1959-01-04 Don't Call Me Mother

Agnes Moorehead stars as a cunning and despicable mother who is attempting to control all aspects of her 25-year-old son’s life. He is asserting himself, to her dismay, and soon gets married. She strives to undermine him and his wife through lies, innuendo, and imposition of guilt. The wife is loyal, and despite the effort to drive her away, she stands with the son. She decides the only way to gain control of her life and her son is to plot the murder of her daughter-in-law. The play is by William N. Robson. Moorehead is excellent in this role and as annoyance with her cascades in almost the same manner her “Mrs. Stevenson” does in Sorry, Wrong Number. This is not a classic script, but if you like Moorehead’s work, you will like this production.

The program was recorded on Friday, January 2, 1959. Rehearsal began at 1:00pm, with recording and in-studio edits beginning at 4:30pm. Production edits began at 5:00pm and concluded at 7:00pm. Music was added on Saturday, January 3.

Two recordings of the episode have survived. The network recording is complete and in good sound. The Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) recording is much preferred for its fuller sound.

The working title for this story was ‘M’ is for the Million Things. The title was in CBS publicity, and the phrase would have been recognizable to listeners as a line from a 1915 song, played and performed mainly on Mothers’ Day. There is much more to the song, but this is the most famous portion:

“M” is for the million things she gave me,
“O” means only that she’s growing old,
“T” is for the tears were shed to save me,
“H” is for her heart of purest gold;
“E” is for her eyes, with lovelight shining,
“R” means right, and right she’ll always be,
Put them all together, they spell “MOTHER,”
A word that means the world to me.

The 1915 song can be heard from an Edison disc at The Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/78_m-o-t-h-e-r-a-word-that-means-the-world-to-me_george-wilton-ballard-theodore-moor_gbia0083449b

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP590104

THE CAST

AGNES MOOREHEAD (Laurie Ryder), Cathy Lewis (Roberta), James McCallion (Larry Ryder), Barney Phillips (Stern the butcher / Lt. Ross), Norm Alden (Sergeant Adam [Abbott]), George Walsh (Narrator)

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1958-12-28 The Thirty-second of December

Frank Lovejoy stars in a time travel fantasy by Morris Lee Green and William Walker. It’s not time travel that goes back into history to attempt to change important events. It’s a short-term and selfish journey by Lovejoy’s character, a husband named “Joe,” to erase the downside effects his marriage has had because of his numerous and large gambling debts.

It is the last day of December, 1958. Joe and his wife are having a conversation about their life together and how tight their finances are. When he asks for her to give him her engagement ring, he says it is to have its loose stone fixed. She suspects that he has been gambling again, and confronts him. She thinks he’s headed to the pawn shop, like he has in the past, to get money to pay his bookie. He denies it, but off to the pawn shop he goes, hoping to get a big payment to pay off the thousand dollars he owes to the mob by midnight. That’s $11,000 in US$2025.

While he is there, he sees a very old watch in a display case and becomes fascinated with it. It has so many dials and intricacies that he just has to have it. He decides to take the money for the ring, which he considered inadequate, and buys the watch. He fiddles around with the timepiece and soon learns that the watch can “control” time. He tests it out. Listen after the 6:20 mark for a key moment in the story that will be important later, at about 15:00. It doesn’t take long for him to start thinking that he can go back in time and repair his problems, and perhaps get rich in the process. All he needs is some extra time. With the year ending on December 31, time is of the essence since he has to pay the debt at midnight. He needs an extra day, in essence a December 32, but it is not like he had imagined it might be.

Time travel stories always have plot holes and you always have to accept them and enjoy the fantasy. This story is no different, but it is an enjoyable story in a very practical setting. That key moment mentioned earlier, where he is in two places and times but can interact at the same moment, could have tested our patience had he asked to talk to himself on the phone. Perhaps the writers realized that, as tempting as it might have been, and they did not head down that path.

It’s another good performance by Joan and Frank Lovejoy, who always enjoyed performing together whenever they could. Producers had great respect for both of them and their skills, and would often seek opportunities to cast them together.

The program was recorded on Monday, December 22. 1958. Rehearsal began at 2:00pm with recording and in-studio edits beginning at 4:30pm. Production edits began at 6:00pm and ended at 8:00pm.

The surviving recording is a complete network broadcast in pleasing but not excellent sound. It might be an aircheck. This full recording seems to be rare in classic radio collections. The recording that has had the greatest circulation is a heavily edited network aircheck in mostly sub-par sound. This complete broadcast might be the original source for the commonly circulating edited file.

The spelling of the title, with words and not numbers, is exactly what is on the script of the show.

Four of a Kind was originally scheduled for this date, but was postponed until 1959-01-25.

The Lovejoy character is named “Joe Adcock.” That’s somewhat of a surprise since they generally avoided using names of people that might be recognizable in their time. Joe Adcock was a power-hitting baseball player who played first base and the outfield for the Milwaukee Braves.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP581228

THE CAST

FRANK LOVEJOY (Joe Adcock), Joan Banks [Lovejoy] (Molly), Barney Phillips (Pawnbroker / Banker), Sam Pierce (Harry / Radio announcer), Norm Alden (Thug / Voice), George Walsh (Narrator)

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1958-12-21 Out for Christmas

Raymond Burr plays a revenge-seeking paroled convict who wants to kill the policeman whose work and testimony sent him to prison. When he learns that his ex-girlfriend did not wait for his incarceration to be over and married the officer, his desire for revenge broadens to include her. The Christmas season gives him the perfect cover: he dresses as Santa Claus, and gets into their house. The wife soon realizes it’s him. He will force her to wait for the husband to come home. At that time, he will get his payback for the lost prison years and for stealing the affection of his girlfriend. The story takes a good turn when their kids, who should be sleeping on Christmas Eve, see Santa in their very own house. His instinct for revenge starts to turn into remorse. His cold heart begins to melt, and he sends them back to bed. The husband comes home and the awaited confrontation happens in a way the ex-con could not have imagined.

It is a somewhat predictable change-of-heart story appropriate for the holidays, and certainly more appropriate than Back for Christmas. For whatever flaws this William N. Robson story might have, it is a favorite of many Suspense and classic radio fans that they play year after year at Christmas time.

Burr’s popularity as an actor was rising because of the successful Perry Mason series. Though a very experienced and versatile radio actor, his Mason character places this despicable criminal role as being cast against type. Many listeners might not have been aware of his radio pedigree and his newfound celebrity likely created great listening interest for this broadcast.

The program was recorded on Tuesday, December 16, 1958. Rehearsal and recording were done in the evening to accommodate Burr’s obligations on the set of the Perry Mason TV series. Rehearsal began at 7:30pm and concluded at 11:00pm. Recording began at that time and ended at 11:30pm. Music was added on Friday, December 19. Last production edits were probably completed on that date.

