Ray Noble returns to the series for his second and final appearance. It is such a darkly funny script that may have been created as something of an inside joke. The plot has two suspected serial spouse murderers get married to become Mr. and Mrs. Dunkel. That may be the first clue to the origin of the plotline. “John Thornton,” credited with the script, and is strongly suspected to be radio scripter John Dunkel. There are no resources of writers, radio personnel, performers, with the name “John Thornton.” That’s often a sign that a pseudonym is being used. Once down that dead end, finding pseudonyms requires a different kind of research, and usually someone spills the beans and reveals it. That’s not the case here, but the suspicion seems warranted based on the character name. There is a possibility that the script was intended to be a practical joke on Dunkel.
This might be a lampoon of various Suspense and other radio mystery plotlines where one spouse desires the wealth of the other and will do so by terminating the other. Or, there is no wealth, but there is insurance that can be collected. And then the two of them take in a border who turns out to be a serial parent and guardian murderer. She has the very strange name of “Golden Link,” a phrase that usually refers to a magical or important combination that makes some kind of positive interaction or result possible.
The lawyer’s name in the story is “Aldergeiss” which is “old goat” in German. That may be an inside joke, too.
If “John Thornton” is Dunkel, he was very familiar with these kinds of story plots, having been a writer for The Whistler. He also wrote for Escape, but was most famous for his work on Gunsmoke and many other radio and television westerns. He had a very successful career that included screenwriting credits.
The program was recorded on Wednesday, March 26, 1958. Rehearsal began at 2:00pm, and ended at 5:00pm. Recording started at that time and with in-studio edits concluded at 7:00pm. Additional production work was done in a different studio and finished at 9:00pm. Music was added on Sunday, March 30.
The surviving recording is an aircheck from an Armed Forces Radio station. Its sound is listenable but has narrow range and background noise. The closing “Suspense March” music has been edited out.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP580406
THE CAST
RAY NOBLE (Dunkel), LEE PATRICK (Victoria), Shirley Mitchell (Golden Link), David Shiener (Aldergeiss the lawyer), Helen Conrad (Woman), George Walsh (Narrator)
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