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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
04.19.1954	the card game	+ "The Card Game". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. A good suspenseful story about a compulsive gambler out...
02.09.1950	the butchers wife	+ "The Butcher's Wife". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. A clerk in a supermarket plays around with the wif...
06.14.1945	the burning court	+ "The Burning Court". Sponsored by: Roma Wine. The story was first heard on the initial Suspense p...
06.17.1942	the burning court	+ "The Burning Court". A story of poisoning with supernatural overtones. One of the guests at a di...
12.29.1949	the bullet	+ "The Bullet". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. The story of a jealous ex-con husband, an errant wife, and...
12.21.1944	the brighton strangler	+ "The Brighton Strangler". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. A British actor is hit on the head during the...
08.17.1958	the bridge	+ CBS net origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "The Bridge". An eternal triangle finds itself trapped in ...
12.01.1942	the bride vanishes	+ "The Bride Vanishes". A haunted balcony in an Italian villa encourages a madman to try a second ...
06.21.1955	the bounding main	+ "Over The Bounding Main". A two-timing woman plans to kill her husband aboard a broken down fish...
11.24.1942	the body snatchers	+ "The Body Snatchers". 9:30 P.M. A well-written tale of old England at a time when doctors bought...
09.21.1944	the bluebeard of bellac	+ "The Bluebeard Of Belloc". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. During the Nazi occupation of France, an ama...
05.01.1948	the blind spot	+ "The Blind Spot". A complex murder-mystery about an author who tries to solve the murder of an e...
07.27.1944	the black shawl	+ "The Black Shawl". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. A good mood piece about a young girl kept in the man...
08.31.1944	the black path of fear	+ "The Black Path Of Fear". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. An excellent story about murder and revenge i...
11.19.1961	the black door	+ "The Black Door". The story of the search for "The City Of The Fire God," and the strange secret...
01.03.1948	the black curtain	+ "The Black Curtain". A man suddenly finds himself with a new identity: that of an accused murder...
11.30.1944	the black curtain	+ "The Black Curtain". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. A man wakes up lying on a street, with no memories...
12.02.1943	the black curtain	+ "The Black Curtain". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. A man recovers from amnesia to find himself wanted...
12.01.1952	the big heist	+ "The Big Heist". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. The best bank buster in the business takes on a new man...
08.07.1960	the big dive	+ CBS net origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "The Big Dive". A highdiver at a side show needs $10,000 a...
05.26.1957	the big day	+ CBS net origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "The Big Day". Which is the fastest car on Earth? The Stan...
11.08.1945	the bet	+ "The Bet". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. Can an artist do productive work for two years? It's worth $...
04.26.1954	the bertillion method	+ "The Bertillion Method". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. The scientific super sleuth of the French Suret...
09.20.1959	the beetle and mr bottle	+ CBS net origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "The Beetle and Mr. Bottle". A mild little man who enjoys ...
07.13.1944	the beast must die	+ "The Beast Must Die". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. A man vows to kill the hit and run driver who kil...

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Agnes Moorehead in Sorry Wrong Number

Mike

Great stories

Jerry

I love listening to the Suspense episodes. They are timeless.

John

Love these old shows listen almost Daily.

Peggie

Suspense is one of the best series in my opinion.

Dave

I just listened to it...A good one.

Daniel

Not bad! "Suspense" show has some good ambiance in their stories.

Daniel

Getting in the Halloween mood... Suspense! is one of the greatest mystery radio shows

John

I haven't missed many Suspense radio shows. I think I heard about 95% of them by now. I've certainly heard all of the ones above. But my favorite? The one about a town gripped in fear over a murderer on the loose and Agnes Morehead wasn't afraid and influenced a small group of girls to go to the movies one night. I won't give away the ending. I think this one was aired in the '50's.

Michael

One of my favorite episodes is The Devil in the Summer House.

Kristi

Either "Three Skeleton Key" or "Donovan's Brain"is my all time favorite.

Travis

The Doctor Prescribed Death is my favorite.

Dan

Sorry Wrong Number is my favorite.

Michael

i love "Three skeleton key"

Tommy

SUSPENSE is one of my favorites, especially the infamous "Sorry, Wrong Number" episode; which was my first ever introduction to the series. I still have an old cassette tape with the "flubbed line" version.

Jim

"The hitchhiker" with Orson Welles is my favorite one.

Robert

"Sherlock Holmes" my favorite.

Joe

Sorry Wrong Number!!!!! i love that

Jay

"War Of The Worlds" my all time favorite

Russ

When I was a kid, we listened to the radio every night until bedtime. [We had no TV until I was in 2nd grade, ca. '56.] But I was Never allowed to hear the "scary shows": Suspense, Escape, etc. Instead, we always listened to Jack Benny, Fibber McGee & Molly, Great Gildersleeve, My Friend Irma, Our Miss Brooks, and MANY others. Now, I have acquired MANY OTR programs from OTRcat, and have loaded many of them on my iPod, and I still fall asleep listening to OTR programs Every Evening. [And I must note that the "scary shows" still give me The Willies, exactly as my parents expected, doubtless why they didn't let me listen to them as a kid...] That said, my fave SUSPENSE show is "Cabin B-13", which spawned its own series...

