Stars On Suspense (old Time Radio)

After making a name for himself in the United Kingdom, James Mason came across the pond to Hollywood. With his silvery voice and leading man looks, Mason was a natural for polished character roles as heroes and villains in movies liike Lolita, A Star is Born, North by Northwest, and more. We'll hear him in two visits to Suspense, beginning with Agatha Christie's "Where There's a Will" (originally aired on CBS on February 24, 1949) and as a Scotland Yard man after a crafty killer in "Banquo's Chair" (originally aired on March 9, 1950).

Despite a tragically short career, Laird Cregar made his mark with several memorable big screen performances in films like This Gun for Hire and The Lodger. With his massive frame, Cregar was a natural fit as “heavies,” but he appeared in a variety of roles in comedies, adventures, and historical dramas. But it was frustration with his size that led him to a dangerous crash diet - one that ultimately took his life. We'll hear Cregar in both of his visits to Suspense - "The Last Letter of Dr. Bronson" (originally aired on CBS on July 27, 1943) and "Narrative About Clarence" (originally aired on CBS on March 9, 1944).

Joan Fontaine earned acclaim for her performances in classic films like Rebecca and Suspicion, and she appeared on the stage and the big and small screens for nearly sixty years. Like her sister, fellow actress, and bitter rival Olivia de Havilland, Joan Fontaine won an Academy Award but also picked up two additional nominations for her dynamic screen work throughout the 1940s. She made only one visit to Suspense - "Lovebirds" (originally aired on CBS on March 3, 1949) an engrossing mystery about a wife who plots to help her invalid husband on his way to the great beyond. We'll also hear her recreate her Oscar-nominated role in a radio version of Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca (originally aired on The Lady Esther Screen Guild Theatre on May 31, 1943).

Perennial Suspense favorite Joseph Cotten is back in two more "tales well calculated." The popular star of Shadow of a Doubt appears first as a man tormented by the sight of a corpse that no one else can see in "The Thing in the Window" (originally aired on CBS on December 19, 1946). Then, he's a lawyer who's presumed dead with a scheme to collect his own life insurance in "The Day I Died" (originally aired on CBS on June 30, 1949.

Ray Milland's screen career stretched from the 1930s to the 1970s, earning him an Oscar and leaving a series of memorable performances in The Lost Weekend, Dial 'M' for Murder, and more. A talented director as well as an actor, Milland continued to work on both sides of the camera for movies and television. In two of his five visits to Suspense, we'll hear him as a cop trying to cover up a murder in "Night Cry" (originally aired on CBS on October 7, 1948) and as a man whose empty pockets land him in jail in "Chicken Feed" (originally aired on CBS on September 8, 1949).

A real-life hero in Hollywood, Herbert Marshall lost a leg in World War I before he went on to a long career on the stage and screen. The handsome, debonair actor made a name for himself as a romantic lead and later as a character actor. In addition to twenty appearances on Suspense, Marshall starred on radio as a globetrotting secret agent in The Man Called X and made the rounds on radio comedies. We’ll hear him as a writer out for revenge against his son’s killer in “The Beast Must Die” (originally aired on CBS on July 13, 1944) and in a real-life story of a solider blackmailed into treason in “Betrayal in Vienna” (originally aired on CBS on October 8, 1951).

Olivia de Havilland won two Oscars during her six decade screen career, and she's still making news today. The star of Gone With the Wind and The Adventures of Robin Hood was a true legend of old Hollywood, but she only made one visit to "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." We'll hear her in a shipboard thriller in "Voyage Through Darkness" (originally aired on CBS on September 7, 1944) and in a radio creation of one of her award-nominated roles in Hold Back the Dawn from Academy Award (originally aired on CBS on July 31, 1946).

Some of the twentieth century's best singers made visits to "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" during the twenty year run of Suspense. This week, we'll hear two of them in uncharacteristic dark and dramatic roles. First, Frank Sinatra is a deranged madman tormenting Agnes Moorehead in "To Find Help" (an Armed Forces Radio Service rebroadcast of an episode from January 18, 1945). Then, Rosemary Clooney stars and sings in "St. James Infirmary Blues" (originally aired on CBS on February 23, 1953), a tale of crime and love in the Roaring Twenties.

With his leading man looks and his mellifluous voice, Ronald Colman was a star of both the silent and talking eras of Hollywood. His appearances on radio gave the Oscar winner a chance to put that voice to good use, whether he and his wife Benita Hume were clowning around with Jack Benny or whether Colman was making one of his six visits to Suspense. We’ll hear him in “August Heat” (originally aired on May 31, 1945) and “A Vision of Death” (originally aired on March 8, 1951).

