Stars On Suspense (old Time Radio)

For her final visit to Suspense, Dame May Whitty recreated a performance she'd memorably played on stage and screen. In this hour-long adaptation of Emlyn Williams' play Night Must Fall (originally aired on CBS on March 27, 1948), Whitty reprises her Oscar-nominated role opposite Robert Montgomery.

Bonita Granville's screen career was short, but she made the most of it. She earned an Oscar nomination at age 14, and she starred in four films as junior detective Nancy Drew before she switched gears to produce projects alongside her husband. We'll hear her only visit to Suspense - "Bank Holiday" (originally aired on CBS on July 19, 1945). Then, she's plotting a murder for money in an episode of the syndicated anthology drama Obsession.

Lloyd Bridges' final appearances on Suspense took him from the gym to his Sea Hunt haunts on the ocean floor. But no matter where he went, murder was close at hand. We'll hear the star of High Noon and Airplane! in "Rub Down and Out" (AFRS rebroadcast from July 6, 1958) and "Deep, Deep is My Love" (AFRS rebroadcast from April 26, 1959).

Known to old time radio fans everywhere as Sam Spade, Howard Duff was one of the biggest names of the radio era. Not only was he a skilled dramatic and comedic actor in front of the microphone, he also worked in the Armed Forces Radio Service and - through his job - helped preserve hundreds of the shows we know and love today. The blacklist and Red Scare paranoia dinged his career, but he emerged and continued to work in film and television through the 1980s. We'll hear him in "A Murderous Revision," an unaired recording of a show that was scrapped when he was branded a Communist (recording dated October 13, 1951) and "Eyewitness" (originally aired on CBS on December 16, 1956).

We'll kick off a new year with the "First Lady of Suspense!" Agnes Moorehead returns in a pair of old time radio thrillers, including her very first visit to "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." She co-stars with Ray Collins in the first production of "The Diary of Saphronia Winters" (originally aired on CBS on April 27, 1943). Then, we'll hear her in "Death and Miss Turner" (originally aired on November 17, 1952).

For our final podcast episode of 2020, we welcome Frank Lovejoy back to the podcast for two more old time radio thrillers. He stars as one of the west's most infamous outlaws in "The Shooting of Billy the Kid" (originally aired on CBS on April 28, 1952). Then, he's on trial for a crime he didn't commit in "Public Defender" (originally aired on CBS on April 20, 1953). Plus, we've got the first episode of Lovejoy's radio drama series Night Beat (originally aired on NBC on February 6, 1950).

Christmas is almost here, and to celebrate here's a bonus episode light on suspense but heavy on the stars. We'll hear David Niven, Jane Greer, and Tyrone Power in the holiday favorite The Bishop's Wife, recreated for The Lux Radio Theatre (originally aired on CBS on December 19, 1949).

Raymond Burr was doing double duty when he starred in these installments of Suspense. He could be seen every week on television in the earliest seasons of Perry Mason, but he continued to lend his voice to radio dramas. We'll hear him in H.G. Wells' "The Country of the Blind" (originally aired on CBS on October 27, 1957). Plus, just in time for the holidays, Burr plays a gun-toting St. Nick looking for revenge in "Out for Christmas" (originally aired on CBS on December 21, 1958).

Paul Lukas started his career in his native Hungary, but he found more stage and screen stardom when he journeyed to Hollywood. Lukas won an Oscar for his portrayal of a German anti-fascist in Watch the Rhine, and he remained a regular presence on films and in television through the 1970s. We'll hear him in "Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble" (originally aired on CBS on April 6, 1943) and "Mr. Markham, Antique Dealer" (originally aired on CBS on May 11, 1943).

Susan Hayward earned five Oscar nominations and one win for her dynamic performances in stories pulled from real life. Hayward took home her Academy Award for her work as a woman sentenced to die for murder in I Want to Live! and she brought that intensity to her two appearances on Suspense. We'll hear her in  "The Dead Sleep Lightly," a mystery by John Dickson Carr (originally aired on CBS on March 30, 1943). Then she plays a wealthy woman with a shady past and a plan to secure her own future in "Dame Fortune" (originally aired on CBS on October 24, 1946). Finally, Hayward pays a visit to Edgar, Charlie, Mortimer Snerd, and the rest of the gang at The Charlie McCarthy Show (AFRS rebroadcast from December 16, 1945).

