Suspense - Radio’s Outstanding Theater of Thrills

The Most Dangerous Game: Hunted on Ship-Trap Island

Originally Aired: February 1, 1945
In Suspense #128, “The Most Dangerous Game,” Joseph Cotten stars as Sanger Rainsford, a renowned hunter shipwrecked on the infamous Ship-Trap Island—where he discovers his host, the urbane General Zaroff (J. Carrol Naish), has devised the ultimate sport: hunting human beings. With every trick and trap at his disposal, Rainsford must survive a harrowing three-day manhunt through jungle, swamp, and terror, matching wits against a predator who calls murder a “game.” A pulse-pounding radio adaptation of Richard Connell’s legendary tale of survival and moral reckoning.
Cast:
Joseph Cotten, J. Carrol Naish
Tags:
Suspense, thriller, adventure, JosephCotten, JCarrolNaish, MostDangerousGame, oldtimeradio, manhunt, survival, horror, ShipTrapIsland, classicstory, 1940sradio, classicdrama, suspensepodcast

Drury’s Bones: A Past Buried Deep

Originally Aired: January 25, 1945
In Suspense #127, “Drury’s Bones,” Boris Karloff stars as a Scotland Yard inspector who awakes in a London alley with no memory of his past—only to be reborn as “Terence Drury” and given a new life in law enforcement. Twenty years later, Drury is dispatched to a Devon village to investigate a skeleton unearthed in a garden, stirring half-buried memories and old mysteries. As he uncovers the truth about the vanished Ashley Nortons and his own lost identity, Drury is forced to confront an ironic—and unexpectedly touching—solution. A blend of amnesia, mistaken identity, and gentle gothic suspense, with a slyly humorous twist.
Cast:
Boris Karloff
Tags:
Suspense, thriller, gothic, amnesia, BorisKarloff, oldtimeradio, ScotlandYard, mystery, identity, buriedsecrets, Devon, 1940sradio, classicdrama, suspensepodcast

To Find Help: A Knock at the Door

Originally Aired: January 18, 1945
In Suspense #126, “To Find Help,” Frank Sinatra and Agnes Moorehead deliver haunting performances in a taut tale of psychological terror. When a frail-seeming young man shows up at Mrs. Gillis’s door looking for work, she thinks her prayers for help have been answered. But as the day unfolds, the “help” becomes a nightmare—her new handyman is disturbed, unpredictable, and soon becomes menacingly violent. Alone and trapped, Mrs. Gillis must match wits with a mind on the edge. A chilling domestic thriller about trust, vulnerability, and survival.
Cast:
Frank Sinatra, Agnes Moorehead
Tags:
Suspense, thriller, psychological, homeinvasion, FrankSinatra, AgnesMoorehead, oldtimeradio, insanity, trust, survival, 1940sradio, classicdrama, suspensepodcast

Drive-In: Rain, Fear, and a Midnight Escape

Originally Aired: January 11, 1945
In Suspense #125, “Drive-In,” Nancy Kelly stars as Mildred, a Hollywood carhop whose late-night act of kindness turns into a nightmare. After serving one last customer on a rainy night, Mildred accepts a ride from the stranger—only to realize she’s trapped with a desperate fugitive. As the pair careen into the dark hills above Los Angeles, Mildred must summon her courage and wits to escape with her life. A tense, atmospheric thriller of chance, terror, and survival.
Cast:
Nancy Kelly, Wally Maher
Tags:
Suspense, thriller, noir, drivein, NancyKelly, oldtimeradio, abduction, LosAngeles, carhop, survival, 1940sradio, classicdrama, suspensepodcast

I Had an Alibi: The Perfect Crime Unravels

Originally Aired: January 4, 1945
In Suspense #124, “I Had an Alibi,” Keenan Wynn stars as Joe Eichner, a cynical newspaperman-turned-mystery writer who dreams up the “perfect” crime—then tries to live it. When Joe marries a dying heiress for her fortune and crafts a seemingly airtight alibi for her murder, everything seems to go according to plan. But fate, and a deadly twist, reveal that no alibi is ever truly perfect. A taut, ironic thriller about greed, guilt, and the art of the double cross.
Cast:
Keenan Wynn, Cathy Lewis, Wally Maher, Lurene Tuttle
Tags:
Suspense, thriller, crime, alibi, KeenanWynn, oldtimeradio, mystery, perfectcrime, greed, noir, 1940sradio, classicdrama, suspensepodcast

