1960-09-25 Time on My Hands

Santos Ortega stars in a time travel story by Walter Black. It’s 1939 and his scientist friend has invented a time machine which he has successfully tested on animals. One of his wealthy friends expressed great concern about Adolf Hitler’s incursions across Europe and the nature of his policies and objectives. This friend and his wife met Hitler by accident in 1908 during their honeymoon. He wants to go back to that moment and prevent the havoc that occurred with his rise to power. His wife agrees to go with him. They successfully make the trip to that biergarten where they meet the future leader, and they meet him again the next day. Something is wrong. They know Hitler is an extremist (and a bad artist and architect when they see some of his work), but their trip back in time to 1908 did not carry the knowledge and insights they had in 1939. This means when they return to 1939, their “mission” was never completed, and they have limited memory of any details of the process.

The story is entertaining light sci-fi for 1960, but what is more interesting is that it was written and originally broadcast during WW2. It was originally presented on The Mysterious Traveler on August 20, 1944; no recordings of that broadcast are known to exist. It was rather cutting-edge for its time. The topic of going back to change events related to Hitler was relatively new in sci-fi and fantasy publications. The first notable one was in Weird Tales July-August 1941. It was written by Massachusetts senator Roger Sherman Hoar, who wrote science fiction stories with the pseudonym “Ralph Milne Farley.” It was released in July 1941, when Europe was in severe turmoil and the US was not yet engaged in the war effort but was being pressed to do so. The story was I Killed Hitler and it can be accessed at https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tales_v35n10_1941-07_sas/page/n71/mode/2up Another early story was My Name is Legion by Lester del Rey which appeared in the June 1942 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. It is accessible at https://archive.org/details/Astounding_v29n04_1942-06_dtsg0318/page/n67/mode/2up This indicates that Walter Black’s story was not a new idea, but it was early in the process of stories that explored time travel and the possibility that it could be a tool to change the nature of current events and escape from them. All time travel stories have plot holes and scientific and philosophical issues. Detailed analysis of them might be an interesting thought exercise, but too much of that saps the entertainment value right out of them. Don’t overanalyze it. This Black story is simple, and is a very interesting perspective on the topic, and only takes a little over twenty minutes to provide it.

The program was recorded on Thursday, September 22, 1960. Rehearsal began at 4:30pm and ended at 8:00pm. Recording was from 8:00pm to 8:30pm.

The only surviving recording is an Armed Forces Radio Service one, and is likely numbered as AFRS#803. It is in excellent sound, and replaces many lesser quality recordings that have been in circulation for decades.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP600925

THE CAST

Santos Ortega (Justin Driscoll), Vera Allen (Emily Driscoll), Robert Dryden (Adolf Hitler), Ted Osborne (Oren Scruggs), Bill Lipton & Marion Russell (the Driscolls in flashback on their honeymoon), Marion Russell (Margaret)

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1960-09-18 A Statement of Fact

Rita Lloyd stars in the second Suspense broadcast of an E. Jack Neuman script that was first used for On Stage in 1953. A beautiful woman is accused of murdering her husband and a (supposedly) bright, young assistant district attorney forces his way into the case. He thinks her conviction will assure his election as district attorney. He is smitten by her, and his professional sense erodes as she knows how to get what she wants from him. He offers a strange concoction of a plea deal that may actually be a ploy for a confession. Who is manipulating whom?

Cathy Lewis starred in the 1958 production with John Dehner. Resources about the story and its production can be found at

• https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2025/06/1958-11-30-statement-of-fact.html

• https://archive.org/details/TSP581130 is where recordings can be downloaded and streamed.

Rita Lloyd and Mason Adams work well together, and some consider this to be a better overall production that the 1958 one. The same introduction that William N. Robson used in that broadcast is read by Stuart Metz for this 1960 one. It is interesting that the same words read by Robson, an unpolished but knowledgeable narrator reading his own words, compares with the very polished Metz. Same words, different listening experience. Robson’s is personal, Metz’ is arms-length, and both are well-done.

The program was recorded on Thursday, September 15, 1960. Rehearsal began at 4:30pm and ended at 8:00pm. Recording was from 8:00pm to 8:30pm. Ira Ashley directed, substituting for Paul Roberts.

The only surviving recording of this episode is a heavily edited network aircheck, but it is in low quality sound with encoding defects. It is possible this is from an Armed Forces Radio Service aircheck or from a disc transfer from years ago that was heavily edited.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP600918

THE CAST

Rita Lloyd (Ellen Dudley), Mason Adams (Christian), Hal Burdick (Coroner / Thayler), Lawson Zerbe (John), Jack Arthur (Morrow)

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1960-09-11 Rakofsky's Rubles

Santos Ortega stars in a William N. Robson story about a young, angry, and envious Russian man named Ivan Ivanovich. He believes he can steal money and jewels from his boss, a prince. While his boss is away, he executes his strange plan. He will hide the money and jewels, never tell authorities where he put them, be sentenced to Siberia for twenty years, and will retrieve them upon his release. He may be angry and envious, but he certainly is patient! The stolen goods are not hidden in some outside place (like in the plotline of Suspense favorite Give Me Liberty). No, they are in a very safe place. He visits a bank to rent a safe deposit box and hide it there. The box is taken under the name “Piotr Rakovsky,” and he is told it will not be disturbed for 30 years. His sentence for the crime will be shorter than that. He tells his girlfriend, Anna, to remember that name and never forget it. He knows the incarceration may affect him and his memory, and this is his assurance he will be able to retrieve the money so they can have a life together. Years later, when he is released, he sees her. She is shocked to learn that he was still alive. She did not wait for him, married, and started a family… and she has forgotten the name “Piotr Rakovsky.” Now what does he do? Robson could have ended the at that very point… and could end yet again in a subsequent scene… and finally remembers the name much too late.

The available script cover for this program does not have the pre-recording information filled in. It was likely was recorded on Thursday, September 8, 1960. The session times are on the script cover, however. Rehearsal began at 4:30pm and ended at 8:00pm. Recording was from 8:00pm to 8:30pm.