The only surviving recording is a network broadcast, and it might be an aircheck. It is fully intact with all commercials and in pleasing sound.

The night before this broadcast, the Perry Mason episode aired on television was The Case of the Perjured Parrot. The cast included Joe Kearns and Mel Blanc supplied the chatter of the parrot.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP581221

THE CAST

RAYMOND BURR (Joe Watson), Howard McNear (Charlie), Joan Banks (Lucille), Lillian Buyeff (Luie), Charles Seel (Warden), Karl Swenson (Mike Malloy / Bartender), Dick Beals (Mikie), George Walsh (Narrator)

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1958-12-14 For Old Time’s Sake

John Lund stars as a reformed ex-con, Bert, who successfully hid his past life from his wife, family, and neighbors. An unfortunate event, that started innocently, changes that. The story is suspected to be by E. Jack Neuman under the pen name “Gordon Christian.”

While innocently tending to a bank errand to sign some papers, thieves enter the bank and announce a hold-up. The voice is familiar: it’s his former partner-in-crime, Pinky. The theft is underway, and Pinky recognizes Bert and they talk. He tells Pinky he has a new life and no interest in returning to the old one. Knowing that Bert is the only one in the bank who recognizes him, Pinky threatens him. If Pinky finds out that Bert identified him to the police, he will go after his children. Bert knows what that means, and takes him very seriously. Bert convinces himself should forget about the incident because Pinky is likely successful in his getaway, and far away. That doesn’t happen. His wife knows something is wrong and he tells her about his situation. Things get worse when they find Pinky is at house because the getaway did not work. Events turn in some unexpected ways from there, and leads to a surprise ending.

The resolution of the plotline hinges on the now-unthinkable plot element of the police giving Bert a gun. That would certainly lead to an internal affairs investigation of some sort, especially if the outcome is bad. That aside, the story is a good. Let that implausible element pass, and enjoy the better aspects of the production.

The program was recorded on Thursday, November 13, 1958. Rehearsal started at 1:30pm, with recording and in-studio edits beginning at 4:00pm. The session ended at 5:30pm and production edits were done until 6:30pm.

No network recording has survived. There were five ad spots and were for Grove Laboratories, Scripto, Tums, Kent cigarettes, and Ex-Lax.

There are two surviving Armed Forces Radio Service recordings, AFRS#701 and another with its number not known. AFRS#701 is the better of the two. The two recordings can be differentiated by the announcement after the Robson introductory monologue:

• AFRS#701: Ability of military members to vote in elections

• AFRS#unknown: Military Medals

For many years the only surviving recordings were poor-sounding airchecks from and Armed Forces Radio station broadcast. The recordings were heavily edited.

The program was originally scheduled for 1958-11-30 with newspapers listing it as “Old Time’s Sake.” The script indicates that Four of a Kind was announced as the next week’s program, but it was not broadcast until six weeks later.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP581214

THE CAST

JOHN LUND (Bert Winterfield), Virginia Gregg (Helen), Bill Quinn (Lt. Williams / Nelson the Banker / Robber #2), Joe de Santis (Pinky), Bill James, Tom Hanley (Ad-Libs), George Walsh (Narrator)

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1958-12-07 Tom Dooley

William N. Robson presents another one of the “Suspense musicals” from the Lewis years, and it is broadcast live. Robert Horton stars in the Morton Fine and David Friedkin script. He plays Tom Dooley who is back home in North Carolina after fighting with the Confederate army in the Civil War. He is greatly disappointed to find his sweetheart engaged to a Yankee schoolmaster. He is so distraught that several incidents did not change his bitterness about her decision, and he killed her. He fails to get away, was captured, and sentenced to death. The line of the song “hang down your head, Tom Dooley” is an instruction to him to allow the hangman’s noose can be placed around his neck. At the time of this broadcast, the Kingston Trio rendition of the song was very popular and went to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Recordings of the Trio’s version were used in this broadcast.

Joseph Cotten starred in the 1953 production of the script, with Harry Stanton singing the famous ballad. Resources about the history of the song are at

• https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2024/09/1953-03-30-tom-dooley.html

• https://archive.org/details/TSP530330 is where recordings can be downloaded and streamed.

There are two surviving recordings in pleasing sound and the network recording is preferred because it was the way it was originally broadcast. The Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#700) is in similar enjoyable sound quality. For many years the only available recordings were heavily edited Armed Forces Radio station airchecks.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP581207

THE CAST

ROBERT HORTON (Tom Dooley), Hilda Hart [Virginia Gregg] (Laura Foster), Norm Alden (Cousin Noah), Robert Easton (Jess), Karl Swenson (Paul Grayson), Joe de Santis (Yankee), Tom Hanley, Bill James (Ad-Libs), George Walsh (Narrator)

Note that Virginia Gregg is using a pseudonym in this production. The reason is not known.

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1958-11-30 A Statement Of Fact

Cathy Lewis stars in an E. Jack Neuman script that was originally used for On Stage on 1953-05-14. She plays a beautiful woman accused of murdering her husband. A bright, young assistant district attorney forces his way into the case, feeling that her conviction will assure his election as district attorney. He thinks she has eyes for him, he is smitten by her, and he starts throwing professional sense aside. That’s not a good idea. She knows how to get what she wants. He offers advice that can get her out without jail time by saying claiming she was fearful of her husband. It’s clear she tires of the assistant district attorney, and is suspicious of his unscrupulous motives. Sticking with the facts means she won’t be beholden to him for his concoction of a plea deal that may actually be a ploy for a confession.

The script was originally intended for broadcast on Sunday, November 23, 1958. All of the newspaper listings had it for that date, and noted the return to a Sunday time slot. A second broadcast of My Dear Niece, broadcast live, was presented instead, on 1958-11-23.

The program was recorded on Wednesday, November 12, 1958. Rehearsal began at 1:00pm with recording beginning at 3:30pm. The session included in-studio edits and concluded at 5:00pm. Production studio edits continued to 6:00pm.

No network recording has survived. Advertising spots went to Grove Laboratories, Tums, Kent cigarettes, and Ex-Lax.

Two Armed Forces Radio Service recordings have survived. AFRS#699 is the better of the two. It is not known what number the second recording is. The recordings can be differentiated by the announcement after Robson’s opening monologue.

• AFRS#699: Gerrymandering

• AFRS#unknown: Military medals

Prior to these two AFRS recordings, the only copies of this episode were heavily edited Armed Forces Radio airchecks in poor sound.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP581130

THE CAST

CATHY LEWIS (Ellen Dudley), John Dehner (John / Chris), Barney Phillips (John), Charles Seel (Morrow / Thayler), George Walsh (Narrator)

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1958-11-23 My Dear Niece

The series returns to a Sunday time slot, 5:30pm Eastern Time, following Yours Truly Johnny Dollar. Before it was temporarily moved to Saturday, it was in the 4:30pm slot. The later time means that NFL Football games will not affect its scheduling.

