Presenting the biggest legends of Hollywood starring in "Suspense," radio's outstanding theater of thrills! Each week, we'll hear two chillers from this old tim...
We bid goodbye to Lee Bowman with his first and last appearances on Suspense. He co-stars with Walter Hampden and Susan Hayward in "The Dead Sleep Lightly" (originally aired on CBS on March 30, 1943) - the story of a man who places a call to a grave and hears the voice of the dead on the other end of the line. Then, Bowman is a man whose fiancee disappears off the face of the earth - or does she? - in "I Won't Take a Minute" (originally aired on CBS on December 6, 1945). Finally, Bowman plays one of America's most famous detectives in "The Pinkerton Man" from The Cavalcade of America (originally aired on NBC on November 18, 1946).
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1:37:37
Encore - Best of Comedians on "Suspense"
I won't be able to put together new episodes for the next two weeks, so I've decided to reach back into the "Stars on Suspense" archive and share some of my favorite "best of" collections. This week, it's a showcase of the comedians who showed a different side of their talents when they starred on Suspense in thrillers. First, Danny Kaye schemes to bump off a rival and steal his girl in "The Too-Perfect Alibi" (originally aired on CBS on January 13, 1949). Then, Fibber McGee and Molly take a car trip with an uninvited passenger in "Backseat Driver" (originally aired on CBS on February 3, 1949) and Bob Hope tries to talk his way out of a date with a killer in "Death Has a Shadow" (originally aired on CBS on May 5, 1949). Finally, Milton Berle tries method acting as a way to beat a murder rap in "Rave Notice" (originally aired on CBS on October 12, 1950) and Eve Arden of Our Miss Brooks is a jilted woman with murder on her mind in "The Well-Dressed Corpse" (originally aired on CBS on January 18, 1951).
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2:34:53
Episode 402 - Tony Barrett
Tony Barrett was a very busy radio actor, with recurring and regular roles on The Adventures of Frank Race, Defense Attorney, and Tales of The Texas Rangers. He could also be heard in guest spots on all sorts of mysteries, westerns, and dramas. Barrett went on to a long and successful career as a writer, where - among other things - he developed the classic 60s/70s cop show The Mod Squad. We'll hear him in four of his starring turns on Suspense, beginning with "Give Me Liberty" (AFRS rebroadcast from March 29, 1955) where he's a fugitive trying desperately to lose a pair of handcuffs. Then he's a murderer who's recognized by a high school classmate in "Remember Me?" (AFRS rebroadcast from May 3, 1955). In "Over the Bounding Main" (AFRS rebroadcast from June 21, 1955), he tries to survive a boat trip from hell, and in "The Flame" (originally aired on CBS on May 29, 1956), he plays a pyromaniac who tries to put his skills to work and help a friend.
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2:19:19
Episode 401 - Donald Crisp
Donald Crisp took home on Oscar for his powerful performance in How Green Was My Valley, but that was just one notch on his belt during a long Hollywood career that stretched from the silent era to the 1960s and included stints as actor, producer, and director. We'll hear him in "Banquo's Chair" - the story of a Scotland Yard inspector with an ingenious method to catch a killer (originally aired on CBS on June 1, 1943). Then, Crisp is a psychiatrist who tries to discover what haunts a railroad tycoon in "Case History of Edgar Lowndes" (originally aired on CBS on June 8, 1944). Plus, he recreates his Academy Award-winning role in The Screen Guild Theatre (originally aired on CBS on March 22, 1942).
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1:13:07
Episode 400 - Five Forties Favorites
To celebrate 400 episodes of Stars on Suspense, I'm sharing five of my favorites from the first decade of "radio's outstanding theatre of thrills" - a star-studded showcase of classic chillers. First, Orson Welles wishes he only had a brain...and gets one with disasterous results in "Donovan's Brain," a two-part sci-fi/horror epic (originally aired on CBS on May 18 and May 25, 1944). Then, Robert Young isn't a father and he doesn't know best in "You'll Never See Me Again," a classic story from Cornell Woolrich (originally aired on CBS on September 5, 1946). Edward G. Robinson plays himself and "The Man Who Thought He Was Edward G. Robinson" in a comedic thriller (originally aired on CBS on September 30, 1948). Brian Donlevy is a psychiatrist whose new patient is a human lie detector in "Lazarus Walks" (originally aired on CBS on October 31, 1946). And finally, Lucille Ball is a crook who catches a bigger fish - a serial killer - in her trap in "A Little Piece of Rope" (originally aired on CBS on October 14, 1948).
Presenting the biggest legends of Hollywood starring in "Suspense," radio's outstanding theater of thrills! Each week, we'll hear two chillers from this old time radio classic featuring one of the all-time great stars of stage and screen.