Suspense - Radio’s Outstanding Theater of Thrills

Originally Aired: July 18, 1946 In Suspense #202, “Photo Finish,” Joe Mooney—a wisecracking sidewalk photographer—snaps a passerby at the exact moment the man collapses, only to be “escorted” by faux cops who hijack his car, steal the corpse from the morgue, and drag him into a gang’s cover-up. A seductive “sister” lures Joe for the incriminating negative, a citywide chase follows, and the payoff...

Originally Aired: July 11, 1946 In Suspense #201, “Feast of the Furies,” a simple-minded driver named Casey dutifully follows his employer’s chilling instructions—kidnap a frail man named Sam Bennett and deliver him to a lonely wharf by nightfall. As the tide rises and the truth unravels, Sam reveals a tragic history involving his paralyzed wife and her vengeful brother, Jake Larkin—the very man w...

Originally Aired: July 4, 1946 In Suspense #200, “An Evening’s Diversion,” overworked executive Paul Edwards follows his doctor’s unusual advice for stress—“go out alone and see what happens." This leads him into a dangerous situation involving murder. A visit to a rundown café pulls Edwards into a world of crime, deception, and deadly attraction. When he hears two gangsters planning to kill a wom...

Originally Aired: June 27, 1946 In Suspense #199, “Return Trip,” a snowbound bus becomes a rolling death trap when news spreads that a killer has escaped from a nearby asylum. As driver Frank Keniston guides his passengers through a growing blizzard—an anxious young woman, a chatty salesman, and a brooding Englishman—paranoia mounts with every mile. When an avalanche buries them alive, suspicion t...

Originally Aired: June 20, 1946 In Suspense #198, “Your Devoted Wife,” Melissa Thornton, seemingly a caring spouse, secretly takes her sick husband Martin on an overnight train to a Chicago clinic, after quietly administering him sleeping pills. Her gentle act masks a cold, calculated plan linked to Martin’s upcoming 30th birthday and a significant inheritance. However, when the clinic finds no he...

Originally Aired: June 13, 1946 In Suspense #197, “Too Many Smiths,” Charles Wallingford, an ambitious porter with a taste for easy money, stumbles onto a secret memo: the winner of a $25,000 toothpaste slogan contest is “Pat Smith of Boston.” Seizing his chance, he impersonates the unknown winner—only to discover there are far more Pat Smiths than he bargained for. As murder, imposture, and doubl...

Originally Aired: June 6, 1946 In Suspense #196, “The High Wall,” Robert Young stars as Bob Lewis, a war-weary oil man who wakes in what seems like a hospital—only to learn he’s in an asylum for the criminally insane. Stricken with amnesia, Bob insists he’s innocent, but his blackout hides a darker truth: his wife is dead, and he may have killed her. As fragments of memory resurface, romance with...

Originally Aired: May 30, 1946 In Suspense #195, “The Leading Citizen of Pratt County,” a smooth-talking grifter, posing as Professor Alonzo P. Witherspoon, drifts into a dusty Midwestern town after double-crossing his partner. Spinning lies of political connections and geological expertise, he convinces locals that he can restore their lost river—and cashes in on their hopes. But when the scheme...

Originally Aired: May 23, 1946 In Suspense #194, “Spoils for Victor,” small-time racketeer Victor Rudiger thinks he’s hit the jackpot when a chance encounter lands him in the life—and the fortune—of wealthy heiress Madeline Rawlins. Backed by his old mob pals, Victor marries into riches with a deadly plan: six months of high living before his bride’s “accidental” death secures her millions. But wh...

Originally Aired: May 16, 1946 In Suspense #193, “The Plan,” newlywed Helen Anderson thinks she’s safeguarding her respectable life when her husband’s long-hidden, dangerous brother arrives unexpectedly—only to find herself ensnared in a scheme of mistaken identities, loaded dueling pistols, and a murder meant to erase the past. As Helen’s story unfolds under police questioning, the truth twists:...

Originally Aired: May 9, 1946 In Suspense #192, “The Clock and the Rope,” Henry Guilford awaits execution for a murder he swears was self-defense, insisting a mysterious girl can prove his innocence. With no trace of her, the jury convicts him, and as the clock ticks toward dawn, he relives the terror of death row—the ticking, the prayers, the trapdoor. A last-minute reprieve arrives, but too late...

Originally Aired: May 2, 1946 In Suspense #191, “Crime Without Passion,” New York criminal attorney Lou Hendricks thinks he’s killed his showgirl mistress in a violent quarrel—so he constructs a meticulous alibi, complete with planted “evidence” and timed sightings, to beat a murder rap. But when a hot-headed rival confronts him later that night, Hendricks fires a shot as the floor show begins…and...

Originally Aired: April 25, 1946 In Suspense #190, “Dark Journey,” Nancy Kelly and Kathy Lewis star in Lucille Fletcher’s haunting two-woman play. Anne Brody is consumed by obsessive love for Clyde Dexter, convinced her willpower alone can bind him to her. With her friend Alice as uneasy witness, Anne wills herself into his life—until Clyde’s domineering mother is struck dead by an “unknown assail...