This is also one of the very few live productions of the Robson era.

This is the second broadcast of this very good Elliott Lewis script, and stars Lee Patrick. The story seems to be headed down a familiar path, but then leads to a surprising ending. Lewis used a letter of an elderly woman written to her niece to structure the story. She writes that she has taken the niece’s advice to be more active, and looks for a job. She gets one, and it’s soon clear it’s for an unsavory enterprise. A publisher wants to use a room her house to sequester one of their authors who is behind on their deadline. They don’t want him to be disturbed so he can finally finish his work. That’s the cover story, and reality is far different.

The 1946 production starred Dame May Whitty. Details about that broadcast can be found at

• https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/07/1946-01-24-my-dear-niece.html

• https://archive.org/details/TSP460124 is where recordings can be downloaded and streamed

There are two surviving recordings. The network recording is preferred because it is as originally broadcast. The surviving Armed Forces Radio Service recording is also in very pleasing sound, similar to the network recording.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP581123

THE CAST

LEE PATRICK (Emily), Lillian Buyeff (Mary), Berry Kroeger (Bruce), Barney Phillips (Cop), Jack Kruschen (Al), Norm Alden (Man), George Walsh (Narrator)

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1958-11-15 Affair At Aden

Frank Lovejoy stars in a Les Crutchfield story about an American oil executive working in Aden (in Yemen). He has fallen in love with a young native woman, and they desire to marry. She has, however, been promised as a child to marry a tribal chief of the village when she became of age. She has been kidnapped to preserve that pledge, and the marriage is imminent. Cultural “desert ways” have her reluctantly agreeing to a marriage she does not want, and she will not be able to leave with Lovejoy’s character to Arizona as man and wife. He searches for her and finds her, but he may not be allowed to leave with her… or leave alive.

This is unfortunately one of the worst-sounding surviving Suspense recordings. The recording is a very low quality home recorded aircheck likely from an Armed Forces Radio station. All of the announcements and other non-drama elements have been removed. The script was first broadcast on Romance with Bob Bailey as star on 1954-05-29, and that recording is much better. The Romance recording is also provided because of the extremely poor quality of the Suspense audio. It is hoped that an Armed Forces Radio Service transcription of the Suspense production will be found to replace it and allow us to appreciate another Frank Lovejoy performance.

The program was recorded on Wednesday, November 5, 1958. Rehearsal began at 1:00pm with recording commencing at 3:30pm, and completed with studio-edits at 5:00pm. Additional production edits were done on Thursday, November 6, from 12:30pm to 2:30pm.

No network recording is known to have survived. The ad slots were taken by Lysol, Grove Laboratories, Studebaker, and Kent cigarettes.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP581115

THE CAST

FRANK LOVEJOY (John), Lillian Buyeff (Beth), Berry Kroeger (Fahad), Alan Manson (Commissioner), Tracey Roberts (Tarah), Don Diamond (Arab), George Walsh (Narrator)

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1958-11-08 Two for the Road

William N. Robson’s script delightfully reunites two actors known for their film appearance of twelve years earlier. William Conrad and Charles McGraw were hitmen in the 1946 film adaptation of the Ernest Hemingway short story, The Killers. This mostly tongue-in-cheek Suspense episode has these familiar radio actors as television performers traveling across the country as they head to Hollywood after failing to find work in New York. They stop at a middle-of-nowhere diner for breakfast and meet a young woman who recognizes them. In the background you can hear their characters in a television rerun (referred to by Conrad’s character [Joe] as “an old kinny,” referring to a kinescope). It’s an episode of The Plainclothesman, a show in which they appeared. She realizes they are the actors on the screen.

The two men need to find work because they were fired from that TV series. They are hampered in their quest because they are typecast, always playing bad guys and thugs, which makes it difficult to find other roles. McGraw’s character, Charlie, explains it as “we’re pretty serious actors... we just look like hoods.” The woman joins them for the ride west. At a police blockade to capture bank robbers, she acts as if Joe and Charlie kidnapped her. While they get the men out of the car, she steals the car and drives away. Things get uncomfortable when they realize she also stole their wallets. Police question them as to their names. The car is registered to “Yosef Horowitz” and Joe has to explain that “Joe Harris” is his stage name but he is the car owner. They think he’s using an alias to conceal his criminal identity.

The only proof of their involvement is that they look like criminals, people seem to know them but they just can’t place them. Howard McNear plays the small town sheriff, which is really amusing considering the Gunsmoke pedigree he shared with Conrad. Joe and Charlie are put through the paces of trying to prove they are actors. Charlie makes the mistake of acting out dialogue where he hates cops, exactly the wrong thing to use to demonstrate his prowess (it is similar to McGraw’s gruff characterization for the police lieutenant in the audition recording for the radio series Man from Homicide). Joe recalls dialogue from Hamlet, and sounds so wooden, you’d never think he could really be an actor. Things get worse: the woman was killed in a car accident of her own carelessness. This will, however, play a positive factor in the story.

The next amusing scene is that they are called into a police lineup at about 20:35. Conrad has a funny line on response to Charlie asking Joe asking how they will get out of their problems. At about 20:45 Joe (Conrad) explains “I don't write the scripts I just act in them.” The fact that it is McNear who plays the sheriff is funny, but that he is running the police line-up is even funnier to those who recall the CBS radio police procedural, The Lineup. McNear was practically a weekly regular in the lineup that opened each episode. He played a different hapless criminal each time. This lineup does not go well… they are enthusiastically identified as robbers, and sent back to the holding cell. Their TV images as criminals are so ingrained in people’s minds that it seems they have no chance to be released.

It all comes to an amusing and entertaining end, with the sheriff being put in his place by an unexpected visit. There must have been a lot of laughter at the first desk read of the rehearsal for this entire production. It must have been difficult to keep it all serious when it came time to start recording.

The program was recorded on Wednesday, October 29, 1958. Rehearsal began at 2:00pm, with recording commencing at 4:30pm, and concluding at 6:00pm. That time included in-studio edits, with further production edits completed by 8:00pm.

The pairing of McGraw and Conrad appears so appropriate, and it is likely that Robson wrote the story specifically with them in mind. There is, however, something in the script for the prior week’s program that is a bit curious… it could be a mistake… or it could be a typographic error. At the end of the hard copy of the script for The Dealings of Mr. Markham, it offers a different casting:

Listen... listen again next week when we return with Frank Lovejoy and Charles McGraw in Two for the Road, another tale well calculated to keep you in… SUSPENSE!

The actual broadcast of The Dealings of Mr. Markham does state that it will be Conrad and McGraw paired for this broadcast. It is likely a typographic error. Frank Lovejoy’s next Suspense appearance is in the following week for Affair at Aden.

