz did not get along with other gangleaders, especially over his desire to murder Thomas E. Dewey, the famous and aggressive New York district attorney. Because Schultz had been thrown out of New York, he ran his rackets in New Jersey. Any action in New York would bring the FBI into the case because they crossed state lines. Rather than attack Dewey, the leaders decide to go after his witnesses and tell Schultz to stay in New Jersey. At a subsequent meeting of the gangleaders, where Schultz is clearly an unwanted attendee, he makes it clear that he wants to eliminate Dewey, and he might even do it himself. Schultz is considered to be out of control, and the gangleaders decide they’d be better off eliminating Schultz before their situation with the law got worse.

The overacting in the story with most everyone talking like caricatures of uneducated thugs, even they using “big words” outside of their normal vocabulary. It takes away from the underlying story. Part of it could be Broderick Crawford’s acting: it could be style or it could be lack of experience at the microphone. But even the radio veterans fall into the cartoonish characterizations. Overall, this is not one of the better productions for Suspense.

This is the only Suspense appearance for Marvin Kaplan (as “Abadaba”). The character actor is very familiar to 1960s nostalgia and animation fans as “Choo-choo” in Top Cat and in numerous appearances in TV comedies in the 1960s through the 1980s.

The Schultz life story is summarized at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Schultz

Why do the closing credits say the story was “adapted by James Poe” and not written by him? We don’t know for sure, the story was presented a few months earlier on 1953-07-14 on the Suspense TV series. That was written by Jess Lazarus, and Poe may have used that script as a guide. No kinescope of that broadcast has been found. The stars were Harry Bellaver with Rod Steiger as Schultz. The narrator of the story was Walter Cronkite.

Broderick Crawford first appeared on Suspense in 1950, in Deadline, under William Spier. That highly sought episode has not been found. It is hoped that an AFRS recording will surface some time in the future. It is easy to understand why Lewis would pick Crawford for this role since he had a reputation of being able to play gruff, tough guys on screen quite well.

Crawford received an Oscar for his role in All the King's Men just about three years before this broadcast. The early 1950s would eventually be considered the peak of his career. Crawford was considered to be difficult to direct because of his tough living and drinking, especially during the TV series Highway Patrol. (Producer Frederick Ziv said Crawford “was a handful.”) He still found projects in movies and television well after his career’s supposed “peak.” An overview of his life and career is at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broderick_Crawford

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP531026

THE CAST

BRODERICK CRAWFORD (Dutch Schultz), Jay Novello (Lucky), Herb Butterfield (Harry), Hy Averback (Ginch), Paul Frees (Newsboy / Toy), Sidney Miller (Cigarette seller / Bug), Jack Moyles (Flot), Tony Barrett (Albert), Benny Rubin (Gurrah), Marvin Kaplan (Abadaba), Larry Thor (Narrator)

COMMERCIAL: Leoen Ledoux (Johnny Plugcheck), Tom Holland (Hap), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)

###

1953-10-19 My True Love's Hair

Jeff Chandler stars in the sixth Suspense “musical.” The tragic story of love and violence, is based on the well-known folk song, Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair. That is, loosely based. The Appalachian song has its roots in Scotland. Scripters Morton Fine and David Friedkin shift the story to the Pacific Ocean island of Fiji.

The drama opens with midshipman John Harvison, played by Chandler, as he meets a beautiful native girl, Rachel. He is captivated by her. Harvison ignores a warning from her employer that Rachel is “of evil, and of death.” He is later drawn into a quarrel in which he kills a shipmate in defense of the Rachel’s honor. Harvison and the girl flee together, but soon the island police close in and he must run again. When the danger has passed, he returns, but the she has disappeared. Harvison presses a search for her, from island to island, as the police continue an equally determined search for him. He catches up with her, angry with her for leaving him, and being so alluring that he had pursue her and encounter all the risks to do so. It does not end well.

How strange it is that the title of this story is the description of the murder weapon. 

It’s not a particularly satisfying story, and is actually a dark one, much like Rachel’s hair. Some of the Chandler narrative and dialogue (and breathing) is a bit steamy. In general, the Suspense musicals are more novelty than they are effective (Wreck of the Old 97 excepted). That is especially and unfortunately true for this broadcast.