The only surviving recording of this episode is a heavily edited network aircheck, but it is in very listenable sound quality with narrow range. It is possible that the recording may originate from an AFRS aircheck or an AFRS transcription with the recording edited down to exclude service announcements.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP600911

THE CAST

Santos Ortega (Ivan Ivanovich), Bryna Raeburn (Anna Petrovna), Lynn Loring (Natasha), Roger De Koven (Bolini), Robert Readick (Narrator / Youri), Ivor Francis (Clerk / Judge), William Redfield (Prisoner)

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1960-09-04 A Rest for Emily

The title of this story is not about someone who is exhausted and needs to sleep, but about an old farmer who murders his nagging wife. He’s had enough about her complaining about problems with the crops and the sickly animals. He wants to “return her to the land” when he “puts her to rest” and buries her in the barn. Later, two teenagers are making prank phone calls, and they call him with the message “You'll never get away with it.” They got a grand chuckle about it and had no idea that the farmer had done anything; it was just a prank because most everyone has something they regret doing in their past. When the farmer hears it, however, he gets worried because of what he just did, and that someone might actually know about it. He orders lye for his farm, ostensibly to condition the soil, but he wants to use it to help hide the body. The delivery is made by the teenager who works at the local farm supply business, and he is the same young man who made the phone call. When the farmer recognizes the voice as that on the phone, and that this might be the person who knows about the killing, the story takes an ominous turn. Parallel to what is playing out at the barn, the young man’s father is in his last hours in the hospital, and he longs to be with him. He pleads with the farmer to let him go. How he manages to get free of the farmer’s ire is a surprising twist to the story.

This is Berel Firestone’s only Suspense script, and he also performs in it. Firestone was an actor and writer, blacklisted in the 1950s. He was on radio, often not receiving on-air credit, for some of the “Hummert Factory” shows such as Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons and soap operas. He was an actor in early television, often uncredited until his blacklisting. He kept writing for magazines through the blacklist period, but under pseudonyms. No listing of those names can be found at this time. He was civil rights activist, participating in many of the marches with Dr. Martin Luther King in the early 1960s, and created an organization in New York City to assist and promote minority authors. In the late 1960s he left New York and moved to New Hampshire. After working there in advertising as a copywriter. In 1971, he was appointed to the leadership of the state’s Human Rights Commission. He passed away in 1981, after a severe and long illness, taking his own life at age 57.

The program was recorded on Thursday, September 1, 1960. Rehearsal began at 4:30pm and ended at 8:00pm. Recording was done from 8:00pm to 8:30pm.

Two recordings have survived. Most of the network recordings in circulation have been heavily edited airchecks in low sound quality. Now, there are two very pleasing recordings. A network aircheck from a station in Springfield, Massachusetts is intact with its announcements and commercials and in very good sound. The better recording is from the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS#800) that is in excellent sound. It has not been available until recently. Both recordings are substantial upgrades that allow greater appreciation of the story and the performances.

At the conclusion of the program, the tease for the episode for the following week is announced as “A Grave is for Sleeping” by Edna Rowe. No such script, broadcast, or newspaper listing can be located. The name is, of course, close in spelling (but not pronunciation) to “Edna Rae,” the name Ellen McRae (the future Ellen Burstyn) used for her scriptwriting. The script and the identity of the author is a Suspense mystery that may never be solved.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP600904

THE CAST

Abby Lewis (Emily), Larry Robinson (Ted Loper), Ralph Bell (Mr. Loper), Lee Graham (Mary Lee), Bill Smith (Orin), Berel Firestone (Dr. Murray)

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1960-08-28 The Girl in the Powder Blue Jag

Rita Lloyd stars in a Walter Black story about a young woman who really shouldn’t be trusted to drive high-powered sports cars. A car accident the first time she drives a powder blue Jaguar leaves her with amnesia. She can’t remember her name but police believed she is Kendall Endicott, an heiress to several million dollars. She barely recognizes her husband who asks for and receives $40,000 (about $450,000 in today’s US$2025) to be used as down payment on their purchase of a sumptuous summer estate. But is the backstory real? Is this part of an elaborate scheme by con artists looking to grab part of her fortune? It’s Suspense, so the answer is yes, and the surprise scammer gets scammed conclusion is worth waiting for.

The program was recorded on Thursday, August 25, 1960. Rehearsal began at 4:30pm and ended at 8:00pm. Recording was done from 8:00pm to 8:30pm. Ira Ashley substitutes for Paul Roberts as director.

The surviving network aircheck has narrow range and some other mild issues (encoding defects of some sort) but the recording is much better than the copies that have been in circulation among hobbyists for decades. It is hoped that a richer recording from an Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) disc might be found in the future.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP600828

THE CAST

SPOILER ALERT: The cast list tips off the plotline:
Rita Lloyd (“Kendall Endicott” / Ruth Taylor), Bob Dryden (“Clay Endicott” / “Mr. Simms” / John Edgar Bell), Jane Rose (“Claire Simms” / Miriam Bell), Walter Black (Sgt. Hadley)

Ted Pearson substitutes for Stuart Metz as announcer.

###

1960-08-21 Truck Stop

Mandel Kramer and Larry Haines star in a Peter Fernandez story as a pair of not-so-bright hijackers who think they’ve outsmarted the system. They’ve been watching the pattern of an armored truck driver and have calculated when he stops for coffee and breakfast at a local diner. The driver is Charlie, boyfriend of the waitress, so he has let his romance with her affect the pattern of his route. They decide the time is right to attempt the heist, but the habit of stopping at the diner may be predictable and facilitate the crime, but it also makes it easy for an unexpected hero to disrupt their plan and save the day… and prevent the robbery.

It is common procedure for armored truck companies to randomize their delivery patterns and change delivery personnel as a means to reduce such robberies. Moving physical cash from place to place is expensive, and sometimes risky, which has led to greater reliance on electronic funds transfer and use of credit and debit cards. If the buffoons played by Kramer and Haines could figure out a pattern, then the armored truck service clearly wasn’t doing their job well. But, then there wouldn’t be a story where an insightful waitress could thwart the dimwitted thugs. It’s a good story that does not have the excitement that the better Suspense episodes usually provide.

The program was recorded on Thursday, August 18, 1960. Rehearsal began at 4:30pm and ended at 8:00pm. Recording was done from 8:00pm to 8:30pm.

Two recordings have survived. The network aircheck recording is much superior to the copies that have been in circulation among hobbyists for decades. Unfortunately, the commercials and announcements have been edited out. The Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#800) is in better and richer sound, and is preferred for listening.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP600821

THE CAST

Mandel Kramer (Zel), Larry Haines (Benno), Teri Keane (Maggie), Danny Ocko (Frank), Frank Butler (Charlie), Robert Readick (Simmons), Peter Fernandez (Jimmy)

Jim Boles was originally cast as Zel, and replaced by Mandel Kramer.