A Thing of Beauty: The Curse of Madeline Tremaine

Originally Aired: December 28, 1944
In Suspense #123, “A Thing of Beauty,” June Duprez stars as Madeline Tremaine, a legendary actress whose career was shadowed by scandal, jealousy, and murder. From the heights of fame to a life of isolation, Madeline recounts her rise and fall to two visiting clergymen during a stormy night. As the truth of her past is slowly revealed—including a deadly rivalry, a ruined marriage, and a disfiguring tragedy—her beauty proves both a blessing and a curse. A gothic tale of ambition, guilt, and the desperate search for forgiveness.
Cast:
June Duprez, Alan Reed, Edmund Gwenn, Ramsay Hill, Cathy Lewis
Tags:
Suspense, thriller, gothic, tragedy, JuneDuprez, MadelineTremaine, oldtimeradio, mystery, beauty, revenge, jealousy, theater, 1940sradio, classicdrama, suspensepodcast

The Brighton Strangler: Curtain Call for a Killer

Originally Aired: December 21, 1944
In Suspense #122, “The Brighton Strangler,” John Loder stars as Reginald Parker, a famed stage actor celebrated for his chilling role as a strangler—until a bomb-blast-induced head injury blurs the line between actor and character. Wandering into the fog-bound streets of wartime England, Parker slips into the role of his murderous alter ego, targeting those he believes betrayed him years before. Drawn into his world is April Manby (June Duprez), who must stop the real-life killer before the play’s final, fatal act. A noir thriller of identity, obsession, and tragic fate, adapted from the RKO film.
Cast:
John Loder, June Duprez, Ian Wolfe, Jill Esmond, Gilbert Emery
Tags:
Suspense, thriller, noir, identity, BrightonStrangler, JohnLoder, JuneDuprez, oldtimeradio, mystery, psychological, RKO, amnesia, 1940sradio, classicdrama, suspensepodcast

The Lodger: Terror Stalks Whitechapel

Originally Aired: December 14, 1944
In Suspense #121, “The Lodger,” Robert Montgomery stars in a chilling adaptation of the classic tale inspired by the Jack the Ripper legend. In 1888 London, Ellen and Robert Bunting, desperate for income, take in a mysterious new lodger, Mr. Sleuth—an intense, reclusive man obsessed with scripture and secrecy. As “The Avenger” murders young women in the foggy streets outside, Ellen’s suspicions grow: is her gentle but peculiar boarder really the killer? With her beloved stepdaughter Daisy in growing danger, Ellen must decide whether to risk everything on her terrifying suspicions. This gothic thriller simmers with paranoia, dread, and Victorian atmosphere.
Cast:
Robert Montgomery, Lurene Tuttle, Denis Green, Verna Felton, Janet Nolan, William Johnstone
Tags:
Suspense, thriller, gothic, JackTheRipper, RobertMontgomery, oldtimeradio, mystery, VictorianLondon, fog, psychological, paranoia, TheLodger, classicdrama, 1940sradio, suspensepodcast

The Black Curtain: Lost Years and a Murderer’s Shadow

Originally Aired: November 30, 1944
In Suspense #120, “The Black Curtain,” Cary Grant stars as Frank Townsend, a man who awakens on a snowy street with no memory of the past three years—and no clue why a stranger is hunting him with a gun. As Townsend pieces together a new identity, he uncovers a murder for which he is the prime suspect, a lost love, and a trail of betrayal that stretches back to a vanished life under the name Daniel Nearing. In a desperate quest for the truth, he must confront dangerous secrets, a mysterious slaying, and the woman who holds the final, fatal answer. Based on Cornell Woolrich’s classic noir novel, this episode is a tense spiral into amnesia, suspicion, and heartbreak.
Cast:
Cary Grant, Cathy Lewis, Hans Conried, Bea Benaderet, William Johnstone
Tags:
Suspense, thriller, noir, psychological, amnesia, CaryGrant, CornellWoolrich, oldtimeradio, mystery, mistakenidentity, lostlove, 1940sradio, classicdrama, suspensepodcast, TheBlackCurtain

The Fountain Plays: Blackmail, Murder, and the Whispering Water

Originally Aired: November 23, 1944
In Suspense #119, “The Fountain Plays,” Charles Laughton stars as Mr. Spiller, a mild-mannered Englishman whose tranquil country life hides a dark secret. When an old “friend” turns up demanding hush money—and threatening to expose Spiller’s criminal past—an impulsive act of violence leads to a cunning coverup by the garden fountain. As the investigation closes in and a silent witness emerges, Spiller discovers that even the gentlest streams can carry the deadliest secrets. Dorothy L. Sayers’s tale delivers blackmail, murder, and a quietly chilling twist.
Cast:
Charles Laughton
Tags:
Suspense, thriller, DorothyLSayers, CharlesLaughton, oldtimeradio, blackmail, murdermystery, gardenfountain, England, classicdrama, 1940sradio, coverup, twistending, suspensepodcast