Stars on Suspense (Old Time Radio)

Latest Episodes:

Episode 255 – Dorothy McGuire Sep 02, 2021

Show notes

Dorothy McGuire jumped from the Broadway stage to the big screen with acclaimed performances in Claudia and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. She earned an Oscar nod for her turn as a woman confronting her bigotry in Gentleman's Agreement and she'd later gain Disney fame as memorable moms in Old Yeller and Swiss Family Robinson. We'll hear her as a woman trying to reconstruct the night of a murder in "Last Confession" (originally aired on CBS on September 15, 1949). Then, she recreates her screen role in a radio adaptation of The Spiral Staircase on The Screen Directors' Playhouse (originally aired on NBC on November 25, 1949).

Episode 254 – Charles Boyer (Part 2) Aug 26, 2021

Show notes

In his final visits to Suspense, Charles Boyer played two legendary lawmen from his native France. First, the four-time Oscar nominee plays Eugene Vidocq, the master thief who switched sides and became the head of the Sûreté. We'll hear "Vidocq's Final Case" (originally aired on CBS on September 29, 1952). Then, Boyer stars as Alphonse Bertillion, a policeman who used anthropology to develop a system of identifying criminal suspects. Boyer plays the innovative cop in "The Bertillion Method" (originally aired on CBS on April 26, 1954).

Episode 253 – Stan Freberg Aug 19, 2021

Show notes

Stan Freberg was a master of satire and memorably sent up politics, history, and popular culture over his 70 years in show business. His spoofs of Dragnet, popular music, and history still hold up today, and he put his unique sense of humor to work as a successful advertising director. We'll hear the legendary performer in a rare dramatic radio turn as a murderer in "Alibi Me" (AFRS rebroadcast from April 20, 1958). Plus, we'll hear his signature wit in The CBS Radio Workshop (originally aired on CBS on August 31, 1956) and an episode of his classic radio comedy The Stan Freberg Show (originally aired on CBS on October 6, 1957).

BONUS - Alfred Hitchcock (Part 4) Aug 13, 2021

Show notes

Our annual birthday salute to Alfred Hitchcock isn't just a celebration of the legendary director and big screen master of suspense. It's also a tribute to his daughter, Patricia Alma O'Connell, who passed away on August 9th. We'll hear Patricia recreate her screen role in Strangers on a Train, recreated for the Lux Radio Theatre (rehearsal for the December 3, 1951 broadcast). Then, we'll hear Alfred Hitchcock as host and narrator in the audition recording of Once Upon a Midnight, a series that would have been a Hitchcock-led anthology series before his classic television show.

Episode 252 – Robert Horton Aug 12, 2021

Show notes

Actor and singer Robert Horton broke out with his stint on Wagon Train, where he spent several years on one of the top-rated TV shows in the country. But Horton left the show at the peak of its popularity to avoid typecasting and to pursue his singing career. During his years on the television frontier, Horton made two visits to Suspense. He played the titular condemned killer immortalized in song in "Tom Dooley" (originally aired on CBS on December 7, 1958) - featuring the ballad performed by the Kingston Trio! Then, he starred as an actor whose agent pressures him into taking on the real-life role of a murderer in "Spoils for Victor" (AFRS rebroadcast from May 24, 1959).

Episode 251 - Cathy Lewis Aug 05, 2021

Show notes

For the start of our sixth season, we're shining a spotlight on Suspense MVP Cathy Lewis. One of the busiest and most talented actresses of the era, Lewis was a standout supporting player on "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" in some of the program's greatest episodes. She proved just as strong when she stepped into starring roles. We'll hear her alongside husband Elliott in "Love, Honor, or Murder" (originally aired on CBS on June 29, 1950). Then, she stars in "The Murderess" (originally aired on CBS on March 27, 1956).

Episode 250 – Charles Laughton (Part 4) Jul 29, 2021

Show notes

Charles Laughton stars in a pair of stories pulled from the pages of two great English writers. These tales of murder have plenty of dark comedy mixed in along with the corpses and crimes. First, a garden party results in an accidental homicide in Dorothy L. Sayers' "The Fountain Plays" (originally aired on CBS on November 23, 1944). Then, a man discovers a new hobby - murder - in John Collier's "De Mortuis" (originally aired on CBS on February 10, 1949).

Episode 249 – Jackie Cooper Jul 22, 2021

Show notes

Jackie Cooper began his career in Our Gang shorts and earned an Oscar nomination at the age of nine. After serving in the Navy during World War II, he continued acting on screen and embarked on a successful Emmy-winning career as a director. During his years in front of and behind the camera, he endeared himself to generations of movie fans as irascible editor Perry White in the Superman films. We'll hear him in three old time radio thrillers from Suspense: "The Clock and the Rope" (originally aired on CBS on December 5, 1947); "Remember Me?" (AFRS rebroadcast from August 24, 1958); and "The Amateur" (originally aired on CBS on May 3, 1959).

Episode 248 – Joan Lorring (Part 2) Jul 16, 2021

Show notes

After making her first visits to Suspense in 1945, Joan Lorring returned to "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" in 1960. By then, both the series and star had left Hollywood behind. The Oscar-nominee had transitioned to Broadway and television, and production of the show moved to CBS' New York studios. We'll hear Lorring in three 60s Suspense stories: "The Daisy Chain" (originally aired on CBS on June 26, 1960); "The Man Who Knew How to Hate" (originally aired on CBS on June 16, 1961); and "Witness to Murder" (originally aired on CBS on October 22, 1961).

Episode 247 – Helmut Dantine Jul 08, 2021

Show notes

It was ironic that Helmut Dantine broke out in Hollywood playing Nazis in wartime dramas; he'd been part of the anti-Nazi resistance in his native Austria and was imprisoned in a concentration camp because of those efforts. Fortunately, he secured his release and escaped to California, where he pursued acting on the stage and screen. We'll hear him plotting an assassination in "Russian New Year" (originally aired on CBS on January 13, 1957). Then, he co-stars with Nina Foch in "Headshrinker" (originally aired on CBS on October 26, 1958).

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