Vic Perrin stars as a prominent circus trapeze artist in an “infatuation-triangle” story that seems like it is headed to murder. The story is by Ann Doud. Some may find similarities to the Cornell Woolrich story If the Dead Could Talk that was presented on the series on 1949-01-20, and there definitely are. This story’s character dynamics are different, and the ending is not terminal, but tragic in a different way. Some of the story drags, but stick with it to the end. This is not an exciting race-against-time story, but tension slowly builds in a different way. Jealously leads to the consideration of a performance accident that would likely work to eliminate one of the men without creating criminal suspicion. An unexpected aspect of the performance creates a different outcome.
Twenty-four-year-old Eleanore Tanin plays “Feathers,” the love interest of both men, and she plays both of them into thinking she has feelings for each of them. Those feelings are about as shallow as a puddle, but the men think it is or could be as deep as an ocean. You actually feel sorry for them and want to yell at your speakers (or headphones) hoping they hear your warning (well, maybe some people did during the original 1955 broadcast). There’s more drama than there is action for much of the story, with lots of talking, but it does eventually get where it needs to be, resulting in an entertaining episode.
There are famous aerialists mentioned in the dialogue to convey how skilled the Gallardo act performers are. Both Alfredo Cordona and Antoinette Concello were known worldwide, and are members of the Circus Ring of Fame. Many circus fans listening to the broadcast would have heard of them before. Summaries of their careers (with pictures) are available:
Codona https://www.circusringoffame.org/inductees/alfredo-codona/ and there is video available https://youtu.be/1kJHLWszqJM?si=MQvpWVSzarB_lw1f
Concello https://www.circusringoffame.org/inductees/antoinette-concello/
The script is by Ann Doud, wife of writer Gil Doud. She was an actress and writer, and it seems most of her interest was stage acting and stage production. Gil died 18 months after this broadcast at age 43. There are not many references to Ann, but there is an IMDb entry for “Anne Doud” with an appearance in Wild, Wild, West.
There are two surviving recordings in very pleasing sound, but the network recording is cleaner with rich sound. The Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#575) is a very good recording with slightly narrower range and some disc noise.
There are a few Suspense episodes that involve circus life. Circuses were much more popular in the 1950s than they are in modern times, but they were at the beginning of a multi-decade decline because of television and broader accessibility of media and other events. These are the “circus” episodes of Suspense:
Woolrich’s If the Dead Could Talk 1949-01-20 has similarities to Gallardo
Six Feet Under 1950-04-13 involves a “buried alive” act
Death Wish 1951-03-29 has a circus owner who kills suitors of a performer he is attracted to
Carnival 1952-01-28 has a mechanical man actor who was a killer, and might do it again
The Giant Of Thermopylae 1954-05-03 is where a mechanical man’s operator is found dead
Flesh Peddler 1957-08-04 involves a circus ventriloquist
The Big Dive 1960-08-07 is about a circus high-diver.
To hear the broadcast of If the Dead Could Talk or read about it, go to https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2024/01/1949-01-20-if-dead-could-talk.html or https://archive.org/details/TSP490120
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP560320
THE CAST
Vic Perrin (Rudi Gallardo), Tony Barrett (Nicco), Eleanore Tanin (Feathers), Bill Justine (Ringmaster), Virginia Gregg (Princess Olga), George Walsh (Narrator)
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