Suspense had some excellent writers who started on the series as sound effects artists before they took to their typewriters and handed in scripts. With this episode, effects practitioners Gus Bayz and Ross Murray who made that jump were now joined by fellow effects artist Tom Hanley. He wrote this script and also produced the effects (along with Bill James) for this compelling episode. Unlike his predecessors of Bayz and Murray, however, Hanley won a Writer's Guild Award in 1958 for this effort.
Comedic performer Jack Carson, cast against type for this serious story, narrates the events around an atom bomb failure to detonate during a test. He does well in this serious role, and he has serious actors around him, especially John Dehner. The story is about the two men volunteer to investigate it. There is great risk that they could expose themselves to a sudden, horrifying death as they seek the cause. The scientists realize someone has to manually disconnect the bomb. They know it might explode in their faces before they even reach it. Whether brave or crazy to do so, they begin the frightening 500-foot climb to the top of the tower and the warhead, uncertain of the outcome.
Atomic testing was in the news and was an important campaign topic in the second Dwight Eisenhower-Adlai Stevenson presidential campaign. Newspapers were filled with articles and letters to editors that reflected the philosophical and political tugs of war about the near- and long-term effects of such testing in geopolitical affairs and the practical local environmental effects on population and other forms of life. The risk of a testing accident, like this story’s plotline, would gain some extra listening attention.
Two recordings of this episode have survived, and both are Armed Forces Radio Service releases (AFRS#651 and AFRS#953). They can be differentiated by the announcement after Robson’s opening monologue:
AFRS#651: the mission of the US Treasury Department;
AFRS#953: the importance of folklore in culture, with a story of fictional character Mike Fink.
Both recordings are excellent, with AFRS#953 having slightly better sound. It’s essentially a coin flip. No network recording has surfaced. This episode is yet another where, for many decades, the only circulating copies were poor sounding and heavily edited AFRS airchecks. In comparison, these recordings are exceptional. Many Suspense enthusiasts will be hearing this story in excellent sound for the very first time in the 50 years since its original broadcast.
The program was recorded on September 26, 1957. Rehearsal began at 2:00pm and ended at 5:00pm. Recording began at that time and with editing concluded at 7:00pm.
There was always additional post-production work on these programs in the Robson tape era. The cast and other performers were not needed for that to be accomplished and prepped for broadcast.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP571006
THE CAST
Jack Carson (Narrator), John Dehner (Dr. Leigh Thurston), Barney Phillips (John Grant), Sam Pierce (Count-down Voice / I.N.S. reporter), Eddie Firestone (Frank Butler), Norm Alden (Winship), George Walsh (Suspense Narrator)
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