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1960-08-14 Night Ferry to Paris

William Redfield and Elaine Rost star in a William N. Robson story where a man meets a woman on a train and is quickly embroiled in espionage. The attractive young woman is on a mysterious mission and attaches herself in conversation and acquaintanceship to an innocent young man traveler who is also taking the combination ferry and train service to Paris. As the two travel, they have pleasant light conversation, and he senses something is not right. Details about her life are shallow and don’t ring true it comes to details. As they move along in the boarding process, she tells ticket agents and others that he is her husband, which was obviously surprising to him but he plays along. As the ferry voyages across the English Channel, they make their way to its bow. Two gangsters soon converge on them. They seem to know who she is and demand that they be handed the small package she is supposed to be carrying. She claims not to have it. The gangsters drug the young man to get him out of the way. When he revives, he returns to his train compartment, arriving just in time to bring the confusion of her mission and identity to a satisfying and happy conclusion. It’s a love story, after all. It just had to be. No spoiler alert necessary.

The Night Ferry was an international boat train from London Victoria to Paris Gare du Nord that crossed the English Channel on a train ferry. It was a sleeper car service where passengers would leave the train station, the train would head to a port where the cars would be moved onto a ferry. After crossing the English Channel, the train cars would be transferred back to tracks and continue their journey to Paris. The service began in 1936 but was paused in 1939 when World War II began. Service resumed in peacetime in 1947, until competition from low cost and efficient air service made the night ferry service impractical. The service ended in 1980. Completion of the Channel Tunnel made it clear that a night ferry train service was obsolete. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Ferry

The program was recorded on Thursday, August 11 1960. Rehearsal began at 2:30pm and ended at 7:00pm. Recording was done from 7:00pm to 7:30pm. Ira Ashley substituted for Paul Roberts as director.

The only recording available of this episode is in very low quality, but it can be listened to. Most copies have been in even lower quality sound. Many collectors will find this to be an improvement and will appreciate the story more since the clarity of events and dialogue is much better. It is a network aircheck that has been heavily edited. It is hoped that an Armed Forces Radio Service transcription might be located and transferred sometime in the future.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP600814

THE CAST

William Redfield (Tom), Elaine Rost (Susan), Robert Dryden (Anton), Guy Repp (Porter / Train Attendant), Bret Morrison (Uncle / Customs), Frank Milano (Raul)

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1960-08-07 The Big Dive

Leon Janney stars in a Robert Arthur script about Daniel, a diving champion, who is $10,000 in debt to two racketeers (that is almost $110,000 in US$2025!). The hoods demand repayment from the diver, now performing in an amusement park act. He has a week to get the money, or he will be killed. He begs his wealthy uncle to lend him the money out his inheritance. The uncle refuses, because he had helped the diver out of previous financial difficulties, had even forged one of his uncle’s checks, and had not learned his lesson. He told him to never visit him again. He tries to get his uncle's secretary to intercede on his behalf. She has eyes for the diver, and invents a story that a relative needs the money. The uncle sees through the story, and her request is unsuccessful. Daniel knows that the uncle is staying at on a high floor of a resort hotel. The uncle’s hotel room has a clear view of the swimming pool. Daniel disguises himself as a bellhop and slips into the hotel room overnight, confronts his uncle, and demands the money. He refuses, and Daniel overpowers and strangles him. He sets the room up so it appears the uncle committed suicide by hanging. He changes the clock in the room to be stopped at a time when Daniel will be out drinking with the uncle’s secretary. With the room locked, Daniel climbs out a window to a building ledge… and dives into the pool below. Meanwhile, Betty and the Barker are waiting in the bar for Daniel, but he does not arrive. We soon learn that Daniel’s plan did not work.

The script is attributed to “John West,” a pseudonym of Robert Arthur. He seemed to use that name often for original short stories and stories based on scripts for the short-lived publication The Mysterious Traveler magazine. Using his pseudonyms in the contents made it appear that they had many different writers while most of the stories were written by him and David Kogan.

The script was originally performed on the 1950-05-09 The Mysterious Traveler. No recording of that broadcast has been found.

The program was recorded on Thursday, August 4, 1960. Rehearsal began at 4:30pm and ended at 8:00pm. Recording was done from 8:00pm to 8:30pm. Ira Ashley substituted for Paul Roberts as director.

There are three surviving recordings. The Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#796) is the much superior recording with rich sound quality. This recording has only recently become available and makes the listening very enjoyable. For many years, the only network recording that was available was missing its opening section and all of its commercials and the network ID edited out; this recording has narrow range and is in low quality. The other network recording that is most complete with commercials is in very low sound quality; its show opening is also missing.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP600807

THE CAST

Leon Janney (Danny King), Rosemary Rice (Betty), Sam Gray (Mike Brogan), Mandel Kramer (Charlie), Ralph Bell (The Barker), Bill Smith (Uncle Horace)

Summertime in New York meant that many performers were not available or changed their plans on short notice for getaways. The part of “The Tailor,” assigned to Sam Raskyn was cut from the story, either for time constraints or for lack of his availability. Paul McGrath was originally cast as “Uncle Horace,” replaced by Bill Smith. The script cover sheet has two performers cast as “The Barker,” Joe Julian and Bob Dryden. Ralph Bell, originally cast as “Charlie,” took over “The Barker” role. “Charlie” was assigned to Mandel Kramer, who was not in the original cast. Many of the replaced actors had been included in the CBS publicity information sent to newspapers.

