Stars on Suspense (Old Time Radio)

Before he was a big screen character actor in Psycho and Cloak and Dagger and a steady hand on network TV dramas like Naked City and Wagon Train, John McIntire was a busy radio performer. We'll hear him co-starring with real-life wife Jeanette Nolan in a sixty-minute adaptation of Curt Siodmak's sci-fi horror classic "Donovan's Brain" (originally aired on CBS on February 7, 1948). For tickets to the livestream of my original Halloween old time radio comedy this Saturday, 10/23 at 7:00 pm, visit https://www.ashlandtheatre.org/event/terror-on-the-tracks

We head into the mountains with William Conrad in this week's Halloween bonus episode. Here, he's part of a hunting party searching the Himalayas for the mythical yeti. It's a terrifying tale from Escape - "The Abominable Snowman" (originally aired on CBS on September 13, 1953).

Frank Lovejoy returns to the podcast in two of the mot intense stories to ever air on Suspense. First, Lovejoy and real-life wife Joan Banks run out of gas right in the middle of a classic radio horror story - "On a Country Road" (originally aired on CBS on January 4, 1954). Then, he tries to talk an inexperienced pilot down to the ground safely in "The Long Night" (originally aired on CBS on November 18, 1956).

This week's bonus scary story comes from the mind of science fiction master Ray Bradbury. It stirred up controversy when it aired on CBS, and it still provides chills nearly 70 years later. It's "Zero Hour" (originally aired on CBS on April 5, 1955), a tale of a child's backyard game with catastrophic consequences.

Character actor and comedian Jack Carson closes out his run on Suspense with three old time radio thrillers. First, he's an ambitious circus employee with the gift of gab in "Death Pitch" (originally aired on CBS on March 29, 1951). Then, Carson narrates a tense tale of a malfunctioning atomic bomb at a test site in "Misfire" (originally aired on CBS on October 6, 1957). Finally, he arrives at his psychiatrist's office with some shocking news in "Analytical Hour" (originally aired on CBS on June 28, 1959).

Our countdown to Halloween kicks off with one of the scariest shows to air on Suspense! The great William Conrad stars in "The Waxwork" (originally aired on CBS on May 1, 1956) - a psychological horror story where he plays every role.

Suave and silver-haired, Otto Kruger made a name for himself as debonair villains on screen. He memorably ran a deadly domestic spy ring in Alfred Hitchcock's Saboteur, menaced Philip Marlowe in Murder, My Sweet, and many more. We'll hear him in his only Suspense appearance - the Cornell Woolrich story "After Dinner Story" (originally aired on CBS on October 26, 1943). Then, he joins the cast of Laura in a recreation on The Lux Radio Theatre (originally aired on CBS on February 5, 1945).

In this bonus episode, I'll share my picks for the best Suspense installments starring the legendary Orson Welles. We'll hear him first on a cross-country trip into a nightmare in "The Hitch-Hiker" (originally aired on CBS on September 2, 1942). Then, in a rare Suspense two-parter, Welles plays a scientist whose innovation could bring about the end of the world in "Donovan's Brain" (originally aired on CBS on May 18 and May 25, 1944).

Though he was born into Hollywood fame - the son of one of the movies' first major stars - Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. hadn't intended on becoming an actor. Ultimately, his screen successes were just one chapter in a rich and colorful life including wartime service in counterintelligence. We'll hear the star of Little Caesar and Gunga Din in "Deep Into Darkness" (originally aired on CBS on July 22, 1948). Plus, he stars in the espionage drama "The Big Kill" from The Silent Men (originally aired on February 3, 1952).

Stage and screen star Victor Jory makes his final appearances on Suspense in a pair of episodes that didn't belong on "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." We'll hear the actor from Gone With the Wind and A Midsummer Night's Dream in "Old Army Buddy" (originally aired on CBS on September 8, 1957) and "Death Notice" (originally aired on February 8, 1959). Plus, he stars as a dogged detective in "You Take Ballistics," a Cornell Woolrich story adapted for the audition recording of The Hunters (from November 29, 1948).

Dorothy McGuire jumped from the Broadway stage to the big screen with acclaimed performances in Claudia and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. She earned an Oscar nod for her turn as a woman confronting her bigotry in Gentleman's Agreement and she'd later gain Disney fame as memorable moms in Old Yeller and Swiss Family Robinson. We'll hear her as a woman trying to reconstruct the night of a murder in "Last Confession" (originally aired on CBS on September 15, 1949). Then, she recreates her screen role in a radio adaptation of The Spiral Staircase on The Screen Directors' Playhouse (originally aired on NBC on November 25, 1949).