Two recordings of this episode have survived, and they are in excellent sound. The network recording is preferred because it represents the original broadcast with original commercials. It is slightly better in overall quality than the Armed Forces Radio Service recording. Both offer pleasant listening.

Conrad and McGraw’s notable appearance in The Killers, a favorite of film noir fans, can be viewed at The Internet Archive. They make their appearance at 1:30, and they start having dialogue at 2:30 https://archive.org/details/thekillers1946usafeaturingburtlancasteravagardneredmondobrienfilmnoirfullmovie_202001

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP581108

THE CAST

WILLIAM CONRAD (Joe), CHARLES McGRAW (Charlie), June Foray (Annie / Woman), Evan Thompson (Counterman), Jack Kruschen (First Cop / first Voice), Barney Phillips (Second Cop), Sam Pierce (TV Voice / Banker), Paula Winslowe (Wife), Howard McNear (Sheriff), George Walsh (Narrator)

Norm Alden was originally cast for Jack Kruschen’s roles.

Classic radio enthusiast, researcher, and modern-day performer Patte Rosebank noted this at the Old Time Radio Researchers Facebook page: William Conrad and June Foray (who plays the Woman and Annie) would have already been working together for a while, on The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, which began production in February, 1958, and would premiere in November, 1959.

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1958-11-01 The Dealings of Mr. Markham

This is the third broadcast of the John Dickson Carr story about an antique dealer who has a lucrative side-hustle in blackmail and makes a strange promise to return from the dead. It stars James and Pamela Mason and is almost five years after their last performance. This is their final performance on the series.

Details about the two prior broadcasts and other resources are at

1943-05-11 Paul Lukas and Heather Angel -- Mr. Markham, Antique Dealer

• https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/02/1943-05-11-mr-markham-antique-dealer.html

• https://archive.org/details/TSP430511 has the recordings for download and streaming, and a PDF of the comic book adaptation.

1945-06-28 Henry Daniell and Joan Lorring -- The Dealings of Mr. Markham

• https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/06/1945-06-28-dealings-of-mr-markham.html

• https://archive.org/details/TSP450628 has the recordings for download and streaming

Two recordings have survived. The network recording is better than the Armed Forces Radio Service recording.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP581101

THE CAST

JAMES MASON (Charles & Ronald Markham), PAMELA MASON (Judith Ray), Ben Wright (Ronald Gilbert), Daws Butler (Cab Driver / Clock Voice), George Walsh (Narrator)

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1958-10-25 Headshrinker

William N. Robson is author of this script, an interesting diversion from the typical Suspense offering. Robson appeared as a guest at the SPERDVAC Tenth Anniversary Convention of November 10, 1984. A recreation of Headshrinker was presented there and starred Joan Banks Lovejoy and Harry Bartell. Robson’s introductory comments put this drama in perspective:

Radio drama of fifty years ago differed greatly from what it became towards the end of the so-called Golden Age. Early on we were producing extravaganzas with symphonic music cues played by full studio orchestras. Our casts included as many movie stars as our budgets permitted, and generally, the result was embarrassing. All that glittered was not golden. Through the years we became more thoughtful, more experimental, and more introspective thanks to Irving Ries, and Arch Oboler, Norman Corwin, and others who cared less for commercial sponsorship and for the opportunity to say what could be said best on this marvelous medium. A Frenchman, whose name escapes me now, once described drama as “two barrels, a plank, and a passion.” For us, radio drama for a long time was a microphone, a transmitter, and very little content, to say nothing of passion. But by the end of the late 1950s, there was a lot of passion and content, and we were exploring subject matter that could never have occurred to the pioneer producers of the 30s. What you are about to hear is such an effort, a Suspense program, first produced in 1958. It is uncluttered with sound effects, no maudlin music to halt the action, leaving nothing but naked passion. It may not be to your liking. It may disturb you, but it's real, and it's true. So I hope you'll enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed creating it.

A small correction to Mr. Robson these 40+ years later: No one is quite sure what the original and exact quotation is about drama. It is usually attributed to the prolific Spanish playwright Lope de Vega (1562-1635), but even that is not certain. It is believed that de Vega wrote about 1800 plays. With productivity like that, he could have worked for the golden age of radio’s Hummert Factory!

Robson’s introductory monologue offers a glimpse into the storyline. The surviving recordings of this broadcast do not have the entire monologue. A portion of the monologue text is underlined: it is not in any of the surviving recordings of this episode. Others are also missing the text marked in bold. This is the complete monologue, as transcribed from the original script:

This by way of explanation. To the dramatist, where there is conflict, there is a play. The conflict, the naked emotions, the tragedy which occurs on the psycho-analysts couch, therefore, is fair game to the playwright. But, there cannot be a play without a protagonist and an antagonist. In the play you are about the hear, the antagonist, the bad guy, happens to be the doctor. But let the AMA and the APA note, we do not wish to imply that all psychiatrists are heavies, nor that psychoanalysis is nonsense. Without psychotherapy, a lot of us would be dead, or worse -- so sick that death be a welcome surcease. So, listen then, listen to Headshrinker starring Miss Nina Foch and Mr. Helmut Dantine, which begins in just a moment.

The story is about a smug and corrupt psychotherapist who had an affair with his patient. Such acts disrupt the therapeutic process, taking it off course, and creating many other issues. In this case, the patient is so upset that she brings a gun and wants to end their personal and medical relationship. It is not an easy story to listen to.

This is a publicity photo for the program with Robson, Foch, and Dantine. We often see photos of Robson that are from earlier in his career. At this time, he is 52 years old. Dantine is 40 and Foch is 34.

Headshrinker is one of those complex stories where you wonder if anyone is really telling the truth or if they even mean anything they say. At the end of the story, you have to wonder if she is “cured” or if she will arrive for the session next week and they both repeat the same interaction all over again. There are patients who are in therapy for years and problems remain unresolved. Is this really the end? Does she need to see another practitioner to recover from what this therapist did? Will this therapist repeat this pattern again with another patient?

The program was recorded on Wednesday, October 15, 1958. Rehearsal began at 2:00pm with recording initiated at 4:30pm. The session and in-studio edits were completed at 6:00pm. Additional production edits concluded at 8:00pm.

This site has some history about the term "shrink" being used for mental health professionals: https://www.online-psychology-degrees.org/why-are-they-called-shrinks/

The beginning of the broadcast is missing, as noted. It is likely that the original network tape (or its surviving copy) was damaged. Current circulating recordings have evidence of an attempted restoration by patching the generic George Walsh opening of Suspense to the most unaffected portion of the Robson’s monologue. Knowing that the Walsh open is not part of the original broadcast, it has been removed. The patched recording has been in circulation among classic radio enthusiasts for nearly 50 years.