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1960-07-31 End Game

Santos Ortega stars in an unusual David Karp story about an eccentric sheriff whose hobby is chess. A teacher, a noted chess expert, Charles Victor, takes a wrong turn on a dark, stormy night and accidentally runs over a man. The sheriff’s home is near the accident, and Victor learns that when knocks at the door and a man in his rain slicker and walks down to the car and the victim. It is there he is revealed as the sheriff. Victor assumes the man he hit is dead, and the sheriff acts as though that is correct. They move the body into the home, which is probably confusing to Victor, and the listeners, and is a clue that things are not what they seem. It is very disturbing that the sheriff is strangely nonplussed about the entire event. When the town sheriff learns Victor’s identity as a famous chess expert, he becomes far more interested in playing chess with him than prosecuting him for possible vehicular homicide. The sheriff has Victor sit down, and compels him to join in a toast to chess, even as the victim lays on a couch in the room. He tells him he will dismiss any charges and prepare a report that says he witnessed the accident and that there was no indication of crime. The sheriff explains his plight, trapped in the small town. He is angry about his years of loneliness because he cannot find anybody in town with whom he can enjoy his hobby. He demands that the teacher remain for a long period of time, and even take residence in the town to do do. He threatens him with a jail sentence if he refuses to play chess upon his request. His lack of chess players means he cannot display his intelligence; his deep disdain for his fellow townspeople. Forced to stay, the chess expert and the sheriff play what Victor hopes is one final game. The sheriff is counting on Victor staying in town and playing five or six games a week, hoping Victor lives to “a ripe old age.” Their relationship is like a chess game, each testing the other, the sheriff intimidating Victor and each time revealing how deranged the sheriff is. The accident victim stirs, and is not dead as Victor presumed. The sheriff taunts the man, relating a very disturbing story that the victim was, at one time, the town doctor. The doctor’s life became broken with alcoholism after a poor medical outcome of a patient. A farmer, whose farm equipment accident required skilled medical attention that the doctor could not offer, left him severely crippled. The sheriff implies it was malpractice, but it is not stated as such. It is also implied that the doctor may have been the sheriff’s last challenging chess partner of years ago, until Victor arrived. The sheriff’s knowledge of the farm accident was likely used against the doctor, and he crushed his spirit and dignity. The sheriff was trying to blackmail Victor in the same way he did the doctor. The ending is somewhat of a surprise. This is one of those Suspense episodes where you really have to be attentive to the dialogue or you’ll miss some key clues to the story. The production could have been more powerful and menacing under prior producers Robson or Lewis. Overall, it is one of the better psychological dramas of the New York period.

David Karp was a very successful novelist and television writer in the 1950s and through the 1970s. This was his only Suspense script.

With the mention of the fictional Lewiston College and other aspects of the geography, it is likely that Karp was describing a small town in Maine.

The program was recorded on Wednesday, July 20, 1960. Rehearsal began at 3:00pm and ended at 5:00pm. Recording was done from 5:00pm to 5:30pm.

There are two surviving recordings. The network aircheck is the better recording. It is listenable but has narrow range and some minor defects. It is a better recording than what has been circulating among collectors for many years. A mid-show commercial is likely edited out. The Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#795) has similar sound with a slightly wider range, There are some minor digitization defects that can be annoying when listening. Perhaps a better transfer of the disc or a different disc may be located in the future.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP600731

THE CAST

Santos Ortega (Sheriff Van Allen), Michael Kane (Charles Victor, chess expert), Jack Arthur (Berger, the accident victim), Allan Manson (The Trooper)

Bill Adams was originally cast as Berger.

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1960-07-24 Cold Canvass

William Redfield stars in a Walter Black story about an insurance salesman who conspires with a client to murder her husband for the insurance money, then flee to another country. He met her making a cold call visit (a sales call without setting up an appointment), and he starts to pitch the importance of life insurance. She talks to her husband, they have a meeting, and the husband dismisses the idea. When the sale seems lost, she calls the sales representative and says that the husband has changed his mind, and wants a larger policy than they had discussed! With their lawyer, they determined that he could have his business pay for the policy and could afford more than they had thought: $250,000. (That is worth almost $3 million in US$2025!) The policy is purchased, and includes a double indemnity clause in case of accidental death. (This is Suspense, so it is clear what’s about to happen next and there’s no need for a spoiler alert). The wife arranges for the husband to be in a fatal accident. When the insurance investigation is done, she and the lawyer head off to the Mexican border. The sales representative, whom she played for a patsy because she was always interested in the lawyer, learns about it and hides on the floor of the back seat of the car (back when cars were bigger and had legroom in rear seating). He’s willing to let it go for a share of the proceeds. But the insurance rep’s boss suspected something was up and is part of the (moderately) surprising conclusion.

The title of the story has always been misunderstood or at least misspelled by collectors. The word is “canvass” and not “canvas.” The latter is a manufactured material used in making various goods like bags, tarps, and other items. The former, however, is the process of soliciting orders or support, or to gather information (such as police do in neighborhoods where they are looking for witnesses) or pollsters conducting research.

The program was recorded on Wednesday, July 20, 1960. Rehearsal began at 12:30pm and ended at 4:30pm. Recording was done from 4:30pm to 5:00pm.

One recording has survived, and it is in low quality. The aircheck recording is affected by weather interference. It is likely there were storms in the area when it was being recorded. The closing announcements are clipped. It is hoped that a replacement recording may be found in the future, especially an Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) transcription.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP600724

THE CAST

William Redfield (Bud Phillips), Ginger Jones [replacing Charlotte Manson] (Madeleine Fouche), Les Damon [replacing Paul McGrath] (Howard Rigby), Guy Repp (Victor Fouche), Walter Black (Roger Whittier)

Damon and Jones were one of the few married couples to appear together on Suspense multiple times.

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1960-07-17 Memorial Bridge

Robert Dryden stars as “Charlie,” a public works engineer who kills his nagging wife and disposes of her lifeless body in a concrete support (bridge pier) of his town’s new and highly trafficked new bridge that he helped design and construct. He tells acquaintances, confidentially, knowing they would gossip, that she has disappeared and never said where she was going or what she was doing. She was a wealthy woman who had the financial means and independence to go and do whatever she wanted. Since no one ever hears from her, the gossip reaches the police who become suspicious. They can’t arrest him because they can’t produce her body or any evidence of foul play. Charlie is so proud of his accomplishment in this new bridge and is always pleased to talk about it. Much time passes, and he gradually begins his social life again with new relationships. One night, while driving with a date over the bridge, there is a serious accident with another vehicle. Of course, there is damage to the bridge, and it reveals a small part of his deceased wife’s body.

It’s a fairly obvious storyline as it is clear that Charlie will get caught. The surprise is how long he will get away with it, and that it will take a near-tragic incident that will expose his wrong-doing. It is hard to believe that Charlie can manage the pouring of the pier without detection about what he was doing with the body. Set the implausibility aside, enjoy the story.

The story is by William N. Robson. There were eleven Robson scripts used in the New York period (from August 30, 1959 to September 30, 1962). Some were repeats of Suspense scripts he authored and others were re-worked from prior series he produced, such as The Modern Adventures of Casanova. This script appears to be original for this broadcast.

