CBS Radio Suspense, Vol. 1

Annotation

A thrilling collection of episodes from the classic radioshow SuspenseConceived as a potential radio vehicle for Alfred Hitchcockto direct, Suspense was a radioseries of epic proportion. It aired on CBS from 1942 to 1962 and is consideredby many to be the best mystery drama series of the golden age. Often referred to as "Radio'sOutstanding Theater of Thrills," the show focused on suspenseful thrillers starringthe biggest names in Hollywood. Early in the run, the episodes were hosted bythe "Man in Black" who, from an omniscient perch, narrated stories of peoplethrown into dangerous or bizarre situations with plots that usually had an unseen twist or two at the very end. Hollywood's finest actors jumped at thechance to appear on Suspense,including Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Alan Ladd, Henry Fonda, Humphrey Bogart,Bette Davis, and Orson Welles. Scripts were by John Dickson Carr, LucilleFletcher, James Poe, Ray Bradbury, and many others. Episodes include:In "The Cave of Ali Baba," Lord Whimsey infiltrates a secret crime society, only to be caught; can they eliminate Lord Whimsey without destroying the society? In "The Hitchhiker," a cross-country motorist sees the very same hitch-hiker all along his way! In "The KettlerMethod," Dr. Kettler has been in an asylum since his "Kettler Method" killed his last patient; then Kettler finds a visiting girl with a headache a prime candidate for brain surgery. In "A Passage to Benares," the strange death of a recent bride in a Hindu temple prompts Henry Pajoli to investigate. In "One Hundred in the Dark," a group of men in a writer's club discuss the mystery story and how it is more compelling in the creation than in the resolution. In "The Lord of the Witch Doctors," the Germans seize control of parts of Africa by having one of their own pose as a witch doctor, frightening the natives into submission.In "Will You Make a Bet with Death?," a man matches his life against his evil stepfather for $25,000.In "Menace in Wax," a reporter discovers Nazi spies are using playing cards in the hands of wax dummies in Madame Trousseau's Wax Museum to relate coded messages.In "The Body Snatchers," a pair of "resurrection men" are paid by a doctor for a fresh corpse; when the attempted body snatching goes wrong, the grave robbers and an accomplice decide to make their own corpse. In "The Doctor Prescribed Death," a psychologist goes to extreme lengths to prove his theory that a suicidal individual can easily be convinced to commit murder instead.In "In Fear andTrembling," a hypochondriac is sure that her husband and his lover want to kill her, so she decides to act first.In "Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble," a famous actress is killed by a long blade through her eye while watching Macbeth.