The full monologue can found in a repeat broadcast of the script from 1959-08-23 with Agnes Moorehead and Larry Dobkin. It is interesting that the second production of the script was Robson’s last as Suspense producer and the final Hollywood production of the series. It is clear he had a special affection and pride for the script. While the monologue of that broadcast may be intact, it is a heavily edited aircheck recording. This means that there is no complete end-to-end recording of either the 1958 or the 1959 broadcast of Headshrinker.

There are two surviving network recordings. The one marked “network” is the better of the two. The other one is marked “network news at end.” It is a curiosity in that it has a fragment of the news program The World Tonight that followed Suspense on Saturday evenings. The main news stories are school segregation legal developments in Virginia, and the papal conclave in Rome that would eventually lead to the selection of Pope John XXIII.

[Many thanks to classic radio enthusiast and historian, and SPERDVAC member, Barbara Watkins for supplying the audio of Robson. Many thanks to Corey Harker, current president of SPERDVAC for approving the inclusion of this recording in The Suspense Project.]

[Many thanks to John Schneider of the website www.theradiohistorian.org who found the publicity photo in his research materials.]

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP581025

THE CAST

NINA FOCH (Ruth), HELMUT DANTINE (The Doctor), Florence Hawkesworth (Nurse), George Walsh (Narrator)

###

1958-10-18 Three Skeleton Key

Vincent Price returns to star in an Escape and Suspense favorite, sometimes known as “the one about the rats.” The horrifying tale of three lighthouse keepers and the swarm of gigantic, ravenous rats, all hungry, and heading toward the lighthouse may have been repeated at this time to draw attention to the new but temporary Suspense broadcast Saturday time slot.

Background about the original story and first Suspense broadcast is at

• https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2025/03/1956-11-11-three-skeleton-key.html

• https://archive.org/details/TSP561111 is where recordings can be downloaded and streamed.

The 1956 version has as its opening line by Price “Picture this place...” while this 1958 production starts with “Try and picture this place…”

The program was recorded on Wednesday, October 1, 1958. Rehearsal began at 2:00pm with recording starting at 4:30pm. Including in-studio edits, that session ended at 6:00pm. Additional production edits were made until 8:00pm.

Two recordings have survived, a complete network broadcast (shared with pioneer collectors by Vincent Price) and an Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#696). The network recording is the better of the two, but the AFRS recording is also very good.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP581018

THE CAST

VINCENT PRICE (Gene), Ben Wright (Auguste), Larry Dobkin (Louie), Phil Candrova (Musician), George Walsh (Narrator)

###

1958-10-11 The Treasure Chest of Don Jose

Raymond Burr stars in the third performance of this William N. Robson script. The great grandson of a pirate thinks he has found the location of hidden treasure, and instead finds a corpse!

The first broadcast starred J. Carroll Naish. Details about that broadcast and how the story ties to the historical pirate Jose Gaspar and the geographical references in the script can be found at:

1952-02-04 J. Carroll Naish

• https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2024/07/1952-02-04-treasure-chest-of-don-jose.html

• https://archive.org/details/TSP520204 has links to the recordings for streaming or download.

The second broadcast starred Edgar Barrier:

1956-06-26 Edgar Barrier

• https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2025/02/1956-06-26-treasure-chest-of-don-jose.html

• https://archive.org/details/TSP560626 has links to the recordings for streaming or download.

The program was recorded on Sunday, August 17, 1958. This Sunday session was likely an accommodation for Burr’s schedule in filming Perry Mason episodes for television. Rehearsal began at 10:00am and recording commenced at 1:00pm, concluding with studio edits at 2:00pm. Further production edits and were scheduled for Tuesday, September 2, 1958. This episode was originally scheduled for broadcast on Sunday, September 7. The Man Who Won the War with Herbert Marshall was broadcast instead.

No network recording is known to survive. Of the four ad slots, two were purchased by GMC Trucks and Congoleum flooring. The two other slots were allocated before broadcast.

A “new” Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#695) was found in recent years. It is in superb sound. It replaces Armed Forces Radio station airchecks that were in poor sound and heavily edited. It allows much greater appreciation of Burr’s performance.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP581011

THE CAST

RAYMOND BURR (Gaspar), Joe de Santis (Jeff), Karl Swenson (Tris), Tommy Cook (Steve), Charles Seel (Coffin), George Walsh (Narrator)

###

1958-10-04 The Wait

Maria Palmer stars in a Herb Hosie script about the sole survivor of an insurrectionist group in a country where revolution to spread freedom results in imprisonment or death. The story begins with a military-like police force surrounding a farm house. Insurrectionists were known to be hiding there, and the force has just attempted to eliminate all of the them by grenades and guns. When they check the house to be sure, they find Palmer’s character, one of the revolutionaries, known only in the story (and in the script) as “the girl.” The other three characters in the story have names; isn’t that curious? This implies that she has no “value,” but there’s another side. Knowing someone’s name is a subtle acknowledgment of their most basic individual dignity, and ability to influence them, good or bad, an ability to get their attention or discover something about them. This underscores that the regime that is after the insurrectionists cares nothing about them as persons. The title of “The Wait” refers to their using the girl to lure the last remaining male insurrectionist into their trap. As the story progresses, she realizes that she has been double-crossed, and the story moves in an unexpected direction.

This was the only Suspense script by Herb Hosie. He was a prolific author of radio, television, and theatrical plays in Canada.

According to Robson’s monologue, the story takes place in a nameless country, and it could be yesterday, today, or tomorrow. As the story proceeds, it is another of the stories about concerns about life behind the Iron Curtain. Robson often presented such themes, including his series Operation Underground and his known sentiments would lead to a major role in Voice of America in the Kennedy administration.

It is odd to hear Howard McNear act so nonchalantly as one of the citizen-soldiers, a farmer, assigned to kill Palmer’s character and stop the insurrection.

It is also strange for classic radio enthusiasts to hear much of the bridge music that is heard in the five-part series of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar. It was part of the CBS library that any program could draw from. Such music has been heard since the switch to program production on tape and the elimination of the live orchestra. It just seems more obvious in this episode.

The program was recorded on Wednesday, September 24, 1958. Rehearsal began at 2:00pm with recording initiated at 4:30pm. It included in-studio edits and concluded at 6:00pm. Production studio edits continued to 8:00pm. Music was added at a later date.

No network recording has survived. Of the four ad spots, Chrysler had one. The other three were allocated close to broadcast time.