The program was recorded on Thursday, July 14, 1960. Rehearsal began at 4:30pm and ended at 7:30pm. Recording was done from 7:30pm to 8:00pm.

Two recordings of this episode have survived. The network recording is an aircheck, has some minor issues with the AM signal, but is very listenable despite some slight muddiness in the sound. The Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#794) has cleaner sound, but has narrow range. It is the preferred one of the two.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP600717

THE CAST

Robert Dryden (Charlie), Charlotte Manson (Clara), Sam Grey (Steve / Foran), Ralph Bell (Foreman), Roger De Koven (Man / Voice), Larry Haines (The Detective), Pat Hosley (Lady / 2nd Lady), Lawson Zerbe (Cop)

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1960-07-10 Report from a Dead Planet

George Bamber had a favorite genre for his writing, “enviro-disaster,” and this episode fits that category with a background of Cold War atomic annihilation playing a big role in the storyline. A group of scientists aboard a space ship set out to explore the mysteries of an unknown planet. As they circle the celestial body, they spot an island, surrounded by water on four sides. They manage a safe landing and begin to make their way around. Finding no living persons around, they conclude that the place has not been inhabited for perhaps a thousand years. None of the party can unravel the mystery except Dr. Siddons whose explanation of the phenomenon is both interesting and startling.

The story is predictable, but even so, you still want to hear how the predictable ending plays out and what clues are provided. It must be remembered that the story may not have seemed as “predictable” then as it does to modern ears who have had a steady diet of science fiction as social commentary and surprise endings. Star Trek was not on the air yet, so this story may have had a greater sense of novelty in 1960.

Much of Bamber’s influence was derived 1950s science fiction (he was a big X Minus One fan) and Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone was a favorite television program for him. This story gave him the opportunity to do so with a story based in Cold War tensions and fears of atomic annihilation, and a twist ending. The script was used again on Theatre 5 on 1965-07-26 as In Absence of All Intelligent Life.

“Dr. Siddons” was planned to be played by Richard Kendrick but he was replaced by Les Damon. The “Captain” was originally to be played by Al Hodge (early TV’s star of the sci-fi show Captain Video, was replaced by Les Damon, but changed to John Larkin; Hodge was one of the actors who starred as The Green Hornet in its radio heyday). 

Not a real spoiler alert: there are so many hints in the dialogue that they are over Manhattan Island and that their landing spot is Central Park. The crosshatches they keep mentioning are the network of streets and avenues they see from above. The “monuments” are apartment buildings and office skyscrapers (the dialogue “Such crude dwellings. They must have lived absolutely one on top of the other” is quite funny). No spoiler alert is necessary.

The real question is if the characters are from 1,000 years after the annihilation of the Earth’s population, are the characters descendants of Earth humans who traveled to other planets? One would think not, since they express disgust at the way Earth people look based on their reaction to a sculpture of one.

The dialogue mentions some devastation “one hundred miles south and west of here” which would be the Philadelphia area.

The program was recorded on Tuesday, July 7, 1960. Rehearsal began at 4:300pm and ended at 7:30pm. Recording was done from 7:30pm to 8:00pm.

There are two recordings that have survived. All of the network recordings are airchecks that have been heavily edited. The one for this episode is well edited and is in superb sound. The Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#793) is preferred because of its better sound quality. It is new to circulation among classic radio enthusiasts.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP600710

THE CAST

Les Damon (Doctor Siddons), Phil Meeder (Collins), John Larkin (The Captain), William Mason (Lieutenant Jeffries)

Warren Sweeney substitutes for Stuart Metz as the announcer.

###

1960-07-03 Bon Voyage

Bob Readick stars in a Murray Burnett story about an embezzler, Alec Thompson, who takes his money to a cruise ship, but has to race back to cover up his crime. There’s a problem: when he tries to return, he meets a thief who wants the money. Alec is a not-too-clever bank teller who removes $200,000 in cash from a huge estate (about $2.2 million in US$2025). His plan is to abandon his wife and child, and sail for Europe and a new, exciting life in France with his girl friend, Celia. Just before sailing time he remembers a scrap of paper that he left behind that could be used as evidence against him. It was the calculation of the cost of the cruise tickets. After frantically returning home, having an uncomfortable interaction with his wife, he finally locates the paper. He says goodbye, and heads back to the ship… well, he thinks he has time for a drink at the bar around the corner. Dumb move: a man with a gun tries to hold him up! Now what?

Ira Ashley substituted as director for Paul Roberts for this episode. Ashley was a longtime director of Grand Central Station.

This episode was teased at the end of the prior week’s episode with a different title: “End of the Line.”

Getting on and off a cruise ship was much easier at that time, with very little screening. Today, the identity checks and verification required take a significant amount of time. The speed of Alec’s nefarious logistics, even with the ship’s announced delay, might have been plausible then, but definitely not in modern times.

The program was recorded on Tuesday, June 28, 1960. Rehearsal began at 3:00pm and ended at 6:30pm. Recording was done from 6:30pm to 7:00pm.

There are two surviving recordings. The network aircheck from WROW has narrow range and some static. There may have been some active storms in the Albany, New York area during recording. The preferred recording is Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS#792) which has less noise, but also has narrow range.

Burnett and Joan Alison wrote the play Everybody Comes to Rick’s that eventually became the classic movie Casablanca. Burnett wrote seven scripts for ABC Radio’s Theatre 5 series (1964-1965).

In the cast is "Mary Moore." She is actress Mary Alice Moore who appeared in many New York television productions in the 1950s. In 1973, she married Broderick Crawford.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP600703

THE CAST

Robert Readick (Alec), Joseph Julian (Hank), Rita Lloyd (Celia), Mary Moore (Helen), Dan Ocko (Man), Alan Manson (Voice 1)

The cast was changed before the recording session. Joe Julian replaced Alan Mason as “Hank,” the bank guard, and Alan Manson replaced Bill Mason as “Voice 1.”

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1960-06-26 The Daisy Chain

Joan Lorring stars as a young British woman named Sharon. She and her father, believe they know a young man who might be London’s infamous Daisy Chain serial killer. Things start to get strange when they take in a mysterious woman boarder into their London home. She’s been widowed for over three decades. While boarding, her son Jimmy comes to visit, and Sharon suspects that he is the serial killer the police are hunting for. The killer leaves a “daisy chain” at the scene of the murders, a string of daisies threaded together by their stems. When he is with his mother, he asks her to tell him about the Sharon. The mother is dismayed with the idea that she might be hurt by him. Sharon’s father is suspicious of the woman and of Jimmy. Sharon and Jimmy become friendly. As the story moves along, it is clear that the son is not the killer, but, surprise, it’s Mom! This is not the best of scripts, with one of the problems being that there are not enough characters to spread healthy servings of suspicion and doubt to keep listeners engaged.