Originally Aired: April 18, 1946 In Suspense #189, “The Night Reveals,” Keenan Wynn stars as Harry Jordan, an insurance investigator whose job is to uncover the causes of fires—only to discover the flames burn far too close to home. Late-night wanderings, missing matches, and a melted locket found in the ashes convince Harry that his wife Marie is an arsonist. But as paranoia mounts, the truth twi...

Originally Aired: April 11, 1946 In Suspense #188, “The Name of the Beast,” Vincent Price stars as James Dorrance, a reclusive painter who finds his ultimate subject in Elmer Krebs, a waterfront drifter and murderer. Obsessed with capturing pure evil on canvas, Dorrance aids Krebs in covering up a pawnshop killing—only to fall deeper into a web of crime, manipulation, and doomed desire for a woman...

Originally Aired: April 4, 1946 In Suspense #187, “Post Mortem,” Agnes Moorehead stars as Josie Archer, a former actress whose late husband unknowingly left her a winning sweepstakes ticket—buried with him in the suit he was laid to rest in. When Josie and her new husband Stephen retrieve the ticket, whispers of foul play begin to surface, pointing toward Harry Mead’s mysterious death. As suspicio...

Originally Aired: March 28, 1946 In Suspense #186, “Out of Control,” Brian Donlevy stars as Captain Duncan McLean, a blind detective whose sharpened senses unravel one of the most ingenious murder methods ever devised. When blackmailer Walter Crane is found dead in a car crash near a mountain lodge, suspicion falls on Marsha Fillmore and her jealous husband Dennis. But McLean uncovers a chilling m...

Originally Aired: March 21, 1946 In Suspense #185, “The Lonely Road,” Gregory Peck stars as Stephen Gare, a man whose isolated country home becomes the stage for seduction and murder. When Jenny, a striking and predatory young housemaid, enters the household, she begins to manipulate Stephen into plotting his wealthy wife Helen’s death. But the plan unravels in blood and madness, with bear traps a...

Originally Aired: March 14, 1946 In Suspense #184, “No More Alice,” Paul Henreid stars as Dr. Warren Rice, a psychiatrist trapped in a bitter marriage to his jealous wife, Alice. When escaped convict Frankie Tatum stumbles into his car, Rice seizes a dark opportunity: hide Tatum in his home and use him as the instrument of murder. But his plan to have Tatum kill Alice collapses when fate—and a sto...

Originally Aired: March 7, 1946 In Suspense #183, “The Black Path of Fear,” Brian Donlevy stars as Bill Scott, a man who runs off to Havana with Eve, the wife of gangster Ed Spinelli. Their honeymoon bliss ends in Sloppy Joe’s café when Eve is stabbed to death during their first photograph together. Framed for her murder, Scott flees through Havana’s alleys, finding refuge with “Midnight,” a myste...

Originally Aired: February 21, 1946 In Suspense #181, “Consequence,” James Stewart stars as Dr. Philip Martin, a weary physician trapped in a loveless marriage to Gwen and secretly in love with another woman, Joe. When his old friend Ted Wolf visits, fate presents Martin with a chance to trade lives: a fire destroys his home, leaving Ted’s body mistaken for his own. Seizing the opportunity, Martin...

Originally Aired: February 14, 1946 In Suspense #180, “The Lucky Lady,” Faye Bainter stars as Leonora Plim, a retired actress who runs a theatrical boarding house for young hopefuls—and fiercely protects her cat, Lady Susie, believed to bring luck. When aspiring stars Diane and Jane rise to fame after being scratched by Susie, their success is short-lived: both die mysteriously at the height of th...

Originally Aired: February 7, 1946 In Suspense #179, “Too Little to Live On,” a struggling young couple, David and Myra O’Connor, care for Myra’s miserly Uncle Ed, who controls their future with the promise of a $30,000 inheritance. Bitter, trapped, and desperate, they begin to fantasize about ending his life—until desperation turns to action with a fateful switch of medicine bottles. But Uncle Ed...

Originally Aired: January 31, 1946 In Suspense #178, “The Long Shot,” down-and-out gambler Kelly Raymond seizes a dangerous opportunity when he answers an ad for a wealthy Englishman’s cross-country chauffeur. As they travel west, Raymond hatches a plan to murder his employer and assume his identity, lured by the promise of a vast inheritance in San Francisco. But as the journey unfolds—with endle...

Originally Aired: January 24, 1946 In Suspense #177, “My Dear Niece,” Dame Mae Whitty stars as Emily Rogers, a lonely widow who answers a seemingly harmless newspaper ad offering part-time work. Soon she is drawn into a shadowy scheme involving a fugitive masquerading as a writer, a dead man named Paul Stevens, and a criminal mastermind hiding behind the alias “Mr. Bruce.” Told as a chilling lette...