Before he spent four seasons on a Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Richard Basehart was a rising Hollywood star and made a visit to the Suspense microphone. His performance elevates "The Perfectionist," a far-fetched episode about a killer forced to improvise during his perfect crime (originally aired on CBS on January 21, 1952). Then, Basehart stars as Joyce Kilmer, the poet and writer who met his end on a battlefield during World War I in Family Theater (originally aired on Mutual on August 17, 1949).

Leading man Robert Taylor made his Suspense debut as a reporter who stumbles into the story of the century in "The Argyle Album" (originally aired on CBS on December 13, 1945). Then we'll hear him join Mary, Phil, Dennis, and Don when he guest hosts The Jack Benny Program (originally aired on NBC on May 16, 1948).

Actress Lynn Bari enjoyed a long career on the big and small screens, and though she never really broke into the starring sphere she appeared in hundreds of films opposite some of the major stars of the era. Her specialty was playing "the other woman" - the man-hungry femme fatale who was always ready with a seductive look or a gun - and she won the admiration of GIs as one of the most popular pinup girls of World War II. We'll hear her in her only visit to Suspense - "Murder By an Expert" (originally aired on CBS on July 24, 1947). Then, she joins Bud and Lou in a wild west comedy on The Abbott and Costello Show (originally aired on NBC on December 16, 1943).

Before he solved TV crimes as Cannon, William Conrad was one of the titans of the golden age of radio. With his booming voice, Conrad gave life to the tough marshal of Dodge City Matt Dillon and hundreds of other characters - from historical figures like Nero, Blackbeard, and King Arthur to the ominous voice that introduced Escape. We'll hear him star in a pair of Suspense thrillers: "The Shot" (originally aired on CBS on December 2, 1954) and "A Study in Wax" (originally aired on CBS on August 16, 1955). Plus, we'll hear him in his signature role on Gunsmoke in "Matt Gets It" (originally aired on CBS on October 2, 1954).

John Lund's big screen career started with a bang but faded by the mid-1950s. Still, he was able to display his versatility during his appearances on Suspense. We'll hear him as a writer who finds inspiration in a real-life crime  in "The Man in the Room" (originally aired on CBS on May 11, 1950). Then, Lund plays a cop on the trail of a drug ring in "Melody in Dreams" (originally aired on CBS on December 19, 1952).

I've saved the best - and scariest - for last. In our final Halloween Haunts bonus episode, we'll hear my pick for the most terrifying tale to ever air on "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." Robert Taylor and Cathy Lewis receive the housewarming gift from hell in "The House in Cypress Canyon" (originally aired on CBS on December 5, 1946).

Ray Bradbury brought science fiction into the mainstream with stories like The Martian Chronicles, and his works were adapted for some of the best radio anthologies of the era. Stories from the author of Fahrenheit 451 and The Illustrated Man inspired episodes of Escape, X Minus One, and Suspense. We'll hear two of his terrifying tales from radio's outstanding theater of thrills: "Zero Hour" (originally aired on CBS on April 5, 1955) and "The Whole Town's Sleeping" (originally aired on CBS on June 14, 1955). Plus, we'll hear "The Veldt," a story about addictive technology years before smart phones, from Dimension X (originally aired on NBC on August 9, 1951).

A car out of gas, a frightened couple, and a homicidal maniac on the loose - they all come together in "On a Country Road," still one of the most terrifying stories ever produced on Suspense seventy years after it first aired. Cary Grant stars in this radio play designed for listening with the lights out (originally aired on CBS on November 16, 1950).

Lee J. Cobb was still a rising star in Hollywood - years before his Oscar-nominated turns in On the Waterfront and The Brothers Karamazov and his powerful performances in 12 Angry Men and The Exorcist - when he made his only visit to Suspense. We'll hear him as an artist in a deadly love triangle in "The Bet" (originally aired on CBS on November 8, 1945). Then he recreates his big screen performance opposite Dick Powell in a Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of Johnny O'Clock (originally aired on CBS on May 12, 1947).

This week's scary story from Suspense was made to be enjoyed with the lights out. Join Ralph Edwards as a DJ who spends a night in a haunted house for a radio show stunt and gets more than he bargained for in "Ghost Hunt" (originally aired on CBS on June 23, 1949).