Episodes

Sunday Nov 14, 2010
Suspense - Pgm 74
Sunday Nov 14, 2010
Sunday Nov 14, 2010
Collector Joseph Webb, a fan of "Suspense", has been kind enough to share some rare discs from his collection of the program.

Thursday Jan 14, 2010
Suspense - January 16, 1947 - Version B
Thursday Jan 14, 2010
Thursday Jan 14, 2010
We continue to double our pleasure and double our fun with "twin" versions of the same "Suspense" episode. In the previous post, I outlined the questions behind this mysterious disc set.

Thursday Jan 14, 2010
Suspense - January 16, 1947 - Version A
Thursday Jan 14, 2010
Thursday Jan 14, 2010
And now ... a tale of Suspense. And a mysterious transcription set. A couple of weeks ago, two "Suspense" transcription lacquer sets came up for bid on ebay. One was for a missing episode of the program, "The Burning Court", with Clifton Webb. The other, from the same source, was for the January 16, 1947 episode, "Overture in Two Keys" with Joan Bennett. A group of us pooled resources to bid on the missing episode, but we missed out on it at the last minute - it went for over $400. However, I did win the Joan Bennett episode. Although it's currently in circulation, I thought it might be a different copy in better condition or perhaps an aircheck that might have some local commercials or station ids at the beginning and end of the program, similar to the "Bing Crosby Show" discs I obtained a few months ago. When the discs arrived, they were actually something rather unexpected - two different versions of the same program.

Saturday Nov 22, 2008
Suspense - Pgm 365 - The Rescue
Saturday Nov 22, 2008
Saturday Nov 22, 2008
Since Thanksgiving is coming up, I was trying to think of a way to connect this week's shows with a holiday theme. I suppose the only way this one might fit is that it makes you thankful you're not on the window ledge of a high-rise building with a mad doctor trying to kill you.

Thursday Sep 18, 2008
Suspense - AFRS Pgm 21, Sept 16, 1943
Thursday Sep 18, 2008
Thursday Sep 18, 2008
I'm a big fan of "Suspense" and feel quite lucky to have obtained a few AFRS transcriptions of the series for my collection. Here's another early episode of the program, "The Cross-Eyed Bear", originally broadcast sixty-five years ago this week on September 16, 1943. It was distributed as program 21 in the "Suspense" series by the Armed Forces Radio Service.

Wednesday Aug 27, 2008
Suspense - AFRS Pgm 8, Sorry Wrong Number
Wednesday Aug 27, 2008
Wednesday Aug 27, 2008
Here we offer the very first performance of "Sorry, Wrong Number" with Agnes Moorehead from the CBS series "Suspense", originally broadcast May 25, 1943. This version is the one heard by our Armed Forces on AFRS in 1943 as program number 8 in the "Suspense" series. I posted a later performance from the following year in a previous blog entry. This first performance contains a "flub" at the end where the sound effects person makes a mistake and the actor who plays the killer gets mixed up. The end of the show confused listeners and, the following week after many letters and phone calls, the producers of "Suspense" started the program with a special announcement explaining how the episode ended.


Wednesday Aug 13, 2008
Suspense - AFRS Pgm 30 - Wet Saturday
Wednesday Aug 13, 2008
Wednesday Aug 13, 2008
In this post, "Wet Saturday", originally broadcast December 16, 1943 on CBS's "Suspense". The episode is a very British black-humored story about a murdered curate and a cast of eccentrics who may have killed him. The show stars Charles Laughton and also features character actor Hans Conreid trying out his best British accent. This is the AFRS version of the show, distributed as number 30 in the AFRS "Suspense" series.


