Agnes Moorehead returns in the second broadcast of this landmark Charlotte Perkins Gilman story, adapted by Silvia Richards. The script was originally used on 1948-07-29. Moorehead plays a wife overwhelmed with the stresses of life. Her husband brings her to the country for a rest cure, but she distrusts him. During her stay, she becomes fascinated and obsessed by the wallpaper in her second floor bedroom. She talks herself into believing that a woman is trapped behind it. This belief and her action lead the story to a strange conclusion. Moorehead delivers another fine performance.
The Gilman work was a shocking and controversial story when it was published in 1892. It is actually about the social position of women in society, but most of those undertones were sent to the background in this adaptation. Those who were familiar with the story prior to the broadcast were likely able to pick up on that. Some listeners may have been disappointed in its becoming not much more than a “horror” story.
Background about the first broadcast, and Gilman’s motivation for writing it, can be found at:
https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/12/1948-07-29-yellow-wallpaper.html
https://archive.org/details/TSP480729 is also where recordings can be streamed or downloaded.
For best enjoyment of the story, the 1948 production is preferred because it has much better sound quality than this 1957 recording.
This program was recorded on Thursday, June 20, 1957. Rehearsal began at 2:00pm and concluded at 5:00pm. Recording began at that time and editing work was completed by 7:00pm.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP570630
THE CAST
Agnes Moorehead (Pet, or “She”), Anne Hunter (Jennie), Joe de Santis (John), George Walsh (Narrator)
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