This is the second John R. Forrest script on the series. The first was the superb Mission Completed and starred Jimmy Stewart. These may have been the only scripts written by this Seattle radio personality to have been performed on network radio, or any radio format.

The program was recorded on Tuesday, June 21, 1960. Rehearsal began at 3:00pm and ended at 6:30pm. Recording was done from 6:30pm to 7:00pm.

Two recordings have survived, and both are listenable but have narrow range and minor problems. The network aircheck recording from WROW is the better of the two and includes the five-minute 7Up soda program with the Kingston Trio follows the show. The Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#791) has some audio defects and some tape wow and flutter especially at the conclusion of the recording during the “Suspense March” filler music.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP600626

THE CAST

JOAN LORRING (Sharon), John Clark (Jimmy), Jane Rose (Mrs. Grimes), Bret Morrison (Mr. Pittsfield), Marvin Peisner (Bobby), Mercer MacLeod (Inspector)

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1960-06-19 60 Grand Missing

Bernard Grant stars as police detective Dresser in a Robert Arthur story about a police officer who may have grabbed $60,000 from the perpetrators of robbery and hid it away until an opportunity to retrieve it presents itself. Since arrests were made but the money was never found, suspicions about where it may be taints Dresser’s reputation because he might have kept the money for himself. By the end of the story, after we meet characters with odd names like his fellow officer “Sloppy Peters”, crooks like “Nick the Pick,” “Big Man,” and, of course, “Little Man.” It is an entertaining story in a B-movie kind of way that has a surprise ending as the money is found and reveals an honest side of Dresser and Peters that was not expected.

The story might have been presented on The Mysterious Traveler in the later 1940s or very early 1950s, though detective stories were not always typical of the program. It did appear in the short-lived Mysterious Traveler Magazine edition of March 1952. It was published as “Sixty Grand Missing.” That amount of money would be about $725,000 in US$2025. If it was performed on the radio series, it may have had a different title.

The title published in the 1952 magazine was “Sixty Grand Missing.” The title on the script is “60 Grand Missing.” Newspapers likely followed CBS publicity releases, but there is inconsistency there as newspapers had “Sixty Grand Missing” but also “$60 Grand Missing.”

The program was recorded on Tuesday, June 14, 1960. Rehearsal began at 3:00pm and ended at 6:30pm. Recording was done from 6:30pm to 7:00pm.

There are several network aircheck recordings available, all of them incomplete in some manner. It is believed that the core recording is from WROW. A reconstructed broadcast recording has been created. It has the WROW station ID and the Suspense open from a different but contemporary program. Most recordings do not have the introduction mentioning the episode name and a few words to set the scene, but a recording that had that section intact was found. It is not known if a commercial followed the introduction; some earlier reconstructed recordings used a Pepsi commercial from a different episode. That was excluded from this reconstruction because it is not known if there was a commercial, and if there was, what the commercial might have been. The first few minutes of the story were missing from several recordings, and that was found in listenable sound quality. At 3:25 the reconstructed recording continues to the ending announcements in very good sound. It is hoped that a complete and original aircheck, or an Armed Forces Radio Service recording, can be found in the future to replace this composite recording.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP600619

THE CAST

Bernard Grant (Dresser), Ralph Bell (Sergeant Bronson), Leon Janney (Sloppy Peters), Sam Raskyn (Ace), Joseph Julian (Nick the Pick), Mason Adams (Big Man), Michael Kane (Little Man), Nat Polen (Commissioner)

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1960-06-12 Elemental

Phil Meeder, Santos Ortega, and Ellen McRae star in the dramatization of one of Stephen Vincent Benét’s earliest and most famous stories, Elementals. The story explores existential questions about the nature of life, posed in an interesting manner, as an experiment. A teacher, about to be married, maintains that love is one of the powers that guides the destiny of men, whereas his host insists that they are, rather, hate, fear and hunger. The experiment to decide which of the two is correct proves to be a challenge to both the teacher his bride-to-be. The cruel experiment is for the couple to go without food for a week, and if they do so, they will prove the depth of their love, and receive $10,000.

The Benét short story was adapted for Suspense by Edna Rae, better known as wife of producer Paul Roberts, actress Ellen McRae. She and Roberts divorced in 1961, and after a new marriage in 1964 to Neil Burstyn, and her name became Ellen Burstyn. Her birth name was Edna Rae Gillooly, so it is easy to see how her scriptwriting pseudonym and her stage name were derivations of her name.

The title on the script is “Elemental” while the printed Stephen Vincent Benét story uses “Elementals.”

The Benét story was presented several times on radio, usually a unique production. The story was used on Author’s Playhouse on 1941-03-05 and was adapted by Charles Gusman. On 1946-07-25 it was produced on Nelson Olmsted Playhouse, and was adapted by Virginia Wells (that cast include Everett Clarke who played The Whistler in the Chicago version of that series broadcast at that time). It was produced in 1949-02-14 on Radio City Playhouse with Benét noted as the author, but no adaptor identified. On 1953-10-11 it was presented on Escape and adapted by Meyer Dolinsky.  

The program was recorded on Tuesday, June 7, 1960. Rehearsal began at 3:00pm and ended at 6:30pm. Recording was done from 6:30pm to 7:00pm.

Two recordings have survived. The network recording is an aircheck. with narrow range and some other defects but is very listenable. The preferred recording is Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS#790) which has a wider range of sound. It has some defects related to the condition of the transcription disc, but is the better of the two.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP600612

THE CAST

Phil Meeder (Latimer), Santos Ortega (Slake), Ellen McRae (Catherine)

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1960-06-05 Two Came Back

Robert Readick and Connie Lembcke star in an adaptation of Jules Archer’s story that first appeared in Doc Savage magazine’s May-June 1948 issue. This Suspense adaptation is by Ronald Dawson and Joseph Cochran. Dawson also appears in the production. The story was also adapted for Escape for its broadcast of 1950-08-04. That production is notably different. It was adapted by “Savage Dollar,” which may have been a pseudonym of William N. Robson who was producing Escape at that time. The Escape pseudonym may relate to the fact the story first appeared in Doc Savage magazine.

