Stars On Suspense (old Time Radio)

Veteran radio actor and superb character actor John Dehner returns to the podcast to star in a pair of thrillers. First, he's a doctor who arrogantly believes he cannot be murdered and devises an experiment to put his theories to the ultimate test in "The Last Letter of Dr. Bronson" (originally aired on CBS on November 4, 1954). Then, Dehner is plagued by recurring dreams of Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton, and their infamous duel in "A Friend to Alexander" (originally aired on CBS on August 15, 1956). Finally, we'll hear Dehner as Paladin in the radio version of the hit TV western Have Gun - Will Travel. He plays the cultured gunfighter in "A Matter of Ethics" (originally aired on CBS on February 1, 1959).

In this bonus episode, we're celebrating the return of one of the greatest heroes of the movies with a film that inspired his creation. Charlton Heston - who unfortunately never made it to Suspense - recreates his role as rogue adventurer Harry Steele (a direct inspiration for the character of Indiana Jones) in Secret of the Incas on The Lux Radio Theatre (originally aired on NBC on December 14, 1954). 

George Murphy went from singing and dancing in movie musicals to the floor of the US Senate. Murphy retired from Hollywood in 1952 and was elected to a single term as one of California's senators in 1964. We'll hear two of his pre-politics performances from Suspense; first, he's a hit and run driver with an uncooperative eyewitness in "Death on Highway 99" (originally aired on CBS on October 4, 1945). Then, Murphy is a lumberjack who may be marked for death in the remote woods in "The Death of Me" (originally aired on CBS on May 26, 1952).

John Hodiak battles fire and ice in his final appearances on Suspense. First, he's battling the wind, the cold, and a rival climber in order to stay alive to reach the top of an unclimbed peak in "The Mountain" (originally aired on CBS on March 16, 1953). Then he's an oil driller fighting the flames that threaten to consume his well and his livelihood in "Hellfire" (originally aired on CBS on September 28, 1953).

Some of the era's best comedians left the jokes at home when they stepped up to the Suspense microphone. In this bonus episode, we'll hear these funny men and women play effectively against type in five radio 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 is a jilted woman with murder on her mind in "The Well-Dressed Corpse" (originally aired on CBS on January 18, 1951).

For years on Suspense, Cathy Lewis delivered strong supporting performances alongside stars like Cary Grant, James Stewart, and Kirk Douglas. But in the late 1950s, she stepped into the spotlight and began to star in "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." We'll hear her in "A Statement of Fact" (AFRS rebroadcast from November 23, 1958) and "Everything Will Be Different" (AFRS rebroadcast from August 9, 1959). Plus, she co-stars with Marie Wilson in the comedy My Friend Irma (originally aired on CBS on February 2, 1948).

Ray Noble composed beloved standards like "The Very Thought of You," and he led great jazz bands in his native England and in the United States. He also had a successful career on radio as a musical director and as a comedic foil for Charlie McCarthy. We'll hear him as a gentleman adventurer in "The Star of Thessaly" (AFRS rebroadcast from November 24, 1957) and as half of a murderous newlywed couple in "Just One Happy Little Family" (AFRS rebroadcast from April 6, 1958).  Plus we'll hear him lead the band and woo Lucille Ball on The Charlie McCarthy Show (originally aired on NBC on January 11, 1948).

Self-described "Joe Average" Dane Clark plays criminals both amateur and professional in his final appearances on Suspense. First, he's an actor who tries to play a murderer in real life in "Spoils for Victor" (AFRS rebroadcast from May 23, 1946). Then, Clark kills his doppleganger in an armed robbery in "Till the Day I Die" (originally aired on CBS on September 19, 1946). Plus we'll hear him as a private eye in Crime and Peter Chambers (originally aired on NBC on April 6, 1954).

Miriam Hopkins jumped from the Broadway stage to the silver screen with well-received performances in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Trouble in Paradise. But her film roles began to decline in the 1940s, and she embraced the new medium of television. We'll hear her as a woman who incurs the wrath of a demented housemate in "The Rose Garden" (originally aired on CBS on October 5, 1950). Plus, she co-stars with William Powell in a Campbell Playhouse production of "It Happened One Night" (originally aired on CBS on January 28, 1940).

Silver-haired star Jeff Chandler takes his final bow on Suspense in "A Good Neighbor" (originally aired on CBS on March 31, 1957). Chandler stars as a thief who's trying to lay low after a heist, but a nosy neighbor may discover his secret. Plus we'll hear Chandler in his two signature radio roles. First he's the bashful biology teacher Mr. Boynton in Our Miss Brooks (originally aired on CBS on February 20, 1949), and then as private eye Michael Shayne he solves "The Case of the Model Murder."

In this month's bonus spotlight episode, I'm sharing my favorite Suspense shows starring Gregory Peck. The star of To Kill a Mockingbird, Gentleman's Agreement, and Roman Holiday plays a variety of characters - some good, some bad, but all starring in tales well calculated to keep you in Suspense. First, he's a man plotting to murder his wife so he can run away with a beautiful young woman in "The Lonely Road" (originally aired on CBS on March 21, 1946), and then he's a hitch-hiker who thumbs a ride with a demented killer in "Hitch-Hike Poker" (originally aired on CBS on September 16, 1948). Peck plays a man who may have a murderous alternate personality in "Murder Through the Looking Glass" (originally aired on CBS on March 17, 1949), and finally he's out for revenge on a hit and run driver in "Nightmare" (originally aired on CBS on September 1, 1949).