Saturday May 03, 2008
Suspense - The Lost Special, Sept 30, 1943, AFRS Pgm 24
Saturday May 03, 2008
Saturday May 03, 2008
Update, August 8, 2009: I've posted a new version of the mp3 file for this notable broadcast. David Kiner graciously agreed to run CEDAR sound reduction software on the original .wav file of my transfer, so the original unaltered mp3 file has been retired. In addition, a full quality version of the CEDAR restored mp3 has been made available through the Old Time Radio Researchers Group distribution of "Suspense" at archive.org. On this blog and podcast, I've focused on presenting original transcription discs from my collection, most all of programs that are not in circulation among collectors or are very uncommon. Thanks to an estate auction on ebay, I'm pleased to offer a "world premiere" of sorts for the Web of an elusive and highly sought-after program. Unheard publicly since September 30, 1943, we bring you Orson Welles starring in "The Lost Special" a "tale well calculated to keep you in ... Suspense!". Originally broadcast on the CBS radio network, but now lost, the version heard here was distributed by the Armed Forces Radio Service as program 24 in the "Suspense" series.

29'30" Programme 24 Pt. 1 & 2 SUSPENSE The Lost Special Pt. 1 Open at mark on yellow line and play to end. Pt. 2 Fade quickly at line after words "... tale of Suspense." The Lost Special by Arthur Conan Doyle starring Orson WellesThe grease pencil mark near the opening is on the music cue just after the "Suspense" announcer says "... anything, however strange, that will hold our listeners in ... Suspense!" Strange, since this cuts out the entire opening that sets up the "show within the show" format. Orson Welles appeared in the series "Suspense" eight times between 1942 and 1944 in such classics as "The Hitchiker and "Donovan's Brain". One of Welles's performances, "The Lost Special", was thought to be one of about thirty-five "Suspense" programs missing out of over 900 broadcast during the run of the series. Welles appeared on "Suspense" in a run of four episodes during September and October 1943. The others, including "The Most Dangerous Game", "Philomel Cottage" and "Lazarus Walks" are available for download from archive.org, which has a collection of all of Welles's other existing appearances on the show. (Included in this collection is a funny parody Welles did of "Donovan's Brain" on his program "Orson Welles Radio Almanac".) If you're a member of the otr mailing list, you've heard about my finding "The Lost Special" in an ebay auction a few days ago. If you're wondering if I'm going to be selling the disc, I'm not. I collect for the enjoyment of the shows and discovering something new. The disc is a unique find that needs to find its way to an archives someday. I'm offering "The Lost Special" as part of my podcast in an unrestored medium-quality MP3 that's optimized for downloading or listening on the website. I'm investigating the best way to offer it to the OTR community on a CD or high quality .WAV file and to get the sound restored with more advanced tools than I have, so stayed tuned for more info. Hope you enjoy the show. In the mean time, if you know of some old transcriptions scurried away somewhere, send me an email. You never know what might turn up in an old stack of records! *Entry corrected, 6 May 08 - Inserted corrected info on Howard Duff.

Saturday May 03, 2008
Suspense - Sorry, Wrong Number, Feb 24, 1944, AFRS Pgm 41
Saturday May 03, 2008
Saturday May 03, 2008
In this post, "Suspense" from February 24, 1944, broadcast on AFRS as program 41, "Sorry, Wrong Number" starring Agnes Moorehead. "Sorry" has been circulated by OTR fans for years and is one of the all-time classic episodes of the series and, indeed, of old time radio in general. This episode circulates in a CBS network version; here, you can give a listen to how the show was presented to troops overseas, including a preview of next week's show to fill out the time at the end. This particular episode was the third performance of "Sorry" on "Suspense". Moorehead performed the story eight times during the run of the series, the first on May 25, 1943 and the last on February 14, 1960.


Saturday Apr 12, 2008
Suspense - My Dear Niece
Saturday Apr 12, 2008
Saturday Apr 12, 2008
Here's an example of how an OTR show can sound if it's taken from an original master that luckily survives in good condition. It's also an example of an unreleased screw-up by Armed Forces Radio. "Suspense" was a long-running CBS thriller series and this episode, "My Dear Niece", was originally broadcast on January 24, 1946. The story concerns an elderly woman that is held captive by a killer and features Dame May Whitty. You may also recognize Raymond Johnstone Brett Morrison, who was the voice of The Shadow over on Mutual radio, in the role of a police investigator. This transfer was taken from an original rejected test pressing from AFRS, where the show was distributed as program 139 in the Suspense series. My guess is that the pressing was rejected because of the speed variance problem in the opening of the show. Circulating copies of this Suspense episode sound pretty bad; here's an opportunity to hear it in near hi-fi quality.