Two Armed Forces Radio Service recordings have survived, with AFRS#694 in the best sound quality. There is another program for which the AFRS number is not known, but it is likely in the high 990s or very low 1000s. The programs can be identified by the announcement after the Robson monologue:

• AFRS#694: Importance of radio

• AFRS number in high 990s or very low 1000s: Military medals

The unidentified AFRS recording has been edited by removing part of the closing “filler” music. There have also been recordings of this episode in poor sound that were airchecks from an Armed Forces Radio station, with announcements edited out as well as the music. Those recordings are now replaced by these two recordings, and especially AFRS#694 which is in excellent sound.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP581004

THE CAST

MARIA PALMER (The Girl), John Dehner (Guion), Howard McNear (App), Karl Swenson (Villi), George Walsh (Narrator)

###

1958-09-28 Misfire (never broadcast)

This is a curious drama-only recording that has an interesting backstory. The recording has been in circulation for many years, and it seems like a broadcast. Decades ago, a collector patched the opening of the 1957-10-06 recording onto it, editing out the mention of that episode’s guest, Jack Carson. That patch led into a marvelous production with William Conrad as narrator. It’s not that Jack Carson did a bad job, it’s that William Conrad was an exceptional talent, whether it be acting or narration.

Collectors were confused about the recording. The “patch” was an innocuous attempt at restoration that seemed to be appropriate in its time. We have much more information today that allows richer historical context. We know that the Robson era was using separate recordings of drama as its main practice, and recording other broadcast elements separately. Only the drama portion of this episode was finished, but the recording never had the other components, such as the George Walsh introductions and the William N. Robson monologue, were likely never done.

Because it was never broadcast, it still appropriate that it has a date. It is a good assumption that the episode was actually planned for 1958-09-28. It is believed that this broadcast was to be a “victory lap” and offer of congratulations for sound effects artist Tom Hanley, author of the script. It was his first, and won an award from the Writer’s Guild. Fellow practitioners Gus Bayz and Ross Murray wrote many scripts, but Hanley’s rookie outing earned a recognition they did not have.

For more details about the 1957 broadcast, resources are available at

• https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2025/04/1957-10-06-misfire.html

• https://archive.org/details/TSP571006 is where recordings can be downloaded or streamed.

These are the details about this production and how became a Suspense curiosity:

1) There was no Suspense broadcast on September 28, 1958.

2) The series was in process of temporarily shifting to Saturdays to allow for NFL Football. Sunday, September 28 was opening day; today it is 3 weeks earlier. CBS did not have a national football broadcast, but many of their affiliates were stations that carried games of their city's teams or the teams had a regional following.

3) Because Suspense was early in the Sunday schedule, it was the one to be moved because NFL games might not be finished in time for Suspense to be heard. The other shows like Indictment and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, and others, remained in their Sunday slots.

4) September 28 would have been the final show of the 1957-1958. Newspaper publicity for the episode The Wait on Saturday, October 4, identified it as the beginning of the new season.

5) On Saturdays, in the East Coast schedule, Suspense was a 7:30pm show. It was preceded by a sports news shows and followed by national news program The World Tonight. That was followed by a New York Philharmonic program.

6) It was likely that Misfire was in the original plans to be the September 28 program. We have the drama-only recording which has a different cast and it has a slightly revised script. Hanley’s Writers Guild recognition was officially awarded sometime between September 21 and 25 at a Guild dinner event.

7) Newspapers and other listings may include Suspense in their timetables for Sunday September 28. Timetables were often out of date. They did not have the same update urgency or editorial scrutint that other sections of newspapers had. It was common for the timetable and the TV-radio columns on the very same page to disagree if there was late-breaking news. Few newspapers picked up the date change as a news item. The CBS publicity seems to have read “Suspense, CBS radio’s award-winning mystery series which as been heard on Sunday afternoons, will be broadcast at a new time – Saturdays from 7:35 to 8:00pm – effective this week… [and] will not be heard this afternoon due to the professional football broadcast.”

8) Some stations may have run a repeat Suspense broadcast of some type in the slot if they were not impacted by the football schedule. It was not Misfire. Many stations were recording their Suspense feed and playing it at another time. Others were picking up whatever CBS had on the feed or used some other program, perhaps locally produced, to fill in “the Suspense gap” on that day.

9) We know that the decision to move Suspense to Saturday was not made in haste, because the hard copy script for The Wait does not have any date revision markings that a last-minute change would indicate. It clearly shows a Saturday broadcast date. The Wait was recorded on September 24, meaning that the script hard copy was prepped a few days before that.

10) The 1958-09-21 No Hiding Place had a closing announcement that told the audience to listen "next week." Since that show was pre-recorded on September 17, the decision was likely made official shortly after that date. If they had known by that date, it is likely the closing announcement would have reflected the change in some way. This timing would place the CBS scheduling decision about 10 days before September 28.

Collectors did not know what to do with this recording in their Suspense collections. No hard copy script has been found. There is no script in the KNX Collection or at the Pacific Pioneers records at University of California at Santa Barbara. Because there was little reliable documentation available to collectors in the 1970s and 1980s, the recording “fell” or “backed into” the date because not much was known about the CBS schedule change. In fact, many of the shows that we now know as Saturday broadcasts were assigned Sunday dates by those collectors. These relatively innocent errors have been corrected over the years as scripts and other resources have become available and accessed more easily.

The surviving recording is in excellent sound. The patch of the 1957 broadcast has been removed as the recording is not contemporary to the drama recording or its originally intended broadcast date.

Now that we know this was never broadcast, it should not be numbered as a broadcast. Some collectors have a preference for numbering the episodes. There is precedent: the surviving recording of “Murder is a Twist” with Howard Duff that was not broadcast is not numbered by collectors. That episode later became A Murderous Revision, which was broadcast. Forecast had an audition of “Suspense” with a different concept than the series would come to have, and was a failure. That should not be included in the Suspense broadcast numbering, either, because the series was significantly reconstituted to earn CBS approval and capture the attention of sponsors. The Suspense Project log numbers Forecast as “000” and identifies this 1958 Misfire as “not applicable” (N/A). It is proper to sequence the recording with the date of 1958-09-28 because that was the original intent before the “football decision” and all of the elements of the program fit into the techniques and performers of that particular time.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP580928

THE CAST

WILLIAM CONRAD (Narrator), John Dehner (Leigh Thurston), Barney Phillips (John Grant), Sam Pierce (Pierce, the reporter), others

###

1958-09-21 No Hiding Place

Jim Ameche stars in a Morris Lee Green and William Walker script about a man, Eddie, being stalked and threatened by the ex-husband of his wife. Her “ex-,” Carl, accuses Eddie of cavorting with her while she was still married, but that was not true. But Carl won’t listen to reason. Carl even kills the family dog. Eddie does whatever he can to try to stop the harassment. He goes to the police to try to have Carl arrested, but they can really do nothing. He sees a lawyer to find out if they can have Carl committed; it’s not really practical. Eddie is so very spooked by the threats and his helplessness that he can barely get through the day. He sees Carl everywhere he looks. The storyline seems to be headed down a familiar path, but it has a surprise ending that makes it a worthwhile listen.

Ameche has a much better performance in this episode than he did in the earlier Affair at Loveland Pass.