In a rare occurrence, Harlow Wilcox flubs the opening of the broadcast. Instead of Jeff Chandler’s name at the open, he mistakenly announces “Jeff Alexander” as the star. He may have seen Alexander in the halls of CBS that day. He was a music director at CBS for Hollywood Star Playhouse and other shows, including Amos ’n Andy. Both Wilcox and Alexander were working on that show in Fall of 1953. You can sense some surprise in the studio as Wilcox says it but immediately corrects himself (“I’m sorry, Mr. Jeff Chandler”) and continues on. That’s live radio. It is more surprising that it occurred so infrequently.

The opening announcement of the broadcast was edited to be shorter:

• Edited, final: Tonight, with song and story, Auto-Lite tells a classic tale of love and death...

• Original: Tonight, with song and story, Auto-Lite tells of a man who couldn’t make up his mind. He was looking for a girl… but he didn’t know if he wanted her to be alive… or dead...

The working title of the script was the same as the song Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair. The title was shortened for the broadcast.

Historical background of the song can be found at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Is_the_Color_of_My_True_Love%27s_Hair

There are two versions of the song at The Internet Archive. One is performed as a folk ballad by J.J. Niles, recorded in 1941. The other is contemporary to the broadcast, a big band arrangement. It is sung by Kay Malone with background by Jud Conlon’s Rhythmaires and music by Marty Gould’s Orchestra

• Niles https://archive.org/details/78_1-go-way-from-my-window-2-one-morning-in-may_john-jacob-niles-j-j-niles_gbia0032746/03+-+Black+is+the+Color+of+My+True+Love's+Ha+-+John+Jacob+Niles.flac

• Malone https://archive.org/details/78_black-is-the-color-of-my-true-loves-hair_kay-malone-jud-conlons-rhythmaires-marty_gbia0378463b

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP531019

THE CAST

JEFF CHANDLER (John Harvison), Lillian Buyeff (Rachel), Betty Harford (Mary), Paula Winslowe (Mrs. Genuit), Martha Wentworth (Supply Woman / Voice), Joseph Kearns (Mr. Genuit / Man), Clayton Post (Red), Jack Kruschen (Old Man / Native), Ben Wright (Ernest / Somerset), Ernest Newton (Vocalist), Larry Thor (Narrator)

COMMERCIAL: Dick Ryan (Mr. McSorley), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)

###

1953-10-12 The Shot

Van Heflin stars in a story inspired by Alexander Pushkin’s 1831 short story. E. Jack Neuman updated the story about honor to be based in the post-Civil War United States. In April 1954, this episode won an Edgar award from the Mystery Writers of America.

Two officers in the Confederate army hold a pistol duel in which the shots are not fired simultaneously. The first shot at Heflin’s character (Lt. Zachary Payton) passes through his hat. He doesn't afford himself the opportunity to take his turn to shoot, much to the confusion of the duel witnesses. Instead, he challenges his opponent to be ready for battle any day, at any place. Seven years later, he claims his shot… after his target is financially successful, and in a happy marriage, and has more to lose than he did seven years ago. Payton initiates the duel in his target’s home… with the wife nearby… after many of his former fellow soldiers did their best to talk him out of it.

Stick with the story as it may seem to drag. Almost two-thirds of the drama is set-up via conversational dialogue, not via a series of events, that leads to a surprising conclusion. Some of the dialogue is nuanced and gives some clues as to the ending. This is not one of those broadcasts that you can have playing in the background and then catch up on something you may have missed. It is a good episode, deserving of its Edgar award.

The conclusion of the broadcast of the prior week’s episode, Action, was blacked out by a network outage for many listeners. The problem was at WTOP in Washington, DC and affected the network from there. CBS publicity announced that it would send printed copies of the ending of the story to anyone who requested it. That announcement is in the broadcast of The Shot. In the final production script, that announcement was originally planned very early in the broadcast, just before the beginning of the opening commercial. It was moved to the end of the opening commercial. That decision was likely made during rehearsal on the day of broadcast.

The drama opens with music that similar to the opening music of the 1947-08-28 broadcast of Double Ugly.

The original story was by Russian poet and novelist Alexander Pushkin. He seemed to have a fascination with duels, and was 37 years old when he died in one.

• biographical overview https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Pushkin

• original story details https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shot_(Pushkin)

There are two surviving recordings, with the network recording as the better of the two. There is also an Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#458) that is in slightly lesser quality sound. That recording has had the AFRS filler music edited out. That music was used at the end of the dramas to fill allotted broadcast time. There are other AFRS recordings available that have the filler music, but those recordings are not as good as the one without it. The drama is complete in this AFRS recording.

