Suspense - Radio’s Outstanding Theater of Thrills

In Suspense #16, “The Devil in the Summer House,” attorney Joe Parker returns to a shuttered Hudson River home with Captain Burke after receiving a freshly mailed letter—dated 1918—hinting that Major Jerry Kenyon’s long-ago “suicide” was murder. In the vine-choked summer house and lamplit library, they uncover a hidden phonograph record that coolly explains a perfect fake-suicide: a long-range shot from a back window, a duplicate cap scorched with powder, and alibis all around. But the final twist snaps tight: the recorded confession isn’t from the grieving wife at all, and the true killer—an ambitious maid with a gift for imitation—faces the chair as the clock strikes eight. Storms gather, motives curdle, and a voice from wax rewrites the past.  

In Suspense #7, “Philomel Cottage (Part 2),” newlywed Alex Martin begins to fear that her charming husband Gerald is hiding a murderous past—until she turns the tables with a chilling confession over evening coffee. As the clock ticks toward six, a tense duel of wits unfolds on the cottage porch, phone calls are cut short, and Alex’s tale of prior “accidents” becomes a weapon in a battle for survival. Based on Agatha Christie’s story, this conclusion twists the knife with a final reveal at Philomel Cottage. 

Originally Aired: September 13, 1945

In Suspense #158, “The Furnished Floor,” a grieving widower named Mr. Jennings returns to his former apartment, seeking to restore every detail of his married life with his late wife, Mabel—even down to the canary and the exact placement of the furniture. As the new landlady begins to suspect something is terribly off, Jennings reveals an unnerving truth: he believes he’s brought his wife back from the dead. Written by Lucille Fletcher (Sorry, Wrong Number), this is a masterful tale of obsessive love, spectral presence, and eerie domesticity.

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Originally Aired: September 6, 1945

In Suspense #157, “Sorry, Wrong Number,” a bedridden woman named Mrs. Elbert Stephenson becomes the accidental eavesdropper on a chilling murder plot when a crossed phone line connects her to two men planning a killing. As she frantically tries to alert the authorities and reconnect with her absent husband, the line between fear and paranoia tightens with each unanswered call. Agnes Moorhead delivers a tour-de-force performance in Lucille Fletcher’s iconic psychological thriller, widely regarded as one of the finest radio dramas ever produced.

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Originally Aired: August 30, 1945

In Suspense #156, “Nobody Loves Me,” a police precinct is held hostage by an armed man who claims he’s ready to confess. What begins as a chilling standoff quickly transforms into a dark and deeply personal monologue by Joe Reese—a hitman with a trail of bodies and a hole in his soul. But when Joe meets Peggy Stewart, his next intended victim, her unexpected kindness may be the one thing that unravels him. With a haunting performance by Peter Lorre, this is a disturbing yet strangely tender study of loneliness, psychosis, and the desperate human need to be loved.

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Originally Aired: August 23, 1945

In Suspense #155, “This Will Kill You,” factory worker Joe Jordan is fed up with being belittled by his foreman, Charlie Harris. But when workplace slights and romantic jealousy boil over, Joe hatches a chillingly calculated plan—not just for revenge, but to destroy Charlie’s life completely. What follows is a dark, manipulative plot to commit the perfect murder, plant the evidence, and walk away clean… until one fatal oversight unravels it all. A gripping narrative of ego, madness, and the illusion of control, delivered with relentless tension.

Cast:

Dane Clark

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Suspense, thriller, crime, psychological, daneclark, factorydrama, revenge, oldtimeradio, falsealibi, classicnoir, 1940sradio, murdermystery, setup, radiohistory, suspensepodcast

Originally Aired: August 16, 1945

In Suspense #154, “Short Order,” Bailey, a proud diner owner, finds his business slowly unraveling after a mysterious, disfigured man begins frequenting his establishment. Though the stranger is polite and quiet, his grotesque appearance drives customers away and triggers a downward spiral of paranoia, misfortune, and desperation for Bailey. As events spiral out of control, a shocking twist reveals that not everything—or everyone—is as they seem. A slow-burning psychological thriller laced with eerie tension and moral ambiguity.

Cast:

Joseph Kearns, Conrad Binion, Gerald Mohr

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Suspense, thriller, psychological, dinerdrama, JosephKearns, GeraldMohr, disfigurement, gaslight, mystery, identity, oldtimeradio, noir, karmicjustice, 1940sradio, classicdrama, suspensepodcast

Originally Aired: August 9, 1945

In Suspense #153, “Murder for Myra,” Ernie Cobb falls under the spell of the alluring and volatile Myra Blair, a housewife trapped in a loveless marriage. When she confides her dreams of freedom—and hints that murder is the only escape—Ernie finds himself lured into a dark and deadly plot. As a plan to kill her husband unfolds with chilling precision, Ernie’s moral resistance crumbles. But in the shadowy world of deceit and obsession, nothing is quite as it seems. A grim twist seals the tale in this taut psychological noir.

Cast:

Lloyd Nolan

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Suspense, thriller, noir, psychological, murderplot, LloydNolan, oldtimeradio, betrayal, obsession, vintagecrime, 1940sradio, classicdrama, suspensepodcast, darkromance, trappedlovers

Originally Aired: August 2, 1945

In Suspense #152, “A Man in the House,” a dutiful daughter named Emily Barrett finds her quiet, dutiful life overturned when a scarred and dangerous intruder breaks into her home and refuses to leave. Trapped in a decaying house with a domineering invalid mother and a madman with a gun, Emily must maintain a façade of normalcy at work while secretly enduring a terrifying hostage situation at home. As the man grows more unstable and Emily’s mother grows weaker, the tension mounts—until a shocking sacrifice forces a harrowing confrontation. A claustrophobic thriller of psychological torment and survival.

Cast:

Joan Loring, Joseph Kearns

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Suspense, thriller, psychological, hostage, JoanLoring, JosephKearns, amaninthehouse, oldtimeradio, mystery, captivity, gaslight, vintagehorror, 1940sradio, classicdrama, homeinvasion, suspensepodcast

Originally Aired: July 19, 1945

In Suspense #150, “Bank Holiday,” junior bank teller Jane Evans thinks the biggest challenge to her engagement with assistant manager Harold Osborne is the bank’s no-romance policy—until a routine Friday morning turns into a harrowing ordeal. When two armed robbers burst in and take her hostage, Jane is plunged into a day of blindfolded getaways, desert chases, and tense standoffs in a remote mountain cabin. As danger closes in, she learns that loyalty can take many forms—and that the difference between the “right guy” and the “wrong guy” isn’t always what it seems. A taut crime drama blending romance, moral choices, and unrelenting suspense.

Cast:

Bonita Granville

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Suspense, thriller, crime, bankrobbery, hostage, BonitaGranville, 1940sradio, classiccrime, moralchoices, getaway, desertchase, mountainstandoff, vintageaudio, oldtimeradio, policestandoff, betrayal, rightguywrongguy, suspensepodcast