The program was recorded on Wednesday, September 17, 1958. Rehearsal began at 2:00pm, followed by recording at 4:30pm. That session included in-studio edits until 6:00pm. Additional production edits were completed by 8:00pm.

Two recordings have survived. The network recording is a heavily edited home recorded aircheck from WJR in Detroit. It is in low quality sound. The Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#702) is the much preferred recording.

Of the four ad slots in the network program, GMC Trucks and Congoleum flooring were booked at the time of recording. The two other slots were allocated before broadcast. The home aircheck recording does not have commercials because they were edited out.

At the conclusion of the broadcast, the next show was announced as The Wait. For some reason, this is edited out of the WJR aircheck, but it is in the hard copy of the script. There was no broadcast the following week, September 28, however. Many of the CBS affiliates had broadcast contracts with NFL football teams to broadcast their games. Suspense was tentatively moved to Saturday evenings at the beginning of October to allow for affiliates to carry football broadcasts if they had such arrangements. The Wait was finally broadcast on Saturday, October 4, 1958. (NOTE: The Wait is not mentioned in the AFRS recording, either. The title of the upcoming episode was almost always edited out by AFRS recordings because Armed Forces Radio stations played Suspense in the order in which they received the discs. Shipments did not always follow the chronological order of the network broadcasts, and AFRS show numbering was not always congruent with the broadcast order).

The title “No Hiding Place” was used again, in 1961, for a much different story. The plot of that episode was about a family’s attempt to prepare to live in their bomb shelter, but they are trapped in the shelter by a mudslide.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP580921

THE CAST

JIM AMECHE (Eddie), Larry Dobkin (Lawyer / Sergeant / Cop), Shirley Mitchell (Sue), Barney Phillips (Carl), Jack Kruschen (Detective / Bartender), Wendell Holmes (D. A.), Bill James (Dog), George Walsh (Narrator)

###

1958-09-14 Command

Richard Anderson makes his only appearance on the series as Lt. Flintridge Cohill. He is a new Calvary officer who is up against the grizzled Captain Nathan Brittles, played by William Conrad. The setting is the US prairie, west of Nebraska’s Platte River. Cohill is having problems reconciling the textbook theories of warfare taught to him at West Point versus the actual tactics that might be effective in a foray against Indians. The hardened Captain Brittles has other ideas. We gradually learn that the captain has had experiences that Cohill can learn from, if he allows himself to, and that Brittles has deeper reasons why he wants Cohill to succeed when his own career did not.

The script was adapted by William N. Robson from a 1946 short story by James Warner Bellah. He was a successful author of stories about the American West, writing 19 novels and numerous short stories. Some of the latter became popular movies produced by the legendary John Ford: Fort Apache, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, and Rio Grande. He was co-author of the screenplay for the 1962 film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.

The program was recorded on Wednesday, September 10, 1958. Rehearsal began at 2:00pm, followed by recording at 4:30pm. That session included in-studio edits until 6:00pm. Additional production edits were completed by 8:00pm.

Two recordings have survived. The network recording is a heavily edited home recorded aircheck in very low quality sound. The Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#698) is the much preferred recording.

Of the four ad slots in the network program, only GMC Trucks was booked at the time of recording. The three other slots were allocated before broadcast. The home aircheck recording has not commercials as they were edited out.

Richard Anderson had a very long and very busy television and movie career. Nostalgia fans would know him best for his role as Oscar Goldman in The Six Million Dollar Man and as the replacement for Ray Collins’ Lt. Tragg in Perry Mason as Lt. Steve Drumm. At the time of this broadcast, he had a supporting role in the popular 1958 film Long, Hot Summer. An overview of his very successful career can be found at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Anderson

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP580914

THE CAST

RICHARD ANDERSON (Cohill), William Conrad (Captain), Joe de Santis (Sergeant), Sam Edwards (Mitt), Allen Manson (Opdyke), Bill Quinn (Sarver), Chet Stratton (Coffin), George Walsh (Narrator)

William Conrad is credited as “John Biedermeyer.”

###

1958-09-07 The Man Who Won the War

Herbert Marshall stars in a William N. Robson adaptation of a Robert Buckner short story that was first heard on Escape in 1950. It is a curious story about a British officer in World War One who assisted the Belgian army to create a ruse to convince German soldiers that Belgium was receiving secret assistance from the British. It all started with a mistaken shipment of kilts.

The story is somewhat forgotten in more modern times, but it was very well known in the 1930s and through the 1950s. Buckner had a tough time getting it published; it was rejected by 22 different publications. He was originally a journalist and always insisted that the underlying story was true, about an officer he had met named Cecil Brandon. He said he had verified the details with original research of British and Belgian archives and interviews. It was decided, however, that was best told as fiction, partly because it was “so strange as to be almost unbelievable,” according to the magazine Fiction Parade.

The story finally appeared in the February 1936 edition of Atlantic Monthly as they reversed their earlier rejection. The story received rave reviews and was reprinted in Reader’s Digest, Fiction Parade, and other publications. By 1938, Buckner stated that it had been sold to publications in 28 countries and translated into 16 languages. According to an article in the Richmond VA Times of 1936-11-29, even the German government sought permission to translate and publish. That is interesting considering the subject matter, and puts their request in the category of “won’t get fooled again.”

The story was popular for performances in 1930s radio. It was dramatized by the BBC and there were local and regional radio productions in the US. The story was also dramatized in local stage productions, and was used in dramatic readings. It was used as an example for new writers about its style and construction.

Columbia bought the movie rights for the story, and they seem to have ended up with Fox. Frank Capra had great interest in the story. Fox decided at the time that the interest in war movies had waned, and it never went into production.

Buckner went on to have a very successful screenwriting and producing career. He was nominated for an Oscar for his script for the 1942 Yankee Doodle Dandy movie biography of George M Cohan which starred James Cagney. (Radio trivia: Jack Benny was up for that part, and his turn-down became the not-so-inside-joke reason why a few bars of the song Yankee Doodle Dandy started to be used at the beginning of his radio program).

The program was recorded on Friday, September 5, 1958. Rehearsal began at 2:00pm with recording starting at 4:30pm. The session ended at 6:00pm and included in-studio edits. Further production edits were made at 6:00pm and concluded at 8:00pm.

No network recording has survived. Of the four ad slots, one was for GMC Trucks and another was for Congoleum flooring. The other two slots were allocated before broadcast.

The surviving recording is an edited aircheck from an Armed Forces Radio station. It is likely a home recording. It is in poor sound. It is hoped that an Armed Forces Radio Service transcription disc will be found to replace it with improved sound. The Escape broadcast is in much better sound quality.