In his final visits to Suspense, Charles Boyer played two legendary lawmen from his native France. First, the four-time Oscar nominee plays Eugene Vidocq, the master thief who switched sides and became the head of the Sûreté. We'll hear "Vidocq's Final Case" (originally aired on CBS on September 29, 1952). Then, Boyer stars as Alphonse Bertillion, a policeman who used anthropology to develop a system of identifying criminal suspects. Boyer plays the innovative cop in "The Bertillion Method" (originally aired on CBS on April 26, 1954).

Stan Freberg was a master of satire and memorably sent up politics, history, and popular culture over his 70 years in show business. His spoofs of Dragnet, popular music, and history still hold up today, and he put his unique sense of humor to work as a successful advertising director. We'll hear the legendary performer in a rare dramatic radio turn as a murderer in "Alibi Me" (AFRS rebroadcast from April 20, 1958). Plus, we'll hear his signature wit in The CBS Radio Workshop (originally aired on CBS on August 31, 1956) and an episode of his classic radio comedy The Stan Freberg Show (originally aired on CBS on October 6, 1957).

Our annual birthday salute to Alfred Hitchcock isn't just a celebration of the legendary director and big screen master of suspense. It's also a tribute to his daughter, Patricia Alma O'Connell, who passed away on August 9th. We'll hear Patricia recreate her screen role in Strangers on a Train, recreated for the Lux Radio Theatre (rehearsal for the December 3, 1951 broadcast). Then, we'll hear Alfred Hitchcock as host and narrator in the audition recording of Once Upon a Midnight, a series that would have been a Hitchcock-led anthology series before his classic television show.

Actor and singer Robert Horton broke out with his stint on Wagon Train, where he spent several years on one of the top-rated TV shows in the country. But Horton left the show at the peak of its popularity to avoid typecasting and to pursue his singing career. During his years on the television frontier, Horton made two visits to Suspense. He played the titular condemned killer immortalized in song in "Tom Dooley" (originally aired on CBS on December 7, 1958) - featuring the ballad performed by the Kingston Trio! Then, he starred as an actor whose agent pressures him into taking on the real-life role of a murderer in "Spoils for Victor" (AFRS rebroadcast from May 24, 1959).

For the start of our sixth season, we're shining a spotlight on Suspense MVP Cathy Lewis. One of the busiest and most talented actresses of the era, Lewis was a standout supporting player on "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" in some of the program's greatest episodes. She proved just as strong when she stepped into starring roles. We'll hear her alongside husband Elliott in "Love, Honor, or Murder" (originally aired on CBS on June 29, 1950). Then, she stars in "The Murderess" (originally aired on CBS on March 27, 1956).

Charles Laughton stars in a pair of stories pulled from the pages of two great English writers. These tales of murder have plenty of dark comedy mixed in along with the corpses and crimes. First, a garden party results in an accidental homicide in Dorothy L. Sayers' "The Fountain Plays" (originally aired on CBS on November 23, 1944). Then, a man discovers a new hobby - murder - in John Collier's "De Mortuis" (originally aired on CBS on February 10, 1949).

Jackie Cooper began his career in Our Gang shorts and earned an Oscar nomination at the age of nine. After serving in the Navy during World War II, he continued acting on screen and embarked on a successful Emmy-winning career as a director. During his years in front of and behind the camera, he endeared himself to generations of movie fans as irascible editor Perry White in the Superman films. We'll hear him in three old time radio thrillers from Suspense: "The Clock and the Rope" (originally aired on CBS on December 5, 1947); "Remember Me?" (AFRS rebroadcast from August 24, 1958); and "The Amateur" (originally aired on CBS on May 3, 1959).

After making her first visits to Suspense in 1945, Joan Lorring returned to "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" in 1960. By then, both the series and star had left Hollywood behind. The Oscar-nominee had transitioned to Broadway and television, and production of the show moved to CBS' New York studios. We'll hear Lorring in three 60s Suspense stories: "The Daisy Chain" (originally aired on CBS on June 26, 1960); "The Man Who Knew How to Hate" (originally aired on CBS on June 16, 1961); and "Witness to Murder" (originally aired on CBS on October 22, 1961).

It was ironic that Helmut Dantine broke out in Hollywood playing Nazis in wartime dramas; he'd been part of the anti-Nazi resistance in his native Austria and was imprisoned in a concentration camp because of those efforts. Fortunately, he secured his release and escaped to California, where he pursued acting on the stage and screen. We'll hear him plotting an assassination in "Russian New Year" (originally aired on CBS on January 13, 1957). Then, he co-stars with Nina Foch in "Headshrinker" (originally aired on CBS on October 26, 1958).

