Suspense - Radio’s Outstanding Theater of Thrills

Originally Aired: October 27, 1952

Suspense #484, "Allen in Wonderland," stars Cornell Wilde as Mr. Stone, a South Carolina attorney who becomes entangled in a mysterious criminal plot while waiting for a train at Pennsylvania Station. After missing his train back to Greenville, Stone is approached by an attractive young woman who mistakes him for someone else and delivers a cryptic message using a quote from Alice in Wonderland: "I told you butter wouldn't suit the works." She directs him to appear at 624 West 15th Street at seven o'clock sharp. When another man arrives at the same spot and responds to the same coded phrase, Stone realizes he has stumbled onto something sinister.

Convinced a crime is being planned, Stone reports his findings to the police, but Lieutenant meets his story with skepticism. Officer Healy drives Stone to the address on 15th Street, only to discover the building is being demolished in a rush job. With no concrete evidence and nothing appearing suspicious at the scene, Stone begins to doubt his own instincts about what he witnessed, though the coincidences seem too deliberate to dismiss entirely.

Originally Aired: October 20, 1952

Suspense #483, "The Death of Barbara Allen," Anne Baxter stars in this haunting retelling of the classic folk ballad set in the windswept coastal town of Scarlet. Barbara Allen, a spirited young woman, meets her lover Will secretly on the stormy strand, defying the expectations of her disapproving father and the affections of Sean, the local shopkeeper who desires her. Their passionate romance faces a devastating challenge when a mysterious newcomer named Moria arrives in town and begins appearing on Will's boat, claiming he has promised to take her sailing and show her the coast.

When Sean confronts Barbara with rumors of Will's betrayal, tensions escalate dangerously. The conflict reaches its tragic climax in Sean's shop, where Will arrives to purchase wine and provisions, toasting the ladies of Scarlet Town, including Moria. A violent confrontation erupts between the two men, leaving Will wounded and calling out Barbara Allen's name as he lies dying on the floor, transforming the ancient ballad's tale of love and death into a gripping drama of jealousy and fatal consequences.

Originally Aired: October 13, 1952

Suspense #482, "How Long Is the Night," presents the harrowing true story of a man stranded alone on a desolate Pacific island in the aftermath of atomic bomb testing. Warner, a military photographer, recounts the weeks he and his team spent documenting the devastating effects of nuclear tests at Eniwetok Atoll. Along with cameramen Joe Harrison and Bert Picelli, Warner has witnessed the islands transformed into a chain of black, radioactive ruins where nothing can survive. The smell of death hangs over the water and land as they photograph the scorched remains of what was once a living ecosystem.

On their final assignment, the three men land on Island 27 with their Geiger counters and camera equipment to document the contaminated wasteland. The radiation levels are alarmingly high, even for an area on the fringe of the blast zone. As they split up to cover different sections of the three-square-mile island, Warner has no idea that something is about to go terribly wrong, leaving him alone in a world of the dead where every moment could be his last.

Originally Aired: October 6, 1952

Suspense #481, "The Diary of Dr Pritchard," presents the chilling true story of a Victorian-era physician who uses his medical knowledge for sinister purposes. Dr. Edward Pritchard appears to be a devoted family man, meticulously recording his thoughts in a diary while tending to his household. When the upstairs maid Lily dies in what Pritchard claims is a tragic fire, he quickly hires a new servant, the forward young Ellen. Soon after moving his family to a new home, Pritchard's wife Mary begins experiencing mysterious and increasingly severe symptoms—terrible pain, nausea, and frightening seizures. Though Pritchard claims to be treating her with tonics and sedatives, Mary only grows worse.

As Mary's condition deteriorates, suspicions begin to mount. Her mother Mrs. Taylor arrives from Edinburgh, deeply concerned about her daughter's sudden decline from perfect health. She confronts Pritchard about his treatment, while family friend Dr. Gardner questions the diagnosis. With Ellen receiving expensive gifts and enjoying evening outings with the doctor, and Mary screaming in agony while her husband urges her to control herself, the true nature of Pritchard's devotion becomes terrifyingly clear.

Originally Aired: September 29, 1952

Suspense #480, "Vidocq's Final Case," brings the legendary French detective out of retirement when Paris is plagued by a series of audacious robberies. The aging Vidocq, once the celebrated Commissioner of the Sûreté, has been reduced to touring provincial variety shows when he encounters Inspector Williams from Scotland Yard. Williams is in France to assist Commissioner Dubigny, Vidocq's successor, who stubbornly refuses to acknowledge the former detective's expertise despite being overwhelmed by the crimes. As the thefts continue and pressure mounts, Dubigny reluctantly summons Vidocq to help solve the case.

Vidocq approaches the investigation with his signature unorthodox methods, explaining that only a master criminal can catch a master criminal. He reveals his plan to infiltrate the tight-knit world of gentleman thieves by contacting an old acquaintance, the Marquis de Villiers, a thief who posed as nobility to rob the finest houses. With his reputation on the line and Dubigny's skepticism haunting him, Vidocq must prove that his skills remain sharp enough to unmask the criminals and recover the stolen treasures.

