Suspense - Radio’s Outstanding Theater of Thrills

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.

Originally Aired: May 12, 1952

Suspense #473, "The Missing Person," presents the baffling true story of Joseph Ebner, a 38-year-old concert violinist and concertmaster of the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra. On the evening of March 10th, 1948, Ebner kisses his wife Martha goodbye, drives to the Civic Auditorium for a performance, and moments before the concert begins, excuses himself to retrieve something from his locker. He vanishes without a trace. Four years later, magazine writer Phil Dexter takes on the cold case at the request of his editor Brad Luby, determined to uncover what happened to the missing musician.

Dexter begins his investigation by visiting Martha Ebner, who maintains her husband's music room exactly as he left it, convinced he will return. She shows Dexter an unfinished composition with the puzzling word "Hilde" scrawled across the top. As Dexter digs deeper, interviewing Maestro Carlo Fanello and others who knew Ebner, he searches for clues that might explain why a successful family man with everything to live for would simply disappear, leaving behind his wife, two sons, and an unfinished life.

Originally Aired: May 5, 1952

Suspense #472, "Frankie and Johnny," features Dinah Shore in a dramatic retelling of the classic American ballad. Frankie is deeply devoted to her man Johnny, a clarinet player in New Orleans who mysteriously disappears to play music in the back room of Cucaloo's on Basin Street. When Frankie spends her last hundred dollars to buy Johnny a sharp new red suit, she hopes to keep him close. But Johnny's wandering eye soon leads him astray. After buying him a beer at a local club, Frankie discovers Johnny has slipped away without a word.

Desperate and heartbroken, Frankie searches the streets of New Orleans from Basin Street to North Rampart, asking everyone she meets about Johnny's whereabouts. When she encounters Miss Willie, a woman who sits watching the street day and night, Frankie learns a devastating truth: Johnny was seen walking with Nellie Bly, a beautiful blonde woman with red lips, heading toward Jelly Cake's place. Consumed by betrayal and rage, Frankie declares her terrible intention to Miss Willie and heads to the pawn shop to buy a gun, determined to confront the man who done her wrong.

Originally Aired: April 28, 1952

Suspense #471, "The Shooting of Billy the Kid," presents the legendary outlaw's story from his own perspective. At just 18 years old, Billy reflects on his violent past, having already killed 16 men. The drama opens during the bloody Lincoln County War, where Billy and Charlie Boudra escape a burning house while their employer McSween is gunned down holding only his Bible. As Billy becomes a wanted man, he encounters Pat Garrett, a lanky stranger sent by New Mexico's new governor, General Lou Wallace, to bring him in. Despite the danger of returning to Lincoln with deputy Bob Olinger waiting to kill him, Billy accepts the governor's offer of a pardon in exchange for standing trial.

The narrative then jumps forward as Billy and Pat develop an unlikely friendship while Billy hides out near Fort Sumner. Their relationship takes on deeper significance as tension builds in Jose Valdez's saloon, where Billy encounters Joe Grant, a dangerous gunman from Texas looking to make his reputation by killing the famous outlaw. The story examines the complex bonds formed in the violent West, where today's friend could become tomorrow's enemy.

Originally Aired: April 21, 1952

Suspense #470, "The Diary of Captain Scott," presents the harrowing true story of Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his four companions as they face death in the Antarctic. After reaching the South Pole, Scott, Wilson, Bowers, Oates, and Evans discover they have been beaten by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. Devastated but determined, the five men begin their 800-mile trek back across the frozen wasteland to their ship. As temperatures plummet to 30 degrees below zero and supplies dwindle, the expedition faces mounting dangers. Evans suffers from frostbitten hands that won't heal, Oates battles a frozen foot, and Wilson endures snow blindness.

The journey becomes increasingly desperate as the men struggle to navigate through pressure ridges in blinding conditions and pull their heavy sledge through treacherous terrain. Evans grows progressively weaker, becoming dizzy and disoriented, eventually falling behind the group. Despite their efforts to save him, Evans collapses and dies, leaving his four companions to continue their fight for survival against the merciless Antarctic cold.

Originally Aired: April 14, 1952

Suspense #469, "Mate Bram," presents a chilling true crime story as documented by criminologist Edmund Pearson. Thomas Bram, the first mate of the Barcantine Herbert Fuller, writes to his trusted friend Mr. Cooper about a fatal voyage that began in Boston. Having recently earned his mate's ticket and sworn off drink entirely, Bram signs aboard with Captain Charles I. Nash, second officer August Blomberg, steward Jonathan Spencer, passenger Lester H. Monks, and several crew members. When he discovers that the captain's young wife Laura will be sailing with them, Bram becomes unsettled by her compelling presence and bold manner, though he chooses not to sign off.

Tensions quickly surface aboard the Fuller as Laura Nash repeatedly questions Bram about his abstinence from alcohol during the officers' evening meals, taunting him about hiding his true self. Both Bram and Blomberg find themselves preoccupied with thoughts of the captain's wife, and hostility grows between the officers. By the third evening at sea, Blomberg confronts Bram directly, accusing him of acting superior to the drinking men aboard ship. As the voyage continues, something terrible is about to unfold on this increasingly volatile vessel.

Originally Aired: April 7, 1952

Suspense #468, "Remember Me," stars Dan Duryea as Harry Norris, a desperate young man who attempts to rob a small neighborhood shop. When the elderly shopkeeper, Mr. Lebowitz, resists, the situation turns violent and Harry panics, shooting him dead. As Harry frantically searches for his dropped hat, Ruth Shaw walks into the store, a customer who needs a few items before closing. Harry pretends to be minding the shop for the absent owner, but Ruth immediately recognizes him from their high school days, cheerfully reminiscing about how all the girls had crushes on the football star. She never forgets a face, especially his.

Harry realizes Ruth can identify him once Lebowitz's body is discovered, so he volunteers to walk her home, carrying her groceries to her apartment. As Ruth chatters innocently about old times and shows him her modest place, Harry knows what he has to do. He's already killed once tonight, and Ruth's remarkable memory for faces has sealed her fate. The question becomes whether Harry can go through with a second murder, and whether Ruth will realize the danger she's in before it's too late.