Suspense - Radio’s Outstanding Theater of Thrills

Originally Aired: November 20, 1947 In Suspense #272, “One Hundred in the Dark,” a group of sophisticated clubmen debate the nature of crime and storytelling over after-dinner coffee. To illustrate his point, their mysterious guest, Mr. Peters, recounts a remarkable incident involving the alluring New York hostess Rita Kildare and a glittering dinner party of fashionable guests. When Kildare’s pri...

Originally Aired: November 13, 1947 In Suspense #271, “Riabouchinska,” a renowned ventriloquist’s act becomes the center of a baffling murder investigation when a blackmailer is found strangled in a theater cellar. Detective Lieutenant Krovich questions the performer John Fabian, his bitter wife Alice, and the couple’s press agent—but the most unsettling witness is Fabian’s lifelike dummy, Riabouc...

Originally Aired: November 6, 1947 In Suspense #270, “Dream Song,” writer Charles Kenyon moves into a cramped apartment hoping for quiet inspiration—but instead finds himself tormented by a single phonograph record playing next door at the strangest hours. When two neighbors are brutally stabbed in their rooms, Kenyon becomes convinced the mysterious tenant, Williams, is responsible. The same sent...

Originally Aired: October 30, 1947 In Suspense #269, “Subway,” Paula Stevens is a struggling young actress whose dreams of stardom have withered into frustration and envy. Trapped in a crowded New York subway car beside her cheerful and seemingly fortunate friend Ruth, Paula’s thoughts spiral into dark obsession. Ruth has the job, the connections, the promising future—everything Paula believes sho...

Originally Aired: October 23, 1947 In Suspense #268, “The X-Ray Camera,” John Lawrence is a man torn between love and hate for his estranged wife, Anna. Desperate to keep her from divorcing him—and enraged at the thought of losing her—Johnny devises a twisted scheme. Posing as a private detective, he tricks an innocent department store clerk named Joyce into carrying what he claims is a secret “x-...

Originally Aired: October 16, 1947 In Suspense #267, “Self-Defense,” Barbara Newell seems to have everything wealth can buy—except love. Trapped in a loveless marriage to the cold and controlling Jonathan Newell, Barbara finds herself drawn first to an old flame, Fred Dexter, and then hopelessly in love with a charming pianist, Alex Maynard. Desperate for freedom and convinced divorce is impossibl...

Originally Aired: October 9, 1947 In Suspense #266, “The Man Who Liked Dickens,” adapted from a chilling short story by Evelyn Waugh, Anthony Last joins an ill-fated expedition into the Amazon in search of a lost city. When the journey ends in disaster and his companion is lost to the river, Last is rescued by a mysterious settler named Mr. Todd—a solitary man living deep in the jungle with a stra...

Originally Aired: October 2, 1947 In Suspense #265, “The Story of Markham’s Death,” washed-up mystery writer Phil Martin (Kirk Douglas) stumbles upon what appears to be a lost manuscript by Edgar Allan Poe hidden in a bombed-out London house. Hungry for revival, Phil plagiarizes the work, passing it off as his own and winning literary acclaim. But his crime spirals into deeper deception when a Poe...

Originally Aired: September 25, 1947 In Suspense #264, “The Blue Hour,” glamorous dancer Lois LaPaul arrives in New York riding a wave of scandal after the mysterious murder of her wealthy admirer, Jason White. Cast as the star attraction of the ultra-chic Blue Hour nightclub, Lois quickly realizes her newfound fame has made her a pawn in a dangerous game. When a priceless blue diamond—long covete...

Originally Aired: September 18, 1947 In Suspense #263, “The Visitor,” a teenage counterman named Bud is approached by a stranger who insists he’s a long-lost son from a wealthy town—and the resemblance is uncanny. When Bud agrees to play along, he finds himself welcomed back by a grieving mother, showered with affection, and even offered a fortune. But this small-town paradise hides a dangerous un...

Originally Aired: September 11, 1947 In Suspense #262, “The Twist,” struggling former cabbie Gus Green and acerbic gag writer Van Houser form a volatile comedy-writing duo—bound by mutual dependence and mutual loathing. When Van announces he's marrying Julie, a dancer with a shady past, Gus’s jealousy ignites a deadly plan. What begins as a ploy to preserve his lucrative partnership spirals into a...

Originally Aired: September 4, 1947 In Suspense #261, “The Argyle Album,” star reporter Harry Mitchell is summoned to the bedside of dying political columnist Alan Pearce, who promises an explosive exposé contained in a mysterious white-leather dossier known as the Argyle Album. But when Pearce dies suddenly—and a murder weapon appears in his chest—Mitchell is swept into a deadly manhunt involving...

Originally Aired: August 28, 1947 In Suspense #260, “Double Ugly,” Matthew Eberman has spent a lifetime tormented by his appearance and shunned by those around him. Growing up mocked and lonely, he finds a glimmer of connection in Sally, a woman who seems to look past his face and into his heart. But as their marriage unfolds in an isolated home filled with silence, frilly distractions, and a grow...