A star in front of and behind the camera, Ida Lupino was one of Hollywood’s first female directors and producers. She turned in memorable performances in movies like High Sierra and On Dangerous Ground before she established her own production company and embarked on a long career of directing for the big and small screens. We’ll hear Ida Lupino in “Summer Night” (originally aired on CBS on July 15, 1948) and “The Bullet” (originally aired on CBS on December 29, 1949).

Cary Grant returns to the podcast for one last “tale well calculated to keep you in Suspense.” We’ll hear the legendary leading man in “The Black Path of Fear” (an Armed Forces Radio Service broadcast of an episode originally aired on CBS on March 7, 1946). Then, he recreates his big screen role from Alfred Hitchcock’s Suspicion in The Lady Esther Screen Guild Theatre (originally aired on CBS on January 21, 1946).

Gene Kelly dances his way to “radio’s outstanding theatre of thrills” in two shows that are miles away from his screen persona. The star of An American in Paris and Singin’ in the Rain leaves his dazzling footwork at the door for a pair of tense, well-calculated tails: “Thieves Fall Out” (originally aired on CBS on November 16, 1943) and “Death Went Along for the Ride” (originally aired on CBS on April 27, 1944).

Gregory Peck returns to “Stars On Suspense” in two old time radio thrillers – a pair of tales about the dangers that can lurk on the highway. First, Peck thumbs a ride with the wrong man in “Hitch-Hike Poker” (originally aired on CBS on September 16, 1948). Then, he’s a grieving father looking for revenge on a drunk driver in “Nightmare” (originally aired on CBS on September 1, 1949).

Glamorous leading lady Lana Turner had a career that spanned five decades from her discovery at a Hollywood café all the way up to her final television appearances. But the Oscar-nominated actress had a tumultuous personal life – including a murder scandal – that could overshadow her screen work. In her two appearances on Suspense, Turner showed off her versatility in a pair of very different roles. We’ll hear her as a woman terrorized by a painting in “Fear Paints a Picture” (originally aired on CBS on May 3, 1945). Then, she’s a detective investigating her own husband in “The Flame Blue Glove” (originally aired on CBS on December 15, 1949).

One of the great gangster stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, Edward G. Robinson excelled at playing all types of characters over his fifty year career. From Nazi hunters to cagey sleuths to desperate criminals, Robinson delivered memorable performances with a signature style that is still imitated today. We'll hear him in an unusual double role as himself and as "The Man Who Wanted to Be Edward G. Robinson" (originally aired on CBS on September 30, 1948). Then, he's a man out to profit from his alleged demise in "You Can't Die Twice" (originally aired on CBS on March 31, 1949).

Known as "the queen of film noir," Claire Trevor was amazing on screen as tough dames and gun molls (including Murder, My Sweet and her Oscar-winning turn in Key Largo). But the actress could play more than noir as she demonstrated over long career in movies like Stagecoach and The High and the Mighty. We'll hear two of her visits to Suspense - a series where she got to put her talent at playing tough women to good use: "The Plan" (originally aired on CBS on May 16, 1946) and "The Blue Hour" (originally aired on CBS on September 25, 1947).

Before she was a TV star, and even before she kept audiences smiling with her radio comedy series, Lucille Ball delivered tough noir performances in episodes of Suspense. She was as talented in the world of drama and thrills as she was with slapstick and a punchline. The red-headed legend returns for two more “tales well calculated” – “The Ten Grand” (originally aired on CBS on June 22, 1944) and “A Shroud for Sarah” (originally aired on CBS on October 25, 1945).

Two comedy legends trade jokes and laughs for thrills and chills when they visit “radio’s outstanding theater of thrills.” First, Bob Hope plays a man who has an appointment with a murderer in “Death Has a Shadow” (originally aired on CBS on May 5, 1949). Then, Milton Berle is an actor whose greatest role could keep him out of the electric chair in “Rave Notice” (originally aired on CBS on October 12, 1950).

Whether he was singing and dancing, breaking the law, or wielding a grapefruit, James Cagney never failed to deliver energetic, compelling performances on the big screen. The Oscar-winner gave audiences a series of memorable roles that are still admired – and imitated – today. For his first appearance on Suspense, Cagney returned to the world of gangster drama in an hour-long radio adaptation of James M. Cain’s “Love’s Lovely Counterfeit” (originally aired on CBS on January 17, 1948).

Bette Davis made only one appearance on Suspense, but it was a doozy. The two-time Oscar winner and ten-time nominee stands as one of the biggest legends of old Hollywood with a career and tumultuous personal life that continues to fascinate fans today. We’ll hear her in “Goodnight Mrs. Russell,” originally aired on CBS on October 20, 1949. Plus, she reprises her award-winning role from Jezebel in a production from Academy Award (originally aired on CBS on March 30, 1946).