Raymond Burr stars in the fourth broadcast of this famous Edgar Allan Poe story about the Spanish Inquisition. It was adapted by John Dickson Carr for its original 1943 production. The first two broadcasts featured Broadway stars Henry Hull and Jose Ferrer. The third broadcast starred Vincent Price. Details and background of those productions can be found at:
1943 Henry Hull
https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/02/1943-01-12-pit-and-pendulum.html
https://archive.org/details/TSP430112 provides access to the recordings for download and streaming
1947 Jose Ferrer
https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/11/1947-11-28-pit-and-pendulum.html
https://archive.org/details/TSP471128 provides access to the recordings for download and streaming
1957 Vincent Price
https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2025/05/1957-11-10-pit-and-pendulum.html
https://archive.org/details/TSP571110 provides access to the recordings for download and streaming
The program was recorded on Wednesday, May 20, 1959. To allow for Burr’s obligations in the filming of Perry Mason episodes, rehearsal began at 7:30pm and continued to 10:00pm when recording began. That session included in-studio edits. Final production edits and music were added in the days that followed.
Two recordings have survived, and the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) recording is preferred for its better sound. It has not been in wide circulation. The surviving network recording is heavily edited and is in very good sound, an improvement compared to common network recordings. Its commercials have been edited out, but its network ID at the end is intact. Many other network recordings that circulated in the past did not have the Robson monologue, which this does.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP590607
THE CAST
RAYMOND BURR (Jean Dálbret), Patricia Sills (Beatrice Valdez), Jay Novello (Pedro Espila the Grand Inquisitor), Ben Wright (Antonio the 2nd Inquistor / Clerk), George Walsh (Narrator)
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