Originally Aired: September 22, 1952

Suspense #479, "Jack Ketch," presents the dark world of John Price, a man whose very name has become synonymous with death itself. As London's public hangman, Price finds himself shunned and despised by everyone around him. At the Blue Ball tavern, patrons fall silent or mock him cruelly, calling him "Jack Ketch," the infamous nickname for executioners. Even the keeper barely tolerates his presence. Price desperately craves friendship and respect, insisting his work is just a job like any other, but the cruel reality of his profession isolates him completely. When he tries to borrow money from his underling William Hartley to pay mounting debts and avoid debtor's prison, he's met with transparent lies and barely concealed contempt.

The humiliation follows Price home, where his wife Betty delivers the most devastating rejection of all. She refuses to give him their meager savings, openly expressing her shame at being married to a hangman. In front of their child, she screams the truth he tries to deny, calling him a murderer and condemning him as "the groom of the ladder." As Price's world crumbles around him, he faces not only financial ruin but complete social and personal isolation, trapped in a profession that marks him as untouchable in the eyes of all society.

Originally Aired: June 9, 1952

Suspense #477, "Concerto for Killer and Eye Witnesses," Detective Sergeant Jesse Crandall and his partner Abe Delaney are escorting condemned murderer Edward Sitko to the state penitentiary at Joliet to await execution. Sitko, who was convicted of killing the wrong man under orders from a criminal named Dallas Kenyon, seethes with rage during the train journey. When Delaney leaves for the dining car, Sitko attacks Crandall, steals the handcuff keys, and leaps from the moving train. Now a desperate fugitive, Sitko has only one goal: to hunt down Dallas Kenyon, the man who betrayed him and sent him to prison.

Sitko's vengeful quest takes him first to his mother's apartment, then to George Bartlett's pawn shop, where the terrified shopkeeper provides him with a gun, ammunition, and fresh clothes. As witnesses to the escaped killer's whereabouts multiply, the tension mounts. Sitko remains singularly focused on reaching Kenyon, while those who cross his path can only hope to survive the encounter with a man who has nothing left to lose.

Originally Aired: June 2, 1952

Suspense #476, "A Good and Faithful Servant," stars Jack Benny as Harold Fenton, a meek bookkeeper who has spent nearly thirty years working at Waterman's department store. After being locked in a vault for fourteen harrowing hours during a robbery, Fenton emerges as an unlikely hero. Two masked bandits made off with $50,000, and while the police lieutenant questions him and his supervisors fuss over him, Fenton remains calm and cooperative. His boss, Mr. Waterman, praises him as a model employee of unquestionable character, and suddenly everyone treats the usually invisible Fenton with newfound respect and admiration.

As Fenton prepares for his retirement ceremony the following day, he basks in his unexpected celebrity. For the first time, coworkers smile at him, and even the attractive brunette in perfume notices him. But there's a troubling detail: Fenton mentions to his mother that the stolen $50,000 is actually hidden in a secret compartment in his desk at the office. As his last day unfolds and Mr. Waterman plans a special retirement ceremony, the question looms whether Fenton's faithful service conceals a darker secret.

Originally Aired: May 26, 1952

Suspense #475, "The Death of Me," stars George Murphy as Harry Sawyer, a World War II veteran struggling with what doctors call battle fatigue—an overwhelming, imaginary fear he can't quite shake. Seeking fresh air and hard work to get a grip on his condition, Harry takes a job at a remote lumber camp in the backwoods town of McCabe, bringing along his pretty wife Sal, who's less than thrilled about being stuck in what she calls a "jerk-watered town in the hills." When Harry meets his new boss, the imposing Sam Bixby, he notices the way the big man looks at Sal—not at him, but at her—in a way that unsettles him deeply. Things get stranger when Myra Loush, Bixby's business partner, tries to fire Harry on his first morning, warning ominously that there's going to be trouble.

As Harry settles into camp life working alongside the talkative logger Ludie McCaw, the hard physical labor seems to be exactly what he needs. But with Sal alone in town, Bixby's lingering attention, and Myra's cryptic warnings, Harry's fragile peace may not last long in the isolated mountain community.

Originally Aired: May 19, 1952

Suspense #474, "The Flight of the Bumblebee," Lieutenant Colonel Hutchin Stone commands a B-29 bomber crew on what should be a routine strategic bombing mission over Korea. As the Bumblebee serves as lead ship of the 236th Wing, Stone reflects on his crew and their morale during the long flight to their target, a railroad center. Bombardier Max struggles with the moral weight of his role as an "instrument of death," while the Sergeant worries about surviving to meet his kid brother's replacement unit the next day. Stone reassures himself that his crew is doing fine, despite these normal concerns of fighting men with consciences.

As the formation approaches the initial point at 18,000 feet, control passes from Stone's hands to Max's bomb sight for the critical 170-second bombing run. The crew debates whether to depressurize for such a short time over what has been quiet territory for weeks. But as Max begins the final approach and calls for those crucial last 15 seconds before bomb release, enemy interceptors suddenly appear at one o'clock, bearing down fast on the vulnerable bombers locked in their bombing path.