The drama portion of the broadcast was recorded on Thursday, October 8, 1953. Rehearsal began at 10:00am, with recording beginning at 1:30pm and ending at 2:00pm.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP531012

THE CAST

VAN HEFLIN (Lt. Zachary Payton), Harry Bartell (Jim Stockwell), Jack Edwards (Ben Rolls), Jane Webb (Marsha), Joseph Kearns (Willis), Barney Phillips (Referee / Pauk), James Eagles (Quincy), Larry Thor (Narrator)

COMMERCIAL: Tom Holland? (Joe College), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)

###

1953-10-05 Action

Herbert Marshall returns to the series and portrays a mountain climber faced with the prospect of losing his physical abilities because of he suspects may have had a stroke. Fearing a future life of daily dependence that may cause rather his fear of dying, he decides to continue his climbing and be less obsessed about safety. He’s an experienced and capable mountain climber. He’d rather take the risks of extreme mountain adventure that he may find challenging rather than surrender to the life limitations that are likely to await him as a stroke victim. He decides to seek climbs he might have dismissed without his new attitude. He also plans to do these dangerous climbs solo, without fellow climbers. For his first, he deliberately chooses the most difficult climb he can think of, one with an overhang. This is dangerously like climbing the reverse side of a ladder leaning against a wall. He has to carve his own ladder rungs, out of ice, with a sheer drop thousands of feet beneath him. He climbs to within a few feet of the overhang before his strength gives out. As he feels his grip loosening, he hears a cry for help from another climber, a woman, somewhere above him. She is in trouble. She has been climbing with her husband and is now in a precarious situation. She pleads with her husband to cut her loose, so as not to compromise both of their lives and leave their children parentless. Marshall’s character finds the will and the strength to assist them, his desire for life reinvigorated by the challenge.

The story is by C. E. Montague and adapted by Antony Ellis. Montague was a British journalist who wrote Action in 1928. The original story is in a short story collection that can be borrowed at The Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/greattalesofacti00benn/page/254/mode/2up

The wife’s name is not mentioned in short story, but it is mentioned in this adaptation. Her name is “Hillary,” and is a likely nod to Edmund Hillary. He reached the top of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953. The story was done twice on Escape (1948-04-04 and 1949-07-21) and starred Joe Kearns. The Escape adaptation was written by Les Crutchfield. The wife’s name was “Anna” in those productions. Note at the beginning of the Suspense broadcast that Larry Thor says the episode is “a new dramatization,” indicating that it is not the same script used for the Escape broadcasts.

Forty of the CBS network stations were blacked out during this broadcast because of problems at the master controls at WTOP in Washington, DC. Affiliates as far west as Michigan were affected. Auto-Lite was offered a 22 percent rebate of their sponsorship money, which they turned down. It is not known how it was settled financially. The plan was to send mimeographed copies of the conclusion of the drama to anyone who mailed in. Auto-Lite would be able to judge the level of interest in the series. The announcement was made after the opening commercial of 1953-10-12 The Shot.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP531005

THE CAST

HERBERT MARSHALL (Chris Bell), Ellen Morgan (Hillary Gollen), Parley Baer (Gaspard), Herb Butterfield (Tillet / Brough), Richard Peel (Adrian [member #1]), Ben Wright (Conductor / Dr. Teddy Gollen), Larry Thor (Narrator)

COMMERCIAL: Dick Beals (Johnny Plugcheck), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)

###

1953-09-28 Hellfire

John Hodiak returns to the series in another script by effects artist Ross Murray. A raging oil fire has to be stopped by the well owner when a fire fighting expert is not able to help him. Hodiak plays a “wildcatter,” and independent well owner, with many failed “dry holes” in the past. His investors are becoming very impatient and want to stop funding his efforts. He finally brings in a real gusher, only to see it burst into an inferno of flame. As a geyser of flame mounts in the sky, he sends out a desperate SOS for the one man who may have a chance to put it out, a man named Burnette. He’s a specialist in fighting large oil fires. But Burnette is away, and the wildcatter decides to battle the fire himself. He has no experience beyond being in the oil business for a long time, but he is intent on using what he learned and knows and decides to take that risk. Dynamite appears to offer the only hope, but there seems no way to plant it without being roasted alive. Unable to bear the sight of his precious well going up in smoke, he moves in with the explosive charge. One of his workers tries to keep him from being seared with a constant spray of water from a high-pressure hose.