Originally Aired: August 21, 1947 In Suspense #259, “Murder Aboard the Alphabet,” a transatlantic voyage turns into a voyage of terror aboard the deep-sea tug Alphabet. Chief Officer Marshland quickly realizes that their commanding officer, Captain Walker, is a rigid and unstable man obsessed with order—so obsessed that he insists all ship duties follow an alphabetical sequence. But when crew memb...

Originally Aired: August 14, 1947 In Suspense #258, “Smiley,” Donald O’Connor delivers a chilling performance as Gerald “Smiley” Smythe, a man whose easygoing nature masks a deep and growing darkness. After a false accusation sends him to prison, Smiley emerges changed—quiet, obsessed with his hands, and harboring a deadly grudge against women. Rehired at a diner by his old boss Curly, Smiley seem...

Originally Aired: August 7, 1947 In Suspense #257, “Quiet Desperation,” Homer Bigelow, a mild-mannered bank clerk living a life of quiet despair, overhears a conversation that tempts him toward a bold escape from his drab existence. A rich man’s secret scheme to smuggle £20,000 worth of negotiables into the U.S. sparks Homer’s fantasy of reinvention—and crime. When he intercepts the young courier,...

Originally Aired: July 31, 1947 In Suspense #256, “Mortmain,” the ambition of attorney Sam Boston knows no bounds—nor scruples. When his charming partner George Perry unexpectedly lands a DA nomination and wins the heart of the woman Sam loves, Sam’s envy turns deadly. What begins as a calculated smear spirals into blackmail, betrayal, and murder. As George is sent to prison for a crime he didn’t...

Originally Aired: July 24, 1947 In Suspense #255, “Murder by an Expert,” a struggling dance duo’s dreams take a deadly turn when ambition, jealousy, and betrayal spiral into murder. Edith Reed, half of a nightclub act, kills her husband and partner Bob, carefully orchestrating a scheme to pin the crime on another. But in the aftermath, her cold precision is undone not by guilt, but by the man she...

Originally Aired: July 10, 1947 In Suspense #253, “Murder by the Book,” Gloria Swanson stars as Emily Carlisle, a mystery writer struggling with memory lapses following her husband's drowning. When her psychiatrist, Dr. Winter, is murdered, Emily is asked to cover the sensational case for a national newspaper syndicate. As she investigates, she becomes entangled in a web of confessions, circumstan...

Originally Aired: July 3, 1947 In Suspense #252, “Money Talks,” Alan Baxter stars as Clifford Goff, a smooth-talking, cold-blooded grifter with a meticulous plan to rob the Bankers Industrial Trust Company of $100,000. With the help of calculating co-worker Anita Willoughby—whom he seduces into compliance—Cliff intends to embezzle the money and disappear. But Anita isn’t who she appears to be, and...

Originally Aired: June 26, 1947 In Suspense #251, “Phobia,” wealthy spinster Emily Haven tells the tale of her peculiar aversion to metal—and how it might have saved her life. As Emily navigates a strange household shared with her impulsive sister Grace, a blackmailing suitor, a scheming maid, and even a fugitive murderer, the lines between paranoia and reality blur. When a robbery escalates into...

Originally Aired: June 19, 1947 In Suspense #250, “Dead of Night,” Jimmy Barton returns home to find his sister Helen bruised, terrified, and desperate to flee her violent new husband, Phil. When Phil ends up dead, Jimmy and Helen go on the run—dragging a body through motels, hiding it in the bathroom, and ultimately staging it on a sunlit California beach. But as nosy neighbors, ball-playing kids...

Originally Aired: June 12, 1947 In Suspense #249, “Stand-In,” Diana Burke is used to living in the shadows—after all, she’s just the stand-in for Hollywood’s reigning screen diva, “Madame.” But when Diana falls for the star’s new husband, a charming but violent ex-lifeguard named Dennis, her off-screen role becomes a deadly performance. As tension mounts on the set and behind the scenes, a perfect...

Originally Aired: June 5, 1947 In Suspense #248, “Make Mad the Guilty,” Hume Cronin stars as Bertram Matthews, a failed Shakespearean actor turned meek department store floorwalker—until he uncovers his wife's affair and plots a theatrical revenge worthy of the Bard himself. Feigning suicide, Bertram orchestrates a chilling frame-up that sends his wife to death row. But as the clock ticks down to...

Originally Aired: May 29, 1947 In Suspense #247, “A Thing of Beauty,” Angela Lansbury stars as Madeline Tremaine, a reclusive former stage actress whose legend lives on long after the curtain has fallen. When a young curate visits her remote estate during a storm, she begins to unravel the haunting tale of her rise to stardom, a backstage rivalry turned deadly, and the terrible secrets that led to...