Raymond Burr was a year into his iconic run as Perry Mason on television when he starred in his final episodes of Suspense. He's hunting for a pirate's loot in "The Treasure Chest of Don Jose" (AFRS rebroadcast from October 12, 1958); then he tries to survive the tortures of the Spanish Inquisition in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum" (AFRS rebroadcast from June 7, 1959). We'll also hear Burr in the first episode of his western cavalry drama Fort Laramie (originally aired on CBS on January 22, 1956).

Eighty years ago this week - on May 25, 1943 - listeners first heard "Sorry, Wrong Number" on Suspense. The terrifying tale from Lucille Fletcher starred Agnes Moorehead as a woman who overhears a murder plot over crossed phone lines. It would be performed on Suspense seven more times over the next seventeen years - each time starring Ms. Moorehead - and it was adapted by Ms. Fletcher for a big screen adaptation starring Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster. We'll hear two of the productions of this classic radio drama from November 18, 1948 and October 20, 1957.

Though her screen career never quite took off, Ellen Drew turned in memorable performances in movies like Christmas in July, Johnny O'Clock, and Isle of the Dead. We'll hear her co-starring with Agnes Moorehead in "Uncle Henry's Rosebush" (originally aired on CBS on June 29, 1943). Then, she stars in an adaptation of Charles Dickens' terrifying tale "The Signalman" (originally aired on CBS on February 15, 1959).

Edward Arnold put his frame and booming voice to good use as heavies in classic films. He was a go-to bad guy for Frank Capra in pictures like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Meet John Doe, where he played colorfully corrupt characters. We'll hear him as a long-suffering employee who's finally had enough of his abusive boss in "Account Payable" (originally aired on CBS on October 13, 1949). Then, he stars in a tale from the life of one of America's commanders-in-chief in Mr. President (originally aired on ABC on November 7, 1948).

Actress and activist Marsha Hunt returns to Suspense in a pair of radio thrillers. First, she's a racecar driver's wife on a collision course with death in "The Last Kilometer" (originally aired on CBS on June 22, 1958). Then, she's convinced a murderer has escaped from prison with revenge on his mind in "The Night Man," a tale of terror from Lucille Fletcher (AFRS rebroadcast from July 26, 1959). Finally, we'll hear Ms. Hunt in "Birthday Present," a story from the syndicated series The Unexpected. Click here for Marsha Hunt's previous appearances on "radio's outstanding theater of thrills."

For this month's bonus episode, I'm sharing my favorite Suspense shows starring Oscar-nominee Richard Widmark. First, he's an innocent man on the run in his bare feet in "Too Hot to Live" (originally aired on CBS on October 26, 1950). Next, Widmark plays a pitchman who has to make his biggest sale yet in order to stay alive in "Tell You Why I Shouldn't Die" (originally aired on CBS on April 30, 1951). Then, Widmark stars in the bloody true story of a Texas feud - a tale set to song - in "The Hunting of Bob Lee" (originally aired on CBS on October 29, 1951). Finally, he's a demented radio writer who plans to record a killing in "A Murderous Revision" (originally aired on CBS on December 3, 1951).

Master mystery writer John Dickson Carr was a key figure in the first year of Suspense. The creator of Dr. Gideon Fell and godfather of locked room puzzles penned nearly two dozen episodes of "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" between 1942 and 1943. We'll hear two of those thrillers - "The Devil in the Summer House" (originally aired on CBS on November 3, 1942) and "Will You Make a Bet with Death?" (originally aired on CBS on November 10, 1942). Plus, we'll hear "The Bride Vanishes," written by Carr for his own anthology series Cabin B-13 (originally aired on CBS on December 12, 1948).

John Lund returns to the podcast in a pair of radio thrillers. First, he's an ordinary man drawn into a dangerous adventure during Mardi Gras in "The Man Who Stole the Bible" (originally aired on CBS on November 25, 1956). Then, Lund narrates a Pacific wartime drama as soldiers prepare to hit the beachhead in "Tarawa was Tough" (AFRS rebroadcast from May 12, 1957). And as a bonus, we'll hear Lund as Johnny Dollar - America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator - in "The Kay Bellamy Matter" (originally aired on CBS on January 30, 1953).

Gene Lockhart wore many hats in his career: Oscar-nominee, stage star, acting teacher at Julliard, and songwriter. He played everyone from Bob Cratchit to villains to the judge trying to decide Kris Kringle's fate in Miracle on 34th Street. We'll hear him as an office worker who kills a workplace rival in "Statement of Employee Henry Wilson" (originally aired on CBS on November 2, 1943). Then, Lockhart stars in an adaptation of Jules Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" from Family Theatre (originally aired on Mutual on April 22, 1953).