Bob Readick plays a man, named Johnny, who saved another man, named Gabor, in the Pacific island nation New Guinea during World War II. A few years later, Gabor contacted Johnny that there was a major gold mine in New Guinea and that he wanted Johnny to join him. Gabor’s wife, Lily, is also along for the excursion. Their journey requires that they navigate their way to avoid natives who want to stop them, including some who are feared as head-hunters. Complicating the expedition is that Lily and Gabor are having marital issues, and she has eyes for Johnny. The real danger, may not be from the natives or the wildlife, or the terrain, but themselves. The story’s title is not “three came back.” Which of them will be subtracted from the dangerous trip, and how?

This episode is one of the more complicated productions of the New York period, and is well done.

The program was recorded on Tuesday, May 31, 1960. Rehearsal began at 3:00pm and ended at 6:30pm. Recording was done from 6:30pm to 7:00pm.

Two recordings of this episode have survived. The network recording is an aircheck from WROW and has some station interference. The recording has a somewhat narrow range, but is very listenable. The Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#789) has better sound quality (with some minor defects) and is the preferred one.

This script was re-used on the 1965-06-07 broadcast of Theatre 5.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP600605

THE CAST

Robert Readick (Johnny King), Connie Lembke (Lily), Robert Donley (Gabor Krilovitch), Ronald Dawson (Mackay)

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1960-05-29 Perfect Plan

George Petrie stars in a Peter Fernandez script about a bank employee whose wife and child are held hostage by two people looking to steal $50,000 from the bank where he works. They threaten to murder his wife being murdered unless he participates in the plan using a bogus loan application. One of the extortionists confronts the official at the bank, and she demands a loan approval, in cash. The other pretends to be a bank officer conducting an interview, terrorizes the wife at home. Things go out of control for the bank employee who ends up arrested and on trial for embezzlement, but always protesting that he is innocent. There is a not-so-surprise ending where it all turns out fine. It is a rather pedestrian and unremarkable story that for some reason needed 12 performers. It could have been heard on most any mystery or crime program, such as FBI in Peace and War at some earlier time. But Suspense was literally the only show in town by this point.

The program was recorded on Tuesday, May 24, 1960. Rehearsal began at 3:00pm and ended at 6:30pm. Recording was done from 6:30pm to 7:00pm.

Two recordings of this episode have survived. The network recording is an aircheck from WROW, and is the better of the two. The recording begins with a local Utica Club beer commercial. The recording has a somewhat narrow range, but is very listenable. The Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS) is in very low quality sound.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP600529

THE CAST

George Petrie (Henry Travers), Paul Potter (Cromwell), Elizabeth Lawrence (Shirley Brisbane), Patsy Bruder (Elizabeth Travers), Jim Boles (Jason Collins), Kermit Kegley (Guard), Bill Redfield (Frisbie), Carl Frank (Grant), Arthur Kohl (Lieutenant), Bill Smith (Judge), Ronald Dawson (Russell), John Seymour (Prosecutor)

###

1960-05-22 Out the Window

Santos Ortega stars in a William N. Robson story about a corrupt city commissioner who wants to go straight and stop the payoffs and the backroom dealing. Two of his allies are not thrilled about the idea, and threaten to throw him out of the twenty-first floor of the building where they are meeting. They express their disagreement and threaten to ruin his reputation for not going along with what the political party he belongs to wants. To show his resolve, he throws one of them out of the window. The remaining one gasps in disbelief and is afraid the same may happen to him. He kills him, too. An alluring woman, named “Kitten,” is just interested in being near the seat of power. He takes care of her, too. His conscience bothers him so much when he goes down to the street level he starts thinking he sees the faces of the people he eliminated. Eventually, his wife confronts him, and she has ideas of her own about what the consequences of his actions should be.

It is a bizarre and sometimes muddled story, and some of the phrasing makes it seem that Robson is trying to present an allegory about life in Eastern Europe and under the Communist Party. He may have selected the position “commissioner” because it has a hint of “commissar” to it. The “party” seems to be a not-so-veiled reference to the Communist Party. The threats to eliminate him for non-compliance with their desires, is similar to so many political reports of that era. There is also a scene at the airport where it seems like Ortega’s character is hallucinating. It just doesn’t make for a good Suspense story. It’s hero-less, and that’s okay, but hero-less or “anti-hero” stories that succeed have interesting characters. There are none here. It’s not the best Robson script, for sure.

Classic radio enthusiast John Barker offered a different idea. At the Cobalt Club online forum used by hobbyists and researchers, he noted “if you look at it as another example of William N. Robson's fascination with An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (much like Present Tense), that will at least put it in a possibly interesting context. I thought the stream-of-consciousness passages were at least a bold attempt at something different.” An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is the classic short story by Ambrose Bierce that was presented on Escape and Suspense. The James Poe script Present Tense was inspired by the Bierce story, modernized and expanded, also presented on both series. The James Poe story is very creative, and seems to polarize fans of both series. Some consider it strange and haphazard, and others considering it innovative and engrossing, especially with a fine performance by Vincent Price. Out the Window may have been Robson’s attempt to provide the his version of the same foundational concept offered by Bierce.

The program was recorded on Tuesday, May 17, 1960. Rehearsal began at 3:00pm and ended at 6:30pm. Recording was done from 6:30pm to 7:00pm.

The only surviving recording is a network aircheck, presumably from WROW of the Albany, New York area. It is listenable, but not the best quality. Most of the commercials have been edited out.

The actor who plays “Kitten” is Jane Huszagh, an unfamiliar name to many classic radio drama listeners. She made her Broadway debut in the 1943 disaster The Snark was a Boojum that included Frank Lovejoy and Joan Banks. The Lovejoys were interested in the play because the rehearsals and previews were in Cape Cod that summer. They could get out of the heat and pace of New York City for a while and work on a project together. Frank even turned down the lead in the new radio series Flashgun Casey, Press Photographer that was about to premiere. Huszagh was in various plays in the New York City area, mainly in Connecticut where she lived. She was often in 1950s radio soap operas Aunt Jenny and Right to Happiness. She was one of those supporting actors in radio who was rarely mentioned in the announced credits. Huszagh would be reunited with her Boojum friends Frank and Joan in the upcoming 1960-10-02 Suspense presentation of Ivy Is a Lovely Name for a Girl in which the Lovejoys co-starred.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP600522

THE CAST

Santos Ortega (Walchek), Ginger Jones (Nellie), Jane Huszagh (Kitten), George Mathews (Brewsie), Marilyn Cole (Girl), Sam Raskyn (Elevator Operator), Roger DeKoven (Granet)

Jane Huszagh replaced Connie Lembcke in the casting. Bob Dryden was to play Granet, replaced by Roger DeKoven.