Martin Grams had a conversation with Ross Murray about this script when he was compiling his Suspense: Twenty Years of Thrills and Chills book, published in 1998. Murray talked about how he got the idea for the plot. “I read a story of Red Adair or his predecessor, who went to Saudi Arabia to put out an oil well fire. I thought about how interesting it would be if some little old wildcat in Texas had his single oil well catch fire, and couldn't get a hold of the professional, and what would he do to put it out himself.” (Martin had sent Murray a letter… and they talked by phone. How lucky he was 25+ years ago that there were still performers and artists around who could answer his queries).

The dramatic portion of the episode was recorded on Thursday, September 10, 1953. Rehearsal began at 10:00am, and the recording was done from 2:30pm to 3:00pm.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP530928

THE CAST

JOHN HODIAK (Wally Drake), Joseph Kearns (Smiley), Clayton Post (Pete), Charlotte Lawrence (Dorothy Drake), Jerry Hausner (Collins), Junius Matthews (Hotchkiss), Herb Butterfield (MacLain), Dick Ryan (Whitey), Larry Thor (Narrator)

COMMERCIAL: Tom Holland (Hap), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)

###

1953-09-21 The Empty Chair

Agnes Moorehead stars in a story designed to rattle young drivers and their parents into being more aware of safe driving. In this story, the climax has three rods racing for a bridge only wide enough for two. Yikes! Moorehead portrays a school teacher who tries to intervene to prevent a senseless slaughter. She rents a room in a home where one of her students lives. He’s a brash youngster with a hot rod car and loves high speed driving and racing. Police bring him home one night with a report that he has playing a deadly game of “auto roulette,” a game in which two cars head toward each other at 70 miles an hour. The game is to see who will give way first to avoid a crash. She learns of plans for a three-car race for a two-car bridge, she tries desperately to make the teenager listen to reason, he is in no mood to do so.

Morton Fine and David Friedkin wrote the script. It is always difficult to write a script that does not spring from the organic creativity of the authors. This is why writing for advertising or public relations can be so challenging. The production is presented “commercial free” (but infused with corporate image-building) by Auto-Lite. These stories are rarely good, and you get a sense that the actors do their best to sound like they are not “punching the clock” and not caught up in the story. One of the reasons actors liked appearing on Suspense was that the scripts were often more compelling than other assignments.

Auto-Lite president Royce Martin and Ralph Thomas of the American Automobile Association appear in the spot usually reserved for the mid-show commercial. Martin was also on 1950-08-31 True Report. He was pre-recorded at that time.

The program was rehearsed and recorded on Friday, September 4, 1953. Rehearsal began at 11:00am to 1:30pm and then from 3:00 to 5:00pm as a full dress rehearsal including the speakers from AAA and Auto-Lite. Recording was done from 5:00pm to 5:30pm. This was a full recording, not just drama only, to allow for the commercials to be recorded with Martin and Thomas to avoid and problems the speakers who were inexperienced with radio live broadcasts. Recording the full program also allowed time for the production and pressing of records that would be distributed to schools. Scripts were also made available to the public.

At the end of the broadcast, Agnes Moorehead receives a Golden Mike Award from Elliott Lewis for the prior season. No episode is mentioned, but it was either for Death and Miss Turner or The Signalman. It was likely for the former.

Rene Garriguenc composed the music for this episode; a reason for the absence of Lucien Moraweck is not known.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP530921

THE CAST

AGNES MOOREHEAD (Barbara Warner), Joseph Kearns (Mr. Douglas), Sam Edwards (Bobby Morrison), Michael Chapin (David Cooper), Paula Winslowe (Mrs. Morrison), Herb Butterfield (Officer Cleaver / Charlie), Larry Thor (Narrator)

COMMERCIAL: Harlow Wilcox (Announcer)

###

1953-09-14 A Message to Garcia

The 1953-1954 season opens with the famous (at the time) account of an emissary from President McKinley who works to get a message to General Calixto Garcia, a leader of the Cuban insurgents prior to the Spanish-American War. This was a timely and topical story for Fall of 1953 because Cuba was in the news. Fidel Castro and Cuban revolutionaries made a failed attempt in July 1953 to overthrow the government of Fulgencio Batista. The country was in turmoil; Castro would eventually succeed. The story fit Elliott Lewis’ affinity for real-life stories that had elements of suspense and uncertainty.

