Show notes
Happy Birthday to writer Cornell Woolrich, born December 4, 1903.
An early master of the art of noir fiction, Woolrich's earliest works were inspired by the writing of F. Scott Fitzgerald before he turned to the pulp detective stories that made him famous. When he started writing for the pulps, he churned out stores at such a rate that he had to use a few pen names, including "William Irish."
Woolrich's works have been adapted for the big screen (inspiring movies like Rear Window and The Bride Wore Black), and many of his stories were presented on radio. Woolrich's stories were mined for The Mollé Mystery Theater, Escape, and in almost three dozen episodes of Suspense.
Unfortunately, despite his success, Woolrich's life was marked by tragedy and suffering. He struggled with his homosexuality with and attempted to conceal it with a failed marriage. There was no respite for him at home; Woolrich moved from one decrepit hotel room to another, surrounded by the types of unsavory characters that populated his fiction. An untreated infection led the loss of his leg and alcoholism added to his decline. When he passed away in 1968 at the age of 64, Woolrich weighed only 89 pounds.
In honor of his birthday, here are some old time radio adaptations of Woolrich's stories - brought to life by great stars and atmospheric productions.
"Dime a Dance" – A serial killer is stalking taxi dancers, and one – well played by Lucille Ball before her on-screen antics with Ethel – starts to fall for the cop who's working undercover to nail the killer. But she soon starts to suspect that he may be the man who killed her friends and had one final dance with their corpses. This is one of the best episodes of Suspense with palpable tension throughout, a truly terrifying climax, and a haunting use of the song "Poor Butterfly." (Originally aired on CBS on Suspense on January 13, 1944)
"You'll Never See Me Again" – Robert Young effectively plays against his Father Knows Best-type in this story of a feuding couple whose latest spat ends when the wife leaves for her mother's house. After a few days, her husband calls for her…only to discover she never made it. Soon, there's evidence piling up to suggest foul play, and the man partners with a skeptical detective to find his missing wife, or to find her body. (Originally aired on CBS on Suspense on September 5, 1946)
"You Take Ballistics" – Unlike many of the shows on this list, "You Take Ballistics" puts us in the shoes of a policeman. Here, a hard-nosed cop is absolutely convinced that a small time crook committed a murder. Everything points in the man's direction, except for ballistic evidence. The cop dismisses it – he'll take human nature over ballistics any day – but he's got to find a way to make his case. Howard Da Silva is the cop, and a pre-Dragnet Jack Webb is the smug suspect. (Originally aired on CBS on Suspense on March 13, 1947)
"Papa Benjamin" – The supernatural creeps into Woolrich's story about greed. A jazz musician steals a voodoo chant for a new arrangement, and it becomes the hit of New Orleans. To him, it's just a catchy tune that he can parlay into fame and fortune but he learns too late of the real consequences to dabbling with – and disrespecting – voodoo. Frank Lovejoy plays the bandleader recounting his terrifying tale. (Originally aired on CBS on Escape on January 21, 1948)
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