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 |
---|---|---|---|
12.23.1948 | back for christmas |
+ "Holiday Story". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. A meek British botony professor plans a "Devil's Garden... | |
12.23.1956 | back for christmas |
+ "Back For Christmas". A delightful British murder with a henpecking wife jolly well bashed on th... | |
02.03.1949 | back seat driver |
+ "Backseat Driver". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. Fibber and Molly appear in a well-done thriller drama... | |
02.22.1951 | backseat driver |
+ CBS net origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "Backseat Driver". Fibber and Molly appear in a well-done t... | |
07.19.1955 | backseat driver |
+ "Backseat Driver". A killer commandeers the car of a couple leaving the movies. The story has a ... | |
07.19.1945 | bank holiday |
+ "Bank Holiday". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. A bank teller is kidnapped by a pair of robbers, and is... | |
06.01.1943 | banquos chair |
+ "Banquo's Chair". A detective, tracking down an elusive murderer, uses ghosts and the victim to ... | |
08.03.1944 | banquos chair |
+ "Banquo's Chair". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. A detective tracking down an elusive murderer uses a ... | |
03.09.1950 | banquos chair |
+ "Banquo's Chair" ("The Bedford Murder Case"). Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. A Scotland Yard investigat... | |
05.31.1955 | beirut by sunrise |
+ CBS net origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "Beirut By Sunrise". A modern tourist looks for romance an... | |
08.06.1961 | bells |
+ "Bells". Sponsored by: Pepsi Cola, NP-27. A couple move into a house haunted by poltergeists, who... | |
10.08.1951 | betrayal in vienna |
+ "Betrayal In Vienna". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. "A story based on actual events." A colonel in the... | |
08.12.1948 | beware the quiet man |
+ "Beware The Quiet Man". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. A two-timing wife learns that her meek, bank-tel... | |
10.11.1945 | beyond good and evil |
+ "Beyond Good and Evil". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. An escaped convict murders a man and takes his ... | |
02.21.1948 | beyond reason |
+ "Beyond Reason". An evil man takes over a family's wealth and begins to kill them off one at a t... | |
09.09.1948 | big shot |
+ "The Big Shot". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. An American mining engineer, working in a crooked Mexica... | |
05.01.1960 | bitter grapes |
+ CBS net origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "Bitter Grapes". A dying woman poisons her husband, record... | |
08.02.1955 | black death |
+ Black Death is the story of a pet black cat and the fear it carried with it… | |
07.01.1962 | black death |
+ WDNC, Durham North Carolina aircheck. "Black Death". Sponsored by: Parliament Cigarettes, Bell Sy... | |
12.10.1951 | black jack to kill |
+ "Blackjack To Kill". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. An assassin is sent to Havana to kill an old enemy.... | |
03.07.1946 | black path of fear |
+ CBS net origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "The Black Path Of Fear". An excellent story about murder ... | |
09.29.1949 | blind date |
+ "Blind Date". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. Excellent, tour-de-force performances by both principals i... | |
11.18.1954 | blind date |
+ "Blind Date". A good story about a madman with a knife, threatening a vaudeville performer in he... | |
07.05.1959 | blood is thicker |
+ CBS net origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "Blood Is Thicker". A planned murder during a boat race is... | |
11.09.1950 | blood on the trumpet |
+ "Blood On The Trumpet". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. A jazz musician murders his wife, but is relentl... |
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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