It is one the curious adventures in American history. Widmark plays Army Lieutenant Andrew Rowan whose assignment it was to make a heroic dash to deliver the message of support and upcoming military intervention to General Garcia. The assignment was suicidal in many ways. The courageous Rowan had to sneak through a hostile Spanish army to tell Garcia that the United States was about to dispatch Army forces to support the Cuban revolt against Spain. The episode opens with a folk song (no, this is not a Suspense musical) that recounts the blowing up of the US battleship Maine. It was that was the incident that precipitated the Spanish-American War. A Cuban patriot in Jamaica assists Rowan to disguise himself as a fisherman and obtain a tiny sailing boat to cross to Cuba. Upon landing there, however, he discovered that he had to cross through virtually the entire Spanish army to reach Garcia. Somehow, the Spanish army learned of his mission and are determined to kill him before he can carry it out.

Special music for the opening and close of the drama was prepared for the episode by Rene Garriguenc in conjunction with the Suspense musical director Lud Gluskin. Garriguenc wrote many pieces for motion pictures and television, especially bridges between scenes and background music.

The broadcast was reviewed in the 1953-09-16 edition of Variety. The review was mildly negative.

Suspense began its eleventh year of broadcasting Monday (14) with a half-hour dramatization of A Message to Garcia, a yarn too weak to most listeners to be “a tale well calculated to keep you in Suspense.” Program made for adequate entertainment, with cast, writer and producer-director all turning in competent jobs. Yarn began with a Calypso singer setting the scene for the ensuing action via a tune relating to the American lieutenant’s efforts to contact Cuba's General Garcia prior to the start of the Spanish-American War. Narrative had Richard Widmark in the starring role of the lieutenant. Program was transcribed. Calypso tune both at the beginning and end of the yarn, gave story added impact. Harlow Wilcox handled the so-so Auto-Lite plugs.

The original story was by journalist Elbert Hubbard and is accessible at The Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/messagetogarciaa014275mbp/page/n7/mode/2up The Suspense adaptation was by Richard Chandlee.

Hubbard’s background is summarized at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbert_Hubbard

The story behind the story and how it grew in popularity is at https://w.wiki/BB3s

The original story was incredibly popular, with 40 million copies printed worldwide, an astonishing number in its time. Hubbard was shocked when requests for copies of the article started to come into his small publishing company. The story was considered to be inspiring, because of Lieutenant Andrew Rowan’s dogged determination to locate Garcia and risk his life at every turn and return with Garcia’s response. A request from the New York Central Railroad for 100,000 copies caught Hubbard by surprise. He told them that it would take two years to produce that many in their company. Instead, he gave permission to them to have copies printed by any means of their choosing by going to printing companies that had proper equipment and quicker turnaround. People from around the world started began see copies of the publication when they visited New York and used the railroad to go around the country. The story began to get international coverage and was translated to many languages once these travelers returned home.

The phrase “get a message to Garcia” came into popular conversation and would have still been known at the time of this broadcast, 40 years or so after the first publication of the story. Many listeners would have remembered it, and even more likely used the phrase even if they had no specific knowledge about its origin. It has since fallen out of general use.

The story was made into a 1936 movie, A Message to Garcia, with Wallace Beery and Barbara Stanwyck. It is available for viewing at YouTube https://youtu.be/a5HuyOsHcIU Some listeners may have had familiarity with the story because of that release.

Biographical information about General Calixto Garcia can be found at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calixto_Garc%C3%ADa

Cuba was in the news in 1953 and the Revolution was in its earliest stages. An overview of the Cuban Revolution of the 1950s can be found at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Revolution

At the end of the broadcast, Richard Widmark receives a “Golden Mike Award.” It was his second, this time for the episode How Long is the Night. The awardee was selected by Suspense staff and the show’s regular players. It was intended to bring more news coverage to the series as well as to express gratitude to the selectees.

The rehearsal was on Sunday, August 30, 1953 starting at noon and ending at 4:30pm. The taping of the drama began at 4:30pm and ended at 5:00pm.

At the end of the broadcast, there is an interesting statement that Widmark was in the new movie, The Robe, in Cinemascope, and that there were “no special glasses needed.” There must have been concern that movie-goers would confuse 3-D movies which needed special glasses and Cinemascope, an improved method of filming and projecting movies.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP530914

THE CAST

RICHARD WIDMARK (Lieutenant Andrew Rowan), Joseph Kearns (Carter / Sanchez the Soldier), Lillian Buyeff (Teresa), Anthony Barrett (Ceruasio), Jack Kruschen (Dr. Jose Rubio), Ted de Corsia (Dominguin), Edgar Barrier (General Garcia), Ernest Newton (Vocalist [in style of Calypso singer Sir Lancelot]), Larry Thor (Narrator)

COMMERCIAL: Tom Holland (Hap), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)

###