Michael O'Shea dropped out of school at the age of 12 and wound up on stages in the vaudeville circuit and in speakeasies before he arrived on Broadway. Hollywood came calling after an acclaimed stage performance and soon he was co-starring with Barbara Stanwyck. His film career waned in the early 1950s, but he continued to work on television and make headlines for his off-screen antics. We'll hear him in "Photo Finish" (originally aired on CBS on July 18, 1946) and "The Twist" (originally aired on CBS on September 11, 1947).

Actress and singer Virginia Bruce introduced a Cole Porter classic and starred as the quintessential showgirl in The Ziegfeld Follies, but studio politics hurt her career just as it was getting started. We'll hear her in an international manhunt for a missing heir in "The Cross-Eyed Bear" (originally aired on CBS on September 16, 1943). Then, Virginia Bruce is an amateur sleuth looking into a baffling robbery and murder in "The Locked Room" from John Dickson Carr (originally aired on CBS on January 27, 1944).

Through the 40s and 50s, Margaret Whiting was one of America's most popular singing stars. She recorded and performed through the 90s, but she took on relatively few dramatic acting roles. Whiting did, however, lend her powerful voice to four episodes of "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." We'll hear her star (and sing) in the dramatic recreation of the popular ballad "Frankie and Johnny" (originally aired on CBS on February 3, 1957). Then, she's a glamorous woman with murder on her mind in "The Well-Dressed Corpse" (originally aired on CBS on October 13, 1957).

Warren William, one of the kings of pre-Code Hollywood, won over audiences with his powerful portrayals of slightly unscrupulous characters. He was the first actor to play Perry Mason on screen, and he made nine films as The Lone Wolf, a reformed thief turned sleuth. For his one appearance on Suspense, William reprised the role of the Lone Wolf in "Murder Goes for a Swim" (originally aired on CBS on July 20, 1943). Then we'll hear him as an attorney and investigator in "Midnight on the Moor" from the syndicated drama Strange Wills.

Character actor Keenan Wynn returns for his final appearances on Suspense in a pair of shows that show of the silly and serious sides of "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." First, Wynn co-stars with Hume Cronyn in a comedic tale of embezzlement - "Double Entry" (originally aired on CBS on December 20, 1945). Then, he stars in "The Night Reveals," Cornell Woolrich's tale of an arson investigator hunting a firebug (originally aired on CBS on April 18, 1946). Plus, Wynn and Anne Baxter visit Charlie McCarthy and friends (originally aired on NBC on September 23, 1945).

Phil Silvers broke out on Broadway before he became a household name as the scheming Sgt. Bilko on TV's The Phil Silvers Show. The funny man showed off another side of himself in "The Swift Rise of Eddie Albright" on Suspense (originally aired on CBS on April 3, 1947). Plus, we'll hear him welcome his buddy Frank Sinatra to an episode of radio's The Phil Silvers Show (originally aired on NBC on February 9, 1946).

The star of Shadow of a Doubt and The Third Man returns for more old time radio thrillers. Joseph Cotten stars in two tales of Suspense and plays three different characters. First, he plays a pair of twin brothers with a deadly case of sibling rivalry in "The Pasteboard Box" (originally aired on CBS on January 17, 1946). Then, Cotten may hold the key to the survival of an old enemy in Dorothy L. Sayers' "Blood Sacrifice" (originally aired on CBS on March 30, 1950).

With her powerful, belting voice and inimitable stage presence, Ethel Merman became one of the biggest stars on Broadway and the queen of musical comedy. Her performances were acclaimed, and the songs she introduced onstage became standards - tunes like "I Got Rhythm" and "There's No Business Like Show Business." She made one visit to Suspense as a singer paired with a homicidal partner in "Never Follow a Banjo Act" (originally aired on CBS on February 1, 1954). Then, she's the emcee for a November 1, 1944 broadcast of Command Performance.

Jeff Chandler returns to the podcast in another pair of old time radio thrillers. First, he stars in a story set to the lyrics of a haunting ballad in "My True Love's Hair" (originally aired on CBS on October 19, 1953). Then, Chandler is on trial for crimes committed to preserve the anti-Nazi underground in "Death at Skirkerud Pond" (originally aired on CBS on February 8, 1954). Then, he shows off his comedy chops in Our Miss Brooks as Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton join the Conklins for a weekend getaway (originally aired on CBS on August 21, 1949).

