Stars on Suspense (Old Time Radio)

Rats! Our series of scariest stories from Suspense continues with a showcase of radio sound effects. Listen as a horde of ravenous rodents comes to life in one of the all-time terror treats of the radio era. Vincent Price stars in "Three Skeleton Key" (originally aired on CBS on November 11, 1956).

A killer has his eye on a young woman who can't speak in The Spiral Staircase. Dorothy McGuire, Kent Smith, and Ethel Barrymore star in this classic Hollywood chiller, which we'll hear recreated for radio along with Suspense episodes featuring the cast. Kent Smith co-stars with Margo in "Last Night" (originally aired on CBS on June 15, 1943); Ethel Barrymore appears alongside Gene Kelly in "To Fin...

Our Halloween series of the scariest stories from Suspense continues with "On a Country Road" (originally aired on CBS on November 16, 1950), a cautionary tale about avoiding shortcuts and keeping your gas tank topped off. Cary Grant stars in this classic chiller with Cathy Lewis and Jeanette Nolan in supporting roles. Listen with the lights out if you dare!

A dream house becomes a nightmare in The Uninvited . This week's October chiller stars Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey as siblings who buy a seaside home and discover it comes complete with a resident ghost. We'll hear Mr. Milland and Ms. Hussey, along with their co-star Donald Crisp, in episodes of Suspense : Mr. Crisp in "Banquo's Chair" (originally aired on CBS on August 3, 1944); Mr. Milland in "N...

We're counting down to Halloween with some of the scariest stories from Suspense . In our first October bonus episode, Ralph Edwards plays a radio DJ who spends a memorable night in a haunted house in "Ghost Hunt" (originally aired on CBS on June 23, 1949).

In honor of the spooky season, we're kicking off a series of films about things that go bump in the night. First up is the frightfully fun adaptation of The Canterville Ghost with Charles Laughton as a cowardly specter and Margaret O'Brien and Robert Young as the pair who try to help him break his curse with an act of courage. We'll hear the three stars in Suspense stories: Mr. Laughton in "The Fo...

Take to the seas with Gregory Peck as C.S. Forester's British naval hero in Captain Horatio Hornblower . Peck starred as Hornblower in Raoul Walsh's 1951 swashbuckling adventure, and we'll hear Peck recreate his role on The Lux Radio Theatre (originally aired on CBS on January 21, 1952). But first we'll hear him on a different type of dangerous trip in "Hitchhike Poker" from Suspense (originally a...

Let's win one for the Gipper with Pat O'Brien and future president Ronald Reagan in Knute Rockne , All American . The biopic starred O'Brien as the legendary Notre Dame football coach and Reagan as the player whose struggles off the field inspire his teammates. We'll hear them recreate their roles in a Lux Radio Theatre production (originally aired on CBS on December 2, 1940), as well as episodes...

Comedy legends Bob Hope and Lucille Ball head west in the romantic comedy Fancy Pants . Hope is an actor posing as an English butler, and Ball is the rough riding lady he's tasked with teaching the ways of refinement. We'll hear them in Suspense shows - "A Little Piece of Rope" (originally aired on CBS on October 14, 1948) and "Death Has a Shadow" (originally aired on CBS on May 5, 1949) before th...

We wrap up our Hitchcock series with a bonus episode featuring stories from Suspense that were later adapted as episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents on television. Charles Laughton is a patriarch with a problem in "Wet Saturday" (originally aired on CBS on December 16, 1943), and Charles Ruggles' indigestion may have a sinister origin in "Suspicion" (originally aired on CBS on February 10, 1944)....

Shadow of a Doubt was Alfred Hitchcock's favorite of the many classic films he directed, with its small town setting disrupted by the arrival of a dastardly murderer on the run from police. Joseph Cotten played the charming killer, and Teresa Wright was his niece and namesake who discovers his horrible secret. We'll hear Mr. Cotten recreate his role on Academy Award (originally aired on CBS on Sep...

Before he thrilled television audiences with Alfred Hitchcock Presents, there were attempts to bring the master of suspense to radio in his own anthology series. We'll hear the three audition shows as we continue our salute to the great director. First, it's an adaptation of "The Lodger" - the audition show for what became Suspense - featuring Herbert Marshall and Edmund Gwenn (originally aired on...

Alfred Hitchcock put nine people in a Lifeboat in his thrilling wartime drama, and the cramped and crowded conditions are the perfect setting for some suspense. We'll hear four of the film's stars - Henry Hull, Hume Cronyn, William Bendix, and John Hodiak - in radio thrillers: "The Pit and the Pendulum" (originally aired on CBS on November 12, 1943); "Too Many Smiths" (originally aired on CBS on J...