David

A Little Piece of Rope with Lucille Ball!! is my favorite

Dale

"Sorry, Wrong Number" is my favorite.

David

Return to Dust starring Dick Beals. Very scary.

Kenneth

Love "Sorry, Wrong Number"

Jamie

Sorry Wrong Number was about terror of knowing what was happening while no one else believes the terror that is happening. There were a couple different versions of this show, alll good.

Archie

The first broadcast of "Sorry, Wrong Number" has a blooper. The actor missed his cue. Not Miss Moorehead!

Scott

Sorry Wrong Number with the great Agnes Moorehead.

David

Too many great episodes. Donovans Brain The Pasteboard Box with Joseph Cotton Return Trip with Eliot Reed On Lonely Road with Cary Grant

Mark

Sorry, Wrong Number is my favorite

Rick

I LOVE this stuff!!!!

Annette

Sorry Wrong Number is one of my all time favorite Moorehead/Suspense episodes. She was such a great talent on that program.

John

I believe my first show was Suspense and On A Country road with Cary Grant .. absolutely still one of my favorites.

Mike

Suspense shows are good for the folks who like spooky stuff.

Damian

"Suspense". It featured several classic episodes along with interesting casting and strong acting

Randy

Suspense, one of the premier drama programs of the Golden Age of Radio, was subtitled "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" and focused on suspense thriller-type scripts

Kim

I usually listen to OTR while doing work around the house or going through my collectables. Serials are a different thing. My buddy and I usually sit down with coffee and cakes and watch a few episodes a week. Life is too busy for me to watch/listen everyday.

Joe

Can you answer two historical questions for me? (Anyone) Specifically related to "The Man in Black" Suspense Theatre shows: 1) Were there live audiences at the broadcasts in the Forties? 2) Was the location of the scripted broadcasts at Gower and Sunset in Hollywood. Thank You. [email protected]

Steve Hodel

In 2008 there were 3 new programs discovered, which are the first new episodes that have been found in 40 years. The titles are The Lost Special (9-30-1943), an AFRS version of Sorry Wrong Number (2-24-1944), and A Murderous Revision (recorded 10-13-1951). In some cases 2 versions of a show are presented, East Coast(EC) and West Coast (WC) broadcasts, Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) versions, as well as those (in later years) that were taped off the air and also preserved off the transcription disc. Usually the off air recordings are of lower quality but include local commercials and the transcriptions, are of higher quality, but are incomplete. (Without beginning and endings etc.) In those cases, all those versions have been included.

SUSPENSE

Suspense premiered on this day in 1942! The series was dubbed "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" featured dramas starring leading Hollywood actors of the era.

Martin

Love all the stars they were able to get for the show,especially when they played against type.

Lynne

Tremendous series. I consider “waxwork” a masterpiece and the finest radio program I’ve ever heard.

Dan

Wow - amazing actresses! Love Agnes Moorehead in these!

Bert

Suspense was "Radio's Outstanding Theater of Thrills" and aired on CBS Radio from 1942 to 1962. It was an anthology series with high production values ranging from its scripts, music, direction, and its performances. From 1943 to 1954, it relied on some of Hollywood's biggest movie stars in lead roles. Many times these stars would appear against type, often having dramatic performances by comedians and musical stars. After the national advertising sponsors left in 1954, the show still retained its high professional standards with radio's skilled skilled writers, directors, and technicians at the helm. Suspense may be the most recorded and listened to program of radio's golden and silver ages, first with its initial broadcasts, and then rebroadcasts for decades over the Armed Forces Radio Service, giving it an audience around the world. Through the efforts of fans, nearly all 900+ episodes have been saved in some way. There is still much work to be done to find improved recordings of the series, especially for the years 1957 to 1962. We are always seeking upgraded disc recordings, airchecks, home recordings, scripts, AFRS discs and recordings, and especially information about the few remaining missing episodes. The many eras of Suspense Suspense went through many discernible and different periods that reflected the visions of its producers and directors, the needs of advertisers, the production technologies available, and the tastes and preferences of the radio audience. Because the program lasted 20 years, the changing nature of radio's role in the entertainment industry can also be understood in a grander media context. It was not until the show moved to Hollywood under the full direction of William Spier that it became a star-driven powerhouse. When Roma discontinued its sponsorship at the end of 1947, the show was cancelled, but some CBS executives thought an hour-long format would work and also fill open air time on Saturday evening. It was a disaster, but William Paley was negotiating behind the scenes with Auto-Lite for a triumphant return to the half-hour format that summer under Tony Leader, followed by a return of Spier for one season. Elliott Lewis would take over the production, and then give way to Norman Macdonnell, followed by Antony Ellis. Radio legend Bill Robson led the series at a time when budgets were cut and over half of the broadcasts were new (and very good) productions of prior scripts. The big Hollywood stars were gone, for the most part, but some marvelous and highly skilled radio veterans took their place. Fans came to enjoy Robson's introductory comments for each episode. The show returned to New York, where it had started, for the Fall 1959 season until its final cancellation in September 1962 for some good shows mixed with some rather pedestrian others.