Two-time Oscar nominee John Garfield broke out of the New York theatre scene, and his star burned brightly until he ran afoul of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Known for his intense performances and his battles with his studio to find stronger scripts, Garfield made memorable impressions in movies like The Postman Always Rings Twice and Body and Soul before his career - and his life - came to abrupt ends. We'll hear his two appearances on Suspense - "Reprieve" (AFRS rebroadcast from May 10, 1945) and "Death Sentence" (originally aired on CBS on November 4, 1948). Plus, George Burns writes him a bad check and Gracie Allen tries to fix it when Garfield visits their sitcom (originally aired on CBS on December 28, 1943).

In his final Suspense appearance, Brian Donlevy played a doctor coming to the aid of a man recently returned from the dead. The Oscar nominee stars in "Lazarus Walks" (originally aired on CBS on October 31, 1946). Then, we'll hear him recreate his role as a derelict who winds up in the governor's mansion from The Great McGinty on Academy Award (originally aired on CBS on April 20, 1946).

Irish-born actor Dan O'Herlihy broke out on the big screen when he earned an Oscar nod for the title role in Robinson Crusoe. Over the course of his career, he worked steadily on in films and on television, including his memorable role of "The Old Man" in Robocop and a recurring part on Twin Peaks. We'll hear him in two starring turns on Suspense - "Strange for a Killer" (originally aired on CBS on June 15, 1958) and Rudyard Kipling's "The Man Who Would Be King" (originally aired on CBS on May 31, 1959). Plus, O'Herlihy plays a pair of roles opposite Vincent Price in "Greed Causes Murder," an adventure of The Saint (originally aired on Mutual on August 14, 1949).

Katina Paxinou came to the United States at the outset of World War II, unable to return to her native Greece. The theatre star made a big Hollywood debut with her Oscar and Golden Globe-winning performance in For Whom the Bell Tolls, but her film career was short-lived as she returned to her homeland to continue her work on the stage. We'll hear her in the wartime espionage drama "The Woman in Red" (originally aired on CBS on April 6, 1944). Then, she pays a visit to Bing Crosby and The Kraft Music Hall (originally aired on NBC on June 1, 1944).

Dane Clark prided himself on playing average joes on the big screen, and in the two episodes we'll hear this week he plays a pair of men caught up in murder. One falls into a trap, and the other plots the perfect crime, but both are in tales well calculated to keep you in Suspense. We'll hear Clark in "A Guy Gets Lonely" (originally aired on CBS on April 5, 1945) and "This Will Kill You" (originally aired on August 23, 1945).

When Suspense was revamped as an hour-long series, two-time Academy Award nominee and director Robert Montgomery was on hand as producer, host, and occasional star. He took the lead role in the program's first sixty-minute installment - an adaptation of Cornell Woolrich's "The Black Curtain" (originally aired on CBS on January 3, 1948).

Hitchcock leading man, sitcom star, wartime flight instructor, and godson of a Wright Brother - Robert Cummings wore many hats during his life and career. The Emmy-winning actor made a pair of visits to Suspense ten years apart playing both an innocent man caught up in a crime and its cover-up and a seasoned criminal trying to stay out of the clutches of the police. We'll hear him in "The Dead of the Night" (originally aired on CBS on November 16, 1944) and "Want Ad" (originally aired on CBS on January 25, 1954).

For his final appearances on Suspense, Vincent Price starred in an encore production of one of the scariest shows of the series, as well as an adaptation of a classic short story. We'll hear him in "Three Skeleton Key" (originally aired on CBS on October 19, 1958) and "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (originally aired on CBS on July 19, 1959). Plus, Price stars in a terrifying tale of life and death in the jungle from Escape - "Blood Bath" (originally aired on CBS on June 30, 1950).

Hailed as the "Queen of the B-movies," Marie Windsor carved out a career playing tough femme fatale roles in noir dramas like The Narrow Margin and The Killing. Her brassy, sultry aura made her a natural fit for those characters, and she put her talents to work in her one visit to Suspense as a woman caught in a love triangle with deadly results. We'll hear her in "Script by Mark Brady" (originally aired on CBS on March 22, 1959). Plus, we'll hear her alongside Frank Lovejoy and Ted de Corsia in an all-star production of Escape, "Danger at Matacumbe" (originally aired on CBS on March 24, 1950).

Before his Oscar-nominated turn in The Defiant Ones and before he wore a dress and wooed Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot, Tony Curtis made his one and only visit to Suspense. Curtis starred as a college basketball player approached to throw a game in "The McKay College Basketball Scandal" (originally aired on CBS on September 24, 1951). Plus, Curtis clowns around with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in an episode of their comedy show (originally aired on NBC on February 29, 1952).

