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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10.11.1945 | beyond good and evil |
+ "Beyond Good and Evil". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. An escaped convict murders a man and takes his ... | |
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... | |
10.08.1951 | betrayal in vienna |
+ "Betrayal In Vienna". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. "A story based on actual events." A colonel in the... | |
08.06.1961 | bells |
+ "Bells". Sponsored by: Pepsi Cola, NP-27. A couple move into a house haunted by poltergeists, who... | |
05.31.1955 | beirut by sunrise |
+ CBS net origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "Beirut By Sunrise". A modern tourist looks for romance an... | |
03.09.1950 | banquos chair |
+ "Banquo's Chair" ("The Bedford Murder Case"). Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. A Scotland Yard investigat... | |
08.03.1944 | banquos chair |
+ "Banquo's Chair". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. A detective tracking down an elusive murderer uses a ... | |
06.01.1943 | banquos chair |
+ "Banquo's Chair". A detective, tracking down an elusive murderer, uses ghosts and the victim to ... | |
07.19.1945 | bank holiday |
+ "Bank Holiday". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. A bank teller is kidnapped by a pair of robbers, and is... | |
07.19.1955 | backseat driver |
+ "Backseat Driver". A killer commandeers the car of a couple leaving the movies. The story has a ... | |
02.22.1951 | backseat driver |
+ CBS net origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "Backseat Driver". Fibber and Molly appear in a well-done t... | |
02.03.1949 | back seat driver |
+ "Backseat Driver". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. Fibber and Molly appear in a well-done thriller drama... | |
12.23.1956 | back for christmas |
+ "Back For Christmas". A delightful British murder with a henpecking wife jolly well bashed on th... | |
12.23.1948 | back for christmas |
+ "Holiday Story". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. A meek British botony professor plans a "Devil's Garden... | |
12.23.1943 | back for christmas |
+ "Back For Christmas". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. A meek British botany professor plans a "Devil's ... | |
05.31.1945 | august heat |
+ "August Heat". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. A very hot day finds strange predictions of the future s... | |
09.23.1962 | at the point of a needle |
+ "At The Point Of A Needle". Sponsored by: Parliament Cigarettes, Chase and Sanborn Coffee. A nagg... | |
12.22.1952 | artic rescue |
+ "Arctic Rescue". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. A well told chronicle of an early voyage of exploration... | |
04.06.1953 | around the world |
+ "Around The World". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. The program is broadcast live from the stage of the ... | |
01.25.1951 | aria for murder |
+ "Aria From Murder". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. A famous opera singer confesses to a murder. The bas... | |
09.04.1947 | argyle album |
+ "The Argyle Album". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. A good adventure yarn about a reporter who encounte... | |
01.31.1956 | arctic rescue |
+ "Arctic Rescue". The story of the attempted rescue of the Franklin expedition to the arctic in 1... | |
05.17.1951 | another mans poison |
+ "Another Man's Poison". An interesting story about a man who finds $98,000 in cash...and what... | |
01.03.1946 | angel of death |
+ KQW San Jose aircheck. "The Angel Of Death". Sponsored by: Roma Wines. A super-intelligent murder... | |
05.18.1950 | angel face |
+ "Angel Face". Sponsored by: Auto-Lite. A woman's determined effort to save her brother, who's bee... |
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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