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1960-05-15 Dead Man's Story

Kevin McCarthy portrays an escaped criminal, a three-time loser, about to become a four-time loser because of a pending charge that will result in his spending the rest of his life in prison. He is eventually presumed dead because he has taken on the identity of someone who died in the sinking of a cargo ship they were on together, which creates a dilemma in this Robert Arthur story. It was previously used on The Mysterious Traveler broadcast of 1950-01-24, and titled The Dead Man’s Story (a recording of that broadcast has not been found).

McCarthy’s character, Larry, was fleeing from the USA with the help of his former wife, Julia. She is married to a wealthy man, but has helped her ex-husband many times in the past. For $2000 from jewelry she sold, she paid off a cargo ship captain to take Larry to South America. She gave Larry $3000 for the trip. (In US$2025 value, that is $22,000 for the payoff, and $33,000 in spending money). When the ship finally arrives at its port, Larry checks in at a bad hotel where he stays for a few weeks. He is dissatisfied with his new freedom because it is constrained by making his money last as long as possible, living with as little daily expenses as possible. One day, there is a knock at the door by a New York police investigator with extradition papers. Larry is so disappointed by his “freedom,” he decides to go back with the officer. As they are on the last leg of the journey, their cargo ship is in trouble: it is sinking. The officer is injured as the ship tosses and rolls. They are trapped in their room, unable to open the door. It may become their final resting place. The ship’s cargo of ore is slipping out, and there is enough trapped air that the ship stops sinking, and comes back to the surface, temporarily. The ship twists as it was rising, and turned enough to allow the door to be opened. It reaches the surface long enough for them to escape on a raft. The officer’s injuries were too severe, however, and he did not survive, but Larry took his identification and passport. Some time passes, Larry eventually ends up in Miami, where he attempts to call his Julia. It turns out that they can’t talk because she and her husband were in a serious car accident and in critical condition. The story takes a very curious turn. Larry has a choice: he has been assumed as dead, one of the casualties of the freighter. If he reveals himself, he will go back to prison, but as a wealthy man because of the provisions of Julia’s will. If he stays hiding in plain sight under an alias, he can experience freedom as a pauper for the rest of his life.

An element of the story regards estate law regarding and simultaneous death provisions. In this story, it is 30 minutes, meaning that the will of the person who is second to die essentially overrides that of their earlier-deceased spouse (assuming they left estates to each other). In most states, however, the default is 120 hours (5 days) to be considered a simultaneous death if there is no will. The length of time can be overridden by a prepared will; the late actor Gene Hackman and his wife had 90 days written into their wills for their deaths to be considered as “simultaneous.” The intent of the provision is to determine the priorities of distribution of assets, but also to minimize the administrative costs of handling the final matters of the estates. Thirty minutes would be considered very short, but having it so fits the ending that scripter Robert Arthur desired.

The program was recorded on Tuesday, May 10, 1960. Rehearsal began at 3:00pm and ended at 6:30pm. Recording was done from 6:30pm to 7:00pm.

Two recordings of this episode have survived. The network recording is an aircheck from WROW. The Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#785) has cleaner, richer sound, and is the much preferred one of the two. The AFRS recording is only recently available and allows better appreciation of the overall story.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP600515

THE CAST

KEVIN McCARTHY (Larry), Rebecca Sand (Julia), Sam Grey (Sanders), Joseph Boland (Captain), Richard Kendrick (Werby), Ruth Tobin (Nurse), Guy Repp (Butler)

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1960-05-08 Legend of Robbie

Larry Robinson stars in a Walter Black story as a young, honest supermarket employee named “Robbie” who is persuaded to cooperate with a thug, “Dutch,” in a late night robbery of the store’s receipts for the day. Dutch tells Robbie “the smart guys don’t get caught.” He’s not interested, but a girl he is interested in encourages the idea. “A girl’s gotta look out for herself,” she says, “Money, Robbie, not talk, money!” Robbie really likes her, and her interest in him seems to be based on whether or not he can be a good provider who can more than the $70 a week he currently earns in his job (about $40,000 a year in US$2025). Before Robbie steals the money, his boss tells him what a good and honest employee he is, and he’s getting a raise to $72 a week. Robbie decides to go ahead with the heist, and the deal is that he will get half. His reputation for honesty is so strong that it the staged street mugging he will undergo by the gangster will preclude him for being considered as a suspect. Robbie gets more than he bargained for, however, but he’s prepared, and perhaps too smart for his own good. Robbie turns out to be not-so-honest, and almost outsmarts the thug. Despite Robbie’s newfound interest in thievery that causes his demise, his reputation for honesty will outlive him. Dutch’s pronouncement that “the smart guys don’t get caught” turns out to be true in the strangest of ways. Robbie didn’t get caught, but paid the highest price for his night of dishonesty. His desired girlfriend turns out to be the biggest conniver of all.

The program was recorded on Thursday, April 28, 1960. Rehearsal began at 3:00pm and ended at 6:30pm. Recording was done from 6:30pm to 7:00pm.

The script title is “Legend of Robbie,” but is announced as “The Legend of Robbie.”

The ending suffers from the New York studio’s sound effects lack of realism, but does not detract from the above-average story.

Two recordings of this episode have survived. The network recording is an aircheck from WROW and has an ad for Utica Club beer at its open. The station ID was late and blocked the “And now…” open of the program, but the “ow” of “now” can be heard in the background. The Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#785) has cleaner, richer sound, and is the much preferred one of the two. The AFRS recording is only recently available and allows better appreciation of the overall story.

Larry Robinson was one of New York’s busiest actors from the time of his childhood. He was a regular on Let’s Pretend and radio soaps, early television and had many appearances in Broadway plays through the 1950s. He became active in the dubbing of movies, animation, and cartoons in the 1960s through the time of his passing in 2006.

LISTEN TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP600508

THE CAST

Larry Robinson (Robbie), George Mathews (Dutch), Joan Lorring (Sandra), Eric Dressler (Mr. Harris), Walter Black (George)

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