SUSPENSE
(1942-1962)

“This is the Man In Black here again to introduce Columbia’s program, Suspense... If you have been with us on these Tuesday nights you well know that Suspense is compounded of mystery and suspicion, of dangerous adventure. In this series are tales calculated to intrigue you, to stir your nerves, to offer you a precarious situation and then withhold the solution until the last possible moment. We again hope to keep you in... Suspense!!!” So began the program every Tuesday night in the early-mid 1940’s. The program of course was, SUSPENSE. SUSPENSE began its long, twenty year run quiet and virtually unnoticed, as were many programs of the time. The program was titled “The Lodger” and was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It was broadcast on July 22, 1940 on the show THIS IS HOLLYWOOD: CBS PRESENTS FORECAST #4 and starred Herbert Marshall. Performed before a live audience, the program received a good reaction and CBS considered the idea for future use.

During the days when William Speir was in the director’s chair, he established a few rules that stuck with the program for its entire 20 year run with a few exceptions. These rules helped to make SUSPENSE a program that many were sure not to miss. Some of the rules were that the murderer rarely got away, the themes were realistic (no tales of the supernatural, no science fiction), and there were always common man heroes. A couple of hours before SUSPENSE went on the air, the actors would show up and see the scripts for the first time. They would rehearse for 2-3 hours and then... SUSPENSE went live on the air (In the last few years, SUSPENSE came in a “package” everything including the music was prerecorded). Many different techniques were used to produce this fantastic show. Often, the actors would be separated from each other and there was always a screen between the actors and the orchestra (with the exception of one show, when it was vital the star be able to see the orchestra). In an interview conducted between TV-RADIO LIFE and Elliott Lewis (A director of SUSPENSE) in 1952 he was asked what he thought of the future of radio. His response-

“I think radio is very much alive... and likely to stay that way. Furthermore, I believe radio has a responsibility to continue to provide good entertainment for the millions of people who remain its fans. After all, a large part of the country still has no television... I’ve met quite a few people who prefer radio plays, because they like to let their imaginations create the settings and background rather than being forced to accept the television producer’s conception.”

On August 30, 1959, SUSPENSE moved back to New York where it would stay for the rest of its years. SUSPENSE temporarily ended its broadcast when it was cancelled on November 27, 1960. However when GUNSMOKE was cancelled on June 18, 1961, CBS decided to put SUSPENSE back on the air. The reasons for this are still unknown, and they can vary from guilt of cancelling it in the first place to filling the time with the cancellation of GUNSMOKE.

On September 30, 1962, a Sunday, YOURS TRULY, JOHNNY DOLLAR and SUSPENSE concluded their productions in that order, thus concluding the age golden age of vintage radio. They were the last two radio dramas on CBS. SUSPENSE was cancelled without notice with the production of “Devilstone” starring Christopher Carey, barely a few months over its twentieth anniversary.