With over 900+ broadcasts written by various authors and directors of their time, Suspense is a conglomeration of some of the most acclaimed old time radio shows that graced the airwaves from the years 1942 until 1962.
Suspense was a radio series broadcasted on the CBS Radio Network in the early 1940’s that featured many of the era’s famous Hollywood stars. Most notable among them are the highly talented Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, Orson Welles and Marlene Dietrich to name a few.
Living up to its name, majority of the program’s episodes were dedicated to the thriller and mystery genre wherein the protagonist was usually thrown into strange and unusual circumstances that seemingly had no resolution. Miraculously, a means of salvation would somehow manifest towards the finale to illustrate the triumph of good over evil.
Suspense is one of the classics of old time radio. Some fans have special favorites in the thriller/chiller/macabre genre, but all will agree that Suspense did it best. The guiding light of this show was William Spier, who developed the formula into a human drama that attracted the finest of Hollywood's elite as well as the cream of radio's great actors.
Orson Welles was in many episodes, and Cary Grant was quoted in 1943, "If I ever do any more radio work, I want to it on Suspense, where I get a good chance to act." Spier's method with his show's stars was to keep them under-rehearsed, somewhat uneasy. In Suspense, as it were. He got great performances, and the show gained greater and greater popularity.
The Roma Wine sponsorship in 1943 allowed the show to create works that are a lasting part of the old time radio entertainment experience. All the production values were first class. The great Bernard Hermann did the musical scores. He previously had worked with Orson Welles in his Mercury Theater series, and went on to do of Alfred Hitchcock film fame. Lucian Moraweck did many of the greatest episode scores.
The "Man in Black" is your host, reminding one of the many thriller show presenters, but Suspense was the best of the bunch, and never did the show lapse into over-the-top melodrama. William Spier was so deft in his weaving of the spell of Suspense, he was dubbed "the Hitchcock of the airwaves."
The Suspense anthology marked the end of the golden age of radio drama as the 1960’s gave birth to other forms of more colorful entertainment. Relive the glory days of old time radio and hear Suspense! Click here to read more about Suspense
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Please enjoy these 914 old time radio episodes:
Air Date | Title | Synopsis | Rating |
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12.31.1961 | old man |
+ "The Old Man". An amusing New Year's Eve story. Old man 1961 claims geriatric discrimination and... | |
01.07.1962 | breakthrough |
+ Willy has come back to his communist homeland for his mother but they have no time to waste as the... | |
01.14.1962 | feathers |
+ "Feathers". A predictable ghost story, as a gangster is forced to confess by the spirit of his v... | |
01.21.1962 | 2462 |
+ "2462". A frightening story of the future, another "Brave New World." He woke up on the floor sh... INCLUDES RADIO SCRIPT
| |
01.28.1962 | please believe me |
+ "Please Believe Me.". A cheap, two-voice production with a cop-out ending. It nevertheless has a... | |
02.04.1962 | friday |
+ Written by: Jonathan Bundy | |
02.11.1962 | the man who went back to save lincoln |
+ "The Man Who Went Back To Save Lincoln". A time travel story about an attempt to alter the prese... | |
02.18.1962 | the old boyfriend |
+ "The Old Boyfriend". Sponsored by: Alpine Cigarettes, Ford. A man just out of prison asks his old... | |
02.25.1962 | date night |
+ "Date Night". A father imagines terrible evil befalling his daughter on her first date. + A fath... | |
03.04.1962 | doom machine |
+ "Doom Machine". Sponsored by: Alpine, Ford. In the year 2500, an artificial brain named "Max" is ... | |
03.11.1962 | heads you lose |
+ "Heads You Lose". Sponsored by: Alpine Cigarettes. A private eye searches for Joshua Franklin, mi... | |
03.18.1962 | perchance to dream |
+ "Perchance To Dream". Sponsored by: Alpine Cigarettes, Rexall. A woman suspects that her husband,... | |
03.25.1962 | memory of a murder |
+ "Memory Of A Murder". Sponsored by: Alpine Cigarettes. The young janitor in a theatre falls in lo... | |
04.01.1962 | you died last night |
+ "You Died Last Night". An Earthman must convince an alien not to destroy the Earth. Atomic Energy... | |
04.08.1962 | let there be light |
+ "Let There Be Light". Four people are in a snowbound cabin in the dark. The blind man welcomes t... | |
04.15.1962 | brother john |
+ "Brother John". Sponsored by: Marlboro. The story of a plan to continue an extortion scheme, even... | |
04.22.1962 | the curse of kamoshek |
+ "The Curse Of Kamoshek". Sponsored by: Alpine Cigarettes. A bone from an ancient Egyptian, the cu... | |
05.06.1962 | the second door |
+ "The Second Door". Sponsored by: Marlboro Cigarettes. A man's neighbor has a special door that ca... | |
05.13.1962 | hide and seek |
+ "Hide and Seek". Sponsored by: Marlboro. A small time gangster meets his past in a rat-filled all... | |
05.20.1962 | dagger of the mind |
+ "Dagger Of The Mind". Sponsored by: Marlboro Cigarettes. A woman who is going mad decides that he... | |
05.27.1962 | that real crazy infinity |
+ "That Real Crazy Infinity". Sponsored by: Alpine Cigarettes. Two hep jazz musicians come across a... | |
06.03.1962 | stand in for murder |
+ "Stand-In". Sponsored by: Roma Wines (two of the commercials have been deleted). The stand-in for... | |
06.10.1962 | formula for death |
+ Simon Templar is surprised when he arrives home to be greeted by a stranger in his home with a gun... | |
06.17.1962 | the lunatic hour |
+ "The Lunatic Hour". Sponsored by: Alpine Cigarettes, A. T. and T.. A railroad station-master is h... | |
06.24.1962 | with murder in mind |
+ "With Murder In Mind". Sponsored by: Parliament Cigarettes, A. T. and T.. When the wife of a nigh... |
Air Date | Title | Synopsis | Rating |
---|---|---|---|
01.21.1962 | 2462 |
+ "2462". A frightening story of the future, another "Brave New World." He woke up on the floor sh... INCLUDES RADIO SCRIPT
|
Mike
Jerry
John
Peggie
Dave
Daniel
Daniel
John
Michael
Kristi
Travis
Dan
Michael
Tommy
Jim
Robert
Joe
Jay
Russ
David
Dale
David
Kenneth
Jamie
Archie
Scott
David
Mark
Rick
Annette
John
Mike
Damian
Randy
Kim
Joe
Steve Hodel
SUSPENSE
Martin
Lynne
Dan
Bert
SM
Norma
Judy
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