Bandleader and composer Ray Noble stars in a William N. Robson script about a bodyguard assigned to guard the safety of a famous diamond. Noble was a very highly regarded musician but he was also known for his amusing banter with the stars of the Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy Show. In the opening monologue, Robson claims the script was “written for” Ray Noble, but that is the kind of puffery he would often have in his comments. We know it wasn’t. The script was used in a rather forgettable series that Robson did on Mutual when he was in his CBS blacklist exile. That series was The Modern Adventures of Casanova which starred Errol Flynn. The lead character was described as “Christopher Casanova, direct descendant of the infamous Italian playboy.” Somehow, the show lasted a year, and thankfully, only one episode has survived. This script about the “Star of Thessaly” diamond was not one of them, but it was broadcast on 1952-11-27. This Suspense broadcast is almost exactly five years since it first sullied the airwaves.
This script was “written for” Noble in the same way one can pick a new suit at a department store and a sales person would comment on how good it fits. They’d say “it’s like that suit was made for you” in terms of it not needing much alteration. It’s more accurate to say “it was edited just for Ray Noble,” but that scores no publicity points, hence the Robson puffery.
Noble’s character, Captain Anthony Chumley-Smythe, is hired to guard a diamond and its owner. Socrates Melas. one of the wealthiest men in Greece, loved the Star of Thessaly diamond so much, he always carried it with him. That’s a bit dangerous for something worth a half million dollars or $5.6 million in US$2025. All that made the insurance company nervous that it could be stolen as he traveled. has a few “coincidental” near-accidents aimed to prevent him from protecting the diamond and the sickly owner. It happens a few times, but the diamond is eventually safe. Yawn.
That name “Captain Anthony Chumley-Smythe” is funny in itself and might be an in-joke. Knowing that Robson also used the pseudonym “Christopher Anthony” to get some scripts on Suspense before his exile. There is another character named “Christopher Wrexham,” so that means there are characters named “Christopher” and “Anthony” in this 1952 script.
The story is pedestrian at best, and Ben Wright’s doubling is actually confusing. The cast just seems to be just punching the clock on this one.
The program was recorded on Friday, November 15, 1957. Rehearsal began at 1:00pm and ended at 4:00pm. Recording began at that time, and with editing, concluded at 6:00pm.
No network recordings of this broadcast have survived. There are two Armed Forces Radio Service recordings (AFRS#658 and AFRS#960). The better recording is AFRS#960. The recordings can be differentiated by the announcement after Robson’s opening monologue:
AFRS#658 US Attorney General and Dept of Justice
AFRS#960 Navy Distinguished Service Medal (read by Vin Scully, voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers)
This was Ray Noble’s first of two appearances on Suspense. He was talented as a musician but also was capable of highly comedic interactions with the hosts of programs on radio, television, and film. He was successful for decades, and was recognized with induction into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. An overview of his career and honors are at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Noble
LISTEN
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https://archive.org/details/TSP571124
THE CAST
Ray Noble (Captain Anthony Chumley-Smythe), Ben Wright (Christopher Wrexham / Bullneck Hoff), Lillian Buyeff (Koula), Byron Kane (Hippolite / [Col. Thorndyke]), Jay Novello (Socrates Melas / [Attendant]), Abraham Sofaer (Sir Eustace Twining), George Walsh (Narrator)
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