Burly character actor Alan Hale was a regular presence in films through the 30s and 40s, lending support to stars like Barbara Stanwyck, Basil Rathbone, Humphrey Bogart, and - in over a dozen films - Errol Flynn. Hale made one visit to Suspense as a colorful con man in "The Leading Citizen of Pratt County" (originally aired on CBS on May 30, 1946). Plus, we'll hear Hale and Flynn in "Allergic to Ladies," a presentation of the Gulf Screen Guild Theatre co-starring Jane Wyman (originally aired on CBS on November 24, 1940).

B-movie leading man Dennis O'Keefe grew up in a vaudeville family and embarked on a screen career - both starring in films and writing them. We'll hear the star of T-Men, Brewster's Millions, and Cover Up in a pair of Suspense shows that find him playing both hero and heel: "The X-Ray Camera" (originally aired on CBS on October 13, 1947) and "Very Much Like a Nightmare" (originally aired on May 25, 1950).

For her final visit to Suspense, Dame May Whitty recreated a performance she'd memorably played on stage and screen. In this hour-long adaptation of Emlyn Williams' play Night Must Fall (originally aired on CBS on March 27, 1948), Whitty reprises her Oscar-nominated role opposite Robert Montgomery.

Bonita Granville's screen career was short, but she made the most of it. She earned an Oscar nomination at age 14, and she starred in four films as junior detective Nancy Drew before she switched gears to produce projects alongside her husband. We'll hear her only visit to Suspense - "Bank Holiday" (originally aired on CBS on July 19, 1945). Then, she's plotting a murder for money in an episode of the syndicated anthology drama Obsession.

Lloyd Bridges' final appearances on Suspense took him from the gym to his Sea Hunt haunts on the ocean floor. But no matter where he went, murder was close at hand. We'll hear the star of High Noon and Airplane! in "Rub Down and Out" (AFRS rebroadcast from July 6, 1958) and "Deep, Deep is My Love" (AFRS rebroadcast from April 26, 1959).

Known to old time radio fans everywhere as Sam Spade, Howard Duff was one of the biggest names of the radio era. Not only was he a skilled dramatic and comedic actor in front of the microphone, he also worked in the Armed Forces Radio Service and - through his job - helped preserve hundreds of the shows we know and love today. The blacklist and Red Scare paranoia dinged his career, but he emerged and continued to work in film and television through the 1980s. We'll hear him in "A Murderous Revision," an unaired recording of a show that was scrapped when he was branded a Communist (recording dated October 13, 1951) and "Eyewitness" (originally aired on CBS on December 16, 1956).

We'll kick off a new year with the "First Lady of Suspense!" Agnes Moorehead returns in a pair of old time radio thrillers, including her very first visit to "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." She co-stars with Ray Collins in the first production of "The Diary of Saphronia Winters" (originally aired on CBS on April 27, 1943). Then, we'll hear her in "Death and Miss Turner" (originally aired on November 17, 1952).

For our final podcast episode of 2020, we welcome Frank Lovejoy back to the podcast for two more old time radio thrillers. He stars as one of the west's most infamous outlaws in "The Shooting of Billy the Kid" (originally aired on CBS on April 28, 1952). Then, he's on trial for a crime he didn't commit in "Public Defender" (originally aired on CBS on April 20, 1953). Plus, we've got the first episode of Lovejoy's radio drama series Night Beat (originally aired on NBC on February 6, 1950).

Christmas is almost here, and to celebrate here's a bonus episode light on suspense but heavy on the stars. We'll hear David Niven, Jane Greer, and Tyrone Power in the holiday favorite The Bishop's Wife, recreated for The Lux Radio Theatre (originally aired on CBS on December 19, 1949).

Raymond Burr was doing double duty when he starred in these installments of Suspense. He could be seen every week on television in the earliest seasons of Perry Mason, but he continued to lend his voice to radio dramas. We'll hear him in H.G. Wells' "The Country of the Blind" (originally aired on CBS on October 27, 1957). Plus, just in time for the holidays, Burr plays a gun-toting St. Nick looking for revenge in "Out for Christmas" (originally aired on CBS on December 21, 1958).

Paul Lukas started his career in his native Hungary, but he found more stage and screen stardom when he journeyed to Hollywood. Lukas won an Oscar for his portrayal of a German anti-fascist in Watch the Rhine, and he remained a regular presence on films and in television through the 1970s. We'll hear him in "Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble" (originally aired on CBS on April 6, 1943) and "Mr. Markham, Antique Dealer" (originally aired on CBS on May 11, 1943).