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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03.06.1948 | in a lonely place |
+ "In A Lonely Place". A horror tale of a strangler on the loose, who kills once a month. The stor... | |
01.20.1949 | if the dead could talk |
+ "If The Dead Could Talk". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. They fly through the air with the greatest of ... | |
12.06.1945 | i wont take a minute |
+ KQW, San Jose aircheck. "I Won't Take A Minute". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. A girl walks into an a... | |
05.24.1955 | i saw myself running |
+ "I Saw Myself Running". A surrealistic story about a woman's battle with the creatures of her dr... | |
01.05.1950 | i never met the dead man |
+ "I Never Met The Dead Man". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. A truck driver with a prison record is frame... | |
01.04.1945 | i had an alibi |
+ "I Had An Alibi". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. A good "perfect crime" story with a pleasant surprise... | |
09.12.1946 | hunting trip |
+ "Hunting Trip". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. A man is sure that his hunting companion and friend is ... | |
10.29.1951 | hunting of bob lee |
+ "The Hunting Of Bob Lee". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. A story based on the true incidents of 1868, a... | |
10.13.1952 | how long is the night |
+ "How Long Is The Night". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. An excellent story about a U. S. soldier left a... | |
02.28.1948 | house by the river |
+ "The House By The River". Who killed Emily Gaunt? A British murder mystery involving a poet, his... | |
11.27.1960 | home is where you find it |
+ WBBM, Chicago origination. "Home Is Where You Find It". Sponsored by: Kellogg's All Bran, Phillip... | |
02.21.1956 | hollywood hostages |
+ "Hollywood Hostages". Two members of a movie crew arrive at a ghost town to shoot a picture. Two... | |
08.29.1956 | hold up |
+ "Hold-Up". A quick-on-the-trigger grocer has killed three hold-up men, and is determined never t... | |
09.02.1942 | hitchiker |
+ CBS net."The Hitch-hiker". One of the great supernatural stories ever on radio, a modern classic.... | |
09.16.1948 | hitchhiker poker w gregory peck |
+ "Hitch-Hike Poker". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. A war veteran hitchhiking home for the weekend is pi... | |
06.06.1946 | high wall |
+ "The High Wall". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. A man wakes up in a hospital for the criminally insane... | |
05.13.1962 | hide and seek |
+ "Hide and Seek". Sponsored by: Marlboro. A small time gangster meets his past in a rat-filled all... | |
09.28.1953 | hellfire |
+ "Hellfire". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. A wildcat oil driller strikes it rich with an oil find, then... | |
10.11.1955 | heavens to betsy |
+ "Heaven's To Betsy". When a flying saucer lands in his back yard, Henry Doyle is determined that... | |
03.22.1945 | hearts desire |
+ Henry had worked, as a Messenger for the bank for twenty years and in all that time had never once... | |
08.23.1959 | headshrinker |
+ August 23, 1959. CBS net origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "Headshrinker". A woman seeing a psychiat... | |
10.26.1958 | headshrinker |
+ "Headshrinker". Sponsored by: Plymouth, 4 Way Cough Medicine, Kent. Psychiatrist...healing thysel... | |
03.11.1962 | heads you lose |
+ "Heads You Lose". Sponsored by: Alpine Cigarettes. A private eye searches for Joshua Franklin, mi... | |
11.06.1960 | green lorelei |
+ "The Green Lorelei". An impoverished mystery writer hears a beautiful woman's voice coming from ... | |
04.17.1947 | green eyed monster |
+ "Green-Eyed Monster". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. A man's car is stolen. When it's recovered by the... |
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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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