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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03.27.1960 | coffin for mr cash |
+ "Coffin For Mr. Cash". An easy "come" into $2,500,000, and an easy "go" too. + The target – a ... | |
07.24.1960 | cold canvas |
+ When Eugene Philips goes cold canvassing on the Fouches to sell them life insurance he manages to ... | |
09.14.1958 | command |
+ "Command". + This was a command the final moment of a cavalry soldiers heritage to stand ready to... | |
04.10.1947 | community property |
+ "Community Property". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. A man with a huge inheritance and a bad case of g... | |
08.01.1946 | commuter ticket |
+ "Commuter's Ticket". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. A commuter's attempt at murder with a great alibi ... | |
06.09.1952 | concerto for killer and eyewitness |
+ "A Good and Faithful Servant". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. After thirty years on the job, a meek dep... | |
02.21.1946 | consequence |
+ Maybe the costume was the decisive factor or maybe it would have happened anyway in any event the ... | |
05.19.1949 | consequence |
+ "Consequence". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. A doctor fakes his own death in order to run off with his... | |
02.02.1950 | consideration |
+ "Consideration". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. A woman suspects her husband is planning to kill her fo... | |
10.27.1957 | country of the blind |
+ "The Country Of The Blind". The classic tale set in ther land of the eyeless. The script was pre... | |
02.21.1960 | crank letter |
+ CBS net origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "Crank Letter". A doctor's life is being threatened by a v... | |
05.02.1946 | crime without passion |
+ "Crime Without Passion". Sponsored by: Roma Wine. After an attorney murders his chorus-girl lover... | |
08.19.1948 | crisis |
+ "Crisis". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. A well-written story about a mother's vision of the future. + ... | |
04.10.1948 | crossfire |
+ "Crossfire". A murder mystery about a fanatical anti-Semite. Which of thre soldiers committed mu... | |
06.02.1957 | crossing paris |
+ "Crossing Paris". Sponsored by: Kent. Four suitcases of black-market pork, a meek man and a bully... | |
03.23.1943 | customers like murder |
+ "The Customers Like Murder". An English mystery writer and his secretary are kidnapped. They use... | |
05.20.1962 | dagger of the mind |
+ "Dagger Of The Mind". Sponsored by: Marlboro Cigarettes. A woman who is going mad decides that he... | |
06.26.1960 | daisy chain |
+ CBS net origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "Daisy Chain". A killer is on the loose in England, but it... | |
10.24.1946 | dame fortune |
+ "Dame Fortune". The wife of a rich man is being blackmailed, but she has a few interesting ideas ... | |
04.25.1946 | dark journey |
+ "Dark Journey". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. A thwarted woman plans a horrible revenge...and succeed... | |
02.25.1962 | date night |
+ "Date Night". A father imagines terrible evil befalling his daughter on her first date. + A fath... | |
10.05.1944 | dateline lisbon |
+ "Dateline: Lisbon". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. During the war, in a neutral port, Nazi and Allied ... | |
08.08.1946 | dead ernest |
+ "Dead Ernest". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. The classic about the not-quite-dead man lying in the mo... | |
05.08.1947 | dead ernest |
+ "Dead Ernest". Sponsored by: Roma Wines, Cresta Blanca Wines. An unusual, and classically suspens... | |
03.24.1949 | dead ernest |
+ "Dead Ernest". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. The classic radio drama of the cataleptic about to be emb... |
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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