Harry Bartell stars in the second performance of a Larry Marcus script where a political fanatic father forces his son to bring a bomb into the factory where he works. The son’s trepidation leads to nervousness that sends him home early, and the nefarious plans for the explosion are put in jeopardy. It is thwarted by the innocent act of a good Samaritan who had no idea they were handling such a device hidden in the lunch box.
Details about the original broadcast are at:
https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2024/02/1949-06-09-lunch-kit.html
https://archive.org/details/TSP490609 which is where the recording can be downloaded or streamed.
The 1949 broadcast was titled “The Lunch Kit.” The script was also used prior to that in 1944 on The Whistler.
Two complete recordings have survived, the network broadcast, and an Armed Forces Radio Service release (AFRS#749). They are in equivalent sound, with the AFRS #749 being slightly better. Either one is a fine choice. AFRS also released the episode as #528, for which only part two has been found at this time.
Elizabeth Tankersley, a member of the Old Time Radio Researchers Facebook group notes that:
I think that sometimes when Suspense repeats a story in a slightly shorter time slot -- for instance, the 1958 version of Three Skeleton Key -- the script really loses something in cutting it for time. I've listened to all three versions of Lunch Kit [Suspense and The Whistler] and I think this one's the best. In making it shorter, by keeping the first scene brief and the saboteur's motives vague, and cutting the scene in the car on the way to work, this version really pares down the story to the essentials. As a result, it keeps up the tension better than the earlier versions. It's suspenseful the whole time and it's one of my go-to Suspense recommendations. (It also helps that Harry Bartell and Parley Baer are perfect in these roles!)
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP550412
THE CAST
Harry Bartell (Jonathan), Parley Baer (Mike), Larry Dobkin (Mr. Davis), Victor Rodman (Dad), Jerry Hausner (Car driver / “End o’ the line, Mac”), Barney Phillips (Doctor), Joe DuVal (Timekeeper), Joe Cranston (employee in queue), Tom Hanley (Ad-libs), Larry Thor (Narrator)
###
