Stars On Suspense (old Time Radio)

For our final regular episode of 2021, we welcome Joseph Cotten back to "Stars on Suspense" for two old time radio thrillers, including a Christmas story from "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." First, he's a sideshow performer who's grown tired of his boss's tyrannical behavior in "Carnival" (originally aired on CBS on January 28, 1952). Then, Cotten is first mate on a ship bound for the Canadian Arctic to find a pair of ships lost in the ice in "Arctic Rescue" (originally aired on CBS on December 22, 1952).

Note: No intro for this show; I'm still battling back from a cold and my voice isn't radio-ready. We're revisiting the performances of Peter Lorre in this bonus show, and I've selected my favorites of his six visits to "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." First, he's a jealous husband with a devious plan for dealing with his young wife and the man she loves in "Till Death Do Us Part" (originally aired on CBS on December 15, 1942). Then - just in time for the holidays - Lorre plots a murder but a surprise gift from his victim may thwart his plans in "Back for Christmas" (originally aired on CBS on December 23, 1943).

Note: No intro for this episode, as I'm fighting a cold and a froggy throat. Mexican-American actress, dancer, and activist Margo returns to the podcast for her final visit to "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." It's an episode where she shares the stage with Elsa Lanchester and Janet Beecher. They star in "Finishing School" (originally aired on CBS on December 30, 1943). Then, Margo takes Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy on a tour of Mexico in an episode of the ventriloquist's NBC variety show (originally aired on NBC on March 16, 1947).

Fay Bainter made Hollywood history in 1938 when she became the first performer nominated for two acting Oscars in the same year - winning the Best Supporting Actress award for Jezebel. But before that, she was a Broadway star whose performances on the stage paved the way to her work on the big screen. We'll hear her in "The Lucky Lady" (originally aired on CBS on February 14, 1946) and "Life Ends at Midnight" (originally aired on CBS on May 8, 1948).

After he introduced stories on Suspense as the "Man in Black," Joseph Kearns moved into starring roles on radio's outstanding theater of thrills. We'll hear him in "The Case for Dr. Singer," a tale of atomic espionage ripped from the headlines (originally aired on CBS on June 28, 1951). Then, he's one of history's most notorious murderers in "A Story of Poison" (originally aired on CBS on September 13, 1955). And as a bonus, we'll hear him as an arrogant murderer who concocts a less than perfect alibi in "The Sheriff's Assistant" from The Whistler (originally aired on CBS on April 7, 1947).

During a wartime break in her acting career, Sarah Churchill worked on the planning of the British invasion of North Africa, and she served as an unofficial advisor to her father Winston - who just happened to be prime minister. After the war, she returned to the stage and screen, but struggles with alcoholism cut short what should have been a long career on both sides of the pond. We'll hear her in her one and only visit to Suspense - an adaptation of Charles Dickens' "The Signalman" (originally aired on CBS on November 4, 1956). Then, she saddles up and heads west with Jack Benny in an episode of his comedy program (originally aired on CBS on March 5, 1950). Finally, she leads us an audio tour of her home in "Portrait of London" from The CBS Radio Workshop (originally aired on CBS on July 20, 1956).

Over the course of his long career, character actor Jerome Cowan prosecuted Santa Claus and took a bullet to kick off The Maltese Falcon. We'll hear him in his only visit to Suspense as a crooked lawyer out to frame his law partner in "Mortmain" (originally aired on CBS on July 31, 1947). Then, he co-stars with Madeleine Carroll in Noel Coward's "Tonight at 8:30" from Best Plays (originally aired on NBC on August 30, 1953).

In this bonus episode, we're saying goodbye to Dean Stockwell, the Oscar-nominated star whose career stretched over seven decades in Hollywood who passed away on November 7th. From his earliest days as a child star in the 40s to his work with David Lynch, his Golden Globe-winning turn on Quantum Leap and his many memorable screen turns, Stockwell was always a compelling presence in a film or TV show. While he never made a visit to Suspense, Stockwell did appear on other radio anthologies, and we'll hear two of them: "Hans Brinker" from Family Theatre (originally aired on Mutual on November 8, 1950) and "Home's Not a Place" from Stars Over Hollywood (originally aired on CBS on June 7, 1952).  

Ann Sothern's career on the stage and screen stretched six decades from bit parts in the 20s to an Oscar nomination for her final performance in 1987. She was most famous for her ten B-picture comedies as brash but lovable showgirl Maisie and for a pair of TV sitcoms that earned her four Emmy nods. We'll hear her in her only Suspense appearance - "Beware the Quiet Man" (originally aired on CBS on August 12, 1948). Then, she recreates her signature screen role in Maisie Was a Lady on The Lux Radio Theatre (originally aired on CBS on November 24, 1941).

Richard Widmark takes on the role of Iago, one of Shakespeare's most complex characters, in this ambitious two-part adaptation of Othello (originally aired on CBS on May 4th and 11th, 1953). Widmark is joined by Suspense director Elliott Lewis as Othello and Cathy Lewis as Desdemona in this production featuring Verdi operas and an all-star cast of radio character actors.

For this year's final bonus Halloween show, we're taking a trip to Transylvania. Orson Welles and The Mercury Theatre On the Air present a spine-tingling adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula (originally aired on CBS on July 11, 1938).

With Halloween right around the corner, we welcome Herbert Marshall back to the podcast in a pair of old time radio chillers. First, he has the title role in an adaptation of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" (originally aired on CBS on November 3, 1952). Then, Marshall stars in a one-man show - the tale of terror called "The Waxwork" (originally aired on CBS on March 1, 1959).

Late at night, Jeanette Nolan takes the long way home all by herself as a killer stalks her town. Ray Bradbury's terrifying short story becomes a classic radio horror tale in "The Whole Town's Sleeping" (originally aired on CBS on June 14, 1955).

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).