We kick off a series saluting Alfred Hitchcock, the master of suspense, and some of his classic films recreated for radio. First up is his wartime espionage drama Foreign Correspondent . We'll hear two of the film's stars in Suspesnse stories: Herbert Marshall in "The Beast Must Die" (originally aired on CBS on July 13, 1944) and Edmund Gwenn in "Murder in Black and White" (originally aired on CBS...

Broken Arrow was unique in the world of Hollywood westerns as one of the first films to offer a sympathetic, nuanced portrayal of Native Americans. Jeff Chandler earned an Oscar nomination for his performance as Cochise alongside Jimmy Stewart, and we'll hear both of them in episodes of Suspense : Mr. Stewart in "Consequence" (originally aired on CBS on February 21, 1946) and Mr. Chandler in "The...

Get ready for your close-up with the stars of Sunset Boulevard, Billy Wilder's classic noir set on the darker side of Hollywood. We'll hear Gloria Swanson and William Holden in Suspense thrillers: Ms. Swanson in "Murder by the Book" (originally aired on CBS on July 10, 1947) and Mr. Holden in "Blood on the Trumpet" (originally aired on CBS on November 9, 1950). Then the pair reprise their screen r...

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz not only had a massive hit with I Love Lucy , but they also changed TV forever. The then-husband and wife team had millions of Americans in stitches for their original run and continue to entertain old and new fans today. We'll hear the couple in thrillers: first, Ms. Ball stars in "Dime a Dance," a thriller from the pen of Cornell Woolrich (originally aired on CBS on J...

Set sail with the stars of The Sea Wolf , the adaptation of Jack London's adventure novel that stars Edward G. Robinson as a tyrannical captain. His co-stars in the movie include Ida Lupino and John Garfield, and we'll hear all three of them in radio thrillers from Suspense : Mr. Garfield in "Reprieve" (AFRS rebroadcast from May 10, 1945); Ms. Lupino in "Summer Night" (originally aired on CBS on J...

With the Fourth of July - and America's 250th birthday - only a few days away, our movie of the week is Yankee Doodle Dandy - the Oscar-winning musical biopic of George M. Cohan. James Cagney took home an Academy Award for his performance as the composer who gave us songs like "Over There" and "You're a Grand Old Flag." We'll hear both of Mr. Cagney's Suspense appearances - "Love's Lovely Counterf...

Hit the trail with the stars of Stagecoach - John Ford's western classic that announced John Wayne as one of Hollywood's legendary leading men. The film follows a gang of passengers on a dangerous trip through Apache country, and we'll hear two of those riders - Claire Trevor and Thomas Mitchell - whose performance won him an Academy Award. Mitchell stars in "John Barbie and Son" (originally aired...

Hop in your Model T and fly courtesy of "flubber" with the stars of The Absent-Minded Professor and its sequel Son of Flubber . The Disney classics concern the titular man of science whose new invention is a very hot commodity, but the discovery may cost him the love of his long-suffering fiancee. We'll hear five of the stars of the film and its sequel in stories from Suspense : Charles Ruggles in...

It's off to Sherwood Forest with two of the stars of The Adventures of Robin Hood , the 1938 lavish Technicolor production that pits Errol Flynn's Robin against Basil Rathbone's vile Sir Guy. It's one of the best (maybe the best) film adaptation of the classic legend, and it still thrills audiences today. We'll hear Olivia de Havilland (Maid Marian) in "Voyage Through Darkness" (originally aired o...

Join us for a journey 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea with the stars of Walt Disney's special effects-laden big screen adaptation of Jules Verne's science fiction adventure. We'll hear the film's four stars - James Mason, Kirk Douglas, Paul Lukas, and Peter Lorre - in old time radio thrillers: Mr. Lorre in "The Moment of Darkness" (originally aired on CBS on April 20, 1943); Mr. Lukas in "A World of...

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World  is the rare epic-length comedy - over three hours long with a cast that includes Spencer Tracy, the Three Stooges, and nearly everyone in between. The movie follows a crazy cast on the hunt for hidden loot, and we'll hear six of the film's stars in radio thrillers: Phil Silvers in "The Swift Rise of Eddie Albright" (originally aired on CBS on April 3, 1947); Mickey...

Hailed by many as the greatest film ever made, Citizen Kane was the debut feature from Orson Welles and featured many of his colleagues from the Mercury Theatre productions of Broadway and radio. We'll hear Mr. Welles and his co-stars in radio thrillers: Ray Collins in "Marry for Murder" (originally aired on CBS on September 9, 1943); Welles in "Lazarus Walks" (AFRS rebroadcast from October 19, 19...