A repeat performance of The Treasure Chest of Don Jose was originally scheduled for this date.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP580907

THE CAST

HERBERT MARSHALL (Bradman), Abraham Sofaer (Gilliam / Admiral), Ben Wright (Major / Hopper), Ramsay Hill (Ainsley / Lieutenant), Ted de Corsia (Tweddle), Barney Phillips (Helmsman / Bechtel), George Walsh (Narrator)

###

1958-08-31 The Whole Town's Sleeping

Agnes Moorehead stars in the second production of this Antony Ellis adaptation of the Ray Bradbury story. Three unmarried women venture out for a movie in their town, but they are warned in the news and by police that there is a serial strangler in the area. He seems to space his attacks about a month apart, and it’s been about that long since his last activity. Everything seems to go along well, including the walk across the ravine, which is believed to be the most likely place for his attack. Just when it seems to be safe, there is an unexpected and unwanted surprise. William Conrad’s narration makes a rather unremarkable story more effective and more suspenseful.

The 1955 broadcast starred Jeanette Nolan and also featured Conrad. Details about that broadcast can be found at:

• https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2025/01/1955-06-14-whole-towns-sleeping.html

• https://archive.org/details/TSP550614 and is where recordings can be downloaded and streamed

The program was recorded on Thursday, August 7, 1958. Rehearsal began at 2:00pm, with recording commencing at 4:30pm. That and in-studio edits finished at 6:30pm. Production edits continued to 8:30pm.

No network recording is known to have survived. Of the four ad spots, only GMC Trucks was booked at the time of recording. The other spots would be allocated before broadcast.

Two Armed Forces Radio Service recordings have survived, AFRS#693 and AFRS#994. The recordings can be differentiated by the announcement after the Robson opening monologue:

• AFRS#693 Campaigns and stump speeches

• AFRS#994 The Soldier's Medal

The AFRS#994 is the better recording. It has excellent sound. The AFRS#693 has some mild disc skips at various times, some clustered at approximately 8:30 to 10:00 mark.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP580831

THE CAST

AGNES MOOREHEAD (Livinia Nebbs), William Conrad (Narrator & Lonely One [the same]), Lurene Tuttle (Francine), Paula Winslowe (Grandma Hanlon / Helen), Barney Phillips (Police Lieutenant), Charlie Lung (Druggist / Kennedy), George Walsh (Suspense Narrator)

###

1958-08-24 Remember Me

Jackie Cooper stars in the third performance of a Gus C. Bayz script about a cheap bandit who kills an old grocery store owner for resisting his robbery attempt. A young woman enters the store just after the incident, and it turns out she knows the bandit from high school! As they interact, he realizes that the more she remembers, the more he knows he has to eliminate her because she will become a witness against him. Cooper had not appeared on Suspense for almost eleven years.

Dan Duryea had the definitive performance of the three because of his unsavory characterization, which seems so natural to his style. There is no weak performance of the three.

1952 Dan Duryea: Details about the performance, Bayz, and other background, including the television production of the script are at these resources:

• https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2024/07/1952-04-07-remember-me.html

• https://archive.org/details/TSP520407 has the recordings that can be downloaded or streamed.

1955 Tony Barrett

• https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2024/12/1955-05-03-remember-me.html

• https://archive.org/details/TSP550503 has the recordings that can be downloaded or streamed.

The program was recorded on Wednesday, August 6, 1958. Rehearsal began at 3:30pm and recording started at 6:00pm. Including in-studio edits, the session concluded at 8:00pm. Additional production edits were handled separately, from 8:00pm to 10:00pm.

No network recording is known to have survived. Of the four ad spots, GMC Trucks and Congoleum floors were booked before the recording date. The two remaining spots were allocated before the broadcast day.

There are two surviving Armed Forces Radio Service recordings, AFRS#692 and AFRS#993. The better recording is AFRS#993. The two AFRS recordings can be differentiated by the announcements after the Robson opening monologue:

• AFRS#692: Free choice in elections

• AFRS#993: Joe & Daphne Forsythe skit about US Savings Bonds

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP580824

THE CAST

JACKIE COOPER (Harry Norris), Sandra Gould (Ruth Shaw), Barney Phillips (Liebowitz / Police Lieutenant), Norm Alden (Jimmy), George Walsh (Narrator)

###

1958-08-17 The Bridge

Cathy Lewis plays the concerned wife (Liz) in an Alan Botzer script about her husband’s flirtatious behavior at a party, and possibly at work, with a young woman (Edith). She sees them at a weekly neighborhood cocktail gathering that is comprised of executives who see each other on the commuter rail to New York City to go and come home from work. (This story has a setting similar to the 1955 Sloan Wilson book and the 1956 hit movie The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit). Liz thinks her marriage is in trouble, and he (Max) dismisses it, but it’s clear he has an interest in Edith (the husband calls her “Edie,” implying his infatuation). The script was adapted by William N. Robson.

Uncomfortably, the three of them get into Max’ car to get everyone home. It’s a rainy night, and Max is driving too aggressively. He breaks through a guard rail near a small bridge. Now, the car hangs precipitously over the edge of cliff, in danger of falling into the water below. To shift the weight of the car to stop it from falling, they are all in the back seat. They all deserve each other. We’re stuck listening to their fearful banter about ways to escape, just like we’re a fourth person in the back seat. Now they worry that as cars pass, the vibration of the bridge will ripple and slowly tip the car into the water. George, a co-worker who was at the party, drives by and sees them. He gets them out of the car. A truck comes by and the car falls into the water, and submerges quickly (you’d think the sound effects could be more convincing). Everyone is relieved. Max’ infatuation has dissipated because of Edith’s panic. He knows he should go home with Liz and make up with her (if he knows what’s good for him).

The story is not that good. There are times it might be more suspenseful if the car started to rock in its precarious position and actually started to slip and townspeople or a tow truck came by just in time for an exciting rescue. Instead, we have a bunch of whiners who realize they don’t like each other when they are stuck together and their life literally hangs in the balance.

The program was recorded on Wednesday, July 30, 1958. Rehearsal began at 2:00pm and recording started at 4:30pm. It concluded at 6:00pm, including in-studio edits. Final production edits were made from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.

The only ad of the four available that was booked before recording was GMC Trucks. The others would be allocated before broadcast.

No network recording is known to survive. Two Armed Forces Radio Service recordings are available, AFRS#691 and AFRS#992, and neither is in very pleasing sound. The better of the two recordings is AFRS#992. The two recordings can be differentiated by the promotional announcements that follow the Robson monologue.

• AFRS#691: US Fighting Man's Code of Conduct

• AFRS#992: Joe & Daphne Forsythe skit about US Savings Bonds

The AFRS#992 recording does not have the full “Suspense March” music common to the end of AFRS recordings at this time. It was edited out.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP580817

THE CAST

CATHY LEWIS (Liz), Virginia Gregg (Edith Elwood), Jerry Hausner (George), Bill Quinn (Max), Bill James, Gus Bayz (Ad-Libs), George Walsh (Narrator)

###